"Nothing unusual at the grave. Couple of fresh graves, some people visiting, but nothing that stuck out to me or irritated my aura."
Our aura was one of the biggest clues on if magic had been used, or if a spell had been activated. I scrolled to his next text.
"Boss Man told me you had the day off, but I wanted to check and see if you got your car taken care of or if you needed a ride to Levi's."
I frowned.
"What's up?" Simon asked.
"Nick offered to give me a ride to Levi's. He's not a fan of Levi." I shook my head. Maybe he was just trying to be nice. I read the last text.
"Or not, Jason just called. I get to go talk to the family of the victims, they've been identified."
That was the worst part of the job. I sent him a “thanks for handling it”. I put my phone back in my pocket and looked up at Simon. "Never a dull day. And if I don't get that tracking spell at least started then I won't be able to face Greg tonight."
"That's our first stop after this, then?" He asked and leaned back in the booth. "Even on your day off you don't take it easy."
"The only reason I'm off now is because my car blew up." I grumbled. "Besides, don't you want me to find this woman?"
"Did Greg give you a name?" Simon asked and folded his hands on the table.
I shook my head. "Nope, and I didn't ask. Honestly, the less I know and the less my emotions get involved the better I can work."
"I would think it was the opposite. Don't your emotions help strengthen the magic?"
I loved that he was genuinely curious about my magic. "It can, but it can also cloud your judgment and make you think something is there when it's not. Like hopeful thinking."
He nodded slightly. "I suppose that makes sense."
"But in the case of a protective circle, it's going to be stronger if I'm truly afraid for my life." I shrugged. "Tell me about this Alpha and his queen. Why are they interested in your civil war?"
"We're trying to form a stronger alliance with them. Our pack split over some of the rules that Greg has abolished. He wanted to make the pack look friendlier to humans and other creatures. He announced that he was going to start trying to ally with the local vampires."
Levi. As far as I knew Levi tended to stay out of other politics. "Why suddenly start allying and making the pack more friendly? Greg was pretty clear that he thinks he's above anyone who is human."
"The human laws are starting to really adapt to the supernatural world. He wants to make sure that our pack, our family, isn't targeted because of old laws. He can be an ass, and yes, he thinks that we're superior to most other creatures, but he cares for the pack." Simon met my gaze. "Some of the laws were archaic and needed to be abolished."
I knew better than to ask which laws. "I'll take your word for it. That doesn't explain what the Alpha and the queen want."
"They are one of the most well respected ruling pairs in the United States. They do all their pack events open to the public and have since the supernatural creatures came out. They have a very well controlled pack, including the pups." He shrugged. "An alliance with them and to learn from them is what we need. If we can show the others that it can be done, then maybe they'd stop fighting."
"And if it doesn't?" I asked.
"Then we have to take care of those who oppose us." He shrugged. "I'll leave it at that." The waitress came with our food. I grew up in the supernatural world and knew there were some ugly elements to it. My mind and heart wouldn't allow me to be angry at the idea that Simon might have to kill pack members. Hell, I've been in sticky situations before, too, but he was right, I didn't want details.
CHAPTER FOUR
Simon sat on my couch and he and the cat stared at each other. "You should move up your first meeting with someone who thinks this cat is theirs. Then you should just give them the cat."
I dug through my bag. "Why?"
"Because he freaks me out." His gaze didn't even move from the cat, and in return it meowed at him. "He's naked. Don't you think he's cold? Aren't animals supposed to have fur? Especially cats?"
"He's a Sphinx, he's supposed to be naked. And if you look, he's got a fine layer of it. I don't think he's a purebred, or not show quality." I pulled out the Ziplock of clothing. "You want to see me perform some magic?" I grinned at him. "It's been a while."
He stood up. "Last time I saw you perform magic you nearly passed out after." He shook his head. "You think I'm going to let you go in a room alone and cast a spell?"
