by Liz de Jager
‘What the hell?’
‘I don’t know what happened,’ I reply and walk up to the open doorway where Shen’s standing, her expression annoyed. I put my hand forward tentatively and suck in my breath when it makes contact with a clear yet solid wall. I slap the invisible barrier and it makes a soft zing noise that sparks against my fingertips. ‘It’s warded,’ I say to Dante. ‘Someone warded the flat against me.’
‘That’s ridiculous.’ He moves past me into the flat unhindered. ‘Why can I get through if you can’t?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Is there a problem here?’ Shen asks, her voice almost bored.
‘I can’t get into the flat,’ I say. ‘Look.’ I press myself flat against the surface and it’s like pressing up against a panel of clear glass. I can see the interior of the flat without a problem and she can obviously see me. ‘See?’
‘Are you pulling some kind of weird mime crap, Blackhart?’
I roll my eyes at her. ‘Seriously?’
Dante exits the flat and frowns at me. ‘Can you tell what it is that’s stopping you?’
‘No clue. It could be a spell reacting to me personally, to my magic. Who knows?’ I dig into my bag and hand him the camera. ‘Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take as many photos of the inside of the flat as you can.’
He takes the small compact digital camera and turns it on, checks the screen and turns it off again.
‘Okay, I’ll see what I can do.’
‘Pay particular attention to anything that’s out of place or unusual.’ I beckon him closer. ‘Just, you’ve got something on your face.’ I lick my thumb and reach up to wipe something from the corner of his eye but he leans back in surprise.
‘What are you doing?’ His voice sounds breathless and panicked and I stare at him.
‘I can’t kiss your face, idiot,’ I grind out in annoyance. ‘Stand still. Let’s see if this will work.’
He realizes what I’m doing but it doesn’t stop him from sighing in a long-suffering way. He leans closer and I rub my damp finger over both his eyes and as I do, I feed a bit of my magic into my intent to let him See.
‘If you two lovebirds are quite finished,’ Shen interrupts. ‘I’ve got a job to do here.’
Dante opens his eyes slowly, languidly and gives me a sexy smile that feels far more intimate than it should. As he brushes past me without a word the weird frisson of electricity sparks off him again and I step back, an unexpected wave of dizziness passing over me.
The policewoman standing a few paces away, still keeping an eye on Chem and his group, gives me a brief smile.
‘Detective Shen is a bit abrupt, but she’s a great cop.’
‘My uncle knows her,’ I blurt, walking up to her. ‘I don’t think she likes me.’
‘She’s like that with everyone she doesn’t know.’ Her name badge reads S. Peters. ‘Your friend, who is he?’
‘He’s with the SDI,’ I say and watch the lively interest in her large blue eyes wane. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Nothing, just thought he might be.’ She clears her throat. ‘Far too pretty to be a cop.’
I laugh and she relaxes a bit. The group behind her mutter among themselves as they notice her scrutiny wavering. Chem quietly slips between them and ducks back down the passage to the doorway.
‘He has a certain charm,’ I admit. ‘Do you need anything? I can do a run for some coffee or something?’
She shakes her head before replying. ‘I’m good, thanks. I only just got here.’
Before I head downstairs, I look over my shoulder and see Dante walking down the passage in the flat, taking photos as he goes. He’s talking to Shen and I can’t hear what they’re saying but it doesn’t look as if they’re planning to be BFFs any time soon.
Chapter Thirty-One
‘Yo.’
The parking garage is practically empty of cars, except for a white Corolla on bricks. It looks as if it’s hoping to be scrapped and turned into something pretty and not covered in gang graffiti. Chem’s hunkered down against one wall, tying his shoelace as he gestures me over.
‘Did you find anything out?’ he asks me as I walk across to him. ‘About Marv’s little sister, I mean?’
My face registers my surprise and he continues. ‘Yeah, Marv called my house this morning, and he was crying and screaming, saying his little sister got taken last night. We’ve been trying to find out the whole morning what’s going on, but none of us could get near the flat with all the cops hanging about.’
‘Oh, Chem, I am so sorry.’
