by Ashley Meira
Eventually, supernaturals rebelled against the genocide, leading to the formation of a new order of hunters – one that accepted everyone. While most supernaturals decided to stay in the company of their own species, there were still a few who decided to join. Mostly, though, the Order is comprised of humans – magical or otherwise. The Church wasn’t happy with the split and there are always reports of radical groups running around, but things have remained civil for the most part – racist douchebags notwithstanding.
I held my hands over the map and closed my eyes, channeling my magic forward. Raw magic was reactionary, a surge of power flowing through the veins and out in the form of ice, fire, lightning – all that badass stuff – but rituals were different. They required a more careful touch, a greater amount of concentration. At the academy, they said that the way a caster channeled their magic varied from individual to individual. For example, I pictured sigils and traced over them in my mind, using my magic to fill in the blanks. A tingling sensation flowed through me as I focused, and a burning heat prickled at my fingertips as the void powder shifted over the map, blacking out all the unnecessary areas.
Memories of my childhood flickered through my mind. I was four, reaching up toward a woman with wild hair the color of cherries and warm grey eyes. Her exact features were blurred, the only clear thing was her smile, sweet and loving. Ice, electricity, and flames burst from her hands, taking the forms of dragons that flew amongst each other as I watched with wide eyes, completely enraptured by the silent story being told.
It was the last memory I had of my mother.
My lips curled into a frown as I tried to chase the images away to focus on the ritual. If a viable area was missed because I messed up….
The tingling sensation left me. I opened my eyes to see that there were only a few pieces of the map left, the rest of the paper little more than charred specks dirtying my table. One thing that sucked about this ritual was that the resulting smell wasn’t the warm, woody smell of burnt paper, but something more akin to scorched French toast, which ranked right up there with dead bodies and the local mechanic’s breath on the list of smells I would never be able to handle.
Alex came up behind me, his fresh scent of rain mixed with springtime chasing away some of the unpleasantness. Well, his scent and the way his shoulder brushed against mine as he leaned forward to observe the results.
“We’ll have to split up if we want to cover these places in a timely manner,” he said, his breath fluttering my hair with each word.
“Where are they?” said Lily as she and Ipos came over to look, amplifying the cramped factor by ten. “Auntie’s house, the guard tower, Trish’s clinic, and what looks like an apartment building in Old Town.”
“We should take the guard tower,” I said to Ipos. “It might go over better with the guards.”
Ipos was Lucifer’s lieutenant – a Duke of Hell – and a figure of respect among demons, so having him around would help smooth things over. Hopefully. Plus, going to the guard tower would give me a chance to look into Lady Cassandra’s concerns about the guards. I wasn’t about to go on a witch hunt – pun sort of intended – in the middle of tracking down a killer, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out.
Lily turned to Alex. “We’ll go see Trish, then we can all regroup and check out the apartment.”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” I said. “Rowan can go with Alex–”
“So it’s ‘Alex’ now?” Ipos snickered.
“–then we can regroup,” I finished, pointedly not looking at Ipos. It was an impossible task, considering he and his muscles took up half the damned room.
“She’s right, Lily,” said Rowan. “Let the professionals handle this.”
Lily shook her head, the action making her face a big red blur. “I’m not staying behind.”
“Lily–”
“No. Maybe if I’d been good enough to be a hunter, none of this would’ve happened.”
“That’s not true,” I said.
“Bullshit!” Lily’s face was still flushed. It blended in perfectly with her hair, making her look like a giant tomato. Despite her best efforts, she never managed to do well in Lady Cassandra’s or any other hunter’s attempts at teaching her the tricks of the trade. It wasn’t that she didn’t try, she was just too frail and skittish to keep up. I always knew it bothered her, no matter how much she denied it, but I never imagined it weighed on her so heavily.
My head was already aching from the frustration of getting distracted while casting. Now, that ache blossomed into a sharp pain right in the middle of my forehead as the atmosphere in the room passed the point of stifling. More than that, though, was the ache in my heart for Lily. Not only because of how destroyed she looked, but because I felt the same way.
Lady Cassandra trusted me, and I let her die. Because I wasn’t good enough, she was murdered.
I should have been smarter, faster, stronger, or something – anything. But I wasn’t. All I did was get wrapped up in my past. She warned me to let sleeping dogs lie. Even Rowan told me it was a bad idea to chase my mother’s memory. But I didn’t listen. I distracted myself with chasing ghosts. And when Lady Cassandra needed me to be at my best to protect her, I’d been too injured. I let her down.
“I can protect Lily from any harm,” said Alex. “She’ll be safe with me.”
Yeah, and she’d be even safer locked up in this basement. Well, maybe the living room, since there were tons of dangerous ingredients down here, but anywhere that wasn’t in the middle of a murder investigation would be fine with me.
It was nice of Alex to offer protection, though, if not particularly surprising; dude seemed to fit the white knight archetype pretty well.
