Waving away my protest, Xvair shook his head gently. “Your father took what belonged to my elder son. In turn, he then wanted money from me to fund his lavish lifestyle. We decided to place a bet. As a very old man, I have to find my thrills where I can. You were barely a toddler when he gambled you away. When he lost, I deemed the payment quite apt, especially as he’d raised the stake in the game of poker. Your firstborn to be given to me when my son impregnated you.”
“You sick bastard!” Okay, so being professional was overrated. As if I was going to let him spew shit about a child I hadn’t even conceived. Not only that, I was a free woman.
My shout made the man jump, but he just chuckled to himself. About to hurl viler language his way, I paused when Dave cleared his throat roughly. Glancing at him, I took several deep breaths and calmed. Apparently, a flick of his eyes told me that I should stay silent. He obviously wanted me to let the man talk.
“It’s good to see you have spirit. I despise dull women who are too scared to challenge their husbands. My son needs a little bit of a tough hand, as you can tell from his misdemeanours. I’ve tried to stop him, but he insisted that he wanted to get your attention. I take it that he has it, considering you’re standing in his home?”
“I see that psychopathy runs in the family,” I quipped, unable to help myself.
Rolling his shoulders, Xvair closed his eyes for a second.
Dave wiggled his fingers to get my attention. A flash of a tiny blue spark caught my eye as it left his finger. Ah, he still had his magic, and being an illusionist witch, he might be able to use his magic through the binds that tied us. Whereas my magic was connected to the ley line, which currently ran cold under my feet. The man’s protection spell made it almost impossible for me to link to my magic.
“I will not allow someone to take what is mine. At the end of the day, your father did me wrong. He repaid his debt, but also used you as a pawn to clear it fully. The firstborn was an added bonus because he thought he’d be able to persuade me to let him have access to my immortality spell. Obviously, he was never going to win that bet.”
“I must admit,” I said almost conversationally to Dave. “I wouldn’t want to be alive if I were you. Your body is extremely decrepit.”
His smirk made my skin crawl. The jibe hadn’t affected him at all, which was worrying. He really was a cold hearted evil man.
“It is for now. However, as soon as you deliver me your son, I shall take his pure Essex blood and retrieve youth once again.” The creases in his face almost flapped as he threw his head back and laughed.
Fucking hell, he’d just revealed his secret. And it sickened me enough to make me almost heave. My urgent gaze sought Dave’s as he clenched his fists. A mist of thick red smoke descended on us all, blocking our view of each other.
“What the...?” Xvair gasped, his breath uneven as the smoke evidently went into his lungs.
Coughing myself, I bent low to the ground, trying my hardest to connect into the ley line at the same time as not inhaling Dave’s illusion smoke. The connection was made, the impact of my energy with the line making me dizzy. The house had some weird shit going on.
“Don’t you dare!” the vile man shouted, even though he couldn’t see us. “Lucien! Get down here!”
Nope, the magic wasn’t forthcoming, which meant the line here was disconnected. How was that possible when Xvair’s son was draining the line? Lucien, was that his name?
“Let’s go,” Dave said in my ear as his fingers wrapped around my wrist.
Before I could respond, my body warped and my skin heated fast. My breath rushed out of me as we landed in a park.
“We need backup,” Dave said as I coughed my guts up. “We have to go back and arrest them.”
Without waiting for me to answer, Dave grabbed his phone and dialled the team. As he spoke, I collapsed on the ground, my backside hitting the earth hard. I had never seen anything so crazy in my life. Both men were insane. How could my father insist that I marry a psychopath?
Grabbing my arm, Dave hauled me to my feet. “We’ve got them. We can’t stop now.”
My energy had drained out of me. Not only was I dead, I couldn’t connect into the ley line. My power had been useless at the scene. I had never felt so vulnerable.
“I know,” I said, spinning away from him. “Maybe it’s best that you go without me.”
