Putting on the Witch (28 page)

“What?” Dorothy's stare went sharply to the council and over to Brian. “That's ridiculous.”

Brian took her hand and glared fiercely at the council members, who'd all come to their feet.

Oscar and Abdon had run to aid Hedyle, helping her up and allowing her to rest against them.

“What are you saying?” I demanded. Not even the Council of Witches was going to accuse Dorothy without a fight. “She had nothing to do with Makaleigh's death.”

“She had everything to do with it—her and her outsider magic.” Hedyle raised her arm weakly to point at Dorothy. “She is Drago Rasmun's daughter. They killed Makaleigh and kidnapped me, wanting me to dissolve the council. I escaped when they left me alone. But they both wield dragon magic. They will destroy us all if we allow it.”

The remainder of the council was shouting angrily at her words. They began moving toward Dorothy as Brian urged her to leave the room.

Dragon magic.
It wasn't hard for them to see that she was too powerful for a witch with no training. Dorothy had been born with it. It wasn't like my amulet that the council had tried to take away from me, although at that time I had no idea why. Once I'd accepted it, it was impossible to remove. But dragon magic was part of Dorothy, impossible to remove.

“Seize them,” Hedyle weakly urged.

“No,” Abdon said. “Brian has nothing to do with this. It was her father and the young witch. Leave my grandson out of it.”

Hedyle looked as though she wanted to rip him apart for questioning her. “Regardless of who he is, he is no doubt in league with Drago and his daughter. Their outsider magic will destroy the council.”

Abdon stared at her with wild eyes. “No.” He turned to Brian and Dorothy. “Leave. Get out of here until we can sort this out. Go now!”

Dorothy glanced at me, but Brian reacted, getting both of them out of the room immediately.

I stood there, not knowing what to do, shocked by the turn of events.

Hedyle gave a large sigh and collapsed into Oscar's arms. As the council moved toward her, the witchfinder grabbed my arm and led me quickly through a side door in the stone wall.

“I don't understand. How could she accuse Dorothy of killing Makaleigh and kidnapping her? Dorothy was with us the whole time.”

“Can you prove that?” Antonio demanded. “Can you show them where she was every moment before Makaleigh's death? If not, the council will take Hedyle's word for what happened. Why else would Drago take her? And the daughter shares his magic. The council will want to banish her as they have her father.”

“Where are we going?” I asked as we ran through what looked like identical hallways.

“We are going to get your spell book from the library so you can help your friend and get out of the castle. Things are going to get very ugly now, Molly. The council fears magic stronger than theirs, especially magic out of their control.”

“But I can't just leave Dorothy and Brian here. They won't be safe.”

“Dragon magic keeps the girl safe,” he said. “Abdon will allow nothing to happen to his grandson.”

We were finally outside the closed library again. The magic bonds were strong, keeping everyone out.

“Do not worry,” Antonio told me. “Abdon gave me power to reopen the library and retrieve your book.”

“Really?” My mind was whirling with everything that had happened and wondering why Abdon would want to help us.

“Stand back.” Antonio spoke an incantation aloud that immediately began to remove the spell away from the door. The powerful closure was lifted, and we walked into the library.

“Find your book,” he said. “I shall guard the door against intruders.”

“Thanks. I'll hurry.”

My mind was so full of—everything—that I didn't even realize I was running around in the dark library with hundreds of thousands of books until I'd run up and down the same aisle three times.

“You'll never find it this way,” I reminded myself, trying to pull my thoughts together. I grabbed my amulet.
“Light my way, bright as day.”

My amulet glowed, directing its light down the aisles until it landed on a single spot. It was our spell book. I hugged it to me and closed my eyes. “Blessed Be.”

One more thing. I didn't want to leave without Makaleigh's book too. Whatever Elsie had seen in there had been enough to put her under this powerful spell. There was something in it we needed. Makaleigh's book was there. I guess the library put it back. I grabbed it too and clutched both books tightly.

“Are you ready?” Beads of sweat had formed on Antonio's brow. He was having a hard time keeping the library open as he stared hard at the closed door to keep it unlocked.

