Oracle Returns: Time will Stop (Littlemoon Investigations #21)

Prologue

A Recap

Friday Night

What Went Down:

Not long after they all reached the man’s yard, the police came. It was Bishop and Honor who had to do the discovery and call for the forensics team to reach their house. They were officially on duty.

And so was Bodhi.

They’d called him at home, and he promised to be the one who showed up, and he was.

They watched him walk in, the grim look on his face, as the whole time, they stood outside waiting.

It was almost surreal.

Dreamlike.

How could this have happened? There were so many questions, and no answers.

Well, none that weren’t locked in Ridge’s head. The whole time they’d been out there, he’d been a zombie, barely existing.

He was numb.

It was a text from Bishop that told Lucian that they found a medallion in Wynter’s blazer pocket that she had worn that day out investigating. It had been on the chair in their bedroom.

Somehow, someone slipped it into her pocket. They also found the one Raven had given her tossed away like trash.

It had been her downfall.

At one point, they let Ridge in, and when he came out, Lucian was with him.

The looks on their faces said it all.

This was a nightmare.

Because he needed someone to get him out of there, Laird had taken him back to the Monroes’ home.

For the first time, in a long time, Lucian Monroe felt helpless and spiraling.

With this death, the darkness managed to disable him so he couldn’t help anyone in Salem.

His tuner was gone.

As he walked toward the family, his attention was pulled toward some trees across the street.

That was when he saw her.

Across the street, there was a woman standing there in the shadows.

Beyond the police cars.

Beyond the flashing lights.

Instead of stopping at his family, he kept walking to her, each step painful as he was incredibly angry.

“Where is he going?” Julian asked.

Only, Bishop knew.

War was coming.

Their team was being called back.

As Lucian stood in the middle of the street, staring at the person not far away, it was when she dropped the hood of her clothing to reveal herself.

It was the white-blonde hair that gave it away.

In that moment, he knew.

Oracle was in Salem.

There would be more death and blood.

There always was.

I’m sorry, Lucian, I was trying to get here as fast as I could. He’s here. It’s about to get worse. The darkness has come for both of us.

It is coming for anyone who can stand in his way.

And Lucian dropped to his knees and screamed helplessly into the darkness.

Survival was the bottom line.

Death had found them.

* * * L I T T L E M O O N * * *

Across Town

Hidden Away

Friday Evening

The damage was done.

He’d managed to stop the goodie psychics before they could stop him. It had taken six months of planning, finding her, and digging in to lay the groundwork, but he had done it.

It did his heart good to know that Oracle was on the run, and that she was scared.

On top of that, Lucian Monroe was now incapacitated while he lost his tuner.

Oh, and that left only one.

Genesis Manning was at his mercy, and before everything was said and done, she’d fall too.

The sins of her family were about to come to light.

It was only a matter of time.

One down.

Two to go.

Then, he could avenge their deaths and take his rightful place in the static.

So.

Mote.

It.

Be.