A Little Blood Magic (Here Witchy Witchy Book 10)

by Kessler, A. L.

  Simon let out a huge laugh. “Princess Abigail looks tired, perhaps she needs a nap?”

  I rolled my eyes and nudged him. “Princess Abigail could use a nap, but pizza first and then we’ll watch a movie.”

  “And you’ll pretend like you’re paying attention when we snuggle.”

  “And then I’ll fall asleep. Like always.”

  He smiled and kissed me. It was such a boring routine, but it was ours, and if Liz didn’t call and interrupt, it would go just as we said.

  I finished my pizza and then snuggled into Simon. He wrapped an arm around me as we flicked on the television. The first thing that popped on was the news.

  The news anchor sat poised at her desk, her face a careful blank mask. “PIB was on the scene just a few minutes after a passerby discovered the bloody scene.”

  The camera image showed a home. I could see Mason and Liz with their backs to the cameras as they talked to two officers that were facing them.

  I frowned. I wanted to be there. I wanted to know what was in that house. I didn’t want to be on fucking desk duty.

  Simon squeezed me. “If you want to go, I understand.”

  “Oh, I want to.” I gave a snort. “But I’d lose my job if I did.”

  He took the remote from my hand and flipped the TV over to a streaming service. “Then push it out of your mind, and let’s watch a movie.”

  I let out a sigh, but then snuggled into him and pulled the blanket down over me. “Fine.”

  He wrapped his arm back around me and picked a movie from my watch list. “It’s okay to relax sometimes,” he whispered to me.

  I knew it was, but lately, it was hard to give myself permission to do that. I watched the screen as the movie started to play across it. Eventually, I felt myself relax into Simon, and my eyes started to close.

  This was good.

  This was normal, and I needed normal right now.

  When morning came, I found myself in my bed. Next to me, the sheets were still warm, and I could smell Simon on them. The smell of the forest and rain. I smiled as I snuggled into the blankets until another scent crossed my nose.

  Coffee.

  I pulled myself out of bed and wandered into the hallway and down the stairs to find Simon, Merick, and Liz, all standing around the breakfast bar. I frowned until Simon gave me a mug of coffee.

  “Sorry, had I known you were down here, I would have changed into clean clothes,” I muttered as I sipped the coffee.

  Liz gave a small smile. “I didn’t mean to barge in.” She looked like she hadn’t slept most of the night. “I wanted to pass something by Merick before I went into the office, and I wasn’t comfortable discussing it over the phone.”

  I settled onto one of the stools and looked at Merrick. “Cult related?”

  He shook his head. “Case related. She wanted to see if I knew the symbols found at the scene.”

  I didn’t miss that he said symbols, not runes. Runes carried power, symbols did too, but not always. “Can I see?”

  Liz nodded. “Yeah, before we get to the office. O’Donald wants me to keep you out of this case if I can, but I want your backup on research at least.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Does he just expect me to go through paperwork?”

  “Yes. This is a high-profile case anyways, and I don’t think he wants Stephanie to catch wind that you’re on it as well.”

  I blew out a huff of air. “Fine. I’ll try to stay out of it.”

  She pulled out her phone and clicked a few things before sliding it over to me. I sat my mug down and picked up her phone.

  The picture was a close up of some circle with random symbol scribbled inside, almost as if trying to summon something, but there were no runes there to add power to the circle. They were painted with shaky lines, almost like the person barely had enough strength to hold the brush right. “I don’t know that circle.”

  “Me either, but I haven’t had a chance to run it through the database yet.”

  I went to slide to the next photo, but she grabbed it from my hand. “I can’t let you see anything else.”

  I wanted to stomp my foot like a child, but instead, I held my hands up. “Okay, fine. If you need help, let me know. Until then, I’m going to shower and get ready for my day. I’m sure there’s a mound of paperwork on my desk.”

  Liz sighed. “Abby, I’m sorry.”

