I shook my head. "When were you going to tell me that you had a daughter?"
"Never, I wasn't in contact with her until Tomes decided to kidnap her. Her mother didn't want me in her life. That's what I get for having a one-night stand." He shook his head. "But I've always wanted a child."
That was news to me. "How old is she?"
"Four." He answered easily. "I've been keeping an eye on her from afar. She's adorable. Curly brown hair, beautiful brown eyes."
I could hear the love in his voice. "Must be hard."
"It's better for her. Her mother knows what I am and therefore she can be prepared. But let's face it; you and I both know I'm not the best person in the world. Had I not known to contact Melody, I would have turned you over."
That wasn't a comforting thought at all.
"Had you left the fire going than I could have defended myself." I pointed out. "We could have worked our way out of this together."
He shook his head. "Tomes knew what you are. There would have been no fire wielding for you without signing an instant death warrant."
"Oh yes, because being kidnapped and slowly tortured would be a much better option." I snapped. "I'm going home. Assuming that huge boom wasn't the Hummer blowing up."
"My guess was Agent Grace blowing down the front door. I'll see you next month for training." He said it so matter of fact, as if he didn't just admit that he would trade me for his daughter. Send me to my death without trying to help at all.
I couldn't fault him. The love a father has for a child was supposed to have no limits. But I felt that was just one of many circumstance that he would trade me for. Information that suited him could have been another one. A chance to kill Levi maybe.
I ran a hand through my hair as I made my way back to the front door. I stepped over the fallen door and slivers of wood. Not my door. Not my problem. I went to the Hummer and climbed in. Locking the door, I thought back to Tomes.
"It's not over yet, princess."
I should have shot him in the back when I had a chance. Instinct told me I'd regret it down the line.
I pulled up to my house and sighed with I saw Melody sitting on my stoop. Part of me was grateful that at least she hadn't broken into my house and waited in the living room for me, but I wasn't sure I was pleased to see her either. I got out.
"All done with Tomes?" I asked as I walked up. I sat next to her on the stoop, it felt right.
"He's Nick’s problem now. Once your territory is done with him then I'll take him back to mine and he'll face trial there." She shrugged. "I wanted to come talk to you about what he wanted from you."
I looked at her. "He wanted to mutilate my body and send it the King of Vampires. Oliver fed me some line that it's because of my position in PIB and my connection to Levi."
"He's convinced you have a connection to the king himself." Melody said and she had a smile on her face. "So I need to know, do you?"
I laughed. I couldn't help it. It'd been awhile since I'd heard anything so crazy. "No, I don't have any connections to him. I was adopted by Levi, but he makes sure that I stay out of most vampire affairs. I know enough to get me through and that's it. Honestly, I try to stay out of supernatural politics and affairs because they are complicated."
"Yet you were hanging out with a werewolf and helping him with something." She shook her head. "You're a contradiction, Abby."
I shrugged. "I really like the werewolf."
"Dating one isn't going to be any less complicated. Especially considering you are a witch. You can never be changed, you can never be one of them." She reminded me gently.
"Yeah, I know, I don't know if it's going to work out between us anyways. Doesn't matter. You really came all the way and waited on my porch to ask me about my connection to the mysterious vampire king?"
"I needed to get out of the office for a while. I'll be here until your territory is done with Tomes. I thought it would be a good idea to get to know the agents. I would have brought you coffee, but I figured you probably had some."
I stood. "Come on in for a cup. I had a long night and coffee sounds fantastic."
She smiled and stood as well. I unlocked the door and we walked in. Osiris sat back on his hunches and hissed at Melody. I picked him up. "Sorry, he's a little testy." Though she was the first person he had hissed at.
"He has all right to be, he knows I'm a shifter."
I blinked and turned around. "Shifter, not lycanthrope. You have the ability to turn into whatever animal you want."
"Yes, that makes him nervous." She sat at the breakfast nook. "Nice place."
"Thank you, it's a little big for just me, but I like it." I went and started to fix the coffee. Osiris jumped out of my arms and went into the bedroom. I went through the motions of starting the coffee. "So how long have you been working for PIB then, really?"
"About ten years. I went in right after high school. I wanted nothing more than to be an agent for the greatest new agency."
I turned around and handed her a mug. "You must have been close to one of the first agents."
"PIB's actually been around a lot longer, it just wasn't always public." She folded her hands around the mug. "You should know that."
"I meant first official of course." I knew the history of PIB, but I didn't know the details about how it functioned before it was government ran. I know a lot of older agents bitched and moaned about what they could or could not do now.
"I was close, but that doesn't matter. I climbed the ranks just like anyone else. Have you ever considered running your branch?" She sipped her coffee.
I laughed again. "Are you kidding me? No. I don't like to be in charge of other people. Besides, I don't want to be like Boss Man, holed up in an office and never on the field."
"Do you know much about Boss Man?" She tapped her nails against the ceramic mug.
"We don't even know his name. He likes to keep it that way. We rarely see him. I think I've seen him more this last year than I have since I've been with the agency."
She smirked. "And don't you think that's odd?"