“Yes, but how are you going to get the books past the library spell?”

“Abdon gave me the incantation to free the books.” He glanced at me and smiled. “I hope I only free these two. I might release all of them. A crime to be sure, but perhaps necessary.”

I looked back at the huge library behind us containing books that most people didn't even know existed. I hoped he could keep most of the books here too. It would be a terrible loss to the world if the books were gone. If Elsie's life wasn't at stake, I would never have considered helping him. But as far as I could see, it was the only way.

Antonio continued to stare hard at the door but directed his magic toward the books in my arms. I felt a tingling sensation and hoped his magic wasn't affecting me too. A moment later I had my answer. I was back at our room with the purloined books.

The witchfinder wasn't with me. I assumed he could take care of himself and went inside.

“Oh, Molly, I'm so glad to see you,” Olivia said. “What happened? Is Brian on the council now? Oh my gosh—you have our spell book. I've never seen anything so beautiful. I guess that means everything went all right.”

I sat at the desk chair. “No. Everything is far from all right.” I told her what had happened. Her face grew less distinct as I spoke, her eyes worried.

“Outsider magic? I never thought about Drago passing that to Dorothy. I knew he'd been banned by the council for it—which was why I was so worried about you with that amulet even though it
is
water magic. How was she able to keep it under control with no training? My poor baby.”

“It's a bad situation,” I agreed. “I couldn't believe when Hedyle accused Dorothy of murdering Makaleigh and her own kidnapping.”

“Well, we know my angel had nothing to do with it.”

“We do. But the council doesn't. They'll hunt her and Brian down. I don't know what else will happen. I'm afraid to think about it.”

“Oh, that Drago!” Olivia flew across the room, dragging a few items from the tops of the dressers and shelves with her. They crashed to the floor when she stopped. “I'd like to kill him for doing this. I'm sure it has something to do with him coming back. Huh! I knew he didn't just want to meet his daughter.”

“You're wrong.” Drago appeared in the room with us. “And don't blame me because Dorothy wasn't adequately trained to handle this situation. You were the one who took her away and hid her from me.”

Olivia flew back into his face. “I wanted her to lead a good life, not be banned and hunted by the council because she was the daughter of an evil witch who uses dragon magic.”

He stared right through her. I could see his eyes going through the opaque form. “Olivia, I didn't want that for her either. I thought your way was best. I've known where Dorothy was for years. She's my flesh and blood. You couldn't actually hide her from me.”

“Well, now what?” Olivia backed away from him with tears flowing down her face. “The council thinks she killed Makaleigh. They think she kidnapped Hedyle. What now?”

“It seems to me that you need help bringing your friend
back to life.” He bowed his head. “Which is why I've sought you out. We can discuss the rest after. Don't you agree?”

I got to my feet quickly. I had been asking myself how I was going to revive Elsie alone since I'd returned from the library. “Yes! Thank you, Drago. I have our spell book with a spell that should work on her. Will you help us?”

“Yes. Let's save your friend.”

Looking through our old spell book was like going home again. There was my mother's handwriting and my grandmother's spells—the same for Olivia's and Elsie's. There were our spells that we had collected and painstakingly added to the book from the time we had reached adulthood. Holding the book I thought we'd never see again was a wonderful balm for my fractured energy.

I found Elsie's grandmother's spell. I could still see her grandmother writing in the book as we played with our wands and other magic accessories in her basement. “This is it,” I told Drago.

He nodded. “Repeat it and I shall follow.”

Together we chanted the spell to free Elsie. She was completely stiff, no color to her lips or cheeks. Fear clutched at my heart, but I pushed it away to concentrate on the spell to free her. I wished Dorothy and Brian were there too, but I was going to have to be happy and grateful to have Drago's help.

We chanted holding hands with candles lit above Elsie's head. I could feel the pull on my strength and energy. I hoped I wouldn't let her down by collapsing on the floor before she was awake again.