Closing my eyes to block out the anger that flashed across his face, I squeezed my fingers into my palms and felt for the ley line. When connection was made, I heaved a sigh of relief, the air rushing from my tight lungs. I was still alive, of course I was connected to the ley line. If I couldn’t access it, I wouldn’t be alive.
Storming over, Dave grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. His dark hair flew around his face as his eyes stared into mine. “For a long time I’ve watched you beat anyone you’ve come against. All that time you had a fragment of an arrogance about you that used to annoy me. However, working in the field with you has shown me why you need to believe in yourself. You have many enemies, Gemma. Why are you suddenly allowing them to intimidate you? Just because you’re dead, doesn’t mean you’re not powerful. Get a grip on yourself.”
My mouth hung open as I stared at him. The intensity of his gaze made my heart thump in my chest, and my palms line with sweat. He truly did believe in me. Even though I had never given him much credit for what he was capable of. He was the one who had helped us escape an ancient powerful witch. He was the reason that I wasn’t currently locked up, awaiting a shoddy wedding to an insane crazy man.
“Okay.” Putting my hands on his arms, I squeezed before tugging him towards me.
His eyes widened as I grabbed the back of his head, my fingers brushing into his hair. Pulling his face towards me, I planted a kiss on his cheek before releasing him. “Thank you. Let’s do this. Let’s kill these bastards.”
Chapter 11
The nervous energy that sizzled in my veins made me smile when Kate grabbed my hand from behind. “I can feel a lot of magic nearby,” she whispered as we made our way up the pavement.
The house was just around the corner, our prey probably fled by now. Hopefully, the men would have been careless and left many clues for us to trace them.
“Gemma?” Dave called from ahead.
He had led the way with Jake, allowing both Kate and I to back them up. I would have to find out how the ground beneath the house blocked me from connecting to my magic.
“You’re not going to believe this!” they shouted.
Why was my partner bellowing across the road for all the neighbours to hear? For our enemies to hear?
Jogging to catch up to them, I was about to berate him for drawing attention when I paused. The metal bars of the fence were still there, but inside, where the previous house had been, it was empty. Pristine gardens stood in its place, the grass almost too green against the now grey sky.
“Is it an illusion?” Jake asked, his bright blue eyes tracing every part of the garden as he sniffed the air. “I can’t smell anything other than greenery.”
The bastards had either cloaked the house with a very strong spell or moved it all together.
Rushing to the gate, I thrust it open, frowning when it easily swung inwards. Stepping inside, I bit my lip as the dead energy sunk into my skin. The magic from yesterday had disappeared. There was nothing here.
“I can feel it,” Kate muttered as she joined me. “I think I can get a reading.”
Moving towards the centre of the grassy area, Kate closed her eyes and held her hands lightly by her side. Her lips moved gently as she summoned her gift to read the last 24 hours. We had only been gone, preparing our approach, for two hours. In that time, Xvair and Lucien Harvey had managed to escape with everything that could have helped us in our investigation.
“No!” The word was quiet as it left my lips, but the energy behind it was harsh.
Stamping my foot, I growled as the Earth shook beneath my fe
et. The ley line here was free again. I was able to pull power through me, the usual heat of the line searing my insides.
“It’s okay,” Dave muttered as he took my hand. “We’ll find something.”
Ripping my hand away from him, I marched us to where the house had been. There was still no magic, no cloaking spell. They really had gone. Rage suddenly blistered as it grew inside me. Opening my mouth, I let out a scream so loud that a couple of birds in a tree nearby squawked as they flew away.
“We had them! We should have stayed here!”
All the fear and anger that had been bubbling inside me since I had been shot, took over. My desk friend stared at me, his eyes not blinking, which made it even worse. Why was he not remorseful? If he had just left us in the house, we would somehow be connected to them. Even if it had meant that we were trapped, at least we would be in the vicinity of our serial killer.
“Oh no you don’t,” Jake barked in my ear as my feet got ready to move towards Dave.
