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SNOWBALL’S CHANCE IN HEX
THE WITCHES MURDER CLUB #2
SAMANTHA SILVER
 CONTENTS

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue

Discover Spellford Cove

A Note from the Author
Also by Samantha Silver
About the Author
 PROLOGUE

I t was taking everything I had not to pee myself right

there in the bed as a voice I couldn’t see spoke to me.
“Taylor Coombs. I know who you are. And I know who
wants you dead.”
“Right. Well, demon, why don’t you show yourself, then?”
The voice laughed, a humorless sound. It wasn’t a human voice.
It was almost as if whoever was behind it spoke into an echo
chamber. “You think I’m a demon?”
“Of course I do. I saw you running earlier. I saw your aura.”
Jay, my familiar, woke up just then and arched his back, hissing
toward the foot of the bed.
“Whoever trained you in the ways of recognizing auras was sadly
lacking in skill,” the voice said.
I should have checked my email last night. Ashley would have
sent through everything she had about identifying auras. But I
figured getting stabbed in the shoulder while trying to stop a
murderer was a pretty decent excuse for having forgotten. Still, that
didn’t help me now.
“All right, fine. If you’re not a demon, what are you?”
“I am one of the most regal creatures in the entire mythological
world,” the voice pronounced.
“Okay, sure. Whatever. But I still can’t see you.”
I gasped as a moment later the creature revealed itself to me.
Sure enough, it was awkwardly proportioned, as I’d seen in its aura.
It had the body of a lion, but the head of a woman. And what I
hadn’t seen in its aura were the golden wings that protruded from its
back.
“You’re a sphinx!”
“I am,” it replied, and Jay immediately lowered his hackles at the
sight. Apparently, my familiar no longer saw this intruder as a threat.
I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but I was a lot more
comfortable knowing Jay was no longer on the verge of attacking it.
“You are a very loyal familiar,” the sphinx said then, turning her
beady black eyes to Jay. “When your witch chased me earlier, you
did as well, and you even managed to bite my tail.”
She was easily the most insane-looking creature I had ever seen.
It was as if a visitor from the zoo was standing on the floor in my
bedroom, a lion at the foot of my bed. But, instead of a lion’s head,
the face that looked back at me was human. She had black eyes, the
copper-colored skin of the Sahara, and curly black hair that framed
her face like a lion’s mane normally would have. Well, a male lion,
anyway. Her fur shone even in the manufactured light of the
bedroom lamp, but her wings—her wings glimmered gold as if the
noon sun shone directly down on us.
Her deep-red lips parted to show a perfect white smile. It was
almost creepy how beautiful she was. No, scratch that. It was
creepy. Everything about this was creepy. I’d never met a sphinx
before. Heck, a part of me hadn’t believed they actually existed.
Jay jumped down from the dresser where he’d been sleeping and
curled himself up under my arm. I held him close, the feel of his soft
skin under my fingers calming my nerves a little bit.
“You say you know who I am, and who wants to kill me,” I finally
managed. “Care to share with the class?”
The sphinx smiled. “You must understand that what I tell you will
not be as direct as you would like it to be.”
“Right. You’re a sphinx, which means you only talk in riddles.
Except when you don’t. You say you know who wants to kill me.”
“That’s right. The one you seek is but a pearl in the ocean of
humanity.”
I paused. “Is that it?”
 The sphinx smiled coyly in reply.
“Look, I get it, your whole schtick is thinking you’re so clever and
being obtuse about all the clues you give, but that’s not helpful. A
pearl in the ocean of humanity? What am I looking for? Someone
pretty? A single witch in the whole ocean? Or maybe a wizard. Pearls
don’t necessarily have to be female. Well, guess what? I already
knew that.”
“I am not the type to give riddles that have no solution.”
“That wasn’t a riddle at all. That was a statement.” Was it wise to
antagonize the mythical beast in front of me? Probably not. To be
perfectly honest, I didn’t know a lot about the magical creatures that
shared our world and only appeared on rare occasions. Mom had
never taught me about them, and frankly, I never really expected to
have a sphinx standing at the foot of my bed.
She simply smiled.
“Okay, tell me this, and for the love of everything, please give me
a straight answer: have you told anyone else my real name, and do
they know I’m living in Golden Hope?”
“The matters of witches and wizards do not interest me. I have
been called upon by the pearl to reveal your existence, which I did
not do. However, I also did not deny it. So, while the pearl did ask
me to guide them to you, I did no such thing.”
“But they’re aware of my existence, anyway.”
The sphinx shrugged, which was a strange movement to see
from such a majestic creature. “I would assume they are, at the very
least. But they have not discovered your new identity, or your
whereabouts. At least not from me.”
“Why have you come to warn me?” I asked. “At least, I assume
you’re warning me. The sphinx is always portrayed as being
nefarious and bloodthirsty.”
“Ah, yes. And you, a witch, are obviously one with a long, wart-
covered nose who flies on a broomstick and boils children in your
cauldron.”
“Okay, point taken.”
“I do not see evil in your heart. And yet, in the pearl, I do. It is
not for those of us who do not live wholly on this mortal plane to
involve ourselves directly in the affairs of witches and wizards, but
there are times when I am incapable of doing anything but.”
“So basically, you decided I was less evil, and you came to warn
me.”
“I did.”
“Why did you run away the other times?”
“It is not for a sphinx to be seen, normally. However, in your
case, I decided to make an exception.”
“Well, thank you. Can you make an exception to your riddles, as
well, and just tell me the name of whoever is after me?”
The sphinx smiled mysteriously. “Goodbye, Taylor Coombs.
Remember what I have told you.”
“Yeah, I will,” I muttered as the sphinx suddenly disappeared.
CHAPTER 1
 THREE MONTHS LATER

“L ook, I just want to explore the idea that these few deaths
haven't been accidental,” I said to Gary, putting forward
my pitch. This was going to be the most interesting story
I'd gotten to write in months. Ever since Mike Jessup's killer was
arrested, I had come back to the standard weekly interest stories in
the Golden Sun. Who drew graffiti on the side of the high school?
City Council had a meeting, and nothing important happened. A
committee was created to help solve climate change. Blah, blah,
blah. I wrote the articles, and even I thought they were boring.
Still, boring was probably better than a serial killer, and I was
pretty sure that was what we were dealing with right now.
“As long as you don't get me sued, I don't care what you write
about. Oh, and you have to write enough articles to fill a paper
every week. Beyond that, go nuts.”
I grinned. “Have I told you you’re the best boss ever recently?”
“Not nearly often enough. But seriously, do you really think there
is something to this?”
“At the very least I want to explore the possibility. Think about it.
There have just been too many accidents in the last couple of
weeks.”
“We live in the outdoors, and ski season just started. Winter is
hard out here. It happens. It doesn't mean there's somebody out
there murdering people. It just means Mother Nature has got it in
for a few poor souls.”
 “Sure, but in this particular situation, I think Mother Nature might
have had help. Come on, Gary. Two people in two weeks? That
doesn't seem strange to you?”
My boss shrugged, leaning back in his chair, his beer belly
protruding out. “I mean, it's on the higher side, sure. But it’s still
within the range of normal. We've never had a serial killer here in
Golden Hope. I'm not sure why you think somebody would start
now.”
“That's why I want to investigate. Or at the very least, I want to
be able to ask Chief Eddie if he's investigating these deaths as
anything more than just accidents.”
Gary still looked skeptical. “You're a good reporter, Storm. Do
what you want, and I'm fine with it, as long as you get me enough
articles to publish a legible paper every week.”
I grinned. “Thanks, Gary. Believe me, if there's something to this,
I'm going to blow it wide open.”
“I don't doubt it. The town is still reeling from the last murder
that you blew wide open.”
“It's just a skill I have,” I replied with a wink as I jumped up from
the chair in front of Gary's desk and headed back to my own on the
other side of the office.
Curled up in a little bed lined with fleece, with a miniature space
heater aimed directly at him, my familiar Jay murmured something
unintelligible when I returned. I assumed he was complaining about
all the noise I was making and how I was interrupting his beauty
sleep.
“You can always hang out at home if you want to sleep all day
with no noise,” I whispered back at him. “This is where I work.
There's always going to be sound.”
Jay's little eyes closed once more. He was apparently too tired to
argue further, and I smiled at his adorable sleeping form for a
second before getting to work.
I was glad Gary had given me this freedom to investigate, but
honestly, I knew deep down that he was probably right. These were
just accidents. Unlucky accidents that happened to take place just a
few days apart.
 Still, I couldn't stop the nagging feeling that kept telling me that
something about these deaths was weird. And when you're a witch
with magical powers, it's usually a good idea to trust your intuition.
That was why, until I had to go cover the local high school’s
basketball game later tonight, I was going to look into these deaths
that I didn't think were entirely natural.
The first victim had been Everett Marshall. The lifelong local to
Golden Hope had been an adventurer and a long-distance runner.
About ten days ago, he went for a trail run, and when he didn't
return, his wife sounded the alarm. His body was found the following
morning after an extensive search conducted by both search and
rescue and members of the local community. He was found at the
bottom of a ravine, presumably having slipped on a patch of snow
and hit his head on a rock on the way down.
It was certainly a shocking accident. Everett had been wearing
crampons, and he was an experienced runner in all seasons. But of
course, bad luck can strike anybody. And that was all the accident
was chalked up as: bad luck.
Then, about four days ago, a local woman named Annette
Carson was found in one of the local lakes. It was believed that she
decided to walk on the partially frozen surface and that she fell
through by accident and drowned. She had only lived in Golden
Hope for five years, but frankly, I had lived here for only one and
knew all too well that it wasn't nearly cold enough to walk on the
lakes just yet.
Yes, it was possible both deaths were accidents, but there were a
few similarities between them that I didn't like. For one thing, both
victims had been by themselves with no witnesses to see what had
happened. Both victims knew the area where they had died very
well; Everett ran that trail almost every day, according to his wife,
and Annette cut across to take the trail next to the lake every day on
her way home from work. Both were experienced in the outdoors.
And sure, these could all just be coincidences. Nobody saw either
death, because if there had been a witness, they might have
rescued them or called for help. And while they were both
experienced outdoors people, well, three-quarters of this town fit
that description.
Still, there was something about those two deaths that I didn't
like. And maybe I would come out of this with nothing. But I wanted
to ask questions.
I picked up the phone and dialled the number for Chief Eddie. He
wasn't malicious or anything like that, but he was the epitome of a
small-town police chief who had risen well past his skill level and
wasn't fully incompetent, but wasn't particularly good at his job,
either.
On the bright side, Golden Hope was a small enough town with
little enough police activity that he picked up on the second ring.
“Hello?” His gruff voice answered.
“Hey. It's your favorite reporter in all the land.”
Chief Eddie sighed wearily on the other end of the line before
answering. “Storm. How are you?”
“Oh, you know, just working. I'm writing an article about Annette
Carson.”
“Real tragedy, that. You know, they put signs up in the lake
warning people not to walk on the surface until it gets hard enough.
The same thing happened about ten years ago, which is why they
put those in. I wish Annette had seen the signs or listened to them.
She would still be here if she had. All that is off the record, by the
way.”
“Sure, of course. Do you have anything to say to me that's on
the record?”
“Annette's death was a tragedy, and I encourage everybody to
stay off the lakes until they've reached the appropriate thickness to
hold a human. It likely won't get cold enough for long enough here
until at least mid January.”
“Great, thanks. Listen, what are your thoughts on Everett's
death, when considered with Annette's?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you see a link between the two?”
“Between Everett's death and Annette's death? Why would there
be a link? They both died in completely separate incidents.”
 “So you don't see anything suspicious about the deaths?”
“Of course I don't. You can't seriously think there's something
hinky going on here, can you? I'd better not open up the paper next
week to find some sort of half-baked conspiracy theory. They died in
a couple of accidents, completely unrelated. They were tragedies,
and I'm sure the families wouldn't appreciate seeing some reporter
shooting from the hip with these strange theories.”
“I haven't said I'm writing anything,” I replied. “I'm just asking
questions, because, as a reporter, that's my job. If you say there's
nothing suspicious or any sign that the two deaths are linked, then
so be it.”
“Good. I already don't like how close you got to the Jessup
murder. This was nothing more than a couple of tragic accidents, so
leave it be, Storm.”
“I only got close to that one because you thought I did it,” I
replied.
I said goodbye and hung up the phone a moment later, lightly
tapping the desk. There was no doubt in my mind that Chief Eddie
believed what he said. He didn't see a link between the two deaths,
which also meant that the medical examiner wouldn't have found
anything connecting the two. That didn't mean there wasn't
something there.
The problem was I had exactly no evidence and no way to
uncover anything else. Even if there was something suspicious going
on, who would know? How could I prove it?
I sighed. This was probably just a stupid dead end. Maybe I was
just looking for something interesting because life in Golden Hope
had essentially gone back to normal after all the craziness in August.
Not only had the killer been put away, but I hadn't seen or heard
from the Sphinx since, and I hadn't gotten any indication as to who
the pearl might be.
What a stupid riddle. Everyone always held up the Sphinx as a
master of riddles, but mine had literally been “the person coming
after you is someone who lives on this planet.”
Wow, thanks for that. Thousands of years of being a feared
magical creature and that's the best you can come up with? No, I
was not impressed.
Still, life had gone on, and gone back to being the same quiet life
as was always the case in Golden Hope. I was fine with that.
Or at least, I thought so. Maybe I was looking for murders where
really, there were only tragic accidents, as Chief Eddie had said.
Could I be looking for zebras when it made way more sense for
there to be horses?
I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
“Eddie not give you anything to go on?” Gary called out from the
other side of the office.
“Nope. But then, I wasn’t expecting anything else. Murders
means he’d have a lot more paperwork to do.”
Gary chuckled. “Yeah. And it would force him to get up off that
chair of his. Look, kid, you have good instincts. Look into this, but I
repeat, just don’t get me sued.”
“Sure. I’m just thinking maybe I’m wrong.”
“And maybe you’re not. Who knows? Just have whatever you
want published in this week’s paper on my desk by Wednesday.”
I nodded, sighed, and then got back to work. I had to write a
story on Annette’s death anyway. I had a meeting with the acting
mayor, Jared Chalmers, later on today to get a comment. I was sure
I could write it without even going to the meeting. “Annette’s death
was a tragedy, and I encourage all the residents and visitors
enjoying everything the great outdoors that Golden Hope has to
offer to be careful when they’re out in the elements and to always
be prepared.” If I so desired, I was sure I could read that out to him
over the phone, and he would approve it as a quote from him.
At the same time, however, there were rumors Jared was going
to throw his hat in the ring to become mayor of Golden Hope, now
that we had to hold a by-election, and I wanted to have a bit of a
chat with him about that, as well.
The mayoral race was promising to be a good one. Maybe I
didn’t need to see murder around every corner to find something
interesting happening in town, after all.
 CHAPTER 2

