New Blood

Chapter 10

Kevin had thought about calling Aggie and telling her about what they found. Upon further consideration, he decided that walking to her house and talking to her would be a better option. Kevin stepped onto her porch just as the door opened. Aggie stood in the doorway, smiling at him.

“To what do I owe a visit from you at this time of night?” Aggie asked. “Did something happen?”

“You could say that,” Kevin softly said. “Why don’t we go inside and talk about it?”

“Oh,” Aggie breathed as she stepped back for Kevin to enter. “I can feel the unease pouring out of you, and that is enough to worry me.” She closed the door behind him and said, “I will ask again, what happened?”

Kevin looked around the room to see Drake sitting in his favorite chair with both fey dragons perched on the back. He didn’t want to tell him, but Drake also needed to know. With Damian being Logan’s second in command, it would not be long before he was told anyway.

“Someone used black magic in the forest,” Kevin blurted out.

“Are you sure?” Aggie questioned as she sat in her chair beside the fireplace and laced her fingers together.

“Joshua is,” Kevin said. “Let me start from the beginning so it makes more sense.”

“Do that because dark magic being used by anyone in Obsidian is a serious problem,” Aggie said.

“Everly, Ashton, and Darcy went out for a picnic in the forest. Something felt wrong, and they said that everything was too quiet. Things fifty yards away were still happy and making noise, but what was around them was scared and silent. They hurried to a clearing so Evvs could shift and fly them to Ty’s house. They circled but saw nothing. They both said it felt like something was watching them, but they couldn’t see, smell, or hear it.”

“OK. So, how did Joshua become a part of this?” Aggie asked.

“He became a part of it when we started investigating the incident. I sent him and Westly to do the fieldwork part of things. Josh found where someone had been standing at the base of a large tree. He said he can feel the black magic and that it came from a dark witch. Being a fairy, that’s as much as he could tell,” Kevin explained.

“And I take it you would like me to have a look as well, since I am a witch and would know more about it,” Aggie surmised.

“Only if you are willing to do it,” Kevin said with a weak smile. “I don’t like the idea, but you are the only one in Odsidian who might be able to give us some answers.”

Drake scowled and said, “I don’t like it.”

“None of us like it, but we need to know if this is something that just happened and they might still be in Obsidian, or if this is from days or even weeks ago,” Kevin said as he looked at Aggie. “It is all up to Aggie. If she doesn’t feel comfortable with doing it, then she doesn’t do it, and we try other methods to get the answers we need.”

“I’ll do it,” Aggie said without hesitation. “If what is there is residual from what someone else did, it will dissipate on its own. I should be able to tell you when they were there, so you know what to scour those cameras of yours for. If it is a spell that someone put on that place, it might be a far bigger issue, and it will need to be addressed, and it will increase the need to find who was there.”

“Thank you, Aggie,” Kevin sighed with relief. “I hate to rush you, but we need to get going so you can do whatever it is that you need to do. There is a meeting at Tyson’s in about forty-five minutes with all the leaders in Obsidian, old and new. It would be great if you could share what you find out. ”

“Then we had better go,” Aggie grinned as she stood, prompting Kevin to stand as well. Aggie hurried over to Drake and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She scratched both fey dragons under the chin before she turned back to Kevin and grinned. She grabbed Kevin’s hand and said, “Let’s go!”

Kevin tried to object, but a bright flash filled the room before they disappeared. Drake chuckled at the prospect of Kevin being teleported to the forest in the dark. He hated when his mate teleported him. It always made him dizzy and disoriented. He could only imagine what it would be like for Kevin.

Drake chuckled to himself, “Oh, the joys of being mated to a witch who likes to play games.”

-

Kevin felt his stomach lurch as the world spun around him. It happened so fast that he barely had time to comprehend what was happening before it was over. He was standing with his feet firmly on the forest floor as his eyes adjusted to the bright flash of light he had experienced. He saw Aggie standing beside him, grinning at him from ear to ear before releasing his hand.

“Do not ever do that to me again,” Kevin said as he rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t believe you do that by choice.”

“After a couple of centuries, you get used to it,” Aggie smirked before she turned serious. She asked Kevin, “Do you feel that? The kids were right. It does feel like you are being watched, and it is very definitely black magic.”

“Way to make an entrance, Dad,” Westly teased as he and Joshua approached the pair. This is the rock where Everly and the family had their snack. They walked that way to the clearing,” Westly explained as he pointed. “This is the edge of the area affected. This feeling gets worse as you approach the tree where whoever it was did their thing. At that tree, it is physically uncomfortable. I want you both to know that. Aggie, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I might be an old woman, but I do know what I am doing,” Aggie huffed. “I am sure I want to do this, and all of you need to quit asking me if I do. Lead the way! We have a meeting to get to after this.”

Westly nodded before turning and leading the way to the tree where the footprints had been found. Joshua was frowning as he stood nearby. He was stationed in a location that would ensure nothing was disturbed until Aggie arrived. After she did what she needed, the forensics crew would move in to collect the footprints and all other evidence that might be present.

“Joshua! What are you doing here? I know this has to be driving your fairy magic crazy,” Aggie scolded. “Why don’t you go back to the boulder, or even further than that. We don’t need you on edge when you go home to Bethany.”

“Thanks, Aggie. I won’t argue about that one,” Joshua said before hurrying away from where the dark magic was the strongest.

“Kevin, I can tell you right off that whoever was here was extremely powerful. This is not fresh. I would say they were here at least a week ago. It might even be longer than that,” Aggie sighed. “I’m a bit disappointed. If this were fresh, I could give you more information. Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that this came from an extremely powerful witch or warlock who practices the dark art with abandon. They need to be found and prevented from ever entering Obsidian again.”

“And how do we do that?” Kevin asked as he scratched at his scruffy beard.

“I wish I knew,” Aggie said, shaking her head. “Why don’t we head to that meeting, and we can work on figuring that out.”

“Good idea, but this time, we either walk, or I fly us there. I will not do that teleport thing again. Ever. If my life depended on it, I want you to let me die in peace,” Kevin said.

Aggie laughed as she said, “Flying is fine with me. I will follow you to the clearing.”

Westly snickered as his father sighed. Kevin turned and led Aggie and Westly to the small clearing that Everly had used to shift and take flight. He left Aggie at the edge until he changed into his dragon form. Westly took Aggie’s hand and helped her onto the beast’s back. She gave the dragon a pat on the shoulder to say she was ready. The dragon lifted off and sped toward Tyson’s home so the meeting could get started.