Despite being raised and trained for the job, Cate never had any desire for it. She had always thought Seline would rule for many more centuries to come and then Ceri’s reign would last for millennia so she could live her life, do everything she wanted to do before that fateful day when she would have to take the mantle. That was the way it was supposed to be; she might have had a daughter of her own then. But no, everything had changed when her mother left.
“You always knew this would happen,” Jason commented.
“Yes, but it was supposed to happen in the future when I’m older, immortal and wise. Not before I’ve even made it to thirty, much less ascended,” she snapped, unconsciously tugging at the pendant and shaking her head. “I expected to have a chance to live, be an Enforcer and anything else I wanted. I had my whole life ahead, now I feel like I’ve been handed a death sentence.”
“Seline thinks you’re ready.”
She glared at him. “Whose side are you on, Talbot?”
“Yours. I’m just saying she wouldn’t have made you her Second unless she thought you were ready. She’s been training you for this since you were born.”
“Yeah, but I should be GM after my mum not before. I feel like going to find her and reminding her that she’s the one who’s supposed to be wearing this amulet.”
“Why don’t you find Ceri?” he asked.
Cate stared at him. “Why would I want to find the woman who abandoned me when I was ten years old?” she asked in disbelief. “The only thing worse than being the Second, is the thought of seeing her again.”
“Come on, you must have thought about it. I’ve never met my father, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t considered finding him a million times over the centuries.”
She tilted her head to one side, surprised; he rarely spoke about his past, much less his absent father who abandoned him before he was born.
“Did you try to find your dad?”
Jason shook his head. “No.”
“Why? I tried searching for my mum when I turned eighteen, but it was hard to find out much – Gran didn’t help matters. Everyone told me I should just stay away from her and in the end I came to think she didn’t want to be found. What about your dad?”
He shrugged. “Not much to tell. He left when my mum was pregnant. I don’t know much about him or if he’s still alive. Mother said the affair was brief – it’s complicated.”
“Well, at least it’s not as bad as my parents. Must be hell to be bound to someone like that and never see them like my Mum and Dad are. It’s why I never want to get married. It must be worse if your soul is bound to someone else’s and when one dies so does the other.” She shook her head and pressed her lips together in a slight grimace. “No wonder no one likes to take the joining vows anymore – no one wants a commitment that lasts forever. No relationship survives for long anyway.”
“That’s not true. Some people can stay married for centuries.”
“That’s the downside of immortality, I couldn’t imagine myself being with one person forever,” she looked up at him. “You wouldn’t bond with someone, would you?”
Their romantic relationships were something they never really talked about; the conversation was starting to venture into unknown territory. As far as she knew, Jason never had any serious girlfriends, only casual flings like she did. Hell, he spent most of his time with her, which was why everyone always assumed they were a couple.
He hesitated. “Once upon a time I’d have said no way. If I had someone I loved more than anything then yeah, I’d like to, but…it would never work.”
“Of course not. We aren’t the marrying kind. I’m too young for that commitment crap,” she said and looked at the amulet. “Maybe you should shoot me now.”
Jason smiled. “No way could I ever shoot you – you’re my partner. And don’t worry about being the Second, I’ll be right there with you.”
“Yeah, but that’s only half comforting.”
“At least she’s not thrusting the full responsibility on you. She said you can still be an Enforcer. You have the rank, but not the obligations. Kalin will still be acting in your place.”
“Ha! I bet she’ll start making me sit in on council meetings and ceremonies. Goddess, help me!”
“Try to think positive. Consider all the good you could do as the Second.”
“That may be, but people are wary enough of me as it is and now the damned media will be even more interested. I’ll have to compel the vultures left, right, and centre!”
“The media can’t bother you when you’re working, it’s the law.”
“Doesn’t stop them making up ridiculous stories and snapping photos when I least expect it. They think we’re a couple for goodness sake,” she said with a hint of annoyance.
“I don’t know why that bothers you so much. Let the silly buggers think what they like.”
“How can it not bother you?” she asked. “Don’t you have trouble getting women? Forget that. Stupid question, given how much they seem to throw themselves at you.”
Jason chuckled. “You don’t throw yourself at me.”
“No, that would just he too weird!”
“Oh come on, haven’t you ever thought about me in that way?”
Cate tried not to blush. “Like I said, it would be too weird.”
The doors opened to reveal a corridor with white-washed stone walls. Enforcers, technicians and other staff were everywhere. Cate got the usual glances, but people’s eyes went wide when they saw the sparkling star around her neck. She silently groaned when everyone started bowing their heads. She’d thought she’d stopped everyone from showing her the annoying formality years ago.
People here respected her, not because she was a Denai or related to the Grand Mistress, but because she’d earned it the old-fashioned way, never once using her family name or position to elevate her way through the Enforcer ranks. She’d chosen to work her way up just like everyone else and now proudly wore the badge of Lieutenant Commander Enforcer.
I should have tried to take the damn thing off!
Bowing her head, Cate quickly hurried down the corridor to the Briefing Room with Jason trailing behind her, where the rest of the team was waiting for them. Steve and her other brother, Ian, sat at the table, along with Jade.