His look is one of wry disbelief. ‘You said you’d stop this from happening again.’
‘I’m finding out as much as I can, Chem. It’s not easy.’
‘Riiiight.’
‘Listen.’ I draw a deep breath. ‘Dante’s in there right now, checking things out. We’re going to find Marv’s little sister. What’s her name?’
‘Tia.’
‘How old is Tia?’
‘She’s five, but she’s got a mouth on her. That’s how they knew, right? Tia screamed the flat down when that thing came for her.’
‘How did he take her, do you know?’
‘The guy came through the window. Then they left out of the front door.’
‘Shit. How is that possible?’ I start pacing. ‘I bet you the CCTV cameras in the block don’t show anything again. Do you know if anyone heard or saw anything?’
‘Not that anyone is saying.’ He scrubs his face. ‘But Marv swore he saw the guy. He ran after them, leaving his mum to call the police, and he swore he saw the guy jump down the stairs carrying his baby sister.’
I stop in front of him. ‘What do you mean, “jump down the stairs”?’
‘The guy got to the top of the stairs and then just jumped down between them, into the gap, straight down to the ground floor. Marv said he could swear the guy was wearing a cloak too.’
‘So what do we think now? Batman took Tia?’
A grin twists Chem’s features. ‘Don’t be silly, Batman’s not real.’ Then. ‘Is he?’
‘Well, my boy cousins are fond of acting like Batman,’ I point out reasonably. ‘But no, he’s not real.’
‘What are you going to do next?’ He asks me, stifling a yawn without much luck. ‘Sorry, that was rude.’
‘Next I’m going to see what Dante finds out – and maybe we could speak to Marv. Do you think he’ll be okay to do that?’
‘Marv’s been researching you and your family,’ he says by way of answer. ‘Also that guy Dante. I’m pretty sure he wants to talk to you.’
I try not to let my discomfort show and wonder what exactly there is about me to find online and what searches Marv did. I shuffle my feet, suddenly aware of the chill in the garage.
‘Great. Let’s go and see what Dante’s found.’
We round the corner just as Dante leaves the block, looking pale and unwell. We hurry towards him and I’m just in time to push my shoulder under his, preventing him from tripping over his own feet and falling over.
‘Dante, what the hell?’ I gasp, shocked by how heavy he is.
‘Sorry, I can’t . . .’ He turns away from me just in time and vomits a stream of bile into the straggly bushes growing up against the wall. He leans a hand against the bricks, his body wracked by shivers. Chem and I move to stand in front of him, doing our best to shield him from the curious gazes of the onlookers. ‘Shit, what is this?’ he mutters before he vomits more.
‘Rough night last night?’ Chem asks me and I shrug. ‘I was up late doing research – no idea what Dante was doing.’
‘Sleeping,’ comes his voice, sounding utterly wretched. ‘I was sleeping. I don’t party during the week.’
‘Yeah, could have fooled me,’ Chem replies with a smirk. ‘You look like shit.’
I turn back to Dante as he straightens. He looks older suddenly, the skin tighter across his high cheekbones and his eyes darker.
‘
Are you okay?’
‘I don’t know. I was in the flat taking photos when I suddenly started shaking and feeling really sick. Detective Shen gave me some water to drink but it didn’t help.’ He shudders and runs a trembling hand through his hair. Possibly one of the first times I’ve seen him badly rattled. ‘I just had to get away from that flat as fast as I could.’
‘Look, why don’t you guys come to mine?’ Chem says. ‘It’s just around the corner and my nan will be able to mother you. She’d love that.’
‘I don’t want to be an inconvenience,’ Dante starts but I scowl at him and it shuts him up. I hook my arm through his and with Chem leading the way to the opposite block of flats, we head up to the second floor.
Chem’s flat is large but made smaller by all the books and knick-knacks that seem to cover every single horizontal surface.
