My family finished their chant, and the dark magic fled.
“What the hell!” the necromancer panted. “Where am I?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “I told you that you weren’t strong enough to contain the dark magic.”
Logan sidled toward me, his gun still pointed at the necromancer. “Is this the guy who broke into your house?”
I nodded. “I assume you got the voicemail?”
“I heard everything,” he confirmed. “Jackson will go down for Martha’s murder.” He removed a set of handcuffs from his belt, then looked down at the necromancer still on his knees and started reading him his rights.
The necromancer glared at me all the while.
Logan had to call in back up to take both the necromancer and Jackson, then stayed behind with me and my family once they had both been carted off.
I knew I had some serious ‘splainin to do, but first there was Martha. She was beginning to lose her form. It was time to say goodbye.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We all gathered in Martha’s sitting room as she hovered in a seated position above the sofa. She had grown more transparent, her body seeming to lose shape at the edges. Callie had turned on the lights, and now stood back with the rest of my family and Logan.
Martha patted the seat on the sofa beside her, her hand going through the cushion and not actually making a sound.
I sat next to her, turning my body in her direction.
She smiled. “I want to thank you for bringing me peace, Addy. Without you, I never would have known why I was killed, and my killer might not have ever been brought to justice.”
I glanced at my family and Logan, feeling awkward taking the praise in front of them. Even Spooky stood off to one side, watching me.
I shrugged and turned back to Martha. “It was Alex too. If he wouldn’t have told me what happened, we might not have figured anything out.”
“It was your plan with the paintings. You figured out more than anyone else could.”
I was glad Logan couldn’t hear her half of the conversation or he might be a little offended. I patted the air near her hand, careful to not let my fingers sink through hers. All I felt was an electric chill, nothing substantial. “Well regardless, I’m glad you’re at peace. And I’m glad I got to know you.” I glanced at the others again, then back to her. “And thanks for bringing my family here. That was quick thinking on your part.”
She let out an audible breath and shook her head. “I felt awful leaving you with that gun-wielding maniac, but I knew you could handle yourself.” Her gaze went distant as her eyes tilted up to the ceiling. “I think it’s time. Please find a way to thank Alex for me. He doesn’t believe in ghosts. I didn’t either, but I want him to know I appreciate all he did.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said, but I didn’t think that she heard me. Her form dissipated into white mist, then suddenly dispersed.
I turned to the others in the room, finding Logan staring at me wide-eyed. “Did she just . . . depart?” he asked. “I felt it. Like a big pressure shift in the room.”
I smiled. “Maybe you’re a bit sensitive after all.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m going to need someone to explain everything that happened here tonight, and why I had to lie to my officers to cover certain things up.”
Cousin Amber stepped forward from the rest. She was tall and thin like my mom, but her hair was jet black, cut into a chin length bob. “First we need to talk about the dark magic. It may have left the necromancer, but it will find someone else.”
“And just who was the necromancer?” Callie asked. “Where did he come from?”
“We’ll find that out soon,” Logan answered. “But I can’t guarantee we’ll be able to hold him for long. All we have on him is an accusation of breaking and entry, and damaging property. If we don’t find anything substantial to tie him to the crime, he’ll walk free.”
I slumped back against the sofa cushions. It was no use telling Logan what the necromancer had done in the woods. There was no proof of it.
Cousin Amber walked across the room to take a seat next to me, swishing her black skirts. Her nearness brought a thrum of magic. She patted my hand atop my leg. “Don’t you worry, Adelaide. We’ll figure out what to do about the necromancer, if anything needs to be done at all. After being possessed by the dark magic, he may run for the hills.”
I nodded along with her words. “You’re right. We’ll wait and see what he does.”
“We should get going,” Logan interrupted, his eyes on me. “Do you mind if I give you a ride home?”
I was too tired to argue. I hugged my mom and sisters goodbye, received a pat on the head from cousin Amber, then lifted Spooky into my arms. I took one last glance around Martha’s home, realizing I was going to miss her. I wasn’t sure what I would do to send her thanks to Alex, but I would figure it out.
“Ready?” Logan asked.
I nodded, then we all filed out the front door. The key was still in the lock where I’d left it, and I figured it might as well stay there. It was a nice neighborhood. Things should be fine until Blake could come by and start cleaning things out.
