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Why would it want to do that? he asked.
Because it’s evil. Because it likes to kill and steal.
He was silent for a moment. And that red thing at my feet? That was me, wasn’t it? My body?
I’m afraid so.
He didn’t immediately say anything. He didn’t even get angry. He just hovered near the door, emitting an odd sort of sadness.
So I really am dead? And stuck here?
You are dead, Belle said gently. But you’re not stuck here. I can help you move on, if that’s what you wish.
What’s the other option? Remaining stuck in this place, unable to see or communicate with Elsie?
I’m afraid so.
He sighed. It was an unhappy sound. Then I guess I have no choice.
So you do wish to move on? She needed formal acknowledgment before she could help him.
Yes, I do.
Then I bid you health, happiness, and good fortune in your next life, John. And with that, she began the spell that would guide his soul onwards.
As his energy shimmered and began to fade, she finished the spell, then took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Her tiredness washed through me, and I quickly pushed a little bit of my strength through to her. She squeezed my hands and released them.
“Well, that went better than I’d initially expected.”
“Yes.” I swiftly pulled the protection circle down and then pushed upright and gathered my spell stones. “I’m surprised it took his skin, though, given up until now, her victims have been women.”
She scrubbed a hand across her eyes, then pushed upright. I grabbed her arm, steadying her as she wobbled a little. “Maybe she had no other choice once he’d found her. Maybe she needed his skin to get out.”
“Possibly,” I said. “Monty did say yesterday that soucouyants use their ‘human’ skins as a barrier against the sun.”
She nodded. “That makes sense—they’re spirits rather than human, so their skins would need to be genetically different to ours.”
“It also means the ones she’s stealing simply aren’t up to the task of containing her heat for more than a few hours,” I said. “And that would explain the puddled piles of skin we’re finding.”
Aiden frowned. “If that were true, wouldn’t the skins simply burn up?”
“Maybe she ditches them before it gets to that point.” I shrugged. “After all, it’d be hard to get close enough to her next victim if the skin she’s wearing is falling off around her. People tend to react adversely to that sort of thing.”
He grunted. “If the soucouyant has claimed Baker’s skin, how far is she likely to be able to travel, given she’s had to move in daylight?”
I hesitated. “It’s only a guess, but if she’s stealing skins at night to get her through the day when she’s in hiding, then it’s likely she wouldn’t be able to move far without being affected by both the external and internal heat.” I studied him for a minute. “Do you think she might still be on the farm somewhere?”
“I doubt she’d risk staying in the immediate area, but the Pykes Creek Reservoir lies behind Baker’s property. If the photos I saw in his house are anything to go by, he had a hut set up on the boundary so he and his mates could do some fishing.”
“How would the soucouyant know about it, though?” Belle asked.
“Maybe when she steals their skin, she also steals some information about them,” I said. “There’s no other way she could have known where Mrs. Dale lived.”
Unless, of course, she had access to her wallet. She certainly had access to her keys.
“True. But if she is there, we’re going to need help, as neither of us know a spell strong enough to contain a fire spirit.”
“I’ll get Tala to pick up Monty and bring him out here.” Aiden glanced at his watch. “It’ll be close to six thirty before they get here though—will that be pushing it, time wise?”
