by Joyce
Elsie tapped her chin. “How do you plan to convince the Bone Man’s wife to go back to him? If she lives around here, it’s not like she doesn’t know where he is. It must be a conscious effort on her part to stay away from him.”
“That’s true, Molly,” Olivia agreed. “And is the Bone Man protecting Joe right now—or is he waiting until you fulfill your end of the bargain?”
I shrugged, tired and uncertain. “I don’t know. I didn’t think to ask him that. I don’t want to go back out there right now. I’ll warn Joe to be extra careful for a while. I guess I’ll look for the Bone Man’s wife and deal with her not wanting to go back when I get there.”
The enchanted bubble began slipping away. It took only another moment before we could clearly see Elsie’s porch light and the big moon above us.
Elsie shook herself and began getting out of the car. “A discussion for another day. Good night, sisters. Blessed Be.”
After Elsie was inside the house,, Dorothy drove me home. Joe’s black SUV wasn’t in the drive. I knew he must be working late on the case.
“Good night, Molly,” Dorothy said. “Do you need help getting things inside?”
“No. I’m fine. How did you like your first full moon celebration?”
“It was wonderful—except for the part about Brian’s grandfather. What makes his family so angry and rude?”
“Wealth, I suppose,” Olivia said. “And an impeccable lineage.”
I squeezed her hand. “Try not to worry about it. It’s all up to Brian. He’ll have to decide how he wants to live his life. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“I’ll look up that rune tonight, Molly,” Olivia said. “I’ll let you know what I find in the morning.”
They waved to me and were gone. Tired but not sleepy, I looked up at the moon. I decided to go out into the garden for a while and enjoy the moonlight.
After everything from the celebration was put away or in the dishwasher, I changed into my nightgown and went out. I spent a lot of time out here, regardless of the season. Most witches are renewed when they are close to nature.
The moon was reflected in the surface of the water in my birdbath. I noticed that it bounced from the water to my amulet. The colors danced in the center of it. I took it off to peer inside, always wondering if it was a trick of the light that made it look so alive. It had to be a stone of some sort, my rational mind argued. But I was sure it was something different, something I couldn’t define.
Like the Bone Man.
What was he? He wasn’t a witch. He didn’t fit as any of the supernatural creatures that I’d met—including werewolves and a cranky old vampire who lived on First Street.
I knew Georgia, the Selkie. I had also met a mermaid or two. Georgia was pleasant and very nearly human. Mermaids, on the other hand, were not human at all. They were also extremely rude and could be dangerous. I’d known a witch who’d almost lost her hand to one.
I sat in my chair near the birdbath and let the magic moonlight bathe me. There was a small altar, between my chair and the other two, which had been blessed. We’d used it for many years.
I put the amulet on the altar. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the moon caught it and a thousand lights flared from it, like from a diamond. The lights moved and swayed. Mesmerized, I watched them.
It was as though I fell into a trance watching them. I saw the dead witches who had been killed in the past few months. I clearly envisioned their faces and even the places where they had been killed. It was amazing and frightening at the same time.
The front door closed, and I snapped out of it. Joe called my name. I grabbed my amulet, thanked the moon for being so gracious and went inside.
“There you are.” Joe smiled as he put his gun and badge away. “How was your party?”
“It was very nice. Anything new on the murder front?”
He sank into a chair in the TV room. “Almost too much to take in. There are eleven official deaths now that are part of the investigation, including the one in Southport. A new one took place near the river last night. The killer is moving pretty fast.”
“Can I get you something? Are you hungry?”
“No. They brought in pizza at the station since we were all working late.”
I sat in a chair opposite him. “Can you tell me what makes them think these killings are related?”
“Sure. There’s too much similarity between the deaths. There are no wounds anywhere on the body. The victims look as though they drowned, but there is no water in the lungs. Cause of death is still undetermined. Each victim has been found with seaweed and sand on their clothes and in his hair.”
I thought about what he’d said. “Since each of them came from a town near the water, I suppose you’d expect something like that.”
“But not on our victim that was found near the river, and not a few of the others who were found near lakes and rivers. Yes, they were all in coastal towns, but the seaweed and sand is from the ocean.”
“Maybe the murderer killed them at the ocean and then left them near the other bodies of water.”
“Maybe. But what about what killed them?” He glanced at me significantly.
I knew he was wondering if I had any ideas from a witch’s point of view.
What could I say without going into the enchanted bubble? “I have heard a rumor that all the victims were of the same religion.”
“Same religion?” He nodded. “Oh. Okay. I get it. Do you think the killer might be of that religious persuasion too?”
“I don’t know. I’ve heard it’s hard to sneak up on someone who follows that religion, but it can be done by someone also of that religion.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Have you heard if people from that religion are doing their own investigation into the deaths?”
