Doomed Cases Series Box Set

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  “No, Ricky, don’t you even dare think that this is it. We will take care of you,” I said, using the warmth of my hands to ease his pain, but nothing was working. My energy wasn’t fully restored. Maybe the dark waters of Gjöll were still blocking it.

  “Thomas, give me everything you have; otherwise this demon is going to die in here!” Ronan shouted at his son, who was still trying to revive Zara.

  Ricky went suddenly pale, his eyes were half open. I knew that I had to keeping him conscious.

  “Zara needs help, that red-headed bitch poisoned her mind,” Thomas answered back, holding Zara’s head. She stopped screaming and was now lying on the ground with her eyes wide open, not moving.

  I lost my shit and threw myself at Nameless.

  “Ricky is dying, you clown, use your magic to help him or I swear to God I’ll kill you!” I screamed in desperation and anger. Then dragged him away from his beloved Zara. She wasn’t dying, she still had time.

  He wasn’t in the best of shape, but he knelt next to Ricky and his father. A moment later he was searching through his pockets, glaring at me. My heart was pounding, because I didn’t know what to do.

  “The green leaves on the island. Collect as much as you can and put it around his wound. Zara’s machete was charmed, and he won’t stop bleeding until we use the appropriate spell,” Nameless barked, thinking that he shouldn’t have taken that letter in the first place. Maybe then he would have avoided all the pain.

  I shot back on my feet and started moving around the island, searching for the cure that he mentioned. I ripped the leaves that grew around the stones as fast as I could, my fingers bled but I kept going, telling myself that Ricky was going to survive this, that there was still time.

  Several minutes later I collapsed in front of Nameless and his father. Ricky’s energy was almost nonexistent, his skin almost translucent, and he wasn’t moving anymore. Ronan had his hands on the wound, the blood still flowing through his fingers.

  Nameless started taking the leaves and patching them on Ricky’s wound, whispering words that I didn’t understand. It was some Latin spell, charms. From then on for the first time in my life I started praying to God. I never believed that there was someone out there that was supposed to take care of humans, but in this moment of desperation I was ready to try anything. Ronan stared at me, telling me that Ricky’s pulse was faint, that he had lost too much blood.

  I felt warmth under my hands, and the green leaves began beaming with bright red light around Ricky’s throat.

  I didn’t know how long we stayed there, minutes or hours, trying to revive the person that I had always loved unconditionally, that became the only family I had. Ricky didn’t open his eyes again. He remained on the ground, unconscious, probably half dead and half alive.

  “What’s happening? What is going on?” I asked, tears streaming down my cheeks, still praying to God for a miracle.

  “He is in a coma, Maxine, the Gjöll is keeping him alive, the river won’t let him die. There is nothing that we can do. You need to get outside and get help,” Ronan told me. I had to pull myself together, and get someone from the outside here, someone that could save him.

  “Alexis knows Matilda’s location. She’s heading for her and I’m running out of time,” I said, realising that I had put in danger someone that I loved as much as Ricky. In that moment of despair, I felt oddly calm. I had done everything I could in order to save Ricky.

  “You don’t have to worry about this right now. Matilda can take care of herself. You have to get help for Ricky and then head to the palace,” Ronan shouted, telling me what I already knew. I finally nodded. Ricky needed magic, elixirs and potions. I had no idea what kind of charm Alexis used, and I didn’t know if Ricky was ever going to be all right.

  He had to be transported to the hospital, the wound was very deep and I didn’t think that just herbs would get him back on his feet. Besides, I hated that Nameless kept thinking that he was already as good as dead.

  “Fine, I’ll get someone down here as soon as I can, just please don’t let him die, Ronan. I’m counting on you,” I said, looking at Ricky and not wanting to leave his side. At the same time I was completely lost, knowing that Arthur might already know the truth.

  Moments later I was sitting in the boat, rowing back to the other side of the island. I was planning to go after Alexis, once I knew that Ricky was going to be all right. She was aware of the location of the most precious thing in my entire life, and that made me even more anxious.

  After I got to the other side of the lake I ran through the tunnels as fast as I could, tossing away the blame. Anyone in my position would have given up a long time ago, but I kept going. I had to accept the fact that I wasn’t perfect. Zara had run away with a demon, and she was no longer a human. I should have accepted what I’d done for Arthur a long time ago, even before Alexis came into the picture. I sacrificed my life, so he could have it all. It was something that filled me with pride and determination that I could keep going.

  I had to use magic to get back on the platform, and by the time I was out, back on the streets of London, my legs nearly gave out on me. Alexis took everything, and I was still trying to recoup my demonic energy. Outside I managed to get a phone signal. Ricky didn’t speak to his own sister for various reasons, but she needed to know that she might never see him again. I also called a few of my old contacts that would know what to do.

  I waited for all of them to show up and then took them down to the tunnel. I was speaking so fast that after five minutes I had to start again.

