Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,30

spilling over the ground. But they weren’t whole. Far from it.

I’d very definitely seen much worse in my short time in this reservation, but the fact that someone—something—had been feasting on this man’s innards very, very recently had the flight instinct rising.

“Well, that’s a little different to Patrick’s murder.” Monty’s voice was grim. “He might have had his limbs torn off but at least nothing had dined on him.”

“His gut had been cut open,” Tala said, “so it might simply mean the killer didn’t have the time to do anything else.”

I shifted my feet, bracing against the continuing desire to run. “Whoever did this certainly used the same method of concealing the body.”

“Yes.” Tala crossed her arms, the movement a touch impatient. “There’s also no other obvious wounds, but he is lying on his side, so that may not mean anything. We’ll learn more once Ciara gets here and we can move him. Of course, by the time she does get here, the rain might well have washed all evidence away.”

Monty glanced at her. “There’s an umbrella spell I can place over the body and its immediate surrounds that’ll fix that.”

I raised my eyebrows. “If there is such a thing as umbrella spells, why the hell didn’t we use it to get up here?”

“Because they’re stationary in design; us walking through the scrub would have ripped them apart in seconds.” He shrugged off his backpack. “Why don’t you create a protective circle while I do the umbrella?”

I nodded and pulled the small silk bag that contained my spell stones out of my backpack. These particular ones were rough-cut clear quartz; while most royal witches tended to use diamonds, quartz was cheaper while possessing very similar properties. I placed each stone carefully onto the ground, then added a glimmer spell to the top of each. It’d make finding them afterward easier while not affecting the overall strength of the protection circle. Once I’d completed the circle around the tree and the rock, I stepped inside and studied the ground, looking for somewhere to sit. Ashworth might have taught me to raise a protection spell while standing, but we also had a soul to contend with, and that meant connecting with Belle on a deeper level than usual. Sitting meant neither of us had to expend additional energy or conscious thought on remaining upright.

I spotted a strip of ground that wasn’t overly stony and tucked the back of my coat under my butt to keep it dry as I sat cross-legged. A surge of power had my gaze snapping to the right. Monty’s umbrella spell flared out across the gap between rock and tree in a slightly convex manner, which allowed the rain that did get through the canopy to slide off harmlessly to either side.

“Right.” He squatted in front of me. “You ready?”

“Yes.” I glanced at Tala. “Once Belle and I are merged, I’ll narrate Belle’s questions and the soul’s answers so you can record it.”

She nodded and tugged her phone out of her pocket. I took a deep breath to center my energy, then began weaving multiple layers of protections across the stones and attaching them lightly. When that was done, I activated the spell. The air thrummed with its power; the inner wild magic was coming through even the simplest of spells now.

“Nothing will be getting through that,” Monty muttered. “Your spelling power is definitely increasing.”

Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Not when we had no idea where it might all end.

I took another deep breath and then reached for Belle.

Her response was immediate; she’d obviously been expecting to hear from me.

Of course I was, she said. You might have closed the link but I’ve nevertheless been getting a faint wash of horror. I take it you need my ghostly expertise?

If you’re not doing anything too exciting, yes.

That entirely depends on whether you’d class sitting here with Mom consuming cake and drinking an Irish hot chocolate as exciting. Hang on while I put my drink down and get comfortable. The line went blank for several seconds. Right, I’m ready. Let’s do this.

I told Tala to start recording, then immediately deepened the connection between Belle and me. There was a rush of warmth as her being flowed through mine and fused us as one, though the connection wasn’t deep enough that her soul left her body. She could, however, use her talents while seeing through my eyes.

The glimmer that was the soul immediately jumped into focus. He was tall and,