If the murders of innocent creatures put the community on edge, the calling of a Council meeting amplified the nervousness and dread. In the past, the resident governing body over the selected species of creatures met at least once a season, but as often as once a month during the occasional generation. Peace and prosperity prospered during those eras of more regular meetings. At times, when the community thrust itself into chaos, the once a season became mandatory to barter treaties and other agreements.

MalachiPeak's courthouse would be the backdrop of tonight's meeting. The locationrotated depending on the season, but in recent years, the Council had beengoing to here. The layout of the room proved to be perfect. The representativesof the factions rested at the far end of the room while a table or a podiumdepending on the amount of people sat before it. The two provided a space forpeople to air their grievances if needed. Behind the podiums sat a gallerywhere the different factions sorted by their species.

Ella, Aura, Marina and Ivy waited to be called in the foyer of courthouse. Ella paced across the room, running a hand through her sleeked-back ponytail. The rest managed to keep their cool, even if they were indeed freaking out. Aura and Marina shared a knowing look. Having grown up in Malachi Peak, their parents dragged them to every gathering. They spoke at length how boring these meetings were since little action ever took place, especially because all believed this to be a time of peace – at least until Cassie disappeared.

Her vanishing resulted in discord for the witches. No one wanted to take Cassie's place. They knew their magic would begin to wean without a consecrated Pentacle so they hid under the guise of mortals. Few openly practiced magic. The rest did so in the safety of their homes. Having been disconnected from the community for awhile, Ivy wasn't sure if she would be able to tell witch from human nowadays.

"What if you see them?" Marina whispered at Ella, whose head shot up at the question.

The fire witch's eyes acted as a window the struggle raging from within. "I don't even know what they look like."

Lie. They all knew it. With the resources at her fingertips, she had no doubt looked up her birth parents. No one wanted to call her out during a moment like this.

"You're still going to use the name?" Marina referenced Ella's true last name.

"I may be a Smith in name, but I am a Mishal by blood." Ella's eyes held all the conviction. "I love my parents, but here, Smith means nothing. Mishal evokes a sense of power."

Aura nodded despite appearing to be thinking about something else. Ivy watched Ella go back to pacing. When Cassie found Ella, she brought with her a series of revelations. The biggest was the fact that Ella was adopted. She had been born right here in Malachi Peak and given up for adoption. It took the whole group by surprise, Ivy especially. Could that mean she was from here too? Cassie never mentioned it, and Ivy refrained from asking. As far as Ivy knew, Ella had never contacted her birth parents. Still, the Mishal name echoed on the lips of the townspeople whenever they saw the fire witch.

The grand doors opened, signaling their time to enter. The four witches walked through the middle of the gallery, keeping their eyes trained on the half-moon of seats before them. Ella led the group. No surprise there with her fiery personality and penchant for embodying what it meant to be the first-born. The rest fell in line and took their seats at the table.

As Marina settled into her chair, a hushed silence fell on the room. The representatives entered one by one and took their seats. Ivy stared in awe at the powerful radiating off them in droves. However, one chair stayed empty.

Cassie's.

The realization blindsided the earth witch. Water collected at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away before anyone could notice. Marina didn't need her vision to feel the pain. Her hand squeezed Ivy's elbow in reassurance. They would get through this evening, and they would find Cassie's abductor.

"Witches, you sit before us because your actions have caused quite a stir in the community."

The voice came from one of the stunning vampires. Her blonde hair was pulled back in an elegant chignon. Her doe eyes stared at them with a ferocity that took Ivy's breath away as the vampire waited for some sort of acceptance of the accusation at her perch on the judges seat.

"Selene,we should have them introduce themselves first." A soft voice sliced throughthe room from the spot next to what would have been Cassie's. Her grandmotherCalliope Laurent sat in one of the seats representing the witches. Based on thesurprised reactions of the other members, she must rarely speak out. "Girls,please say your name and your element."

