She nodded. “And I figured you could probably use an escape.” She glanced at Zayne. “Was I right?”
Zayne smirked. “Things were getting pretty intense, but you know, I always love to watch Abby kick Hannah’s ass.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I enjoy it too.”
Liz glanced back at me. “You’re getting stronger. Soon you’ll be able to break her spell.”
A grin broke across my face. “I can now. I realized that tonight, but I have to wait until the right moment to use that talent.”
Liz was about to say something, but she opened the door to the office we needed to be in, and the scene sobered all of us. There would be no laughing or joking for a few minutes while we all took in the blood and the body that was sprawled on the desk.
Blood had dried in drips down the gray metal of the old office desk. The woman’s arms hung lifelessly off the edges. Blood had run down her arm in small streams that reminded me of the veins below. My eyes wandered up and found the slit throat and the lifeless eyes staring at me.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say they killed her here.” I glanced around. The filing cabinet stood to the left, seemingly untouched. Nothing else seemed out of place. “What kind of office is this?”
Liz shrugged. “I haven’t asked yet. Mason might have. He did chat to a few people before he left. I came right to the body.”
I took a couple of steps closer and found the same rune carved in the woman’s shoulder. I pulled a pair of gloves out of my bag and touched the blood on the rune. My finger came back tacky with the red substance. “This is fairly recent.”
“Yet we only have one witness.” Liz nodded. “Seems odd, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” I stepped away. “We’re going to the station. I want to talk to our witness.” I pulled the gloves off and threw them away in a biohazard bag.
Abigail, you need to return tonight for studies.
Samuel’s voice entered my head.
Yeah, I know, dealing with a dead body, so you’re going to have to wait. I pressed my lips together while I formed the thought, so I didn’t accidentally say it out loud.
All I heard in response was Samuel chuckling in my mind.
Liz glanced at me. “Abby, you good?”
“Yeah, voices in my head is all.” I shook my head. “Come on, let’s go.”
I walked out of the crime scene and glanced at the crowd of press that had gathered. “Princess Abigail, is this a case for vampires or for PIB?”
“Is black magic involved?”
“Why haven’t you been around more?”
I ignored every one of them, avoiding eye contact and walking through them to get to my car, until a high-pitched voice cut through them all.
“Sources say that you’re studying under a vampire-witch. Is there something more to tell us there?”
My eyes flickered to the voice’s owner. Stephanie stood there, her hair pulled up in its tight bun, leaving her sharp face clear. Her red lipstick stuck out against her pale face. She wore a pencil skirt suit and balanced herself on stiletto heels. I really wanted to push her over.
Liz put a hand on my back and urged me to keep going, while Zayne moved closer to me. I’m sure he could feel how much I hated that woman.
But I really wanted to know how she’d gotten that information.
“Princess,” she called after us as we continued to move. “Don’t you think people deserve an answer? Your status has changed. You’re training under a vampire-witch. Both the humans and the vampires deserve answers.”
Zayne put a hand on me and Liz, and the crowd disappeared. We reappeared right next to my car. We got in and took a collective deep breath.
“I hate that woman with all that I am.”
Zayne nodded. “Levi warned me about her. She’s pushier than most reporters.”
I snorted. “You have no idea.” I started the car, and I saw Liz flinch. “No one has cursed my car.”
She shrugged. “Can’t say that about your last what? Eleven cars?”
“They weren’t all cursed,” I muttered and started toward the downtown police station. “That was an insane amount of fresh blood. It hadn’t congealed all the way yet. So the person who did it can pop in and out of the office or blend in and leave quickly. Who called it in?”
“Our witness. She said that she walked in and the person just disappeared. Which makes me think vampire or Cult.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’ve had enough with dealing with Cult lately.” The Cult of Ra was actually a coven that thought they were above most witches and warlocks. They tracked down people they thought were misusing magic, but recently I learned of another sect that took things to a much darker level. Like slaughtering entire families.
“I don’t think this is our sect.” Liz crossed her arms.
“Not my sect,” I muttered. “Not my coven or my cult.”
“Might as well be,” she whispered.
“Abigail has her family now. She belongs in the vampire world. She doesn’t need a cult to feel like she belongs,” Zayne cut in.
Oh man, that was a can of worms I didn’t even want to think about unpacking today. “A coven is a different type of family, and I won’t argue the technicalities of me belonging in the vampire world.” I tightened my grip on the wheel. “Let’s drop it and go talk to our witness.”
We walked in and met Detective Mason outside the interview rooms.
“Has she said anything?” Liz asked as we approached.
Mason shook his head. “Nothing. Occasionally she’ll give yes or no answers, but she repeats the same thing when I ask her what she saw. ‘Red, just red.’”
Interesting. “Let me talk to her?”
He nodded and motioned. “Go right ahead.”
I glanced at Liz and Zayne. “You two stay out here unless something goes wrong.” Neither of them protested when I walked in. I sat down in front of the woman.
She looked young, early twenties maybe. Her hair was a little out of place, and I wondered if she had continuously run her hands through it or tugged at it with the way it stuck out places. She glanced nervously at me and then back at the door, like she was expecting someone else to come in.
