The Witches (Book #1)

𝔓𝔩𝔞𝔫 𝔬𝔯 𝔑𝔬 𝔓𝔩𝔞𝔫

The few minutes Sehun's gone feel like the years. I clench my hands and stare at my feet. The back door slams, and my body flies forward toward the sound. Sehun's footsteps are quick in the hallway as he heads back to the kitchen.

The bad news is clear by the tension in his jaw. "It's the Lineages. They're missing."

"What?" I yell. I knew something was going to happen to Seulgi, but I wasn't expecting this. What if I'm too late? "Which Descendants?"

"All four of them."

"I have to talk to those cops." I move toward the door.

"Suzy." Sehun grabs my arm. "You can't. They're looking for you. They think you're involved in their disappearance. Something about a threat you made in front of Seulgi's mom. And then ranting on the street, talking to thin air." He gives me a knowing look.

Mrs. Oh speaks calmly as she separates the ingredients into piles. "Breathe. You need to focus. We must do the location spell."

She's right. I have to focus. I dart back to the spell book. "Sehun, was there anything the police knew."

He shakes his head. "They didn't say much." There's an edge in his voice. He's looking at me more seriously than he did before.

Mrs. Oh hands Sehun a few greens to chop.

Joohyuk blinks back in. "Seulgi, Wendy, Hyeri, and Soojung went missing this afternoon according to the policeman'a notepad. They told their parents they were going to the pharmacy and would be back in an hour."

"Wait, I wasn't supposed to meet them there until tonight. Why would they be there this afternoon?" Were they setting me up? Seulgi wouldn't do that, would she?

Joohyuk raises a knowing eyebrow at me. "I cannot say."

"Maybe they got caught up in what they were doing and didn't go home? Or they were too far in the woods and the cops couldn't see them?" I would love to believe they aren't gone.

Mrs. Oh and Sehun watch me talk to Joohyuk.

"I searched," Joohyuk tells me.

"There is no sign of them other than Hyeri's Jeep in the parking lot."

"They've been missing for hours, then. Someone could already . . ." I don't finish that thought, because I don't want it to be true.

"The story of their disappearance has already begun to spread throughout the town. It is known that you are a main suspect. It is only a matter of time before the townspeople send out a search party for you."

I picture them lining up outside my house, screaming and waving torches.

Joohyuk looks uncomfortable. "Sooji, it is mostly likely a trap."

I pause. His fiancée has been messing with me all this time and I couldn't predict a single move. In fact, the things I've done to try to solve the curse only gave her ammo to use against me. "You think she knows I'll look for them?"

"I think she is counting on it. You were the only one there when Kai died. Then Soojung accused you of murder at the assembly, and Seulgi's mother claims you threatened her daughter. If she makes it appear that you were the responsible party for the Lineages' disappearance, the consequences will be great. You will be formally accused."

"If I don't track her down, I run the risk of someone dying."

I can't even send the police. She'd probably punish me by killing them slowly.

Sehun stops chopping. "I'm coming with you, Suzy. To find her."

I shake my head. "No. It's not safe."