  “I know. It’s okay. It’ll blow over, and things will get better. Until then, I’ll muddle through paperwork.” As well as work on my mother’s case. We knew who put the order in, we knew who executed the kill, but we hadn’t really figured out why.

  Liz nodded. “I’ll stop by and grab you some coffee to cheer you up, but first, I have to go meet O’Donald out at the scene.”

  That made me pause mid-sip. “What is he doing out on the field?”

  “Like I said, it’s a high-profile case. He wants to make sure we don’t fuck it up.”

  Well, wasn’t that interesting? Boss Man rarely micromanaged, but O’Donald seemed to like checking in on everyone. Maybe it was because he was new to our location. Maybe it was because he didn’t trust us.

  Or maybe it was exactly like Liz said, and it was because it was a high-profile case. “Okay, good luck.”

  She got off the stool and put her empty mug in the sink. I walked her out so I could disarm the alarm. I came back into the kitchen to find both the men staring at me.

  “What?”

  “We were taking bets on if you were going to demand to be let into the case.” Simon shrugged. “Merick was saying you weren’t going to.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Simon. “You bet against me?” I growled. “What the hell Simon?”

  “Honestly, after last night when you said you wanted to be there, I thought you’d at least push for more information.” Simon sat his coffee on the counter. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Honestly, I couldn’t be mad at him, because I would have pushed for more information, but Liz didn’t seem willing, and she was my lead. “Now’s not the right time to cause a power struggle. If the case gets more in-depth and she needs more help, then I’ll push. O’Donald is on the field, so she already has his assistance.”

  “Yes, but is it good assistance?” Merick asked. “We know nothing about him.”

  “Not yet, we don’t.” I grinned, and I knew exactly what I was going to spend my day doing.

  I walked into my office to find it blissfully empty of people. I went to the computer and booted it up. Eventually, O’Donald would find out that I was searching for him, but given my history, it wouldn’t come as a surprise.

  The moment the startup sound chimed, there was a knock at the door. I frowned and went to answer it.

  Opening it, I found our receptionist standing there with a stack of folders. “New boss wants you to go through these.”

  I took the files from her and tried not to groan. “Anything specific that he wants me to do with them?”

  “Yeah, he wants you to verify the dates and that they’ve been put in digitally. If they haven’t been, put them in a new pile, and records will get on it.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “All of this should be records’ duty.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s putting a lot of us on random jobs.” She stalked down the hallway without another word, and I wondered what job he’d given her. I pushed my door shut with my foot and put the stack of files on the desk.

  So much for doing random research while I was sitting at the desk. I should have guessed that he would have tasks for me.

  I sighed and pulled the first file off the stack and slugged through the information, confirming it with what was in the computer. I put it in another pile and continued through the painful process until I got mid-way through, and I looked at the clock. I could justify a break to run and get coffee at this point.

  I stood and grabbed my bag before I walked out of the office. I skipped the car and decided to walk down to the coffee shop a few blocks away. It wa
s good, local coffee, and I could find a quiet corner to sit in if I wanted to stay.

  Something caught my eye as I crossed the street for the first block. A woman with long blonde hair, wearing leather. She watched me from across the street before disappearing into a shop.

  There was nothing about her that was familiar, but I was drawn to her for some reason. I pushed the thought out of my head and continued to the coffee shop. Maybe she was one of the daytime watchers Levi had around. Or maybe it was just my head playing with me. Whatever it was, I needed coffee to think it through.

  I walked into the shop and smiled at the scent of freshly ground coffee and the low chatter of people talking. It relaxed me, and that made up my mind. I’d be staying for my cup of coffee today instead of taking it back to the office.

  I stepped up to the counter to place my order when I heard the first scream. I turned to see people running down the street and the unmistakable sound of gunshots following. People in the coffee shop took cover.

  I started ushering the people to go behind the counter and into the bathrooms.

  “Go, go!” I waved them in the correct direction, trying to keep an eye on the chaos outside. The gunman stopped in front of the coffee shop window. He turned and grinned when he saw me.

