For now, Annie lay against him. He wrapped his arm around her.
I wish I could stay.
“Don’t do anything you don’t have to do. Just confirm whether it’s Amelie or not, and we’ll send backup,” he murmured. “You’re not ready for a fight.”
“Annie, can we do anything?” Janie asked. Her cool hands rubbed the back of Annie’s.
“No. I’ll be careful. Just checking for a body.” Exhausted, she squeezed Janie’s hand and pulled away from Cham. All the extra attention made her feel uncomfortable. “Take care of him,” she commanded as she looked from Dave to Janie.
“We will. But I’m sure Marina will be around soon,” Dave surmised. Cham’s mother had been cranky since the fire. Annie was surprised she wasn’t here yet.
She pulled herself off the couch, with some help from Dave. Feeling exhausted from all they had been through, she glanced back at Cham,
Wizard Guard protocol, set in place several millennia ago, was designed to protect the guards in the event they were injured when working. Compensation time—days, weeks or months, whichever was required—was always taken, no exceptions. Until Princess Amelie was discovered alive.
It was something uncharted. The high risk of exposure was something they had never had to face, not on this level. And it was her case, her mistake; she would have to go, no matter how shaky or nauseated she might feel.
“You need anything, we’ll come,” Dave offered. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek. Behind her, Janie squeezed her good shoulder.
“We’ll watch him,” Janie whispered.
Annie knew they would be there for her, yet she still felt anxious. She bent down and kissed Cham on the lips.
“I love you,” he whispered and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I love you.” Annie touched the blond stubble across his chin. “We should be home tomorrow,” she told him.
A gust of wind rustled against the house. Annie shuddered. She still felt on edge from the memories of Gladden Worchester breaking through her protection spells around the house and nearly killing her. There hadn’t been time to heal physically or emotionally. She glanced toward the back door.
If it’s not Amelie, I can come home.
Only a small group of people could get to either door. Upon glancing at her phone, she realized it was Spencer who waited for her outside.
“I need to go,” Annie said.
“Call me,” Cham reminded.
“I will,” she promised. Leaving Janie to sit with Cham, she took her field pack from Kathy and shrunk it, hiding it away in a secret pocket in her work pants. While Dave walked with her to the front door, she felt her friends’ eyes boring into her, worry and concern palpable. She couldn’t bear to watch them as she left.
“Hey,” Annie said to Spencer as she let him inside.
“Feeling okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay. I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
“She’s not,” Dave insisted and smirked when she frowned at him.
After saying quick hellos, and goodbyes in succession, Spencer led her back outside, wrapping his strong arms around her, steadying her tired body against him for the teleportation to Amborix, to the coordinates given to them by the Amborix Wizard Guard.
“Ready?” Spencer asked before he took off.
“Yeah,” she said and pressed herself against him for support.
“Tell me if you need something,” he whispered. “Any pain, exhaustion, you tell me.”
Annie felt him lift off. She watched the blurry landscape before her, and then she saw nothing.
Chapter 5
Teleporting was short and uneventful. Landing was another story. Jumbled and dizzy, Annie pushed away from Spencer and fell to her knees in the mud as a wave of nausea overcame her.
“You’re not okay.” Spencer reached for her.
She held up her hand and dry heaved. “Yeah. Give me a sec.” She took a deep breath; it caught in her throat and she heaved again. The motion pulled on her injured shoulder. She fell backward into the rough bark of the tree trunk beside her. He summoned a bottle of water and held it for her.
“I can meet the Amborix guards myself and have a look at the coffin. You can stay somewhere safe until we’re done.” Spencer helped her up as his eyes darted through the trees.
“I’m good. We’re about two miles from the edge of town?” she inquired, handing him the empty bottle.
“You sure you can do this walk?” He knelt beside her, cleaning her pants of dirt and mud.
“Yes. I’m fine. Let’s move,” she said, leading him out of the trees until they found the road to town.
It was afternoon when they landed. The sun was up and high, beating on them as they walked along the roadway to Paris. It was slow, hot, and Annie’s strength waned. She was exhausted when they came to the edge of town.
“Come here.” Spencer dragged her into a desolate alley, handed her another water, and perused the map of Paris. “Keep drinking. I’m going to teleport us again. You look awful.”
“Thanks.” Annie grimaced, concerned by her own lack of energy. She watched him choose their next location.
“Okay. I think we’re good. Do you want to eat something before we go?”
“No. Let’s just go.”
He wrapped his arms around her, teleporting her to what they hoped was an empty alley. The second teleport was far less traumatic; Annie merely leaned against a stone wall and took a long sip of water.
“Not as bad this time?” Spencer asked.
“Better.”
“Sorry. I just wanted to get us here. We’ve got a while until we meet the Amborix Wizard Guards so we can take our time. We’re just around the corner from our first stop,” he said.
Annie took another sip of water. “It’s okay. I promise. Let’s keep moving.” She peered out onto the busy street, and then they entered the crowd as though they had always been there.
They had arrived in Europe long before they were to meet the Amborix Wizard Guards; there was something they wanted to see first. Not keen on waiting around doing nothing, Spencer and Annie strolled through the heart of Paris until they found the location in which Amelie’s picture had been taken.