I hardly paid attention as my mom, sisters, and Amber all piled into my mom’s truck. I sat in Logan’s front passenger seat with Spooky on my lap. As soon as Logan got in and started the engine, he blasted the heat.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was safe, for now, and lucky to be alive. Somehow the gun wielding-maniac had scared me more than the dark magic, maybe because I understood magic. I didn’t understand killing for money or for an art gallery.
Logan pulled out onto the street, following behind my mom’s truck.
I noticed him glancing at me and frowned. “Please don’t make me explain everything.”
“So the dark magic that had empowered Neil Howard’s ghost,” he began, “and possessed you in the forest after Ike chased you, came back and possessed the man who broke into your house. That man is also a necromancer, which I assume means he can control the dead. Both the dark magic and necromancer were drawn to you because you are a channelling witch, and they hope to use you in some manner. Did I miss anything?”
I shook my head and let out a weak laugh. “No, I don’t suppose you did.”
“And you solved Martha’s murder.”
I stroked Spooky’s warm fur. “It was a joint effort. If Spooky wouldn’t have stolen a piece of paper from Cheryl’s house, I would have never found the paintings. What will happen to them now, by the way?”
He shrugged. “When they’re no longer needed as evidence, they’ll be returned to their rightful owners.”
“So it’s over then. Case closed.”
He pulled the car out onto the highway. “Well except for the dark magic and glowing animals.”
“The necromancer was just using the glowing animals to test if I could really channel. With him no longer keeping the spirits here, they should fade.”
“So just the dark magic then,” he said.
“Yep.”
I peered out the dark window, wondering where the magic had gone. Would it be afraid of us now that cousin Amber was around? Five witches made a full coven. Few things in the supernatural world would mess with a full coven, but I had a feeling the dark magic was an exception. According to the necromancer, it was something long dead, but that’s all we really knew about it. But why had something long dead appeared so suddenly?
It was always here, a voice said in my mind. Waiting for you to be ready.
I whipped my eyes down to Spooky and almost asked him to repeat what he had just said, then I remembered I was in the car with Logan.
I kept my attention on the cat, meeting his yellow eyes staring back at me. Why is it I can only hear you on occasion? I thought.
Because you need to learn to listen. You hear me now because your mind is exhausted.
I frowned. Here I had been blaming the cat for his lack of communication, when it tu
rned out I was just a bad listener.
Story of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Are you sure you’re not a zombie?” Richie asked, giving me a speculative look.
I rolled my eyes at him as I steamed milk for a customer’s order. He had come in for another day of training, and I had to admit I was grateful. After the last few days, I felt like crap. I needed time off.
“You shouldn’t speak to your boss like that,” I chided.
He was looking out toward the front, then turned toward me with a grin. “So I also shouldn’t give my boss a hard time about her boyfriend visiting her.”
I glanced toward the door to watch Max come in, then turned a quick glare in Richie’s direction. “Not my boyfriend,” I hissed under my breath. “Now make him a coffee.”
I walked around the counter to greet Max. Spooky watched my progress from the top of his bookshelf. He hadn’t spoken to me since the previous night, and I wondered if it really was my fault I couldn’t hear him. That I just wasn’t listening right.
I met Max at one of the tables near the front window and we both sat. “Don’t worry about going up to order,” I explained. “Richie has you covered.”
Max smiled and raked his fingers through his tousled hair. “Thanks. So he’s officially hired?”
I wasn’t sure how he always looked so good after touching his hair like that. If I did that to mine I would end up a poof ball. “Officially hired. With all the baking I’m doing, I need to cut back on my hours.” And with all of the witching I’ve been doing, I added internally.
“Does that mean I won’t see you around here as much?”
I leaned back in my seat and crossed my legs. “Oh I’m sure I will still be here plenty.”
Richie came toward our table with two coffees in hand, sliding one in front of each of us. “Why don’t you take a break, boss,” he said mischievously. “I’ve got things covered.”
Richie turned away as Sophie Eddings came in. Her face lit up when she saw him, though her timid air remained. I made a mental note to return Richie’s teasing later, but not in front of Sophie.
I took a sip of my latte, smiling as I realized Richie had sprinkled cinnamon in it, then turned back to Max. “Now where were we, you were lamenting on not seeing me enough?”
