A Witch's Halloween, page 17
The hell cat relaxed and went back to rubbing against my ankles.
I lifted the shield up higher and turned it opaque before rubbing the hell cat’s head. “What do you say to giving me a hand? You seem to draw out the bat cats, and I need to catch them before they go through a jet engine.”
Meow.
“I’ll take that as agreement. I need to put this one up, and then we’ll get started.” I gave the hell cat one more pat before getting to my feet.
With the bat cat levitated ahead of me, everyone moved out of the way. The hell cat trailed after us, tail high. At the cage, it only took a moment to pop the bat cat inside. The hell cat circled the cage. The three bat cats vied for the best position to hiss and swipe at the hell cat. I turned their shield opaque too. Enough was enough.
The hell cat sat next to my feet.
Kneeling down, I gave it a pat. “What if I levitate you, and you can run around, drawing the bat cats out? I won’t let them hurt you.”
Meow. The hell cat bumped my hand with its head.
“That’s agreement.”
Meow.
Standing up, I crafted the levitation spell, one that would give the cat more ability to control its position in the air. The spell took shape, and the hell cat hung four feet off the ground.
“Four bat cats!” Gordon bellowed. “There were four.”
“One left,” I yelled back.
The hell cat turned and trotted off.
“Stay where I can see you,” I warned.
The only answer was a twitching tail.
Wand ready, I watched the cat trot toward the building. I hoped this worked. My reserves weren’t what they used to be, and I needed to save some magic to hunt the murderer.
The hell cat paced back and forth beside the building. If there was a bat cat nearby, it didn’t show itself. After its third lap, the hell cat turned and stared at the building. Then it took off at a run.
Nothing I could do from here to help. Both cats would have to take care of themselves.
A shadow broke away from the smoke, swooping down and vanishing behind the building. A moment later it rose up again.
I started the shield spell, but the bat cat went behind the building before I could get it out. Next time I had to be faster.
The hell cat rounded the corner of the building at a flat run.
Magic ready, I waited.
The bat cat sped through the air after the hell cat. I had one shot before it was in position to attack the hell cat.
“Sowil!”
The bat cat bounced off the front of the shield, toppled to the bottom, but it was back on its feet in the blink of an eye. I yanked it over and got it in the cage. Gordon was waiting and as soon as the last cat was inside, he closed the door and padlocked it shut.
I stripped the magic off the cage and did a count. Yup. All four of the bat cats were in the cage.
The hell cat bumped my shoulder.
“Are you ready to be on the ground again?”
It drifted down until it was only a couple of inches from the asphalt.
I unmade the spells.
The hell cat fell the last inch to the ground.
“If you’d shift, it would be a big help.” I weighed my words carefully. The police and I needed the cat more than it needed us. “I think you have the key to catching the murderer, and I want him behind bars.”
The hell cat turned and trotted off.
“So much for teamwork,” I muttered.
Gordon, not one to waste any time, already had four gloved officers carrying the cage off to a truck for transport.
Moving slowly, I collected my things. Today had been no-stop casting, and I needed a nap if I was going to make it through the evening festivities. With three holiday celebrations, it was a packed night, though I shouldn’t need any magic for it. The spells for the festival had been taken care of ages ago, and my parents could create any lights we wanted this evening.
Gordon found me stowing my gear in my car. “Thank you. I know this isn’t your thing, but I appreciate it.”
“Sorry for the attitude. The past few days have been nonstop emergencies.” I closed the trunk.
He nodded, the afternoon light catching on the bags under his eyes. “I know that feeling. We’ve all been stretched thin. Rest up, and send the bill.”
“You got it.” I turned my phone off and headed home.
On the way home, I prayed. I prayed we’d find the killer before they claimed another victim. I prayed I could get in a nap before taking on Enor or Erwin. Mostly, I prayed for a peaceful night. Tricks deserved a birthday without fighting. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
Chapter Twenty-One
“I’m late. I’m late,” I chanted as I jogged down the path to the festival. My power nap had been heavy on the nap and short on the power. When I’d finally woken up, it was to find a note from Tricks telling me everyone had gone ahead.
Which was why I was getting looks as I darted down the torchlit turnip lane. Hopefully, the main events hadn’t started yet. I’d promised Elron I wouldn’t miss the pumpkin lighting.
Most of the students had come in costume. A centaur in high court dress from the Elizabethan era started as I ran by. The elf in a pirate costume next to her raised a fake sword at me. “Ar, watch yerself!”
“Sorry!” I called back.
Two guys in trailing bandages hurried after me. “Braiiins.”
Grinning, I slowed to a walk. The entrance was even more impressive tonight, with bright yellow ears of corn hanging down like giant Christmas lights. Through the giant-corn-lined entrance, the ears cast enough light to give the event a warm glow. The sound slowly increased until I stepped out into a transformed field. Little booths dotted the open space, with all variety of festival activities and foods.
Students milled about with glowing piles of cotton candy, bags of popcorn, giant corn on the cob, and meat on a stick. Groups went into the maze, laughing as they passed the grim reaper guarding the entrance. Others lobbed baseballs at the dunking booth target. From the line, the current teacher wasn’t popular.