  I didn’t have time to think, just react as he raised his gun. Two shots rang out, he fell to the ground, and my body jerked as his bullet took me in the shoulder. I hissed at the stinging sensation I felt from the wound. It was different than the last time I got shot. I couldn’t figure out why, but at the moment, I needed to push aside the pain and deal with the panic.

  I could hear sirens nearby, and my world started to go black.

  Oh fuck, was my last thought.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I had expected to wake up to the sound of hospital machines, but instead, I woke up to Liz’s and O’Donald’s faces staring down at me. Someone had pressed a cloth to my wound.

  “I thought you were at a scene,” I muttered and tried to sit up.

  O’Donald pushed me back down. “What the hell, Collins?”

  “I wanted coffee,” I muttered. “I promise getting shot isn’t a normal habit.”

  “What about killing a gunman? Is that typical?” If I didn’t know any better, I would have said he was mad.

  I tried to sit up again. “I’ll give you my statement as soon as I get medical help. Why the hell am I still on the floor? Why are you even here?”

  He looked at Liz. “Is she always this cranky?”

  “Only when she has a bullet in her, sir.” Liz shrugged. “There were some who had worse injuries. They needed the ambulances and EMTs first.”

  I nodded. “I’m not sure why I went unconscious. It’s just a shoulder shot.”

  “Shock.” Liz put a hand on my uninjured shoulder.

  I wasn’t sure if I believed her, but I let it sit for now. “Okay, let’s get me to a doctor to get the bullet out, and then I’ll be fine.” I stood, and my body felt off, woozy even. I looked at Liz, and she shook her head subtly as if telling me not to mention it.

  O’Donald didn’t even notice. “Have one of our people take care of it while I take your statement.”

  Liz jerked her head toward the door. “The streets are clogged up, think you can walk?”

  She could have just taken us there, but maybe she didn’t want O’Donald knowing she had that ability.

  I nodded. “Yeah, still a bit of shock, but I think I’ll be okay for the walk.” I took a few steps toward the door, and the world tilted to the left and then to the right. Maybe walking was a bad idea. I glanced at Liz, trying to give her a silent heads-up.

  She nodded. “O’Donald, why don’t you go talk to the officers on the scene, let them know that I’m taking a witness to PIB for medical attention? Let them know it’s one of our own?”

  He looked skeptical for a moment. Talking to an officer would take time. He’d have to explain why he was there, who the witness was, and why I was there. I held my breath, hoping he’d take the bait.

  Please let him take it. Because if I took any more steps, I was going to throw up. What the fuck was wrong with me?

  “Okay. Keep Collins in line, get her patched up, and I’ll meet you with an officer in her office.” He walked off, and I looked at Liz as soon as he was out of earshot.

  “I’m going to throw up if you make me walk all the way to PIB.”

  She nodded. “To the alley, and then I’ll take you there. We need O’Donald to see that we leave the building.”

  She was hiding her ability. I nodded, and we took a lot of shaky steps out of the building and toward the corner.

  I had to stop a few times as the world started to spin. “What is wrong with me.”

  “Not here,” she whispered as we rounded the corner out of sight. She sighed and used magic to take us close to PIB.

  I knew what she was doing. We needed footage to show that we walked into PIB just in case O’Donald or someone else checked on it. I pressed my hand against the wound and leaned on the building we’d appeared next to. “Liz, something’s wrong.”

  “I know, Abby. Hang in there. I think you’ve been poisoned.”

  My eyes widened at her words. “How are we going to fix this at PIB?”

  “We’re going to get the bullet out, use a cleansing spell, and see if that helps. We don’t want O’Donald to know.”

  I swallowed. “Why?”

  “Because I’m pretty sure he’s the one behind it,” she whispered.

  That wasn’t the answer I was expecting. “I’m not going to be able to hide it for much longer.”

  She nodded and looked at her watch. “Let’s walk to the building, we should be fine on time now.”

