What the Hex Read online

  “Really!” exclaimed Lilith. These pocket-sized buggers were getting on her last nerve. Lilith banged on the side of the crate and the fairy fell backwards. It wasn’t strong enough to escape. Defeated it plopped down and mumbled something in fairy speech.

  “Afraid I can’t do that sparkles. You have to answer for your crimes.” Lilith looked up, light was still red. Why was there a light there at all. She was the only car on the road.

  The fairy asked Lilith a question while shrugging it’s shoulders.

  “What crimes? You stole poor Mrs. Kittering’s baby.”

  Again the fairy chirped in it’s intolerable language.

  “It doesn’t matter that you didn’t hurt it. Baby-napping is frowned upon by, well, everybody!”

  Finally the light turned green. Lilith slammed on the gas mostly out of frustration. She didn’t consider how long and how heavy it was raining and the tires hydroplaned. The fairy squeaked in fear.

  No. No. No. “No, no, no!” Lilith’s junker of a car spun out straight towards Fitzgerald’s Pharmacy. She’d known the owner Fran Fitzgerald her whole life. How could she live with herself if she slammed an automobile through the storefront. Even worse, what if there were customers inside? There was only one choice but it was a dangerous one.

  “ Skcart ruoy ni pots! ” yelled Lilith. As if it hit a brick wall, the car suddenly stopped, crunching the cheap metal body. The air bag deployed in the most pitiful manner, deflating before providing any protection.

  Ow. Lilith had bumped the side of her head against the driver’s side window. Neither the glass nor her skull were cracked but it smarted. Then reality came rushing in.

  Tell me no one saw that. Please tell me no, ah crap on a cracker. A kid stood on the corner just a couple storefronts down from Fitzgerald’s. His eyes were wide and confused. That confusion loosened his grip on the cone in his hand letting the icy creamy contents fall to the sidewalk.

  The fairy was livid, yelling who knows what at Lilith. With a forced smile, Lilith waved slowly at the kid who dropped his ice cream. They were both in the same boat, not knowing what to do.

  “I can just drive away right? Who’s gonna believe that kid?” Lilith asked the questions out loud but was really talking to herself. “Mommy, I saw a car hit an invisible wall. Yeah Timmy...now go torture your sister.”

  Car still miraculously running, Lilith took it slow and steady past the kid and down the street. Devils End was never a bustling town, not since the Vanishings of 1941. But even by its standards it was desolate that morning. People were off from work and school, the only three places open were the grocery store and the Oasis Diner. They were on the other side of the city and the Main Street Movie Theater whose doors didn’t open until noon.

  Lilith pulled up to a storefront at the very end of Main street, near the old train yard. Its large windows meant to display goods and or services were covered with multiple layers of newspaper. A sign above the door read: “Blackward PWI Services”. Home sweet home.

  The brakes ground as Lilith’s car came to a stop. Without wasting any time she got out. Despite being cold, the rain felt good as it washed away a little bit of the glittery fairy goo. She took a second before walking around the front to the passenger side.

  Crate and fairy in hand, Lilith walked up to the front entrance of her offices. And they were hers. Bought by Alizia Blackward, her mother, as a parting gift after a disastrous Summer Solstice Dinner, it was signed over and in Lilith Blackward’s name.

  At only sixteen, Lilith owned a storefront property and the apartment above. In the first year or so she did exactly what a teenager in that position would do. Her future offices were a main local hangout and party spot. Good times.

  Now, five years later, at the pivotal age of twenty-one, Lilith was no longer interested in hosting parties. No, she was more interested in making rent. It wasn’t that her family wouldn’t help her, not directly of course considering the shame of having failed her judgement on her sixteenth birthday.

  Technically Lilith was not officially considered a witch. Yes, she still had Blackward blood flowing through her veins, but in the eyes of the coven, she was not one of them. As an outcast there were harsh restrictions on her use of magic, especially outside the privacy of her home. And she could not be an official coven licensed PWI.

  Not one to adhere to regulations and as one to find ways around them, Lilith opened an unofficial private detective agency in the storefront her mother bought her. Though she hadn’t had a mundane, non-magic being, customer yet. Even though the coven may not recognize her, her surname was recognized by those in need as that of a powerful famous family.

