Page 11 of Last Witch Attempt
“Very weird,” I agreed as I pressed my hand to the spot above my heart. “Make a noise next time,” I added. “I swear you just took ten years off my life.” I glanced over my shoulder and found Aunt Tillie heading in my direction. “What do we do?”
“Are you asking if we should look inside the truck?” Evan asked. “I doubt Jason Voorhees is waiting for us.” As if to prove it, he strode forward, being careful not to touch anything as he leaned in to look.
“Was it Bigfoot?” Clove demanded when Evan looked back at us. “You can tell by the claw marks on the interior.”
“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Bigfoot,” Evan replied, his eyes moving to the trees. “There’re no signs of a struggle. I think three people were in the vehicle.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“There are drinks in both cupholders in the front and an open bag of chips in the back.”
“Maybe a dog took off in the woods or something.” The more I thought about it, that seemed the likely scenario.
“I can help find a dog,” Aunt Tillie offered. “I prefer dogs to people these days.” Her gaze was on Thistle when she said it.
Rather than respond verbally, Thistle stuck her thumb in her nose and wagged her fingers. She was clearly in the mood to see how far she could push Aunt Tillie today.
“Keep it up,” Aunt Tillie said grimly. “You’re going to have all ten spots on my list before the night is out. That means ten hexes. Is that what you want?”
“I’m not afraid of you, old lady,” Thistle replied. If possible, her mood had actually gotten darker. “Stuff it.”
“All of you stuff it,” I shot back. “This is serious.”
“Okay, Clove,” Thistle replied sarcastically. “Let’s get worked up for the end of the world before we know what’s actually happening.”
“Hey!” Clove was offended. “I’m much calmer now that I’m a mother. Besides, this is clearly Bigfoot.”
“We should look in the woods,” I said to Evan in a low voice. “Just to be on the safe side.”
He cast me a sidelong look, then nodded. “You guys wait here.” He started in the direction of the trees. “I’ll be right back.”
“Evan.” Calling after him was a waste of time because he was already gone. “Man, controlling a vampire is hard,” I complained to no one in particular.
“It is,” Aunt Tillie agreed. “It’s almost as if they have minds of their own.”
We waited for what felt like a really long time. I had no idea how long it really was, but dread continued to build around me with each passing minute, to the point I thought my heart might actually pound out of my chest when Evan reappeared. The look on his face told me he hadn’t found a family looking for their dog.
“What is it?” I asked, gripping my hands together in front of me. “What’s wrong?”
“You need to get Landon and Terry out here.” Evan didn’t stand on ceremony. “There are three bodies in the woods, about four hundred feet in.”
I frowned. “Three people from this truck walked into the woods and died? How did that happen?”
Clove opened her mouth, but Thistle silenced her with a glare.
“So help me Goddess, Clove, if the word Bigfoot exits your mouth we’re going to have a big problem,” she warned.
Clove snapped her mouth shut.
“It wasn’t Bigfoot,” Evan replied. “It was something else.”
“Something bad,” I said.
“You need to see it to understand. Get Terry and Landon out here right away. They need to see it too.”
I pulled out my phone. “How bad is this, Evan?” He wouldn’t sugarcoat it, and I needed to know.
“Bad,” he replied. “Very, very bad.”
