by Erin Hayes
“Mixt, stop. Let her go. Now.”
Mixt growled. Something passed over his expression, so quickly she wasn’t sure what she saw. But her mind was suddenly her own once again, and she took a deep breath.
“What the hell? Don’t ever do that to me again! When I want to say something, you’re going to listen. I want this murderer stopped, just as much as you do. Don’t you think we are better off working together, than against each other?”
From behind her, she heard Euros’s grunt of approval, but she kept her eyes locked with Mixt’s. Slowly, the man nodded.
“Then speak. Tell me what you know.”
She took another breath. “It appears that this woman has a connection with both men. More so with Parnell, because he was buying items from her gallery. It also gave her continued access to Parnell, and when the shipment of books came in, the one with the body of the grimoire, she found out about it.”
“How?” The question came from Euros. She turned, looking up at him, somehow expecting the same disdain she saw in Mixt’s eyes. But his expression was alive, his eyes bright and a hint of a smile on his lips. She gave him a grateful smile, then turned back to Mixt.
“The guy who curates the books. He’s been calling me non-stop since Parnell’s death. He wanted access to the storage room, said he needed to unpack one of the shipments. He said something about being worried that someone else would have access to the storeroom, that the staff would damage his books. Except…he was also upset because he thought the gallery owner would be allowed in, and if she was, then he thought he should be allowed in, too.”
“So, she would have been in the storeroom, would have known when the book arrived, what packing crate it was in.”
Euros’s voice carried the same excitement that rose inside her. This was what she loved, putting the pieces together, solving the puzzle. Connecting the dots. It took her a minute to realize part of that excitement this time, was working with Euros, getting his input, and bouncing ideas off each other.
She gave him a nod, and a smile. “Yes. Exactly.”
“But she wouldn’t have known he was going to buy that specific book, would she?” That came from Mixt, taking the negative view again. But she needed that too, needed to be challenged on her assumptions, needed to be able to come up with a logical, and clear argument against other possible scenarios. She turned back to him, ready with a response, but stopped. Something—someone—was trying to read her mind, she was certain of it. Her thoughts started to fray and pull away from her. She closed her eyes, pushed against him—it could only be Mixt—and fought to regain control. Little by little, she felt her mind coming back under her control. She opened her eyes, looking directly at Mixt.
“You do that again, and I swear to God…”
Euros’s expression hardened as he turned to Mixt. “You need to let her talk.”
Mixt scowled. “It would save time. All this talk…”
Euros held up one hand, and Mixt’s words died on his lips. He worked his mouth for a moment, but no words came out. With wide eyes, Jessica turned to Euros.
“You’re kidding me? You could have done that all along, but you let him prattle on?”
Euros shrugged, but she saw his mouth twitch with a brief smile. “I have a lot of respect for Mixt, though I know he’s not easy to get along with. We do need his help, though.”
She growled, but she knew he was right. “Yeah, okay.”
Euros released his hold on Mixt, and he sputtered, breathing hard.
“Enough of that. I get the point. We’ll do this the slow and ponderous way. The mortal way. Get on with it.”
Jessica bit her lip, regaining her thoughts. “No, the woman wouldn’t have known he would buy the body of the grimoire, but he collected books on the occult. They’re displayed on shelves in his home. She’d have seen that. There’s no way to miss it. Odds are, she was in the penthouse when the shipment with the grimoire arrived. If she supervised the placement of the art that Parnell collected, she would have had access to the storeroom.”
“That’s possible…” Mixt’s eyes flicked from her face to Euros’s. “Yes. It’s very possible, I suppose.”
“Mixt, this is someone who uses dark magic. Even if the grimoire was in pieces, she’d have sensed the magic in it. You know that.” Euros’s voice had an edge to it, and for a minute Jessica wondered if their relationship had always been this fractious, or if this disaster was wearing everyone’s nerves thin.
“Watch your tone.” Mixt fired back, his words clipped. “You’re talking to another Gatekeeper, remember.”
“Oh, I remember…” Euros took one step forward, and Jessica decided it was time to step in. It was easier to stop Euros with a hand on his arm, than it was to even think about restraining Mixt. Beneath her hand, his muscles tensed, and she glanced down to see his hand clenched in a fist. She tightened her grip.
“Euros…” She felt the tension in his body slowly fade. “This is hard for everyone… let’s just work together, and stop this evil.”
“She’s right,” Euros replied. “We’re all in this together, whether we like it or not. We have to work through this as a team, if we have any hope of defeating this darkness.”
Jessica nodded in agreement. “Let’s go back to the first victim. Lansing. He had the…” She turned to Euros.
“Materia Magica.”
Nodding, she went on. “He had it in a frame on the wall, in plain view of anyone who came to his house. And by the looks of the photos on the walls, there were a lot of people who came through his house.”
Mixt nodded, but stayed silent. And blessedly, she felt no tendrils probing her mind, testing her thoughts, looking for something.
“The woman was in Lansing’s house. She stood in front of it, right there.”
“Do we know when that picture was taken?” Euros had the photo in his hand. “Any way of telling from this?”
