Foul is Fair: Something Wicked, #1

Prologue

Eighteen Months Ago

I scanned the bushland around us, uneasy.

Hunting mythical pumas, Brandon said lazily, the words directed along the barrel of his high-powered rifle. He looked down over the national park stretching out beneath us from our rocky eyrie. Feels almost wrong to be paid for going hiking.

He didn’t think there was any danger and I understood why. We’d stomped all over Mount Difficult for days. We should’ve known by now if there was any threat. In theory.

Spot any? I asked, just to annoy him. After all, the lump may as well be my big brother. His baby sister and I had been fast friends since we’d figured out the joy of stealing Brandon’s juice when we were three.

A witch had to live up to expectations.

He snorted and straightened. Yeah, right. Shit, Rory, I’m overqualified for shooting feral cats.

I knew in my bones it wasn’t a feral cat, even if the rift had only been open for a split second, and the one witness who claimed to have seen a puma was pissed as a nit. The higher-ups needed to take it seriously, sure, but chances were slim we’d find evidence of anything, and Buckley’s to none that we’d actually stumble across something.

I could imagine the report. I believe there is a supernatural creature currently residing in the Gariwerd National Park. It is my professional opinion that all civilians should be evacuated immediately to minimise mind control, disembowelment, and/or general shitfuckery. And, like usual, they’d ignore my very sensible advice while their screw-ups kept my payslips coming. Sucked to be anyone who wanted to visit this slice of paradise, though.

Meanwhile, I had an honorary big brother to torment.

Feral cats can get to be like, two meters, I hear. I pretended to take his measure. "That’s bigger than you, Mister I-Failed-Year-Nine-Maths. And they have claws, Brandon. You don't even eat pizza without a knife and fork."

Silently, he held up his gun. His very big, very serious gun.

I was colossally unimpressed. "You’re setting yourself up for some body shaming there, mate, and I am this close to not rising above it."

He wrinkled his nose childishly and shouldered the weapon with a practiced shrug. The contrast should’ve been jarring, but it suited Brandon. No rising over my body, thanks. That’s basically incest. Also, I just helped set you up with Nic.

I flicked my fingers dismissively. You’re a passable wingman, I gave him graciously. I’d done most of the work myself, but he’d tried.

He could be very trying.

A flock of black cockatoos screamed their way across the sky. The early afternoon sun was warm as it filtered through the eucalypts. Quiet descended in the wake of the birds’ cacophony.

I took a deep breath, lifted a heavy boot up onto a rock, and hauled the rest of me after it. It was an hour back to the car park on foot. Another thirty minutes to modern conveniences, give or take the five minutes required to put down anything unlucky enough to try to get between me and coffee.

I steadied myself on the rock and clambered down after Brandon. Two days of fruitless recon, and we were almost back to the path. Luxury. We’d even spotted hikers down there about half an hour ago. Real, human hikers. Well, probably human.

The birds were silent.

Foreboding trickled down my spine like ice water, but I kept my voice steady when I said, Hey. Listen.

He hopped onto the next rock gracefully, then paused, his head cocked. And brought his rifle to the ready.

I breathed. Lifted my eyes over the outcrop above us. Scanned, slowly, watching for movement. Determination and purpose drummed through me.

The air felt warm and humid as I drew it deep into my lungs. Spells swam in my head, but I put no power behind them. Not yet. I could only have one spell active at a time. I needed to make sure it was the right one.

He lifted his head, then shouldered his rifle. You're jumpy, Rory.

The hair on the back of my neck raised as those words echoed in the silence, and his boot heels scraped, sending a few rocks tumbling away into the deep ravine beneath us. Without meeting his eyes, I forced myself to move, lifting my arm. And, just to prove him wrong, I casually flipped him the bird as I picked my way past him towards the base of the waterfall that marked the home stretch to the car.

Jumpy. As if.

The hikers approached. Laughing, joking, playing their music. Their ruckus grew steadily, bouncing off the rocks and ravines around us. Who in the seven hells went into the bush to play music?

