Free Circle of Blood by Debbie Viguié Page B

claimed to be a Druid. What was his part in all of this? Why had this man attacked Nala?
    She felt she could only see half a dozen pieces of a giant puzzle, and it was frustrating. She had once heard that if you put too many rats in a cage together, they would shortly turn on one another. Was the same thing happening here with people with powers?
    If that was the case, though, how did that explain how the teens and homeless had been able to live together at the theme park before they’d been slaughtered? Maybe it was because they weren’t alpha types.
    When the body had finished burning, she turned back to Nala, who was staring, openmouthed, in horror at her. “Why—why did you do that?” the girl stammered.
    “I wasn’t in the mood to answer a bunch of questions for the police. Were you?” Desdemona asked.
    Nala shook her head fiercely.
    “All right, then.” She crossed back over to the girl and sat down again. “Did he say anything else to you?”
    “No.”
    “Were his movements natural or more jerky?”
    Nala frowned, as if concentrating. “I think they were natural. Why?”
    “Just making sure he wasn’t being controlled by someone.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Desdemona sighed. “It’s possible for a very powerful witch to puppeteer another, even from a distance.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “No. I’ve seen it.”
    Or, at least, her other self had, and the images had been horrific enough that Desdemona had had a couple of nightmares about them. It seemed like a strange attack, especially given that it had happened to Nala and so close to Desdemona’s home. Then there was the fact that her other self kept insisting that Nala was lying about what had really happened.
    The girl seemed sincere enough, though, and given the burst of power she’d accidentally shown when panicked, Desdemona didn’t want to risk terrorizing her more or triggering that power again by taking a walk through her memories of the event.
    The sun was starting to set. It had been a long, crazy day and it was nowhere near over yet. She still needed time to focus and recharge before heading to the cemetery. She struggled with trying to decide what to do.
    With Claudia it had been simple. Once she’d decided to let her live, she just needed to scare her. With Nala it was more complicated, though, and she had a feeling if she tried to scare the girl she would just make things worse. She couldn’t just ignore her, though, not until she got to the bottom of everything. That guy going after her on the same day that the witch had killed everyone else who was part of Nala’s group couldn’t be a coincidence.
    It was possible that the witch wanted Nala or her powers.
    “We need to talk tomorrow. Do you have someplace you can go tonight?” Desdemona asked. Just because she wanted to keep an eye on the girl didn’t mean she wanted her in her home, particularly with what the night might hold. If she was lucky, she’d kill the witch tonight and she’d never have to see Nala again.
    Nala wiped her eyes and nose on the back of her sleeve. “Yeah, I know a place.”
    “Good,” she said, feeling relieved. “Do you need help getting there?”
    Nala shook her head. “It’s not that far.”
    “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then, all right?”
    Nala nodded and stood shakily. “Thanks for . . . everything,” she said.
    Desdemona couldn’t help noticing that Nala was avoiding looking at her car or the pile of ash on the ground next to it.
    Watch her,
the inner voice urged.
    Desdemona shook her head. She didn’t have the time. She had bigger goals in mind for the evening than babysitting some kid who had just contributed to killing some guy.
    “Okay, then. Be safe,” she told Nala.
    She waited until Nala turned and began walking down the street. Then she moved around to her car, opened the door, and moved her hand in a sweeping motion. All the broken glass flew outside and deposited itself on the ground. After a moment’s