Page 69 of Enspelled

“Couldn’t you have gone to the sheriff or the police department to ask?”

I take my eyes off Layla’s house long enough to glance over at him. “The sheriff spends most of his days napping at his desk. He knows nothing about Madden Grove, and that’s exactly why the witches and wolves agreed to have him take on the role.”

Understanding flashes across his eyes. “Ah, so he’s just there to look the part, I take it, and maybe deal with any annoying tourists, so the rest of you don’t have to?”

Nodding, I resume my focus on the house. “Yes. But the editor of a small town newspaper who has a fondness for gossip almost as much as Bullhorn Ellie would know, and would remember events that happened ten years ago.”

“If it wasn’t kids throwing stink bombs around, then what was the source of the smell?”

“Demons. Or just one of them.”

Silence.

I glance over at Bodie when he continues to say nothing and find him staring at me, wide-eyed. “Youdidknow they existed, right?”

He shakes his head.

“Well, they do. Not in this world, which is why you need a summoning spell,” I say.

“Ah, the summoning spell that wasn’t in Layla’s grimoire means…?”

“She wasn’t the one to cast it.”

His brow creases with confusion. “What are we doing here, then?”

“Checking to see if she’s come back. But the fact that there are no lights on and the windows upstairs still have the curtains drawn, when Layla is usually up at the crack of dawn, means something happened to her. Vera probably knows it as well and is taking advantage to maneuver herself into the coven leader position.”

Bodie whistles low. “Wow, you witches don’t mess around, do you?”

“Position is everything to some witches. It’s why Georgia moved to New York, so she could rub shoulders with the sort of people she felt she deserved. She always acted like she was too big for Madden Grove.”

“Now that you’re sure Layla isn’t here, where to now?”

I start up the car. “Now we go looking for Vera.”

“You think she knocked off Layla?”

“I don’t think so. Layla isn’t a weak witch, and Vera would never confront her. She was always kissing her ass. But someone cast a summoning spell on the night that the Destin pack died. Sulfur has a distinctive smell—so distinctive that when Ellie described it, I should have known at once what she meant.”

“And only a witch can summon a demon?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“So why would one summon one to kill the Destins?”

“That, I don’t know. But whoever it was took a big risk. A spell like that demands a sacrifice, a big one. And the person always ends up giving up more than they intended.”

He studies me for a beat. “But you don’t think it was Vera. You think…” He examines me some more. “That she would know who did it?”

“I do.”

“This town was pretty busy ten years ago,” Bodie murmurs.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that ten years ago, a witch summons a demon who kills Keane’s pack, your friend has a power that flares to life and destroys her house, and now the people who had the most reason to do it start disappearing or… more suspiciously, dying.”

“What are you suggesting?” I frown.

---