Everyday Witches

Now that the time had finally come, Marge didn’t know whether to be relieved or sick with worry. They were one step closer to finding the murderer and that much closer to putting it all behind them. But they would still have to apprehend him, and then deal with him afterwards. She was reasonably confidant that she and Jude would be able to handle it, but this was bigger than anything they’d been up against before and it was a bit frightening. Her husband may be a policeman, but the worst she was used to facing down with was a house full of teenage boys. She was in good shape though, even though she was middle aged. That Pilates class she’d been taking for years now kept her limber as a willow. And she had the benefit of a few well worked spells as back up. Jude was still young and the farm kept him in fantastic shape too. He was bold, and strong, and capable. Still, she knew that they were up against a desperate witch here, and he may be willing to pull out all the stops to keep his freedom.

Marge had spent the last hour or so off and on the phone with Jeff, tracking down Tom’s address and any other information that they could pull up on him. She wanted to be prepared before they went in, guns blazing. She had considered calling in James and Maria as backup, but had decided against it. James already had his hands full with the farm. Marge was lucky as it was that he was willing to lend her Jude as often as he did. There was always work to be done and she didn’t want to cause them any more trouble than she had to. Plus, it might be worth it to keep as low a profile as possible, so as not to tip off Tom as soon as they showed up. If they were going to be successful here, they would need the element of surprise. After much discussion, Jude had agreed and they had come up with a plan.

Tom Delaney, the murderer they were out to apprehend worked from home as a day trader and would most likely be at home during the day. While it might be prudent to wait for the cover of night to avoid being seen, there would also be more people about as they came home from work. So it had been decided that it would be better to get this out of the way as soon as possible, with the fewest amount of possible bystanders. They were also concerned with tipping off Tom to their presence before they would be able to catch him. Jeff had stepped in with a map of the area though, and they had planned their approach accordingly. Marge figured that, as long as they didn’t appear suspicious or use too much magic near the house, they should be relatively safe. The area where they would need to gain access to the house was mostly secluded and the element of surprise was most likely still on their side, in that he probably didn’t know that they personally were looking for him. He might be getting nervous but he probably wouldn’t be watching for them from the windows. With a little stealth and Annabelle’s assistance, they ought to be able to get right up to the house and hopefully catch Tom without being discovered.

Now the plan was laid and it was time to act. Luckily, Jude was already at Marge’s house when she had received the call about Tom and the two had decided to leave as soon as they could be ready and head over to Tom’s house in Jude’s truck. Checking carefully to be sure that the shield and plank spells Marge had brewed were in good shape and tucked away in easy to access pockets, they rallied their familiars and loaded up in the truck. Tom’s house was across town, but it wouldn’t take them more than fifteen or twenty minutes to reach. With Jude behind the wheel and Marge settled in beside, he put the truck in gear and began to back out into the roadway. A slow moving Chevy truck was coming up the street behind them and he quickly slammed on the brakes. The noonday sun made it difficult to see into the other truck; the sun’s glare turning the windshield into an opaque repository of light. Jude cursed softly under his breath at the unseen driver and waited for the truck to pass. It continued to crawl towards them and then, once it had come to within a few houses of where their truck sat it suddenly picked up speed and flew past them, continuing on down the street. Marge clucked and shook her head and Jude muttered something about idiot drivers before putting the truck back in gear. Luckily, the crazy driver turned off onto a side street and they were able to continue on without having to worry about encountering them again.

Keeping up a rote chatter about her boys and Ricky’s upcoming ceremony, they passed the time and arrived at their destination without any more holdups. When they had reached the neighborhood where Tom lived, Marge instructed Jude to park the truck a few streets away. They didn’t want to alert Tom by pulling the truck up right in front of his house and planned to walk the rest of the way instead. With Kojack along, they could pretend that they were just two people out walking their dog and most likely make their way to the house without attracting any attention. Jude found a place to park, in front of a large community playground that the neighborhood shared. He climbed out of the truck and pulled open the door to let Kojack out of the backseat.

