The temperature had plummeted, and winter had firmly set in. There was no way someone could survive in the woods under those conditions without specialist equipment unless, Mac mused, he’d fled Mercy completely. He’d put out an alert to all the surrounding law enforcement agencies, but nothing. All he could do now was wait for him to turn up, alive or dead. The only thing he knew for sure was that if Thomas Walcott was still alive, he wouldn’t stray far from Mercy. He was too obsessed with Olivia West and her father.
Which brought his thoughts back to Olivia once more. What the hell were they up to? His fingers tapped a restless rhythm on the desk as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
They’d had confirmation that the third victim was Lucas Campbell, and they’d also managed to ID the fourth victim. The guy’s name was Daryl Ward, an independent graphic designer and artist living in Mercy. The weird part was that he was also connected to Olivia. When she’d first arrived back in Mercy, she’d spoken with him briefly about designing the illustrations for the children’s history book she was working on. She’d even confirmed it herself on the one brief occasion he’d managed to actually speak with her. That meant she was connected, however loosely, to all of the victims. He didn’t think for one moment she was the killer, but it could mean the killer was somehow connected to her.
Suddenly uneasy, he picked up the phone and called through to the County Sheriff’s department to check they’d assigned at least two guards to watch Olivia until Walcott was back in custody, only to be told that he himself had canceled that order earlier in the day.
Grabbing his keys from the desk, Mac stood abruptly and pulled on his coat. Now he knew there was definitely something going on, and there was only one way to find out what. He was just going to have to drive out to the West place and have himself a little nosy around.
“Good, you’re here.” Olivia opened the door and stepped back, allowing Jake to enter. “Does anyone suspect?”
He shook his head. “I called the Sheriff’s Office earlier, pretending to be Mac, and got them to recall the guards, so we’re all clear. Erica’s at my place. She’ll cover for me in case anyone decides to check on me.”
“What did you tell her?” Olivia chewed her lip, a small crease marring her brow.
“The bare minimum,” he replied. “I don’t think she’s ready to deal with demons and magic just yet.”
She nodded in understanding. “Theo’s waiting in the library.”
Jake followed her through the hall and into her favorite room, reaching down and petting the fur ball trying to climb his leg.
“Beau.” She whistled for him, and he scrambled to catch up with her.
“Jake.” Theo nodded in greeting as he entered the room.
“Is everything ready?” Jake asked.
“Yes… Here, take this.” Olivia offered him a small silver crescent moon on a chain, hanging from her fingers. “Put it on.”
“It’s a bit girly.” He eyed her warily.
“If I have to wear one, so do you,” Theo replied, pulling his own from the neck of his sweater.
“Fine,” Jake grumbled, taking it from her and slinging it around his neck.
“Don’t turn your nose up,” Olivia told him pointedly. “It might just save your life before all this is over.”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
She handed them each an object wrapped in black velvet and watched as they unwrapped them.
“Holy shit.” Jake’s mouth fell open. “Are these the hunting knives I brought you?”
She nodded, watching their reactions in amusement. Theo was fascinated and, as he did with everything, he was studying it in minute detail, trying to figure it out. Jake, on the other hand, was a kid with a new toy.
“What did you do to it?” he asked enthusiastically.
“It’s a bit hard to explain.” Olivia frowned thoughtfully. “They are now imbued with Hellfire and ancient magic, but it’s not something I can recreate. These knives are two of a kind and can’t be replaced, so be very careful with them.”
“I’ve got a magic knife.” Jake smiled like a little boy with a lightsaber. “What can it do?”
“It should be able to kill hellhounds. I’m also pretty sure it can kill most supernatural creatures.”
“Most?” Theo asked.
Olivia shrugged. “It doesn’t exactly come with a manual,” she answered. “It was made with Hellfire, hot and fresh straight from the Hell dimensions, so logically, it should be able to destroy creatures from Hell, but it’s not an exact science. Try not to experiment too much. They’re so you can defend yourselves. Don’t go looking for trouble.” Theo nodded. “Jake?”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard, don’t go looking for trouble,” he answered absently as he turned the blade and watched in fascination as the writing inscribed in the blade glowed blue. “Cool…”
