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Ashworth laughed. “It would seem so. On the bright side, wraiths are fairly easy to kill with either holy water or a blessed weapon.”
“And using either means getting entirely too close to the bastards,” Belle said. “You also forgot the side note on that—if you don’t manage to kill them the first time, you just piss them off and make them more dangerous.”
“Meaning if there’s any killing to be done, it had better be done by me,” I said. “He’s already mad at me, so why extend it?”
“You can’t and won’t be going after him alone,” Eli said, “so get it out of your head right now.”
I didn’t bother responding because there was little point. If push came to shove, we both knew well enough that I would confront this thing alone because the last thing I wanted was to endanger their lives as well.
Which didn’t mean I wouldn’t explore every other possible option first. I wasn’t stupid and I certainly didn’t want to die—especially when I almost had the last time I’d confronted this bastard.
And sure, I was a whole lot more knowledgeable and powerful now than then, but that upgrade might not make a jot of difference when confronting a man with decades of knowledge and who knew how many demons backing him.
I glanced back at the photographs. “I have no idea who that second woman is, but we need to find and protect her fast.”
“Could it be Juli’s wife?” Belle said.
Juli—Julius—was my brother and had taken the mantle as my father’s heir after Cat’s death. I wrinkled my nose. “That note says this is about bloodline, so being married into our family won’t count.”
“What about your dad’s siblings?” Belle asked. “He has three of them, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, but the last I heard they were all overseas. My father didn’t appreciate the competition.”
“That was ten years ago,” Belle said. “A lot could have changed since then. Hell, we’re evidence enough of that.”
“True.” I got out my phone. “I’ll call Samuel.”
“You might want to call your father, as well,” Ashworth said, then held up a hand to counter my almost instantaneous retort. “I know, I know, but at the very least, you should ask him who that woman is.”
“Samuel will be able to trace her.”
“But they might not be fast enough. You’re the one who said if he is following the same pattern, he’ll kill again tomorrow night.”
“Which gives the council and Samuel time to find her.”
He gave me the sort of look a father would a recalcitrant child. I couldn’t help grinning. “I’d reserve that expression for Eli’s nieces and nephews—it’s got far more chance of working on them.”
He harrumphed. “I know you dislike the man—”
“Dislike is putting it mildly.”
“But I’m thinking you also don’t want him dead. At the very least, talk to your mother if you don’t want to speak to your father. If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last few months, it’s that death has its own timing and waits for no man or woman.”
I sighed. He was right. And I didn’t want my father dead, as much as I might have silently wished for it in the darker days when we’d first left Canberra. Which didn’t mean I’d ring him—not unless there was no other option. “Let me ring Samuel, then I’ll call Mom.”
He nodded. “Eli and I will check the wider perimeter just to ensure he hasn’t left any nasty little surprises behind.”
As they left, I made the call to Samuel.
“Lizzie,” he said, in a somber sort of tone, “don’t take this the wrong way, but I was hoping I wouldn’t hear from you again so soon.”
“Oh, trust me, I was hoping for the same thing.”
“I take it your ghost has made a return?”
“Yes, and this time, she’s led us to a list of intended victims—all of them my family.”
“Send me a photo of the list. I’ll get the team straight onto organizing protection for them all.”
