Witches of the Deep (The Memento Mori Witch Trilogy Book 3) by C.N. Crawford Read Free Book Online Page B

she glimpsed Estelle stalking closer, baring her teeth.
    Instinctively, Fiona took a step back, letting go of Tobias’s arm. Estelle closed in, her hand flying to Fiona’s throat. Fiona tried to block it, just like she’d been taught in her self-defense class. But Estelle was too fast, and her long fingernails pierced Fiona’s neck. Her eyes blazed a pale, wolfish gray.
    Fiona’s heart pounded against her ribs. Estelle was going to tear her to pieces.
    Growling, her fangs lengthened. “The goddess Borgerith hasn’t spoken to me about you yet,” she snarled. “But if I sense that you’re anything like your father, I will kill you myself.” She released Fiona’s neck, and her eyes darkened again.
    Fiona’s legs trembled, and she shot Tobias a sharp look. He hadn’t even tried to help.
    For a moment she debated running off into the forest, but she wasn’t going to give Estelle the satisfaction. Schooling her face into a calm expression, she sat in an unclaimed chair, plucking a warm dinner roll from a bowl. Tobias sat by her side.
    She ignored him, turning her attention to the radio.
    “…after a bullying incident at a high school in Gloucester. The school’s principal has called it an unfortunate…”
    Mist gathered over the common, rolling in from the sea. She tried to hide the tremble in her hand as she ladled the creamy chowder into her bowl. “Thanks for the help,” she snapped. She immediately regretted it. He’d only just learned he would be spending an infinite amount of time in the inferno, and she was already mad at him.
    “They’re hierarchical,” he said. “We can’t defy her if we’re staying here. We should think about leaving. I just haven’t figured out where we can go.” He halfheartedly ladled a dollop of chowder into his bowl.
    The name “Forzese” crackled over the radio, and they stopped talking. The entire outdoor banquet had fallen silent.
    “…during a police interview. Police officials say that Josephine Forzese acted erratically during questioning.”
    Fiona sat frozen, her spoon suspended on the way to her mouth. Mom didn’t act erratically. Ever.
    “The investigation is ongoing. But we do know that when Ms. Forzese lunged for an officer’s gun, another opened fire. The official cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Officer Mullen…”
    Fiona didn’t hear the rest. She heard only the heartbeat in her ears and the sound of rushing water. The bread in her mouth seemed to turn to ash. The wolves all stared at her, their faces compassionate—even Estelle’s eyes held a flash of sympathy before the mist grew heavier, fogging Fiona’s vision. This can’t be real.
    It must be fake. Misinformation. The Purgators were trying to lure Fiona into the open so they could arrest her. Right now Mom was finishing up her dinner in South Boston, clearing the table.
    Fiona rose, stumbling over her chair. She needed to tell everyone before they thought it was real, but for some reason she couldn’t get the words to come.
    Tobias stood, and she felt his warm arms around her.
    “…Newspapers have received criticism for their decision to show pictures of Josephine Forzese’s body…”
    How could they get pictures of the body? Maybe they were Photoshopped… She pushed Tobias away. She needed to explain to him that it was all fake. She shook her head, trying to clear it.
    Her knees began to give way.
    It was true. She knew it was. Of course the Purgators were trying to lure Fiona out, but their tactic of choice was murder.
    Mom used to say she would sweep the monsters away before putting her to bed. Sometimes she’d act it out with a little pink toy broom Fiona had kept in her closet. Mom would reach in, grab the plastic handle, and mime brushing out monsters from under her bed. It went on until Fiona had started to find it embarrassing. “You don’t have to keep doing it, Mom,” she’d said. “I know monsters aren’t real.”
    What an idiot she’d been. Monsters