from Chris Gordon today. He and his team came back to the States last night and today they visited the scene of that ritual murder we talked about. I say murder because they confirmed it was a circle of witches.”
“And they’re knowing it was witches how?” Ryanne asked.
“Ms. Reynolds apparently has a friend in the city who is a skilled witch. She reviewed the scene with them and actually knew some of the dead witches. So the NYPD and FBI are aware it was a supernatural crime. Apparently so does the media,” Gina said, holding up a tabloid with the headline Witches Die in Demonic Ritual. The Hammer Investigates. The cover photo showed Chris coming out of an apartment building, two NYPD officers by his side.
I was busy thinking that if he came back at the request of the NYPD and or FBI, then it wasn’t just to train me and therefore not my fault if any outbreaks in Europe ended in deaths. Not all my fault, at least.
“So Dickland, why would one witch kill the others?” Delwood suddenly turned and asked me from his spot several bleachers away.
“Don’t know, Dullweed. I’ve never been part of the whole circle and witch world,” I said, holding his stare.
“How about any of our other witches? Thoughts?” Gina asked, watching Delwood and me.
“She likely did it to steal their power,” Tami said. She was normally so quiet, it was easy to forget about her.
“Could you explain that to us, Tami?” Gina asked.
“I also don’t have much experience with circles. But among the People, the Navajo, most witches who follow the Witchery Way are males, not females. They gain their power through ritual murder, usually of a relative. Murdering another witch can increase one’s power immensely,” Tami said quietly. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now it occurred to me that the girl had a certain darkness about her.
Mack leaned close. “Okay, that’s not creepy or anything,” he whispered.
“And males are common?” Gina asked, completely unruffled.
“For those that follow the Witchery way, yes. Not among those of the Blessing Way.”
“Ah, which witch are you?” Delwood asked, sitting forward to hear her answer.
“Some of my family follow one path, some follow the other,” she said.
“Didn’t answer my question, sweetheart,” Delwood said.
The quiet witch’s dark eyes flashed with the first signs of anger. “How very astute of you,” was all she said, turning forward and focusing on Gina.
“Are males powerful?” Gina asked her.
“Relatively. Not like him,” she said with a quick glance in my direction.
“Wait, you’re saying you could, like, murder me and steal my power?” Erika asked Tami, whom I recalled was her roommate.
“Any witch could with the right spells and rituals.”
“Hear that, Duckling? Sounds like the whole witch world will be lining up to take you out,” Delwood said to me.
“It’s possible, but not likely. He is wary and well trained. It would be exceedingly dangerous. Most would try to avoid his notice. I did not mention that if the stealing witch makes a mistake or the victim gets a chance to counter, the results are fairly gruesome for the robber,” Tami said. “I have no idea how it would be done with a circle, but it seems likely.”
“She’s likely got the right ‘o’ it,” Ryanne said. “I’ve herd tales of it from long ago. Some really powerful Crafters got a start that away back in the day. There was one in Germany hundreds of years ago that was fecking brilliant at it, she was.”
“Roswitha Maier,” Zuzanna and I said simultaneously. We looked at each other, then back to Ryanne.
“Jinx, You owe me a Coke,” Michelle said. Some people laughed.
“I’ve heard that name before,” Gina said.
“She lived in the Black Forest and is probably the basis for the witch in Hanzel and Gretel,” Zuzanna said.
“Her grimoire was The Book of Darkest Sorrow,” I said, seeing immediate recognition on Gina’s face.
The room was silent for a moment, then Delwood put both hands up and shook them. “Ooooh, spooky,” he said in a mocking voice.
“It’s said she kept two werewolves as pets. Never let them Change back to human form. Doesn’t the mind become all beast if you don’t Change back?” Zuzanna asked Delwood innocently.
He sneered at her but looked away.
“Grandfather says werewolf blood is particularly useful for dark spells,” Tami said, looking straight ahead.
“I thought you said that most male witches of your people followed the witchy way. You know, the dark path?” Erika asked.
“I did,” Tami said, inspecting her nails. Ooooh, Erika was so