"It's time that you quit PIB," Levi said, there was nothing in his voice that said he was joking and there was nothing that hinted at him willing to change his views.
I resisted the urge to tell him fuck no. "I'm going to sit here and drink my coffee and hear you out. Mostly because I'm cold and I want the warmth."
"Use too much of your magic did you?" Mario asked, his accent thicker.
"You know, if you want to get back on my good side, you'll shut up." I poured my coffee and looked at Levi. "Why do you think I have to quit PIB?"
Levi looked at Mario and then to me. "It's been discovered that Ira has control over part of PIB, and I want you out of there."
I wrapped my hands around the coffee to find Osiris curled up on the couch. I sat down and tucked my feet under me. "I don't know why that seems to be such a surprise. We've already run into corrupted PIB agents. It was one of the reasons I was okay with moving to the Black Magic Taskforce. "I sipped my coffee. "I'm not worried about Ira."
Mario and Levi exchanged looks. "Abigail, he wants you."
"I know that. He won't get me, he can't have me, yadda, yadda, yadda. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to drink my coffee and recover some from my trip."
Mario rolled his eyes. "I told you that she wouldn't listen."
"I was hoping it'd be different this time. How long until the demon curse kills you?"
"It won't, but I have strict instructions to reach out to someone in the event that it reaches my shoulder." I looked down in the coffee. "I was told that Carson is the brother of the demon my father summoned." I glanced at Levi. "Know anything about that?"
Levi shook his head. "No, I know very little about that situation, so I can't confirm it."
"Shame, I was hoping to figure out why he summoned the demon." I closed my eyes. "Good night, you two."
"Abigail, at the very least, please consider taking a leave of absence," Levi said as he turned toward the door.
I snorted. "I am on leave right now, according to the paperwork." I shrugged. "We'll see how long it lasts and what I can do about this curse."
"I guess that is the best I can ask for." Levi disappeared, but Mario hung back for a moment.
"He's worried about you Abigail. This is how he shows his concern. He wouldn't ask you to quit if he didn't think it was necessary."
I locked my jaw. "I can't give up my job, because that means Ira wins. It means he has torn apart my life, and I can't allow that. Levi needs to understand that just because certain information has gotten out, it doesn't mean he gets to control my life. I am an adult."
Mario said nothing but leaned against the wall.
"Leave."
"I'm here to guard you, princess."
I couldn't keep the annoyance off my face. I wasn't going to be able to relax while he was here, and I wish we'd found a spell to keep him out of the house. I hated how vampires seemed to be able to pop in an out of circles. I settled back into the couch and sipped my coffee.
"Despite what happened, Abigail. I do care for you," Mario said softly. "Hannah's power…is madness, I cannot control myself when her powers touch me."
"And I believe that, but I can't trust you until you're completely free of that bitch. And the only way to make that happen would be killing her." It seemed that a lot of answers right now were 'just kill them.' I grumbled and sipped my coffee.
Mario shook his head but didn't move from the wall. I flipped on the television on and snuggled into my blanket while I watched stupid television. I avoided the news channels on purpose. While I was watching some crazy reality show, I texted Liz to let her know I was back and Oliver to let him know that I wasn't dead yet.
The alarm chimed when Simon put in his code and walked in the door, shutting it behind him. He paused for just a moment when he spotted Mario. "Sorry, I didn't realize you had company."
I shrugged one shoulder. "He's refusing to leave, and I don't have the energy to kick him out."
Simon snorted and came to sit by me. He draped an arm over my shoulder, and I leaned my head on him.
Mario's gaze darted between the two of us. "Something has changed here."
"Yeah, things between us are official." I looked up at Simon. "Right?"
"Pretty sure that's what we decided." He gave me a quick kiss, and I didn't miss the jealousy in Mario's eyes.
I waved a hand. "You can leave if you want now, Simon is here, and he's on Levi's approved list of people to watch me."
Mario said nothing before he disappeared. I started laughing a little bit. "Neither of them is going to be happy about this, and they aren't going to be happy about me going after Carson."
"Do you think you can handle him?" Simon ran his hand over my arm. "You barely escaped last time."
I nodded. "As long as Ana pulls through, I think I can take him."
"Are you sure you can trust her after everything that happened?"
I sighed. "I really have no choice at this point." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I just have to trust that she'll do it. I'm assuming Riley will contact me when it happens, just to let us know that she can leave her cafe now."
Simon pulled me close. "Okay, I'm going to trust you on this."
I smiled and leaned into him and turned back to the television. A knock at the door made me growl. Simon patted my hand and stood up to answer it. Right before he answered the door, Merick shifted back to his human form and put a hand on Simon's wrist.
"Whoever it is, they aren't welcomed here."
Simon looked at me, and I reached for my gun on the side table. I wasn't sure who it was, but if they weren't welcomed, I wasn't going to take any chances.
∞
When Simon opened the door, a man stood on the step, tall enough that he had to duck a little bit when he walked in. His long blond hair was pulled back at the base of his neck with an honest to god black ribbon. His dress frock was tailored to fit his slim body, and his blouse had the ruffles to match, that spilled over the lapels of the frock. It even had the frills at the end of the sleeves. I was sure he'd just stepped out of some movie.
