Page 43 of Coven of Corpses

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Anyway,” Demmy said, giving his forehead a gentle flick. “When we got back in Oliver’s car at the garage, there was a note on the windshield telling us to meet someone at Margie’s right now.”

“Oh, shit. Did you go?”

“We did.”

“It could have been a trap from the witch.”

Demmy shook his head. “It was written on a book catalog card from the library.”

“Tracey?”

“Yep. She was in our booth in the back, wearing a hat and sunglasses.”

“Is she okay?”

“Physically, yes. But she’s scared.”

“What’s going on?”

“She only stayed a few minutes. And she was talking really fast because she was amped up on caffeine and kept looking around, jumping at every little sound. She and Rita have known each other a couple of years. Both of them have been interested in Wiccan studies.”

Cody grunted. “I knew Tracey was a witch.”

“She’s Wiccan, it’s different.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go on.”

“They realized sometime late last year that another witch had come to town, and this new arrival had a lot of power. They were doing research, trying to figure out if this was a threat. They pulled Clarabell into it as well.”

“Of course they did.”

“I don’t know all the details, but Tracey, Rita, and Heath went to that spot out in the woods, the one we found today with the stones. They discovered the witch already there, and something happened. Rita was killed, and Tracey thinks Heath was possessed by a demon.”

Cody sat up. “A demon? Like a fucking demon from Hell?”

“Yep. Which would explain a lot about what’s going on with him.”

“Fuck me,” Cody said, then he shivered and laid back down again. “What the hell can stop a demon from Hell?”

“That’s what we need to figure out.”

Cody sighed. He felt more tired at that moment, it seemed, than he had his entire life. “I knew you’d say ‘we’.”

“Yeah, I did. But Tracey and Clarabell have already done a lot of research on this.”

“Research that got Rita killed and Heath possessed. Perfect. Great researching, team!”

Demmy laughed quietly and rolled onto his side. He ran his fingers through the hair in the center of Cody’s chest again and leaned in to kiss his shoulder. “I know it’s a lot, especially with everything else going on.”

“Yeah,” Cody said. “But that isn’t surprising.” He turned his head and puckered his lips and Demmy moved up to give him a soft kiss on the mouth. “And we’re just hearing about it because we were unemployed and my grandmother wasn’t doing well?”

“Pretty much,” Demmy said. “Until they knew more, they didn’t want to pull us into it.”

“That’s what Clarabell said.” Cody shook his head. “Did Tracey give you any idea what can be done?”

“No. Just said Clarabell is digging into the books and the history of the town.”