Sweaty Nights & Gator Bites (Twisted Sisters Midlife Maelstrom #12)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

DEANDRA

T he air was unusually still as I stood on Willowberry’s porch, making a shiver run down my spine. The spiritual energies here were always strong. Tonight, something felt off. A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature seeped into my bones. It was ominous and nauseating. And I was the only one who would be able to determine what was causing it.

I closed my eyes and reached out with my special abilities. I felt for the threads of energy that wove through the area. The familiar hum of nature’s magic was disrupted. There was a discordant note that set my teeth on edge. It was subtle but unmistakable. Something was wrong. But it wasn’t nearby. Something was sending out SOS signals. My gut propelled me back inside.

“Yo, sestras!” I called out as I walked into the ladies’ parlor. “We need to go back to the bayou. Now.”

My sisters looked up from their various tasks with concern immediately flashing in their eyes. “What's going on, Dea?” Dani asked with a furrowed brow.

“There’s a disturbance out there,” I explained, trying to put into words the gnawing unease that gripped me. “Something terrible has happened. We need to check it out.”

“I hope it’s not another body,” Lia lamented. She was already moving to grab her gear. “If you say it's serious, we believe you.” I wasn’t surprised by their willingness. We knew better than to ignore gut feelings at this point.

Within no time, we were packed into Lia’s car and ready. The drive to the bayou was tense, the usual chatter and laughter replaced by a heavy silence. We parked near the edge of the swamp where we had each time we visited. The dense undergrowth and towering cypress trees cast long shadows in the moonlight. The familiar sounds of nocturnal creatures were muted, as if the swamp itself was holding its breath.

“Stay close and keep your eyes peeled,” I instructed as I led the way. The path was treacherous as always. It was a relief to see the roots and vines threatening to trip us with every step. It meant the bayou was still fighting back. The day they died and sank beneath the surface would be the day we’d lost to Garrick and his machinations.

We moved through the swamp using our flashlights to cut through the darkness. The further we went, the stronger the sense of dread became. It was a large lump in the center of my chest that made it hard to breathe. The spiritual energy thickened around us. I prayed we hadn’t lost the old temple we’d protected the last time we were out there.

My skin started prickling painfully. We were close. “Over there,” I whispered, pointing to a clearing up ahead. The air shimmered with an unnatural energy.

As we stepped into the clearing, the sight that greeted us was horrifying. Another body lay sprawled on the ground. The woman was lifeless and marked with the same dark magic we had seen before. Something was carved into the center of her chest. I refused to look too closely to determine what it was. Her eyes were wide open and frozen in a final expression of terror. It was heartbreaking.

“Oh my god,” Phi breathed, her hand flying to her mouth. “She was killed just like Melanie.”

“Only she went through so much more,” Lia grimaced and her hand flew to her heart.

I knelt beside the body, feeling a wave of sadness and anger wash over me. “This is Garrick's work,” I said, my voice tight with emotion. “We were too late.”

Dre scanned the perimeter. “We need to find any clues we can. He can't keep getting away with this.”

Kota placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “What do you sense, Dea? Is there anything that can help us track him?”

I closed my eyes and reached out with my spiritual senses. The energy here was chaotic. It was a toxic tornado of fear and pain. Concentrating, I tried to look deeper. Beneath it all, I could feel Garrick's dark presence. He was a stain on the fabric of the bayou's magic.

As we began to search the area for clues, Adèle's voice echoed in our minds. “ Stay vigilant. There's more to this than meets the eye. ”

Kota snorted and said, “Yeah, he’s getting bolder and escalating like a serial killer.”

We moved carefully, documenting everything we found. The markings, the symbols, the faint traces of dark magic that clung to the air. Each piece of evidence brought us closer to understanding how unhinged Garrick had become but not much else. Nothing would tell us how we could predict his next move and stop it before it happened .

“We have to stop him,” Lia said with a growl as if she’d read my mind. “Before anyone else gets hurt.”

Phi nodded in agreement and cocked her head to meet Lia’s gaze. “I have a feeling she’s important to the ecosystem here like Melanie was. Do you think she was one of the gators?”

“I really hope not,” I replied as my heart lurched. Focusing on the vibrations of the land under my feet wasn’t much help in terms of distraction. The subtle pulse had changed drastically over the past few days.