A little while later, I had the bones of the article on Annette’s

death ready, and it was time to head over to City Hall. I
grabbed my phone and notebook, promised Jay I’d be back
later, and walked out into the frigid winter.
It was early December. The Christmas season was fast
approaching, along with all the tourists it brought along with it. And
Mother Nature was well on her way to delivering a white Christmas.
The first snowfall had come about a month ago, and now a solid foot
of snow lined the sides of the roads. The chairlifts were spinning at
Golden Peak ski resort, built into the side of Mount Golden, whose
high summit dominated the skyline north of the city.
I enjoyed skiing, and I’d bought myself a ten-day pass to use this
season, but I hadn’t been up the hill just yet. I wasn’t the best skier
ever, but having grown up in Seattle, my parents took me to Crystal
and Baker, and a couple of times at spring break we’d gone to
Colorado to ski at Vail.
What I wasn’t used to was living in an environment like this were
it was cold through the whole winter. I hugged my coat tighter to my
body as a gust of wind blasted me with frigid air, my cheeks
immediately tingling as if they’d been stabbed by a thousand tiny
little icicles. I clenched my jaw and pressed forward, carefully
walking with hips forward so that when I inevitably stepped on a
small patch of ice, I wouldn’t go flying all over the place.
 It had happened a couple of times when I first moved here, and
I quickly learned that the secret was to walk like a penguin, with
your body weight further forward than when you walked normally.
Luckily, City Hall was only a few minutes from the newspaper offices,
and I was quickly able to step into the lobby, breathing a sigh of
relief as I stamped the snow off my feet while the heater warmed
me to my bones.
The old woman who worked behind the reception counter
scowled at me as she looked at the small puddle the snow from my
boots was creating.
“Trust me, if there was a way to get around that didn’t involve
snow, I’d take it,” I called out to her.
“I can’t wait for spring,” she muttered in reply, her gaze moving
back to the screen in front of her.
I knew where I was going, so I immediately headed for the stairs
and bounded upward until I reached the floor where the mayor’s
office was located.
I stepped through and found myself in the antechamber, where
Jared’s secretary Clarice sat at a desk, tapping away. As soon as she
saw me, she smiled.
“You have an appointment at ten thirty, right, Storm?”
“I sure do,” I replied with a smile.
“Great. Let me just see if he’s ready for you.” Clarice tapped
away at the computer for a moment and then smiled. “Go right on
in.”
“Thanks.”
I passed through the door into the mayor’s office. Jared hadn’t
really made many changes to the décor. After all, he was only the
stand-in, after Mike Jessup, the previous mayor, had been murdered.
The by-election would be soon, and then a permanent successor
chosen.
I sat down in the familiar chair across from him, and Jared
moved his eyes from the computer screen toward me. He had an
easygoing, kind manner, and I liked the man. I never mentioned to
him that I liked him for Mike Jessup’s murder for a while too.
“Hey, Storm,” he said. “How’s it going?”
 “Good. Well, about as good as it can get when you’re writing an
article about a tragic death.”
Jared’s face instantly fell, and he shook his head sadly. “You’re
not wrong. Poor Annette. I knew her, you know.”
“Oh?”
“She was a trainer at the gym I go to. She did spin class a few
days a week, and the weight training class I attended every Friday. I
didn’t know her well, since I was just one of ten or so people
working out with her, but enough to say hi to. She was nice. Always
full of energy. It’s a real loss not only to her family and friends, but
to this town.”
I nodded, jotting down the notes. “Anything else you’d like to
say?”
“I would like to implore to everyone to be careful. Sometimes we
take life for granted here in Golden Hope. We all do silly things we
shouldn’t, and because we usually get away with it, we don’t think
about it too hard. But nature is fickle, and just because you get
away with risky behaviour once doesn’t mean you will again. Please,
be careful out there. I don’t want to have to bury any more of our
residents due to accidents.”
I nodded. “Great, thanks.”
“Sure thing. You know, if you’re running short on ideas for this
week’s paper, you could always run a segment on winter safety.”
“Good thinking. I also wanted to talk to you about your rumored
run for mayor.”
The corner of Jared’s mouth curled upward into a smile. “I knew
you wouldn’t actually come to my office for a thirty-second
soundbite. I’m afraid I have no comment.”
“Oh, come on. Off the record. I’m not writing anything about it
this week anyway. I’m just curious, and I want to know.” I flashed
Jared the most charming smile I could manage.
“Sorry, Storm. I really don’t have any comment.”
“Give me something. You can’t want to keep this ugly grey carpet
in this office.”
Jared laughed. “And if I don’t run at all, it won’t be my office
anymore. Besides, I rather like grey.”
 “No one likes grey carpets.”
“Get out of here, Storm. Stop fishing for a story. I know what
you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. After I consult with my
family, and we make a decision, I promise you will be the first to
know.”
“All right, thanks,” I said with a smile as I got up. “It was worth a
shot, anyway.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
I headed back out into the antechamber, where Clarice had gone
back to typing away at her computer. “So,” I said casually, leaning
against the far wall. “Are you looking forward to continuing to work
with Jared after the election, or do you expect to be working
alongside someone new in the mayor’s role?”
Clarise looked up, and a slow smile spread across her face. “You
know, just because I’m new at this job doesn’t mean I’m new to the
ways of the world. Or of reporters. Jared told me you were probably
going to go fishing, to see if you could prove that he was going to
run for mayor. I don’t have any opinion at all, or any knowledge of
his plans. Those are between him and his family.”
I flashed her a grin. “Surely you can give me something.”
“Sorry you wasted a trip,” she said with a laugh.
I shrugged. “Hey, at least I get to be indoors.”
Just then, Jared left his office, heading quickly out the door.
“What is it?” I asked, my reporter’s instincts taking over. Okay, I
had only been a reporter for a year. It was probably just my natural
curiosity.
“Another accident. A man fell off a cliff at the resort. I’m going to
see if they need any support at the hospital.”
“Oh no.”
Clarice quickly grabbed Jared’s coat from the hook next to her
desk and passed it to him. He threw it on.
“I’ll be back later. Reschedule all my appointments for the next
hour or two, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
And with that, Jared was gone.
 “Another accident,” I muttered, and Clarice slowly shook her
head.
“It’s so sad. I hope whoever that was makes it. Early-season
skiing has so many risks associated with it. It’s why I never go up
until the middle of the season, when all the rocks are well and truly
covered.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Still, that’s three in just a couple of weeks. It’s a
lot.”
“It sure is. I really hope whoever this is pulls through.”
“Me too. Okay, thanks Clarice.”
“Take care, Storm. See you next time.”
I gave her a quick wave then headed back down the hall. This
time, when my face was blasted with cold air as I exited the
building, I barely even noticed it. We’d now had a third accident.
Was this person dead too?
I needed to find out.
 CHAPTER 3

I opened up my phone and sent a quick text to my best

friend, Ashley.
Hey, are you around and available for, like, five
minutes? I need you to cast a quick spell for me.
Sure. But what kind of spell do you need me for that you can’t
do?
I’m not sure yet. But it’s going to have to suck.
Uh oh. I’m not sure I like the sound of that.
Don’t worry. It’s going to be worse for me than it will for you.
Meet at your office?
Sure.
Ashley worked as a public defender, out of an office in the tiny
courthouse here in Golden Hope. I headed past security and through
to her office in the depths of the building. She didn’t have so much
as a window, but Ashley kept the place bright and cheery despite
the natural light issue. When I walked in, she was poring over some
documents, a large textbook in front of her.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I need to go to the hospital.”
Her eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing yet. I mean, I need to have something happen to
me that will get me admitted to the hospital. That’s why I need you
to cast a spell. I figure I won’t manage to do anything that will break
my arm, but you’ll probably be able to do it.”
 “Absolutely not. I am in no universe casting a spell to break your
arm. Why do you want to go to the hospital, anyway?”
“Someone’s been hurt, and I need to know what’s going on.”
Ashley gave me the side-eye. “Okay, I’m going to need a lot
more info. Why do you need to know what’s going on?”
“Because I think there might be a serial killer in town. And I
realize I’m probably insane, and it’s most likely nothing, but if I’m
not, we need to know.”
“A serial killer.” She looked at me like I was insane.
I nodded. “Think about it. Everett died alone, with no one
around, in a territory he knew well. So did Annette. She wasn’t born
here, but she’d lived here long enough to know not to cross that
lake. And now it turns out someone had an accident on the ski hill? I
need to know if the pattern fits, because I think there might be
someone out there picking people off and hiding it under the guise
of accidents.”
I held my breath as I waited for Ashley’s reaction. Honestly, I
expected her to call me insane, tell me I was being crazy and
looking for murder where there wasn’t any, and tell me that I had to
just write a normal article about the accidents and move on.
But she didn’t. “I’ve wondered if there wasn’t something weird
about it too,” she said slowly. “The article where you interviewed
Everett’s wife, she said he had crampons. I know it was snowing,
but I’ve run in those. It’s borderline impossible to slip on a patch of
snow and fall if you’re wearing them.”
I grinned. “I knew you’d see things my way.”
“Okay, I didn’t say that, either. I said I think things might be
suspicious.”
“That’s why we need to find out about this third case.”
“There are other ways of doing it that don’t involve you going to
the hospital. If someone died, or even got seriously hurt, we’ll find
out. The mountain will put out a press release, for one.”
“Sure, but that won’t be until tomorrow, at the earliest. They’ll
have to consult the lawyers first, and you know what lawyers are
like. Meanwhile, if we’re right, that would make three victims in the
course of what, ten days? Less than two weeks, anyway. At this
point, if it really is someone killing people, we need to act faster
than that.”
Ashley closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “You would have
made a terrible lawyer, you know that? You always need to dive
headfirst into things.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Also, I don’t have nearly the amount of
patience required to go to law school for years on end. Anyway,
come on. This is the best way. Make something bad happen to me,
and I’ll go to the hospital.”
“I’m not breaking your arm. That’s ridiculous, and it would hurt
way too much.”
“Fine. Break something smaller, then. If I have to get X-rays
taken, it’ll mean I have to spend more time there, and that will give
me a bigger opportunity to scope out what happened.”
“Okay, what are you thinking? Thumb? I can probably break your
left thumb.”
“Great. That sounds good.”
“No, it really doesn’t. This sounds like a terrible idea, but I know
if I don’t help you with it, you’re going to come up with something
even worse. So I will involve myself, but only to limit the damage.”
“It’s only a broken thumb. Stop being so dramatic. It’s not going
to hurt that much. I broke it playing basketball in high school, and it
was kind of sore for a while. That was it.”
Ashley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m going
to try to do this, and imagine it’s not the stupidest thing I’ve heard
today. And I had a guy tell me the reason his car was filled with
drugs was because aliens came to earth to attack us and the only
way to stop them was to feed them weed, which is poisonous to
them. So he was only protecting us.”
“Okay, now that’s just insulting. This idea isn’t that dumb.”
“The fact that we’re comparing them at all means it’s higher on
the stupidity scale than it probably should be though, don’t you
think?”
Ashley had me there.
“Fine. Don’t think about it too hard. Just break my thumb a little.”
“Right. Ready?”
 I placed my forearm on Ashley’s desk, across some random giant
tome, and spread my fingers out so she could see them more easily.
“Ready when you are.”
I closed my eyes shut, clenching as I waited for a burst of pain
that never came. After about fifteen seconds passed, I dared to
open one eye. “What’s the matter?”
Ashley shot me a helpless expression. “It’s not working. I don’t
think I can imagine your thumb breaking well enough for the magic
to work. I just don’t want to hurt you.”
I chuckled. “Well, as much as I appreciate the fact that you love
me so much you don’t want to injure me, if you can’t do this, I’m
going to lift up the corner of your desk and drop it on my thumb, or
something worse. So you’d better really, really want it this time.”
Ashley took a breath. “Okay. Let me give it one more shot.”
I squeezed my eyes shut once more and inhaled sharply, waiting
for the pain to come. And come it did.
I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from screaming. It
was like someone had just dropped a hot iron directly into the
middle of my thumb. Tears sprang to my eyes as every muscle in my
body tensed.
“Oh shoot, are you okay?” Ashley asked, and I only managed to
let out a small whimper in reply. I didn’t trust myself to make any
more sounds than that.
I opened my eyes and gasped. My thumb looked like it had been
snapped in half. It was now facing in the wrong direction entirely.
“Okay, you really need the hospital now, but this is too much.
They’ll give you surgery if you go in like this. I need to fix it
somewhat,” Ashley said. “Do you trust me?”
“At this point you can do basically anything to me and it won’t
hurt more than what I’m feeling now.”
Ashley nodded, took a deep breath, and placed my hand back on
the table, being careful not to touch my thumb. A moment later
some of the pain dissipated, so I felt like a normal human being—
well, witch—who wasn’t on the verge of death anymore.
It still hurt, but it was a manageable hurt, not a it’s-hard-to-
inhale-right-now kind of hurt.
 “Better?” Ashley asked.
“Much. Great. Time to go to the hospital.”
“I’m coming with you,” Ashley said, grabbing her jacket.
“You don’t have to. You’re busy.”
“And I’m not letting you drive yourself with a broken thumb.”
Maybe Ashley had a point.