"Have you seen my life? There's a lot of odd in it. It doesn't bother me. Everyone is entitled to their secrets, unless it affects my life." I sipped my coffee and savored the warmth of it sliding down my throat.
"We knew all about our fearless leader and she spent a lot of time on the field with us. I just think it's odd."
I preferred to work alone and I knew Nick did too. I'd never tried to look into Boss Man and his life. "If I learned anything tonight it's that secrets keep people safe."
"That they do Abby, just remember that down the line." She finished her coffee and put the mug on the counter. "I need to get going. Have a great night."
She let herself out and I was left staring at where she had been sitting. I was tired enough that I was willing to write her off as something else strange in my life. I just hoped she didn't turn out to be another partner at the agency. I couldn't handle any more. Not to mention, I couldn't trust a woman who had her identity completely rewritten to suit a job of spying on another PIB agent.
My mind turned back to Nick and I wondered again if he was there because I had been closely tied to the Barn Case six months ago when he had showed up. I shook my head and went to my bedroom. Tomorrow was going to be a long day full of witches and werewolves and I wanted to make sure that I got some sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I woke up in the late afternoon to Simon knocking on my door, I had showered and eaten. I swung the door open and invited him in. I noticed Osiris didn't even flinch this time when Simon walked in. I studied Simon's face. Dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn't slept much last night.
"What happened?" I feared the worst, maybe Greg had decided to punish him. How did an alpha punish another werewolf? Maybe he had them run laps in the forest until morning. It sounded like a bad joke and I figured I probably didn't want to know.
"Martha was killed last night at the hospital. Well, th
is morning, really." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just got done over there. They are ruling it a medical complication."
A ton of things ran through my mind. She had surgery to remove the bullets, but that shouldn't have killed her. She was a lycanthrope, which means that she wasn't able to get an infection. "What do you think happened?"
"I don't know. I was there when they were talking about the blood samples. One of the nurses questioned why she was in the lycan wing if it wasn't showing up in her blood."
Holy shit, Witch had managed it. Somehow. "I saw her change, she was able to shift before the hospital. When I touched her hand my magic could feel her animal. What do you mean there was no lycanthropy in her blood?"
"I'm just telling you what I heard." He shook his head. "Greg knows, but we need to get up to the pack grounds to get this meeting over with."
I snatched my bag off the ground, my mind still spinning about Martha. "Did she have any other visitors?"
"They said that her sister came to see her, but that's not possible."
"Yes it is, if she was with Witch. It's totally possible." I gritted my teeth. "They performed a spell there. Which means that another body is going to show up at some point."
Simon turned to face me. "But it took Martha's life."
"Maybe they tried without a sacrifice." I thought back to anything I knew about sacrifice magic. "The spell would be weaker. I imagine that the spell separates both souls, the wolf and the human. They failed because the magic wasn't strong enough, they managed to take out the lycanthropy but at the cost of her life." I climbed into his car. "There's no true cure for the disease because no one really knows what causes it to show up in the bloodstream."
"We know that it's transferred through cuts and bites and blood, but it creates another soul. One of the animal you're infected with. No one knows why magical creatures and vampires are protected from it." Simon finished for me. "But it doesn't matter. What matters is that this witch has killed three of our pups and tonight we face her."
I brushed my hand over the butt of my gun, trying to find comfort in the weapon. None came and I realized it was because I was walking into a death trap. I was facing a witch much more powerful than me in werewolf territory.
"Abby?"
"I'm okay, just nervous. I don't know anything about Witch, for all I know I could be walking into a huge trap and so could you and the pack."
Simon put his hand on my knee. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He sped towards the mountain.
We both remained silent through the rest of the ride, but he never removed that hand on my knee and at some point I covered it with mine.
He pulled up to the dirt lot and parked with the other cars. More of the pack must have been called for tonight. Depending on what happened with Witch, the pack would either be gone after tonight or they would stay around to grieve the loss of yet another pup. I would either die or return home for the night. Simon and I walked hand in hand to the circle.
I walked in and looked at all the wolves standing there, some in animal form and others in human form. I walked up to Greg and pulled my hair to one side and bent forward.
"Not tonight Abigail, tonight you are here as my equal, a protector of my family, my pack." His voice was strong.
I straightened and met his gaze. "You honor me." I turned towards the woods.
The wind kicked up and magic danced with it. I shivered and it had nothing to do with being cold. The witch I'd met at the pack gathering walked through, a werewolf at her side. No one missed the silver leash and collar that tethered him to her.
Her magic felt completely different than when I first met her and now I knew that she was much more powerful than I had imagined. I was going to die tonight if I couldn't outsmart her.
"Mina." Greg snarled. "We invite you to our land and this is how you repay us? You kill our pups?"
Mina held her hand out and Rachel stepped up and took it. "Two were merely sacrificed to rid this one of the disease that plagues you all. She came to me willingly."
"But the pups you sacrifice didn't and you failed to clean Martha of lycanthropy." I met her gaze. "The pups weren't willing."
Mina pointed a finger at me. "What is she doing here? This sorry excuse for a witch has nothing to do with this meeting."
