Chapter 4
“You say that she’s an illusionist witch. Devon has never heard of one, so would you be so kind as to explain exactly what that is?” Justina leaned forward on the table, her blonde bobbed hair almost touching the surface.
The witch quivered in his plastic chair. The handcuffs around his wrists were spelled to stop him from using magic. His thinning hair only just covered his scalp as he sweated in his Burberry suit. Yeah, he was the most stylish curator I had ever seen. Not that I’d seen many. Museums were cool, but I never took any notice of those who worked there.
Drumming his fingers on the table, the man looked me in the eye. “An illusionist witch is someone who doesn’t have magic of their own. She or he drains it from those around them. They then use the magic to conjure illusions.”
“Okay...” I was confused.
How was an illusion different from what I could do when I made myself invisible?
“I can see that you’re having trouble with my explanation,” the man said, sitting back in his seat.
Swallowing, I shook my head. I wasn’t having trouble, I knew exactly what he was talking about. He wasn’t exactly a- who was I kidding? He was a very educated man who probably knew more than me about everything in the whole world. It wasn’t hard though.
“They’re illusions because the magic isn’t hers. She siphons magic, like she did from me, and then throws up a picture she wants you to see. She only has a limited time before it all disappears, and she goes back to being useless.”
Justina glanced at me, her eyebrows raised in question. My boss wasn’t exactly helping. The witch’s description had made sense. The second time.
“I understand. So, our thief is using stolen magic to hide herself while she robs the museums. And being able to siphon means she can take any magic source, including warlock.” Putting my elbows on the table, I clasped my hands together as I studied our suspect.
He was being far too cooperative. It was kind of boring not having to scare him into telling us all the details.
Taking a deep breath, the witch exhaled. “That’s right. She needed my help to get into the museum. They stayed hidden in my office with me until it closed. She then used my magic to not only hold the illusion but break into the cabinet. The government brought me in to spell the artefacts for safety. Obviously, I had to release the items for her to steal.”
“Any idea why she’s so interested in taking them?” Justina blinked when her tablet beeped.
Nodding, the witch pulled his lips into a thin line. “Yes,” he replied, his voice almost squeaking out of him. “She’s planning on siphoning all the traces of magic from the artefacts so she can keep a supply of magic at all times. Her aims are pretty high.”
“High?” I asked as my stomach flipped.
Something in his wide eyes made me clench my hands into fists as I sat back in my chair. This woman sounded dangerous, even if she wasn’t a powerful witch.
“Yes. Every artefact she steals is going to be linked to a source of magic. That way, she can keep the item on her at all times and still have access to magic. Once the artefact is useless, she’s going to destroy it.” Reaching up, the curator witch wiped the line of sweat that sat on top of his lip.
“When you say ‘linked to a source of magic’, what do you mean?” Justina placed her hands on the table, her fingers turning white where she squeezed the metal.
Coughing to clear his throat, the witch looked between us, his eyes darting from one to the other. My heartbeat flooded my ears as he blinked twenty thousand times, pausing for effect. If he dared wait a moment longer, I would-
“People. She’s planning to kidnap people and force them to link to the artefacts. That way, she can let them go about their lives.”
“While she siphons their magic?”
Inclining his head, the witch closed his eyes briefly. “Yes. She’ll siphon their magic until they die.”
Chapter 5
“I managed to get two different types of magic. Let’s run them through the DNA analysis.” Justina moved around Kurt as he ground his herbs.
He was the master at herbology. He had tried to teach me a few times, but I wasn’t skilled at mixing potions. I was better with spells.
“This piece of glass...” Justina went on as I joined her beside the computer. “...has a smear from a gloved fingertip. It may have leaked through our female’s latex gloves when she was touching the cabinet.”
Taking the specimen, Justina laid it on the scanning machine. I had seen her do magic DNA testing a few times, but it fascinated me to see the amount of paranormal creatures in our database.
“The other one has warlock magic on it. I’m hoping that piece will show her accomplice.”
Pressing a button, Justina sat back and watched the computer screen as the programme flickered with numerous faces. From vampires to warlocks, from shifters to witches.
A ping told us that the computer had found a match. A man’s face zoomed out and then shrunk to the corner as the spiral of faces continued. About to speak, I stopped when Gerard came over.
“Interesting, it’s still searching. It’s picked up on two people’s DNA.”
A thread of excitement bubbled in my chest, causing me to gulp in a breath. Technology wasn’t exactly my friend, but boy, it made life as an investigator a lot easier in the long run.
“There!” I almost shouted when a female about my age popped up on the screen. “Got you, you, you-!”
The others looked at me, their frowns telling me that I wasn’t being completely professional. Well, they would be right. However, I had completely held back my desire to call her a bitch. So, I was kind of being professional.
“We’ve got an address for both of them.” Justina got up from her chair. “Kurt, we’ll go for her. You two can head to the warlock’s house.”
Pulling his handsome face into serious mode, Gerard turned to me. Digging out my phone, I nodded up at him when the address came through. How radio waves made phones and internet work, I would never understand. But, hunting down someone who was threatening to unveil our secret world, as well as hurt others... that was something I did understand.
