but her friends won’t be.” Reggie still belonged to the Marines. If Owen brought him back in several pieces there’d not only be hell to pay, but a lot of money. The dog was worth more than Owen was. “Hier.”
Reggie came, but he wasn’t happy about it.
Owen looked around for his pickup, then cursed when he remembered it was at the clinic, along with his Beretta. He glanced back at the motel room, missing the rifle he’d confiscated, and saw that Franklin had brought it along. Good man.
Owen flicked a finger at the cars in the lot. “Which one?”
Franklin headed for the dark sedan. Why had Owen even asked?
“I have a bigger car.” Bobby pointed at a Suburban, which barely fit into a single parking space. Everyone piled in, including Reggie, and they trolled after Pru. The ghost would have to get there on his own.
“I wish Edward was still here.” Franklin gave a half shrug at the incredulous glances thrown his way. “The guy’s damn good in a fight.”
“Problem is…” Cassandra jabbed a finger at the windshield. “It would be damn hard to keep him from fighting that.”
Spread across the road that led from Three Harbors and into the woods were at least twenty wolves.
* * *
“Y-y-you,” I managed. My teeth had begun to chatter, whether from shock over the blood loss, cold from the rain that now stung my face like icy needles, or the realization that Deb wasn’t my savior, I had no idea. Didn’t matter.
Chief Deb was one of them, and I was dead.
She ignored me. I hadn’t really said anything worth answering.
“Let’s get this over with,” she ordered.
“Fine by me.” Jeremy raised the knife again. “You know the chant?”
“I…” Deb’s face creased. “You got a cheat sheet?”
“Amateur.” Jeremy lowered the knife.
“It was you,” I blurted. “The animals. You were practicing.”
Deb shrugged.
“Why did you come to me about the ones that were missing if you took them?”
“Figured someone would ask you sooner or later and it would seem suspicious if I hadn’t done something about it before that.”
I had wondered why it had taken her so long. Hadn’t considered she was the one doing the grab and gut. Why would I?
“I didn’t think you’d find them. Of all the people in this town to go anywhere near the McAllister place, you were the one I’d bet the farm wouldn’t.”
She had a point.
“Like I said,” Jeremy repeated. “Amateur.”
“If you hadn’t tried to kill her right in the middle of town, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Deb snapped. “I messed up the crime scene as much as I could, but sheesh. Wearing a ski mask? Why not just wear an ‘I am a serial killer’ sign?”
“Fuck you,” Jeremy said. “I saved your ass. Why would you keep your practice kills around? You should have tossed them in the lake. I did.”
“You disposed of evidence?” I asked.
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “You think she’s gonna arrest me? She works for me.”
Deb made a soft sound of derision, and Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve killed a dozen witches. What have you done?”
“I just killed one now, didn’t I?” Deb pointed at Owen’s mom.
“She isn’t really a witch,” I said.
“She thinks she’s one.” Deb glanced at Jeremy. “Doesn’t that count?”
“No.”
“She meant to say ‘die, witch hunter,’” I murmured. “Not ‘die, witch.’”
Both times she’d been interrupted—tackled by George, shot by Deb.
“There you go.” Jeremy withdrew a small notebook from a back pocket, flipped it open, and handed it to Deb. “I figured you’d be worthless. Read that.”
“What language is this?”
“Latin.”
“I don’t speak Latin.”
“You don’t need to. Just read along. Try to keep up.”
He slashed my neck again. From the sharp pain and the incredible head rush, the wound was deeper than the last one.
Jeremy drew his shirt over his head, shucked his pants and everything else. He lifted an eyebrow at Chief Deb. “Skyclad.”
She sighed, but she got naked too.
“Skyclad beneath the moon,” I said. “You gonna stand around until it rises?”
He lifted his gaze to the stormy sky. “Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
He began to chant. Chief Deb joined in, lamely but gamely. I struggled against the zip ties. Foolish, since even if I got them off, I doubted that Jeremy or Deb—or his knife and her gun, which she’d kept in her hand even after she’d lost the uniform—would let me go. But I couldn’t just lie there.
I was a witch. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. I should be able to do something.