by Paige Orr
I let out a sigh and let my shoulders slump. I can see what Grey is saying, I’m just overly sensitive right now, but that’s no excuse for my behavior. Fuck, I remember how surprised I was just seeing a Harpy, never mind being told that someone fought against one.
“No, I’m sorry, Grey. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I didn’t make it out without a scratch, the guys had to come and save my ass, so I can get why you would be surprised.”
“Shit, how bad was it?”
“Pretty bad since I lost consciousness before help arrived, I’m lucky to be standing here right now. That just means that I can’t let whoever is behind this get away with it though.”
“Look, I get that this shit is personal now, but please tell me you’re not going to steamroll your way into this on your own. It may be selfish of me, but I’m rather enjoying being able to talk to someone who’s alive. Ghosts can be rather depressing you know.”
I let out a chuckle at this. I know exactly what he means. Most of the ghosts who communicate with me are morbid as fuck, not that I blame them, they are dead after all. Maybe that could help us though, if they will agree to help us, I could see if there is a way for me to help them move on. I turn back to the others, catching Cailean's and Zaphyr’s eyes.
“Do you guys think you could figure out who the next targets might be now we understand a little bit more about what these fuckers are after?”
They look between each other with grim expressions; I know that I’m asking the impossible, but if what I have planned works it could lead us to the culprit a lot quicker than trying to investigate each disappearance. Cailean nods for Zaphyr to take this question, and he lets out a huff before answering.
“We could try, but we haven’t had any luck so far. If it was as easy as just guessing who was next, I doubt things would have escalated to this point.”
“That’s fair enough, Grey do you think you could gather some of the ghosts who seem the readiest to move on and bring them here, please.”
“Sure thing, boss lady. There are quite a few locals, they could probably use some help. They keep saying something about being blocked every time they try to move on.”
“Thanks Grey, I’ll let you know why I need them when you get back.”
As soon as I finish speaking, Grey blinks out of existence and I take my seat on the coffee table, leaning forward on my knees and making sure I have everyone's attention.
“Alright, I’m going to get the ghosts to watch over who we think is the most likely to be the next target. That means if they are taken, then the ghost can follow them and find out where they’re being kept before letting us know. I know it’s not the most fool-proof plan, but it’s the best I’ve got while I keep investigating.”
As I finish speaking, there’s a knock at the door and I get up to go and answer it. When I open the door, I’m staring at a pile of boxes with meaty arms supporting them. I clear my throat, trying to catch whoever is at the door's attention. A masculine face pokes itself around the edges of the box with a toothy smile before addressing me.
“Hey there, I’m looking for my Prince. He requested this shit to be brought over.”
I nod at the man before looking over my shoulder and shouting on Cailean. While we wait for him to join us, we stand there in awkward silence. Thankfully, my apartment is tiny, so it doesn’t take long for Cailean to join me at the door. I know that I don’t exactly have to stand here and watch their interaction, but call me curious.
“Thanks, Eric. Is that everything that I asked for?”
“There are a couple more boxes still in my truck, Your Highness.”
“Drop the Highness bullshit just now dude, we’re among friends.”
Eric lets out a deep chuckle that has the pile in his arms wobbling precariously, making me take a step back so I don’t get crushed when it inevitably falls. I didn’t have anything to worry about though as Eric drops the boxes onto the floor.
“You know, Cail. You’re definitely the most laid back Royal we’ve had in a long time. So are you going to introduce me to the Siren beside you?”
I furrow my brows in confusion at his strange remark, which only causes the two of them to have a good laugh at my expense. I cross my arms across my chest, letting out an annoyed huff as I roll my eyes at them. This shit is why I avoid men, I’d rather not have their stupid rub off on me.
“Eric, this is Melissa Greene, she’s helping us with our investigation.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Melissa. It’s about time these idiots stopped being so hard-headed, it doesn’t make us weak to ask for help.”
Okay, so maybe Eric isn’t so bad. A smile tips up the corner of my lips as I reach out taking the hand offered to me. I’m expecting a professional handshake, but instead, Eric bows at the waist, placing a chaste kiss on the back of my hand. When he straightens back up, there’s no humor shining in his eyes, and the shift in his mood has me startled.
“One of the missing is my little sister, so I thank you for risking yourself to help us out. You’re obviously doing a better job than I did.”
I give him a sympathetic smile, nodding my head in understanding. This is why I’m so willing to endanger myself because people are waiting at home in pain for their loved ones to be returned to them. For those people, I’m more than happy to face off against the Devil himself if need be.
“I’ll do everything I can to bring your sister home to you, Eric. I might not have any special abilities, but I’m fucking determined t[4]to make these bastards pay.”
He clears his throat, emotions choking him, and gives me a final nod before turning on his heel and heading back to his car. My heart breaks a little, seeing such a strong and happy person being torn in half. I close my eyes, taking a cleansing breath before turning to grab the top box that Eric left behind.