Brandon shot me a look and moved his chin a few times to the beat, pursing his lips dramatically. As he started to click his fingers and mouth the words to the eighties rock ballad, I rolled my eyes and got on with it, moving across an exposed area that dropped away sharply if you strayed from the footholds cut into the rock.

The sensation of being watched made my belly tighten.

You couldn’t actually feel eyes on you, though. That was superstitious bullshit. And anyway, there was nothing to worry about.

The music stopped.

I stilled.

Brandon sighed and, for a split second, we were just kids again, headed home. Come on, he said, kindness, not mockery, in those two words.

Fury pulsed through me. In a moment, I could see myself throwing out my arm, forcing him to take me seriously, demanding we do this right. I wasn’t just jumpy.

Then the music started up again. New song, same vibe. I had no idea what it was called, but I knew the chorus. Brandon’s hand on my arm, and the quick, supportive squeeze as he looked ahead made me want to light the whole place on fire. Instead, I unlocked my jaw and lifted my boots, frustrated with myself.

The bridge appeared before me, a steel and wood construction just a few meters long but wide enough for us to walk abreast. Though the path ahead looked empty, I braced for the tourists’ reaction to the sight of Brandon and I in our tactical gear as I jumped down the last few rocks and onto the path this side of the bridge.

A big, retro-looking boom box sat positioned in the centre. Timber beams vibrated as music belted out of the speakers. But there was no tourist to be seen.

Spells snapped into my mind, humming with power as adrenaline rushed through my limbs. My fingers bit into the wood of my wand but damned if my hand would shake.

Brandon snorted. Jesus. Music to piss to? Really? He lifted his weapon and set his feet. Don’t kill it until after the guitar solo, yeah?

I didn’t bother rolling my eyes at him. Beneath my boots, the wood felt strange after nothing but rocks and dirt for days, but the breeze was cool, and the afternoon sun beautifully warm. All we needed was a few beers and some snags.

And a safe perimeter.

Wand in one hand, eyes on the empty trail ahead of us, I dropped down on one knee and murdered the music halfway through the guitar solo Brandon was so keen on.

Silence descended. My own breathing sounded loud in the sudden quiet. I stood slowly, listening to the murmurs of the bush around us. Hello! The word got tossed back at me from the rocks. This is Officer Aurora Gold, I called, cutting over my own echoes. Come into the open slowly.

The response was the soft sigh of wind through the eucalypts and wattles.

Well, if they wanted to be temporary Australians, that was their business. Still, I gave one last, impatient, Hello?

The word echoed off the rocks. Hello. Hello. Hello.

With a hard roll of one shoulder, I unlocked some of the tight muscles in my neck and turned back to Brandon.

He stood exactly as I’d left him, of course. Gun cocked, feet set.

And behind him was a giant.

Fucking.

Lycanthrope.

The words of my ward spell flashed hot and bright through my mind. Through this dome none shall leave or come unless it is with me. The spell landed, an impenetrable sphere formed around us with enough power to send up a shower of rocks and sheer a branch. While I breathed, not a thrice-cursed thing was getting in or out without my say-so.

Brandon dropped to one knee and spun, following my gaze, his movements elegant and economical. I heard him reloading with silver bullets but didn’t watch to see the standard ammunition fall away.

Movement beside the bridge made fury rush through my veins. My silver knife was in my hand before I’d registered what I saw.

A man, stretching lazily as he stood from where he’d apparently been lying on a rock on the slope beside the bridge. Within my shield.

Maybe a man.

And I already had one spell on the go.

Before I could consider re-casting, a growl came from the ravine below. The rise and fall of it struck primal terror into my heart that sent familiar waves of adrenaline through me. The lycanthrope on the other side of Brandon leapt, hit my ward face-first with the sound of a striking bell, and fell away. Its momentum carried it off the ledge and into an old gum. I didn’t watch as the century-old tree toppled onto the fallen creature. It didn’t matter. We were surrounded, because why not? They could throw a fucking party out there. They couldn’t touch us. Nothing outside my ward could.

So I focused on our vulnerabilities. As if he felt my full attention, the guy said, in an infuriatingly accurate impersonation of me, Hello.

On the ground. Brandon’s demand was underscored by the snap and click of him readying the rifle.