Rowan perched herself on my shoulder and purred against my ear. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
I nodded, knowing that, short of actually hog-tying her to the bed, I wouldn’t be able to stop Lily from doing what she wanted. All I’d achieve was a rift in our relationship, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Play it cool,” I said as we made our way to the front door. “We don’t want to spook anybody.”
Lily stopped in front of the exit and turned to us. “Guys, promise me something: when the murderer is found, kill them. They don’t deserve to live.”
Ipos shrugged. “Fine with me.”
Alex and I exchanged looks. As much as I would love to rip the cretin that did this to shreds, they needed to be interrogated first. How did they do this? Even sick, Lady Cassandra was still a formidable opponent. What was their motive? Why now? Was a coup being planned? Were the other family heads in danger, too? There were too many questions, and even if we didn’t care about the answers, the Council would. I didn’t want to lie to Lily, but I wasn’t going to promise something I couldn’t do.
“They won’t get away with this,” I said with a resolute nod. That much I could promise.
4
Haven was a pretty big city. Not anywhere near the size of Los Angeles or anything, but it wasn’t too bad for a city tucked away in the mountains of Minnesota. All the hunter towns were hidden in some way from the rest of the world. I used to joke that we lived in the mountains because we were a bunch of hermits that enjoyed looking down on everyone, but I grew to understand the value in having cities in places like these. They were out of the way and “normal” people never bothered coming all the way out here.
Haven’s buildings had a rustic feel to them, more out of geography than preference; it was kind of hard to build a skyscraper on a mountaintop, not to mention how conspicuous a giant tower poking out of the sky would be. I liked the old fashioned look we had here, though. It felt like we were in another world. We kind of were, I guess. We were different – our knowledge of what really lurked in the dark separated us from the rest of humanity.
The heel of my boot caught against the cobblestone as Ipos and I walked through the streets towards the guard tower. The demonic duke caught me with a cocky grin. I
replied to it with a roll of my eyes and an exaggerated huff as I straightened myself out.
It still felt weird being back home. Barring the guards, the hunters that lived here weren’t on active duty. They only came here to retire, visit family, or report to Lady Cassandra. After being away for the past month and a half, I missed the small loft I had back in bustling New York. It was nowhere near the size of the house I had here, but it was still a home to me. Being here instead of on the hunt made me antsy, like the whole world would fall apart if I wasn’t out there helping. It probably wouldn’t, but that didn’t stop the control freak in me from whining.
“How’s your shoulder?” asked Ipos.
I rolled my shoulder at the mention of it, irked at not being as in control of my impulses as I used to be. “It’s fine. Got a nasty scar, though.”
“I’ve seen the scar.” He chuckled. “It’s barely visible.”
“I am a vain woman, Ipos.”
He wasn’t wrong. The mark on my shoulder was little more than a jagged white line, barely visible against my pale skin. I had super healing abilities, though – even the gravest wounds would begin healing quickly, putting me at one hundred percent within a day or two – so I never had any scars. I got this one while following a lead on my mother, and if running into something actually capable of doing lasting harm to my body wasn’t a sign that I should back off my search, then I had no idea what was.
I frowned, shoving that thought in the back of my mind next to the niggling bastard voice that kept asking me how looking for Lady Cassandra’s killer was any different than trying to find out what happened to my mother. I was sick of this. Weren’t girls supposed to have daddy issues instead? Wait, scratch that – I did have issues with my dad. Fuck my life.
“Unfortunately, I can’t remember a recent time where you’ve had the chance to inspect me closely enough to say that,” I said, trying to steer the conversation to something that would cheer me up.
His hand grazed my lower back, sending electricity up my spine. Much better. Covering up the pain with flirting and sex always worked.
“Maybe when this is over,” he said. “And I noticed the scar when Lily was crying on your shoulder earlier; the fabric was pulled to the side. It was before you changed your shirt, remember? I’m guessing you lost a few buttons and couldn’t put it back on.”
I bit my lip. We weren’t exclusive, not at all. There was no point in being in a relationship when you were in such a dangerous line of work. Still, the implication made me feel a little guilty.
Ipos was comfortable; he understood how I felt about these sort of things. Hell, he agreed with me on this. I didn’t need to go off and find a potentially dangerous stranger to fool around with, or get bogged down with a partner who insisted I make a commitment, maybe retire and settle down with two kids and dog. No, all I needed was some stress relief, good company, and fun – all of which Ipos provided.
“Not everyone takes pleasure in destroying the clothing I work hard to pay for,” I said.
“You’re the one who ends up tearing things in frustration half the time.”
It’s true, I realized with a grin. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He rubbed circles against my back. “Of course not.”
People stared at us as we walked. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me to be stared at like I was some sort of sideshow attraction, but I was well-known in Haven, which drew stares on its own. Not to mention the fact that there was a giant Duke of Hell with his arm wrapped around my waist. Well, I guess that’s the price one pays for being more than a regular hunter. Politics: the true boogeyman – scarier than werewolves, crazed sorcerers, and those vegetarians that threw eggs at you when you bought steak.
