Read Online Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered by Robyn Bachar - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robyn Bachar
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head, she returned to the kitchen and ran the tips of her fingers over the island in the center of the room.
“Nothing here either,” she said. Her voice was low, almost a whisper, though it was loud in the strained silence of the room.
Emily’s eyes were somewhat unfocused as she walked past us, toward the front door. She paused for a moment, frowning in my direction, and I glanced down at my shirt as though I expected to find a clump of pet hair or a smear of dog drool. When I didn’t find anything immediately wrong with me, I glanced back at her, and now she stood in front of the door. She probably hadn’t been looking at me, but through me.
“It was night. The men came in through here. Four of them. Armed with large guns…rifles perhaps. I don’t know much about modern guns. Their energy is very cold, very focused. They see a mission, not a family. Not a home. They feel no remorse for what they are about to do.” Emily shook her head, her tone mournful, but then she turned and began walking toward the dining room and the bedrooms past it.
Emily paused in the doorway to the baby’s room. “Oh dear,” she breathed. Michael took a step toward her, but she waved him away. She bent down, careful to keep the toes of her black pumps out of the blood. Her hands hovered over the body, and then she closed the woman’s eyes.
“She was up late with the baby. He was fussing, and she was trying to soothe him. She heard the footsteps in the hall and knew something was wrong, and she put the baby in the crib. When they came through the door, she tried to fight them with fire…the fire in her blood.”
I turned to Marie. “Faerie-blooded,” she confirmed.
Ah. That was why she’d called me and Lex in. She was one of ours.
“They shot her, as you can see,” Emily said. “They were more interested in the children than in the parents.”
I shuddered, sick to my stomach. I fought the sensation back, determined to see this through. She rose and returned to the hallway, headed for the master bedroom. When she stepped through the door, she stopped with a horrified expression.
“It’s cold in here,” she whispered. Emily shivered, and Michael tried to touch her shoulder, but she shied away. “Not yet… There was someone else here.”
“The husband?” Marie asked.
“Yes, he slept, but this presence is wrong. It’s not human nor magician.”
“Where was it?” I asked.
Emily crossed to the foot of the king-sized bed and pointed at a spot on the hardwood floor. I followed and sniffed the air. Blood was still the strongest scent, though there wasn’t any visible in the room. The bedding was disheveled, but that was the extent of the damage. I caught the papery smell of librarian that saturated the house, and I knelt and sniffed the floor.
“Brimstone,” I announced with a wrinkled nose.
“I don’t smell anything,” Marie said skeptically.
“You wouldn’t. It’s not actual brimstone. It’s magical residue,” I replied.
“You can smell magic?” Michael asked, quirking a brow. “That’s remarkable.”
Oops. If I hadn’t been so frazzled I wouldn’t have let that slip, but considering that Lex and Zach both knew of my special power, it wasn’t exactly a big secret anymore.
“We’d appreciate if you didn’t share that with anyone,” Lex said. “Was it a demon or a summoner?”
“A demon,” Emily confirmed. “It subdued the father, and the humans took him away.”
“Shit,” I muttered. There had been demons involved when we rescued Anthony from the hunters, but we weren’t sure what their role was. They just seemed to pop up out of nowhere to keep us from escaping. Maybe the Prometheans flipped a summoner who was supplying them with demon reinforcements. It wouldn’t take much for a summoner to sell out the rest of us. They weren’t nice people.
We followed Emily through the other bedrooms as she related the story of what had happened. Much to everyone’s dismay, she
“Nothing here either,” she said. Her voice was low, almost a whisper, though it was loud in the strained silence of the room.
Emily’s eyes were somewhat unfocused as she walked past us, toward the front door. She paused for a moment, frowning in my direction, and I glanced down at my shirt as though I expected to find a clump of pet hair or a smear of dog drool. When I didn’t find anything immediately wrong with me, I glanced back at her, and now she stood in front of the door. She probably hadn’t been looking at me, but through me.
“It was night. The men came in through here. Four of them. Armed with large guns…rifles perhaps. I don’t know much about modern guns. Their energy is very cold, very focused. They see a mission, not a family. Not a home. They feel no remorse for what they are about to do.” Emily shook her head, her tone mournful, but then she turned and began walking toward the dining room and the bedrooms past it.
Emily paused in the doorway to the baby’s room. “Oh dear,” she breathed. Michael took a step toward her, but she waved him away. She bent down, careful to keep the toes of her black pumps out of the blood. Her hands hovered over the body, and then she closed the woman’s eyes.
“She was up late with the baby. He was fussing, and she was trying to soothe him. She heard the footsteps in the hall and knew something was wrong, and she put the baby in the crib. When they came through the door, she tried to fight them with fire…the fire in her blood.”
I turned to Marie. “Faerie-blooded,” she confirmed.
Ah. That was why she’d called me and Lex in. She was one of ours.
“They shot her, as you can see,” Emily said. “They were more interested in the children than in the parents.”
I shuddered, sick to my stomach. I fought the sensation back, determined to see this through. She rose and returned to the hallway, headed for the master bedroom. When she stepped through the door, she stopped with a horrified expression.
“It’s cold in here,” she whispered. Emily shivered, and Michael tried to touch her shoulder, but she shied away. “Not yet… There was someone else here.”
“The husband?” Marie asked.
“Yes, he slept, but this presence is wrong. It’s not human nor magician.”
“Where was it?” I asked.
Emily crossed to the foot of the king-sized bed and pointed at a spot on the hardwood floor. I followed and sniffed the air. Blood was still the strongest scent, though there wasn’t any visible in the room. The bedding was disheveled, but that was the extent of the damage. I caught the papery smell of librarian that saturated the house, and I knelt and sniffed the floor.
“Brimstone,” I announced with a wrinkled nose.
“I don’t smell anything,” Marie said skeptically.
“You wouldn’t. It’s not actual brimstone. It’s magical residue,” I replied.
“You can smell magic?” Michael asked, quirking a brow. “That’s remarkable.”
Oops. If I hadn’t been so frazzled I wouldn’t have let that slip, but considering that Lex and Zach both knew of my special power, it wasn’t exactly a big secret anymore.
“We’d appreciate if you didn’t share that with anyone,” Lex said. “Was it a demon or a summoner?”
“A demon,” Emily confirmed. “It subdued the father, and the humans took him away.”
“Shit,” I muttered. There had been demons involved when we rescued Anthony from the hunters, but we weren’t sure what their role was. They just seemed to pop up out of nowhere to keep us from escaping. Maybe the Prometheans flipped a summoner who was supplying them with demon reinforcements. It wouldn’t take much for a summoner to sell out the rest of us. They weren’t nice people.
We followed Emily through the other bedrooms as she related the story of what had happened. Much to everyone’s dismay, she
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