  The bell above the front door rang as Lilith entered Blackward PI Services.

  “Good morning Ms. Blackward,” greeted Sir Kain who sat stoically behind his desk near the entrance. He’d been there all night and the day before, staring with his red eyes into nothingness.

  “Is it?” sarcastically asked Lilith. “We need to get rid of that bell.”

  “Yes miss. Right away miss.” Sir Kain looked around his desk for a second and found a paperweight in the shape of a skull. He chucked it at the bell, missed. “Perhaps later miss.”

  “Whatever Sir Kain,” Lilith, exhausted, dropped the fairy crate on the floor. “Do something with this would ya?”

  “Ah, the fairies. They are nasty little creatures aren’t they?” Sir Kain stood up. Lilith could hear the living stone of his joints scrape together. He walked over and knelt down next to the crate.

  Lilith took off her coat. “Oh no, they’re warm and cuddly, real cuties.”

  Sir Kain, still kneeling turned to Lilith. “And Mrs. Kittering’s baby?”

  “Brought her back before coming here. I tracked her baby down, fought off a swarm of these little monsters and retrieved her child, brought it back to her and she didn’t even tip. Heck, she didn’t even thank me.”

  “Maybe she did not like her baby.” There was a childlike innocence to Sir Kain, but he may have been onto something.

  “Maybe she’s just cheap and ungrateful. Well, no, she’s definitely cheap.”Lilith stretched her back whilst yawning. “Can you take care of that thing? I’m gonna go upstairs and wash this fairy goo off.”

  Having heard Lilith the fairy tried lunging at her but predictably hit the crate wall, hard.

  “Oh, before I forget Ms. Blackward, you got a message.”

  This early? “I’m sure it can wait. While this slime can't.”

  “No, I’m afraid it can’t wait Lilith Blackward.” Standing in the corner obscured by shadows was a middle aged man clad in a gray suit, tie, and black shoes. Bald, his head was heavily tattooed, revealed when he took off his gray bowler hat.

  “Oh before I forget Ms. Blackward you have a guest.”

  “A client hopefully,” said the man in gray as he stepped out the shadows. One of his eyes was dead and cloudy, the other an icy blue.

  Do you make him wait and take that shower or do you hear him out first. Shower, job, shower, job. You need the job even if he does give me the heebie jeebies.

  “And how can I help you mister...?” asked Lilith as she stepped behind her desk. She opened up one of the drawers.

  “My name is Detective Milo Drake from the coven police,” the bald gray suited man waved his hand in front of Lilith’s face. A ring on said hand glowed yellow and an image of his badge, made of pure soul energy appeared in front of her.

  I knew it! I should’ve just let the car go, apologize to Mrs. Fitzgerald later. With both hands planted firmly on top of her desk and her head down Lilith replied: “Coven police huh? You’ve been watching me haven’t you?”

  “Among others, yes we have. May I?” Det. Drake pointed at the chair on the client side of Lilith’s desk.

  “I don’t care. What others? And why are you watching me? ” Lilith pulled a spare t-shirt out from her desk drawer. She wiped the fairy goo off her face.

  When Det. Drake laughed it made Lilit
h’s skin crawl. It was so disingenuous. Add to the fact that it sounded like a child’s laughter and the whole deal was a real turn off.

  “I’ve been called a lot of things but, Kain has anyone ever accused me of being funny?” Lilith asked Sir Kain without even looking at him.

  “No miss Blackward. Your cousin Harold once called you funny looking but I do not believe that’s the sa-”

  “Thank you,” Lilith interrupted. “So what’s so funny detective? And are you going to get to the point...I've got things to do.” Lilith had nothing to do.

  “Sorry. That was rather unprofessional of me. But I couldn’t help but laugh at the question. Of course we are watching you Lilith Blackward. Your position, if you wish to call it that, as an outcast, makes you a danger to the coven and the community as a whole. Alongside your famous name slash family and abilities, well, we can’t just let you operate unchecked.” Det. Drake took out a silver playing card deck sized cigarette case. On it was engraved the intertwined serpent and tree branch sigil of their coven.

