Insidious Winds Read Free Page B

a
reaction?”
    “There were bee stingers all over him. His clothes
didn’t even protect him.” We followed her into the kitchen as she got herself a
mug of coffee.
    “Did he argue with anyone recently?”
    “No…” she said, shaking her head. Henry cleared his
throat, telling me she was lying. When we both stared at her, she looked away.
“Well, we were arguing a bit lately, but I wouldn’t do anything to Luther. And
I know he wasn’t arguing with anyone else.”
    Henry glanced at Cindy and then at me. I shook my head.
I knew Cindy had the knowledge to do this, but she was Wiccan so she believed
in the three-fold law. She believed whatever she did, good or bad, would be
returned to her three times as powerful. To my understanding, all her power was
created by her religious faith, not like the magic taught at Quintessence.
    “I’ll go look outside,” Henry volunteered.
    I nodded and he went out the back door. “What were
you arguing about, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “Money.” She set the mug down and it slid across the counter.
    As it started to pass me, I held out my hand to catch
it. It stopped an inch away from my hand suddenly enough for some coffee to
slosh out. I concentrated my mental power, not to find another mind but to see
the impression on the cup. I sensed Meg, but she was powerless and worried
without any motives for harm. The magic used on the cup, however, came from a
person. I sensed anger and possession, but not a serious desire to hurt anyone.
    “Is…” She swallowed. “Is it a poltergeist?” she
asked.
    “No. I’m fairly certain it’s a person.”
    “Maybe there’s a hex bag or some---” Cindy started.
    “Cindy, stop it,” Meg interrupted. “We’re Christian;
your witchcraft doesn’t work in this house.”
    I resisted a rude laugh. “Cindy, Henry is taking a
while. Would you go check and see if he found anything?”
    She nodded. “Sure.”
    “Please don’t mind her,” Meg said when we were alone.
“I love her, but she can be so frustrating. Do you have a sister?”
    “No,” I answered. If Vincent was right and John was
my father, it meant Regan Cross was my half-sister. I had a little sister I
never even knew about until after her death.
    “Well, they can be such a pain.”
    “You two must be pretty close, though. You live right
across the street from each other.”
    “We know each other better than anyone, and that’s
the problem.”
    A jaguar roared outside. I ran through the door and
around the side of the house to see Cindy and Henry. Cindy had a small vial of
something in her hand and Henry was standing about six feet away from her,
staring at her like she was crazy. “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “Spiders,” Cindy said. Although she acted calm,
tension was pouring off her.
    “Spiders are attacking you?” Is going from bees to
spiders an upgrade ? “Do you have arachnophobia?”
    “No, they don’t bother me, and they’re not attacking
me because of the salt.”
    “Salt?”
    “She poured a circle of salt around her when she saw
the first spiders,” Henry said. “I cannot see anything.”
    “Enough of this! There are no spiders,” Meg said,
then turned and went back inside.
    “I thought salt was for ghosts.” With my power, I
reached out for Darwin’s very familiar mind. The ease of connecting with a mind
had more to do with the other person’s willingness and the familiarity than
distance or their power, so I sensed him almost instantly.
    Darwin welcomed my invasion as usual. “ Sup ?”
    “ I have a question. What does salt have to do with
magic ?”
    “ Depends. The lore of salt depends on the culture.
Most of it was generated by the fact that salt preserves meat. A lot of people
believe it keeps away evil spirits. Some say it can even keep demons out. It’s
often used by believers to make circles and line windows and doors with. Some
people even wear rock salt around their neck .”
    “ Okay, so I’m here with a witch