Hours later, he couldn't get the taste of Ellie's lips off his tongue, and it was driving him insane.

It was stupid of him to kiss her. Beyond stupid, it was dangerous. He was already having a terrible time keeping his emotional impulses in check, and it wouldn't help having the memory of her soft mouth on his every time he looked at her.

He couldn't help but wonder how many other parts of her were just as soft, and how those parts might feel pressed against him. One minute his mind was on a murder investigation, and the next he was thinking how she might feel if he pulled her onto his lap instead of letting her sit in the other hard wooden chair...

Kaz fought not to groan in frustration, running a hand through his loose white hair. He felt like a teenager battling both his urges and incubi magic for the first time.

Lust was easy to brush off. He was used to that. It didn't take much for him to walk away from someone attractive in favor of a less volatile food source. Humans and half humans and even plenty of Others became emotionally entangled in things so easily, and Kaz wasn't looking for energy to feed on that contained even a whiff of emotional involvement. He'd rather settle for subsisting off physical food and ambient, leftover sexual energy in clubs or bars than worry about someone chasing him down the next day.

This was... harder to ignore, though. Ellie was harder to ignore.

"I wouldn't call that a productive day, but at least we got to talk to a few people," she grumbled as they walked inside, plopping down in the armchair to unlace her boots.

"I would," Kaz countered, running his hand through his hair.

"Eh?" She paused, briefly looking up from her shoes. "You enjoyed hearing about marriage politics and furniture making?"

"I have a much better idea of the personalities living around here, and not only that, but how they view you," Kaz said thoughtfully. "Besides, you know I can sense emotions well due to my nature as an incubus. There are some... interesting people living here."

"What did you sense?"

"As far as people we passed? A decent amount of shock and lust for the most part, with some greed sprinkled in there," he said distastefully. "Not that any of those are unusual."

"I'm sorry," Ellie said softly.

Kaz blinked, jolting a little. "For... what?"

"It's just... I know I get frustrated with people who make snap decisions about me before they know me or based on rumors," she said. "Not that I'm not guilty of it, too. I did that to you at first. But..."

"But?"

"I think I'd get real sick of people real, real fast if all they ever wanted to do was use me."

Kaz stepped closer, putting his fingers under her chin so she would look up at him, meeting his eyes. If she'd let him read her emotions, he would gladly take full advantage of the opportunity. After all, it was the easy way out for him. All he needed was a small excuse, something just solid enough to help him lock away these strange surges of... something... he felt around her.

It was as easy as breathing to undo the lock on his abilities and let his senses flow through Ellie. If he wanted to, Kaz could sense the emotions of anyone within half a mile, but the larger the radius, the harder it became to identify which emotions came from which person. When he focused on someone specific, his senses became sharper. Clearer. Ellie's heartbeat pulsed loudly in his ears as his senses attuned to hers, and he breathed in slowly, letting his eyes close while he concentrated.

He was... moderately shocked to feel a kind of gentle warmth coming from her. As his hand moved to trace down her arm, trailing along gently until his fingertips found her calloused palms, he expected to feel a swell of arousal or embarrassment. They were there, somewhere, buried underneath stronger waves of feelings. He could taste the familiar flavors on his tongue, but only if he tried very hard to look for them. They weren't primary motivators, but an unconscious body response. The primary emotions crashing over him in waves were something else entirely.

Guilt. Fear. And... something that tasted very much like affection, something that tasted like calm when she instinctively wrapped her fingers around his hand, settling their palms together. It was almost overwhelming, and he wondered for a moment how she could feel things so intensely and stay as steady, stable, and practical as she usually was.

Shaken, Kaz pulled away and took a step back, eyes snapping open. He typically made it a habit not to rely on his empathetic abilities too much. Even people who held you in fond regard could be dangerous, he'd learned, but Ellie... Something about the openness around her frustrated him to no end. He could have gotten all that information from her face if he wanted to, and that... that was not normal. That was not what he expected. Above all, he hadn't expected the incredible intensity of everything she was feeling.

Instead of an excuse to lock down tight, he found the edge of a cliff leading to unknown depths.

"You sure you're okay?" Ellie asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

Kaz opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

And then he changed the subject.

"Your aunt— Jeannie, was it? She had an interesting combination of emotions when we spoke. Shock, joy, jealously... quite the cocktail," he said suddenly, taking a deep breath as he fought to distract himself from the intoxicating and intriguing blend of emotions still lingering around Ellie.

Normally it would be child's play to turn the sensations off, to ignore them or shut them down, but he wanted to look again. He wanted to make sure that what he sensed was real.

It rattled him to the core.

"Jeannie has had it rough," Ellie explained. "Rumor has it she never showed as much natural talent as my daddy, and now even though he's up and disappeared, she's still gettin' compared to him. She got married when I was little, but she found out she couldn't have kids, and not long after that her husband left her for another witch in a different community."

"Damn..." Kaz huffed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She's been good to me. Helped Granny raise me some when I was little."

"How did she feel about Ben?"

