by Antara Mann
Kagan raised his eyebrows, and for a split second I thought he had read my mind again. But I had no time to ponder the issue; I just wanted to get into my own bed and call it a day. I sprinkled the fairy dust around me, and a glistening golden cloud rose in front of me. I stepped in and envisioned my home, my room on the third floor of the house in Ivy Hills above the occult shop.
“And be on time tomorrow,” Kagan said, just before the magic took me.
Chapter 13
“Good morning, sweetie. How did you sleep?” I felt Naomi’s playful touch on my back and turned to see her. We were in our kitchen and the clock on the wall read just past seven thirty. I was having cereal for breakfast.
“For once, excellent. I missed being home,” I said, smiling at her. Last night I had gone straight to bed, and I’d fallen asleep with my clothes still on. Exhausting battles seem to be the cure for insomnia or sleep problems.
“Aw, that’s adorable.” She hugged me, then sat down and asked, “But tell me, is everything okay between you and Mr. Werewolf?”
“Oh yeah. Sure, it’s fine.” I resumed munching my breakfast. “How are things in town? Any big sales recently to get us back on our feet?” A playful smile spread across my face. I didn’t intend to be sarcastic, I was just realistic.
Don’t be mean, the voice in my head said.
I am not, I snapped back at it. Thank magic Naomi hadn’t yet noticed my internal conversation — my lunacy.
“It’s the same, sweetheart, honestly. And Des continues to bewitch our clientele. His charm and good looks go a long way with the ladies.”
I looked at her for a while before saying, “Not only with them, it seems. So he’s ‘Des’ now?”
Naomi blushed, confirming my hunch. I wasn’t about to stop teasing her.
“All right, tell me what you’ve been up to while I was off fighting crazy vampires in New York, girl! You can’t hide the truth, especially not from me, Miss Independent Consultant.”
“Really? You had a fight with vampires? What happened?”
“Uh-uh, you’re not going to distract me that easily, Noe. Come on, spill the beans!” I poked her playfully.
“Okay, okay.” She got up and spread her hands in the air helplessly. “It started the day you started working with Brendan. He came by just before closing and invited me for a drink at Atomic Hound. One thing led to another and… you know.”
Atomic Hound was the local bar, just a few miles away from our occult shop, owned by a cousin of one of the Atomic Kitten’s band members. It was a traditional English-style pub house, where one could go to meet half the neighborhood, hear and share gossip, shoot pool and play darts, and, on Friday nights, sing karaoke. Naomi and I had been regulars there for over a year until my gig at the Magic Council had started.
Seeing the look on her face, I asked, “What, you slept with him?”
Naomi looked horrified. “For magic’s sake, Alex, of course not!”
“Noe, we’re not living in the nineteenth century. Don't get all virgin on me,” I said, suppressing a giggle. Sometimes Naomi could be such a puritan, although she wasn’t usually prudish by nature. I didn’t know what had come over her.
“How can you think I’d sleep with a guy I barely know? I’m not a slut!” The indignation in her voice was as clear as day.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean — ”
“Gotcha! You should have seen your face!” She giggled, and I grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and threw it at her. She caught it in midair.
“So, did you sleep with him or what?” I repeated my question, slightly annoyed.
“No, I didn’t. We just kissed. And he is really a good kisser. But like I said that night after his gathering, party, whatever — there’s some kind of dark energy inside him, I can feel it. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there nonetheless. It worries me. So, as nice as the kissing was, I told him I’d rather be friends.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “How did he take the rejection?”
“Oh, he was fine. He even walked me home.”
So, there were still nice guys nowadays, guys who would make sure you got home safely even if you refused to date them or have sex with them. This made me feel optimistic.
“But let’s stop with my pitiful love life — how’s that murder investigation coming along? You mentioned vampires and a fight; did you find the killer?”
