Putting on the Witch (22 page)

Elsie and I followed Oscar to Hedyle's simple bedside. Her headboard was made of plain wood, possibly a plank that had washed up on her island. There were insect holes in it, and it was chipped and worn. No paint or stain covered it. Her mattress was thin, barely more than a rag, and it was on the rough floor. There were paintings of the sea around her as well as stones and shells I thought she might have collected from the beach to make this place feel more like her home.

“Your tea, madam,” Oscar said, putting a tray on the table beside her. “Shall I pour?”

“Yes, please.” Her pleasant voice sounded rough and hoarse. There were bruises on her throat. “Molly. I'm so happy you came to call. No one likes to visit a sick friend. I do hope we can be friends. I see you've brought some people with you.”

“Yes. I'm sorry you were attacked,” I commiserated. But inside I was scrutinizing the way she looked and sounded. It was difficult to imagine someone sneaking up on this highly powerful witch and trying to choke her. I was still very much of the belief that this was a ruse to keep the council away from her and Drago. If she had been attacked too, how could anyone suspect her?

I introduced Elsie and Dorothy. They each said a few words to her and then backed away from the bedside. No matter how any of us thought about the council, there was always a part of us that revered them, I supposed.

I was quickly learning to feel different through and through from my experiences with them. They were older, more powerful than us, but in the end, they were no better or wiser. I thought we were all learning that lesson.

“It's very kind of you to come.” She delicately coughed and rearranged the yellowed lace at the top of the sleeping gown she wore. “I've heard you gave Makaleigh's last words to Abdon and the witchfinder. A good decision. I would hate to see you hurt over this nonsense. I'm glad you've come to your senses.”

Dorothy and Elsie stood still and stared at her. Oscar poured tea for her, but the rest of us shook our heads when he asked if we wanted cups. The fragrant brew smelled like a summer meadow. I could swear its scent nearly transported me there. Magic tea? Anything could weave a spell if used properly.

I couldn't hold my suspicions in any longer. I knew there
might be a price to pay but believed my family and I were protected from her. At least I hoped so. “I don't know how else to say this—Elsie and I heard you speaking to Drago. I've mentioned to Abdon that the two of you might be lovers and that you may have plotted Makaleigh's death because she knew your secret. A love affair with someone considered a renegade and an outsider by the council might make the other members turn against you.”

Hedyle laughed feebly, the sound ending in a pretty but false cough. How many mornings had Mike wanted to skip school and manufactured such a cough or a stomachache so he could stay home?

“How dare you?” She gathered her strength as she pushed herself up on the coarse bed. “How dare you suggest I would have anything to do with that outlaw? I have been the most powerful member of the Grand Council of Witches for five centuries. I helped create it. It was my decision to cast out Drago Rasmun. I would never consort with him.”

I didn't flinch from her tirade. Mike used to get angry when I called him out on his fake sicknesses too. What else could she say?

What Elsie and I had heard was still valid in my mind. “We all make mistakes, Hedyle. I'm not saying that I think you should be punished for it or even lose your place on the council. I'm sure you knew that you would get caught with him at some point. It doesn't matter how powerful you are. Love drives us all mad.”

“But we'd all like some of that absolution,” Elsie chimed in. “If you love Drago, I'm not judging you. But I love Larry, and I'd be judged for it. Things need to change.”

Hedyle didn't back down, her sharp eyes boring into my soul. “Leave me now, all of you. How dare you bring them to me this way, Oscar? I am ill. Is there no respect left in the world?”

Oscar bowed his head, and Dorothy, Elsie and I were quickly shown the door.

Just before it closed on us, Dorothy stopped it, putting her hand on the rough wood. “Dad?” She stared at the white-haired healer. “Is that
you
?”

Dorothy had managed to put her finger on what had bothered me about the healer. It had been a nice disguise, but it was hard for a witch not to see magic. It was almost an insult that Drago had thought he could hide that way and we wouldn't notice. But he'd almost been right.

The heavy portal slammed with unnecessary force. We heard a scuffle behind the door. Someone cried out. But by the time we managed to get the door open again, Oscar lay on the stone floor, unconscious. Hedyle and the healer had vanished.

“They have to be in the castle,” Elsie cried out. “We should alert Brian, Abdon and the witchfinder. They can still catch them.”

“Go on,” I said. “Dorothy and I will stay and help Oscar.”