"Mmm... She warmed up to him," she said with a shrug. "Wasn't crazy about bringing a human into our village at first, since she's the Lead Witch and all, but I didn't back down. It's not against the rules, and she knew it."

"Has she been the Lead Witch long?"

"Mmm... Yeah, about as long as I can remember. She's pretty much the strongest here. 'Cept for Granny, that is."

"The strongest or the flashiest?"

"I think most people say she's both," Ellie said, rolling her eyes. "She's not too bad, though, and I can understand why she wants to hold onto that position."

"Sometimes I think you can understand other people a little too much for own good," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ellie snapped, hands on her hips.

"Are you suspicious— legitimately suspicious— of anyone at all? Do you have any ideas about who might have done this?" Kaz asked, gesturing broadly.

Ellie paled.

"... No," she admitted. "That's why I called you."

"You... make me insane," he said with a huff, rubbing at his temples. Ellie's cheeks turned red and her shoulders hiked, an argument obviously already on her tongue, but Kaz just kept talking. "It's a good thing you called for help if you're looking at humanity through rose-colored glasses. You'd wind up getting yourself killed on your own."

"I would not!" she cried, mouth hanging open.

"Well, you certainly won't now. I'll make damn sure nothing happens to you."

"Th— thanks," Ellie said softly. "That... um, that wasn't in the bargain."

"I know," he breathed. "It wasn't in the bargain that you stick up for me, either."

"That's just what decent people do," she said, waving him off. "It doesn't bother me if it's me, but..."

"It bothers you if it's someone else?" he suggested.

"Yeah. You don't deserve to get caught up deep in the bullshit. You're just visiting." Ellie's gaze dropped to the floor.

He was just visiting. It was important to keep that at the front of his thoughts. This was not a permanent arrangement— Ellie needed assistance and he needed a distraction from the drugs and parties and lights in big cities. That was all. That had to be all.

It didn't matter that he'd started to notice a strange tightness in his chest when he looked at Ellie that couldn't solely be attributed to physical attraction.

"I hate to ask, but would it be possible to question Ben's ghost at some point?" Kaz pulled the question from thin air, hoping to change the subject, to brush away the sudden awkwardness. Ellie looked back up at him, blue eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't know anything. You've seen him."

"I know. I just thought... maybe he'd be able to tell us something helpful from when he was alive." Kaz rubbed the back of his neck a little uncomfortably, hoping he hadn't crossed a line.

"I..." Ellie began, cutting off with a sigh. "Listen, his memories are scrambled. I don't want to do anything to cause him more pain."

"My Sight isn't as thorough as yours, but I'd still like to speak to him."

Ellie worried her lower lip with her teeth, thinking for a long moment.

"I'll take you to the gravesite when the road clears up, but if I say the conversation is done, you're done. Got it?"

"Clear," he said with a nod. "Is there... anything I should know about him first?"

She hesitated, just for a moment. It was easy to see that talking about him was painful, but some part of Kaz wondered if she'd ever been allowed to talk about him after all was said and done. Did she have anyone to share stories with? Did she have anyone to help her grieve? Would it actually be good for her to go through those memories?

"Ben grew up on a farm," Ellie said softly. "He was somebody who always tried to see the best in people. He worked hard, and he was real protective over his younger sisters."

"He liked cats. I'm more of a dog person, and it was a running joke because of the whole... witches and black cats thing," she said with a soft laugh.

"I know I've asked before, but do you know of anyone with a vendetta against him?"

"Not a serious one," she said, shaking her head. "His family wasn't crazy about the idea of us leaving town to find a home somewhere else, but that wasn't the end of the world."

"His own family wouldn't have killed him because they didn't want him to leave," Kaz murmured. "That's a bit counterintuitive."

"No, you're right about that," she sighed, resting her chin on her hands. "We just wanted to poke around a little, do some traveling... Maybe even come back."

Kaz scratched absently at the slight stubble on his jaw. If they'd been planning to come back eventually, that almost negated any motives surrounding their plans to leave town. The more he learned, the more it sounded like very few people had a reason to dislike Ben. He could understand why Ellie had been stuck on this for so long, and in a way he could even understand why the town suspected Ellie. There were too few people with motives to kill him.

A knock at the front door interrupted his thought process. He shot a confused glance towards Ellie, but she only shrugged and peered through the peephole.

"What the...?" she muttered, but she moved to unlock the deadbolt.

The door opened to reveal Alice standing in the cool night air, lantern in hand and looking a little lost. The shadows obscured most of her face, but it was easy enough to identify her.

"Hey," Alice said softly.

"Can I help you?" Ellie's tone was carefully neutral, and Kaz stepped up behind her, muscles tense as he surveyed Alice through the door.

"I'm sorry," she said, fiddling with a stray curl of red hair. "'Bout earlier, I mean."

"Can I help you...?" she asked again, a little more firmly. Kaz noticed that she didn't accept the apology, though she still maintained politeness, and he couldn't blame her for it.

"That's... all I wanted to say," she said softly. "Have a good night."