While he was waiting for Marge, Jude dug Kojack’s leash out of a pouch that hung on the back of the driver’s seat. Kojack sat patiently while Jude got it attached and then, closing up the truck, they walked over to where Marge stood near the curb. She laced an arm through Jude’s free arm, holding tightly to her purse with the other. Clicking the lock button on his key fob, Jude crammed his keys into a pocket and together they casually strolled off in the direction of Tom’s house.

The houses in the area were quite large with elegantly manicured yards. Several had gazebos or large playgrounds visible over the tops of backyard fences. There were a few cars lining the streets but luckily no one was out and about at this hour. The sun baked down on the pavement, causing little heat mirages above the road in front of them. Marge wished that she’d thought to dress for the occasion. The trendy jean jacket she wore over her strappy dress seemed to soak in the heat and hold it close to her skin. Kojack’s tongue lolled by the time they reached the first turn.

They continued their walk until they were approaching the street where Tom lived. In order to keep hidden as long as possible they would use the back entrance; and would need to take the little alley way that ran along the back of the houses here. Walking past the street itself and on to the alley, they turned and continued along behind the houses. Fortunately, most of the back yards were filled with trees, and there was plenty of shade and cover here.

Many of Tom’s neighbors had large, wooden privacy fences, but when they reached the back of his house they found that it was surrounded only by a chain link fence. The expansive yard leading up to the house was lined with ornamental bushes and the interior featured a large swimming pool bordered by a lush grouping of native plants. Trees dotted the interior, giving shade to much of the yard without obscuring the view entirely; and well place groupings of bushes and flowers were present throughout. Stepping behind a tree to block the view from the house as much as possible, Marge stopped and scrutinized the area to see what they had to work with. There was a stone patio directly behind the house with a handsome grouping of wrought iron furniture and a large fire pit. The door leading onto the patio was closed and had a relatively small stained glass window in the middle of it. There were three windows looking out onto the back yard from the house, all covered with sheer curtains.

They continued on, past the entry gate and, sticking close to the wall, followed it around until they reached the side of the house. Stopping in a place out of view of the windows, they each pulled out their potion containers and Jude reached a hand into his shirt pocket for his focusing stone as well. “Rune first, or potions,” he asked Marge, holding up his stone and raising a thick eyebrow in question.

“The rune first, I think,” she replied. “I’m not sure what all the shield potion will block, actually. It’s possible that it would prevent the spread of the protection rune, so it’s probably better to get it out of the way first.”

Jude nodded and held the stone out in front of himself, steepling his hands together around it and closing his eyes. He breathed deeply several times, forcing all the tension out of his body and focusing solely on the stone gripped in his hand. When he opened his eyes and began to force his hands apart, Marge noticed that the magical aura that surrounded him brightened. The essence of magic began to grow and a restless chirping came from the trees above them. Trying to maintain his calm composure, Jude hurried through the ritual as much as he dared, moving his hands in a circular motion and speaking the words so softly that even Annabelle would be hard pressed to hear them. Finishing the motions, he made the final circle and the crescendo of magic exploded with a tiny pop. A dove in the tree directly above them startled and took flight noisily. Both witches flinched but then closed their eyes and stood completely still, allowing the protective magic to encircle them.

As the essence began to dissipate, Marge reached into her gum container and pulled out a potion. She carefully selected one of the vials with clear liquid, which would be the shield potion. She waited until Jude had gotten his out as well and then stepped away from him until there was a good ten feet between the two of them. It wouldn’t do to have the spells overlap and get themselves mixed up. The vials she’d chosen for the potions were versatile and the glass would break easily, releasing the potion within when thrown against a hard surface in a combat type situation. Right now though she didn’t see any reason to leave litter or evidence behind, so she opted to just pop off the lid and save the vial. Glancing over at Jude to see if he was ready, she went ahead and pulled off the little plastic stopper. Then she poured the contents of the vial into her hands and flicked her fingers towards herself, sprinkling the potion across her body. Looking back up at Jude, she verified that he was doing the same thing.

