said.
She furrowed her brow at me. "I don’t even know what you’d do with a Cortinarius."
"Maybe I’ll show you someday." I placed large chunks of broken glass into a box. "They really did a number on this place."
"Maybe you left them in your apartment?”
"We can look. But I know I brought them down here to preserve them," I said.
"Then the police probably took them. If they even suspected blood, they'd take them all in for testing," Gabriella said as we exited the garage and ran up to the apartment.
I pulled the plywood back so Gabriella could enter and flipped on the lights. I sighed, the apartment was still pretty hopeless. Fortunately, my everyday filing system wasn’t all that exacting, so I had that working for me. The two of us picked up most of the mess, searching as we went. I found my stash of empty specimen bottles, but none contained Lozano’s blood.
"What I can't wrap my head around is why your coven is being attacked by lycan. Do you really think it's all about Clarita?" I asked.
"I don't know. We're down to three witches in Whyte Wood coven and that's not enough for us to hold our territory," Gabriella said. "Kelli has a family and she's scared. I'd be surprised if she doesn't move to another coven."
"She can do that?" I asked.
"Of course. Felicia would hate it, but you can't blame Kelli. If this is a territory grab, she'd be safer in a larger coven. Whyte Wood weakened as Victoria got older. I loved her like my grandmother, but she drove younger witches away," she said.
"I didn't even know witches had problems like this. Judy's coven was so warm and friendly," I said.
"But, they made you leave," Gabriella said. "Every coven has its warts, Felix."
I'd struck a nerve and in response she'd punched back.
"You don't know anything about it," I said. "No one in Judy's coven was committing murder."
"You can be an ass. You know that?"
"Me?" I asked. "Your coven starts a war with god knows who and now you want me to help bail you out."
"Fine. We'll solve this by ourselves. Felicia didn't want me talking to you anyway" Gabriella shook her head in disgust and stood.
I stood up with her. "Wait. Don't go. I want to help find Clarita," I said, grabbing her elbow.
She pulled her elbow free from my grasp. "You've got a dumb way of showing it."
"I'm just saying…"
"You're just saying everyone needs the help of the mighty wizard," she said.
"Shit. Why does everything get so damn complicated with you? I want to help because there's a little girl who saw her mother get killed. I'm just pissed that everyone in this damn town is using me as their punching bag," I said.
She turned back to me, but I could still feel a wave of hurt and rejection rolling off of her. I stepped forward, placed my hands on her waist and pulled her to me. She resisted for a moment and our eyes locked. I wondered if I'd misread the situation. A smirk played across her face and she wrapped her arms around my neck as we kissed.
"You really can be an ass," she said, her warm breath caressing my face.
I was star-struck by the moment we were sharing and wouldn't have cared if she had called me a hippopotamus. I sighed and leaned into her again, not wanting to lose the moment.
Twenty minutes later, we'd moved to the couch and she finally pushed me away.
"What would Felicia say about that?" I asked.
"Moons of the equinox," she said with a deliberate eye-roll. "You suck at being romantic."
"Sorry. Right. I should just keep my mouth shut."
She placed a finger on my lips. "That's probably for the best."
I playfully grabbed her hand, then stopped, distracted by her painted fingernails. "What do you know about Benita?" I asked.
"We've been friends a long time, she was a lot better than Victoria gave her credit for," she said.
I held her hand up so that she was looking at it as well. "She'd fight back, wouldn't she? If anyone were trying to hurt her and Clarita, she'd fight back, right?"
"Of yeah. She was hot-tempered. She'd have
She furrowed her brow at me. "I don’t even know what you’d do with a Cortinarius."
"Maybe I’ll show you someday." I placed large chunks of broken glass into a box. "They really did a number on this place."
"Maybe you left them in your apartment?”
"We can look. But I know I brought them down here to preserve them," I said.
"Then the police probably took them. If they even suspected blood, they'd take them all in for testing," Gabriella said as we exited the garage and ran up to the apartment.
I pulled the plywood back so Gabriella could enter and flipped on the lights. I sighed, the apartment was still pretty hopeless. Fortunately, my everyday filing system wasn’t all that exacting, so I had that working for me. The two of us picked up most of the mess, searching as we went. I found my stash of empty specimen bottles, but none contained Lozano’s blood.
"What I can't wrap my head around is why your coven is being attacked by lycan. Do you really think it's all about Clarita?" I asked.
"I don't know. We're down to three witches in Whyte Wood coven and that's not enough for us to hold our territory," Gabriella said. "Kelli has a family and she's scared. I'd be surprised if she doesn't move to another coven."
"She can do that?" I asked.
"Of course. Felicia would hate it, but you can't blame Kelli. If this is a territory grab, she'd be safer in a larger coven. Whyte Wood weakened as Victoria got older. I loved her like my grandmother, but she drove younger witches away," she said.
"I didn't even know witches had problems like this. Judy's coven was so warm and friendly," I said.
"But, they made you leave," Gabriella said. "Every coven has its warts, Felix."
I'd struck a nerve and in response she'd punched back.
"You don't know anything about it," I said. "No one in Judy's coven was committing murder."
"You can be an ass. You know that?"
"Me?" I asked. "Your coven starts a war with god knows who and now you want me to help bail you out."
"Fine. We'll solve this by ourselves. Felicia didn't want me talking to you anyway" Gabriella shook her head in disgust and stood.
I stood up with her. "Wait. Don't go. I want to help find Clarita," I said, grabbing her elbow.
She pulled her elbow free from my grasp. "You've got a dumb way of showing it."
"I'm just saying…"
"You're just saying everyone needs the help of the mighty wizard," she said.
"Shit. Why does everything get so damn complicated with you? I want to help because there's a little girl who saw her mother get killed. I'm just pissed that everyone in this damn town is using me as their punching bag," I said.
She turned back to me, but I could still feel a wave of hurt and rejection rolling off of her. I stepped forward, placed my hands on her waist and pulled her to me. She resisted for a moment and our eyes locked. I wondered if I'd misread the situation. A smirk played across her face and she wrapped her arms around my neck as we kissed.
"You really can be an ass," she said, her warm breath caressing my face.
I was star-struck by the moment we were sharing and wouldn't have cared if she had called me a hippopotamus. I sighed and leaned into her again, not wanting to lose the moment.
Twenty minutes later, we'd moved to the couch and she finally pushed me away.
"What would Felicia say about that?" I asked.
"Moons of the equinox," she said with a deliberate eye-roll. "You suck at being romantic."
"Sorry. Right. I should just keep my mouth shut."
She placed a finger on my lips. "That's probably for the best."
I playfully grabbed her hand, then stopped, distracted by her painted fingernails. "What do you know about Benita?" I asked.
"We've been friends a long time, she was a lot better than Victoria gave her credit for," she said.
I held her hand up so that she was looking at it as well. "She'd fight back, wouldn't she? If anyone were trying to hurt her and Clarita, she'd fight back, right?"
"Of yeah. She was hot-tempered. She'd have
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