Witch Hunt

by Kate Allenton

  “A little warning would have been nice,” I said, pushing to stand again next to my sisters.

  “Beneath this town is a series of tunnels.” She gestured to the drawing on the wall of the squiggly lines.

  I rested my hands on my hips and turned my gaze to the lines. I tried my best to see how the lines formed the town. “Nope, not seeing it.”

  There was something unique about that map and about this room. Something that tugged at my soul, keeping me rooted in place. Making me dizzy and feeling drunk.

  Auntie B glanced at me. Her lips twisted at the corners as if she understood my feeling without me saying a word.

  “What’s in the tunnels?” Tess asked, gesturing to the wall.

  “Pure magic,” Auntie B said. “Reveal.”

  She snapped her fingers, and a map of the town overlaid the tunnels to show exactly which buildings and locations were affected.

  “What do these magic tunnels do?” I asked, studying the wall to find the inn resting over a major intersection of the lines.

  “Have you ever seen the movie Poltergeist? Imagine unexplainable and uncontrollable paranormal activity in that capacity,” she said.

  My sisters and I exchanged a look, unsure where this was going.

  “Okay, think of the magic tunnels in terms of water in a canal or lake,” she said. “The lake can sometimes be smooth like glass, but imagine you throw a pebble into it. It generates waves. The tunnels are like that lake. If the magic is disrupted, it creates waves.”

  “That doesn’t sound too bad. The waves are the magical flare-ups,” I said.

  “Now you’re getting it. Only those waves aren’t all poltergeists, although they can be. The magic manifests in all kinds of different ways. But now imagine the waves that are created if you put several vessels on that lake.” She raised her brow. “Imagine how that would amplify things.”

  “Who are driving those vessels?” Tess asked.

  “No one knows how the magic manifests, we only know we’re tasked with containing it.”

  “Why would anyone want to live here?” I asked, gesturing to the map.

  “The Hexfords have been protecting this town for centuries. It’s because of our family that the magic beneath our feet has been relatively calm all these years.”

  “I’m sensing a but…” I said, turning to face her.

  “There was a reason why Mildred wrote in her will that Margo needed to produce an heir.”

  I turned back to the map. “She was afraid that there would be no one left to calm the waters.”

  “Exactly.” Auntie B clasped her fingers together.

  “Tess is engaged, so she’ll probably be the first to have a baby. It should have been in her inheritance stipulations.”

  “Yes, well…” Auntie cleared her throat without answering.

  “Um, Auntie B….” Tess said, gesturing with her finger. “What does that mean?”

  We turned to find an entire section of the tunnels beneath the coven glowing like a Christmas tree and blinking in red instead of the blue that covered the rest of the map.

  “Thanks to a spell from one of our ancestors, that flashing red light is like an alarm that tells us when there’s trouble, and it looks like a pebble was thrown,” Auntie B announced.

  “Let’s hope it’s not a boat,” I added.

  “What now?” Tess asked.

  We gave each other skeptical looks as we waited to see what would happen next. Auntie B wasn’t running out of the room or yelling at us to follow. Without much hesitation, she pulled a circular locket out of her pocket and clenched it in her hand.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “A compass. Now, take each other’s hands.”

  I slid my hand through Tess’s and she with Georgia before Auntie B grabbed my free hand, linking us all together. She whispered the words of a spell I’d never heard before placing her hand with the compass on the wall where the disturbance had occurred.

  Chapter 3

  Like a bad carnival ride, when we closed our eyes, it felt like were in the middle of an ocean on board a little dingy surrounded by monstrous waves. My stomach pitched and rolled, until I opened my eyes to find that were still on land. The magical current had taken us to the woods. My legs felt like spaghetti beneath me, and I wobbled, grabbing the nearest tree to steady myself. My other sisters weren’t as lucky.

  Tess dropped my hand and ran behind one of the other trees and Georgia behind another, gagging and barfing like they hadn’t enjoyed the roller coaster ride.

