The coven needed her. Without her, we probably wouldn’t discover half of the danger we found—this cased included—and that’s exactly why, even though Peyton had trouble dealing with the mental aspects of death, the coven kept her on the job.
As I stared at her, she trembled, which was why I kept her out if it, if I could. I understood her role in the coven and why they used her to locate trouble, but she didn’t need to put herself through emotional trauma, and my protection of Peyton meant not involving her. I was already pulled into something far deeper than even I wanted to go. “Leave this to us,” I told her.
Peyton frowned. “You really want to work this case alone?”
I gestured at Kale. “I’ve got Mr. Muscles with me.” I glanced sideways at him and he winked at me, which I ignored. “I’ll be all right.”
“Well…” She glanced at Kale, then down to the body and shuddered. “I’ll tell the coven and if they don’t agree, I’ll call you. Okay?”
“Sure.” I suspected they’d have no issue if she stayed out of it. Peyton might have a talent for sensing darkness, but when I kept her out of it, the coven always agreed. Besides, her job concluded when she found the body, and keeping her on further wasn’t necessary. Her magic would be of no use now, except to remind us of the darkness in the area.
I didn’t want the reminder.
Peyton scanned the body again, grimacing, and then she gave Kale a stern look. “Something is very wrong here, so watch her back.” At his firm nod, she said to me, “I’ll tell you this, we’ve never dealt with anything this dark before. Murders, yes, but this is very different.”
“What makes you say that?”
“This isn’t only a blood ritual.” She inhaled deeply and quivered in disgust, her face almost green now. “It feels like the ritual was to pull the man’s soul out of his body.”
Blood rituals were used to bleed the ground and offer the blood to a minion of hell, but to gift a soul doubled the trouble. That made Kale’s statement true; a higher demon would demand a soul.
Kale cocked his head and regarded Peyton. “Why do you suspect the soul has been stripped?”
She hugged herself and rubbed her arms, tears welling in her eyes. “It’s a feeling I have, and it’s almost as if the ghost still lingers but its soul is missing.”
None of the Charleston witches were gifted with such insight to see a ghost, which sucked since I could use one right about now. “Can you sense the spirit?” I believed in Peyton’s feelings as much as I believed in my own, and if anyone had awareness now, it would be her.
She looked from side to side and those baby blues were wide. “I feel confusion, fear, and evil. I doubt it’s all from the ritual.” A tear slid down her cheek. “I suspect it’s either the residue of this man’s emotions when he died, or it’s because his ghost remains.” She wiped the tear off her face, and added with a shaky voice, “I bet it’s the latter.”
I hated when she worried or stressed over a situation she couldn’t change, especially since it upset her so much now. “Kale, will you walk her to her car?”
“That leaves you alone,” Peyton argued.
“I’ll be fine.” I paused, then added for my own protection, “Just be quick.”
Maybe I needed Kale more than I first suspected, and no matter why he had come, or if the coven tested me, it did comfort me to have him by my side. His strength with Edwin was reassuring now that this case had dipped into a place I’d never gone: right into the very pits of hell.
Peyton planted a kiss on my cheek and her lips were cold on my face. “Be so careful, Libby.”
I squeezed her arm and hoped it soothed her. “I will. Promise.”
With a forced smile, Peyton strode off with Kale in tow. The tension radiating out of her body made me want to hunt the accused and watch Kale slaughter them for that reason alone. Peyton’s pain drove my protection of her, and anyone who came between us wasn’t given mercy.
Once they left the area, I drew in a deep breath and then glanced around the dark forest. The shadows seemed to enclose me and, even though I couldn’t sense evil like Peyton could, I sure experienced the heaviness in the air. While I was determined to close this case and give this man justice, the issue with my coven still loomed over me, and I needed to make this damn good. “Goddess, you have a tough job ahead of you. I sure hope you’re up to it.”