I was quickly admitted as soon as the nurse at the front of

the small hospital had taken a look at my finger, and led
to a small bed surrounded by a privacy curtain. Ashley
followed after me, concern etched all over her face.
“Okay, now what? You’re here in the hospital. Are you just going
to wait for someone to tell you there was an accident?”
“Well, for one thing, I did see everyone here looks harried and
panicked, a lot more than usual,” I said in a low voice. “Why don’t
you go pretend you have to use the bathroom or something? When
you’re walking through the main hall, see if you can overhear any
conversations.”
Ashley sighed. “Fine. But only because I feel bad for having
snapped your thumb in half earlier.”
Ashley left the room, and I found myself lying there with nothing
to think about but the throbbing in my thumb. Great. I could have
used magic to numb the pain—I knew that—but I figured if I did
that, I risked actually injuring it further if I wasn’t paying attention to
things and tried to use it.
Still, I was considering it.
Before I came up with a solution, however, a familiar face pulled
the curtain aside.
“I thought I saw a familiar name on the intake list,” Logan Lupo
said with a small smile. He was just over six foot of sexy wolf shifter,
and I couldn’t help but feel my cheeks warm when his blue eyes
twinkled in my direction.
 “You know me, I’m full of surprises. At least this time the surprise
wasn’t a knife in my shoulder, though.”
Logan had been the one who took care of me when I was
stitched up here after being attacked by Mike Jessup’s killer.
He laughed good-naturedly. “There’s always that. I hear it’s your
thumb this time?” I nodded, holding it up. “Yup, that’s certainly not
the direction it’s supposed to face. How much pain are you in, on a
scale of one to ten?”
“Probably a three.”
“Are you giving me too low a number so that I’ll think you’re
extra cool?”
“Will you hold it against me if I admit to it?”
“Of course not.” Logan laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone come in
with a thumb that looks like that and give me a figure anywhere
under a five.”
“Yeah, it’s closer to a five,” I admitted.
“I thought so. Okay, I’m going to get the nurse to give you some
drugs for the pain, and then we’ll get some X-rays taken just to
know exactly what we’re dealing with here. Sound good to you?”
“Whatever you say, Doc.” Then I was hit with an idea. “Hey,
listen. I heard there was an accident at the ski hill today. What can
you tell me about that?”
I had lowered my voice, and as soon as I asked about it, Logan
looked around furtively, as if we’d still be overheard.
“I can’t talk about it,” he replied. “The whole doctor-patient
confidentiality thing, remember?”
“I’m not asking for information on the medical side of things. I
know there was an accident on the ski hill. I just need to know…
were they alone?”
Logan frowned as he tried to decide what he was going to tell
me.
“I’m not writing a story or anything,” I said hurriedly. “I just… I’m
following a hunch.”
“Oh, well, if it’s a hunch,” Logan said.
I batted my eyelashes at him, and he rolled his eyes.
 “Sorry. As adorable as that is, I’m still not going to tell you about
any other patients. But the tech will come by soon to take you to the
X-ray machine.”
 CHAPTER 4

A bout twenty seconds after Logan left, Ashley appeared back

at my side, quite literally popping in and out of nowhere.
“Making good use of that magic, I see.”
“If you've got it, flaunt it,” she chirped with a light chuckle. “Not
that I was especially expecting to flaunt it in this particular way
today.”
“Did you find out anything? Logan wouldn't tell me what's going
on. And trust me, I really tried to get it out of him.”
“I bet you did. Your instincts were right. A man crashed on the
hill, falling off a cliff and hitting his head on some rocks on the way
down. They brought him in to try to save him, but apparently it was
a lost cause from the start. He is dead.”
Ice filled my veins as the implications dawned upon me. I was
sure I was right. One fatal accident is a tragedy. Two? An unlucky
tragedy. Three? That's just downright suspicious.
“Did you find out who he is?”
Ashley shook her head. “No. No, I figure at this point it probably
doesn't matter too much, does it? His name will be released in the
next day or two.”
“Right. And we have two other deaths to look into. Can you text
the others? I think it's time to get the band back together. The
Witches Murder Club is in session once more.”
S ure enough, the X-ray taken by the technician showed that
my thumb was broken, but that it wasn't going to require
surgery.
“Have you broken this thumb before?” Logan asked when he re-
entered the room with the X-ray results.
“Nope. I'm a bone-breaking virgin.” I winced at the choice of
words. Could I be any more awkward?
Luckily, Logan just laughed. “Interesting. There were some marks
on the bone that indicate previous healing. But I guess it could have
just been nothing.”
I could have told Logan that Ashley had snapped my thumb in
half earlier and then quickly used magic to put it back together
again, but then I would have had to admit that the entire reason we
were there was a sham and that even the current break had been
caused by magic.
“Maybe it was pre-emptive,” I suggested. “My thumb knew I was
going to crush it today and decided to get a head start on the
healing process.”
“If you find out it's that, they're going to have to rewrite a few
books we learn from in medical school.” Logan grinned.
“I have to go— over there. Make a phone call. I'll be right back,”
Ashley said, quickly getting up and shooting me a wink that Logan
couldn't see as she left.
Great. Even my best friend could tell that I was flirting terribly
right now.
“Anyway, this is relatively easy to fix. It's just going to take time.
I'll get you a splint for the thumb, and you'll have to keep it wrapped
tight for about six to eight weeks. Come back in after six weeks, and
we’ll take some more X-rays to see how it's going. Obviously, don't
use the thumb for anything, but other than that, you should be good
to go.”
“Great, thanks,” I said with a grin, hopping off the bed. “I
appreciate you patching me up yet again.”
Logan laughed. “Why do I get the feeling this isn't the last time
I'm going to be seeing you?”
“W
all.”
hat was that?” I hissed at Ashley as we left the
hospital. “You didn't have to make a phone call at

“No, but given the way the two of you were flirting with each
other, I figured you might appreciate a little bit of privacy.”
“I'm the one who was flirting badly. Not him.”
Ashley raised her eyebrows in my direction.
My mouth dropped open. “What? No, he wasn't flirting with me.
He just has a nice bedside manner.”
“It's a good thing your thumb isn't as thick as your skull, because
otherwise I never would have been able to break it.”
“No way. There was no way he was flirting with me. Anyway,
that's not important. Right now, what is important is that we just
confirmed a third death that's supposedly an accident. Are you with
me now?”
Ashley nodded. “I am. I think it's worth investigating further.
Montana and Holly got back to me; we can meet at 800 Degrees for
lunch in twenty minutes. I didn't give them any details, just that you
think there is something suspicious we need to look at.”
The two of us left the hospital, with my thumb wrapped in a
metal splint surrounded by a thin layer of foam, and we pulled up to
the pizza place right on time.
800 Degrees was one of those fancy wood-fired pizza places that
did thin-crust pies and the best margaritas in town. The last time we
had met here as the Witches Murder Club, we ate on the patio,
allowing the warm summer sun to heat us down to our bones.
The weather was a little bit different this time.
Ashley and I entered the restaurant, met with warm lighting,
wooden beams, leather accents, and comfortable booths. Montana
and Holly were already waiting for us, seated at one of the booths in
question.
As soon as Holly spotted me, she waved, and I nudged Ashley
lightly, motioning to our friends. We headed over there, where
Montana immediately honed in on the splint on my finger.
Being a mother of two twin girls, she was particularly adept at
spotting injuries.
“Are you all right, Storm? What happened?”
“Ashley broke my thumb,” I said with a grin, throwing my friend
under the bus.
She groaned in reply. “You’re so dramatic. Storm asked me to
break the thumb for her, before either of you think I’m a total
monster. She wanted to get some information from the hospital.”
“Yes, I did,” I admitted. “And it has to do with why we’ve called
this meeting. I think there’s a serial killer in town.”
Holly gasped, while Montana’s eyes just widened slightly. “What?
Why? No one’s been murdered.”
“That’s where I think you’re wrong. I’m pretty sure Everett,
Annette, and now whoever the poor soul who just died on the
mountain was, were all killed by the same person.” I laid out my
entire theory for the others, knowing there was a good chance
they’d call me insane. But at least Ashley believed me.
“I don’t know,” Montana said slowly when I was finished. “I’m
not necessarily convinced. I agree, it’s strange to have three people
die at around the same time here.”
“And in similar circumstances,” I pointed out.
“Yes. There is that. It’s what makes me think you might be onto
something real.”
“I believe it,” Holly said firmly. “I was talking to a couple at work
the other day. They were good friends with Annette. They couldn’t
believe what happened to her, because just the day before her
accident she had spotted some tourists trying to walk on the lake.
She called them off and explained to them just how deep the ice had
to be before it would be safe to walk on. Annette knew full well not
to go onto the ice. Those friends didn’t think she would have done
it.”
“And I don’t either.”
Montana inhaled sharply. “If Storm’s theory is correct, though,
then it means someone in town is killing people, and getting away
with it.”
 “And Chief Eddie has absolutely no intention of looking at these
deaths as being suspicious. I asked him about it on the phone the
other day. He told me to stop looking for something that wasn’t
there and was actually quite aggressive about it. I guess he doesn’t
want anything to ruin his lazy days.”
“That’s why you brought us here,” Holly said. “If the authorities
don’t recognize this as a serial killer, we’re going to have to be the
ones to find him.”
“Exactly. Besides, this happened so often. Have you ever listened
to My Favorite Murder? Because in a whole lot of the stories about
serial killers, it turns out the authorities didn’t know that was what
they were dealing with for a long time. Long enough that the killer
had access to a lot more victims than was necessary before they
were caught. We need to stop that very thing from happening here.
So, what do you say? Are you in?”
“I am,” Ashley replied immediately. “I really, really hate the idea
of this town having a serial killer hanging around, and you’re right. If
there is one, we need to stop them. And if there isn’t, well, we’ll
have done a bit of investigating for nothing, but at least we’ll know
the town is safe.”
“I’m in too,” Holly said. “I agree. I don’t like these deaths. They
seem suspicious to me, and now there’s a third one? I think we at
the very least need to explore the angle that it might be a killer.”
Montana sighed. “I’m not as convinced as you three are, but I’m
willing to explore the idea further. Besides, I’m going to be honest, I
miss the Witches Murder Club. You ladies are fun to hang around,
and it was a good time, trying to uncover whatever information I
could. Plus, with the girls being in school now, I have a little bit
more time during the day when I’ve got time off from the coffee
shop.”
“Then it’s settled,” I announced. “The Witches Murder Club is
back together, and we’re going to find a serial killer.”
“So, what’s the first step?” Ashley asked.
“I have absolutely no idea,” I replied, earning a round of light
laughs from the others. “But, I think we need to gather any physical
evidence we can, though. If this really is a serial killer, then it’s not
going to be about uncovering who hated the victims enough to want
them dead. It’s going to be more about finding out who could have
been around all the crime scenes at the time.”
“Right,” Ashley said. “Also, if you’re correct and this is someone
who’s killed multiple times, it means we’re on a clock. The longer it
takes to find the killer, the more time they have to find another
victim.”
“How many days were there between Everett’s death and
Annette’s?” Montana asked.
“Six,” I answered. “And five between Annette’s and the one
today. That means we’ve probably got about five or six days to
figure this out before they strike again.”
“That should be our goal,” Holly said. “We need to figure this out,
and stop them, before they kill anyone else.”
“Okay,” Ashley said. “Are you both available for the rest of the
day?”
“I’m working, but not until four,” Holly replied.
“And this is my day off. The girls have basketball practice after
school, so I have to be out of here by quarter to four.”
“That gives us a few hours. Okay, I say we split up and we check
out two of the three potential crime scenes. Montana and Storm,
you go see the lake where Annette died. See if you can find
something—anything—that might prove she was murdered. Holly
and I will take the trail where Everett was running. Between us,
hopefully we’ll find some sort of physical evidence.”
“Won’t the cops have taken everything, though?” Montana asked.
“If the police thought it was an accident, they’re not going to
have scoured the scene looking for anything like that,” I explained.
“There might actually still be proof of the murder there. Ashley is
right; we’ll cover more ground if we split up.”
“And I’m guessing we can look at the ski hill another day?” Holly
asked. “After all, we don’t even know where on the mountain the
man was killed yet.”
“Exactly.”
We had the first parts of a plan forming. Now it was time to get
some proof.
 CHAPTER 5

