A Witch's Path (30 page)

"I may look young, and I may be ignorant of modern times and customs, but I assure you, I am not innocent." In that moment the eyes looking into mine, were old and jaded. Under his gaze, I felt more like a child and less like a woman.

His fingers brushed my face as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I would very much like to be the one you run to. I want to be a friend, and more."

I pulled one of his hands into mine. "I want that too, but I think we need to clear the air."
 

"Ladies first."

"Thank you for saving my life." He had followed me, which I wasn't happy about, but in doing so he saved my life. It was hard to be angry when you were alive and unharmed.
 

His mouth curved ever so slightly. "Thank you for saving my life." He must have seen me take a breath, because he continued without giving me a chance to interject. "As we have both come to the other's aid several times, we should consider any debts in that area canceled."

I nodded, acknowledging his words rather than agreeing. We weren't even. He'd saved me from big pointy teeth. If he hadn't been there to save me, he wouldn't have needed saving.

Dealing with Elron had taught me a few things. I doubted an old honorable elf would consider us even, but if it made him feel better, I would pretend. We would both pretend.

I moved on to my second point, a question he'd partly answered last night. "Why did you follow me?"

"I have a Call. Have you heard of callings?"

I shrugged. I'd heard the phrase, but I didn't know much about it.

He gave a quick explanation, adding another thing to my list of items to research. Returning to my question, he continued, "The Call pushed at me until I donned my armor and weapons. When you left, I had to follow. It was where I needed to be."

"I did not wish to alert you to my presence, so I kept my distance on the road. It was easier to stay close in the woods. If you had not needed aid, I would not have interfered. You know the rest of the story."
 

"What did your calling want with me? Did it want me or the situation?" I wouldn't be able to forgive him if his romantic actions were driven by a calling.
 

He shrugged and sighed. "I do not know. It would be much easier if I did. Thus far, the calling has wanted me to be in this lodge and working at the university. It does quiet somewhat when I am near you, but that is not why I enjoy your company."

"Better not be." My response was out of habit. Elron wasn't the type to deceive and play with emotions.
 

"I have only honorable intentions." He winked before continuing in a serious tone. "I meant what I said last night. I care for you."

I swallowed. "I care for you too."

 
Elron's smile lit up the room. "With that settled, I have questions, and the police refused to answer them. What occurred when I was unconscious? My last memory is of Adder knocking me down."
 

"Well, Adder knocked you out, Liam kept Adder from killing either of us, I started sabotaging the spells the woman was casting, and I deflected the death spell she cast at you. Then she vanished." I had a feeling he would skip over most of the events and hone in on that last one.

"Why would she kill me, and not you? You would have been the more logical target. After all, she did not need someone interrupting her casting."

Michelle, mind-reader extraordinaire. "I don't know."

Elron kept looking at me, but I had a feeling he wasn't looking at me. While he was lost in thought, I debated telling him about the book. If it was the book the woman in my dream had referenced, then it should shed some light on the situation. On the other hand, I hadn't been able to examine it yet. While it appeared harmless at a casual glance, looks could be deceiving. That settled it; I wasn't letting anyone near that thing until I was sure it was safe.

"Michelle, these events do not connect in a logical fashion."

"Last night's events?"

"Those, as well as others." Elron took a deep breath before continuing. "I can understand Adder abducting Amber, and attacking us in an attempt to recover her. To an extent, the elven woman fits this puzzle. Adder needed help killing his father, which she supplied. Why an elf would be involved in a werewolf's affairs or with killing children, I do not know."

"Neither do I. Does your Call offer any suggestions?"

"Not a terrible descriptor for its prodding, but no. It is as silent as it has been in recent memory."

We sat, hand in hand, as I replayed the night's events and tried to make the pieces fit together. I couldn't make an elf using magic reconcile. Even if I assumed she merely looked elven, I could only get a short string of events. In that situation, I could rationalize the murders, but not why she would need a werewolf, or why she would help Adder kill Simon.
 

