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“How’s the library?” Brianna asked.
Leaning back in my office chair, I pressed my phone to my ear. I didn’t want the others to hear my conversation.
“It’s good.” I tried to put enthusiasm into my answer, but my friend knew instantly.
Tutting, she sighed down the phone. “Come now, Bella, you sound exhausted.”
The vampire had phoned me for a catch up. The team had been working hard to put our evidence together to get some sort of lead to our case. It wasn’t promising. At least we knew we had a few days before the Essex Obsessor would strike again.
“Overworked, underpaid, you know the score.”
Looking over at the others, I watched as Dave handed Jake a printout. Some joke was made as they both shook their heads. Kate reached for the paper, frowning when she struggled to get a reading. The killer really was covering all his bases.
“I heard about the horrible event at the arena last night. Twenty people died. So sad.” Brianna’s voice was heavy with sadness, although something about her tone put me on edge.
“Oh, I know, it’s awful.” My own tone shocked me. Deadpan. So very deadpan. Where had my passion gone? Maybe passion was reaching a little. I hadn’t exactly been an enthusiastic person... probably ever.
“So, Archie said that he hasn’t heard from you. I hope you’re not avoiding him because he’s a vampire. That would be discrimination, no?” Her thick accent grew stronger.
What was wrong with her? There was something palpable in the air between us. Was she annoyed that her matchmaking didn’t work? Surely, she understood that Archie was not my type of person. Well, not really, anyway. His love of books was hot as hell, but still... me and vampires were not a good mix. Me and men weren’t really a good mix.
“Brianna...” I sighed, tempted to tell her to mind her own business.
“Sorry, my darling, I’m sorry,” she quickly interrupted. “That was rude of me. I just want you to find a lovely man. I want to see more of you, but you’re so addicted to your books...”
Allowing the sentence to hang, I gritted my teeth together. My friend was supposed to support me, not bash me about my hobby. My escape. Reading was the only thing that kept me alive. Well... and the ley line now, obviously.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” I said, not allowing her to talk anymore.
Our goodbye was swift as I shut down the call.
“We have our profile,” Dave muttered as he wandered over.
The night before, we’d all gone home deflated, each one of us drained from the case. The demon masked killer had covered his tracks consistently. Except, I was getting a stronger and stronger feeling that I knew who it could be. I just wasn’t sure if I was ready to admit it.
“We’ll interrogate the Cambridges first,” I said, annoyed that our energy was split between the PFFs and the killer.
They were linked somehow, yet it felt like we were fighting two cases. A couple of agents had dragged Helen Cambridge to Paranormal MI5’s building just an hour ago. We needed answers about the bomb before anything else. Just in case they were planning to make another attack soon.
“Let’s go.” Nodding his head towards the door, he almost kept his eyes averted.
Ever since he’d snapped about me being in denial, there’d been tension between us. I didn’t need him to tell me how to be an agent. Although, a thrum of sadness wound itself around my heart as he marched out ahead of me.
“We’ll make sure this is tight for when you come back,” Kate said, a pity smile playing on her lips.
Oh great, she could feel the atmosphere, too. If my team weren’t strong, we wouldn’t be able to work well together. I would have to speak to Dave to clear the air.
Following my colleague out of the office, I marched right up beside him. He didn’t even glance at me when I tried to get his attention.
“Dave? What is it?”
The scoff that left him made me cringe. He was one of the most intelligent agents in the building, yet he was acting like a teenager.
Waving at the other agents as we thundered across the floor, he did his best to keep ignoring me. Not bothering to acknowledge those who were trying to greet me, I tugged on his arm as we pushed through the doors.
“I appreciate you keeping my secret.”
Spinning, he almost knocked me over as he faced me. His eyebrows pulled low as his lips snarled. “Do you know how hard it’s been to keep your secret? Every day we work with Jake and Kate. Not being able to share what’s going on with you is getting harder. You are not acting like yourself. You won’t even admit that the killer could be-”
My hand flicked, sending a spell across his mouth so it stayed shut. His eyes flared, anger sizzling deep within the blue depths of them. Taking hold of his arm, I flashed him away from the corridor that currently held a couple of agents who stared at us.
