A Witch's Path (9 page)

"Simon missed several meetings today, and no one has been able to contact him. All of the inquiries were directed to Adder, who said his father was under the weather. Whatever is going on, the wolves are keeping quiet."

I frowned, "If Adder is taking calls for his father…"

"Then the slim margin of control Simon had over Adder is gone," Baden sighed. "Simon was in a bad position. He needed to get Adder to behave or kill him."

"Adder may be in charge now, but that doesn't explain why he'd want Amber." Simon had been the only one standing between the world and two-hundred pounds of crazy werewolf.
 

"Had he met her before?" Baden asked.
 

"I don't know. Do you know her?"

"Eh, I might. It's hard to keep track of every shifter in the area. What does she look like?"

I described her human and shifted forms, though I'd only seen her in feathery glory twice.
 

"I've met her. Cute, nice, but not powerful as shifters go. I don't know of them crossing paths." He shook his head. "Adder is bad news. I hope you can get your friend soon."

"Thank you for helping Amber, and me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Try to get the police to rescue her." Silently, I admitted that if that failed I'd go after her.

"In that case, let me give you a number." Baden scribbled a few lines on a mini legal pad sitting next to his phone before ripping the sheet off the pad and handing it to me. "I know it's not much, but that guy might know more about Adder, and if he doesn't, he'll know who does."

"Thank you." I gave him a hug.
 

"If I learn anything else I'll pass it along."

Baden closed the door behind me and I headed back to my room while folding the paper and stuffing it in my pocket. Baden had given me plenty to think about.

In my apartment, I found Tiffany asleep on the sofa and Elron studying a picture of a willow tree hanging on my wall.
 

"Thank you for watching her," I said.

"Of course."

"Still, you didn't have to help." I wasn't used to us being friendly and helping each other.
 

"Can I be of further assistance?" He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. "You should rest."

My cheek tingled where the back of his hand had brushed against me. "I don't think so. I'm going to make us some food, get more information from her, and then we're going to the police."
 

"Call for me if you are in need."
 

He was gone before I had a chance to thank him again. I'd been saying a lot of thank you's lately. These situations were supposed to have gone away when the trolls were captured. Here I was, faced with a missing friend and a crazy werewolf.
 

Tiffany was going to want to go charging after Amber right away, and I wouldn't agree. This was a matter for the police and shifters. I wasn't either of them, and I wasn't a match for an angry werewolf. My last brush with a confrontation had given me a clear view of my limits, and rescuing my friend from a crazy werewolf wasn't a skill I possessed.
 

"Tiffany, honey, you have to wake up," I told her. She mumbled, but didn't move. "We have to find Amber."

She shot up, "Amber? Where is she?"

"That's what we need to talk about."
 

Tiffany scrubbed her eyes. "I feel terrible."

"I bet. It's going to be a little while before we can go back to the police. Where was the meeting?"

"Up in Ellijay."

"Which police department did you talk to?"

"I talked to emergency dispatch."

"Why didn't they believe you?" I asked. Tiffany should've spent more time with the police last night. I couldn't figure out why she hadn't been interviewed by several cops.

"They thought I was making a prank call because I was fuzzy on the details. The other birds wanted to be left out of everything, which made telling a coherent story impossible."

"But you told me the entire story, right?"
 

"Yes."

"Good. Do you know why Adder wanted Amber?"

"No," She started crying, "but I knew she was scared. I should've done more to help her."
 

"Sweetie, you did what you could. Let's go over everything again."

We went over every detail of the night twice. I let Tiffany drift back to sleep while I found a change of clothes for her. After a brief debate over using the number Baden had given me, I pocketed it for later. I wanted to talk to the police before I did anything else.

The bonsai worked as I'd planned. It alerted me when Tiffany got in a scuffle with the two door guards; those were an excellent addition to Michelle's security. Since the tree didn't see any evil intent, I stayed in bed, hoping the disturbance would pass. When the discord continued I hastened to her apartment, wanting to make sure she was safe.
 

I was playing a delicate game. I wanted to help, but it would be unwise to wear out my welcome. She wanted her independence and wouldn't enjoy my constant intervention. Besides, if I arrived every time something happened, she'd get suspicious.
 

I looked at her door before I went down for breakfast. Thanks to the bonsai, I could tell that she wasn't home. Downstairs, only residents were up this early, making it a small group. Landa and Mander were setting out food as quickly as they could, while Baden waited next to the plates. Paxton was already seated, sipping on a large mug of blood.
 

As soon as Landa set down the last dish, the four of us loaded our plates and started eating. After a moment of chewing, I asked, "Landa do you know where Michelle is this morning?"

"No, I haven't talked to her today. Why?"

"I thought she might have told you, considering last night's excitement."

"What happened?" Landa demanded. She was protective of Michelle, seeing her as a daughter.
 

"Her friend, Tiffany, broke into her room. From what she said, their friend, Amber, was abducted last night by a werewolf named Adder. According to Tiffany, the police weren't helpful and she thought Michelle could help."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
 

"I thought you knew. She asked me to watch Tiffany while she went to talk to someone. I thought she was talking to you."
 

"If I may," said Paxton. "I was her first stop. She knew I would be awake and thought I might know something. Unfortunately, I didn't have any useful information for her, so I sent her to Baden. I'd heard him come in not long before and thought it wouldn't be too much of an imposition, considering the circumstances. My apologies if I was mistaken, Baden."
 

"No, I was still awake, and happy to help. I've never heard anything good about Adder, and the news only gets worse."
 

"Since Michelle isn't here, could the three of you fill me in?" Landa asked.
 

The three of us explained the events of last night, filling in the sections of the evening we'd experienced. By the end of the story Landa was glaring at all of us.
 