He shows us into the comfortable living room and Dante sits down with a sigh, fishing the camera out of his pocket. Chem goes off to find his nan and soon she’s in the room, a tiny wiry woman who takes one look at Dante and immediately goes into mothering mode. She makes us each a large mug of tea; Dante’s is served black with enough honey stirred into it to kill a horse. She makes sure he drinks it up before smiling a tight smile that reveals a great set of shiny teeth.
‘You children,’ she says, although she looks no older than sixty herself. ‘Always running around like there is no tomorrow. Just sit here, relax and drink your tea. It will make you feel better.’
‘Do you think whatever spell was placed on the flat affected you too? In the end, I mean,’ I ask Dante when she heads out of the room to make him some plain toast. Chem’s busy plugging his laptop in so we can look at the pictures Dante took; he looks startled at the overheard question.
‘I suppose so,’ Dante groans, leaning back against the sofa and pressing a hand against his forehead. ‘I feel like death.’
‘You look it. What happened?’
‘I was fine, following Shen around, and then we get to the main living area and, man, it felt like I got hit by a fist to the head. I actually stumbled into a coffee table and then had her shouting at me too. It wasn’t my idea of fun.’
‘But you got photos?’
He nods and pushes the camera towards Chem. ‘Yes. The lighting wasn’t too good in there but I did what I could.’
‘Did you See anything?’ I ask him, touching my eyes to show him what I meant.
‘Nothing that jumped out at me, sorry.’ He grimaces and rubs his eyes. ‘And I’m seeing double too. It feels weird: like somebody put me on a merry-go-round and spun it really fast.’
Wordlessly, I press the back of my hand against his forehead and gasp when I feel how hot his skin is. I wonder if feeding my magic into him made him sick, and if this was somehow my fault. But he was fine the other night when I did it.
Chem slides the SD card into the laptop and clicks a few things before turning it around so I can look through the photos. The flat wasn’t as tidy as Chem’s but it held a homely quality I liked. Loads of pictures of little Marv, eventually joined by baby Tia. They were cute-looking kids. Marv’s room holds a large computer, with books and clothes strewn around. The parents’ room is only a bit larger, with a built-in wardrobe and a small dresser by the window. There’s a framed photo on one wall of Mum and Dad, Marv and Tia. It looks pretty recent. The other wall holds a landscape, a generic picture you’d find in IKEA or somewhere like that.
Tia’s room reflects her growing interest in everything. There are a lot of pink toys, but I also see some old beat-up cars, a train set and a box of Lego she must have inherited from Marv at some stage. There are no pictures but there is a large mirror, at least three by four foot. The way Dante has taken the picture shows that the mirror is opposite the window.
‘Why are you frowning like that?’ Dante asks me, stretching forward so he can see what I’m looking at. ‘That’s Tia’s room.’
‘Did you feel anything weird when you were in there?’ I ask him.
‘No, it was just a little girl’s room made strange by her not being there.’
I keep flicking through the photos and eventually come back to the lounge area and feel my heart stutter in my chest when I see the tribal African masks lined up on either side of the front door. I tap the screen.
‘This?’
Chem’s shuffled closer and looks at them. ‘I hate those bloody masks. Marv’s dad came back from Nigeria with them last year and they just freak me the hell out. If you go there, you can see them following you around with their empty eye sockets. It’s creepy, right?’
Dante and I share a look. ‘Did he say why he bought them?’ I ask Chem.
‘No, he said some dude from this village he visited gave them to him. Said they’d keep him and his family safe against people with magic.’
‘Oh.’ I twist my lips into a wry smile. ‘Well then, that explains it.’
‘You mean it actually worked?’ Chem’s voice rose lightly and he cleared his throat. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yep, I couldn’t get into the flat.’
Chem’s eyebrows shot up in shock. ‘Wow. Okay.’ He watches me for a second before speaking again. ‘Do you think they have something to do with Tia being taken?’
‘No, if anything it made taking her harder,’ I reply. ‘This just proves that there must be two of them working together. One to get into her room, another waiting at the front door to take the child.’
‘But how, if this other guy is using magic, does he get into the flat if the masks are stopping it from happening?’
‘The masks aren’t strong enough to protect the whole flat,’ I point out. ‘Just the main entrance or exit. So it leaves the other guy free to get in through the window. Or wall. Or whatever.’