Dave swore when we landed in a cubicle. Frowning, I glanced around us. Why the hell had we landed in a toilet cubicle? Not that I had thought too much about where we were going when I had grabbed him, but still, a toilet cubicle was not what I’d had in mind.
“What’s going on, Gemma?” Dave crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me.
Licking my lips, I looked anywhere but into his eyes. Could I really open my mouth and admit what was going through my mind? Being an agent had always been easy for me. Disconnection had been my middle name. However, this case was more personal than I cared to admit.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth. “It’s him, isn’t it? You are thinking that the killer is...?”
Nope. I still couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud. Dave would have to do do it for me.
Reaching out, Dave’s thumb traced my jaw. The touch sent electricity through my skin, causing me to yank back. What was he playing at?
Stepping forward, Dave pushed me against the cubicle wall without touching. Did he not know about personal space?
“You’ve got to stop running away from what’s happening. You know full well that the man killing those women is the man you’re betrothed to.”
And there it was. The truth of what I’d hoped was a lie. There were too many clues pointing to the inevitable fact that the Essex Obsessor was the son of the man my father had lost the bet to. And for some really weird reason, he was coming for me in an unconventional way.
“I have to give myself over to him,” I muttered, still unable to look upwards.
I didn’t want to see the beauty on Dave’s face. He was very good at hiding his emotions, but every now and then he would reveal himself through his eyes.
“No.” His disagreement was sharp.
About to reply, I was silenced when he put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. Unable to move as he bent his head, I looked into his eyes. His face stopped a few inches from mine. His breath rushed over my face, tickling my skin. His brown eyes delved, searching my gaze, causing me to shiver.
“We will find him,” he said fiercely. “I will not allow him to take you. You are your own person. No one owns you. Can you not see how powerful you are, Gemma?”
Shaking my head, I bit my lip hard. His finger came up to nudge my teeth. Forcing myself to let go, I swallowed. “Ever since I died, I cannot wield the magic I used to. Do you know how that makes me feel?”
It was his turn to shake his head roughly. I had never seen him so agitated about me. Was he angry that I was no longer a strong agent? I hadn’t known him for too long, but there was a bond between us. Working so closely with someone inevitably made it hard not to form a friendship.
“Being dead has not stopped you from being you. Don’t make excuses. You are perfectly capable of being the agent you’ve always been. Just because this bastard has a personal vendetta against you, doesn’t mean we can’t stop him. In fact, that should make you more determined. As soon as you admit that he wants you, we can change tactics. This isn’t about the Essex witches...” Coming slightly closer, Dave forced me to stare into his eyes as his lips moved. “This is about you.”
My chest rose and fell as the truth of what he said sunk in. This man wasn’t after me because I was an Essex witch, he was after me because of the bet my father had made. This whole time he had been using me as an excuse to kill other people. His sick nature needed to be taken down. Why not just come for me, instead of hurting all those people?
“Let’s go and interview the Cambridges,” I said, grabbing Dave’s arms and squeezing. “And then, I’m going to confront this wanker. He needs to die. I will not marry someone who is not of my choosing.”
A small smile played on Dave’s face as he tucked my hair behind my ear. Even though there was nothing between us, his light fingers dancing over my skin sent another shiver down my spine. Why was he affecting me so much recently?
“Let’s do this.”
Smiling in return, I flashed us to the prison block of the building. The security guard there jolted, spilling his coffee on his trousers.
“You’ve got to stop scaring me like that,” he said. “You’re a pain in the arse Gemma Abbott.”
Returning his grin, I winked. “I do apologise. I’ve been in a bit of a rush recently. I promise to make it up to you.”
His laughter was joined by the shake of his head. “As if you would stop work long enough.”
Moving over to the doors, he flashed his card and allowed us entry. Patting his arm as we went past, I thanked him. As he turned to go back to his post, I clicked my fingers and spelled him a box of luxury doughnuts. Who didn’t love doughnuts?
His laughter echoed as the doors shut behind us and we went towards the interrogation room. We had already asked him to bring Joseph Cambridge for questioning.
The main middle area of the prison block was dark. Lights were embedded on the floor, leading us to the doors of various rooms. Numbers were set in the doors, lit up in yellow light. The darkness was magically induced. It helped those of us who had clearance to use magic in the block while disarming the prisoners.