Just as I’m leaning down to pick up the box, a hand grabs my wrist, gently pulling me back up and turning me until my back is against the door. Shocked, I look up into Cailean’s eyes that have darkened to a violet instead of their usual lavender. He reaches up, cradling my cheek in his large hands, and whispering to me.
“Thank you. I haven’t said that to you yet, and with everything you’re doing for us it’s the least you deserve.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for yet, I haven’t cracked the case just yet that we’re on the right track.”
His thumb strokes along my bottom lip as he moves closer to me, causing my breath to hitch as the full force of just how breathtaking this man is hits me. His eyes stare deep into mine, seemingly searching for something, and just as he moves his head closer to mine, a figure pops up out of nowhere behind him, causing me to jump in fright.
Cailean leaps away from me like we’ve just been caught doing something we shouldn’t have, before scanning around us for what frightened me. After a moment, he lets out a defeated groan, turning back to me.
“Let me guess, the ghost is back.”
I give him a sharp nod as I make eye contact with a bashful Grey who gives me a little wave before floating away to give us some space. I clear my throat, feeling my cheeks heating up at the fact that I’m so disappointed Cailean didn’t get the chance to kiss me. Hell, for all I know he wasn’t going to in the first place, I seriously need to get my head back in the game and stop letting myself be distracted.
“I’m going to explain the plan to Grey, I’ll be back in shortly. I’ll send Eric in when he comes back upstairs.”
Cailean seems to snap himself out of a daze as he agrees, turning on his heel and heading back inside. I slump against the door, taking a moment to myself before dealing with my cock blocking friend. Could this shit get any more awkward?
Chapter Eighteen
Cailean
I walk back into the living room, putting the box of books down on the table, and sit back down in the chair I claimed earlier, trying to center myself. I can’t believe that I almost kissed Melissa. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with m
e right now, but I seriously need to knock it off. I feel like a fucking ass for almost taking advantage of Melissa’s good nature.
Here she is putting her life on the line to help our people and I’m drooling over her like a horny dog. I can’t even imagine what she must be thinking about me right now, not that I could blame her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was completely affronted with my behavior towards her just now.
I need to get myself under control and throw myself into figuring this mess out, my people are relying on me and I’m being led around by the balls. I’m ashamed of how I acted and I just have to hope that Melissa will continue to work with us, especially if we are to have any hope of solving this shit.
I’m pleasantly surprised at how astute Melissa has been. Fuck, she has basically solved this case in less than twenty-four hours when we haven’t been able to figure out a single thing in weeks. Because of her help, we are so close to being able to save our people, which means that I can’t afford to let myself become distracted.
Reaching forwards, I grab the first book out of the box and begin to flick through it, looking for any information on the ritual connected to the sigil that Melissa has found. I couldn't believe my eyes when she first showed us that damned drawing. I hate that I was right about who is behind this, even if it has given us a solid lead.
The previous times that we’ve had to deal with the cults have been some of the darkest times in our people’s long history, and I’m not looking forward to the repeat performance, especially if my original guess was right.
The cults have always been difficult to fight against, but if this is as large of a group as I think it is, then we’re in for a rough time. Previously the biggest group has only been around ten people, not including women and children. But with the number of people being taken, it’s hard to guess just how large this group is.
I snap the book in front of me closed, throwing it onto the table beside the box just as Melissa comes back into the room, Eric close on her heels. The two of them seem to be getting on rather well if the grin on her face is anything to go by, and I can't stop the pang of jealousy that shoots through my gut.
I push the feeling down, knowing that I have no right to feel that way as Eric piles the boxes up beside the one on the table. He gives me a funny look when he notices me staring, and it’s only then that I notice that I’m scowling at him. I clear my throat, blanking my expression, and nodding my head at him before turning back to the others.
“Eric here has been kind enough to bring over all of the books that contain rituals that the cults had written down. I remember seeing the magic siphoning ritual somewhere, so we should at least be able to find out what it is that they need for the ritual.”
Zaphyr gets to his feet and makes his way across the room until he’s standing beside the boxes. Bending down, he takes a minute to quickly scan through the material we have to look through. I can see the exhaustion on his face and remember that like me, he probably hasn’t been able to rest while all this has been going down.
That just means that we need to fix this shit soon because a tired Zaphyr can’t hold the darkness he was born with at bay. I don’t blame him for that though. He didn’t ask to be born with such complicated magic. He meets my eyes and the dullness there just shows me how far he has already slipped, not that he lets me think about it much before speaking.
“This is only around a third of the books you were looking through in your office. Are you sure that these will be the only ones we need?”
I can’t control the gulp as the sound of his gravelly voice fills my ears. It seems that he has slipped more than I originally thought if the darkness is beginning to leak into his voice. His eye twitches when he notices the concern on my face so I decide it’s best not to mention it right now.