The tension in the air grew and the resonance of magic reached a fever pitch and then quickly subsided. The aura that naturally surrounded Jude when she looked at him seemed to dim and it was almost like looking at him through an imperfect glass lens. She could see him just fine but there was a subtle distortion that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Glancing down at Kojack, it was the same. He had been well encircled in the protective spell too and had an almost hazy quality to him.

“Well, it seems to have worked,” Marge said quietly to Jude, as she tucked the pack of potions back into her jacket pocket.

Jude nodded and put a finger to his lips, his dark eyes concerned. “We better be quiet from here on out,” he said softly. “He might have been alerted by the magic, and we don’t want to give ourselves away before we find him.” Marge nodded in response.

Jude tucked his potions into a pants pocket and then turned back towards the yard, motioning for Marge to follow. He made his way silently around the corner of the house and followed the fence along until he reached the gate. It was locked and he grimaced, debating whether it would be a good idea to use magic to open it. He could do it, but it would be messy. Just like the alarm panel that had been melted off the wall in the home of the man who had been murdered. He didn’t have a lock pick set though and he couldn’t see trying to get Marge to climb over the top of it, so it was really the only good option. They would have to be careful though because Tom would surely be alerted to their presence if they were to preform too much magic out here.

Motioning for Marge to stand back, he pulled his focusing stone back out and focused intently on the lock. He traced the motions of the rune carefully in the air and as the magic began to grow, the lock vibrated on the gate. It began to glow softly with an orangeish light and then as the rune finished, it crumbled to the ground. Evidently metal reacted differently than plastic to this sort of thing. Jude reached down to undo the latch, being careful not to touch the area where the lock had been, as it would most likely be hot. He turned back to Marge and, putting a finger over his lips, motioned towards the yard. Then he slipped past the gate.

Sticking close to the wall, they skirted the yard and made their way towards the back entrance of the house. The back door most likely led into the kitchen and was a possible option, but he would rather find an open window if possible. When they had reached the porch, Jude pointed to Marge’s purse and then to the windows. Annabelle would be able to move about without being discovered much easier than they could.

Marge nodded and opened the top of her purse, reaching a hand in for Annabelle. Then, drawing her hand back out, she looked at the fairy to make sure she had her attention before pointing at each of the windows. The fairy nodded vigorously in response and then flew off to check the closest one. It appeared to be locked and the small fae shook her head in disappointment. The next one however, was unlocked, and Annabelle waved wildly, beckoning for them to follow.

Marge sidled up to the window first and tried to peer into the room through the sheer drapes. The interior of the room was shadowy, with no lights on, but it appeared to be a bedroom. It would be the perfect place to enter the house, as long as Tom wasn’t close by when they opened the window. Looking back at Jude, she nodded silently and then began to carefully ease the window open. Thankfully, it moved quietly and she was able to get it open far enough for them to climb inside without making any noise. She motioned for Annabelle to go on ahead and then set her purse down on the porch. No use in lugging the thing around once they were inside, and she had the little pack of spells tucked away in a pocket already.

Pushing the curtains to one side, she carefully climbed over the windowsill and moved to one side of the window inside the room. Jude was close behind her. Once he was inside he looked back at the window, in question, and Marge shook her head. They might need a quick exit and it was probably better to leave it open, just in case. She scanned the room for Annabelle, but the fairy was nowhere in sight. She must’ve gone to scout the house. Walking softly around the edge of the room, Marge settled in beside the door to wait. Jude followed suit and the two of them stood stiffly upright, backs close to the wall so that they wouldn’t be visible if someone happened to walk by and look into the room.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a couple of minutes, Marge heard the familiar buzzing of wings and then Annabelle appeared. She flew up to Marge’s shoulder to perch, grabbing onto the mass of blond curls to hold herself steady. Putting her tiny face close to Marge’s ear, she whispered that she had found Tom in one of the upstairs rooms. Not wanting to nod and disturb her small friend, Marge held up a hand in front of herself and made a thumb’s up sign. Then she turned carefully to Jude and pointed out of the room, and then up in the air. Hopefully he would realize what she meant.