After going over countless possibilities, I wasn't able to find one thread that connected all of them. I looked over at Elron, only to find his gaze locked on the window, and his eyes vacant.
 

He'd had this same look last night.
 

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"What?" He shook as he snapped out of it and focused on me.

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Why?" He sounded suspicious.

"You did something similar last night. Are you injured?"

Elron sighed. "It's nothing. The elf reminded me of a woman I knew long ago. I did not expect to see her likeness."

For as much as Elron dwelled on the past, he didn't talk about it much. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Who did she remind you of?"

"No one you would know. In a day or two, the past will return to its proper location."

I would've felt better if he sounded more optimistic.

*******

There was a sickening slew of emotions rolling around in my midsection as I approached Mom's house. I couldn't tell if the dinner invitation was an excuse to get me to come over so she could check on me herself, or if it was a reincarnation of Dad's idea for a family chat. Mom hadn't been please to hear about my recent adventure. Either way, I didn't have high hopes for a pleasant reunion.
 

I would have come over without the invitation. I wanted answers and I was more likely to get them in person, especially if Dad was around. He seemed more willing to talk.
 

My fingers were crossed as I knocked on the door. Please, let this be Dad's idea, his way of sitting me down and telling me everything.
 

The door swung open and Mom pulled me in for a hug.
 

"Michelle, you're here," Mom squeezed me before jumping back enough to get a good look at me. "You look good, healthy."

"Thank you, Mom. Hi, Dad."
 

Greg smiled at me. "It's good to see you, Michelle."

I forced a smile. It was the best I could do. The happy to see you feelings were bound to fade when I got around to grilling them about our family secrets.

"Why don't we move to the living room? We have time before dinner. Michelle can tell us what happened when she rescued Amber." Mom was on the move before she finished talking.
 

Dad and I exchanged a look before following her. I tried to give myself a motivational pep-talk. This was as good of an opportunity as any, and waiting wouldn't make it any better. Maybe it would be polite to save the unpleasantries until after dinner, but I wasn't that patient. They had spent enough time lying to me and hiding the truth. It was time for them to come clean.
 

We sat down and I smiled at them. It must not have been my most convincing smile because Dad lost his.
 

Oh, well. I couldn't figure out a good way to introduce the topic, so I jumped in. "There are a few things I've wanted to ask the two of you." I took a deep breath. "Mom will you please tell me more about clans?"

"No," she answered quickly.

"Why not? It can't be safer for me to be in the dark. Witches in the area know who I am, and they seem to know things about me that I don't. If you and Dad won't answer my questions, I'll find a book, or witch, who will."

"Michelle, we can't tell you." Her voice cracked.
 

"Really? Can't or won't?"

"We can't. You're in danger. You need to be careful."

"Careful?" Blood was pounding through my veins. "I can't be careful when I don't know what I'm trying to avoid. I'll never know if I'm hurting or helping us, and I don't know if I should be aiding my own ignorance."

"You need to stop looking for answers." A tear slid down her cheek.

"No, I need answers. I need to know how to protect myself. If I have to read every book about witches and ask every person I meet, so be it. I will find the answers."

"Michelle, you can't," Mom pleaded.
 

I swallowed. "I can."

Dad, who had been oddly quiet to this point, pulled her hand into his lap. Mom looked at him and something passed between them.
 

If they wouldn't tell me anything from direct questions, it was time to play dirty. I already knew more than they would like.
 

"The two of you owe me an explanation. I'm tired of being told my ignorance is for my protection. I know you've been hiding me from my grandmother." They both made incoherent noises, though neither interrupted me. "I know more than that. The way I heard it, the two of you fell in love and started this mess." I relayed Elron's story, watching them. I had the dubious pleasure of watching them turn white, red, and green. When Mom heard about the fracture between her and her clan, she grabbed Dad's hand. At one point they exchanged a pained look. That was enough for me, the story was true.