His arms came around me before I could propel forward. The smell of masculinity and damp hair made me pause. The man had no hair, why did he smell of wet dog?
“I will change.” Jake tugged me around to face him.
He was one of my agents, and yet, he was threatening me. The contradiction of my thought smacked me in the face, causing me to go still. Releasing my breath, I allowed the anger to drain out of me and into Mother Earth.
“I’m okay,” I told Jake, turning back to Dave. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”
Striding over to me, Dave grabbed me and pulled me towards him. “I do. Your life is being dictated by someone else. I don’t blame you for taking it out on those you care about.”
Snorting, I pulled away to look up at him. “Don’t think too highly of yourself.”
Raising his eyebrows, Dave picked up my ponytail, which was over my shoulder and put it behind me. The gesture was small but intimate. Our gaze clashed as the energy around us grew warm.
“I’ve got a reading,” Kate announced.
Almost tearing away from each other, Dave and I went over to Kate, followed by Jake. The wolf shifter was wiggling his eyebrows at Dave. Surely he didn’t think that anything was going on between us? That was something that would have to be rectified if he did. As if I would date a colleague.
“I can see them.” Kate pointed at the space where the house used to be. “For some reason, because the magic has been moved from here, I can see everything clearly. Whatever was shielding my ability to read the past at the crime scenes isn’t here.”
“Can you see where they went?” I asked, trying to keep my cool.
Shaking her head, she closed her eyes again, obviously to relive what she had just seen. “Before you arrived, they got a phone call from someone called Archie. I think they were expecting you. It’s pretty blurry before that point, which makes me believe that they wanted me to see what happened from then on. These people have a lot of magic. However, it’s not exactly pure.”
“Don’t I know it,” I muttered.
Dave encouraged Kate to keep telling us what she had seen. Her hair moved as a light breeze set upon us, the air suddenly shifting. Looking around, we checked to make sure that no one was in the vicinity. No, I was being paranoid. The wind was just nature. Would I ever go back to feeling safe?
Archie was a vampire. A friend of Brianna’s who’d asked me to help get rid of Joseph Cambridge. Why was he involved with the ancient witch who had bad magic?
“Wait!” Kate held up a hand. “It’s starting to clear. Before the phone call from Archie, Xvair and Lucien were having an argument in a bedroom. There was a woman...” Kate gasped, her eyes opening wide and staring at me. “She was in a wedding dress, tied to a bed.”
“Was she alive?” Jake asked as he cracked his knuckles.
Nodding, Kate closed her eyes again. “Yes. Xvair was trying to persuade Lucien not to kill her. It actually looks like our ancient witch is trying to control his son. Not that his son listens to him. I can see him in the demon mask. Which means that he obviously hides from everyone.”
Grabbing my wrist, Kate squeezed hard as her brow furrowed. “Gemma. There are pictures of you all over the bedroom walls. This man has an obsession. This man is not only our serial killer, but he’s obviously draining the ley line of magic. I can see spells all over his desk regarding the line.”
A shudder made my whole body shake. It was disgusting to think that he had pictures of me everywhere. How could someone be so strange? What had his father taught him to enable him to feel like he had a right to own me?
“Xvair’s telling him that you’re on your way. He asks him to allow the woman to go and promises that he will allow him to take you, Gemma.”
The grinding of teeth from Dave’s mouth sounded between us as we all fell silent. Some fucked up witches were out to get me because of a ridiculous bet that my father had made. It was time to arrest both and allow the human government to do what they saw fit. I knew for a fact that both of them would be executed. And, even though death wasn’t my favourite thing, I would be there to watch it. A part of me knew that I wouldn’t feel safe until both of the Harvey witches were no longer on Earth.
“I need to write my report,” Kate said, nodding at me. “There’s not much more we can do here, unless you can use your magic to read the place.”
Letting my head drop back, I swallowed down my frustration. The magic was gone, the place now an empty shell of nothingness. There was magic within the street outside, but it was just normal, nothing to do with Xvair and Lucien.
