Page 75 of Death Warden
“What is it? What’s happened.”
“There’s been a murder.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Wendall, Curo’s second, strode out of the house to meet us at the gate. Motorbikes lined the curb and civilian law enforcement who worked with the Grave Spirits filed in and out of the house dressed in forensic suits.
“Who’s the victim?” Curo asked.
“Circle member, Sisters of the Golden Apple.”
Curo and I exchanged glances. We’d spoken to the Circle mere hours ago. “Do we have a name?”
“Magda Scorch,” Wendall said. “Ruby and Hex are knocking on doors asking questions. Someone must have seen something.”
“And this is her residential address?” Curo asked.
“Yes.” He pressed his lips together. “Two of the other sisters found her when they came over for a meeting. The murderer carved symbols into her body and then bled her out. It’s a ritualistic killing. I sent Logan a picture of the symbols, see if he can make anything of them. The Circle mages didn’t have a clue.”
“Do we have a time of death?” Curo asked.
“Pretty fresh, probably two hours tops.”
“Then her ghost should still be around.” I looked to Curo. “Can I do a sweep.”
“There’s no ghost,” Wendall said. “We looked.”
“None that you can see, but I’m a necromancer. If she’s here, I can make her show herself, and if not, I can summon her back so we can question her.”
Wendall’s brows went up. “Of course. Have at it. This is the first murder we’ve had in decades. The sooner we find the sick fuck who did it, the better.”
I headed toward the door, where a civi handed me some foot coverings and a pair of gloves.
“Try not to touch anything, though,” she instructed.
The acrid scent of mage blood and feces hit me full force as I entered the house. The hallway stretched out to a door that opened into a kitchen and then another door leading to the backyard. Two women hugged and sobbed on the back porch.
The Circle members who’d come to see Magda, no doubt. I’d speak to them in a moment, but first…
I stepped into the lounge and the scene of the crime. Magda’s body was laid on the blood-soaked rug, her face turned to the side as if she couldn’t bear to see what was being done to her. Or maybe the killer had forced her to look away as he carved symbols into her chest.
The forensic guy looked up at me, a question in his eyes.
“It’s fine. Carry on.” I switched to gray sight and the world around me dimmed. Sounds muted and smells became less distinct. “Magda? Magda Scorch, show yourself.”
The gray world was silent.
“Come out, Magda.” My body tingled as I drew power from the earth and used it to grasp onto the gray, sending out the message of compulsion that would find the named spirit and bring her forth.
Nothing happened.
Looked like I’d have to go one step further.
I took a deep breath and opened my third eye. My skin flushed and the gray world rushed forward, morphing and becoming a landscape of ash and bone. The spirit plane was not a pleasant place. Some called it limbo, others The Passage. Personally, the latter always made me think of buttholes.
The spirits that lived here were twisted and deadly, so staying too long was a bad idea. My shields pulsed blue around me, protecting me from this plane.
If Magda was here, I’d be able to summon her. If not, then I’d have to call her back from the light, which sucked. It wasn’t something necromancers liked doing. A spirit who’d passed on should be permitted to rest, but we had a killer on our hands and Magda was our only lead.
