"I know all about you Abby. I had the records from the Cult of Ra on you."
"I don't know what's in those records or not. So can we focus and figure out if five people ever crossed paths at all?" I knew that the Cult of Ra had me marked as a target and that everyone in the cult knew the history of my parents. I didn't know if my work for Levi was in there or not. I knew Merrick knew about it, because he'd killed someone for me when he was in town as part of our truce. Worry rose up in me and anger that Nick wanted to pursue this topic with me.
I took the emotions and shoved them into my magic. Closing my eyes, I conjured the circle. Purple weaved through the carvings in the floor and surrounded us.
Nick looked at me. "Always impressive to see you summon a circle."
There was something snide in his voice.
"Jealous that I can do it without any physical calls?" I raised a brow.
He snorted. "Never jealous. Show me your magic, and then we'll talk jealousy."
"You were the one who said you didn't know how to do this." I knelt down and pulled out the blood samples. I popped the top off the first tube and dropped a few splatters onto the map. "Make sure they stay in order, so we know who went where."
It was a shame blood didn't color code itself to make it easier whose was whose. I handed it back to Nick and pulled out the next one. I repeated the processes until everyone's blood was on the map.
"Okay, once all the samples are there, add your own." I used the blessed knife to prick the tip of my finger. "Not a lot is needed." I let a few drops fall onto the map. "Now, repeat after me." I glanced up at Nick to see if he was paying attention.
He nodded and I started with the Latin words that would activate the spell. He repeated each line and once the last word came, the magic in the circle started buzzing.
It'd been a long time since I had done a spell with someone. Our auras touched as the magic danced around us and we both gasped. Electricity moved through me and called to my magic and my life force.
Nick met my gaze with wide eyes and creased brow. It had taken him by surprise too. I quickly turned to the map and watched as the different blood patterns started to leave a trail from their original points.
He watched over my shoulder silently as they continued to move. Most stopped at one house and then split to separate ways. At some point they all ended up where they had died.
The only ones that didn't go to that house were the reporters, but we had a central location for all the other victims. Excitement rose in me. This could be the break that we needed. "Wynook. Remember that street name, we're looking probably half way down the street."
"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "Looks more like three fourths to me."
I glared at him over my shoulder. "Shame that this type of spell doesn't work on Google Maps."
"Yeah, street view would be amazing right now." He laughed. "How come no one taught me this spell before? It's amazingly simple."
I shrugged. "I don't know. Who taught you?"
"My mom did." He sighed. "She was never one that liked anything to do with blood."
"I'm surprised it wasn't something covered in the training classes, honestly. Now, to close the spell, repeat this phrase." I said the closing phrase slowly so Nick could catch it.
The blood disappeared, but the magic still lingered in the circle. I looked at Nick and pulled my magic back into me and let the circle down.
He let out a small gasp of breath as if it hurt. I raised a brow, but didn't ask him about it. I folded up the map and put it back on the desk. I pulled out an alcohol wipe and cleaned off the knife and put it back in the drawer. "Shall we take a trip? I want to see what was so great about this house."
"I'm betting drug dealer."
CHAPTER TEN
We pulled up to Wynook and I parked the car at the end of the street. I pulled up the pictures of the victims on my phone and climbed out of the Hummer.
"You take the left side, I'll take the right, holler at me if someone knows something." Nick started across the street and waved at me.
Another tracking spell like the one I had used for Martha could have made this job easier, but that was a bit more blood magic than I wanted to teach Nick. That was a spell that wasn't really PIB issued either. I went to the first house and knocked.
A little old woman answered and I showed her my badge. "Ma'am, I'm from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau and I need to know if you have seen any of these people around here."
"I don't talk to police." She narrowed her eyes at me, looking through the bifocals on her nose. "Not since you all locked up my son for drug possession."
I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath. "That's not my department ma'am, I'm actually federal and I'm looking into the deaths of five people."
"Such a shame that many had to die before you started looking into it." She slammed the door on me and I just shook my head.
Hopefully the next house would be a bit more friendly. I trudged over there and knocked.
I could hear loud music through the door and windows. I rang the doorbell twice and someone finally answered. The man stood taller than me, his naked chest was glistening with sweat and he crossed his huge arms.
"What do you want?"
I showed him my badge. "I just need to know if you've seen some people around the neighborhood. My partner and I are looking into the death of some people and our investigation has led us to this neighborhood."
"Look here, I didn't kill no people." He held his hands up. "I just run a boxing ring."
I wondered if Nick was getting just as many strange responses. "Sir, I didn't say that you killed anyone. We're just trying to gather information." I held up the polaroid picture of our first three victims.
He frowned and looked closer. "Yeah, they meet at the red house down the street. There's normally a group of them."
I pulled my phone out and flipped to the next picture. "Are these two part of the group?"
"Yeah, they are. There's normally one or two more. I promise I didn't have anything to do with it." He shook his head. "Them weird folk."
"Weird how?" I shoved my phone back in my pocket.
"They were all pale and geeky looking, except for one. She was always sharply dressed as if she worked. Unlike the others." He shrugged.