Gerard took my hand, his palm warm against mine. About to flash us away, I paused when Justina shouted for us to stop.
“What is it?” Gerard said, not letting go of my hand.
Our boss was looking down at her tablet. She held up a hand and pressed something on the screen with her free fingers.
“Justina, it’s Gemma from Paranormal MI5. We’ve just had a report that someone’s in the witch museum. They’re holding three hostages and demanding to talk to Devon Jinx.”
All eyes landed on me. Why the hell would someone want to talk to me? I was just a normal agent. Okay, so I was an Essex witch too- oh.
“We’ll head straight there. Who’s on scene?”
Going over to the others, I tried to listen as Gemma explained what was happening over at the museum. Gerard squeezed my hand, his smile small when I looked up at him.
“This can’t be good,” I whispered to him as he stroked his thumb over mine.
He shook his head as he took a deep breath. “No, it’s not. Whatever happens, we need to rescue those hostages.”
Of course, the gorgeous agent man was right. I had to put those that needed help before me. I had sworn to protect all beings from supernatural creatures. That was my job. Even if it meant that I would be at risk.
“Looks like she’s changed her tactic,” Justina said as she hung up the call. “Felicity Maynard, our illusionist witch, obviously wants to use Devon as her new siphon.”
“Well,” Gerard said, putting his arm around my shoulders. “She’ll have to kill us before she has any chance of getting to Devon.” Turning to me, he placed his hands on my shoulders. “I believe you can beat her, easily. However, I swear on my life that I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Chapter 6
“I can’t believe she’s led us h
ere.” My whine was frowned upon by both Kurt and Justina.
“As if we were just going to pop to her house and arrest her civilly.” Kurt tutted as he greeted a policeman.
For some bizarre reason, Felicity had called the police. Did she not have Paranormal MI5’s number? Surely that would’ve been more sensible. Although, that was the whole problem. She was a threat because she was going to expose our world to the humans. If she wasn’t stopped, the government would close down our agency in a second. And, that couldn’t happen. The Hunted Witch Agency was my home. It was my life. And, so were the people on my team.
“She’s ready to go in,” Justina told the detective. “I want your people to stay away. We’ll escort her.”
Nodding, the police officer turned to a colleague and told him to stand his men down. Not bothering to protest, the man waved his police officers back from the doors of the museum.
The witch museum wasn’t the building’s official name. It was an arts center that housed precious items of interest. There were tons of secret rooms that only paranormal creatures knew about. Those housed grimoires, candles, and wands from ancient witches and warlocks. Many magical items were kept under extremely strong blood barrier spells performed by ley line witches, yes, Essex witches.
“No wonder she wants you,” Gerard said as we made our way to the entrance. “She’ll probably want you to break the barrier spell. Your DNA will do it. She wants your blood.”
“And there I was, thinking that she might want to be my best friend. I’m super kickass. Don’t underestimate the desire for people to want to be my friend.”
Kurt raised one eyebrow at me. “As if.”
His snort reached me as he trotted ahead with Justina. The street was clear of people, the police closing it off with a cordon. Great, that meant the world’s press would be on their way.
“She’s waiting for us.” Justina handed me a gun as we approached the door.
Gerard snatched it from me. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“I thought Devon might feel safer with it.”
Although I begrudged it, I had to agree with Gerard. I wasn’t a great aim, so there was no point in having a gun. Whipping my dagger out, I showed Justina. “I’m better with this. You’ve got my back too.”
“We’ll have your back as much as we can, but we can’t go into the room with you. That’s why I’m concerned.”
“Don’t worry, love,” Kurt piped up as he opened the door. “If Devon’s harmed, we’ll storm the place and arrest the bitch.”
Before I could reply, Justina shoved me through the door. They followed me as I led them down a corridor. It was nice of Kurt to worry about me getting hurt. Not. Although, I knew he was just winding me up. He would do anything to save me from danger. Wouldn’t he?
The police had told us that our suspect was in the last room down the right corridor. We slowed as we got nearer, the silence making me doubt whether they were there at all.
“Don’t come any closer,” a female voice called. “Devon, come in on your own.”
Glancing at the others, I nodded as I swallowed hard. My heart thumped in my chest as they moved to stand against the wall beside the open door. Dragging magic from mother earth, I shuddered as it filtered throughout my body, calming me. The handle of my dagger was gripped tightly in my palm. I would be safe, she needed me. Well, she needed my blood.
Stepping into the room, I instantly held my dagger in front of me. The woman was standing in the center of the room, flanked by two tall warlocks. They each held balls of magic in their hands, the swirling light looking pretty amongst the ancient artefacts.
Long cabinets lined three of the walls, full of magical items. If Felicity got her hands on them, they would be ruined.
My attention was drawn to five people who huddled on the floor in the corner of the room. They were a mixture of paranormal creatures.
“These hostages were willing to help me try and take down the barrier spell, but one of them had a pearl of wisdom.” Felicity’s words were spat in the direction of thin air to the side of her.
