| |
CIARA SIGHED, FINALLY getting herself a taxi. The queue had been long, and she had waited for hours.
She sat in the back seat of the car. Once she had given the driver the address, she let her muscles relax and leaned against the seat.
The ten-hour flight had felt like an eternity.
It was already late in Vancouver, but she was still heading to the cemetery. She wanted to visit Theo’s grave. She hadn’t been in the city in months, so she hadn’t visited his grave either.
“Long flight?” the driver asked.
Ciara smiled. The driver saw her through the rear-view mirror, so she tried to look less tired. “Ten hours.”
“That’s more than enough.”
“Yeah.”
“You came from London?”
Ciara raised her eyebrow. “You know that based on the time?”
The driver shrugged. “A lucky guess from an experienced taxi driver.”
Ciara didn’t believe in lucky guesses. “How long have you worked as a taxi driver?”
“Years.” The driver chuckled, throwing his head back, his eyes barely staying on the road. “I’ve lost count.”
Ciara forced a smile. “A long time, then.”
“Indeed.”
“You live in the city?”
“Lived here my whole life.”
“What a relief!” Ciara forced a smile onto her face. “You know the fastest way to the cemetery then.”
The driver nodded. “I do.”
Ciara continued to smile. “The church in the middle of the cemetery is beautiful in the summer, isn’t it?”
“It sure is. One of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Except there was no church in the cemetery. Anyone who had been there knew that. The driver was lying, and Ciara had a good guess about what was going on.
“So, you’re familiar with the city?” the fake taxi driver asked.
“Somewhat.”
“You have family here?”
Ciara nodded. “Something like that.”
“Are you staying long?”
Ciara chuckled, faking it. She was lucky she was experienced in acting thanks to her job. “I don’t know yet.”
The driver nodded. “I see.”
Ciara kept her eyes on the driver, so she didn’t miss the slightest of movements. She was in danger. It was only a matter of time before the driver attacked.
She wasn’t sure if the driver was even heading for the cemetery. They were still driving the right way, but it could have been a coincidence.
She couldn’t tell if the driver was a witch hunter or someone from her past cases. She tried to look for a tattoo on him. The witch hunter mark—a flame-like symbol with a wand in the middle of the fire. From where she sat, she couldn’t spot tattoos on him, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
The car was nearing red lights. Ciara inhaled quietly, eyeing the road ahead and the driver in turns. She prepared herself to deal with the driver—before he dealt with her.
Just when they were about to stop at the red lights, the lights turned green. The driver sped up, and Ciara lost her chance.
Soon there were red lights ahead again. The car slowed down, and Ciara was ready to strike. She was about to raise her hand to cast a spell, but a wand appeared out of nowhere. It pressed against the side of her neck, halting her movements.
“Don’t even think about it.” A rough male voice. Unfamiliar.
Someone had been hiding in the the boot of the car. Ciara hadn’t spotted the man, even though there was an open space between the back seat and the boot. A rookie mistake. She should have checked.
The car stopped. Another wand—the driver’s wand—pointed at Ciara.
There were two of them. They had to be witch hunters.
The man sitting in the boot laughed darkly. “Going to see your dead boyfriend?”
Ciara gritted her teeth and clenched her hand into a fist. No one talked about Theo like that.
“I think you hit a soft spot.” The driver let his gaze slide to the other witch hunter for a moment.
“I sure did.”
***
THEO WAS SITTING ON the sofa, unable to stay still. He was shifting in his seat. “I’m worried, Ciara.” A frown darkened his features.
Ciara was in the kitchen, having made herself a cup of tea. She left the cup on the kitchen counter and walked to the living room. She sat down beside her boyfriend. “Everything will be okay,” she said and brushed her fingers against Theo’s cheek.
He looked pale, looking into Ciara’s eyes. “I worry about you.”
Ciara took Theo’s hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Nothing will happen to me.”
Theo pulled Ciara onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Theo,” she murmured. “We’ll be fine. We always make it out just fine.”
“You got injured last time.” He shuddered. “I thought I was going to lose you.” He shook his head, his forehead creasing. “Ciara, I never want to go through that again.” He looked back up into her eyes.
Ciara cupped his face and leaned her forehead against his. “And you’ll never have to.”
***
THE MEMORY MADE CIARA’S heart ache. One of her last moments with Theo. But she couldn’t dwell on the grief. Not when she was in danger.
She needed to get out. She didn’t have back-up. The witch hunters shouldn’t have known she was in Canada.
She had naively assumed she was safe.
She was alone with two wands pointed at her. Either of the witch hunters could have flicked their wand and killed her. It didn’t look good for her.
She had to get out.
She wasn’t finished with the witch hunters like she had once thought. Her revenge wasn’t over until they were gone for good. There was no way she was going down before them.
She also had to go see Theo’s mother who had been asking for her to visit for so long.
She also had to fix things between her and Henry again. She owed him that. In fact, she owed him a lot after how harshly she had originally left England.
And she hadn’t seen her own mother in years. There was no way she would die before seeing her.