“S o, how are the girls doing?” I asked Montana as we left

the comforting warmth of the pizzeria and headed back
out into the frigid winter air toward her car. Why couldn’t
my parents have come from Hawaii instead? I grew up in Seattle. It
rarely got below freezing, ever. I wasn’t used to this.
“Oh, they’re good,” Montana said, smiling. “Meg has shown a few
signs that she might have magical powers as well. They’re just
developing a little bit more slowly than Annie’s.”
“That’s great!”
“It’s a big relief, if nothing else. Can you imagine how awful it
would have been if one of the twins was a witch and the other
wasn’t? The fights would have been next-level. For a while there, it
was looking like Meg might never forgive her sister, but then she
accidentally made a fork hover at dinner one night. We’re pretty sure
it was her, anyway.”
“I’m glad. I bet it would have sucked for her twin to have magical
powers and not her. Especially since Annie is the evil one.”
Montana laughed. “So long as you don’t say that in front of her. I
don’t want her getting ideas. You’re not wrong, though. I ended up
having to cast a spell that prevents her from using magic when she’s
outside the home. She just doesn’t stop. She used it to antagonize
her teachers. Luckily, they didn’t realize it was Annie who had
caused the pipes above the classroom to burst; they chalked it up to
bad plumbing. But I knew.”
 “Oh no!”
“She figured out almost immediately that if she made bad things
happen, she could get out of school. I want to be the kind of parent
that allows their children the freedom to explore their magical
powers, but there have to be limits. I can’t be letting Annie wreak
havoc in the world because she doesn’t like math.”
“I mean, I’m with her. Math sucks.”
Montana laughed. “Sure. But you never caused a plumbing
disaster to get away from it.”
“Fair point.”
“So, now she can only use magic in the house. She wasn’t happy
about it to start with. She tried getting the oven to eat me in order
to punish me. Luckily, she’s still a six-year-old, so it’s not like it was
hard to stop the oven. She made him sound like Cookie Monster.”
I giggled at the thought. “Awesome.”
“We’re all good, as long as she doesn’t realize that Jeff has no
magical powers and so can’t do anything.” Montana laughed. “If she
figures that out, it’s going to be a disaster. I hope we can at least
keep that particular fact quiet until the girls are about ten or so.”
“Right. It must be harder in a family where both parents don’t
have magical powers.”
“It has its challenges, but it’s worth it. Jeff is such a good dad to
the girls. Hey, this is the place, right?”
I nodded. We’d reached the small lake where Annette had
drowned, with Montana pulling into a parking spot . As I looked out
over it, I shuddered, but this time it had nothing to do with the cold.
It was strange to think that I was looking out over an expanse of ice
where a woman had literally died just a few days earlier. The sun
beat down on the surface now, a thin layer of water covering the
top.
“There’s no way she could have believed that would hold,”
Montana said. “People who have lived here for two years know that.
I bet you know that.”
“Gee, thanks,” I replied with a laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
 “I do. And I completely agree. Nothing about that lake screams
‘I’m safe to walk across.’” I looked over to the other side of the lake,
where I could see the backs of a set of townhouses. “That must be
where she lived.”
“Yes. I have friends who live in that complex; in the winter it
saves them a few minutes of walking to just go across the lake
instead of around it. But it’s not hard enough yet. The ice needs to
be solid going down six inches, and it’s obviously nowhere near that.
As a guess, I’d say two?”
“Only one way to find out.” I stepped out of the car, pulling my
hat down further to protect my ears. The wind was starting to howl,
and I wondered if we weren’t in for another snowstorm soon. I
walked up to the edge of the lake. Looking at it, it became quickly
obvious where Annette had gone in. About four, maybe five feet
from the shore, there were parts of the ice that had obviously
developed differently to the rest of it. It was a little bit more blue, as
if it had formed more recently, and there were cracks around the
edges.
“This must be where she went in.”
“And the new ice re-formed on top of it,” Montana said, nodding.
“Yes, I think you’re right. What are we looking for?”
I frowned. “Well, there won’t be any footprints. None that will be
helpful, anyway. Too many people have passed by since. I’m not
really sure. How about we just look around and keep our eyes and
our minds open? Anything that looks like it doesn’t belong, point it
out, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
I stood back toward the car to get a better look at the whole
area, since I didn’t know this part of town very well and I wanted to
get a feel for the lay of the land. The lake itself was somewhat
diamond-shaped, and about three hundred feet long by a hundred
feet wide. The path jetted off to the left, curling around the length
of the lake. I could see how cutting straight across in mid-winter
certainly would save some time.
The hole where Annette had fallen through was almost at the
halfway point of the lake, where it was at its widest. I frowned.
 “Hey Montana?”
“Yeah?”
“Mind coming over here for a sec?”
A moment later, my friend stood next to me, and I pointed out
what I was looking at. “Does that make sense to you? Look at where
the hole is where she went through. She was practically at the
widest part of the lake already. If she’d walked over the ice, she
would only have saved herself, what, thirty feet of walking?”
Montana nodded slowly. “Yeah, you’re right. It doesn’t make any
sense at all.”
“I know it’s not evidence, but still.”
“It lends credence to the idea of a killer” Montana said, shivering
slightly. “I don’t like to think about that, but the more time we spend
here, the more I think you’re onto something. It doesn’t make any
sense for this to have been an accident. Not in the least.”
Montana turned and went to the edge of the lake, checking out
what was happening on the ice, while I moved in the other direction
toward the snowbank on the other side of the path.
If it hadn’t been for the recovery of Annette’s body, I might have
had a lot more to work with. After all, if someone had forced
Annette into the water, she probably would have tried to fight them
off, and there could have been footprints in the fresh snow off to the
side of the path. But given as at least twenty people must have
trampled over the space to recover her body and do the
investigation, all of that evidence would have been long gone.
Still, there might be something that was missed.
I looked at the surface of the snow, and seeing nothing apart
from tender flakes, I began slowly scraping layers away with the one
hand I had which still wore a glove. The other was shoved deep into
my jacket pocket and was going to stay there. It was too cold for
exposed skin. The snow was light and fluffy, the kind of flakes you
get from low temperatures and virtually no humidity in the air. It
made it easy to move the untouched snow to the side. I wasn’t
really expecting to see anything, but after a moment, I did.
“I found a ring!” I exclaimed. It had fallen into the snow. The
setting was gold, inlaid with a beautiful, deep-green emerald. I tried
to temper my excitement. There was nothing to say this had
belonged to Annette. It was possible someone else dropped it here
completely separately, and that it had nothing to do with her.
Montana came over and had a look. “Is that blood there, on the
corner of the stone?” she asked.
I squinted. “Wow. You have the eyesight of a hawk.”
“Here,” she said, pulling out a small Ziploc bag.
I arched an eyebrow. “You just carry those around with you?”
“You’re obviously not a mother. I think this one had some
crackers in it at some point. It’s not perfect, but it’ll protect the ring
as much as possible until we can get it… well, wherever we’re going
to get it. What should we do with it?”
“Give it to Chief Eddie, I guess. I’m going to take a picture of it
first, though. Maybe someone can identify it as definitely Annette’s.
It wouldn’t guarantee that she was attacked, but I would find it
unlikely that she would both drop a ring in the snow without noticing
and then fall into the water basically in the same spot.”
“I agree,” Montana said. She pulled out her phone and snapped a
picture, then I carefully dropped the ring into the Ziploc bag. “Do
you think she might have scratched her attacker with the ring before
it fell off?”
“That seems most likely to me. At any rate, it’s another sign that
we’re right. This wasn’t an accident.”
Montana inhaled sharply. “The deaths were a tragedy regardless,
but I was really hoping they were accidents. The idea that someone
would do this to three people on purpose is just… unfathomable.”
Montana and I continued searching, but we didn't find anything
else that might lead us to the killer.
Eventually, it was time for Montana to go pick up her kids.
“I might go and speak with Annette’s boyfriend again,” I said,
nodding my head in the direction of the townhouses where she had
lived.
“Great. I'm going to go pick up the girls from basketball and be
grateful that one of my children didn't use magic to score thirty-five
points.”
 I laughed. “Who knows? If you let her magic run free, you might
be developing a little WNBA player.”
“Yes, I'm sure that would constitute an exception to the rule that
we're not allowed to use magic visibly in front of humans.” Montana
laughed. “I really do worry that I'm stunting her magical growth,
though. And what's going to happen if Meg also has magical
powers? I trust Meg a lot more than I trust Annie. I know it's awful,
especially with them being twins, but it's a fact that Meg is a little bit
more mature and better behaved than her sister. Am I going to have
to prevent Meg from using magic in public when I trust her to do it,
just because I don't trust Annie to? That's not fair to Meg, but then
Annie will be upset.”
“You should tell Annie to suck it up and that if she wanted to be
allowed to use magic in public, she shouldn't have done her best to
turn her classroom into the Trevi Fountain. But then, it's easy for me
to say, given as I'm not a parent.”
“No, but you're probably right. Of course, then Annie won't be
happy, but she has to learn that life has consequences. Motherhood
is such a hard balance between keeping your kids happy and making
sure they grow up to be functioning members of society who don't
cheat their way through life using magic. I swear, sometimes I wish
neither one of them had magical powers. I don't know how our
parents did it.”
“I can only imagine. Sometimes I barely feel like I managed to
keep myself alive most of the time, and Ashley banned me from
buying plants when she saw what happened to the little succulent I
had last summer. So I'm pretty sure if I was in charge of a small
witch, wizard, or human, it would just end badly for everybody. But
especially them.”
Montana laughed gently. “You would be fine. I think the most
important thing is to care. If you actually care about what happens
to your children, and that you worry about being a bad parent, that's
half the battle right there. As for the rest of it, I felt exactly the same
way you did. I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant, and
that fear expanded tenfold when I found out it was with twins. But
like with anything else in life, you adjust. And so far I've made it six
years, and they are both healthy and happy little girls. That said, I
still worry every single day that I'm doing everything wrong.”
“You absolutely are not. You're a fantastic mother.”
Montana flashed me a smile. “I appreciate you saying that. I
really do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a couple future Huskies
players to go pick up.”
 CHAPTER 6