‘Thank you, Mrs . . .’ Dante looks blankly at Chem, realizing we don’t know his real name or his grandmother’s name. She’s just come in, carrying more tea and a plate.
‘Just call me Auntie May, boy,’ she says with a laugh, putting the plate of toast down next to him. ‘This will help settle that stomach of yours. Charlie here can eat a whole loaf of bread if you don’t watch him so count yourself lucky there’s any bread left to give you.’
Chem twitches when she calls him by his real name and I hide a smile. ‘Thanks so much for the tea and toast, Auntie May,’ I say. ‘We’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes.’
‘Oh, girl, don’t be silly. Stay as long as you like. That boy needs to rest. Something nasty’s got hold of him, riding him like a demon.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Illness, can’t you see?’ She pressed a firm hand to Dante’s shoulder. ‘You get home and into bed, boy. You need to rest.’ With a last smile she heads off to her room and we hear the TV go on, followed by the dialogue from the news.
‘Yeah, sorry about my grandma. She’s a bit weird now and again.’
‘I think she’s perfect,’ I tell him and I mean it. Being around Auntie May makes me miss my own nan so much. I like how bright her eyes are and how they twinkle with mischief. I also like the way she trusts Chem and never once stopped to ask him who we are and what we’re doing here. I’m sure she has questions but she’s too polite to do so in front of strangers.
‘I like her too. Looks like she can kick your butt.’
The wry expression at Dante’s comment on Chem’s face tells us that she can.
‘Back to the pictures,’ I say, watching as Dante takes a bite of the toast. ‘Did you see anything weird, Dante? Anything?’
‘Just those masks.’
‘Did you start feeling weird after you saw them?’
‘No, it was before. Almost as soon as I walked into the flat.’
‘Where are Marv and his mum now?’ I ask Chem.
‘They took them to the police station. His dad’s on his way home now. He works shifts.’
‘Did Marv tell you anything else that might be useful?’
Chem thought about it and shook his head. ‘No, I mea
n, the guy jumped down eight flights of stairs with Tia and there’s no sign of him or her. I’d say that’s pretty unusual.’
‘Where’s your toilet?’ Dante’s question interrupts us. Chem points but Dante’s already moving towards the doorway; he slams the door shut behind him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
‘I’m okay.’
‘You are not okay.’
‘Maybe I had a bad pancake this morning.’
‘Then why aren’t I sick? Or Aiden or Kyle?’
‘Maybe it was only my pancake.’
‘Shut up and lie down.’
I watch him as he tries to get comfortable in the seat. About ten minutes into our drive he starts shivering. I turn the heating on high but it doesn’t seem to help. I can hear his teeth clattering as fever grips him.
The sky’s grey and overcast and the nip in the air is a definite thing. Traffic’s not too bad and we get back to his flat without any further vomiting incidents, although there are a few times when I think he’s going to splatter the interior of the car.
I help him into the house and shut the door behind me. The place is as empty as it was yesterday, with no sign that anyone’s been there since I left.
‘Which is your room again?’ I ask him and he points listlessly towards one of the closed doors. He sways against me and I feel a shudder go through his body. ‘Are you going to be sick?’
‘No, no. I’m just cold. I don’t know what’s going on.’
I close my eyes in frustration. Just my luck to get saddled with him now that he’s going through some kind of flu episode. I push open the door to his room and barely register the huge bed or any of the ruggedly attractive wooden furniture. It’s sure bigger than my tiny room.
‘Get changed,’ I tell him. ‘I’ll see if I can find any cold and flu medicine.’
‘There should be something in the kitchen cupboards, somewhere.’ He sits heavily on the bed and pulls off a shoe, letting it drop to the floor with a clunk. ‘I can’t remember the last time I ever felt this shit.’
‘You look it,’ I assure him as I walk away. I dump my bag on the table and rummage around the cupboards until I find a medical kit, stocked with all kinds of painkillers and bandages and disinfectant. The kit is even slightly better stocked than the one at home.