“I won’t die on you.” I meant it. “This is a conversation, nothing more.”
He brushed my hair away and pressed his forehead against mine. “We need answers and you’re the one who is going to get them for us. I just don’t want things to get crazy.”
“Aunt Tillie will be with us. It’s going to get crazy.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” He gave me a kiss and then resumed walking. “Let’s do this.”
CANDLES LIGHTED THE BLUFF. Clove, with Sam standing as her protector, stood away from the circle.
Mom, Thistle and Marnie painted lines on the ground with a can of spray paint. I wasn’t familiar with the design, something Aunt Tillie had come up with.
“Are we ready?”
Mom lifted her eyes and nodded. “As ready as we’re going to get.”
“The older witches will hold a circle behind us,” Aunt Tillie explained. “You and I will be at the center. Clove will be left out of it completely.”
“That makes sense,” I said.
“What did she say that makes sense?” Thistle demanded. “She just lumped me in with the old witches.”
“Hey!” Mom’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “I’m not old. I’m in my prime.”
“I’m in my prime,” Aunt Tillie said. “You need to get over yourself. We all have a job to do. Bay is at the center. It’s her show.”
“Yes, Bay is the center of all our worlds these days,” Thistle drawled. “I can’t tell you how much I love it when my life revolves around her.”
“Shut up,” Landon muttered, drawing Thistle’s glare.
“Don’t tell me to shut up!”
Marcus, who had been standing with Sam and Clove, moved to Thistle’s side. He was the calmest member of our family, the only one who preferred avoiding fights, and was eager to stop us from falling apart now. “Let’s not do this,” he suggested. “There’s no need to fight.”
“There’s always a need to fight,” Aunt Tillie shot back. “This particular fight is stupid, though,” she added. “We’re here for a reason.”
I blew out a sigh and released Landon’s hand. “You should go stand with Chief Terry and Hannah.”
“I would rather stick with you,” he said.
“I know, but ... it’s safer for you to be with them, away from the circle.”
“If it’s safe enough for you to be in the circle, then it’s safe enough for me.” The tilt of his chin told me he wasn’t going to back down. “I think I should be with the center-of-the-world group.”
Aunt Tillie snorted. “Only you would call it that.”
“I’m in this, so I’m going to stand with you.”
“How thrilling for all of us,” Aunt Tillie drawled, her eye roll pronounced. “Do what you want. Let’s get moving. I want to stream The Mandalorian before bed tonight. Baby Yoda is my spirit animal.”
Somehow that seemed fitting. “Okay. Let’s get to it.”
Hannah cleared her throat from her spot near Clove and Sam. “Um ... I don’t want to be the newb here, but what exactly is going to happen?”
I had to tug on my limited patience to stop myself from yelling at her to shut up and watch. My nerves were frayed enough that I might’ve lost it. Instead, I offered her a wan smile. She was trying to help, which meant that it was unnecessary to fly off the handle.
“It’s a ritual,” I explained, searching for the right words. “This is a ghost trap.” I pointed to the lines that had been painted on the ground. “We’re not dealing with normal ghosts, but this should still work as a trap.”
“We’ll pool our magic,” Aunt Tillie said. “Bay is a necromancer. She should be able to call the shades to the circle. They’ll be trapped here as long as we want.”
“Or as long as the magic holds out,” I added.
“And then what?” Hannah’s face was blank. “What do you expect to happen?”
“We need answers.” I thought of Amelia’s face in the upstairs window. “There’s a human component to what’s happening in Hemlock Cove. We need to know who is involved so we can break whatever spell has been cast and send these shades on their way.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“We don’t really understand either,” Mom said. “Bay is trying to get answers. We can’t come up with a plan of attack until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“I get that part.” Hannah’s expression was strained. “I don’t understand how Bay can call the shades here whether they want to come or not. Why not just destroy them now and put an end to them?”
“I don’t know how to do that,” I said. “I can call ghosts. I can order them around. Shades are different. I’m not sure they’ll follow my commands.”
“Then how do you know you’ll be able to call them here?”
“We don’t,” Thistle replied. “But if we do manage it, we’ll be able to trap them here for at least a little bit. They’ll fight the effort. We’ll ask questions and hopefully they’ll answer. Then they’ll either escape or whoever created them will call them away. At least that’s what we think.”
“I see.” Hannah was thoughtful. “It all sounds very convoluted. I can’t believe you’re capable of any of this.”
“Sit back and enjoy the show,” Aunt Tillie said. “We’re masters at getting things done for a reason.”
She sounded more certain about what was about to happen than I felt. It didn’t matter. It was time. “Everybody get in position.”
Landon moved to stand behind Aunt Tillie and me as we stood just outside the circle. Thistle took one of the four corners with my mother and aunts. She looked angry — probably about being paired with an older generation — but she didn’t complain. She nodded when we made eye contact.
“Here we go.” Mom lifted her arms. “I call upon the power of the north. Bring strength, determination and resilience.”
Marnie was next. “I call upon the power of the east. Bring love, devotion and loyalty.”
Twila was third. “I call upon the power of the south. Bring grace, acceptance and
