Free The Soother by Elle J Rossi

witch.
Watcher. Lecturer. Downer. Judger.
    “Not for long,” Calliope answered, flashing a smile. “I just need to grab something from home.” Keeping her foot from tapping proved to take a lot of concentration. Maybe Carrine would think she was dancing rather than visibly displaying her impatience. The former was natural, the latter completely disrespectful.
    Carrine eyed Calliope’s foot, then lifted her head and smiled, too. “I’ll keep you company,” she said, one sculpted eyebrow stretching toward the stars.
    Fantastic
. “Oh, that’s okay. I won’t be long at all.” Calliope stirred her drink and then sucked on her straw until all she heard was a loud slurping sound. How sad. Another one finished way too soon.
    “I insist,” Carrine said, grabbing her elbow and steering her toward the woods.
    Calliope calmly snatched her arm away. Figuring she wouldn’t be losing her chaperone anytime soon, she gave up the sly technique and settled for what would be a fast tuck-and-grab. Neither said much during the brief trip. Carrine was like that sometimes. She had a way of making one feel guilty even when there was nothing to be guilty about. That wasn’t the case though. Not this time. Usually Calliope was considered the good witch, and Bevva the one to watch.
    Calliope paused.
    Guilt in fact did manifest but not for the reason she’d originally thought. Bevva hadn’t made it back for Lammas. While her absence wasn’t necessarily a bad omen, it was odd.
    Bevva loved a good party and had never missed a Lammas celebration. How could it have taken so long for Calliope to realize her sister/best friend may be in trouble? Why else wouldn’t Bevva be partying like a witch gone crazy? Consumed with cryptic thoughts, Calliope zoomed into her house, grabbed a small black bag from her bedroom and raced back out the door.
    “Have you heard from Bevva?” she asked, barreling down the steps while stowing the small camera.
    “I’d planned to ask you the same question.” Carrine frowned. “Did she mention where she was headed?”
    “I don’t think so.” Truth was, Calliope really hadn’t been paying too close attention. At the time, she’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Charmer. “You think she’s okay?” She didn’t give Carrine time to answer before saying, “I’m gonna call her. Wait. Should I call her?”
    Pursed lips gave way to a forced smile. “I’m sure she’s fine. But go ahead and make that call.”
    Calliope pulled her cell out of her back pocket, hit the star under Bevva’s name and put the phone to her ear.
    “Yo! I’m busy. Do what you gotta do.”
    Calliope snapped the phone closed and willed her nerves to settle. “It went straight to voicemail.”
    “I see. Let’s let it rest for tonight. Tomorrow, after morning clean-up, we’ll put out some feelers. You know Bevva. She’ll turn up.”
    Calliope tried to offer a smile, but the effort came across as more of a scowl. She did know her sister. Better than anyone else, and this wasn’t like her. Not at all.
    They silently made their way back to the party. Maybe it was Calliope’s mood, but it seemed to her as if the energy had shifted. She’d always been very in-tune with the vibe of her coven, and while excitement still coated the air, an underlying current of something, perhaps apprehension, had settled like a thin haze on an otherwise sunshiny kind of day.

Chapter Nine
    With blood came power. Right now, so much power coursed through Krystoff’s body, he had to jog in place to work off some of his energy before he passed out from an adrenaline overload. He hadn’t meant to drain the wolf … or the fox … or the rabbit, whose carcasses he would have added to a mass grave had he not remembered he could also breathe life back into those he killed. Calliope had him so starved, he could have, and probably would have, drained the entire forest had it not been for the owl he’d stumbled upon. That was where he drew the line.
    Was