“The march was here?” Spencer asked as they turned toward the Arc de Triomphe.
“That’s what the article said. The crowd was along here and there.” Annie pointed to the sidewalks on either side of the road.
So as to not draw attention to themselves, they strolled along each side of the street, like the other tourists. Only these two tourists glanced upwards to the building roofs, to the street signs and traffic lights, searching out the cameras.
They took pictures, made notes, and sent coordinates to Bucky Hart.
“Do we have a name of the photographer who took the picture in the paper?” Spencer asked.
“Actually, that’s a good idea. We really ought to have Graham Lightner and the Vampire Attack Unit get at that film,” Annie agreed. “I’m on it.” She continued to type instructions for Bucky. She and Spencer scoured the street, their eyes roaming each corner—for what, they weren’t exactly sure.
At the far end of the street, they turned and glanced to the opposite end, finally getting a clear picture of the day of the peace march. “Do we have everything from here?” Spencer asked.
“Thousands of people lining the streets, and the photographer manages to take her picture.” Annie sighed.
“Better than discovering it before anyone else does,” Spencer reminded her.
“I think we’re good. There’s nothing else to see here.”
They wasted time on food, sitting beside the Seine River and watching the boats float by until it was nearly time to meet the Amborix Wizard Guard.
They headed to a secluded alley at the end of a little-used street. Spencer secured Annie against his body, landing them smoothly inside the forest. Unlike the last teleport, she felt stronger and only
leaned against a tree for support.
“Rest here. I’ll take a look around,” Spencer ordered. He slunk through still-bare trees, careful to remain hidden from whatever security force might be surveying this land. Neither Annie or Spencer trusted the Amborix Wizard Guard. They would continue to take precautions.
“Are they here?” Annie asked.
“You sure you’re okay?” He felt her forehead, checked her pulse at her wrist. “I can request Gibbs to help. You can go home,” he offered.
“I’m not sick,” she insisted.
“Can you make it?”
“I have to do this. If the lead on the case isn’t here to lead the investigation, Amborix can take the case away from us. Anyone around?” She finished the bottle of water. Her throat felt tight as she swallowed.
“Lial’s location is good for now. The coordinates they sent were close. I just wish our friends would show themselves. Otherwise I’d think we’re being set up,” Spencer said. His eyes darted through the forest.
Spencer stared at the map of the castle ground Lial Peng had been able to provide and traced their path to the gravesite. Now all they needed was the Amborix Wizard Guard team.
“Shhh.” Spencer placed his finger to his lips as they heard twigs cracking and dry leaves crunching. Spencer stood over Annie with his arms out and protective of her.
Two forms emerged from the thick trees.
“Spencer, Annie?” the first man asked.
“Marcus, Philippe?” Spencer responded.
“Yes.” Both men held out their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said one. “Though your news came as a great shock to us all. I’m Phillipe, by the way.”
Spencer shook his outstretched hand and introduced them.
“Yeah, well, I was shocked when I received the package,” Annie commented. She held the nearly pristine envelope out for the two men to peruse. When they finished the article, Phillipe handed it back to Annie.
“Yes, that is quite a conundrum. I will say we thoroughly reread your files. We understand where you needed to manufacture evidence. We examined the autopsy photos. We can’t figure out where she would have been bitten. You were most thorough.”
“Guenther doesn’t think so,” Annie surmised.
“Well, he is quite upset. This is very bad. He is very worried,” Marcus chimed in. “You must understand our position in this.”
“Yes. I’ve been beating myself up since yesterday. I do understand the implication of Amelie ‘alive’ and well, roaming the Earth,” she said sardonically.
“Very well, then. I think we should see what’s in the grave,” Phillipe said, attempting to break the tension that hung in the air between them.
Spencer lead them, using Lial’s map. Annie couldn’t help but chuckle at the looks between the Amborix Wizard Guard partners as they followed the Americans through the Amborix forest.
They meandered away from the teleportation spot, turning west before heading north again. Spencer pulled out his map to verify their trajectory.
“Where did you get that map?” Phillipe asked.
“Our tracker obtained it from our telecommunications expert.” Annie answered. She slid closer to Spencer, feeling slightly woozy.
“You shouldn’t be able to get this map. We try very hard to keep the royal family safe.”
“If you’re only relying on magic, things like this will get through. Our telecommunications group can get into the satellites to get detailed images.” Spencer advised.
“There should be a no fly zone over the royal property,” Marcus accused.
“Satellites are higher than planes. They will capture whatever they’re aimed at. For our team, it wasn’t hard to get,” Spencer said.
“You rely on nonmagical tools to do your job?” Phillipe asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“We do. It makes our job much easier.” Annie said. Though she was normally in good shape, the trek through the forest felt more like a full workout. She could feel the discomfort through her entire body.
“You sure you’re okay?” Spencer whispered.
“Stop asking,” she said through gritted teeth.
Just inside the edge of the trees, they hid behind large trunks and peered inside the finely manicured five-acre clearing of land. Forest surrounded the clearing on all sides. At the center, a single oak tree’s gnarled branches hung over the lone headstone, as if protecting the princess.