I sighed. “Not yet. We know we’re after a dark supernatural and there’s also a mysterious sorcerer involved in some way in the case: Whether the two are one and the same person is still to be clarified, but they are linked. One thing became clear last night, though: The sorcerer’s minions hang out at a place called the Hellfire Club, and apparently the culprit can summon some really shitty vampires — I don’t even know what kind they were. I need to talk to Awen about that.” He had quite a few useful old books describing nearly all the types of monsters and supernaturals in the universe. If there was any information to be had about the vampires I’d encountered, it would be in one of his books.
Naomi raised her brows. “Shitty vampires? You mean even shittier than the normal ones? Wow! That is hard to beat. Tell me about them.”
I shrugged. “There’s not much to tell, other than that they were quite obnoxious and dangerous. But at least not as dangerous as the demons and gods I met in the Veil.”
“You’ve been to the Veil? The motherfucking Veil? The place that’s only open to the highest-ranked supernaturals?” Admiration and envy flashed in my best friend’s eyes. “For magic’s sake, how did you get in there in the first place? And what were you doing there — snooping about the case?”
A smug smiled tugged at the corners of my mouth. “I had to go. There was a meeting between the Courts of Heaven and Hell. Kai, the leader of the demons, was furious; he wants the person who murdered his worshiper — the bank CEO — to be caught, and an end put to the occult murders. There’s been a second murder committed by the same perpetrator, in the same style. We all agree the killings were done by a supernatural.” I took another sip of my tea and mused, “And it’s not only Kai; we all want the culprit behind bars. I just don’t understand why the killer’s targeting ordinary humans. Of all the magic creatures available, why choose humans? What does he have against them?”
“Maybe he has some issues — perhaps he was bullied by humans when he was a child?” Naomi suggested and we were silent for a moment. Back at Magica Academy where we met, there had been a lot of bullying going on, and we both knew how one’s life could be ruined because of it. Then Naomi glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late, so she headed for her room on the second floor.
I was finishing my cereal when Naomi re-appeared, dressed for work.
“Do you have a lot of work today too?” she asked, and came to the table to pour herself a cup of hot water from the kettle.
“I’m afraid so. Thanks to Kai’s paranoia, we have a deadline and if we miss it, there will be a magic apocalypse.”
Naomi giggled, and I pretended to be annoyed as I scolded her. “It’s not funny at all. We don’t know yet who the murderer is. We’ll have to work every day until we find him, so I have to be at Kagan’s apartment in Manhattan by ten this morning.”
Naomi frowned, and slight wrinkles formed on her lovely face. Hedge-witches had an amazing natural beauty which I sometimes envied. My best friend made awesome skin potions and creams for smoothing wrinkles, skin regeneration, and so forth. Naomi’s magic could make a granny look like she was in her twenties.
“Kagan?” Naomi asked. “Who the hell is that?”
“Ugh. The Magic Council assigned a fae to be our new supervisor. You can imagine how pissed Brendan is.”
“Wait, girl — are you talking about Kagan Griffith?” Her pupils dilated.
“Yes, that’s him. How did you — ”
But my question died in the air because Noe suddenly shrieked, “Alex, do you know who you’re working with?” She obviously didn�
��t expect a response from me, because she got up, raced to the occult shop’s storeroom, and hastily came back with a copy of Forbes magazine clutched in her hand. “Is that the Kagan you’re talking about?”
She tossed the magazine to me and I gasped: Kagan’s handsome face stared at me from the cover, his lips forming a faint smile. I gaped, and needed some time to regain my powers of speech.
“Since when do you read Forbes?” I asked, still finding it incredible that Kagan had made the cover of one of the most influential magazines in the world. I knew he was rich, of course, but that rich?
He looks pretty sexy in a suit, I thought and had to shake my head to banish the thought. Now was not the appropriate time for romantic sentiments.
“Someone must have left it — oh, wait, I think I took it from Des’s shop. Yes, that’s right: When we last met, it was in Magica World — the magazine was by the cash register, and I took it out of curiosity. Des said one of his coven’s members had brought it.”
