“What makes you think you can trust Luc?”
“I don’t. I just knew that Zoe was more the wild card. I don’t know any of you well enough to trust you.”
She heard Aiden laugh. It was the first real laugh she had heard out of him. It was contagious. She couldn’t help but join in.
He was still laughing. “What?”
“That’s the first time I have heard a real laugh out of you.”
“What, that laugh I gave Zoe wasn’t real?”
“Oh, it was real, a real weapon. I think you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do.”
The rest of the drive was enjoyable. The banter between the two of them light and easy. She found herself smiling a lot and even enjoying his company.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Harley was surprised to see that her circle was mostly untouched. It looked like anyone that came back had used the doorway she had marked. Finally, some respect from the police department.
She got her bag out and walked to the circle. Aiden followed close behind her. Stopping a few yards from the circle.
“Do you mind staying out here? I need to do a bit more looking around for evidence.”
“Not a problem. I’ll stand here and keep an eye out.”
“Thanks.”
Harley took out the powered potion she had made yesterday and sprinkled it inside the circle. A low fog rolled in unexpectedly to surround the circle.
The fog was particularly heavy in the middle where Harley stood. She relaxed allowing her eyes to go out of focus. She was about to see the last moments of the college student’s life. Or at least she hoped she would be.
The spell was a risky one, and it didn’t always work. The elements had to be just right. They also had to align with certain planetary functions or the spell wouldn’t work. It’s why she just couldn’t go out and use it to solve every crime that happened.
The air shimmered turning from day to night. Suddenly Harley saw the group of college students come out of the woods and toward the clearing. They were laughing and making a lot of noise.
Good thing they were trying to be quiet, she thought. As they drew closer, Harley could see that two of them were carrying bottles of alcohol and one was stumbling. Looks like they were having a lot of fun.
A dark shadow passed over them. Harley would guess they set off Luc’s wards ten to fifteen minutes ago. The ward was possibly on a delay. She made a mental note to ask him later.
One of the girls shrieked and pointed at the gargoyle as it flew overhead. The group ducked and ran back into the trees. She saw one of the young men get on the cell phone. She could hear him calling 911.
The sound of police sirens startled her. It’s not something she expected to hear. Two vehicles pulled up to the area. Several men in uniform got out.
Harley didn’t recognize any of them. Each one was wearing an officer’s cap pulled down low enough she couldn’t really see their faces. They called to the students. After looking around to make sure the gargoyle wasn’t close, the students came out from under the trees.
What happened next made Harley gasp. The uniformed men descended on the group of college students. Feeding off them and then ripping them to shreds.
They left the bodies getting back in their cars. Once they had pulled several yards away, one of them cast a spell to erase their tracks, and they disappeared into the tree line.
Harley hadn’t even noticed the road that led to the clearing through the trees until this morning. She had met the paranormal group farther out and trekked into the trees.
She wondered if one of them had cast a spell to obscure the land so that at first glance, you wouldn’t see the road.
There were bits and pieces of college student scattered around her. Harley had almost ended the spell when she saw the gargoyle fly in. It swooped the bodies several times before landing, smelling the bodies and lapping up the rest of the blood.
Harley had seen enough, she felt a little green around the gills. She ended the spell, a little unsteady on her feet. She was surprised to find Aiden standing next to her.
She was about to ask him why he was there when he spoke first.
“Are you alright? It was too foggy for me to see you. When you didn’t come out right away and didn’t answer me, I came in here.”
He came up behind Harley and steadied her.
“I, I just need a minute.”
He held on to her in silence. Steadying her, but giving her space.
“Did you see anything?”
“No, I don’t have witch sight like some other paranormals do.”
“Good.”
“Why is it good?”
“Because, if you would have seen anything I would have compromised an ongoing police case. The gargoyle did not kill the college students.”
“Ok, what do we need to do?”
Harley looked at him, she had expected him to be angry. He didn’t look angry. He looked concerned.
“I need to call Lieutenant Meyers and let him know that we need to chat. I’ll probably have to go into headquarters. I can drop you somewhere unless you want to hang in the outer office.”
“Doesn’t sound like much fun. Drop me off at an internet café, and I’ll play video games until you get done.”
“Deal.”
Harley called the Lieutenant and as she suspected he wanted her to come in. He also had the results of the tests on the bite and claw marks. Harley was certain they would fit with what she had seen in the spell vision.
Aiden helped her to the vehicle and then surprisingly offered to
