“I heard what happened. Thought I’d stop by and see if I could help.”
“Actually, you can,” I said before Evie could say anything. “Are you able to walk through the house tomorrow and examine it?”
He nodded. “Sure, if it helps. You’ll want Samael to take a look though. He’s much, much better than I am with fire.”
I could feel Evie’s eyes on me and I sighed. “I’ll go see him tonight.”
“He’s not at the tower.”
I blinked. He was always in the tower. “Where is he?”
“Away on business with some of the others. He’s due back tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. Tomorrow morning then.” I glanced at the paramedic who was checking my sister’s chest. He nodded at me.
“Rest and fluids.”
Evie slowly got to her feet. “I don’t want to leave yet.”
“Okay.”
We stood and watched as the firefighters conquered the blaze. At one point, I felt eyes on me and glanced around.
Hannah. Of course.
The black witch lived a few streets away, and I wasn’t at all surprised to see her smiling merrily at the flames. If Evie saw the pleased look on her face, she was liable to punch her right in the throat, and I wouldn’t blame her.
I left Evie with Vas, making my way through the gathering crowd to where Hannah was feeding on all the shock, pain, and anger.
Her curly, white hair was covered with a scarf, and she was using a walker, which I knew damn well she didn’t need. But who was going to tell a defenseless old lady to move along when she’d come out to see what was happening in her neighborhood?
She glanced at me as I approached, and my expression must have told her exactly what I was thinking, because she raised one eyebrow, her watery eyes steady on my face.
My voice was very quiet. “Enjoying your dinner?”
“There’s no need to be snarky, halfling. It would have been wasteful not to pay a visit. Besides, you’ve benefited from the spells I create with such power a time or two.”
She had me there. While I’d always be creeped out by the way black witches fed on pain and suffering, I’d hired Hannah a few times when I’d needed someone with her expertise.
“Did you see anything when you got here? Anyone who looked a little too interested in the fire?”
She shook her head. “Whoever created the flames was long gone. A shame, really. It was a beautiful house.”
Now it was a house full of dead bodies. Trust Hannah to care more about the loss of the building than the people.
I left the black witch staring at the flames, her light-blue eyes glowing as she gathered the power. Waste not, want not.
And when, exactly, had I become so accepting about the way she fed?
Probably around the same time I’d started seeing Samael. My moral foundation was becoming increasingly shaky.
I made my way back to Evie, and we watched the flames together. There was nothing to say. All I could do was stand next to her as a silent support.
Finally, when there was nothing left but smoke, Kyla approached. She cast a sympathetic look at my sister and then leaned close to murmur in my ear.
“You may want to take her home. They’ll be bringing out body bags soon. I’m going to stay and watch out for lookie-loos who seemed a little too entranced with the fire.” Her eyes gleamed. “I watch enough TV to know arsonists often return to the scene of the crime.”
I wasn’t going to be able to justify treating Kyla as an intern. She was already proving herself. “Thank you. If you could meet me at my apartment in the morning, that would be great. Nathaniel probably has the address.”