The three friends, and Kojack, slipped quietly out of the room and down the hall. As they neared the end of the hallway, the resonance of magic grew stronger. It was no wonder that Tom hadn’t noticed the spells they’d practiced outside, because his house was potent with it already. The hallway opened up into a large dining area, with a staircase that led up to the second floor on the opposite side of the room. The house was richly and tastefully decorated and it was obvious that the witch had a standard of living that wouldn’t be satisfied without his ill-gotten gains. The dining set alone must have cost a fortune. Speaking of which, Marge noticed that behind the dining table, there was a long buffet style counter that housed a line of small cages. Pointing in that direction for Jude’s benefit, she crept across the room to have a look.

Tom obviously didn’t share Marge’s compunction for keeping her magical accouterments hidden. The dining table itself was covered with the myriad remnants of potion making supplies. A large metal pot sat in the middle with about an inch of fetid looking liquid pooled in the bottom. Strewn around alongside it were various types of plants and herbs and powders, some of them in small glass jars and others scattered directly on the tabletop. Marge shook her head in distaste as she walked past. This witch was dangerous and could easily bring trouble to them all.

Behind the table, on the buffet counter there were two larger cages on one end that looked like they had been lived in, but were empty now. Each one contained a small house, a bit bigger than a bird house, and what appeared to be a few recreational items scattered about. This must be where he had kept his leprechauns, Marge thought. He had kept them caged! They must not have come willingly. She moved down the counter, peering into the rest of the cages. There was one more smaller empty cage and then the last few held a pixie, a fairy, and a frog. At least this tyrant didn’t cram them full. But it was still unheard of to keep them caged this way. Both the pixie and the fairy came up to the front of their cages when they heard her approach. The fairy was subdued, but the little pixie gesticulated wildly from behind the glass, waving its hands around and mouthing something that she couldn’t make out. She was considering setting them free when Jude came up behind her and laid a hand on her arm.

“Later,” Jude mouthed to her, and pointed emphatically towards the stairs. He was right. They needed to finish what they had come here for first. There would be time to set the small prisoners free once Tom had been dealt with. Marge nodded, turning back to the cages. She held out a finger towards them and then pressed it to her lips, hoping that they would wait and be quiet in the interim. She had just turned back around and begun to move towards the stairs when a figure appeared at the top.

The room where Marge and Jude stood was darkened, but there was enough ambient light from the windows that there would be no mistaking them. The witch at the top of the stairs took one step down and then froze, seeing them standing there. His eyes widened comically and he put a hand up to his chest in fright. Then he spun quickly and ran down the upstairs hallway. Jude and Marge both raced for the stairs, Annabelle still holding tightly to Marge’s hair as they flew across the floor. Kojack barked loudly several times, but Jude silenced him with a tight command.

Marge clipped an ankle on a dining room chair as she skirted the table and slowed, wincing. Reaching the stairs first, Jude took them two at a time, bounding forward as quickly as he could. He fumbled for the pack of potions in his pocket as he ran. When he made it to the top, he slowed and walked cautiously down the hall. Surely Tom knew that he was cornered. He was on the second floor and there wouldn’t be anywhere to go. But he might be holed up in one of the rooms with a potion at the ready. The shield spells that Jude and Marge had used would still be in effect, so they should be safe for the most part, but Jude knew better than to underestimate a desperate man.

Marge caught up with Jude in the second floor hallway and reached a hand up to nudge at Annabelle on her shoulder. The fairy took flight and hovered in the air in front of her. Marge pointed down the hallway, indicating each of the doors and the fairy took off down the hall. Marge and Jude waited near the top of the stairs, catching their breath. Annabelle flew the length of the hallway, stopping in front of each doorway momentarily to listen. When she heard the sound of Tom’s breathing from behind a door near the end of the hallway, she hovered there, pointing and waving in the direction.

The air suddenly grew colder and the essence of magic prickled their noses. Abandoning all restraint, Jude barreled forward and launched himself at the door. It was locked from the inside, but after two tries it burst inward. Jude charged into the room and Tom, who was standing to one side of the door, threw something at him. The sticky liquid landed on his face, running in goopy lines down the sides of his nose. The shield spell held though, and as soon as it hit his skin it began to bubble and degrade. Jude reached a hand up and wiped at his face distractedly. Tom stared at him in disbelief. There was no telling what had been in that thing, but Jude guessed that it wouldn’t have been pretty to find out.

