Page 17 of The Slayer Seduction

“My last card was the death card,” I mumble and she shakes her head.

“The cards are as vague as visions, you know that. The death card does not inherently mean death, just as my vision of you does not mean actual bloodshed.”

“How will I know what it is?” I ask her.

She shakes her head, like she hates the idea before even speaking it.

“We could try to contact them on the other side, see if we could get a message through. I guess we could call Daisy,” she says her name with a slight irritation.

Daisy is Violet’s great aunt, she’s a medium, and for the past three decades, she was spelled to not speak by her evil sister. While she’s a great coven member, most mediums go a little mad speaking to the dead all the time.

“Whatever we have to do, I’ll do it.”

“Then let’s go see the old witch.”

Daisy is out on her porch, looking to her left, not even acknowledging that we’re approaching. I hold the crook of my mamaw’s elbow, leading her up the stairs. Daisy is wearing a muumuu with ghosts all over it, which would be hilarious if I wasn’t in such a mood. Her skin is pale and weathered, and her graying blonde hair is braided down her back.

“Miss Daisy,” I say her name, trying to break her stare.

She turns slowly to us and the smallest smile takes over her face. “Iris, Delphine. They told me you were coming.”

“Of course they did. The big question is, did they tell you why?” my mamaw asks.

Daisy sighs and shakes her head.

“They’re being very secretive,” Daisy replies, just rocking in her chair, likely surrounded by spirits or ghosts.

I think I’d lose my mind if I had to deal with that; maybe my screwed-up visions aren’t so bad after all.

“Daisy, please. Can we try and communicate with them?” I plead with her.

She looks away from me, seemingly having a conversation with someone I can’t see.

“They likely won’t cooperate, unless there’s someone specific you think we could make contact with.”

My heart hammers in my chest like a drum and my mind goes back to the vision of the past I saw. I can’t put my mamaw through that pain. I can’t and won’t call upon the one person I think would give me a straight answer.

“I’ve been having visions about something bad coming for the coven. None of them are clear enough, but we know there’s a secret the ancestors of the coven have been keeping from me.”

“Likely so old we’d need to go multiple generations back,” Mamaw adds in.

“There’s one spirit who gets rather lonely and visits me frequently. Maybe I can call upon her. Come inside,” Daisy says, leading us inside the home.

It’s strange being in here without our former High Priestess, and I can’t imagine what it was like for Daisy to live under her sister’s reign of terror in silence. We’re a better coven now that she’s been dealt with and that Violet’s mother Lavender is now the High Priestess.

Though part of me wonders if the previous High Priestess would know about this secret, it doesn’t matter, her punishment was banishment and having her memories wiped.

The only coven members who can possibly help us now are beyond the veil.

Daisy leads us to the kitchen, where she provides us with drinks and urges us to eat the cookies on the counter like any respectable southern witch would.

The elder witch lights candles with a flick of her wand and she sits at the head of the table, reaching out for both me and my grandmother’s hands, forming a triangle of magic between us. Automatically, we close our eyes, funneling our power to Daisy, giving her the strength to summon the spirit she has in mind.

She’s pleading with her to come forward.

The only indication I get that her request has been accepted is the small breeze whipping unnaturally inside the home.

“Hyacinth,” Daisy greets the spirit, as I look around and see nothing.