Page 62 of Coven of Corpses

“What?” Cody looked from him to Clarabell. “What kind of controlling crap is that?”

“I should never have two beers that close together,” Demetrius said. “You know this. You’ve had to drive me home from the Hollow Leg more than once because of it.”

“Fine.” Cody crossed his arms and slouched a bit.

Demetrius looked back at Clarabell. “Where were we?”

“This town harbors a lot of magic,” Clarabell said. “I’ve had magic sensitive people come here over the last few years, and all of them have said the same thing.”

“Magic sensitive?” Cody said with a sneer, giving her a look. “Really?”

“How’s that vampire bite feeling?” Clarabell said with a hard look.

Cody huffed and pouted more. “I don’t like this. I feel relaxed but anxious.” He looked at Demetrius. “Is this how you feel when you drink?”

“No, I feel like that pretty much all the time.”

“What the fuck is that about? Alcohol is supposed to relax you. I don’t feel like this when I drink. Why do you get so tense?”

“I don’t know. Why do you get so relaxed? Why are you so tall? Why are you so goddamn handsome it nearly kills me every time you smile at me?” Demetrius blinked and saw himself blinking back. He leaned forward and set the half-finished beer on the coffee table. “Okay, no more of this for me. Apparently, Cody’s body and my brain don’t mix well with alcohol.”

“I don’t know, you’re kind of hot right now,” Cody said. His eyes were a little droopy and his lips curled into a sexy smirk Demetrius had seen often on Cody’s mouth.

“Focus,” Demetrius said, giving him a shove. He gestured to Clarabell. “Go on.”

“As I was saying,” she said. “This town harbors a lot of magic. It’s in the soil, the timber used to build it. The water out at the pond.”

“Where did it come from?” Demetrius asked. “The witches? Did they do all of this?”

“No. Well, not really. They may have encouraged it, built up wards to strengthen it, but from what I’ve been able to tell, I think it’s just this place.” She paused, looking between them. “What do you know about ley lines?”

“Ley lines?” Cody frowned. “Like the flower necklaces you get in Hawaii?”

“No, those are leis, L-E-I-S. I’m talking about ley lines, as in L-E-Y.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of those,” Demetrius said. “They’re, like, lines of energy that go around the planet or something, right?”

“Yes, right,” Clarabell said. “Some people believe there are ley lines that connect different important sites on the planet. Places like Stonehenge or the pyramids. With everything I’ve been reading and what I’ve seen over the years, I believe Parson’s Hollow is a crossroads for two very strong ley lines.”

“Great. Will it bump up the value of our house?” Cody said. “Sorry, Amelia’s house that we live in?”

“Anyway…” Clarabell continued. “Back in the late 1600s, the coven settled here because they sensed the energy in this place.”

“How do you know this?” Demetrius asked. “About the coven?”

Clarabell smiled. It wasn’t a grin, a smirk, or a small twitch of her lips. It was a full smile that showed teeth. “Because one of them kept a diary, Elizabeth Ames. As did Parson Stone. And Tracey was gifted both of them a couple of years ago.”

“What?” Demetrius sat back and blew out a breath. “These diaries have survived since the 1600s?”

“Yep. Stored in heavy boxes and passed from generation to generation. When the latest recipient realized what he had, he donated them to the library for the local history section.”

“Wait,” Cody said. “Both diaries were kept together all these years?”

Clarabell’s smile turned to a smirk. “That’s right.”

“How did that happen?” Demetrius asked.

“I’ll get to that in a minute. Tracey read the diaries and found some interesting information in Elizabeth’s, so she let me read it as well. The short version of it⁠—”