| |
Grabbing Dave’s hand before he could walk through the pub door behind the others, I tried to stand tall enough to hiss in his ear. It didn’t work.
“What is it?” he asked, his gaze watching the wooden door swing shut.
“What did it say under the blood?” My words were hushed as I checked that no one watched us.
Several people were marching on the pavement, on their way home from their nine to five employment. Some were humans, some paranormals, but every one of them looked like they were going through the motions of living, rather than really feeling alive.
Taking out his phone, Dave quickly found the picture and showed me. My breath hitched as I read what had been hidden under the blood. When death comes knocking, there’s only so long you can avoid it.
“The serial killer has to be the man that was at the book festival. He’s the only one who knows about my death.”
Rubbing his jaw, Dave glanced up to the bright blue sky. “If that’s the case, the PFF might be innocent.”
Gritting my teeth, I slowly nodded my head. As much as I hated to admit it, there was no evidence linking the PFF to the threats. They might hate the Essex witches as much as the serial killer, but he was gunning for me, and me alone. Which meant it was far more personal.
“I don’t understand why someone would hate you enough to want to scare you like this, and how does he know you’re dead?”
A loud whistle drew our attention as Brianna swayed towards us. My Spanish vampire friend eyed up Dave as a grin came to his face.
“Hello, Bri,” I said as she threw her arms around me.
As her eyelashes fluttered up at Dave, I instantly regretted inviting my only friend. While they greeted each other, I indicated that we should go into the pub and join the others.
Once inside, my regret increased tenfold. Introducing Brianna to the team might have been a mistake. The pub was noisy because some football game was being shown on the television. Trust me to pick a night where the pubs were crammed with people watching the England match. My best friend was currently telling the others that I’d had a life-size cardboard cut-out of the Backstreet Boys when I was a teen. I was half tempted to cast a zip spell over her mouth to get her to shut up.
“Don’t dis The Backstreet Boys, they were heroes of our time.” Sipping on my pint of cider, I shook my head when Jake scoffed.
Waving his hand in front of him, he took his phone out of his pocket. “No, lady...” he said, holding up his free hand in defence when I leant forward, resting on the wooden table surface, and fingered the handle of my gun. No one called me lady. Ever.
“This is real music.” His phone burst into an old school rock song, the rifts loud and the melody perfect.
Closing my eyes, I nodded along, singing the first line as it started. When I opened my eyes again, I froze. They were all staring at me, open mouthed. Did they think I lived in pop land? I loved Bon Jovi as much as I adored the Backstreet Boys. What was wrong with genre-hopping?
“You’re such a contradiction,” Jake said, shaking his head.
Twirling my finger, I laughed when a song by The Backstreet Boys started to play on his phone. My magic was handy sometimes, especially when I was trying to prove a point.
“Make it stop!” Jake pleaded, blocking his ears.
Everyone laughed. The sound resounded around us but was quickly drowned out by the cheer of the crowd as England scored a goal. At the exact moment the noise exploded, Jake’s nostrils flared and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. We looked at each other as we got up from our seats.
Brianna grabbed my wrist and tugged, her face pulled tight. “Your librarian friends are really cool,” she shouted at me. “But, I need to go home.”
Before I could say anything, she rushed away from me, not looking back once. Could my friend sense that something wasn’t right? Had she smelt whatever Jake had?
“What’s wrong?” Dave took my hand as Jake indicated for Kate to follow him.
Pushing our way through the mostly human crowd, we headed for the exit. A hysterical scream suddenly caught the attention of everyone in the room. They parted as I took out my gun and shouted for everyone to remain calm. On the floor in front of me, a girl sat cradling a teenage lad. A splodge of red was quickly spreading on his white England shirt.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” someone whispered in my ear as the crowd moved.
My hand shot out, freezing the hooded man in place. He had gone to step away, but the leather smell of him had instantly reminded me of the witch at the book convention.
“Please,” Jake called, flashing his MI5 badge quickly so the humans couldn’t read it. “Evacuate the pub slowly.”
The following surge made it easy for the suspect to blend in with the crowd as he broke away from me. I had to be careful. There were too many humans to use a ton of magic. And, if the man had just killed a teen to get my attention, I didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life.
Kate was on the ground, performing CPR. Dave was forcing the girl to leave with her friends, even though she fought like hell. Slipping into the moving crowd, I whispered a spell to protect them all from harm. The head of the hooded man was moving with a couple of people in front of me. Tucking my gun away, I pulled out my dagger and pushed through the people to reach his side. My fingers wrapped around his wrist, my blade about to prick his skin to let him know that I had control.