Ian was about five foot ten, with a lanky body, bleached, spiky, blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a light green t-shirt with pink flowers on, faded khaki shorts, hot pink trainers and had a ring through his nose. He was the most outgoing of all the McCray siblings and didn’t care what people thought of him, especially that he was gay. He was a medi-intuitive and a powerful healer. Steve had scruffy, brown hair, blue eyes and wore his usual faded jeans and blue sweater. He was techno-kinetic, being able to control computers and other various forms of technology with his mind.
Cate was the youngest member of the team, since Jason had worked with her brothers on and off for centuries. Jade was the fifth participant; they had been close since early childhood, being the only two children within the coven, and had faced their training together. The team had been formed seven years ago. Cate wasn’t satisfied just performing her Denai duties so she decided to combine the talents of her two older brothers, which led her to form Excalibar. It joined their investigative skills, technology, and powers together.
Seline had been convinced the team would never work, that things should just be left as they were with the Enforcers policing, and Denais being called in to take confessions or pass judgement in trials. But they proved their grandmother wrong and gained a reputation for themselves, ensuring the laws of the United Magickind Council were followed and Demonkind and other evils were kept at bay.
“Morning,” Cate said, forcing a smile as she and Jason walked in.
“Holy crap!” Ian got to his feet and took hold of her amulet. “Sis, you’re the Grand Mistress!”
“Second Grand Mistress,” she corrected.
“This is great! We should all go an
d celebrate tonight at Sky.”
“This isn’t a good thing and I sure as hell don’t want to celebrate.” She reached for the amulet and yelped when she felt a sharp jolt of energy sting her hand as she tried to yank if off. “Ow! Bloody thing!”
“You didn’t have that on last night,” Jade observed and her brow wrinkled. “Wait, does that mean you won’t be able to lead Excalibar anymore? Is there still going to be a team?”
“Yes, there is still going to be a team. This just means my life is going to be more complicated.”
Cate went over to the flat screen table which served as a computer and monitor and touched it. “Right, updates on our latest assignment — apprehending the Thorn.”
Several images of different males and females appeared on the screen.
“They’re a group of different species of Magickind and there’s eleven members altogether. Two Enforcers were sent undercover in the last six months and both vanished without a trace.”
“What did the coven members have to say about that?” asked Jason.
“They said both victims left the coven and they don’t know what happened. Gran thought it was too risky to send a Denai in at first, but now it’s our best bet of finding out what occurred.”
Jade opened one of the folders. “Do you think the Thorn could be linked to that drug case we looked at a couple of weeks ago?”
“Possibly. The drug, Pandora, has the ability to give the user supernatural strength for up to several hours and we all know Tasha Phelps likes to mix things that really shouldn’t be mixed. That case has her involvement written all over it,” she replied. “The last Enforcer to go missing was Tia Alexander. She reported to her Commander that she caught sight of something being made in one of the coven’s outbuildings. Tia only got a brief glimpse, but she said it looked like sparkly dust. This particular group keeps popping up on our Covenant radar and it’d be a big coincidence if these two cases weren’t linked,” Cate explained. “Last night, Jade and I went to stake out the Conway coven. They’re a group of low-level witches, but intelligence tells us that Bethany Turner – the leader of the Thorn – is posing as their High Priestess.”
Cate touched the flat screen again, so a projected hologram appeared showing images of the five witches captured the night before.
“Bethany Turner wasn’t with the Conway coven last night, but I’m going to interview the witches this morning to see what I can find out about Turner, and what ties they have to the Covenant.”
“Bethany Turner is a Denai witch and she’s around the 3000-year mark. Gran doesn’t have much to say about her. Apparently Turner was one of the rare few who was trained outside our coven and is a rogue,” Cate continued.
“Probably trained with Raven and her dark Denais,” Jade replied. “Too bad we didn’t get her last night. She could be a valuable source of intel on the Covenant.”
More images appeared on screen of victims of the Pandora drug; two men and three women, their bodies covered in red welts. Ian touched the screen to zoom in and closely inspected the lines that zigzagged across the skin, almost like a rash. As well as being a healer, Ian also examined dead bodies when they were given the occasional murder investigation.
“There are ten similar unsolved cases in three other cities,” Steve told them. “Definitely looks like the work of Phelps.”
Tasha Phelps was a Null with the ability to neutralise any magic. She often liked to run twisted experiments, like creating new drugs and potions to destroy the rest of Magickind and add to the Covenant’s reputation.
“Whilst I was away in Lorden, there were rumours in the underworld that there’s more of the Pandora drug going around,” said Jason. “But the dealer only distributes it for a while then disappears.”
Jade sneered, “Classic Phelps.”
“Any idea where we might find the drug?” Cate asked.
“I’ll do some digging around, but this definitely looks like one of Phelps’s experiments. She goes to a new town or city, tries out a fresh drug operation on the unsuspecting, and when people start dying, she and her minions vanish,” Jason said. “Maybe I could go undercover, pretend to be a potential buyer or dealer.”
