“Why, so you can sacrifice another hunter?” Stephanie asks, whirling around.
Ethan growls angrily and jolts forward but is stopped by his father.
“Enough,” David says, glaring at Stephanie. We’re on a busy Chicago sidewalk and people are passing us by, paying no notice to what’s going on.
“You all knew, didn’t you?” Stephanie is looking at the entire Bailey family like they’re now the enemy. “You knew she was a witch this whole time and hid it on purpose. Just wait until the Order—”
“You will do no such thing.” David’s eyes flash, jaw set.
“Hear me out,” Julia starts, holding up her hands in an attempt to be a peacemaker. “Anora didn’t even know she was a witch until a few months ago, okay? She’s not a danger and she certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“She can do fire magic. I saw it,” Stephanie scoffs.
“And that fire magic saved your ass,” Ethan retorts. “Mine too.”
“Look,” I begin “I get it. You were told witches were bad from the start and you’re being careful. But I can promise you, we’re not evil. We don’t get our powers from dark sources and most of us just want to simply exist without dealing with demons or hunters or anything of the sort.”
“Give her a chance,” Sam relents. “I was in your shoes until recently. But Anora…she checks out.” Sam sighs and rolls her eyes.
A few beats pass before Stephanie speaks again. “How did you not know you were a witch until recently?”
“It’s kinda a long story,” I say.
“One best told over dinner,” David urges. “And drinks. Lots of drinks.”
I set down my glass of white wine, regretting drinking any of it. My head is already spinning from congestion which feels even worse from the alcohol. Rubbing my temples, I lean back, unable to eat anymore.
“It’s called pyrokinesis,” Ethan explains. He hasn’t liked giving up information about me, but it’s what we need to do in order to win Stephanie over.
“Sounds dangerous.” Stephanie cuts into her deep-dish pizza with a knife and fork.
“It can be,” I admit. “But I’m careful.”
“As you can be,” Stephanie huffs.
“Isn’t that how you are with anything?” Ethan counters. “Nothing is foolproof, as you very well know.”
Stephanie drops her knife and stabs a piece of pizza with her fork, glaring at Ethan. “I’m aware.”
“Bottom line,” David says, unfolding a napkin. “Anora is innocent in all this. Whatever killed Hector is still out there and that is where we need to focus our attention.”
“Right.” Stephanie forces a smile and goes back to eating her pizza. “I just still don’t see how you can trust her. She’s a fucking witch.”
“And I love her,” Ethan says vehemently.
“Which means you must be under some sort of spell.”
Ethan stiffens and his dad holds up his hand. “I thought I said enough already.”
“Sorry, Mr. Bailey.” Stephanie shakes her head. “This is wrong.”
“It is.” Sniffling, I lean forward. “It’s wrong to jump to conclusions that a witch is behind this when it’s obviously something else. Whatever is out there murdered someone, and that’s not okay. We were tasked to find out who it is, and that’s what I’m going to do. And yes, I will be using witchcraft to do so. Go ahead and say it gives me an advantage. Because it does, and I plan to use it. The quicker we catch a killer, the quicker I can be out of your life forever and, more importantly, the more lives we can save.”
“Right.” Stephanie lets out a heavy sigh and I lean back again, rubbing my forehead. I’ve never wanted a cup of hot tea more than I do right now. I end up boxing up half my dinner, taking it back to the headquarters with us. I called Nik on our walk back, telling him how fucking stupid this all is. He’s worried about me being caught in the middle but assured me he’ll handle the horses and Romeo with no issue. Hunter is there to oversee everything, after all, but I still hate that I’m not home.
It’s nearing eight PM when we get to the conference room, and the only other hunter who’s there is the witch-hunter, as I’ve deemed him in my mind.
“I don’t believe we’ve had the chance to meet,” he says to both Ethan and me when we step into the room, going back to our spots. “I’m Patrick Malic.”
“Ethan, Ethan Bailey.”
“David’s boy, yes. I’ve heard stories about you.” Patrick smiles, wrinkled face lighting up. “You’re quite the hunter with a lot of kills under your belt.” His eyes turn to me. “And this must be Anora.”
I tense, reminding myself it’s not that odd he knows my name. We did sit in the same room together for several hours.
“Yes,” Ethan goes on. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“Isaac mentioned her. Special one to catch your eye. And the eye of demonic bounty hunters. Ever figure out why they were sent after her?”