Page 92 of Hallows End

I leave her house and walk down the dirt road to my cabin. Once inside, I set the wand on a bookshelf, then gather some things to take to Lucy’s with me.

I’m coming back.

Good. I miss you. I’m at the shop with Nera.

Anticipation fills me as I leave my cabin and walk toward the bridge. Lucy will soothe my raw nerves with her gentle touch and sweet smile.

I need to see my wife.

“So, a child has been born, and an illness rolled through the entire coven, all in the past few days,” Xander says, tapping his fingertips on the table thoughtfully.

All six of us are back at his house, gathered in his library.

“I feel like this is all a game.” Giles shakes his head in agitation. “Like something is just playing with us. Playing a game of cat and mouse, chasing us around and trying to confuse us.”

“That could certainly be the case,” Xander says with a slow nod, reaching for some cheese and crackers on the tray of food that Breena brought with her to share.

“Are the two connected?” Lorelei asks and then holds up her hands. “Just hear me out. Could the annual murders of witches be connected to the curse of the blood moon? We’ve been tackling them separately, but what if they’re linked?”

“We haven’t thought of it like that,” Lucy says but sighs when Xander doesn’t say anything. “You did.”

“I considered it,” he agrees. “But even with all the research I’ve done, I can’t find any evidence that that’s the case. It doesn’t mean that Lorelei isn’t correct, of course.”

“It’s just that we don’t have evidence, and no reason to think they’re the same,” Lorelei says. “I was really hoping to kill two birds with one stone.”

“That would be convenient,” I reply with a smile. “And I wish it were the case, but I can tell you that I’d never even heard of the murders until I met you.”

“It’s so odd to me that you never heard of it from the newspapers or anywhere else in all these years,” Breena says. “The cases are open, and most have gone cold.”

“We may be several hundred years out from the persecution of witches,” Giles says, “but that doesn’t mean law enforcement busts their asses to figure out the deaths of witches. Besides, in most cases, it’s looked like suicide.”

“Come on,” Lucy says, getting agitated with anger. She rubs her hands down her thighs as if they’re suddenly sweaty. “One witch found dead every Samhain is not freaking suicide.”

“What if those looking into it are under a spell?” Breena asks, speaking slowly. “They aren’t investigating because theycan’t.”

“Interesting,” I murmur. “And quite possible.”

“Do you see that?” Lorelei asks Lucy as she points at the window. We all look that way, but I don’t see anything aside from the darkening sky.

“I see it,” Breena confirms. Her voice trembles, and Lucy immediately reaches for my hand.

“Oh, shit,” she murmurs.

“I don’t see anything,” Giles says.

“I don’t either,” I reply.

Xander, with his eyes narrowed, walks to the window and stares out. “What do you see, ladies?”

“A man,” Lorelei says and joins him at the window. Xander links their hands, and Lorelei doesn’t pull away. “He’s standing on the sidewalk, watching us.”

“He’s creepy as hell,” Lucy adds. “He looks…dead.”

“How so?” I ask her.

“Rotting flesh,” Breena answers. “Dirty. He looks like a zombie out of a movie. It’s really cliché, actually.”

“He might very wellbedead,” Xander replies calmly.