Witch Hunt, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series) Read Online Free Page A

quietly.
    “What?” Matthison and I asked in unison.
    “I know who is attacking us,” she said louder.
    “Okay, would you like to share that bit of information with the rest of us?” Matthison asked.
    I was getting the feeling that she had suspected someone before we even got here, and now I was starting to get pissed off that she hadn’t said anything sooner.
    “Inquisitors.” She practically choked on the name.
    “Inquisitors? I’ve never heard of them before,” I said, still stunned that it had taken her this long to fill us in on her thoughts.
    “Well, you wouldn’t; you’re not a witch!” she snapped.
    I could feel myself shrink back from her. She’d never spoken to me like that before - like I was an outsider.
    “I’m sorry, Maurin. I didn’t mean to take my anger out on you.” She sighed.
    “Mahalia, how can you be so certain that it is this group, these Inquisitors?” Matthison asked. “We’re not even finished here, we need to compare all the evidence that we’re collecting from both crime scenes. There could be more than what we see on the surface.”
    “Well, of course I can’t be one-hundred percent certain, but we have been fighting groups like this - the Inquisitors specif ically, for centuries. I’ll know more after I complete a recollection,” she said.
    “A what?” Matthison asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue.
    “Normally a recollection is a simple spell that is commonly used to draw out suppressed memories or to heal amnesiacs. This one will be more difficult, since I won’t be using it on the living. Hopefully we will have the same results, though I may need to consult with a necromancer,” Mahalia said.
    “What?” I felt like I was saying that a lot tonight. “A necromancer, isn’t that a little on the darker side of things?”
    “Like all things mystical, necromancy has gotten a bad name. They don’t raise legions of the dead. Well, some have tried, but most help the dead find their way to the other side. It’s a lot more shamanic than demonic. I have a friend I can call if need be.” She sounded tired.
    “Why didn’t you try this back at the morgue?” I asked, trying to hide the anger and confusion in my voice.
    “I can understand why my decision would bother you, but the outcome would be the same. Julienne and Laura would still be dead. I am certain the Captain’s forensics will tell him the same thing,” she said.
    “But why did you make me go through the whole failed reading if you could have just done a casting?” I asked, irritated.
    “I believe I mentioned that this was a much stronger version of the recollection. And by stronger, I mean harder to accomplish with a much larger power drain. I had hoped that your reading would be a success and I wouldn’t have to drain the coven’s power base only to find out that my suspicions were wrong.”
    "But they aren’t wrong. We could be chasing these guys down already!” I was practically shouting.
    I was pissed off and she knew why. There were people that mattered to me in her coven. If it had been Amalie on those steps, then I would have completely lost it. The only thing keeping me from total panic about Oberon was that the Inquisitors seemed to be going after women. This only seemed to prove my earlier theory about serial killers.
    “I get it. Calculated risks. Why unnecessarily drain your power base? If it weren’t the Inquisitors, than you’d be left weak and possibly unable to defend yourselves against a different enemy. At least this way, now that we’re all on the same page, we can help protect you until you recharge,” Matthison piped in.
    “Are you fucking kidding me?” I almost laughed. “The Council still exists for a reason, Matthison. You can’t protect them any more than you can protect yourself from them.”
    I didn’t say anything else. I just walked back to the car. It was pretty obvious to me that we were done