Sabine flashed him an annoyed look, then, with a muttered “Fine” crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.
In little more than ten minutes, we were heading back to the ranger station. Monty and I then cabbed it back to the house.
Tala appeared as we walked back inside. “Did you find the kid?”
Monty nodded. “He was with his mother, and we don’t believe she had anything to do with this murder.”
“Then why was she here?”
“The victim disappeared with the kid during visitation a year ago. The mother hired a witch and had them tracked down to the reservation.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah,” Monty said. “Duke’s at the station now with the mother and the witch she hired, taking their statements.”
“Good.” Tala stepped to one side and motioned toward the bedroom. “You two want to go in and see if there’s any sort of magical or creature clue that might help track this thing down?”
“Creature clue?” I said, amused.
She half smiled. “We are dealing with some form of creature or spirit, are we not?”
“Well, yes—”
“Then creature clue fits.”
I snorted and walked into the room. A thick wash of pleasure, pain, and fear slapped across my senses, and I stopped so abruptly Monty had to do a quick side step to avoid running into me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. The room is just so thick with emotions, I can practically taste them.”
I could certainly see them.
“Is it just fear? Or something else?”
“It’s a mix.” I hesitated, psychically sorting through the wash of scents and pulling the various layers apart. “He was killed during sex, though.”
“Would the timing have anything to do with the arrival of the witch?” Tala said.
I hesitated. “Unclear. It could be that she just gets bored and likes to alter up the way she kills them.”
Monty walked over to the bed and stopped beside Ciara. “Well, there’s one thing that’s different to the second victim—she’s used magic on Kyle.”
“Really?” I studied the body for a second but couldn’t see anything that suggested he’d been spell affected. “How can you tell?”
“There’s a faint spell thread tangled in his hair.”
I narrowed my gaze and, after a moment, saw the sliver of purplish magic. “Do you recognize the spell? Or isn’t there enough of a thread to tell?”
He hesitated. “It has the feel of a silencing spell, which is rather odd.”
“Not if she didn’t want the kid involved.”
Ciara’s gaze met mine. “You think she was protecting the kid?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“When I first walked into the house, I got the impression that the victim had died in silence to protect the son. Not his son—the son. The phrasing only makes sense if it was the killer who was thinking it.”
Ciara’s eyebrows rose. “Why would she be worried about protecting the son if she’s busy sucking the life out of the father?”
“I’m afraid that’s a question I can’t answer. Not until we know for sure what sort of entity we’re dealing with.”
Tala grunted. It was a displeased sound. “I suppose I’ll get the same response if I ask about a possible reason for this … spirit or specter or whatever the hell it is … being drawn here?”
“It would actually depend on whether there’re any links between the victims or not,” Monty said.
“The only one we can currently find is that all three were divorced after having had affairs.”
“So the divorces weren’t amicable?” I asked.
“No,” Tala said. “They weren’t.”
“Then that right there could be the reason,” Monty said. “Though there’d have to be a whole lot of hate involved to draw a vengeful spirit here.”
“Jessica’s hatred alone could have done that,” I said, voice wry.
“Yes, but she wasn’t living in the reservation.” He glanced at Tala. “I take it the other exes were?”
She nodded. “Does that mean we could be dealing with another white lady?”
“White ladies generally don’t suck the juice out of their victims,” Monty said.
“But it’s not just juice, is it?” Ciara waved a hand at the skeletal body. “Which begs the question—how the hell is this thing liquefying not only muscle and veins, but also organs?”
“I have no idea,” Monty said.
“What about stopping it?” Tala said.
“Anything that stops a vampire should also stop this.”
“The uncertainty in your voice isn’t filling me with a whole lot of positivity.”
Monty smiled. “Until we know for sure what we’re dealing with, I can’t give you a guarantee. But holy water and salt will work as repellents against evil—be they demons or spirits—in a tight situation.”
“Just as well the station has stocked up on both.”
I walked over to Monty and studied the still-glowing thread of magic for a second. “Why would a spell get tangled in his hair like that? And why would it remain active when the rest had faded?”
“She might have done it deliberately.” He plucked the tiny thread free. “There does appear to be just enough spell left to create a tracker.”
“Meaning it might well be bait.”
“Possibly.”
“I gather we are taking the bait?” Tala said.
“You should know us well enough to know the answer to that question.” Monty’s gaze narrowed. “The magic is an older style, and reeks of darkness.”
“The latter is unsurprising, given what we’re dealing with,” I said.
“Yes, but it does mean we’re not dealing with a white lady. They’re generally not evil from the outset.” He glanced at me. “Do you think you could read it psychically?”
“Is that wise given her attack on Lizzie?” Tala said.
I held out my hand. “She’s well aware of my presence, so touching this thread likely won’t make any difference.”
And I crossed all mental fingers even as I said that.
Monty dropped the fragment into my palm, and even though I was wearing gloves, my skin tingled. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation. I narrowed my gaze and studied the fragment, but it didn’t reveal its secrets to either my psychic senses or my witch.
“Anything?” Monty asked.
I shook my head. “If it’s a lure aimed at me, it’s a pretty poor one.”
“Looks like it’s up to me, then.” He glanced at Tala. “You want me to track it now?”
“Do werewolves run wild and free at the full moon?”
He grinned. “Who knows? You lot are extremely secretive when it comes to that sort of stuff.”
“Not that secretive.” Her voice was dry. “Ciara, you right to finish off things here? I’ll need to go with our witches.”
She nodded. “We should be able to give you an official report by the end of the day.”