“No. There’s nothing to read here.”
Clearing his throat, Dave put his hands on his hips and looked at each of us. “Today has been busy. Let’s go home and recuperate before restarting in the morning. Kate, I know you have to write up your report, so if you could do that, I would really appreciate it.”
Wait. Was David taking the lead? His eyebrows raised when he looked at me. He was questioning me with a look. Was I going to push against his leadership? Yes, I was in charge, but it was actually a bit of a relief to allow him to take control. Sharing the burden when the burden was all mine felt wrong. However, this was my team, a team that had pledged allegiance, even though I didn’t know them that well. Once all this was over, I would be sure to make an effort to bond my team together. We needed to become a family. I owed them that much.
“Home it is,” I said, saluting them before flashing myself away.
They knew that I needed my space. My front door opened with a flick of my finger, allowing me access. It was a bit lazy to use magic to enter my home, but tiredness literally poured out of my body, almost dragging it to the ground. The disappointment of our lead escaping caused tears to pop into my eyes. My teeth clenched as I locked the door behind me and thumped my fist against the wooden frame.
“Come now,” a male voice said behind me. “Tears do not become you.”
Every inch of my body went still. I knew that voice. I knew the scent of leather that now slipped up my nostril and caused me to cringe. Shit. My enemy was in my home. How the hell had he gained entrance?
“We’re connected, you and I.” The usually muffled voice was clear, echoing throughout my hallway.
Slowly turning on my heels, I took a deep breath as I faced the man who thought I was his. An evil man who had no idea that I was about to end his life.
Forcing myself to relax as much as I possibly could, I stared at him. The mask was gone. His light grey eyes were just like my father’s. The smooth skin that was marked by stubble was nothing like the man who’d sired him. Another woman might have thought that the serial killer was attractive, but his medium framed figure pulsed evil as he stared at me.
“My father made a bet with yours,” I said, trying to eradicate the shake of my voice. “I brought him back to life because he had a message. Apparently, if I don’t marry you, the veil between Hell and Earth will fade so much that evil spirits will be able to
gain access to our realm. Is that why you’re so insistent on us marrying?”
The tick in his jaw was the only giveaway that he had heard my question. Every part of him was solid as he stared, his eyes creeping me out like nothing ever had before. I’d faced a few weirdos in my time, but Lucien Harvey was in a whole new league. How the hell would I be able to try and tell my team that I needed backup?
“I’m a fan of books, too. I never used to be,” he muttered, “until I started to stalk you. You see, when my father told me that he had a woman in mind for me, I wasn’t best pleased. I was in love with my high school sweetheart, but he killed her to prevent me from having a happy life.”
Swallowing, I debated whether to reply. The wedding dress wasn’t just to do with me. The pain of losing the woman he loved was obviously the driving point for his obsession.
“When I saw a photo of you, I must admit that I was intrigued. You wore a book T-shirt that said If life were better, I wouldn’t need all the books. Readism is escapism. I was intrigued by that.”
His staring was freaking me out. His eyes dipped to read my current T-shirt, but I didn’t give him time to speak again. This was my home, my domain. My magic worked best right here. Lifting my arm, I muttered a freezing spell, knowing full well that I probably couldn’t hold him for long. My feet were moving towards him before he could even blink. My arms shoved him hard, my body slinking past, Lucien almost pushing me against the wall as he tried to grab me. When his hand made contact with my wrist, I grabbed it and pulled with me as I spun.
“Don’t!” His exclamation was said in shock as I wrenched his arm behind his back. “I told you I didn’t want to fight you. I want to marry you.”
The man was fucking deluded. As if I would give myself over freely. I didn’t know on what part of Mother Earth anyone could assume that I would willingly marry someone that my father had lost a bet to. Or, his son, anyway.
About to break his arm, I shuddered when he shouted a Latin spell that I’d never heard before. My skin started to burn where I touched him, my fingertips melting into his skin. Wrenching away, I swore as pain exploded in my head.
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