Detective Witch (Devil's Witch Book 2)

These wooden seats are so uncomfortable to sit in and the judge only showed up five minutes ago. We’ve been waiting in here for over an hour.

This courthouse is one of the oldest buildings in town and still doesn’t have heating. Luckily, here in Alabama, winters aren’t so cold during the day. This room wasn’t fit for over a hundred people though and sadly the building doesn’t have air conditioning either.

“Would the accused come to the podium? Yes, bring him up here,” the elderly judge announces.

He’s human and I’m sure all the other witches in here checked too. It makes me wonder about Nick. Stella woke up this morning saying some pretty crazy things like he was a hybrid.

I think she’s just saying that because she’s still afraid of him because he’s a vampire who I just so happened to curse into a snake. She’s so certain he’s a hybrid, but the only way he could be one is if he is walking around with a concealment on -- which would be hard to pull off even for a witch.

It kind of freaked me out though when she said that because Nick does seem to know more about magic than most vampires and there are times where I swear he is keeping something from me.

Although, there are powerful witches sitting behind me who would be able to see through a concealment spell so it’s pretty unlikely.

After all, the supreme of Alabama, Jamiah Niffrey, is sitting on the other side of the room behind Will’s lawyers. I’m surprised the governor chose to sit on our side of the room with all the police. He has to know they are vampires. Most of the humans are sitting with the coven.

The jury happens to be positioned over by the coven too. There’s four humans, four witches, four werewolves and four vampires on it.

I really don’t like having to sit here next to Nick, especially after yesterday. I feel like he knows more about me than I want him to and after Stella told me her suspicions about him, it doesn’t help me focus at all on what’s going on in front of me. I feel like I’m betraying Nick when I second guess myself and check his aura. Sure enough, it’s red like it should be and I frown at myself.

A tall stack of papers sits between us, along with his own two lawyers sorting through them. I’m surprised Nick chose humans to help him when they know so little about our communities. Maybe he is hoping to appeal to that portion of the jury. Either way, none of this sits well me, literally.

“Your honor,” Will greets the judge while stepping up to the podium, “I have requested the supreme of Florida to state her case. She was the one who ordered me to execute Mr. Silvet and his...lineage,” Will tells the judge while staring straight ahead.

The judge nods his head and leans over closer to the edge of his podium. A laptop is held open for him to watch by one of the police.

I can’t see the supreme, only hear her voice through the laptop.

“Greetings to the courthouse of Wixton, Alabama. On my word, I declared the Silvet family a threat due to their intervention in the sale of the McCaster’s Ski Resort. That land was marked property of the coven due to the portal’s placement there. When it was found Patricia Gild, my once dearest friend, had stolen money and hidden it there I told the McCasters it was time to move back to my state where they originally lived. Before I knew of her crimes, she was to buy the property from them, but unfortunately, after her passing, the Silvets outbid our community and the property was given to them. Only the house remains in your coven’s name and luckily, the portal is still well warded,” the supreme says in an annoyed voice.

“Continue,” the judge directs her.

It sounds like she's reading off a paper, “Mr. Silvet was a wealthy rancher, but he was also a priest. A priest who killed his own kind for wanting to breed with nonvampires. He was a killer and built his church carefully to hide his murders and victims. Who knows how many vampires he killed, a pity.”

Nick doesn’t seem bothered by the supreme’s speech, but the vampires behind me are all freaking out. The coven, on the other hand, seems quite content with it all, none of them have started yelling at least.

“And what about Mr. Dupont? I suppose you did not know he was working undercover very vigorously to expose his father’s crimes. So tell me Clarissa Gild, was he too a church-attending murderer?” the judge interrupts her.

The supreme’s face shows up on the projector behind Will surprising us all.

Gild? Patricia had a sister? Nick has been working all this time to also expose his father? No wonder he wanted him dead. How could Clarissa know all this though and about Nick too? She’s all the way in Florida! Someone must be giving her this information.

“No, he’s much worse,” the witch on the project whispers in a lower, condescending voice.

Her face looks older, more worn out than Patty’s did. Her hair is a darker shade of orange too and cut really short. She wears a polka-dotted scarf and purple shirt, with the hood of her cloak pulled up.

Disgruntled, the mayor sighs and taps his microphone.

“Clarissa Gild, your sister used to be headmistress here. Is that why you took it upon yourself, instead of Jahmai Finnrey, to do the job of a supreme and declare a supernatural execution without consulting neither human or supernatural authorities?” the judge hammers out at her.

