Page 123 of An Oath at Midnight

“It’s messier, done in haste,” I said.

Bram walked around her. “They didn’t take quite as much pleasure as Ryan did.”

“No, they wanted to get it over with quickly.” Her chest had been opened up and her ribs were missing, her insides spilling out.

I crouched down. “They didn’t take as much time to torture her.” I checked the pockets of her discarded clothes for her phone, but it wasn’t there. The ward had been active when we arrived, which meant whoever did this either used dark magic to get in or Leah knew them. “Check if her phone’s somewhere in the house. There might be something important on it.”

Bram nodded and strode back into the house.

Leah hadn’t been my friend. We hadn’t liked each other, but she sure as hell didn’t deserve this. I stared down at her. “I’m so sorry, Leah.”

“Don’t move.” A voice echoed through the garage behind me. “Keep your hands at your sides so I can see them. If you even attempt to spell, I’ll take you down. Now turn around…slowly.”

I recognized the voice. Asuka. I turned, and she stood with her hands held out in front of her, magic swirling, ready to spell. Peter Lewis, another council member, stood beside her. Two more witches watched me on either side of them. Both were extremely powerful and worked as enforcers for the witches council.

“I didn’t do this,” I said.

The enforcers fired up their magic as well. It snapped out and wrapped around me, tight, binding me and my magic.

“Magnolia Thornheart, we’re taking you into custody for the murders of Katana Adler, Calvin Adler, Margot Huxley, Ryan Alway, Leah Golden, and the attempted murder of Chase Golden,” Asuka said.

“What? You can’t be serious? You’re making a mistake. I’m telling you I didn’t do this. I didn’t do any of it.”

“We just heard you apologize to that girl for killing her,” Peter said. “Her blood is still on your hands.”

I looked down and realized I’d gotten blood on my hands when I’d touched her. This wasn’t looking good, not at all, not with all of them under Isaac’s enchantment spell. “I found her like that. I touched her to see if she was still warm, to work out how long she’s been like this.”

Peter Lewis strode forward. “Look at her palm and her fingers. She’s been practicing dark magic.” He turned back to me. “We’re taking you in, you twisted little bitch.”

He reached for me.

“No! Don’t touch me!” I tried to move back, but I was bound too tight.

He grabbed my arm in a tight grip, then he froze for a split second, his eyes widening before they rolled back in his head. He dropped like a stone, falling to the floor. Instantly and unmistakably dead. I watched his soul rise from his body, and a beam of light shot down, surrounding him, then he was gone.

The room snapped back into focus, time returning to normal, and everyone exploded into action. Asuka cried out in shock. The witches fired more of their magic at me, binding me so tight I could barely breathe. Bram banged on the door, roaring my name. They knew what Bram was, and they were using magic to lock him out, the kind that even his shadow form couldn’t get past.

“How the fuck did she do that? She’s bound?” one of the enforcers said.

Asuka shook her head. “The foulest of dark magic. Nobody touch her.”

“What about her familiar?” one of them said.

“Leave him.”

Because they knew if they tried to take him, if they let him through that door, they’d all be dead.

Using magic, they dragged me from the room and out to a waiting van. They forced me in, the enforcers keeping plenty of space between us, and we sped off. As we drove away, I spotted several other witches standing in the yard, their hands aimed at the house. They were keeping Bram locked inside so he couldn’t follow me.

“This was a setup,” I said, trying to fight the bindings, but it was too strong and I couldn’t reach my knife. “Someone told you to come here, yes?”

“Someone saw you breaking into the Golden mansion and called it in,” Asuka said. “Are you really going to sit there and profess your innocence when I just watched you kill Peter right in front of me?” She shook with fury. “You killed and tortured all those witches. You tried to pin it on Ryan Alway, killing him and hurting yourself. It’s even starting to look like you tried to frame your own sister, unless she’s in on it with you.” Hatred burned in her eyes. “You disgust me.”

“You know Willow. You know she’s not capable of this, and neither am I.”

“I thought I knew her, but after seeing this? I’m not sure about anything anymore. Only that death and pain follows your family everywhere you go,” she said.

There was no getting through to her. She wasn’t going to listen. “Where are you taking me?”