by Lysa Daley
I led him to the area near the water’s edge, where Serena had been sitting. “It was around this spot.”
We both stood scanning the surrounding area as the surf pounded against the nearby rocks. What the ghouls hadn’t devoured, the water had washed away.
“Look at this,” Mr. Stroud said, bending down to pluck something wedged between two rocks. It looked like a small white stone until he held it up between his fingers, and I realized that it was a tooth. “Let’s get this analyzed. It might be all that remains of the poor victim.”
The spidery witch walked toward us. “Sir, the aquatic unit has resurfaced.”
Two tall handsome men, wearing black wet suits tops and swim trunks, approached. They each had elongated features and webbed hands. Supernatural energy crackled off their wet bodies. Both were both tall, at least 6’7”.
The first one spoke. “We saw no sign of any underwater cave openings or passages.”
“How far did you check?” Stroud asked.
“We did a thorough search of the entire perimeter of the cove, then extended both north and south for another two hundred yards. If it’s there, then it’s hidden pretty damn well.” As he spoke, I realized he was half-merman. I couldn’t help myself; I looked back and forth between the two because I couldn’t tell which one was more handsome.
Wow. Who knew mermen were so hot?
“Thank you, Karpov.” Mr. Stroud patted him on the shoulder.
“We can do another dive when the tide goes out later. Sometimes things look different when more sunlight is present,” he added.
“That would be helpful,” Mr. Stroud replied as the mermen headed back to the rolling ocean. Then he turned back to me. “Okay, let’s go over the details of what you saw again, Lacey. I know it’s not going to be easy. But maybe, now that you’re here, you’ll remember something new.”
I nodded and swallowed hard. I wasn’t looking forward to recounting all the gory details of the murder again. “Like I said, the selkies brought him up from underwater. He appeared to be alive and breathing but unconscious. Then Serena, the siren, grabbed him and held him across her lap like a child almost…” I hesitated, my hands trembling as I worried the hem of my shirt. What I had witnessed still seemed unreal to me. “Then she raised her hand up and plunged it straight down into his chest.” My voice faltered.
“Yes, go on. You can do this,” he said encouragingly, seeing as I was struggling.
I hurried to get it over with. “She pulled out his still-beating heart and… and ate it.”
“This is extremely important, Lacey.” Stroud stated. “Are you certain she ate it? You saw exactly that?”
I knew why he was asking me to be certain that that’s exactly what I had seen. The eating of a still-beating heart was believed to bring a sort of everlasting and eternal strength to the killer. That dark magic has been outlawed for centuries.
“I am,” I replied gravely.
“Do you how this ritual originated?” he asked.
I shook my head. I had never studied black magic. Generally, it was forbidden. That meant I knew almost nothing about it.
“It goes back all the way to the beginning of our supernatural history. And there's only one clan that has performed this terrible ritual in this area. But they haven't practiced it in over 1000 years,” Stroud said. “Some of your cousins, actually.”
I knew who he was referring to. “The North American were-shifters.”
Like my kind, weres were shifters. But there were two big differences. They only turned into one very specific creature. But that creature, be it a wolf or a bear, was much stronger than either a man or another animal in its natural state. But most weres had little control over their change. When the moon was full, they shifted. Only the oldest and most powerful could shift at will. They had once believed that eating a beating heart gave them strength and vitality while proving their bravery.
“But she’s a siren? And she had selkies with her. No weres.”
“Odd, isn’t it?” he agreed.
“Do you think this is related to Mr. Morty’s disappearance?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head and sounded frustrated. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. Hopefully before it’s too late. You were helpful this morning, Lacey.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But you must learn to follow protocol.”
“I understand.”
“This was your one slip up.” He nodded. “Everyone gets one. So from now on, you will follow the rules.”
“Of course. I promise, Mr. Stroud.” I was so grateful that he was giving me another shot. But more importantly, I was glad that I hadn’t totally messed up the investigation.
“Mr. Stroud, could you come approve the transfer of these ghouls,” the spidery witch asked. “I need a couple signatures.”
“I’ll be right back, Lacey,” he said as he followed her across the beach.
I thought back to the first time I met Serena. She had looked weak and ill. But then, later that day, she appeared renewed and refreshed. Was this how she was doing it? Was she some sort of new half-bred — part siren, part were-creature? A hybrid creature?
But maybe I knew a certain werewolf who could shed some light on this.
The webpage on my phone said that Kelly Jackson’s auto body shop didn't open today until 10am. I was sitting on the front step when his motorcycle rolled into the parking lot.
“You again.” He sauntered up, flipping a keychain with about 1000 keys around in his hand. He brushed his blond curls back as he plucked out the key that unlocked the front door. I tried not to stare. Damn, this was one good looking man. Dangerous, but good looking.
I held up a picture of Serena, the siren. “You know this girl?”
When he saw the photo, he stopped. His friendly morning smile disappeared. “That girl is trouble. You should stay away from her.”
