“How do I hold her?”
“Use your magic like tentacles. Focus your intention on letting free from you in tendrils. Once she’s appeared, encircle her with it. Don’t let her slip away.”
“You think she’ll try?”
“I’m not sure,” Remy said. “She died violently and might still be scared or even angry. We’ll have to make it quick. I don’t want her sapping all of your magical energy, and it’s going to take a lot of mine to bring her over. That would leave us vulnerable if this goes on for too long.”
“All right, let’s do it,” I said.
“Are you sure? There’s still time for us to call this off. It is risky,” Remy said.
“I believe in you, and I believe in us. We can do this.”
Well, we did something all right… The first clue that things weren’t going as planned was the ripping sound when Remy tried to pull Brittany through the veil that separates the spirit world from the living.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “Get ready.”
“For what?”
“Something shoved her out of the way and came through instead. Something far bigger than the hole I made in the veil.”
“What would force its way through like that?”
“Probably a demon,” Remy said. “Or it could just be a strong spirit, but I doubt it’s got good intentions if it’s forcing its way into our world. We could sure use that cat right now.”
I knew I would need the tendrils of magic I’d created to hold whatever Remy had summoned, but I thought I could use them for a quick second to help us out. In my mind, I saw the white tentacles of my power reaching up and out to Meri.
“Where’d you go?” Remy asked when I was done.
“I reached out to Meri. Hopefully he’ll be here quick,” I said. “Either way, I’m ready. I’ll hold the thing as long as I can once it’s all the way here.”
“No,” Remy said. “You cannot do that. You don’t let your magic anywhere near it. Stay in the circle, Brighton. All of you. I’ll do my best to protect you.”
“Remy, I can help.”
“No.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet,” a horrid voice rang out through the basement. “Little Remy is trying to play hero.”
“It knows your name,” I said.
“Of course I know his name.” The demon began to materialize right outside of the circle. The scent of rotting flesh and sulfur turned my stomach as it spoke again, “We’re the best of friends, aren’t we, witch?”
“What is he talking about, Remy?” I asked.
“He’s just trying to distract us while he gathers power,” Remy said.
“Oh, if it were only that simple. But I know him better than that. I know what he wants, and I know what he’s willing to do to have you,” the demon spit. “You know it too. You saw how he changed when he got close to his prize.”
The air around us began to vibrate. The floor was next, and soon I knew the whole house would be shaking.
“Not today, fiend!” Meri said as he ran down the basement stairs. “You two get upstairs!”
“We’d have to break the circle,” Remy said.
“Doesn’t matter. Just go! Go now before he’s all the way through! He’s feeding off your energy. Go!”
Without hesitation, I grabbed Remy’s hand and ran for the stairs. I felt darkness grab me and stab through my heart from behind, but I ignored it and kept pulling Remy until we were up the stairs and standing in the kitchen.
“Should we shut the door?” Remy asked.
“No, just wait.”
There was a sound of a loud clap, and then Meri came running up the steps. “Go ahead and close it now,” Meri said as he shot through the door.
Fortunately, no humans were in the kitchen when Meri ran through the door and talked. I hoped if there were any others around, they just thought it was Remy and I talking.
I was getting ready to start looking around the first floor of the house to see if someone could have overheard when there was a scream from outside.
There was a rank burnt smell as I opened the back door. I thought for a moment that the demon might have broken through Meri’s magic and manifested in the back yard with my party guests.
It wasn’t a demon, but it might have been magic at work. Somehow, the grill had been knocked over and the outside of Hangman’s House was on fire.
Thorn jumped into action and moved people back. While he did that, Annika and Brody moved forward to put it out.
I was worried because they were using magic at first, but Meri ran out to the rescue. I could see both versions of the event. The reality was that Annika and Brody were using magic to extinguish the flames. What the humans saw was people stepping up and throwing their drinks on the flames. It was an amazing illusion.
When the fire was out, I checked the house for smoke damage. I didn’t find any. There was a woman in the bathroom who looked alarmed, but she went back outside to rejoin the party.
I was surprised that the fire wasn’t the end. Once it was out, Brody set the grill back up and started cooking again.
“You okay?” Thorn asked when he approached me.
“I am. A little shaken up.”
“It’s good that it got put out so fast. I’m sure that’s a relief.”
I was a little shocked because he didn’t pull me into his arms or even take my hand. His eyes darted around the crowd.
“It is,” I said. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”
“I’m fine,” Thorn said. “I’m going to walk around and talk to a few people. I want to know if anyone saw how the grill got knocked over. We’ll talk soon.”
“Ooookay.” I was thoroughly confused by his behavior, but I didn’t want to beg him to talk to me like I was needy and codependent. I tried not to take any of it personally.
I decided that I just wanted to try to enjoy what was left of the barbecue for the time being. Annika was talking to Brody at the grill, Meri was patrolling, so I scanned the back yard for Remy.