I saw her hand twitch, and faint color returned to her face in a slowly blossoming pink. She moved and opened her eyes. I collapsed on the bed beside her.

“Welcome back.”

Olivia and I took turns filling Elsie in on everything that had happened. Drago sat silently in a chair by the door, looking faintly amused. I supposed that he was thinking how silly we were and so much less sophisticated than him.

She glanced at Drago. “So we're friends with him now?”

“He's helping us,” I told her. “I probably couldn't have wakened you without his help.”

She was sitting on the edge of the bed sipping water—I figured she must be dehydrated. She was right. We were an odd group.

“What are we going to do to help Dorothy?” Elsie wondered. “How did you manage to mess things up so badly without me?”

I laughed. “I'm just very good at it. I'm so glad you're back to help me.”

“As you ladies have guessed,” Drago said, “we have to find the killer. We know Dorothy didn't do this. She's just a convenient scapegoat.”

“For you?” I asked. “I think it's time that we came clean on some things.”

He shrugged, his tight leather making a creaking sound. “Everyone
knows
I'm the bad guy, Molly. I'm game if you are.”

“I'm not worried about it.” I squared my shoulders and held his gaze. I was a little worried about what I'd done to help him, but there was no reason to give it away.

“What are we talking about?” Olivia asked. “All this is making me feel dizzy.”

“Drago has been having an affair with Hedyle,” I revealed. “Elsie and I saw them together.”

Olivia's eyes widened dramatically as she confronted Drago. “Hedyle? I can't believe it. Why would she want to do such a thing?” She smiled at Drago and shook her head. “Silly me. I know why. But I'm still surprised.”

He chuckled and glanced away.

“Yes. Well,” I began again. “Drago and Hedyle have been lovers outside the knowledge of the council. She was attacked and then kidnapped. Now Hedyle is accusing Dorothy and Drago of those crimes along with killing Makaleigh.”

We all stared at him, waiting for answers.

“I don't know what to tell you.” He wasn't a bit remorseful. “Sometimes people have bad breakups. I thought things were going well for us. That's why I tricked Dorothy into helping me sneak into the castle. Hedyle said she wanted me here.”

“That's another nail in Dorothy's coffin,” Elsie said. “Between having outsider magic, helping Drago sneak in and Hedyle accusing her, Dorothy is in a bad way.”

“Oh, my poor baby,” Olivia mourned. “We have to help her, girls. You too, Drago, since this is partly your fault.”

“Only by birth, I assure you.” Drago got to his feet. “Now, I believe that Hedyle invited me here to pin Makaleigh's death on me. It may have been the motive for our love affair from the beginning. I think Hedyle killed Makaleigh.”

“No way!” Elsie said. “How could something like that happen?”

“Maybe she was completely against the changes Makaleigh wanted to see,” I guessed. “Maybe she knew she couldn't change Makaleigh's mind and that she would sway the council in her favor. There was only one way to deal with the problem.”

“Oh my stars!” Elsie bolted to her feet, almost falling, before I helped her to the chair at the desk. “I just remembered what I saw in Makaleigh's book before I was so rudely snatched away.”

“I hope it's something that's going to help Dorothy,” Olivia said.

“I have the book.” I pointed it out on the desk. “Antonio helped me get it and our spell book out of the library.”

“I thought Brian was going to take care of it,” Olivia said.

“He didn't have time. Everything happened with Dorothy before he could get the council to agree. Antonio said Abdon had given him special powers to get in the library and retrieve the spell book.”

“I wonder why he'd do something so generous,” Olivia demanded. “It's not exactly his style, is it?”

“Maybe he knows what we suspect,” Elsie added.

“He gave Antonio the privilege before Hedyle reappeared and accused Dorothy,” I explained. “He may feel differently now.”

“Let's get back to the book,” Drago said. “What was it that made you suspect Hedyle for Makaleigh's murder?”