  “My abilities?”

  “You traveled through space and time when you were sixteen. Red Wolf’s Folly was it? That’s a very advanced spell, takes a lot of innate power to perform let alone survive. It was an impressive feat Ms. Blackward. Makes me wonder how you failed your judgement with Deacon Thorne.”

  “Apparently he’s harder to impress. Again, your point?” Lilith put the goo covered t-shirt down on her desk.

  “You are not part of this coven. You are not a part of any coven, which makes your use of magic, in public, illegal.” Det. Drake opened the cigarette case and took out a smoke.

  “Good thing I’m not practicing magic in public,” Lilith couldn’t look Det. Drake in his eye. She never could when she lied.

  “Right. What happened to your car?” Det. Drake put the cigarette in his mouth.

  “Why not just say you know I used magic this morning instead of playing these games detective? Like I said I’m busy. If you want to bring me in, fine. If not, just tell me what you want.” Lilith put on a tough face but under the desk her leg shook nervously.

  Detective Drake lit and drew from his cigarette. He exhaled purple flowery scented smoke. “This isn’t the first time you’ve broken the law. I know you’ve been taking gifted clients. It’s well within my rights and abilities to shut this little business down and imprison you both.”

  “Yeah, yeah, but you don’t want to do that. What’s the job that keeps me and Kain out of prison?”

  “Smart girl,” commented Det. Drake.

  “Annoyed woman.”

  “Have you ever heard of the Cult of the Cold Dawn?” Det. Drake bent over and blew smoke at the caged fairy which actually made it calm down.

  “Should I have?”

  “I suppose not. Most people haven’t. Regeurk retniw em wohs.” The smoke that Det. Drake exhaled formed the shape of a woman. Within seconds that shape became like a realistic 3D model of a thirty something year old woman.

  “Who’s that?” asked Lilith, unimpressed.

  “Her name is Winter Krueger. Detective Winter Krueger. Two years ago she started her assignment infiltrating the Cold Dawn. Six weeks ago she disappeared.”

  “Have you looked for her body? Just saying, witch cults, not known for being nice.”

  “If she had died, I’d know. As her handler we’re bound by a manacle spell. Either of us die, the other would’ve felt it.” For the first time since meeting him, Lilith saw that Det. Drake was upset. She figures he must’ve cared about her.

  “If you’re bonded like that, why not see through her eyes?” Lilith referred to a spell that allows the caster to see, smell and feel what another magic user was seeing, smelling and feeling. Parents often used it on their kids.

  “Tried. Someone saw that coming and closed her soul off.”

  “So why are you coming to me? Surely the Coven Police have the resources to find her. Or at the very least, a lot more than me. I mean look around, we aren’t exactly a high end detective agency.” Lilith was intrigued. But confused and suspicious. Not only as to why Det. Drake came to her but because the ghost of her older self was standing behind him shaking her head no.

  “Officially Det. Krueger wasn’t undercover. This job, it was off the books at the station.”

  “Now why’s that?”

  Det. Drake took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly. He looked over at Sir Kane when he answered. “It’s complicated. Let’s just say I, we, suspected that some in the department were involved in the Cold Dawn.”

  Det. Drake put out his cigarette. “Anyway that’s the job. You find Winter Krueger and I’ll forget about your many offenses and your little business here.”

  “Not enough,” replied Lilith. She almost couldn’t believe she just said that, it was mostly on instinct and reflex.

  “Excuse me?” Det. Drake couldn’t believe Lilith turned down the offer.

  “That’s not enough. I want a guarantee that if I do this for you, you’ll see to it that surveillance on me ends. And unless I do something crazy I never have to have one of the Coven Police knocking at my door.” It was a bold move but Lilith knew that Det. Drake cared for the missing woman. She was holding all the cards at the moment.

  “I’m a detective not the chief of police Ms. Blackward,” responded Det. Drake with his arms open wide, shoulder’s shrugged up. “But I’ll see what I can do. I promise.”

  He’s not telling you something. This all smells fishy. But...if there’s a chance I might be able to get out from under the coven’s thumb if I take this job. Plus I really don’t want to go to prison.

