“What’s changed that thought?”
“I once wondered where they were getting all the blood for these transfusions. I think I know now.” I looked over the pile of bodies. The people that were walking around as the hybrids had to have gotten the blood from somewhere. Ira had to gather blood to create the hybrid. To become a vampire, one had to be drained of blood. “Draining the warlocks and the lycanthropes to replace the blood with vampire. Maybe all the way, maybe half way. I don’t know.”
“So what are they doing with that? We know that warlocks can’t become lycanthrope, the magic in our blood stops the infections.”
“I don’t know. Maybe there are vampires somewhere that are being injected with this blood. Maybe the warlock blood is used on the humans.” I stood up from the corpse. “Maybe we’ll find out, but if we want that answer, we need to go to one of the labs, not the body dump site.”
Oliver hesitated slightly. “I don’t know if that will be allowed.”
“Can you ask?” I stripped my gloves off and looked around for a place to discard them. When I found nothing, I pulled out one of my ziplock bags and shoved the gloves in there.
“I can make a phone call, but I’m willing to bet they want us to start here.” Olive walked out, leaving me with the corpses. I glanced down at the two warlocks at my feet. Why just males? Why didn’t anyone use their magic to stop this, had they been volunteers like the victims at the haunted house?
Ira had to have been drugging all the victims. I hadn’t been able to use my magic until the drug wore off and my mind cleared. He’d managed to have his people keep me drugged for two nights, if they could do that, then they could keep other supernatural creatures drugged with an IV for much longer.
“Abigail,” Oliver called from outside. I walked out.
“They found another site, an old lab on Ira’s old property.” He put his phone back in his pocket. “It’s been abandoned about twenty years or so. We’ve been given permission to go there and perform the spell.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Where’s his old territory?”
“It’s just across the border.”
As a PIB, ‘just across the border’ could get tricky, as Levi’s person it could be trickier. “And we have permission from whoever currently holds that territory?”
“The king has gotten permission from the local vampire. They are all working together in this. It’s a couple hours drive.”
I looked at the sun just now setting. “How are you talking to them if they are supposed to be sleeping?”
“I’m working with one of his advisors. They have other people looking for these labs during the day, raiding places.” He motioned to the car. “Come on; I’d rather be there before sundown.”
So would I. I didn’t like dealing with bodies in the dark. Were there even bodies?
“Did they say how many bodies?”
“They said there were a couple skeletons.”
“Well, at least it’ll smell better.” I climbed into the car.
Oliver got in on the driver’s side. “That’s one perk of it. Think we’ll learn something from it?”
“Twenty years ago? Maybe, the one at the haunted house was ten. The shack on that property was older than that and Levi was talking to Ira about stopping the experiments. So yeah, I think we can learn something.”
He started the car and pulled away from the building. “So now we know they are dumping the bodies of those who don’t survive.”
“Makes you wonder what the ratio is of dead to blood-starved.” I looked out the window. “I’m not entirely sure that what he’s trying to achieve is possible.”
“Did PIB get their hands on a couple of the blood-starved?”
I looked at him. “More than a couple, we managed to round up a horde of them. They were sent to the containment unit though and weren’t mine to deal with.”
“Do you have access to them at all?”
“Assuming they weren’t executed, I might be able to gain access, but not without reason. Since there hasn’t been a PIB case concerning them, I have no reason.”
“What if I sneak you into the containment center?”
“I’d lose my job. Besides, I thought you wanted PIB far away from this.”
He twisted his hands on the wheel. “The king wants PIB far away from this. I want my niece far away from this.”
“I don’t know why.”
“Maybe because I don’t want you to end up as one of his experiments.”
“I’m female, there have only been male victims.”
“For now.” He said and silence surrounded us as we let that thought sink in.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
By the time we got to the old brick house, the sun had sunk completely across the horizon. Oliver and I both got out of the car. Levi stood on the whitewashed wraparound patio of the house. Dead vines crawled over the pillars that held the roof up. Levi was dressed in a button-down shirt and crooked tie, with black slacks and shined up shoes.
“A bit fancy to be exploring an old lab.” I motioned to him. “I missed the dress code memo.”
His lips pulled up in a small smile. “Hello, Abigail.”
“Levi.” I nodded, making sure to keep myself professional. When working for him, we both ignored the fact that I was his adopted daughter. It made things less complicated.
“Oliver, thank you for bringing her here. You’re dismissed.” Levi shot Oliver a glare. “We’ll keep you informed of what we learn here.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.” Oliver stepped up. “She needs me to help her with the trace spell. It’s still a new spell to her, and if she loses control, there’s no telling what will happen.”
“He’s right, Levi. I’ve only done this spell once with help, at least on this big of an area and this type of timeline. I need Oliver’s help.”
Levi was silent for a moment, looking between the two of us. “Fine, but Abigail takes the lead. I want her to control the circle.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. The circle should have belonged to both of us if we were both working the magic. Me having control of it could be dangerous if I lost control. It still posed the same risk.
“That’s fine; I’m confident Abigail can do it.” Oliver nodded. “But I won’t put her at risk by letting her do this alone.”
