Sidney bumped his shoulder against the library’s back door and the deadbolt splintered the wood. If Ally were there, she’d cringe with the destruction of yet another Burberry property. He ran his fingers over the damaged wood. Maybe he’d ask Sparsh if he could stay on a few days and put this handyman persona to good use and make the repairs himself. Not that Ally would want him there, but he sort of owed it to the town to fix things he’d broken.
“Stop with the poor me attitude,” he scolded the air around him. Ally had made her position clear when she’d asked him to leave. Yet she cared for her community a great deal and the least he could do was help make some of it better on his way out.
Although the lights were out, the waning sunlight passing through the windows gave him enough of a path to make it to the back office. If there were any clues about Brian being the murderer it would be in the private office.
Sidney jiggled the doorknob finding it locked. He gave the door a bump with his shoulder. The noise echoed throughout the two-story building filled with shelves of books. Inside, he marveled at the neatness of the desk. A desktop computer and small printer sat on top in the corner. Sidney dropped into the rolling desk chair and rifled through the desk drawers. Nothing but library business. Other than the desk set, the only piece of furniture in the office was a wingback chair. He needed to hurry and get back to watching over Ally at the park.
Sidney moved a few papers aside and his fingers bumped into a pen which rolled to the floor. When he leaned over to pick it up, something metal beneath the wingback chair caught his eye.
He dropped to the floor and retrieved a dog collar. He held the tag up to the light and read the name engraved into the front. “Jacko.”
How did the dog tie Brian and Mr. Henry together other than it being a witness to the murder? Nothing about it made sense, but Sidney’s gut again twisted with the foreboding suspicion that Brian stood at the center of everything.
The collar wouldn’t be enough evidence to convince Ally of Brian’s involvement in the murder but it did put Brian in the alley with Jacko at some point. That could be enough to get some answers to their questions.
He moved through the dark library and out the back door. From the sidewalk, he could hear the Illusionists continue with their show. The happy clapping and cheers grew louder the closer he got to the crowd.
He expected to see Ally and Brian toward the front, her hand wrapped around his arm. After a quick scan of the crowd though, unease prickled and tickled his spine. The short blonde and her stuffy date shouldn’t be that hard to miss.
He sidled up beside Mrs. Lorenson who stood beside Mayor Henry. “Evening, ladies.”
Mayor Henry edged Mrs. Lorenson out of the way. “Sidney, there you are. It seemed as if Ally had misplaced you.”
“He’s not an inanimate object,” Mrs. Lorenson defended him.
“Have either of you seen Ally? I can’t find her in the crowd.”
“She’s with Brian,” Mayor Henry answered.
“Actually,” Mrs. Lorenson started. “She was with Brian but we haven’t seen either one of them after she got in the box and the doom twins made her disappear.”
Sidney didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean they made her disappear?”
“She was part of the act, dear. Brian set it up.” Mayor Henry gave him a pointed look. “He really is sweet and dependable like that. A good choice for Ally.”
“Harrumph,” came from Mrs. Lorenson. “I’m all about team Sidney. Look at the passion in his eyes.”
“Team Brian. Like I said dependable.”
“Ladies, please focus for a minute. Where did Brian go while Ally was on stage?”
“He’s going to fight for her. How thrilling.” Mrs. Lorenson turned away from Mayor Henry to answer his question. “He went to the back of the stage to meet her, I guess. But since we haven’t seen them, they may have gone back to his house. It’s three-oh-two Maple Avenue.”
Mayor Henry shoved her hands on her hips. “Gracious, Celia. Stop helping the man so much. Make him work for it.”
Now he completely understood Ally’s use of the small town gossip mill to get information. In a bigger city with less nosy residents, he wouldn’t have known which way to turn. Sidney patted Mrs. Lorenson on the side of the arm. “Thank you, ma’am, for all your help.”
With the dog collar clutched tight in his hand, he trotted to the back of the stage first. The sky had darkened and left little light for him to see anything. He ducked down to check under the stage. No sign of Ally or of any residue.
The middle of his chest twisted hard. He should never have left her side. What if he couldn’t get to her in time?
∞∞∞
Ally pressed her face against the crack of the box but couldn’t make out anything distinguishable. The vehicle stopped and she braced her arms against the sides so she didn’t smack her head this time. Someone lifted the box and from the tilt she surmised she’d been placed on a dolly again. Her kidnapper had an immense amount of strength to move her around from the truck to the ground. From what she could tell there was only one person.
