He frowned. “Can a ghoul even interact with the real world?”
“Ghouls fall more on the demonic side of things, rather than ghostly, and tend to have a love for human flesh.”
“This one is only taking the blood and the heart, though.”
“Which doesn’t discount the possibility—demons have their food preferences just as we do.” I shrugged. “Do you want me to attempt another—”
“No,” he cut in bluntly. “I do not. I want you to rest right there until I can get someone to take you home.”
“There are cabs in this town,” I said, voice wry. “I’m quite able to grab one.”
“Yes, but I’d rather ensure—”
“Aiden, honestly, I’ll be fine. But I really need to get out of here—the man’s emotions linger, and shielding against them is pulling at my strength.”
His gaze swept me for a moment, then he nodded and rose. “Fine. But please go home and rest.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What makes you think I won’t?”
“Because you’ve the look of someone who has the scent of prey in her nose, and that generally means trouble.”
“I only wish that were true—it’d make tracking down this thing a whole lot easier.” I paused and glanced across to the French doors. “Didn’t you say they were open when Lacy got here?”
He nodded. “Why?”
“Given the weather, it’s doubtful our couple would have left them open, even if they had been using the hot tub. So if our murderer was responsible, she might have left either a fingerprint or some other sort of residue on the handle. Help me up.”
He did so; the room spun briefly, and the thick taste of bile hit my throat. I swallowed heavily, then forced my feet to move. Aiden kept a steadying grip on my arm—obviously, I wasn’t hiding the weakness as well as I thought.
I raised a hand and ran it just above the door handle. My fingers tingled briefly over the left one but not the right, but it wasn’t enough to garner any sort of impression. Nothing other than hate, at any rate.
Why would a ghoul hate?
They’re ghouls, came Belle’s comment. I’d have thought hate comes with the territory.
“Anything?” Aiden asked.
“She touched the handles, but I’m not getting much more than that.” To Belle, I added, Why are you following my thoughts? Shouldn’t you be with Kash, enjoying the party?
Kash has cottoned on to Monty’s date, and we’re consoling ourselves at the bar.
Are you sure that wasn’t Monty’s plan all along?
Even he wouldn’t go that far. Not when he was obviously enjoying her company.
It was very interesting she’d noticed that, but I had enough sense not to say it. Enjoy the rest of your night, then.
The booze and food is free, so how could I not?
Her amusement faded from my mind. Aiden called me a cab, then escorted me back through the house and waited on the front porch with me.
Lights swept around the corner, and the fierce wail of sirens bit through the night; a heartbeat later, the green-striped white SUV pulled up beside Aiden’s truck, and Ciara—who wasn’t only the coroner, but also his sister—climbed out. After grabbing her gear from the back of the SUV, she dashed through the rain to the front porch.
“What have we got this time?” she said, giving me a quick but friendly nod.
“Two bodies, but similar MO to the groom’s murder.”
She grunted and looked at me. “You able to get anything?”
“Nothing useful.”
“That’s inconvenient.”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed wryly.
“The bodies are in the rear bedroom,” Aiden said. “I’ll meet you there in a minute.”
Ciara nodded and headed in. I crossed my arms and shivered, though it wasn’t so much the night’s chill but rather the still-fading remnants of death. Aiden wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me closer to his big, warm body. He didn’t say anything and neither did I. We didn’t really need to.
The cab came a few minutes later. I tugged the coat’s hood over my head and, after dropping a kiss on Aiden’s cheek, dashed out into the wild night. It didn’t take long to get home; once I’d paid the driver, I climbed out and swung my pack over my shoulder.
It was then that I noticed them.
Tiny threads of magic, floating through the air.
Tiny threads that had been torn apart.
My gaze jumped to our café on the other side of the road.
Multiple layers of the magic protecting the building were missing or had been rendered inert.
Someone up to no good had tried to get inside.
Chapter Three
That the attacker hadn’t entirely succeeded was no doubt due to the fact that the remaining layers were enhanced by wild magic. Whoever did this—be it Clayton or one of his flunkies—had obviously decided getting into the building wasn’t worth the risk of provoking it.
If it was Clayton, then he now knew about my affinity with the wild magic, even if he couldn’t be aware of the full extent.
Rain poured from my hood and pooled around my feet, but I didn’t immediately move. I just studied the building, looking for possible snares or traps. I couldn’t see any, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Clayton, like most fully powered blueblood witches, was utterly capable of concealing his spells.
I swiped the rain from my face, then forced my feet into action and quickly crossed the road. Energy pressed at my fingertips in readiness, but no one jumped out at me and nothing magical attacked. The front door hadn’t in any way been jimmied, and the windows remained locked. I hesitated and then walked around to the rear of the building. Our new SUV sat alone in the parking space, and the back door looked untouched. I tested the handle; still locked.
I hesitated again and then walked
