Page 60 of Into the Fire

“If it did that to her, and she was a witch, can it do the same to anyone? To you?” Vic didn’t try to hide his worry.

“I hope not, at least not until it powers back up. Which is why we need to put it back in the room where it had been and seal it shut.” Simon wished he could give a more comforting answer, but Vic deserved the truth. “But I think it definitely tried to get my attention today.” He told Vic about the palm tree and what Cassidy and Gabriella had to say.

Vic muttered a string of swear words. “Do you think it killed Ferretti and Murphey too? It didn’t have to transport them anywhere, just get to them when they were vulnerable.”

“That’s my theory,” Simon answered. “I wish I had something better.”

Vic sighed. “The official record says ‘spontaneous heart failure,’ which is right as far as it goes, but doesn’t explain what set it off in the first place. I guess it will have to do.”

Vic took a long sip of wine. “As for Madame Mason, we have a working public theory of a kidnapping by someone who thought they were in danger from her magic, so they drugged her and accidentally killed her, then took her body to Ocean Visions and dumped it.”

“That’s likely to be an open investigation for a long, long time,” Simon warned. “Also begs the question: why there?”

Vic shrugged. “It’s probably pretty close to the truth, in a roundabout way. Your entity had to shut down her magic, keep her from fighting back, move her, and that book you didn’t leave behind, and then seal her up.”

“It’s not my entity.” Simon shuddered at the thought. “And both Cassidy and Gabriella agree that the book is too dangerous to be out in the wild. Once we deal with the entity, I’m pretty sure it’s going to disappear into a bespelled warehouse like at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Vic reached out to take Simon’s hand. “I’m worried. Scared for your safety, since this isn’t the kind of threat I can shoot or arrest. I think this landvaettir spirit is terrifying, especially the longer it’s on the loose. Not to mention the fire salamander and the dark ghosts. Even if it’s self-protective instead of malicious, a whole lot of people could still get hurt.”

Simon nodded. “I know. The only thing that’s more frightening than taking on the entity is not locking it back up. I’ve got to trust that with Donnelly and Gabriella and all our contacts we can figure it out soon.”

“Just remember, I’m coming with you.” Vic’s resolve showed clear in his eyes. “I can’t do magic, but I’m handy with a rifle, and I can watch your back.”

If Simon had his way, he would send Vic far away to a safe house, but he knew his husband would never stand for that, and he loved him for it.

“I’ll remember. I promise.” Simon squeezed Vic’s hand. “Now let’s finish that bottle of wine and watch something brainless on TV.”

In the middle of the night, Simon dreamed of fire. He woke to the smell of smoke and the screech of an alarm.

“Hurry up! We need to get out!” Vic shook his shoulder. Together, they rushed downstairs and out of the house. Still groggy from sleep, Simon tried to figure out how the landvaettir had gotten around the strong wards and realized that it wasn’t their house that was burning.

“It’s the garage next door,” Vic said breathlessly once they were outside. Fire truck sirens roused the neighbors, and soon a small bathrobe-clad crowd watched from across the street as the hose truck crew put out the flames that had burned the garage to the ground.

“Do you think—” Vic started before Simon’s phone went off.

“Shit. The building next to Grand Strand Ghost Tours is also on fire,” Simon growled. “This can’t be just bad luck.”

“Go,” Vic told him. “Make sure the shop’s okay. I’ll stay here to watch for stray embers. And be careful.”

“Same to you.” Simon pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants, grabbed his car keys, and headed to the shop, praying that no one got hurt.

“It’s the building to the right of the store,” Pete said when he met Simon in the parking lot and led him through the fire trucks and onlookers to get a glimpse.

Simon felt a rush of relief. The shop beside them had been vacant for several months, and there had been rumors it was going to be torn down for new construction.

“Anyone inside?”

Pete shook his head. “No. But it’s an old building, so I guess the wood burned fast. They hosed down our place, just in case.”

Simon credited the wards for protecting the shop, but he wouldn’t turn down the extra precautions by the firefighters as they soaked the surrounding roofs.

“You think it really wanted to hit ours?” Pete whispered.

“Pretty damn sure, because the same thing happened at home not half an hour ago,” Simon replied. “I don’t know how sentient the landvaettir is, but I’d consider this throwing down the gauntlet. Challenge accepted.”

10

Simon