“Oh, I planned to,” I said standing up. “Unfortunately, it might be a wee bit too late for half a dozen men to stay away from her.”
He had the look of the man who knew his day had already been ruined. “You better come in. If we're going to talk about this, then I need coffee.”
He unlocked one of the chrome and glass garage doors and rolled it up. Flipping on the lights, I followed him toward the back of the shop to his office. The old furniture looked sad. Loose papers and yellow receipts covered every possible surface. The worn, pea soup green carpet smelled funky.
In contrast, a thousand dollar Italian coffee maker sat on a little cart next to his desk. Apparently the man took his coffee seriously. It made me wonder if there was more to Kelly Jackson than just a motorcycle-riding, grease monkey who also happened to be an alpha werewolf.
“We met about a year ago,” he explained, handing me a steaming cup of espresso. It tasted heavenly. “She was the singer in a band in a bar in Malibu.”
“The Seahorse Inn?”
“That's the place.”
“When I went there was a band, but she wasn't the singer. She was working in the gift shop.”
He nodded like this wasn't a surprise. “She needs to conserve that deadly voice of hers. Anyway, it was too late when I finally realized that she was a siren. I got no problem with that. Not like some werewolves who think they can only take a mate who's another werewolf.”
“So you two got involved?”
“You could say that. I was crazy about the girl.”
“What happened?”
“She wanted me to turn her.”
I nodded knowingly. A werewolf could choose to turn a human into a werewolf. Then she would be part of his pack. But it was against the rules for one supernatural to change another type of supernatural. A were could mate with a siren as she was, but he couldn’t change her into a were.
“And you said?”
He gave me a sharp look. “What's do you think I said? I said no. This chick was crazy. She was obsessed with becoming a werewolf. She used a glamour on me. I couldn�
��t see what she was right away. She appeared human. I thought I was in love and, and…”
“And you turned her.”
“I never would have if she hadn’t enchanted me.”
“She was already a siren. Why would she want to be a werewolf too?”
“Eventually, it would allow her to stay on land permanently. I guess she got into some trouble in the water kingdom.”
“You mean like legal trouble?"
“The merfolk marm wanted her head on a spike. I don't know what Serena did to piss her off, but it doesn't surprise me.”
“Did Morty, the older gentlemen, who I asked you about the other day, ask about her?”
He didn’t reply, but his silence was enough.
“So when I was here last time you knew that he might be in trouble, but you didn’t say anything?”
As we’d been talking the guys that worked for him had been trickling in. Kelly got up and closed the door. He didn’t want them listening to our conversation.
“Man, that girl is bad news.” He sat back in the chair behind his desk. “And I don’t want her coming back here.”
I laughed. “You’re a werewolf. You’re stronger than her.”
“No way. Not anymore.”
“But you’re the alpha?”
“She’s found a way to make herself stronger. It’s some messed up dark magic.”
I paused. “Does it have something to do with eating hearts?”
He flinched. “The werewolf community doesn’t do that anymore.”
I couldn’t just let that go. “You’re an accessory to murder if you knew and said nothing.”
“You think I don’t know that? There was nothing I could do to stop her. The were/siren combination, along with the dark magic, has made her crazy strong. The only trouble is she hasn’t completed the final transformation yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ten human hearts will make her all but invincible. But the tenth heart ….” He trailed off.
“What about the tenth heart?”
“It has to be the heart of another were.”
Yikes, no wonder he didn’t want her here.
He didn’t have to go on. I understood the implications. Tonight was a full moon.
“Where is she?” I asked. “If she were keeping someone alive, where would it be? Where would she hold her victims?”
“Lady, I don’t know. I try my best to stay as far away from that crazy bitch as I can.” He seemed genuinely rattled.
“How do I stop her?”
He raised his rather considerable bushy eyebrows. “The same way you kill any were-creature.”
“Got it,” I said.
I had to make sure I had a fresh supply of silver bullets.
I drove back to headquarters. Not wanting to get in trouble again, I immediately relayed this new information to Mr. Stroud. The Society’s library had an extensive section on the history of the various were species. There may have been something about werewolf hybrids, along with more information on the ancient dark magic traditions like the heart sacrificing.
Before yesterday, we all made the assumption that we were only dealing with an aquatic supernatural. We were half right, but there still might’ve been something I could uncover.
I drove past the front of the Ironwood Building, turning left onto a side street to pull into the parking area. Now that I worked in the library, I got an official parking spot in the underground garage. Leaving my car down here was safer than on some random side street, but to be honest, it sort of felt like a tomb. The ancient building had old-fashioned low cement garage ceilings that were guaranteed to make even the bravest feel claustrophobic.
I always tried to park as close to the elevator as I could so when I left late at night, sometimes around midnight. I didn’t have to walk too far through the garage alone. But now, smack dab in the middle of the workday, there were no good spots to be found, and I ended up about as far away from the elevator as was possible.
I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, hurrying quickly up the ramp toward the elevator. Not another soul was around. The amplified sound of dripping water echoed all around me.
