This town has a lot of negative memories and people in it. I’ve considered leaving Hallowsdeep, but something keeps me rooted here. I’m not sure if it’s the magic or the coven, but I have a magnetic pull to this place. It’s almost like I can’t leave, a petty part of myself also refuses to be the one to leave.
With a little too much force, I grip the steering wheel as I park and grab the Tupperware of truth truffles and make my way to Hex. It’s busy and Heather seems to have everything under control. I swear if she’s the one stealing, I will be devastated and out of one of the best managers I’ve ever found. She’s part angel, but you would never suspect with the filthy mouth she has on her.
My plan is to get through the late shift and give the truth truffles out and then I’m able to handle business with the person stealing when everyone leaves.
“Hey, Blair. Can you tell Otto we need a fresh tap on the Sam Adams?” Heather asks me behind the bar.
“Sure thing,” I say, walking to the back and finding Otto.
When I look at him, he seems like the biggest culprit. He’s always tired when he comes to work. As far as I can tell, he’s human. I wonder if he’s stealing for a habit. His features always look a bit off.
He’s robust, with a bald head and dark beard. His white shirt is stained, but he stays in the back so I don’t worry much about his appearance usually.
“Otto, we need a new Sam Adams.”
He grunts, going over and grabbing it immediately. I’m not sure if he’s mute or chooses not to speak, but I’ve never heard him talk.
I pass him and sit in my office with the truffles. I sigh, looking at the chocolates and remember what it felt like when Dax and I both had eaten them. It was both freeing and terrifying at the same time. I don’t like how much I like him, and the way he makes me feel is unfamiliar.
Speaking of familiars, maybe I should turn the thief into a mouse and feed them to Fez. The idea makes me smile, even though I know I couldn’t really turn someone into a mouse.
I waste time online, checking and seeing if anyone in the coven has been active or posted anything about my mother. My research comes up with no results. I look down at my phone and realize it’s closing time. I leave my office as my employees are cleaning up for the night.
“Oh, I totally forgot. Stevie made these chocolates to thank everyone for picking up the slack while she’s out sick.” I open up the top of the container, holding out the box and watch as each employee takes a chocolate.
“Mmm,” Heather says as she pops it in her mouth, so does Otto, Glen, Lucas, Bethany, and Lilly. The only person who is missing is Jeremy. So if it isn’t one of them, then I will automatically know who did it.
Once everyone has swallowed. I don’t waste any time. “Who has been stealing from the restaurant?”
“Otto,” everyone says in unison, and it doesn’t escape me that he can somehow not answer the question. Appears he’s not mute by choice.
“Everyone can leave besides Otto,” I say and my employees all leave out of the front door. I wait until they’re all gone before I stare at the much larger man. If I didn’t have magic, I would be afraid of his larger presence.
“Otto, is this true? Have you been stealing from me?”
I can tell he’s trying to fight the magic of the truffle. Maybe he needed to eat two because he’s such a large man?
Finally, a nod of his head.
“Why are you stealing from me, Otto?”
He looks around, and his gaze is shaky and uncertain. He takes me off guard when I watch his body somehow get larger and he smacks me across the chest, throwing me back against a table and chairs.
It knocks the wind out of me, and I breathe heavily before I can speak.Cadere,I chant, hoping to knock him to the floor. He doesn’t fall and I check in with my magic, making sure it’s still there.
What the fuck is happening?
Otto keeps getting larger and larger in front of me, his form looking less and less human as he grows. He doesn’t look like he’s made of skin and bone anymore. It’s almost like he’s made out of clay. His stature is nearly seven feet tall now, his skin a reddish earthy hue. I wrap my brain around his appearance and wonder what he is.
Fuck. A fucking golem. I hired a gods damn golem and had no clue. I’m trying to think hard about what magic I can use on him. He’s not a corporeal person, he’s not a person at all, really. Before I can come up with anything, his large hand is around my throat, pushing me against the table. Blocking my airway and my ability to speak.
He pulls out a knife from his pocket and starts to cut my wrists. The cuts are shallow, enough to make me bleed, but not enough to kill me. Just enough to slow me down and make me immobile. I can feel the tackiness of my blood dripping down my wrists. I shift in his arms, trying to get the knife out of his hand. My hands are covered in blood and I can barely get a hold of anything. I hear a rumble from his chest with frustration as he continues to try to cut me. I hit him with my fists and he keeps slashing the knife, causing cuts along my forearms and palms. I don’t know what to do. He’s too fucking strong and I can’t say anything with his hand on my throat. Does he want my blood for something? I’m starting to feel woozy, and I need to hold it together, I need to figure out a way to get myself out of this mess.
I try some wordless magic and move chairs and other items in the room to hit him, but nothing fazes him. He’s too strong and I can feel my airway giving out. While I’m a witch and can live for a very long time, I can still be killed, and it feels like that’s exactly what Otto is about to do to me.
Panic fills my blood stream. I push my magic out of me hard. Willing my hand to burn him. All it does is make his hand harder around my neck. He’s staring at me, emotionless, his features muddied. I can see where eyes would go and the shape of a mouth, but he’s no longer human.
Someone created Otto to do their bidding, and clearly, their highest order was to take me out. I’m feeling dizzy as my nails scrape against his mucky skin when I hear a feral-like growl from the corner.
