AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I knew that they had to clear me of torching my own house. “I can be there in half an hour.”
He gave me the address. Pocketing my phone again, I turned back to Tad. “I’m sorry. I can’t meet with her today. That was the fire marshal and he wants to talk to me, as in now. It looks like my house was targeted—the fire was magical, set by someone.”
“Cripes. Go. You want one of us to come with you?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll text you if I’m going to be too long.”
As I stepped outside, snowflakes softly drifted down. The snow on the ground had frozen over, and everything was slick. According to the weather, we weren’t likely to have a thaw anytime soon. Winters in western Washington varied considerably depending on whether there was a La Niña or an El Niño. And magical communities—like the shadow towns—were even more drastic. The weather fluctuated more greatly because of the influx in magical energy.
Before I pulled away, I texted Killian, telling him what the fire marshal had said. I added that I would get back to him and, after watching for any oncoming cars, eased out onto the road. As I did so, I realized I wouldn’t be back in the office till afternoon, since I had made arrangements to meet Daya for lunch.
The snowplows hadn’t been by yet. Most towns around western Washington weren’t well-equipped for winter weather because snow wasn’t a guarantee, and when it came, it seldom stayed for long. Although it seemed to me like we had been seeing longer and heavier winters, which firsthand seemed to contradict climate change, but there were exceptions to every rule and more moisture meant more chance of snow.
The fire marshal had asked me to meet him at City Central. While the stations were scattered around town, the main headquarters was housed in the same building as the police station, the Garrison Library, the courthouse, and several other government organizations.
I lucked out and found a parking space near the entrance. It looked like a private plow had scraped away the snow and ice, and now I cautiously maneuvered up the stairs, avoiding the ramp, which looked too slick for my boots. It was a different entrance than I was used to taking when I came here to talk to Millie, but the fire headquarters were on the opposite side of the building.
As I scraped the soles of my shoes on the mat, an officer walked by whom I recognized. I didn’t remember her name, but I had met her a couple times when Millie had come out to examine something we found. The officer must have recognized me too because she waved, then held the door open for me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“No problem. Are you here to see Millie today?”
I shook my head. “I’m here to see the fire marshal—Captain Wentworth.”
“Oh, you’ll find him off the second side passage from the left. Nice to see you,” she said with a wave.
I followed the main corridor, which was almost as wide as a mini-mall, to the second turnoff, where I turned left. I passed both men’s and women’s restrooms, along with a non-gendered restroom that noted there was a baby’s changing table within, and then up ahead I saw a series of offices. The first one was labeled “Fire Marshal Wentworth.” I put my hand on the doorknob, turned, and entered.
Captain Wentworth was sitting behind his desk. He looked up as I entered the room and I was startled to not see a receptionist. I looked around, realizing that this room was two or three times the average size. Maybe they had renovated.
“January, thank you for coming so promptly. Why don’t you pull up a chair and sit down. If you don’t mind, we’ll get right to matters. I have a luncheon appointment at one-fifteen and I can’t afford to miss it.”
He gestured to one of the chairs opposite his desk and I chose the one nearest. The furniture was comfortable, but not pretentious, and I had the feeling that Wentworth was on the up and up. I sat down and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, trying to steel myself for more bad news.
“You have questions for me? Ask away.” I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. And I didn’t want to be under suspicion.
“You’re of witchblood descent, correct?”
I nodded. “My grandmother is Rowan Firesong. And on my mother’s side, my great-grandmother was Colleen Fletcher, one of the founders of Moonshadow Bay.”
“I thought so,” he said, writing down my answer. “Have you been assessed by the Aseer? If so, what are your magical specialties?”
“Yes, actually, though only in the past few years. My mother wouldn’t allow me to be assessed when I was young because…” I sighed. It was complicated, but to explain, I’d have to explain thoroughly because it was highly unusual for any witchblood parent to refuse to have their children tested.
“Because…?”
“Because my family—long before Colleen and Brian founded Moonshadow Bay—was cursed. Colleen’s mother was cursed by a witch and that hex carried down through all the women in our family. I managed to break it a couple months ago, with a lot of help, but the women in my family previously died far too young because of it. My mother thought that if she refused to allow me to use my magic, it would help forestall the curse.” I shrugged. “All it did was to send my system into shock.”
“ERS?” He made a notation.
Surprised, I asked, “You’ve heard of it?”
“Yeah, actually, a friend’s cousin has it. Her mother was afraid of magic. When she was eight, she was kidnapped and brainwashed by an anti-witchblood group, and kept hidden away. They were found out, but by then, it was too late. All the children that group had kidnapped were royally fucked up. Excuse my language,” he added.
“I swear like a trucker,” I said. “That’s messed up. Really messed up. At least my mother thought she was doing something to protect me. Anyway, my magic hasn’t been trained very well—not yet, though I’m working on it, but it’s based in the element of earth, and I also have a natural inclination for death magic.”
He jotted that down. “I assume the Aseer will back up your statements?”