  “Don’t worry, dears. The effects will pass, and with each experience, you’ll become accustomed to it.” Auntie B smiled at me. “Until then, I think a motion sickness spell should work.”

  She whispered words, and within minutes, Tess and Georgia returned, holding their stomachs. Each of their faces were drained of color.

  “That wasn’t pleasant,” Tess announced.

  “Pleasant, hell, that sucked, and you should have warned us.” Georgia growled like a dog that had forgotten how to bite.

  “I was hoping that I could introduce you into this slowly, but it appears that won’t be the case. I’ve been monitoring the waters since Mildred died. It’s almost time to hand over the reins.” Auntie B pulled out a compass and flicked it open. She waited for the needle to settle and then started walking in that direction.

  “Is your compass going to lead us to the disturbance?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  Leaves crunched beneath our feet as the light of the moon illuminated our way. Every noise sounded a million times louder than it probably was, although there were four of us making it. We actually did sound like bulls in a china shop. There was no sneaking up on anyone. Maybe one of us could come up with a cloaking spell or sound inhibitor. I grinned to myself, thinking how much I could charge for that.

  A breeze danced through the ancient oak trees surround us, making a gentle rustling noise. Red and yellow leaves covered the forest floor like a blanket while a thin fog that touched our skin.

  This place didn’t contain musical trees like at the inn. There was something more ominous about these trees, like a continuous hum and different vibration.

  With each step we took as we neared the coven buildings, the trees grew smaller, as if they weren’t quite as old.

  We made our way through the eerie woods. It was hard to imagine our father and mothers ever calling this place home. My dad had talked about it several times when I was growing up, but his words were normally cut off just by the single look my mother would give him. Out of all of us girls, I guess I was the lucky one that got to know him at all.

  I could feel the pull of the direction the needle in Auntie B’s compass was taking us without ever looking at the device. It was like there was a magnet inside of me telling me which way to go. I wouldn’t put it past my grandmother to have permanently tagged me with something like that. She was a devious old witch.

  With each step I took, more unease slithered down my spine. I heard men yelling at each other over the sound of the crackling leaves and branches. We all paused in our tracks. The hair on my neck stood up as Georgia took off in a run toward the townhouses, prompting the rest of us to try and catch her.

  “Georgia, wait. It could be dangerous,” I yelled. My warning went unanswered.

  We all slowed as we neared a man standing in an open door with his gun drawn.

  “Ryder, what are you doing here?” Tess asked.

  “The better question is, what magic did you use to set off the alarm?” Georgia added.

  We all knew Ryder, some of us better than others. He was a tracker with the witches’ council.

  My sisters and I peeked into the doorway to find a man with his hands up in the air, his back to us as he kneeled next to a man with opened unblinking glazed eyes. A blue tint to his lips and white ashen face confirmed the man on the floor was dead. The room around him lay in shambles and remnants of a half-eaten fruit basket were spilled on the f
loor. The death omen symbol was painted on the walls, and I forgot to breathe.

  Georgia stepped into the room, and the blood drained from her cheeks as she pointed to a voodoo doll on the bed, which looked eerily similar to the dead guy on the floor.

  Goosebumps covered my arms. I’d thought I had two months to prepare for this killer. Two months to save my dad and stop this guy, but I’d been wrong. My time was up.

  “He’s here,” Georgia whispered and spun her gaze to the man with his hands in the air.

  “I found him this way. I didn’t kill him,” the stranger announced.

  His familiar voice sent tingles down my spine and my heart racing. My gaze followed every curve of that man’s body. I didn’t have to see his face to know who it was.

  Tess removed her power-blocking pendant and was stuffing it into her pocket as if expecting things to get worse.

  My brain was telling me to process the scene. My ex could be a killer. It could make sense. He was around, he knew things. But my heart wouldn’t believe it. Either way, one guy, a killer or not, couldn’t take all of us.