Sports were never her thing, but something about the photo, about David Hudson…
“There was a charity event, something to do with a wing at the Children’s Hospital…”
Euros was practically standing on top of her, looking at the photo over her shoulder. “He donated the salary increase in his contract to the hospital. They named the wing after him. The paper ran a huge article on it. Hudson was trying to keep it low key…”
“But Lansing was there for the whole thing, made a big show of it. That was, what? A couple months ago? I remember…”
“And Lansing invited them to his house, had his picture taken with Hudson. And Anastasia would have been there. That’s when she would have seen this.” She pointed to the image in the photo.
“It must have driven her mad, knowing it was there.” Euros took the photo back, peering at the image.
“It drove her to kill Lansing.”
Euros glanced at her. “And Parnell.”
Mixt had been strangely quiet, but she could see the muscles in his jaw clench. She nodded at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Wait. What did you say this woman’s name was?” He pointed a long slender finger at the photo.
“Anastasia Kane.” Euros replied.
“Anastasia… And fox fur was found at both scenes.” Mixt’s lips were pursed tightly, as if he had to force himself not to speak his mind. Jessica wished she could read his thoughts the way he could read hers—especially now.
“Yeah, that’s right. What about it?” Jessica shook her head, impatiently. “Do you know her?”
For what felt like eternity, Mixt remained quiet, his face stern. Clearly, he had some internal conflict going on, so she gave him a moment to think. Finally, he sighed and let his head drop in defeat. He nodded. “Yes, I believe I do.”
Jessica looked at him in shock, her eyes growing wide. “But how? How do you know her? Who is she?”
“Anastasia was once one of us. She is older than most of the Elders. Back before the portals were closed, she was one of the few who could live in bot
h worlds. Being a kitsune, and a fae, gave her that ability. Even when the worlds started to collide, and we weren’t accepted in the mortal world any longer, she could easily adapt…she loved that world so much. Most of the shifter clans did. They felt they fit in there more than they did our magical world.”
“Kitsune? She’s a shifter?” Euros replied, his voice a bit strained. “The fox fur… it all makes sense.”
“Yes, it does. I hadn’t thought about it being a possibility before. I thought all the shifters who decided to stay in the mortal world were long gone. At the very least, I never would have thought them to be a threat to us.”
“A shifter? I don’t understand.” Jessica’s mouth drew into a thin line.
The look between Euros and Mixt told her that they had momentarily forgotten that she was there, and it annoyed her. She opened her mouth again, as if she was going to yell out something, but she stopped, and her expression softened.
Finally, Euros spoke. “There used to be creatures in our world that could transform from a human into a fox. They also possessed magical powers. They are called shifters.”
“A fox that changes into a woman?”
“There were many different clans of shifters. Fox, bear, even dragon at one time.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” That was directed at Euros. I trusted you. I’d started trusting you again. Why?
But Mixt answered instead. “The Elders forbid many things. Having a mortal in our world has crossed many lines. Telling you any more than we already have…” His gaze moved from her to Euros. “Telling you any more is forbidden.”
“But if it helps stop this creature from killing anyone else…”
“Or from opening the portals.”
She glanced at Euros, then turned to glare at Mixt. “Yes, your portals. I’d think you’d want to protect those at all costs. And even though, I’m just a mere mortal…” She put enough spin on that to make Mixt’s brows quirk down. “Even with that, we all want the same thing.”
“Yes. For the greater good, and all that.” With a wave of his hand, Mixt started to pace. “I don’t understand why Anastasia would be after the grimoire. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“How does it not? Could it be as simple as her wanting to come back to a place that she felt was her home?” Euros asked, grimly.
“Yes, sure… but why now? It would have been her choice to remain in the mortal world.”
“What do you mean?” Jessica asked, stepping closer.
“When the Elders decided to seal the portals, they gave all our people the choice whether to stay here, or live in the mortal world. They were free to make their decision, but they knew that they could never cross through the portal again. All the shifter clans chose the mortal world. To them, it was the best of both worlds. They could hide their magic in shifter form, go undetected when needed, but still live in a world they loved.”
Euros scowled, his eyes darkening. “It seems as though Anastasia has changed her mind.”
“Yeah, it appears so.” Mixt face reddened in anger.
Euros stiffened. “The buckle. Hudson is wearing it in the photograph. I’m willing to bet that he’s her next target. She’ll kill him for the buckle, and to be rid of any ties to the mortal world.”
“And that’s the last piece of the grimoire. It’s all she needs to reassemble it, and use its power to reopen the portals.”
“Then what do we do?” Jessica asked, stepping forward. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“We find Anastasia.” Euros’s voice was steady and even, but Jessica could feel the tension rolling off his body.
Mixt threw his hands up in the air. “And then?” His face was flushed, and his voice came out as a croak. “What will you do then?”
“We…” Jessica stopped. Arrest her. That was the logical thing to do, what she’d do with any other murderer. But how could I pin two murders on Anastasia, with only fox fur and theories about magic books? And if she truly was magical, then how the hell would I ever be able to do anything at all against a force like that? The thoughts tumbled around her head. Damn Mixt, and his know-it-all grin.