"I did not. The last time was when I redid the wards on your club." I led him to my spare bedroom. On the desk was a huge leather bound book, it was open to my family tree and listed what kind of ability everyone carried, if any. Levi had given me the book when I found out that I was an elemental. I had started referring to it as the Big Book of Answers, because it seemed to have everything I needed. Like a way from beyond the grave for my parents to still guide me. I walked over and closed it.
The room was empty except for the book sitting on a wooden desk. A circle had been carved into the wood floors, a full protective circle with the pentagram facing the proper directions and the rune for each element at the tips of the star. I had carved it when I first moved in since I couldn’t summon a circle without a physical guide. With practice I was now more than capable of summoning one without a physical guide.
I motioned to the corner of the room. "Pop a squat. This shouldn't take too long."
Simon sat against the wall in the corner. I could feel him watching me. I turned to see the cat chilling out in the doorway. I wondered if the magic in the room called to him and if maybe he really was my familiar. I pulled open the top drawer of the desk and drew out a map. A tracking spell worked better if I had a blood sample, but something that belonged to the victim worked. I pulled out the clothes and laid them on the desk. Spreading the shirt out, I placed my hand over the part of the shirt that would have lain over her heart.
Symbolism is important in magic and gives the magic something to latch onto. In this case, I was hoping for a heartbeat for the magic to find, because the alternative would be finding a corpse. I dug a pair of scissors out of the drawer; everything in here had been blessed and was only used for magic. I cut out a square from the shirt and then found my knife. I took that, the map, and the shirt piece into the circle with me. I closed my eyes and imagined the carved lines being filled with a purple light.
When I opened my eyes I was surrounded by purple. I looked at Simon who was smiling. "It never ceases to impress me." He said and then motioned with his hand. "Get on with it."
I sat cross-legged in the circle and placed all the items in front of me. The map showed my state, and if the wolf was out of the state I'd have to switch maps. I took a deep breath and used the knife to cut my forearm. I put the fabric square over the cut and let it soak up the blood. I muttered the Latin words from memory and then held the fabric over the map. Blood dripped on the map and I waited.
My stomach sank. The blood droplets stayed where they fell. I closed my eyes and tried to force more energy into the spell, but when I opened them, they still hadn’t moved. Just red dots soaking into the map. My aura itched as my magic spread over the map, through the fibers and touched the blood. Still nothing. Panic rose in me. There was nothing for my magic to lock onto to trace the woman. The cat let out a wail and the blood exploded over the map and on me.
I wiped my face off and wondered how such little blood could splatter so much. Magic was a funny thing. I'd never had a tracking spell rejected like this before and that worried me.
"What does that mean?" Simon asked and I could hear the concern in his voice.
What was I supposed to tell him? What was I going to tell Greg? I wiped more blood splatter off my face with the back of my hand. "My theory would be that she's magically protected." If she'd simply been out of state, then nothing would have happened. "A reaction like that means that someone's magic is working against mine."
"Which means wha
t?" Simon stood.
I took a deep breath. "That they are stronger than I am."
The cat meowed again and I glared back at it. I drew my circle back into me so that the purple faded. I went to the desk to get disinfecting wipes to clean up my lovely blood mess. "Greg isn't going to be happy with this news."
"If this was a PIB case, what would be your next step?" Simon grabbed a few wipes and started helping me clean.
"I'd set a pendulum up to see if I could track her on foot, but I don't know how that would work against the person who's keeping her magically concealed, for lack of a better term."
We finished cleaning up the blood and I gathered the wipes and took them to the kitchen trash. Simon followed me. "He's going to want you to do that."
I turned to face him. "I'm not going to stomp around the state to find a missing werewolf. You guys are trackers, not me. I'm a witch."
"One of the strongest in the state. Doesn't it worry you there's someone else out there that's stronger?" He asked and I turned to face him.