The startled gasp as a male human glanced down at me, his eyes wide, made me let go. “I’m sorry,” I said, coolly. “I thought you were someone else.”
Shit, that was close. How had the witch disappeared? Only seconds before he had whispered in my ear. Bastard!
Slinking back to the scene, I tried to keep my disappointment from showing. The others had no idea about the man who had claimed that he didn’t want to fight, except Dave. For some reason, I’d felt compelled to tell him, even though I usually kept everything to myself.
“He’s gone,” Kate said when I reached them.
Heat zipped up my legs as someone pulled on the ley line. Shit, it was getting stronger. I had no idea who was able to access it other than Devon Jinx. The London line was exclusively ours, except I was the only one protecting it. Maybe it was time to speak to Devon to see if she’d been using it more often.
“Are you okay?” Dave asked as I stood still, trying to feel who was tugging on the line.
Nodding, I cleared my throat as I bent down. Both Jake and Kate were on the other side of the teen. Kate’s eyes were closed as she recalled the young man’s memories. Jake was sniffing, his heightened wolf senses on alert.
“I hate to say this,” he said, looking straight into my eyes. “But, it smells similar to the magic used by the serial killer.”
“The Essex Obsessor,” Kate muttered under her breath as she opened her eyes.
“Huh?” Hovering my hand over the teen’s wound, I tapped into his aura to see if there was any magical residue.
Kate smiled to herself briefly. “Okay, so I named him. Most serial killers have a name.”
My hand shook as my magic came into contact with the same magic that had been used at both crime scenes. Jake was right, the serial killer had carried out this murder. Which meant that the man in the demon mask was our suspect. Why would a man who knew about my predicament kill a random teenager? People had been at a football game, celebrating our team making it to the semi-finals. His reasoning made no sense to me. I wasn’t that special, there had to be a reason why I was being targeted.
“It’s him alright,” Kate said, rubbing her eyes briefly. “That weird drunk feeling has come over me again. However, I can see what looks like a mask.”
Glancing briefly at Dave as he indicated that we should move out of the way so he could take photos for evidence, I swallowed hard. If the serial killer had been in the room without us knowing, he was a very dangerous person. My hands were damp as I tucked my hair behind my ear. The shake of my limbs made me unsteady on my feet as I backed away.
“I’ve rung Logan. The police are on their way.” Jake’s chest rose and fell deeply as he looked at the poor dead lad.
“This is getting stupid,” I said, patting my holster to check my dagger was safe.
Someone was out to get me, and it was about time I used my skills to stop them. Especially as they were murdering innocent people because of me.
“I’m going to scope the place out.” Nodding at Dave, I walked away. As I reached the door, I looked over my shoulder at him. He was staring after me, a frown on his face. “Well? Are you coming?”
My desk friend had forgotten that he was now my partner in the field. Even though he couldn’t do magic, having someone with me would give me more confidence.
Jake and Kate gestured for him to join me, letting him know that they would deal with the rest of the crime scene.
The owners of the pub were huddled in the corner, crying together. The man and wife kept glancing over at us, luckily leaving us to our duty. Dave had spoken to them as soon as everyone had been escorted out of the pub.
Police cars screeched to a halt outside as I came through the door. Another tug on the ley line made me clench my hands into fists. Before I could lose my temper, Dave was beside me, his fingers wrapped around my elbow as he marched me away from the pub.
“What are you doing? I need to search the crowd.”
“No,” he hissed. “You need to be safe.”
The humans from the pub were hanging around just down the street. If our killer was there, I would be able to feel his magical imprint. Why did Dave want me to get away?
Ripping my elbow out of Dave’s grip, I stopped dead in the street. Well, dead was quite an ironic term of thought. Glaring up at him, I barely contained the heat that flared through me, bubbling under the surface. Our professional relationship had shifted since he had found out about me only a couple of hours before.
“You need to put your agent head back on,” I bit through my teeth. “I’m still Gemma Abbott, a powerful Essex witch. People won’t bring me down.”
His snort made me growl low in my chest. How dare he patronise me? He might think that I was weak now, but I knew different.
“You have been brought down,” he said slowly as he took two steps to bring himself right in front of me. “You’re vulnerable, Gemma. Don’t think that because you are the almighty Essex witch that you are invincible, because you’re not.” Leaning down, he grabbed the top of my arms before I could move away and put his mouth right next to my ear. “You’re dead, which means that your enemies have an advantage over you. I cannot let them get near you.”
Shrugging him off, I spun away. My hands clenched and unclenched as I thought about his words. He was right. I could no longer be arrogant about my status. Yes, I was still an Essex witch. I was still the main person responsible for protecting the London ley line. However, I was dead. Sort of. Just a little bit.