I would’ve just shot him. But, shit, I would’ve just shot a lot of people.

Hello, the man said again, smiling at me, then Brandon, as he stepped through the bracken. His shirt had the national cricketing team’s logo and was sagging massively in the front, like he’d been grabbed and yanked, hard. He had thongs on his feet, the ones with the Australian flag on them, but no shorts. One of his hands reached above his head, planted on the metal railing, and he lifted himself effortlessly over it.

As if he hadn’t just performed a feat of inhuman strength, he nonchalantly lifted a bottle of beer to his lips and took a pull. The movement showed a spray of dried blood across his forearm.

Hells, I didn’t think you could get much worse than a standard bogan, but here he was, the Lycan Bogan. Lycy to his mates. Probably.

Officer Brandon Reeve requesting backup at the bridge west of Beehive Falls, main path. Lycanthrope pack.

Brandon’s words seeped from the now-hot comms charm in my ear.

I hate to say you’re right, he added softly, just for me. I didn’t glance over but I could see how steady he was from the corner of my eye even as he let out a long, drawn out sigh. Feral cats do get pretty damn big.

The guy’s gaze swung in my direction as if he understood Brandon’s fart-arsing around. The lycan was close enough I could see the brilliant green of his eyes, the gleam of his teeth as he smiled. He drew in a deep breath then skimmed his eyes over me like I was the last piece of leftover pizza in the morning. My skin crawled. I settled myself more firmly, lowering my weight just a little.

The silver knife in my hand wasn’t made for combat. It was to channel spells. Well, I had a spell in use already.

Looked like today, my pretty silver foci was going to do double duty.

On the ground or I shoot, Brandon said, the words matter-of-fact now.

Hello, he mimicked again, then laughed.

Around us, snarls sounded, violent, gleeful sounds that melded with the roar of blood in my ears as the sun warmed my skin.

They were playing with us.

There was ice in my veins and time slowed. I knew how fast lycanthropes could move, even in human form. I knew how strong they were. I couldn’t drop the ward without letting them all in. They were everywhere. They’d be on us in an instant.

We’d done this dance, and I knew every fucking step.

But we’d mis-stepped.

Over the lycan’s head, I met Brandon’s eyes, and my heart sank. An eerie sense of calm settled over me. We both knew.

Maybe one of us would get out of this.

Determination shot through me, hot and hard, shattering that peace. But I could already see a grin spreading over Brandon’s face as his attention swung to the lycan. Rage rolled through me. He’d always been faster⁠—

And, into the moment of quiet, I heard him murmur, Here, kitty kitty.

Chapter 1

Present Day

Half-a-dozen heavily lined faces beamed at me. Why? Why were they beaming?

You must be Aurora, the shortest, roundest one said, her words so fizzy with excitement it made my eyes water.

Oh. Shit. Me. They were excited about me. One of them took my arm and towed me further into the room. Your grandmother told us all about you, dear. Hellfire. I hoped that was an exaggeration. It’s so good to see a young witch coming on board! Look, everyone, Aurora is here!

It’s Rory. But my protest was lost beneath their effervescent welcome.

I just wanted to get to work, but apparently stage one of my induction involved a spread that could’ve come off a bake stand at a school fair—and, before witches were legalized, that probably would have been a common side hustle.

Scones, breakfast muffins, slices, cakes—all homemade. The tea was weaker than the water I used to wash my dishes. To top it off was a handwritten banner that read Welcome to the East Melbourne Coven, Aurora! It had been decorated with pressed flowers.

Hi, Rory, said a woman wearing paint-splattered pants and a somewhat wary smile. I’m Janet. I work with our First Nations clients. You’ve got a few on your case load. They’re good kids, those two.

Hi, Janet. I caught a jar of jam as it slipped from the nicotine-stained fingers of a grinning witch. Grimly amused, I watched the way she turned the situation to her advantage, using my momentary pause as I held the jar to press a plate into my hand.

I felt like a kid while I tried to smile, remember names, respond appropriately, and not drop the scone all at the same time. Note to self: next time I want a change, I’ll get a new hair color, not a new job.

