Page 28 of Hallows End
“Tell me.”
“I was walking through Salem.”
“At this time of night?” I tip up her chin so I can look into her eyes. “At this time ofyear?”
Salem is not as safe as it once was, I say telepathically.
“It’s not unusual,” she insists. “If I can’t sleep, which is often the case, Nera and I will take a walk. I know the spirits roam at night, but they don’t bother me. Most aren’t intelligent, just residual hauntings and echoes of energy.”
“So you’re not afraid of ghosts, then.”
“No. Definitely, not. It was a lovely night, and I thought I would just walk to the shore and back. Nera was calm and happy with the idea, so we set off. I don’t walk at night alone.”
“Good.”
The thought of her being unprotected, especially now that I know something or someone is out there killing witches every year, doesn’t sit well with me.
“We were on our way back home, maybe two blocks from the house, and the hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up. Nera stopped walking and moved right in front of me as if guarding me or protecting me from something.”
I glance down at the hound, whose gaze hasn’t left his mistress.
“The air grew so cold, Jonas. Not windy, just suddenlyfreezing.I called out to you in my mind, but I couldn’t reach you, and Nera started to growl. Snarl. I’ve never heard him do that before. And then a red dog walked out of the bushes, but I’m telling you right now that it wasn’t really a dog. I don’t know how I know that, but I’m telling you, while it looked like a dog, it had human eyes.”
I frown down at her, and she shakes her head.
“I know it sounds crazy.”
“I didn’t say that.”
She swallows hard, and tears fill her emerald eyes. “I don’t know what it was, why it happened, but it was terrifying, Jonas.”
I pull her to me once more and hold her close, tucking her head under my chin.
“You’re safe, my darling. You’re safe right here. What happened next?”
She clears her throat and pushes her face against my shirt. I can feel the fear radiating out of her, and it’s killing me.
“What happened, Lucy?”
“It wrinkled its nose at me, and then it just walked away. It didn’t look back at us; it just left. Nera stood still and watched until it was out of sight, and then he told me we had to hurry home. Once we got there, I didn’t go in, I just kept going into the woods because Ineededto get to you.”
“Do you often wear your dressing gown when you go for walks at night?”
She looks up at me in surprise and then scowls. “You’re going to criticize myoutfitat a time like this?”
“No.” I drag my fingertips down her cheek. I can’t stop touching her. I’ve never felt a connection like this to anyone in my life. The veryneedto touch, connect, and simplybewith her.
She’s the part of my soul I didn’t know was missing.
“What was it, Jonas?”
“Likely a skinwalker.”
She blinks at me and then shivers. “I thought those were only horrible stories that people made up to scare each other.”
My fingers dance over the tattoo on the back of her neck, and she closes her eyes.
“You said it yourself. You got this death ward to protect you from the paranormal things that happen in Salem. That town has always been full of activity, even before the English settled there and dating back to the indigenous tribes that moved through.”