“Unfortunately,” he continued, with another smile at my enthusiasm, “production made a last-minute change and now we’re shooting at a house in North Las Vegas. I’ve got the address on my phone.”
“Too bad.” We ate in silence for a few moments. “I’m looking forward to watching you work.”
“I would think with your experience in the industry, it’d be boring by now,” he teased.
I flushed and lifted a single shoulder. “It’s not.” Besides, my traitorous mind added, I planned to enjoy the scenery.
Jackson eyed my empty plate. “I’ll clear the table if you want to get ready. We need to leave in fifteen minutes.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” I responded with a salute. His laughter followed me back up the stairs.
*****
I was right. I was enjoying the view. We’d arrived at the house for filming and after making sure I had everything I needed – sweetly protective, was my Jackson – he got to work. The morning passed in a blur of filming. We were approaching our late afternoon lunch time when I saw Jackson freeze. The hair on the back of my neck rose and I scanned the rooms I could see. The living room was empty, save for the owner’s sage green couch and ottoman. Production staff milled around the white dining room table covered end to end with scripts, backpacks, and coffee containers. Lights were being set in the large, country-style kitchen, presumably because that was where the next scene would be shot. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
Jackson set his camera equipment on the floor and stood ramrod straight. His gaze found me and I saw the stark fear in his eyes.
“Get out now!” Jackson startled everyone with his unexpected yell. Silence fell over the room. He was already moving toward me. “Get out now!” he repeated, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the front door. I heard movement behind me, along with shouts and confused questions.
Jackson flung the door open and lifted me through the frame. A crush of bodies followed us. An awful cracking filled the air. I turned to identify the noise. Jackson tackled me to the ground. I landed on the dirt with a thump, thanking the homeowners for not putting in desert rock landscaping. The cracking built until reaching a crescendo. The roof collapsed into itself, dust rising as it fell. My fingers tingled and energy raced along my arms. My eyes cut to the front door, where another person darted out, rubbing his face. A wild glance around the front yard showed nine people outside the building. My eyes settled on Jackson, still clutching me, his body sheltering me from the imploding home, an unreadable expression now on his face.
“Do you feel that?” he asked.
“Feel what?” I sank into his body, heart rate slowing, breathing evening out, and that weird tingling subsiding. He shook his head and held me closer. “Is that everybody?” I asked breathlessly.
The silence that followed was absolute. Nobody spoke. No birds chirped. No cars drove past.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asked, his hands skimming over me, checking for injuries. Normally I would have enjoyed this closeness, but horror held me.
“I’m fine. Did everybody make it out?” I repeated.
Jackson jumped to his feet. His face paled as he made the same count I did. He ran toward the devastated home.
“Jackson!” I yelled after him, terrified the building wasn’t safe. I continued to stare after he vanished from sight. Time stood still while I waited. Voices filtered through my haze as the cast and crew checked in with each other. I thought I heard someone calling 9-1-1. My eyes remained fixed on the door.
Jackson appeared. He carried a woman in his arms. At first, I thought she wasn’t moving. Then her torso shook with a cough. Thank goodness! Jackson gave me a wan smile when he met my gaze and I clutched my arms tight. I sent positive thoughts into the universe that she’d be okay.
Time resumed normal speed for me. I stood, shaking from the adrenaline dump. The police arrived. An ambulance arrived and took the woman in Jackson’s arms away. EMTs checked everybody over. I received only a cursory glance, which was fine. I was fine.
But what had happened?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jackson and I sat in his truck. A blanket wrapped around me kept my shivering to a minimum. But I wasn’t shivering from the cold.
“What happened?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.
“Someone tried to kill us.”
I took a deep, shaky breath. “That’s what I thought. What happened?” I asked again.
“Whoever’s using the black magic caved in the roof.”
I nodded, unable to speak now that my fears had been confirmed.
Jackson’s face hardened. “And this time, he or she nearly killed someone. Almost killed Jane.”
“This is my fault,” I whispered.
Jackson clasped my hands in his. “No, Robin, it’s not. It’s whoever is using this magic.”
I shook my head, unwilling to accept his absolution. “Yes, it is. If I hadn’t been working for Barbara, none of this would have happened.”
Jackson thumbed a single tear off my cheek. “Yes, it would have. Barbara is out to kill me. You were just supposed to be the one to do it,” Jackson reminded me.
“That’s true, I suppose,” I agreed with a watery smile. “But it was my decision to draw out the hired killer,” I reminded him.
“No,” he contradicted. “It was a group decision. This is not your fault,” he repeated.
“Agree to disagree?”
“No. But, I’ll agree to table the discussion for another time,” he offered with a half-smile.
I closed my eyes briefly, offered a tired smile of my own in return. “You saved me again.”
“Yes. And I will every time.”
“We need this to end.”
“It will. In two days, right?”
I nodded. The demon’s one-week demand would end in two days. This would be over, one way or the other. How many people might die before then? I mentally slapped myself. I couldn’t think like that, couldn’t allow the possibility of more blood on my hands. A solution would be found. We just needed to be proactive.
