Chapter 183
“Let’s head back,” Winnie said, her voice steady despite the brewing storm of unease. “I’ve got some
ideas to mask your gold aura. That should throw him off our trail for a while.”
Drake merely nodded in agreement. He had no reason to doubt her. “Alright.”
Hobson, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, stood there with his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
Drake was different from the devil he had heard of.
Drake was the only one among the younger set who had taken the reins of his family so early in life,
and with such authority. He was a natural leader, and his peers, even those from the other illustrious
families, rarely saw him mingle with them. Only Horace seemed to share any kind of rapport with him.
And Horace, well, he was the golden boy of their generation, no argument there. But Winnie? Why
should she be any different? Was it simply because of her so–called talents?
To Hobson, it didn’t add up. After all, given the Patterson family’s status and wealth, they could have
their pick of the best consultants and experts. Heck, he knew of several families that kept their own
personal supernatural masters on retainer. If Drake really wanted help, he could have a dozen of the
best at his beck and call.
Hobson just couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“Winnie, I know you’ve got some skills, but there are times when you’re better off calling in the big
guns,” he said, the concern evident in his voice. “If there’s a creature out there gunning for Mr.
Patterson, we should probably get a real expert in here.”
He was genuinely trying to offer sound advice, not out of disbelief in her abilities–he’d seen enough to
know she had something real–but out of caution. He knew that if things went south, it wouldn’t just be
her neck on the line. It would bring trouble to Mr. Patterson and, by extension, to the Patterson family.
That would not be an easy mess to clean up.
Hobson thought he was being helpful, but Winnie wasn’t having any of it. She was about to set him
straight when Drake’s icy voice cut through the tension, leaving no room for argument.
“Ms. Bryant is the expert in my view,” he stated, his eyes fixed on her. “I trust her.”
That single sentence silenced Hobson and sent a wave offort through Winnie, like a warm
embrace. Although she was used to doubt, who could resist such unwavering affirmation?
Her eyes sparkled with a rare brightness as she ignored Hobson and pulled out two pieces of paper
from her backpack. They were different from the charm papers she’d used before; these were nk.
With a few swift moves, she cut the papers into little human figures with surprising precision. Each doll
was symmetrical and without a single frayed edge–a sight that offered an odd sense of satisfaction to
anyone with a penchant for perfection.
Drake watched with a slight sense of amazement as she brought the tiny paper figures to life.
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Their uracy and the care she took with each cut were nothing short of impressive.
Unbeknownst to Drake, his estimation of Winnie climbed several notches simply because of those two
little paper effigies.
Winnie moved to the altar of the old chapel, quickly inscribing talismanic symbols on the paper.
Although the chapel was devoid of spiritual energy, it had once been a ce of worship, and the ash
carried the devout faith of the vigers.
As Winnie finished her final stroke, the air in the chapel seemed to clear for a moment. When they
looked again, the paper dolls, now marked with symbols, seemed toe alive.
Drake, having witnessed her ghost baby before, didn’t bat an eyelid. Hobson, however, despite having
seen Winnie’s capabilities, couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.
“They’re… alive.”
He instinctively reached for Drake, but thetter, anticipating the gesture, stepped aside and
approached Winnie instead.
“What are these?” asked Drake.
“Our decoys, to mask our presence as we leave,” she exined, plucking something unseen from
Drake’s aura.
Drake had heard her speak of this ‘gold aura‘ and had seen her ‘grab‘ it from him before. Yet, never
having seen it himself, he didn’t quite grasp what it meant. That was until he saw the paper figure
radiate a soft golden glow. It was then he began to understand what she meant by seeing a gold aura.
The glow from the paper figure–was that what she’d been grabbing from him all this time? Intriguing.
Winnie then sent the animated paper effigies off into the wild, leaving one imbued with traces of both
her essence and Drake’s. After giving Drake and Hobson their own protective charms, they were ready
to descend the mountain.
Hobson, still in a state of shock, had lost the ability to articte his thoughts. The world he thought he
knew had just expanded, and he was left reeling as they made their way back to the familiar, yet now
seemingly extraordinary, reality.
By the time he settled into the backseat of the car, he noticed Winnie was nowhere to be found.
Peering out the window, he watched as Winnie hopped into Drake’s car.
His heart stuttered. Who gets to casually take a ride in Drake’s car?
The guy has a level of OCD that makes him refuse to let anyone even stand too close to his car if
they’re not dressed right, let alone share a ride with him!
“Winnie, where are you going?”
“Come back!” He screamed inside his head.
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Chapter 183
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Winnie cast a nce Hobson’s way and simply said, “I’ve got some business to take care with Mr.
Patterson. You go on back with the driver.”
Inviting him along was a mistake to begin with. Now she had to fix it.
Upon hearing she intended to ditch him for Drake, Hobson t–out refused, “No way!”
With that, he started to get out of the car.
But then, with just one piercing look from Drake, the driver, picking up on his boss‘ cue, didn’t hesitate
to lock the car doors, start the engine, and whisk Hobson away down the winding road.
Winnie finally relished the silence around her and settled back into her seat.
The driver started the car and asked Drake, “Mr. Patterson, shall we head back to the office?”
Drake remained silent, ncing over at Winnie.
She was busy cing an order on her phone but looked up at the sound of the question, “Let’s go back
to the Patterson estate.”
Winnie hadn’t realized the extent of the threat to someone as influential as Drake, but now that she did,
she figured his ce could use some extra protection too.
Hopefully, in light of her diligent efforts, Drake would let her grab more of that gold aura.