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“Then why did you run when you saw me?”
“Because I thought you might’ve broken your promise and told the cops about me.”
“Good effort, Lyra, but I can tell you’re lying. Your gaze shifts to the left when you lie. Did you also lie about what happened to you? Who told you to do that?” The master of the gwiber, perhaps?
“Nobody. I was attacked.”
“Cut the bullshit, Lyra. I don’t see an Oscar in your future. Who put you up to it? If I don’t get an answer I believe this time, I’ll haul you straight to Chief Garcia and let her sort it out.”
Lyra crumbled like a gluten free cookie. “Okay, okay! I’ll talk. Please don’t torture me. My skin is really fair. A bruise on my face will last for weeks, and I have an audition coming up.”
An audition. Lyra was an actress. “I’m waiting.”
She clenched her jaw, clearly unhappy with her choices. “It was Penelope Bridger.”
“Penelope Bridger cut you up and sent you to my house? Was there really a Theo?”
She shook her head. “No, it was all made up.”
I recalled Sierra’s locator spell to find Ashley.But all I’m getting are the sounds around me. So clever. She told the truth without giving anything away.
“What does Ashley have to do with the gwiber?”
Lyra pulled a face. “I don’t know what that is. Is it some kind of fancy dog?”
I squeezed her shoulder. Hard.
“Ouch! I don’t know anything about Ashley or a gwiber, okay? The Bridgers know I’ve been auditioning for roles in the city, so they offered me money to show up at your house and tell you that story.”
I was so angry, I could’ve spit fire like Kane’s chimera cat.
Lyra attempted to run past me but to no avail. I swept my leg toward hers and hooked my foot around her ankle. She stumbled to the ground. She stared at her hands in frustration. “This better not leave marks.”
“Go straight home, Lyra. Do not go to the Bridger’s farm. Do not call them.” For good measure, I bent down and took her cell phone from her pocket. As she scrambled to her feet to reclaim it, I chucked it in the dumpster.
“Hey! I’m waiting to hear about an audition.”
“You can come back and get it tomorrow.” I regretted having shown Lyra my tender side when she showed up at the Castle. I should’ve been more suspicious.
“Please don’t tell them I told you,” Lyra pleaded. “The old lady scares me. She’s like a witch.”
I grunted. “Isn’t she just?”
I watched Lyra from the shadows to make sure she followed my orders. Then I debated my next move. The Bridger witches had Ashley, but why? And what did the gwiber have to do with them?
I glanced at the clear sky above and got my answer. The moon stared back at me, round and radiant. Not just a supermoon but a Strawberry Supermoon full of mystical energy in a town that was already jam-packed with it.
In other words, it was the perfect night for a sacrifice.
CHAPTER18
Idebated whether to call West for backup. In the end, I decided to go it alone. I’d never relied on anybody before, nor did I see the point in starting now. It would only endanger them and disappoint me. It would be a fool’s errand to go without weapons though, which meant a pitstop at my house.
There was no sign of my ghostly neighbors as I bolted into the house and ran upstairs to my bedroom. I pulled out the chest from under my bed and filled a backpack with as many weapons as I could carry. A backpack wasn’t the most practical choice, but I had no idea what to expect at the Bridger farm. Penelope had a shotgun, and the witches also had magic, presumably dark magic if they were kidnapping people and summoning creatures like the gwiber. I sheathed a dagger and attached it to my thigh for quick and easy access.
I drove my truck to the closest main intersection and parked. Of all the weapons in my pack, the element of surprise was the most crucial one. I covered the final half mile on foot, pausing only once to crouch behind a bush to avoid a set of headlights.
I’d researched the gwiber. What I hadn’t expected was the need to rescue Ashley and kill the beast at the same time. I’d considered them two separate actions.