I said goodbye to Montana as she got back into her car,

and I continued on the path Annette had usually taken to
get home. I had been to her place once before, to get
biographical information and a comment from her boyfriend, with
whom she had lived for the past five years.
I didn't like having to bother him again, since I knew just how
much he was grieving right now, but I also figured this was
something he would want to know.
The townhouse Annette had shared with Eli Ross was cute, with
a wreath already hanging on the front door. I knocked gently and
stepped back. Eli answered about thirty seconds later, his eyes red-
rimmed. He was dressed in sweats and a black T-shirt, and as soon
as he saw me, he motioned for me to come in.
“I'm sorry to intrude on you while you're grieving,” I said.
Eli shook his head. “If you're here to talk about Annette, take as
much time as you need. I found that I want to talk about her to
anybody who will listen. Can I get you anything? A glass of water?”
“I'm good, thanks.” Now that I was here, I was starting to
wonder if this was a good idea after all. If I told Eli that I thought
somebody had killed Annette, would he be more upset? Would I be
intensifying his grief? But if it were me, I'd want to know. I knew
how much I wanted to find out everything I could about the witch or
wizard who put the curse on my family. I was still grieving too. Just
not as intensely.
 However, I was in no rush, and so when Eli sat across from me, I
decided to let him tell me everything he could about his girlfriend.
“I already told you that she was wonderful,” he started. “Annette
volunteered at a local animal shelter. She really loved cats, but the
rules in the complex here forbid pets. We were trying to save up for
a house, and we were going to move in about six months. When we
did, Annette was going to adopt her favorite cat from the shelter.
He's ten years old and jet-black, and Annette says he's the sweetest
thing you've ever seen, but because of his age and his color, nobody
seems to want him. It's so much harder to adopt out black cats than
any others. I'm going to have to move soon. I can't stand being in
this place anymore, walking through the rooms where Annette used
to walk and sleeping in the room where Annette used to sleep.
Cooking in the kitchen where she used to make the best chocolate
chip cookies you've ever had in your life. It's all too much for me.
And you know what the first thing I'm going to do when I move is? I
am adopting Coco, the black cat that Annette loved so much.”
Eli swallowed hard, blinking rapidly. He gripped at the edge of
the couch.
“Are you all right?” I asked gently. “Take your time. That’s very
sweet of you to do. Coco will love having a forever home with you.”
He nodded and then continued. “Yes. It's just hard. But I want to
tell everybody all about Annette. I understand if none of this is going
to make it in the paper, and that there aren't that many people who
cared about her as much as I did. But just telling you helps. Even at
her work, she always did the right thing.”
“She worked for the state, right? Something to do with land
management?”
“That's right. She was an environmental impact assessor, which
meant that she went around and wrote reports about potential
developments and whether or not they would negatively impact the
local ecology to the point of being unsuitable. She loved the work. It
was really her calling, what with her being such a huge fan of
animals and all, and she loved feeling like she made a difference. Of
course, she ended up green-lighting almost every project that came
across her desk, but once, about five years ago, she found proof
that the location for a proposed megamall about an hour from here
was right in the territory of an endangered species of bird. The
company in charge of the megamall tried to bribe her to forget
about the birds, but Annette refused. She filed her report, and she
was asked to speak about it when the final decision about allowing
the project was made. They ended up deciding against it, in large
part because of the birds. Annette was so happy. She felt like she
had really, well and truly made a difference for an endangered
species, and she did. The company ended up building their mall
about half an hour further down the road in a location that was
much more suitable for the animals.”
“Wow,” I said. “That's really impressive.”
“Annette was impressive. That was the crowning achievement of
her career, although she could have done so much more. I just don't
know why she walked across that lake that day. It just makes no
sense.”
“That's why I wanted to come talk to you today,” I said, figuring
that this was as good a segue as I was going to get. “Eli, did you
hear that a man died on the mountain yesterday?”
He nodded.
“Between Everett dying on the trail, Annette falling into a lake,
and now this, I don't think these deaths are accidents, and I'm
beginning to investigate them as if somebody perpetrated these acts
against Annette and the other two.”
Eli stared at me, his expression unchanging. “Are you saying
what I think you're saying?”
“I'm saying I think Annette was murdered. I'm sorry.”
I wasn't really sure what to expect as a reaction, but it wasn't the
one that I got. “Thank goodness somebody else thinks so,” he said,
flopping against the back of the couch as if it was the first time in
weeks that he had let his shoulders relax. A moment later, he leaned
forward once more. “I thought since the beginning that someone did
this to Annette. There's just no way she would have walked across
that lake. None. She didn't grow up here, but she had lived here for
long enough to know better, and she wasn't an idiot. She loved the
outdoors. She knew how to survive and had even gone on multiday
backcountry ski trips before. As soon as they told me how she died,
I knew someone was responsible.”
“Did you tell Chief Eddie?”
“Of course I did. That was the first thing I told him. He said I
was just grieving, and that I didn't know what I was talking about,
and that the coroner had ruled the death an accident. I told him he
was wrong, and that I knew Annette wouldn't have walked across
that lake, but he wouldn't listen to me. I didn't know what to do.”
“You didn't say anything to me about this the last time we spoke.
Why not?”
“After I told Chief Eddie, I tried raising my concerns with a few
other people. Annette’s parents, and her brother. And one of her
friends. They all acted like I was crazy. They said the same thing as
Chief Eddie: I was grieving and I didn't know what I was talking
about. They thought it would pass and that as I came to the
acceptance stage of grief I would recognize it was just a tragic
accident and nothing more. So, by the time you came, I was starting
to believe it myself. After all, no one else saw anything wrong.
Maybe it was just me. I thought you would see me as insane as well,
and chalk up my theory to the raving lunacy of a grieving boyfriend.
But you don’t?”
“No. I’m pretty sure you’re right. In fact, let me ask you: did
Annette wear a ring at all?”
“An emerald, set in gold. I gave that to her three years ago, as a
sort of commitment to her. Neither one of us ever wanted to get
married, but I thought she deserved something pretty, you know?
Her birthday was in May, so emeralds were her birthstone. And she
loved green because she thought it represented nature, so it all
worked out perfectly. She loved that ring and always wore it, but it
wasn’t with her things when they gave them back to me. I asked
them about it, and they said maybe it fell off when she flailed about
in the water and I could go look for it in the spring. Do you have it?”
“Yes, the woman I’m working with has it on her. It’s got a bit of
blood on it, so it might have Annette’s killer’s DNA on it. Is it all right
with you if we give it to the police?”
 “Of course. Yeah, if it has the killer’s DNA on it, then it could be
used to convict him, right? Give it to the police for sure. Where did
you find it?”
“In the snowbank near where Annette went in. I think she might
have fought her attacker and scratched him with the ring, and then
it fell off before she went into the water.”
Eli took a deep breath. “Do you mind? I think I need some water.
This is a lot to take in.”
“Of course.”
He got up from the couch, looking a little bit unsteady, and
returned a moment later gripping a glass of water with both hands.
“I can’t believe it. For almost a week, I thought I was the crazy one,
and now you’re here and telling me that not only do you think I’m
not crazy, but you think I’m right. What happens now? Will Chief
Eddie investigate?”
“I spoke to him last night, and it wasn’t promising. He certainly
didn’t think there was anything the least bit suspicious about
Annette’s death then. I would hope that the discovery of the ring
with blood on it will change his mind, but you never know. Either
way, I’m going to be looking into the deaths myself. After all, I’m a
reporter here in town, and I smell a story. I want Annette’s story to
be told, and I want everyone to know the truth of what really
happened to her. And, if there is somebody going around killing
people in Golden Hope, I think the public deserves to know.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Answering some questions for me could be helpful. Do you know
if any of your neighbors have security cameras that look back on the
lake?”
“They don't. I asked everybody when Annette died. I thought
maybe if somebody had proof of what happened, it would help give
me closure.”
“Okay. Did Annette take that route every day?”
“She did. She liked walking home past the lake. A lot of the
people who live in this complex do. And they walk their dogs around
it too. That's how the path is so quickly packed down. The residents
here essentially make it themselves every time it snows.”
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antennae they are thickly set side by side on the rings of skin which give such an Arthropodan
appearance to these organs in Peripatus.

The Tracheal System.

The apertures of the tracheal system are placed in the depressions between the papillae or ridges
of the skin. Each of them leads into a tube, which may be called the tracheal pit (Fig. 10), the walls
of which are formed of epithelial cells bounded towards the lumen of the pit by a very delicate
cuticular membrane continuous with the cuticle covering the surface of the body. The pits vary
somewhat in depth; the pit figured was about 0.09 mm. It perforates the dermis and terminates in
the subjacent muscular layer.

Internally it expands in the transverse plane and from the expanded portion the tracheal tubes
arise in diverging bundles. Nuclei similar in character to those in the walls of the tracheal pit are
placed between the tracheae, and similar but slightly more elongated nuclei are found along the
bundles. The tracheae are minute tubes exhibiting a faint transverse striation which is probably the
indication of a spiral fibre. They appear to branch, but only exceptionally. The tracheal apertures
are diffused over the surface of the body, but are especially developed in certain regions.

Fig. 10.—Section through a tracheal pit and diverging bundles of tracheal tubes taken transversely
to the long axis of the body. (After Balfour.) tr, Tracheae, showing rudimentary spiral fibre; tr.c,
cells resembling those lining the tracheal pits, which occur at intervals along the course of the
tracheae; tr.o, tracheal stigma; tr.p, tracheal pit.

The Muscular System.

The general muscular system consists of—(1) the general wall of the body; (2) the muscles
connected with the mouth, pharynx, and jaws; (3) the muscles of the feet; (4) the muscles of the
alimentary tract.

The muscular wall of the body is formed of—(1) an external layer of circular fibres; (2) an internal
layer of longitudinal muscles.

The main muscles of the body are unstriated and divided into fibres, each invested by a delicate
membrane. The muscles of the jaws alone are transversely striated.

The Vascular System.

The vascular system consists of a dorsal tubular heart with paired ostia leading into it from the
pericardium, of the pericardium, and the various other divisions of the perivisceral cavity (Fig. 14,
D). As in all Arthropoda, the perivisceral cavity is a haemocoele; i.e. it contains blood and forms
part of the vascular system. The heart extends from close to the hind end of the body to the head.

The Body Cavity.

The body cavity is formed of four compartments—one central, two lateral, and a pericardial (Fig.
14, D). The former is by far the largest, and contains the alimentary tract, the generative organs,
and the slime glands. It is lined by a delicate endothelial layer, and is not divided into
compartments nor traversed by muscular fibres. The lateral divisions are much smaller than the
central, and are shut off from it by the inner transverse band of muscles. They are almost entirely
filled with the nerve-cord and salivary gland in front and with the nerve-cord alone behind, and
their lumen is broken up by muscular bands. They further contain the nephridia. They are
prolonged into the feet, as is the embryonic body cavity of most Arthropoda. The pericardium
contains a peculiar cellular tissue, probably, as suggested by Moseley, equivalent to the fat-bodies
of insects.

Nephridia.

In Peripatus capensis nephridia are present in all the legs. In all of them (except the first three) the
following parts may be recognised (Fig. 11):—

(1) A vesicular portion opening to the exterior on the ventral surface of the legs by a narrow
passage.

(2) A coiled portion, which is again subdivided into several sections.

(3) A section with closely packed nuclei ending by a somewhat enlarged opening.

(4) The terminal portion, which consists of a thin-walled vesicle.

The last twelve pairs of these organs are all constructed in a very similar manner, while the two
pairs situated in the fourth and fifth pairs of legs are considerably larger than those behind, and
are in some respects very differently constituted.

It will be convenient to commence with one of the hinder nephridia. Such a nephridium from the
ninth pair of legs is represented in Fig. 11. The external opening is placed at the outer end of a
transverse groove at the base of one of the legs, while the main portion of the organ lies in the
body cavity in the base of the leg, and extends into the trunk to about the level of the outer edge of
the nerve-cord of its side. The external opening (o.s) leads into a narrow tube (s.d), which
gradually dilates into a large sac (s). The narrow part is lined by small epithelial cells, which are
directly continuous with and perfectly similar to those of the epidermis. The sac itself, which forms
a kind of bladder or collecting vesicle for the organ, is provided with an extremely thin wall, lined
with very large flattened cells. The second section of the nephridium is formed by the coiled tube,
the epithelial lining of which varies slightly in the different parts. The third section (s.o.t),
constitutes the most distinct portion of the whole organ. Its walls are formed of columnar cells
almost filled by oval nuclei, which absorb colouring matters with very great avidity, and thus render
this part extremely conspicuous. The nuclei are arranged in several rows. It ends by opening into
a vesicle (Fig. 14, D), the wall of which is so delicate that it is destroyed when the nephridium is
removed from the body, and consequently is not shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 11.—Nephridium from the 9th pair of legs of P. capensis. o.s, External opening of segmental
organ; p.f, internal opening of nephridium into the body cavity (lateral compartment); s, vesicle
of segmental organ; s.c.1, s.c.2, s.c.3, s.c.4, successive regions of coiled portion of
nephridium; s.o.t, third portion of nephridium broken off at p.f from the internal vesicle, which is
not shown.

The fourth and fifth pairs are very considerably larger than those behind, and are in other respects
peculiar. The great mass of each organ is placed behind the leg on which the external opening is
placed, immediately outside one of the lateral nerve-cords. The external opening, instead of being
placed near the base of the leg, is placed on the ventral side of the third ring (counting from the
outer end) of the thicker portion of the leg. It leads into a portion which clearly corresponds with
the collecting vesicle of the hinder nephridia. This part is not, however, dilated into a vesicle. The
three pairs of nephridia in the three foremost pairs of legs are rudimentary, consisting solely of a
vesicle and duct. The salivary glands are the modified nephridia of the segment of the oral
papillae.

Generative Organs.

Male.—The male organs (Fig. 12) consist of a pair of testes (te), a pair of vesicles (v), vasa
deferentia (v.d), and accessory glandular tubules (f). All the above parts lie in the central
compartment of the body cavity. In P. capensis the accessory glandular bodies or crural glands of
the last (17th) pair of legs are enlarged and prolonged into an elongated tube placed in the lateral
compartment of the body cavity (a.g).

Fig. 12.—Male generative organs of Peripatus capensis, viewed from the dorsal surface. (After
Balfour.) a.g, Enlarged crural glands of last pair of legs; F.16, 17, last pairs of legs; f, small
accessory glandular tubes; p, common duct into which the vasa deferentia open; te, testis; v,
seminal vesicle; v.c, nerve-cord; v.d, vas deferens.

The right vas deferens passes under both nerve-cords to join the left, and form the enlarged tube
(p), which, passing beneath the nerve-cord of its side, runs to the external orifice. The enlarged
terminal portion possesses thick muscular walls, and possibly constitutes a spermatophore maker,
as has been shown to be the case in P. N. Zealandiae, by Moseley. In some specimens a different
arrangement obtains, in that the left vas deferens passes under both nerve-cords to join the right.

