Although, I wasn’t against seeing the corpse of a big bear or mountain lion go after whoever had done this to these poor shifter babies, I couldn’t be sure there’d be enough for me to raise way out there. The bones had to be close enough to the surface.
So, Owen and I were going to practice near my house and see if I could bring up any more animals here. One shifter had already been found buried in these woods. Why not more?
We returned to the same clearing we’d found Ricky in, and I began. For hours, I expanded my reach, raising anything I found and drawing them to me.
I got a lot more than I bargained for.
“Whoa,” Owen said when I stopped to rest. All around us, animal carcasses laid, at rest once more, in circles going across the field. “We’re going to have to rebury all these animals.”
We hadn’t come across any more shifters. Just more bunnies, birds, and squirrels. A few skunks, a fox, and three deer. “I’m going to try one more time,” I said. “I’m getting miles out now.”
Owen shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like this, Ava. You’re more powerful than we ever knew. I don’t think we ever really tried to test you like this.”
I opened one eye and squinted at him. “Now we know.”
I was just as shocked as he was.
What we’d do with it after this? I had no idea. What good was a necromancer, really? I had no plans to use my powers for evil. What could I do with them?
After my brief break, I closed my eyes and searched farther out. “Oh,” I gasped. “I can feel the difference. There’s a human.”
“Can you go over it?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. If I’m right about its location, it’s not buried in a cemetery.”
He sighed. “Make him hide himself on his way,” he urged. “We don’t want anyone seeing a dead body walking around. The animals are bad enough.”
I chuckled and did as he asked. It took nearly an hour for the skeleton to get to us. As she neared, I felt her, knew she was female, and when she was very close, I could tell stuff like the age of the body. “No,” I said. “She’s too old.”
A skeleton walked into the clearing. If I hadn’t been able to feel the difference, I would’ve thought it was Larry just by looking at her. I couldn’t tell the difference in bones from a male or a female. I wasn’t a doctor, after all. Or a bone scientist. Who knew about bones? Anthropologist, probably.
“Hello,” I said.
The skeleton walked closer. “Hello,” she whispered. “How am I here?”
“I’m trying to find anyone who was killed, murdered,” I said. “Were you?”
She sighed and looked up at the trees. “When is this?”
I didn’t want to freak her out. “When did you die?”
Her white head, smudged with dirt, moved around as she took in our surroundings. “I believe it was 1966.”
Owen and I exchanged a glance. That was when our witchy serial killer was getting started. “Do you know how you died?” I asked.
“It was an accident,” she said. “But then, after I died, someone in a hood came and buried me in the woods. Why would he do that if it was an accident?” Her wispy voice sounded far away. Nowhere near as strong as Larry. I wondered if it was the twenty years that made a difference.
“Are you at peace?” I asked.
She nodded. “I was. My parents came to me recently. We moved on together.”
“Can you tell me anything about how you died?” I asked. “Or your name?”
“My name was Megan Frey,” she said. “And I died cutting through a big field, going to school. I was bitten by a snake, but I’d left late for school and nobody heard me yelling.”
“A snake,” I gasped. “That’s horrible.”
She nodded. “Yes. I’d like to go back to my parents now, please.”
“Of course, dear.” I gestured to an empty spot on the grass. “Please, lay down.”
Pulling my magic back the way Owen had taught me, I let sweet Megan go back to her peace.
“Well,” Owen said. “We don’t know if she was killed by our serial killer, but it’s apparent we have a lot of work to do. I think it’s time I helped instead of trying to teach you.”
I squinted up at the sky. “Yes, but for now we have to get back.”
We rushed back to the house, leaving all the bones in the clearing for now. We had to get Sam and Drew in on the skeleton mess. I was fairly sure I could lead them to her gravesite, which might pick up more clues for us.
I hoped.
“We took longer than I thought,” I said, breathless from running back home. I needed to start working out. I laughed at that thought. Yeah, right. That would be the day.
“We’ll barely have time to clean up,” Owen said. “But I think we’ll make it.”
Before we left, we’d asked Alfred to make finger foods for our guests, and Larry had been excited to help.
Once we had the murderer, I was going to be sad to see Larry go. He was a sweet house guest, if odd at times.
As it turned out, we didn’t have time to clean up at all. As we rounded the house, Bevan Magnus stood from my porch swing. Figures that weasel would be the first one there.
“There you are,” he called, holding up the letter I’d sent to him. His expression told me he resented that I’d summoned him and the rest of the coven. “How dare you call an emergency coven meeting?”
Yep, he was pissy about it. And he’d have to get over it.
I almost apologized as I walked up my porch steps. Almost. Luckily, I came to my senses. He didn’t deserve my apology after turning his nose up at me the two previous times we’d met. I plastered a fake smile on and said, “Please, come in.”
Hopefully, I’d sent enough invitations to other coven members that he wouldn’t be the only one to show up.
He gave me the willies.
Bevan followed me in the door. I wasn’t sure if he’d been at the Christmas party or not. There’d been so many people in and out of the house then, there was no telling. But the way he looked around in interest made me think he hadn’t come.
Alfred shuffled out of the kitchen holding a tray with lemonade.
“Please,” I said again, a fake smile still intact. “Sit in the living room and enjoy a drink. Owen and I will be right back down. I just want to wash this dirt off.”
“Of course,” Bevan said, staring at Alfred with wide eyes.
I started up the stairs, but when I heard the telltale clack of Larry’s bony feet on the hardwood floor, I stopped and turned. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I tried to keep in the giggle that bubbled up.
The skeleton walked into the living room carrying a tray as Owen and I watched on. “Hello, I’m Larry.”
Bevan, just in my line of sight in one of the high-back chairs, paled considerably. “He-hello.”
Owen started to chuckle, and I elbowed him. If he started laughing, there was no stopping me.
“Can I interest you in a finger sandwich?” Larry asked and bent over.
“Sure,” Bevan whispered and took one. I couldn’t tell for sure from this far away, but I thought his hand trembled. “Larry, you say?”