For now, I opted to do a simple cleansing spell I’d done often, and skimmed the forest floor to locate a birch tree a few feet away. After I picked up a branch, I removed a few pieces of the bark and a few twigs, and returned to the pentagram. I placed them within the circle, reached into my pocket and grabbed my lighter, then lit the bark on fire.
Within seconds the fire caught the bark and twigs, and smoke drifted up into the air. “I cast out evil above, below, and around me. No evil may enter and all that have are now banished from these grounds.”
After a minute the smoke drifted away, and so did the heaviness. Of course, the demon wouldn’t still be here, but just as the ghost lingered—or so Peyton thought—the evil would have the same effect. The spell to cleanse the area forced any remnants of evil to vanish.
Staring down at the body, the man’s expression burned into my mind. His eyes were so afraid, even in death. His mouth, hanging open in a silent scream, made me believe his soul had been stolen.
So damn sad.
When we first arrived, before I left my SUV, I had settled on a spell I had yet to put into action, but I believed would impress my coven, and maybe even Kale, too. I drew in a long deep breath and felt slightly guilty for pushing on the Goddess when I didn’t need to. There were other spells that wouldn’t request the level of power I needed from her with this spell, but now wasn’t the time to second-guess myself. I had something to prove, and no one—Kale or my coven—would shove me down without a fight.
Reaching into my pocket, I took out the silk sachet with dried amaranth flowers, dittany of Crete, and wormwood. Then I knelt beside the body, opened the sachet, and poured the contents onto the ground outside of the pentagram.
With the pile of incense in front of me I was glad no wind swept through the forest to disrupt my work. I lit the contents and as the pleasant aroma filled my nostrils, I pulled on the Goddess in a way I never had requested before.
Intense tingles erupted through my body. The warmth of her touch nearly burned my veins as I centered myself on her power. The level of magic ripping through me was so foreign it almost hurt, but I welcomed the ache and focused on it. “I call upon you, the deceased. By the Goddess, I invite you to speak to me when I call you forward tonight.”
A light breeze swept across me and raised goose bumps, indicating the spell had worked and the Goddess had answered my call. I sighed, rested back on my legs as the magic fled my body in a rush, and hoped the ghost would accept my offer.
“Why did you send her away?”
I startled at Kale’s voice and glanced over my shoulder to discover him leaning against a tree with his arms folded. “You look awfully relaxed for the serious shit we’re in.”
“Whoever is behind this is gone.” He tilted his head. “Why did you get rid of her?”
No one radiated such an air of calm in this situation if they hadn’t experienced it before. “I don’t want her wrapped up in this trouble.”
His brow furrowed. “You’re protecting her?”
I snorted. “You’re surprised?”
“No. Not surprised.” He paused and seemed to choose his words with care when he said, “Curious as to why.”
“Because I love her.”
His eyebrow arched. “Yet this is her employment. Is it fair of you to keep her out of it?”
“Maybe not.” Why was he grilling me? Peyton’s personal life wasn’t his concern, and how I interacted with her wasn’t any of his damn business, either. “Why are you nosing around in my life, anyway? You looking for a reason to tell my coven my faults? I can tell you that they understand when I
keep her out of it.”
His mouth set into a firm line. “Why do you assume everything I do is to attack you in some form?”
“Well, is it?” Part of me wondered if he was looking for another reason, as in lying to my fellow witches, which was in fact a very good reason to kick me out. My mother told me that wasn’t the case, but it seemed she was wrong.
“No, I’m not here to form a personal attack on you.”
I couldn’t find any deception in his features. “Regardless, like it or don’t, it’s how I work. Deal with it.”
His eyes softened, almost looking pained. “I have no opinion or care either way. As I said, it was simple curiosity to understand you.”
I suspected nothing was simple when it came to Kale, and everything he said and did had to have a motivation behind it. Only problem? I had yet to determine what that motivation was and could only continue to take guesses. Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t change who I was and do things differently because it might be wrong. Peyton’s safety was nonnegotiable. Besides, all I needed to do was prove my magic outweighed the bad, and that I could do. “Anyways, I offered a way for the ghost to talk to me. Maybe we can get more information out of him.”
