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“Tell us about the men who took her,” Claire prompted. We’d done this bit before. I didn’t have a partner on the force, but for situations like this — situations that involved witches and warlocks — more often than not, Claire had been my partner. People rarely questioned it because usually in these sorts of situations, they were already too out of sorts to question why a reporter was asking questions alongside a cop. “Did you recognize any of them?”
Anna shook her head. “Never seen them before in my life. I knew something was wrong when four cars pulled up at once. I thought maybe the glamours on the lodge had gone wonky. That the humans had gotten curious, but then they got out of the cars and it was obvious that someone glamoured them. And it wasn’t a good glamour either. Fuzzy around the edges.”
Looking at Claire, I tried to gauge what she thought about that. Glamours among witches and warlocks were nothing new. They were like fashion for humans. The cheaper the glamour, the more likely to ravel. Some witches and warlocks could craft their own, but it was a skill that had to be learned, just like sewing. So most witches and warlocks bought their glamours from dealers.
“Any identifying marks on those glamours?” I asked. Some larger businesses employed multiple witches and warlocks to craft one-size-fits-all glamours. Just like disposable fashion, those glamours came with labels and identifying markers.
Anna’s mouth twisted as she thought. “They all had a tattoo on their cheek. Like maybe a bird? A Thunderbird? I noticed it because I saw it was in the same place on each of them. I guess they could all have matching tattoos, but it was fuzzy like the rest of them.”
And a glamour would have covered any real tattoos.
I looked to Claire, who shook her head. “I don’t know anything about that, but I think I might know someone who can help us.”
Looking back at Anna, I saw she was wringing her hands. She was going to blame herself for this for a long time.
“Did anyone try to stop them?” I asked. “What about the warlock she came with?”
“He was in on it,” Anna said with a dark laugh. “Stupid that I didn’t realize it. The warlock with Darla was glamoured, but that was no cheap glamour. Had to have been custom. I didn’t realize it until he was pushing Darla into the car. That was when he dropped the glamour. Then he looked much older.
“The rest of the warlocks on the grounds were engaged with their witches.” She turned to look back at the two warlocks loitering in the lobby. “I called them in after. I didn’t know what to do, and I started calling in everyone I knew. I tried to stop them, but…”
She trailed off.
“We’ll find her,” Claire said, her voice ringing with conviction. “And whoever did this will pay for it, too.”