“You know what, Dave?” Turning back to face him, I ran a hand over my face. “You’re sounding a bit like one of my book boyfriends.”
A smile found its way onto my face as Dave frowned. Sometimes I had to break the tension with something not so serious.
“Come on,” he said, gesturing for me to join him. “I’ll walk you home.”
It was unlike my desk friend to order me around. If he was that concerned about my safety, I would respect him enough to listen. Usually, I would be all over the crime scene, not leaving until every last piece of evidence had been bagged and tagged. Not now, not today. Dave was right, the killer was out to get me.
Walking beside him, I stayed quiet as I tried to get things straight in my head. I had never been a target before, I was usually too involved in my cases to even remember that I was a person. Now that someone threatened me, I didn’t know how to feel.
“You know what?” I said to Dave. “My whole life I’ve been reading books where adventure and danger would excite me. This job does deliver that thrill in everyday life, but it’s very different when you’re the main character who has someone after them.”
Throwing his arm over my shoulder, Dave tutted. “That’s the problem with you, book nerd. You assume that living your world in a fantasyland means you’re actually living. When in reality, excuse the pun, you’re hiding from what you fear the most.”
Almost choking, I tried to dislodge his arm. It didn’t work. He held tight, making sure that I listened to what he had to say.
“I’m not-”
“Oh, yes you are,” he interrupted. “You’re afraid to let anyone in. It’s your mother’s fault for making you believe that you’re invincible. She obviously wants you to look after the ley line so she doesn’t have to.”
My boots skidded to a halt. “She helps me look after it. In fact, she looked after it before I did.”
Dave glanced up at the sky as the light began to fade. “You are her protégé. She wanted to train you so that you could take the burden away from her, which you happily did. Now don’t get me wrong,” he said, quickly shaking his head when I went to protest, “she taught you well. However, you’re forgetting to live for you. Your fantasyland is a place for you to hide, when really, you should be experiencing life for yourself.”
Shoving him away, I broke into a jog. The warm rush of air that built as I sped up made me gulp. Dave’s words had hit a nerve in my chest, causing my foundation to shake.
The smell of London filtered up my nose as my footsteps thundered through the street. The sound of Dave pursuing me was almost drowned out by my hair flying in the wind behind me.
Ducking down a side street, I was about to flash myself away when a hooded figure appeared on the road in front of me. Goose bumps scattered on my arms as I slowed to a stop. The street was eerily quiet, although it wasn’t a surprise considering England were playing in the World Cup.
Interesting that my first thought when faced with my enemy was how empty the streets were. My agent mind was always in gear. If humans were around, there would be no fighting. But right now, I was ready to take him down.
“Don’t be stupid.” Dave’s voice came from behind me.
“That’s him.”
Those two words caused Dave to gasp. I couldn’t see his expression as I stared at the figure who stood looking down at his feet. The hood was low over his head so we couldn’t see his face. The energy of the man flowed towards me. It was as if he was sending out a call to let me know who he was.
Dave’s hand grabbed mine for a moment before letting go. The slight heat that left my palm with him made me shudder. He had just taken some of my magic without warning. I didn’t know whether to be pissed or pleased. If he was preparing himself for a fight, it was a good idea to have a little bit of magic.
My desk friend had been right about me. I had been avoiding reality, because every time I tried to face it, someone threatened me. I had kept under the radar for a very long time, but my mother had always been suspicious of others when it came to me. My father’s debt to the witch had played on her mind since I was born.
“If you want me,” I shouted to the killer. “Come and get me.”
A blast of magic erupted from him. The force of it flew through the air, throwing us backwards until our arses hit the hard ground. My palms grazed against the grit on the floor as I stopped my momentum. Cringing when the pain sliced my skin, I almost laughed. At least I could still feel physical pain. If I couldn’t, I would worry.
Dave was on his feet, running for our enemy. Keeping my hands against the concrete, I closed my eyes and felt into the ley line. My mother had taught me to imagine roots coming from my hands and feet, digging deep into the earth. My breath was shallow and a little shaky as the strands of energy connected. The line hummed beneath me as I dragged magic up into my body. The intensity of the energy made my muscles quake briefly, but as it integrated into my cells, a burst of energy forced me to my feet.
“Dave?” I shouted as the witch started to lift his hooded head. “Wait!”
The demon mask came into view just as his hand flew up, sending a bolt of lightning towards Dave. A shout erupted from me as I launched forward, unleashing a barrier spell just in front of my desk friend.
Crashing into it, Dave laughed as he rebounded. The lightning that had just been about to hit him dispersed against my magic. Blinking, I went to run forward, but Dave suddenly appeared beside me. “I’m an illusionist, remember.” He laughed.
