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He leaned closer, and his feather brushed my cheek. Was he trying to drive me crazy?
“Here.” His long finger tapped the papers that lay at the juncture of my thighs. The vibration started goose bumps somewhere else. “If a sorcerer of great power sees the Raven Mocker in its raven form, the witch will die.”
I shifted on the bed. My hip bumped his. We both froze. I picked up the papers and handed them back without meeting his eyes. “How are you going to accomplish that when the thing’s invisible?”
“Your great-grandmother included a revealing spell.”
“Nice of her.”
“I thought so.” He stood, and I was able to breathe again. “Get dressed.”
Was he kicking me out?
“I know you’re tired, but I’d like you to go with me. I’ll put together what I need for this spell, and then we’ll des
troy a Raven Mocker.”
“How will we find it?”
“The witch feeds on the lives of the dying, and I’ve got a patient who’s doing just that. If we sit with him we should be able to end this. If not tonight, then tomorrow night, or the night after.”
“Why would it choose your patient over anyone else?”
“In a town of this size, there aren’t a lot of people who fit the profile, especially when the Raven Mocker’s already sucked the life out of so many.”
“Eventually it’ll run out of the ill and the elderly.”
“Then it’ll move on.”
I imagined a trail of towns with dozens of fresh graves. And what happened when the Raven Mocker reached a town like Atlanta? The carnage would be mind-boggling.
“We need to kill it before that happens.” I threw the covers off, forgetting I wore only a T-shirt that ended at mid-thigh and a pair of white nylon panties.
When Ian didn’t answer, I glanced over my shoulder and found his gaze on my legs. The goose bumps sprang up again, making me shiver. I shoved my feet into my uniform trousers and covered myself, turning so that I couldn’t see the heat in his eyes that called to the chill in my soul.
When I faced him again, he was gone. My phone beeped with a message, so I checked it while Ian rustled around first in his office upstairs and then in the clinic downstairs.
“You have one new voice message.”
“I locked up the house,” Cal said. “The fire investigator should be there at eight a.m. Sam will get you a report as soon as he has one. Don’t bother to come in tomorrow if you aren’t up to it. I can take care of things. Oh, and we found the man who hit you.”
The accident now seemed so long ago, I’d nearly forgotten all about it.
“Guy in Bradleyville. Was probably drunk and that’s why he ran, but we’ll never prove it now. Sheriff over there said the guy’s always been a model citizen, so he gave him a ticket and a stern talking-to. You can call him if you want.”
I turned off my phone and tucked it into my pocket. I had bigger problems than some guy from Bradleyville.
“Ready?”
I jumped as Ian spoke from the hall. I hadn’t even heard him come back upstairs.
“Are you sure it’s okay if I come along? I can’t see how a dying man would want an audience.”
“Better an audience than the Raven Mocker.”
Though I still felt uncomfortable, I followed him through the clinic and out the front door.
“Who’s your patient?”
