Hexed

sanctuary to recover from her wounds. She was under the protection of a powerful tribunal and we never should have allowed you to penetrate their defenses. We shouldn’t have been able to penetrate their defenses. It’s part of what’s made them so angry.”
    “Them?” I repeat. “Who are you talking about?”
    “The powers that rule the astral universe,” Min Liu replies. “Who or what they are is not entirely clear. They contacted each of us in a dream last night. The message was the same. They would hold Stephen until you appear for judgment. Sanctuary has been violated and that cannot go unpunished.”
    “Unpunished?” The vampire stirs and bares her teeth. “They plan to punish me for killing a monster like Belinda Burke? If they offer sanctuary to creatures like that, they need to rethink the concept.”
    Susan wipes at her eyes, takes a breath. “I know. It’s not fair. But Stephen is an innocent and shouldn’t have to suffer for our”—she makes a sweeping motion to encompass us all—“mistake.”
    She digs into a purse she’d tucked in the chair beside her when she sat down and pulls out a picture. She thrusts it toward me. “This is Stephen.”
    I take it from her outstretched hands, but do I even have to look at it? Stephen Powers. Last night. I drop my eyes and look at the picture.
    It’s a studio shot. Professionally lit, professionally staged. The man is handsome, square-jawed, blue-eyed, looks to be in his thirties. He’s facing the camera, gaze clear and direct, a blue button-down deepening the color of his eyes. His hair is a golden blond, touched at the temples with silver. His demeanor projects confidence. And a comfortable familiarity with the spotlight.
    Different from last night, when he wasn’t in his element.
    But definitely the same man.
    Seeing the picture, I finally connect name and face.
    I glance up at Susan. “Is he a reporter?”
    She nods. “For the local CBS affiliate.”
    So he might have been in that parking lot to meet a source? Smith, maybe?
    I must have taken too long, or been staring too hard at the picture because Susan says, “What is it, Anna? Do you know Stephen?”
    Know him? Not yet, anyway. I shake my head. “I’ve seen him. Recently.”
    Susan skewers me with her gaze. “You’ve seen him? Where? On television.”
    Thank you. No sense adding to her concern by mentioning her brother was in a deserted parking lot last night waving a gun. “Yes.” I’m sure I have seen him on television at one time or another. I start to hand the picture back to her but she waves toward me. “Keep it.”
    I laid it on the desk. “When did you say he went missing?”
    “I’m not sure. Must have been late last night or early this morning. He was supposed to meet me for breakfast. He never showed.”
    “Why do you think they took him ?”
    Ariela answers. “Because he is well known. And he knows about our community. I think they realize his absence would be missed and should we not cooperate, his death will cause ripples in both the mortal and otherworldly planes. A warning to others not to make the same mistake we did.”
    Suspecting that Stephen, a reporter, was in that lot to meet somebody he didn’t trust explains the gun. What isn’t so clear is why whoever is after us didn’t take us both when he had the chance. I see no point is sharing this with the witches. These questions will be better answered once I get wherever it is I’m going.
    “You said he knows about our community. Is he a witch, too?”
    Susan shakes her head. “No. He inherited no supernatural powers. But he grew up in the household of a powerful witch, our mother. He watched as my abilities grew. He knows that there are other supernatural creatures sharing this world and he pledged to keep that secret always. To this day, he has.”
    Min takes Susan’s trembling hand in her own. “Anna, none of us is to blame for what happened. No. That’s not quite right.” She looks at her sister witches. “We take responsibility for not knowing enough about what we did for you that day. But our excitement at penetrating the astral plane and our belief that you were doing the right thing in following Belinda Burke there blinded us to everything else. It’s up to us to make things right and get Stephen back.”
    I look from one anxious face to another. I can’t bring myself to tell them that I’ll never regret killing Belinda Burke, sanctuary or no. But I won’t let an innocent take