Mathilda, SuperWitch (Mathilda's Book of Shadows #1)(24)

These guys were the people who took their 50’s science fiction movie machinery to haunted houses to gauge if there were ghosts, to check the possessed and see if a priest should be brought in, to assess if a palm reader was a charlatan, etcetera. This is as involved as they got… mostly, for centuries they’ve just watched and wrote a shitload of notes (my terminology, not Aidan’s).

Aidan was a part-time field researcher at The Institute assigned to me. He’d been watching me since I moved to England months ago. (Not sure how I felt about that.)

Members were not ever, ever, ever (ever) to get involved with the creatures (?!) they are studying.

Never.

Ever.

Aidan had “gotten involved” with me.

This was bad – hence his disappearance after New Year’s to answer to “The Directors”.

Now, he’s brought me to The Institute which has never had a witch, warlock, pixie, troll, etcetera within its hallowed halls in its nearly five hundred years of existence.

Needless to say, this was a controversial move on Aidan’s part.

But I only had one question on my mind.

“What about the bathrooms at the coffee house?”

Aidan explained he only tiled the bathroom and his actual-plumber friend had done all the plumbing which put my mind at ease (about the toilets, not the tiles).

And then he fell silent and watched me.

Then he watched me more.

I tried not to fidget in the chair as it, if taken on the Antiques Road Show, would involve some on-air orgasmic delight from the experts and claims of “priceless”.

Then, (thank goddess) the old guy came with the coffee.

I took a sip, it was weak and had too much milk but it also had caffeine so I started to feel myself again.

Albeit a tired, magicked out, still slightly scared and definitely pissed off at yet another twist in the double-helixed plot that is my life, er…. self.

“So…” I started so Aidan wouldn’t watch me anymore. “What now?”

He sat back and stretched out his legs, his chair groaned, I held my breath, he crossed his feet at the ankles, arms on his chest and then he settled, his eyes on me again.

The chair, by some miracle, held.

“Now, you call your bodyguard to come get you.”

Ack, he knows about Ash.

He smiled (kinda sexily) at my reaction.

Then he kept talking. “Then we have breakfast.”

Yay!

(Though, little worried about breakfast cooked by a bevy of Old Dudes.)

He kept going. “And then you go home.”

His plan was taking a confusing turn, out of the not-exactly-welcoming lap of the League of Vintage Gentleman and into the clutches of Angry Ash.

Hmm, tough choice.

Then he finished, “And then I face The Directors and possible expulsion from The Institute.”

Uh-oh.

He laughed before saying, “Don’t worry, Matty. It won’t be the first time.”

Oh… well then.

Before scary-prospect breakfast I had to know a few things first.

“I have a few questions,” I told him.

He took a sip of coffee and looked at me under his brows.

Oh my.

If Lucy were here, I think she would confirm that Aidan was flirting with me!

And changing slightly from boy-next-door-possible-baddie plumber to boy-in-the-mansion-next-door-not-baddie-but-seriously-sexy professor.

“Fire away,” he invited.

Focus, girl, focus.

Um… now, what was I doing?

Oh yes.

I started, “First, you asked about my magic. You look at me funny when I’m done casting a spell. What’s the deal?”

“I’m non-magical. I can’t see your magic.”

Hunh?

“But it was flying all over the place in the wood,” I told him. “And then there were the faeries –”

He became a little less relaxed as he watched me.

“Faeries?” he asked. “There were faeries?”

“Yes, hundreds of them.”

“Ah.” He relaxed again and to himself said, “The acorns.” Then back to me. “I thought you were doing that. However, as a mere mortal, I can’t see magic. The effects of it, yes. Acorns flying through the air, tree branches swaying and hitting precise targets… that I can see. Faeries, possible but rarely and only if concentrating and, of course, if they want to be seen.”

Well, that explained that.

Sort of.

“Why did you want to meet me at midnight?” I asked.

“There was something important I needed to tell you without your shadow present.” Hmm. “I reckoned you’d be curious if I asked for a midnight meeting and wouldn’t tell him.” Hmm. Hmm. “And because if you told him, he wouldn’t have let you come.”

Well, I’m sure!

Like Ash controls me!

(Hmm.)

Aidan concluded, “And because I needed to tell you that I have reason to believe that some of the men who are after you have managed to ally themselves with a witch and I thought you should know.”

Ack!

“What?” I cried

“Your magic didn’t work on them, did it?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

And that would be no as in, not even a little bit.