“Are you sure you want to question Joseph first?” Dave asked as he led us to Interrogation Room One.
It was a bit of a stupid question, one that Dave had never asked me before when it came to my decisions. In fact, he had been good to trust in every part of the process. Why was he doubting me now? Maybe he thought I wasn’t capable of staying disconnected. The demon mask was left at the same factory building that Joseph Cambridge used to summon an actual demon. There was no way that the pair were not connected.
“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll keep a clear mind. This is still work after all.”
The door opened when Dave flashed his card across the panel. The slow swish of wind that blew back my hair made me pause for a second. The vampire inside had not only sworn a vendetta against me, he had threatened innocent lives.
Straightening my spine, I marched in behind Dave who was already approaching the table. Closing the door behind me, I took my time in joining my colleague as I stared at Joseph. His grey hair was thinning on top, the sides bushier than usual. His face was puffy, stuck in the same unattractive expression. I had never seen him do anything but scowl. Not that I’d had much dealing with the leader of the PFF, but every single surveillance camera or picture showed him with an extremely unhappy scowl on his face.
“You seem to think that you’re indestructible,” he said as he cracked his knuckles.
He was staring at me as I sat next to Dave. The table was wide, not allowing us to be too near the prisoner. The handcuffs around his wrists were infused with ley line magic. I’d had to use them on several vampires before. The bastards did have supernatural powers after all. Strength was their middle name.
“Joseph Cambridge, when we last met you threatened to end me. What is it that you have against the Essex witches? What makes you think that you are able to threaten a species so violently? Especially putting human lives at risk at the same time.”
Placing my arms on the table, I pulled forward so that I was as close as I could possibly get. I wasn’t going to show him that I was afraid. Well, I wasn’t actually afraid. He may think that he had power over us because he was leading a terrorist group, but I had the better of him.
“I’m just trying to restore the balance of magic,” he hissed, his pale face turning bright red as he stared at me.
The bulge of his dark blue eyes matched the navy suit he wore. His average frame was slightly bulkier than most vampires. There had been a myth that all vampires were attractive. A person who had been changed into one didn’t miraculously become handsome if he had been an unattractive human. The authors who had made out that vampires were always pretty had romanticised the species way beyond reality. Not that I had much of a problem with vampires, they were in general decent... sometimes. The government had tight restrictions on blood drinking, meaning that only blood donations could be used. Not that many vampires adhered to the law. Many humans interacted with them and willingly allowed them to drink.
“Ever since your killer friend has been meddling with the ley line, the balance of magic has been extremely unbalanced.”
It was hard for me to keep my cool when he was such a tyrant. Not only had he threatened part of the witches’ race, he had threatened innocent lives. On top of that, he had broken every single rule in the governmental book regarding demons and hell. At least the Prime Minister would have him killed way before he was allowed to be released. That was the law when it came to supernatural creatures who threatened humans.
Shaking his head, Joseph sat back in his seat, the chains around his wrists clunking on the surface of the table as he did. “I don’t know your killer. He has not revealed himself to me. I’m not saying that he isn’t a part of the PFF, but I’m not actually aware of who he is.”
Gritting my teeth, I clenched my hands into fists. He was telling the truth, I could tell. Being an agent meant I had been trained as a lie detector. Just the slight movement of a hand or the flick of an eye could give away a liar in one second. And yet, Joseph Cambridge was telling the truth. He had no idea who the Essex Obsessor was.
“Last night,” Dave said, leaning over and holding out his tablet for Joseph to see. “Your wife planted a bomb at a concert. What were you hoping to gain by blowing up humans who were having fun?”
The slight widening of Joseph’s eyes as he watched the video of Helen at the arena caught my attention. Maybe he hadn’t been aware that she was going to make that move.
“Firstly, I’m in here, so I don’t call the shots. Secondly, the reason she would have done that is because the government can no longer control us. We will not allow the likes of you in power to determine how we live our lives. Humans have more freedom than anyone, but they are the least powerful.”
“They may be weaker,” I hissed, smacking the table with my fist. “But, there are many more of them than there are of us. One word from the Prime Minister and she can unleash hell upon all those who have supernatural abilities.”