Realizing that his spell wasn’t working, Tom edged across the room towards the window. He kept his body facing towards Jude but looked back behind him to see what a fall from this distance would entail. Jude couldn’t see the ground outside the window from where he stood, but Tom didn’t seem to like his odds. He brought his hands up and quickly began tracing a rune in the air, probably trying to finish whatever he had been up to when Jude burst through the door. Jude knew that he couldn’t let him get away with it. The shield potion may have blocked whatever Tom had thrown a minute ago, but there were runic spells that could work around it.

Lunging forward, Jude made to grab Tom by the arms, but the other witch twisted out of the way. As he spun, he stuck out a leg, catching Jude’s shin with it. Jude went down hard. Kojack went wild and barked once before latching onto Tom’s pants leg with his teeth. He shook his head viciously back and forth, pulling Tom off balance. From the doorway, Marge had caught up to them and looked on warily. If she were to throw the plank spell in these close quarters, she wasn’t sure if it would affect the others or not. She hadn’t seen Tom’s failed attempt. Jude, who was laying on the ground clutching at his leg saw her hesitation, and the pack of potions clutched tightly in her hand.

“Just do it,” Jude cried, letting go of his injured leg with one hand and pantomiming a throwing motion.

Taking a deep breath, Marge resolutely took the vial with the green potion in it and threw it at the ground at Tom’s feet. The thin vial exploded, sending a spray of green potion in every direction. The potion covered Kojack’s fur, but since he had been included in the shield spell, it dripped harmlessly from his fur to the floor. The potion also splashed up Tom’s legs and onto his hands. When it came in contact with his skin, the witch immediately went rigid. He stood, comically suspended and completely motionless for a moment and then toppled over onto the ground. Not being able to break his fall, he hit the ground hard, his head coming in contact with and bouncing painfully off the bare linoleum.

Marge let out a shaky breath of relief and shuffled towards him to assess the damage. He had a pretty big bruise on his forehead already, but he was still breathing and seemed to be okay, other than being unable to move. Leaning down, Marge tucked a hand under him and rolled him over onto his back. Then she stood in a half crouch, looking at him closely, surveying the effects of the spell. By now, Jude had mostly recovered and he climbed to his feet and warily limped towards where she stood. Coming up beside her and looking down at Tom, he whistled softly and reached a hand forward to give Marge a pat on the back.

“Well done, Marge,” he said in admiration. “I’ve never seen one of those potions in action, but I’ve got to say it worked great.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, his eyes sparkling and a huge grin on his face. “I think I could get used to this, actually. It was intense but it was fun! I can see why your husband went in for the police work.”

Marge laughed feebly and stood up straight. She pushed her hair back out of her face and smoothed down the back of her skirt, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

“Well, you may have enjoyed the rush, but it’s definitely not something I want to do every day,” she replied, shaking her head to clear it.

“Aw, come on,” Jude said, still smiling broadly. “We make a good team. And your potions kick ass!” He looked down at where Tom still lay, motionless. “We can’t leave him here like this forever though. You’d better call Jeff and tell him to get over here asap.”

Marge nodded and reached a hand down for her purse, before remembering that she had left it outside on the porch. She looked back at Tom.

“Do you think he’ll be okay if we leave him here for a little bit,” she asked. “I need to go get my phone so I can call Jeff. And we need to do some cleaning up down there.” Her eyes narrowed. “And then there’s the matter of the caged things. We really ought to let them out.”

Jude nodded, his smile fading but still looking pleased with himself. “Sure, I think he’ll be fine. That potion won’t be wearing off any time soon, and he’s not going anywhere. Serves him right anyway.” The two witches looked down at Tom and although his face was frozen, his eyes looked frightened.

Marge didn’t have much sympathy for him either, but she said to him, “Don’t worry. We’re not going to leave you like this forever. But you do have to answer for your crimes. We’ll discuss it later.” Then she and Jude left the room, closing the door behind them, and went back down the stairs.

