"Are those..." Dani’s question trailed off.
"Ancient channeling marks," Phi confirmed grimly. "Like the ones we found in that old tome Cami translated last month. If I remember right, they're used to focus and direct power. Holy shit,” she gasped when Puich removed the mask. “This woman was one of my students. This feelslike deja vu." Was Lucas right about this being the Skinwalker? He hadn’t carved up the last victims.
“We’re better prepared if this is a repeat.” Dre pursed her thin lips and leaned closer. “These symbols have been modified from the channeling marks we saw in that book. Or maybe they’re not channeling marks. One thing I am certain about is there’s no doubt she’s supernatural."
“And her killer has magic,” Dea interjected as she moved closer to the body. Her gaze took on that slightly unfocused look that meant she was either communing with lingering spirits or searching for them.
“Is her ghost here?” My head swiveled around like I was possessed as I asked. It was unsettling to think about there being spirits around us.
Dea shook her head. "There are plenty of ghosts here, but she’s not one of them. Not that I can see, anyway. I can feel her residual energy, like there is something of her here. I get the feeling that she fought back. Hard. The killer wasn't expecting that level of resistance."
"I don’t blame her. Look at the coloring around the cuts," Dani added as she carefully examined the victim's arms without touching them. "These sigils were systematically carved and seared into her skin. One by one. While she was still alive."
"She was tortured?" I asked, though my gut already knew the answer.
"Definitely," Phi said grimly. "Her power was also drained. Each carved symbol would have acted like a siphon, drawing out her magical essence while it burned. By doing this while she lived..."
"They were harvesting her power," Dre finished for Phi. "But why the mask? What role does it play, other than being a super creepy calling card?"
"This is the third one I've seen," Puich said quietly, making us all snap to attention.
“What? Why haven’t you called sooner?” I blurted.
He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't connect the cases at first because I couldn't detect any magical signature until this one. With all the temporal chaos the Lost Legends created, there's been an uptick in violent crimes across the city. All three victims had the same cause of death. Ritual burns and carvings done while they were still alive. All had masks on their faces. The police are already calling it the work of a serial killer." His voice grew heavy with regret. "If I'd picked up on the supernatural element sooner..."
The way he trailed off made my spine go cold. The killer was likely practicing on mundies, perfecting his process before moving to a supernatural victim. It was disturbing to think someone was hunting us. Yeah, this case should have been diverted from the mundie police with the first victim, but I understood how he’d missed it the first two times. The city had gone schizophrenic during the Lost Legends reign of terror.
He gestured to pictures on the counter. They were images that contained spatter that at first seemed normal for the scene. When I looked closer, there was something more to them. "Holy shit," Dre breathed. Her telekinesis unconsciously made nearby instruments rattle. "That's disturbing. The dark power used feels icky even through a picture."
"They definitely know what they're doing now," Dani added as she touched the tip of a finger to the end of a feather that was attached to the mask.
"Don't..." I trailed off as her flesh connected with the object.
Her face went slack and the color drained from her cheeks as whatever memories the mask held slammed into her consciousness. I watched her throat workas she swallowed repeatedly. I bet she was fighting back bile. Whatever she was seeing, it wasn't pretty. Her psychometry had a way of making her a front row witness to someone's darkest moments.
When she finally spoke, her voice was rough, like she'd been screaming. "You guys are wrong about the book you saw these in. They came from one of the Laveau books." She yanked her hand back, wiping it against her jeans as if trying to erase the touch. "You're right about them being changed, though."
"Someone took the original ritual and remixed it for an even more twisted purpose," I muttered.
"Wait," Kota interjected as she tossed the coffee cup in the trash. "There weren't any symbols in the case with Phi's student. Do you think the Skinwalker needs more power for something?"
A heavy silence fell. We'd all been thinking about the possibility. "It’s not the Skinwalker. Those were a completely different style," Phi said firmly. "He uses corrupted demon magic. It didn’t feel like this."
"Ladies." The familiar voice from the doorway made us all freeze. "Interesting place for a family reunion."
We turned to find Detective Payne standing in the doorway. His perfectly pressed suit and salt-and-pepper hair were a stark contrast to our sleepy appearance. I even still had on my pajamas. Thankfully, they were black, so it wasn’t as obvious. I smoothed my hands over my top as the detective’s light green eyes took in the scene with the kind of sharp observation that had made him so good at his job. And a huge problem for supernatural coverups.
"Detective," I managed. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Indeed." His expression suggested he was ready to haul us all in. "Why are you here looking at a murder victim? This is an active investigation."
"Actually," Phi stepped in smoothly, "I know her. The victim. She was one of my doctoral candidates."
The detective's expression hardened. "Another one of your students?" His hand twitched toward his notepad. "And you just happened to be here before we could even release the ID?"
"I called them," Puich interjected in a clipped and professional voice. "I recognized her from campus visits. Given the sensitive nature of the situation, I thought it best to have Dr. Hodgins confirm the identity discreetly."
"And we weren't about to allow our sister to come here alone, given what happened last time..." I gestured vaguely at our group, trying to deflect attention from Phi. The detective's narrowed eyes told me he wasn't buying our convenient presence.