Levi sneered. “Suddenly the protective uncle.”
“I’ve always wanted to protect her. This is not the time to discuss this. Let’s do the spell, get Abigail’s insight, and then send her home.”
“That sounds like a plan to me, that way I don’t have to deal with your bickering. You didn’t want me here in the first place.”
“But now I need your expertise.” Levi nodded. “Spell, briefing, then home. And I mean the mansion.”
I opened my mouth to argue, and Oliver put a hand on my shoulder. “He’s worried about Ira.”
But I had Merick back at my house. Levi didn’t know about that though. “What about my cat?”
I swore Oliver choked behind me. Levi shook his head. “Have Simon pick him up and drop him off at the mansion.”
“You didn’t want me here because it puts a big target on my back. Well…a bigger one.”
Levi nodded. “Yes.” He motioned to the house. “You and Oliver work your spell.”
I walked into the house. A few skeletons were piled in the corner, and makeshift beds were strewn through the room. Chains hung from each one and IV stands had fallen to the wayside. “Twenty years ago?”
“Maybe a little more than that. We don’t know how long he stayed in the territory after he surrendered it.”
“You guys didn’t keep very good track of him for knowing he was experimenting on supernatural creatures. How did he slip through the king’s grasp?”
Both Levi and Oliver hissed behind me.
“Sorry, forgot. I’ll shut up now. What are we hoping to discover here?”
“Anything that will give u
s an idea on where Ira is hiding, what else he might be planning.”
“You know, a fresher scene would be better for this.” I glanced behind me at Levi. “Or are you worried Ira might show up?”
He nodded. “Wouldn’t that solve our problem?” I asked. “He comes, you get him, everything ends.”
“It’s not as simple as that.” Levi motioned. “Please, Abigail.”
I huffed and turned to the room. “Alright, Oliver.” I pulled my bag in front of me and dug for my chalk. Oliver put his hand on my arm. “No physical circle. We don’t want to leave evidence that the king has a witch working for him.”
“I’ve only done this with a physical circle.” I didn’t trust myself not to.
“Summon the circle, and I’ll add my magic to fortify it.” Oliver nodded. “This spell scares you.”
I glanced at Levi and then to Oliver. “Last time I did this was right after Nick died. I lost control, took over the circle, and spread it over the full property. I’m not sure what would happen if I lost control in this situation.”
“You won’t lose control. As long as your emotions are in check.” Oliver shrugged. “And there’s nothing here that should trigger anything. Right, Levi?”
Levi didn’t answer and I became suspicious again. Seriously, what was up with these two lately? “Just do it.”
I took a deep breath and forced my magic out into a protective circle. The purple haze spread around Oliver and me. “We need blood, both of us, to ground us. The building itself will anchor us to the past.” I pulled out a ceremonial knife from my bag and pricked my finger and dropped a few drops of blood on the ground. Oliver did the same before I put the knife away.
I stumbled through the spell, but Oliver’s voice guided me through the parts that I still had issues with. The magic flowed through us both and hit the room almost with a physical sound. I focused on the timeline we were looking at. At least twenty years before. I tried to picture what the room would have looked like with the beds new and the IV stands upright, no skeletons, but people. When I opened my eyes figures around us were moving backward in time. I saw Ira and Levi, and my heart skipped a beat. Levi had known about this location the whole time then.
“Focus, Abigail.” Oliver reminded me. “We’re here with a purpose—“ His voice cut out and I turned to see what caused him to stop speaking. The figures around us had stopped rewinding, showing Levi, Ira, and my mother standing in the room.
“Elizabeth,” Oliver whispered.
“Focus.” I reminded him.
“This is forbidden, Ira. It’s not helpful to our cause.” My mother said. My emotions hit hard. I hadn’t heard her voice since I was four and she was killed. This had to have been before I was born. I felt Oliver’s magic flare. We both needed to keep our emotions in check here or we were going to ruin the spell.
“Elizabeth, always so hopeful, so optimistic.” Ira sneered. “This is the only way. Magic won’t help our kind. Merging with the humans won’t help us either. They think we are monsters. They outnumber us and will destroy us. I refuse to follow their rules and the rules of our so-called king.” Ira looked at Levi. “And you, you’ve grown weak if you’re allowing the minds of witches and warlocks to persuade you away from this.” Ira motioned to the room. “You once wished for a world where we could rule.”
Had Levi taken part in the experiments? Did he know I’d see this if we did the spell? I looked to Oliver, and he shook his head, and I wondered if he had the same thought.
“Perhaps I’ve had a change of heart with my change of position in our society. Seeing how the witches and warlocks can live amongst the humans—“
“Because they basically are humans.” Ira snarled. “Elizabeth and Tobias have turned you against me, Levi. Against everything you believed. I should kill her now.”
My magic was shoved into me, and the circle suddenly became red. I turned to Oliver. His hands were clenched and eyes closed. I could feel his grief through the magic. I didn’t know if I could take the circle back over, but I had no choice except to try. Oliver could get us trapped in a limbo land of memories if he screwed this up. The world shifted around us, people moving faster again, my mother faded away, and I mourned that it would be the last time I saw her living. Ira appeared in the doorway speaking to someone. I needed the memories to stop there, but Oliver was in control. The time to take it back over was now.