The crate bounced up a set of stairs and then she stopped moving.
“Ally?” An all too familiar voice called out to her.
“Brian?”
“I’m going to let you out and I need you to please remain calm.”
She balled her hands into fists as confusion gave her a dull ache in the back of her head. Was Brian working with Izander and Draven? That conclusion made the least amount of sense.
“Promise me,” he said, his tone low and calm.
She gritted her teeth. “Let me out of here now. I won’t promise how I’m going to act once I’m on the other side of this box.”
She heard him sigh. He pushed his fingers through the crack and yanked hard on the plywood removing it from the top of her makeshift prison.
Ally shot up and glanced around for an escape. They were in a living room and Brian stood in front of the door leading to the outside of the house. The furniture in the room was sparse. A couch, sofa, and several bookshelves lined with books. The adjoining room led to a breakfast nook and kitchen. On the table she noticed a stack of colorful flyers with the missing Burberry pets. In the corner sat two large animal crates.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“My house.” He smiled as if proud to have her as a guest. “Welcome.”
She put one leg over the edge of the box and stepped out, moving to position herself behind the couch. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Brian removed his glasses and took a cloth out of his pocket. He wiped them clean before putting them back in place on his face. “This isn’t how I wanted our first date to go.”
“Yeah. Feels a little like kidnapping at this point.” Her mind raced with attempts to put the situation in any order that made sense. She’d thought Draven and Izander were behind taking her but Brian seemed to be the only one in the house. He also appeared super calm and in control. She glanced around, measuring the distance to the hallway and a possible back door.
“Why don’t you have a seat so I can explain?”
“Not going to happen,” she answered. “So get on with the explaining.”
His shoulders slumped slightly as he clasped his hands in front of him. If he moved even three inches away from the door, she’d be able to give him a blast and most likely make it out of the house.
Where was Sidney?
“I’d like to start from the beginning. The truth is that I need your help. I know you and your sisters are powerful witches.”
“You’re a paranormal too.” Ally rested her hands on the back of the couch. As much as she wanted to run for her life, she also wanted answers. Like exactly what he knew about her sisters and what type of paranormal he was. She decided to let Brian talk, which would give her more time to come up with an escape plan.
“Yes, but not by choice. And I’m not here by choice either. You see, I’m a victim of a curse.” He glanced around the room and sighed heavily, his chest rising and falling dramatically with the action. “I must siphon the energy from other beings to live. Every few days I must refuel or I’d wither away into nothing.”
She glanced over at the crates. “You’ve been stealing and eating the Burberry pets?”
His expression shifted to one of horror as if her words were worse than his. “Not eat. That would be disgusting. I siphon with my touch.”
“It leaves behind a residue, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, a gross mess that I’d rather not have in the house. I prefer to live neatly.” He shrugged. “I disposed of them near the dumpsters.”
“How neat of you.” Ally could feel the bile burning at the base of her throat. The more answers he gave the more questions that popped into her mind. “But you don’t drink the blood, then. What happened with Mr. Henry?”
“What an impossible man. He made it his personal mission to collect the rewards offered on a few of the missing pets. He’d been to the library bragging about how he’d spend every spare minute searching for them. To get him off the trail, I admitted that I’d seen one of the dogs in the alley behind the Tea Haven.”
“Jacko.”
“Yes, the biter.” He rubbed his forearm. “I thought if I could get the charlatan one reward he’d get bored and leave it alone, but that wasn’t to be the case. He caught me with the dog in the alley and we fought over the collar. He planned to use it as evidence against me. My fingerprints would be all over it.”
“So you stabbed him in the neck.”
“A complete accident, you see. I knew you would understand that. I have enhanced strength and I accidently pushed the prongs into his neck a little too hard.” He moved a few inches toward her and away from the door. “I heard Mrs. Lorenson coming out the door and hid with the body behind the dumpster. Knowing I didn’t have enough time to siphon him right away, I tucked him in the Tea Haven for safekeeping.”
Great. She’d been on a date with a complete psychopath paranormal. Her sisters would never let her live this down. If she lived. Keep him talking. Sidney had to be nearby. “You’ve touched me before. How does the siphoning work?”
