Witch Bewitched (New)

Chapter 21

Misa blew out a breath, holding her tongue before she swore into an elderly woman pushing past her to get into the shop. Another dead end. It had been a full day since she'd challenged the captain, and her hopes of gaining information from the locals were already beginning to flicker.

Bunching her skirt in a fist, Misa made her way to the Old Oak. It was rowdy and packed for lunch, but Misa managed to snag a seat at the counter where she'd met the barkeeper. To her delight, the same man greeted her from behind the wooden structure.

"A pleasure to see you again," Kairin said, sending her a wink.

Misa smiled easily. "Yes. I've been meaning to come back again, but I haven't had much time."

"Ah. Too busy taking care of that brother of yours?"

Misa's mood soured. She didn't hide her irritation. "Oh, yes. Quite. Honestly, he must think I'm still a child. Everything I do seems churlish and reckless and naïve in his eyes."

Kairin clicked his tongue in sympathy. "A rather overprotective brother, is he?"

Misa scowled. The captain was far from overprotective. The only reason he didn't want Misa to get caught was because it would rid him of an insider in the witch community. "I wouldn't say that. Not at all." She rolled her eyes. "No, I doubt he'd care if anything happened to me. He's more concerned I'll..." She caught herself before she spilled the truth. Already, she felt she'd said too much.

The barkeeper quirked a brow, and Misa desperately searched for an answer that would make sense. She noticed a harlot sitting atop a man's lap, grinning with an almost predatory gaze. Misa flushed, averting her eyes away in embarrassment.

"He's concerned I'll embarrass him," she said, posing it as a shameful confession. "Or defame my family name."

"Well, he's rather foolish if he thinks you're an embarrassment." Kairin grinned.

Misa shrugged. "I suppose." She had to change the subject. Ranting about the captain was not the reason she'd sought the barkeeper out.

"All brothers are that way. I should know—I have five. They're a pain to deal with, but at the end of the day, you still love them." Kairin's smile dropped, his eyes glazed.

A stab of guilt punctured through Misa. He was comforting a lie. "Do you miss them?"

He nodded. "Sometimes. It was my decision to leave. I never thought I'd ever miss that dump I called home. When I scrounge up enough, I plan to visit my family again."

Misa let the silence between them stretch for a minute. Laughter and loud conversations kept the bar lively and their moment unnoticed. It was time to change the subject.

"Say, have you ever heard of a door in the sky?" Misa asked, tucking her chin atop her palm. She decided looking into the second part of the riddle would be much more productive than looking for bells.

Kairin laughed. "What? I've never heard such nonsense before!"

Misa smiled, but she fought an irritated sigh. Was this going to be another dead end? "Right? I can't imagine what that would be like. Imagine a door hanging in the sky!"

"Well, then. Why'd you ask?"

Misa avoided his gaze but kept a blank face. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Just curious. I've read a riddle from somewhere, asking about a place you can reach through the door in the sky. The answer has never been revealed, and I was wondering what it could mean."

"Oh." Kairin's eyes gleamed. "If you're having trouble with riddles, you should seek out Bernt Riddler. He always has the most unusual riddles to tell. His father was a riddler, his grandpop was a riddler, his great grandpop was a riddler. It's in his blood. Maybe he can assist you in finding an answer to something as ridiculous as this."

Misa was careful not to change her expression, but her heart skipped a beat. Could this be the break she was looking for?

"Interesting," Misa said. "This Bernt. Where can one find him?"

Kairin shrugged. "I wouldn't know. He tends to keep to himself, but I've seen him more than a couple of times in the bar. Served him a few times too. That's how I've heard his riddles. They're always so strange, talking about sleeping giants and singing statues. Sometimes, I wonder if he's gone mad."

Misa sighed, allowing disappointment to paint her face. "Pity. I would have liked to hear one of his riddles."

"Tell you what?" Kairin pressed his hands on the counter and leaned forward, eyes twinkling with mischief like emeralds under the sun. "Bernt usually comes in on Daidues. Feel free to come around to look for him then."

Misa thought over her schedule. Daidue, the second day of the week, was the day after tomorrow. The day of the second meet. She shook her head. "I won't have time on Daidue. At least not this week."

Kairin clicked his tongue. "Maybe next week then. Bernt tends to stay late, though, if you're in a rush to meet him. He'd drink at the bar until the witching hour if we didn't close before then."

Misa smiled. "Thanks for the information. I'll see if I can squeeze in some time to come here, but it's likely that my brother won't let me leave."