Frowning, I realised that she must have hidden the person who told her that only an Essex witch could undo the spell.
“This...” Felicity clicked her fingers to reveal a woman who had a noose around her neck. “...is what happens when I don’t get my own way.”
My tummy rolled when the woman suddenly rose in the air. Her feet barely touched the ground as the rope started to cut into her throat.
Flipping my dagger, I pushed my pure magic into the blade and flicked it without letting go. The white flames shot from the tip, soaring across the room. As it reached the rope above the woman’s head, it flew straight through, smashing into the wall behind. The magic blasted a small hole in the plaster, causing dust to fly from it.
“I thought you knew that I was an illusionist witch.” Felicity laughed as she glanced at her sidekicks. “Don’t believe everything you see.”
Oh crap. I hadn’t even thought about the noose being fake. Which meant anything in the room could be completely different to reality. How did I work with that?
“What do you want?” I demanded as I lowered my dagger.
She wasn’t going to attack me, not yet anyway. That gave me time to determine what was going on around me. Feeling into mother earth, I pulled on my magic, sending it out as tentacles. As Felicity sauntered over to the nearest cabinet, she beckoned me over.
My footsteps were slow as I detected three more heartbeats beside the warlocks. Other witches. They were hidden from me.
“This only needs to be quick, and then everyone can get on with their day.” The woman was taller than me, like most people. She had long black hair to her waist, her skin almost flawless. But, then, if she was able to manipulate everything else, she probably made herself look different too. I couldn’t trust anything I saw and that was scary.
“I’m not doing anything until you show me what’s really going on in here. I can feel far more people than you’re showing me. Plus, I’ve got a thing about hanging. Please let her down!”
My senses had crept towards the hostages. The rate of my heartbeat increased tenfold when my magic pushed against more energies than the five people who huddled together.
Putting her hand on her hips, Felicity looked at the warlocks, who had stayed in the middle of the room. The small incline of her head made my senses kick into gear. A ball of magic flew at me from out of nowhere. Throwing myself to the side, I spun as I threw up a fire spell. It separated me from the rest of the room.
“Okay!” Felicity shouted. “I’ll show you the bloody room, just get over here and help me.”
Waving her hand, she looked at me pointedly through the flames. I dropped my barrier, shaking my head when I saw the other ten people who were lined against the wall at the back of the room. There were also three witches and three warlocks altogether.
The woman who had been hanging by a pretend noose dropped to the floor as the illusion disappeared.
“Happy now?” Felicity’s cheeks were bright red as I edged closer.
Her jaw was clenched as she pointed at the wand that was locked in the case beside her. I glanced at the small plaque, almost laughing when I saw that it had belonged to Merlin.
“Really?” I almost choked, instantly straightening my face when she pointed at the woman on the floor.
A warlock stepped forward and dragged her to her feet. His arms went around her chest from behind, ready to do her harm. She was wearing a uniform. The poor unsuspecting woman probably had no idea what she was getting herself into when she’d escorted the crazy lady into the room.
“Merlin’s wand is the most powerful magical device in the world. Get it for me. Now.”
“You really think I’m going to unlock this so you can take Merlin’s wand? He was an awesome wizard. You’re a...”
Letting my sentence trail off, I clenched my free fist when Felicity smashed her hand into the glass, her face no
t even cringing when it rebounded and almost smacked into her own face. Now that would’ve been funny.
“I’ll tell you what. You release all the hostages, and then I’ll do what you ask.”
If the heat pulsing off her was an indication of how pissed off she was, I was about to get burnt. It seemed that the woman didn’t want to bargain. Not if her twitching face had anything to do with it.
“I’m not here to play games,” she started.
“No, you’re here to commit a crime. I’m an agent at the Hunted Witch Agency. Do you really think I’ll let you get away with it?” My own ire was rising, my skin flaming with suppressed emotion.
“Fine,” she hissed. “Let’s play.”
Disappearing out of thin air, her laughter filled the room when the warlocks went towards the hostages. A gunshot stopped the one holding the woman who worked there, a bullet lodging straight into his head. The woman rushed across the room towards us as he fell to the ground behind her.
Gerard was beside me before I could determine who had taken the warlock down. The hostages surged to their feet as the witches cast a barrier spell between us and them.
“You bastard!” Felicity screamed as she became visible beside the hostages. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Shit,” Justina said, reloading her gun. “That was her main source of magic.”
Pushing my hand against the invisible barrier, I swore when it wouldn’t budge. That meant I would have to use as much pure magic as possible to get through.
Felicity grabbed hold of a male hostage at the same time as she reached for one of the witches.
“Fight her!” I shouted at the supernatural creatures who cowered in the corner of the room.
Why were they so afraid? Between them, they could take her down. There were a couple of vampires, who were stupidly strong, and a shifter. The rest were witches.
“They probably can’t see us,” Gerard said as the hostages stared at Felicity.
Ah, that was a very good point. They probably didn’t even know what was going on in the room around them.
Street Spells: Seven Urban Fantasy Shorts Page 7