Shouts came from the inflatable obstacle course where a carrot and a T. rex. raced to the finish. The carrot won by a nose. The T. rex. tackled it and pretended to eat the carrot while the carrot shrieked. A brownie levitated them off the course.
In the distance, tiered platforms held two of Elron’s giant pumpkins and three turnips. They’d been carved into different scary faces. Right now, they were dark. I hadn’t missed the pumpkin weighing or the lighting.
Thank the earth I’d made it here for the important part. The last thing I needed was to disappoint Elron or give his family any more reason to dislike me.
A vampire wearing cat ears laughed with his friends. Everyone sported ears from different species, long hound ears, spotted cow ears, fuzzy bear ears, and large elephant ears. The caricature artist made the ears even more prominent, giving them all the look of shifters.
The food stalls were close to the pumpkins, which made sense. The largest stall was mobbed by people wanting pumpkin pie. I worked my way through the crowd and found Elron by the pumpkins. They were even more impressive up close, having grown from last time I was here. Now they were closer to seven feet tall. A person could walk around inside them.
The largest of the bunch was sitting on a scale with an orange cloth covering the readout. Next to it was a smaller scale with an enormous turnip. It was well over twenty inches across. Like the pumpkin, it was a perfect specimen. Darker colored at the top, round, with a single root tapering down. Neither plant had a single blemish.
“You made it.” Elron scooped me up into a tight hug.
I squeezed him as tightly as he squeezed me. The day’s emergencies were over. It was my time off, and I got to spend it with him. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against his shoulder. “I wish I could’ve been here earlier.”
“You needed to rest.” He set me back on my feet. He glanced behind me, and the corner of his mouth turned up. “And I have students watching.”
“You’re not teaching class.” I tugged him down for a quick kiss. “So, when does the main event start?”
Elron checked his watch. “Ten minutes.”
I tucked myself against his side, watching the laughing and smiling students. “You did good.”
“There is more.”
“Oh?”
He pivoted us so we had a clear view of the pumpkin booth.
“No. How?”
Enor and Erwin were smiling and handing out mini-pies to students. They even had quick conversations with the occasional laugh. This was the first time they’d looked happy. With smiles and everything. They weren’t yelling at me or angry about the wedding.
“Did one of my parents spell them?”
He leaned down, his breath warm against my skin. “They volunteered.”
“If I hadn’t seen it, I would’ve have believed it.” Because who would after the past few weeks? They’d been monsters. Monsters didn’t make young adults laugh and hand them pie. “Tricks?”
Elron pointed to a whack-a-mole booth.
It took me a minute to realize the petite gladiator with a wooden sword strapped to her hip was Tricks.
My mouth hung opened. “They agreed?”
“Good practice for wearing a real sword.” He said it without laughing, so it must’ve been the actual reason.
“You worked the real magic today.”
He squeezed me. “I think the day did it to them. They’re looking forward to Tricks’s party and a quiet Samhain when we get home. Landa promised to have the bonfire ready.”
“I’m still impressed.” I’d take the peace while it lasted. Considering how things had been going, we’d be back to the usual discord by morning.
We watched his parents until Elron had to get ready for the pumpkin weighing. I melted back into the crowd to enjoy the show.
A cackle echoed across the festival. “Welcome one and all to the night of magic and death. Gather round the pumpkins and see how large they grow! At the stroke of nine, we’ll light the pumpkins for all to see!”
Students from across the festival grounds headed toward the pumpkins. Some came out of the maze. A few went in. It seemed most of the people were curious about Elron’s giant pumpkins.
“Hi!” Tricks bounced over, grinning from ear to ear. “Elron said you might not make it.”
“I’m here.” Tired, late, low on magic, but here.
Tomorrow I’d wake up, and unless a miracle had happened, there’d be another body. With or without the hell cat, I was going to try every spell I could to track down the killer. Drain myself to the dregs, whatever it took. But that was tomorrow’s problem. “I thought you were going to dress up as Freyja?”
She shrugged. “Couldn’t find the right costume, and this way I get a sword!”
“I like it, and I like the sword.”
She was quiet for a few seconds. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” I asked absently.
A woman in a toga climbed up next to the pumpkin and turnip on the highest tier. “Welcome! We hope all of you are enjoying the Halloween Festival and taking a turn through the maze.”
“That there’s a killer on the loose,” Tricks hissed.
I ignored the woman and locked eyes with Tricks. “You are safe. The Lodge is safe.”
She shook her head. “That’s not why I’m asking.”
“Okay?”
“What about the spirits?”
I blinked. “You lost me.”
“Of the dead people.” Tricks huffed. “It is Samhain. They could help.”
She was right. This was the one night of the year it was easier to communicate with spirits, or for them to cross over. Problem was, spirits weren’t docile, weeping things. They had every bit the force they’d had in life, and a lot less to lose.
I yanked her to the side. “You want to summon murder victims? Earth only knows what they would do. I wouldn’t be able to track them. I doubt I could cast a spell to hold them. They’d never be considered good witnesses. How does that help?”
