I discarded that idea. That’s not how the mob worked. There would be shooters pointing automatic weapons at me from several angles if this was a boss meet-up. No, this was something different. The whole situation perplexed me. My fright activated my Fae magic as I watched the blue flame lick up my arm. I did not need this right now, I thought and took two deep breaths. I needed to calm myself.
I stayed frozen until all signs of magic were gone from my arms. Only then did I walk up to the door and knocked. Yes, I know that sounds demented but I had the element of surprise on my side.
When no one answered, I scanned the street for any onlookers. Feeling safe enough, I focused on the locked knob. A blue flame licked the knob and crawled its way into the keyhole. Within moments, I heard the lock click and the tumblers release.
I eased the door open and stepped inside. Thirty faces stared at me, fear filling the air. This was definitely not the Russian mob. From the looks on their faces, this wasn’t some sort of terrified gathering of victims either.
Who are you?” A man in his mid-40s had gotten up from the end of the table. He had a shock of white hair and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. Dark olive skin finished off the look and he looked like he’d take anyone on, Magic Folk or vampire. It wouldn’t matter to him. His stare was so hard it could cut through a diamond. I stepped back involuntarily to get out of its way. He was the undeniable leader.
“I’m a PI investigating the disappearance of Richard Forsythe. He owns the grocery store over on Burbank Boulevard. His wife hired me to find him. He never came home.” The people closest to me shot me disapproving glances while some of the others ignored me completely. They knew Richard Forsythe. Most likely they knew what had happened to him as well.
The gray-haired man extended his hand to me. “My name’s Chance. I’m the leader here,” he said. I grasped his hand as a peace offering. He attempted to crush my hand in his own but I wasn’t going to play that game. I had been a police officer before and knew how the men liked to show their power. It finally dawned on me what this was.
“You’re with the resistance, aren’t you?” I asked. Shit, this was not where I wanted to be. No disrespect to any of the gathered but joining them was a clear death sentence.
He ignored my question. “By the look of you, you don’t live in San Fernando?” He asked.
“My mother was a witch. I still live in the LA basin. Can we go talk somewhere a little bit more private?” I asked him, anxious to get out this room. He acquiesced.
“Will you all give me about 10 minutes? I’ll be back and we can continue.” Chance said.
“Why are we trusting her? She’s Fae,” a woman with a shocking head of purple hair called out. Her anger had an acidic tinge to it, like a dog’s bad breath after licking metal. She was Fae. It was a magic smell and not her fear.
The room erupted in shouts and hisses. I hadn’t realized that some of the magical folk had joined the resistance as well. A pang of the familiar guilt of not doing enough erupted in my gut. Cut it out, Mabry, I thought. I did not want to lose my life just yet.
“Calm down, Felicia. I’m sure you would want to know if Jeremy never came home either.” Chance remarked and led me to what used to be the kitchen of the restaurant. Tomato sauce and pasta and grease scents folded me into their embrace. This restaurant had been a restaurant recently. What I didn’t smell was alcohol and Russians. They had a very specific smell coming from all the liquor that they hoarded. No one else in the San Fernando Valley could afford alcohol. The Russians loved their Vodka.
“What happened to Richard Forsythe?” I asked before he could start talking.
“He was taken by the local vampire squad that patrols the borders. Unfortunately, I think we have a mole in our organization. Richie was discovered taking documents out of here to some of his contacts out in West Hollywood. From what I’ve heard they knew exactly where to find the documents on him. They arrested him on the spot.”
That was a good thing and a bad thing, I thought. The bad thing was if he was arrested, he was being horribly tortured for information. The good news was the vampire squad didn’t kill him on the spot. I’d seen that scenario and it was ugly and vicious. They sucked the person’s blood right there and then. They then left the body right where it dropped for the werewolves to eat. It was a gruesome sight. Although if I had to choose, I’d pick the instant death over the slow, prolonged one.
“Do any of your sources know if he still alive?” I asked. He shook his head.
“I’ve heard of you, Mabry Wildes. You’re the former LAPD detective?”
“That’s me all right,” I said. “Days like this, it seems like I’m not going to have too many clients left at the rate this is all going,” I said dryly.
“Join us. Help us destroy this administration.” He said.
“I’m not quite there yet, Chance. But if I am, you’ll be the first to hear about it.” He bowed and lifted his arms out in supplication.
“Well, a guy can’t help but try. If what Felicia says is true and you’re Fae then we’d love to have you. We haven’t been able to get many Fae on our side.”