“Yes, and I did nothing wrong! Sue me for executing judgement, do it! I’ll take your poor little town to hell with me. Vampires, all of them, always filthy and conniving creatures. Worst one of all is him, right there,” the supreme screeches wildly, pointing a pink painted fingernail at Nick.

“His father had a sick distorted vision of peace. He, on the other hand, wants nothing with peace. He’s a world-ender, just look at him. A reptile-like his father. And her, why is she still living? You should have knocked her dead the moment you found her out of the grave! Kill them both,” the witch says with disgust while looking at Nick and I.

My heart pounds heavily and I stand up, ready to give the lying witch a piece of my mind. I don’t care if she’s nice and safe in Florida, I know a spell or two to make her wish she wasn’t a coward. She should have had the guts to come here and admit what her real goal was.

To kill me!

“Turn it off! Turn it off,” the judge hollers.

Someone behind Will pulls a plug from an outlet and the projector goes blank. The yells and arguing behind me quiet down as the judge slams his gavel.

“Your honor, she wanted to kill me. She was just using the Silvets as an excuse. Will didn’t want to kill me like she originally ordered him to, so she made him try to kill them instead,” I say feeling my magic get riled up under the glares of the coven members across the room.

I can’t believe they believe that nutcase, they think she was telling the truth.

“Your honor, if I may,” Nick says calmly while standing up and patting my shoulder, politely telling me I’ve spoken out of turn and possibly jeopardized everything.

“You may,” the judge grunts.

“Clarissa Gild did my unit a favor by ordering William to kill my father. We were planning to do it ourselves, but it is just one less crook for us to catch. As for the threat to my life, what my colleague says is true. The witches are the ones blood hungry, looking for a martyr. Someone like me who only wants to instill peace within our community. I am hated for what I am and so is my colleague. The fear they harbor fuels their hatred. Say she is the white witch, William. If you were not intimate with her, would you have hesitated to murder her?” Nick asks coldly.

“No, of course not!” Will shouts back looking ready to attack Nick.

“Doubtful, considering the number of riots we have had to put an end to this week. Ms. Parway’s life was threatened on multiple accounts. How do you explain these repeated uprisings? What goes on during your coven meetings, William? Could you really be spreading talk of peace? Do you even love Valerie or are you just keeping her under watch for your coven?”

“Badgering, your honor!” one of Will’s lawyers yells looking furious at Nick.

“No, Ms. Parway is as much a victim as Mr. Silvet. If what the police chief says is true, which he swore just the same as Mr. McCaster in this court of law to tell, then we must continue this discussion. Mr. McCaster, we are waiting for your answer,” the judge announces ending their argument.

I shiver hearing him reference Nick like that. I still can’t believe he was undercover this whole time with that last name.

“Yes, I love her. I have done my best to denounce the legend. I was once a believer, but no more. Change takes time, you must understand this,” Will says.

My face softens when our gazes meet. However, I can’t forget about how the supreme found out about me and Nick’s family in the first place.

“And what made you change your mind?” the judge asks him quickly.

“Time your honor. I met Valerie and yes she fits the description of the white witch, but she could never hate her own kind,” Will says.

I twiddle my thumbs. Little does he know how close I have been to hating them of late.

Not all of the coven, but most of them.

“Would the defense please take the stand?” the judge adds.

One of Will’s lawyers gets up and replaces his spot behind the podium. She’s a short coven member with long braided gray hair, for some reason her eyebrows are died yellow and match the color of her stained teeth. She clears her throat loudly and then scans the room. When her gaze lands on Nick, I suddenly realize why he made me come. Why he wants me to testify. The lawyers aren’t here to defend Will, they’re here to attack Nick.

“Your honor, we have submitted solid evidence to this courthouse bypassing our local officials with reasonable cause-that being their current corrupt state of affairs. Mr. Silvet we have found you guilty on thirty accounts of first degree murder, the bones of your victims were excavated at an abandoned junkyard. You have wrongfully search and seized over twenty cover members and trespassed onto coven land twice. You have also been found guilty of conspiring hate speech and violence on over three accounts. At present, you are a convicted criminal and will be discharged,” the witch states.

My jaw drops at her ludicrous accusations.

“Your honor, I request a separate trial,” Nick states evenly while looking livid at the witch.

“Mr. Silvet, unfortunately under supernatural law you do not get one being a vampire,” the judge says with a fake smile while making eye contact with a very happy looking Jahmai Finnrey.

Nick faces the crowd behind us. “Is that so?” he counters in a deadly calm voice.

Suddenly, Jahmai’s eyes roll in the back of her head and several coven members scream as her mouth begins to foam. The foam turns red, gushing out of her mouth and her heavyset body lands with a loud thud.

