Page 44 of Mardi Gras Murders & Midnight Masquerades
I studied the dates intensely. "Holy shit. He wasn't confining himself to body-hopping every fifty years as we thought. These murders are more frequent. He's been among us the entire time, moving from identity to identity whenever convenient. He could be anyone in New Orleans right now. Likely someone we've already met."
"Exactly." Payne's expression was grim. "But look at this." He pulled out a microscope and placed it on the table alongsidea collection of small evidence bags containing fabric scraps. "These are fiber samples from victims spanning 150 years. The lab couldn't identify the material, but they confirmed it's identical in every case."
I leaned in to examine the strange, shimmering fibers. Even without touching them, I could sense the magical signature. It was subtle but unmistakable. "That's Delacroix's work," I murmured.
Payne's eyebrow rose. "Delacroix?"
Right. We hadn't filled him in on our discoveries yet. "Armand Delacroix. The mage behind all this. We identified him earlier tonight." I quickly brought Detective Payne up to speed, watching as he took meticulous notes. His hand never faltered, even as I described soul transference and centuries-long magical manipulation.
"That explains this." He pulled out a faded map of New Orleans from 1830. Red X's marked locations throughout the city. "These are all burial sites from the earliest cases. Connect the dots and?—"
"It forms a ritual circle," Lucas finished, tracing the pattern. "With St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 at the center. That’s where we went into the tunnels. Perhaps we missed something down there."
"There's a specific crypt mentioned in several witness statements," Payne said, sliding another folder toward me. "The Deveaux family tomb. Witnesses in three different time periods reported strange lights and sounds coming from it around the murders."
"That’s not where we entered the tunnels. It could be the source of the power we felt down there. We should check it out." I turned to Lucas.
"I'm coming with you," Payne interjected. His tone made it clear this wasn't up for debate.
"It could be dangerous," Lucaswarned.
Payne checked his service weapon. "So is letting a centuries-old killer operate in my city."
Knowing there was nothing we could do to dissuade him, the three of us headed out together. Payne followed us in his vehicle. Thirty minutes later, we stood before the Deveaux family crypt. The stone structure was unremarkable on the outside. My magical senses screamed that this place was anything but ordinary.
"There's a lot of magic here," I whispered as we approached. "Like everything with Delacroix, it’s layered and complex. You need to be careful, detective. And run if we tell you to. There are things in our world that your gun will do nothing against."
I held Payne’s gaze until he nodded in agreement and then placed my hand against the cold stone. I extended my awareness carefully into the structure. "There is a hidden entrance underneath."
Lucas examined the ground. "The soil's been disturbed recently. Someone's been coming and going."
I gathered my power and focused it into a razor-sharp point of intention. With a focused burst of magical energy, I probed the ancient wards protecting the crypt. My witch fire sparked at my fingertips. The amber flames crackled as it made contact with the invisible barrier. The collision sent electric feedback rippling across the surface of protections that had stood for centuries.
The wards resisted at first. I could feel the complex layers of spellwork. There were hundreds of years of magical reinforcement designed to keep out the curious and the unwelcome. I pushed harder, channeling more power through my outstretched hands until sweat beaded on my forehead.
My witch fire intensified, shifting from its usual amber to a deeper crimson that burned white-hot at its core. The wards began to glow in response. First, they were a dull redoutline revealing their structure. Then, they brightened to an angry orange as my magic forced them to manifest visibly.
"Careful," Lucas warned as he sensed the dangerous buildup of opposing energies.
I ignored him, concentrating on finding the weak points in the magical barrier. Every ward, no matter how ancient or powerful, had vulnerabilities. You just had to identify the places where the energy thinned or where different spells overlapped imperfectly and find a way in. I found precisely that in the upper corner where two different magical signatures met.
With a final surge of power, I sent a concentrated blast of witch fire at that precise spot. The wards flared brilliantly, like paper catching flame. Magical energy burned away in a cascade of sparks and ghostly whispers. The protective magic that had guarded the crypt for generations disintegrated under my assault, leaving behind nothing but a faint scent of ozone and ancient herbs.
"That's... impressive," Lucas muttered, watching as the last remnants of the ward's magic dispersed into the night air.
Payne stood frozen with his hand still hovering over his weapon. His face had gone pale, and his eyes were wide as he stared at the space where crackling energy had just been. "I mean, you told me you were witches, but seeing it..." he whispered, his voice barely audible. "That was actually real magic.
I caught Payne's stunned expression and managed a tired smile. "Welcome to our world, Detective." I shook my tingling hands. The expenditure of power had left me light-headed. "There's no time to process right now. We should get inside before something worse notices what we just did."
Lucas nodded and reached for the handle. The iron gate swung open with an ominous creak. The dark interior of the crypt beckoned. It was filled with shadows and secrets waiting to be discovered. Payne's flashlight revealed a section of flooring where the stone pattern subtly differed. I knelt to examine it and traced the edges of what appeared to be a trap door. Ancient sigils were nearly invisible beneath decades of grime.
"Let’s see if I can open this," I said, placing my palm against the central sigil. I erected a shield around my power for protection and sent out a pulse of magic. The stone section slid sideways with a grinding sound. Anarrow staircase descending into darkness.
"Ladies first?" I quipped as I summoned a ball of witch fire.
"Not a chance," Lucas growled, moving ahead of me.
“I will never get used to this,” Payne muttered as we descended.
