Death's Hand Read Online Free Page B

thumb tacks.
    “It took you a long time to get up here,” he remarked from the stove. “I hid for ages. What were you doing downstairs?”
    “Locking up. Someone forgot to shut all the windows.”
    “I was busy making dinner. You’re welcome, by the way.” James turned on the oven light and peeked through the window. “Just a few more minutes, I think. Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine.”
    He gave her the kind of look that said he knew she wasn’t, but didn’t feel like arguing it. “Did you see the Ramirezes today?”
    “Yeah. That was fun. They’re a mess.”
    “Is it possession?”
    “Maybe. Lucinde didn't like having St. Benedict flashed at her, but if she's possessed she must have skipped the oppression and suggestion stages. Her family insists that nothing strange happened leading up to Lucinde’s problem—she just woke up one morning the way she is now.”
    “Perhaps it’s not possession, then. She may be deranged.”
    “She did kick me in the face.”
    James uncorked a bottle of wine and poured it into the waiting glasses. Elise picked up the Sierra Witch’s Almanac and peered at the bookmarked page. James’s coven published a new almanac every year with lunar correspondences and seasonal spells, and they always included an excerpt from their Book of Shadows in the back. The spell he was looking at seemed complicated.
    He handed her one of the glasses. She dropped the book. “Your bruises look painful,” he said.
    “She’s got a nasty kick for a five-year-old. Nastier than yours, anyway.”
    “Very funny.”
    “Marisa mentioned she was having nightmares. It’s possible Lucinde was attacked by a mara or an incubus instead. Maybe she went crazy.”
    “But you don’t think it’s possession?” he asked, serving dinner using puffy blue pot holders.
    “Probably not.”
    “Good. That will make it easier.”
    Elise shrugged. “It’s not my problem. I’m not an exorcist anymore.”
    He turned on the radio on the windowsill.
    “—other spooky news, a temp guard by the name of Richard Czynski disappeared from a cemetery in the north side of town,” the DJ said in a voice far too perky to be discussing a missing persons case. “Curiouser and curiouser, he’s not the only thing that’s disappeared. The grave of notorious Amber Hackman, one of the only people to escape this black hole of a town, has also been raided. Obviously she didn’t like having to spend her death here anymore than she did her life. Zombie attack? Your run-of-the-mill grave rob gone wrong? You ring in and let us know on Spooky News, your favorite—”
    “What trash,” he muttered, switching it over to a classic rock station.
    She felt the motion before she saw it. James’s hand whipped toward Elise.
    Side-stepping his reach, she jerked his wrist forward and trapped his arm under hers. A twist, a hard shove, and she had him against the wall.
    “Damn. You’re fast.”
    “No, that was weak. Why don’t you give up on the war games for now? You can try to attack me again when we’ve eaten.”
    James rubbed his elbow. “I’ll get you someday,” he said, failing to sound threatening.
    “Yeah, me and my little dog too.” Elise gestured at the crystal in the middle of the table with her fork. “Are you setting up for a ritual?”
    “I thought I could work with the coven on paper magic at the next esbat.” James moved the crystal to one of the couches before joining her at the table. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to clean up before you arrived.”
    “Paper magic? When was the last time you did that?”
    “Oh… about five years ago.”
    The same night the death goddess had tortured Elise.
    Magic was useless in battle because powerful spells took days to prepare. When James knew they were going into a fight, he took paper magic, which let him capture the effects of a lengthy ritual to be released later. The kind of spells he could capture in a three-by-five note card were impressive.
    He freed Elise from