This Desmond guy is odd, the voice in my head said.
So what? I asked.
The voice was silent for a moment, then said, I don’t like his energy. He’s just weird, you know? Be on your guard around him.
“So that’s the Kagan you’re working with?” Naomi cut into my internal dialog and brought me back to reality. I didn't know about Desmond, but the mental conversations I was having with myself were getting pretty freaking weird. But Awen knew best, and he had advised me to listen to my inner voice. For magic’s sake, why did I have this gift — this thing, whatever it was? Why did I have to be so different?
I cleared my throat and turned to Naomi. “Yes, that’s him indeed.” I suddenly felt a lump at the back of my throat. “What is he doing on the cover of Forbes, anyway?”
“Griffith Enterprises is one of the country’s richest companies, and your fae boss is — let’s see here… number fifty-seven on the world’s billionaire list.”
I almost choked. This guy is so out of your league, girl, the voice in my head said very distinctly.
“Wow — the Magic Council has very powerful allies indeed,” I commented.
“Yes, it’s always good to be on the winner’s side,” she said playfully.
“And yet, it’s a bit odd …” I muttered, looking at the magazine. Then I shifted my gaze back to Naomi. “Of all the people in our small town, you found a magazine at Desmond’s shop with the fae I happen to be working with right now on the cover. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”
Naomi stared at me and then shot, “No, not at all.”
“It gives me some food for thought,” I said.
She shook her head energetically. “No, no — what’s the matter with you Alex? Have you lost your mind? You’re worrying about a single coincidence that means absolutely nothing. It’s true that Des is interested in the occult, but it’s all Wiccan stuff. The witches we met at the lecture possessed very little magic indeed.”
“Don’t let any Wiccans hear you say that. Not all of them are so low-level, you know.” My best friend’s remarks put me off a little, even though I wasn't Wiccan.
“Of course, darling. I know some do have strong magic, but that’s not my point. Anyway, about Des — he’s non-magical, too. And he lives here, in Ivy Hills, not in NYC, remember? All your hard work has really taken a toll on your thinking abilities, Alex — you’re imagining things that don’t exist.”
She raised valid points, I had to admit that. And yet…
“Okay, then maybe he isn’t involved, but someone from his Wiccan coven? Maybe the person who gave him the magazine?” I mused. Then I remembered something: Elliott Rumford had mentioned that Daniel Stone had joined a coven, and said that Stone had probably met the enigmatic sorcerer there.
“That is more likely,” Naomi said and patted me on my back.
I didn’t respond; I was still dazed by my realization. I cleared my throat and tried to gather my thoughts. “For someone who claims not to be romantically interested in Desmond, you seem kinda partial, don’t you think?”
“Are you teasing me or what?” Her eyes gleamed with amusement.
“No, not at all. I’m just making an observation.”
Naomi pretended to glare at me and turned to leave the kitchen when I said, “All joking aside, Noe, I think this is important. Can you ask Desmond which member of his coven bought the magazine?”
Naomi shrugged. “Okay, if you think that’ll save the world, I’ll ask him.”
“And when Desmond answers you, would you be so kind as to call and tell me also?”
“Well, aren’t you demanding.”
I chuckled. “Just a little, but you still love me.”
Naomi grunted instead of responding, but I knew her well — she would do it. She headed for the door, leaving me alone with the Forbes magazine, Kagan staring at me from the cover. He looked incredulously sexy in his suit, the arrogant look in his eyes giving him that bad-boy vibe women loved so much.
Oh, this is so not good, Alex.
I didn’t need my inner voice’s opinion on this matter — I thought the same thing.
***
It took me about fifteen minutes to get to Awen’s house, which was situated at the edge of town. His Victorian home looked peaceful and untouched by time as usual, unlike my current state of mind. Ever since Naomi had shown me the magazine with Kagan on the cover I’d been feeling agitated and apprehensive. I hesitated for a moment before I took out the key. My head swarmed with questions burning for answers, yet I didn’t feel up to sharing my troublesome thoughts with anybody.
