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

Paige thought Balnore acted funny the rest of the ride back to St. Francisville. He requested Paige send him and Lucius out to track down their leads. She did, not knowing what was going on with him. Maybe he needed to talk to Lucius. She didn’t know. Frankly, she didn’t care.

Dexx and Alma didn’t approve, but, again, she didn’t care. Something still wasn’t right, like she had to constantly fight to remain in her own body. It could be the aftereffects of possession and having two demons in the backseat. Sure. That could be it.

But she wondered if there was more to it. What was it Dexx had seen at the station? He’d been freaked out. She remembered that, but only that.

Her grandmother was a different matter altogether. Whatever Lucius had done, the wounds he’d reopened, the memories, he’d brought back, Paige couldn’t stand looking at the other woman. She needed Alma to go home.

The old woman wasn’t pleased.

Paige really didn’t care.

Still, forcing Alma and Tru to leave had been harder than she’d thought. The situation was huge and felt a lot bigger than she was ready for. She couldn’t afford to be a pansy, and they needed someone of Alma’s caliber on the case. A strong kitchen witch with incredible white magick? Yeah. She wanted that.

But it belonged to the same woman who had made being possessed possible.

No. She needed people on her team she could trust.

She trusted two people. Brian White and Dexx Colt.

Leaving Dexx in bed, she to be potentially reckless. She knew better, but she had a lot of extra energy to shake off. She called up her scry globe, searching for Sven. The sooner she could get that key and send him and all his demon friends back, the sooner she could go home.

Even with her powers back, she wasn’t stupid enough to go alone. She called for backup.

The globe led her to the outskirts of nowhere. Trees crowded the scene. She’d parked where the road stopped. It disappeared into forest. A rickety iron fence poked through the vines, fighting its way out.

Chief White got out of his car and walked along the hard-packed dirt road.

Paige watched him through the side mirror. A slight breeze caressed her face.

He set his hand on the door and leaned over. “Paige.”

“Brian.”

They’d experienced too much together to keep the boundaries of protocol between them. It felt awkward for Paige. She didn’t even call her partner in Denver by his first name. But Brian White had seen her possessed. Her partner hadn’t.

“What are we doing here?”

Paige opened the door, shoving the keys in her pocket. “My scry globe showed a group of demons nearby. I want to check it out.”

He winced, narrowing his eyes at the sun high in the sky. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

“You might want to try.” Sweat trailed between her shoulder blades. She hated the heat. Dear God.

“Plan?”

“We go in. I use my super powers. We get answers.”

“Have you even slept?”

She’d tried.

“What questions are we asking?”

“Where’s Sven.”

“Where’s who?”

“Sven.” She unclipped her gun, not that it’d be useful, but she always felt better with it in her hand. “He’s the third person, the master-mind. A demon of epic proportions.”

“Is it possible he turned Mike?”

“They’re not vampires, Chief.”

He flicked his gaze at her, his lips quirked.

A gravel pathway overridden with weeds and grass led them into the heart of the forest.

They reached the outskirts of an old cemetery. A tall, full tree with hanging Spanish moss presided over the scene, giving it an austere feel.

“I don’t get it. St. Mary Episcopal Church should be sacred ground.”

“Is that where we are?” She’d seen where the demons were located. She hadn’t been able to tell the exact location. “Demons can go anywhere.”

“But a church?”

“You’re going to have to get over these misconceptions you have about church and demons.”

“Fine.”

They walked past a cracked tomb, the door barely ajar.

A bad feeling crept into her chest. “Is this an active church?”

“No. When they put in the highway, it left St. Mary’s inaccessible. No one could get here, and no one built new roads.”

“So, it’s abandoned.”

“Yes.” He jerked his gun to the side.

Paige went still beside him, her ears peeled. She caught his gaze and shook her head once.

He tipped his head, concentrating, then relaxed. “Must have been an animal.”

She didn’t miss the fact he whispered. “Did you want to stay in the car?”

“Nope. What good do you think I’m going to be in a demon fight?”

“I doubt there will be one.” She stepped around a headstone she hadn’t seen until she was right on top of it. 1898 – 1898. A child.

“Do you think they’re in the church?”

Her skin buzzed as if she’d stepped through an electro-static curtain. They were either close, or something strange was taking place there.

“So they’re just going to talk?”

The thick air shifted and an acidic smell teased her nose. “Yeah. Probably.” She tried to decipher what the smell was, but came up blank. She’d never really been good with scents. Dexx, on the other hand, had a super-sleuth nose. “Demons like to gloat.”

“And you think they have reason to gloat.”

“Yeah. All we have to do is find the key. It could be hiding anywhere.”

“In the open?”

“Depends on how sneaky they’re trying to be. It’s harder to see something right in front of your face.”

He peered inside another tomb. “So a key.”

“It’s a copper Celtic knot.”

Brian stopped, his expression droll. “That’s not a key.”

“Which is why hiding it in the open would be ideal. No one would see it even if they were looking right at it.”

“Jesus.”

She reached out with her gift, trying to feel anyone or anything in the area. All was quiet.

Too quiet.

She stopped and shook her head. Calling the elements to her, she focused the power into her cupped hands.

The sphere appeared with a slight pop.

Brian glanced over at her, turned away, and then did a double-take. “What is that?”

“My scry globe.” She found herself. Easy enough. She was the only purple dot, but where were all the red dots that had been there minutes before?

He came up to her and leaned in to see better. “I take it something’s wrong.”

She widened the search area, trying to figure out where the demons had disappeared to.

The globe from St. Francisville to New Roads was demon free. No magickal people of any kind.

What the hell?

She banished the globe and scanned the old cemetery. “They’re gone, but not just out of here. They’re nowhere.”

“That’s good.” Brian straightened. “Right? It could be over.”

“Without them taking Lucius? Without them powering the key and opening the gate? I doubt it. No. It means they’re hiding.” How could they hide