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“Keep on guard,” I said, my hand resting on my dagger handle where it sat in my holster.
Dave glanced at me sideways, his lips pulled into a thin line. “We’re at a concert of one of the best rock bands ever. As if I could be distracted.”
The crowd were milling around, waiting for the band to come on. The arena held ten thousand people. Yep, ten thousand fucking people.
“I wanted to interrogate Joseph Cambridge,” I muttered as Kate joined us.
“Well this is slightly more important,” Kate said, handing me a bottle of water.
The Essex Obsessor had sent a message to my personal email to say that he planned an attack at the concert. As if he would tell us his plans... and yet, here we were, ready and waiting for his onslaught.
“Just to check...” I turned to Dave. “...you’ve got as much security as possible who are checking bags and searching bodies?”
Cocking his head to the side, Dave stared at me. His dark wavy hair was loose around his head, the mass of it softening his hard jaw. When he twinkled his pretty eyes at me, my heart skipped a beat or two.
“The security is stupidly tight, there’s no way he’ll get in. You’ve put the barrier spells up so only people with tickets can get in to the venue.”
My legs were slightly shaky as the floor started to get crowded. I didn’t love tons of people, it made me nervous. Don’t get me wrong, concerts were fun, but we were here to work. Sensory overload would not help me focus.
Turning to glance up to the seating area, I caught sight of Jake. “I think I’m going to join Jake.”
“Yes!” Kate exclaimed as Dave groaned.
“What?” I stared between the two of them as they giggled between themselves.
Taking a tenner out of his wallet, Dave handed it to Kate. “We made a bet. Kate said you wouldn’t be able to stay in the standing area before the music came on. I thought you might last until after the first song. I lost.”
Spinning on my heel, I rolled my eyes at the same time as waving my hand in dismissal. Whatever. Dave had been stupid to think that I could cope with mostly humans pressed up against me, or bumping into me. As if physical contact was doable when I was connected to the ley line. My senses were crazy in the concert type of environment. Why couldn’t I just be at home, curled up with a book? My fictional boyfriends were getting neglected.
“Hello, Gemma.”
My gaze had been searching around me as I made my way to the steps to join Jake. Archie Roberts stood in front of me, a smirky smile on his face. He wore jeans and band shirt, his dark hair roughened up.
“Archie,” I greeted, extremely glad that I could remember him.
Seeing him so underdressed sent a slight shock through my system. This was a vampire who loved reading. And, apparently rock music. Could he get any better?
“I hear my tip-off worked?”
“Erm, yeah, it... er....” My stuttering was extremely embarrassing. What was wrong with me? I was a kick-ass agent who, although dead, was still one of the only witches in the world connected to the ley line. And here I was, struggling to talk to a pretty man.
“Archie!” Dave came to stand next to me, his arm coming around my shoulders. “Thanks so much for telling us about that hotel. It was extremely handy info.”
Offering his hand, he smiled broadly when Archie shook it. Although the vampire glanced between the pair of us, his expression didn’t alter. Even when I shrugged Dave off.
“These are my colleagues Dave and Kate.” Indicating the seer, I waited for them to make pleasantries.
“Ah, so you’re the handsome vampire who dumbfounded our boss. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My cheeks heated so badly, I had to fan my face with my hand. Especially when Archie glanced at me, his smile stretching across his lips.
“I did have a wonderful time on our date. I’ve not been able to ask for a second yet, but I hope Gemma will let me take her out again.”
Opening my mouth, I gulped air, unable to speak. Dave frowned at me before looking at the vampire. “Maybe after we bring down Joseph and the PFF.”
Gently taking my bicep, Dave said our goodbyes and guided me towards the steps. I let him lead me away, my mouth still hanging open. Had Dave just declined a date on my behalf? Without even consulting me?
“What was that?” I asked him as we started up the steps.
Without letting me go, he propelled me upwards. “Nothing. It’s not in your interest to date someone so closely connected to our terrorist suspect right now.”
“Wait...”
The loud introduction of the band’s most famous song suddenly blasted into the arena as the lights went down. My boots tripped as I tried to control my senses. If the Essex Obsessor was going to strike, we needed to be on high alert, not bickering.
“Let go!” I said loudly when Dave glanced down at me.
He did as I asked, shouting something in Jake’s ear when we joined him on the second tier of the seating section. Before I could get his attention, he was gone, rushing back down the steps to join Kate on the floor. If anything was going to happen, it would most likely be in the thick of the crowd.
Bending down, Jake shouted in my ear. “Looked like lover boy got a bit het up over Archie Roberts.”
