Page 19 of Bewitched by the Wicked Witch (The Bewitching Hour #4)

Twelve

Sage

C allum and I had started up the winding road that led to my grandmother Bertie's house, the silence between us heavy with unspoken words and complicated emotions, when Paige practically barreled into us.

She appeared around a bend in the path like a small tornado, hot tracks streaming down her flushed cheeks as her hands clutched desperately at her jacket.

Her usually bright eyes were red-rimmed and glistening with the tears.

"Paige, what's wrong?" I asked immediately, my protective instincts kicking into high gear as I reached for her. Cosmo moved closer to investigate, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air around her.

"I smell death," he announced, his nose crinkling in distaste as he continued to sniff.

"You've been around the recently departed.

" He sniffed again, then sneezed dramatically, shaking his head like he'd caught a whiff of month-old tuna left in the sun.

"Only not death of the body. The spiritual kind.

Someone definitely kicked the metaphysical bucket, and recently too - the ethereal stench is still fresh. "

His whiskers twitched as he circled Paige with professional interest, his tail puffed up like a bottle brush. "There's something else, though. This doesn't smell like normal death. It's... different. Displaced, maybe?"

My eyes widened as I took in Paige's fearful, confused expression and her ghostly pale complexion. Something was very wrong here, and given what we'd just been discussing about the missing girls, I had a terrible feeling I knew what it might be.

"What happened, Paige?" I asked as gently as I could manage, smoothing her wavy hair back from her face with trembling fingers. "You can tell me anything, sweetheart. You know that."

"She's... well, this is going to sound completely insane," Paige said, looking more puzzled than devastated as she chewed her lower lip. "But I think I just saw Beverly's ghost. Sort of. Maybe. It's complicated."

"What do you mean, sort of?" Callum asked, stepping forward with professional interest. "Can you describe exactly what you experienced?"

"Bev appeared to me about an hour ago, but she wasn't like any spirit I've ever seen before," Paige explained, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"She kept trying to tell me knock-knock jokes.

Really terrible ones that didn't make any sense.She was glowing this weird pink color, like some kind of neon filter was stuck on her.

She paused, taking a shaky breath before continuing. "She also asked me to tell her mom that she's fine but 'temporarily unavailable for magical reasons' and that she'll definitely be back in time for the winter formal. Her exact words."

"Wait," Callum interrupted, looking alarmed. "She's dead? Are you certain?"

"Not dead," Paige corrected quickly, shaking her head emphatically.

"That's what I'm trying to explain. It's more like.

.. magically displaced? She said someone was a 'total magical noob' and that his 'improvement project' was 'the dumbest thing since someone tried to teach cats to use smartphones.

'" She paused again. "Her words, not mine.

Though I have to agree about the cats and smartphones thing. "

I felt a mixture of relief and renewed worry wash over me. If Beverly wasn't actually dead, that was good news. But if she was magically displaced, that opened up a whole new set of terrifying possibilities about what might have happened to her and the other girls.

Paige's witch powers were notably potent, inherited from her connection to the Blackstone family line even though the relationship was more distant than mine.

She had strong clairvoyant abilities, allowing her to see and communicate with spirits and otherworldly entities.

But her shifter blood complicated things, sometimes limiting her ability to control or fully interact with the supernatural phenomena she encountered.

That unique duality was part of what made her so special and, unfortunately, such a perfect target for whoever was behind these disappearances.

"I'm not going to disagree with you there, pup," Callum said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. " Cats and smartphones would be a disaster waiting to happen."

Paige sniffled, pulling back to look at him with obvious wariness and suspicion. "You're the one who broke Sage's heart, aren't you? Why should I trust anything you say or help you with anything?"

Callum flinched as if she'd slapped him, guilt and regret flashing across his handsome features.

"You're absolutely right to be cautious.

I did hurt Sage, and I'll regret that choice for the rest of my life.

But right now, finding these missing girls and stopping whoever's behind their disappearances is what matters most. I'm here to help, not to cause more pain. "

I studied him carefully, searching for any hint of deception or hidden agenda.

But all I saw was sincerity and determination burning in those unmistakable green eyes, along with a deep well of remorse that seemed genuine.

Against my better judgment and all my protective instincts, I found myself beginning to believe him.

Paige must have seen something similar, because she slowly nodded, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand.

"Okay. I'll trust you for now, but only because Sage does.

But if you hurt her again, I won't hesitate to go full shifter on your ass.

And trust me, my wolf form has very sharp teeth. "

A surprised laugh bubbled out of me at her fierce protectiveness, warming my heart despite everything else that was happening.

"Stand down, Paige. I can handle Callum just fine on my own.

" I squeezed her shoulders reassuringly, trying to project more confidence than I actually felt.

"Now, you said Bev's spirit visited you.

Did she give you any other clues about what happened to her or where she might be?