“Arrest him!” I hear the supreme headmistress of Alabama gurgle out.

Nick lifts his arms up, shrugging his shoulders as several coven members rush to her. None of them will be able to heal her in here though, there’s a ward up making all of our magic too weak to be of any use in here.

Threatening or nonthreatening.

“In this court, we’re all equal. So tell me, why do they have the right to decide who is and who isn’t?” Nick questions the judge, ignoring the supreme’s episode behind him.

The judge looks anxiously between Will’s lawyers and the supreme headmistress, looking flustered he pushes his glasses higher up on his nose.

“I said tell me!” Nick all, but screams at the judge.

I gasp seeing magic drift away from him for a brief second.

It’s red as blood and headed in the supreme’s direction, but then it disappears. I whimper when the supreme crumples over to the ground passing out. Stella was right about him, for a moment I saw magic leave him. He really is a hybrid! How has he been hiding it from me for so long?

All this time he’s been concealing his magic from me and everyone else.

“None of you will ever understand...” I whisper and Nick turns around, shock written all over his face. He looks at me as if trying to predict how I’ll further react and how he’ll stop me, but he can’t. No one here can.

No one here understands me and the single person who I finally thought did, was just a liar. Using me and hurting my best friend, probably even plans on hurting me too. Will must be right, maybe he’s always been right about Nick and it hurts.

All the signs I wanted to ignore, but how can I pretend anymore? The facts are he’s a vampire and a hybrid. I don’t want to believe the coven, but how can I ignore what I see right in front of me?

“No one...” I repeat in a quieter voice, my vision going blurry as my magic pulsates. I hear the desk Nick and the lawyers and I were sitting behind flip over with a loud slam. Everyone is screaming and maybe it’s the devil that makes me not care who.

Let them be afraid! That’s all they’ll ever feel for me, fear and hate.

My vision focuses and I stare numbly as my magic chases the witches and vampires out of the courthouse. It burns with a bright orange glow, fire.

“Don’t do this,” I hear someone say and I turn around seeing Will holding my arm with a pleading look.

“I don’t know what happened last month, but I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Just talk to me, Val. This can all be over, just listen to my voice. I don’t care about what they think, I love you! I’m here,” he tells me.

I turn to face him fully.

Suddenly, ice cold thin hands grab my arms. Two witches hiding their faces in the shadows of their cloaks whisper an ancient spell and my feet become dead weight. They are trying to summon me somewhere!

“No! I’m not leaving,” I yell against them while trying to use my magic to repel them off me.

“I’m doing this to protect you, Val. I’ll be with you shortly, please don’t get mad-” Will begins to tell me looking desperate, but Nick comes up from behind me and punches him square in the jaw.

Will grunts stumbling away from me and tries to hit him back, but Nick is too fast with his inhuman speed. He dodges and punches Will in the face again, but much harder this time.

With a bloody and bruised face, Will falls flat on his back looking unconscious and I yelp, seeing Nick drag him by the collar up to his feet. His eyes are so dark and unforgiving. Cold like an animal’s as he drags Will towards Jahmai, aiming his gun at her and the group of coven members around her with threat.

My feet get heavier as the summoning is almost complete, soon I’ll be torn away from here and thrown who knows where while Will looks like he’s not even breathing.

Nick drops Will’s body suddenly and the coven members catch him. His emotionless gaze lands on the two witches holding me spellbound. In the blink of an eye he bites them both, tearing out their vital arteries and letting them fall limply to the ground. His whole body shakes with rage as he watches the blood ooze from the witches’ dead bodies.

Then his emotionless expression lands on me.

“I will find you,” he tells me with an intense gaze, but I know I’m no more important to him than the dirt beneath his shoes.

I’m a liability now more than ever. Who would want to be associated with me after I’ve publicly attacked both the coven and humans?

I don’t want him to find me ever, especially after seeing him kill those two witches like that. Even if I despise them, he shouldn’t have killed them the way he did. They’re all confused, maybe some beyond help, but that doesn’t mean it gives him a right to kill them like that.

It scares me how quickly and easily he was able to take them out.

I never wanted to believe Will was right about Nick, but how can I not be scared of him now after witnessing him use magic and single-handedly kill coven members without hesitation? Suddenly, the air leaves my lungs and my chest tightens. It feels like the floor drops out from below me and I get transported to who knows where all thanks to the coven wanting to ‘protect’ me, but I know that’s not really what this about. They don’t want to protect me, they want to protect themselves. So they’ve decided to summon me somewhere else against my will.

I’m not worried about where they could be taking me though. I’m more worried about what I’ve left behind.