“Lover boy?” I asked, my gaze searching the crowd for the rest of my team.
We all had our jobs. I had a couple of agents from Paranormal MI5 in the surveillance room, monitoring all the cameras. Dave and Kate were staying on the floor, keeping an eye on the crowd. Dave had his wand with him. I’d filled it with my magic before we’d arrived so he could use it if needed.
“So, we just wait?” Jake shouted, obviously not hearing my reply.
Nodding, I looked up at him. His bright blue eyes searched mine, waiting for me to give him an order. He wasn’t the type to wait around and do nothing. He wanted action. I knew the feeling. The bastard had slipped through our hands far too many times.
“We have nothing.” His sneer wasn’t aimed at me, but I felt the force of it regardless.
He was right. We had nothing to go on. So, the killer had a problem with women. I’d told Kate that I believed he might be connected to the man who my father had lost his bet to. What if it was him? If I assumed it was, I could find out who he was. My mother must know the identity of the coven leader. I’d never taken an interest before, preferring to pretend that I could ignore the stupid bet for the rest of my life. And, yet, my skin tingled as I thought about the man who had faced me in the street. He had been younger than I’d first imagined, the brief glimpse of the stubble on his chin enough to show me that he wasn’t old. There was no grey in the ginger whiskers, which told me that he was in his thirties, like the man who I was supposed to marry.
The beat of the music thumped into my brain as the crowd started to sing along. There was no point in trying to talk to Jake now. Hand movements would have to do.
Keeping my eyes peeled, I took out my phone and opened the Whatsapp group that we’d created for the team. Whenever one of us sent a message, everyone could see it. It was the only way we could keep contact in a place that was so noisy, my eardrums were ready to burst.
There would be sixteen tracks all in all, which made for a long concert. I loved the band, but I couldn’t relax. Being alert sucked the fun out of concerts. Being me sucked the fun out of everything right now.
My huge release of breath was cut short when the sound of a voice not belonging to the track came from the speakers.
“You’ll never catch me,” it said, the masculine voice a different tone to the lead singer.
The audience didn’t notice at first. The words were blended well. It was only when a few people glancing at one another made me realise that they didn’t fit in with the song. Jake’s hand squeezed my wrist, his other one pointing at the screen.
The gasps of the crowd forced me to look to where he indicated. On the big screen behind the band was the pictures of our victims. It circled around, the first, the second and so on. The hairs on the back of my neck raised as people started to shout.
“I’m the Essex Obsessor - such a cute name given to me by the police. I’m the killer they’ve not told you about.”
As the surprised gasps rose and the fingers started to point, the lead singer of the band turned to see what the fuss was about. He instantly stopped singing. When his band turned to see what had caused him to finish the song abruptly, the music clashed to a halt. And yet, the voice of the killer still rang out.
“If you don’t leave now, I’ll kill you. Not because I want to, but because I have to teach her a lesson. She’s mine.”
Flashes of phones and cameras jerked me into action. Both Jake and I rushed down the steps, just as the crowd started to surge.
“Stay calm!” I shouted pointlessly.
Screams rang out as a video came on screen. The demon masked man was talking directly to the camera, his voice sending shivers down my spine. People bashed into me as they struggled to run towards the exits. Even the band had vacated the stage.
How could we control the panic? We hadn’t expected the idiot to cause the audience to start running in all directions, putting each other at risk.
“Don’t be afraid, my friends, if she comes to me, you’ll be safe. Until then, you have five minutes.”
A countdown clock appeared on the screen. Grabbing a security guard, I ordered him to get the screen shut down. He barked into his walkie talkie as he motioned for his friends to help him.
People shoved harder, the crowd actually surging together. Crap, if we didn’t calm them down, they would crush each other to death.
“The doors are locked!” The security man grabbed my shoulder. “They can’t get out!”
“What?!” I screamed. “Who locked them?”
Shrugging, the guard plunged into the crowd to try and take control. It wasn’t worth it. People were screaming as the photos of the murders flickered on the screen again.
“Jake!” I screamed, tugging on his arm to get his attention.
He had been trying to force people to stay where they were, but it wasn’t working very well. There were people trying to climb the seats, treading on others as they pushed their way towards what they thought was an escape.
My heart beat hard in my chest. My stomach rolled as I was knocked from all sides. Ducking, I forced my way through people and back onto the stairs. Jake followed, his hand holding the back of my jacket. Once we were on the first tier, I turned into an almost empty aisle of seats.
“I need to use magic to calm these people. There’s-”
A scream cut off my words. My gaze traced a portion of the crowd nearest the stage. People were rammed against it, their faces bright red where they couldn’t breathe. Shit, they were dying.
