An Embittered Witch by E M Graham

Author:E M Graham [E M Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: One Ear Press
Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

Win and I both sat up as one, turning around to face our boss.

‘Cate!’ I pasted on a smile and grabbed for something to say, something to cover up what had just passed between Win and me. ‘We were just talking about you.’

Yes,’ she replied, her voice dry. ‘I heard.’

I didn’t dare risk a glance at Win, afraid I might reveal the guilt that lay between us.

‘By the way, Win, in future, remember to put lock spells on the door,’ she added. ‘Not that it would keep me away, of course, but anyone with a master swipe card could have done the trick. You two were so wrapped up, you didn’t even hear me enter. The white noise spell works both ways.’

She smiled genially. ‘Always be vigilant.’ Cate sat on the edge of the nearest bed, forcing us to swivel our armchairs toward her. ‘So tell me all about your afternoon. Any luck with the scrying?’

Win nodded, then shook her head. ‘We found Li Minh.’ She darted a glance over at me. ‘And Margaret Forsythe. Or at least a premonition of what will happen.’

Cate’s eyes widened a fraction and she pounced on this like a cat. ‘Do tell,’ she purred, leaning forward from her perch on the bed.

‘Looks like Margaret will get at Li Minh before us,’ Win continued bitterly. ‘Perhaps she already has.’

‘We don’t know that, just because she was there. It was the ghost of things to come, right? Not what has already happened.’ I half-heartedly burst out, but it was a feeble defense of the indefensible. I immediately wished I had kept quiet.

Win merely rolled her eyes.

‘So Margaret. Just as I thought.’ Cate narrowed her eyes while she looked at me as if she was calculating my loyalty to her.

I nodded slowly. ‘She was standing over Li Minh’s body.’

‘And where was this?’ Cate asked sharply.

‘I had a sense,’ Win said slowly. ‘It’s like a…. like a cave, but it’s not rough. More like an underground room, but the walls – I’ve never seen anything like this. As if they are made of small rocks all piled on top of each other. I saw Li Minh in the vision. She was alive and well enough, but sound asleep, just like the Great Zande and the Venerable Nachtan must be. I have no idea where she is.’

‘An underground room, like a cellar?’ Cate asked sharply. ‘Was she being held captive?’

Win shook her head. ‘No. But yes, but…’ She looked over at me.

‘Those rock walls weren’t a natural formation,’ I offered. ‘Some of the pieces were carved, animal heads, dragons even. And the Chinese lions. They were pretty fearsome and alive looking, even though they were obviously carved from stone.’

‘What kind of stone?’ Cate sat very still, her whole body tense. ‘Marble? That kind of white stone?’

Win and I looked at each other and nodded. ‘Maybe?’

Cate stared out the window past us to where the skies had imperceptibly turned dark gray with a red streak for the sunset, her long red nails tapping against her thigh.

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