Page 29 of Hextreme Measures

“I have no reason not to believe her. Plus, Pascal believes her. That’s good enough for me.”

“What if that’s just some story she’s told throughout the years to get attention?”

“It’s not. She has a scar that looks a lot like the injury on Angelique’s arm. On top of that, her story rang true.”

“I agree that it’s unlikely that Pascal was bamboozled,” he conceded. “There has to be more to it than that, though.”

“Oh, I think there is.” Ofelia nodded. “Her house, it was covered in hoodoo stuff.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning that’s why I think she was targeted. I didn’t ask about the hoodoo because it didn’t seem to be my place, but we’ve heard about banshees being attracted to paranormals before. It’s not always paranormals, of course, but what if they make an enticing target because the transformation is easier?”

“I’m not sure I’m following you.”

“I’ve been thinking about it. Humans can be turned into banshees, but all the banshees I’ve come across who sprang from normal humans — and that is not a huge amount, just FYI — have been completely taken over by the banshee. Isn’t it possible that they prefer paranormals because they can still think for themselves despite the transition?”

Sully played with his napkin as he considered it. “I guess it’s possible,” he conceded finally. “Wouldn’t stories like that have made it into the lore, though?”

“Oh, most definitely.” Ofelia bobbed her head. “The thing is, Ellen said something else interesting. She told me that after she transformed back, she could always sense when there were other banshees in the area. She knew me because she saw me take out one seven years ago.”

“She saw you do it?”

“She was hunting the banshee. She let that slip.”

“You mean she wanted to keep that secret?”

“Okay, maybe ‘slip’ isn’t the right word. I don’t think she realized what she was telling me, though, when she said it. She basically suggested that she hunts banshees. She can identify them when they get close.”

“She didn’t know about the ones who attacked our party.”

“No, but we are theorizing they’re sticking close to the park. Maybe she can only sense them if they’re really close.”

“Maybe.” Sully cocked his head to the side and scratched his cheek, considering.

The server picked that moment to deliver their food. Ofelia managed a smile for her benefit, but the woman only looked at Sully.

“Anything else?” she purred.

Ofelia’s expression grew dark enough that Sully had to bite back a laugh.

“I don’t need anything,” he replied. “How about you, my lovely fiancée?”

It took everything Ofelia had not to roll her eyes at his heavy-handed display of adoration. “I’m good,” she replied.

If the server was bothered to know that Sully had a fiancée, she didn’t show it. “Okay. I’ll be back around to check on you.” With that, she moved on to another table.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Ofelia told him.

“What wasn’t necessary?”

“The ‘my lovely fiancée’ stuff. She doesn’t care. All she sees is you.”

“And all I see is you.”

Ofelia wanted to be angry — mostly because she was afraid for her friend and anger was better than fear in her book — but she couldn’t manage it. “It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on Angelique.”

“Yes, and you’ve given me some things to think about,” he agreed. “Now I have a bit of information for you.” He took a drink of his juice before continuing. “There have been multiple attacks.”