My aggressive reply didn’t move him. Folding his arms as best he could with the chains around his wrists, he raised his eyebrows. “They may try, but they are afraid. If we had more control over the ley line magic, we would be able to take humans down.”
Dave’s snort of laughter made us both stare at him. Running a hand through his loose wavy hair, he lent forward and glanced at me. “He doesn’t know, does he?”
Shaking my head, I smiled at him. Playing with Joseph Cambridge was fun. How long could we drag out the interview for?
“Okay,” he said, his chubby cheeks glowing pink as he looked between us. “I’ll bite. What don’t I know?”
Our amused expressions stayed on our faces as we watched him. His teeth played with his bottom lip as he waited for us to answer. The canines that would extend were safely tucked away, unable to come out the whole time he was trapped in the prison. Those at the top had always insisted that we feed the vampires we kept in isolation. Their donor blood bags were sparse so we could only provide one a day. In a way, it was cruel. However, in my opinion, it was sensible. The less blood they had, the weaker they became. Even though our prison was extremely fortified considering it was paranormal MI5, there was no point in taking any risks.
“The government have a backup plan. One that would destroy every supernatural creature living on this earth.” I cracked my knuckles, copying his movement from earlier.
Sitting back again, Dave slanted his head to the side as he stared at Joseph. “Don’t think our government is the only one who would destroy us if we got out of control. Who doesn’t have a contingency plan? I bet you even have one for your little group.”
Joseph thrust forward, trying to get out of his chair. Laughing, I whispered a freezing spell. His legs froze just as his butt rose from the chair. He was leaning forward, unable to reach us, unable to sit back down. The strain on his face was hard to ignore. Covering my mouth, I swallowed the laugh that wanted to escape.
“Of course my little group...” Joseph spat the last three words. “...has a plan. Shouldn’t you be thinking about what they would do if I was captured?”
Shrugging, Dave acted like he didn’t care. He was a good actor when he tried, able to disconnect from the emotion of our job. Except when it came to me and the personal links to our case.
“Your wife has been pulled in for questioning,” I said.
The roll of his eyes was almost enough for me to lose my temper. I could see the thought that went through his mind. A lot of men were still prejudiced against women, even though we lived in a modern age. Vampires often lived for centuries which meant that they held that view far more than humans and modern day witches.
“There’s no point in carrying on with this interview,” he said. “There’s nothing I can tell you. Shouldn’t you be out there trying to find the serial killer?”
His bored tone made me surge from my chair. Pushing his shoulder harshly, I laughed when he toppled to the ground. Dave took my wrist, forcing me to break the spell that held Joseph’s legs frozen in place. As he scrambled up from the lino floor, the vampire sneered at me.
“You really want to know what we have in store for you?” His words pushed through his teeth, his lips pulled far back from the sharp incisors. “We’re going to take what’s no longer yours to keep. Come the Equinox, you won’t have a choice but to give up all that you are.”
“And how are you going to do that exactly? Use a demon?” Dave was cool as he spoke.
My legs were shaking under the table as I tucked my hands into my lap. The Equinox. The serial killer had mentioned that he would perform a ritual at a specific time. He must have meant the Equinox. The time when Earth’s magic was most superior when it connects with the moon.
“I’m not going to reveal my plans. I’ve said too much already. Curse of being an angry vampire.” Sitting in his seat, Joseph kept a straight face.
Getting up, I stared down at the leader of the PFF. “You won’t have a chance to ruin me, considering you’re stuck in here. Your wife made a fatal move last night. Neither of you are ever getting out. Meaning your little group of terrorists will fall apart. Especially when you’re executed. You won’t ever get the chance to resurrect anyone, because you’ll be dead.”
Leaving Dave to finish the interview, I left. He gave me a small nod when I looked over my shoulder. He would ask Joseph about the demon. How he did it, what it entailed and what he’d hoped to gain from using a demon. He’d also speak to Helen and find out who was working with her.
At that moment, my energy was depleted. If the threat to the ley line was real, which it was, I had to find a way to come back to life. That way, if my enemies ever did achieve their goal, I would at least still live.