A few seconds later, I saw him standing behind the garage. He was smiling at me, and when we made eye contact, he waved me over. It was strange, but I thought that perhaps he needed to talk to me about something he couldn’t say too close to the humans.
I made my way over to where he stood and continued to follow him as he walked around to the other side of the mostly finished garage. Suddenly, Remy was on me. He covered my face with a rag, and before I could use any magic to fight back, an acrid smell filled my nose and the world went black.
My head swam when I woke. I didn’t think using my magic to save myself should count as personal gain, so I took a chance and used my power to clear my head.
A deep sigh escaped from between my lips as I realized I was tied down in the back of a van. I had been so stupid.
My heart ached as the realization of what had happened sunk in. Not only had Remy not changed at all, he’d teamed up with the obvious killer.
I was about to die.
And yet, I was able to use magic to release myself from the ropes holding me. You would have thought that Remy would have used his powers to ensure I couldn’t escape.
More than that, I sat up and opened the back of the van, hopped out, and scared Grey. He stood there looking at me completely stunned.
“How did you…” he asked and took a step toward me.
I reacted fast and use my magic to stop him in his tracks. When I looked around, Remy wasn’t there.
“Where is Remy?”
“Not here to save you, I’m afraid,” he hissed.
“Why would he save me? He helped you bring me here,” I said as I looked around the wooded area we were in.
“You really have no idea what I am,” he said and tried to wrestle free of my magic hold. “But I guess then again, I didn’t know what you were either. How are you doing this?”
“Wow. Okay,” I said and thought. “So that was yo
u that took me, but you looked like Remy?”
“Clever woman. I knew there was a reason I liked you so much,” he said. “And I think I’ve dealt with power like this before. Not exactly, but close enough. You’re a witch.”
“You’re a shapeshifter,” I said. “I haven’t been a witch long enough to have studied up on that part of the occult, but I did think that shifters were more… like animal types.”
“We usually are,” Grey said. “But I seduced a witch a few years ago, and she fell in love with me. I got some... upgrades before I killed her. If I’d known that I could have gotten some more out of you, I’d have tried a little harder to get you away from Deputy Do-Right and that nerd boy that follows you around like a puppy.”
“You’re in my magical clutches. You might not want to talk smack about my friends,” I said.
“Your friends are stupid. Most of this town is stupid. I thought I’d have to actually try to evade arrest after killing that girl, but nobody in this Podunk town knows their butt from a hole in the ground.”
“I’d blame the feds for that.”
“You didn’t catch me either,” Grey said. “Now why don’t you let me go, and we’ll discuss playing nice. I could make you very happy.”
“Until you killed me? No thanks,” I said. “Oh, and no thanks anyway. I have a boyfriend.”
“Didn’t look like it at the party.”
“Shut up,” I said.
I needed a minute to figure out what to do. I had Grey, but I had to get him somewhere safe. It didn’t seem like a good idea to just sit there waiting for someone to show up and help.
“So what kind of shifter are you?” I asked. “Because the video of the murder at Bob’s showed a man in a hoodie.”
“That was an illusion,” Grey laughed. “I’m a wolf. I thought my name would be a dead giveaway.”
“Hmm. You’re right,” I said and tightened my magic around him. “Okay, so you’re a wolf. That would explain the savagery of her killing, but there was a knife there. You can use a knife in wolf form?”
“No. I keep those in my van to plant at the murder scene. I don’t exactly want to advertise that a shifter is doing the killings,” Grey said.
“And my garage?”
He huffed. “I came into town that day to build your garage, but I spied the girl on the way in. No one was around, and I couldn’t resist. She was close enough to my type, and I had an itch.”
“But then you came to build my garage.”
“I only showed up for that for the alibi. I should have just left town after I killed her, but I wanted to try and be a little more organized. You saw how fast the FBI showed up. That’s because I’d been a little reckless. The thing is, I thought when I showed up at your house pounding the way I was, you’d fire me. But you’re too nice for that. Once I saw you, and got a whiff of your beautiful scent, I knew I had to have some special time alone with you. I killed the other girl too fast. It was a frenzy really. With you, I wanted to take my time and savor the experience.”
“You have to be really good at this to have tricked us all. Even Meri didn’t pick up on it,” I said.
“I am,” Grey said.
And then suddenly, he was a snake on the ground. He slipped my magic by shifting. Before I could correct, Grey was behind me with his hands around my throat.
As I used my magic to get loose and push him away, Remy came charging through the trees. Grey shifted to his wolf form and whirled around to face him.
He swiped and clawed at Remy just long enough to tear his arm open. Annika, Brody, and Meri came running toward us seconds later.
But it was too late. I don’t know if he shifted into an ant or a worm or just made himself look like a leaf, but Grey was suddenly gone.
“Where did he go?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Meri said. “But he won’t get back to us again.”
You could barely make it out, but I could see the bubble of protection glowing around us. Meri had our backs.
