T*Witches: Kindred Spirits Read Free Page A

here.”
    An abrupt clearing in the wood revealed a stonecottage. Ileana’s house, they instantly understood, underwhelmed. There was nothing regal or pretentious about the modest stone cottage, nothing palatial, extravagant, or exceptional announcing, “A Goddess Lives Here.”
    Unless you counted the astonishing herb garden. Here, colorful, fragrant, and lush plants grew high, wide, and bountiful, looking every bit as wondrous as their magical properties.
    Staring at it from the gate, Alex was awed. “This
rocks
. Does everyone on Coventry have these? Gardens to, you know, to help do stuff?”
    “Do stuff?” Ileana shook her head. “Right, that’s why we grow herbs. To do stuff.”
    Alex felt chastised. Cam came to her rescue. “I can recognize some of them. Lavender … rosemary. Those sprigs are … myrtle. And isn’t this the one …” — she pointed to an aromatic plant with sparse leaves — “… the one Karsh called skullcap? It makes you sleepy, right? And there’s mugwort, for the traveling spell.”
    A ray of pleasure pierced Ileana’s cloud of doom. Karsh would be
so
proud of the twins. She couldn’t wait to tell him —
    Her face fell, remembering.
    She snapped, “Flora-appreciation hour is up. Take the keys.”
    “Aren’t you coming in with us?” Cam was instantly nervous.
    Not now. Not tonight. I can’t face this place
, Alex caught Ileana thinking.
    “Where will you go?” she asked.
    “I’ll spend the night at Karsh — that is, Lord Karsh’s cottage. I’ve things to deal with there.”
    “Is that where …?” Cam began.
    “He is? Where his body is?” Alex finished her sentence.
    Ileana flinched but raised her head regally. “Of course not. As befits an Exalted Elder, Lord Karsh lies in state at the Unity Dome, where tomorrow’s ceremony will take place.”
    She seemed ready to say more but paused, bit her lip to keep it from trembling, then turned abruptly and left them.
    Cam began to hyperventilate as an unwelcome flashback attacked her. Once, when she’d been about five years old, she’d gotten separated from her mom in a big department store. She’d only been lost for a little while, but the overwhelming panic of feeling abandoned had made her stomach lurch. Exactly as it was right now.
    Sensing her sister’s alarm, Alex quickly explained, “She’s not abandoning us. Our guardian witch can’t deal,apparently, with her own home. Let’s check into Casa Ileana and find out why.”
    Three slate steps led to the front door, which Alex bounded in one exuberant leap.
    Cam lagged outside to take stock of her surroundings in case she got lost. Or something. Anyway, she was in no hurry to cross the threshold into Cousin Ileana’s.
    Alex let herself in. It took her eyes a minute to adjust. The slice of sun from the open front door was the only light in the dark, damp, and chilled room. Probably from being left empty for several days. She drew the curtains apart.
    And stiffened, stunned.
    Someone
had
been there. Someone who’d turned Casa Ileana into Casa Trash-eana. A demolition derby of wanton destruction confronted her. Ileana’s sitting room had been ransacked, furniture viciously ripped apart, keepsakes, laptop, lanterns, photos, vases smashed, strewn across the floor. Even the skylights were broken. That accounted for the dampness and cold.
    No wonder she couldn’t face this place, Alex thought.
    “Who would do this?” Cam came rushing up behind Alex. “Who hates her this much?”
    The answer was a gimme.
    Tsuris and Vey, the overgrown dolts who put the“sin” in cousins. They blamed Ileana for their father, Fredo’s, current jailbird status — it meant nothing to them that he was … hel-
lo!
… guilty! They were out for Ileana’s blood, but apparently settled for wrecking her home.
    Anger twisted in Alex’s gut. If only she knew Coventry well enough, she’d rout out the spiteful, murdering slobs and show them what real revenge looked like.
    They surveyed