Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
We make it inside after feeding the chicks right as the rain hits. Harrison and Ethan are in the living room, watching a baseball game, and Nik is looking at his matches on the new dating site he signed up for.
Saanvi sits with Harry on the couch, and I go into the kitchen to get the dessert ready. My phone chimes with a text and I set the pie down to go check it. Sam texted me, and I see that I have a few texts from Rene as well.
Sam: Hey…just checking on you guys. (David said everything is still good legally)
Me: Ethan doesn’t seem phased by the whole thing. I’m still a little freaked out
Sam: It’s not the first time he’s been arrested, though he’s never been accused of murder before.
Me: Hah. He reminded me. I’m going crazy trying to think of who set him up.
Sam: We are too. Julia reached a dead end. The “tip” was called in anonymously and the couple who live in that apartment now weren’t the ones who found the lighter. We talked to them and it’s almost like they’ve been held spellbound by a vampire.
Me: OMG really?!
Sam: Yeah. They can’t remember if they found it or if they didn’t. It’s like there’s a hole in that part of their memory. Classic symptom of being held spellbound.
“What would a vampire want with Ethan?” I mumble out loud. We personally don’t know any vampires, and it’s been four or five years since Ethan was sent on a vampire hunt by the Order. Though human years probably aren't much time in vampire-years.
Still, if a vampire wanted to get revenge on Ethan for killing one of their friends, I don’t think framing him for murder would be the way to go.
Me: Thanks for looking into it. I’m not going to let this go until we figure it out. Nik thinks whoever did it was trying to unnerve me so they could attack.
Sam: That would make sense, actually. But you weren’t attacked by a demon, right?
Me: Right. Unless they expected Ethan to actually get arrested.
I let out a sigh, feeling annoyingly helpless. I’m a fucking witch and I also feel like I’ve hit a dead-end and have no idea what to do to get the answers I want.
Sam: Just be careful.
Me: I will. You too. <3
Putting the phone on the counter, I take the pie and new plates to the dining room. Stealing a glance behind me, I hold my hands over the pie to warm it up with magic since it’s been sitting on the counter. I grab another bottle of wine and pour myself another glass, taking a few slow sips.
The wind picks up, making the siding out the outside of the house creak. Sinking down in my chair, I take another drink of wine and open the texts from Rene.
“Hey,” Harrison says, coming into the dining room.
“Hey.” I look up from my phone. “Everything okay?”
“I came in to ask you that.” He eyes the glass of wine in my hand. I rarely drank before because it made it hard to keep my mental shields up. “What happened during dinner?” Harrison looks through the living room, making sure Saanvi isn’t nearby to overhear us.
“Nothing,” I dismiss, waving my hand in the air. “Just my guilt manifesting in real life.”
“Guilt?”
“Yeah. Just a few hours before you got here, I went with my friend to check out a haunted house and left without telling him there are remains under one of the outbuildings.”
Harrison blinks once. Twice. “You’re not joking, are you?”
“Nope. I wasn’t able to confirm whose remains are buried, but I can feel it in my bones that I’m going to find human bones. See what I did there? But I need to dig into the research on the place first before I dig into the ground so I can try and figure out who is buried before I report it.”
“How would you do that?”
“You didn’t forget I can talk to ghosts, did you?”
Harrison continues to stare at me for several seconds. “We live very different lives.”
“You could always come ghost hunting with me.”
“I think I’ll pass.”
Thunder rumbles in the distance, and the wind blows even harder. This is the first strong storm my new barn is going to withstand, and unlike the old rickety barn, I’m not worried this time. Everyone else joins Harrison and me in the dining room for dessert. The storm is still raging when we finish, and a tornado watch is issued right before Harrison and Saanvi leave.
“You guys should stay,” Ethan tells them. “We have room and it would be safer than driving into a storm.”
“My overnight bag is in your car,” Saanvi says a little shyly. “You’re sure you wouldn’t mind if we crashed?”
“Not at all,” Ethan assures her.
“Both guest rooms are clean,” I say, not sure what kind of sleeping arrangement she’s comfortable with. “One has my ferret in it, but he’s pretty quiet once he’s asleep for the night. We can make Harry stay there with him.”