by Keri Arthur
“Well, they have,” I cut in, “because the wild magic is now a part of me.”
“And if you’re right about the reason for your ability to use it,” Eli said, “It means it was there from the day you were born. It’s just that no one ever picked it up. But a tracer’s specialty is seeing the power grid within every witch—she’ll see what others have missed for so long.”
“Which is just another nail in the coffin of any failing hope I might have of avoiding what I sense coming.”
“Together, we’ll get over this, lass. Have no doubt of that.”
I smiled, even as doubt stirred deep within. But that doubt was based on fear—on the memories of a sixteen-year-old betrayed by the man who should have protected her. I wasn’t that child, and it wasn’t just Belle and me facing this threat now. Whether in the end it would be enough, I couldn’t say. Not even my prophetic abilities, as vocal as they’d been about this looming confrontation, could envision the outcome. But we had a chance, however slight, and that was what I had to hang on to now, not the fear twelve years in the making.
I finished the rest of my coffee and then rose. “I’d better get back before it gets too late.”
“Do you want a lift?” Eli asked.
I shook my head. “It’s only a short walk. I’ll be fine.”
They escorted me to the door, then stood on the small porch with their arms around each other, watching until I’d turned the corner. I couldn’t help smiling. The pair of them coming into my life really was one of the best things to happen to me.
Aiden called just as I entered the café. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and said, “How’d the meeting go?”
“As well as can be expected given the situation.” His reply was terse. “I’m going home, and I’d really like your company. I know it’s late but—”
“I’ll be packed and ready in ten.”
“You really do need to start leaving some of your clothes at my place. It would make things a whole lot easier.”
And a whole lot harder when I had to leave. “I’ll consider it.”
“I guess that’s one step in the right direction.” His amusement was evident in his voice. “I’ll see you soon.”
I shoved my phone back into my pocket and ran up the stairs. Belle was already asleep, so I wrote her a note and then packed some clothes and shoes for tomorrow. Aiden pulled up just as I locked the front door.
He leaned across the truck to open the door, then kissed me long and hard once I’d gotten in. “Hmmm,” he said. “You taste like banana, coffee, and whiskey.”
I smiled. “That’s because I’ve been overindulging in all three.”
He pulled out onto the road, then glanced at me. “Any reason for said overindulgence?”
“You could say that.” I quickly filled him in on everything that had happened.
“If either your father or your husband makes any attempt to harm you, in any way, I will tear them to shreds.” His voice was grim. Dangerous.
I reached across the truck’s cab and placed a hand on his thigh. His fingers wrapped around mine, warm and strong and fierce. “I appreciate the sentiment, but the last thing I want is you up for a murder charge.”
“Then maybe I’ll settle for tearing off a limb or two.”
I smiled. “You know, there’s a part of me that seriously wishes to see that, but… not at the cost of destroying your own life. And it would, you know that.”
His breath hissed through clenched teeth. “Yes, but the sentiment applies. I will do whatever I can to keep you safe.”
“I know that.”
He nodded, just the once, as if a contract had been made. And it was a contract that was later sealed in his bed, when he made me feel so cared for and so damn precious that it rocked me to the core.
And afterwards, as we drifted to sleep, I was forced to admit the one thing—if only to myself—I’d been avoiding like crazy these last few months.
I hated the man I was married to, and loved the man I could never marry.
Life was never going to be the same for me, no matter what happened in the next few months.
A sharp ringing woke us many hours later. Aiden muttered a number of obscenities and spent several seconds groping for the phone.
“Aiden O’Connor,” he said eventually, his voice husky with sleep.
“Sorry, boss,” a familiar voice said. “But you said to ring if we had another situation.”
Byron, I realized after a moment. Aiden flicked the loudspeaker on so I could hear.
“The flesh stripper?” he said.
“Yeah. I’m afraid it’s struck again.”
“Where this time?”
“Up in the Campbell Creek plantation.”
“Which is rather close to where the second victim was found,” I murmured. “They have to be roosting in that area somewhere.”
He glanced at me and nodded. “Who reported the find?”
“Jeni. She was returning home after a night out with one of the Sinclair boys.”
Aiden grunted. “She okay?”
“Not really. I’ve managed to calm her down, but she’s still a bit of a mess.”
“You called in the crew?”
“I will, after this call. I might get Ciara to pick Ashworth up first, as this place is a maze and we don’t want him lost.” Byron hesitated. “Can Liz come out with you? Neither Ashworth nor Ciara are much good at calming hysterics.”
Being a calming influence was certainly a skill I wouldn’t have attributed to myself, although I guess I had become adept at talking down the occasional client who wasn’t happy with the outcome of whatever psychometry search they’d asked me to do.
Aiden glanced at me, an eyebrow raised in question. I nodded, then threw off the sheets and headed into the bathroom. I had no idea what time it was, but the moon’s power was well on the wane, meaning it had to be at least four in the morning.
“We’ll both be there ASAP,” Aiden said.
“Good, because I’m not liking the feel of this area right now.”
