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Time crawled by until finally Tessa simply resorted to just screaming in frustration. It was so unfair for her to die like this when things were finally going well. She had work, she had her rat hole apartment, and now she had Lee in her life. In this moment, Tessa had to admit he had changed her life for the better and become a part of it. Heck, he was now a part of her. She internally kicked herself for only realising it in a life and death situation.
Tessa was in love with Lee.
The ultimate taboo for a witch and a demon. Especially an Agency witch. Sex was fine, but love, love was forbidden. Tessa sat there in silence, letting that little realisation sink in. She could never tell him. Never. She would have to return him to Hel and her normal life would have to go on. There was no way this little fantasy could play out.
The pipe above her head gurgled ominously, interrupting her thoughts and making her thankful that at least she could take that little gem to her grave. When several long minutes ticked by and nothing happened, Tessa released the breath she had been holding. The imagined gush of foul water to end her days never came. Barely even a drip was emitted from the pipe. The nose searing stench spewing from the pipe certainly gave her an idea of what her death may smell like at least.
Tessa sighed and resumed her fidgeting, wiggling her fingers and toes to stave off the pins and needles that were setting in. She thought back to all that had led her to this point, and she was certainly unwilling to die at only twenty two. Even though her childhood had been some kind of experiment in psychological resilience, Tessa realised that she would be leaving her parents behind, childless and neurotic. Friends were few and far between, but she still had a few old acquaintances that she wished she had stayed in contact with. Then there was Lee. Presumably he would be dragged back to Hel the second she died, since his living link to the world was gone.
Overall, this definitely did not fit her ideal life plan. To be fair, nothing from the last few weeks had been what Tessa expected from life, but this was definitely sub-par. Death by the faecal matter and flushed contraband of Bayton. Oh joy. That was if the water even killed her. The alternative didn't seem much of an improvement.
Just when she was beginning to contemplate dying of thirst, hunger or septicaemia down there instead, a warm sensation came over her. Someone very familiar was nearby, someone she knew intimately. She didn't know how she knew it, but Lee was coming. That, or she had already lost her marbles and was hallucinating. Actually, that was more likely given that no one knew she was here. Nor could they track her scent, as the smell of sewerage still burnt her nose. Perhaps a fever was setting in already from the festering bacteria in this sewer. Yeah, it was definitely a febrile hallucination.
Outside the shuffling came alive again, followed by some heavy thuds and the sound of glass smashing. Determined that she was hallucinating, Tessa refused to believe she was being rescued until the flimsy tin door burst open under the pressure of a very heavy boot. Her heart leapt as Lee strode into the room, a green powder vial ready in one hand and a bloody knife in the other.
'Lee!! That damn bitch who stole my stall is the killer! Her name is Ramona and... ohhhh get me outta here, it stinks so bad,' she finished pleading, not wanting to be stuck there any longer. Tear stained, mascara streaked, with most of her red locks caught in the tape housing her shaking body, Tessa was acutely aware that this was not her greatest moment. Lee smiled and nodded, stuffing the vial into his back pocket before hauling her gently out of the gutter.
'Blegh, you sure do stink there Hel Cat,' he teased, wrinkling his nose. Tessa grimaced, slightly embarrassed by the smell. Lee used his knife to delicately and carefully cut her loose. Soon she was up and about, sorely lacking the hairs on any exposed flesh and gently feeling her smashed nose. She carefully coaxed it back into place, resigning herself to the fact that she would have raccoon eyes for a while. Lee cupped her face in his hands, checking on her nose himself.
'That witch sure made a mess of you my dear, but I think you have gotten it mostly in place. Here, have some water to wash out the clots. I am guessing you had a few there.' Tessa nodded, gratefully accepting the offered water bottle and gulping down half before using the rest to clean her face and neck of blood.
'How did you find me?' asked Tessa, confused but so very thankful.
'I knew you were in a sewer from your reactions to it all, then I got a rough idea where you were magickally. The rest? Well, I just looked for the most walking deadies. I told you, I always know where you are.' Lee spoke with another earnest look on his face. They stood awkwardly for a few seconds, just looking at each other before Lee nodded and began to lead the way back out. Tessa hesitated.
'Hey Lee?' she queried timidly. Now was her chance to tell him the truth. Now was her moment. He turned back to look at her, head cocked and listening.'I, um, was really scared and I thought I was gonna die. Yeah, and um thanks.' she stammered, deciding at the last minute to keep her little revelation to herself. Lee simply nodded courteously and stepped out to guide the way to freedom.
As much as Tessa wanted to immediately go scouring the streets for Ramona, Lee insisted she bathe first and check in with Sir McAdams. He had already been notified that she was safe by Lee, but demanded to speak to her as soon as she was physically able to. Tessa had never appreciated any shower quite so much as that one, scrubbing away the smell of the sewer. The sticky residue from the tape was harder to remove, and the memories were probably going to provide her with nightmare fuel for the rest of her life..
While Sir McAdams seemed relieved to hear from her, he rather quickly brought up the new murder.