Shit. That meant I had no idea what he would do in this situation. If he could fool me, he would fool the Essex Obsessor. Yep, I was going to adopt Kate’s nickname for the killer.
The witch with the demon mask slowly approached my barrier wall. Stepping forward, I came up to my side of the barrier and stared at him. Dave was there with me, his breath heavy as the demon mask stared back at me.
“You said that you didn’t want to fight.” I pushed the words through my teeth even though they were clenched.
I wanted so badly to draw out my dagger and put the man out of his misery by slicing it through his throat. And yet, I hesitated, my fear that Dave would be harmed in the process too strong to allow me to carry out my duty.
“I don’t want to fight. Gemma Abbott, you have no idea who I am, and yet, you hold so much hate towards me.”
My heartrate increased so much that I had to take a deep breath. Was the man clinically insane? He was killing people, and he wondered why I hated him?
“You’re a murderer.” Dave’s voice was a growl, his teeth baring as he grabbed my wrist.
Allowing him to take some of my magic, I kept my gaze on the witch in front of me. Dave wasn’t usually in the field, but I would trust him not to be stupid with the illusions he could cast.
Tilting his head to the side, my enemy chuckled under his mask. “There are many of us who detest your ancestry,” he said, his deep voice muffled. “And, yet, you still believe that you have the right to lord it over us all. Essex witches are not going to last.”
“Are you part of the PFF?” Dave blurted.
“I wouldn’t say part of it...” The man shrugged.
The tingling in my feet intensified. I didn’t wait for him to go on. My hand went to my gun, pulling it out as I dropped my barrier spell and lunged forward. My hair flipped into my face as he flung his hand up and created wind to whip around me. My gun aimed as he backtracked, his feet able to run perfectly considering he was going in the wrong direction. I would never pull that off, even if I was good at combat.
“Book worm,” my enemy called as I pulled the trigger. “See you in your dreams.”
The bullet clattered to the ground as Dave shouted a spell I’d never heard. I blinked quickly, my mouth opening as a frustrated scream came out. The killer had gone.
“What...?”
Why had Dave stopped the bullet before the demon masked man had gone?
“He used an illusion,” Dave said, pointing to where a man cowered on the ground, his hands over his head.
Oh crap. A human had almost been shot. By my hand. As if I didn’t have enough problems already. The sneaky bastard had tricked me.
“I hate illusionists,” I muttered.
Going over to the man, Dave helped him to his feet. He whispered something to him before sending him on his way.
“You don’t hate me.” He checked that there was no evidence left by the killer. “And, I’m an illusionist.”
Frustration fizzled in my veins as I thought about what the killer had said. He’d claimed that others wanted the Essex lines gone. He must be involved with the PFF, even if he kinda denied it. A man would rarely pledge allegiance to a cause wholeheartedly. They were cowardly. Well, the ones I’d dealt with were anyway. Some humans had more backbone than those in the underworld.
“See,” Dave started as he flashed us to my front door. “If only your book boyfriend had appeared right at that moment, he would’ve saved the day by capturing the baddie and claiming you with a kiss.”
My fist extended before my brain engaged. His palm caught it before I was able to make contact, twisting me so my arm was behind my back. His mouth came down to my ear as I grunted and squirmed. “Anyone would think that you were defensive about this imaginary man.”
“Let go of me before I break your leg. Just one vision of your leg snapped in half will make it happen, and you know it. No one disses-”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dave laughed, letting me go. “I get it. No one disses your reading. Well, my sweet agent, it seems that your reality is more important than your fictional world, for once. Maybe you’ll start to see that there are people who care about you.”
Huh? My hand froze in mid-air, my key already whipped out of my pocket. “I... Er...”
...couldn’t look at him. It was completely awkward. Why would he say something like that? I mean, he-
“It’s true.” He kept going. “You go around in your little bubble. Agent, book world, agent, book world. What about you? Have you ever stopped to see that there are people outside of yourself who want to get closer?”
My breath was heavy as I stared at the distorted glass of my front door. On the other side lay the bubble that Dave spoke about. My books, my world, my life. And, yet, a chill zipped down my spine when his hand rested gently on my shoulder.
“You’re in danger,” he whispered. “Let us in so we can help.”
The rush of air and lack of body heat alerted me to Dave’s disappearance. He had taken some of my magic to transport himself away. I didn’t blame him, I had kept my back to him the whole time he spoke. Closed off, not letting him in. How could I? It was safer to keep everyone out. If I let them in, they could break me, just as the real world was crumbling around me.