  Lilith held out her hand. There was still some goo on it. “I’ll take the case.”

  Det. Drake shook Lilith’s outstretched hand. “Great. Do you have something to write with?”

  Lilith grabbed a random piece of paper off her desk and a pen.

  “3rd and Birch, there’s a house there that used to be a meeting place for the Cold Dawn. Start there. And good luck Ms. Blackward.” Det. Drake got up and headed to the door of Blackward PI Services. He stopped before leaving and looked back. “Hope this goes without saying but no one else can know. If anyone asks, you never met me. Understood?”

  Chapter 3

  “SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?” asked Lilith as she sat behind the wheel of her idle car. The hum of the labored engine made the vehicle almost vibrate. She could hear rain pelting the hood and top making an almost calming sound.

  Lilith’s junker was parked outside a quaint abandoned house on 3rd and Birch. Out in front of the dilapidated white picket fence surrounding the property was a sign post with the sign barely hanging on by one chain link. That sign swayed back and forth, had a picture of a white bird on it with the name of the business in white cursive: “The Dove Bed & Breakfast”.

  “Looks quaint,” answered old Lilith's Ghost from the backseat.

  “That’s not what I’m asking.”

  “I know. Like I’ve told you a thousand times, I don’t remember anything. Ghosts don’t have-”

  “The best of memories. I know.” Lilith looked in her rear view mirror barely able to see parts of old Lilith’s Ghost. Only able to be seen fully in the dark, the light of the day provided only pieces and parts of her visible. “Makes me wonder why mother sent you back with me. You don’t know anything.”

  “To help you, us solve our own murder. Sure, I don’t remember anything about what happened to us but I know plenty more. Two decades worth of spells, experience and knowledge that’s saved your, our, butt more than once.” OLG was plenty annoyed. The two of them had that conversation almost every day.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t need more spells. I need answers which apparently you have none.”

  What little of old Lilith's Ghost, or OLG as she became known as, that could be seen appeared in the passenger seat. She was not happy. The whole car became frigid and cold. “Maybe if you listened to my advice, we would have made more progress!”

/>   “What are you talking about?”

  “Did you not see me shaking my head telling you not to take this job?” asked OLG.

  “Oh I saw you,” Lilith opened the driver’s side door to a borderline downpour outside. “I just chose to ignore you.”

  “Don’t ask for my help and then get mad at me when you chose not to take it.”

  “I had to take this job,” said Lilith before exiting her car. In her mind there was no choice. Det. Drake was lying or at least lying by omission. She knew that, but he had her dead to rights. If she didn’t, she’d go to the coven prison which was a horrifying fate she refused to experience.

  Lilith pulled up the hood of her jacket and headed towards The Dove Bed & Breakfast. The white picket fence that surrounded the property was covered in chipping paint and missed the occasional plank of wood. There was a break where a door once was. She walked straight through.

  The grass of the bed & breakfast’s front lawn was tall, overgrown, up to Lilith’s knees. Weeds forced their way up through the cracks of the walkway that led to the front door. Little specks of yellow dandelions added a little color masquerading as actual flowers. Water splashed up with every step of her black Doc Martens.

  “Sregnad neeserofnu morf em tcetorp.” Lilith recited a protection spell before stepping up on the wooden front porch of The Dove Bed & Breakfast. In the blink of an eye a shield made of soul energy, pale light blue manifested and emanated out from Lilith’s body pushing the rain away. If one wasn’t looking for it they’d surely miss it.

  Lilith stepped up onto the porch. Nothing, the building didn’t have a protection spell of it’s own. That was both a good and bad sign. One that probably meant that it was abandoned, safe. But it also meant that there probably wasn’t anything there to protect.

  Why do I have a bad feeling that this is a waste of time? Lilith stood at the front door of the bed and breakfast.

  “Because you’re young, stupid and impatient?” chimed in OLG.

  “That’s enough of you. Time to go back in your crate. “Gnoleb uoy emoh kcab dna swodahs eht fo tuo.” When Alizia Blackward first joined OLG with present Lilith, it was a weird frightening feeling. Now, the latter had done it so much that it felt no more weird than brushing her teeth or taking a shower.