"Michelle and Tiffany are gone, and none of you have any idea where they went?"

We shook our heads.
 

"But you think they're at the police station."
 

We nodded.

"Elron, keep an eye on her."

"Michelle, what's wrong?" Rodriguez answered the phone. "I'm supposed to be calling you early in the morning, not the other way around."

If I'd been less stressed, I would've laughed. "True. I had a quick question. Crimes have to be reported where they happen, right?" I pushed Tiffany down the hall, steering her around a side table she swerved towards.
 

"Yes, why?"

"My friend witnessed a crime and didn't get a lot of help from the operator so she came to my house. Before we drove to the sheriff's office in Gilmer County, I wanted to check on the procedure."

"You'll have to drive up there to make the report."

"Anyone who might be able to help us with a matter including shifters?"

"I'd talk to Randy Wells. He's a shifter, and a detective. I haven't talked to him much, but he stays out of most of the politics and focuses on being a cop."

"Thank you."

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do."

"I will." I hung up the phone and grabbed Tiffany as she toppled into a wall. Sleep deprivation and stress were getting the better of her.
 

"Wrong way sweetie, we need to go down the hall to the car." I repositioned us, draping her arm over my shoulder and wrapping my arm around her waist. We teetered down the hall like a drunken moose.
 

"Have to . . . to help Amber." Tiffany muttered.

"I know, Tiffany. We're headed that way." I dropped her in the passenger seat, shoving arms and legs into the appropriate locations so I could get the seatbelt buckled. A sleeping charm had her out cold. She hadn't rested well last night, and I needed her coherent when we talked to the detective.

Pulling out of the driveway, I turned on classical music rather than my usual pop station. Hopefully, the soothing music would help Tiffany recover.
 

Amber's been abducted. The words kept echoing through my head. Not gentle Amber, the softest and kindest of the three of us.
 

Amber's been abducted. But why?

My phone rang, knocking me out of the haze. Of course it was ringing. My phone rang at every hour of the day and night.
 

"Oaks Consulting, this is Michelle."

"Michelle, this is Mark. Amber told me to call you if I ever needed to find her."

"Oh, hello." I'd been dreading this call. Amber used me as her emergency contact because she didn't have any family in the area. She'd considered using Tiffany, but half the time Tiffany had her phone off to avoid attracting attention while she was at work. I was first on Mark's list to call if he was looking for Amber.
 

He sounded hesitant; as if he wasn't sure he should ask. "Look, I know Amber's been keeping something from me, and I want to know she's okay. If she doesn't want to see me anymore I can live with that, but this is very sudden. Last night we were fine, and now she missed breakfast and isn't returning my calls."

Now I had to tell the confused boyfriend his girl had been taken. This was not a conversation I knew how to begin. "Mark, Amber really likes you. She isn't breaking up with you."

"That's a relief. What's going on? Is her phone dead? Did she have a family emergency?"
 

"Mark, where are you?"

"At home, about to go to work. Why does that matter?"
 

"Amber was abducted last night. I'm driving Tiffany to the police station to make a formal statement, and try to report her missing."

"What happened?"
 

"I'm not sure. Some guy grabbed her when she was walking to the car. Tiffany tried to help, and attempted to report it last night, but the police wouldn't listen."

"Wait, someone took my girlfriend and the police don't care?" Mark growled.

"Mark, that's not what happened. From what Tiffany said, there was a mix-up with the operator. We can talk again after the police talk to you. Right now you need to take some time and let this sink in. Go in to work late, or call in sick and meet us at the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office. I'm sure the police will want to ask you some questions."

"You're going to find her, right?" He asked.

I blinked away tears. I had to be able to see the road. "Mark, I'm a witch, not a cop."
 

"You work with the police, right?"

"Sometimes."

"Work with them now. Find her!" Mark demanded.
 

I swallowed hard. "It doesn't work that way. I can only work on the case if they hire me, and I doubt they will."

"Why wait for them to hire you?"

"Because I'm not a cop. As a consultant, and expert in my field, I can't touch a case without an invitation. They won't invite me because she's my friend. I know this will be hard to hear, but last time I did the lone hero-thing I almost died. I'm not in the dying hero business. I will do what I can, she's my best friend." Part of my heart cracked. It didn't matter if I was telling him the honest, bare-bones truth, it hurt. It hurt him, Tiffany, Amber, and me.

"Alright, I get it. I need to think about stuff. I'll talk to you later."

I sighed, with equal parts relief and exasperation. It felt good to have that conversation behind me, but it was frustrating for everyone to think I could fix it all with a quick spell. I couldn't work miracles, just spells. Wanting something to be a certain way didn't make it so.
 

I tried to shake off the mood when we arrived in Ellijay, but it stuck with me. Rather than fight what I couldn't change I focused on what needed to be done.
 

After I deactivated the sleeping charm, I gently shook Tiffany's shoulder. "Tiffany, wake up. We're here."

"Umm-hurph."
 

"Tiffany, I need you to wake up so you can tell us what happened to Amber." I waved the tea under her nose.
 

Tiffany blinked, stretched, and focused on me. "Where are we?"

Score, she was coherent and lucid. "Outside the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office. They are going to take your statement about Amber."

"Right. How's that going to work? They didn't want to listen to me last night." She yawned and stretched again.
 

"To start with, you're going to drink this tea and wake up a bit. Then we are going to walk in there and request to speak with Detective Wells. A friend of mine recommended him. When he talks to us, you are going to tell him the truth." I glared her. "No lying to protect anyone."
 

She squirmed a bit. "But he'll want to talk to the shifters, and they won't back up my story."

"You'd be surprised, but if you don't tell him the truth you're preventing him from doing his job. Would you take a job if you couldn't get any information about the clients and what they needed?"