Unease prickled down my spine. I stopped and looked around. “Tell them to get into the truck and stay there until we arrive.”
Byron obviously heard me, because he said, “You think the killer could still be in the area?”
“Are you hearing any owls hooting?”
He paused, obviously listening, and then said, “In the distance, but yes.”
“Then get into the truck, lock the doors, and don’t get out for any reason, no matter what you see, even if it’s a distressed, naked female.”
“Will do.”
Aiden hung up, then climbed out of bed and began getting dressed while I quickly jumped into the shower.
“Will they be safe in the truck if the owls he’s hearing are the Empusae?” he asked.
“Maybe. There are a few spirits who don’t like iron, but cars these days are more aluminum and plastic. It really doesn’t have the same effect.”
“Then how likely is it that the Empusae will attack them so soon after feeding?”
“That, I can’t say.”
I quickly dressed and then clattered down the stairs, grabbing my purse off the counter before following him out the door. Once we were on the main road, he hit the siren and lights and pushed the truck as hard as he could. We made it to Castle Rock in record time, the blue-and-red lights washing the empty streets with color as we sped through them.
It took another eight minutes to reach the plantation area. Aiden slowed and turned into a dusty road dividing two orderly rows of pines, and then picked up the radio. “Byron? You out there?”
There was no response. My pulse rate jumped several notches, and fear stirred. And yet, why would the Empusae bother coming back? Despite my earlier warning, it really didn’t make any sense—not when dawn was closing in fast and they’d obviously fed for the night.
Aiden tried the radio again; when that didn’t work, he tried the phone. The response was the same. He
swore, pressed some app, and then shoved the phone at me. On the screen was a map of the area with two small flashing dots—the blue was obviously us, as it was the only one moving, and the red one Byron.
“You’ve trackers in your cars?”
He nodded. “Had them installed before Christmas. Thought it might be a good idea, given what you’d said about the shit headed our way.” His expression was grim. “And just as well, given this place is a warren of roads. You can be my guide.”
I nodded, my heart pounding with ever-increasing speed the closer we got to that red dot that was Byron’s SUV.
“He should be just past the next corner,” I said as the two dots were almost on top of each other, “close to the intersection of another two tracks.”
Aiden grunted and slowed down. Dust bloomed around the truck and momentarily cut vision. Then, gradually, an SUV appeared out of the shadows. It was parked sideways, blocking the road. The door was open, but there was no movement, no sign of life, in either the SUV or the surrounding area.
But there was blood, and chunks of flesh, and bones that gleamed white both on the ground and all over the car itself.
I covered my mouth and uttered a sound that was part horror, part disbelief.
And then the headlights pinned one last atrocity.
A head. Sitting in the middle of the front seat, still oozing blood and gore.
Byron.
Eleven
“Oh God, no…”
The words were all but torn from me. Aiden didn’t say anything; he simply picked up the radio and called in the rest of his team. Then he rang his sister.
“Ciara, did you get a call from Byron?” His voice was very controlled; none of the fury that vibrated through his body could be heard.
“Should I have?”
“He was meant to call but obviously didn’t get the chance. We need you and Luke out here immediately.” He gave her the coordinates and then added, “And pick up Ashworth on the way through.”
“What about Monty?”
Aiden hesitated. “He’s on crunches, and they’ll present problems given the scatter pattern of the kill. We’ll update him tomorrow.”
Monty would not be happy with that decision, even if it was the right one.
“Fine.” She hesitated. “I take it our flesh stripper has struck again?”
“Yes. And this time, Byron is one of the victims.”
“Oh fuck, Aiden—”
“Yeah,” he cut in, “so get out here as fast as you can.”
“Will do.”
She hung up. Aiden took a deep breath, and the anger eased a bit. His expression, when he finally met my gaze, remained controlled, but his eyes burned with frustration and fury.
“We need to find these things,” he said. “We need to kill them.”
“We will.” Somehow.
I reached across and touched his arm. His muscles jumped under my touch, and after a moment, he wrapped his fingers around mine and squeezed them.
“I need you out there in case the Empusae are still in the area—are you going to be okay?”
He meant with the gore, not the Empusae. I swallowed heavily and nodded. “The crime scene is too large for me to create a protective circle around though, so I’ll have to shadow your movements, just in case.”
He squeezed my hand again, then got out of the truck. I followed suit and studied the area with my ‘other’ senses. The night was utterly still; there were no owls hooting, no animals moving through the underbrush, and no growling or grunting from the possums that were undoubtedly in the area. It was almost as if the night itself had been struck numb by the ferocity of these murders.
And while the feel of both evil and death lingered heavily in the air, I didn’t think the Empusae remained in the area. But then, they could well be watching from on high and simply attack the minute we let our guard down.
But as brutal and as ugly as these deaths were, they’d obviously been ordained by fate, as neither man’s soul lingered. They’d moved on—hopefully to a far longer, far happier life.
My eyes were drawn, against my will, to the front seat of the SUV and the bloody remains sitting there. Byron’s eyes were wide and terror forever etched into his face. Why had he gotten out of the car? Or was he given no choice? Had the Empusae simply spelled open the door and then ripped him apart?
