The Mayhem Sisters (13 page)

“Xavier is our familiar. He’s a little protective,” Miranda said.

The twins
shared
a familiar. Who had a bloodthirsty carnivorous panther as a familiar? The Mender twins did—that’s who. It was over the top, but if you were two of the most famous witches in Everland with superior healing
persuasions
at your fingertips, what are a few animal scratches?

“I’m not here to steal anything.” Vivi blushed under the attention. “I’m an admirer and wanted to witness the production process firsthand. It really is legendary.” Perhaps a little flattery would ease the tension.

“Now, this lovely witch has wandered into our tour, and by doing so agreed to be the guinea pig for our latest experiment.” Mitchell’s brow raised and the crowd laughed again. “It’s so hard to find willing
volunteers
these days.”

Dax had been right when he said the twins were eccentric.

“What kind of experiment?” Vivi’s gaze drifted over the tools. She noticed a scalpel with a razor-sharp blade as well as additional nefarious laboratory instruments. Mitchell and Miranda both smiled at the same time in a creepy twin way.

“It’s just a little test,” Mitchell said. He shifted in front of the metal table, inspecting beakers filled with salt, ground powders, and liquid essences.

“A test for what?”

“For
persuasions
,” Miranda said, sauntering across the room. “They are the most powerful magic in the witching world.” She held her head high elongating her neck as gracefully as a swan. “They are the defining magic of our age.”

“I doubt my magic is up to your high standards,” Vivi said with a hard swallow. The last thing she wanted was her
persuasion
tested.

“Don’t be embarrassed, dear.” Miranda glided over and placed a firm hand on Vivi’s shoulder. “It’ll just take a second.” These two were really starting to creep her out.

Miranda and her brother moved in concert, pouring liquid and powders into a copper bowl and heating the concoction over a tiny flame ignited from a shiny black rock. They were so in tune with one another it was almost like watching a single person. For a moment, Vivi could have sworn she smelled lavender.

“At Mender Corp our mission is the greater good of witch and wizardkind.” Mitchell stared down his thin nose at her. “It’s obvious to me now that you are the kind of witch we want to help.”

“What kind of witch am I?” Vivi asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

“A hardworking witch with minor power. You probably dabble in potions, but you are eager to get ahead. Visiting our facility today shows us just how ambitious you are, but you need help.” Condescension oozed off him. He pitied her. “Perhaps you were even hoping to one day apply for a job here.”

Hardly,
Vivi thought.

What the twins lacked in warmth, they made up for with snobbery and arrogance. Vivi just needed to keep her cool, hope the experiment wouldn’t be too humiliating, and get out. She could play along if she had to. “Not every witch can be as powerful as the two of you. That’s how the witching world stays in balance,” Vivi said.

“This is going to hurt a bit,” Mitchell said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Though not as much as a panther bite.” Sliding up next to her, he picked an instrument from the table, and quick as a snake, pricked Vivi’s finger.

“Ouch!” she yelped and took a sharp breath, but it was too late. The wizard had drawn blood, and before she could pull her hand away, he grabbed her wrist hard and squeezed a few drops of her blood into a porcelain bowl. “Hold still,” he hissed in her ear.

The blood droplets were bright as a cherry against the snowy white bowl and reminded her of a fairy tale from her childhood, prompting a question. “Did you do experiments together like this when you were growing up?” Vivi asked, playing to the audience. She rubbed the tip of her wounded finger.

“After our parents’ tragic death, magic was all we had, all we could count on.” Miranda shot her a warning glare. “Alone in a crumbling orphanage, wearing tattered clothes and eating scraps not fit for dogs, surrounded by
strangers
.” She emphasized the word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. “We realized power was essential for survival.”

Magic made them feel in control.

The room had grown uncomfortably warm. Vivi’s head ached.

Miranda continued, “Once a
persuasion
is isolated, we can assess the magical properties, study them, and eventually harness them.” She raised her arms in triumph and the crowd applauded. That was when Vivi noticed a thick silver bracelet on Miranda’s skinny wrist. It looked exactly like the one she had found in the woods. Her heart raced. Finally, she had found a connection between them and the case.

Miranda positioned herself between Vivi and her brother so she could watch him work, but Vivi couldn’t take her eyes off the bracelet. It was so close she could touch it, and she inched her hand closer until the soft side of her hand grazed the piece of jewelry and sent a sharp current of magic through her fingers. “Ouch!” Vivi yanked her hand back as if stung by a wasp.