I considered my answer for a moment, and met his gaze. "Yes, but I don't want to run out and face them. That's suicide if the person is evil."
"He or she kidnapped a werewolf. I'm pretty sure that qualifies them for evil."
"The question is, evil or not, why are they messing in werewolf affairs?" I crossed my arms. "This doesn't make sense."
The cat meowed and I motioned to him. "See, even the cat agrees."
"I think the cat is hungry." Simon said easily and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out why Greg didn't want me to know."
I grabbed my phone off the counter and checked to see if I had missed a message. While I had it, I shot Oliver a message.
"Something came up, won't be heading back up today. End of the week will be better. Press conference tomorrow night." I hit send and looked at Simon. "I have to go find a pair of heels. Clarissa should be getting ready to shut down the shop for lunch. Want to drop me off there?"
"And then what? How are you going to get back?" He asked and raised a brow. "The bus?"
"I've taken the bus before. I'll make it back. You just worry about picking me up for our date." I chuckled.
"Yeah, I didn't want our first official date to be a pack event." He wiped a hand over his face. "Especially if you have to tell Greg the news face-to-face."
A small panic went through me at the realization that I wasn't going to be able to fit a weapon on my body with my dress. But we'd be in public, not on pack grounds. I'd just have to make sure I wasn't alone with Greg when I gave him the news.
"Come on, let's go before Clarissa runs off to lunch." Simon gave me a gentle nudge to the door.
I shot Clarissa a text saying I was coming and what I needed as we walked out. I locked up behind us and jumped in the car.
Simon dropped me off in front of the shop. Clarissa ran a metaphysical shop in the little town just a few miles down the highway, not too far from downtown. She was standing in front of the shop’s now turquoise door that was home to a stained glass fairy window. I was sure the door was purple last time I had been down there, but it wouldn't surprise me if Clarissa had changed it. People walked by her on the sidewalk without even batting an eye.
Clarissa's dyed red hair was piled on top of her head in ringlets and her green eyes were shining at me. She grinned. "Shoe shopping in exchange for lunch? Perfect." She nearly skipped over to me and hooked her arm with mine.
"You know, I could borrow a pair and just do lunch." I smiled, but she shook her head.
"You need to invest in a good pair for yourself." Clarissa walked me to her car. She was older than me, but we were good friends. Occasionally it took me a bit to warm up to her bubbly personality, but it's what I needed today. An hour or so of shoe shopping and a good lunch. Then I could worry about my kind of date with Simon and tackle everything else.
I walked around the car and climbed into the passenger side. It just occurred to me to check the car for a bomb but I could trust her to protect her own items. Clarissa climbed in and started the car.
I waited a moment to see if anything happened. The car gave a soft purr as the engine started. Clarissa looked at me. "Something wrong?"
"My car blew up. I'm a bit skittish." I shrugged and she let out a huge dramatic sigh. "It wasn't my fault." I grumbled.
She shook her head and laughed. "Oh Abby, what are we going to do with you?"
"Put me in a protective bubble." I suggested and she pulled the car out of the parking spot and started towards the shoe store. "Did I tell you that I had a cat show up at my door?"
"You haven't talked to me in two weeks." She chided.
I hadn't realized it'd been that long. "Sorry, but yeah, he's a naked cat. All wrinkly and weird."
"Do you know where he came from?"
I watched the traffic go by as she headed towards the highway. "No idea, I have a few people claiming he is theirs. I start meeting with them tomorrow and see how it goes from there."
"Set up a lie detector spell?" She asked.
"Of course I will. But what if no one claims him?" I shrugged. "I know I always joke about getting a cat, but I don't really know if I want one."
"Then he's yours. The Goddess sent him to you."
Great, the Goddess sent me a cat. I closed my eyes and tried to think about life if I kept him. I guessed it would be nice to have a living creature to come home to. "She couldn't have picked a cat with fur?"
"You're not normal, Abby, why do you think she'd send you a normal cat?" Clarissa laughed and I couldn't help but grin.