"You could always sneak out," Kairin said, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

"Maybe. Well, I've a busy day today, and I stopped by only to see you."

Kairin touched his heart. "I'm honoured."

Letting out a giggle, Misa shook her head. "I'll drop by when I can. It was nice seeing you again."

"Of course. I'll always be here when you need me."

"I appreciate that. Bye, Kairin."

Kairin waved. "I hope to see you again, my dear."

Misa left the bar, disappointed she hadn't gotten any answers but hopeful that soon, she would find out exactly where the door in the sky was located long before the captain even figured out what bell the riddle referred to.

* * * *

Misa set down the lamp on the dusty table and leaned into the corner that had become a storage area for the disguises. She kept her eyes on the billowing curtain made of an old hessian sack the captain had set up after completely removing the broken door.

It took less than two minutes for her to change into her dress and toss her uniform into the sack. Misa grabbed her lantern and pushed through the cloth.

She knew the captain would be angry at her when he found out she'd snuck out, that he'd act like her father when he had first caught Misa climbing through her window. But she couldn't care less. She needed to find the market as soon as possible, to get her bewitching powers under control before she snagged a man under her spell and got into more than one kind of trouble.

The lantern lit most of the way, and Misa navigated through the streets that were still lit by occasional homes and eateries. The bar, of course, was bright and lively, still at the peak of its business. Misa pulled her cowl over her head and slipped through the swinging doors. She found Kairin at the bar waiting for her as if he'd known she would show up.

He pointed Bernt out before Misa even asked. Giving him a thankful nod, Misa headed to a rugged man sitting alone in the corner. His weathered face was lined with wrinkles, and his greying hair had become wiry and thin. When Misa sat across from him, he bared yellow teeth in what might have been a smile.

"Are you Bernt?" Misa asked, lowering her voice just enough that only the man could hear.

He snarled, chugged his beer, and replied with foamy liquid running through his beard, "Who's askin'?"

Misa kept a soft smile on her lips, willing the man to let his guard down. "Just a curious young woman who wants to learn the answer to a riddle. I heard you're quite an expert in that."

Bernt snorted. "Eh-ey. No one's been interested in riddles since that pretty boy barkeep first showed up here askin' me to solve one. I know what you're looking for, lassie, but I've been done with that business for a long while."

Kairin had asked about a riddle? Misa forced herself to keep her eyes on Bernt. She didn't want Kairin to know he was mentioned in the conversation.

"Please. It's important." Something stirred from Misa's gut. She allowed the magic to spread through her, swallowing her disgust as she made herself a weapon—a seductress that coaxed what she wanted from anyone she bewitched. Her magic coiled around him, and Misa was surprised to feel some kind of resistance.

Bernt's eyes widened. He hissed, "Stop that! You'll put us both in danger!"

"I'll stop if you agree to help me," Misa said, eyes burning with a fierce determination.

"Fine, fine! Just stop it before you're seen. I'll help you with your fücking riddle!"

Misa felt the magic disperse. It had done what it set out to do, so there was no reason for it to continue.

She didn't need to pull out the enchanted paper to recite the riddle to Bernt. She had stared at the words for so long that she could see every curl that had created them.

"What marks every hour, holds the rich man's power, gathers pots to scour, delights at nuptial flowers or bellows in danger's glower. See this one cry, up its teardrops rise, find the door in the sky. What is the answer?"

Bernt scratched his beard. He took another swig of his beer. "I might be a man of riddles, but I never claimed to be an expert in solving them. What you said was pure nonsense."

Misa barely managed to keep her temper from snapping in two. The need to get Bernt to cooperate was slightly stronger than the urge to punch him in the face. "I know the first part is talking about bells. But what does the second part mean? Answer it while I'm asking you nicely. Where is the location? What is it talking about?"

Bernt cöcked his head, contemplating her words. He sneered his feral teeth. "You can't force a man to know the answer."

The frustration mounted, bit by bit, stretching the thread that was her anger.

"You know how this works. You know what tricks these riddles hide. I know you can figure it out."

"The faith you have in me is flattering but misplaced. I haven't a clue."

Misa held in her breath and let it out slowly, counting to ten before she breathed in again. She snatched a few strings of loncs and tossed it on the table. "Would you do it if there was a reward?"

Bernt cackled, his eyes gleaming with twisted pleasure. "You want to bribe me? What do you think I am, a filthy purger? Foolish girl."

