The Blood Legacy (The Lost Heir Book III)

The Time Witch

"...Then we're going to find the time witch."

A move easier said than done. Neither one of them had any idea who this witch was or what said person was capable of. Maybe this was Serena's murderer. It wasn't ghost, but who knew if this time witch was a ghost or not.

When they got to the crime scene, they found the room blocked off with yellow tape and two detectives behind it. One was crouched down examining something he'd found on the floor while the other paced while barking something into her cell phone. A uniformed cop practically materialized out of nowhere and spotted Isabella and Seth. "You kids can't be here," said the young cop, who didn't look much older than Seth. The cop folded his arms across his chest, blocking the doorway.

"But she's..." Seth started then stopped when Isabella linked her hand with his and gave it a tug. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"It's okay, officer," she said, plastering on a smile then turned to Seth. "Let's go look at the you know what?"

Seth frowned but let her lead him away. "I do?"

Isabella shook her head. "The book," she mouthed, eyebrows pushing up her forehead.

"Right. Sorry."

Instead of heading back to the elevator, Isabella strode down the hallway and turned left into the small open sitting area exclusive to this section of suites. Seth followed her, a frown etched into his forehead, as she made her way through the sitting area to a large window on the other side. "Just what I thought. You could easily climb up here from the gardens," she said as she opened the window and pointed to a trellis.

"It doesn't look very sturdy to me."

"Trust me. It is."

When they got back to her room to get the book, Isabella found Lana and Evie gone. Lana had left a note scrawled on the back of pink notebook paper. Going home to sleep in a real bed. Not working today. See you later. Isabella checked her cell phone to see if she'd followed up with more detail. She had not.

Isabella made her way back to the living room to comb over the contents of the book with Seth. A part of her wanted to contact the rest of her cohort, but she decided to be careful. Better to start small than invite whomever was necessary as their private investigation moved along. Thankfully, she trusted Seth. He was easy to work with. A yin sort of to her yang, though she'd never tell him that. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Regardless, whatever direction their work might take them, they would hopefully be able to find answers without leading a killer to chase them down.

"I don't like this," Seth said, "the killer could be anywhere."

Just then, a sound of something dropping in the kitchen clattered. Isabella gasped and Seth stood up. "Calm down, Seth. It's probably just my grandmother," she said, standing up behind him. "Nano!?"

No response. Instead, something fell to the floor a second time. Isabella clutched the book to her chest and inched forward, but Seth held her back with a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Nano?! Are you okay?"

Seth stepped in front of her and headed toward the kitchen. "I can just throw up a shield."

"And I can throw a blast." Seth shot her a hot glance. "Yours is less harmful."

Before either of them could go in, the kitchen door flew open to reveal a young teenage girl with rust color curls dressed a bit like a girl pirate minus the cap.

"Mimi!" Seth and Isabella cried out in unison.

"Oh, hey guys!" The rather short girl held her hand behind her back, revealing her half-human-sized teeth with an easy smile.