Page 44 of Innocent Until Proven Witch

The clinic is crowded. I hear the noise before I even reach the building, voices overlapping, footsteps echoing through the hall. Someone curses loudly, another groans in pain. The atmosphere immediately reminds me of rescue stations after storms.

I push through the doorway. The scent of medicine and seawater fills the room, several injured fishermen occupying beds and chairs, bandages, bruises, cuts, exhaustion. Lisa moves between patients, and I recognize her immediately, the woman who always seems to appear beside Reina whenever trouble follows.

She glances up, recognition flashing briefly. "Finn."

"Lisa."

She ties off a bandage. "You picked a busy day."

"I noticed."

A fisherman winces nearby, and Lisa immediately moves toward him, her hands remaining steady, confident, comforting. People trust her, the realization obvious from the way the room responds whenever she speaks.

I step aside while she works. Several conversations drift through the clinic, most focusing on the recent attack, the survivors from the rescue vessel, the strange currents, the fear growing throughout Moonhaven. Then another voice joins the discussion. Calm, measured, familiar.

Aldric.

My attention sharpens instantly. The harbor elder stands near several townspeople, his expression radiating concern, the picture of a leader burdened by difficult circumstances. I've begun noticing how often that expression appears. Almost as though he practices it.

Aldric shakes his head sadly. "This cannot continue."

Several residents murmur agreement. A fisherman with a bandaged arm looks toward him. "What are we supposed to do?"

Aldric sighs, a thoughtful pause, a careful pause, then says, "Something must be done before the entire harbor suffers."

The room grows quieter, listening, waiting. Aldric lowers his voice. "Before her wrath reaches everyone."

The words settle heavily across the clinic. My jaw tightens. There it is again. Not a direct accusation. Never a direct accusation. Just enough implication to point everyone in the same direction.

Several townspeople exchange uneasy looks, one woman nodding slowly, another looking away. The suggestion spreads exactly the way Aldric intended.

I step forward. "Why are you so focused on Reina?"

The question cuts through the room, several conversations stopping immediately. Aldric turns toward me, his expression remaining perfectly composed. "Focused?"

"You heard me."

The harbor elder studies me carefully, then folds his hands. "It's obvious."

I wait. "So obvious that nobody needs evidence?"

A few people shift uncomfortably. Aldric doesn't. "She is the only storm witch in Moonhaven."

The answer arrives smoothly, without hesitation, as though the matter is settled. My suspicion sharpens immediately. Not because of what he said. Because of how quickly he said it. No uncertainty, no consideration, no curiosity. Only certainty. The same certainty that appears every time Reina's name enters a conversation.

"That's not proof."

His expression softens, patient, almost sympathetic, the look irritating me instantly. "Perhaps not." The answer sounds reasonable. Then he continues. "But surely you understand why people are afraid."

There it is again. Fear, always fear. Never proof, never facts, never questions. Only fear.

I glance around the clinic, at the injured fishermen, the worried families, the people searching desperately for answers. Then I look back at Aldric. The harbor elder watches me carefully, measuring my reaction. The realization freezes down my spine. Because he isn't interested in finding the truth. He's interested in maintaining a conclusion. And those are not the same thing.

Lisa appears beside me carrying fresh bandages, her gaze moving between Aldric and me. Something flickers across her face. Recognition. As though she has finally noticed the same thing.

Aldric offers a polite nod, then turns his attention elsewhere. The conversation ends. The suspicion doesn't.

I watch him move through the clinic, speaking quietly, offering comfort, guiding conversations, shaping opinions. The entire time, the same question repeats itself inside my head.