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I already knew about the portal underneath the Beaulac PD parking lot, so I didn’t bother wasting my time going there. The only other site within reasonable driving distance was east, near the parish line, which was also in the middle of the swamp. We went ahead and drove out there, but soon realized that without a boat there’d be no way to get within a mile of where Rhyzkahl had indicated.
I stood on the side of the road and hugged my coat around me, frowning out at the swamp. “Bodies are found out here all the time,” I said, as much to Eilahn as to myself. “I mean, not all the time,” I corrected, “but it’s not unusual at all for people to die out here. Hunters or hikers who get lost or have accidents. And the occasional murder victim gets dumped as well, of course.”
Eilahn hiked herself up to sit on the hood of my car, crossing her legs tailor-style beneath her. “Tell me your thoughts.”
A low breeze ruffled the grasses by the edge of the road, bringing with it a moist scent of algae and mud. “I’m aware of these last three victims, mostly because I was on call. But what if there’ve been others?”
“But would not those have been mentioned by whoever is seeking to frame you?”
Pursing my lips, I considered that for a moment. “I guess so. If they were connected to me.” Then I sighed, rubbed my eyes. “I dunno. I’m stuck. Let’s go see my aunt. Maybe she has some ideas.”
The demon hopped nimbly off the car. “And I think you should contact the others and have them meet you there. At this point you need as much input as possible, as well as people around you in whom you trust.”
My spirits lifted slightly at this reminder that I did have people around who I could trust—which was most likely Eilahn’s intent.
“Sounds good. Let’s rock.”
She paused with her hand on the passenger door, gave me a quizzical smile. “You are teasing me?”
“A little,” I said.
She chuckled. “Now we unleash mayhem.”
* * *
I wasn’t terribly surprised to see two Crown Vics and a Beaulac PD Crime Scene van parked in front of my aunt’s house. I made the appropriate greetings and expressions of thanks—which earned responses that were variations of, “Don’t be stupid. You need help. Of course we’d come.”
With that out of the way, our posse trudged up the steps of the house. I gave a desultory knock, waited for the answering yell, then pushed in, with the others following behind.
Tessa was in the front room in practically the same position she’d been in when I last saw her, though today she was dressed in a bright red caftan and the book in her hand was Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. She took in the sight of us, eyes finally resting on the carrier in Eilahn’s hand. “You’re bringing me a cat?”
Shaking my head, I flopped into a chair and pulled the cuff off. “It’s my cat. Well, technically it’s Eilahn’s since the cat hates me.” The others took seats as Tessa moved to crouch by the carrier. It was small consolation to my mood that the cat snarled and tried to claw her.
“Lovely creature,” she said with an arched eyebrow as she resumed her seat.
I stood up from the chair and shifted to sit on the floor on the other side of the room. “She seems to hate people who have arcane ability,” I told her. “I thought that the mayor might be my big bad summoner since he seems to have such a hard-on for me, but the cat loves him.” I glared at the cat.
“Kara,” Ryan said, frowning, “why did you just get up and move?”
I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it. “I’m not sure,” I replied, abruptly unsettled. There were seats available on the other side of the room. Jill and Zack had taken up the loveseat on that side, while Ryan, Tessa, and Eilahn occupied the available seats on the side that faced away from the lake. But there were two armchairs facing the other way that stood empty.
My throat felt oddly dry. “It feels more right to face this way,” I said.
“And you sat in the chair you don’t like at your house,” he pointed out.
“Moreover, you changed seats after you removed the cuff,” Eilahn added.
Tessa set her book down and tilted her head. “Perhaps this summoner wants you to find something for him,” she said.
I got to my feet. “I need a map!”
“I have one in the kitchen,” Tessa said, and scurried off.
Closing my eyes, I pivoted very slowly, trying to feel which direction felt the most right. “There,” I said, opening my eyes. “It’s super faint, but now that I’m looking for it, there’s definitely a…pull, so to speak.”
Jill stood and handed me her smartphone. “Compass app,” she said. “Point where you think you need to go. You can’t actually go look for whatever it is, but we can triangulate. Right?”
“Jill, you’re a fucking genius.” I took the phone from her and allowed her to note down the bearing. “My house, the PD, and here are all places where I either tried to rearrange the furniture or I changed my seating preference. And, in some welcome good news, they’re all warded.”
