“The council are focused on finding Rose. It seems they have reached out to Victoria, Cornelius’ dame, with no luck and have abandoned it.” Fred shook his head.

“Why L-Rose?” Leo asked, quickly correcting himself.

“The taboo spell, Vitamortum. It’s essentially a suicide and possible murder. Any witch casts it is investigated, a report is made, and the council wipes it from existence. Especially because it never works. Well, until now,” John informed us.

“When they find out you are alive and well, the detective will take you to the council. What happens then, we can only guess.”

“Have you any word on Victoria or Cornelius?” Morgan spoke up. 

“Victoria is AWOL. Her family said she went to Italy for a month. That was six months ago,” Fred replied.

“As for Cornelius, he was last seen in Wales. Don’t ask me to pronounce the town name…” John chuckled at Fred.

“Hm… Does the wolf know?”

“He does. He and the Whitby witch are working together.” 

‘Wolf? Whitby witch?’

“Good. Help him find the vamp. Speak to no one about these two whereabouts. Understood?”

They both nodded, and it shimmered before they walked back through the archway. 

Gronk! 

Mew? 

“Sooty!” I grabbed the fluffy black cat, giving him a once-over. 

“See. Never underestimate familiars,” Fred teased before following John through the archway. The branches groaned, bending back into their standard form. 

“Or Fae portals for that matter. Great way to get around!” Morgan chirped as her raven landed on her shoulder.

Turning away from Morgan and Leo, I whispered, “Pineapple.”

The concealment glowed; the necklace was still there around his neck. I breathed a sigh of relief. Letting go of the necklace, the glow vanished once more, concealing the necklace once more.

“You okay?” Leo asked, approaching me. 

“Yeah, just making sure he is okay.” I scratched his chin. 

Leo tucked me under his arm and walked back to Morgan’s house. On the way back, a neighbour approached, chatting with Morgan. Overhearing them, a circle would be held tonight. The neighbour was asking if she was joining. 

“Yes, I will be there. Oh,” she turned to us as we passed, “Would you both like to come as well?” 

Leo and I shared a look.

“No, thanks for the invite,” Leo answered. 

While I had gotten used to it, my tongue still sat with fur, and the metallic taste increased every so often. It seemed less intense while inside the house. 

Morgan's raven landed on her shoulder, and facing me, it croaked.

Unknowing what to do, I looked to Morgan for help; she began to chuckle and pulled a peanut from her pocket. 

“Here. He’s after a treat.” Morgan placed it into my hand. 

Holding it up for the raven, I thanked him as he took it and flew off to eat it. Sooty trilled, watching the bird the whole time. 

“Don’t you dare,” I warned him. 

His tail thumped, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“We’ll have to get some food for him…” Leo trailed off. 

After an hour, we were ready to try the mirror again. Sooty made himself at home on an armchair behind me. 

“William and Rose?” I asked. 

“Sure,” Leo agreed. 

“Let’s try from where we left off…” Morgan added, holding a notepad.

Rose and Marie strolled down the street to the casino. They were again dressed to the nines. Rose with her new necklace around her neck. 

Following them through the double doors leading through to the bar. Instantly, you could see Rose catch William’s eyes. With her pale complexion, the rose brightened her cheeks. Marie was still animatedly talking to Rose. 

“What’s your poison tonight, Rose?” Marie glanced up at her friend as they took a seat. 

She was still looking at William.

“Rose?” Marie gained Rose's attention. 

“Sorry?”

“Who are you staring at?” A cheeky smile appeared on Marie’s face as she looked in the same direction as Rose, inspecting the bar. 

“Him.” Rose looked back at the bar, “The blonde that nearly choked on his drink.”

Marie giggled, “Oh, I know him…”

“You do?” Rose looked surprised.

“William Hound… He’s a regular in the casino.” Marie leaned back, her smile never fading, “We had a thing… flirting and stuff.”

“Oh yeah?” Rose was not listening anymore. 

“He probably thought he would never see me again. Lucky him.” She inspected her face in a compact.

“Yeah, lucky.” 

Marie’s smile faded, noticing Rose was not paying attention to her and looking over at the bar. 

William got up from his seat. He was not looking at Marie. He was looking at Rose, and he held his hand to her.

A small huff escaped her, crossing her arms, as Rose nodded and, turning to her friend, said, “Be right back.”

The story continued as usual, but Marie left after an hour. 

“Oh dear…” I murmured, watching Marie go, her face a little thunderous. 

“Hm, shall we follow her?” Leo asked.

“Well, we know what happens here… We have nothing to lose.”

We stepped out, following Marie. She got into a Taxi and returned to the apartment. When the door shut, we were thrown out of the mirror again. 

And again.

And again. 

We couldn’t get any more information from Rose, William, Marie, or Mr. Grey.

I sighed as Leo’s blue eyes inspected me. Were we on the right track? Or following something irrelevant. Morgan was writing down on the notepad.

“I think we should stop for today,” Morgan informed, still scribing notes. 

“It’s nearly time for the circle anyway.” 

She finished, closing the book with a dog ear in one of the corners and hopping onto her two feet. She clicked her fingers, and magic swished over the mirror. It lifted from the floor and zoomed into the small room. The door slammed shut and locked. 

I relaxed back, looking at the ceiling. Knowing my coven and family were being hounded for information, all from what I did that faithful day at the abbey. Where I was meant to die. 

I felt homesick. 

Stressed.

I sighed heavily.

“I know it’s hard,” Morgan's voice came from the doorframe. 

Looking at her, she was dressed in a red cloak, and Leo was in the same position, watching me. 

“You are both doing well. You have found more things than I did, which is expected. We will get there. Give it time.” 

