Page 104 of Real Fake Hauntings

“Why?” I asked to give myself time. In my experience, the stereotype was correct—bad guys did love to talk about themselves.

“Why do you think?” came Bagley’s familiar voice from somewhere by Crane’s body. “Christ, witches these days. Dim as logs.”

“Not so dim, Ms. Bagley,” I said gleefully. “I caught you, didn’t I?”

“Took you long enough.”

Hannah kicked something in the ground, sending it flying through the air.

“Darla Morris, you stop this right now.” Bagley’s censuring voice grew fainter as the object landed far away.

“So you got Bagley out of the shop.” I straightened and crossed my arms, trying to appear strong, solid, and not at all crushed or afraid.

Everyone is a suspect. At this rate, I was going to need to tattoo the motto on my forehead.

Hannah snorted. “Of course. It was so easy.”

She lunged, and I sidestepped, my foot catching on Crane’s arm. I stumbled but managed to right myself. It didn’t seem like Hannah had a weapon on her—other than her far superior magic power.

“Bagley gave you the alarm code, but how did you get the key?”

“Bagley’s right, you’re not very smart, are you? All you have in here”—she tapped her temple—“are affirmations and nothing else.”

I wagged a finger at her. “If you feel the need to put someone down, ask yourself why you feel threatened by them and work on improving your mindset.”

Hannah huffed. “Lovely.”

She lunged suddenly, but I was too slow this time. She grabbed my wrist and immediate pain radiated up my arm all the way into my chest. I yelped and tried to shake off her grip, but it was like an iron fist around my flesh. Another wave of pain added to the first one, and I let out a blood-curling scream.

Because it’d just occurred to me that maybe I should broadcast my position.

Hannah cursed, and the pain disappeared even if her grip didn’t. “Be silent!”

“Or what? You’re going to kill me?”

“And then that friend of yours in the shop.”

“Please. Once you’re done here, you and Bagley are going to run so fast you’ll get lucky not to get pulled over by the highway patrol.”

Hannah smiled slyly. “There are ways.”

I knew she was trying to make me scared, but I wasn’t about to show her she was succeeding. Plastering a bland expression on my face, I said, “And the key to the shop?”

Hannah shook her head in disbelief. “You don’t need a key when you have an earth mage to move the metal insides of the lock.”

“You and the earth mage brought Crane into the shop. Why?” I tilted my head toward where Bagley had fallen. “Couldn’t you have done that from the start?”

“God, you’re useless.”

“Not so useless since I found you,” I reminded her. I thought about sticking my tongue out, but my intention here was to keep her talking, not have her smack me with her magic.

A snap of pain in my wrist made me gasp.

Not too much of her magic, that is.

“You can’t just transfer a soul from one object into another,” she said like the world’s most insufferable teacher. “Only between objects and bodies.”

I pointed at Crane. “Was he supposed to stay dead, or rise like a zombie?”

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