“Hi, I’m Special Agent Collins, I’m a member of the Paranormal Investigation Bureau.”
She just stared at me and folded her hands on the table.
“I know you’ve already talked to Detective Mason about what you found at the office. Finding something like that can be traumatic. You told the 911 operator that you saw someone in there with the woman, right?”
She nodded.
“And you said they just disappeared?”
She nodded again.
“Can you tell me something else you saw?”
She swallowed. “Red, all red.” Her voice shook, and I didn’t know if it was from fear or pain, or something else.
I thought for a moment as I observed her. Her body wasn’t shaking, but her mannerism told me she could be in shock. “What was red? The blood?”
She shook her head. “No, not just the blood.” Her voice cracked a bit. “The room. The entire room. Red. All red.” She jumped up, sending her chair flying backwards. “I need to get out of here, nothing but red. Nothing!” She started screaming mindlessly and backed herself into the corner. She looked up at me, her eyes begging me for something. “Help me.”
She fell to the floor. I ran to her and put my fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse and took a moment to watch for the rise and fall of her chest. Her pulse was steady, her breathing quick, but not alarmingly so since she had just been screaming.
A second later, Liz walked in. “We’ve called the paramedics for her.”
“Good, because I don’t know what the hell she was seeing, but it terrified her.” I moved her into a more comfortable position so she was lying on her side on the floor instead of slumped against the wall. I sat by her until the paramedics came in and took her.
Liz helped me off the floo
r. “What do you think caused that?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe she was in shock, but that’s not a normal shock reaction.” I leaned against the wall. “We’ll see what the doctor has to say when they have time to talk to her.”
Liz glanced down at her phone. “Speaking of, we got a good image of that rune from Jason. It’s all cleaned up and should be searchable now.” She turned her phone around so I could see.
“Good, let’s start there in the morning, so we can get some rest.” I rubbed my eyes. “I’d like more than three hours tonight.”
Abigail…
I felt Samuel’s tug inside me, and I knew I wouldn’t get more sleep. “I… I have things I need to take care of at home,” I muttered and walked out of the interview room.
Liz followed me down the hall in silence. Zayne led the way. It wasn’t until we got outside the station and next to my car that anyone spoke.
“You’re exhausted. Samuel needs to give you a night to rest.”
“He won’t. It’s part of his plan. I’ll be fine, but if I don’t go back tonight, he’ll make things worse and I don’t want that. I’m not sure if I could take that right now.”
Zayne put a hand on my back. “I agree with Liz.”
“Yes, so does everyone except Hannah and Samuel.” I took a deep breath. “Seriously, it’s just a few more weeks. Then I’ll sleep every night and rest until I’m back to my joyful sarcastic self.”
Both of them chuckled, and we got in the car. “We’ll drop Liz off and then we’ll head back before Samuel has a true shit fit.”
Zayne chuckled. “If he has a true shit fit, that means you can, too. I’m willing to bet you can take him head on with all the training you’ve had from him and Hannah.”
“Yeah, but I’d much rather have my team at my back.” I started the car and headed out of the parking lot.
We’d dropped Liz off at the PIB office and drove to Levi’s, but the mansion was oddly quiet when we walked in. I had expected Samuel to greet me at the door since he was the one so eager to have me back tonight, and if not him, at least Hannah, with a surprise assault. But there was nothing.
I pulled my gun out and Zayne stepped up to my side.
“Stay close,” he muttered. “I don’t like this.”
Nodding, I walked slowly to the kitchen. “Levi? Mario?” I called, but no one answered. There was no sense of power, but the mansion was never this quiet with all of us here.
I paused in the kitchen's doorway and found a cup of coffee waiting. I was so tired, I almost forgot to think about who might have made it and what they might have added.
“Princess,” Zayne hissed, and I realized I had zoned out. That was dangerous, and it could have cost me my life if we were facing down an immediate threat.
I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m…”
“Exhausted,” he finished for me. “And no one is here, so as your guard, I’m going to get you to bed for a bit and make sure no one disturbs you.”
I was going to argue, but the look on his face told me it was best not to. “Okay, fine.” I followed him to my room.
Before I crawled into bed, I put my gun and my phone on the nightstand. I swore I was out when my head hit the pillow.
“It’s time for you to join us as you are truly meant to be. As my fledgling.”
Samuel’s voice came from all around me, but I stood in nothing but darkness.
“I will walk out in the sun if you change me. I will not be under your control,” I snarled into the emptiness. “I refuse to become a bloodsucker like you.”
“Or like your father?”
Levi appeared in front of me, and I ignored the pleading look on his face. “Please Abigail, join us.”
I snorted. “Levi knows I don’t want to be a vampire. You’re using the wrong leverage here.”
Levi faded into the darkness and Samuel replaced him.
“You’re so guarded, even in your dreams. It must be exhausting.” He walked around me. “Princess, Special Agent, Witch, and so much more. You never get to be just Abigail.”
I swallowed at his words. I’d had similar thoughts when I had left Melisandra’s, and she had called me lost. I still wasn’t sure if I had found my way or what I wanted in the world before Samuel and Hannah had complicated things even more. I didn’t respond to him.