Any details about her surroundings or the person responsible? "

"That's the frustrating part - the whole encounter was so disturbing," Paige said, her voice strained with the memory.

"She appeared in front of me, all pale and translucent like spirits usually are, but with that weird pink glow.

She looked terrified and was clearly struggling against something, like she was being pulled away even as she tried to communicate. "

She shuddered slightly. "She managed to get out 'Help us' and tried to say more, but she kept flickering and whatever was holding her finally won, she disappeared completely."

"Hey, none of that self-blame," I said firmly, using my most authoritative voice.

"This isn't your fault, Paige. You did everything you could, and the information you've given us is incredibly valuable.

Now we know the girls are alive, just displaced somehow.

That changes everything about how we approach this investigation. "

Callum stepped forward, his investigator instincts clearly engaged.

"Paige, I know this is difficult, but I need you to think carefully about every detail you can remember.

Can you recall anything else about Bev's appearance?

What she was wearing, any injuries you might have noticed, anything about the background or surroundings you could see behind her? "

Paige bit her lip, her brow furrowed in intense concentration.

"She was wearing the same clothes as the day she disappeared - those faded jeans she always wore and her favorite green sweater, the one with the Celtic knot pattern.

I didn't see any obvious wounds or injuries, which was a relief.

But the background behind her was really dark and shadowy, like she was in some kind of underground room or maybe a basement.

" She shuddered visibly. "The whole space felt cold and oppressive, like it was filled with old, stagnant magic. "

I exchanged a grim look with Callum, pieces of a disturbing puzzle beginning to form in my mind. An underground location with stagnant magic sounded like the kind of place where dark rituals might be performed, where someone could hold multiple captives without being detected.

"You did excellent work, Paige," I said, giving her arm a comforting squeeze.

"This information helps us understand what we're dealing with much better than before.

Now, I need you to come with us to Gran's house, okay?

I don't want you alone right now, especially given your connection to the spirit realm.

Whoever is behind this might realize you've been in contact with one of their victims."

Paige nodded readily, some of the fear fading from her eyes as she fell into step beside us. "Okay, but Sage? Please promise me you'll be careful. I can't lose you too. You're the only family I have left."

My heart clenched at the raw vulnerability in her voice, the desperate need for reassurance that I could hear beneath her brave facade. I pulled her into a fierce, protective hug, breathing in the familiar scent of her lavender shampoo and the wild, earthy smell that all shifters carried.

"You won't lose me, Paige. I promise you that," I said firmly, meaning every word. "I've survived this long being the town's paraiah. I'm not about to let some pureblood extremist take me down now."

She cast one last worried glance between me and Callum before nodding and settling into a comfortable pace beside us as we continued down the long, winding road toward Gran's house.

The chill in the evening air seemed to intensify as we walked, as if something supernatural was responding to our conversation with displeasure.

A shudder ran up my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Callum's hand landed gently on my shoulder, warm and steadying through the fabric of my jacket. He leaned in close enough that I could feel his breath against my ear as he whispered, "She'll be alright, Sage. You've protected her well, and we'll figure this out together."

For just a moment, I allowed myself to draw comfort from his presence, to remember what it felt like to share burdens with someone who understood the weight of responsibility. But then reality crashed back over me like a cold wave.

I shrugged off his touch, ignoring the way my skin tingled at the brief contact and the way my body wanted to lean into his warmth.

"We need to get to Gran's house as quickly as possible," I said, my voice perhaps a bit sharper than necessary.

"If Beverly really is magically displaced rather than dead, and if this is connected to the pureblood movement like we suspect, then we don't have any time to waste. "

"Agreed," Callum said quietly, falling back into step beside me as we resumed our trek toward Bertie's house on the outskirts of town.

Cosmo padded silently at my heels, his earlier playfulness replaced by grim alertness as he scanned the surrounding woods for potential threats.

As the quaint shops and manicured lawns of Main Street gave way to dense woods and winding dirt roads, the full weight of our task settled heavily on my shoulders like a lead blanket.

Girls were missing, possibly trapped in some kind of magical prison, and the whole town thought I was responsible.

The pureblood movement might be making a comeback, targeting innocent mixed-heritage families who had trusted Old Hollows to be a safe haven.

But with Callum's investigative skills, Paige's spirit sight, and Gran's decades of magical knowledge, maybe we stood a chance of unraveling this mystery before anyone else got hurt. Maybe we could save those girls and prove that Old Hollows' most feared witch was actually one of the good guys.

I glanced sidelong at Callum as we walked, taking in the determined set of his jaw and the keen intelligence sparking in his green eyes as he surveyed our surroundings for potential threats or clues.

For all the heartbreak and complicated history between us, I couldn't deny that he was a damned good investigator.

His presence made me feel less alone in this fight, even if I wasn't ready to admit that out loud.

Right now, that was exactly what I needed: a competent partner, not a painful reminder of my romantic past. I could compartmentalize my feelings and focus on the task at hand. I had to.