Alice turned and started to walk away without saying another word, but there was a particular flash of the lantern that seemed to catch Ellie's eyes as she moved. Her brow furrowed as she called out.

"Hey, Alice... come into the light real quick, will ya?" Ellie said hesitantly, beckoning her forward. Alice paused, and for a moment it seemed that she was going to keep walking. However, the young woman turned and slowly picked her way back towards the door until she was standing in the threshold, the light from the lamps inside the house revealing what Ellie had seen the smallest flash of.

A mottled red and purple bruise bloomed on Alice's jaw, unmistakable even as she turned her head to try to hide it. Kaz hadn't noticed it from his perspective, not when she was standing in the shadows, but in the light from inside the house, it was clearly a fresh wound.

"Get inside," Ellie said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Kaz backed up and let Alice in, squinting at the bruise while Ellie shut and bolted the door behind them. Now that he could see it in the light, it wasn't just a bruise. It was also a set of scratches. Not deep, but they certainly didn't look comfortable.

"You want to talk about how you got that?" Ellie's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the bolted front door. Alice just shook her head, eyes glued to the ground.

"You want something for the pain?" Ellie tried again.

Alice nodded very slowly. "Please."

"Anything broken?"

"Don't think I'd be talkin' if it was," she mumbled. Kaz thought that was a decently fair assessment, but Ellie looked skeptical.

"Kaz, go grab the coldest thing you can find from the cellar," she said with a sigh. "I'm gonna make tea."

"Can you make something caffeinated?" Kaz asked over his shoulder, already heading for the door. He might need it if this was going to be as long a conversation as he feared it might.

"Not this late at night, and we don't wanna give Alice the jitters." Ellie guided their visitor towards a chair as she spoke, having her sit down before moving over to the shelves of dried herbs, flowers, and leaves. "Chamomile and peppermint. Maybe some lavender... and I'm gonna need the witch hazel."

"Witch hazel... tea?" Alice asked, blinking.

"Witch hazel to clean up your face," she said, nodding towards Alice as she picked jars off the wall. "Don't want that gettin' infected, especially if those scratches are from what I think they are."

Kaz turned towards Ellie questioningly as Alice continued to look down, twiddling her fingers in her lap. Ellie caught his eye and made a shushing motion, but then she flexed her hand at him, wiggling her fingers as she made a swiping motion across her own jaw.

Nails. Ellie thought the scratches were from human nails.

He got to the cellar as quickly as he could, picking out a random canning jar with glass that felt icy to the touch. It looked like either squash or peaches, but he really couldn't tell in the poor lighting.

The kettle was on when he made it back upstairs, and Ellie was sitting across the table from Alice with a strange, carefully neutral look on her face. The kettle wasn't chirping yet, but three empty mugs sat on the table. Alice held one between her hands, perhaps just for something to do with them besides hold them in her lap.

"I hate her," Alice said quietly, gripping the mug so tightly her knuckles were white. "I know you shouldn't hate your own momma, but I hate her."

"Has she hit you before?" Ellie asked, reaching out to take the jar of preserves from Kaz. "Thanks, honey."

"No, this is the first time." Alice sucked in a breath through her nose. "She's... sharp. She's loud. She has high expectations for us. She never..." her hand went to her jaw, fingertips ghosting over the scratches.

"It doesn't get better from there," Kaz said sadly.

"You ready for me to clean it? Might burn," Ellie asked, dipping a clean cloth in a jar. Alice just nodded, turning her head to give better access to her jaw.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," Alice said softly. "If I get married, I could leave, but the Council won't match me with anyone because they favor witches with stronger magic than a sensitive nose and animal speak."

"Is that why she hit you? Because the Council didn't match you?" Kaz asked carefully.

"She said I had to be a weakling if they sent you a match and not me, that God saddled her with a magical cripple," she muttered. "And... she said I betrayed her today when I tried to just leave."

"I'm sorry," Ellie said softly, and Kaz didn't have to be telepathic to know what she was thinking. It was a lie that the Council had matched her to anyone at all, just a story to provide cover for their investigation. As soft hearted as Ellie could be, he worried that she would blame herself for Alice's abusive mother.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I've been horrible to you because I was tryin' to survive my momma. I tried not to make it too harsh, but... I was awful, and I know it."

"She wanted you to act like that?" Ellie exchanged the cloth for the canning jar, pressing the cold glass against the bruise. Alice winced, but reached up to hold it in place.

"The short version is... yeah, she did. The long version is that it was a combination of that and me being convinced I was somehow better. Then I realized... I won't ever be good enough for her."

"Today?" Kaz asked. "After what you saw?"

"I want what y'all have," Alice said quietly. "I think it's pretty clear that whatever I've been doing isn't the way to get it."

Kaz and Ellie exchanged glances, but he couldn't read the emotion on her face. He didn't dare reach out to sense it, either, almost afraid of what he might find. For now, it was more than enough to know that Alice thought their act was the real thing, and that thought kept circling in his mind long after she'd made her way home for the night.

Alice thought it was real... and he didn't mind.