While Marge went out to get her purse and call Jeff, Jude stayed behind to get things in order. First things first, he thought, and made his way towards the cages where the fairy and pixie were being held. Kneeling down to look into the enclosures, he could see that both of the poor creatures were pressed up against the glass and the pixie was beating frantically on the wall. He lifted the lids and the pixie immediately flew out and hovered near the closest window. The fairy rose slowly from the cage and, after looking around warily, settled down on the table.

Jude went over to the back door and pulled it open halfway, motioning for the tiny fae to make their way outside. The pixie made a beeline for the door, leaving a faint trail of agitated dust behind him. Jude turned to look for the fairy and saw that Annabelle had found him and the two sat on the counter top, deep in conversation.

“I’m just going to go ahead and shut the door for now,” Jude said, so that the fairy could hear. “Just let me know if you’d like me to open it again. Then he set to work clearing off the potion making supplies from the dining room table. By the time he had finished, Marge had returned.

“Jeff is on his way,” Marge said, sounding relieved. “He’s going to stop by the house and switch vehicles, so he doesn’t have to come out here in his patrol car, but it shouldn’t be too long.” She surveyed the cleared table, the washed dishes, and the neatly piled stack of herb jars on the counter. “Excellent job! We probably ought to take those potion supplies with us, just in case there’s something dangerous in there that needs to be disposed of. Nobody would ever know what he had been up to in her now though.”

Jude ducked his head and grinned. “My pleasure,” he responded. “We couldn’t leave all that stuff laying out now, could we?” He pointed to the pair of fairies, still seated close together on the counter, a wry grin on his face. “I let the pixie out, but it seems that Annabelle has found a new friend.”

Marge looked over at the two and grinned in return. They had encountered other fairies before, but most of them were used to a different kind of existence and didn’t stick around long. These two had some commonalities though. Maybe something good would come out of this mess after all.

“I’m going to look through the house while we wait for Jeff,” Marge said to Jude. “Would you mind going to get the truck and loading up those supplies?” She scooted in closer to Jude and whispered, “And we can give those two a little more time to get acquainted.” She pointed at the fairies, her eyes twinkling.

Jude agreed and gathered up Kojack’s leash. He went over to the last cage that currently housed the frog. “Should I let this little guy out first,” he asked Marge. “There’s no telling how long he’s been in there, and how he might do out in the wild.”

Marge circled the table and drew in close to Jude, peering down into the cage along with him. “Aw, he’s really kind of cute,” she said, laying a finger against the wall of the enclosure. The frog hopped towards her finger, eyeing it curiously. “Let’s take him with us,” she continued. It might be Tom’s familiar, and it could be really hard on the poor thing if we just chuck it out into the yard now. Besides, Ricky might like him.” The frog did have a bit of an aura; not an overwhelming one, but it was possible that he was loosely tied to the other witch. Either way, frogs were no trouble, and it would probably be better off this way regardless.

Jude agreed and, clicking his tongue at Kojack, the two went outside to begin the trek back to the truck. Marge told Annabelle that she was going to check the house for anything else that might need to be disposed of and then disappeared upstairs, leaving the fairies to chat.

A short time later Jude returned and began loading the potion making supplies and the frog cage into the back seat of the truck. While he was standing in the driveway, arranging things in the seat so that they wouldn’t fall over and break Jeff pulled up beside him. He tucked a towel in around the last jar, making sure that it was secure and then turned towards the other car. Jeff opened the door and hopped out immediately after the engine cut off.

“Man, am I glad to see you,” Jude exclaimed.

Jeff hurried around the car, coming up beside Jude and his truck. “Same,” he responded enthusiastically. “I can’t believe we’ve finally got him!” His eyes narrowed a bit, and he unwittingly rested his hands on his gun belt. “Everything went okay though, right? Marge said she was fine, but she did sound a little stressed.”

