Incense and melted wax wafted in the air as Lucien entered the emporium. Smoke coiled around the shelves, brimming with spell craft supplies. They offered anything a wizard needed at their little shop. Lucien remembered when he first picked out his wand there, with his mother encouraging him to choose whichever one suited him best.
“Lucien, dear.” Mrs. Vale rounded the corner, makeup immaculately done as always. She came over, embracing him in a tight hug, her scent of vanilla and jasmine calming, reassuring. “I’m so sorry about Charlotte. Please, let me know if you and your family need anything, okay? I’ve spoken with your mom since the police detectives started their investigation and let her know everything I could find.”
If only Lucien could’ve been a fly on the wall during that conversation. Did his mother accuse her of killing Charlotte? Or did she put on her facade again for everyone?
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” Lucien gave her a sad, half-smile. “Is Castor here?”
“He’s in the back office, going over inventory,” she replied.
Velvety robes brushed against Lucien as he maneuvered around them, admiring the handcrafted designs Mrs. Vale created. It brought back memories of when she’d sewn Castor’s robes and even Lucien’s, where they were young kids. Lucien still had his old robes, tucked away deep in his closet, much like a lot of his secrets these days.
With a sigh, Lucien made his way to the back office and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, he tried the knob and creaked it open, peeking inside. Castor sat behind a desk, nose deep in a thick leather book. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his grimoire.
Every wizard family had their own personal grimoire of spells and innovations, but Lucien wondered what dark spells hid within the pages of that book. It was nothing like the Cromwell’s crimson design with their own family’s crest centered in the middle. Something about the book in his hands unnerved him, but he suppressed that fear and stepped into the tiny office.
“Hey there,” Lucien greeted him. “Reading anything good?”
“Just reading up on curses.” Castor closed his book, waving his wand over it to ensure it was locked. Nobody ever left their family’s secrets untethered for anyone to see. “How’ve you been?”
Lucien shrugged. “Taking things a day at a time. It’s been suffocating at home, with my folks hovering over me and needing to know where I’m at. If Mom had it her way, she’d just lock me up in our house forever or force me to sit in on all the Supernatural Council’s meetings.”
“Ah, sounds boring as hell.”
“It is. I want to find Charlotte’s killer, but they’re not letting me anywhere near her case. Mom’s making me do all their paperwork instead.” Lucien groaned. “And she wonders why I want nothing to do with the Supernatural Council. Charlotte was finally going to leave as well, but she never got the chance to tell Mom. She and Seraphina wanted to put all their focus into Blissful Bites.”
“They haven’t told you anything yet?” Castor asked, raising a brow.
Lucien shook his head. “They said it’s a conflict of interest for us to get involved. Mom barely knows what’s going on either. Those assholes probably aren’t doing anything to find Charlotte’s killer.”
“Oh, they’ve got suspects,” Castor grumbled.
“Really? Who?”
“Me and my family.” Castor’s eyes darkened. “They’ve dropped by the house twice already to interrogate us and once here at the shop.”
“Seriously?” Lucien asked. “They’re so incompetent, I’m not even surprised. The Vale’s are known for their black magic. Why should they look into anyone else? Such idiots. You were with me when we found her.”
“They can’t do anything to us without solid proof,” Castor said. “But they’re free to harass us as much as they want.”
“I think we should find her killer ourselves,” Lucien blurted out. “We’d probably do a helluva better job than they are and I hate seeing them blame your family for this.”
Castor smirked, standing from behind his desk. He came around, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “I thought you’d never ask. I’ve been rereading over our family’s grimoire in hopes of finding more about the origins of the curse used on Charlotte. Unfortunately, it was first cast by a very distant relative of mine, but anyone could’ve found it over the years.”
“Stealing spells and curses was common back in those times,” Lucien said.
“Right, which means this curse is probably known by many. Most dark wizards from those periods shared death curses amongst each other to cause even more chaos,” Castor pointed out.
“I just don’t understand why they’d target Charlotte. It can’t be random.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too.” Castor rubbed his chin. “Has she been seeing anyone recently? Any bad breakups or drama with friends?”
“I don’t think so. She never said anything.” Lucien fiddled with the collar of his shirt. “The only person she ever complained about was Damien, on the Supernatural Council, but I doubt he’d be capable of this.”
“Hmm, I don’t really know much about him. I’ve heard of his family, the Hawthorn’s,” Castor replied. “It can’t hurt to look into them. Anyone else? I don’t know what all your family does within the Supernatural Council, but could she have pissed off someone there?”
“Maybe?” Lucien shrugged. “We mostly do paperwork there, but it’s possible Mom might have given her something else to work on.”
“Alright, then I guess we don’t have much to go on. But that’s okay. I know a guy who might be able to help us out,” Castor replied. “I’ll come get you tonight at your house, okay? Around midnight.”
Lucien nodded. “Okay. Do you really think we can find her killer? Is this source of yours reliable?”
“He’s the best around, and he owes me a favor.” Castor smirked. “We’re gonna do everything we can to get justice for Charlotte. But also because I worry that they’re coming for you next. That night scared the fucking hell out of me, dammit. You gotta be more careful.”
“Yeah, I understand. I will,” Lucien murmured.
Something in his expression shifted. Castor’s mischievous smile vanished, dark eyes seeming to stare right into his soul. “If anyone tries to curse you like that again, I’ll kill them myself.”
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