Behind the veterans, a younger woman with awesome jet-black hair and sapphire-blue highlights sent me a look of sympathy before she quietly removed herself from the fray. Smart woman. I should’ve gone sapphire blue, too. And also hightailed it out of there.

Some of the cream wilted down the side of my scone to puddle on my saucer as the jam-fumbling witch planted herself beside me, blocking the nearest exit, filling the air with chatter. Oh, and you really ought to try Suzie’s blueberry bar before we get caught up on the humdrum. Suzie’s grandson owns a blueberry farm out in Silvan. Brings her fresh berries, doesn’t he, Suzie? Her eyes glittered. He’s a handsome young lad, isn’t he, Suzie? she went on, patting my arm knowingly. Great butt, she said under her breath in an aside to me. Looks like he knows how to use his hands, too, if you know what I mean!

I estimated the likelihood of said grandson knowing the difference between a clitoris and a haemorrhoid as slim to none.

I should find Arthur, I said firmly, before the grandson idea could gather any momentum. I’ll be back for that slice. Gazes of a half-dozen women, who were all obviously accustomed to people submitting to their affection, swung to me. Well, curse it, if I’d wanted to be fussed over, I’d have gone to work with my own grandmother. This is such a great welcome. But I won’t feel right until I know what I’m doing.

The jar-dropping witch, who might’ve been Bernie or Becky or even Esmerelda, for all I knew, made a harrumph of disapproval. Well, you won’t get that from Arthur. Half the time, that boy doesn’t even know what he’s doing, and the other half of the time, he’s pulling on his own⁠—

Hush, Bernie, another said with a disapproving frown. I’m sure Aurora knows all about wizards. She cleared her throat, and I tried very hard to smother a grin. Well, you go on up, dear, she said, her frown melting as she gazed up at me like I was the one grandchild who hadn’t spilled food on their party dress at Solstice. And when you come on back, we’ll get you all settled in. Let her go, Bernie. She’s quite right. Whether we like it or not, we all have those to-do lists now.

The old days were much simpler, said a woman whose handmade name badge read Cici—she/her. Cool. Pronouns. I could get in on that. "No data or performance reviews. Just you, your wand, some herbs and foci, your coven and your flock. Now there’s paperwork."

Plus a wage, superannuation, sick leave, holiday pay, and tax deductions.

I kept that to myself, sending them all my warmest, I’m-a-good-kid-with-good-manners smile as I went past the fussily decorated table in the direction I’d been pointed.

There wasn’t space to get lost. Budgets being what they were, I hadn’t expected a massive, multi-story complex. Cozy was a nice description for the little townhouse with its high, old ceiling and narrow rooms overflowing with furniture, plants, and piles of Really Important Stuff. Still, it had character that even the governmental grey paint and grey-flecked grey flooring couldn’t overwhelm, vases that overflowed, doilies, donated mismatched furniture, and candles. Of course. Put a coven in a place long enough, it’d become a home, albeit a fussy one, if it was an old-school coven. And this was a very old-school coven.

I kept my face neutral as I went up the stairs. Well, I wanted different. I wasn’t going to get anything as different from my last job as this, was I?

Should’ve gone for the blue streaks. Or maybe purple. I’d look great with purple hair.

A thirty-something, weekend-warrior type looked up from a coffee machine that perched precariously on a hallway table. His expression was equal parts curiosity and commiseration. Aurora?

I put out my hand. Rory, I said, as he took it and shook.

Arthur. I heard the welcome party banging their drums. Forgive me for not being present, but it sounded like they had you covered. He took an extra coffee cup. Not a flower in sight. Anyway, word on the grapevine is you’re a hard arse, so I figured you’d be okay. Coffee?

He didn’t look at me to deliver any of that. I didn’t care, just sighed in pleasure at his offer. Please.

He smiled down at the coffee machine. He had dimples, and he knew how to work them.

The coffee-making ritual gave me time to look around. He mentioned a few key points of interest: a bathroom, storage, his office—which he didn’t share with anyone, I noticed—a meeting room, and the tech hub of the coven, currently unstaffed.

It’s not much, he said with false humility. But we’re two blocks from the local police station, and the tram line right around the corner makes travel a breeze.