"Then what do you want? What will you have me give you in exchange for the answer? You said you'd help me. Was that a lie?"

"For one, I do not have the answer, so how could I give it to you even if I wanted to? And I have no obligation to follow a witch's command. Why don't you leave me in peace and find someone else to do your bidding?"

Misa's temper was close to blowing up. She swallowed her pride, her anger, and pulled out the last of her loncs. "Please. I have to know. I'll give you all the money I have, so please give it a shot."

The old man shrugged. "Why should I care?"

It was enough for the thread to finally snap. Misa stood, smashing her hands onto the table. His mug wobbled. "You should care because if you don't help me right now, thousands of lives will be lost. Because while you're sniveling in your alcohol, wasting away like the piece of human garbage you are, you are refusing to do the one thing that would actually amount to anything. I swear, Bernt, if you don't start using your brain, I'll bewitch you so hard that you'll never be free again."

He scoffed, unaffected by Misa's words. "If you think a petty threat will have me running my mouth, you're sorely mistaken. But, I see how desperate you are." He grinned, flashing his yellow teeth at her. Misa forced herself to not recoil. "I'll give you a little hint, then. For a price, of course."

Misa gritted her teeth so hard she thought they would fall out. He had already figured it out. How long had it taken him? A minute? A second after she'd spoken the last word? And he was acting like he didn't know. He was playing her and having too much fun doing it.

"What price?"

"Just a favour. It's a powerful form of currency in the witch market, you see. One little hint for a future favour you'll owe me. A favour for a favour. Is that a deal?"

Misa considered his condition. What could he possibly want from her? She reined in her temper, clearing her head to think over what he was bargaining for. Surely a simple favour would be harmless, and if he wanted something as dangerous as spells or curses, she'd simply refer him to whatever witch she came in contact with. It wouldn't matter to her once she rid herself of Tika's magic. She squared her shoulders. "It's a deal."

He didn't offer a hand to shake on it, much to her relief. He planted a fury in her gut and touching him was the last thing she wanted to do when she was a hair's breadth away from punching his face.

"First, look for the tears."

"The tears?"

"It leaks, you see. This place, where the bell cries, you can see its tears fall."

Misa held in her annoyance. How was it that his answers were even more confusing than the riddle? She was beginning to think it was a mistake to approach him. "I don't understand. I thought the bell's cry meant the sound it makes. And falling? The riddle says they rise up."

"It's upside down." Bernt said, circling his finger to emphasise. "And trust me, this bell weeps very real tears."

"Upside down?" Misa couldn't keep her frustration from her voice. "What do you mean? Why can't you just tell me the answer?"

"I'm a riddler," Bernt said, leaning back on his chair. "And you must know that riddlers never give you a straight answer. You're a smart girl. You figured out part of the answer. I don't think I need to spell it out for you."

Misa squashed a subtle worm of incompetency in her chest. She hadn't even been the one to solve it, but he didn't need to know that. She grabbed her money and shoved it in her bag, tossing only one hundred loncs to the man even though he probably didn't deserve them.

"If you must know," Bernt said, taking Misa's bribe, "the place you seek is in—"

"Bernt Riddler." A man stood two paces from the table, pointing a revolver at Bernt's head. "You are under arrest for your dealings with those who practice the dark arts."

Misa froze. No. This couldn't be happening. Not now, when she was so close to finding out where the door was.

Another officer stepped up beside the one that had spoken. Both wore plain clothes, disguised as commoners. Where had they been sitting? The officer pointed his revolver at Misa's chest. "You're obliged to come with us too, under the suspicion of witchcraft."

Misa's blood ran cold. Sweat trickled from her brow. She noticed two more officers in their uniforms flanking the two holding their weapons. The tavern had gone quiet, the few patrons still present watching with keen interest and Kairin fidgeting behind the bar. They approached Bernt first, tying his hands behind his back. He said nothing and didn't glance at Misa once.

And then...

And then they came for her. Misa couldn't do anything while an officer shackled her wrists, weighing them down with a painful force. Not when two others pointed deadly firearms at her chest, ready to blow her up if she made one wrong move. Kairin began working his way around the bar, but Misa met his eyes and shook her head. He halted; concern etched into his face. She didn't want him to get pulled into this, especially because she wasn't exactly innocent.

They jerked her and Bernt to the entrance of the bar, which had gone dead silent during the arrest. And when Misa stepped out into the cool night air, she knew she was being pulled to her death.