  “Andrew Gold, you shouldn’t be here,” I said, trying to still the anger in my tone.

  “You know him?” Ryder asked.

  “Yes.” I didn’t want to know him. I’d spent years trying to erase him from my memory.

  “She should know me,” Andrew said, lifting his head. He slowly glanced over his shoulder. “She’s my wife.”

  Our eyes locked, and heat scorched through my body. The need to touch this guy, to kiss him, took over, sending me into wanton-hussy mode. He always had a way of making me lose my head. It was as though he was a heat-seeking missile and someone had programmed my coordinates. With the killer already striking, I didn’t have time to lose focus.

  “Our marriage was annulled. What are you doing here? You swore you’d never come back.” Fear entangled my tone. The one person who could out my secrets was sitting next to a dead body, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the need I still felt for him claimed my every breath.

  Andrew started to rise, and Ryder cocked his trigger. “Uh-uh. Don’t even think about moving.”

  “The secrets just keep on coming.” Georgia tisked. “You married this guy?”

  “We were married for all of five minutes,” I answered.

  “Oh, come on now, Margo. It was longer than that. We have a connection. You can still feel it, can’t you?”

  “Okay, I’ve heard enough,” Tess said. “She’s not married to this killer. It’s a blip in her past. She’s moved on.”

  “They were spelled as children to always have a connection,” Auntie B announced.

  Andrew and I both snapped our gazes in her direction. That would explain a lot. “You’re serious? Is that why…” I couldn’t even finish that statement. “Do you know who did this to us?”

  “Do you really have to ask?” Georgia said. “It’s obvious. Andrew is Damien Gold’s twin brother, meaning they share the same twisted family. It was probably his power-hungry mother.”

  Damien had been a thief in life and, as a ghost, was haunting Georgia. Their older brother that tried to warn us about their evil mother and her wanting the painting with the deadly incantation.

  “The explanation and this little reunion will have to wait. We have more pressing matters,” Ryder said, interrupting our conversation. He tossed Andrew a pair of magic-blocking cuffs.

  “These aren’t necessary,” Andrew announced.

  “Put them on your wrists, or I’ll do it for you,” Ryder demanded.

  Andrew picked them up and locked one cuff on his wrist before struggling to put the second one on. He held up his hands to prove they were on before he rose from his spot.

  Chapter 4

  “Andrew didn’t do this.” It might have been years since I’d seen him, but he was never the type of guy to be a cold-blooded killer, and he’d been in bed with me the night Georgia’s mother died. I remember the minute my dad called to check on me.

  Andrew wasn’t the voodoo killer. He couldn’t be. He had an alibi. I shouldn’t have even known about my sisters, much less their moms, but I did. My father had warned my mother and me what was coming. My mom went into self-preservation mode and into hiding. She’d tried to take me with her.

  “You’re spelled,” Tess said, slipping her power-blocking pendant from her pocket and slipping it over my head.

  The weight of the stone calmed the very core of my being with a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in years, not since our dad had gone missing.

  “He’s Damien’s twin,” Georgia announced, glancing into the corner of the room. “Damien confirmed it but is telling me that we’ve got it wrong. Andrew wouldn’t hurt a flea.”

  “I beg to differ,” Ryder said, shoving his gun away and moving toward the dead guy on the floor.

  “Connection spells can be very strong,” Auntie B said, turning me to face her. “One might risk their life to save the other.” Her eyes searched mine, for what I wasn’t sure.

  It didn’t matter. What mattered was getting Andrew out of my mind and my head. “How do we break it?”

  “Any chance we had of doing that is gone.” Andrew’s voice was resolute as he stepped toward me.

  I took an unconscious step back. “You know what happens when we get closer.”

  “You’re safe, Margo. Andrew’s magic and the spell are blocked with your pendant and these cuffs. His head is clear, and his magic to hurt you is useless,” Ryder said.

