Her soul captured by the dark.
For the first two parts, they alternated lines, their rhythm eerily in sync and voices never losing their haunting melody. The final third was said in unison, their volume increasing with each new line until the prophecy echoed throughout the room, its presence overwhelming. As soon as the last word left their lips, their eyes flashed back to their usual colors. Thank fuck, because I was never going to lose the memory of their fogged over eyes. Shadow figures and black eyes? Scary, yeah, but those white eyes? I’ll never get over that. Nightmares, here I come!
“Are you two okay? For the love of the moon, that was the most intense and creepiest thing I have ever experienced. I’m sweating.” I used my hand to fan my face.
“It was by far the most intense vision we have ever had. It truly is like being possessed by the stars to relay their wishes.” Matilda took a small napkin out of her purse, dabbing at her damp face and wiping her thin nose.
“So bizarre how the stars were able to manifest their forms into ethereal beings like that. They were a thousand times more disturbing than I would have ever dreamed. If I’m being honest, I thought they’d be sparkling and radiating light.” I was talking so fast, my mouth expelling thoughts quicker than my mind had time to process them.
“By the stars, child. What are you going on about?” Roberta’s exasperation had my brain coming to a screeching halt. Both women were now staring at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe I had.
“Uh... those figures that were in here?” My hands moved to mimic the shape of the shadows as they watched me incredulously. “You didn’t see them or hear them?” I questioned, feeling more and more alarmed with each second they continued to look at me with wariness and another emotion I couldn’t place.
“No, Saige. It was just us here.” The two women exchanged a glance with eyebrows cocked. Better start to backpedal now...
“I must have dozed off then. I haven’t been sleeping the greatest the past couple of weeks.” That wasn’t completely a lie; I was having restless sleep. My dreams had started becoming darker, and I was remembering more of the details than ever before. Maybe I should mix up a batch of Dreamless Drops and see if that helps.
“Well, dear girl, do you understand now why it was paramount we share this information with you as soon as possible?” Matilda asked me, her face serious.
“Yes, but what about this makes you think it’s referring to me? Prophecies are notorious for being misunderstood and in some cases, completely made up,” I queried. The vision had unsettled me, and I needed to know what had pointed them in my direction.
Matilda scoffed, seemingly frustrated at my skepticism. Roberta laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder in a calming gesture before explaining, “The fact that this information came to us when we ran into your boyfriend, Sloane, is one the largest clues. It speaks of a witch and five mates. Four of them are here, and all four are interested in you, if word on the street is any good these days. You’re twenty-seven, and the prophecy speaks of the year two and eight. Your birthday is approaching, isn’t it? Next month, right?”
“Yes, yes, her birthday is June twenty-fourth. I could never forget it! My little Poopsie shares the same glorious date of birth,” Matilda giggled.
My life is now complete. I share a birthday with a giant cat named Poopsie. Will the blessings never cease?
Holding up a finger, I set out to correct their misconceptions over my non-relationship with all of the men. “Ladies, I don’t have any boyfriends, zero. I’m not involved with any of the men staying above the shop, and even if I were, the prophecy speaks of five mates, not four. So unless one of them is hiding a sexy identical twin upstairs, you’re grasping at straws.”
“Saige, you’re being far too nonchalant about all of this. The urge we feel pushing us to be here, telling you this information, is incredibly forceful. Just be on guard, okay? Relay the information to Bette, and perhaps she will have thoughts on it.” There’s definitely no convincing them. I might disagree with their concerns, but I saw no reason to upset them. Making some placating noises, I assured them as best I could.
Rising out of our chairs, I escorted them to the front of the store, giving each of them a small bag of different herbs as a thank you for their time. I’d known them my entire life, and they truly were sweet women, so I thanked them repeatedly and gave a few hugs to smooth out any ruffled feathers.
The door closed behind them, and I let out the biggest exhale before proclaiming to the empty store, “What the FUCK?”