Jude nodded, unable to contain his smile. The thrill of the chase had awakened a bit of an adventure junkie in him. “It was awesome, actually. He saw us downstairs and tried to make a break for it, but I chased him down.” His thick black hair was beginning to stick to his forehead and he swiped it away with a large hand. “And then he tried to use a potion on me, but our shields held and Marge was able to take him down with her plank spell. He’s upstairs right now, still laid out.” He glanced towards the upper floor of the house and then back at Jeff.

“You would’ve made a great cop, son,” Jeff beamed, clapping Jude on the shoulder. “I’ve got to admit that I’m glad you’re doing what you’re doing though. If Marge hadn’t had you with her…” His eyes pinched with worry, but he shook it off. He tugged at his tie, uncomfortably. “Anyway, I’m glad that you guys were up to the task. Let’s head on in and get this over with.” Jude nodded and then led the way back into the house.

When Jeff and Jude entered the dining area, Marge was standing by the counter talking with the fairies. She looked up and smiled with relief when she saw Jeff. Her blue eyes were red rimmed and she looked tired. Jeff’s expression softened as he made his way around the table and swept her up into his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder and he held her in a fierce grip, rubbing gentle circles on her back.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered. “I was trying not to worry, but if anything happened to you I don’t know what I’d do.”

“I’m fine,” Marge replied wearily, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and holding him a moment longer before pulling away. She left a hand lying along his arm but backed up enough that they could see each other well. “It’s what he’s been up to that I feel so terrible about. She looked down at where Annabelle sat on the counter, the other fairy curled up close to her and their tiny hands entwined. Marge’s lip quivered as she said, “Annabelle has been talking with Price, the other fairy here. She says that Tom captured him when he was just a boy and that he’s lived nearly his entire life in this cage. He has no idea how long it’s been but he’s definitely a grown fairy now.” She looked back up at Jeff and a few tears spilled over.

Jeff looked down at the newly freed fairy, who hadn’t even bothered to leave when set free. He gave him a sharp salute. “Pleasure to meet you, Price,” he said, crisply. “That’s a terrible thing that you’ve been through and words just can’t express. But trust me when I say that you’ll never have to live in a cage again.” The fairy nodded almost imperceptibly and said something that was so softly spoken and highly pitched that no one but Annabelle could understand.

Marge squeezed Jeff’s hand and said, “She also said that Price told her about the leprechauns. It seems that they were brought in some time after Price got here. There were two of them and Tom brought them in together, but he kept them in separate cages. He only ever brought them out when he needed something from them. He was using them to gild his luck on the stock markets.” She sniffed and then continued. “One of them died about a month ago and then the other one died shortly after. It seems that our witch has been on a furious hunt to either find a way to locate another leprechaun or to replicate his luck another way. And he’s been stealing to keep himself afloat in the mean time.”

Jude had been silently taking everything in, but finally he crossed the room to stand beside the others. He looked down at the fairies, his dark eyes pulled close together with grief. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through, Price,” he said, his voice a mixture of pain and anger. With his close attachment to the Gaia and Earth’s creatures, it was unthinkable to him to treat one of them this way. “Tom will pay for his crimes though, and he won’t do this to anyone ever again. May the Gaia have mercy on him. Because I wouldn’t if it were up to me.” He paused a moment, lost in thought, his naturally handsome face hardened with emotion.

“Where do you plan on going after this,” he asked finally, blinking off the venomous thoughts and crouching down so that he was on a more even level with the fairies. “I have a big farm with lots of room. There are a few pixie families in residence, but I don’t think there are any fairy families close by. You’re welcome to stay there if you want.”

Price got to his feet and the witches got a good look at him for the first time. He had a bright shock of red hair that trailed halfway down his back and was shot through with a few streaks of white. The only clothing he wore was a kilt that appeared to be sewn together from the remnants of an old sock. He stood up straight, squaring his shoulders and pounded a fist on his chest. Then he issued a long stream of utterly unintelligible words. Marge blinked slowly and the two men each nodded, their smiles too wide and eyes vacant.

Annabelle, noting the blank faces, held a hand out towards Price; climbing to her feet and then flying up to head height. She hovered in the air in front of the witches. “He says that he’d like to come home with me,” she said, her own voice terribly soft and high pitched but well practiced. “He also said thank you all and that he appreciates your kind words.” She returned to her spot on the counter but this time stood beside Price.

