Whiskey Witches, F.J. Blooding [ap literature book list .TXT] 📗

“Actually, I believe the killer wants to use Lucius.” Paige didn’t know exactly how she knew that, what clue had tipped her off. Her gut said so. That’s all she had. “The killer’s trying to get Lucius to possess his victims.”

Dexx frowned. “That’s a connection I didn’t make.”

“The X’s over the eyes. Not only could they signify a door, they were also made while the victim was alive.” Paige ran her tongue over her teeth.

“Woo,” Dexx said, rubbing his face with both hands. “Well, I can tell you one thing. We need protections for Paige.”

Paige opened her mouth.

He held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t even. I was there, Pea. Remember? You were downright scary.”

“Before I didn’t even have control over my abilities. I didn’t know what they were or that I had them. I was just hearing voices, seeing strange things, and had no idea what was going on.”

“You do now?”

“Yeah, Dexx. I do. You forget, for years before Grandma decided to take her heavy hand to my brain, I was in complete control.”

Alma grimaced.

“You didn’t understand what I was doing. You thought I had to be out of control in order to allow what I was allowing.” Paige’s heart twisted as she fisted her right hand. “It was easier to think a demon was controlling me. Wasn’t it? Are you really any better than your daughter?”

Alma stumbled back as if Paige struck her in the face.

A twinge of regret rattled through Paige, but her grandmother had deserved that, and a lot more.

“Okay.” Dexx said with forced cheer. “Then show me how your gift works. Are you so certain of your abilities that you wouldn’t want some backup, some help?”

Paige had gotten herself into some pretty bad scrapes during her learning curve, but she had Balnore there.

Balnore, who had sided with her grandmother.

Yeah. Maybe trusting others wasn’t such a good idea. “Fine.”

“What kind of protections are you thinking?” Alma asked.

He bared his forearms. Protective symbols intertwined along his skin. “They work. And I think that’s the only thing that kept Lucius at bay, as little as it did. Come on, now. A mandala as a trap to what, tickle the demon summoner? No. They haven’t succeeded in getting Lucius to possess their victims. They wanted him to possess her.”

Alma looked at him, then turned her gaze to Paige. “What happened?”

Paige glared at Dexx. “I touched the trap spell and Lucius came in. We mind linked. He was able to control me to a small extent.”

The older woman stared at her in disbelief.

“Look, Grandma,” Paige said fiercely. “You made this possible.”

Dexx’s expression was grim. “She was prime material for possession.”

“Fine,” Alma said. “So how does your gift work? You never talked about it before. I didn’t even know if you were consciously working it.”

Paige snorted. “Why would I? The people I loved were terrified of me.”

Alma twitched.

Paige saw her reaction. Did her grandmother feel regret? Did she wish she’d done something more, supported her better?

It didn’t really matter. She had to stop living in the past. Charge forward. Carefully. “It started pretty early. Visions. Voices.” She chewed the inside of her lip. “I knew that’s the reason Mom left with Nick when I was young. So, I kept it hidden. Bal showed up and gave me a few pointers, stuck around to make sure my gift didn’t make me insane.” She reached up and loosened her hair from her long braid. “Like Great-Grandma.”

Tru folded his arms over his chest, a thick frown furrowed on his brow.

Rubbing his eye, Dexx let out a long breath. “So this, uh, gift. It runs in the family.”

Paige glanced at her grandmother. “Yeah.”

Raising her face to the wind, Alma massaged her lower back. “I don’t think so. We had demons stop by occasionally, but Momma, she—” Alma paused. “She killed herself. Like your brother,” Alma said sharply.

Dexx recoiled. Misery smothered his face.

Paige frowned at the other woman in consternation. “What was the point of bringing that up now?”

Tru raised his hands, palms out. “I’m so glad I married the woman that speaks to dead people.”

Everyone was still for a long, cold moment.

Dexx’s sad chuckle broke the silence. He focused on the storm raging overhead. “That’s seriously fucked, dude.”

Tru started chuckling, too.

Paige’s lips twitched and her shoulders shook slightly.

Dexx rubbed his nose. “Okay, so besides keeping the demon population down, what else can you do?”

“Well, I can do all kinds of stuff. I mean, I can tap into the ethereal energies of their plane, and into the earthen energies on this one. I can do a lot.” She didn’t need to brag, though. Her grandmother was already spooked by the idea of her summoning demons.

“Like what?” Dexx looked genuinely interested.

What would Alma do if she discovered Paige could open portals to other realms, or create natural disasters? No, some things had to be kept to herself until she could design a way to ensure her gifts would never be blocked again. “Too much to explain right now.”

“To a mere mortal?”

Paige shrugged with what she hoped was a cheeky expression.

Dexx’s quirked lips said he didn’t buy it. “What else?”

“It’s really easy to summon them. I have a direct link to the realm on the other side of the Gate, so calling the one I want is easy. I don’t have to do nearly the prep work other people do. I just stand in front of a mirror and call their name. Sometimes, I don’t even have to do that.”

“Mirrors are portals,” Dexx said.

“Exactly,” Paige said. “I can also scry to see demons, magick users, and anyone whose soul is bleeding.”

Tru curled his lip, his eyebrows high. “Bleeding?”

“Yeah, man,” Dexx said. “Keep up with the conversation. Demons are healers.”

“Oh, right. Why didn’t I catch that?” Tru balled a fist, and tapped his forehead with it. “What about angels?”

“We don’t ask about those, probably because the evil mother is an angel whisperer.”

“Oh, shit. Right. Crap. Shit. Shoot. My bad.” He tapped his forehead again.

It was hard to be mad at Tru for anything. “Honestly, I haven’t dealt with them, but I’m willing to wager a pretty penny they wouldn’t like me too much.”

Dexx clucked his tongue and pointed at her. “Good bet.”

“Have you scried the area yet?” Alma asked.

“No, I was a little busy.”

Dexx raised his eyebrows as he shoved his thumbs in his belt loops. “That’s a bit of an understatement.”

“Don’t you need a mirror or something to do that?” Tru asked. “Les does.”

Alma nodded. “Or a bowl of water.”

“Les is a medium,” Paige said. “And you’re an earth witch. I don’t need either.”

Dexx and Alma frowned.

Paige cupped her hands in front of her, closing her eyes. The wind came to her without hesitation. It teased through her hair, sending it spiraling all around her. Water came next; calm, cool, a hidden turmoil boiling under the cover of silence. Slow, sleepy earth yawned, stretching into her command,