I caught him mid-sip and he sputtered on his coffee. He put down his cup and laughed. “Yeah, I guess that was my point, and I can only see one solution.”
I raised a brow. “Go on.”
“Let me take you out to dinner this weekend.”
I opened my mouth to say yes, then turned as the front door opened and Logan walked in. His expression was dark, and I found myself suddenly dreading whatever he had to say.
He walked toward our table, gave a brief nod of acknowledgment to Max, then looked down at me. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Max, then stood with my coffee in hand and followed Logan back toward the office.
Sophie and Richie watched on curiously as Spooky hopped off the bookshelf and joined us.
Once we were alone in the office, Logan crossed his arms and shook his head. “You’re not going to like what I have to say.”
I slumped down into the chair behind my desk. “Just say it.”
“My officers lost the necromancer last night. We didn’t even have him long enough to ID him.”
My jaw fell open. “How did he get away?”
He shrugged. “No one has an explanation for it. He was in the back of a squad car, but when they arrived at the station he was just gone.”
I pinched my brow and shook my head. “He probably has illusion magic, I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. When I chased him in the woods it was like he was a marathon runner, but it was just an illusion. He had probably circled back around and left me chasing shadows.”
“You chased him in the woods?”
I winced. “Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that.”
He sat down on the edge of my desk, angling his body toward me. Spooky jumped up and started sniffing his coat sleeve.
Logan absentmindedly pet the cat. “Do you have any idea who he really was, or where he went?”
I shook my head. “No, and now we may never find out. With cousin Amber around, he would be a fool to approach any of us.”
“But are you sure that he won’t?”
I thought about it. “No, I’m not sure. True illusion is high-level magic. He might be stronger than we think, though if that’s the case, he should have been able to fight off the dark magic.”
Logan stared at me, digesting my words. “I’m not going to pretend that half of that isn’t beyond my comprehension, but you just let me know if you see him.”
I gave him a little salute. “Sure thing, as long as you’ll come arrest him and not lose him this time.”
He frowned. “And you let me know if the dark magic comes back too.”
“You can’t arrest dark magic.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Just let me know, please.”
“Okay,” I agreed, crossing my fingers under the desk. I might let Logan try to arrest the necromancer again, but I definitely didn’t want him anywhere near the dark magic. “How are things going with Jackson?”
“He admitted everything, probably hoping to lessen his sentence.”
The stiffness in my shoulders relaxed. I might not have solved anything with the dark magic, but at least Martha’s case was closed.
Logan stood and moved toward the door. “You be safe, Addy. Call me if you need anything.”
I gave him a wave, then put my head down on the desk as he left and shut the door behind him.
The necromancer will return, Spooky chimed into my mind.
I jolted upright, blinking at the cat on my desk, but he didn’t speak further.
I shook my head. I guess he didn’t need to. I’d just have to keep the necromancer on my list of worries.
One, dark magic. Two, necromancer. Three, being a channeling witch who naturally drew these dark things toward me.
I glanced at the office door, realizing there was a number four. I needed to hide all of these things from the man I was potentially dating, and I needed to keep him safe. If I knew what was good for both of us, I would avoid him entirely.
But I didn’t want to avoid him. So maybe I was a channeling witch surrounded by darkness, did that mean I didn’t deserve love?
I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know the answer.
The next few days were uneventful. No one saw any glowing animals, necromancers, or green glowing magic. Amber was going to stick around for a while, and joy of joys, she was staying with me. I supposed I couldn’t complain. I did feel safer with her around, and it was better than staying out at my mom’s.
I sent Alex a care package of baked goods, letting him know they were from me so he didn’t think they were poisoned. I thought of Martha while I prepared them, trying to add magic that would remind Alex of her presence. Hopefully some small part of him would be reminded of her, and he would know how grateful she was.
I heard occasional comments from Spooky, and I vowed to be a better listener. Maybe if I kept practicing he would be able to tell me whatever he knew about the dark magic.
Max and I went on our first real date, and so far so good. I could only hope things remained calm . . . but I sure wasn’t betting on it.
Author’s Note: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed book two of Twilight Hollow. Please consider leaving a review, it really helps me out! You can also find the next book in the series, and sign up for my mailing list, by following the links below.
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Catnip Cantrips (Twilight Hollow Witchy Cozy Mysteries Book 2) Page 12
