Page 4 of Signs and Wonders

He ended the call and wasn’t sure how to interpret the expression on Evan’s face. “What?”

Evan shrugged. “You ever think we’ll be like that?”

“Old and crotchety?”

Evan rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Seth smiled. “Yeah, I do. I hope so. I don’t think it was easy for them to step back from going on hunts, but Milo’s heart problems made Toby lay down the law. They’ve got the online security company now, and they’re kinda lore masters for the hunting community, plus there’s Toby’s massive garden.”

“Don’t forget the dogs and goats,” Evan added with a laugh, “now that they’re not gone all the time. I think that’s how Toby got him to quit. Can’t you just hear him? ‘If we quit, you can get a dog.’”

Seth chuckled. “You might be right about that. I wouldn’t mind that myself when we’re done. You ever think about that?”

“All the time,” Evan admitted. “You and I can work from anywhere. We could go to the beach in the winter and the mountains in the summer. Maybe get a cabin or something.”

Seth worked as a white-hat hacker for Milo and Toby’s security company when he wasn’t using his skills to hack into the witch disciples’ accounts. Evan’s passion for photography and his talent for design led to starting his own graphics company and helped with the occasional need to create fake documents for their hunting.

Late in the evening, Evan’s phone rang.

“Hi Parker! How’s Cleveland?” he greeted his younger brother, making it so Seth could hear the call.

“Quiet. Just the way I like it,” Parker replied. “Your buddy Joe checks in on me now and again.”

“How’s school going?” Evan asked. After Parker left home, he started a program at the local community college and was working his way through, with help from Seth and Evan.

“Better. I think I’m getting the hang of it,” Parker told him. “I’ve made some friends, and my job at the coffee shop is good. And yes, I’m wearing all the protective charms, and I keep the sigils fresh on my apartment.”

Seth knew that being back in touch with Parker made Evan happy. Evan’s family hadn’t approved of him being gay, and his brothers had fallen out of touch until Parker sought him out just a few months ago.

“I actually did have a reason for calling besides news about my boring life,” Parker said. “I’ve been digging into your next warlock’s online footprint. Discreetly, I promise,” he added, forestalling a warning from Evan.

“Fletcher Swain’s whole ‘wellness influencer’ thing isn’t just creepy—there have been a number of disappearances near his retreat, which happens to be in an area where it’s mostly illegal to have cell phones, Wi-Fi, or most other radio signals,” Parker told them.

“There is such a place? Why?” Seth asked, intrigued.

“It’s called the National Radio Quiet Zone—NRQZ for short—and it’s for scientific purposes and military intelligence gathering,” Parker replied. “It straddles the West Virginia, Virginia state lines. There’s a big observatory there, too. In some places, people who live near the zone can’t even have microwaves.”

“That’s pretty hardcore,” Seth said.

“The observatory has a good reason—radio astronomy—but it made me think that a crazy warlock mentor might not have the best intentions for luring people to his mountain retreat,” Parker said.

“Please tell me you’re not drawing attention to yourself,” Evan begged. “You know you’re still a target until we get all the witch disciples.”

“I’m being very careful,” Parker told him. “But the whole ‘mountain mystic’ gig fits right in with Swain’s history as a shady preacher in his past ‘lives.’”

The witch disciples gained immortality from their sacrifices. That required them to reinvent their identities periodically to avoid people noticing that they didn’t age. They tended to stay in the same general area as the family of descendants they had chosen for their victims.

“Did you find anything about the disappearances? The warlock isn’t the only reason people go missing,” Evan said, and Seth could see how proud he was of his smart little brother. He felt a pang of loss for what Jesse could have become and figured that the grief would never go away.

“The NQRZ has been there for a while—since 1958—and they picked the location because that area is fairly remote,” Parker said. “Not very populated and off the beaten track. I’ve been looking into the missing person reports going back as far as I can for the general area, especially the small towns nearby.”

Parker seemed to relish sharing his findings. “Every year several people go missing and are never accounted for. They might not all be due to Swain, but you said he can draw power from blood magic in between his main sacrifices, so I think it’s possible he’s responsible for some of them. And a few have indirect ties to his retreat—people who left the program and later vanished, or who had other connections to his business. Nothing the police ever bothered with, as far as I can tell.”

“Good work,” Evan said. “Anything else?”

“I’m not sure,” Parker said. “I found a link between Swain’s charity and some fundraising groups that have gotten in trouble for dicey dealings.”

“What kind of trouble?” Seth asked.

---