Ignoring her, Miranda turned to the crowd, cool and calm as ice. “We think our new science will become very popular in the near future.”

Vivi rubbed her stung fingertips on her pant leg. Sweat beaded on her brow. The bracelet was obviously more than it appeared. The one she found in the woods had no magical properties to it that she could tell, but Miranda’s was so loaded with magic that it caused a spark.

Sweat beaded on Vivi’s brow. Something was wrong. Was that lavender she smelled? Suddenly, Vivi wasn’t in the auditorium, but in a dank, dark basement, and at her feet on the cold earthen floor was a trail of cherry-red blood drops. Curiously, she followed them, drop by drop, up a flight of wooden stairs as if picking up a trail of breadcrumbs.

Once at the top, she stood inside a cottage with a sitting room and clean, quaint kitchen. A fired popped and crackled. A kettle hissed on the stove. It would have made a charming setting if it weren’t for the dark smoke that seeped under the front door, pooling, and then morphing into the shape of a wizard who sat with a hunched back over a workbench, concocting a spell. A scraping sound filled her ears. She winced.

What was he brewing up? Vivi moved closer and closer to him. Sensing someone was in the room with him, he jerked up, turned around, and right as she was about to peer into the black hood and finally glimpse his face and learn his true identity, he blew a gust of black ash and red salt right in her face. She screamed.

Vivi woke covered in sweat and jerked up in her seat.

“Hurry, Mitchell. Lift her head.” Miranda’s cold fingers patted Vivi’s cheeks, trying to rouse her. “She’s awake. Just a little stage fright. Afraid of seeing her own blood. Give her a round of applause for participating.” Miranda clapped her hands limply. The audience buzzed with chatter.

Vivi blinked rapidly and stared around the room full of strangers. She straightened in her chair as Mitchell dabbed at her forehead with a damp cloth that smelled medicinal. “You fainted,” he said loudly as if she had gone deaf. “Drink this. It will make you feel better.” He poured a potion down her throat before she could protest, and she swallowed with a cough.

“Fainted?” It all flooded back.
The vision.
“Get your hands off me.” Vivi stood up with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. “I’m done with your experiment.” Whatever sympathy she had felt for the two orphans had quickly dissolved.

A burst of sparks exploded from the back of the auditorium and the double doors swung open. The panther leapt to its paws and bounded down the aisle. Dax entered the room with an angry glare, immediately firing off a spell from the head of his cane to stun the charging cat.

Gasps filled the audience. They were certainly getting a show.

“Seems the door was locked from the inside.” Dax gritted his teeth and ran his hand through his hair, trying to compose himself in front of the distinguished tour group. His eyes widened when he saw Vivi and the makeshift experiment. “It’s time for our guest to be leaving.” But Vivi was already heading out the door.

“I wasn’t done with my test,” Mitchell whined. “We were in the middle of a demonstration. It’s not my fault she freaked.”

“Sorry to disturb the show, but we’re wrapping up for today.” Dax pointed his cane at Mitchell in a dare.

“By all means. Thank you all for joining us,” Miranda addressed the crowd.

Dax whispered a spell and the big cat stirred, rose to its giant paws, and glided back to its masters’ sides. The armed guards walked behind Vivi and Dax down the hall and to another elevator. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t realize how long I was taking. I got caught up in business,” Dax said. His shoulder sagged. “I hope I didn’t ruin your day.”

“No, not at all,” she said. “The twins are
fascinating
. A little eccentric, too, like you mentioned. And a bit creepy.”

He sighed. “They went too far. I had no idea they were doing experiments on the tour or I would have never let you go. Did they hurt you?” Real concern filled his eyes.

“No, just a little prick. Don’t worry.” The potion Mitchell had given her wiped out her headache, and she felt surprisingly well. Vivi was very glad to be out of that room. “I fainted, that’s all. I ruined their experiment.” She had no idea what the vision she’d just experienced meant, only that she was getting closer and closer to an unpredictable darkness.

“Let me make it up to you, please. We’re holding a lavish party in a few days. No experiments, just champagne and music. I promise. We’re launching the new product, and you can see firsthand what all the excitement has been about. You should come. I’ll send an invitation. Bring your sisters. It’ll be fun, like old times.” He gave her shoulder a good-natured squeeze.

“That’s nice. I’ll think about it. Thanks for everything.”