She had a point.
She caught me up on how the store was doing and how she and the coven were still cleaning up the mess from six months ago. I felt a tiny grip of guilt about having to arrest one of the priestesses in the coven, but the bitch deserved it. I knew Clarissa understood that, but in her mind the Coven was family and you protect family.
She pulled up to the mall and I groaned. It was a weekday, which meant the mall would be empty, but it still wasn't my favorite place. "If I had known you were going to drive all the way here, I would have just had Simon drop me off."
"Don't worry about it. This is the easiest place to do both lunch and get you shoes. You’re sure your dress will work?"
I nodded. "It's one of the ones I keep around for those very rare occasions I have to do something fancy with Levi. So it should be fine for this."
"I'm so happy you're considering getting serious with Simon." She got out of the car and I followed.
I pulled my bag over my shoulder and started going towards the mall. "We're just casually dating. Neither of us really want something serious right now."
"Have you considered asking yourself why?"
I took a moment to consider her question. "You remember when Michelle used you against me? Even though she threatened you to do it, she still used you to get to me. I don't want Simon to become a stepping stone to me." I pulled open the door. "Clearly, I'm still on someone's shit-list because they blew up my car."
"And Simon's excuse?" She walked through the door and I followed her into the building. The gray tile floor made every sound bounce off the high ceilings made mostly of glass. We'd entered near the food court and the smell of fast food overwhelmed me. We walked passed the vendors and up the ramped floor.
"Simon's excuse is that he's second in his pack and has enough to deal with. We're giving it a shot, but like I said it's just casual." I shook my head. "No big deal." I walked towards the shoe store and she was quick on my heels.
There were very few people that passed us; vendors in the kiosks called out to us as we walked by. They offered anything from body jewelry to roasted almonds to try and get our attention. We got to the shoe store and I looked at the rows of footwear and sighed. We had our work cut out for us.
Two hours later, I had a pair of strappy black heels to go with my dress and Clarissa had lunch. She'd dropped me back off at my house. I fed the cat and decided
I had time to take a nap before Simon picked me up for this fancy dinner. I curled up on the bed with the cat, his purring lulling me to sleep.
The chirping of my alarm told me it was time to get up and get ready. I sat up, suddenly nervous. I was going on a fancy date with Simon. Pack event or not, that's what it was. I rolled out of bed and jumped in the shower. Levi's ringtone sounded from out in the bedroom and I cursed. He was just going to have to wait. Not a moment later Oliver's ringtone sounded. Apparently I was popular tonight. I was betting only Levi was calling about the car blowing up. Oliver was probably mad about me canceling our meeting tonight.
I took my time in the shower, making sure all signs of dirt and grime were off me. I used a scented bodywash in hopes of chasing away the smell of smoke. I rinsed off and got out. Wrapping a towel around my body, I walked out to find the cat lying next to my phone.
I picked it up and called Levi back. The phone barely rang once before he picked up.
"Your car blew up."
I could hear something in his voice, but I wasn't able to place the emotion. "Yeah. I need to borrow the Hummer while I get it taken care of. I might have to buy a new car since it was an actual bomb."
He was silent and I was wondering if he was trying to figure out how he was supposed to react to the situation or if he was trying to control his anger. "A bomb rules out most supernatural creatures."
"Yes, it does. Don't worry. I'm fine. I have a thing with Simon tonight, but afterwards we'll come up and grab the Hummer." I started to unwrap my towel to continue to dry off and the cat turned around like I was about to offend him. I dried myself off and went to my drawer to find a bra that was cut low enough to go with the dress.
"A thing?" Levi asked. "What are your chances of being eaten or blown up?"
"Very slim. It's some fancy meeting with other pack leaders. It's in public, Simon will be there, and if Greg wants me to find his missing person, he'll make sure that I'm protected." I pulled out a bra and put it on.
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