“Why? What’s wrong with Jason?” she asked. “You said I should feed from him more often.”
“Yes indeed, but he’s not the man for you.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“Jason is a complicated man and I worry you have grown far too close to him.”
“That’s ridiculous! He’s my partner and we work well together. I thought you would think that was a good thing, given how long it took me to find a partner I could actually work with.”
“Back to the case. Have you found anything that might lead to Bethany’s whereabouts?”
“I found her Book of Shadows, but didn’t have much luck using it to locate her.”
“Try again. If your powers are growing as much as you say then it shouldn’t be too difficult. She is far weaker than you,” Seline replied. “Find out who those Denai remains belong to and keep me up to date with the case’s progress. I, in turn, will do everything I can to find something to help with your … physical ailments. But by goddess, get your evaluation done as soon as possible!”
Cate groaned. “Fine.”
She turned to go, but Seline stopped her. “The coven is meeting for our circle three nights from now. Do you think you could make an appearance for once? As the Second, your presence is required.”
“Gran, you know how important this case is.”
“All of your cases are priorities, I understand that, but so is your coven.”
“You said I wouldn’t have to give up my Enforcer duties in favour of being the Second.”
“Nor do you have to, but I know you’re not always working when you fail to attend circles.”
Cate sighed. “How many times do I have to ask you not to spy on me?”
Seline smiled. “I’m the Grand Mistress, it’s my job to know everything that goes on in this city. I have spies everywhere.”
“Now that I believe,” she said, with a hint of annoyance.
“Oh, and go for your evaluation now. Your brother can make time for you.”
Goddess help! Cate really did loathe the monthly evaluations and examinations which all Enforcers were required to take, to make sure they were physically, magically, and mentally in shape. Such were the strains and risks that came with the job. Blood tests were the worst part, at least for her, even if Ian was the one who usually did it
Jason waited outside while Ian checked her over. “Everything looks fine, as far as I can tell. Not like you to heal so fast after you were injured last night though,” Ian grinned. “Is the ascension coming on?”
“I think so. I fed on Jason and he sped up the healing.”
“I better run more tests.”
“No more tests! I’m wasting enough time here as it is.”
“I need to keep an eye on you and your powers through the transition.”
Cate waved her hand dismissively. “Save it! I’ve heard it all from Gran. You won’t believe what she suggested I do – she said I should take a lover to get more energy and use Jason more often.”
Ian’s mouth fell open, then widened into a grin. “Wow, you’re using Talbot? You lucky cow!”
Goddess give me strength! “No, you idiot! I’m not using Jason in that way. She told me not to ever have sex with him and I don’t intend to feed more often than I have to.”
“Yeah, but you only use blokes for sex anyway, don’t you?”
Cate gritted her teeth. “Why the hell is my sex life such a hot topic of discussion today?” She got to her feet. “I’m going back to work.”
“You know we’re not finished here yet. Physical is done, but now you’ve got to be connected up to the scanner.”
Being hooked up to wires was almost as bad as being stabbed with needles. Whilst the machine took readings of her magic and vital signs, she sat and talked to Ian about the case as well as other things.
“Have you and Steve heard from Dad lately?”
She watched her brother wince. “Why would he talk to me?”
It was no secret that Ian and their father, Kal, had never gotten along, even Steve clashed with him at times, but Cate adored their father. Steve quarrelled with him because the two of them were very much alike whereas Ian disagreed with him as he was convinced Kal hated him because of his homosexuality.
“Dad still cares about you.”
“Dad doesn’t care about me — he thinks there’s something wrong with me.”
“I tried calling him last week, but I haven’t heard from him yet.”
Ian said, “He’s probably working in Elaris, lording it over everyone.”
Their dad wasn’t a witch, he was one of the Ashrali known as the Tempus, a being with power over time.
“I hope he’s okay, I worry about him sometimes,” she admitted.
“I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.”
There was a tapping on the door and they looked up to see Marina Talbot come in. Marina was Jason’s mother, as well as being advisor to the Grand Mistress and counsellor to the Enforcers and the Guard. She was six foot with long, chestnut hair and green eyes. She was one of the oldest members of the coven; everyone looked to her as a mother figure.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Marina’s kind smile was enough to make anyone feel better. “Cate, Seline told me about your headaches. I brought you some recipes for potions that might help, they’re stronger than the ones you have already.”
“Thanks Marina,” Cate smiled gratefully.
“How are you feeling, dear? You know you can always come to me, even outside of work.”
“I know that, thanks Marina. But I’m okay – aside from the power problems.”
“I have a favour to ask you. Do you think you could drag that son of mine home this weekend? The two of you can come to Sunday dinner.”
Cate laughed. “Alright, I promise I’ll try.”
“Good, I feel like I haven’t seen him in weeks.”
“Mum, what are you on about?” Jason poked his head around the door. “You see me every day.”
“Yes, I see you passing through the Tower. I would like to spend some time with you away from here.”