The train ride home was a little more crowded. Vivi shared an open car with a group of young witch commuters and mentally reviewed her day. It had been a surreal experience at Mender Corp, but it wasn’t entirely fruitless. The vision of the cottage was an interesting development, but she had no point of reference for it. She recorded the vision in her notebook and decided her first stop when she got back to Willow Realm was The Charmery to do a little research on the other big development of the day. She had a lot of questions about bracelets.

I
t was dinnertime when Vivi got back to Willow Realm, but she was too excited about the bracelet to stop and eat, so instead she grabbed a couple of overstuffed sandwiches and side salads from Nocturnes and headed down the street to The Charmery. The sound of tinkling chimes filled the air as she pushed open the door with her hip, her arms filled with the food bag and her oversized purse.

Every inch of The Charmery was bursting with metal objects used as vessels for magic. Charms were spells that needed a conduit to hold the magic. The magic was infused into an object that was then carried by the person wanting to benefit from the spell. The most popular charms were small and worn on bracelets, necklaces, rings, and anklets. A charm could be infused in any metal, but silver and gold held the spell the best, since they were soft metals and were easy to melt down into jewelry, making the perfect wearable magic spell. The silver and moonstone ring that Vivi wore was infused with a charm that created illuma light.

Charms of all shapes and sizes filled the glass cases. One case contained a menagerie of silver animals, another held golden flowers and leaves, whereas a third case displayed metal beads, headbands, and bangles. Vivi placed the food bag on the counter near the back of the shop and drifted around, finally having time to browse the beautiful merchandise her friend and fellow shop owner, Lavender, displayed.

“What’s that delicious smell?” Lavender poked her head out from the back. “Hey, Vivi. Haven’t seen you since the gala. How’s business?”

“Can’t complain.”

Petite and curvy, Lavender wore colorful knit sweaters that could be seen from the end of the block, sensible shoes made of natural materials, and patchwork jeans. She had been making jewelry and working with metal since she was a young witch at Haven Academy and now was the most coveted metal artist in Willow Realm. She pulled off her leather work gloves, revealing short fingers and neatly trimmed nails, and dug into the food bag with hungry urgency.

“I hope you brought some of this food for me because, as you can see, I’m helping myself.” Lavender held a paper-wrapped sandwich up to her nose and smelled. “Roasted veggie on focaccia, melted mozzarella, and balsamic dressing. Be still my heart.” Her eyes closed in a moment of silence for the delectable treat.

“The roast beef and cheddar is for me. I’m feeling very carnivorous tonight,” Vivi said, giving Lavender a wink. The shop owner was a vegetarian with a sense of humor.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” the petite witch asked after they had eaten about half of their sandwiches.

“I was hoping you could take a look at a bracelet for me. I think it might have held magic at one time.” Vivi took a bite of pasta salad, flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes.

“Right up my alley.”

After they had eaten, Vivi and Lavender examined the bracelet. The charm expert carried it over to her station and pulled a magnifying mirror attached to an adjustable arm over the piece of jewelry. If anyone could decipher its magical purpose, Lavender could. Her brown hair was a halo of curls hovering over the lighted glass as she squinted and rotated the bracelet, examining every crack and crevice as if it were a puzzle to solve.

“Interesting,” she said, extinguishing the illuma light. “Well, first off, there’s no magic in it currently, but you probably knew that. Secondly, I’ve never seen anything like it.” She waved Vivi closer. “This little gem was made for a distinct purpose. And I seriously doubt that purpose was vanity. This isn’t an ordinary charm vessel.”

“Tell me more. I barely touched the one Miranda was wearing and I got zapped.”

“Take a look at this.” Lavender flipped the cuff over and pointed out the interior rim. The underside of the metal was carved with thin bands that wove around the circumference, looping back and forth.

Vivi had noticed the grooves, but thought they were part of the construction.

“I’m guessing those aren’t for show.”

“The grooves are the conduit for the charm. This little guy was designed to hold a lot of magic, more than just a simple spell or ward.”

Pretty and powerful,
Vivi thought, squinting at the design.

Lavender moved the magnifying glass over, so she could see the details. “The grooves form bands that hold the spell. Simply put, the more bands, the more magic,” Lavender said.

“How powerful are we talking?”

“Very. I’ll have to examine at it closer, maybe even take it apart if I can. I also have a few spells to penetrate the metal. I might be able to give you a better idea after I’ve taken a good look inside. Maybe even get a trace of the charm it once held.”