“I’m sure they’re looking into it. They’d definitely act if they found out who the killer is.”
“Okay. I’ll see how that works into our investigation.” He yawned. “Suzanne got her voucher to stay at a hotel. She already picked up her stuff. It’s weird working with her again.”
“Again?”
“Maybe I didn’t tell you that we were partners when she was here in Wilmington.”
“You mean when you were married? I don’t think so.” I’d have remembered that.
“Well, it’s kind of a strange story. We met on the job. A lot of people said it wasn’t a good idea for the two of us to get together. We got married anyway, and they wouldn’t let us work together—it’s a rule. I guess they were right. She moved right after we got divorced. She was a good officer. She’s a good detective too.”
What’s strange about it? I waited for the punch line. It never came.
“Great.” I got to my feet. “I think I’m going to bed. Are you staying up?”
“For a while.” He stood and kissed me good night before turning on the TV.
“See you in the morning.”
I climbed into bed. The conversation we’d had may have been stilted, but I had gotten the idea and so had he.
It was clear to me that the killer was a water witch.
It made sense. A water witch would choose to kill, or do anything else important, close to water, where she was most powerful. Considering how the deaths laid out geographically, I considered that she had begun her spree in Savannah and would probably head up the coast until whatever motivated her to begin killing had ended.
There was no way to know how many victims that could include.
But why? Why would a witch kill another witch? It was completely against our beliefs to take life of any kind.
I thought the sand and seaweed might be a cover for how the real deaths occurred, possibly to throw off investigators from the Council of Witches. It would be easy to fool the police. They wou
ld never consider magic as a weapon.
I thought of a few ways I might be able to help. It was important that the council figure out who was doing this to save Joe from getting caught in the middle. As terrible as it sounded, sending Cassandra out to warn everyone that they could be in danger might be as close as the council got to being part of the investigation.
They needed a nudge in the right direction. It looked as though I might have to be that nudge.
CHAPTER 15
Uncloud my path,
Show me the way,
Make blackest night
As light as day.
Dorothy had to work at the downtown branch of the New Hanover County Library on Chestnut Street the next day. I volunteered to help her bring the children’s books that were going to be discarded to Smuggler’s Arcane. She said she thought two cars would be enough to handle them.
I called Elsie to let her know that I’d pick her up around noon when Dorothy was finished for the day. There wouldn’t be many customers after the rush that had built up to the full moon celebration. She said she had tomatoes to plant in her garden anyway and welcomed the time at home.
Though Elsie was a fire witch, she had a wonderful green thumb. Her plants were always bigger and produced more fruit, flowers and vegetables than anyone else’s. It would be interesting to see how Dorothy’s earth magic stacked up next to Elsie’s fire. Dorothy was planting a small garden in her backyard too.
Olivia, being an air witch, had never grown a plant in her life. All the greenery around her house had been carefully installed and maintained by landscape services. But she was also excited to see what her daughter could do with her innate abilities.
My garden managed despite the fact that I frequently overwatered. Elsie had always helped with me that. I suspected Dorothy would too.
While I waited for Dorothy, I looked up information about the killings on the library’s computer. The local newspapers were full of the story too. Nothing like a series of murders to get people’s attention. Between the two sources, I learned that the images I’d seen while gazing at my amulet in the garden last night had been accurate. I was surprised to say the least. My skills as a scryer had never been strong. The amulet was enhancing that magic too.
“What are you so intent about over here?” Olivia joined me. She’d been hovering around the library. “You have the worst frown on your face, Molly. You have to stop that before you start looking that way all the time. Our faces don’t like wrinkles as we age.”
There was another woman looking up information on a computer one chair away from mine. It would be impossible to discuss this with Olivia since the other woman was so close.
I grabbed my bag, smiled at the other woman and retreated to a comfortable chair in a corner near the window. Olivia accompanied me.
“I had a vision last night after I went home. I saw the faces of the eleven people murdered since Savannah, and the places they were killed.”
“I though you were looking for the Bone Man’s wife. Why are you looking at dead people? Aren’t all the victims young men?”
“Yes. They’re certainly not the Bone Man’s wife. But you know the council isn’t going to do much more than give us a warning. Joe is working on this case. He knows another ‘religion’ is involved, but he won’t be able to stop the killer.”
“Another religion?” Olivia looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
I sighed. I should have realized that she wouldn’t get what Joe got last night.
“Oh. You mean witches. Magic. Joe knows about your magic, but you can’t help him.”
We both put our hands to our mouths as she finished speaking. She knew exactly what she’d said, but it was too late to take it back. I had to hope the Bone Man was sincere about protecting Joe. And I hoped he wasn’t waiting until after I’d found his wife.
“Sorry,” Olivia whispered as she glanced around us. “I’m so sorry, Molly. It’s hard not saying it now that I know.”
