Westerham Witches and a Venetian Vendetta by Dionne Lister (best summer reads of all time .TXT) 📗

destroyed hers. I didn’t know exactly how powerful I was, but it was humbling to know I had more power than probably 95 per cent of witches, at least based on my power point score, which was kind of like an IQ test but for magic. My skill level wasn’t as high as some witches with less power—I definitely needed more practice, especially with complex spells—but I had potential. The fact that I could gauge how powerful another witch was and detect how their magic felt was a testament to my innate ability. We’d all decided to keep this as secret as possible—story of my adult life. The less magic I performed in front of other witches, the better. If another witch could feel power levels as I could—and there were a few—I might become a target… yet again. Seemed like as free as I finally was, I would always have to watch my back.

Imani stared at the far wall for a moment. “Right, so she’s probably not our suspect, but we can’t rule her out just yet. If it’s not her, and it’s not the glass-blower guy, then who? What are we missing?”

I turned my head and checked out the bartender. Was he jealous of his lover’s husband? He’d made our drinks with magic, but it didn’t feel particularly special either, so I discounted him. Was Mr Dal Lago a bad boss? Or did he owe more people money?

Will, Beren, and my mother walked in. Beren went straight to the bar, and Will and Mum came and sat on the couch opposite where Liv, Imani, and I sat. Mum smiled. “Glad to see whatever mess you made didn’t get you banned from the hotel. What’s the verdict?”

I made a bubble of silence, and my eyes widened. “You thought I might get banned?”

She shrugged. “You never know.”

My own mother had sent me to the potential slaughter. Okay, so I might have been overdramatising it, but still…. “I can’t believe you let me do it while thinking that.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen, Lily. You and Will could’ve gone and stayed somewhere else. But this was important, and I couldn’t think of another way for you to figure it out.”

“Speaking of which,” Will chimed in. “What’s the verdict?”

“I don’t think it’s her. Average power at best. Definitely not enough to cast a travel spell from afar. And whatever spell they knocked Angelica out with—assuming that’s how she didn’t manage to escape—there’s no way she could’ve managed that simultaneously from that distance.”

Will rubbed the back of his neck. “She might just be an accomplice. At least that’s another piece of the puzzle. We’ll know more once we interview her.”

Beren arrived at the table with drinks for Will, Mum, and himself. He sat and cast another bubble of silence. “So, spill.” I let Will fill him in as I finished my cocktail.

Even though we’d just learned something, we weren’t figuring this out fast enough. Was Angelica okay? Was she even still alive? She had to be. At least a glass sculpture of her hadn’t turned up yet, and since the killer had done that to two people already, I assumed he or she would likely do that to Angelica too. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tried her number. It went straight to voicemail. Damn. Frustration and fear built inside me. My leg bounced up and down. “We have to do something.”

Will’s gaze jumped to me. “We are doing something.”

“It’s not enough. We need to move faster.” How could I make them see?

Imani rubbed my back. “We’re doing everything we can right now. We don’t have jurisdiction here, and we can’t contact Chad—that would be the last thing Angelica would want. Imagine how insufferable he’d be? He’ll either make it harder for us to find her, or he’ll lord it over her once she’s found.”

“But what if she’s… dead?” It took all my effort to slow my breaths. Was I almost having a panic attack?

Will looked at me, care and love shining from his eyes. His voice was softer than normal. “If she’s already dead, Lily, it will make no difference how long we take. But I don’t think she’s dead.”

I couldn’t believe she was dead either… at least, I was trying to reserve judgement for my own sanity. “You don’t think? But you don’t know.” He wasn’t going to banish my worry that easily. Yes, worrying when you couldn’t do anything about it wasn’t productive, but it was human, and I was so very human.

“No, I don’t know, but I can’t entertain anything else. Angelica’s resourceful. She always has a return to sender up. Whatever they’ve done couldn’t be too bad.”

Liv frowned. “If she always has a return to sender up, how could they render her unconscious… assuming that’s what happened?”

“A tranquilliser gun?” Beren suggested. “Maybe after they got her through the doorway? One of them could’ve made the portal, and if someone else was waiting on the other side….”

I sucked in a breath. “Oh, well, that’s just such an improvement. Jeez Louise. Way to make me feel better.”

Imani ignored my outburst. “You could be right, B. Maybe when she reached the destination, they hit her over the head? We could be looking at more than one suspect.”

“Agreed,” said Beren. He looked at his phone. “Hopefully Agent Tondato is going to call soon.”

I jumped up. “I can’t sit here and just wait. I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back in thirty. Text me if anything happens before then.”

Imani and Will looked at each other. Imani stood. “I’m not needed right now either. I’ll join you.” She smiled and slid her arm around mine.

I looked at our linked arms. “Afraid I’ll run away or do something crazy?”

“Yes. More so the second option rather than the first. If Angelica’s been targeted because of this investigation, we’re all potential targets.”

Will looked around at our group. “Imani’s right. None of us have found anything yet, but who knows what the killer’s thinking?