“Could it be a defensive spell? Or maybe a restraining spell?” Vivi asked. The memory of the witch’s bound wrists was still fresh in her mind.

“Do you think this bracelet was used to handcuff someone?” Lavender wrinkled up her pert nose at the piece of metal. Restraining spells were restricted to law enforcement unless a permit by the council was granted. “Bracelets would be a logical choice.”

“I’m not sure.” Vivi twisted a strand of her long hair around her finger, contemplating the use of the bracelet. “I guess I’ll wait and see what you can find out about the thing before I pass judgment on it.” But Vivi already knew the bracelet had been found near one victim. She was lucky to have found the one she did, and since Miranda had been wearing one, too, there were probably more of them. An idea crossed her mind. She hated to ask, but what choice did she have? “Lavender, you don’t happen to know any witches or wizards who make this sort of piece, do you?”

“Do I know a witch who makes charms for illegal binding spells? What exactly are you asking me?” Her brow creased, her expression stern. “What kind of witch do you think I am?”

Vivi stepped back. “Sorry to offend you. I don’t mean to get personal, but I really need to know.”

She cracked a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. I don’t know anyone off the top of my head. Let me check around with other charmers and see if I can dig up some dirt.”

“Excellent. I knew I could count on you.” Relieved she had Lavender’s help, Vivi leaned against the case and noticed the news parchment,
Witch World Daily,
unfurled on the counter. The paper was filled with the most current news, gossip, and happenings of Everland and was delivered by scroll twice a day. A familiar image of Willow Realm peeked up from the front page. It was an image of her shop! Her heart fluttered. She had always dreamed of getting a feature article in the paper to expose her shop and reach more customers, but she had a bad feeling this wasn’t the kind of advertising she had been hoping for.

“What’s this?” Vivi picked up the parchment, scanning the headline.

“It’s nothing. Oh, don’t worry about that,” Lavender tried to snatch the parchment out of her hand.

The front-page article was a scathing exposé, which in loose terms detailed the entire ordeal from poor old Clarissa found tortured and near death in the Dire Woods to Maynard Luck’s tragic murder. Worst of all, though, it implicated the Mayhem sisters, implying they were linked to the tragic events that befell both witches. Vivi and Honora were also mentioned as
involved
in the investigation, and not in a good way—in a ‘mayhem-causing’ kind of way. There was even a quote from Hexer Finn saying he was
watching
the investigation and monitoring
certain
witches closely.
Swine,
she thought, but her stomach clenched.
Stupid article.

“How could they print this? We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“It’s just gossip, a sensational story. You know that. They always embellish the truth to sell more papers.” Lavender scanned the counter, snatched up the bracelet, and held it up like it was the answer to Vivi’s problems. “This little beauty has a story to tell, and we’re going to find out what it is. Mark my word. Let them print that in the paper.”

Vivi gave her a thankful smile. “You’re right. This isn’t over.” She sighed. “Let’s keep the bracelet just between us, okay? The less attention, the better.”

“I’m here to help.”

She dropped the parchment back on the counter. Her head ached, but her resolve was unshaken. “Just be careful. Trying to help was what got me in this mess in the first place.”

After saying her goodbyes, Vivi headed home for a good night’s sleep. She changed out of her clothes and sipped a cup of warm milk with a touch of cinnamon, reflecting on another day as an amateur sleuth. She couldn’t get a read on Fowler. He was obviously under a lot of pressure at Mender Corp with the new product launch. Sure, he was a little overconfident and had strong opinions, but with his experience, who wouldn’t? He had earned his station in life, but still, his stained fingertips made him worth keeping an eye on.

Then there were the creepy Mender twins and their mounting ambition and magical tests. Images of the bracelet, the Dire Woods, and the victims shifted across Vivi’s mind’s eye. When she closed her eyes to meditate, it felt as if she were lost in a thick fog. She couldn’t see the missing witch anymore, but only heard a faint voice, saying the same thing over and over—
help me
.

The dark wizard was growing more powerful, while the witch was sliding away. Vivi’s dreams were dark and empty. Nothing came to her in the night, not even the cottage. And that scared her more than any nightmare. At least in a nightmare, she had something to fight against, but this new darkness was hollow, and she feared that emptiness most of all.

She practically sleepwalked through work the next day, and after closing up the shop, Vivi sent Rumor with a message to both Clover and Honora. It was time to dig into the family’s magical treasure trove. Time to do a little spy crafting the old-fashioned way.