whiskey witches 01 - whisky witches by s m blooding

“What was the point of bringing that up now?”
    Tru raised his hands, palms out. “I’m so glad I married the woman that speaks to dead people.”
    Everyone was still for a long, cold moment.
    Dexx’s sad chuckle broke the silence. He focused on the storm raging overhead. “That’s seriously fucked, dude.”
    Tru started chuckling, too.
    Paige’s lips twitched and her shoulders shook slightly.
    Dexx rubbed his nose. “Okay, so besides keeping the demon population down, what else can you do?”
    “Well, I can do all kinds of stuff. I mean, I can tap into the ethereal energies of their plane, and into the earthen energies on this one. I can do a lot.” She didn’t need to brag, though. Her grandmother was already spooked by the idea of her summoning demons.
    “Like what?”
    What would Alma do if she discovered Paige could open portals to other realms, or create natural disasters? No. Some things had to be kept to herself until she could design a way to ensure her gifts would never be blocked again. “Too much to explain right now.”
    “To a mere mortal?”
    She shrugged with what she hoped was a cheeky expression.
    His quirked lips said he didn’t buy it. “What else?”
    “It’s really easy to summon them. I have a direct link to the realm on the other side of the Gate, so calling the one I want is really easy. I don’t have to do nearly the prep work other people need to. I just stand in front of a mirror and call their name. Sometimes, I don’t even have to do that.”
    “Mirrors are portals,” Dexx said.
    “Exactly,” Paige said. “I can also scry to see all the demons, all the magick users, and anyone who’s soul is bleeding.”
    Tru curled his lip, his eyebrows high. “Bleeding?”
    “Yeah, man,” Dexx said. “Keep up with the conversation. Demons are healers.”
    “Oh, right. Why didn’t I catch that? What about angels?”
    “We don’t ask about those, probably because the evil mother is an angel summoner.”
    “Oh, shit. Right. Crap. Shit. Shoot. My bad.”
    It was hard to be mad at Tru for anything. “Honestly, I haven’t dealt with them, but I’m willing to wager a pretty penny they wouldn’t like me too much.”
    Dexx clucked his tongue and pointed at her. “Good bet.”
    “Have you scried the area yet?” Alma asked.
    “I was a little busy.”
    Dexx raised his eyebrows as he shoved his thumbs in his belt loops. “That’s a bit of an understatement.”
    “Don’t you need a mirror or something to do that?” Tru asked. “Les does.”
    Alma nodded. “Or a bowl of water.”
    “Les is a medium,” Paige said. “And you’re an earth witch. I don’t need either.”
    Dexx and Alma frowned.
    Paige cupped her hands in front of her, closing her eyes. The element wind came to her without hesitation. It teased through her hair, sending it spiraling all around her. Water came next; calm, cool, a hidden turmoil boiling under the cover of silence. Slow, sleepy earth yawned, stretching into her command, filling her with a distant nurture, giving her the soul nutrition only it could provide. The sky flashed above her as she called fire. It leapt at her in a crazy, spectral dance of lancing sky-flame. The element seeped through every corner of her being, filling her with energy, burning life back into her rather heavy, deadened heart.
    Feeling crazed with the energy at her command, she concentrated on her cupped hands.
    Within the confines of her palms, a globe formed. On the bottom lay a map made of points interconnected with lines. In her mind’s eye, she felt each point, knew their true names. Red, green, yellow and blue dots sprinkled the map.
    She flattened her hands, bringing them to the edge of the sphere. She widened it and zoomed in on their area. “Here.” She pointed to a particularly red spot without actually touching the ball of magick. “Can you see? The red dots are demons. The blues are clairvoyants and witches. Green, healers. Yellow,