Shadows (Bayou Magic 1)

“I wouldn’t know what to do with it even if I did open it,” he says with a laugh.

“I have to call Asher and get the teams out here again. Tonight.”

I pull my phone out of my pocket to call, but it’s dead.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Why did our phones die?” Andy asks.

“Well, some people say that ghosts can suck the battery life out of electronics,” I reply and shrug.

“Are you saying this place is haunted?”

I look at him like he’s crazy, and then glance around this room of horrors. “Look around you, brother. More people have died in this house than maybe in any other in the world, aside from perhaps a hospital. I’d be shocked if it’s not haunted.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Let’s go up so you can plug it in and call. You’ll have a better signal anyway.”

I nod, but as we move toward the ladder, the lights go out.

The door slams shut.

“What the fuck?”

I try to turn on my phone, but it stays black.

“Shit. My phone died, remember?”

“Are you telling me we’re stuck down here in the dark with no cell?”

“I don’t know that we’re stuck.”

I fumble in the dark until I find the ladder, then climb it. I find the switch, and when I flip it up, the lights come back on.

“Ghosts fucking with us.”

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”“Get that out of my house,” Miss Sophia says, pointing at Andy. “That grimoire will not stay.”

“I’m sorry,” I say immediately, and Andy takes the book back to his car. “We found it at the house and thought it might be something you could use.”

“I know your intentions were good, but that thing is pure evil.”

Andy returns and apologizes.

“Come in, both of you,” Sophia says, calmer now. “It’s time you learn more about Horace.”

We join the others, sitting at the table.

“We’ve spent the past few hours reading and studying everything available to us,” Sophia begins. “And we know how to defeat him, but it won’t be easy.

“Horace is the son of Babette Jarreau. The Jarreau family has been immersed in magic for hundreds of years, perhaps longer than your family, Lucien. All of our families were friends of theirs, and all was fine. Until Babette.”

“I’ve heard stories,” Lucien agrees, standing. “Do you mind?”

“By all means. I suspect you may know more about this.”

Lucien nods. “My great-grandmother, Adelaide, was Babette’s grandmother’s sister,” he says. “It’s said that Babette was born with evil inside her. She gravitated to the black arts, insisted that they practice on the dark side, despite the teachings and beliefs of her family. She was banished from her coven and from her family, and she seemed to be fine with that.

“I don’t know who fathered Horace. Babette was a mean, strict mother, who manipulated her son to do her bidding. She was also a jealous woman because Horace had more skill when it came to the craft. But all she gave him was black magic. Never the benevolent kind. That’s all I know, or at least what’s been told to me.”

“As far as I can see, it’s the truth,” Sophia says with a nod. “And that book you found substantiates the tales. That book carries evil within it.”

“Can’t say I love the idea of it being in my car,” Andy says, shaking his head.

“We will cleanse you and the vehicle,” Sophia assures him. “But first, you have a phone call to make, yes?”

“Yes. Our phones died. Brielle, can I please borrow yours?”

“Of course.”Chapter Twenty-SixBrielle“Was your phone low when you got there?” I ask him, trying to keep the urgency out of my voice. The answer to this question is vital.

“No,” he says flatly. “We both had full charges. Both phones died within fifteen minutes of being there.”

I glance at Millie, who slowly shakes her head back and forth.

That means there’s a ghost, or ghosts, sucking the electrical charge out of any equipment on site.

It means the place is haunted.

I don’t know how many spirits we may be talking about.

Cash speaks into the phone, and I notice the whole room goes quiet once again, everybody listening.

“Dozens,” Cash says and finds my eyes with his bright green ones. “It’s a room under the torture room. There are freezers filled with bodies, cupboards filled with organs and blood. The team needs to be out there now, gathering everything. I don’t know. Yes, I can meet you there.”

“No,” I say immediately and reach for his hand. “I don’t want you to go back.”

“I’ll see you soon,” he says into the phone and then hangs up and passes it back to me.

“It’s not safe there.”

“Brielle, I’m part of the investigation, and trust me when I tell you, what we found needs to be catalogued and taken tonight.”

“I’m not disagreeing. Wait…dozens?”

“More than that,” Andy confirms, his face grim. “He’s been hunting for a long time, Brielle.”