Lord Demiel stood between them. Imara glanced over her shoulder and nearly choked. The portrait of Lord Demiel was right behind him.
“Tell me something that only my ancestor would know.”
Lord Demiel looked offended, but he leaned forward and whispered in Desmond’s ear. Whatever he said made Desmond stand upright immediately.
“I... I thought you spectres too weak to speak.”
“We were. This Death Keeper of Demiel blood offered us her energy, and now, we can interact with the world again. Well, we can interact with the world within these walls. She is exceptionally powerful. You should be proud as it is your blood in her veins. She is clever.”
Desmond turned to Imara. “You may leave now.”
She nodded and turned to the spectres. “I offer you a physical presence for a month or two.”
Lady Demiel smiled. “We will take it.”
“The house is yours.” Imara smiled at the few friendly siblings she had, and she left the same way she had come while the spectres exclaimed at their physical presence. That was going to mess with her father and his bride for a while.
The power sparked as she left, and she grinned. The building was being warded against her. They needed her physical presence to drop a barrier against her. She had had to be invited in, so she could be locked out.
She patted each of the trolls on the hand as she left, and Mr. E started to purr the instant her feet stepped on the walkway.
She fished out her phone and dialled Kitty. “Hello, Kitty. I am done here.”
“Great. I will be there in a minute.”
“I am walking toward the donut shop, so don’t rush. I think I need time to clear my head.”
“Excellent. I am still getting into my car.” Kitty chuckled.
“See ya soon.”
The call ended, and Imara kept walking until she was off the grounds and onto the road.
You handled that well.
She chuckled. “We know why I was invited, so it is nice to have that confirmation. They think they have what they need, so they booted me out. It rings a bell.”
You didn’t remember the first time.
“Ah, you know that I got to read it out in black and white. Mom wasn’t even allowed to keep me because of that contract.”
And that was in the past, and you are now an adult with a cooler head for your situation. You still have luck, friends, and a mom who is just getting to know you.
She grinned and kept walking. “I know. I am not bitter. I am feeling better now that I am away from them. That is one toxic atmosphere. At least Michael and Hannah seem pretty normal, and Rosie is a cutie.”
She is very cute. If you see her when she is older, I sense tail pulling in my future.
Imara giggled until Kitty pulled up next to her and rolled down the window. “Hey, little lady, going my way?”
“Kitty, I am going to give you such a butt kicking.” She walked around and got in on the passenger side.
When she was buckled up and Mr. E was on the dashboard, she sat back and sighed. “Home, Jeeves.”
“Yes, madam.” Kitty put the vehicle in drive, and the trip home began.
Imara could hardly wait to see what had happened at Reegar Hall while she had been gone.
Chapter Eleven
Imara got out of the car with a groan, and Mr. E perched on her shoulder. Kitty grabbed her books and headed off to finish her homework elsewhere.
When Imara came through the doors, she paused and blinked. “Wow, this is a little more active than I thought it would be.”
Edgar Demiel was tied up on the floor and gagged. Bara was baking cookies, and Reegar was going through a pile of books that had been spilled to the floor.
The security officers were taking a statement from Bara while she baked to calm down.
Imara checked her watch, and she nodded. A quick photo and an email later and she introduced herself to the security officers.
Reegar growled, “Get him out of here.”
Imara nodded. “Good evening, officers. I see there has been an intrusion.”
Bara sniffled. “It was horrible, Imara. I heard a noise upstairs, and that guy was there, tangled in my loom. He ruined three weeks of weaving! I am never going to get my ninety-five percent in that class now.”
Imara kept her face concerned. Bara’s drama courses were paying off.
The security officers kept making notes. One asked, “Who are you, miss?”
“I am Imara Mirrin.”
“Do you know who this man is?”
She looked at Edgar and bit her lip. “I think he is in one of my classes. I haven’t been formally introduced, but I am pretty sure we are related.”
The officers looked confused by that. “What is his name?”
“His last name is Demiel.”
Both officers lowered their notepads. She gave them a bland look. “And I am Imara Mirrin Deepford-Smythe Demiel. He broke into my house, and I don’t know what he wanted. I will assist Mage Reegar with pressing charges for any broken materials, and compensation should be issued to Bara for the destruction of her weaving project. It does look good on him, doesn’t it?”
Edgar was flushed and furious, writhing from side to side.
The notebooks came back up. “What did he try and take?”
Reegar scowled. “He was rifling through my books.”
One of the officers thought to ask, “What class were you in with him?”
“Stealth Magic. Don’t worry; his deadline was forty-five minutes ago.” She smiled and inclined her head.
The officers had tensed, and then, they smiled at each other with a smug air.
Imara knew that Edgar was going to fail the course, but she also knew he would get off without any consequences. Her checks on Demiel history showed that they were primarily bullies who liked to throw money around.
Just as they were hauling Edgar to his feet, with the gag still in place, the door opened, and Hyl arrived. He smiled at Imara and paused to stare at her brother. “What is this?”
Bara sobbed and set the cookie batter down with a thud. “HebrokeinandwreckedmyprojectandtoreitupandthrewbooksaroundandnowtheyaregoingtolethimgobecauseheisaDemiel.”
Hyl grabbed Edgar by the shoulder, his Mage Guild uniform neat and tidy, and his eyes twinkling. “Did he use magic to break in?”
Reegar nodded. “He did. He used a spell to break through the glass, but he still managed to do a lot of manual damage.”
“Using magic during the commission of a crime is a serious offense.”
He pulled the gag from Edgar’s mouth. “Did you use magic in the commission of a crime?”
“It was my assignment. I had to!” Edgar was nearly foaming with fury. “She has a stone stolen from my house! Check her!”
Mr. E jumped down, so Imara could remove her robes and hand them to Hyl. There was no way that anything could have been hidden in her gown. She undid her belt and handed it to him.
He checked everything, handed it to the security officers to check, and he looked to Edgar. “So, that is one lie.”
“It was her assignment! She had to! Ask her! She was at Demiel Hall tonight. She had to have stolen it, or she is going to fail.”
Hyl raised his brows at Imara. “Were you at the hall tonight?”
“I was. I was surrounded at all times and left promptly at midnight when requested. It was a little cold blooded of them actually.”