I tried to connect with the spiritual plane as my sisters worked. The victim's lingering fear and pain refused to let go of me. I needed to see if she was hanging around. My power worked a little too well. A gasp left me and I fell to my knees. Images washed over me in a wave. I watched her final moments play out in a series of disjointed, terrifying images. There were flashes of a dark figure before I felt the searing pain of the magical assault. The victim's desperate screams for help would haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life.

Lia clasped my shoulders and crouched in front of me. “Are you alright?”

I tried to smile and reassure her, but I couldn’t. “It's her,” I said softly. “She's still here. There was so much pain and terror. Whoever did this, enjoyed it.”

“ Focus, Dea ." Adèle's voice startled me and caught me off guard. “ Use your connection to the spiritual plane to find any clues the victim might have left behind.”

“I’ll try,” I replied.

“Try what?” Lia looked confused.

“Adèle suggested I try and see if the victim left clues behind,” I explained and then took a deep breath. Centering myself, I reached out once more. The victim's spirit was weak. She was barely a whisper. However, there was something there. A glimmer of insight. I followed it and pieced together the fragments.

“She knew her attacker,” I said, my voice trembling with the weight of the revelation. “She was surprised, but not entirely. There's something about the magic... it's familiar to her.”

“Perhaps she was one of Garrick’s helpers,” Kota postulated. “With that revelation, I say we head back to Willowberry and analyze everything further. There's more going on here than we realize.”

Lia looked up from typing on her phone. “Terrance is sending a team to pick her up. They don’t have a coroner yet, but he said he would expedite it in case they can gather information that will help.”

“We should also ask Remy if he knows her. She might not be working with Garrick,” Dre said as we headed back to the car.

Stepping over a large root, I considered what I’d learned. “I can’t say with certainty who she is or what she was doing, but she knew Garrick and was surprised by his treachery. Maybe our actions are impeding his plans.”

Dani sighed and shot me a small smile. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it? I would love to stop that asshole.”

The bayou was darker and more foreboding as if it too, mourned the loss of another life. The victim's spirit issued a silent plea for justice as we left the swamp. “We'll find who did this,” I promised her. “We won't let them get away with it.” The oppressive humidity of the bayou seemed to seep into my very bones as I stood there, looking back at the lifeless body of another victim.

“What was that?” Dre asked.

“I was talking to her,” I gestured to the victim, making everyone stop .

Lia took a step back toward the victim and asked, “Is it just her reaching out to you?”

“Ummm,” I hummed. “It feels like there are more. Her message is just the clearest.”

Dani pursed her lips and thrust her hands on her hips. “You should try to connect with any other ghosts out here. Otherwise, you might keep getting pulled back out here. Everyone deserves to be heard.”

“That’s a good point,” Kota agreed.

“It’s worth a shot,” I added. It didn’t take much to extend my spirit powers and mentally call out to the spirits around us. I closed my eyes, trusting my sisters to watch my back while I tried to pick through the voices. That part was difficult. A dozen people or more were clamoring to tell me something. I stood there silently and listened.

“What did the spirits say, Dea?” Dani asked in an urgent tone.

My eyes snapped open and I noticed my sisters were gathered around me. Their faces were etched with worry and curiosity. The whispers of the spirits and the echoes of their fear were burned into my mind. “The victims’ spirits are disoriented and terrified. There is one theme I keep getting repeatedly. Nearly all of them mention a shadowy figure and an overwhelming power that felt like it was everywhere. Many of them feel as if it is suffocating them.”

Phi clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. “That matches what we’ve seen from Garrick. Freaking asshole.”

Kota's expression was grim. “We need to expedite our investigation. The longer we wait, the more danger everyone’s in.”

Lia clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “We should strengthen the wards in the key locations in the bayou before we head back to Willowberry. We need to make sure Garrick can’t get close to anyone else. ”

“Let's start with the gator shifters,” I suggested. “We need to make sure they're safe before we move on to the other paranormals.”

My sisters gathered around me and we formed a circle. I hoped we were close to the heart of the swamp. None of us wanted to go anywhere but home. Which is what the latest victim likely thought. I glanced over and noted how the thick canopy of cypress trees cast a shadow over her.

I inhaled and shoved those thoughts aside. We needed to offer our friends what protection we could. The murky water and tangled undergrowth felt like a living entity, watching us as we prepared to work our magic.

