Bells and Banes by Julie Nisse

Author:Julie Nisse [Nisse, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magical Mystery Books
Published: 2021-06-16T22:00:00+00:00

Twelve

“Now what?” Gray asked me when we’d returned to Michelle’s kitchen. “I don’t feel like we know more now than we did when I got here.”

“Well, you’re wrong,” I said. “We know Michelle drew this summoning circle to confirm her father’s identity.”

Gray leaned against the wall and shook his head. “But wouldn’t she have summoned that…whatever it was…to find out who her old man was before she sent the boogeyman to get him?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe she wanted to be sure she’d gotten the right guy after all. Maybe Wolf got into her head after her dream bane took him prisoner, and she wanted to be sure she didn’t make a terrible mistake. You also can’t rely on people who summon monsters to act rationally.”

Gray shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. But that still doesn’t answer my question. What do we do now?”

I retrieved the scorched notebook from the kitchen counter and peered at Gray through the hole burned through its pages. “First, I'm sending Mr. Eyesnake back where he came from before he figures out how to cause us trouble.”

I ripped the front page of the notebook, folded it in half, and then tore it into pieces over the sink. I dug around in Michelle's cabinets for a moment, found a book of matches, and set the papers on fire.

“You know the crime scene techs will ask me who burned something in the sink,” Gray said, annoyed. “What should I tell them?”

I shrugged and gave him my puppy dog eyes. “Explain that the witch you don't pay to help you on these cases lit a fire to destroy a summoning circle and banish a dark spirit back to the netherworld.”

“You're hilarious,” Gray said. “But I guess I deserve that.”

“You definitely do,” I said. “As far as what we do now, I suggest you go sit on Ellen and Joel.”

“They'll love that,” Gray said. “Wouldn't it be better to search for Michelle?”

“The dream bane probably already has her,” I said. “But the two missing persons in this case are related. Joel and Ellen are the only two people in town, as far as I know, who are also connected to both missing people. I’d bet a pizza they’re next on the kidnap hit parade.”

Gray nodded. “A whole pizza? That’s a serious bet. What’ll you do?”

“Go home, talk to the witches.” I needed to know what we were up against. Now that I had a name for the beastie, Gran’s grimoires in the basement might help us figure out how to kick its butt back to wherever it came from. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”

Gray looked around the kitchen with a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. “I'll call the techs and start cataloging the scene. Before they plastic wrap the whole place, do you see anything in here that would help you stop this disaster?”

The way he asked, and the look he gave me, told me Gray was open to bending the rules. I wanted to take advantage of that but wasn't sure how to make the most of the opportunity.

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