“You need evidence. They have it.” She stared at me. “Does it really matter how you catch the killer as long as you stop him?”
“Tricks, it’s not that simple. I wish it was, but it isn’t. There are consequences. I’d bear the responsibility for what those spirits did. That’s a heavy weight.” One I’d chosen before, and I didn’t know if I could carry it again. Those dark spaces in my mind where regret and guilt lurked haunted me. I suspected they always would, echoing the names of the people I couldn’t save. Reminding me of how I’d survived. The burden never seemed to get any lighter.
She shook her head. “It would work.”
“You don’t know that.”
Tricks bit her lip. “Maybe I do.”
A hard knot of dread formed in my gut. “Tricks, what did you do?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tricks lifted her chin. “I invited them here.”
“It takes more than saying the words.” If I had any luck at all, that would be news to her.
“I know. I did it properly.”
Eyes closed, I prayed for patience.
“Do you want to see?”
I opened one eye. “You left a ritual site?”
Tricks shifted from one foot to another. “Well, the ritual was complete.”
Sweet bones of Narzel. This night was a nightmare. “Yes.”
Tricks guided me past the opening to the maze, to the other side of the festival grounds. She slipped between two stalks of corn without any squash or beans growing between them. A narrow path snaked through the field, taking us to a small clearing.
One corn stalk had been sawed off at ankle height. Next to the stump were stones etched with runes and the remains of a small fire. The runes were a mix of ones I recognized and ones in an elven script. The latter I couldn’t read, and I didn’t need to. The symbols for “welcome” and “calling” were clear enough.
She had been smart enough to draw a circle around the ritual, though the salt line was broken in two places. Had she cleaned up the ritual, it wouldn’t have mattered. But she’d left it, which meant spirits could still answer her call, even if she wasn’t here anymore.
“Where did you learn this?” I asked.
“Internet. You can learn anything on the internet.” She held up her phone. “Technology is great!”
“Your tutorial missed a few steps. You have to clean up, and that includes properly breaking the circle.”
She paled. “The circle was intact when I left.”
“I don’t know if that’s reassuring or terrifying.” It all depended on what broke the circle. If we never knew the answer, if nothing ever came of this ritual, I’d count myself as lucky. “Clean the runes off the stones and spread out the ashes.”
“You sound like Mom.” She moved as slow as molasses, but she cleaned off the runes.
Rather than being insulted, it affirmed I was doing the right thing. Crouching next to her, I rubbed the salt into the earth. “Learning is good, trying new things is also good. But there’s a difference between trying a new bread recipe and inviting spirits over for a visit.”
“Where’s swordsmanship on that spectrum?” She ground out the fire and spread the ashes.
I blinked. “What?”
“Elron’s been teaching me techniques Dad doesn’t know. He said there were great video tutorials.” She traced squiggly lines through the dirt.
“You still need a teacher to make sure you don’t develop any bad habits.” I dusted off my hands, not sure how we’d gotten from summoning rituals to swords. “And we’ll talk about how to check the quality of your source.”
Tricks rubbed her hands on her costuming. “What now?”
“Now we pra—”
Ear piercing shrieks drowned out the rest of my statement. The wails layered upon one another until they sounded like a hundred of voices crying out together.
Tricks pressed her hands over her ears and bellowed at me. “What’s that?”
“Nothing good.” I took off toward the main festival area, hoping the shrieks weren’t what I thought. The last thing I needed tonight were vengeful spirits.
Tricks followed me. “This is a bad plan. Mom always said to avoid danger.”
“Your mother and I lead very different lives.”
I broke through the last row of the corn and summoned my wand.
At the other end of the grounds, both giant pumpkins glowed fiercely. The woman who’d been hosting the weighting and lighting held a candle hovering over the light inside a giant turnip. Elron walked away from the pumpkins, and a lot of other people shuffled around.
Everyone in the middle area had backed away from the four spirits standing in front of the maze entrance. The spirits hovered off the ground, silver wisps without solid form or shape. They vibrated in place, their forms moving with the shrieks. As best I could tell, they faced the maze. Earth only knew why.
Slowing to a brisk walk, I moved closer to the spirits. Unless they decided on a clearer method of communication, I couldn’t be sure these were the victims Tricks had invited. Though, the number was compelling.
The shrieks cut off. The spirits stopped vibrating and hung in the air.
I didn’t have a clue what was the right thing to do. They weren’t a magical problem, not really. And other than being disruptive, they hadn’t threatened anyone. There had to be someone here who was better suited to communicate with them.
Students froze, not sure what to do.
One of the spirits lifted a nebulous form that could be an arm and pointed at the maze. It shrieked. The sound built and layered like before.
I flinched.
Everyone flinched, put their hand over their ears, and edged back. The woman holding the candle in the turnip dropped it, lighting the candle inside. She set her candle upright next to the other one and put the lid back on the turnip.
I went through spells, not sure what would work. This was my first close encounter with spirits. If they were anything like poltergeists, a lot of spells wouldn’t be effective on them—and carried a risk of making them mad. Not my goal.