The pair had laid the castle manager low with a simple but powerful spell. Oscar was a witch but not a powerful one. As he came around with our healing spell, he told us what had happened.

“The healer changed, it was a disguise,” he said. “I've never seen Drago Rasmun in person, but the healer was a powerful man—tall and lean with short white hair, wearing leather.”

“I knew it was him,” Dorothy said, supporting Oscar's head. “Maybe it was because he's my father. For one instant when our eyes met, I could see behind his illusion.”

“He's kidnapped Hedyle,” Oscar raged, trying hard to get to his feet, but the spell had left him weak.

“I believe that's what she wants us to think.” I tried to calm him. “Hedyle is as involved in this as Drago.”

“She would never stoop so low to be with that renegade. You're wrong about her.” Oscar angrily shoved himself away from our ministrations and staggered to a standing position with one hand on the wall to support him. “We should inform Abdon and the rest of the council before she's hurt.”

“I am here,” Abdon said to him as he walked into the room. “Never fear, my faithful friend. Go to your room and rest. We'll find Hedyle and learn the truth of what happened.”

“I want to help, sir. I can't bear the idea that she's out there in his power.”

It was the only time I heard Oscar argue with anything Abdon said.

“I know you do.” Abdon put his hand on Oscar's shoulder, and I felt magic pour from him. It was obviously going to take more than logic and reason to convince Oscar that Hedyle wasn't herself and that he needed his rest. “But I swear we'll find her and the renegade. Things will be made right. Now rest.”

Oscar bowed his head and disappeared from the room.

Brian and the witchfinder had come in with Abdon. Antonio used his special gift to check for magic. “The magic that spirited Hedyle away was strong, but I cannot say whose magic was used. Hedyle's magic is entwined with Drago's. It could as easily be hers as his.”

“Never refer to that man by his name here,” Abdon decreed. “He is the renegade, the outsider. When I find him, I will flail the skin from him for this disgrace!”

“My apologies, lord.” Antonio bowed his head.

Abdon glanced at the pallet where Hedyle had been. “Summon the security staff, Brian. While Oscar is unable to function, you will take his place. You know the castle better than anyone else here.”

“Of course, grandfather.” Brian left the room quickly with a curt nod in Dorothy's direction.

We waited, but it was plain to see Abdon and Antonio had no idea what they were looking for, or what to do next, since they couldn't ascertain a specific magic signature that had been left behind. They were clearly almost too amazed by Drago and Hedyle's actions to function.

What they really needed was a witch police force to come in and handle it. I shuddered at the thought of a police force for witches who all had superpowers like Antonio to control and see magic. I was so glad Joe wasn't here, because he would have stepped right in and taken over. It was his nature.

I finally whispered to Dorothy and Elsie that we should leave. There was no point in us remaining there when there was nothing we could do.

“What now?” Elsie asked as we went back to our rooms. “We think Drago killed Makaleigh because she could cause trouble for him and Hedyle. Now he's taken Hedyle. They can't catch Drago, much less hold him. As far as I can tell he's probably the strongest of us.”

“With the exception of Hedyle,” I half agreed. “With the two of them working together, I don't know if they can be stopped.”

“Are you sure about that?” Dorothy asked. “Hedyle seemed very sincere about not having anything to do with Drago. We could be wrong about her.”

“I think she's just an excellent liar,” I replied. “There's
no doubting what she and Drago were talking about when Elsie and I saw them together.”

“I'm too afraid that's true, dear.” Elsie hugged her. “Just be glad Olivia isn't still with him.”

Dorothy cringed. “How many people know he's my father? This doesn't seem to be a good way to get started in the witch world.”

“I think it's only us, Abdon, Drago and probably everyone on the council.” I smiled and hugged her too. “Don't worry about it. Almost every witch has someone evil lurking in their family tree.”

“That's true.” Elsie opened the door to our room. “I have a famous evil witch in my family tree. The Wicked Witch of the West.”

Dorothy wrinkled her nose. “No. Not really, right?” She glanced at me. “That's just a story, isn't it?”

As soon as the door was closed behind us, Olivia appeared. “Ignore her, Dorothy.
The Wizard of Oz
is just fiction, and so is Elsie's evil witch.”

“My great-grandmother told me that we were related to her,” Elsie said. “She wouldn't have lied.”

“That's crazy talk,” Olivia argued. “Next you'll be telling us that your great-grandmother went to Oz too.”

“As a matter of fact,” Elsie continued.