Closing my eyes, I chanted the first spell that came to mind. It was an ancient spell cast to calm those who were going to be hung when the witch trials were held back in the days when humans knew that something was going on with magic. Their lack of knowledge led them to mainly kill humans, accusing the wrong people. King James I knew that there were witches in his country, so he set up crusades to try and eradicate them. Unfortunately, his men were easily overcome with magic. Witches didn’t care much for humans back then, considering how cruel they were to those that practiced witchcraft, so the collateral damage was swept under the dusty rug. The only saving grace they gave to humans about to be hung or burned alive was to cast a sedative spell over them to calm their nerves.
That was the spell I was casting in the arena. I braced my boots on the ground as I held my arms to the side. Magic from the ley line poured into every inch of my body, transforming into an energy that left me and filtered into the air.
“It’s not enough,” I said through gritted teeth. “Get Dave.”
Jake had no idea what I was doing, but trusted me completely. Closing my eyes when he nodded, I concentrated on creating a stream of magic that continuously came into me from the line. Those around us started to calm, their frantic energy cooling slightly. It was working, but it would take a massive blast to fill the whole arena.
“They’re dying,” Dave called as his voice came nearer. “What’s she doing?”
Holding my hand towards him, I gestured for him to place his palm in mine without opening my eyes. He did as I asked, his fingers linking with mine. As my magic pulsed into him, he jolted, almost yanking his hand away. He would never have felt such power.
“Please,” I said as loudly as I could. “Chant with me, push the spell outwards.”
As soon as he listened to the spell a couple of times, Dave started the chant. The magic from the ley line intensified as it went through me and into Dave’s body. The spell was double the strength.
“It’s working,” Kate said nearby. “I can see people relaxing, pulling away from the exits.”
The muscles in my legs started to shake. If I wasn’t careful, the spell would drain my energy completely. A movement behind me alerted me to someone close by. Jake’s scent filtered into my nose before his arm came around my back and under my shoulder.
“I got you,” he called into my ear. “Keep going.”
The feel of blood dribbling from my nose made me lose focus for a second. Dave shook my hand to get me back on track. Our chant was drowned out by the screams of terror, although they were starting to die down.
“Please, ladies and gentleman,” a voice came loud over the tannoy. “Keep calm and stay where you are. There is no risk to your life. Someone has played a prank.”
As the spell increased, the magic travelled over the soundwaves. Opening my eyes, I sucked in a breath as the humans instantly stopped panicking, each one either staying where they were, or moving off the people they were trampling.
“They’re dead!” someone shouted, and yet, they remained calm. “Get help!”
Dropping the spell, I clung to Dave’s hand, unable to let go. The serial killer’s video had been cut, the big screen now black.
“Are you okay now?” Jake asked.
His question brought me back from where I’d been in my head. The killer had been successful. Those who now lay on the ground, crushed to death, were an extension of his vile hatred towards me. It was personal, I just knew it.
The doors suddenly burst open on all sides, the loud noise echoing in the now reasonably quiet venue. All the humans would be scarred for life. Trauma on this scale was inevitable.
Releasing Dave, I blinked before bringing myself back down to earth. “We need to go and help those below. Jake and Kate, I want you to talk to security. Keep checking for anyone suspicious. We need to find this bastard.”
Jumping over the seats in front of me, I made my way down to the floor. The stairs were full of people who had been rushing to try and get to the exits. They were milling around now, almost in a daze. Security were escorting people out of the arena, their calm composure a testament to their training.
A group of people by the door and the stage were dragging bodies out of the piles. My stomach rolled as I counted ten people already laid out. Shit, the wanker had mass murdered at a concert of all places.
“Gemma.” Dave grabbed my arm as I went to run forward. “We need to get that footage. These people are mainly human. We have to let the authorities deal with the deaths.”
Tears exploded in my eyes as I saw a young pre-teen girl being pulled across the floor to lay next to an adult male. They wore matching band shirts with Dad and Daughter written on them.
“No!” I pushed through my teeth when Dave tried to pull me away. “These people have died because of us. We have not done our job. I will not rest until we catch him.”
Storming away, I swiped at the tears that tracked down my cheeks. Heat was boiling my skin, making me want to punch out at whoever got in my way.
“Move,” I shouted when one man struggled to get a body out from under the stage.
Taking hold of the deceased male’s arms, I pulled gently as snot ran from my nose. Sobs escaped me as the man who had been trying to help got hold of the dead man’s waist and together we tugged him out.