Female.—The ovaries consist of a pair of tubes closely applied together, and continued
posteriorly into the oviducts. The oviducts, after a short course, become dilated into the uteruses,
which join behind and open to the exterior by a median opening. The ovaries always contain
spermatozoa, some of which project through the ovarian wall into the body cavity. Spermatozoa
are not found in the uterus and oviducts, and it appears probable that they reach the ovary directly
by boring through the skin and traversing the body cavity.[6] In the neotropical species there is a
globular receptaculum seminis opening by two short ducts close together into the oviduct, and
there is a small receptaculum ovorum with extremely thin walls opening into the oviduct by a short
duct just in front of the receptaculum seminis. The epithelium of the latter structure is clothed with
actively moving cilia. In the New Zealand species there is a receptaculum seminis with two ducts,
but the receptacula ovorum has not been seen.

There appear to be present in most, if not all, the legs some accessory glandular structures
opening just externally to the nephridia. They are called the crural glands.

DEVELOPMENT.

As stated at the outset, Peripatus is found in three of the great regions, viz. in Africa, in
Australasia, and in South America and the West Indies. It is a curious and remarkable fact that
although the species found in these various localities are really closely similar, the principal
differences relating to the structure of the female generative organs and to the number of the legs,
they do differ in the most striking manner in the structure of the ovum and in the early
development. In all the Australasian species the egg is large and heavily charged with food-yolk,
and is surrounded by a tough membrane. In the Cape species the eggs are smaller, though still of
considerable size; the yolk is much less developed, and the egg membrane is thinner though
dense. In the neotropical species the egg is minute and almost entirely devoid of yolk. The
unsegmented uterine ovum of P. Novae-Zealandiae measures 1.5 mm. in length by .8 mm. in
breadth; that of P. capensis is .56 mm. in length; and that of P. Trinidadensis .04 mm. in diameter.
In correspondence with these differences in the ovum there are differences in the early
development, though the later stages are closely similar.

Fig. 13.—A series of embryos of P. capensis. The hind end of embryos B, C, D is uppermost in the
figures, the primitive streak is the white patch behind the blastopore. (After Sedgwick.) A,
Gastrula stage, ventral view, showing blastopore. B, Older gastrula stage, ventral view,
showing elongated blastopore and primitive streak. C, Ventral view of embryo with three pairs
of mesoblastic somites, dumb-bell-shaped blastopore and primitive streak. D, Ventral view of
embryo, in which the blastopore has completely closed in its middle portion, and given rise to
two openings, the embryonic mouth and anus. The anterior pair of somites have moved to the
front end of the body, and the primitive groove has appeared on the primitive streak. E, Side
view of embryo, in which the hind end of the body has begun to elongate in a spiral manner,
and in which the appendages have begun. At, antenna; d, dorsal projection; p.s, preoral
somite. F, Ventral view of head of embryo intermediate between E and G. The cerebral
grooves are wide and shallow. The lips have appeared, and have extended behind the
 openings of the salivary glands, but have not yet joined in the middle line. At, antennae; c.g,
cerebral groove; j, jaws; j.s, swelling at base of jaws; L, lips; M, mouth; or.p, oral papillae; o.s,
opening of salivary gland. G, Side view of older embryo with the full number of appendages, to
show the position in which the embryos lie in the uterus.

But unfortunately the development has only been fully worked out in one species, and to that
species—P. capensis—the following description refers. The ova are apparently fertilised in the
ovary, and they pass into the oviducts in April and May. In May the brood of the preceding year are
born, and the new ova, which have meanwhile undergone cleavage, pass into the uterus. There
are ten to twenty ova in each uterus. The segmentation is peculiar, and leads to the formation of a
solid gastrula, consisting of a cortex of ectoderm nuclei surrounding a central endodermal mass,
which consists of a much-vacuolated tissue with some irregularly-shaped nuclei. The endoderm
mass is exposed at one point—the blastopore (gastrula mouth). The central vacuoles of the
endoderm now unite and form the enteron of the embryo, and at the same time the embryo
elongates into a markedly oval form, and an opacity—the primitive streak—appears at the hind
end of the blastopore (Fig. 13, B). This elongation of the embryo is accompanied by an elongation
of the blastopore, which soon becomes dumb-bell shaped (Fig. 13, C). At the same time the
mesoblastic somites (embryonic segments of mesoderm) have made their appearance in pairs at
the hind end, and gradually travel forward on each side of the blastopore to the front end, where
the somites of the anterior pair soon meet in front of the blastopore (Fig. 13, D). Meanwhile the
narrow middle part of the blastopore has closed by a fusion of its lips, so that the blastopore is
represented by two openings, the future mouth and anus. A primitive groove makes its
appearance behind the blastopore (Fig. 13, D). At this stage the hind end of the body becomes
curved ventrally into a spiral (Fig. 13, E), and at the same time the appendages appear as hollow
processes of the body wall, a mesoblastic somite being prolonged into each of them. The first to
appear are the antennae, into which the praeoral somites are prolonged. The remainder appear
from before backwards in regular order, viz. jaw, oral papillae, legs 1-17. The full number of
somites and their appendages is not, however, completed until a later stage. The nervous system
is formed as an annular thickening of ectoderm passing in front of the mouth and behind the anus,
and lying on each side of the blastopore along the lines of the somites. The praeoral part of this
thickening, which gives rise to the cerebral ganglia, becomes pitted inwards on each side (Fig. 13,
F, c.g). These pits are eventually closed, and form the hollow ventral appendages of the supra-
pharyngeal ganglia of the adult (Fig. 9, d). The lips are formed as folds of the side wall of the body,
extending from the praeoral lobes to just behind the jaw (Fig. 13, F, L). They enclose the jaws (j)
mouth (M), and opening of the salivary glands (o.s), and so give rise to the buccal cavity. The
embryo has now lost its spiral curvature, and becomes completely doubled upon itself, the hind
end being in contact with the mouth (Fig. 13, G). It remains in this position until birth. The just-born
young are from 10-15 mm. in length and have green antennae, but the rest of the body is either
quite white or of a reddish colour. This red colour differs from the colour of the adult in being
soluble in spirit.

The mesoblastic somites are paired sacs formed from the anterior lateral portions of the primitive
streak (Fig. 13, C). As they are formed they become placed in pairs on each side of the
blastopore. The somites of the first pair eventually obtain a position entirely in front of the
blastopore (Fig. 13, D). They form the somites of the praeoral lobes. The full complement of
somites is acquired at about the stage of Fig. 13, E.
 Fig. 14.—A series of diagrams of transverse sections through Peripatus embryos to show the
relations of the coelom at successive stages. (After Sedgwick.) A, Early stage: 1, gut; 2,
mesoblastic somite; no trace of the vascular space; endoderm and ectoderm in contact. B,
Endoderm has separated from the dorsal and ventral ectoderm. The somite is represented as
having divided on the left side into a dorsal and ventral portion: 1, gut; 2, somite; 3,
haemocoele. C, The haemocoele (3) has become divided up into a number of spaces, the
arrangement of which is unimportant. The dorsal part of each somite has travelled
dorsalwards, and now constitutes a small space (triangular in section) just dorsal to the gut.
The ventral portion (2′) has assumed a tubular character, and has acquired an external
opening. The internal vesicle is already indicated, and is shown in the diagram by the thinner
black line: 1, gut; 2′, nephridial part of coelom; 3, haemocoele; 3′, part of haemocoele which
will form the heart—the part of the haemocoele on each side of this will form the pericardium;
4, nerve-cord. D represents the conditions at the time of birth; numbers as in C, except 5,
slime glands. The coelom is represented as surrounded by a thick black line, except in the part
which forms the internal vesicle of the nephridium.

The relations of the somites is shown in Fig. 14, A, which represents a transverse section taken
between the mouth and anus of an embryo of the stage of Fig. 13, D. The history of these somites
is an exceedingly interesting one, and may be described shortly as follows:—They divide into two
parts—a ventral part, which extends into the appendage, and a dorsal part (Fig. 14, B). The
ventral part acquires an opening to the exterior just outside the nerve-cord, and becomes entirely
transformed into a nephridium (Fig. 14, D, 2′). The dorsal part shifts dorsalwards and diminishes
relatively in size (Fig. 14, C). Its fate differs in the different parts of the body. In the anterior
somites it dwindles and disappears, but in the posterior part it unites with the dorsal divisions of
contiguous somites of the same side, and forms a tube—the generative tube (Fig. 14, D, 2). The
last section of this tube retains its connexion with the ventral portion of the somite, and so acquires
an external opening, which is at first lateral, but soon shifts to the middle line, and fuses with its
fellow, to form the single generative opening. The praeoral somite develops the rudiment of a
nephridium, but eventually entirely disappears. The jaw somite also disappears; the oral papilla
somite forms ventrally the salivary glands, which are thus serially homologous with nephridia. The
perivisceral cavity of Peripatus is, as in all Arthropoda, a haemocoele. Its various divisions develop
as a series of spaces between the ectoderm and endoderm, and later in the mesoderm. The
mesoderm seems to be formed entirely from the proliferation of the cells of the mesoblastic
somites. It thus appears that in Peripatus the coelom does not develop a perivisceral portion, but
gives rise only to the renal and reproductive organs.

Synopsis of the Species of Peripatus.

Peripatus, Guilding.

Soft-bodied vermiform animals, with one pair of ringed antennae, one pair of jaws, one pair of oral papillae, and a
varying number of claw-bearing ambulatory legs. Dorsal surface arched and more darkly pigmented than the flat
ventral surface. Skin transversely ridged and beset by wart-like spiniferous papillae. Mouth anterior, ventral; anus
posterior, terminal. Generative opening single, median, ventral, and posterior. One pair of simple eyes. Brain large,
with two ventral hollow appendages; ventral cords widely divaricated, without distinct ganglia. Alimentary canal simple,
uncoiled. Segmentally arranged, paired nephridia are present. Body cavity is continuous with the vascular system,
and does not communicate with the paired nephridia. Heart tubular, with paired ostia. Respiration by means of
tracheae. Dioecious; males smaller and generally less numerous than females. Generative glands tubular, continuous
with the ducts. Viviparous. Young born fully developed. They shun the light, and live in damp places beneath stones,
leaves, and bark of rotten stumps. They eject when irritated a viscid fluid through openings at the apex of the oral
papillae.

Distribution: South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, South America and the West Indies [and in Sumatra?].

South African Species.

With three spinous pads on the legs and two primary papillae on the anterior side of the foot, and one accessory tooth
on the outer blade of the jaw; with a white papilla on the ventral surface of the last fully developed leg of the male.
Genital opening subterminal, behind the last pair of fully-developed legs. The terminal unpaired portion of vas
deferens short. Ova of considerable size, but with only a small quantity of food-yolk. (Colour highly variable, number of
legs constant in same species (?).)

P. capensis (Grube).—South African Peripatus, with seventeen pairs of claw-bearing ambulatory legs. Locality, Table
Mountain.

P. Balfouri (Sedgwick).—South African Peripatus, with eighteen pairs of claw-bearing ambulatory legs, of which the
last pair is rudimentary. With white papillae on the dorsal surface. Locality, Table Mountain.

P. brevis (De Blainville).—South African Peripatus, with fourteen pairs of ambulatory legs. Locality, Table Mountain. (I
have not seen this species. Presumably it has the South African characters.)

P. Moseleyi (Wood Mason).—South African Peripatus, with twenty-one and twenty-two pairs of claw-bearing
ambulatory legs. Locality, near Williamstown, Cape Colony; and Natal.[7]

Doubtful Species.

(1) South African Peripatus, with twenty pairs of claw-bearing ambulatory legs (Sedgwick). Locality, Table Mountain.
(Also Peters, locality not stated.)

(2) South African Peripatus, with nineteen pairs of ambulatory legs (Trimen). Locality, Plettenberg Bay, Cape Colony.
(Also Peters, locality not stated.)

Australasian Species.

With fifteen pairs of claw-bearing ambulatory legs, with three spinous pads on the legs, and a primary papilla
projecting from the median dorsal portion of the feet. Genital opening between the legs of the last pair. Receptacula
seminis present. Unpaired portion of vas deferens long and complicated. Ova large and heavily charged with yolk.
(Colour variable, number of legs constant in same species (?).)

P. Novae Zealandiae (Hutton).—Australasian Peripatus, without an accessory tooth on the outer blade of the jaw,
and without a white papilla on the base of the last leg of the male. New Zealand.

P. Leuckarti (Saenger).—Australasian Peripatus, with an accessory tooth on the outer blade of the jaw, and a white
papilla on the base of the last leg of the male. Queensland.
 Neotropical Species.

With four spinous pads on the legs, and the generative aperture between the legs of the penultimate pair. Dorsal white
line absent. Primary papillae divided into two portions. Inner blade of jaw with gap between the first minor tooth and
the rest. Oviducts provided with receptacula ovorum and seminis. Unpaired part of vas deferens very long and
complicated. Ova minute, without food-yolk. (Colour fairly constant, number of legs variable in same species (?).)