Cate shook her head. “Phelps would see that coming a mile off,” she replied. “No. Ian, I want you to go over the bodies of the most recent victims, see if you can find out what killed them and what the drug is made of. Steve, dig up everything you can find on Pandora. Jade, work with Steve. Jason and I are going to interview the prisoners. Catch you later.”
CHAPTER 4
Cate and Jason started interviewing the prisoners; the first two didn’t know anything useful, so they moved on to the third. This one was a blonde haired, blue-eyed witch named Cerys Griffin.
Cate didn’t need her tele-empathic abilities to feel the waves of fear rolling off this woman. She scanned Cerys with her senses; mid-level witch with some clairvoyant ability, nothing special, just average.
As Cate moved to sit on the opposite side of the table, the waves of fear became stronger. Cerys’s eyes widened when she saw Cate’s amulet and she let out a small squeak of alarm. Oh goddess, she’s going to kill me, thought Cerys. I’m going to die! Goddess, forgive me. I should have known this would happen – I’m bad! Bad, bad, bad!
Cate’s head started pounding as she tried to strengthen her mental shields to block out the overwhelming thoughts and feelings bombarding her. Argh! she thought and put a hand to her forehead. It wasn’t usually this hard to block people out, thanks to years of training. What was going on with her powers all of a sudden?
Jason put a hand on her shoulder and everything suddenly became blissfully silent. She looked up and gave him a grateful smile. Funny how he always seemed to know when there was something wrong, when she needed him. She often wondered how she’d ever managed without him.
“It’s alright, Cerys. We’re not here to hurt you, we just came to ask you a few questions.” She pulled out the rickety metal chair and sat down.
“You’re – you’re the…”
“The Second, yes. I’m Cate and this is my partner Jason Talbot. We need to ask you about your coven.”
“I didn’t – we didn’t hurt anyone – I mean…”
“You were trying to summon dead souls to harness their magic to add to your power,” Jason gave Cerys a hard look. “You know that kind of sorcery is outlawed and carries either a term of imprisonment or a magical binding. Then there’s the charge of assaulting three Denai witches, two of which are kin to the Grand Mistress. That carries the sentence of being stripped of your powers and possibly your memories, being sent to live in the human world, or possibly death.”
Wow, someone was definitely playing bad cop today, something Cate usually enjoyed doing herself, but she didn’t think intimidation was the best approach this time.
Cerys started trembling. “Look, calm down,” Cate’s eyes flashed silver as she used a slight compulsion. “You seem like a good person who fell in with a bad crowd or maybe you just didn’t realise what you were getting yourself into, but we need to know everything you can tell us about Bethany Turner.”
Jason reluctantly let go of her shoulder while she kept her gaze on the other witch. They waited and she could feel the witch’s brain buzzing with thoughts.
“How did you meet Bethany Turner?” Jason prompted. “Your High Priestess?”
Hell, she was usually the impatient one, but he seemed restless since his trip away. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.
“She said her name was Beth Matthews. We’d been looking for an experienced High Priestess for months – they’re not easy to come by. Most want more powerful and experienced witches,” Cerys said. “We were getting desperate, so I put an advert in the window of my shop, ‘True Magic’. I know that sounds stupid, but my boyfriend Dec was in the Guard and he got rid of all the tricksters. Oh goddess, Declan! He’ll be so worried about me!”
“Keep going. What kind of shop do you have?” asked
Cate.
Cerys sniffed, fighting back tears. “I – I make and sell my own spells and potions for a fee. I’m good at making potions and I cast the spells myself or sell the ingredients. I’m not powerful, but I’m good at that.” Cerys briefly met Cate’s gaze, something most people rarely did given that it made the person easier for a Denai to read. “You’re powerful – the legend of the Goddess Marked is well-known in all witch circles.”
“Power doesn’t just come from magic, knowledge is power too or so my coven tells me,” she replied. “When did you meet Bethany?”
“About a month ago. She told us she was a Denai. I was surprised she would even give us the time of day, but she said she wasn’t part of your coven.” Cerys continued, “Beth said she was looking for a coven, saw my advert and was interested. I explained to her there was no real money involved, that we were just a small coven who needed someone to guide us. Beth said she would be thrilled to teach other witches. We were all so excited, I mean she’s a Denai – your kind are immortal and you have so much wisdom when you live for so many centuries.”
Not all of us do, she thought.
“The first circle was – odd,” Cerys went on.
“Explain,” Jason said.
Cerys paused. “The energy was intense and unlike anything any of us had ever felt before. Beth was powerful and we were in awe of her. But after the circle we all felt drained. She insisted it was normal and that it would take time for us to get used to her energy.”
“You know that Denais can’t survive without feeding off living energy, don’t you?” Cate asked.
Cerys shook her head. “No, the Denai are known to be very secretive.”
“It’s why we work so closely with Elementals, like my partner here.” She gave Jason a quick smile. “Bethany used your coven’s energy to fuel her own abilities.”
“I doubt a few low-level witches’ energies would have done much for her,” Jason commented. “What else did she make you do?”
Denai Touch: Excalibar Investigations Series Page 3