He pushed off the tree to approach me. “How will you speak to the ghost if his soul is gone?”
Once he settled in front of me, the heat and intensity emanating off him stole the chill in my veins left from the retreat of my magic. As I stared into his eyes, the remainder of my irritation faded away and my breath stuck in my throat.
While so many concerns about him remained, when I looked at him, no dishonesty showed there. My mind told me one thing, but my melting body said his interest in me was entirely personal. Maybe he didn’t grill me to gather evidence to ruin my life, but because he wanted to know me and understand my actions.
The truth in his eyes, the warmth in his features, I couldn’t ignore. But at his sly grin and the flicker of arousal deepening his dark eyes, I blinked back into focus. To offset my reaction, I snapped, “Why does that shock you?” He was experienced—I didn’t doubt that. “You’ve never heard of a witch capable of such magic?”
He shook his head, dimming his scorching expression. “I’ve never seen a witch awaken the dead, especially once the soul has been stolen by a demon.”
True enough—I had altered the spell a while back for my own personal use since it lacked strength. He probably hadn’t seen it done because it was my spell. I figured other witches had improvised their magic too. As experienced as he seemed, it did surprise me that he’d never witnessed a similar spell, but part of me did a little dance. I had hoped this spell would impress him, and it undeniably had.
“Well, a soul can’t be stripped in its entirety,” I explained. “The person’s life force is sucked away and that’s what a demon feeds on—the energy of one’s soul—but their essence, the core of who they are, is protected by the Goddess. That cannot be stolen.”
His eyes searched mine. “Have you done such a spell before?”
I shrugged, wondering how truthful to be, but figured if the spell failed then I needed a reason for it. “I’ve never needed to, so we have to see what happens. Besides, Peyton sensed the ghost, which means whatever the demon could steal, he did. Whatever he couldn’t, as in the center of a person, their emotions, the goodness in them, he left behind. That’s what I’ll tap into.”
“Yes, I saw the spell you did there.” His eyes became inquisitive. “What are you planning to do?”
Good question. I knew enough that I had to be in a very safe place for this spell because of how vulnerable it left me. In fact, it made me glad Kale was with me. If the warlock responsible knew I searched for him and wanted to find me first, the spell would leave me defenseless against him.
First things first… “I can’t do the ‘talking’ here.”
“All right.” Kale tucked his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small jar and matches. He sprinkled the clear liquid along the body and the strong scent of an accelerant filled my nose. With a flick of a match, he threw it at the body and flames erupted. “Where are we off to?”
His lack of emotion while he burned the body confirmed that he had dealt with dead bodies far more often than I had, since I would’ve buried the man. His method was faster and more efficient, but not my way by any means.
The accelerant swept the fire over the body so quickly, I assumed it had to be magic-based, and didn’t doubt that within minutes the body would be gone.
One thing about his method still concerned me. “What about the ashes, though? Humans may find them.” It saddened me when a human died and no evidence of their death remained since their loved ones would never have answers. The victim would forever be declared a missing person, but it was an ugly necessity because it kept the magical world safe.
Kale shook his head, staring down at the body in flames. “The magic in the liquid will turn whatever is left into dirt. Even if found, no one will notice it.”
“Oh.” What else could I say? I supposed that was somewhat neat and also handy. Maybe I needed to make some of that accelerant—it would save me digging a hole, and a whole lot of sweat.
“Where are we off to, then?” Kale repeated.
I said a silent prayer to the Goddess to carry this spirit home after I talked to him, and then I tore away from the flames and tried not to notice the scent of burned flesh. “To my bedroom.”
One sleek eyebrow lifted. “Your bedroom?”
I wasn’t blind to the smolder crossing his features, nor was I deaf to his lowered tone, but with the body burning below, mixed with the worry over the spell ahead of me, my body reacted as if it’d been thrown into a cold lake. “Do you plan to break the promise to Peyton to watch over me?”
“No.”
