She snorted. “I’m fucking human, not a witch. You haven’t the right—”
“Oh, I certainly have, especially with seven people dead.”
“I’m not responsible for that—”
“Indeed you are,” Ashworth said. “You might not be the source of magic, but you’re certainly the source of the foul anger that called this dark spirit into being.”
“No—”
“Then tell us who is,” Aiden said.
Her lips thinned. She wasn’t going to give anything—or anyone—up very easily. I glanced up at Ashworth. “You’ll probably have to use a truth spell on her.”
“Yes, although I suspect we might actually be dealing with an embedded spell that prevents her from speaking, rather than mere stubbornness.”
I frowned. “Embedded? As in, into her flesh?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s rare, and generally only done when both parties are considered compatible.”
“Meaning spiritually? Or sexually?”
“Either, depending on the people involved and the magic being called on.” His gaze narrowed. “Why? What have you heard?”
“The source that gave me the list also told me that Molly was living with her half brother, and that they were involved in an incestuous relationship.”
“And who might your source be?” Aiden asked
My gaze went to his. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Liz—”
“I got the information on the understanding that I didn’t reveal where. I can’t back out on that promise, Aiden. I won’t.”
He studied me for a moment, then nodded and rose. “Let’s get her back to the station and deal with her there. Liz, is your spell portable?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to come with you. Ashworth can no doubt unravel it, but it would be quicker and easier if I just came along.” I rose and handed Ashworth her boots. “The two charms she used to mask her identity and mute the sounds of her movements are inside. You might be able to use them to track down their creator.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier and more efficient for you to use your psychometry skills?”
I shook my head. “The darkness of the magic involved would interfere with any sensation I could pull from them. Besides, for psychometry to be effective, the item has to have a longtime connection to flesh.”
All of which he should be aware of. Maybe it was more evidence of how little he believed anything Belle and I said about ourselves.
“Ah, pity.”
I turned to Molly, caught the ends of the spell’s threads, and silently adjusted them. As I did, the net’s ends pulled away from the bitumen and instead wound tighter around her body, until every part of her was cocooned except for a portion of her legs just below her knees. While she needed to be able to walk to the car, given her propensity to kick, I didn’t want her being able to get too much of a swing up.
Aiden herded her toward the truck. She swore and threatened him every inch of the way.
“That is a rather nice mutation of a very basic spell,” Ashworth commented.
I shrugged and headed for the truck. “When you’re taught nothing more than basics, you do tend to experiment.”
“So it seems.”
Again, his disbelief was evident, although in this particular case, it was the truth.
It didn’t take us