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Something in her words teases at the dark recesses of my brain.
A map…
The stolen Blackmore mansion plans…
On the surface the two don’t seem to be connected, but what are the chances that there are two nefarious schemes at play at the same time in our sleepy, seaside town? Even with an abundance of supernatural residents, many of whom would be considered natural predators in the larger world, our crime rate is still far lower than most small towns. Aside from the occasional eruption of domestic violence and petty theft, Nightfall is a relatively safe place to raise a family.
Providing you know where not to venture after the sun goes down.
A few of the puzzle pieces suddenly connect, straightening my spine and making my fingers clench around Annie’s smaller, cooler ones.
She blinks up at me. “What is it? Any idea what they’re up to?”
“Maybe,” I say, not wanting to give her false hope or take the investigation in the wrong direction if I’m mistaken. “I’ll have to return home and check a few things to know for sure.” I open the gate for her and Sophie, but don’t pass through myself. “Tell Blaire and Darcy I’ll be back in fifteen minutes, twenty at the most. Ask them to hold on launching a defensive strategy until them.”
Annie nods. “I will. So, this could be important.” She winces and bounces lightly on her toes. “Oh, I’m dying of curiosity. Hurry back. And fly safe. And if Laura is scared to stay out there alone with demons on the loose, bring her here. I can make a bed for her in the shed in the backyard. It’s small, but cozy. One of our ancestors enchanted it so it doesn’t get too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer.”
Touched that she’s remembered Laura and seems to care for her, despite Laura’s reluctance to accept our new house guest, I almost pull her in for hug.
But at the last moment, I remember our audience and stop myself, forcing my hands into my pockets and nodding stiffly to both the women before promising, “I’ll be careful. And I’ll make Laura aware of the invitation and the danger.”
Annie, being Annie, lunges forward, wrapping my stiff body in her arms and squeezing tight. “Good. Don’t get mauled by demons or I’ll be pissed, and you won’t like me when I’m angry.”
She releases me and Sophie steps in, looping an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “You really wouldn’t. As Shakespeare once said—though she be but little she is fierce.” She gives my arm a friendly squeeze as her lips curve in a knowing smile. “But I bet you know that by now.”
I nod, but the words rising in my throat die before they reach my lips as the ball of spider thread I’ve kept in my coat since that night by Annie’s window begins to burn in my pocket. A discreet glance down reveals a faint yellow glow seeping through the tightly woven wool, a glow that fades the moment Sophie releases my arm.
As she and Annie start up the walk, Jolene’s words echo through my head— Keep this with you. It will glow when traitors are close.
I don’t want to believe Annie’s twin sister is a traitor, but I don’t see what motivation the spider would have to lie. Jolene was the one who saved Blaire and Darcy from death or worse the day they were imprisoned. She’s proven her loyalty, not only to the Wonderfully witches, but to my clan as well.
But Sophie is a Nightfall native, and as far as I know has never so much as colored outside the lines in grammar school. Growing up she was a model student, a community volunteer, and a kind-hearted jokester who was always up for a harmless prank. Now, she’s a pillar of the community, a loving presence in the lives or our children, elderly, and all ages of bookworms in between.
She’s a librarian for Goddess’ sakes. Librarians don’t betray their families, their towns, or their long-lost twin sisters.
Or so I’d like to believe, but I’ve been around long enough to know that villains come in all shapes, sizes, sexes, and from the ranks of the most innocuous vocations. I once knew a peddler who introduced poisonous chemicals into his wallpaper, deriving sick pleasure from watching his clients slowly sicken and die while the local authorities shook their heads and dismissed the deaths as some mysterious new illness or bad spirits afoot in the villages. It wasn’t until the man’s own daughter died after stealing some of her father’s paper to sell at a fair and handling the poisoned decoration with her bare hands, that the constable finally put the pieces together and arrested the man. By then he’d killed nearly two dozen people, many of them women and children who remained at home while the man of the house sought work in the city.
Deciding my investigation at home can wait, I dematerialize only to sweep in a circle around to the other side of the house, where I hide in the snow-dusted treehouse Darcy’s been building for Amy in the backyard.
It isn’t finished, but two walls are enough to provide cover. I settle into the darkness and direct my supernatural hearing to the brightly lit kitchen windows, watching Annie making tea for her sisters while I mull over all the various ways to unmask a traitor…
Chapter 15
Annie
As soon as I set the teapot on the stove and turn to pet Kitty—the poor kraken is obviously distressed by the drama in the front yard and the news that demons are on the loose—I’m plagued by the suspicion that Baron didn’t head out into the swamp, after all.
That he is, in fact, still close by.
Very, very close…
I turn, gazing out the windows above the sink into the backyard, possessed by the sudden certainty that Baron is in the treehouse, spying on us from the shadows.
Which is…weird.
“What’s up?” Sophie asks, appearing beside me.
I shake my head and force my attention to her face. “Nothing. Just a little shaken up, I guess. Did you get tea orders?”
