Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
He’s not confined.
He can hunt.
And his prey is already in sight.
They thought they could beat him. Outsmart him. But he’s been hunting for centuries.
They’re nothing.
And he will remind them very soon just how insignificant they are.
Chapter Seven
Giles
“Give me. Right now.” Lorelei comes marching into my shop like a woman on a mission, her dark auburn hair a riot of curls around her beautiful face. She plants her hands on my countertop and leans toward me. “Larimar. I want it.”
I grin at her and shove my glasses up my nose. “You must have talked with Breena.”
“Of course, I did. I talk to her every day. And she spilled the tea about some new larimar in the shop. I need it.”
“Well, you were the witch I had in mind when I bought it.” I wipe my hands and walk around to the glass case where I store the most precious crystals. “I have several sizes.”
I spread everything out for her and watch her pupils dilate in excitement. I understand. It’s a stunning crystal, mined only in the ocean off the Dominican Republic. It’s not easy to get, given its volcanic origins, and it’s damn expensive.
But it also looks like the ocean, with its turquoise-blue color rippled with white, giving it the look of the Caribbean.
“I want it all.”
My eyes whip up to hers. “Lora, there’s about a thousand dollars-worth here. And that’s my cost.”
“I want it,” she insists, shaking her head. “You even have little chips here that I can use in candle work. The quality is amazing. It’s definitely not fake.”
I feel my hackles rise and narrow my eyes at her. “You won’t find man-made crystals in my shop at any time.”
Her face softens into a smile. “Sorry, I wasn’t implying otherwise. It’s just…this is so hard to find, and I’m excited. I’m not kidding, Giles, I want it all.”
“You’re the customer.” I start wrapping it for her. “How are things with you? Are you settled into the cottage?”
“I am. I have it all set up the way I want, and my office faces the water so I can draw energy from the ocean while I write. I walk the shoreline several times a day.”
“See any mermaids?” I ask. It was always a joke when we were younger that Lorelei could talk to all the underwater creatures, even the mermaids.
“Daily. They’re real, you know.”
“So you say.”
“For a witch, you’re awfully cynical.”
I laugh and bag up her order. When I tell her the total, she scowls.
“I know it’s more than that.”
“My cost.” I shrug when she just stares at me. “It’s expensive enough as it is. Don’t worry about it. I mean it.”
“I see what Breena sees in you,” she says as I run her credit card. “You’re just a nice guy.”
“Don’t let it get out. Is there anything else you’d like me to keep an eye out for?”
“Nothing specific, but I’ll let you know if I think of anything. Thanks for this. I have an altar to fiddle with, candles to make, and that huge piece is going on my mantel.”
“Have fun with it.”
Lorelei heads out of the shop with a happy wave, and I decide to step outside and get some fresh air. I’ve been at work since early this morning. I couldn’t sleep after a particularly nasty nightmare and figured I’d just come in.
The bad dreams have gotten worse since Breena moved into the house. I feel like something is ramping up again, but we have close to six months before Samhain and the next round with the witch killer.
This is the supposed downtime when we can research, plan, and feel safe.
But something tells me we need to keep our guards up.
So, I came to work early this morning so I could close early and get home to Breena.
One thing is for sure, the weather this spring has been unseasonably warm. After a harsh winter, the sunshine is welcome.
But as I step outside, everything goes dark. There’s no light at all, and as I reach behind me for Gems’ door, I find that’s gone, too.
“Hello?”
My voice echoes as if I’m in a tunnel. I can hear water dripping, and something flutters by my face, making me jerk back. I slam into a brick wall.
One that wasn’t there mere seconds ago.
“You have no power here!” I yell as the wind starts to pick up. I root my feet and feel the power of the earth beneath me as I raise my hands into the air and begin chanting a protection spell.
“Evil spirits that roam this place, be thee gone from time and space. From rise of moon to set of sun, I banish your essence, your power is none. My word is my will, my steadfast decree. All this I say, so mote it be.”
Snow and ice fall, pelting my face as the temperature drops, and the wind swirls around me. But I don’t waver in the spell or my stance.