When we had found the victims, they weren't sharply dressed, but I wouldn't have described them as geeky. Of course it was hard to tell with seeing them once they were dead. "Did you ever meet them?"
"No, I'd seen them when I was out running. They'd always meet in the evening. I'd see them arrive when I was heading back to my house."
Thank God for people who liked to run. "Thank you, you've been very helpful. Sorry to disturb your evening."
"Of course, good luck with your case." He walked back into his house and I called Nick.
"Red house down the road. I'll meet you down there." I didn't bother with pleasantries. I left the stoop of the man's house and headed down the road. Five houses down was the red one. I waited for Nick.
He walked up and his face was flushed.
"I didn't see you on my way over here. Where were you?"
"People are crazy in this neighborhood. Some lady thought I was the computer tech, and dragged me into her house. She tried to pay me in advance with uh... personal services. I had to tell her that I was a PIB agent four times, finally I told her I'd throw her into jail and she finally stopped advancing on me."
Yep, I totally got the better side of the street. "You lie."
"I wish." He stepped up and knocked on the door.
A man answered. The suit and tie that he wore was covered in gears and wires. A top hat adorned with a pair of goggles was cradled in his arm. He looked surprised to see us. "Oh, can I help you?"
"This is Agent Collins and I'm Agent Averon. We're looking into some information in regards to these people." He held his phone out and the man's face just crumpled.
"Please come in." He motioned for us to enter
. He put his top hat on the couch that was right inside the room. "They were good friends of mine, them and the others that I'm sure you're looking into. I heard about their deaths from their families."
"I'm sorry for your loss. Our sources indicate that they all met here at some point. Your neighbor down the road confirmed it."
He nodded and a smile crossed his face. One of those smiles that happen when you remember something. "Yeah, we all met here once a week to play a table top role playing game."
Nick looked at me. "A what?"
"It's a game where you create characters and move through a storyline and world created by the dungeon master. You use dice to decide your fate and choices. I hear it's fun." I told him without missing a beat. "So they were your friends. Did the rest of the group disband after their deaths?"
"There was only one other member, and she just up and left not long before they were killed."
"What's her name?" I asked.
"Anne, she worked at a cemetery. Apparently two of them. She said she quit because she couldn't dedicate the time anymore."
"Wouldn't working at two cemeteries be a conflict of interest?" Nick asked.
I shook my head. "They are owned by the state. It’s the same job, just two different locations. Thank you for your time, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."
"Curtis." He held his hand out.
I shook it and was happy to find that he was human. "Thanks Curtis. Again, sorry for your loss."
"They were good people, Agent Collins. The best I knew."
I nodded. "Sadly, the ones we lose normally are."
"We'll be on our way, thanks for the information." Nick walked out and I followed him.
We walked in silence to the Hummer. I climbed in and started it. "Did you talk to the receptionist when you went to visit the cemetery?"
"No, I didn't. Did you get the name of the one you talked to?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No, I didn't. In hindsight it was stupid. Mason talked to one who confirmed that Agent Tomes did fall and cut his hand that day."
"What are you thinking? Tomes is human, isn't he?"
Oliver taught me that the most powerful of my kind could hide their magic abilities. He'd done it when I first met him. It was unsettling and made me doubt the humanity of any one. "I think so."
"Abby, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking it's not just a necromancer we're looking for." I pulled the Hummer on to the street and headed towards the office. "I think there is a lot more going on here than we realize."
Nick leaned back in his seat. "Why would someone kill an entire table top group?"
"That's the million dollar question isn't it? And why is Curtis still alive while everyone else is dead?"
Nick nodded and pulled out his phone. "Hey, I need an agent with a man named Curtis. He lives on 2930 Wynook. He could be a possible target."
I let Nick handle that while I drove. I didn't want to think about Curtis meeting the same fate as his friends. I had a feeling that death by zombie was not the best way to go out. It looked painful.
Nick hung up his phone. "Now, what about the reporters? They weren't part of the group."
"No, they weren't. They were at a private hospital looking for me, probably for an interview. The question is, why did the zombies slaughter them?"
"Zombies don't interrogate right? Maybe they thought the reporters were just between you and them. Maybe you weren't even a target and it was just random."
I was hoping it was just a coincidence that there were zombies at the hospital and one at my house. "Maybe. Let's find our necromancer and find out." I took a turn that would lead to the office. "Split up. You take Evergreen and I'll take Memorial. If Anna works at both then one of use will find her this time."
"And what do we do if we find her?"
"We bring her in for questioning. We have the right to, a connection to the murders, a connection to where the zombies are being raised. She has to be connected somehow." I pulled the Hummer up to the office. "Call me if you find her."
"Same." Nick jumped out and ran to his cruiser. I glanced at the clock. If we hurried we'd both make it to the offices before they closed. I dug the potion out of my bag from Clarissa and took a gulp of it. The pain needed to fade more so I could think. Things were starting to get heated up and I had a feeling a fire fight, hopefully not literally, would be coming.
