Page 54 of Upside Down Magic

Ianrounded theSUVand came to stand by my side. “Hmm.”

Itugged at his arm and pointed at the empty lot. “Ian, where did the house go?”

“Someonemust’ve sold the land and they’re getting ready to build a new house.”

“Doyou think whoever owned the land is connected to the spell?Doyou think the sale has something to do with our spell?”

“Idoubt it.Ittakes time to get the house cleared up and everything taken away even before razing it.Aweek minimum, and that’s if there aren’t any delays, which there always are.”

“Ican’t believe this,”Iwhispered, going up to the edge of the sidewalk.Thereweren’t even bits of vegetation lying around—only dark brown dirt.

“Isn’tthis a good thing?”Ianasked. “Nownobody else can make use of the house’s power for spells.”

“Ibet the bad vibes are soaked into the ground.”Ishivered. “Ifeel a little sorry for whoever comes to live here.Oh!”Irounded on him. “Doyou think whoever plans to live here is a dark witch planning on reestablishing the coven?”

Iangave that some serious thought. “It’spossible.”

“Weneed to figure out who bought it.”

“I’llmake some calls.”

“Good.Let’sgo to the haunted house.”

“Thehaunted house?”

“Oneof the threeSisters; whereIfoundDesmond’sfinger.Ifsomeone is behind the spell and trying to get as much dark magic power as possible, that’s whereI’dgo if the coven house were no longer available.Remember, that’s whatHannah—”Igaped again.

“Whatis it?”

“IsHannahstill in jail?Whatif she escaped?Whatif she’s the one behind all this?Takingrevenge on me for catching her?”

“Hannahis still in jail.Remember, we agreed that if this were a personal attack, they’d have gone for me orKeyorDru, not a random visiting witch.”

Irubbed my eyes. “You’reright.Still, will you check?Please?”

“Iwill.”Hekissed my forehead, then brought out his phone.Fiveminutes later he had confirmation thatHannahwas, indeed, still detained at the bounty hunters’ guild.

“Ialmost wish she’d escaped,”Imurmured. “Thenwe’d have a clear suspect.”

Ianput a reassuring arm around my shoulders. “Don’tworry,I’msure if we shake things long enough, something will fall out.”

“You’reright.Let’sgo shake the haunted house.”

“ImissFluffy,”Icommented as we drove through the busy streets ofOldOlmeda.Thistrip was giving me hardcore nostalgia ofFluffy’sand my trip trying to find the witch behind the bloody pentagrams onHalloween.Wehad gone to the coven house, then the haunted house.Ithad been so much fun!

Untilthe finger.ButI’drather not think about that part.

“I’mglad to see whereIstand,”Iansaid dryly.

Ipatted his arm. “You’refun too, but sometimes you just need a happy ball of fur, you know?”

Hechuckled. “Oh,Iknow.”

“Herewe are,”Iexclaimed, leaning against the window to study the threeVictorianmansions built side by side.Legendhad it the two on the sides belonged to the same family, who had wanted to buy the land in the middle too, but the owner had refused and instead built a house matching theirs.

Thenthe wife of the third house owner had been murdered and buried in the walls, and her son had been stabbed to death and become part of a dark magic ritual after playing around with one of the servants.Here’sa lesson for you: treat service workers with the decency they deserve or you might end up shoved into a basement closet with your heart ripped out.

Ianfound a parking space not too far away, and soon we were standing in front of the thirdSister.Itrose four stories high, an almost exact copy of the other two, dark and gloomy andVictorian-ly moody in the cloudyDecemberday.Thereweren’t any bad vibes emanating out of the house exactly, unlike the bizarre art collection at theCornerRose, but there was a definitesomethinghanging in the atmosphere.

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