Her body started to reform, her lungs screamed for air as the concrete enveloped her, trapping her beneath the pavement, the darkness swallowing her whole. No light penetrated the inky blackness around her. Charlie took one choking breath and burst back into the world of above, light burning her eyes. She coughed up dust, taking gulps of air.
Her attacker flew at her.
Still coughing, she blocked his blow and raised her hand. Nothing happened. No magic came to her. She hit the ground when she tried to faze, pulled out her clutch piece weapon from her ankle holster and fired. A stream of blue energy shot out, knocking the man to the ground.
His hood fell back, revealing his bald black head, his dark brown eyes widened in shock. It was the man she’d seen that day in the warehouse. The one who haunted her nightmares. She’d recognise his face anywhere.
“You,” she gasped. “What...”
He fired an energy ball at her. It hit her in the stomach, sending shock waves of pain jolting through every nerve ending.
Charlie’s weapon fell from her hand. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think as blackness threatened to drag her down. Blue light flashed through her mind, the roar of the explosion tearing through metal and flesh.
Light shimmered as Drake appeared, clad in his usual dark suit. Her attacker looked to him then vanished. “Little witch?” Drake knelt beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright? What did he do?”
Charlie blinked. Hell, there was no way she’d pass out front of him. “What – are – you – doing – here?” she said between gasping breaths.
“I sensed your panic.”
She brushed off his hand, scrambled up. “I’m fine.” Her voice came out stronger than expected.
Goddess damned connection! Did he sense everything she felt now? Having Drake feel her panic was too humiliating. She bent, grabbed her fallen weapons and clipped them back in place. Her magic had failed again. She couldn’t understand it. She’d spent years learning to master her powers. Discipline and control was something all Denais learned from infancy. She’d never struggled with them before. Marina had said the disconnection was caused by the emotional trauma, but Charlie doubted that.
“Charlotte–”
She gritted her teeth. No one ever called her Charlotte and she didn’t like the name either. “Enough with the Charlotte and the little witch crap!” she cried, feeling tears prick her eyes. Goddess, she would not break down in front of him. “I’m fine. Just go away.”
“Are you hurt?” he demanded. “Yell at me all you want to, I just need to know you’re alright.”
“I’m fine.” Charlie ran a hand through her long hair, brushing it off her face as sweat covered her brow. Why wouldn’t Drake just leave? “How the hell was he still alive?”
“Who?” Drake asked.
“No one. You can leave now.”
He cupped her face, making her look up to meet his dark eyes. Damn, those eyes were sexy — like pools of darkness, yet they shimmered from blue to black again. It should have frightened her, but she saw only concern there. “Who attacked you?”
The memory of Scott’s smiling face made her tear her gaze away as she pulled away from him. “That guy is supposed to be dead. He died that day in the warehouse.”
Chapter 4
This witch was going to drive him to distraction, Drake was sure of it. Why the hell fate had chosen her to be his life mate he’d never know. He’d never met such a stubborn creature in his eight thousand years of existence or one more beautiful. Even with her auburn hair a ruffled mess and her chocolate brown eyes tight with anger she still looked like the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
With her petite lanky form, she’d blossomed into a woman from the girl she’d been when they first met. She still looked young, but her eyes held a sadness that made his heart ache. It made him want to drag her into his arms and hold her close in a way he’d never felt.
The loss of her team still haunted her. That was why he’d insisted on helping her now.
When her panic had flooded through him earlier, he hadn’t been able to stay away as he had on previous occasions over the past few years. Since he’d seen her the day before everything in him demanded he go to her, make her his. Yet, Drake knew if he did, Charlie would never forgive him.
But there was more than grief at work here. Something else had happened, he was sure of it. He just needed to gain her trust enough to get her to talk. But would she?
She was a Denai after all.
After Charlie calmed down, Drake convinced her to head back to the station with him after she grabbed a box of files from her tiny apartment. Despite her protests he wanted to keep an eye on her. Sooner or later she’d have to deal with her grief and he’d be there for her when she did.
Drake said nothing while she drove there and she seemed grateful for the silence. The groan and snarl of city traffic made him miss the old city in some ways but Setara was much better off now than it had been. The glistening silver towers shone like diamonds as Charlie cut through the cobbled streets.
His mind went back to the conversation he’d had with one of his own informants just before he’d gone to help Charlie.
“There’s a hit out on your witch,” Val had told him.
“A hit? By who?” he demanded. “Why?”
“Looks like your girl messed with the Tears. They want her, and they’re gonna be gunning for her.”
“I don’t understand why they’d come after me now,” Charlie muttered, seemingly more to herself than to him. “It’s been six months!”
He tore his attention away from the cityscape and glanced at her as she clutched the steering wheel. “Perhaps because of the hit the Tears’ leader put out on you.”
Charlie’s gaze snapped towards him. Her deep brown eyes had turned a hazy green. He guessed that was a sign of the Ashrali fey in her. Or perhaps her demon side. Demons’ eyes often changed with strong emotion like his own did. “What hit?” she hissed.
“Their leader wants you.”
She swung her car into an empty space and cut off the engine. “Why? Is it because I survived?”