There had been moving shadows, talking moving shadows, in my store, and despite the fact that I’d just downplayed the whole prophecy bullshit, a small part of me was on edge. Losing my soul to the darkness? No, thank you. Why did they say I was the one, and what King was going to be pleased that they’d found me? Now I had to figure out what was going on with the plants in this town, what the hell this prophecy was all about, and find a subtle way to ask Gran about shadow creatures, with motherfucking horns. Great.
Fischer and I were tearing down the winding country roads that would lead us to Kingstown. His adrenaline-loving ass had just let off the throttle and dropped the clutch, his bike screaming out a roar as he blew past me, dirt clouds flying up in his wake. Fish’s whoop of excitement brought a smile to my lips. Dude was wound so tightly ninety percent of the time that any activity he could find to give him a reprieve was more than welcomed.
The warehouse was located on the outskirts of the city, but after ten years in our line of work, you learned really fucking fast that you never knew who was watching. We’d arranged to meet the real estate agent at seven to ensure there weren’t a ton of people out and about.
Keeping a leisurely pace behind him, I let my mind drift to the mission. It was hard to believe we had been in Emerald Lakes for just about a week. Operation Oldies was in full swing, and it was going swimmingly. Old people love good old Sloaney. I’d learned a shit ton of information about the town. I still wasn’t sure that everything was pertinent, like how Alfred Tillerson was moonlighting in the next town over as a drag witch every other weekend, or how the two seers, who I swear to the gods looked like the sisters from Coraline, told me that they were working on decoding a prophecy from the stars. They’d said their last key piece of information could only be found on my abs. Bet your ass I showed those old broads my muscles.
Perhaps my most useful informant was a man named Randy. Randy Roger, seventy-three years old and one very interesting man. His fashion sense was straight out of the nineteen seventies, and his hair matched. He could talk for days, and he seemed to have almost a compulsion to touch you at any opportunity. I would’ve been more skeeved about that, but I’d followed him around town the other day, and he did it to everybody. Not being singled out on the man’s people-I-must-touch list was perfectly fine with me, especially after seeing him thoroughly inspecting the cucumber and zucchini selection at the grocery store. When he saw me looking, he winked and made a lewd gesture with the veggies. As I shook my head in exasperation, he’d lifted his hands, a foot-long cucumber in each one, and began wielding them like they were weapons.
Now, I’d like to say that I did not engage this lunatic in an epic battle of vegetable weapons in the middle of a grocery store. I’d also like to say that we weren’t both covered in a slew of exploded produce and that I didn’t have a red mark across my cheek that oddly resembled a cock thanks to underestimating the stealth of that Randy asshole, but those would all be lies. I did what I had to do, and now that I had earned the respect and admiration of the mage, he was in my pocket. After our fight, he’d laughed like a madman, snapped his fingers, and the store went right back to how it was before. That was a cool as shit power. Maybe if I stay on his good side, I can get him to teach me how to do that.
It was frustrating that we hadn’t made more progress on the assignment. I’d reached out to Larson, letting him know the little details that we’d discovered so far—which wasn’t a whole hell of a lot. I was worried tha
t he’d be disappointed, especially since this case was clearly a personal one. I couldn’t wait to find this bitch for him. I could see it playing out now: Larson gets his hands on this woman, our team gets praised, and I line myself up nicely for a hell of a promotion. Maybe I could request a personal assignment so that we could help Cam...
It felt like hardly any time had passed before I was pulling my Indian up next to Fischer’s bike. He was already standing on the sidewalk, hands in his dark jean pockets. He was wearing a dark red t-shirt with a design that looked like one of those palmistry hands you’d see in the window of a fake ass fortune telling shop, but instead of having all four fingers up, only the middle one was raised. Underneath the hand it said, ‘Fuck the stars, own your own destiny.’ One of his usual thick black fabric headbands was wrapped around his head. He always wore them when he was working out or riding his bike, keeping his curly ass hair out of his eyes.
We stood beside each other taking in what we could see of the massive industrial property. The metal siding was the most boring color of gray. Well, it certainly wouldn’t draw any unwanted attention, that’s for damn sure. Weeds shot up through the cracks in the sidewalk, completely unkempt.