She hadn’t had the chance to talk with Liam, either. Not properly. She hoped they could be friends again, like they used to. That would never happen if she let herself die.
She had to take a risk. Her only option was to attack the men. Even if it cost her life, at least she wasn’t going to die without a fight.
But the bootlid flew open. The wand dropped from Ciara’s neck onto her lap, and the man flew out of the boot, screaming.
Ciara didn’t turn to see what happened behind her. She focused on the other witch hunter and disarmed him.
She moved her hands, casting magic. She knocked out the driver, making him bash his head against the window hard enough to crack the glass.
Grabbing both wands, she rushed out to see what was happening. Someone had come to her rescue. That someone had also dealt with the other witch hunter who lay unconscious on the street.
Bald head and dark skin. It was her American colleague, Joshua Talbot.
Ciara grinned on seeing Josh. “Just in time.” Ciara sighed in relief. “Thank you.”
Josh returned the smile. “No problem. Wanna help me take these two in for questioning?”
She was on suspension, but she doubted anyone would mind if she helped. After all, the two morons had attacked her.
Ciara nodded. “Let’s do it.”
***
THE PAIR USED FLOATING spells to take the two witch hunters in for questioning—to the interrogation rooms of their Vancouver base.
They put the witch hunters under surveillance in separate rooms. Using binding spells that would last throughout the interrogations, they tied them up and then headed to their boss’s office.
Alan Torres, Ciara’s boss, welcomed her with a tight smile. “Welcome back.”
Alan was an experienced hit wizard with notable successes under his belt.
Ciara smiled. “If it were in different circumstances, boss, I’d say it’s good to be back.”
Alan nodded. “I understand. I spoke with Doherty. In fact, thanks to someone in England, we knew we had to save you tonight.”
“I could have handled myself. Although, I prefer how things went now.”
He nodded. “You could have.” He had seen her in the field. “That’s not why you’re suspended.”
“I know.”
“We brought the witch hunters in for interrogation, boss,” Josh said.
“Good.” Alan nodded. “Go see if someone is working late. Have them assist you with the interrogations, will you?”
“Right away, sir.” Josh nodded. Then he turned to hug Ciara. “It was good to see you.”
“You, too, Josh,” Ciara said and flashed him a smile.
He left, having work to do.
Alan gestured at the empty chair. “Sit, please.”
Ciara sat down, relaxing her muscles.
Alan took a seat on his side of the desk. “Doherty told me you’re aware of the British group.”
Ciara nodded. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Alan’s expression turned serious. “Are you sure you’re...capable of working like that?”
“It’s not official work.” It wasn’t even legal, but her American colleagues didn’t care what happened on the other side of the Atlantic—especially not when it helped them.
“I know. But I also know it requires having to put yourself in dangerous situations.” Alan sighed. “You buried yourself in work after Theo died. I’m afraid you haven’t dealt with your grief yet.”
“I’m working on it. But I would never do anything reckless.”
Alan smiled a little. “Unless it would save someone.”
“Then I would see it as necessary action. It would have nothing to do with Theo’s death.”
Alan nodded and leaned back in his chair. “If you say so. I know you put others before yourself.”
***
A CURSE HEADED FOR Josh.
Before it could hit him, Ciara intercepted, and the curse hit her instead.
The pain was excruciating, sending electric shocks through Ciara’s entire body. She screamed in agony, and her knees gave out.
Josh turned to see Ciara. His eyes widened, but he couldn’t get to her. He had a witch hunter to deal with first. “Hang in there!” he yelled desperately.
Ciara heard him only faintly as she fell onto the ground. She lay there, writhing in pain. She couldn’t tell what the curse had done, but the pain was agonising.
***
“I’VE NEVER REGRETTED saving anyone. It has always been worth the cost.”
Alan sighed. “Doherty has requested for your transfer to England.”
Ciara opened her mouth, but no words came out. Doherty hadn’t said anything to her. She hadn’t expected such news. “What?”
Alan nodded. “You heard right.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“But I live in the States. I don’t live in England anymore. I—”
“But would you like to?” Alan asked. “It’s something to consider. You’d be a great help for the British magical government. You have the skills and the knowledge they need there.”
“I mean...maybe, but there’s paperwork and everything.”
“You’ve gone through the paperwork before,” Alan reminded her.
“True.”
Ciara hadn’t thought about moving back to England. She had only planned to stay for a visit. With the witch hunters in Europe, though, the transfer made sense to her.
Anything to avenge Theo.
“What about my suspension?” she asked.
“It stands, nonetheless, so take your time in considering the offer.”
Ciara nodded.
“I’d like to have you stay here. You’ve done splendid work here in America.” Alan offered Ciara a brief smile. “But I agree that they may need you more in Europe.”
Ciara smiled at her boss. “I’ll think about the offer.”
“Good.” Alan cleared his throat. “You’re still suspended. But would you mind helping analyse the interrogations? If you have somewhere to be or—”
“I can help.” Ciara nodded. “I promised to meet Theo’s mother in the morning, but I’m free until then.”
Alan stood up from his chair and gestured to the door. “Shall we?”
Ciara stood up. “We shall.”