  I pushed off the wall, and the world went completely sideways. “Let’s get this out of me. Hopefully, I can heal it, and then the poison will go away.” I’d never actually been poisoned, so I wasn’t sure if that’s how it worked with witches. Of course, I also thought the magic in our bloodstream pushed out poisons. Was it like when I was drugged, and it would wear off faster?

  Liz and I walked to the office, trying to keep a normal pace to explain how we got there in good time. We got into the office building, and Mandy looked up at us.

  “I’ll get the PIB medic in,” she said without missing a beat. “Go downstairs, room to the left.”

  I eyed the elevator, and Liz ushered me closer to it.

  “It’s okay, Abby, just a floor down.”

  Since my legs were starting to feel a bit like jelly, I decided that the stairs were a no go. I wobbled my way over to the elevator and leaned against the wall while I let Liz hit the buttons.

  “Call Merick,” I ground out. “O’Donald will be here soon, and I’m getting worse.”

  “Sent him a text already,” Liz said. “I’m your bodyguard, I’m not going to let you die of poison,” she teased a little.

  The door dinged open, and she helped me out. Two steps into the hall and my legs went numb. I fell to the floor. I looked up at Liz. “I’m going to pass out again.”

  And before I knew it, that’s exactly what happened.

  This time I woke up on a steel table. The cold metal helped bring back a little bit of my mind and helped with the massive heat I was suddenly feeling. “Liz?” I asked, scared. The light above me was blinding, and I couldn’t see anything. Something was digging into my shoulder, feeling like it was shredding muscle.

  “I’m right here, Abby. Dr. Greenberg is taking the bullet out of your shoulder.”

  That explained the pain.

  “Pain killers would be great.” I gritted my teeth, trying to hold still. “Is our other problem taken care of?”

  I wasn’t sure how much Dr. Greenberg knew.

  “Merick is working on a solution for that. He should be here in a few minutes. I couldn’t give you pain killers while you were unconscious.”

  That was fair. After a few moments, the pressure in my shoulder let up, and there was a lit
tle ‘dink’ as something hit a metal tray.

  Most likely the bullet.

  Dr. Greenberg’s fingers quickly stitched me up, and she wiped the blood off my shoulder.

  I swallowed as the light above me clicked off, and I could see Dr. Greenberg’s face. I was lucky she was in today. She usually only came in for very select PIB cases, and she didn’t work with local enforcement.

  “Next time I see you on my table Abigail, you better be dead.”

  Seeing as her table was a morgue table, I couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry, the person trying to kill me failed.”

  She chuckled. “You’re all stitched up. Let Liz get some gauze on it. Keep it clean. I know you heal quickly because of magic, but this seemed different.” She held the tray out to Liz. “Your secret is safe with me. Do you want me to get this tested?”

  “Off the record.”

  “Of course.” Dr. Greenberg smiled. “Anything for my two favorite agents.”

  I wasn’t sure how we became her favorite agents, but I wasn’t going to ask right now. I slowly sat up and got off the table. Liz jerked her head to the door. “Let’s go before O’Donald gets back.”

  I nodded and followed her into the hall. “My legs are less shaky.”

  “Your color is better too.” She gave me another worried look. “Do you feel okay, though?”

  “I feel a little lightheaded, but nothing like before.” I walked toward the stairs and paused. “Maybe I should take the elevator.”

  “Hm, that’s what worries me. You’re willing to take the elevator.” She motioned to the stairs. “We need to prove to O’Donald that you’re okay.”

  I nodded and started up the stairs. Part of me felt like I was floating, while the logical part of my brain was trying to keep me grounded. “Doc didn’t give me any pain killers, did she?”

  “No, we didn’t want to risk it because we didn’t know what the poison was. Why?”

  “Because I’m starting to feel a little bit like I’m drugged.” I’d been drugged a couple times, mostly so people could keep me docile. None of them felt exactly like this.