"I'm here to speak with Abigail Collins."
I glanced at Simon and Merick. Merick gave a slight shake of his head, and Simon didn't move an inch.
"She's not really up to visitors right now. Just got back from a long trip and she's resting."
The visitor glanced at me and raised a brow. "The wolf speaks for you then?"
"The wolf and I have an agreement in which he considers my health before letting strangers into the house. State your business and then leave."
The man nodded and gave a small bow. "My name is Samuel. I have orders to kill you." All of us tensed, and my hand tightened on the gun. "But I have seen that you are much more than a simple witch. Over the last week I've seen you take on a demon that was twice your power, work without resources, fuck a werewolf, and still manage to survive with your magic and soul intact."
"So you've decided not to kill me?"
He chuckled. "I've decided to let you live for now. For now, you're safe from me, but it was good to meet you Abigail. You are so much more than I was told." He disappeared, and I let out a sigh of relief.
"What the fuck?"
"I don't know what he was," Merick said. "I don't like how he's trying to reassure you that you're safe."
I leaned back on the couch and Simon came to join me. "Samuel, the name sounds familiar."
"It's not an uncommon name," Simon pointed out.
I pressed my lips together. "Yeah, that's true."
Merick hadn't left his spot by the door, standing there as if he was expecting something else to happen.
"Merick?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I need to go speak with my father. I do believe that he owes you some information. We know that the runes are magic mixed with demonic runes now. And chances are Cars
on is our killer as well. Too similar not to be." He looked at Simon.
"Yeah, I know, stay here." Simon shook his head. "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
Merick let himself fade away, using his nifty trick, which made me think about Oliver. "Simon? Did Oliver mention why he needed a truce to get into the city?"
"He didn't say. I assumed it's because he pissed someone off there. It is your uncle."
I laughed. "Thank you for calling him."
"You scared me, Abigail. You were barely breathing, you were ice cold, and the black in your arm. I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't know who else to call." He shook his head. "I was glad he was able to come so quickly."
"He seems always to be there when I need him." I chuckled and leaned into him. "Let's just enjoy some tv for now, and maybe order pizza."
Simon nodded. "Does it bother you that Samuel was supposed to kill you?"
"Nope, Oliver told me there was an assassin after me. Honestly, I think he's just waiting to see if the demon's curse does its job." I moved my fingers again. "I'm not sure if I can perform any magic with this curse. I don't think it's like the hex that tried to drain the magic from me."
Simon hesitated for a moment. "Maybe we should wait until Merick gets back?"
"Don't worry, I wasn't thinking tonight. I'm still cold and exhausted. I won't be able to do magic without consequences for a couple days at least." I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over us. This, this was nice.
CHAPTER TEN
Two weeks later
"I'm not having any luck finding him." Liz's voice came over the phone. "And Agent Lawrence? A fucking ghost."
I balanced the phone on my shoulder and poured boiling water into a cup on the counter. My left arm was trying to become useless thanks to the curse. "I need to find Carson, or you really will be sans an agent." I set the teapot on the counter and dug out the bag of tea leaves, and goddess only knew what else, that Riley had given to me to slow down the curse. I scooped some into a tea infuser and dropped it into the water. I watched the little bubbles rise to the surface of the hot water. I'd been wearing long sleeves to keep the curse hidden, and so Simon and Merick didn't realize how much it had spread. It wasn't up to my shoulder yet, but a little past my elbow at this point. The pain would randomly hit, causing me to stop what I was doing. I'd already dropped a number of things, broken a couple mugs, and I was going to go crazy if I didn't get full use of my arm back soon.
"I know, and I'm trying. I've got our best people on it. You're the priority here, and even though you aren't on the case, I'll let you know if we have any development since it's related to your vacation."
I rolled my eyes at the word. "You aren't risking your job by telling me this, right?"
"Don't worry, Abby. I've got it all covered, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." My alarm panel dinged as someone entered their code to get in the house. "I've got to go. Send me a text if something shows up."
"Got it." She disconnected the phone, and I finished making the tea, adding a bit of honey to it to sweeten it up. I picked it up with my right hand and walked into the living room with it. Simon walked in the front door a minute later.
"Sorry I'm late, pack meeting went long."
I shrugged. "Seriously, I haven't even left the house for two weeks. I think it's okay that you leave me alone for a little bit." I sipped the tea and sighed.
Simon watched me for a moment. "Want to order food?"
"No, I'm not hungry." I took another sip. If I was honest, I wasn't feeling well at all. I wasn't sure if it was the curse or the stress of not knowing if I was going to die in the next two weeks. My warmth still hadn't come back completely, and so I limited myself on what magic I performed. The one tracking spell I had done for Carson hadn't resulted in anything, and I was literally at a dead end at this point. In the end, I'd be dead.
Simon considered me for a moment. "Where's Merick?"
