Page 84 of Last Witch Attempt
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
I held out my hands. “I don’t know what the answer is here. We need the full story before we can start making decisions.”
We were out of the car and on our way up the sidewalk when a hint of movement caught my attention to the left. The houses in this area were fairly isolated, trees separating everyone from their neighbors. Dustin’s house had a partially deconstructed dirt bike on the lawn and several children’s toys strewn about. The person standing in the tree line was not Dustin.
I knew who she was the second I laid eyes on her. She was in an ankle-length dress, barefoot, and her hair was wild. Dirt was smudged on her cheek, and there was what looked to be a hint of blood on the hem of her dress. When her gaze locked with mine, I was met with cool calculation.
“Hey,” I said.
Stormy jerked her head around, confused. When she finally caught sight of the naiad, she went stiff next to me.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the naiad said. “This isn’t your place.”
Fear gripped me. Was Dustin already dead? There were no vehicles in the driveway, and I’d been convinced we’d have to head to the next house without getting any answers. Apparently, that wasn’t going to be the case…and not for the reasons I initially envisioned.
“Where should I be?” I tried to keep my tone light.
“Not here,” she replied, her eyes narrowing. “Go away.” She turned to disappear into the trees, but I broke into a run to catch up with her.
“Wait!” When I reached the tree line, she’d retreated thirty feet from where I’d first seen her. She seemed agitated when she turned back to me. Now, so close, I didn’t know what to say to her. “Why are you doing this?” I asked finally.
“You know why. I saw you out there. You … dug her up.”
I frowned. Well, that answeredthatquestion. “I wasn’t certain you knew where she was,” I said. “If you need help putting her to rest properly?—”
She cut me off with a firm headshake. “That’s not her. When her light went out, she went with it. That’s only a shell.”
“Still, you’ll want a place you can visit.” That was, of course, if I didn’t have to kill her.
“She’s always with me.” The naiad said. “My fight is not with you, witch. I wasn’t certain when you interrupted my ritual—you shouldn’t have taken them from the forest or killed my soldiers at the cabin—but I’ve watched you enough to recognize that you’re not my enemy.”
“I’m not,” I agreed. Or, at least I hoped I wasn’t. “I need to know why you’re doing this.”
“I didn’t peg you for stupid.” There was no give to the naiad’s features. She was angry, and I really couldn’t blame her.
“The men at the construction site killed her,” I said. “I’ve figured that much out. I want to know why.”
“Why do humans do any of the things they do?” The naiad almost looked bored now. “They came, they saw, they conquered. The world was a better place before the demons ceded control to the underlings.”
“Um…” I glanced at Stormy, uncertain of my next step. She looked mesmerized by the naiad.
“I don’t want to kill you.” The naiad was matter of fact. “But I will if you get in my way. I’ll end your entire line.” Her gaze moved to Stormy. “And hers. Last time I checked, the world was short on hellcats. They really can’t afford to lose her.”
I wasn’t thrilled with being threatened. I wasn’t okay with what had happened to the other naiad either. And I needed more information.
“What happened?” I asked. “How did your … mate … die?” I took a chance. Turns out, I took the wrong one.
“Sister,” the naiad shot back. “We were sisters. We don’t mate with other naiads.” She looked horrified at the thought. “We multiply by magic. We are not humans. There is no … physical … mating.” The way she said “physical” was the way I would’ve said “liver and onions.”
“Okay.” I sent her a placating smile. “I’m sorry about that. I just assumed because you’re so upset.”
“Just like you would be if your sisters were taken from you. The one with the purple hair and the one with the baby. You would avenge them.”
Obviously, she’d been watching us. I wasn’t certain how to respond. Clove and Thistle weren’t technically my sisters, though we had been raised as such, and she was right; if they’d been taken from me, I would’ve gone on a similar rampage.
“I’m sorry.” I meant it. “But I need to know why it happened.”
The naiad sent me a withering look. “It happened as it always does. The usurpers came in and tried to take our home. We rebelled. This time, I underestimated them. They surrounded her. I couldn’t get to her in time.” The naiad teared up. “They will pay for what they did to her.”