Uh huh. I wasn’t here to give a real estate appraisal.

Inside Arthur’s office, I was waved towards one of the chairs across from his desk.

I glanced around. Big windows overlooking the neighbour’s brickwork. A few framed landscapes. His staff mounted on brackets on the wall.

Old school.

And he definitely had the most space in the building. The rooms I’d passed showed desks and office chairs crowded in so close I’d have my knees in my ears trying to work there.

With some grim thoughts about middle managers, I settled into the chair.

So, I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of the coven’s core values before we get into the nitty gritty of your work.

I folded my hands, reached for patience, found some, and marvelled. Sure.

Mutual respect and equality is, of course, the foundation of this coven, he began. This from behind his big desk, sitting in his new leather chair, in the one office that didn’t have seven other people crammed into it.

Mmm. I shifted a little, wishing, not for the first time, wizards came with a skip button.

I know you’ve heard that before, he said in a way that he probably thought was charmingly self-deprecating. So, I won’t bang on about it. You’ll see it in action. Accountability is, of course, critical. Risk assessments and case notes need to be kept updated so I can manage any situation that arises. We aren’t police; we’re here to tend to our flock, to keep them on the straight and narrow. He nodded at his own wisdom. It was kind of like being near someone sniffing their own farts. To engage supernaturals in our society, help smooth over any bumps, and to ensure magi use their powers wisely. We’re first responders.

So he didn’t know what a first responder was. He did know what paperwork was though, obviously. That was the bottom line.

He flashed his dimples again. And, of course, we need to discuss integrity, he went on, leaning forward.

At that point, I totally zoned him out.

When he finally fell silent, I said, Thanks, Arthur. So, about the work. I’m assuming I’ll get a rundown of my caseload from one of the coven?

He nodded his agreement. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do a thorough hand-over due to the nature of your predecessor’s departure.

Sure, sour grapes didn’t give much juice. I ignored the opportunity to garner gossip. I didn’t value this guy’s opinion. There would be someone in the know I could talk to. Confidentiality between a coven and the world was sacrament, but I was on the inside now.

Aurora—

Rory.

His smile turned apologetic. Rory. Most of what you need to know is in the handbook. He pushed the bound manual that had been sitting exactly at right angles to his laptop toward me. Metro Procedures for Caretaker Witches. This is an established coven, he went on. Just what I needed, some light bedtime reading. Most of the witches here are very…set in their ways.

That was so obvious I had planned on letting it go without saying.

The thing was, as much as their scones and welcome poster amused me, there was a reason the traditions were what they were. We didn’t always even know what those reasons were, until we messed with them.

Anyway, these women were cute. In a terrifying, grandmother-level-of-omnipotence sort of way.

Out of nowhere, without any sort of lead-in, Arthur declared, I’m a feminist. And then he paused.

I met his eye and bit my tongue. He just sat there as if it was my turn to say something. Perhaps dig out a gold star.

When I just waited silently, content to let the awkward pause grow even more awkward, he shuffled a little in his seat and then went on.

I know you’re from the country, and you would be used to wizards getting in your way, telling you to go back to the kitchen and cook love potions.

I had been told exactly that. Still, I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of sharing my righteous indignation.

Love potions are a Class B substance. My words were brisk.

He grinned at me again, as if trying to get me to share a joke. Regardless, I want you to know you have my full support. I nodded and went to stand, because surely, this was the end. I figure a strong, independent woman like yourself wouldn’t necessarily want that.

Oh, wow, there was no irony. None. Was that…even possible?

I just hope you never need it, he said with such concern that I was taken aback.

I think this should cover me for now, though. I added, holding up the manual. If I ever needed Arthur to bail me out, I was in very dire straits.

As shields went, it might be useful.

He stood and walked me to the door. Part of your caseload is a local lycanthrope pack, he said with a nod. They’re considered high-risk. I’m the district expert, so you don’t need to worry. We’ll work that together.

My feet were lead, and ice rushed through my veins. Sun warming my face as blood began to dry on my hands. Black cockatoos screaming their way across the sky. I looked down at the floor beneath my feet, drew in air. I was standing on carpet. Not bridge.