Arrest, Search and Séance : Book 1 of the Fringe Society R.D. Hunter (pride and prejudice read .TXT) 📖

be protected. This Smiling Man you mentioned, was an abomination of absolute evil. And when you brought your firearm to bear, while channeling the magic within you, magic now permeated with the path that you chose, it was able to transform into a weapon capable of defeating such evil. The same holds true with this Hawkins monster. By your will alone, you were able to strike him where it hurts, cutting him off from the majority of his power source.”

“That’s a handy little trick,” I said. Gramps nodded.

“Quite. But try not to make a habit of it, if you would,” he said with half a smile. “My old heart didn’t like seeing my one and only granddaughter in the hospital.” I leaned over and kissed his forehead.

“It’s a deal.”

It was the last night of my vacation. My wounds had mostly healed, and tomorrow I’d head back to work and take on a fresh case load. I wouldn’t say I was excited, but I was more prepared. I was confidant in my abilities as a witch and as a detective, and the newfound balance in my life gave me a clarity I’d been missing for a long time. But there was still one more thing to do.

We were back at Nichole Barret’s place. It was me, Beth and the girls. Since she didn’t have any close family, Nichole had left the house to all four of them jointly, and they’d sort of adopted it as an unofficial coven-gathering place. I think Nichole would have approved.

We were in the room that housed her sacred space. Not much had changed. They’d added a few more books. There were some more crystals scattered about, and we drew from those now as we stood in a circle with our power raised and our voices echoing into the night.

“Sister lost

Soul full of pain

Appear before us

Upon the mortal plane.”

 

We repeated it five times, and then Nichole was with us. She looked the same as I’d seen her last; dark hair, athletic figure, overly large eyes that now regarded each of us in turn. But whereas earlier her gaze had been filled with pain and confusion, now there was only a gentle peace that came from knowing her earthly works were done.

All of the girls were crying openly now, myself included. I hadn’t known her before her passing, but seeing the love my new friends held for her told me everything I needed to know about her.

After a few minutes, Beth composed herself enough to step forward.

“Nichole, I want you to know that you were the best friend anyone could ever hope for,” she said shakily. “You were like a sister to all of us, and we will carry your memory until the day we die and are reunited. Blessed be, Sister.”

“Blessed be,” the other girls said in unison.

Nichole smiled, a kind, joyous smile touched with only a hint of sadness. Then, before she left for her new existence, she turned and regarded me alone. I felt naked under her gaze, but forced myself to meet it and not break contact. After a few moments that stretched towards eternity, she nodded slowly, then vanished where she stood.

She was gone. Every trace of her presence disappeared with her, and we all knew that we’d never see her again in this life.

Afterwards, there was more crying. I listened to the girls tell stories about Nichole and share fond stories. Amelia had a particularly humorous one about the time a group of guys tried to pick them up at a restaurant and had trouble taking ‘No’ for an answer. Ones’ pants inexplicably split right up the butt and the other’s fly had come down and refused to go back up. Nichole denied having any hand in it, but there was a twinkle in her eye as she did so.

We spent the rest of the night eating pizza, drinking wine and generally just hanging out. Lacey showed up a little later and we watched a movie together. If this kind of camaraderie was what a coven was all about, maybe I hadn’t been giving them a fair shake, although I seriously doubted Isabelle and her lackeys had such a connection.

I knew there were things I should have been doing. I still needed to look into how a treasure trove of witchcraft objects could exist under my roof for years and escape my notice. Why had the Smiling Man been so afraid of Tilly? What other abilities did I have, now that I’d chosen my path? And what was the real reason Henry Mason was paying good money to get a witch on his payroll?

All of these were good questions. All of these needed answering. But then Lacey handed me a slice of pepperoni pizza and I pushed it all to the side. There was time, and I needed this right now.

After all, you only live once.

THE END

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WE’RE NOT DONE YET.

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CURSE & PROTECT

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CHAPTER ONE

 

The man had fought for his life. That much was certain. There were scrapes on both knuckles, and dried blood crusted around his nose and mouth. I had a feeling if I lifted up the sleeves of the heavy, brown coat he wore, I’d find bruises and other signs of defensive wounds. He hadn’t gone quietly.

But he had gone, which was why I was here, crouched over his dead body in a narrow alley just a few blocks south of Five Points. A thick beard and weathered features made it tough to tell his age with any degree of accuracy, but I had a hunch the man was pushing sixty. The rancid smell of body odor mixed with the coppery scent of blood told me he