 
Hopefully, they would be willing to tell me the rest now. I thought it would be satisfying to leverage the information out of them, but it was, at best, an empty satisfaction. I felt mean and rude. They had spent their lives trying to protect me and I was strong-arming them into divulging information. It didn't matter if I needed the information, getting it this way felt dirty.
 

"The secrets end now," I finished and waited to hear what they had to say. At this point, I deserved honesty from them. It might be too late to keep my grandmother at bay, but it would save our relationships.
 

The two of them exchanged another look, one of those looks people share when they spend a lot of time together. Some type of communication occurred, but I couldn't decipher it.
 

"No, they don't," Mom said.

The blood throbbed through my veins, and it was a fight to keep my voice even. "If you want to help your daughter, if you like seeing your daughter, you start sharing information with her."

I didn't feel dirty or mean anymore. If this is what it took to get Mom to tell me what I needed to know to protect us, I would do it without regret.
 

Greg turned to Mom, "We talked about this. You know what we need to do now."

"I don't like it."

His voice chilled, "We tried it your way, and it hasn't worked. It's my turn now. We need to tell her what she wants to know."

Mom pursed her lips.

Greg turned to me. "Ground rules. You don't make idle threats, and neither do we."

I held his gaze. "What made you think it was an idle threat?"

Whatever he saw in me decided him. Turning to Mom, he whispered, "My turn."

Mom stomped out of the room. I could hear running water in the kitchen, and the stove click on.
 

"Michelle, listen closely, because I will not tell you everything, and you won't cut us out of your life."

I didn't bother to reply.

"The story you heard is true. It isn't the complete truth, but it will serve for now. Nancy's clan answers to your grandmother. She wanted a powerful daughter, and Nancy didn't meet her standards. She can't have any more children, and wants to pass the ministry to her own blood. Without you, or your mom, she can't do that. Nancy and I have gone to great lengths to protect you. We don't know if your grandmother wants you to be her successor, or if she wants revenge."

"Revenge for what? Why would she come after me? How would she know we're related?" All this cloak and dagger stuff was too much. They tiptoed around the truth like it would stay hidden if they ignored it. It wouldn't; secrets had a way of coming out.
 

My already frayed temper was edging close to the breaking point. The secrets were driving me crazy. I was more of a lay my cards on the table, type of girl.
 

"Revenge for making her look bad, for leaving the clan, being clan-less, being powerful. It's hard to say. She isn't a nice woman."

I couldn't get a normal family. I had to get the patchwork family with secrets and a potentially homicidal grandmother. Lucky, me.
 

He gave me a moment to digest that information before addressing my other questions. "How many clan-less witches have you met?"

I didn't answer, but he knew what I would've said.
 

He continued, "None. It's rare to find a witch without a clan. Stranger still is a young, strong witch. It wouldn't take much for her to put the clues together, and the family resemblance is strong enough to make the clues line up. You haven't done anything wrong, per se, but you've proven to be powerful, smart, and you're young. Lots of clans will want to acquire you."

"I'm the new shiny thing they want to play with because I'm a talented witch?"

Dad shrugged. "That's as good of an analogy as any. Plus, the clans are always eager to add a powerful witch to their ranks."

"I have some questions about that too, but they can wait."

Dad nodded.

Mom returned with a tray of tea. We each took a mug, and she sat next to my father.
 

"Did you explain it?" Mom asked.

"Most of it," Dad answered. "This stays between the three of us for now. Can you do that Michelle?"

"Yes, I can keep my mouth shut, though I'm getting sick of secrets." Now, I get to be one of the secret keepers. I took a sip of tea, praying it would sooth my stomach. He had me and he knew it. I wanted answers, and I wanted a chance at a real family life. It would be nice to have three people for the holidays rather than two, though it might be best if we didn't invite my grandmother to Thanksgiving dinner just yet.