“I never really thought of it that way.”
She nodded. “It’s true. When two magical neighbors get mad at each other, they might throw a couple of tricks at one another. You know, hide the front door of the house, change the television channels while they’re watching a show. Fun stuff. Or tattle to someone at the Bureau. But the nonmagical, they take things way too seriously. A neighbor parks in the wrong spot, and the next thing you know all their car windows are smashed.” She shuddered at the thought.
“That makes sense.”
“So, you’re not mad at me?” Christy asked.
“Not at all. It’s kind of personal. I understand why you wouldn’t tell me, but I’m glad you did.” I smiled, thinking back to her dad. “He looks normal. I never would have guessed.”
She smiled. “Yeah, you’d never know he wasn’t mortal.”
I shook my head.
“You’re not afraid of me?” Christy prompted. “That’s one of the fears I’d had with telling you . . .”
“I trust you. Why would I be afraid?”
“Well, I knew how you felt about vampires.” She shrugged.
“I’m more open-minded now.” I smiled groggily. “Carter has changed me.”
Christy grinned. “I think you’ve changed him too.”
The thought made me smile as I drifted to sleep, hoping I’d wake up to some answers and a fruitful trip to the Bureau.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carter
My house felt empty, cold.
I missed Ivy, but she needed time by herself.
She’d told me as much.
We’d dropped Violet off at her apartment. Ivy wasn’t happy about it, but Violet’s nearly thirty. You can’t exactly tell either of them what to do and expect them to take any advice.
Not that I wasn’t stubborn too.
Ivy had planned on going to the Bureau tomorrow. I volunteered to drop her off and pick her up.
She’d wanted to drive herself.
Christy explained why it would be a good idea to have someone else chauffeur her, so Ivy finally relented.
Since I had to be at her house at eight o’clock in the morning, I’d stopped by the drugstore and picked up some colored contacts so her eyes wouldn’t make coworkers at the Bureau suspicious. I wasn’t sure she’d had time to think about it. She’d seemed distracted since everything happened at Lux’s.
I wandered into my study when I saw Decker’s car pull into my driveway. I wasn’t expecting him, and regardless of his change of heart, I knew I couldn’t trust him.
My guess was that he’d realized Lux was in bad shape and every day that went by made him that much worse.
Decker knocked on the front door and then let himself in.
“I’m in the study,” I called.
He smiled when he walked into the room. “Good to see you.”
I laughed. “Hasn’t been long.”
Decker grinned. “True, but I wanted to come to tell you this in person.”
“What?”
“The crew came early, and they bought the story. They never understood why there was a bounty on you. They thought Lux was going insane.” He gave a quick nod. “This final act of Lux’s just proved their theory.”
I knew Decker wanted me to be excited about this bit of information, offer him congratulations on a plan well executed, so I did as he expected.
As I would have a month ago.
“Nice work, Decker.” I nodded. “I can always count on you.”
“I hope I proved that to you once again, Boss.” Decker smiled, and I internally cringed.
“Let’s start by not calling me that.” I took a seat at the desk and flipped on the news channel.
Decker grinned and took a seat as I pointed the remote at the flatscreen television.
I shook my head as another female was taken to a local hospital where she had been pronounced dead. “And that has to be the very first problem we tackle.”
I hated to think the press was getting under my skin too, but the question had to be asked.
“Do you think we have a rogue on our hands?”
Decker sat back and shook his head. “I just don’t believe it’s one of us. We wouldn’t flaunt it. Sure, do some of us miss the hunt? Yeah. But the engineered stuff halts our cravings. I just can’t imagine it’s a vampire.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I let the Bureau know of Lux’s unfortunate end. They’d recorded it officially, and they would like to speak with you.”
“Really?”
The Bureau usually left us alone, but I suppose since there was a transition of power, it would make sense.
“I told them I’d run it by you and check on your schedule.” He glanced at the television. “I think they’ll bring up the females.”
I nodded. “I’d imagine they would.”
“What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know yet.” I tapped my finger on the desk and thought about Ivy’s trip there tomorrow. If her job was to sniff around, I highly doubted having a vampire wander inside the Bureau would help her cause. All the gossip would stop and the doors would close.
My visit to the Bureau could wait.
“I’ve been hearing talk of an uprising.”
My brows rose. “At the Bureau?”
Decker shook his head. “No, I mean within our kind.”
“Against Lux?”
Decker nodded. “Management in general.”
Not news I’d wanted to hear.
“Maybe the news of Lux’s demise will calm those discussions.”
“Hope so. I think there’s something else you should know,” Decker said, standing.
“What’s that?”
“Lux was sick. I noticed something odd on his hand, a rash or something. When he put the bounty on you, he could barely walk.”
I thought back to Lux being rolled to me in a wheelchair.
Things obviously took a sudden turn.
Decker’s gaze stayed on mine. “We don’t get sick.”