Elsie started flipping through the pages of the big book. “I was looking for the words of power and how they might pertain to what had happened. Ah! Here it is. It seems that Hedyle and Makaleigh were rivals and fierce enemies for hundreds of years. They fought bloody wars against each other for power before Makaleigh started the Council of
Witches. She offered a truce to Hedyle as well as a place on the council. That was the end of their fighting.”

Drago considered what she told him. “I vaguely remember that time. Thousands of non–magic users died in their wars. I was surprised when Hedyle agreed to join the council and help Makaleigh begin recruiting witches to it. I was one of the first they asked to join.”

“You?” Olivia laughed. “But you've been considered an outsider for a hundred years. You told me so yourself.”

“The council was different when it was first started just after the Inquisition. The witches were looking for protection from persecution. The more power the better. After a while, they began to refine the council. They changed it so that they were the rulers, lording it over the witches they considered to be of lesser power. They were afraid of outsider magic. I wasn't the only one excused by them and then banned.”

“So it probably was a setup,” Elsie considered. “Hedyle didn't want Makaleigh on the council anymore. You were a good way to get rid of her.”

“Precisely.” He nodded. “Although I confess to being completely unprepared for this betrayal. I love Hedyle. I would never hurt her.”

I didn't doubt his sincerity. He was there with us, after all. I couldn't speak to his relationship with Olivia. Maybe he loved her too. That was a long time ago. It was possible they wouldn't have broken up if Olivia hadn't found out that she was pregnant and left him.

“I'm still having problems with the idea that Hedyle would kill Makaleigh.” Elsie interrupted my thoughts. “I'm not saying you did, Drago. And I certainly don't believe Dorothy killed anyone. But how do we prove it anyway? If I'm having trouble believing it, so will everyone else. We need better proof than an old book that says the two women were enemies before Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World.”

“Yes.” Drago frowned and stared off blankly.

“So we're right back where we started from,” Olivia said, “except now the council thinks Dorothy killed Makaleigh.”

“We have to think of some way to make everyone understand what happened,” Elsie said. “Surely with all the magic in this room we can think of something.”

I was feeling drained and uninspired. How could we prove our theories about Hedyle?

“There is only one way,” Drago said. “I must go to her. She will no doubt want to banish or imprison me.”

“She may want to kill you to keep you from talking,” Olivia said. “I don't think that's the answer.”

“There is no other,” he continued. “I shall go to Hedyle and get her to confess her deed. You will hear what she has to say and speak up against her no matter what happens to me. It is the only way we can free Dorothy.”

“Hedyle is too smart for that,” Elsie said. “She's been planning this for a while if what you're saying is true. Don't you think she's considered everything that could happen, including you putting your life in her hands to try to protect Dorothy?”

“Elsie's right,” I agreed with her. “But Drago is too. Hedyle is smart and powerful. She manipulated you and will try to do it again if she gets the chance. We need a better plan. Something she won't expect.”

“Let's just scrap that idea and go back to the words of power and the fingerprinting,” Olivia suggested. “If Hedyle killed Makaleigh, she probably hasn't even thought about leaving fingerprints on the knife. All we have to do is take care of that. No one gets hurt.”

“We never got her fingerprints,” I told her. “Maybe she did consider it.”

“Or it was just bad luck and then we were sidetracked,” Elsie said. “Maybe we can get her fingerprints now and can compare them to the ones on the knife.”

I shrugged. “So much has happened. The same knife killed Kalyna. And that's to say everything is still in the kitchen where we left it.”

“Do you think Oscar, the faithful servant to the Fuller family, could be involved?” Drago wondered. “He seems to be about quite a bit. It would be easy for him to be part of Hedyle's plan.”

“I agree. I don't know. All the people I thought I could trust have let me down, and those I didn't trust have been friends. Anything is possible at this point.”

“What about the witchfinder, Molly? The two of you seem close.”

The door to our room burst open. Antonio, followed by a group of security guards, came in with hard looks on their faces.

“I am sorry, Molly, but the council requests your presence in the matter of finding Dorothy Dunst Lane.” His eyes narrowed as he saw Drago with us. “And you, sir. You will come with us. You have been accused of murdering Makaleigh Veazy.”