Thorn to Die

“I can’t explain it,” I continued. “But I know he did it. We have to save her. They’re at his cabin on the lake right now.”

“Yeah, I know where he’s staying,” he replied hesitantly. Of course he did. Uriville was a small town, after all. Nothing happened here without everyone knowing about it. “But you’ve got to give me more to go on than just your gut.”

“I will,” I promised without really knowing how to follow through. “But right now, you’ve got to take me to her. He could be hurting her right now. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”

He nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the street where his cruiser sat. I paused for a moment, pulling on his hand. Kat was standing next to me.

“Okay, piggy, if there’s ever a time to help me out, it’s now. Go home.” I leaned down close to his little ear so that Ian couldn’t hear me. “Find Raven. Tell her to meet us at Drew’s cabin. Blythe’s in deep trouble.”

He grunted and turned for home, breaking into a trot. A little trail of dust followed him. He seemed to understand part of what I’d told him to do. If there was ever a time we needed all three of the Half-Moon Witches together, it was now. I just prayed that he’d find Raven and that we weren’t too late.

Something ominous lurked on the evening breeze. It filled my nostrils with the slightly rotten scent of foreboding. My witchy senses were telling me to hurry. I only hoped Ian could get us there in time.

Chapter 19

The cruiser swerved off the asphalt and down the gravel road that led to Lake Apolka. We passed camping grounds on the right and a Boy Scout camp on the left. Horse trails veered off the gravel drag into wooded grounds, empty in the dusky evening. Through the trees, the sunset bounced off the smooth surface of the lake. It was a big enough body of water that from this side, we wouldn’t be able to see Brunick manor.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I pressed my imaginary gas pedal to the floorboards and urged Ian to drive faster. He flipped on his emergency lights, but not the siren. That was for the best. We might need the element of surprise.

“Tell me again why you think Drew is the murderer?” he asked, giving me a sideways glance. We drifted around a corner and he handled the cruiser like a pro on the rough gravel.

“Well, partially, it’s a gut feeling.” I held my hand to my stomach, feeling the contents of my lunch beginning to stir uncomfortably. It might have been the nerves or Ian’s driving causing the nausea. I couldn’t be sure. “I get those kinds of readings off of people. It’s a gift I’ve had since we were kids.”

He snuck another glance at me and I couldn’t tell whether he bought my partial lie. People believed those kinds of things, right? Psychics worked with the police all the time. It was easier to believe than a witch getting magical messages through her paintings. Or using a potion to detect poison on a shrub.

“We’re here.” He swerved into a long drive that ended at a small rustic cabin with broken shutters.

No light came from the windows. The blinds were drawn and the knotty pine door sealed shut. If we didn’t know Drew was living in the place, I would’ve guessed it was abandoned. It wasn’t exactly a cheery place. The trees were thicker here. Cedars towered above our heads, blocking out the remaining sunlight and throwing the area into an early night.

“She’s got to be here.” I threw open the cruiser door. Running up to the cabin door, I knocked hard enough to bruise my knuckles. “Blythe? Are you there? Open up!”

Maybe their dinner date had turned into a meal by candlelight. Or they’d decided to go into town. That was better. More witnesses. He wouldn’t hurt her around other people.

“What exactly is your plan?” Ian asked, coming up behind me. “I don’t think your gut is going to get him to confess. You don’t have any proof.”

“I’ll think of something.”

Ian leaned his back against the cabin wall, his lips pursed. “Great. Can’t wait.”

The roar of a motorcycle cut through the silence of the clearing. A few moments later, Raven came peeling up the drive on her Buell, her body huddled close to the mass of hot metal. Thank the stars, that pig was smarter than I gave him credit for. I made a mental note to buy him a giant box of biscuits next time I was at the store.

“What’s she doing here?” Ian gave me an accusatory frown that created a V mark between his eyebrows.

“I texted her,” I replied with an innocent shrug of my shoulders. He didn’t have to know that I’d forgotten my phone at the shop. We might need her if this turned ugly.

“What’s going on?” Raven hopped off the bike and tore off her helmet. “Where’s Blythe?”

“She’s not here. We knocked.”

“Are you sure? Kick down the door.”

Ian jumped off the wall. “Nobody’s kicking anything down.”

Raven’s brown cheeks grew pink. She sucked them in and threw out her chest. “Out of my way, Officer Larson. Unless you want to find out for sure whether I can still kick your butt. That’s my cousin in there.”

There used to be a time when we’d all pretend to be ninjas and would sprint down the streets of Uriville chopping at each other. If I remembered correctly, that was the time Ian had challenged Raven to a battle. Even then, she’d towered above us all. It took one direct punch to the Adam’s apple to send him rolling on the ground. He’d made us swear to never tell the other boys at school.

He rolled his eyes. “You beat me once when we were six, Raven. When are you going to let that go?”