“You know you’re always welcome at our place,” Cate said, feeling awkward. “I mean – my house. Ian, how much longer is this thing going to take? I’ll end up dying of old age before I have the chance to find Bethany.”
“Just a few more minutes, Sis,” Ian replied. “Marina, Cate’s in transition. Not long until the ascension now.”
“What wonderful news,” Marina smiled. “If you need any help, or just to talk, you know where I am.”
“Thanks, Marina,” Cate said gratefully and turned to Jason. “You don’t have to wait for me.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Marina said, “Jason, I thought you were chatting with Angie?”
“I was, but now I’m not. Mum, can I have a quick word?”
Jason led Marina into an empty office, pulling out a tiny device that looked like a pen, to stop anyone from overhearing them.
“Is something wrong, sweetheart?” Her face suddenly grew concerned.
“Cate saw my eyes glow last night,” he grimaced and his shoulders slumped.
“Oh dear. What happened?”
He briefly explained. “Mum, I don’t know what to do. It’s getting harder to hide the truth from her.”
“Well, she is the most powerful Denai ever born, but more importantly she knows you well.”
“I managed to brush it off.”
“Why not just tell her?”
Jason gaped at her. “Mum, you can’t be serious. You always said keeping my secret was the most important thing. Only you, Doug and Lex know what I really am. You told me never to tell anyone.”
“Yes, but I’ve seen what a hard and lonely existence you’ve had. You never let a woman get close to you and it breaks my heart to see it.”
“No, I’ve been foolish. I let my guard down. I just need to put some distance between me and Cate, find someone else.”
“Do you want someone else?”
“Gods no, but…”
“You’re in love with her. I’ve known it since the day all those centuries ago when you came home and told me about the mysterious woman with the sapphire eyes that you tried to help, who vanished without a trace.” Marina touched his cheek. “You should tell her how you feel.”
“I can’t.”
“But you need to, it’s eating you up inside. Trying to lose yourself in someone else will only make it worse. Tell her the truth – all of it. Even you deserve some happiness in life.”
“Yeah and what if she never speaks to me again? Or worse, what if I tell her my secret and someone else finds out? I don’t care what happens to me, but I’ll die before I ever let anything happen to her.”
“At least you would have someone to share your life with, the chance to settle down and…”
Jason shook his head. “I can’t. I’ve stayed here for too long. I should leave before…”
“What about Cate? She needs you, she relies on you as her partner and friend and I know how much she cares for you. You owe her more than that.”
“But what if the Ashrali or someone else finds out about me?”
“You can’t run forever and you don’t have to anymore. You have friends and allies here including Cate, the future Grand Mistress.”
“Even the Denai wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”
“Wouldn’t we? We’re immortal and we’re still alive despite ten thousand years of opposition. I just want you to have a chance at happiness – of a normal life.”
“I’m not normal though, am I?” Jason smiled. “But you know I’m happy, Mum. Being here with you, Cate, and the team have been the best years of my life.”
“Good, then don’t you dare walk away from it, my boy. I love Cate too and I won’t watch you break her heart,” Marina replied. “If you try to find your passion somewhere else, don’t think your love for Cate will just disappear. We can’t choose who we love. I may have only spent a brief time with your father, but he was my soul mate and I shall never love in the same way again.”
Jason sighed and shook his head. “I can’t tell her. At least not right now. She has enough to deal with.”
“There’s never going to be a right time. I have a feeling the truth will come out sooner or later,” Marina said. “Don’t forget about Sunday dinner, it’ll be nice to have you home for once.”
“You know work…”
A loud boom came from the direction of Cate and Ian. Now what?
Hurrying back to the examination room, he found the machine next to Cate had been blown to pieces.
“Gods all frigging mighty, Sis!” Ian was fuming. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Cate pulled the tangled wires off her arms and chest. “I didn’t mean to – it was an accident.”
“Yeah, right! I know how annoyed you get when you’re impatient, but seriously, couldn’t you have just turned it off instead of blasting it to bloody hell?”
“Serves you right! That’s payback for you and Steve murdering my car.”
“We didn’t murder it!”
“No, you mercilessly tortured it then twisted it into a useless hunk of metal.”
For once Jason was very glad he was an only child. When the McCray’s fought, they really clashed and anyone around them should quickly head for cover.
“Erm – Cate, if you’re done, we really need to get back to work.” Jason braced himself.
“Sis, you’re the one who said we could use the car.”
“Yeah, but that was before I knew you were carrying out one of Steve’s bloody experiments! You knew there was a risk to my car yet you…”
“Cate!” Jason said, more loudly this time.
She turned to glare at him. “What?”
“We need to go. Now!”
“Fine. I’ll see you later, Brother.”
CHAPTER 10
Cate could feel the beginnings of a migraine, which wasn’t surprising given some of the horrific things she’d seen as they spent the day searching the compound for the elusive drug. Even so, she didn’t feel half as bad as she normally did after having multiple visions.
