Page 92 of Last Witch Attempt
“Wow!” Steve’s face drained of color.
“The second Aunt Tillie calls herself Millie.” It was better to get all the information out, no matter how uncomfortable I was. That was the only way he was going to fully grasp what was going on. “She appeared right after we cast the spell on Mrs. Little, the one that was meant to adjust her memories so she no longer struggled. I saw Millie that night without realizing. I talked to her in the lobby.
“We also talked to her at lunch today,” I continued. “She pretended to be Aunt Tillie but got a few things wrong. We’re not certain what her goal is, but she’s a problem.”
Steve worked his jaw. “I don’t know what to say.”
I flashed a flat smile. “There’s more. We know what killed those men.”
Landon reached for his wine. “You’re just going for it, aren’t you?”
“I told you I was.”
“You could give him a moment to adjust.”
“We don’t have time.” Brutal frankness was the name of the game at this point. “Millie is going to make things difficult.”
I pressed my lips together and gathered my wits. “The creature doing the killing is a naiad. Do you know what that is?”
“Like in mythology?” Spencer asked. He was much calmer than Steve, although that wasn’t saying much.
“Essentially,” I confirmed. “Greek mythology often gets a lot of things wrong—the gods mentioned in those stories were mostly demons preying on humans—but it gets many things right.”
“Please explain,” Steve said.
“Naiads like rivers and streams. They’re magical. I’ve never been up against one. I got a few tips from a friend, but the naiad she encountered was off her rocker. She was old and protecting a small island in the Detroit River.”
Steve’s eyes bulged. “Are you joking? I can’t tell.”
“I’m not joking. I almost never joke about things like this.” I sipped my iced tea to center myself. The next part was going to be the most difficult. “Two naiads established a home near Torch Lake. I have no idea how long they’ve lived there.
“Recently, permits have been authorized, and that land is going to be turned into a resort,” I continued. “Equipment and supplies have been delivered … and workers have been to the site.”
“The three victims were contracted to do cement work,” Landon explained.
Steve was silent as he took it all in, so I continued.
“Naiads are notoriously territorial,” I explained. “They fight for their homes, so the realization that this piece of land was about to be taken from them likely set them off. We believe the naiads argued with the construction workers. Somehow one of the naiads was killed.”
I swallowed hard and took a gulp of iced tea. “She was put in a shallow grave. My guess is the construction workers killed her and panicked, thinking she was human. The other naiad either escaped and came back or was injured and saw it all. She’s out for blood.”
Steve stared at me. “You’re saying the construction workers murdered this naiad.”
Was I? “I believe the naiad might have been aggressive with them,” I hedged. “It may have been self-defense. All we know is that she’s dead and her sister wants revenge.”
Steve fell back into silence as Spencer stirred.
“I’ve heard about naiads,” he offered. “I’ve never seen one. At least I don’t think I have. They’re powerful.”
“This one is angry and wants revenge,” I said. “Today we started tracking down individuals who were at the construction site in the last week. I went out with a friend this afternoon. At one of the homes, we ran across the naiad.”
Steve sat straighter. “Did she attack you? Are you okay?”
“She told me she didn’t want to fight with me. She also suggested she wasn’t done. Then she opened a hole in the earth because there was a well underneath and dropped me in it.”
Steve’s mouth fell open. “I don’t understand.”
“Naiads can control water. That makes them especially dangerous.”