The only way I could make my magic stronger was blood. I pulled the knife out and sliced across my forearm and let the blood pool on the floor. I shoved my magic towards Oliver into the circle and took my own grief and anger, shoving it into the spell to make it completely mine. Oliver gave me wide eyes as my circle mixed purple and red with the increase of magic.
“Just like your mother,” He whispered.
I ignored him and turned to the scene I wanted to watch. Ira stood in front of a man whose back was towards me.
“We move overseas, that’s the only way this is going to work. The integration isn’t as complete over there. Then we come back when the time is right.”
“What of Levi?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it.
“He’ll have his hands full soon. Don’t worry about him.”
Coldness started to climb through my body, and I knew I was pushing my magic too far; it was time to reign in the spell. I closed my eyes and pulled my magic into me. The shock of cold went through me, and I let out a small gasp. Magic was supposed to be warm, but if I overdid a spell, I lost that warmth. I was right on the brink of that.
Oliver put a hand on my shoulder. “I told you, you wouldn’t lose control.”
“You lost your damn head the moment Ira threatened my mother.” I cut a glare to Levi. “I really think you need to explain some things to me.”
Levi shook his head. “Not right now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but right now we need all the info on Ira that we can get.”
“Overseas, that’s all he said that was useful during that spell. You knew about this place.” I snapped. Oliver put his hand on my shoulder. “Abigail, now is not the time.”
I shrugged him off. “Now is never the time; he’s always pushing my questions off. You lied on my case with Ira before, when that information could have helped bring him in faster. Ira was able to get into the house because at one point he was welcomed there and I thought there was no way he could be involved with my parents. But you, you brought my mother here to see the monster.” I could feel the anger rising up in me and touching my magic.
“That’s because I introduced Levi to your mother.” Ira’s voice came from behind me. I spun around and threw my hand out, casting a red circle around him. His face was now scarred by fire, the angry rivulets curved over his cheek right under his eye. His image wavered and disappeared. A phantom of the spell?
“Abigail?” Levi asked.
I pulled my magic back into me. I looked at Oliver to see if he had seen it or not. The look on his face told me he hadn’t. “I need to rest.”
Oliver nodded. “We’ll get a hotel for the night and get you home in the morning.”
“Okay.”
A crashing noise came from the back part of the house. I turned to Levi. “Did your people secure the house?”
“Yes.” Levi and Oliver stepped in front of me.
Blood-starved vampires flooded into the room from each doorway, at least a hundred of them. Levi reached back for me. “Run.”
I turned and found the doorway blocked by more. “We’re going to have to fight.”
“Get her out of here.” Oliver snarled. He threw his hands up, and water started to creep into the room.
Levi reached for me, but a vampire pulled me away by my arm. I reached for my gun, but Oliver’s warning played in my head. I needed to use magic. I tried to recall a spell that would work to defend me, other than my elemental ability and a circle. I already spilled my blood on this ground, and I could use that to my advantage. Since the fight with Mi
na, Oliver and I had been working on harnessing my magic as a weapon. I hated it, but it was my best option right now. I took a deep breath and imagined the magic flowing through me and into a physical whip. I flung my hand out, and a few vampires fell back.
A hand tangled in my hair and pulled my head back before I could react. There were too many of them to fight off one by one. Levi and Oliver were nowhere to be found. Where the hell was Mario? I panicked, and my magic flooded back through me. Another vampire grabbed my wrist and both bit at the same time.
I tried to focus, and the only thing that came to mind was the red circle that had recently started showing up in my magic. Another vampire snagged my wrist as I jerked around trying to free myself. His teeth biting into my wrist was the last push I needed. I cried out, shoving my magic outwards into the room. They were suddenly gone. I opened my eyes and saw hundreds of little red circles surrounded the blood-starved vampires. Oliver and Levi both stared at me with wide eyes, but neither of them was willing to break the silence. I held my hand out, and I could feel magic running through me, a little voice inside told me to kill them.
“Abigail.” Levi’s voice was steady and calm. “They are no longer human; there is no hope for their mind, their sanity, they are trapped in a body that knows nothing but bloodlust and to follow Ira’s orders.”
I couldn’t tell if he was giving me comforting lies or not. “No hope?”
“None, the ones we captured before had to be killed because no amount of blood would satisfy them. They couldn’t even tell us who they were or what happened to them. Ira keeps the ones who keep their sanity to do his bidding, and these are just hordes of…zombie-like vampires.”
He wouldn’t lie to me. He knew how much I valued human life. I closed my hand, and the circles closed in on them, flames gathered and burned the vampires. Their screams echoed through the room, leaving a deafening silence behind. A slow clap echoed in the room.
“Impressive, Abigail.” Ira’s voice grated against my still flooding magic. I spun around, finding a very real him standing there, and threw my hand up, encasing him in a red circle. I couldn’t help the evil smile that crossed my face.
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