“Nor do I think you will. Fae never liked humans outside of play things for food. Felicia must be unique. Not many of them would take up your cause.”
“Then why are you trying to help the humans?” He asked.
“I am half-human. The unveiling brought out my Fae side and I’m still grappling with that.” What the hell was I doing spilling my secrets to this man? I turned on my heel to get out of there before I confessed anything else to him. There was something about his eyes. Maybe he wasn’t human either. Or the lack of work and the worsening situation was causing me to be off my game. That was not a good thing for my survival but a more pragmatic reason.
“I’ll let the widow Forsythe know then,” I said.
“He could still be alive.” Silly man.
I shook my head. “I doubt it. If the vamps torture what they need out him then he’ll get thrown in the pit with the others. If he doesn’t speak, they’ll torture him to death. They’re not going to keep them alive.”
“He’s alive. He’s special and they’re going to know that. Trust me.” He said and led me to the front door.
“We meet here every Wednesday at seven. When your conscience starts getting the best of you.” He added and opened the door for me
“I’m doing the best I can, ” I said in my defense.
“It’s not enough,” was the last thing he said to me before he closed the door.
I pulled my car over to the stop gate and rolled down my window. The vamp on duty, his glamoured skin glinting in the late day sun, took my ID from me and turned to the old man sitting behind them in the booth. He nodded and my heart dropped. This was not a good sign.
“What was your business here?” asked vampire LAPD officer Johnson.
“I was here seeing family,” I lied.
“It says here you’re half witch and half Fae. What business do you have with the humans?” He asked and stared at me. I had heard that vampires were able to glamour people into telling them the truth but my Fae side wouldn’t allow that kind of magic to work. At least, it hadn’t worked on me yet.
“As I’m sure you see on my ID card, I’m Fae and your glamour isn’t going to work on me. Are you going to let me pass or do I have to call in your supervisor?” He bared his teeth at me and growled. He, however, didn’t have an argument to keep me there.
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “Are you going to open the gate for me now?” He grudgingly pressed the button and the gates opened. I maneuvered my car between the big concrete pile-ons that ran for 50 feet on either side of the gate.
Many people tried to get out of the ghetto using their gas-guzzling cars as ramming devices and some got out that way. Then they put the pile-ons in and no one left without the goon squads permission.
I drove up Laurel Canyon and took a right into the hills. I wasn’t entirely sure what I w
as going to tell Mrs. Forsythe. I didn’t believe Chance knew if Richard Forsythe was still alive. I’d been a part of the LAPD and I had seen what dark, humiliating acts they were carrying out on the prisoners. The torture was one of the reasons I got out of there as quickly as I could. That and the suspicious death of my human partner Peters.
Something Chance had said startled me. He said they would see he’s special. Special? And if he was, why hadn’t his wife told me? Could he have been magical folk too, I wondered as I drove up to the Forsythe address.
It was a large house for a simple hedge witch but I knew that the magical folk had taken whatever houses were emptied when the humans were driven into the Valley. Nobody was exactly clear on property records and so it had been a bit of a free for all in the first days after Dixon had made his mad decree.
I parked the car and got out. Sniffing, I smelled a whole lot more than hedge witch and frowned. Was is going to be an ambush? I smelled Fae, witch, vampire and werewolf. I hadn’t seen all four of those species in one room since the battle days of the LAPD and I didn’t want anything to do with it. I hesitated at the door. Now, what the hell was I supposed to do?
Screw it I thought and knocked. It had just been one of those days. If they wanted to take me out then let them do it. Maybe the Fae magic would save me, maybe it wouldn’t. I was feeling powerful and reckless.
Mrs. Forsythe immediately came to the door and the overpowering smell of earth, dried flowers, earthly dead things smelling of spring assaulted my nostrils. The smell was overwhelming and it took me a minute to gain my bearings. All that power lost to a fainting spell. I laughed at myself.
“Are you alone, Mrs. Forsythe?” I asked without preamble. The woman had lied to me and I really wanted to know where I stood.
“I am. Why?”
“I smell a whole host of magical creatures here and my investigation led me to a meeting of the resistance. Did you know your husband was part of the resistance?” I asked her and tried to keep the anger out of my voice.
“You better come inside,” she said and stepped out of the doorway to let me by. Once inside, I closed my eyes to try to pinpoint where the smell of the magical creatures was coming from but the growing plants were front and center.