I nodded. “No. That’s not how it generally works. Let me know if you hear of any other rumors.”
Decker started toward the door and then spun around. “One more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you find it odd that one of the twins suddenly has your eye color?”
I studied Decker for a brief second and nodded. “I do. Take care, Decker. I’ll be in touch.”
“Sure thing.” He turned on his heels and walked out the door.
I watched Decker back down the driveway as unease settled through me.
He knew too much and too little. There was something going on that was bigger than all of us, and we were all just small-time players.
Decker included.
I walked over to the bookcases and slid the books over to reveal my safe. I quickly unlocked it and placed the prophecy back inside.
If a disease was going to be spread, I refused to think it was my doing. Closing the safe, I took a deep breath and wished for the first time in a very long time that I needed oxygen to live.
I wanted to feel alive again, the way that only humans could.
It wasn’t something I could explain, only imagine.
It was as if the moment I turned, I’d dulled inside and out.
Sure, my senses became far more powerful.
I could smell blood from across the room. I could hear the beating of a pulse yards away. I could taste flavors that didn’t even exist to the human palate.
But for what?
To be a better hunter?
A better predator?
A monster?
I thought back to Fuchsia and the vampire I was when we were together. It wasn’t so much that I owed her an apology because that was the monster that she’d wanted me to be. But more so, I owed the world an apology.
When I’d realized that I no longer wanted to be that person, that flawed character she’d molded for her own ambitions, I became
free.
As free as a vampire could be.
But Ivy saw a glimpse into that other thing I’d been. She believed I’d changed, and I was going to do everything to prove I had.
When I thought back to the prophecy, the thing that haunted me the most was that my father was rarely wrong.
Something was lurking out there to start the process again, or maybe the process hadn’t stopped.
Decker’s dropping a vague hint about uprisings wasn’t exactly uplifting either. Nothing felt right about his visit here, but he was the least of my problems.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ivy
I looked up at the impressive building. The Bureau was all things for the magical world and the building proved as much. It commandeered an entire Seattle city block, inviting speculation and intrigue for anyone who passed by.
A row of gargoyles perched themselves on a ledge stretching from one end of the building to the other. There was no doubt why so many in the nonmagical world wondered what went on behind the brass doors. If they knew the gargoyles were actually living and switched guard every twenty-four hours, they’d flip.
Most who went in and out looked like they’d stepped out of the Nightfall Realm.
But the truth was that it wasn’t as mystical and magical as one might think.
There was a lot of paper shuffling mixed with a lot of office gossip, depending on the department.
I worked as a receptionist in the intake department, which was mainly cataloguing complaints against the magical. I enjoyed it because I loved to read and construct stories. It only took a little imagination to turn a rather dull job into something exciting.
I waved at the row of pixie guards and slid my badge over the security scanner. The green light beeped, and the glass door unlocked. I was grateful that Carter had thought to pick up some contacts to hide my eye color or I doubted I would have been able to set foot in the Bureau. They paid attention to the smallest of details.
I could feel Carter’s gaze on me, and I gave a little extra wiggle in my pencil skirt before he drove away.
All he’d ever seen me in since we’d met was either jeans and sweatshirts or a sundress on a good day. It was kind of nice to dress up.
The row of elevators extended far beyond what I could see, and the corridor was bustling with all types of magical folk. I could smell the sweet fragrance of fairy tea and chocolates, which wafted from the coffee shop on the main floor behind the elevator bank. I decided to dash inside before heading upstairs.
The thirst hadn’t gone away, but I was learning to manage it, or maybe just trying to ignore it.
I stood in line with only three people in front of me when I heard the first chatter.
“Did you hear Lux died?”
I looked over at a sorceress who was holding a newspaper and chatting with a kindred spirit.
The second sorceress rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t hurt my feelings any. They’ve got too much power. The Bureau really needs to start protecting the rights of all magical beings, not just the blood suckers.”
“Miss?”
I looked toward the cashier and realized it was my turn.
“Oh, sorry.” I pointed at a cookie in the case and ordered a breakfast tea before turning my attention back to the two women chatting about Lux.
“Don’t you find it odd? They don’t usually just die, do they?”
One of them snickered. “I wish. I know of one or two who—”
“Shh. You can’t say things like that.” The other sorceress looked around and scowled. “Prying eyes and ears are everywhere.”
True.
I reached for my tea and cookie and wandered toward the elevators again when I heard my supervisor call my name and run up to me. She was a slender woman with very accentuated curves. I was pretty certain that a few spells might have been used to create such a figure, but it wasn’t any of my business. Her blonde hair was slicked back into a ponytail and her red suit jacket tugged against her breasts. She was a manager by day and a sorceress by night, or so she liked to tell us.
“Oh, Ivy. How are you holding up?” she asked. “I’m so sorry about your grandma.”
