Prelude to a Witch, Amanda Lee [ebook reader web txt] 📗

pub often. They were fans of the atmosphere because it didn’t involve kitschy drinks. It was more like a standard pub.”

Landon nodded as he stroked his chin. “Okay, but Maggie died two months after these men died.”

“Yes. Her body was found in the same downtown building. Her parents said she had no reason to be there. Maggie was a good girl who never gave them a lick of trouble.”

“But trouble found her,” Chief Terry mused.

Hannah continued. “Maggie was stabbed multiple times. Someone used her blood to draw runes on the around the scene. Much like Paisley Gilmore, almost three-quarters of her blood was removed from her body and not found at the scene.”

I jerked up my head and looked at Landon. “You didn’t mention that.”

“We just got the report this morning,” he replied calmly. “I was going to tell you ... when it felt like the right time.”

“And when was that going to be?”

He arched an eyebrow at my challenging tone. “When you weren’t dealing with ghosts explaining that you’re a target. Believe it or not, I don’t like to add to the weight you already carry.”

Chief Terry extended his hand to stop us. “Let’s not turn this into a thing,” he said. “You know I don’t like when you two go at each other.”

Landon held my gaze a moment longer and then backed down. “I wasn’t keeping it from you, Bay. I was going to tell you. You were already aware that I didn’t feel all the blood was left at the scene. I just didn’t get into the specifics with you.”

“I’m sorry.” I held up my hands. “I didn’t mean to go all crazy on you, but that’s a big detail.”

“Someone is performing blood rituals,” Aunt Tillie said. “The runes — which I still feel I know but can’t place — are a sign that this differs from a normal murder. The blood, though ... .” She trailed off.

“Why is the blood important?” Hannah asked.

“Blood is always important,” I replied. “It’s ... life, right? It’s the symbol of life. If your blood stops flowing, you die. When it’s taken in this manner, it’s being used for something else. Given where we are — a witch town — the blood holds significance.”

“Was Maggie the only one to die in Salem?” Landon asked. “How many murders are we talking about?”

“Three,” Hannah said. “Maggie was the first. Two other girls followed. Their manner of death was similar to Maggie’s, but they were both killed in some woods.”

“Three is symbolic in the witch world,” Aunt Tillie said to me. “The power of three.”

“I believe that’s from the show you hate,” I argued. “Charmed.”

“They’re not real witches.”

My lips curved. “They’re not,” I agreed. “You’re not wrong about the symbolism of the number three. Three is a powerful number in the witch world, as is four.”

“Is that why there are three witches in each generation of your family?” Hannah asked.

“What?” I flicked my eyes to her. “What do you mean?”

“You, Thistle and Clove are one generation. Winnie, Marnie and Twila are another. Then there’s Tillie, Willa and Ginger.”

“Yeah, but Willa wasn’t born from their mother,” Landon argued. “That’s where the witch genes come from. She’s not a witch.”

“No, but there was another baby,” Aunt Tillie volunteered. “My mother gave birth to a stillborn after Ginger. Nobody talks about it because that was common in those days. There would’ve actually been three of us.”

I went back to looking at the file. “You have an idea, Hannah. I would love to know what it is.”

“I was hoping to hear your hunch first.”

I hesitated.

“Bay, she wants to hear it,” Landon said in a soft voice. “So do I. You’re the smartest person I know.”

“Hey!” Aunt Tillie made a face. “Did you forget someone?”

Landon shook his head. “I did not. Bay is far smarter than you.”

“Oh, I hate you sometimes,” Aunt Tillie groused.

“You’ll survive.” Landon kept his eyes on me. “What is it?”

“Hannah is leading me to her idea, but she doesn’t have to,” I said. “The answers are all there. The three men who originally died were dirtbags, as you put it. That means they likely knew they were in trouble. They decided to embrace the paranormal to escape. They purposely turned themselves into shades.

“There’s more,” I continued when Landon furrowed his brow. “I’m assuming they got their hands on a book, something that told them what to do. Their bodies weren’t emptied of blood?”

Hannah shook her head. “They were not.”

“They turned themselves into shades. Nobody did it for them. They won’t die that way, at least not their souls. They won’t suffer. They still need to feed, though, because they’re not real ghosts. To sustain themselves, they have to drain others.”

“Oh, gross.” Landon screwed up his face. “They drink blood.”

I nodded. “It makes sense.” I turned to Hannah. “What happened in Salem? What’s not in this file? The killings wouldn’t have stopped unless someone stopped the shades.”

Hannah’s grin widened. “You really are on top of things. You’re right. Something didn’t make that file and yet you figured it out. A local coven stepped in and trapped the souls of the shades.”

“I told you we needed to trap them,” Aunt Tillie said smugly.

I ignored her. “How did they trap them?”

“Poppets.”

I nodded, thoughtful. “Do the souls have to be trapped in physical items?” I directed the question to Aunt Tillie.

“You can’t cut them loose because they’re already loose,” she said. “You have to trap them in a place they can’t do any harm.”

“Which means poppets ... or other magically-imbued items.”

“Pretty much.” Aunt Tillie was grim. “How many shades have you seen?”

“A lot. Like, ten of them.”

“Ten?” Hannah looked horrified at the prospect. “How is that possible?”

“I can’t say. Maybe they’re trapping the souls of their victims upon death as a way to enslave them or something. I mean ... Paisley wasn’t hanging around the spot where she died. Maybe that’s because they absorbed her into their group.”

“Why have we only had one murder?” Chief Terry demanded. “If these