“Maybe it’s okay. Nothing’s happened so far.” My heart was still pounding. Despite my words, there was no way of knowing when the council might pop up and say that I had violated one of our most sacred trusts.
We waited a few more minutes—nothing happened.
“Anyway,” I continued. “I recognized all of their faces from my vision. You know how odd that is for me.”
“You think it’s your mother’s amulet, right? I’d agree, since the Bone Man mentioned it twice and the council wanted it. Whatever power is in the amulet must be really strong. I’ve noticed your magic has been better lately.”
“I know.”
“I looked up that rune on your hand last night. I don’t sleep, you know. It’s nice to have something to do while everyone else is sleeping. Dorothy didn’t get to bed until almost three A.M. because of her crazy cat telling her stories about his past.”
“What about Hemlock’s past?”
“It seems he was a Greek scholar who studied with Plato and witnessed the volcano erupting at Pompeii. He was a wise man and a prophet who foresaw the end of Greek civilization. Blah blah blah. You know how cats talk.”
I laughed, sympathizing. Isabelle could spin a good yarn too. “What about the rune?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find one exactly like it, but I found one that was close. Let me take a look at your palm again.”
I found a way to hold my hand palm-up so she could view it without people thinking I was a crazy person.
“That’s what I thought. It has something to do with the sea. I found it as part of other runes mentioned frequently in Irish lore. It’s definitely Irish, probably back from before what we think of as Ireland today, possibly from the Tuatha de Danaan.”
I caught my breath. “The faery folk?”
“Yes. I think it may have been used in conjunction with other things—such as sea nymphs, sea dragons, sea horses. You get the idea.”
“After the Bone Man’s display of water magic, I’m not surprised. Thank you for looking it up. Elsie’s right. No one knows runes like you.”
“Thank you, Molly. It’s the first time I’ve felt useful since I died. People feel bad about getting old—they should try being dead. Nobody needs you or wants you when you’re dead.”
I wished I could truly hug my old friend. I could tell she needed it. I had to settle for praising her and reminding her how lucky she was to be able to spend time with Dorothy.
That revived her, and we talked again about the Bone Man’s wife.
“She has to be a witch, doesn’t she?” Olivia asked. “The rune stopped bothering you right away after we left the park last night. But how are you going to figure out which witch she is?”
We both laughed at that. A few library patrons turned and stared. I ignored them.
“I don’t know. Maybe the rune will get even more uncomfortable if I get closer to her.” I shook my head. “That sounds like fun. The Bone Man didn’t explain much when he put it on me.”
“I wouldn’t want to be stuck on that little island all the time either.”
“I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I figure out who she is.”
“You’d better put your time into that instead of trying to figure out who this witch killer is, Molly. The Bone Man is serious about his deals. You know that. How many witches have we known who have tried to go back on a deal with him? It never ends well.”
I remembered that happening only a few times. The Bone Man’s deals could be difficult to fulfill. Some witches had boasted that they would beat him because they had his trade already and had no intention of doing what he’d asked them to do.
“I can’t remember ever hearing from one of those witches again, can you?” I shivered in the cool library.
“That’s exactly what I mean. Who knows what happened to those poor souls?”
I didn�
�t want to think about it. I was going to find the Bone Man’s wife and somehow convince her to go back to the island with me. What happened after that would be between the two of them.
But I also couldn’t stop thinking about the young men who’d been killed. One of them had been my son’s age, in his second year of college, according to Joe. Another had been Brian’s age. Someone had to stop this from happening again.
Even if I could only come up with possibilities to pass on to Joe, it would be better than nothing. Whatever information I could find would help keep him safe too. Not that I had any intention of him facing the witch that was killing these young men. When the suspect was clear, I would summon Cassandra. She and the council could do their part. A witch didn’t belong in a non-magic prison.
It was finally time for Dorothy to be done working. I was glad, since I’d skipped breakfast and was starving. I thought we could pick up something to eat on the way to Smuggler’s Arcane. Elsie was always willing to eat.
We lugged the boxes of books from inside the library to our cars. There were twelve large boxes—more books than I’d thought. I wasn’t sure what we would do with them at the shop yet. Space was tight for what we already carried. We might have to put out one box at a time. At least the books would escape the trash heap.
“That’s it.” Dorothy was breathing hard. “Thanks for your help, Molly. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do it alone.”
I was breathing twice as hard—there was a big age difference. I remembered an incantation from our spell book that would have moved the boxes for us, but there were too many people going into and out of the library to try using it. I’d have to remember to teach Dorothy that spell for the future.
It occurred to me that we might have to start a new spell book. I still hoped to find the old one, but in the meantime, we needed to write these spells down for Dorothy and whoever joined the coven in the future. We could always merge the two later.