“There it is,” Spencer said as peered around a thick tree trunk to survey the open clearing. Annie slunk closer to the tree line and swept the area with her binoculars, a difficult task as the setting sun was low in the sky and nearly in her eyes. The dim light deepened the shadows creeping across the lawn and further hindered Annie’s sight. She scanned the other side of the clearing and back to the center, searching for flashlights or burning crystals. It was quiet and dark.
“There’s no one guarding the gravesite,” Annie whispered and stepped back inside the trees.
“No. They don’t have a stationary guard at the grave. They send teams out every half hour to walk the perimeter and sweep the forest for intruders,” Marcus said.
A chilled, damp breeze blew through the clearing, whipping against Annie’s tired body. The sun, almost completely hidden behind the mountains, cast elongated shadows covering a majority of the clearing.
“So how shall we do this?” Phillipe asked as he scanned the area with his own binoculars.
“We’ll dig if you can act as lookouts,” Annie suggested. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the headstone; it glowed in the dimming light.
“You take west and I’ll take east. Create your perimeter. If there’s any sign of security guards, we’ll throw a spell and stop time for them. Get confirmation and replace the earth. We need to do this quickly,” Phillipe said. Marcus nodded at his partner and headed through the trees toward the west. Phillipe headed east, leaving Annie and Spencer alone.
“Ready?” Spencer asked. When the two Amborix wizard guards were stationed, Annie and Spencer left their hiding spot, running low to the headstone.
They stopped at the foot of the grave and stared at the 8-foot-long rectangle where the grass had only started growing in before the winter months.
Was she dug up and released from the coffin? The grass should have been thicker before winter.
“It looks like something happened to the grass prior to winter,” Annie commented. She sniffed the chilled air; it smelled of rain and wet dirt.
She and Spencer knelt beside the grave.
“She was buried in July after she died. You’d think the grass would have been laid and grown out before winter came,” Spencer agreed.
“They kept that news quiet if that’s what happened.”
“A dug up royal grave would have made me nervous.”
“Maybe Amelie had the wherewithal to cover the grave well.” Annie summoned a crystal and maneuvered it across the bare patch.
“You okay to do this? It’s a lot of energy.”
“Yeah. Just go and do what you need to do,” Annie said.
Leaving her to her work, Spencer found his targets, Phillipe and Marcus. They roamed their small patches of land, waiting for signs of the security team. “I’ll signal if we need to leave.” Spencer strolled a wide circle around Annie, observing the trees, the open lawn, listening for voices or watching for flashlights against the darkness and shadows, always keeping an eye on the other wizard guards.
When Annie was finished with her sweep of the grave, she discovered a small amount of magical trace across the dirt.
A wizard freed her?
Since she was in no condition to physically dig, Annie worked quickly, uncorking a vial and sprinkling the potion across the mud, dissolving the first few layers of thick earth. She continued to pour until the potion was depleted, then glanced inside the grave.
Almost done.
With a flick of her palm, she removed another layer.
Hearing footsteps squish
across the wet lawn, Annie glanced up. Spencer strolled to the hole, looked inside as she flicked her wrist removing the last of the dirt: Six feet below, the coffin lay nearly covered in a cement casing; however, the heavy lid was askew. Annie sniffed, and the unmistakable stench of decomposition wafted to her nose. She covered her mouth and nose with a mask before jumping inside.
After another quick flip of her wrist, the lid slid off, falling against the side of the hole. The coffin lid hadn’t been carefully closed, and a severely bug-eaten hand had been caught between the lid and the body of the coffin. The smell burned Annie’s eyes and nose; she turned and coughed.
“You okay?” Spencer called down to Annie.
“Smells bad.” She coughed again.
Cautiously she peered inside the coffin. The bright light from her flashlight showed the gruesome reality of what happens should someone be buried alive. The silk lining that had once concealed the inside of the lid was smeared with blood, clearly after continuous scratching and pulling shredded it.
Slowly, Annie examined the body.
Bodies?
The inside of the coffin showed the unmistakable truth: two bodies lay stuffed inside the coffin that had been built for one petite woman.
It’s not Amelie!
The feeling grew in the pit of Annie’s stomach that trouble was just about to begin. She knew for certain that of the two bodies she was staring at inside the coffin, neither was the princess.
Both were covered in the clothes they were killed in. The first man, once rotund, was now partially eaten by bugs and partially covered in decay. Donning gloves, Annie yanked open the dirty, fragile fabric of the cloak to search for any identification. While she reached, her fingers grazed a rough and worn rectangle object. She pulled it out—a wallet from inside the right breast pocket.
She opened the wallet and stared at the driver’s license.
“Is it her?” Spencer asked, peering down the hole.
“I know where Stonewell is,” Annie said wryly. Spencer’s eyes widened in surprise. She tossed him the wallet.
“We sure it’s him? He could’ve planted this when he took the princess,” Spencer replied.
“It’s a man, a cloak, leather shoes. Come on. It looks just like him. Perkins can make a positive ID when we get the bodies back,” Annie said.
Wizard War Page 5