  “Hurt her. Ha. I was trying to save us both. It’s the only reason I’d step foot into this godforsaken town.” Andrew chuckled as if he found the thought absurd and gestured toward the dead guy. “Manny is on the witch council. He promised to give me the spell and list of ingredients we need to break the connection. He told me to meet him here.”

  “And what happened, did he decide against it? Is that why your voodoo killer urges kicked in?” Ryder asked as he squatted next to the dead body.

  Manny was an older guy. He was good looking for his age if you didn’t count the blood-drained face and closed dead eyes. His hair was graying around the temples as if he’d worried a lot during his life. Being on the witches’ council, he probably did.

  “Really? You like older guys?” Andrew asked.

  “Stay out of my head,” I growled.

  “Tess, your pendant must be broken, and Ryder needs new cuffs. He shouldn’t even be in her head if your toys are working,” Georgia declared.

  “She’s right,” Tess said.

  “There’s only one way that happened,” Auntie B whispered.

  We sealed the bond when we slept together, I said in my thoughts before heat rose to my cheeks and I was unable to meet my aunt's gaze.

  I knew there was magic involved. Andrew’s voice appeared in my mind, making me scowl.

  “Did you follow his magical trail here?” Tess asked.

  Ryder was a tracker for the council. His job was to track criminals by following the magic just as feds would follow a money trail.

  “No.”

  “Damien said Andrew was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Georgia said, staring at the corner again.

  “Andrew, why are you really here?” This couldn’t be good. Not now, at this moment, not when I needed him to be anywhere else but in this town. A killer was in town, and just as if my father would crack if the killer got his hands on me and my sisters, well, Andrew and my sisters were my weak points. I’d cave to save them all if I needed to.

  “He’s telling the truth.” A woman spoke from behind us.

  We all spun toward the door to find a petite woman with spiky pink hair staring at us with a cell phone pressed against her ear. “I was with Andrew showing him which room was Manny’s when we found him like that. I’d just left Andrew to get my cell phone to call the police. There are officers on the way.”

  “And you are?” Georgia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “She’s Manny’s assistant, Janic
e Smith. All of the council members are in town to place wards on the playing field against any attempts at spells designed to manipulate the games. That’s why I’m here also,” Ryder said, slipping his keys out of his pocket to release the cuffs.

  “I’m only here to figure out how to sever the connection.”

  “All we need is Manny’s spell book. He already showed me it was in there,” Janice said, stepping into the room. Her hand flew to her mouth, and tears stung her eyes as she stared at the councilman’s body and then at the freshly painted death omen on the wall. She swallowed hard when she spotted the voodoo doll. “Manny was getting close to uncovering the killer’s name.”

  “Was he?” I asked, more intrigued.

  “It was his obsession. The voodoo killer took a lot away from the witch community, even Manny’s ex-wife.”

  “And my mother,” Georgia announced.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I said in the quiet room.

  Janice met my gaze with a slight nod before sticking her hand between the mattress and box spring. She moved her hand around and frowned. Seconds later she was lifting the mattress into the air. The color drained from her face as she tried to lift it higher. “His grimoire is gone.”

  She dropped the mattress, and her eyes glazed over. “This is bad. This is really bad. His book had a copy of the spells the witch council uses, not to mention the research on the killer. In the wrong hands…”

  “In the wrong hands, any criminal that the council had locked away and put spells on can now be reversed if whoever stole the book finds the right spells,” Ryder said, sliding his hand through his hair.

  “If you knew that Manny kept it under his bed, then how do we know it wasn’t you who killed him to steal it?” Tess asked.

  Pink filled her cheeks. “I was otherwise engaged when Andrew knocked on my door.”

  “Engaged doing what?” I asked.

  “She was with Conrad McCaffrey,” Ryder answered.

  The woman’s eyes widened, and her mouth parted.

  “What?” Ryder asked. “It’s not like it’s a secret. I’m a tracker. I notice things.”