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I rubbed the spot, quirking one side of my mouth upward. “Thanks, Sis. Come on, I’ll walk you down.”
The elevator deposited us in the lobby by Gladys, who happened to be speaking to Julian. Great. Zoe gave me a last squeeze and nodded to the pair of them.
“Ah, perfect. I was going to retrieve you,” Julian said to me, clapping his hands together once Zoe passed by on the way to the exit. “We have an appointment with the witch sect leader. She’s requested our presence with the promise of information on the case.”
“Hazel?” I asked, wishing I could drag Zoe along as I joined step with him headed for the vamp mobile. “Which case? The murders or the kidnapping?”
“Hopefully both, as I believe they are connected.”
I buckled in as Julian set hands on a perfectly pristine steering wheel. I blinked, remembering something.
“Julian? Do you know Mabel?” I asked as he took off.
“The taxi? Yes.”
“Have you seen her lately?” I asked, trying to figure out how to broach the subject of her mysterious disappearance after Sam’s altercation with the missing shifter.
“I drive myself,” Julian said, raising an eyebrow.
“Any idea what Hazel has?” I decided to change the subject yet again. Anything but bring up Carmichael.
“I’d asked her about possible non-fae magic that could allow someone to slip through the ventilation system, so I’m assuming it is in relation to that.”
“Good idea.” I blushed, realizing I should have asked my own family about that. Though, we covered more of the potions and charms areas.
“I have them occasionally,” Julian quipped as we entered the section of the woods where he’d taken me to see the queen of the Seelie court.
I tensed.
“No fairy circles,” Julian promised, turning right and pulling up to a small cottage with a crooked path and white picket fence. “Hazel’s house.”
“Nice,” I said, heading toward the little red door with an iron raven knocker. But before I could use it, the door opened, and a familiar black rabbit hopped up into my arms. “Hi, Karma.”
Hazel swung the door open the rest of the way and ushered us inside the tiny house, which smelled of fresh baked cookies, making me wonder if baking was a witch thing and not just a mom thing.
“I love your house,” I said, sitting at a small circular table with a bright purple flower centerpiece, all while stroking Karma’s soft fur.
“Thanks,” she said, sitting and waving over a plate of the cookies I’d smelled.
We watched the platter float through the air and settle with a rattle on the table. Karma leaped from my lap, snatched a cookie, and sprinted around the corner to what I assumed was Hazel’s bedroom.
“You better not eat that till you shift to something with a stomach that can handle it,” Hazel called.
A roar shook the table in answer. Hazel grinned. “Dragons can eat just about anything.”
She reached across and handed me a cookie. When her fingers brushed mine, a vision hit me so hard I had to plant my feet to stop from falling out of the chair.
Hazel stared at a mirror image of herself inches away, but the other version’s eyes were glowing yellow, and she was smiling. It wasn’t a kind smile. In fact, it made my insides curdle.
“What information do you have for us?” Julian interjected, snapping me out of the quick yet powerful premonition.
“Tea?” Hazel responded to Julian’s rudeness as she gestured, summoning over an adorable teapot covered in kittens and three cups, along with milk and sugar.
“Thank you,” I said, glaring toward Julian. “Please forgive the lieutenant. He’s anxious to solve the murders and get Lauren back before she or anyone else get hurt.”
“Of course,” Hazel said. Large crystal rings on her fingers clinked against her tea as she lifted it. “I did some research, and there’s nothing that can easily explain what you saw in your vision.”
“Oh.” I slumped back in my seat, disappointed.