“We need to meet with the ladies, talk about next steps.” I forced out the next words. “Our choice to be bait almost got someone killed.” I held up a hand to stop him from disagreeing. “I can’t be responsible for that again. We need to take control.”
“Okay. Plan a meeting for tonight.” Jackson pulled me into his arms and breathed into my hair. “I promise nothing will happen to you.”
I nodded against his shoulder. “Your protection magic won’t let it.”
A moment passed before he responded. “That’s right. It won’t.”
And I made my own promise. To myself. Nobody would die. And, even if I was wrong that Jackson’s interest in me was more than his protection magic, maybe I could convince him that our attraction was real.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I couldn’t believe only two hours had passed since the roof caved in on set. This time we met in a more private location, Mia’s house in The Lakes. A quick ten-minute drive up West Desert Inn Road had brought me to her waterfront home.
Now, I sat on Mia’s turquoise couch (I guess as a mermaid – sorry, nixie – she really loved the water!) and surveyed the gathered group. Besides me, Mia, Jackson, Catherine, and Evie, Mia’s boyfriend, homicide detective Jacob Dawson, was also present. That threw me for a moment. Did Jackson’s co-worker Jane die? Dread increased as I waited for someone to speak.
“Is Jane okay?” I blurted out, unable to stand waiting any longer.
Jacob understood my question. “Yes, she is. She woke up on the way to the hospital and they’re keeping her overnight for observation, but they expect her to make a full recovery.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Jackson reached over to squeeze my hand. Catherine caught the movement and smiled knowingly. A blush bloomed across my face. Sheesh.
“And before you ask,” Jacob continued. “I’m here b
ecause of my involvement in the last major entertainment related attacks.”
Mia laughed, the sound like tinkling bells. Everyone turned to her.
Jacob rolled his eyes.
“Tell them your new nickname, Jacob,” she demanded playfully.
“I’d rather not.”
“Please, tell us,” Catherine insisted.
Jacob shook his head. “Detective Hollywood,” he mumbled.
Evie belly laughed. “That’s fantastic!”
Tension in the room dropped with this ice breaker and after teasing Jacob for a few more moments, we got down to business.
“Thank you all again for your help,” Jackson began. “Robin and I know it wasn’t easy for you to help her, given your history with Barbara.”
“We don’t want anyone using black magic in Vegas,” Mia said. “This is much bigger than Barbara and Robin.”
“True,” Jackson agreed. “Let’s start with what we know, to bring Jacob up to speed.”
“Robin’s demon boss ordered her to kill you,” Evie jumped in with a wink at me.
“Evie,” Catherine admonished the vampire. “Robin said no.”
Evie shrugged, but a twinkle remained in her eye. Was she teasing me?
“A new killer was hired,” Catherine continued, “with Robin added to the hit list. We had Robin pretend to be back on board.”
I picked up the story. “This unfortunately backfired, and if the killer sticks to Barbara’s original timetable, he or she has two days left to kill the two of us.”
Catherine looked at us, worry etched on her face. “We have that same amount of time, therefore, to find and stop this killer.”
And find a way to break my pact with Barbara and unbind my powers, I silently added. Catherine’s expression told me she was having the same additional thought.
“And this killer has now tried to kill you both twice?” Jacob asked.
Jackson and I nodded.
“And you’ve been able to sense the magic being used by this person?”
“Yes,” Jackson answered Jacob’s follow-up question.
“But nobody has any idea who the new killer is?”
“I checked in with the Family,” Evie answered the detective’s question. “They said the hired killer isn’t known to them.”
We considered this declaration. The vampire Family in Las Vegas sometimes used Cleaners who would take out (okay, kill) humans, vampires, or other beings that were a threat to the Family. Taking the Family’s response at face value, that meant our replacement killer was unlikely to be a vampire.
“And I checked in with Alex,” Catherine added. “He said he’s not aware of any nonhuman supernatural being in town who’s been hired for a contract killing, nor have his contacts heard any rumblings.” If her half-incubus boyfriend, who had an in with most of the supernatural underworld, said the hired killer wasn’t a nonhuman supernatural being, that was probably accurate.
“What does that leave us?” I asked.
“A human witch, as I suspected,” Jackson answered with a scowl.
“Using you guys as bait turned out to be too dangerous,” Mia said. “Does anybody have any ideas about what we can do next? Jacob?”
“Using the media to draw out the last killer worked,” he answered. Mia blanched. He took her hand, and she smiled at the offered comfort. From what I understood, it had hit her hard earlier this year, when she killed a djinn in self-defense to protect Jacob.
“How can we do something like that with Liz this time?” Catherine asked.
Elizabeth Addison, co-host of the popular morning show, Entertainment Daily, had directly challenged the djinn on her show to lure her out. It had worked and the killing was stopped. Of course, her expose outing the supernatural underworld shortly followed. As far as I knew, nobody liked her anymore.
“Is she still doing that ridiculous Mythical Being of the Week segment on the show?” Catherine rolled her eyes.
“Unfortunately, yes. I believe it’s the highest rated story every time,” Mia answered with a crooked smile.