Brody and Annika were already at Remy’s side trying to heal his wound. It was bad. Anyone other than a witch would have lost the arm, but we fixed it.
When Remy looked up at me with relief in his eyes, they were completely back to his original color. As was his hair. Any trace of the darkness from before was gone.
“Remy,” Annika said. “You’re…”
“I feel different,” he said. “I mean. I feel like myself again.”
“You almost died for me,” I said.
“Well, that’s what did it,” Annika said and helped Remy to his feet. “You sacrificed for another, and now we have you back.”
She threw her arms around him and I couldn’t help but do the same. “What the heck?” Brody called out. “Group hug!” he said and joined us.
“You guys are on your own with that,” Meri snarked. “Can we please wrap this up and go get something to eat?”
“Meri,” I scolded.
“Fine,” he said and rubbed himself against Remy’s legs. “Now can we get something to eat?”
Epilogue
Later that night, Thorn showed up on my porch. Relief washed over me as I let him in. I’d been trying to reach him for hours to no avail.
He stepped inside the door but didn’t take off his hat. “I guess you might have heard the news that there was another murder a couple of towns over. The FBI is moving out.”
Guilt stabbed me in the gut, but what could I do? I’d tried to stop Grey. I just hoped someone stopped him before he killed too many more women. Given his powers, it was going to be difficult. I had vowed that if he ever came back to Coventry, I would stop him.
“I did hear that. He tried to kill me. You know?” I said.
“I heard, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he said.
“You’re sorry? Thorn, what is going on? Why weren’t you there? Something seems to have suddenly changed between us. Is it because of me getting involved in the investigations? Do you just not love me anymore?”
“It’s not that,” he said, but Thorn made no move to kiss me or take my hand. I could feel the distance between us growing with every second.
“You do love me? Then what is going on?”
“I do love you, Brighton. I love you with all of my heart which is why I’ve been struggling today. And of course, I let what’s suddenly going on in my life affect you and our relationship. I’m sorry for that. I’m just at a loss, sweetheart.”
“At a loss about what? If you love me, then why are you acting this way?”
He finally took my hands. “Brighton, I don’t know how to break this to you gently, so I’m just going to say it. You know how my ex-wife and I split up three years ago and divorced a few months later?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Why?”
“She showed up in town today with a little two-year-old girl who looks just like me.”
For a moment, I couldn’t piece together what he was telling me. Then, I did the math.
“Oh,” I said as my heart sank in my chest.
A Clean Sweep
Chapter One
“You have got to be kidding me,” Annika said as I drained another margarita. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Remy and Brody were at the archives doing whatever they did there while Annika and I had a girls’ night. Remy had looked like he hadn’t wanted to leave me in the state I was in, but Annika assured him she could handle it and pushed them out the door.
Thorn had left the night before to go see his ex-wife with promises to call me as soon as he could. I hadn’t heard from him much. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he’d said he’d get to the bottom of it and make things right. Whatever that meant.
“I’m not joking. Apparently, she showed back up in town with a kid that looks just like Thorn.”
“I mean, that doesn’t mean it’s his,” Annika offered.
“Given that he could just get a DNA test, I don’t see why she would lie,” I said.
“B
ecause some women are able to convince men not to get a DNA test,” Annika said. “Maybe she’s one of those super manipulative types. I could put a curse on her.”
“We can’t do that. She’s the mother of a child. Probably Thorn’s child. Oh, gawd,” I said and took Annika’s margarita from her hand. “Can you even imagine what it’s going to be like if they get back together and stay here?”
“They’re not getting back together,” Annika said. “Did he say something like that? That’s crazy.”
“He didn’t, but I’m just… I don’t know. I’m all messed up about this. I mean, if they can work things out, isn’t getting back together what’s best for the little girl? Wouldn’t that be the right thing for him to do?”
“People don’t do stuff like that,” Annika said. “They don’t just drop everything and get back together for their kids. This isn’t the 1950s”
“Thorn would do something like that. He does the right thing, Annika. That’s who he is. You know it as well as I do,” I said.
“Let’s make another pitcher of margaritas,” Annika said as she stood up and pulled me off the couch. “We’ll make enough for the guys too. I’m sure they’ll be done with their research soon. I doubt Remy will stay away for any longer than he absolutely has to.”
“I don’t know that it’s a good idea for me to go getting drunk off my butt right now,” I said.
“Why not? If any time is a good time for you to get drunk off your butt, I’d say it’s now.”
The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. Only after a few seconds of lying in bed wishing I could go back to sleep, I realized the pounding wasn’t in my head. It was someone pounding on my front door.
My breath caught in my throat as I thought back to Grey banging away on the garage just before dawn. The garage that now stood half-finished at the top of my driveway. Could it be him back to finish me off?
Surely that wouldn’t be the case. Meri had whipped up a spell that would let us see if it was him even if he was in a different form. I said I should go after him so he couldn’t kill anyone else.
Wicked Witches of Coventry- The Collection Page 35
