Page 26 of Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites

Kota clenched her fists, and her flames flickered from her restrained anger. “We need to find him before he kills again. But you all need to get up and stay vigilant in the meantime. He could be out there waiting to pounce when we aren’t looking.”

Lia popped up and became vigilant again. I wanted to identify what I was feeling so I allowed my gaze to trackwhile my mind went elsewhere. I reached out with my spiritual senses. The residual energy from the attack was still strong. It left a toxic miasma that made my skin crawl. I could almost hear the echoes of the victim’s last moments. The guy’s pain and fear was now etched into the very fabric of the swamp. Whoever was behind this was turning the whole area. That was the reason for the murders. The land was fighting the incursion, so they needed to poison it.

“Be careful,”Adèle warned telepathically. “There’s something else here, something watching you.”

Lia scanned the perimeter with her hand covered in her witch fire. “We need to move fast. If Garrick’s nearby, we can’t let him ambush us.”

Dre began casting a protective ward around us. She finished the quick incantation and said, “This will give us some cover, but we need to get out of here and regroup.”

Phi snapped some pictures of the symbols on the body. “These are more complex than the ones we saw on Melanie. He’s getting stronger, more confident.”

“We need to take this information back to Willowberry and call Terrance to come out here and pick this guy up. We can’t keep him out anymore,” I said, my voice firm. “But we can’t leave his body here unprotected.”

Lia crouched again and kept her gaze on the tree line while she laid a hand on the ground. “I’ll strengthen the ward to keep any scavengers away.” Her magic flared brighter as she expanded the protective barrier. “This should hold for now. Let’s get moving.”

As we turned to leave, a rustling sound caught our attention. The underbrush parted, revealing a pair of glowing eyes staring at us from the darkness. “Shit. Adèle was right,” Dani muttered, drawing her weapon. “We’re not alone.”

The eyes vanished, but the presence remained. The threat lurked just out of sight. We moved quickly, keeping oursenses on high alert. Garrick or one of his minions could attack at any moment. We reached the edge of the swamp without incident, but the sense of danger never left us.

My heart was racing as we climbed into the car and drove back to Willowberry Plantation. Lia called Terrance and told him about the body and the location. I wanted to crawl through the phone and strangle the paranormal police officer when he asked if we were going to remain the lead on the investigation. Then I recalled he was in charge of the entire southern United States. That was a lot of ground to cover.

CHAPTER 9

DANIELLE

We were walking through the back door of the plantation when there was a buzz from my phone. I picked it up and my eyes widened as I read the message. “Woah,” I muttered and lifted my gaze to my sisters. “Guys, we’ve got an anonymous tip.”

Everyone’s attention snapped to me. I read the message aloud: “‘Garrick’s next target is closer than you think. Time is running out. Look to the past to save the future’.”

Dea frowned as if the cryptic nature of the message gnawed at her just as much. “What does that even mean? ‘Look to the past to save the future’?”

Dre leaned over and read my phone. “It sounds like a clue. Maybe something in our past investigations or in the history of the bayou.”

Adèle strolled into view down the hall near the ladies’ parlor. “There’s a pattern in the language. The way they phrase it—‘look to the past’—it could be referencing something historical. Perhaps a place or event we’ve overlooked.”

Lia nodded as she headed toward our familiar. “We need to figure this out quickly. If Garrick’s planning another attack, we don’t have much time.” We followed Lia and entered the parlor to see Cami on the couch watching TV. The books and papers were still on the coffee table.

Phi pulled her laptop to her and her fingers flew over the keys. Reading over her shoulder, I noted she was searching for any historical events or locations that might fit the tip. “There’s got to be something here,” she muttered as she read the screen.

Kota spread out a map of the bayou on the table. “We should look for any sites of historical significance. Maybe there’s a pattern in the places Garrick has attacked before.”

Lia pointed to several locations marked with red dots. “These are the spots where there were attacks. And there’s the place where Melanie was killed. We’ve found evidence of Garrick’s presence in these locations.” She grabbed a red marker and added a dot. “Here is the new guy. They’re all near significant landmarks.”

Dea and I exchanged a glance. “We need to narrow it down,” I said. “What’s the common thread?”

Adèle rubbed her side against Dre’s leg as she said, “The language in the tip might be a key. ‘Look to the past’—could it be referencing a specific historical figure or event?”

“Marie Leveau,” I said suddenly as an idea hit me. “The history of Voodoo in New Orleans. Could Garrick’s attacks have been centered around places connected to her and her legacy?”

Phi’s eyes widened with realization. “Of course! The ritual sites are connected to the gator shifters, but before that, they were old Voodoo grounds. I remember reading about it earlier.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard again. “There’s an old Voodoo temple deep in the bayou that’s connected to Marie Leveau. It’s been abandoned for years, but it’s a place of significant power.”

“That’s something we will need to look into,” Dre replied. “If Garrick and his friends are after that power, they might need to deplete the swamp before they can reach it. What else do we know?”

“Melanie's murder, the symbols we've found, and the recent victim are all connected. We just need to find out how,” I pointed. There was more, but my brain was not functioning at top speed at the moment. There was this fog I couldn’t shake.

“Can you load the images on the computer, Phi? I want to see them again,” Lia said as she leaned forward. “We know the symbols we've seen at the crime scenes are part of a larger ritual. Is there a way we can disrupt the power grab?”

“The other attacks were also near a place of power,” Dea pointed out as she looked over Lia’s map. I believed her because she’d read those books from Marie. “We should ask the gators about other sacred sites in the bayou that hold significant magical energy.”

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