I opened my eyes and couldn’t help but smile at the jungle of plants that filled every inch of wall space. This woman took being a hedge witch seriously.
“Would you like some tea or something to drink?” She asked and I shook my head.
“Did you really hire me to find your husband?” I asked her again.
“I did. Have you found out what happened to him?”
“You couldn’t just ask your friend Chance?” I watched her closely for any sign of recognition but I didn’t find one.
“You did know what your husband was doing with the Resistance?” Mrs. Forsythe’s shoulders slumped.
“I had my suspicions. But no, I didn’t know that he had actively joined the movement. I suppose it must’ve happened after he lost his sister and her family out in Ohio. We’re still not quite sure what happened to them but he feared they were dead. I should have known by looking in his eyes that he was going to do something rash.” She said and absentmindedly went to water some plants. From the look of the soil they didn’t need it but apparently, it was something that made her feel better.
“I hate to tell you this but he has been active and was discovered by the border guards on the Laurel Canyon side. From what his friends told me, he was carrying documents and vamp goon squad were waiting for him. Chance seems to think that your husband is still alive but I hesitate to say that.” I ended that last part gently, steeling myself for the coming wave of grief. When none came, I took another good look at Mrs. Forsythe.
“Would you like me to do anything else?” I asked and the woman looked up, red fire taking over her eyes. I stepped back in fear.
This was no hedge witch and I was in a lot of trouble. I turned around and headed for the front door. The roar of pain and grief that came from behind me stopped me cold.
She wasn’t going to harm me. This was her way of dealing with the pain. I turned back around again and saw my Fae skin taking over my human skin, the blue fire spurting out of my fingers.
“Stop it. Stop it, she’s not a threat,” I told my dark half. The blue fire subsided but the scales remained. The hedge witch fell to the ground and her other earthly screams turned into human sobs.
“I’m never going to see him again. He was our only hope.” It was a strange thing to say, I thought.
“What was your only hope?”
“He was her uncle. Richard was the only one she trusted. I told him to keep himself safe because of that.”
“Who are you talking about?” I asked her. She looked up at me with tears pouring out of the corners of her now brown eyes and said, “Regina. Regina is the only one who can stop Dixon and his magic. And now Richard’s gone to and she’s lost to us.”
“How would Regina help us?” I asked but the hedge witch got a hold of herself and stood up.
”It was the grief talking. I don’t know any Regina and I’m sorry. You need to go.” She all but pushed me out of her living room and out the front door.
“Thank you for your help. I wish you luck in these dark times.” She said and slammed the door in my face.
“Regina,” I said out loud. I started back towards my car realizing I had just found my next case.
Extras
Thank you for reading Hunted Magic ! If you enjoyed the story, or even if you didn’t, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review. Reviews, good and bad, are vital to any author’s career, and I would be extremely thankful and appreciative if you’d consider writing one for me.
The first novel in this new urban fantasy series “The Wildes Chronicles” titled CASE OF MAGIC is coming out first week of March. I hope you’ll join me in the continuing adventures of Mabry Wildes.
I’m excited to hear from you, and I read every message. And to introduce you, my dear reader to more of my work, I’d love to send you a free copy of Missing Soul, a Sara Caine novella, detailing her first case. The Caine & Murphy series features ghosts and demons prominently as well as a ghoulish serial killer in each book. CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BOOK. By joining my readers’ group, I’ll let you know of my new releases, sales and special offers. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Thank you again for reading, and I hope you’ll be back soon!
Yours sincerely,
Dominika Waclawiak
About the Author
Dominika Waclawiak is the author of Grim Angel (formerly called The Elk), Missing Soul, Guilty Deeds and Silent Death, all in the Caine & Murphy supernatural thriller series. Her upcoming urban fantasy series, The Wildes Chronicles, is debuting March 2017.
Dominika lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and two huskies. When not running behind her toddler or running the dogs, she’s busy writing her next novel, several film and TV projects, and plotting a visual effects laden science fiction feature film project to direct.
In her former life, Dominika created visual effects for blockbuster movies that netted three Oscars: LIFE OF PI, HAPPY FEET, and the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. She also created images for THE GOLDEN COMPASS and THE INCREDIBLE HULK to name just a few.
You can find me at:
@domWaclawiak
dmwaclawiakauthor
www.dominikawaclawiak.com
[email protected]
Dedication
For Dave and Iza, and the good writers in Phoenix Prime
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Dominika Waclawiak
All rights reserved.
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Hunted Magic (The Wildes Chronicles) Page 2