Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 18

I eye her once more, looking for a reason not to trust her but her face is too kind at the moment and I can't get a solid read. She looks innocent with her dark hair tied back in a neat bun, which is held in place at the nape of her neck.

In that moment, I want to scream.

To yell.

Anything at all to let out the horrors that I've just witnessed.

But I can't.

 And I don't.

I don't take her hand, there's still blood on them and the last thing I want to do is touch anything with my hands until they're clean. Officer Marshall must see something in my gaze because her eyes flicker down to my hands. Her lips press into a thin line and it's the first crack in her friendly demeanor.

I am a witness.

But bloodstained hands don't help my case.

She doesn't take my hand to shake it as she inclines her head toward the door and clasps her hands.

"If you'll follow me, we'll just head down to the station so I can file an official report," she says in a clipped, professional tone.

I wonder then how much she knows since she's human and we're on Greenwood property and humans shouldn't know such things.

She glances back at me and smiles like she's read my mind and for a moment, my tired mind is afraid that she has.

"Don't worry, you can tell me everything, I'm aware that Greenwood is meant for witches," she tells me and looks past me to Headmaster Hallewell.

I nod and obediently follow her out of the office and down the quiet, dim hallways that are only lit up from the moon that is spilling silver light through the windows that line one side of the hall. Doors for classrooms and offices line the other side, every door shut as we pass them by in the eerie silence.

Officer Marshall's boots tap a solemn rhythm on the polished floors as she leads the way before we descend the staircase to the ground floor. She opens the door for me and gestures for me to walk out in front of her as I start down the sidewalk. I can see the faint silhouette of several vehicles parked in the circle drive, their lights off as she strides ahead of me and opens the passenger door on a police car.

"I'm just going to check to make sure that you don't have any weapons on you," she says in a low voice.

I stand still while she pats my legs down and checks my pockets. When she's satisfied with her search, she nods for me to get in the car and I obey and click the seatbelt in place as she shuts the door behind me.

I don't know what to say during the drive over, so I say nothing at all and look out the window as I watch the dark cityscape pass me by. Officer Marshall seems all too happy to not say anything either until we pull up to the police station. I get out when she shuts off the car and I trail behind her as we walk up the sidewalk and she opens the door for me.

There's a sleepy-eyed, older man at the front desk and he nods without looking at us as Officer Marshall ushers me down a hallway that splits off from the lobby and heads to a gray door that she opens.

"I'll be right back," she says as I eye the tiled room on the other side, which only has a metal table and two chairs.

I nod as the door falls shut before I glance to the side to see that one wall has an enormous mirror mounted on it. Two-way glass, I think as I stare at the reflection looking back at me. I look out of place and seeing myself reflected back at me is strangely surreal as gooseflesh prickles along my arms. I sit down in the chair that is facing the mirror, remembering how interrogations are usually performed in the cop shows that I watched with my family on Saturdays.

My throat tightens and I wonder if Indigo knows where I am or if she's been told about what's happened. I wish that she was here with me as my chest aches, but the door to the room opens and Officer Marshall steps inside with a few sheets of paper in her hands.

"Alright Kara, your last name is Zen, correct?"

"Yes," I murmur as she sits in the seat across from me.

She writes something down with an ink pen that she brought with her before she sits up and folds her hands on the table in front of her.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions in a moment, okay?"

I don't say anything as I look down at my hands, which are still stained with blood, "Can I...can I wash my hands first?"

My stomach heaves against my will but I keep myself in check as I swallow a few times.

She shakes her head, "No, we're going to have to get a sample of it first," she inclines her head slightly and the door to the room opens as a pale-faced man in a lab coat enters.

He has a cotton swab and a clear, plastic vial held in his blue gloved hand as he gives me a hesitant smile that he reminds me of my father with the way he does it.

"Hello," he says in a low, casual voice, like swabbing my hand for blood is a normal thing for him to do.

And maybe it is.

I splay my hands and tilt them toward him, only to notice that they're shaking as I hold them upright. He swabs one of my palms, the dried blood smearing because of a clear, cold liquid that is on the swab as it stains the cotton pink before he drops it into the vial and twists a plastic cap on it. He pulls out another vial and swabs my other palm before he drops the swab into the vial and caps it.

He nods to Officer Marshall before he backs out of the room and shuts the door.

"You can wash your hands after the questioning," Officer Marshall promises me as I stare at my bloody palms for a moment.

"Okay," I say as my lips feel numb, like they're floating off of my face and I'm no longer in control as the full force of the situation begins to hit me.

"I understand that there's a curfew in place, why were you out after curfew?" Officer Marshall asks me, her blue eyes watching me curiously.

"I was invited to join the Coven of Midnight," I tell her as I pull out Eleanora's locket and pass it to her.

Officer Marshall takes it from me and opens it. She reads the slip of paper before she nods to herself and writes down a note on her paper.

"And what did you do at this meeting?" she inquires.

"I summoned my familiar and pledged myself to be an ally of the Coven of Midnight," the words stick in my throat as I think about my pledge, not even an hour old one and I had been unable to protect a fellow witch.

"And what was the pledge?"

"To protect fellow witches," I whisper and a rush of shame consumes me.

"I see, and how did you find Finn Delacroix?" she asks as her eyes narrow thoughtfully.

"I had come out of the gym after pledging and I...I," I swallow at the bitter memory of his scream, "I heard a scream and I followed it and...he was already gone when I found him, he was lying on the sidewalk."

"Did you know Finn very well?"

"No, I only knew him because he had competed to become a member of the Draconic legion," I answer her honestly, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Do you know anyone who had issues with Finn?" Officer Marshall asks as she leans forward and lifts a questioning eyebrow.

"No," I shake my head, "I didn't really know him."

"Did you have issues with him?"

I pause then, the unease hitting me in the gut, "No."

I realize then that I'm not just a witness to her.

I'm a suspect.

****((((Much longer chapter as promised, I hope you guys like it!))))****