And where on earth was Jeni?
My gaze swept the bloody remnants, and my stomach’s churning increased. I swallowed heavily against the bitter rise of bile and tried my best to clinically examine rather than react. While there were a lot of body parts strewn about, I couldn’t see anything that looked female. And maybe I wouldn’t, given the utter destruction, but still…
“Aiden, I don’t think Jeni was in the SUV when this happened.”
“She wasn’t. Her scent runs off into the trees.” He handed me a pair of shoe protectors. “Put these on so you don’t wreck another pair of shoes.”
I had absolutely no intention of wrecking another pair, simply because I had no intention of stepping in or on anything that even vaguely resembled a body part. But given the utter mess… I shuddered. “Aren’t you going after her?”
“I will as soon as the others get here.”
“But—”
“If the Empusae chased her, she’s as dead as Byron and the victim he found. If they didn’t, then she’ll be back at the compound by now. I’ll contact—”
The sharp ringing of his phone cut the rest of his words off. He glanced at it, then hit the answer button and said, “Has Jeni appeared up there?”
If the relief that briefly lit Aiden’s expression was anything to go by, she had.
“I’ll be up to talk to her as soon as the others get to the crime—” He paused, listening. “No, I can’t fucking come up straight away. I’ve a dead ranger, another unknown victim, and a crime scene to lock down. I’ll get there as soon as Tala arrives and can take over.”
I couldn’t hear the exact reply, but the tone was somewhat conciliatory and also male. Aiden grunted. “Get the doc to sedate her, then. I’ll bring Liz up to do a reading if you’ll clear it with the other alphas—that way, we’ll see what she knows without her reliving the trauma.”
There was another short pause, then Aiden grunted again and hung up.
“Your dad?” I guessed.
He nodded. “Impatient, as usual.”
“You realize I’m not going to be of much use up there, don’t you? Belle’s the telepathic witch, not me.”
“If you can retrieve memories from a dead person’s mind, surely you can retrieve them from someone who’s simply sedated?”
I hesitated. “I actually don’t know, because I’ve never tried.”
“But theoretically, it should be possible, right?”
“I guess, but—”
“Liz, if nothing else, this will remind my mother just how vital you are to this reservation.”
If it worked. If it didn’t, it would only confirm her opinion we were nothing more than charlatans. “I suspect me using psychic powers won’t really make much of an impact on her current opinion.”
“Perhaps not, but neither of my parents has seen you in action, and this will back what Rocco has already said about you.”
Meaning Rocco had discussed me with either the council or Aiden’s parents? Interesting, given I really hadn’t done that much in the way of magic when I’d helped uncover Larissa’s—who was at the time my suspected assassin—lies.
“We can try,” I said. “But don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work.”
“When you state something probably won’t work, it generally does.” His smile was fleeting and didn’t do much to lift the anger. “Watch where you step if you’re going to follow me around.”
I nodded and rubbed my arms. The last thing I actually wanted to do was watch him catalog the various remnants of humanity. I certainly didn’t want to see anything more than what I already had. The churning in my stomach was b
ad enough; too much more and I would be sick. In fact, if I’d had any damn choice, I’d be as far away as possible from this crossroad and the deaths it held. But I had no idea if the Empusae were still in the area, and no desire to leave Aiden to their bloody ministrations if they were.
He began photographing. I shadowed his movements, my eyes on the ground, watching where I placed every single step. The silence stretched on, broken only by the soft clicking of the photo app as we slowly moved around the SUV. It was then the other victim came into view. His bones had been picked clean and then piled neatly on the edge of the small crossroad, his skull gleaming in the beam of moonlight that caressed it. The Empusae had had the time to deal with him ‘properly’, which suggested Byron might have come onto the scene after they’d left.
So why return and tear him apart?
Was it, perhaps, some sort of retribution—a life for a life? One of the elder’s offspring had been killed, after all, and while Vita had been responsible for that rather than Byron, maybe the elder simply didn’t care.
Was this, perhaps, a macabre warning? A bloody and violent form of a ‘kill one of mine, and I’ll kill one of yours’ note?
Trepidation stirred even as chills ran down my spine. While we were all at risk if vengeance was her intent, I couldn’t help the sudden notion that I’d somehow made the top of her hit list. Which made no sense and was probably more my tendency to expect the worse than anything else. But still…
I quickly looked around, senses on high alert. But the night remained absent of anything other than the scent of blood and death. The Empusae—and any other evil or magic, even the wild kind—were nowhere near this area.
As Aiden began to unroll the crime scene tape around the entire area, the sound of sirens finally cut across the silence. Minutes later, four SUVs pulled up behind Aiden’s truck; Ciara, Luke, Ashworth and—surprisingly—Eli were in the first one. Tala, Mac, and Jaz were in the others.
“Maggie and Duke are on their way,” Tala said as she exited her SUV. Then her gaze ran past us and she stopped in shock. “Oh God—”