Serendipity (Bayou Magic 3)
Lucien and Millie immediately start a spell, chanting together and holding hands. Jackson joins them. I don’t know how he knows the words, but he joins them.
Cash approaches Caleb and gently takes the knife away from the other man. There’s suddenly wind in the room, a scream, and then calm.
“I couldn’t stop,” Caleb says. “He was in my head, and he wouldn’t let go. He wouldn’t stop.”
He sits on the couch, his head in his hands, and continues weeping.
I rush to the kitchen and fill a glass with water, bringing it to him as I sit next to him.
The couch. It’s full of fun memories—making love and laughter. Watching TV shows together.
A proposal just a week ago.
Oh, Goddess, why?
“He made me,” he says through tears. “Said he didn’t like the tattoos. Her beautiful ink.”
He looks over to where the woman lies on the floor, surrounded by blood, missing half of her skin.
“Oh, God. I killed her.”
“Okay, Caleb, look at me.” Lucien squats in front of him and rests his hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. Horace used your body to hurt her. You didn’t do this. It wasn’t you.”
“It was my hands,” Caleb insists. “My hands did this to her. She was sweet and good, and she didn’t deserve to die like that.”
“No,” Lucien agrees. “She didn’t. I’m so sorry, my friend. But I’m telling you the truth. This isn’t your fault.”
“We’re going to destroy this fucker,” Jackson says, his voice hard as stone. “He’s going to suffer for this.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Caleb’s eyes are glassy now with shock. “Oh, God, it doesn’t matter. She’s gone. My girl is gone.”
He dissolves into tears once more. Cash is on the phone with the local authorities. Millie and Brielle are talking softly nearby.
I don’t know what to do.
If only I’d shown that photo to Lucien, we might have been able to stop this.
It’s not Caleb’s fault at all.
It’s mine.
* * *
“I doubt he’ll be charged,” Cash says later when we’re all gathered at Millie and Lucien’s house. He looks as if he’s aged ten years just today alone. “I finally got through to someone in homicide who’s been following what’s been going on here. Thank Christ.”
“He’ll need some serious help,” I murmur and rub my face. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know how to make this right. I should have shown the photo to everyone yesterday. I was just so irritated and tired. And I was selfish. It’s that simple. And because I was, she’s dead, and Caleb will likely be traumatized for life.”
“You didn’t know,” Lucien says, his face full of grief. “You didn’t know, Daph.”
“I was selfish,” I repeat. “Oh, Goddess, I can’t imagine it. If he made me do that to Jackson, I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t survive it.”
“Stop.” Brielle’s voice is firm. “Stop it, Daphne. Beating yourself up over this isn’t helping anything or anyone. It isn’t going to solve anything. You didn’t mean to make the oversight. You don’t have a malicious bone in your body. No one blames you.”
I blame me.
But I stay quiet and lean into Jackson. Let him squeeze my hand.
“I think he’s going after coven members,” Lucien says thoughtfully and absently reaches over to pet Sanguine, Millie’s feline familiar. The calico stretches and purrs under Lucien’s hand. “I’ve done some research on the other two bodies we found. Both were members of a coven.”
“Did you know them?” I ask.
“No, I didn’t recognize them or their names. But they’re members of covens that ours sometimes partners with. Caleb and Steph came to help us in the bayou when we burned down Horace’s house.”
“Is that where you knew him from?” Jack asks me.
“Yeah, I recognized him. But he and Lucien have been friends for a long time. I’ve seen him around, even though I haven’t been a practicing witch since the day you walked out my door.”
Jackson’s eyes go dark. “You never told me that before.”
I shrug a shoulder. “It doesn’t really matter. I just stopped. But we have mutual friends, and Millie. So, I move in the same circles. I knew as soon as I saw that photo that it was Caleb.”
“Okay, why is he targeting witches?” Brielle asks.
“Because he’s trying to diminish our army,” Millie replies. “If he eliminates those witches, the ones that would come and help us, we’ll be weaker when the time comes.”
“That son of a bitch,” Jackson mutters.
“We need to get the word out,” Millie says. “Everyone needs to get their protection spells in place. Goddess, we need to protect everyone.”
“It’s already happening,” Lucien replies. “I spoke with Miss Sophia.”
“I want extra protection on her,” I say, surprising the others. “No one is as powerful as Miss Sophia. Everyone knows that she is our guide, and I want to be sure that he can’t touch her.”