“As flattered as I would be to think you invited me along because you actually like me–”
“I do like you,” I said.
“Why did you really want me to come along?”
“For a quick romp in the nearest alley.”
“The only thing greater than your sexual appetite is your sense of duty.”
“And the only thing greater than my sense of duty is my love of television series.”
“Morgan,” he said firmly.
“Fine,” I whined.
“And don’t tell me it’s because there are demons working at the guard towers, either. I know you don’t have a problem dealing with that shit.”
“It actually is because of the demons.” I stepped closer to him, enjoying the smell of whiskey and a rich masculine scent that was uniquely Ipos, and lowered my voice. “Lately, Lady Maxwell’s been receiving reports on some of the new guards. Bad reports. Demon guards. And now she’s dead.”
“You think the guards went after her?”
“I think anything that she’s mentioned as being a problem recently is worth looking into.”
“What did the reports say?”
“Suspicions of smuggling, theft, accepting bribes.…”
“So,” he said with an easy smile, “the usual demon pastimes.”
“Well, not all demons are as good-looking as you. They’ve got to get their jollies from somewhere,” I said.
“Keep flattering me like that and we might just have to take that detour into a dark alley.” Ipos winked, sending even more heat through my body. God, did I miss him.
“How long are you in town?” I asked, ignoring the fact that I was trying to drum up another sexual encounter less than four hours after getting laid.
“As long as the investigation of the massacre takes. Normally, we wouldn’t bother, since hunters usually take care of this kind of thing quickly, but since they haven’t identified the perpetrator yet.…”
“Any leads?”
“Besides whoever poisoned Lady Maxwell? None. Did you see anything that day?”
“What makes you think I was there?”
He shot me a skeptical look. “According to that boy’s reports, the suspect looked exactly like you.”
My brows scrunched up. “How’d you get that report?”
“He gave it to me. Cooperative kid, though I’m sure you know that already,” he added with a soft laugh.
I shrugged, ignoring the innuendo. “I’ve got that kind of face.”
“The gorgeous kind?”
“I didn’t know a demon’s eyesight could go bad. You should look into getting glasses – I bet you’d look hot in them.”
“Here’s a word of advice.” He pressed his lips against the shell of my ear. “If you want to hide something from me, don’t visit one of my information brokers.”
Damn it. Was there any demon who didn’t work for Ipos? Guess it paid to be Lucifer’s second. He gave me a chance to come clean, too. Maybe he’s going soft.
I turned, brushing my lips against his, practically tasting the remnants of his favorite whiskey on my tongue. “I was just following up a lead on my mother. You know I didn’t do this.”
“I know.” His deep brown eyes stared languidly into mine. “I also know that the last time you followed a lead on your mother, it got you that scar.”
“It’s barely visible,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his lips.
The guard “tower” was actually over a dozen towers, each one strategically placed along the stone wall that surrounded Haven. According to the map, we were looking for the barracks near Tower Five. The building was nondescript, made of the same grey stone that comprised the rest of the wall. Standing at six stories high, each barrack housed twenty guards that were assigned to walk along the walls and look out for danger. Exactly how adept the guards would be in combat was up for debate since there hadn’t been an actual assault on Haven for centuries, and there weren’t many idiots who tried to start trouble in a city full of hunters. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
I wrinkled my nose as the stale stench of sweat, alcohol, and burnt meat overwhelmed my senses. The first floor of the barracks was comprised of a kitchen and common area. It was cozy
but dirty as hell, which made sense since it was occupied by demons.
I sighed in contentment – every pun I made brought me another step closer to Heaven. Actually, it’d probably land me in Hell. I hope it’s cleaner than this place.
Ipos and I began looking around for any containers that may have held void powder. It was a thankless, time consuming task, but we managed to clear the building after two hours. Two long, disheartening hours. I might have to burn my clothes. And my hair.
“There’s nothing here,” Ipos said as he checked what had better be the very last container in this building. “All traces of void powder are gone. That ritual tracks usage over the past three days, right?”
I nodded. “Plenty of time for them to clean up. This isn’t right, Ipos. There’s no reason for guards to use that stuff, not unless they’re smuggling it.”
“Isn’t it used in medicine?”
“Yeah, but they don’t brew it themselves. Healing salves and medicines are given away by the hospitals and clinics free of charge,” I said, yawning as we stepped back outside. Ah, fresh air. I was so happy to feel wind against my face that I didn’t even care it was turning my hair into a giant bird’s nest.
“Did you get Campbell’s number? Call him and ask if they’ve found anything.”
“Can we help you?” a sly voice called from our left.
Five demons were standing there. A short demon with boyish features stood in the front, while the four males behind him stood around radiating various shades of brute. Every instinct I had told me to throw a fireball and my fingers twitched, brushing against the leather of my holster for reassurance. At my action, the supposed leader of the group’s eyes glanced towards my gun before looking back up at me with a smile.
“I’m looking into the massacre at Fortune Square. Some things were stolen from the caravan and we need to find them.” Ipos said smoothly.