  By the time Ricky’s sister and mongrels that I hired left the platform, I knew that I had to head over to the palace. Leaving my best friend out in Gjöll, and not knowing if he was going to survive nearly killed me, but everything else weighed on the letter that was probably now in Arthur’s possession. I was shaking heading over there, thinking that I could make Arthur understand that I had lied to him in order to protect him.

  It was dark when I got to the palace gates, anxiously hoping that everything would work out somehow. Someone from Rodriguez’s office was trying to get through to me, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind to talk to anyone. I was too scared to hear Arthur’s voice, knowing that he already knew the truth about my disappearance from two years ago. I needed to look in his eyes and make him understand that I didn’t regret what happened in the past.

  My hands were shaking, heart still pounding. There was only so much that I could have done for Ricky, now he had to rely on magic.

  The guards at the gate kept me for a good ten minutes, going through my clearance for longer than was necessary. Eventually I demanded to speak to Rodriguez and five minutes later I was let in. I wasn’t surprised that Rodriguez himself waited for me outside on the courtyard. I didn’t have time to fill him in with everything that went on. I was exhausted, and scared.

  “The prince is expecting me. I need to speak to him urgently,” I said, restraining myself from shouting. The old demon wanted answers and when my eyes wandered off to the windows upstairs my stomach tightened. A long time ago, I had made a promise to myself. I was willing to protect my secret at all costs, now I had to break that promise and face Arthur.

  “He’s waiting for you in his quarters, Miss Brodeur. The prince is furious, care to explain why?” Rodriguez asked, trying to get to my head again. My concentration was off, but I was still able to conceal my thoughts away from him.

  “I haven’t got the time to explain anything right now. We can talk after. I must see the prince,” I said, involuntarily raising my voice.

  Rodriguez scratched his beard, staring at me with resentment and suspicion. Maybe later on in different circumstances, I could show him the real me, the strong woman that stumbled a few times, but eventually she picked herself up. In the end I didn’t wait for his response and ran inside. Rodriguez was shouting after me, telling me that I couldn’t keep running away from him forever.

  My heart was jackhammering in
my chest when I reached the fourth floor. The door to Arthur’s quarters was slightly ajar. I hesitated, aware that this was it, my end and my new beginning.

  “Hello … Arthur, are you there?” I asked, breaking myself in gently and walking into his private quarters. I didn’t think he would stay in the palace tonight, but he always was sentimental about his room, about the place were we first met.

  I passed the large hallway and entered the conference room at the back. Arthur was sitting at the table, staring at something in front of him. There were envelopes on the table, old yellowish letters, some of them were torn, some in decent condition. I swallowed hard, slowly approaching him.

  “I was wondering if you were going to show up. I didn’t think that you had the guts to see me,” Arthur said with a flat, resentful tone of voice. He knew, he already knew what I had hidden from him.

  “Ricky is dying, and I don’t know if he is going to make it. I got here as fast as I could,” I said, knowing that right in that moment the prince didn’t care about Ricky at all. He was filled with bitter disappointment and anger.

  “How could you do this, Maxine? How could you not tell me?” he asked, cutting to the chase. I took a few steps towards him and saw the brown envelope that I recognised. My letter was on top of the rest of them. God, I had to remain strong. Arthur didn’t need to see Maxine riddled with guilt, he needed to see the new me. The person that could stand up for herself, for choices that she had to make in the past.

  “Have you read it? Have you read all of them?” I asked, in a small voice, dodging the answer to his question. I owed him an explanation, something, anything. He looked at me, clenching his fists on the table, until his knuckles went white.

  “No one has ever betrayed me like that. I thought you loved me, but in the end you had only been using me!”

  I shook my head. He couldn’t see beyond the lies, beyond the fact that I had given up everything, so he could be happy. I reached out, wanting to touch him, but he got up abruptly and the chair fell on the floor. He was breathing hard, and he was staring at me like he didn’t know me, like I was never his lover.

  “You ran, vanished from the face of this earth just because you didn’t want to tell me?”

  “It was my choice Arthur… I want—”

  “Bullshit, it was my choice too! You’re real evil, Maxine. I thought that we understood each other, that we had a future,” he shouted and pressed my letter to my chest. “Read it, read it aloud. I want to hear all these words again, but this time from you.”

  With shaky fingers I opened the letter, running my eyes over its content. He wanted to hurt me, fine. I could do this, go over what happened in the past once again for his sake. After that everything would be different, better.

  Dear Arthur

  You probably wonder where I am, you probably wonder why you can’t find me. It’s easier this way. You grandmother found out about our affair. She told me to disappear. She told me to leave London and never come back.

  It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a necessary one. Your whole family had cursed me off, and I have been fired from my post. My boss had every right to carry this through, because I broke all the rules, used you and took advantage of my position.

  Please don’t hate them. It was entirely my fault. I let you cloud my judgment; I let myself forget that I was there to protect you.

  I have been in this place, this village for a few months now, staying with old friends and trying to pull myself back together.

  Things haven’t been easy and I never thought that I could sit down and start writing this letter to you.

  Arthur, a couple of weeks ago I found out that I was pregnant. Everything had been all over the place, and I haven’t been feeling well in myself.