I debated on pulling my gun out and shooting her now, but she hadn't done anything to threaten me. Yet. "I was asked here by the pack."
Mina smiled. "Isn't that sweet? Simon thinks his little girl friend can offer him protection."
"You were here to teach our pack that living in the open and with humans was possible while still maintaining our traditions." Greg stepped up.
I was curious how this plan went so wrong. I kept my mouth shut while we all waited for her to explain something. Anything.
"You thought wrong. Paul and I have been making our way across the country taking other packs and adding them to ours. I cure the ones who wish to be cured by sacrificing those who aren’t willing join us." She spread her arms out and wolves walked out of the forest. A quick guess told me it was over a hundred.
Simon stepped up to me. "About half of those are pack members who attacked us two months ago." He whispered.
I nodded. "So no shooting the wolves then, got it. I don't want to kill any of your former pack members." I grumbled and he stepped away.
"So what will it be, Greg? We outnumber you, I outclass your witch in every way, and I'm willing to do what is needed to lead your pack."
This was going to turn into a drag out teeth and claw fight, leaving Mina and I to deal with each other. My odds weren't good. Other than sacrifice and removing the lycanthrope virus, I had no idea what she was capable of. Some witches knew how to wield their magic into a physical weapon. I only had to hope she wasn't one of them. The moment the fighting started, I'd draw my weapons. Gun vs. magic, it would come down to whoever was quickest.
"I will not bow down to you. My pack is my family, they are mine to protect. I will protect them until my dying breath." Greg snarled.
I heard howling behind me and the sound of bones snapping and muscles sliming their way around new skeletons. I wasn't going to look back. I didn't want to take my eyes off Mina. I was already focusing my magic and energy into blocking an attack from her. I could feel the fear that curled inside me. There was a lot more to this situation than I was willing to admit.
I had very little time to make a full plan before the wolves attacked. Rows of them flooded the middle of the clearing. Snarling filled the air as they rushed towards each other. Clashing with their teeth bared they launched into attacks. A flurry of paws and teeth flashed as they threw each other to the ground. I felt the magic coming at me and I threw my circle up. It impacted hard enough that I felt the circle quake.
Mina stalked towards me, her lips moving fast, chanting her next spell. I pulled my gun out and lowered my circle. I fired twice and the bullets bounced off her own protective circle. I had a moment of awe that she was able to move with her circle. My awe didn't last long as another blast of magic hit me.
I fell backwards and air jumped out of my lungs when I hit the ground. I struggled to relearn how to breathe as I put up another circle. All around us wolves were tearing each other's throats out. Except for hers. Her wolf stayed faithfully by her side in his collar.
"You're no match for me, Abby. Your weapons are no good and your circle is easily breakable.” I pressed my lips together. I knew how to make my circle stronger, but I wasn't willing to let myself bleed not with all the werewolves around me. I'd done that once and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Circles were breakable, as she pointed out. All I needed to do was find the weak point in hers. I needed to take her focus off me. A wolf rounded her circle and snarled. I knew it was Greg from my previous time I'd seen him shift.
Mina leaned down and unhooked Paul and I waited. I let down my circle and crouched low. I let my mind slip into instincts and survival. Paul charged towards Greg a
nd broke the circle. I ran towards Mina, shooting her once in the stomach before being taken down from the side by a werewolf.
Fuck me. The beast sat on me and snapped at my face. A warning, a nice one as warnings went from werewolves. I tried to throw him off me, using one arm to push. He jumped off but bit into my arm. His teeth hit bone and I cried out. I turned to find Mina wading through the crowds of wolves. There was no way I was going to let her get away.
I watched how she moved and realized she was trying to create a circle around the wolves. There was too much damage that could be done. I glared at the wolf in front of me as he licked his lips clean of my blood. My blood. I grinned and focused my energy. I reached out to the circle that was placed on the pack land, the one so long ago. I let my magic reach out to it as I holstered my gun.
I grabbed the bite on my arm and bent down. I smeared my blood in the dirt of the clearing and called the circle. The magic flared to life so vividly that the entire clearing was surrounded in purple. It would take a lot of energy to hold it up and every wolf that was against Greg's pack turned toward me. My eyes gazed over the ground and I saw the bodies of people scattered around. Wolves that had turned back into their human selves after dying.
Pain blossomed through my stomach and side. I gasped and looked to see the blood covered point of a blade shoved through me. How could I have been so stupid as to take my eyes off her? She pulled out the blade and I started to fall to the ground. I stumbled, recovered and turned to face her. She held the blade up and admired how my blood dripped down. I put a hand to my wound.
"You only made my magic stronger." I gasped out. "You can't perform dark magic in my circle. I control it."
"But I can still kill you." She went to strike down with the blade.
Greg leapt and grabbed Mina's wrist, taking her down to ground. I aimed my gun, but I wasn't fast enough. She ripped her arm free and switched the blade to her good hand. She stabbed Greg in the side as I shot her in the shoulder. Her body jerked back and I shot her again in the chest. I put another bullet through her just to make sure she was dead.
Deathly Magic Page 20