“Not as easy as you thought?”
They needed to do something, but she didn’t know what. Then it hit her. She turned to Euros.
“You said time stands still when I’m in here, right? Can you take me, us, to Hudson’s residence? Make sure he’s okay, warn him?”
“Yes, I can. But I know someone who possesses the ability to locate.” Euros reached out and laid a hand on Mixt’s shoulder. “Because Anastasia’s half magical, he can find her exact whereabouts with a spell. I think it’s a better idea to go after her, instead of warning Hudson. Just in case he gives her a heads up that we’re on to her. We can’t be sure how much he knows, or if they’re in this together.”
Mixt breathed out in frustration. His pulse raced at the thought that if they didn’t stop Anastasia before she assembled the grimoire, she would be able to open the portals once again, allowing anyone entry. “Yes, I can locate her using the photograph and a spell, but I am not strong enough to join you. Tell me though, what will you do? You’re going to arrest a magical creature, and take her to jail? Will your mortal ways work for you when up against a shifter who possesses the power of dark magic?”
Her frustration with Mixt had reached its end. She turned back to him. “I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m not walking into this alone. Euros will be there with me. I’m pretty sure between the two of us, we’ll figure out a way to stop her, and to protect your world…and mine.”
Spinning around, she grabbed Euros’s hand, pulling him toward the portal, before she realized he wasn’t moving. Practically tripping over her feet, she turned back to him. “Can we go?”
He smiled. “We can. But not that way.” He pulled her back against him, his arms around her waist. Somewhere over his shoulder, Mixt made another of his disproving noises. For a split second, she wished she had the magic ability to silence him. But then Euros’s arms tightened around her, and she forgot about Mixt. Her heart thudded against her ribs. “We need his help, Jessica.”
Chapter Thirteen
Mixt stepped toward them, and began murmuring what sounded like a chant, his voice growing deeper and deeper, his words unintelligible, a blur of melodic tones. The world turned gray around the edges, and Jessica closed her eyes.
“I guess I’m still not used to this whole traveling magic thing.” With the strange magic of this world swirling around her, Euros was a relative island of calm, even if he radiated his own magic. But that was familiar, almost comforting.
“Stick with me, beautiful, and it’ll be second nature in no time.”
She had a smart ass reply ready, but her words never formed. The last memory she had was Mixt, frowning at them, mouth open. And then she was flung through time and space again, her mind struggling to accept that this was happening again, and taking it on faith that she’d end up in one piece when they landed, or arrived, or whatever the hell it was they did.
Then they were in a stairwell, one she didn’t recognize. The stairs wavered in and out of focus for a moment, like something in a funhouse mirror. Then they came into focus.
“Not sure if it’ll ever be second nature, but at least the room stops spinning sooner each time.”
He held her gaze for a moment, and then stepped away. “This is Hudson’s building. We’re in the basement. He’s on the top floor. Anastasia is here…with him.”
She eyed the stairs. “You couldn’t have gotten us a little closer? This building has to have a dozen floors.”
His shrug was disarming, as was his grin. Damn him for making her notice. Damn her for noticing. “I did the best I could. Come on.” He glanced at his watch. “We don’t have much time.”
With her heart pounding, and her breath coming in gasps, she followed Euros up the stairs at a sprint.
The top floor couldn’t come fast enough. She was breathing
hard by the time they reached the twelfth floor. Euros reached for the door, but she put her hand on his arm.
“Wait. We need a plan…” She took a breath, but he shook his head.
“I can feel it, Jessica. Here, now. It’s happening.”
He was through the door before she could stop him. Drawing her gun, she shouldered the door open, as it swung back and followed him down the hall. His coat swirled behind him, as he took off at a sprint. Then it hit her, like a pocket of dead air in the hall. Tendrils of gray, snaked along the floor, growing thicker as she ran, writhing like angry snakes on the carpet. The fear of stepping on them was almost overwhelming. Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.
“Euros…” She flung herself against the wall, gun pointed at the floor. She wanted to shoot it, kill whatever it was. But no matter where she pointed, the things moved away, as if they were taunting her.
“Jessica, come on.” He grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hall, deeper into the swirling gray mist. “Try to ignore it. We’re almost there.”
The hall seemed to stretch on forever. The faster she ran, the further it seemed she had to go. “Which one?”
“Here.”
Euros stopped in front of a door. Her body felt disjointed, like her hand and arm had arrived at the door, well ahead of her body. She bumped into Euros, and wondered vaguely how he could be so calm.
But then he kicked at the door, a vicious kick that splintered the frame. He brought his foot up again, heel slamming into the wood. This is wrong…
“Magic, Euros. Use your magic.”
He turned to her, eyes wide, pupils dilated. It took everything she had inside not to step back and get away from him as quickly as possible. The struggle behind those eyes terrified her, and she slipped her hand down to the butt of her gun.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“I am.” Abruptly, he turned back to the door, and put his hand on the knob. Like before, it turned an unusual shade of blue. Then he turned the knob, and the door opened, hanging crooked on its hinges.