Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“About tools.”
“Yes.”
“So the sage itself would have cleansed this place if she had bothered to do that.”
“Correct, in theory. The problem is, she doesn’t believe in it, so she never learned how to use it correctly.”
He cleared his throat. “Remember when the ghost left our home?”
“I do,” I said, seeing shapes in the smoke rolling out the back door.
“How come there’s no nearly corporeal people stopping to speak to us?”
“I suspect that many of them have no actual ties to the house but were brought by others during her séances.”
“And got stuck here.”
“I can’t really say, but normally you don’t have a ghost who can speak to you unless they’re tied to a place or a person. Which none of these are.”
“But you said there was something else in here, alive.”
I nodded. “Yes, but whatever it was, it’s gone now.”
“Really?”
Quiet for a moment, listening, waiting, I could hear the house settling and nothing else. “Yeah. It feels okay in here, and there’s lots of light.”
He glanced around. “I agree.”
“I would check the backyard now.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Something might have happened.”
“Okay, but you want me to stay out of this, right?” He gestured at the rushing wind.
“No, it’s fine. None of this can hurt you. But it’s kicking up dirt and dust that you maybe don’t want all over you.”
“But nothing that could push inside to my soul.”
I grinned at him. “No, love. Your soul is safe.”
Once he left, I stood alone for a bit until Lynette appeared under the archway of the sitting room. Her mouth was open as she stared at the smoke that was barely moving now in a gentle, wafting breeze.
“Xander!” she gasped. “You’re a witch.”
I smiled at her and then watched as the very last of the smoke curled and tumbled and finally rolled out the back door.
“You—how are you a witch?”
“My family,” I told her. “I’m very lucky.”
“I’m so sorry for…before.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, just vigilant,” I warned her. “And make sure you cleanse your space after every séance.”
She took a quick breath. “I don’t think I’m going to have any more of those.”
“But you could. Just perhaps not here,” I suggested. “Maybe have a back room at the store. Keep your house clear.”
Glancing around, she smiled. “No more shadows.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t remember this hallway ever being this bright.”
“It feels warm too.”
She nodded. “It certainly does.”
“Hey,” Lorne called out from the back door.
I waved.
“It’s done, right? I’m only asking because it doesn’t look or feel like anything’s moving anymore.”
“You’re correct,” I assured him. “How’s the backyard?”
“Come see.”
Rushing down the hall, I popped out onto a small cement area with five stairs on three sides, all leading to a cement walkway that wound around an outdoor entertainment area, complete with a pool, hot tub, enormous patio filled with furniture, and a barbecue. The overgrown garden Lorne had mentioned was nowhere in sight. What remained were husks of trees and lots of dead, dried vegetation.
“Oh my God,” Lynette gasped behind me, walking out and around me, hand over her mouth, eyes wide, turning in every direction.
There were floodlights on, and there were lights farther out on a small footbridge that led to the edge of the property overlooking downtown Osprey. It was a lovely night, and the stars were out, the sky gorgeous in layers of indigo, navy, cerulean, and lapis.
“How did you…” she began but stopped herself. “The garden was full of something wasting away, wasn’t it?”
“Is that how it felt to you?”
She nodded.
“I think perhaps you need to get some landscapers out here and make the front and back match. The backyard is for you to enjoy, and it should be as beautiful as what the neighbors see.”
“Yes, it should,” she agreed. “Would it be all right if we talked? Maybe get your help with some wards for the house?”
I smiled. “Of course.”
“You should start by getting rid of that welcome mat at the front door,” Lorne told her. “Never know what you’re inviting inside with that.”
She turned to me.
“He’s not wrong.”
Slowly, she looked back at him.
“I take my oath to protect and serve seriously,” he assured her. “On all levels.”
She only nodded.
SEVEN
Once we left, Lorne drove us home, and it was late, well after midnight, but with the windows down, the air humid and warm, with the radio low and him beside me, it was like the world lifted off my shoulders. I wasn’t worried or scared.
“I had a thought,” he told me.
“What’s that?”
“What if Kathy being killed, and then someone or something prowling around Lynette’s house, means that witches are being hunted?”
“Why would anything be hunting witches?”
“I don’t know, but it’s possible.”
“Yes, but unlikely.”
“Why would you say that?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t seem reasonable. For what purpose?”
“That’s the mystery, isn’t it?”
“Not to be unsupportive of any other witch,” I began, “but while it’s true that Kathy was practicing passive magic, Lynette doesn’t do anything but wave some sage around once in a while. She’s not working on any portion of her craft.”