He waved his hands in the air. “I can turn it on and off at will as long as I keep my emotions in check.”
Keep him talking and calm. “How did you know I wouldn’t immediately call the police?”
“I know everything about you, Ally. Everything the Council knows. I’ve been here keeping an eye on you and your sisters for the past few weeks.”
Her head swirled with this new piece of information. “You’re not the librarian’s nephew? Did you siphon her too?”
The corners of his lips twisted into a weird smile. “Well, she was old and a man can’t live on animals alone.”
Her chest squeezed. Poor Mrs. Halburt. The more he talked, the more she wanted to run. “Why would the Council need to spy on us? They already know all there is to know since Amira joined the LSP.”
“They have plans for you. But, I can change that. If you help me first.”
The nerve. “How can I help you?”
“Remove my siphoning curse and also remove this tracker tattoo.” He rolled up his sleeve to show a tattoo of words written in Latin on his bicep. “I didn’t plan for things to move so quickly. Wooing you into saying yes had been the initial strategy, but I didn’t account for Mr. Henry and your handyman.”
“He’s not my handyman.”
“No. He’s something else and I needed to test that theory by enclosing you in the freezer.”
“You could have killed us in there.” She edged to the end of the couch. “He’s probably on his way here right this minute.” Please find me, Sidney.
“And if he is, I’ll siphon him to dust.”
Her stomach dropped at the thought of Brian harming Sidney. How did she get a madman to listen to reason? “I’m not a practicing witch. I can’t help you remove any curse or magical tattoo. Maybe if I had my sisters here and my great-aunts too.”
“We’re out of time. The Council’s seers will soon catch wind of what’s happening in Burberry if they haven’t already. They’ll send someone to get a handle on the possible paranormal exposure.” His left eye twitched. “I’m not going back to their prison.”
He’d been in the same prison as Sidney.
Ally took a deep, shaky breath and considered her options. “What if I just say no?”
“I’ll siphon you and everyone in the town I can get through before the Council catches up with me.”
Could her sparkle blast push him back far enough before he could latch onto her? Even if she got away, the possibility of him hurting someone else didn’t seem like a hollow threat.
He placed a hand on his chest. “Remember, Ally. I’m the victim here. A curse and a Council that uses paranormals for their own gain. You can help me be rid of both.”
She seriously doubted she could. Not that she wanted to. Brian had killed two people and deserved to go back to prison.
The front door burst open and a wild-eyed Sidney stood in the doorjamb.
Brian held up his hands. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Sidney walked forward, his stance ready for a fight.
“No!” Ally screamed and rushed toward him facing Brian, putting herself between the two men. “Please don’t touch him. Don’t hurt him.”
Sidney snarled behind her. “What makes you think he could hurt me?”
“He siphons energy from living beings.”
Sidney chuckled. “Lucky for me, I’m not a living being. I’m a vampire.”
Brian leapt forward and grabbed her by the arm, twisting her around. She shut her eyes tight waiting for the siphoning which thankfully didn’t happen. She opened them again to make Sidney her focal point.
“Back up or I’ll break her in half and siphon her instead.” Brian put his hand against her throat.
Sidney hesitated, his eyes filled with uncertainty. She could see him calculating his super speed in his head versus Brian’s super strength. Brian didn’t know about the secret weapon that might give them the slightest edge.
Ally held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. “Isn’t all of this a bit shocking?”
Sidney held up his hands as if to say he agreed with Brian. She knew it meant he agreed with her. She closed her eyes and allowed the thought of Brian hurting her or her sisters or even Sidney to fire up the power she possessed.
One good shock would be enough to stun him. When she could feel the hair on her arms standing straight up and heard a small cackle coming from her fingertips, she grabbed his arms and screamed, allowing all the fear to course through her body.
Brian blasted away from her onto the couch. Sidney zipped past her with his super speed and punched Brian several times until the man lost consciousness.
Sidney turned toward her and she rushed into his arms. “Can we please call Sparsh now?”
His chest rumbled with a chuckle and he kissed the top of her head. “I called him as soon as I knew you were missing. The LSP is on the way.”
“What if you’d been wrong about Brian?”
“I’d have faced the consequences.”
She leaned back and stroked the side of his face. “How did you find me?”
“I used your small town gossip technique.” A smile spread across his handsome face. “By the way, Mrs. Lorenson is team Sidney.”