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By the timeI arrived at City Hall, the conference room where the press conference was being held was full. There were warlocks, witches, and humans in attendance. Taryn’s parents stood near the podium at the front of the room. They stood proud, looking stern and immaculately dressed.
Civilian press surrounded the podium, as well as a prominent witch podcaster who haunted town meetings and covered strange happenings in the town. There would be no useful information to come out of this news conference with so many humans in the room. Something that the Mayor understood. It was also something that the other witchkind in the room were aware of. As we stood waiting for the Mayor to appear, the witches and warlocks slid uneasy glances around at one another. It was as if we were all wondering what — if anything — was about to unfold.
Near the back of the room, I saw Sebastian Cavanaugh. Rainbow Carmichael was haunting the corner at the opposite end of the room. Even though it seemed they did their best to avoid one another, they seemed ever mindful of the other’s presence.
Most importantly, I saw Jack. He stood next to the podium, watching the door where I knew the Mayor would later enter.
His eyes caught mine. He gave me a nod. I didn’t return the gesture.
A flurry of movement broke out near the side door of the conference room. Everyone’s head turned as the doors opened and Mayor Byrne appeared, dashing toward the podium and avoiding eye contact as best as he could. Given that City Hall itself wasn’t very large, the conference room was cramped.
I hadn’t seen the Mayor in months. From my vantage point, he looked harried and unsure. What didn’t look harried and unsure were the two large warlocks surrounding him like a pair of oversized bookends. Behind him, another burly warlock towered over the Mayor, taking in everyone who stood in the conference room. I suspected the warlocks could magically survey the room and the moods of all within it. The one to the Mayor’s left looked over at me and I met his gaze defiantly. Whatever he saw in me, he didn’t perceive me to be a threat.
Just as well.
Taryn’s parents had broken an unspoken witchkind protocol when their daughter went missing. They’d contacted not only the Witch Gazette, Jack and the Mayor. They’d also contacted the human cops and press. They were trying to force the Mayor’s hand. This had the bonus effect of forcing the Mayor to make a public appearance.
“Good afternoon,” Mayor Byrne’s voice echoed through the shoddy microphone attached to the podium. There was something about the Mayor’s appearance that made him always appear deliberately rumpled. As if his tie being askew and his pants being a little wrinkly were all for show. Likely because it was.
“As you may have heard, a young girl was abducted from her home this morning. We understand that you have a lot of questions, but we want to assure you that the Mystic Springs Police Department is doing their utmost to find Taryn and bring her home to her parents.”
I didn’t have to look over at Jack to feel his eyes on me. His gaze bore into me, searing my skin. Although he rarely touched me and did his best to keep his distance, his stare always felt as if it was an invisible touch on my skin.
And now, his stare was unrelenting. Was he worried I was going to do something foolish? Or was there something else he was worried about? My eyes scanned the room, catching on Sebastian, who was casually leaning against the wall.
Sebastian always looked as if he were just a little bored with whatever was going on around him. Now was no different.
Still, the way he stood, while looking completely casual, made him look as if he were a cobra about to strike.
All around me, silent conversations were taking place. As if everyone knew something that they weren’t willing to tell anyone else.
The Mayor opened the floor to questions. It was no surprise that the humans were the first to press forward. They raised their hands, demanding the Mayor’s attention.
And I felt chained to my responsibility as a witch in the community. I couldn’t ask questions that would give who we were away. Even so, I needed to ask at least one question that would let the Mayor know he wasn’t above reproach. I might be witch press, but I was still press and that meant I had a responsibility to the people.
Raising my hand, I watched and waited as, one by one, others were called, but never me.
Fine. I knew how to corner the man.
All the while, Jack never took his eyes off me. I wondered if his unrelenting stare was as obvious to other people in the room as it was to me.
Knowing which door the Mayor would disappear through, I made my way to that area and waited. He wouldn’t be alone. His goons would be sure to watch my every move as I tried to approach him. They were likely already aware of my plan to corner him.
I surged forward, bracing myself. I might be able to send warlocks straight to hell with magic that burned them from the inside out, but I was still nervous in situations like this. I couldn’t really unleash any magical whoop-ass in the middle of City Hall.
As I pushed toward the door, the Mayor’s eyes met with mine. The dissatisfaction there was palpable.
“You’re a difficult man to get in touch with,” I said as I fell in step beside him. We walked through the doors and down the hallways of City Hall. One of the burly warlocks at his side pushed up against me, trying to push me out of the way.
“As you can see, Miss Landon, I’m a busy man,” Mayor Byrne said with a derisive sniff. At least he remembered my name.
“I suppose you must be busy. After all, you’ve got not just one missing young witch, but two.”
He flinched. It was quick and had I not been trying to watch him as I shuffled forward beside him, I might have missed it. But there had been a reaction there.
“I’m a busy man,” he said, pushing past any discomfort my statement had given him.