Within a minute, a sleek white car pulled into the parking lot and a lean woman stepped out. She headed toward us, red heels clicking on the walkway, making her legs look miles long. A black pencil skirt hit right at her waist, her sheer white blouse tucked in and unbuttoned just enough to straddle the line of professionalism. She carried a binder full of paperwork, and her blonde hair was wrapped up in a bun on the top of her head, the picture of a polished and ready-to-sell realtor. I watched as she took us in, eyes slightly widening behind her black-framed glasses, appreciation clear on her face. She was pretty, but I wasn’t interested, not tonight.
“Hi, you must be Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Bahri. I’m Sarah Cooper. I’m glad you reached out, welcome to the area.” She held out her hand for us to shake, and Fischer spoke up first.
“Please, you can call me Fischer. This is my business partner, Sloane. As he told you on the phone, we’re looking into this investment for our boss. We don’t have the final say so on whether or not an offer is made, but he does value our opinion.”
“Of course. Feel free to take videos or photos while I show you around.” Sarah stepped up to the double glass doors, entering a series of numbers into the lockbox. “This is the vestibule, and just inside this door is the main entrance. Everything is original, as you can see. Some serious updating will need to happen to get this more up with the times. The company left nearly everything behind, and the property does come as-is, so the buyer is responsible for all of the contents.” She flashed a seductive smile in our direction. Sorry, honey, not happening.
“Sarah, would it be alright if my colleague and I wandered around for a while? This is mostly just a fact finding visit, so we’ll just be snapping pictures and possibly a video call with our boss, though we won’t be able to do that if he knows you’re listening in. He is very big on confidentiality,” I bit out in response. I honestly didn’t even try not to come off as an asshole.
She bit her bottom lip, no doubt debating telling me no and remaining professional or giving in to my request and possibly making a hefty commission. “Oh, um, well, I’m not technically supposed to leave clients unattended at showings.” I stared her down, capitalizing on her discomfort. “I could wait outside?”
Before I could unleash my irritation on her further, Fischer cut in. He was always better at this stuff than me. Fuck, most people were better at this stuff than me. Whatever. I didn’t hide what I wanted, didn’t beat around the bush. Feelings? Eww. My skin actually crawled just thinking about the f-word.
“If you’d like to come back in a couple of hours to ensure that everything is in order, that would give us plenty of time to investigate and be out of your hair. Our boss appreciates your cooperation,” Fischer told her in a soothing tone, his calming vibes mingling with his words. Her shoulders relaxed, all hesitation no longer a concern. Fish was able to project feelings onto others, so I’d imagine Sarah was feeling all sorts of chilled the hell out and ready to be compliant with our wishes. His power was cool as fuck and definitely useful when paired up with an asshole like me.
“Sure thing! You can call or text me if you have any questions. I live about ten minutes away, so I can always come back.” She took a couple of steps toward Fischer, hope shining in her big blue eyes.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Fischer said in a low tone that had my hot blood heating up further. “Let me walk you out.” He took her arm and walked her back through the door with her looking at him like he’d hung the moon and every star in the damn sky. He’d no doubt continue blasting her with his power just to ensure that we got privacy.
While I waited, I took in the large reception area; the whole vibe screamed early nineties, pale pinks and blues in watercolor geometric designs. I felt like I was ten years old again, sitting in one of the many hospitals I’d frequented as a child. Fuck that shit. Shut it down. Now. I was just about to walk down the hall to get away from the horrid decor when I heard Fischer coming back into the building. Knowing him, he’d gotten the lock code from her, too. That will come in handy later.
Leaning against the wall at the beginning of the hallway, I waited. His eyes flashed when they met mine. Hmmm, showtime.
“This is a one hundred thousand square foot facility, Fischer. Where do you want to explore first?” I questioned, giving nothing away in my expression. We’re here to play a game, and he can play coy all he wants, but he will make the first move. We’ve both known what he really wants since the moment he stared me down in the living room.