“I never should have confirmed our existence for her,” Evie groused and my eyebrows raised.
“Evie gave Liz an exclusive on the paranormal underworld in exchange for her vouching for Mia when Jacob thought she was in cahoots with the djinn,” Catherine explained. “None of this is your fault, Evie.”
“I know that,” she retorted. “It still just galls me.”
“Would Elizabeth even help us?” I asked.
Mia shrugged. “Liz would if there was something in it for her.”
Ah, another shining example of the self-interested media. Who was I kidding? A demon’s minion judging a reporter? That was pretty cheeky.
“I have an idea,” I spoke slowly, the pieces falling into place in my head. When I finished presenting the stages of my plan to the others, slow nods surrounded me. A few suggested tweaks and we were ready. Time to implement Stage One (and yes, I capitalized it; it was our grand plan, after all!).
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jackson and I arrived back at his place well after nightfall. Darkness shrouded his neighbors’ homes. He parked the car and we hurried inside. Buster nosed Jackson’s hand, whimpering.
“It’s okay. We have a plan,” Jackson assured his familiar.
The dog chuffed and sat on his haunches, waiting to see what we would do. The first step in our plan was all Jackson. He would create his force field around the house.
“Ready to see the magic happen?”
I clapped like an excited schoolgirl. “You know it.”
He walked to one corner of the home. “This is essentially true north,” he began. “I’ll bring forth my magic—”
“How?” I interrupted. Buster chuffed again, and I swore he was laughing at my question.
Jackson shrugged. “It’s not an exact science. I concentrate on the feeling of magic in my core and focus it on this corner. I’ll do the same in the other directions.”
“Directions?”
“Compass directions. The closest spots in the house to true north, west, east, and south.”
I nodded. I vaguely remembered about the importance of the Earth’s compass when I first started researching Wiccan after my parents’ deaths. Jackson didn’t buy my feigned understanding.
“In Earth magic, we call to the power of nature.”
“Even when it’s within you?”
“Yep. Witches draw their strength from Mother Earth, no matter what their specific brand of magic is.”
“Okay, that makes sense.”
Jackson closed his eyes and reached a hand toward the corner. I waited for him to start a spell or something. He opened his eyes. “Done.”
“Wait? That’s it. What about a spell? Or incantation?” Even as I asked the questions, I remembered my brief use of magic years ago; I certainly hadn’t used any spells. Jackson confirmed what I just concluded.
“It’s internal, mostly. Group magic uses spells, but otherwise, it’s often inside the witch.”
Buster and I followed Jackson as he moved to each of the directional spots and repeated the same silent magic.
“How will it stay active?”
“Since I won’t be able to maintain my focus on it to keep it at full strength, it’s like a thin layer of force field. Like icing on a cake.”
“Very cool.”
“All finished. This will somewhat hide of us from tracking magic.”
“Somewhat?”
“If someone’s motivated enough—”
“You mean, like someone who wants us dead?” I quipped.
Jackson chuckled. “Yes, I suppose.” His smile dropped. “If someone’s motivated enough, they could find us. But, if the killer doesn’t know to search deeper, he or she probably won’t be able to.”
“Probably?” I squeaked.
“The force field would also protect against initial magic attacks. Any
attack on my magic would wake me up, and then allow me to focus on the force field to reinforce it.”
“That sounds better.”
“Bottom line, it’s unlikely anyone would bother to attack us here, even if they found us,” he reassured me.
“That’s good.” A big yawn threatened to crack my face in half.
“Looks like it’s time for bed.”
At the final word, my face flushed and his eyes dilated. I yawned again and the moment was broken. Exhaustion had caught up with me. With a little wave, I scurried from the living room. Buster yelped a goodnight. And was that rumbly noise Jackson laughing? Pssht. Goofball. I changed into my pajamas and fell into a deep sleep the instant my head hit the pillow in Jackson’s guest room.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Stage One had the potential to be boring. Luckily it wasn’t. Our part of the plan for day six of the Killer Countdown, as I had taken to calling it (joking kept the anxiety at bay… right?), was to stay out of sight. The plan called for us not to be targets until exactly the right moment. That meant we hid out in Jackson’s place for the day, beneath his protection force field.
But others were more active.
I knew Mia and Elizabeth Addison had worked together to stop a murderous djinn earlier in the year and thought they had had a falling out. Turned out I was right. Also turned out that Mia was right. As soon as she offered Liz exclusivity in reporting our full story when it concluded, Liz was on board.
Thus, that morning, Jackson and I sat with Buster on the couch waiting for Liz to set our plan into motion.
“Good morning in the Valley!” Liz Addison welcomed viewers to her show, Entertainment Daily, her wide, toothy smile in place. “Some of you may have seen the Forbidden Island movie production filming scenes around town. If you’ve ever wanted to be on a movie set,” she enticed viewers, “now’s your chance. Producers have informed us that they are looking for background talent – that’s extras to you and me – for a big scene tonight.”
Paranormal Talent Agency Episodes 4-6 Page 6