“Then come on.” I strode by him and cringed at the nasty smell I never would forget. “It’s time to get between the sheets.”
Chapter Six
Charleston might be a busy city in the downtown core, but the garden in my backyard was total serenity. A fine display of irises, tulips, and snake’s head fritillary were all in bloom and had been planted by my own hands. The garden had taken a month to plan to ensure that each month new flowers bloomed. The hard work paid off; it shone with beauty and always seemed alive.
“You’ve sure got something here,” Kale said, striding behind me along the path weaving its way through the flowers.
His eyes twinkled as he scanned the grounds. Interesting. Warlocks lacked a connection to Mother Earth, or so I thought, since they didn’t worship the Goddess. He seemed to have an appreciation for my garden as he drew in deep breaths.
Not only was he mysterious and elusive, but a deeper level existed to this warlock. To my frustration, it only made me want to know more about him, which was wrong, or so I told myself as I hurried through the garden. I needed to keep a level head and remind myself of my rules. I didn’t pursue warlocks or care to get to know them on any personal level—but then why did I want to with him?
Stop it, Libby! Focus! “You’re a strange warlock,” I whispered under my breath.
He snorted, clearly hearing me. “From what I’ve seen on your views of warlocks, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
My cheeks warmed but I didn’t look back to allow him to see it. I followed the path as it curved to the right, leading me to the herb garden. There, I plucked out a few bay leaves before I continued on the path that led to the back door of my house.
Kale followed me through the door. “What’s your plan?”
“Why do you want to know?”
A low curse sounded behind me before the door shut, and when I turned back to Kale, he was frowning at me. He took the final steps to reach me, staring down with a look that might unnerve some. “You know, most witches would enjoy that a warlock was impressed by them and wanted to know more about what they do.”
Yeah, witches who weren’t currently thinking they were being tested by said warlock. “Yes,
well, I’m not like most witches.”
His mouth twitched. “I happen to agree with you.”
Locked in his stare, I had to wonder if his interest was as simple as he said. Did he genuinely want to know more about me, or was he doing it to exploit me? I wanted to believe him and hoped he was impressed by me, but how could I believe him? He still hadn’t given me a straight answer for why he was here…or one that I believed. “Answer me this—you have no hidden agenda for why you’re asking?”
His head dipped down to mine. “Right now, it’s a personal curiosity, Libby. Nothing more.”
A rush of heat whipped like hot lava through my veins, lingering low in my body at his smooth voice. Oh no, I wouldn’t allow him to do his melt-me-into-a-puddle trick again considering he said right now, which meant it wasn’t always personal. I turned away in haste. Regardless, I did have to prove something to him, didn’t I? “I’ll conjure a spirit-summoning spell and the ghost will come into my dream.”
I went straight for my wooden hutch, taking a bowl, a dream pillow, mugwort, wormwood, and gardenia off the bottom shelf. Then I placed the ingredients on top of the large island in the middle of the kitchen.
Kale settled in across from me and leaned against the kitchen cabinets. “He’ll make contact in your dream, then?”
“Where else would I talk to a ghost? I’m not a necromancer.” I glanced at him and he inclined his head in agreement so I continued. “Dreams are a perfect safe place to converse with the dead, and since the ghost lingered, he doesn’t need to be pulled out from the beyond.” I sorted the ingredients and placed them in the correct order for the spell. “I can have a chat with him, then wake up, and the job is done.”
“Are you in any danger doing this spell?” Kale asked as I combined the bay leaves and other herbs in the small bowl.
When I absorbed his question, I froze and lifted my head, spotting his impressively soft eyes. “You sound worried?” And look it too. Not to say I didn’t mind his concern. In fact, I liked it more than I thought suitable. But again, this tough warlock appeared interested in more than just my spells. When had a warlock ever showed a moment of concern for me? Well, Bryon had while we were together, but of course it couldn’t have been real since in the end he royally screwed me over. The answer made his reaction all the more peculiar since I couldn’t recall a single time.
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