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“Oh.” Peri was struck with a sudden realization. “The owl statue must have been one of the vessels that survived. That would explain how the shard attacked me. There must have been a part of the magic left on the piece.”
Maya nodded even as her expression remained troubled. “Even so, how could she have broken through the spells to release it?”
“The wards might have weakened over time or…” Peri’s words trailed away as she recalled the horrifying moment the red mist had slammed into her.
Skye moved to brush her hand down Peri’s arm. “Peri? What’s wrong?” Peri pressed a hand against her stomach, still sore from the blow. “It was her anger.”
“Her anger?” Maya moved to stand directly in front of her. “Why do you say that?”
“When the miasma was trying to drain my magic, it was feeding on my emotions.” Her voice was oddly hoarse. “My anger at my mother and my guilt that I didn’t try to stop her before she destroyed her coven.” She shook her head, forced to wet her dry lips. “It all blasted through me as if the miasma was deliberately goading me to increase its power.”
“It makes sense,” Skye said. “If it was created in a time of chaos it would need those emotions to help fuel it.”
Peri’s sharp laugh echoed through the small room. “My mother had enough bitterness in her soul to fuel the magic for an eternity.”
Maya’s brows drew together as she considered the implications of what had happened at the ranch.
“The question now is where did she find the statue,” she at last said.
“No, the question is how to stop the miasma,” Skye corrected her.
Both Maya and Peri stared at the younger woman in horror.
“What do you mean?” Peri demanded.
Skye’s eyes were suddenly distant, as if she was seeing beyond the walls. “I feel it.”
Magic snapped in the air as Maya drew in her power, prepared to launch an attack.
“Here?”
Skye shook her head. “No. It’s moving through the world.”
Maya remained ready for battle. “Where?”
Skye held up her hands in a helpless motion and Peri shoved herself to her feet, a sudden dread lodged in the pit of her stomach. The mere thought of that…thing out in the world was enough to give her nightmares.
“Damn. I was worried it hadn’t ended with the death of the coven. How did it escape?”
“If it’s earth magic, I suppose it could be traveling through the soil,” Maya said, although her voice didn’t sound as if she believed that explanation.
Peri didn’t have a better suggestion. Instead, she concentrated on how to stop the evil that was spreading.
“Where is it going?”
“Perhaps we can find out.”
Maya moved to take a seat at the desk, typing on the keyboard of the laptop. Peri followed to glance over her shoulder.
“What are you looking for?”
“Unusual deaths.” Maya scrolled through the various headlines that popped up. At last she pressed on a link that took her to a breaking news story. “Here. Bar fight leaves four dead.”
“Not that unusual these days,” Peri retorted, quickly skimming through the story. “And they died of gunshot wounds.”
“Three of the victims were shot, but look.” Maya pointed at the bottom of the screen. “The female bartender was discovered in the alley. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but the police fear involvement of a satanic cult.”
“It could be a coincidence.” Peri stated the obvious.