P. Edwardsii.[8]—Neotropical Peripatus from Caracas, with a variable number of ambulatory legs (twenty-nine to
thirty-four). Males with twenty-nine or thirty legs, and tubercles on a varying number of the posterior legs. The basal
part or the primary papilla is cylindrical.

P. Trinidadensis (n. sp.).—Neotropical Peripatus from Trinidad, with twenty-eight to thirty-one pairs of ambulatory
legs, and a large number of teeth on the inner blade of the jaw. The basal portion of the primary papillae is conical.

P. torquatus (Kennel).— Neotropical Peripatus from Trinidad, with forty-one to forty-two pairs of ambulatory legs.
With a transversely placed bright yellow band on the dorsal surface behind the head.

Doubtful Species.

The above are probably distinct species. Of the remainder we do not know enough to say whether they are distinct
species or not. The following is a list of these doubtful species, with localities and principal characters:—

P. juliformis (Guilding).—Neotropical Peripatus from St. Vincent, with thirty-three pairs of ambulatory legs.

P. Chiliensis (Gay).—Neotropical Peripatus from Chili, with nineteen pairs of ambulatory legs.

P. demeraranus (Sclater).—Neotropical Peripatus from Maccasseema, Demerara, with twenty-seven to thirty-one

pairs of ambulatory legs and conical primary papillae.

Peripatus from Cayenne (Audouin and Milne-Edwards).—With thirty pairs of legs. Named P. Edwardsii by
Blanchard.

Peripatus from Valentia Lake, Columbia (Wiegmann).—With thirty pairs of legs.

Peripatus from St. Thomas (Moritz).—No description.

Peripatus from Colonia Towar, Venezuela (Grube).—With twenty-nine to thirty-one pairs of ambulatory legs.
Named P. Edwardsii by Grube.

Peripatus from Santo Domingo, Nicaragua (Belt).—With thirty-one pairs of ambulatory legs.

Peripatus from Dominica (Angas).—Neotropical Peripatus, with twenty-six to thirty (Pollard) pairs of ambulatory
legs.

Peripatus from Jamaica (Gosse).—With thirty-one and thirty-seven pairs of ambulatory legs.

Peripatus from Santaram.—Neotropical Peripatus, with thirty-one pairs of ambulatory legs.

Peripatus from Cuba.—No details.

Peripatus from Hoorubea Creek, Demerara (Quelch).—With thirty pairs of legs.

Peripatus from Marajo (Branner).—No details.

Peripatus from Utuado, Porto Rico (Peters).—With twenty-seven, thirty, thirty-one, and thirty-two pairs of legs.

Peripatus from Surinam (Peters).—No details.

Peripatus from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela (Peters).—With thirty and thirty-two pairs of legs.

Peripatus from Laguayra, Venezuela (Peters).—No details.

Peripatus Quitensis (Schmarda).—From Quito, with thirty-six pairs of legs.

Peripatus from Sumatra (?).

P. Sumatranus (Horst).—Peripatus from Sumatra, with twenty-four pairs of ambulatory legs, and four spinous pads
on the legs. The primary papillae of the neotropical character with conical bases. Generative opening between the
legs of the penultimate pair. Feet with only two papillae.[9]

Summary of Distribution

Distribution of the South African Species—

Slopes of Table Mountain, neighbourhood of Williamstown, Plettenberg Bay—Cape Colony—Natal.

Distribution of the Australasian Species—

Queensland—Australia.

North and South Islands—New Zealand.

Oriental Region (?)—

Sumatra.

Distribution of the Neotropical Species—

Nicaragua.

Valencia Lake, Caracas, Puerto Cabello, Laguayra, Colonia Towar—Venezuela.

Quito—Ecuador.

Maccasseema, Hoorubea Creek—Demerara.

Surinam (Peters).

Cayenne.

Santarem, Marajo, at the mouth of the Amazon—Brazil.

Chili.

And in the following West Indian Islands—Cuba, Dominica, Porto Rico (Peters), Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Vincent,
Trinidad.
 MYRIAPODA

BY

F. G. SINCLAIR, M.A.

(FORMERLY F. G. HEATHCOTE)
Trinity College, Cambridge.

CHAPTER II

MYRIAPODA

INTRODUCTION–HABITS–CLASSIFICATION–STRUCTURE–CHILOGNATHA–CHILOPODA–SCHIZOTARSIA–
SYMPHYLA–PAUROPODA–EMBRYOLOGY–PALAEONTOLOGY.

Tracheata with separated head and numerous, fairly similar segments. They have one pair of
antennae, two or three pairs of mouth appendages, and numerous pairs of legs.

The Myriapoda are a class of animals which are widely distributed, and are represented in almost
every part of the globe. Heat and cold alike seem to offer favourable conditions for their existence,
and they flourish both in the most fertile and the most barren countries.

They have not attracted much notice until comparatively recent times. Compared with Insects they
have been but little known. The reason of this is not hard to find. The Myriapods do not exercise
so much direct influence on human affairs as do some other classes of animals; for instance,
Insects. They include no species which is of direct use to man, like the silkworm or the cochineal
insect, and they are of no use to him as food. It is true that they are injurious to his crops. For
instance, the species of Millepede known as the "wire worm"[10] is extremely harmful; but this has
only attracted much notice in modern times, when land is of more value than formerly, and
agriculture is pursued in a more scientific manner, and the constant endeavour to get the utmost
amount of crop from the soil has caused a minute investigation into the various species of animals
which are noxious to the growing crop. The species of Myriapoda best known to the ancients were
those which were harmful to man on account of their poisonous bite.

Some writers have supposed that the word which is translated "mole" in the Bible (Lev. xi. 30) is
really Scolopendra (a genus of Centipede), and, if this is so, it is the earliest mention of the
Myriapods. They were rarely noticed in the classical times; almost the only mention of them is by
Ælian, who says that the whole population of a town called Rhetium were driven out by a swarm of
Scolopendras. Pliny tells us of a marine Scolopendra, but this was most probably a species of
marine worm.

Linnaeus included Myriapods among the Insects; and the writers after him till the beginning of this
century classed them with all sorts of Insects, with Spiders, Scorpions, and even among Serpents.
It was Leach who first raised them to the importance of a separate class, and Latreille first gave
them the name of Myriapoda, which they have retained ever since.
Myriapods are terrestrial animals, crawling or creeping on the ground or on logs of wood, or even
under the bark of trees. There is, however, a partial exception to this; various naturalists have from
time to time given descriptions of marine Centipedes. These are not found in the sea, but crawl
about on the shore, where they are submerged by each tide. Professor F. Plateau has given an
account of the two species of Myriapods that are found thus living a semi-aquatic life. They are
named Geophilus maritimus and Geophilus submarinus, and Plateau found that they could exist in
sea water from twelve to seventy hours, and in fresh water from six to ten days. They thus offer a
striking example of the power that their class possess of existing under unfavourable
circumstances.

With regard to their habits the different species differ very considerably. On the one hand we have
the Chilopoda, or Centipedes, as they are called in this country, active, swift, and ferocious; living
for the most part in dark and obscure places, beneath stones, logs of wood, and dried leaves, etc.,
and feeding on living animals. On the other hand, we have the Chilognatha, or Millepedes,
distinguished by their slow movements and vegetable diet; inoffensive to man, except by the
destruction they occasion to his crops, and having as a means of defence no formidable weapon
like the large poison claws of the Centipedes, but only a peculiarly offensive liquid secreted by
special glands known by the unpleasant though expressive name of "stink glands," or by the more
euphonious Latin name of glandulae odoriferae.

As a general rule the larger species of Myriapods are found in the hotter climates, some of the
tropical species being very large, and some, among the family of the Scolopendridae, extremely
poisonous; and it is even said that their bite is fatal to man.

Fig. 15.—Scolopendra obscura. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

If, however, the Centipede is sometimes fatal to man, it does not always have it its own way, for
we read of man making food of Centipedes. It is hard to believe that any human being could under
any circumstances eat Centipedes, which have been described by one naturalist as "a disgusting
tribe loving the darkness." Nevertheless, Humboldt informs us that he has seen the Indian children
drag out of the earth Centipedes eighteen inches long and more than half an inch wide and devour
them.

Fig. 16.—Chordeuma sylvestre. (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden.)

This, I believe, is the only account of human beings using the Myriapoda as food, if we except the
accounts of the religious fanatics among the African Arabs, who are said to devour Centipedes
alive; though this is not a case of eating for pleasure, for the Scolopendras are devoured in
company with leaves of the prickly pear, broken glass, etc., as a test of the unpleasant things
which may be eaten under the influence of religious excitement.
A cold climate, however, is not fatal to some fairly large species of Centipedes. A striking instance
of this came under my own observation some years ago. In 1886 I was travelling in the island of
Cyprus—the "Enchanted Island," as Mr. Mallock calls it in his book written about the same time—
with the intention of observing its natural history. This island consists of a broad flat country
crossed by two mountain ranges of considerable height, thus offering the contrast of a hot climate
in the plains and a cold climate in the mountains. On the plain country I found among the
Myriapoda that the most common species were a large Scolopendra and a large Lithobius. The
Scolopendra was fairly common, living for the most part under large stones, and it was a pleasant
task to search for them in a ruined garden near Larnaca.

This garden was made for the public, and is situated about a quarter of a mile from the old town of
Larnaca. It has been suffered to fall into decay, and is now quite neglected. Mr. Mallock has
described many beautiful scenes in his book, but I think he could have found few more beautiful
than this old garden with its deserted gardener's house, now a heap of ruins, but overgrown with
masses of luxuriant vegetation, with beautiful flowers peeping out here and there as if charitably
endeavouring to hide the negligence of man, and to turn the desolation into a scene of beauty. I
got several prizes in this garden, but found the Myriapods were principally represented by the
species I have mentioned.

After leaving Larnaca I rode across the plain country through blazing heat, which was rapidly
parching up the ground to a uniform brown colour. At every stopping-place I found the same
species of Scolopendra and of Lithobius. After a few days I began to get up among the mountains
of the northern range, and the burning heat of the treeless plain was gradually exchanged for the
cool shade of the pine-trees and the fresh air of the mountains. As I ascended higher and higher
the temperature grew cooler till I reached the top of Mount Troodos, the ancient Olympus. Here in
the month of May the snow still lingered in white patches, and the air was clear and cold. I
remained on the top of Troodos for a week, while I made a close examination of the fauna to be
found there. I was much surprised to find the identical species of Scolopendra and Lithobius with
which I had become acquainted in the heat of the low country, quite at home among the snow, and
as common as in, what I should have imagined to be, the more congenial climate. Nor were they
any the less lively. Far from exhibiting any sort of torpor from the cold, the first one which I
triumphantly seized in my forceps wriggled himself loose and fastened on my finger with a vigour
which made me as anxious to get rid of him as I had formerly been to secure him. However, he
eventually went into my collecting box.

On the whole, we may say that the Chilopoda are most largely represented in the hotter climates,
where they find a more abundant diet in the rich insect life of the tropical and semi-tropical
countries. The more brightly-coloured Myriapods, too, are for the most part inhabitants of the
warmer countries. The ease with which they are introduced into a country in the earth round
plants, and in boxes of fruit, may account to a great extent for the wide distribution of the various
species in different countries. Mr. Pocock, who examined the Myriapods brought back from the
"Challenger" Expedition, informs us that of ten species brought from Bermuda, four had been
introduced from the West Indies. There is no doubt that animals which can bear changes of
temperature and deprivation of food, and even a short immersion in the water, are well calculated
to be introduced into strange countries in many unexpected ways.

As might be expected from a class of animals so widely distributed, Myriapods show an almost
infinite variety of size and colour. We find them so small that we can hardly see them with the
naked eye, as in the case of the tiny Polyxenus, the Pauropidae, and the Scolopendrellidae. We
also find them more than six inches in length, as the larger species of Scolopendridae. I am afraid
we must dismiss as an exaggeration an account of Centipedes in Carthagena a yard in length,
and more than six inches in breadth. The giver of this account—Ulloa—informs us that the bite of
this gigantic serpent-like creature is mortal if a timely remedy be not applied. It is certainly
extremely probable that the bite of a Centipede of this size would be fatal to any one. Some
Centipedes are short and broad, and composed of few segments, as Glomeris; some are long and
thin, with more than a hundred segments, as Geophilus. They may be beautifully coloured with
brilliant streaks of colour, as in some of the Julidae or Polydesmidae, or may be of a dull and rusty
iron colour, or quite black.

One of the strangest peculiarities found among Myriapods is that some of them (e.g. Geophilus
electricus) are phosphorescent. As I was walking one summer evening near my home in
Cambridgeshire I saw what I thought was a match burning. Looking more closely, I saw it move,
and thinking it was a glow-worm I picked it up, and was surprised to find that it was a Geophilus
shining with a brilliant phosphorescent light. I let it crawl over my hand, and it left a bright trail of
light behind it, which lasted some time. I have been told that this species is common in Epping
Forest; also in Cambridgeshire.[11]

Besides G. electricus, G. phosphoreus has been described as a luminous species by Linnaeus, on

the authority of a Swedish sea captain, who asserted that it dropped from the air, shining like a
glow-worm, upon his ship when he was sailing in the Indian Ocean a hundred miles from land.