Seline was right about one thing, maybe she did need to take energy more often to keep up with the demands of her powers. But she didn’t like to feed on Jason all the time; she was afraid of draining him too much, despite how powerful he was.
“So, what did Seline say about your powers?” Jason asked as he carried in two bowls of pasta for their dinner.
“She said I’m in transition, that I need to start preparing for the ascension and just feed more often or it will only make it harder for me to cope.”
“That makes sense, you should take her advice.”
“Some of us need to feed more often, which is why we meditate and recharge our batteries, so to speak, by utilising ley lines under the city.”
Ley lines were streaks of natural magical energy running through the Earth that could be tapped into, to add power to spells and rituals. Denais manipulated them in times of need or just to recharge their strength – especially after using their compulsion or Touch.
Faliaster sat on a very powerful source that lay right beneath the palace. Only the Grand Mistress could open it, but ley lines could be used by those that knew how. Though tapping into one too quickly could be deadly.
“But meditation takes too long sometimes. Gran says I should get a lover and use sex as a way of getting more energy.” Jason choked on his beer and she laughed. “Don’t worry — I don’t plan on using you for that.”
He took another gulp of beer. “Why not? I mean, you can use my energy any time you need it.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t seem right. I shouldn’t have to rely on you so much. You take care of me enough as it is – which you needn’t do. I can look after myself.”
“I don’t mind supporting you. For one thing you can’t cook, me doing it is part of our agreement. Plus you’d live on caffeine and chocolate if you could,” he said and frowned. “Do you share power when you have sex?”
Cate almost choked herself. Goddess, this was getting way too weird!
“No, I don’t. Hell, that’s way too personal for me. With my powers I could end up killing someone. Gran said I should just get energy from a guy during sex. I’ve done that before –with Finn.”
She watched him gulp down some more beer. “That Celtic bastard…” His anger wasn’t a surprise.
Cate knew Jason and Finn loathed each other. “I learnt from that mistake already.”
“Well, if you need – to use anyone – use me. For energy I mean.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why? I don’t mind.”
“I – it just wouldn’t feel right,” she said, flushing with embarrassment.
“I’m your only option – other than sleeping with some random guy.”
“I’ll find a way around it.”
The awkwardness between them carried on through dinner.
Jason cleared the table and placed everything in the dishwasher. “Do you mind if I pop out for a while?”
“No, why would I? I’m just going to sit and meditate for an hour or so. May as well, whilst I have the time.”
“Okay, see you later.” Jason teleported out.
Cate breathed a sigh of relief. She could do with some time alone for a while. Settling down in the spell circle, she crossed her legs and closed her eyes, soon feeling the hum of the ley line which ran underneath her house.
Slowly feeling the tingle of energy as it began to flow through her body, Cate started to relax before images suddenly flashed before her eyes, memories of the night before as she was forced to search for something. She saw an image of a large, blue, leather-bound book. Then she found herself standing on the balcony again just as Jason bent to her kiss. Gasping, her eyes flew open as she found herself back in her living room and saw the silver orbs that had been sparkling
around her, instantly vanish.
What was it about that stupid dream? she thought. Goddess, I need a drink!
Heading to the kitchen, Cate opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer. She needed to banish all thoughts of sex and Jason from her mind.
Just then her phone chimed; picking it up she saw a message from Jade.
‘Hey sweetie, my mum is in the city tonight. Fancy meeting us for a drink?’
Shoving the bottle back into the fridge, she text back, ‘Sky in 10 minutes. Meet you there.’
The club was pulsing with music, energy, and people as Jason walked in and headed to the bar. Gods, he really needed to clear his head and take his mind off Cate for a while.
“Rough day?” Lex asked as he came over.
“Something like that. Give me a double, will you?”
“I’m guessing it has something to do with a certain witch. Gods forbid I ever fall in love.” Lex passed him the drink.
“My mum says I should tell her the truth about everything. How I feel and what I am.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, mate.”
“I agree. Gods below, I don’t know what the hell to do.” He dropped his head into his hands.
“Look for your own place to live for a start. Speaking of Denais, there’s one heading your way.”
Jason turned to see Angie, a pretty redhead with green eyes. She was tall and big-breasted, but she didn’t have Cate’s otherworldly beauty or her smouldering eyes that could look deep into someone’s soul. He’d known Angie for centuries and knew she’d always held a candle for him. It wasn’t that Angie wasn’t attractive, but she wasn’t his type.
Ah hell! he thought.
Angie was wearing low-rise leather trousers, spiky heels and a sparkly green halter that showed a fair amount of her cleavage and midriff. “Hey stranger,” she gave him a flirtatious smile, “I was hoping you’d come.”
Jason mentally sighed. Fuck, he really shouldn’t have chatted her up, much less suggest they go for a drink sometime. He knew he’d live to regret it.
You’ve only got yourself to blame, Talbot.
Damn, all he’d been trying to do was take his mind off Cate. Now he just needed to drown his sorrows for a while.
Denai Touch: Excalibar Investigations Series Page 10