Drake leaned closer, breathing in the sweet scent of her. She smelt of chocolate and coffee. Damn, she looked even more beautiful up close. “You tell me. What happened in that warehouse?”
Her eyes turned bright red with anger. “My friends died, that’s what happened.”
“But why were they there in the first place? What were you after?” He raised a hand when she started to protest. “We’re partners now, little witch. You need to be honest with me.”
Her eyes whirled with an array of colour.
“Do your eyes always do that?” He stared, watching the colours change.
“What?” She ran a hand through her hair and clutched the small seven-pointed star pendant at her throat, the symbol of the Denai.
He stroked her cheek, no longer able to resist the urge just to touch her. “Your eyes keep changing colour.”
Charlie gritted her teeth, flinching at his touch. “Crap!” She waved her hand, conjuring a glamour spell to hide her eyes.
“Don’t, I like it. I’ve always found the Ashrali fascinating, the way their hair or eyes change colour with emotion.”
“I’m only one-part Ashrali. Plus, it freaks people out.” She pulled the spell in place, but it shattered. “Look, there’s nothing to talk about. We went to bust a gang member who was selling illegal weapons. I don’t ask questions, I followed orders,” she said. “Enough with the little witch stuff.”
Drake bit back a smile. She was his little witch whether she liked or not.
Charlie flung the door open, grabbing the box. “Hey, maybe I need a nickname for you. How about Vlad?”
His lip curled. “What kind of name is that?”
“Vlad, like the famous vampire who crossed over here once from the human world.” She grinned.
“Vampires aren’t even real demons, they’re parasites,” Drake
snarled. Why she’d want to call him that he couldn’t fathom.
“I didn’t say you were like that, but Vlad was tall, dark and probably annoying so Vlad it is. Let’s roll, Vlad.” She flashed him another smile and headed inside.
Seeing her smile was worth the ridiculous nickname.
They were stopped when they reached the security scanner in the lobby. Charlie held up her badge to be identified but Drake walked straight through. Charlie frowned at him. “How’d you do that?”
He only smiled. If only she knew. He was more than just the club owner and they both knew it. As a Division agent, he didn’t need to use any form of ID.
Charlie gave him another glare.
He sighed. Winning this witch over was going to be damned harder than he thought. But he’d do it.
Drake followed her into the lift, noticed her avoiding his gaze. She seemed lost in thought. What he wouldn’t give to know those thoughts. The link between them felt ever present, he could feel her surface emotions when they were close or strong emotions, if they were heightened, but no thoughts. Not the way a true bond would work.
“What about your club?” Charlie said, leaning back against the rail. “Don’t they need you there?”
He shrugged, watching the numbers moving on the panels as the lift ascended. “My people can take care of it; my businesses are used to running without me being there.”
“How many clubs do you have?”
“Twenty all over Setara, more in Britannia. They’re not my only businesses.”
“That’s what I mean. You’re a businessman, not an enforcer. Why help me?”
Drake chuckled to himself. Yes, he knew business well, but they only provided a distraction between assignments and provided a good cover. Because you need me just as much as I need you, he thought. No, those weren’t the only reasons. Drake had his own for wanting to be part of this case.
“I still don’t see how this is gonna work between us. I know you’ve worked with Excalibar, but this is different.” Charlie shifted the box under her other arm. “Why do you want to work here? Don’t Division have their own HQ hidden away somewhere?”
“Indeed, but the Alliance suggested I work here and I’m inclined to agree.” He thought Charlie would be more comfortable here in her own environment. Plus, the Alliance hadn’t been keen to have them at their headquarters.
The lift doors dinged open, revealing a small bull pen of three desks and the door to a small office.
He felt Charlie stiffen next to him when she saw a red haired Ashrali woman with sharp green eyes sitting at one desk while a scruffy haired man sat playing with a consul on the other. Agents Monroe and Snowden, he recognised them from their profiles. He’d chosen them to watch over Charlie when she’d gone back to work.
“Charlotte.” Drake touched her shoulder; waves of pain rushed through him like a thousand knives through their link. Touching her must’ve deepened the psychic connection between them.
She shook her head, brushed him off and the wall between them went back up. “I’m fine.” She turned away from him and stared at the others. “What the hell are you two doing?”
Both of them stared at her. “Sorry, Charlie. The chief told us to come up here,” Kaz said. “There wasn’t anywhere else for us to set up.”
Nigel joined in and said. “I know this must be hard for you.” He squeezed Charlie’s shoulder.
Drake let out a low growl. He should be comforting his witch, but he stifled the growl with a cough. He couldn’t show jealousy, they had a job to do.
“It’s fine.” Charlie dropped her box onto the empty desk and pulled off her jacket. “The guy from the warehouse attacked me. Now we need to find out why and how he’s still alive. I’ll grab a board so we can go over what we have so far.” Drake watched her go into the office and felt another wave of sorrow.
“Hey, you must be Drake. I’m Kaz.” The woman held out her hand. “That’s Nigel over there.”
He grasped it with a faint smile. “A pleasure to meet you both.” He strode past them into the office where boxes had been stacked in one corner, no doubt things belonging to her former teammates. Charlie stood staring at them, unmoving.