  So now, I’m excited to bring the child into this world, to be a mother.

  I nearly choked on these last words, but I kept going, telling myself that I was strong enough.

  At first I was shocked, completely and utterly unprepared, and I thought that this child wasn’t yours.

  After I left London, I had a couple of one-night stands with other men. It was a coping mechanism, something that I had to do, hoping this would help me with forgetting about what happened between us.

  I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but after some time I was certain that I was carrying your child, the royal baby from a relationship that was never supposed to happen.

  It did and that’s why I have decided to keep it, but never tell you about it. I wanted to spare you pain and resentment, because I always knew that your family would never accept this child. I was no one, an ex-employee, an orphan.

  I’m going to give the baby out for adoption, disappear straight after the birth. I never planned to send this letter out and I know that you probably would never understand or agree with my decision, but it’s for the best.

  I already love this tiny creature with all my heart, but I don’t want to destroy your life. Mine is already lost, because this is going to be the most difficult decision that I ever had to make.

  I love you Arthur, and I will never stop loving you, but this child cannot be part of us, cannot be part of you.

  We both know that people would rip us to shreds, and I want to give her the best start in life that there is. I want to make her happy, that’s why I’m saying I’m sorry.

  I never meant to hurt you.

  With love

  Maxine

  Infernal Initiation (Doomed Cases Book 3)

  Chapter 1

  “I alone, I was the only one preparing, as in war, to onward-march and bear the agony that thought will now unfailingly relate.” ―Dante Alighieri, The Devine Comedy

  I heard voices, whispers all around me, but my head felt so heavy. Slightly disoriented at first, I forced myself to sit up. It took me a few moments to realise that I wasn’t in my own flat. My thoughts were spinning too fast. I shut my eyes again and eased onto my back, trying to steady my breathing as panic sliced through my belly.

  The space around me looked a lot like a prison cell, and that could only mean one thing. The magic I attempted to use against the prince failed and I got myself in a hell of a lot of trouble.

  I remembered walking straight into Arthur’s private quarters. That horrible conversation with the prince himself invaded my sleep-hazed consciousness once again.

  Arthur stood in front of me overwhelmed with emotions. His skin was slowly turning sallow. A vein bulged along his throat.

  I kept reminding myself that whatever happened I had to stay calm. The future king had no idea that his only daughter was a mongrel, that her DNA had an imprint of demonic abilities. And if I wanted to stay on earth, I had to keep my mouth shut. Rodriguez would have the power to execute me on the spot if he knew that I gave birth to a royal child in secret, putting the prince and the whole of hell at risk of full exposure.

  The letter revealing the birth of our child had fallen from Arthur’s hands and lay on the floor between us. I stood in front of the man that I loved, unable to form a proper sentence. I had sacrificed everything for him so he could go on and have his perfect life with Natalie. It was the most difficult and complicated decision that I ever had to make, and yet he thought that I was the one without a heart.

  “Where is my child, Max? Do I have a son or a daughter? I swear to God I’ll destroy you if you won’t tell me what the hell happened two years ago,” he demanded, clenching his fists and taking a step towards me.

  I swallowed hard, and my stomach twisted deep inside me, filling up with heavy bricks. It was too late to try covering this whole thing up. Alexis was already out there, probably going after Matilda. On top of that, Ricky was dying, and he was still in Gjöll. I felt torn between what was right and wrong, guilty that I left him there and chose to come here instead.

  “It’s a girl, and her name is Summer,” I blurted out, experiencing the events from two years ago all over again. It was like a thousand small razors were stabbing me in the gut. M
atilda had written to me regularly, telling me how things were going and that Summer was developing well. Yes, I came back to London to attempt to start over, but I’d thought about her every single day since then.

  His face fell, but his eyes flickered with excitement, slowly turning into disappointment. I could see Arthur felt wounded so badly that he couldn’t even tell me what he was expecting from me. His lashing emotions were weakening my energy. I couldn’t keep standing in front of him and pretending that Summer was safe. Alexis had an advantage and I needed to leave urgently to send a message to Matilda.

  “A baby girl. I have a daughter?” he whispered, the tears in his eyes breaking me to tiny pieces. There were so many things I wanted to tell him.

  I nodded, waving off the anger. Every minute was precious, but I couldn’t just leave him in that state. Sooner or later the news would spread, and I didn’t need to guess what would happen to me once the head of the faction learned the truth. Arthur had to be protected.

  “Yes, Arthur, we have a child together, but you need to understand that no one can know. There would be a scandal, the royals—”

  “Stop talking, Maxine. You have no idea what I’m going through right now. You lied to me for almost two years. Were you ever planning on telling me the truth?”

  Then he was beside me, his hands on my arms and shaking me. “Tell me that you didn’t give her away for adoption, that you didn’t make such an important decision behind my back.”

  I pushed him away, trying to get some space to think. There was no point lying to him, but what other choice did I have? There was so much at stake. Summer was a precious little creature who had done nothing wrong. And it was I that put her in danger.

  “It doesn’t matter what’s happened to her, Arthur,” I shouted back.