I pulled up to the office for Memorial Cemetery. It was newer than Evergreen with white smooth bricks and a geometric shaped brown roof that reminded me of Legos. I walked in to see the same receptionist I had met at Evergreen.
"You must be Anna. I just met with an old friend of yours, Curtis. I believe you used to play a tabletop game with him and a group of friends."
She stood and darted towards the back exit. Luckily for me she was wearing heels, not a lot of women know how to run in them. I was in combat boots and caught up to her within a minute.
"I just want you to come in for questioning. That's all." I said easily and felt her magic flare.
I grabbed my handcuffs from my back pocket and slammed them on her before her magic had a chance to surface. "Magically enhanced so you can't use your magic against me." I snapped. "We could have done this easily."
"Go to hell, bitch." She snapped at me and tried to tug away.
It was my experience that only guilty people ran and greeted me with hostility. "So are you the necromancer? Or do you just provide the corpses and victims?"
"Fuck you."
I shoved her towards the front door.
"Someone has to be here to watch the office." She tried, her voice nicer now.
"Not my problem. Now, if you want to be more civil then I'll make sure you're not cuffed to a table when we get to the station."
She took a visible deep breath and nodded. I pulled out my phone with one hand and called Mason.
"I have a suspect in custody. I need you to pick her up since the Hummer doesn't make appropriate transportation. She’s a bit hostile, so I can’t trust her to not try and wreck me."
I watched as Anna shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"Where are you at?" Mason didn't sound thrilled, but he'd thank me later.
"Memorial Cemetery.”
"I'm just down the road. Keep a hold of her."
Like I was going to just let her get away. I felt magic surround us. "Oh fuck, Mason hurry and call Nick." I hung up and shoved my phone in my pocket. I drew my gun and looked at Anna. "What was that?"
"It wasn't me." She said honestly. "But you're in trouble if you don't let me go. Because they are coming for you."
I glanced around and saw things moving on the ground. A horde of zombies crawled towards us. "Send them back."
"I'm not the necromancer. But you don't mess with him. At all." She stated and tried to pull away from me.
I growled. I'd need both hands to shoot the zombies, but I wasn't going to let her go. I opened the Hummer door and shoved her inside. I wasn't going to be able to take on a horde of zombies. Not with a gun. I climbed in the Hummer and started the engine. I could outrun them. I could run them over, but it wouldn't stop them. In the middle of the swarm there had to be a necromancer.
I gunned the engine and spun it so the vehicle was facing the cemetery land.
"What are you doing?" Anna's voice raised a pitch. "You're not going towards them are you?"
"It's zombie versus Hummer. How much does your necromancer care for you? Does he or she know I have you?" I was grateful that this cemetery had the flat gravestones. It was more modern and probably done for easy maintenance of the grounds, but I was about to take my Hummer four-wheeling through the cemetery because of zombies. I'd explain it later to Boss Man when he got the bill from the state.
"You can't take on a horde of zombies."
"You sit back or risk being thrown around the car. You even attempt to stop me and I will shoot you." I slammed my foot down on the pedal and wondered if I had gone crazy.
&
nbsp; There had to be a hundred of them crawling across the ground. The sound of crunching bones and scraping against the metal of the doors made me cringe. My phone rang and I put it on speaker. "I'm in the middle of something."
"Please don't tell me that's your yellow Hummer going through a bunch of zombies." Mason sounded exasperated. "Couldn't you have just shot them?"
"Doesn't work. Please tell me you brought a flame thrower."
"I have a team on the way. Abby, we need more than one for this. What are you doing?"
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as the zombies became thicker and some started to crawl up on the car. One beat against the back window and I was lucky that Levi had gotten bulletproof windows on all vehicles.
"Finding my necromancer. Just light one or two on fire." I could handle the rest if I could see the fire. "Trust me, Mason."
He hung up and I hope it meant that he trusted me enough to do as I wanted. I had no idea how long it'd take a containment team to show up, or Nick for that matter.
"You're crazy. Everyone says so, but I'm just now believing it." Anna snapped.
I didn't pay too much attention to her; I was looking for the necromancer. I skidded to a halt as I saw Agent Tomes there. No fucking way.
"Surprised?" Anna asked and started laughing. "A PIB agent Necromancer."
I was hoping it was Witchy McCreepy that had come to visit the pack, but I was wrong. Levi had trusted Agent Tomes and I wanted to use that to discount what he was doing here, but I knew I couldn't. I now knew Levi had made a mistake.
I pulled out my gun and jumped out of the car. My rib pounded as my pulse sped up. I shot the zombies that came closer to me. Three shots in and they started to part from me. I knew it wasn't fear, but because Agent Tomes was giving them directions. I raised my gun with a clear shot and took it. It deflected off a protective circle.
A zombie caught my arm and I turned to shoot it. The blood dripped down my arm and into the ground. I used it to summon my own circle, stronger than my typical because of the blood. I met Agent Tomes' gaze. "I guess we're at an impasse here. You control them, but I have a containment team coming. I now know who you are and I will not stop hunting you until you're in custody."
Here Witchy Witchy Box Set 1 Page 37