Page 101 of Real Fake Hauntings

“Should we have let him free?” Mark asked, watching the man disappear around the corner.

“It’s more important we find this other mage.” What if the dark witch escaped with Bagley because Ian had been too busy dealing with this earth mage to help find them?

“Maybe you should’ve asked Cavalier first.”

I drew up to my full height and lifted my chin. “I am the official Council witch of Olmeda, and I made an executive decision. This mage’s problems were with the Council.” I shook my phone. “I’ll send Ian the photo. He can use the bounty hunters’ secret paranormal database to figure out who he is and keep an eye out.”

Mark nodded. “I’ve always wondered if they keep a database.”

“Right?” I asked, excited to find an understanding soul. “Ian says no, but it’s so obvious.”

“Can never trust Big Bounty Hunter Brother.”

“Exactly.” I almost offered him a fist pump, but then reminded myself this was my quasi-enemy. “You’ve never heard of an earth mage called Slater?”

“Nope.” He checked his wristwatch. How that thing had survived the berserker mode was anyone’s guess. “I gotta get back to work.”

Without waiting for a response, he walked down the alleyway.

Fluffy also gave him a happy goodbye bark.

Normally, I’d think Fluffy needed better standards, but after this strange moment of bonding with the berserker, I’d let it pass.

My phone vibrated again.

“You’re not at the Crawler,” Ian said flatly. “Where are you?”

I guided Fluffy toward the main street. “There was a slight change of plans. Mark and I had an encounter with the earth mage.”

“Oh?”

“He’s not our guy, but he gave us a name: Slater. You ever hear of him?”

“Doesn’t sound familiar.”

“This mage looked scared of him, like he’s a big name in the evil mage underground scene. He wouldn’t tell us anything else, though, so I let him go. I’m sending you his photo.”

“Looking forward to it,” he said dryly. “Did you get to the Cabinet?”

“Not yet. I’m on my way. Will call you after.”

“Be safe.”

“You too.”

I ended the call, appreciating the fact Ian hadn’t berated me for not waiting for him at the Crawler. He might’ve wanted to be there to offer extra security, but he fully trusted me to go off on my own if the need arose.

The downside was that he expected me to also trust him to share things only when strictly necessary, which was kind of a bummer, but ah, well.

Fluffy and I joined the crowds in Guiles and Romary, and I found myself hesitating. I now had a name. Should I make a detour through Wyatt’s bar and ask around again or go directly to the Cabinet? Asking about paranormal stuff at the bar was batting a zero out of two so far, but maybe third time was the charm? But what if by wasting my time there the witch managed to get Bagley out of Crane at the Cabinet?

Had I royally messed up by not bringing in Officer Brooks? Having the murder out in the open would’ve put extra pressure on the dark witch, even if making it hard for me to investigate as freely.

Then again, if they were only carrying fingers around, would they stand out in this crowd? I had never noticed anyone suspicious at the tea shop, and this dark witch had obviously visited enough times to communicate with Bagley without me noticing.

The spell in the haunted house bothered me. There had been no signs of a struggle or spatters of blood. Why risk transferring Bagley to someone in there, with so many people around and the risk someone might go to the basement to grab something?

But… What if they hadn’t meant to transfer Bagley into a person but into an item? Something easy to carry that wouldn’t rot. After all, Bagley had been haunting items in my shop all this time, so transferring her to an inanimate object was doable. That way they could take Bagley away and do the second transfer somewhere else with a carefully chosen candidate.

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