Page 38 of Midlife Shifter Unexpected

“Those are crypts,” Mae said.

I sniffed the air.

“The smell is coming from one of the crypts,” I said. “I’m sure of it.”

“The murderer can’t be coming from inside the cemetery.” Mae said. “There’s no way that whatever’s killing people is inside of here.”

“Nobody is saying that,” Jane said. “We’re just trying to find the matching symbols inside the cemetery. I mean, clearly the murderer left a signature. He left something he wanted people to find.”

“It’s right there.” I pointed at the third concrete door in the row of crypts. "Those were the symbols.” I walked with determination toward them, knowing they were the marks we were searching for.

“Stop,” Mae said. Her voice was so commanding and so direct and so clear I could hardly disobey her. I stopped slowly and turned around. “I don’t know a lot, but I do know that is the most dangerous grave in this entire cemetery and I would not go anywhere near it.”

Chapter 26

Mae let out a call that must’ve been the secret Cougar Creek Coven whistle, because within moments, Anita and Drake and Trina and Hilda all showed up where we were standing.

“The symbols from the dead body are on that crypt,” Mae said. “What can you tell me about it?” She looked around at the other members of the coven.

“It’s an unmarked grave except for the symbols around it,” Trina said. “It’s been unmarked forever. There were some rumors early on that some creature was locked up in there and those symbols were etched in the door to harness the creature and keep it sealed inside.”

“OK, so if there is a living creature sealed inside a crypt in my cemetery, how is it that bodies are turning up outside of the cemetery with the same sacred markings on them the crypt has?”

“Well, they’re pretty cool designs,” Drake shrugged. Anita elbowed him.

“Is there any way the creature inside there could be getting out and killing people?” I asked, a little worried, because if the creature was anything like me, maybe he just didn’t remember what happened.

I quickly checked my phone just to see if Matheus had messaged again, but there was still no sign of him.

“No, the symbols on the wall are cuneiform writing. They are ancient spells to keep both the dead and the undead contained.”

“What do you mean, undead?” I asked.

“Like vampires,” Drake said.

Anita turned to them all. “You guys really need to be a little more inclusive of these inexperienced witches and dumb things down a little bit for them.”

“I didn’t realize it was exclusive,” Trina pointed out.

“I don’t think it gets much more exclusive than a private coven that you can only belong to based on your bloodline.” Anita argued.

“Do not start getting on your soapbox about inclusion, please. I will make sure we speak in ways they can understand.” Trina pursed her lips.

“Here’s what I think is happening,” Hilda said. “I think somebody on the outside is making sacrifices to whatever creature is in that tomb. The symbols from a human sacrifice will nullify the symbols on the crypt. They will stop working.”

We all stood in the glen, staring at the door in deadly silence.

“It’ll escape,” Mae said.

“We don’t even know what it is,” I said softly.

“It’s not going to be anything pleasant,” Anita took a step backwards. “If someone went through all that trouble to lock it up and seal it. Now someone’s going through the trouble of killing harpies in order to break the spell that’s holding the creature in…I’m sure it’s not a pleasant monster.”

“There has to be more to it,” I said, “because if it was just a matter of making a sacrifice and using those symbols, then we should already know what it is. It should already be loose. The creature should be alive right? But the creature isn’t alive. I don’t hear any banging on the door, or any dreadful screaming, so what’s next?”

“Well, we need to do some research and find out exactly what spell the murderer is doing to try to wake the creature in the cemetery.” Mae pointed out.

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