"Antonella Mishal, fire." Ella stood up first, pride emanating off her. Murmurs came from the witch community, but Ella refused to turn around. She wouldn't indulge anyone, despite having confirmed many people's suspicions.

"Aura Thomas, air." Aura cast a look at Ivy as she took a seat.

"Ivy Vale, earth." A single gasp cut through the crowd. Ivy's head spun around in search of the source, her curls rushing by in a blur. Her eyes scanned the room but found empty faces.

"Marina Marlowe, water." Her voice remained steady in an attempt to exude confidence.

"As you know, you're here to answer for what happened last week." Calliope's face betrayed her true feelings. She had no desire to question these witches, the sisters of her granddaughter.

"Yes, please explain why you trespassed on a portion of my land," the ethereal creature from the corner spat venomously.

Only the words gave her away what she felt. She stayed perched in her chair, sitting back and examining the Pentacle with an ambivalent gaze. The man beside her wore armor with a spear in his left hand. A crown sat atop a sea of wispy, auburn hair and moved with the tilt of her head, the light jewels catching the light

"Tatiana," Selene, the vampire, replied snapping her head toward the voice.

The knight stiffened. "That's your Highness to you."

"Fairies," Aura muttered, running a hand over her face. Ivy stifled a laugh.

"Your Highness," Ella stressed the title, "we had no idea it was your land. We were simply following a lead."

"A lead? A lead for what?" The muscular man asked from the far side. He leaned forward in anticipation of her answer.

"The disappearances around the town, those aren't random." Aura spoke up this time, her journalistic voice coming out. "They're connected, deliberate and an attack on our community."

"An attack?" Calliope raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Someone is targeting our community," Ella said. "All the victims have been creatures."

The whispers, which had already been growing in the gallery, rose to even louder level. The man sitting between the muscular one and Calliope banged a fist on the wood and his command to be silent bellowed through the hall. All voices ceased. This man held immense power, and he knew it. As soon as the room quieted down, he motioned for the meeting to continue.

"And because they're all creatures, they have to be connected?" The knight did little to hide his skepticism.

"There's a serious problem in the community right now." Marina leaned forward onto the table. "People are dying and being tortured, yet you want to question if they're connected?"

"We would appreciate it if you didn't speak in hyperbole," the Queen pursed her lips. "It was a simple question."

"It wasn't hyperbole." Ivy surprised herself when the words escaped her lips. The Pentacles' eyes locked on her in disbelief. "It's the simple truth. Since when has the creatures ever been picked off in this way? Even still, murder is murder. This just happens to be a pattern."

"From what I remember Ms. Vale, you moved to our corner of the world only six years ago, and in the past year, you turned your back on your own community." The triumphant smile sprawled across the Queen's dainty features.

"She's here now, and that's all that matters," Ella growled, voice on the verge of going feral. Ivy shot her a grateful smile. Ella accepted it with nod.

"Antonella, we know you are an investigator. What have you found?" Calliope channeled her grandmother tone in prompting her to continue. "Please enlighten us."

"Cassandra Laurent may have been the first," Ella gulped, "victim, but she was only the beginning. Since then, a couple of fairies, two werewolves and a kitsune have been identified. As for vampires, their bodies can be disposed in a multitude of ways so it's hard to know for sure. If found, their bodies are in severe shape. No one would have survived the atrocities cast upon them."

"What does this have to do with last weekend's incident?" Selene probed. "The Queen has a point. What does it have to do with her land?"

"We had no idea it was her land," Marina groaned uncharacteristically. Her eyes went wide when she realized what she had done. "It's a forest. There aren't hard lines drawn in the ground nor were we focused on whose land we were on."

It was Ivy's turn to calm Marina down. Ivy rested a hand on the empath's knee under the table to ease her nerves. Marina sighed in relief, a small smile at her lips in appreciation of Ivy.

"I found a lead, a lead I couldn't act on with my badge," Ella admitted casting her eyes downward in admission. "We had to follow this through. It could have been a shot at getting closer to finding who's behind these murders."