“Little witch?”
Charlie blinked. “Right, work.” She pulled out a board. “Do you need a desk?”
“I’m sure we can both fit in here.”
Drake pulled out his own files of the case on his PDA and called them up on the team’s flat screen. “Vincent Moret,” he announced. “That’s the man who attacked you today and was there at the warehouse when the explosion went off.”
Charlie frowned. “How did you – oh, never mind. You’re full of mysteries, Vlad.”
“From my own files he went there to trade weapons with your team leader, Simon Drummond,” Drake continued. “Who used an informant to make the connection with Moret.”
“Right.”
He noticed the surprise and couldn’t hold back a smile. He knew this case just as well as she did, if not better.
“Right.” Charlie pulled up the photos on screen. “Moret is a suspected member of the Tears, has convictions for theft, weapons and drugs.”
“What about the informant?” Kaz asked. “It doesn’t mention his name in the files.” She glanced at her own PDA.
“That’s because no one has ever been able to identify him. There wasn’t anything left of him for testing,” Drake replied and Charlie winced.
Nigel looked over from his comp unit. “What were the weapons they were going to trade?”
Charlie shook her head. “Again I –”
Drake rose and pulled an assortment of strange looking weapons onto the screen. “Here are some examples of Ashrali and ancient weapons recovered after the revolution. Many were never seen or used outside of Setara,” he explained. “Some you may be familiar with already.” Crystals, twisted sticks, staff weapons, jagged knives and odd-looking guns were among them.
“The Alliance has done everything it can to recover such weapons since the revolution, many of them were acquired by Oberoth and other Ashrali members of the Covenant, but some had unknown uses even to them. After the Cosgrave incident, you know how important it is that we recover such weapons.”
“You must’ve seen a lot of cool stuff in all your years leading Division.” Kaz grinned and batted her eyes lashes. “Bet you could tell me, I mean us some great stories.”
He spotted the way she looked to him, with the hunger of desire in her sharp eyes. Once he might have taken her up on it, but he was bored of meaningless sex, he wanted something real. A real relationship; a life with the stubborn, gorgeous witch sitting next to him.
The Cosgrave incident occurred when an unsuspecting family had purchased a weapon that destroyed an entire street after being turned on. Now gangs craved such devices.
“If the weapons were so important, why the bomb? Why blow everyone up in the first place?” Nigel asked. “Was it just a cover to make off with the weapons?”
“That was my guess since nothing was found,” agreed Charlie. “But there were bodies there too.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“There has to be more to it. Moret escaped the blast as we know when he came after you today.” Drake said.
Both Nigel and Kaz’s eyes turned on Charlie who shrugged.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” demanded Kaz, crossing her arms.
“Yeah, Charlie. We are your team now.” Nigel scowled.
“I was going to.” She sighed. “Focus on the case.”
“This is part of the case,” said Drake. “Why would the gang leader come after you now? He has his weapons.”
“Maybe because I can ID Moret. He must be tying up loose ends.” You’re really annoying, Vlad.
The sound of her voice in his mind made him grin like an idiot. Finally, she’d acknowledged their link. Just asking the right questions, little witch, he replied.
“There’s not much else in the file to go on,” Kaz o
bserved. “What did you pick up from the warehouse, Charlie?”
“Huh?” She frowned at the fey.
“I mean when you went back there, what did you pick up?” Kaz glanced at her file again. “It doesn’t mention anything.”
“Yeah, you’re Denai, what did you get?” Nigel prompted.
“I’m a medium, not a seer.” She shuffled her papers. “I didn’t get anything.” Charlie shifted in her seat. Drake knew she’d just lied. He doubted she’d gone back to the warehouse
“I say we should all go back there,” said Kaz. “I know my area of expertise is ancient artefacts and testing weapons, but I think I could run a few more forensic tests to see what went on. The place has been sealed since the explosion, right?”
“Er – right.” Charlie looked at the screen, showing pictures of the crime scene.
“We’ll all go. You shouldn’t go anywhere alone now there’s a price on your head,” Kaz insisted.
Chapter 5
Charlie insisted on driving to the warehouse instead of shimmering there in an effort to wrap her head around going back. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to return there again, despite knowing she might pick up certain things. She’d only gone back once but her powers hadn’t worked, and it been too hard to return again.
Kaz and Nigel bickered over something, but Drake remained silent for which she was thankful for.
Charlie didn’t know what to say, instead she tried to think of an excuse not to go. This was her team, her case. She couldn’t let emotion get in the way. Nor could she admit the truth. “Gee, sorry my powers don’t exactly work very well now. No one can figure out why.”
Marina’s suggestion of psychological trauma seemed like a load of rubbish. Hell, she’d lost people before, been traumatised before. She’d been kidnapped, and even blown up when she’d first met Drake.
Charlie glanced over when she felt Drake staring at her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Then stop with the creepy staring thing, Vlad.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are we really going to carry on with that stupid nickname?” he asked. “I’m not a vampire.”
Shadow Walker: (Urban fantasy romance) (Shadow Walker Trilogy Book 1) Page 3