have to be connected in some way.” For the first time in my life I wish I trained more when I was younger. But I was so scared of my powers that it was hard to focus on how they could be controlled.
While Olivia was still reading through the papers, I thought of a way we could get Alfred to answer our questions.
“Here he is.” Olivia moved to sit beside me and shoved the papers under my nose. “He’s on their tree, one of the last on here. Along with a woman named Carmen that appears to be his first cousin.”
I stared at the paper in shock.
Holy crap on a cracker. They could be working together to kill off necromancers and witches. That meant my life and Wallie’s were in danger.
Turning to Olivia, I was about to tell her to go home and not come here, since she was human and now in danger by default. Was it too late?
Olivia flipped through more pages and gasped. “Moonflower is also here. Isn’t that Carmen’s last name?”
Alfred sat up straight and made muffled sounds like he was trying to talk while waving his arms in the air. Fear darkened his aura and reached out to me.
“What is it?” I asked.
Owen then asked, “Do you know Carmen?”
Alfred nodded vigorously and made the sounds again.
“Are you scared of her?”
Nodding got faster.
I glanced at Owen who frowned and asked, “Did you kill Betty Knolls?”
Alfred’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Then started making S sounds.
“Carmen.” Dread slammed into my chest when he nodded, confirming what I already guessed.
Snooze trotted into the room and went after Alfred’s string, harder this time. Olivia shooed him away and he growled at her. “Hey. Don’t growl at me, psycho cat.”
Snooze twitched his tale and walked about halfway to the kitchen and laid down in the middle of the floor, watching us.
I rolled my eyes at the cat. He was so weird.
Focusing back on Alfred, I asked, “Are you sure?”
Nod.
Damn, Drew and Sam went to talk to a killer. And Drew could be working with her and take out Sam.
I dug into my pocket and sent Sam a text. You coming over for dinner?
I didn’t want to say anything about Knowing Carmen is the killer in case Drew was right next to him when he checked the message.
Sure, since my wife and kid are there. lol
Okay, he was joking so either he wasn’t at Carmen’s or she hadn’t tried to kill him yet. I risked asking, Everything good on your end?
Yep. Wrapping it up. Be on my way in a few.
When I looked up, I met Olivia’s stare. She was still sitting next to me and saw the text. “I don’t like any of this.”
“Neither do I.” I directed my next question to Wallie. “How long are you staying?”
“As long as you like me to. I don’t have classes tomorrow, so I can stay through Sunday.”
Alfred jumped up and went to the kitchen, most likely to start dinner. Good because all this talk about killers and death was making me hungry.
Chapter Seventeen
“Wow, here’s irony for you.” Olivia held up a single sheet of paper. “The first witch hunter was born here in Shipton. And guess what?”
Owen and I stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Wallie sat in the chair with head back and eyes closed. I knew he wasn’t asleep because he wasn’t snoring. Olivia finally rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to guess?”
When I waved my hand to continue, she let out a sigh. “The first witch hunter was half witch, half human. Apparently, being half human dulls their powers enough the baby never gained the mark of a witch. But she had enough magic in her veins that she was stronger and faster than a human.”
“And the ability to cast spells so they could hunt down other witches.” Yeah, I could totally see the irony in that. “But why hunt your own kind?”
Olivia shrugged. “It says here that a witch fell in love with a human. The human hated witches so she hid her powers and lied, saying she was human. They married and had a baby. When that baby showed signs of having magic, the husband was so enraged at his wife’s betrayal and he killed her. Then he raised the baby to hate witches and to use her magic to hunt them.”
Alfred tapped the wall to get our attention. Dinner was done. I hadn’t even noticed the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen. We’d