Read Mystic Jive: Hand of Fate - Book Four for Free Online

power.”
    “You’re not making sense, Lou.”
    “This layering is serious business. They’re doing it for a reason. The only reason I can think of is to summon a demon. Maybe even a deity. Very dark stuff.”
    “Come on, Lou. You don’t need a summoning circle to get a demon—even I know that.”
    “I’m not talking about djinn , Mattie. I’m talking about deities. Devils. Drudes. Goblins. Incubi and Succubi. Creatures of the Abyss.” He stopped so suddenly I ran right into him. He grabbed me by my shoulders and glared at me—so close, I could feel the heat of his anger. “They’re messing with things they cannot possibly control. I know black magic when I see it. It’s like you and djemons, Mattie. That’s my legacy. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
    “Okay, okay. I got it.” Sheesh.
    “Let’s get out of here before they see us.” He moved quickly—I had to run to keep up.
    We’d reached the line of cars. Lou pulled out his cell phone and snapped photos of the license plates on the vehicles we’d passed on the way in.
    “What are you going to tell the wife? Do you think she’s a witch too?”
    He stiffened. “Damn. If the wife is one of them, maybe this was a set-up. I can’t tell her anything. I’ll give her a refund; tell her I didn’t find anything.”
    “Don’t go paranoid, on me, Lou. We just spent seven hours on stakeout, and you want to throw it away? What the hell?”
    “You’re damn right I do,” he said. “I don’t want to give them anything that will lead them back to us. I’ve been looking for this place for years, Mattie. That’s why I’m taking pics of these plate numbers.”
    I’d never seen this side of Lou before. “I don’t get it. So they’re sorcerers, what’s the big deal? Why are you so upset?”
    “These people are bad news. I mean it. Stay away from them, Mattie. Promise me. You don’t want anything to do with them. They’re a cult. Smart and organized and messing with things they shouldn’t be. Once they get their claws in you they’ll never let you go. Best to just stay clear. Promise me you’ll have nothing to do with them.”
    We’d reached the car. “Yeah, okay. Fine.”
     “Say it. Say you’ll drop this. I want your word.” The sour scent of cold fear clung to him.
    Lou wasn’t the type to get spooked. I held up my hands in supplication. “Okay, I promise.” I made a mental note to ask Rhys about black sorcerers.
    A pair of headlights coming up Plank Road hit us.
    Lou grabbed me, pulling me into the deeper shadows beneath the spruce tree. He pushed me up against the car, wrapping his arms around me, his lips pressed against my neck.
    “Whatever happens, don’t let them see your face,” he said. I felt Lou’s fear and obeyed.
    An old pickup truck slowed to a crawl, then stopped at the turnoff, less than a dozen feet away. I threw my arms around Lou’s neck and followed his example, running my hands up and down his back, like a lover in the throes of passion.
    The truck idled there for a full minute, the number four piston ticking in perfect time with the pounding of my heart. I squeezed my eyes shit against the glare of the headlights and wrapped my leg around Lou’s hip, pulling him closer. A few more long seconds ticked by, then the truck turned left and moved slowly up the dirt drive we’d just walked down.
    Lou released me, his eyes focused on the truck’s retreating taillights. “That was too close. Let’s get out of here.”
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    ON WEDNESDAY, I stopped by Aapex Bike and Auto to pick up my car.
    “Sorry, Mattie, ignition system was shorted out,” Doc said. He and my brother Lance used to own the business together. Doc was like one of the family. “Never seen that in a Honda before. It’s going to need to be replaced. The parts are special order.”
    “Oh come on. I can’t keep taking the bus.” I hated not having my own wheels. Doc would never understand how humiliating