All of them had suffocated from lack of air. Being trampled must have been horrendous. As we lined him up, my gaze met the human’s. His eyes were red, his hands shaking badly. Going over to him, I threw my arms around his neck. He squeezed me as tightly as I was holding him. Two strangers, two species, united in tragedy.
“Gemma?” Dave’s voice was soft behind me.
Letting go of the human, I turned to him. His hair was messed up from where he’d tugged on it. Worry lines were edged in the corners of his eyes as he watched me, his hands fumbling together in front of him. He was right, we needed to get on with our job.
“Let’s go.”
Marching towards the stage, I ignored the rest of the humans. Blocking out their cries and their words, I set my mind on the goal. Get the evidence, get the killer.
“I couldn’t have done that without you,” I said when Dave fell into step beside me.
We worked our way backstage, hunting for the stage manager who we’d been in contact with earlier in the day. He wasn’t answering his phone, although that was pretty understandable.
Clearing his throat, Dave nodded abruptly. “You’re welcome.”
I wasn’t lying. In the past, I would’ve easily been able to cast the spell on my own. I never would’ve struggled to harness the power needed to control the energy of an entire arena. And yet, I’d had trouble to keep hold of my link at times. My heart thumped hard in my chest. I wasn’t alive. My link to the ley line was superficial, which was why I was weaker.
“I’m running out of ideas.”
“Maybe you’re in denial.”
Huh? My boots skidded to an abrupt halt in the corridor leading to the office. What was he talking about? Why would I be in denial?
“Now is not the time,” he said, not bothering to stop. “We’ll have a heart to heart later.”
Why did he have to be so right? We had to get on with our job, not talk about me being in denial. Which I wasn’t, by the way.
“There you are!” the stage manager called down the corridor as we started to jog. “You need to come and see this.”
Rushing towards the door he indicated, we followed him inside. Two security men were standing by the equipment. A screen on the wall played a video of the stage. Wait, it wasn’t in real time, it was a recording.
“See there?” The stage manager pointed at a shadow just under the big screen. “It’s a woman. She’s planting something. My team are on their way to check it now, but look...”
As the woman turned, I caught the profile of her face. I knew that nose, it was regal, almost snobbish. A bright red light flashed before the darkness enveloped her.
“I’m sure she’s just planted a bomb.”
Leaning further towards the screen, Dave coughed loudly. “It is a bloody bomb. We need to get everyone out of the building.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing.” The stage manager’s back was straight, his glare ignored as Dave asked the tech guy to email him the footage so we could use our system to get a reading on the culprit. Not that I would need it.
“It’s the PFF,” I told Dave when he started tapping on his phone.
He frowned, not bothering to look up. “How do you know?”
Sighing, I ran a hand over my ponytail when it flicked into my face as I spun to leave. “Because that was Helen Cambridge. We need to disarm the bomb.”
A hand yanked me back before I could get through the door. Dave’s growl was low in his chest as he pulled me close to him. I snarled as I attempted to dislodge his fingers from around my wrist.
“The bomb squad is here,” the head of security announced as he joined us. “They said that the timer is set to go off in two hours’ time. They think they’ll have it disabled within ten minutes. We just need to get the evacuation finalised first. Looks like the killer actually did us a favour.”
Every pair of eyes in the room stared at the hulk of a human. Not one of us laughed, but the irony in his words was apparent to everyone.
“Well,” he muttered, ordering some of his men to join the escorting efforts. “You know what I mean.”
“We need to leave,” a police officer shouted into the room. “Evacuation order is for everyone.”
Ducking out of the room, I grabbed Dave’s hand as we walked. He was watching something on his phone, his brain analysing the footage.
“Shit!”
“What is it?” I asked, tugging my phone out and messaging Jake and Kate.
We all had to get together so we could flash out of the building. Jake replied, they were already outside, the police forcing them to leave.
Taking Dave’s hand, I flashed us to their side, not bothering to let him know what I was doing. He almost stumbled when we landed, although his eyes never left his phone.
“There you are!” Kate went to throw her arms around me, but I held out a hand.
No time for theatrics, we had work to do. I was done feeling sorry for myself. Dave’s denial comment had hit a nerve, one that I’d have to explore at a later date.
“Guys,” Dave said when I indicated that we should head back to the office. “There’s something you need to see.”
Bending over his phone, we watched the video that had been playing on the screen of the arena stage. Fast forwarding it, Dave tapped the screen. “Listen.”
The demon mask moved as the man spoke. “You have five days to find me.”
As my mouth dried out, I tried to swallow. He was giving us time? Why would he start doing that?
“If not, I’ll kill again. Just remember... she belongs to me.”