'Lady Bale, this latest event is of great embarrassment to the Agency. Not only has someone been murdered while we had pretty much every Agent on duty in the area, but she is a pain in the ass to us. Some spoilt brat with a trust fund from Upton decided it would be fun to be a pro- erm, sex worker for a while. So, the drug addled brat bites it, and the family is riding my ass to do something about it. The sprout's father plays golf or hide the chorizo with the mayor or something, now my job is up shit creek,' he ranted, clearly not caring to choose his words right now.
'Um, Sir?' Tessa intervened, shocked at what he was saying. The man was a pig, but even so, this seemed extreme.
'Oh yes, sorry. I haven't slept yet. Ahem. The victim is one Tasha Lane, no fixed address. She has been living out of the family home for three months now. We have been unable to ascertain if there was a boyfriend or even friends at all here in Bayton. Clearly, she didn't call home much.' Sir McAdams had to stop and have a wheeze before continuing. 'So, she must have been made from tougher material than the last woman. As I am sure you are aware, the spell appears to be successful. Now you say you know who this is Lady Bale?' he asked, hinting that she had better have answers for him. Tessa sighed with exhaustion.
'Yes Sir. She is a woman called Ramona. Red hair. I need all the information about any woman matching that description you can dig up in either Bayton or Upton. I suspect she comes from either city. Perhaps the mundane systems will be useful too, as she said she was missed by the Agency testing', reported Tessa in a nasal tone that sounded bratty, thanks to her injuries.
'I see, any more information you could give me? It will be hard to narrow that down to the 700,000 people in Bayton alone.' As much as it irritated Tessa, he was correct. Red headed Ramona was not enough to go on.
'Let's see, Tall, maybe five foot ten, slender. Oh, greenish eyes too. Slight accent but not enough to tell where it’s from. I don't remember any tattoos but she did have a small birth mark on the back of her left hand. I saw it as she was slapping me in the face with that hand. Heh,' Tessa smirked, still feeling the pain from her nose. The delicate skin around her eyes was already turning a deep purple.
'Oh, erm, yes, well. I shall get the Agency files pulled and contact the mundane police for information. Depending on them I should have it by tomorrow afternoon. Hmm I will get that daft intern to dig through the Agency testing records too. What's his name?' Sir McAdams was beginning to sound confused again, so he had to be feeling better.
'You mean Scottie? He stuck around after the tongue incident?' Tessa asked, eliciting a chuckle from Sir McAdams.
'Apparently. Kid must be determined. Perhaps I should assign you to be his field work mentor, give him a good test. Ah, I must go, the lawyers from Ms Lane's family are back. God-damn...' Sir McAdams promptly hung up the phone. Tessa sat a moment to think.
A murder occurring while the Agency patrolled the area was highly embarrassing and jobs along with respect may be lost as a result. She just had to hope that it wasn't hers. Tessa really had no idea of what else she may do for employment if she did lose her job so soon after stepping out of her internship. She had never really been a ten-year plan kinda gal, but this was too risky.
Lee had been pacing the room like a caged wolf since they had gotten home, seeming angry but thoughtful. Every now and then he scratched his horns or stroked his chin, but he never ceased his pacing. When Tessa got off the phone the barrage of questions started.
'So, what did he say?'
'Well, the latest kid was from a rich family from the trendy part of Upton. The lawyers are grinding Sir McAdams, so he is grinding me,” Tessa replied, flopping down onto the couch.
'Lawyers? From the victim?” he asked, cocking his head in confusion. Tessa nodded, remembering that he had not been summoned since the 1950's.
“It is starting to be standard practice. If you are rich enough you pay your lawyer to hassle law enforcement, so they are forced to drop everything to pursue the one case. The fear of negative press always works well. It is a little annoying, but I guess they have the money to be annoying,” Tessa quipped as Lee snorted with morbid laughter.
“So, we have to shift it. Got it. What next?”
“Well if you remember where that sewer room is, I guess we had better check it out tomorrow. In the evening, we will have to case out the market and see if that bitch... witch Ramona returns for another shift. Those are probably our best bets right now. The mundane cops will probably take at least a day to get back with their info on Ramona. Forensics for Tasha should come in tomorrow too but I am pretty sure there won't be anything new. Just another little baggie of evil and plenty of carving.” Tessa went quiet for a moment as she tried to think of a plan. “You know, I am really tired and freaked out right now. Thanks for not letting me go running out for revenge Lee. I doubt I would have made it to the next block,” Tessa spoke apologetically, realising that he understood her far more than she understood herself at times. She felt exhausted now that the rush of being abducted and subsequently rescued had worn off. Her body had chewed through the adrenalin and was now crashing badly.
Yawning and rubbing her burning eyes, Tessa allowed Lee to walk her to the bedroom. He even undressed her, put her snuggliest pyjamas on and tucked her into bed. As she slumbered he gazed at her tired face. His little hellion looked so serene now.
He had been paralysed with fear when Sir McAdams had waddled up to the crime scene, shouting about a phone call, a thump and finally managing to communicate that Tessa had been potentially taken by the murderer. Time seemed to slow, an icy shock ran through his chest as he begged Sir McAdams to give him more information. It had been pure blind panic, a savage thing. The severity of his reaction had worried him as much then as it did now. This was more than just the standard concern for his summoning witch. He lay down beside her, just as exhausted from many long hours of searching for Tessa.