Dirk gives Lou a look. “I’m gonna shift into my other form tae try and see what yer seein’.”
“Please don’t,” Lou begs, her voice trembling. “He’s right there, grinning at us.”
“What else is he doin’?” Dirk questions.
Lou huffs. “Nothing, he’s just standing there, staring. How are you not seeing this?” She glances between us, but when Dirk and I share a confused look, she darts forward, running to the spot where she claims to have seen Leighton. Dirk and I rush after her, but when she steps into the circle of light, she spins in place.
“He’s gone! He was just here! What the fuck?”
Unease fills me, my wolf whining into our shared space. I look at Lou and Dirk. “We need to tell Richard and Arkan immediately.”
My first thought is that this is connected to her thrall bites, and something’s finally happening with those. The threat of that steals the breath from my lungs.
Dirk sighs as he watches Lou staring around her, seemingly perplexed about how a male could have been there and vanished in a moment.
“Yeah,” he says eventually. “Yer right, alpha.”
“Stay with her,” I command as I head back into Slade’s cottage. I go to the back room where Richard’s still talking with Slade and the rest. Touching his elbow, I give him a meaningful look. He reads it and tells the others he’ll be back.
My pack alpha follows me outside, his concern a near tangible thing behind me. When we exit, Lou still stands under the streetlight, looking around.
Dirk shoots us a wry smile. “Och, Richard, I dinnae know how to say this so I’ll jest blurt it out. Louanna just saw Leighton right there under that light.”
Richard’s eyes go wide, dark brows sliding upward as he looks to me, then over to Lou, then back to me.
She scoffs and crosses her arms, walking over to join us. Her brows furrow in the middle. “I know that sounds crazy, Richard, and Dirk and Connall couldn’t see him. But I saw him as clear as day. I’m telling you, he wasright there.”
Richard stalks toward the streetlight, sniffing and looking around. Lou looks up at me with a distressed expression.
And it occurs to me that things might get worse for her before they get better. Because this? This isn’t normal.
Richard rejoins us, both hands on his muscular hips as he shakes his head. “I’m not going out of town, not with this going on. I’ll send Lola and join her as soon as we figure it out. But I can’t leave this for you to deal with alone.”
I pull Lou toward me, wrapping her in my arms and squeezing her tight. I just want to protect her from everyone and everything, and the idea that she can see something I can’t makes me feel like I won’t be able to do my job and keep her safe.
And I have to keep her safe. I fuckinghaveto.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Slade flips another page from one of Vikand’s books the following morning.
Books are stacked floor to ceiling in seeming disarray, random papers hanging out of their pages. Vikand, Arkan’s father, stands at a tall wooden desk in the back, poring over a book as thick as my leg. His horse tail swishes slowly from side to side, long black hair rustling against his onyx coat.
He sighs, pushing wire-framed glasses to the end of his nose to look over them at me. “I’ve got two dozen more books to lookthrough, but I can already tell you that Morgan won’t be able to heal that girl.”
Ice freezes in my veins as I stand from my spot, fists clenching.
Vikand closes the book and crosses muscular arms over his broad chest. “It’s black magic.”
I frown. “Morgan’s a black witch.”
He shakes his head. “But she’s agoodblack witch. She’s not dabbling in the dark arts. Well, I don’t think she is. I can’t see Abemet allowing that, but I digress. I examined the mermaid this morning. I’m certain that’s what it is. Although what spell was used is hard to say.”
My frown deepens as I place both hands on Vikand’s desk, willing my muscles to relax. “Is now a good time to mention that Lou thought she saw Leighton last night?”
One of Vikand’s pitch-black brows travels upward. “Oh?”
“I couldn’t see anything. Dirk was there too, and he also couldn’t see anything.”
“Leighton’s dead,” Vikand reminds me, his tone gentle.
