Hell's Bell (Lizzie Grace 2)

His gaze swept the area before coming back to mine. “I can’t feel anything.”

“You wouldn’t, given you’re not sensitive to magic. But it’s here, and while it’s nowhere near as powerful as the wellspring within the O’Connor compound, it’s still young and growing.”

“Which doesn’t explain why it would be dangerous to speak to Gabe’s ghost, given that’s a psychic skill rather than magical,” he said. “And ghosts can’t hurt the living, can they?”

“That,” Belle said gravely, “not only depends on the ghost, but also on what else might be here.”

“So do a protection circle or whatever else it is witches do in these situations.” He hesitated. “You are capable of that, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” It was pointless saying anything else, given my oft-expressed desire to place such protection around the original wellspring. “But using any sort of magic within the presence of wild magic is dangerous. You saw what happened to my spell in the cemetery.”

“We could just use the stones,” Belle said. “If we’re both inside the circle, you can react if anything goes ass-up.”

I hesitated, and then nodded. Hopefully, things wouldn’t go awry, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially when we were dealing with the ghost of a witch and very possibly the wife he’d murdered.

Belle handed me the pack, and then walked over to the spring. I followed, but she stopped in front of the small well and studied the ground. After a couple of seconds, she moved over to the left edge of the spring, close to the cliff face. “Whatever happened in this place to Gabe, it happened here.”

Aiden frowned. “We found Kate’s body on the other side of the well.”

“Which means,” I said, “it’s very possible he did include the wild magic in whatever spells he raised in this place.”

Belle nodded in agreement and sat cross-legged on the ground. “I’ll prepare to contact him. You raise the shield.”

“What about me?” Aiden said. “What do you want me to do?”

I undid the backpack and fished around for the small silk bag that contained my spell stones. “There’s nothing you can do, I’m afraid.”

“Other than making sure neither of us gets attacked by whatever wild things might inhabit this area,” Belle added.

Aiden smiled, though it didn’t really lift the tension in him. “The only wild things in these parts are rabbits and the occasional kangaroo. Neither is particularly dangerous.” He hesitated. “Is it possible to repeat what you did in the rotunda, so that I could record it?”

“I can certainly ask questions and, under normal circumstances, Belle can reply for the spirit.” I opened the silk bag and poured the stones into my hand. These particular ones were rough-cut clear quartz, which were a whole lot cheaper than diamonds and yet had very similar properties. “But neither of us know what sort of spell restrictions Gabe might have placed around this area, so you may or may not be able to hear us once we get in contact with him.”

“Let’s hope that’s not the case, because I’m going to need recorded evidence to take to the council.”

Because they wouldn’t believe him without it, obviously. And part of me couldn’t help wondering if that would have changed if we’d been proper RWA witches.

“Whatever happens, do not approach the circle or attempt to help either of us until we say otherwise.”

“Sure, but why would I even need to?” he asked. “You’ve done this sort of stuff hundreds of times, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but this time we’re dealing with the ghost of a witch who may or may not take over Belle’s body. And if that’s the case, she might need to pull on my energy to maintain physical status quo.”

He frowned. “Why? And how is something like that even possible?”

“She’s my familiar, remember.” I started placing the stones into position. “And while a familiar is tasked with providing additional physical strength for their witch whenever necessary, Belle’s also a witch, and that means the ability to do so goes both ways.”

But only thanks to the strength of our connection and friendship, Belle commented.

Aiden’s expression remained confused. “That still doesn’t explain why it might be necessary.”

“Contacting spirits can be physically demanding,” Belle said. “Which is why true spirit talkers often restrict the time they spend with the other plane.”

Not to mention the fact that some spirits were so strong they could not only inhabit the body of the talker, but try to oust the witch’s own spirit and permanently take over their body. That was one of the reasons why we had so many protections around our reading room at the café, and why only using spell stones in this instance might be dangerous. We had no idea what Gabe’s state of mind had been when he’d killed his wife. If grief had tipped him over the edge, then he would have carried that into the afterlife, and who knew what madness he might attempt once we were in contact with him.

I can feel him, Belle said. He’s near, and waiting. I don’t think he’s crazy, though his grief is so black it’s a cloud that surrounds him.

Which means his grief could be preventing you from seeing his madness.