"Did you ever think you were led there on purpose?" The knight interjected again. Something about him put Ivy off. He constantly cast doubt on their arguments, never once honoring what they had to say.

"It never crossed our minds." Glowering at him, Aura started her response before he had even finished his question. "We followed the evidence – wherever it led. We didn't target your land, if that's what you're trying to imply. Fairies have died as well. If anything, you should want to get to the bottom of this."

"We never said we weren't looking into it," Tatiana piped up, her eyes squinting at them. "You jumped to conclusions that we weren't."

"What happened that night?" Calliope ignored the fairy's accusation and went back to her train of questions.

The Pentacle looked at one another, unsure where to start. As the unspoken leader, Ella launched into the story. She omitted certain parts, namely the mind linking and the escalation of powers. She stayed strong until the very end when she mentioned she had been stabbed. She hesitated a tad too long.

"You were stabbed. OK, what happened next?" Selene asked.

Ivy's body went rigid. Ella had to come up with a convincing lie. Healing was a serious power in the witch community. It was sought after but also targeted. No one knew the full extent of it, meaning no one was sure if you could bring someone back from the brink of life or even death itself.

"The girls had a salve that helped me heal." Ella ran a hand over face to calm down and sell the lie. "It's hard...remembering that I could have lost my life that night. They said I had lost a lot of blood. I'm still tired from the ordeal."

Ivy let out the breath she had been holding. Ella sold the story well, using what acting skills she had. They just hoped the representatives wouldn't push the issue.

For having never attended a Malachi Peak Council meeting, Ella maneuvered today's meeting with the skill of an experienced strategist. Ivy bit back a prideful smile. Ella had explained to the Pentacle that her coven back east held monthly meetings but they never had any real problems. The creatures lived mostly in harmony, and that's what Ella wanted for the Peak. Ivy knew the coven would be in good hands with Ella at the helm.

Minutes passed in silence as the factions stared at one another and back at the Pentacle. Only one man had refrained from speaking. He sat next to Selene, and Ivy concluded he had to be a vampire. There appeared to be no mixing of the species. They sat in pairs, one faction after the other. The man watched the Pentacle with inquisitive eyes, the gaze sliding over each of them. Calliope parted her lips to speak, but his voice came out instead.

"You all been through quite the ordeal," he started, his voice like honey in Ivy's ears. "We thank you for being honest in the account of the incident." The way he said this made it clear he knew Ella had held back. Ivy was sure of it from how his eyes bore into the group. "Going forward, the Council needs to be informed of whatever you find out. This is a particular issue that affects all the factions, those represented and those not. We must tread on this carefully."

"This means no more snooping." The smirk and eyebrow raise implied he knew they wouldn't honor that, but it had to be said. "There is too much to lose. Having lost one member of your group, you wouldn't want to lose another, especially as your coven's powers weaken as is customary after a broken Pentacle."

It was as if he were goading them to admit what they had omitted. Ella nodded in affirmation but made no move to correct him. Ivy and the others followed suit. They made their beds and would have to lie in it now, whatever the cost should be. Neither the Council nor the coven needed to know what they discovered.

His words signaled the end of the meeting. The room filtered out until all that remained was the Pentacle. They exited in silence, unsure if anyone remained to eavesdrop on their conversation. You can never be too careful in the courthouse chambers.

A/N
Sooooo I decided to give y'all a little bonus chapter for having hit 400 reads and 100 votes. I'm taken aback every time I see someone interacting with my piece, from a comment to a vote or even adding it to their reading list. Thank you for coming on this adventure with me.

Now, there you have it. You've met the ~great~ Council. Man oh man, this chapter was a bear to write because I was really trying to push myself with the different voices. Last night, I edited it even further than what I normally do. Shout out TwistedNym since her advice from previous chapters pushed me to take a deeper look from my original drafts for this chapter. (It won't let me tag you for some odd reason.)

Thank you all again for reading/voting/commenting on my piece. I hope it's been able to bring you even a little joy during this challenging time.