"He said he had to deal with some Cult stuff. I'm okay to stay alone, Simon. You don't have to babysit me." I took another sip of my tea. "All I did while you were gone was call Liz and pull out my parents' book." I motioned to the coffee table where it was.
"Do you think the answer is in there?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea. I haven't gone through it completely, so I'm not sure what's all in it. But it seems to me that my mother wasn't as perfect as people keep telling me. Maybe, just maybe she put something in this book that would help me if her and my dad's past came back to bite me. She doesn't strike me as someone who would leave her daughter defenseless when there are shadows in the past." I finished the tea and set the cup down.
Simon pulled the coffee table closer to me, and I opened the book. I joked and called it the big book of answers. Right now I was hoping that name was apt. I flipped through pages filled with my mother's and Tobias' handwriting, spells, notes, thoughts, everything was in this book. There had to be something…
I paused at a circle I'd never seen before. The runes were similar to the ones that I had used to banish demons before, but one of the runes was different, and the lines of the inner circle were different as well.
I quickly read the notes on the next page about it.
Elizabeth's life has been put in danger. I have only one choice to save her before she dies. I must summon the demon and kill it. Banishing it will not be enough to remove this curse.
"Holy shit." I flipped the page to see a photo of an arm taped to it. Black had taken over the veins and had moved over the shoulder. The writing continued underneath.
Elizabeth is unable to get out of bed. She refuses any food or drink I bring her, claiming she does not feel well. If the curse does not reach and stop her heart soon, starvation will take her. I've slowed down what I can, but in a month, the curse has spread. I have not told Levi, because I fear for my life if I tell him that Elizabeth is so sick. I've made excuse after excuse for why she has not contacted him personally about work matters.
I leaned back on the couch and looked at Simon. I could tell by the look on his face that he'd read it over my shoulder. Worry shone in his eyes. "That's why you don't feel like eating." He shook his head. "You need to rest, let someone else take care of Carson."
I closed the book. "I can't, Simon, no one else knows how to kill the demon. The answer is right there."
"You're talking about killing with magic, Abigail. You're talking about risking your life for a solution that might not work. We don't know that it worked for your mother."
"Except we do, because she didn't die from the curse." And that was the one string of hope that I was going to cling to in this situation. "I won't do it without talking to Merick and Oliver first, because chances are, I'm going to need back up."
"And you think they'd be willing to kill for you?"
I paused for a moment. "Oliver will be."
Simon nodded. "What can I do to help you?"
"I don't know. Right now, all I need is some company and something to keep my mind off the curse that's running through my blood."
Simon reached for the remote. "Rest and television it is then."
Except I was tired of resting. I rubbed my eyes as exhaustion began to creep in again. I wasn't going to manage to fight Carson if I couldn't stay awake long enough to watch a television show.
As if proving my point, my eyes started to drift close ten minutes into the show.
My eyes shoot open after something touched my magic circle outside the house. Something out to get me, something that was pushing against the magic, because they weren't welcomed here, and they weren't able to just pop in and out like a vampire. My mind drifted to Samuel for a minute. How did he manage to get in my circle? I shook my head.
Simon stirred next to me, and I assumed that he had also fallen asleep. "What's wrong?"
"Someone or something un
friendly is outside my circle." I sat up slowly and then stood. I felt okay, I grabbed my gun and went to look out the window. I couldn't see anything there. No person standing in the driveway, no car stopped outside the circle. I took a deep breath to steady the paranoia in my body.
"Abby?"
"I'm just being paranoid. I'm wondering if my circle is faltering because of the curse."
He said nothing. He looked over my shoulder and out the window. "Nothing there."
I nodded. "Exactly. I'm sure if it was more urgent, Merick would be back here. His magic is a bit more sensitive than mine."
"And why is that?"
"Because he trusts fewer people than I do."
Simon laughed. "I didn't realize that was possible."
I gave him a gentle shove. "Don't you have pups or something to check on?"
"Actually, I do need to get going. I was hoping that Merick would be back by now."
"Simon, I'm fine on my own, I promise. I'm being cautious. I'm not performing any magic without Merick around. I'm going to call Oliver and give him an update on the curse, ask him to run Lawrence's name for me, and then I'm going to go back to bed."
He gave me a worried look, but in the end, he kissed my cheek and let himself out of the house. I watched him through the window as he looked around and then got into his truck and left.
I let out a sigh and pulled up my sleeve. The black had crept almost up to my shoulder. If I didn't find Carson soon, I was going to die from the curse." I reached for my phone and called Oliver.
"Hello, niece of mine. Is it time?"
I snorted. "I'm not going to die. I'm asking you to search a name for me. Patrick Lawrence."
"That's the name that came up when I searched Nathan for you."
"It is, but now I need to know where he comes from, what he does, anything. I can't find Carson, but maybe I can figure out why Lawrence wanted my help to bind an entire town."
"Ah, Abigail, on the brink of death and still trying to solve everything." He chuckled, but it faded. "How is the arm?" All humor had drained from his voice.
Between the Lines (Here Witchy Witchy Book 7) Page 15