Archie whispers in my ear, “You have to tell her.”
I follow Ronnie into the bathroom, and she whisper-shouts at me. “What the fuck is this? Derek said you stopped by before he picked me up from the hospital. You put this pouch in the nursery.”
“It’s a protection pouch. All these pangs from my sixth sense had me worried. I stuffed it into the valance to ward off a rogue witch. But I forgot a newborn is placed in a bassinet close by the first few weeks. I should have put one in every window. I’m so sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Gwyn? I expected more from my best friend. You put Luna in danger.” She blows her nose, and her eyes narrow. “This is your fault.”
The punch hits me straight in the gut—a knife inserting and shredding me into microscopic pieces. “You’re right. I should have. But I also didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily. The intuition signals triggered more questions than answers.”
“So, the witch who was helping the kidnapping ring snatched Luna? Do we know who she is yet?”
I shake my head. “It’s not a nefarious witch. It’s a Tylwyth Teg fairy who has crossed over. She kidnapped Luna and the other children.”
“I’m confused. The kids are home with their parents. If a fairy took them, why would she give them back?”
“Because those children aren’t theirs. They’re changelings—like clones. The fairy steals the kids she wants and replaces them with duplicates. Jenny Hansen told me one day in the store the young ones were having behavior issues at school, and her infant cries all the time. She said despite having her DNA, she believed the baby wasn’t Daniel. At some point, the fairy will return Luna, but that newborn won’t be your daughter.”
“Do we know who she is?” Ronnie asks, wiping the tears from her face.
I hesitate but tell her. She has a right to know. “Archie and I think it’s Ashley Lewis.”
“What? The new DUB Celtic Studies instructor?”
“Yes. Lots of circumstantial evidence supports our theory, and Jeff has been standoffish at work recently. I’ve been asking questions to confirm my suspicions. I think he’s figured out I suspect her.”
“Would he really hide her guilty ass? We’re his family.”
“From what I’ve read, Tylwyth Teg females are attracted to mortal males. Who knows? She could have magical powers over him, and he’s not in control of his decisions.”
“We have to figure out how to get Luna back, Gwyn.”
Ronnie bursts into tears again, and I embrace my friend. She doesn’t seem to hold me responsible now, but I blame myself for being so cautious. If I’d told her and erred on the side of safety, Ashley wouldn’t have stolen Luna. Unfortunately, hindsight solves nothing. I’ll never forgive myself if we can’t get her back.
Chapter twenty-fiveFaulty Intuition
Around dinnertime, the coven convenes an emergency circle, minus Ronnie, of course. She’s too upset to be of much help, and she’s recovering from childbirth. Even a new witch mom needs time to heal. We don’t bother with setting up chairs. A standing meeting is all we have time for. When I finish sharing the evidence about Ashley Lewis and the changelings theory, my fellow witches mutter among themselves. Spence is the first to comment.
“That’s fucking ridiculous. Dr. Lewis is so scatterbrained. She’s lucky to show up to class on time. I mean, she’s a brilliant woman—fairy, if your theory is true. But don’t you think she would have covered her tracks?”
Skye rocks her head back and forth. “But think about it. She did. If Gwyn’s intuition hadn’t recognized her magic stream, we probably wouldn’t know. It prompted her to investigate further. Dr. Lewis may be acting disorganized as a cover.”
“I agree,” Archie says. “Gwyn had suspicions early on, and I dismissed them for the very reasons Spence has. If Ashley is a Tylwyth Teg fairy, she would have the cunning to present herself a certain way to avoid suspicion.”
Tyler interjects. “That’s true. But from what Spence and Skye have told me, Dr. Lewis would have to be putting on an award-winning performance.”
Trinity puts a hand on her hip. “Well, clearly, the Baby Nabbers are off the plate, even if it’s not Ashley Lewis. Those criminals are in custody.”
“Indeed,” Leslie says. “Unless some of them remain on the streets, unbeknownst to the authorities.”
Elijah nods. “No doubt about it. When one group gets put away, another crawls out of the sewers. Plus, we can’t rule out a rogue witch. There are too many variables to know for sure.”
“Isn’t there an easier way? Why don’t we just ask Dr. Lewis if she’s a Tylwyth Teg fairy?” Zoe asks. “She’ll either think we’re joking or she will act really weird.”
“We can’t confront Dr. Lewis without solid evidence,” Leslie replies. “We must be absolutely certain of her guilt before we expose who we are. Leveling accusations, we take on the risk of revealing who we are to an Unemarkable. Gwynedd, can you list all the proof for the Fellowship?”
“Her natural hair color is blond, but she’s been dyeing it brown to hide her true identity. She was present at the Pumpkin House for the Samhain Celebration. When I read her husband’s antiquated book on Welsh fairies at her apartment without her permission, she clammed up.”
Agnes’s face wrinkles like a prune. “That’s not fucking evidence of being a fairy, Gwyn. I fucking lose it if people breathe in the direction of my grimoires without permission.”
“No lies detected,” Zoe says. “But I think you got more pissed when we sampled your pot from the kitchen.”
The hedge witch gapes at her. “When did you swipe pot from my cupboards?”
Zoe scans the circle, clenching her teeth. “Oops.” She sinks in her seat.
“I haven’t finished,” I say. “Jenny Hansen, the mother of the baby who was kidnapped in the Celestial Gardens, stopped by Mystic Sage one day. She was down in the dumps about her infant Daniel because he hadn’t been the same since his return. If she didn’t have DNA identification, she would have sworn he wasn’t her child. She told me the other two kidnapped children were having behavioral problems at school, and their parents didn’t know how to handle them.”
“That’s disconcerting,” Tyler says. “They’re probably changelings then.”
“The evidence appears to suggest that,” Archie adds. “But Gwyn has more to tell you.”
“I also sensed magic residue at Ashley’s apartment early on and witnessed the energy hovering around her son, Aidan. I even wonder if she stole him from a human and made up the story about her dead husband. Recently, I ran into her on the trail in North Basin Creek Park. She was alone and coming from the bog side. When I mentioned it to Jeff, he seemed befuddled by the news.”
“But we checked out the pond,” Tanner says. “We noticed nothing out of the ordinary there. And why would a fairy hold up there, anyway?”
“True,” Archie replies. “But some Tylwyth Teg fairies live in the water. Gwyn went back there again and observed unusual flashes of energy above the pond, glimmering with a silver hue.”
“If that’s true,” Agnes says. “Then those kids are majorly fucked. They’ll never return. From what I know of the Tylwyth Teg, they can exist under there forever. And we have no way to go in there to rescue them.”