Awen was here; I could feel his magic and its taste, like an excellent, mature wine that caresses your tongue and senses and makes you want to drink more and more of it. Although Awen's magic initially seemed light, it was unusually powerful and it tugged at my own magic power, calling it out to play. The only supernatural I’d ever met whose magic might be a match for Awen’s was Kagan.
I became irritated with my own stupid mind and sentiments – thinking about the fae again! Now was the least appropriate time to be thinking of romance. I was in the midst of an investigation and the future of our occult shop was uncertain — as was my own.
I cleared my mind of all worrisome thoughts, unlocked the front door and went in. I hoped he hadn’t yet gone to bed. I went to his living room and turned on the lights. As usual, a gust of peaceful energy enveloped me, calming me right away. Suddenly, all my troubles seemed insignificant — even the vampires from last night and the unsolved murders we were investigating. I heard my mentor’s steps approaching, and soon enough he appeared in the living room.
“Alex, is everything alright? I thought you were in New York City,” he said, his voice concerned.
“I am. Well, I mean, I was in New York; I just came home for a little recharge, and I wanted to ask you a few things.”
“Has something happened? Or did you just want to spend time with your old mentor?” His smile warmed my insides, and all the remaining tension died out.
“I was just wondering…” I sighed. “These past couple of days have been crazy. I’ve been in all sorts of strange places.” Images of the Hellfire Club and the Veil flashed before my eyes. All this stuff was new to me, and only now did I realize the changes I’d been subconsciously experiencing.
Awen smiled at me paternally. “It’s okay, Alex, take your time. Do you want a cup of coffee?”
I nodded and Awen went to the kitchen. In the meantime, I prepared myself for my confession.
When he returned, I began with my story. “So, last night we fought a bunch of real crazy vampires. I’ve never met anything like those monsters — I mean really never, ever. I was hoping you’d let me look through some of your old magic books for information about them.”
“Sure. I have two books that might be especially helpful. Whatever you’re looking for, it’ll be somewhere in there.” The kettle began whistling in the kitchen as he retrieved the books for me. “The water’s bo
iling; I’ll fetch your coffee. What’s your flavor?”
Kagan, the voice inside my head said before I could suppress it.
Damn it, you are not helping! Why were my silly hormones making things so complicated? He was way out of my league, and I knew it all too well.
“Kagan is your flavor?” my mentor asked, perplexed.
Did I say that aloud? I blushed and added hastily, “Cappuccino, please.”
Awen nodded, handed me two old tomes, then went back to the kitchen to prepare the coffee. I eagerly opened the pages of the first book, going straight to the vampire section. I found the types I was already familiar with: common vampires, then shapeshifter vampires, followed by the nastier ghost vampires, and finally the psychic vampires. This book said they were descendants of the Aztec and Mayan gods. According to the description, they were human in appearance, fed on negative emotions — primarily fear, despair, and anger — and they could be killed by fire.
That wasn’t the case with the vampires from last night, the voice in my head said.
I leafed through a few more pages, desperate to figure out the type of monster I’d fought, but the information just wasn’t here.
“What’s not here, sweetheart?” Awen’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and he handed me a cup of cappuccino, then sat down on the couch next to me.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize I said that part out loud,” I mumbled, and sipped cautiously from the hot cappuccino. It was delicious — Awen always made awesome coffee.
“Tell me what’s bothering you about…” He lowered his gaze toward the book in my lap and finished, “the vampires? Is that it, my child?”
I told him all about the attack from last night. “That’s the first time I’ve seen vampires that weren’t affected by fire. And the fireball I summoned was gigantic, but didn’t affect them at all. I read over all the types listed here, but the ones I fought last night aren’t here,” I said. I waved my hands helplessly in the air. “Basically they had normal skin complexion with crimson eyes, and crazy magic abilities, as if someone had pumped them up with raw power — with evil.”