He paused, collecting himself before continuing. “Even if she’s dead, they deserve to know. They deserve that closure.”
I nodded. I’d be perfectly fine rotting in the ground with my dad none the wiser, but I knew I was a bit of an outlier in that respect.
Finishing my tea, I thanked the seraph for his time, leaving the building and going back to my car, confused and pissed.
There were holes all over this case. Specifically, two bloody puncture wounds that had the Premier’s venomous spit all over them.
What hadn’t he told me about his relationship with Sage? Because it sounded like he’d definitely had a hand in moving her out of this place.
Not only that, but based on the strength of her scent I was just getting from her purse, the level to which it had been present in that apartment meant she must have been there a very long time. It was practically saturated in her perfume.
He knew her, and he was lying about it.
I looked at her purse again, the contents taunting me from the passenger seat. If she was making charms and experimenting with her cauldron, then she was buying ingredients from somewhere, and that somewhere would likely be close by.
After checking on my phone, I discovered there were only three witch apothecaries in Noctis, and the closest was just a few blocks away.
I grabbed the small charm box and got out of the car, walking the way to clear my head a bit. The rut suppressant wasstill making me a bit foggy and itchy, as though my head was underwater, and my skin didn’t quite fit my frame.
Sage’s old neighborhood was a lot like her building—a little run down, with peeling paint and overgrown lawns, but it was clean, and the people were friendly enough as I passed. No one seemed to pay my horns any mind, but that usually happened in areas where everyone was mixed together.
I dodged a werewolf kid on a scooter, followed by an exasperated, heavily pregnant mom who waddled after him, then walked by an older merfolk woman, waiting at the bus stop with a granny cart full of groceries.
The witch apothecary,Hemlock & Honey, sat in the middle of a brick strip mall, a neon sign of a bubbling cauldron buzzing in the window. A bell over the door rang as I entered, and I breathed in the familiar herbal and floral air I’d become accustomed to from living in Cindralis.
A white cockatoo shook out its wings and squawked from the corner, and a middle-aged beta witch came out of the back, giving me a slightly surprised expression. Other Magiks could buy and use witch charms, of course, but it was probably still shocking to find a demon in his shop. “Good evening, sir. Anything in particular you’re looking for?”
I took out the small wooden box holding Sage’s charms from my pocket and placed it on the counter, sliding off the lid to reveal its contents. “I was hoping you could tell me what these are.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “And I would tell you that because…?”
I sighed, taking out a crisp, twenty-runic bill and sliding it next to the box. “For your troubles,” I said.
He nodded and quickly pocketed the money. “They’re charms.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from growling. “Yes, I can see that. But can you tell me what type of charms?”
The witch looked at me expectantly and I slapped another twenty-runic bill on the counter. He tucked it into his pocket. “For protection.”
His going rate was apparently ten runics a word, and I needed to hurry this along. I took out a wad of cash and shoved it across to him.
After he bowed his head in thanks and put it all away, he began picking the charms up one by one. “This one hides your scent. Popular for omegas who don’t like or want attention. This one turns your blood sour. I recommend any non-vamp living in Noctis, witch or otherwise, to always keep one of these on hand.”
I nodded as I listened. If vampires went too long without feeding, they could fall into bloodlust, draining the next Magik they came across dry. It rarely happened these days, though, as all vamps in Noctis received regular blood rations from the tithes they demanded from the non-cits residing in their borders.
Still, better safe than sorry.
“This one is a concentration booster,” he continued. “I sell a lot of these come finals time. And let’s see…”
The rest were pretty ordinary and seemed like the types of magic any student would carry.
“Nothing more dangerous?” I asked, just to be sure.
“Nope. All of this is pretty above board.”
“Hm, that seems like Sage,” I said, scratching my chin.
“Yeah, Sage isn’t really into…” His eyes widened and he clamped his hands over his mouth.