Even during the daytime, this parking structure gave me the creeps.
I was practically jogging as I finally stepped into the well-lit little alcove that housed the elevators. I pushed the call button and waited. I pulled my phone from my bag to check for messages. Just me and the dripping sound of water. As the elevator dinged, I slipped my phone back into my bag and felt a hand grab me from behind.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stifled a scream as the hand tightened over my mouth.
“Shhhh!” said a hushed voice.
The man let go of me and I whipped around, ready to fight. “Sam?!”
“Please don’t scream,” He whispered, laboring to breathe.
“I wasn’t going to scream. Not all girls scream at every little thing.”
“Okay. Good.” He nodded, his eyes wild. “Sorry.”
“What are you doing here?” I said, my heart still pounding from the fright. “Did the hospital release you?”
He leaned in closer. “They’re trying to get me.”
“Who is?”
“Your boss and his thugs,” he said, glancing furtively over my shoulder. His behavior was making me nervous.
“My boss, Mr. Stroud?”
“Yeah that English guy in the suit. He’s trying to get me.”
“He’s not a thug. And I’m sure he’s not trying to get you. What’s going on Sam?” But as soon as the question was out of my mouth I knew the answer.
“I remember. I remember it all.” He looked at me with big eyes. “That vampire was attacking you. He was going to kill you. And then that Stryker guy made the gargoyles come to life…”
“None of that really happened,” I lied.
“Yes it did, Lacey,” he said without the slightest hesitation. He no longer had any doubt. He was aware that the supernatural world existed.
This was not good. The standard issue memory wipe had failed. There was no way Mr. Stroud was going to let that fly. Especially from Sam, who was an LAPD officer. He could potentially cause a lot of trouble for the Society of Shadows and all the work we did to keep the world safe from dangerous supernaturals.
“I didn’t know where else to go.” Sam looked at me desperately. “You know about all this crazy paranormal stuff too, don’t you?”
He’d come to me for help. What was I supposed to do?
“We can’t stay here.” I ignored his question. “And there are security cameras in the elevator. Let’s take the stairs.”
“Aren’t there cameras in there too?”
“Yes, but they’re easier to deal with than the elevator.” I was glad I had my wand in my bag. It was a lot easier doing magic with my own instrument.
This was crazy. If Stroud was trying to find him, then Sam was practically walking right into his grasp. “Stroud is probably up in his office right now. Security is all over this building.”
“What is this… place?” he asked like he was smelling something rotten.
“This is where I work. And it’s not a bad place.”
Somehow, Sam had had an inkling that the paranormal world existed right along with the magical world. Very few humans were perceptive enough to pick up on this. How he had figured it out, I didn’t know, but he’d somehow jumped to the conclusion that we were evil.
Before he encountered the vampire, he’d tried to warn me away from this building. He never said what he knew, but he had figured out something.
“If it’s not bad, then what kind of place is it?”
I decided to just jump right in. Give it to him straight. “You are in the Society of Shadows West Coast International Headquarters. We’re basically a worldwide secret crime fighting organization that helps keep the planet safe from things like demons and rogue vampires.”
“Right,” he instinctively laughed. But then his
face fell as the realization sunk in. “Oh my God… So they do all exist.”
“Yes, they do. And worse. But the people who work here are not bad guys. You’ve been barking up the wrong tree.”
I had to search my memory for a spell to take out the lights in the stairwell. I knew it was easy, but I still had to come up with the words to activate my wand.
“Deluminous,” I said, cracking open the door to the stairwell. One by one, the lights flickered out, leaving us in total blackness.
“Whoa!” Sam gasped. “What are you?”
“That’s complicated,” I said as we crept up the stairs.
“You’re some kind of a witch.”
“Exactly. I’m some kind of witch.” I hoped that would satisfy him for now. His brains might have actually scrambled if I’d told him I was an animagi. “Hurry. We don’t have a lot of time before the lights come back on.”
Following me in the darkness, he asked, “But you’re... a good witch?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Except it doesn’t exactly work that way. I can explain it to you later. Right now I need to figure out what to do with you.”
He was silent for a moment as we crept up the stairs.
“Sam, you know you can’t tell anyone about this.”
“I don’t care what you say. The world needs to know this,” he argued, sounding so impassioned.
I shook my head. “They’ll wipe your memory again.”
“Again?”
“Yes, they did it after you were attacked by the rogue vampire. It was either wipe your memory, or let you be turned into vampire. But it’s dangerous to wipe your memory a second time, especially so close to the first mind wipe.”
“Wait… what?”
“You may not come out of a memory wipe the same way you went it. It might permanently affect your brain. It’s like a football player getting his twentieth concussion. You don’t want that.”
When we got to the right floor, I hesitated before opening the door. “I work in the library, which happens to just be halfway down this hallway. My boss is…. um, not around at the moment, so I need to go unlock the door. When the coast is clear, I’ll whistle for you to follow me.”