“Ladies!” I interrupted. “We have bigger fish to fry. We need to figure out what those words mean together.”

“They mean Drago and Hedyle, or maybe just Drago, killed Makaleigh.” Elsie sat down on the big bed. “Where's the mystery in that? I wished they'd do another buffet. I'm hungry again. All of this stress has taken a lot out of me.”

“We know that Drago and Hedyle are lovers, forbidden to be together by the council and Hedyle's own rules,” I corrected. “That doesn't necessarily make either one of them Makaleigh's killer.”

“What about Drago using Kalyna to sneak into the ball?” Olivia demanded. “Are those the actions of an innocent man? He had something nasty in mind, like always.”

“It could be the actions of a desperate, lovesick man,” I said.

“Lovesick?” Olivia's entire body wrinkled. “Drago has never been lovesick a day in his long life. Remember? I was with him for months. He never acted lovesick with me.”

“Maybe he didn't love you like he loves Hedyle,” Elsie suggested. “Maybe you were just handy to have around. I doubt if he meant to get you pregnant, like most men don't.”

“Why you—” Olivia flew at Elsie, who simply stepped aside.

“Really,” Dorothy implored. “We should try to figure this thing out in case Drago isn't the killer. Otherwise, when the castle doors open, the real killer is gone. If it's possible, I need to clear my father's name. Maybe someday he won't be a renegade.”

“Well.” Elsie sniffed. “Maybe Drago isn't the killer, but he certainly took Hedyle. I doubt any of us can argue that fact. That might be because he's lovesick. Or maybe it's because he's afraid she'll tell the truth. Or it could even be that he wants to keep her safe. Someone did try to kill her.”

“The only thing that bothers me is who attacked Hedyle.” I considered the issue. “I don't think Drago is lovesick over her
and
attacked her.”

“It happens.” Dorothy shrugged. “Shall we take another look at the words?”

Elsie flopped back on the bed. “Jiminy Cricket! Haven't we looked at those enough already?”

“No,” I said, resuming my seat at the desk. “We basically know what they mean now at least individually. But what do they mean together?”

“Molly's right,” Dorothy said, joining me. “Let's put our heads together and see what we can do. If it turns out to be my father, no one will be surprised.”

“All right.” Olivia hovered close to us at the desk. “We've got aba—meaning to make amends or atone. Atone for what? Who needs to make amends?”

“Maybe Makaleigh needed to make amends,” Elsie said from the bed. “Maybe she did something to the killer that she wished she could atone for.”

“That's possible,” I agreed, writing down what she said.

“And mho—to shed or molt.” Olivia studied the word. “Maybe to change.”

“She was planning on changing the rules about punishment for non–magic users in families,” Dorothy snapped back.

“Maybe that was what she wanted to make amends for,” Olivia said. “Girls, maybe all we have to do is figure out who Makaleigh wronged with her harsh rules about taking the memories of non–magic users in our families.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Dorothy agreed. “But where would we find that kind of information?”

Elsie giggled. “You know she's gonna freak out when she sees it.”

I smiled and got to my feet. “I think it's time we showed her.”

“Oh yes!” Olivia agreed. “Why didn't I think about it sooner? Oh, you have to take me along so I can see the look on her face when she sees it.”

“We can't take you, Olivia,” Elsie said with a yawn. “We've been through this. Everyone on the council has threatened you. You can't leave this room.”

“What?” Dorothy demanded. “Quit talking about me like I'm not here. What am I going to see?”

“The Grand Council of Witches' library,” I told her. “I think you'll be impressed.”

“Oh, girls,” Olivia sighed. “I must go with you. If you don't try to hide me, then I'll just float out there by myself.”

She appeared so pathetic that we were all moved to take
her with us. It couldn't be easy being left out of everything that was once part of her life right as she had finally found the daughter she'd never known.

And that was the problem. Feeling sorry for Olivia because she was dead. There was no way around it. We loved her and wanted her to be with us—even if it did mean trouble for us all.

“Have you ever actually been to the library?” Elsie asked after we put Olivia back into Dorothy's bracelet.

“I've been there many times,” I admitted. “But never actually here at the castle.” The library moved from place to place on a regular basis to protect it. With the wisdom of the ages stored in it, no one wanted to take any chances.

“How exciting.” Olivia's voice was strange from inside the metal around Dorothy's wrist.

“
Shh!
” we all said at once as we passed a group of witches in the hall outside our rooms.

They stared us at for a moment but then kept walking.