“Let’s check out the manufacturing plant. This actually isn’t too bad of a building if Larson ever did want to seriously consider expanding up here.” Fischer pivoted away from me, and I narrowed my eyes at his retreating back, his muscles rippling as he tapped his fingers against his thighs. Kicking off the wall, I moved silently behind him down a long, musty-smelling hallway, my eyes flicking to the sign hanging above, an arrow straight ahead with the words ‘The Plant.’ That sign looked as pathetic as the rest of this place. I didn’t even know what the fuck they made in here, and I didn’t give a shit either. There was only one thing that I wanted right now.
Taking a left, we entered a new room through a set of metal double doors. Stepping onto a concrete platform that was covered in a layer of dust, we found ourselves about thirty feet above the manufacturing floor. Cobwebs and dust coated every fucking surface, draping off of the old machinery that had been abandoned like some hardcore Halloween decor. Fish passed behind me, and I swore I felt his fingertips trail over my shoulder, but when I snapped my head to the right, he was already heading down the stairs to the ground level. My hands balled at my sides, excitement flaring with the promise of things to come. Where the hell is the breakroom in this place?
“Damn, this place is huge. Deceptively so. I never would have thought this was in here!” Fischer exclaimed, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous space.
“Yeah, this is partly underground, too, but you’d never know from the outside. Larson might actually want to see this place. You know how he likes underground facilities for training and affinity testing.” They contained the mayhem better, especially from nosy humans and any supernaturals who had no business knowing about the dark work Radical was involved in.
Fischer led the way, wandering in and out of offices and rooms that lined the perimeter of the work floor. Content to let him think he could take the lead, I prowled behind him with my hands gripping the straps of my backpack. Gods damn, I’m on edge.
He took a left, and we found ourselves in a large room with high glass windows. There were six tables with chairs scattered throughout the space. A couple of couches were arranged in the back section of the room, a tv hanging on the wall. Bingo.
I stepped up beside Fischer, swinging my backpack off my shoulders and letting it drop onto th
e table with a thud. This room is perfect.
Fischer set his own backpack down on the table before grabbing his water bottle from the side pocket. “So, where do you think I should take Saige on our date tomorrow night?” he asked, his tone teasing as he watched for my reaction. He tried to maintain his cool composure as his eyes met mine, but his fucking smirk gave him away. Breaking eye contact first, like he fucking should, he quickly unscrewed the lid and lifted the bottle to his lips to try to hide his grin, his throat working as he swallowed. Okay, enough of this shit.
Instinctively, my hand snapped out and wrapped around his throat, causing him to sputter. Water spilled down his chin, cascading down my forearm. His smirk turned into a full blown smile as I squeezed tighter.
Cocking my head to the side, I walked him backward until his ass hit the counter of the kitchenette. “Is that what you want to talk about? Saige?” I fucking growled at him. “Is she why you’ve been walking around with this all day?” Still gripping his throat, I grabbed his hard cock with my other hand. “Or are you just trying to taunt me? Wind me up?” With each question, I squeezed his dick, his groans igniting sparks of fire throughout my bloodstream.
His pupils were blown the fuck out, the tension between us palpable. Moving my hand from his erection to his face, I grasped his jaw. The rough stubble that adorned his face scratched my palm as I squeezed, forcing his mouth open. I liked him like this, at my mercy.
Leaning in, our lips almost touching, I released his throat. Sliding my hand to the back of his head, I sank my fingers into his soft curly hair, then, without warning, I yanked his head back. Fischer licked his lips as I stared down at him, and I felt his palms land on my pecs, grazing my nipples.
“Haven’t you learned yet, pet? We’ve done this song and dance for years, and still, you like to taunt the beast inside of me. You know I always give you what you need, but sometimes... sometimes I think that you need more. What is it? A firmer hand? A harder fuck?” His breathing was coming out in short pants now, and I knew he was close to begging me at this point. Crowding him more, I forced his mouth open a little further before leaning down and swiping my tongue straight inside, sliding up against his. Fire licked down my spine, sending a shot of white hot heat straight to my cock. How dare he taunt me with her.
The Magic of Discovery: Emerald Lakes Book One Page 9