AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Two
Well, fuck, came Belle’s comment. This is not a good development.
Understatement of the goddamn year, in a year that’s had so many of them. I straightened and spotted a water fountain off to the right. I walked around the perimeter, keeping my gaze well away from the ritual murder dominating the seating area’s center. My stomach needed more time to settle before I dared confront the collision of past and present.
We can’t be dealing with the same sorcerer, Belle said. He was declared dead after Cat’s murder.
Except his body was never found. They presumed he died because the souls of dark sorcerers are generally consumed by the demons they deal with when they get close to death.
His demons wouldn’t have consumed his entire body as well, though. Granted, he wouldn’t have had the magical strength left to fight them off given what we did to him in the end, but it’s rare for soul-consuming demons to also have a taste for flesh.
If he was a grand master, he just might have had a working relationship with a demon who did both. It would have made them a powerful combination.
If he was a grand master, there would have been a more concerted effort to find his body.
For all we know, there might have been. It wasn’t like we’d been kept updated on the situation, despite the fact we were the ones who’d finally stopped him.
I still think the similarities are either a coincidence or a copycat, Belle said. Besides, our dark sorcerer’s demons consumed the souls of his victims, and that doesn’t seem to have happened here.
True, I replied. And in all honesty, what are the odds of this happening at the same time I return to Canberra?
I would have thought fairly low, but hey, maybe fate doesn’t want you feeling bored up here.
I laughed, though it was a very halfhearted sound. Boredom was never going to be a problem. Is Ashworth or Eli close by? It’ll be quicker—and easier—if they report this to the High Council Investigators.
Already onto it, she said. I also asked them to request Samuel Kang. At least he’s aware of your talents and is less likely to be hostile.
Wouldn’t be matchmaking again, would you?
No, because I’m fully aware it’s a lost cause. But he’s a familiar face, and in this place, that’s always a bonus. She paused, then added, amusement in her mental tones, Of course, he’s also very easy on the eye. A bit of window-shopping never hurts, even if one’s heart is already taken.
I had a feeling she was talking about herself as much as me, but kept that thought well and truly to myself. Which, these days, was far easier than it used to be. Belle might be a little worried about the development, but in many respects, the separation was necessary, especially once she and Monty got married. The last thing she needed was my intrusive mutterings hitting her twenty-four seven.
Ashworth just asked if you’d like them to come down there.
I hesitated. Ashworth and Eli had basically become my family, and leaning on them when this murder too closely resembled the past was tempting. But they were already doing a lot of emotional lifting these days, and they both had family to catch up with. Besides, I was up here to prove I could stand on my own two feet, and it was about time I started doing just that.
I’m good, I said.
No, you’re not, but I understand the need to not lean too much.
And yet you complain when I refuse to do exactly that with you.
Yes, but being the support system for my witch is part of my job description.
And something that can’t continue when you have a family of your own.
That is a long way off yet.
I smiled. Not if Monty has any say in it.
She mentally smacked me. I laughed and turned to confront death. It still hit like a punch in the gut, but at least this time my stomach stayed put.
There were odd threads of magic floating around the edges of the pentagram, and while they didn’t look active, they nevertheless made my skin crawl. Every instinct said I simply didn’t have the knowledge or the training to deal with the spell those lingering remnants represented.
That had never stopped me from trying before and probably wouldn’t in the future, but for once, I was going to listen to inner reason and not move any closer.
I crossed my arms and leaned back against the water fountain’s stand. The black candles that had been placed on the cardinal points no longer burned, and the wax had congealed, meaning this sacrifice had happened at least two hours ago, if not three. Time wise, that placed the ritual after dawn, and that was damn unusual. Sorcerer and dark witch ceremonies tended to be performed at night, particularly during the witching hour, when the moon was at the highest point in the sky and the night sang with her power.
