Night Witch (Book 1) ✔️

32 - Betrayals

Chris stops his chair from spinning in circles and grins up at us when we open the door to his office. He sits at the same desk as last time, the desk by the wall still empty. It hasn't changed from when I had gotten my badge only a few days earlier and neither, it seems, has his habit of speaking in exclamation points.

"Hello! I'm so glad they put you two together. I think you'll make the best partners! How can I help you?"

He reminds me of a floppy eared dog who just wants to please you. It's hard to reconcile him with the other truthsayer I knew. Being able to tell when people are lying makes it hard to enjoy life and even those I'd seen at a distance always seemed depressed. But Chris was possibly one of the happiest people I'd ever met.

"We need to see the security footage of our desks, please."

Chris freezes and the happy expression on his face disappears. The soft blanket of his magic settles against us and he motioned for us to take the chairs across from his desk - the ones not set against the wall for pictures.

When we're settled, he asks us why we need the footage. I nod for Luke to speak because I know my answer will feel oily to him and we don't need any more complications.

"We're working a missing persons case and we brought back footage of the street where she was last seen and left it on our desks this morning. When we got back from doing a quick job for Central this afternoon all the tapes had been wiped. We need to see if anyone lingered at our desks."

There's a brief pause before Chris responds. "This is a serious accusation. Did Benedict send you down?"

I take the hit. "We didn't want to tell him until we were sure it was another officer. No use worrying over it if a civilian walked by our desks today."

Chris looks at me for a long moment before nodding slowly. The weight of the magic starts to withdraw but Luke stops him. "Wait!"

He tilts his head at Luke but the magic stays wrapped around us. "I need to ask Cassie some questions and I need you to tell me if she's lying."

"What the hell, Luke?" I'm trying not to jump to conclusions but he's making it real hard.

Chris nods in agreement. 

"What type of witch are you?"

I grit my teeth and the pressure on my chest increases and I feel as if I need to speak. I hold out just a bit longer because I can. "I already told you. I'm a Night Witch."

"I've never heard of it." He looks at Chris who shakes his head no. "What are the hallmarks of that designation?"

"Figure it out yourself," I snap.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Listen, Cassie, I want to trust you but you've done some things I can't explain. First the bouncer fell all over himself to let you in the club, then you cast that insane ward, now you have a designation you won't explain that I've never heard of and our tapes are gone. You seem suspicious as hell."

His eyes try to beseech me and while I can't give him what he wants, I can put him at ease. "I had nothing to do with the tapes getting wiped. I want to find Angela as much as you do. I had nothing to do with her disappearance." I lay my truth out for Chris to judge.

He finally look sat Luke and nods. "I can't make her tell you her designation hallmarks. I'm afraid that isn't something you're entitled to know. Though, I must say I want to hear as well. Her magic feels slick, like I can't get a hold of it for some reason. I've never had a feeling like this from anyone."

That's because he's never tried to truthsay anyone from the Lower Realms.

"Fine. I guess we're done." Luke is clearly unhappy, but there's nothing more Chris will give him since I've confirmed the real reason we're here.