You know when you introduce a bunch of side characters and they threaten to take over the book? Yeah, that.
“So
what do we do now?” Imani asked. “Is it worth scrying again?”
Rowan
shook her head. “There'll be nothing to find by now. I think it's
safe to say Lola has taken all she can from Isako's house, and there
was nothing in the alley at the Red Lotus. At least, I don't think
so.” She looked to Lola for confirmation.
“Nothing
helpful,” Lola agreed. “I think we need to try to figure out who
could commit these murders and perform a ritual like this. Talk to
other magic-users, see if anyone has heard anything or seen
anything...” She trailed off, realizing what a huge task it would
be. Especially when you really couldn't just march up to people and
ask them if they'd killed anyone for magic recently. “I don't know
how we'll do that though,” she admitted.
“I
do,” Imani said. “I've met loads of people at college who are
into paganism or Wicca and different magic practices. Rumour travels
fast – as soon as these murders are public knowledge, people will
start talking.”
“That's
great,” Rowan said, “but I'm not sure chasing down rumours is the
wisest course of action.”
“You've got to start somewhere,” Imani said. “Right now you've got nothing.”
“You've got to start somewhere,” Imani said. “Right now you've got nothing.”
This
was much easier in books and movies, Lola thought. You stumbled upon
a crucial piece of evidence and the conspiracy simply unwound for
you, no effort required. She felt a stab of sympathy for Hardy and
Scherer and thought again how much easier their jobs would be if Lola
was the killer. And whilst Imani was right that they had to start
somewhere, Lola wasn't sure how many genuine magic-users they were
going to find at the local college.
So
what other options were there? What other approaches could they make?
“All
those books upstairs and you have so little knowledge? That's rather
sad, don't you think?”
Lola
jumped at the sound of Tristesse's voice. The demon waltzed into the
kitchen with a pizza box in her hands. She'd swapped her gothic
princess attire for ripped black jeans and an oversized hoodie, and
now looked like she'd fit in perfectly on a night out with Imani.
Lola decided not to think about where the clothes had come from. Or
the pizza for that matter.
Tristesse
set the pizza down and took the last seat at the table, beaming round
at the three of them. “Three little witches, all so determined to
act and all so directionless.” She flipped open the pizza box and
took out a slice. “I was informed that this has absolutely no
nutritional benefits whatsoever,” she told Lola.
Lola
glanced at the pizza, which seemed to be topped with everything a
pizza restaurant could possibly offer. “No, I think you're safe
there,” she said. “What do you mean about all the books?”
“Just
that it's surprising you can be so well-read and still so ignorant.”
Lola
frowned. “Rowan, Imani, this is Tristesse. Tristesse -”
“Rowan.
Imani.” Tristesse regarded them both with lofty disinterest and
turned her attention back to Lola. “How was your coven
meeting?”
“Annoying,” Lola said. “Apparently the magical community doesn't believe in demons.”
“How ridiculous. What do you know about ley lines?”
“Annoying,” Lola said. “Apparently the magical community doesn't believe in demons.”
“How ridiculous. What do you know about ley lines?”
“The
Old Straight Track,” Imani said. “That's what the guy who came up
with the concept called them. They're like a network of natural
points of interest, right?”
“Correct,
partially.” Tristesse pushed the pizza box towards her as if
offering her a reward. “They are vast natural reservoirs of power,
remnants of a much older race that dwelt on your plane.”
Rowan
raised an eyebrow, expressing more cynicism with the gesture than
Lola would have thought possible. “I'm pretty sure ley lines have
been debunked very thoroughly.”
“By
humans who have no ability to access the power anyway.” Tristesse
looked down her nose at Rowan and turned to Lola. “But I can show
you how to do it.”
Despite
the tiredness settling over her, despite the frustration and anxiety
of the situation, Lola felt a spark of excitement at Tristesse's
words. “You can? How?”
Tristesse
smiled and tapped her lips. “Fancy a walk?”
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