I nodded, feeling my throat clench.
So much had gone on that hearing a normal, decent human show a caring side choked me up even more than thinking about my grandma’s passing.
I was a mess.
I forced a smile. “Thank you. It’s been rough.”
“I can’t even.” She touched her chest. “So hard. Any thought about when you’re coming back full time?”
Still a boss at heart.
“No. I’m hoping to take my full leave of absence, but maybe I’ll come back early.”
“Door’s always open.”
We stepped onto the elevator, and she pushed the button for our floor. “How’s your sister doing?”
“Violet is Violet. She’s doing extremely well.” I laughed softly. “She’s a lot better at dealing with things than I am.”
“That could be, or she just doesn’t deal with them at all.”
I nodded, feeling protective over Violet.
Violet had briefly worked for the Bureau too, but she didn’t enjoy the regular work hours that an office job often required.
But she did enjoy the perks like the holiday party, the annual feast, and restaurant discounts.
Not enough to stay beyond twelve months. For some reason, she’d left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.
I didn’t hold it against my sister. If she didn’t enjoy herself, she didn’t enjoy herself.
My boss studied me. “What’s she doing now?”
“Violet does a bit of this and a bit of that.” I nodded. “She’s starting school in the fall.”
I didn’t really feel like telling my boss that Violet didn’t need to work. It wasn’t her business, and she’d assume I was in the same position, which I was. She had mentioned taking a jewelry course in the fall, so that ought to count.
“Good.”
We walked onto the floor where several grand conference rooms took up the center of the floor with glass walls that frosted with nothing more than a touch. I sat up front with two other women and behind us a sea of cubicles created a maze that even the most skilled could get lost in.
“Come see me if you have any questions.” My boss gave me a quick hug.
“I won’t be too long. I’m just grabbing some stuff I left. I might check my inbox.”
“No problem.” She smiled and wandered down the hall toward her office.
Only one of the women, Terry, was in the reception area.
“Hey, Ivy. How are you holding up?” She was a pixie, shorter than Christy, with silver hair and caramel skin. She was stunning, and guys always hit on her when she was on duty. They’d look right through me to get to say hi to her.
We’d never gotten close. She was nice. Both of my coworkers were, but that was where the relationship started and stopped.
“Doing okay.” I nodded. “Thanks for asking.”
“Did you hear the vampire king kicked the bucket?” She wiggled her silver brows. “How is that even possible?”
“Wow. No, I didn’t know.” I was an awful liar. “I mean, I heard downstairs, but I didn’t know, like, details.”
Terry tilted her head and scowled. “I doubt many people know details.”
“Right. True. Makes sense.”
“I wonder if that sexy as sin Carter Voss will be at the helm.”
I hid a smile. “I don’t know. I’m not very up-to-date on any of that.”
She chuckled. “I know. I could never figure that out about you. Your family is legendary, and you can barely cure chicken pox.”
I laughed. “Got me there.”
Terry answered the phone, and I logged onto my computer. It was one thing to take leave or even come in and check our email, but the Bureau never let us access our inbox or files from anywhere but on the premises. They rolled their eyes at the whole working
remotely concept.
As I scanned the hundreds of emails that mostly didn’t pertain to me, one caught my eye. It wasn’t addressed to me directly, but I was copied and so was someone I’d never expected.
Fuchsia.
The message was about some code being violated in the Nightfall Realm. It was just a typical registry complaint, but it was only dated twenty-four hours ago. I glanced at Terry, who was busily chatting with the customer on the phone, so I did a search in my messages for Fuchsia.
Over a hundred popped up. Some before I’d even left, but it would make sense that I never would have given her name much thought.
I started reading the messages, mostly complaints about zoning in Raven Ward. There were a few about illegal incantations. She, however, wasn’t the tattler in those instances. She was the one behind them.
And then I saw it.
A chill skated over my flesh.
The women.
It wasn’t a vampire.
They were being drugged.
Enticed to turn.
My mouth turned even drier, and I quickly spun in my chair as if Fuchsia were right behind me.
Terry was chuckling on the phone. The office was bustling with magical business.
And all I could do was stare at my email. I hit Print on the first message.
And the second.
The third.
The Bureau had made the police aware, but they had no physical evidence.
And they never would because our two worlds didn’t cross. You could never prove something that couldn’t be seen in the mundane world, but we magical folks knew that you didn’t have to see something to know it existed.
All the women answered an ad online in Raven Ward.
They went to learn from Fuchsia.
Fuchsia cast a spell.
Made them a drink.
Clover drink.
I pushed down the fear and printed the rest.
If Fuchsia were behind the murders, the framing of vampires, what was her goal?
What was she trying to get out of this?
I shook my head.
I had to call Carter. I had to tell him before Fuchsia found a way to frame the infamous Carter Voss. I punched in his number as quickly as my fingers could press, but he never answered.
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