What the use of this phosphorescence may be is not known with any degree of certainty. It may be
either a defence against enemies, or else a means of attracting the two sexes to one another.

The places which the Myriapods select for their habitation vary as much as their colour and size,
though, with a few exceptions, they chose dark and obscure places. A curious species of
Myriapod is Pseudotremia cavernarum (Cope), which is found in certain caves in America. The
peculiar life it leads in these caves seems to have a great influence on its colour, and also affects
the development of its eyes. Mr. Packard's account of them is worth quoting: "Four specimens
which I collected in Little Wyandotte cave were exactly the same size as those from Great
Wyandotte cave. They were white tinged, dusky on the head and fore part of the body. The eyes
are black and the eye-patch of the same size and shape, while the antennae are the same.

"Six specimens from Bradford cave, Ind. (which is a small grotto formed by a vertical fissure in the
rock, and only 300 to 400 yards deep), showed more variation than those from the two Wyandotte
caves. They are of the same size and form, but slightly longer and a little slenderer.... The
antennae are much whiter than in those from the Wyandotte caves, and the head and body are
paler, more bleached out than most of the Wyandotte specimens.... It thus appears that the body
is most bleached and the eyes the most rudimentary in the Bradford cave, the smallest and most
accessible, and in which consequently there is the most variation in surroundings, temperature,
access of light and changed condition of air. Under such circumstances as these we should
naturally expect the most variation."[12]

A strong contrast to these animals is afforded us by the Scutigeridae (Schizotarsia). They are
unknown in this country, but abound in some of the Mediterranean countries and in parts of Africa.
They remind one strongly of spiders, with their long legs and their peculiar way of running on
stones and about the walls of houses.
 Fig. 17.—Cermatia (Scutigera) variegata. (From C. L. Koch, Die
Myriapoden.)

Some years ago I was in Malta, and I used to go and watch them on
the slopes outside Valetta, where they were to be found in great
numbers. They used to come out from beneath great stones and run
about rapidly on the ground or on the stones and rubbish with which
the ground was covered, now and again making a dart at some small
insect which tempted them, and seemingly not minding the blazing
sun at all. As might be expected from their habits, their eyes, far from
being rudimentary, like those of the cave-living Pseudotremia, or
absent like those of the Polydesmidae, or of our own Cryptops, are
highly developed, and form the only example among the Myriapods
of what are known as facetted eyes. The Scutigeridae are also
remarkable among Myriapods for the possession of a peculiar
sense-organ which is found in no other Myriapod.

The Myriapods most numerous in our own country are Lithobius and
Julus. Lithobius, which will be described later on, may be found in
almost any garden under dried leaves, stones, etc. Julus, the
common wire-worm, is found crawling on plants and leaves and
under the bark of trees, and does a good deal of damage in a
garden. Polydesmus is also frequently found in great numbers, and
usually a great many of them together. Glomeris is also found,
though it is not so common as the first two mentioned animals.
Geophilus is also common, and especially in the south of England.
Scolopendridae are only represented by a single genus, Cryptops,
which is not very common, though by no means rare. The best place
to find them is in manure heaps. The animals of this species are
small compared to most Scolopendras, and have the peculiarity of
being without any eyes.

Scutigera is unrepresented in this country. One was found in

Scotland some years ago by Mr. Gibson Carmichael, but was shown
to have been imported, and not bred in the place.

The means of defence possessed by these animals also differ very

much in the different species of Myriapods. In the Centipedes the
animals are provided with a powerful weapon in the great poison
claws which lie just beneath the mouth, and which are provided with
large poison glands, which supply a fluid which runs through a canal
in the hard substance of the claw and passes into the wound made
by the latter. The effect of this fluid is instantaneous on the small
animals which form the food of the Centipedes. I have myself
watched Lithobius in this country creep up to a blue-bottle fly and
seize it between the poison claws. One powerful nip and the blue-
bottle was dead, as if struck by lightning. I have also seen them kill
worms and also other Lithobius in the same way. When another
Lithobius is wounded by the poison claws it seems to be paralysed
behind the wound. The Millepedes, on the other hand, have no such
offensive and defensive weapon. They rely for protection on the fluid
secreted by the stigmata repugnatoria (or glandulae odoriferae)
mentioned before. This fluid has been shown to contain prussic acid,
and has a very unpleasant odour.

Fig. 18.—Polyxenus lagurus (From C. L. Koch, Die Myriapoden).

Most of the Millepedes are provided with these glands; but in the
cave Myriapods mentioned before, the animals have not to contend
against so many adversaries, and these glands almost disappear.
Other Myriapods defend themselves by means of the long and stiff
bristles with which they are provided, e.g. the little Polyxenus. This
means of defence seems to have been more common among the
fossil Myriapods than among those still living. Variations in the shape
and size of the limbs are numerous, as might be expected in so large
a class of animals. One of the most curious of such variations is
found in a Centipede of the Scolopendra tribe, called Eucorybas, in
which the last limbs are flattened out and provided with paddle-
shaped lobes. The use of these is unknown, but it is probable that
they are concerned in some way with the breeding habits of the
animal. The habits of the Myriapods connected with their breeding
are most interesting, but have been very insufficiently investigated.
There is no doubt that a full inquiry into all such habits would be of
great interest, and would help to answer some of the problems which
are still unsolved in these forms. My own observations refer to two
forms—Julus terrestris among the Millepedes, and Lithobius
forficatus among the Centipedes. Julus terrestris is one of the most
common of the English Millepedes, and can be easily obtained. I
kept them in large shallow glass vessels with a layer of earth at the
bottom, and thus was able easily to watch the whole process. They
breed in the months of May, June, and July. The female Julus when
about to lay her eggs sets to work to form a kind of nest or
receptacle for her eggs. She burrows down into the earth, and at
some distance below the surface begins the work. She moistens
small bits of earth with the sticky fluid secreted by her salivary
glands, which become extraordinarily active in the spring. She works
up these bits of earth with her jaws and front legs till they are of a
convenient size and shape, and places them together. When
complete, the nest is shaped like a hollow sphere, the inside being
smooth and even, while the outside is rough and shows the shape of
the small knobs of earth of which it is composed. She leaves a small
opening in the top. The size of the whole nest is about that of a small
nut. When she is ready to lay her eggs she passes them through the
hole in the top, and usually lays about 60 to 100 eggs at a time. The
eggs, which are very small, are coated with a glutinous fluid which
causes them to adhere together. When they are all laid she closes
up the aperture with a piece of earth moistened with her saliva; and
having thus hermetically sealed the nest, she leaves the whole to its
fate. The eggs hatch in about twelve days.
A naturalist named Verloef has lately found that the males of some
Julidae undergo certain changes in the form of the legs and other
organs in autumn and spring. These changes are probably
connected with the breeding of the animal, and remind us of the
changes undergone during the breeding season by salmon among
the fishes.

Julus breed very readily if carefully attended to and well supplied

with food. If they cannot obtain the food they like they will not breed
so well. I found that sliced apples with leaves and grass formed the
best food for them.

The process in the case of Lithobius is much harder to watch.

Lithobius is not so plentiful as Julus terrestris, and the animals are
more impatient of captivity, more shy in their habits, and do not
breed so readily.

In January 1889 I was given the use of a room in the New Museums
at Cambridge, and was allowed to fit it up as I liked, so that I was
able to try the effect of different degrees of light and darkness, and of
different degrees of warmth. I succeeded in observing the whole
process. The female Lithobius is furnished with two small movable
hooks at the end of the under surface of the body close to the
opening of the oviduct. These small hooks have been observed by
many naturalists, but their use has, so far as I know, never been
described before. They play an important part in the proceedings
following the laying of the egg. The time of breeding in Lithobius is
rather later than in Julus, and begins about June and continues till
August. There are first of all some convulsive movements of the last
segments of the body, and then in about ten minutes the egg
appears at the entrance of the oviduct. The egg is a small sphere
(about the size of a number five shot), rather larger than that of
Julus, and is covered with a sticky slime secreted by the large glands
inside the body, usually called the accessory glands. When the egg
falls out it is received by the little hooks, and is firmly clasped by
them. This is the critical moment in the existence of the Lithobius into
which the egg is destined to develop. If a male Lithobius sees the
egg he makes a rush at the female, seizes the egg, and at once
devours it. All the subsequent proceedings of the female seem to be
directed to the frustration of this act of cannibalism. As soon as the
egg is firmly clasped in the little hooks she rushes off to a convenient
place away from the male, and uses her hooks to roll the egg round
and round until it is completely covered by earth, which sticks to it
owing to the viscous material with which it is coated; she also
employs her hind legs, which have glands on the thighs, to effect her
purpose. When the operation is complete the egg resembles a small
round ball of mud, and is indistinguishable from the surrounding soil.
It is thus safe from the voracious appetite of the male, and she
leaves it to its fate. The number of eggs laid is small when compared
with the number laid by Julus.

The food in the case of Lithobius consisted of worms and blue-

bottles, which were put alive into the glass vessel containing the
Lithobius. I tried raw meat chopped up, but they did not thrive on it in
the same way that they did on the living animals. I also put into their
vessel bits of rotten wood containing larvae of insects, etc.

I have succeeded in bringing back some specimens of Polydesmus

alive from Madeira, and in getting them to breed in this country—of
course in artificial warmth—and their way of laying eggs and making
a nest resembles that of Julus. Geophilus has one curious habit in
connexion with the fertilisation of the female. The male spins a web
and deposits in the middle of it a single spermatophore, and the
female comes to the web to be fertilised. The Scolopendridae are
said to bring forth their young alive, but I think the evidence for this is
unsatisfactory. What have been taken for the young Scolopendrae
are perhaps the large spermatophores of the male, which are not
unlike a larval Myriapod in size and shape. I have never been able to
observe the process of breeding in this family. I have had the
spermatophores sent me from Gibraltar as "eggs," but a little
examination soon showed me their real character.
The mode of progression in the Myriapods differs considerably, as
might be expected in a class in which the number of legs varies to
such an extent. The swiftest among them are the Scutigeridae with
their long spider-like legs. The Scolopendridae are also able to move
with considerable rapidity, and are also able to move tail forward
almost as well as in the ordinary manner. Where there are such a
number of legs it becomes a curious question as to the order in
which the animal moves them; and though several people have
endeavoured to find this out, the number of legs to be moved and
the rapid movements have rendered accurate observation
impossible.

Some years ago Professor E. Ray Lankester tried to study the order
in which the legs of Centipedes moved, and came to the conclusion
(recorded in an amusing letter in Nature, 23rd May 1889) that if the
animal had to study the question itself, it would not get on at all. He
finishes his letter with the following verses:—

A Centipede was happy quite

Until a toad in fun
Said, "Pray which leg moves after which?"
This raised her doubts to such a pitch,
She fell exhausted in the ditch,
Not knowing how to run.

The progression of Millepedes is much slower than that of the

Centipedes, and it is remarkable that when the animal is in motion a
sort of wave runs down the long fringe-like row of feet. I have
endeavoured to make out this motion, but have never been able to
understand it satisfactorily. My belief was that the feet were moved in
sets of five.

This wave-like peculiarity of motion is described in a curious old

book, An Essay towards a Natural History of Serpents. Charles
Owen, D.D. London, 1742: "The Ambua, so the natives of Brazil call
the Millepedes and the Centipedes, are serpents. Those reptiles of
thousand legs bend as they crawl along, and are reckoned very
poisonous. In these Multipedes the mechanism of the body is very
curious; in their going it is observable that on each side of their
bodies every leg has its motion, one regularly after another, so that
their legs, being numerous, form a kind of undulation, and thereby
communicate to the body a swifter progression than one could
imagine where so many short feet are to take so many short steps,
that follow one another rolling on like the waves of the sea."

Before proceeding to the classification of Myriapods, which will form

the next part of this account, a few words on the common names for
them may not be without interest.

In English we have the names Centipede and Millepede, and the

Continental nations have similar names implying the possession of a
hundred or a thousand legs, as the German "Tausendfüsse" and the
French "Millepieds." Of course these are general words, simply
implying the possession of a great number of legs. But we have also
among the peasantry a name for Centipedes which conveys a much
more accurate idea of the number. The people of the eastern
counties (I daresay the term is more widely spread) call them "forty
legs." This is not quite accurate, but as Lithobius has 17 legs on
each side, and Scolopendra (Cryptops is the English species) has 21
on each side, it is a better approximation than Centipede. But
another country has a still more accurate term. I found some
Scolopendra in Beyrout, and asked my native servant what he called
them. He gave them what I afterwards found was the common Arab
name for them, "‘arba wál ‘arbarin," forty-four legs. Now the
Scolopendras, which in hotter climates are the chief representatives
of the Centipedes, have actually forty-two legs, or, if the poison
claws are counted, forty-four. In looking up the Arab term for
Centipede I came across a curious description given of them by
Avicenna, the great Arabian physician: "This is an animal known for
its habit of going into ears. For the most part it is a palm's length"
[about four inches, which is the average length of many species].