“No offense man, but we don’t need all of their books to find the answers, we only need to find the shit they have on the ritual. The other books and scrolls were the things that they wrote down about their history with supernatural kind.”
“Fine, then we better get to reading.”
He gets to his feet, grabbing the box from the top of the pile and heading back to his seat in science. I watch him for a moment longer as the others apart from Morpheus get to their feet and get their own box. My eyes flick to Annika who has been silent since she introduced me and Elias to Melissa and feeling my gaze, she glares at me before stomping back to her seat. Morpheus catches everyone's attention as he gets to his feet, joining Melissa at the living room door.
“Try not to kill each other while we go and do our detective shit guys. I doubt Melissa would like to come back and find that her house has been turned into a bloodbath.”
This draws a few chuckles from the room as I flip him off. He really is cheeky sod, but I’m just thankful that his winning personality managed to ease some of the tension in the room. I watch him and Melissa leaving, and once the sound of the front door closing reaches my ears, I turn to the others.
“We all know what the sigil looks like apart from Eric, so first find that in the books. The chapter I remember had a picture of the sigil, so it should be easy enough to find. Once we know the name of the ritual, we can do a more in-depth search.”
Eric catches my eye and I can see the questions filling his eyes. I wave him on wanting to get the questions out of the way so I can start to do my part.
“I know my tracking skills didn’t come in handy for this, but I’d like to stay and help you guys get through this lot quicker if you’ll allow me.
I look around the room for the notebook, finding it lying underneath the coffee table, and get to my feet to collect it. I pass the notebook to Eric as I make my way back to my seat. I know that he will do everything he can since his sister is involved, so I don’t see any harm in him helping out.
“You will find the sigil drawn in that notebook, all you have to do is let us know if you find it in one of these books. I know that this is personal for you, do you think you will be able to put your emotions aside to do this?”
“I don’t have the luxury of letting this shit get to me, you know that better than anyone. Annabelle is only seventeen, she needs me to do my job and bring her home. If that means turning my emotions off, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
I never meant to make him feel like he had to close himself off completely, and guilt fills me as I take in his serious expression. Thankfully, Eli saves the day as usual.
“You know that’s not what he meant Eric. he just wanted to check and make sure you're up for this, he’s just shit at putting it into words. He doesn’t want to see you hurt if things end badly, and he sure as shit doesn’t want you to blame yourself.”
I see a tear trail down Eric's face that he quickly wipes away before giving us a weak smile. I hate that I’ve made him feel this way. I’ve never been good at putting what I’m trying to get across into words, and it is even worse when I make someone feel like shit because of it. I give Elias a thankful smile that he quickly acknowledges before turning back to Eric as he begins to talk.
“I know that’s not what he was trying to say, I guess I’m a little rawer than I first thought.”
Put his mind at rest, hoping that I don’t fuck this up as well. I swear after we get our people back I’m going to pay more attention when Elias tries to teach me how to interact with people properly, it’s about time I learned.
“Don’t worry yourself about it, Eric. With what you’re going through right now, it’s expected. Just do what you can and if you need a minute to yourself none of us will mind.”
“Thanks, Cail. I mean it, you're good for our people and I’ll never be able to repay this debt to you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing Eric, it’s my job to protect our people.”
“But we aren’t nobles, your father would never put his neck on the line the way you are for us.”
“I know, and that’s exactly why I need to make sure he has no reason not to step down when it’s
time. Many things need to change, the first being how the lower classes are treated. You are my people, no matter what family you’re from, which means you have my protection.”
Eric gives me a watery grin at my words, and I realize once again just how much my people need me. These are the people I’m fighting to protect, as far as I care the nobles can look after themselves, but the lower classes don’t have the same privilege as they do.
Being typical males, we decide that we have had enough soppy bullshit for one day and turn back to the task at hand. The sooner we manage to find some answers, the sooner we can be out there looking for more clues.
We spend the next hour looking through all the books until finally, when we move on to the last box, a shout of victory comes from Annika.
“Guys! I think I found something.”
She leaps to her feet, coming over to the coffee table where the notebook is lying and the rest of us get up to join her. We all look down at the page she has her book opened to, and I can feel the anticipation in the air as we all compare it to the drawing that Melissa did earlier.
I suck in a sharp breath as I see that it’s definitely the same sigil, even if it is a different passage from the one I read earlier. Finally, we have found something useful! Now, all we have to do is find out what exactly it all means.
Chapter Nineteen
Melissa
Morpheus pulls up in front of the next address on the list and we get out of the car together, making our way up to the front door. I check around to see if there is a key hidden just like at the last place and finding none, pull my lock picking kit from my pocket.
Just as I open the kit and get ready to pull my tools out, Morpheus reaches out, grabbing my hand to stop me. I look up at him confused, but he just gives me a mischievous grin and wiggles his fingers. I hold my hands up in defeat and watch as he steps forwards, hovering his hand over the lock.