Page 43 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Delia moved past a cluster of witnesses and murmured, gentle and precise, “A stunt. A student film. A misunderstanding.”

A woman blinked, face twisting from terror into embarrassment. She lowered her phone as if it had suddenly become shameful.

I didn’t know whether to be grateful or furious. Probably both.

Nishi’s posture changed. She lowered her phone, head tilting as if she were listening to a voice in her earpiece. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned toward us.

“We’ve got a report,” she said.

Faith’s head snapped up. “Another wave.”

Nishi shook her head once. “Not here.”

Eve stepped closer. “Where?”

“One of my hunters found the source,” Nishi said, and even her calm voice tightened around the word.

My stomach dropped. “You’re sure?”

“As sure as I can be based on what she’s seeing.” Nishi looked past us toward Victor, then back. “Ravenholde Cemetery.”

Faith made a low sound. “The big one?”

“No,” Nishi said. “The smaller one. The older cemetery on the east side.”

Of course it was the older one. Old places held old magic. Old places held memories. Old places held bones that had been in the ground long enough to forget their names, but not long enough to stop being useful.

Eve’s eyes flashed. “We gotta go.”

Faith had already started moving, then stopped, her gaze flicking back to the chaos behind us. “What about this?”

Nishi’s eyes cut toward Victor. “He holds downtown. Delia finishes the wipe. Spencer stays with her. Mina pushes the narrative. My hunters keep the perimeter.”

Victor heard his name as if he had a sixth sense for problems. He turned, suit still crisp despite everything, eyes like steel.

“We’re shifting,” Nishi called to him.

Victor’s gaze flicked to her, then to the street, then to Delia and Mina’s crew. He didn’t ask questions. He asked for assignments.

“Go,” he said. “I’ll keep the line. But if more come, I need a heads-up.”

“You’ll get it,” Nishi said.

Delia glanced up from a witness, green eyes narrowing. “If the cemetery is the origin point, you end it there, or I’ll be wiping memories until my fingers fall off.”

Spencer stepped closer to Tegan, voice low. “Be careful.”

Tegan nodded once, face tight. She looked as if she wanted to kiss him.

“If it’s a locus,” she said, “there may be an object.”

Faith opened the SUV door. “Then we find it.”

Mina jogged up, camera crew orbiting her like eager moons. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes bright, phone already in her hand. “Are we moving locations? Because I can do location work. I’m good at that.”

Eve’s gaze snapped to Mina. “You’re not coming.”

Mina blinked, actually offended. “Excuse me. This is literally what I’m here for.”