I might with a quartz but not straight into myself.

No, not even with a quartz. It’s death had been too hard for me to bear.

It made me sick.

“I don’t understand.” I hugged myself and closed my eyes. “Why, Agent Miller? What’s so important that someone would do something like this? Why do they need that kind of power?”

He didn’t answer and I sniffled.

I really needed to go home and hide in the bathroom. With the hot water running.

So Ghana couldn’t hear me.

Agent Miller sighed and I felt him stand, his shoulder accidentally brushing my arm on the way up. Then he touched my arm, and I opened my eyes to look at him.

There was a different expression in those eyes. Softer, somehow. Though I wasn’t sure exactly what emotion he was feeling.

“Come on. Let’s find your goat.”

He walked me through the whole building. Even waved people away when they tried to shoo me out again.

The baby wasn’t in the harvesting room. Or in the confinement rooms, where we found other animals, monsters, and people waiting for their horrible ends. There were a lot of tears as the people were released and sent to the nearest hospital.

The rest of the building was either in rubble or empty of life.

By the time we got back outside, the sun was coming up.

Tiredly, I numbly watched Agent Miller open the coach door for me.

“Wait here. We’ll go back to the hotel and you can get some sleep.”

“What about you and Mr Abel?”

He smiled grimly. “We’ll sleep on the train back to Amourville. For now, please, let us finish our jobs and we’ll join you soon.”

Why was he being so kind and polite? And what happened to having someone babysit me?

I hesitated, then accepted his hand and got into the coach.

As the door clicked closed, I thought about running and going home. Then sighed.

I couldn’t run. Not now.

For the same reasons I didn’t run after dinner last night. I couldn’t afford to become an enemy for the witch hunters to track. Not when I needed to make a difficult object or potion and wander around freely.

For now, I’ll just figure out how to shake the witch, uh, hex hunters. Then work on getting what I needed for the spells.

I leaned my head back. And before I realized I was going to, I fell asleep.

***

Hansel

Gently, he laid her on the bed. Then pulled the extra blanket from the foot of the bed over her.

She didn’t stir. She hadn’t the entire ride back to the hotel.

“I don’t understand. Why, Agent Miller?”

He couldn’t get that haunted, bewildered look out of his mind. With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead and went to his room. There he pulled something out of his bag of hunting tools and went back to her room.

There, he snapped the bracelet around her wrist. Imprinting his thumb on the alchemist pad.

He’d take care of the whole procedure properly later.

When he returned to the sitting room, Abel raised an eyebrow at him. Deliberately, Hansel pulled Miss Aka’s door closed.

“Was that-?”

“The witch threatened to recruit her,” said Hansel grimly.

Abel winced.

“Witchborn. Damn it!”

“Agreed.”

Hansel sat down and covered his aching eyes with one hand.

“I don’t understand…”

“Fortunately, we found her before a witch did. I got the impression that there’s a lot of power there. But our attacker seemed to think Miss Aka was harmless and was torn between recruiting or eating.”

Again, Abel winced.

“What a headache.” With a sigh, Abel stood up. “Is that why you followed her without waking me? Did you suspect her of being a witch?”

He’s still angry about that?

Hansel huffed an exasperated sigh.

“No. I just suspected she’d run and I was right. I didn’t think I’d need backup because all I was going to do was find out where she was going. Or drag her back if necessary.”

“I may be a flake half the time, but at least I follow procedure. Do you know what will happen if I have to tell Gretal you died?”

Gretal.

Mentioning his sister was all it took for him to figure out why he couldn’t get that woman’s expression out of his mind.

-The witch’s hands were still bloody from killing the bird. She wrapped her fingers around his sister’s little hand while the other arm held the little girl hostage.

Instead of chanting like a wizard, she just closed her eyes. Smiling as she directed the magic into his sister’s body.

He felt it happen. He was helpless to do anything about it and didn’t understand what the witch was doing, anyway.

His little sister jerked like she’d been hit, then her body shuddered.

And her expression changed.

From innocent horror to… to twisted ecstasy.-

The headache worsened and he covered his eyes.

He never wanted to see that expression change happen again.

Yes. As annoying as Miss Aka could be, it was still a very good thing they found her before a witch did. He could just imagine how twisted that personality would be as a witch.

“I need to send a telegram to my brother. What should I tell him?”

Hansel dropped his hand.

“Tell His Majesty we found the Jester and we’re heading home. But say nothing else until we’ve compiled an official report.”

“You don’t want me to tell him about the coven attack?”

Hansel pushed himself out of the chair. He walked toward his room.

“We don’t know if that was the Grucian Coven or not.”

“Fine. What do we do with her?”

“What else? For now, she’s under our protection and will go back with us to be processed as a witchborn.”

“Somehow, I don’t think Miss Aka will make that easy for us.”

Hansel had reached his door, where he stopped to grunt and grimace.

“While you’re out, get us three tickets. And go to the police station for a bottle of dreamshade.”

“You’re going to use dreamshade on her?”

Hansel gave him a dark look. “Only if I have to.”

Once in his room, he left the door open and laid down. Covering his eyes with his arm. 

Head pounding.

It was about two hours later, about the time he expected Abel back, when he heard a click.

He was out of bed and rushing out the door before fully waking from his doze.

Miss Aka was halfway across the sitting room and froze for about a second when she heard him. Then she spun around.

In one hand was her instrument case and over her shoulder was her bag. She must’ve had a change of clothes in one or the other of them, because she now wore a strange outfit of blue trousers and a baggy shirt.

Actually, everything she held and wore was strange, now that he thought about it. At least the dress had been familiar, even if it was fifty years out of fashion.

“Where are you going?”

“Uh-” She looked down at her instrument case, as though it puzzled her that she was holding it. “Out?”

“Go back to bed, Miss Aka. We’ll be leaving for Amourville soon.”

Pause. She glared at him suspiciously.

“Who’s we?”

His headache had been going away, but now it was threatening to come back. With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Miss Aka, you are now thoroughly involved in our case. We can’t let an asset like you disappear.”

“Asset?” She put down her case and crossed her arms. “You make me sound like a bank certificate.”

“Miss Aka-”

“I’m not going with you. I have to-”

“Find your kid,” he interrupted tiredly. He was not in the mood to be fighting with her. “Yes, I know. How do you plan on doing that? Now that your illegal bauble is gone?”

“Uh-”

She fidgeted and didn’t answer.

“Our opponent today made it sound like she’ll be back. Since she has what you’re looking for, the easiest way to find it is for you to wait for her.”

He walked across the room and picked up her instrument case.

“And since she’s probably what we’re looking for, I don’t intend on missing the opportunity either.”

She clenched her jaw and held out her hand.

“Give me back my guitar.”

Hansel ignored her. Instead, he walked back to her room and put the case inside. Then he bowed, pointing at the door.

“Back to bed, Miss Aka.”

Her hands were shaking, and her face tightened in anger.

“I don’t need your help!” she shouted. She pointed a finger at him. “If you hadn’t interrupted me last night, I would’ve snuck in and out without her knowing.”

“Miss Aka, that woman was a witch. You are not. It’s delusional to think you could’ve escaped her notice.”

The infuriating woman wasn’t listening. Her eyes had spotted the bracelet on her wrist and she shook it at him.

“And what the heck is this?! Was it you? I can’t get the darn thing off!”