Soul Legacy: A Supernatural Ghost Series (The Windhaven Witches Book 2), Carissa Andrews [best books for 7th graders .TXT] 📗

from folks who were recently deceased. It’s turning into a circus as we try to calm down their next of kin. To top it all off, I’ve had not one, but two accounts from citizens saying they’ve seen the dead wandering the streets. We’ve had to take two of them down because they were terrorizing anyone in their path. So, I’m a tad inclined to follow up on your story here. Especially since it would mean there could be more out there.”

Wade’s eyelashes flutter and his mouth drops open. “Others have seen them?”

“Didn’t I just say that?” he says, lowering his eyebrows.

“That’s actually kind of a relief. I was beginning to feel like they were being sent after me,” Wade says, dropping his gaze to the table.

“Now, why would you think that?” The sheriff asks, leaning in again.

Wade shakes his head. “No reason, I guess. It just sorta felt that way when it was my grandpa’s columbarium that was desecrated—and then to have the revenants come after me when I was out there.”

I bite my lip, settling my gaze on my hands. The fact that his dead grandpa is locked in the boathouse, when he should be nothing but ashes, hasn’t been mentioned.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say this isn’t about you, Mr. Hoffman. But I’d sure appreciate any insights you might have about this. Now, you said the dead attacked you. Do you remember anything specific about it? Or who they were?”

“There were two of them and they sorta just came out of nowhere,” Wade says, his gaze softening as he tries to remember. “I was just there and it was like they were drawn to me. I ran, trying to find someplace where I could find safety, but there wasn’t anything. But the revenants…” Wade takes a deep breath, shivering.

“Yes?” The sheriff urges.

Wade’s silver eyes flick upward and land on the sheriff’s freckled face. “They were relentless.”

“How do you mean?” he asks, narrowing his gaze.

“They wouldn’t stop coming and they were fast. Way faster than I expected from watching TV.”

The sheriff nods. “Television is usually a load of crap. At least, that’s almost always the case. So, tell me, what happened next? You’re obviously still here. How did you stop them?”

“The first one took me down to the ground. I stopped it by shoving a wreath stand through his—” Wade holds up a finger, pointing to the location beneath his jaw. He shudders again. “So, at least ‘The Walking Dead’ was right about that one.”

Sheriff Gordon nods, but his expression has turned stone cold. “And the other one?”

“It was crawling on the ground and I managed to topple a headstone over. The weight crushed it.”

“I see,” he says, tipping his head in acknowledgement. “From what I gather, the bodies were disintegrating when they were discovered. Any idea how that could have happened?”

Wade shakes his head. “No, not really. I mean, whatever magic animated them in the first place must have been negated because that did happen quickly when we—I mean, when I was still there.”

I can’t help but inhale sharply at the slip, but I cover my nose, acting like I have to sneeze. Wade’s eyes widen, but he refuses to look my direction.

“That must have been very difficult for you. You didn’t know either of them, you know, personally…did you?”

“No, sir. Neither one.”

The sheriff’s chin tips upward and he rubs at the spot just under his bottom lip. “Now, I’m not a super, but I’ve worked with plenty. I don’t suppose you happen to know of anyone with the kind of power it takes to do something like this? Resurrect the dead and reanimate them?”

Wade’s lips tug downward as he shakes his head slightly. “No, I’m new in town.”

“Okay, I think you said that, didn’t you? Now, we’ve got a special investigator coming in who handles this sort of thing. Or so I’m told. People higher up the pay grade than myself seem to think there’s only a couple of different types of supers who have the ability to pull this off.”

My eyes widen and I sit up straighter.

“Now, I’m not sure how many people we have in the town with the ability, but we do have Windhaven Academy working with us to narrow down the list as we speak,” the sheriff says nonchalantly. “What kind of abilities do you possess, Mr. Hoffman, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Wade’s nostrils flare with his tense inhalation. “None. At least, none as of yet. The abilities in my family are latent, but I was told it didn’t matter to the academy.”

“I see,” he says, tipping his head. “And what kind of powers would they be? You know, if they were active…”

“They’re more psychic in nature,” he says softly, refusing to look my way. “I’d be able to sense certain energies.”

I raise my eyebrows. That’s more information about his powers than I’ve gotten.

Is that why he and Dominic seem to clash?

“Yeah, that’s not quite the sort of powers we’re looking for—from what I’m told. We need someone with ties to heavier elemental magic. Necromancy, earth or water magic, that sort of thing.” Narrowing his eyes, Sheriff Gordon’s discerning gaze suddenly lands squarely on me. “And what kind of abilities do you have, Ms. Blackwood?”

Chapter 15

All Eyes Are On

The last thing I expected when we went into the Windhaven PD was to divert suspicion from Wade by drawing their attention to me. Now that Sheriff Gordon knows I’m the town’s only necromancer, the likelihood of this going away anytime soon is pretty much nonexistent. Plus, if they decide to do just a little bit of digging and find out that we have Wade’s dead grandpa locked up in my boathouse, there’s going to be hell to pay.

And, if that wasn’t enough, the entire school is giving me a wide berth now, too. I know exactly how Wade was feeling the first few weeks of school.

“This sucks,” I blurt out, taking a seat in the commons area beside Wade.