“The little girl whose mommy was murdered, who’s uncle abandoned her, who was raised by the vampires.” Samuel laughed. “Raised as a witch among some of the most powerful people in our world.”
I glanced at him behind me. “Powerful or not, clearly you still pull Levi’s strings.”
“Yes, I do, because, as his sire, I refuse to let him go. He was always the problem child of the two. Ira learned quickly, saw my visions, knew he could change the world.”
“But Levi, he had a different view of the world. Didn’t he?” I smiled a little. “Despite everything you tried to do, he still turned out good.” I knew little about Levi’s past, but judging by the snarl Samuel let out, I knew I was right.
His hand was suddenly around my throat. “But you, Abigail. I can sense the confusion in you. Good? Bad? Witch? Vampire? I’ll get my answers, and you will join me, or I’ll slaughter you.”
“Abigail.” Levi’s voice came through the dream. “Abigail.”
I woke with a jump and reached for my gun until I saw the panic in his face.
His eyes wandered over my face, and he put his hands on my cheeks. “Thank the gods.”
I blinked at him. “I’m good, I’m just tired. Didn’t Zayne tell you I was resting?”
Levi nodded and then let go of my face. “He said he couldn’t wake you.”
I didn’t even remember him trying. “I was deep asleep. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten some solid rest.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. I took a few deep breaths to calm my pounding heart.
He stood there and watched me pull myself together. “What were you dreaming about?”
“What makes you think I was dreaming?” I raised a brow. He knew about the nightmares I had. He knew that sleep didn’t come easy, but he’d never flat out ask me before.
Silence. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence in the room. “I heard you cry out.”
I hadn’t cried out in the dream. “Samuel has invaded my dreams. He uses it to get information out of me.”
Anger flashed in Levi’s eyes. “He’s fed from you too much then.”
“It was part of the negotiations, remember? It was him or Hannah, and it lets him feel like he has control over the situation.” I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice.
Again, he said nothing right away, and he studied me for a moment. Whatever he was going to say, Samuel interrupted him by walking into the room.
“You’re not allowed in here,” I said, without glancing at him. “This is also a private conversation, so whatever it is you need, it can wait.”
Samuel laughed. “You’re mine at night, remember? You got some sleep, so now I expect you to join us for training.”
I really hated him. “Let me change clothes, and I’ll be there in a moment.”
Samuel nodded and stepped back out.
I looked at Levi, expecting him to continue the conversation.
“I’ll see you in the ballroom.” He finally said and walked out.
If Levi was going to be there tonight, I wouldn’t like what was going to happen.
CHAPTER FOUR
I walked into the ballroom to see Hannah and Samuel standing in the middle, like most nights. This would probably end with me on the ground, bleeding and hurt, because I saw anger in Hannah’s eyes, and it flashed even more when Levi stepped up behind me. “What’s going on?” I glanced at Levi.
“Your superior has informed us she is not happy with your sleeping habits, and Levi has asked us to shorten the length of your learning each night.” Samuel’s gaze flickered behind me to Levi. “Of course, since part of the negotiation was not to int
erfere with your work, we have no choice but to comply.”
I felt a ‘but’ coming.
“But I feel your superior is not aware of how resilient you are. So tell me Abigail, are your late night trainings interfering with your work?”
“Yes, they are.” I knew they’d hear the truth in my words, just like if I had lied, they’d be able to hear that as well. “I’m only human, Samuel. I require sleep, food, and water to survive. Two to three hours of sleep a night regularly is not enough for me to function.”
He studied me for a moment. “Fine, we cut it down by two hours. Only to keep to the truce.”
Well, that would give me a little more time. “Okay then, let’s get started.”
I looked over my shoulder as the door to the ballroom opened and Mario walked in. Mario hated being in the same room as Hannah, so I wasn’t sure why he was here.
He walked right to me and bent down to kiss my cheek. “Hannah’s mood tonight is deadly,” he whispered as a warning.
Ah. So that’s why he was here. To let me know to tread carefully. Except, I was over treading lightly because of her mood. I met Hannah’s gaze and kissed Mario briefly on the lips. Mario pressed his forehead against mine, either catching on to my need to piss Hannah off or he was momentarily regretting coming in here.
Hannah screeched at the scene, and magic lashed out quickly and suddenly, knocking Mario and me apart and to the ground.
“Hannah.” Samuel’s voice was a warning.
I pulled myself up from the ground and dusted my hands off on my pants. “Something wrong Hannah? I wasn’t aware that we were starting.”
“You may have his heart, but he is mine,” she snarled, stalking toward me.
I watched her every move. Mario was right, she was in a dangerous mood tonight. Her power was wild and out of control. I could almost see her magic swirling around her aura. I might have made a mistake in egging her on, but maybe she’d fuck up and break the truce.
And that’s what I was hoping for. Hannah was the more unpredictable of the two. But the truce bound her as well.
“Hannah, Abigail meant no offense.” Mario spoke and then a second later fell to his knees, pain apparent on his face.
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