“Let's connect with the bayou,” Dani added as she looked around.

“ I was going to suggest that ,” Adèle murmured in our heads. “ Feel its energy, let it twine with yours. ”

The familiar hum of magic from the spirits was there. Setting that aside, I searched for the other power there. I identified the wild and ancient energy. The powerful force flowed through the land. My sisters did the same. Their faces were serene as they connected with the magic around us.

“ Now, focus on the gator shifters. They will feel similar to the swamp. ” Adèle’s voice echoed in our minds.

We channeled our magic, directing it towards the gator shifters' territory. It was easy to find them. It was like Adèle said it would be. The energy flowed from us like a river. It wove through the trees and water, seeking out the hidden pockets where the shifters lived. Their presence felt like a pulsing warmth amidst the cold darkness of the swamp.

“Protect them,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Keep them safe from harm.”

The magic responded, forming a protective barrier around the gator shifters. The wards took shape quickly. We poured energy into them so they were strong and unyielding and infused with the ancient power of the bayou.

“We’ve got them,” Lia said with a smile. “Let's find others. I know there are pixies here.”

We moved on. Our connection to the bayou guided us to other pockets of paranormal activity. Each time we found one, we channeled our magic into that area. We quickly created protective barriers to keep them safe. The energy flowed through us in a steady rhythm that connected us to the land and its inhabitants.

As we worked, the wards around the old Voodoo temple stood out to me. They were still strong and in place. Thank the gods that was still working. With each new ward we created, the sense of urgency grew stronger. We knew Garrick was out there, watching and waiting for his next move. With each new layer of protection, we were one step closer to stopping him.

Finally, our work was done. The bayou was a web of protective magic, each ward a beacon of safety in the darkness. We gathered our things and prepared to head back to Willowberry with heavy hearts. A woman had lost her life and we hadn’t stopped it.

“We’ve done all we can for now. Let’s head back and plan our next move,” Dre suggested.

We silently followed her out of the swamp, leaving the woman for Terrence to recover. Cami was in the ladies’ lounge with Xinar, Lucas, and Noah when we returned to Willowberry. We briefly told them what we had found. Xinar had his head down with his elbows on his knees as he listened. When we stopped talking, he looked up at us. “You should start with the magical residue. It could help you understand the connection between Garrick and the victim.”

Phi paused as she carefully placed the samples we'd collected from the bayou on the coffee table. They shimmered faintly, and the dark magic they contained pulsed with malevolent energy. “ That is precisely what you guys were thinking. Look for anything that stands out, ” Adèle's voice echoed in our minds.

Phi smiled at our familiar. “You took the words out of my mouth.”

Without thinking, I reached out with my magic. The residue responded to my touch. The vile energy made my stomach turn. Kota gave me a sympathetic look. “It makes me want to puke,” she observed. “But there is a pattern here."

Dre extended her hand over the objects. “The magic is evolving. It's stronger and more refined. But I don’t think it’s from him consuming more of the bayou.”

Lucas leaned in and narrowed his eyes as he studied the residue. “Can you pinpoint the type of dark magic it is? Maybe you can trace it back to its source.”

We looked at one another, and then all of us lifted one shoulder. “ Focus on the subtle differences in the energy signatures ,” Adèle advised.

“It's a form of blood magic,” I said. “But it's mixed with something else. Something older, more primal.”

“That’s not surprising given the murders we've encountered and the symbols and markings,” Lia pointed out. “What does it tell us?”

Dre picked up a plastic bag with a few leaves in it. “The symbols at the scene were more intricate and more powerful this time. It’s obvious whoever is behind this is getting better at harnessing the dark magic. I still think it’s related to those families after Marie’s ancestors.”

Phi reached for one of the books on a side table. She flipped through the pages with practiced ease. “What if we focus on figuring out what they're trying to achieve with this magic? That could help us stop them before they strike again. ”

“You look for those symbols while we focus on a way to protect ourselves next time we face Garrick in the swamp,” Kota replied. “If his magic is getting stronger, we are going to need it. We barely held him off last time."

“ You're on the right track ,” Adèle said. “ Keep pushing, keep searching. The answers are there. ”

One of Xinar’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Seems like you will get better answers if you’re immersed in the energy of the swamp.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. “I was hoping no one would point that out.”