Mystic Jive: Hand of Fate - Book Four by Sharon Joss Read Free Book Online Page B

truck’s headlights.
    “Don’t you die on me, Lou! Don’t you even think about it.” In the distance I heard a siren whine.
    “Those women,” he grunted. “They were looking for me.” He opened his fist. A blackened and battered coin lay in his palm. It was surrounded by a golden aura. “Take it. Keep it with you”
    The coin gleamed brighter when I touched it.
    He winced. “Ah, crap. I was afraid of that.”
    “What is it?” The ambulance squealed to a stop behind Rhys’s truck, lights flashing.
    “Detects black magic. We’ve been cursed.”
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 7
     
    BY THE TIME the EMTs loaded him into the ambulance, Lou was unconscious. The sheriff’s deputy arrived at the same time. We had to wait until he took statements from all the witnesses—more than a dozen of us. We all said pretty much the same thing—the limo had come out of nowhere. It happened so fast, no one got a license plate number on the vehicle, but hey, how many white stretch limos could there be in Penfield?
    “It’s not the limo I’m worried about,” said the deputy. “It’s probably stolen. The driver has probably dumped it already. We’ll find it in a couple of days—in a barn or a canal somewhere, stripped for parts. Unless we catch them in the vehicle, finding the driver is going to be tough.”
    Kevin, the bartender, described the two women who’d come into the bar. “It was those witches, dammit. They said they were looking for someone, but I wasn’t having any of it. I told them to clear out.”
    “Do you know them?”
    “No, but they all have a distinctive smell. These two reeked of it. Set the whole bar on edge.”
    The deputy paled when he realized he was speaking to a were-guy. To his credit, he kept on going.
     “Who were they looking for?”
    “They didn’t mention any names, and I didn’t ask.” Kevin answered, with more than a little heat.
    The deputy took careful notes of everything the witnesses said, except the part about the witches. He addressed the crowd of witnesses. “Anyone recognize these ah, women?”
    No one said a word.
    “Anyone know of any connections between the victim and these women?”
    Again, silence from the crowd.
    I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket, feeling for the coin Lou had given me for safekeeping. He wanted me to have it—I wasn’t about to hand it over.
    After making sure he had all our contact information, the deputy told us we were free to go.
    I managed to maintain my cool until Rhys started up the truck. “Did you notice Deputy Weber’s eyes glaze over when Kevin mentioned the witches?”
    “Aye. But to be fair, most of the witnesses were all werewolves and vampires. He might have been a bit overwhelmed.”
    “Maybe,” I admitted. “Lou says the sheriff’s department has a hands-off stance when it comes to the Penfield witches. He says they’re a cult. I’ll bet no one lifts a finger to find out who did this.”
    “That’s why the paranormal community has to stick together. I think it’s great that you and Lou have teamed up.”
    It wasn’t the first time I’d heard Rhys say that. We pulled into the hospital parking lot. “Yeah, but it’s not right. Lou said those women in Growlers were looking for us.” I showed Rhys the glowing coin that Lou had given me. As soon as I dropped it into Rhys’s hand, it turned dark.
    “Interesting.” Rhys switched on the cab light to examine the bit of blackened metal more closely. He turned it over in his palm. “It’s a coin, all right. Silver. Couple thousand years old, I’d guess. I’d need to examine it under magnification to be sure.”
    He held it out to me,
    At my touch, the glow returned. “Lou said it detects the presence of black magic.” I shoved the coin into the pocket of my jeans. “What do you know about curses?”
    “That’s not really my area of study. I’ve run into more than a few artifacts that were said to have been cursed or blessed in some way. I suspect a lot of them