Time. Something I didn’t think I had enough of. 

“Your time is soon. Not yet. Look for my signs.”

Hearing the front door shut, I sighed again.

“Talk to me.” Leo’s hand caressed my cheek.

“…I don’t know,” I muttered, looking at him. 

He patiently waited for me to explain, but I couldn’t. 

“I-I don’t know where to start.” 

“Come here.” 

He sat down closer to the fire and held out his arms. I couldn’t help but feel safe. 

Invincible. 

After a moment, when we were settled, he started, “They say Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

I laughed, “And unpacking all of these past lives isn’t going to take a day either.” 

“Exactly,” he chuckled.

“I think I’m more frustrated at being thrown out… I don’t know the answers yet; they feel so close.”

“Hm,” he agreed, “So close, yet so far away.”

“Then there's the council after me.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them. 

“We will be safe here.”

“Yeah, we will be. What about the coven?” 

“They are strong Lexi. They all love you. They will protect you.”

“They shouldn’t have to.” 

“But they are.”

“I don’t need it nor want it.”

“What would you rather be taken away? Locked up? Have your powers locked up again?”

“No-” “Let them handle it. You’ve done a lot for them.”

‘Doesn’t feel like it.’

Blackspit

Caw! Caw!

“What?”

“They are with Bristlecast. They are trying to-” “Damn it!” 

She fled to the large oval shattered mirror. It would do for now. 

“Get me another witch,” she commanded her crows. 

She needed more power. 

Waving a handover, she began to cry on Leonard, only to be pushed back. Protection around the house was airtight. 

“Damn… Damn!” she muttered, biting a nail. 

Her green magic sunk into the cracks. She would have to follow them through time. Block them before they find any information.

“Come on… where are you…” 

Her hand passed over, swiping right until she saw that thing holding Leo’s hand.

“Ah ha!” 

They tried to follow the necklace, and Marie reversed through the scene. 

“This won’t do.” 

Pushing the two away, she forced them out, covering the mirror in crows. They should have yet to find out where Rose got the necklace from. But that cat was out of the bag. 

This was the most she could do with her weaker power. 

Every time, they tried a different point. They would only see what she let them see. 

“Come on. Take the hint.”

After a few hours, they finally gave up... for now. Black spit was out of breath and sweating. 

That took too much of her energy. Hopefully, her crows would find another healthy witch to rejuvenate her. 

Caw!

She demanded, “Lead the way and you,”-she pointed to another crow- “Keep an eye on them.”

Lexi

We spun around and around in the little living room. I relaxed, letting the energy flow through. I laughed as the stress melted. 

As the energy died down, Leo pulled me in closer. Grabbing my waist and hand, we swayed like Rose and William but danced to a non-existent beat. 

He kissed my temple and tucked my head into his chest. 

There we stayed. After a while, we stopped moving around and embraced in the small room. 

“Feel better?” he murmured.

“Yeah, mostly.” 

Fur brushed against my leg, mew?

Leo let me go and bent to pick him up. 

“Glad he is here too… I dread to think he would be alone with strangers…”

“They would use him to get to you,” Leo spoke as a matter of fact.

“…How do you know that?” 

“Uncle Robbie… He got caught up in a case of mistaken identity. He was on holiday when they went through the house. Found his toad familiar… I’m not sure how, but the next day, Uncle Robbie returned, left everything abroad, and was nearly in tears.” 

“…What will happen if they find me?”

Leo quieted, “I don’t know.” He put a hand through my hair, “We could ask him. I am not sure what happened after. They took him to London, and he returned five days later.”

 Sooty began to grumble, looking out of the window. 

Turning from Leo’s hand, I inspected the scene. I could see nothing other than swaying trees. 

“What’s up with you, huh? Getting jealous?” I smiled, tickling his chest. 

“Crow.”

My eyes flicked up to Leo’s as my blood ran cold. 

“Where?” 

“Crow watching from the tree.” 

Gronk! Caw!

A raven swooped down into the same tree we were staring at. Morgan’s raven was shooing off the crow, making it appear from its shadowed perch. 

Hiss! 

“Woah!” Leo instantly dropped Sooty. 

The cat ran to the front door, clawing. 

Morgan opened the door before I could grab him, accidentally letting him out. 

“What?” she was taken aback at the fluff running past her. 

I watched as he scaled the tree to the two birds, hopping from the lower branches. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder, “He’s fine.” I did not turn but watched the cat, crow, and raven. 

Morgan's voice was reassuring, “Let him protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting,” I whispered. 

“You need it more than you think.” 

Morgan’s voice whispered in my ear as a warning. “Your future is unwritten. I don’t know when or how you will die. We must be cautious.”

“Lex.” Leo approached, making me look at him.

“I get it-” “No, you don’t.”

His shoulders sagged, “You’ve felt alone for years, only relied on yourself.”

“I’ve had the cove-” “Not once did you tell them about the lock.”

That quickly shut me up. 

“You told me yourself. You tried to stand up for yourself, stand up to Nixon.”

I continued watching the crow evade both the cat and the raven.

“You’ve stood by everyone. Let them protect you.”

 Thud. 

Sooty landed on all four paws, looking triumphant with the crow dead in his mouth. 

I was horrified to see him try to drag it to the house, “Sooty! Leave it there.” 

“Present?”

“No present. Leave it there. Good kitty.” 

 The raven landed inside the house just as Sooty crossed the threshold. 

Morgan’s laugh was tinkling in the hallway as she shut the door; walking away, she went upstairs to change. 

Leo stepped closer behind me, his breath on my neck, “Let me protect you.”

I folded my arms.

“We are in this together.” He gently placed his hands over mine and pulled me closer. 

“Let me help.”