“Of course,” Marge said quickly. “He’s more than welcome to join us at our house. I’d be glad to fix him up a place to stay, or whatever he would like.” She looked to Jeff and he nodded. “It’s settled then,” she continued. “We just need to get Tom out of here and then we can all go home.

A shrill chirp sounded, followed by a buzzing similar to the sound Annabelle often made. Price’s wings were fluttering so fast that they were hardly even visible.

“It’s okay, Price,” Annabelle told the other fairy. “He’s under a plank spell and can’t move right now. And they are going to bring him to a ceremony to be judged by the Gaia. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” She reached for one of his hands and held it tightly in her own. The other fairy nodded and the furious buzzing subsided. Price said something to Annabelle and she looked thoughtful.

“Price wants to know what the Gaia will do with Tom,” Annabelle said, rubbing a soothing hand across his.

Jeff cleared his throat and tucked his thumbs into his belt. “Well, it depends,” he replied, looking serious. “There are several options really. It may be decided to forcibly unbind him from the Gaia. In that case, he could go about the rest of his life like a regular human, but wouldn’t be able to access the magical realm again. There’s also an internment camp in the far north of Russia that’s run by witches who have given their lives to oversee those who’ve done something terrible enough to be sent there. Being surrounded by all that frozen water negates their powers and they’re held in a sort of prison.” He shook his head at the thought of it. Either option would be awful and he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to do something that would land him in either situation. The internment camp offered the possibility of redemption anyway, but he’d heard that most witches who were sent there never got released.

“Anyway,” Jeff said, clapping his meaty hands together and startling the fairies. “Let’s get this show on the road. We need to get Tom to a secure location to wait for the ceremony and the Gaia’s decision.” He gestured towards Jude to lead the way and the two men traipsed up the stairs to the room where Tom lay.

Opening the door, Jude stood back and allowed Jeff to go into the room first. Tom was still laid flat on the floor, body completely stiff. Jeff gave a low whistle and tugged on his hat. “Marge’s potion did this, huh? Impressive.” He nudged Jeff with the toe of his boot. “I wonder how hard it’ll be to get him into the car like this though.” He looked at Jude, who shrugged.

Kneeling down, Jeff grabbed one of Tom’s arms and pulled it out to the side. It moved but stayed put exactly where Jeff set it. Looking Tom in the eyes, Jeff said, “Son, I’m sure you know that you’ve committed a crime that requires the intervention of the Gaia. Now, I’m not going to hurt you, but I am going to take you into custody until the ceremony when the Gaia will decide your fate.” Although his body couldn’t move to show fear, Tom’s pupils contracted and a sheen of sweat broke out on his brow. When Jeff was sure that Tom had heard and understood he tried rearranging his arms once again, to see how pliable they would be. It seemed that they would be able to get him to move, but he would appear stiff and awkward to anyone who might see. The best bet would probably be to put his arms around their shoulders and carry him downstairs and out to the car as if helping a drunk to walk.

Explaining the plan to Jude, Jeff grabbed one of Tom’s arms while Jude grabbed the other. Then they lifted him into a standing position. It would definitely look weird if someone were to see them, but he figured that they’d be able to get him from the front door to the car quick enough. Tom was tall and in order to get him properly positioned they had to bend his legs at the knees. It only added to the drunk effect though. Jeff also positioned his head so that it lolled to one side and the trio were set to go.

Maneuvering carefully down the hallway and then the stairs, Jeff and Jude shuffle walked Tom all the way to the front door of the house. Digging a hand into a pocket of his suit pants, Jeff pulled out his keys and handed them to Marge. Then he and Jude waited until she had gotten the car unlocked and its back door opened.

When they were ready, the two men shuffled Tom the rest of the way to the car and laid him down in the backseat, tucking his knees up onto the seat along with him. Jeff buckled the seat belt around him for good measure and then closed the car door. He gave Marge a quick kiss goodbye and then loaded up and sped out of the neighborhood as quickly as he dared.