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  Alex shifted uncomfortably as he looked down at me.

  Don’t you dare say it.

  “He’s right, a Warlock can recognize a lot more in the magic used than even a witch,” he sighed, knowing his words would displease me.

  “We study it, wield it, learn everything there is about magic. Witches do as well, but not to the same extent. They aren’t as capable as we are,” my father reminded me.

  “What about high-level witches,” I shot back.

  “They’re rare and still not even close to as powerful as us,” he shrugged.

  “I didn’t drive over, so…” Alex let the question hang.

  “I have my car, I’ll drive us,” my father stated.

  Alex shot me a look, and I was so close to just telling him he was going alone and I’d jump while Alex flitted, but I bit my tongue. I needed to master my emotions. This sucked ass.

  Besides, it’d give me the chance to try to get a hold of Maria.

  “I need to see if Maurice can watch Axle,” I said as Axle rose at his name.

  “Bring him, he probably needs to go out for the toilet anyway,” my father said.

  I scowled but called Axle to follow after me as Otis trotted after my father as if he’d been summoned. He probably had been, telepathically.

  My father led the way and Alex gave me an apologetic look which I just shrugged at. Wasn’t his fault all this had happened.

  “So, Alex, how long has my little girl worked for you?” my father asked as he drove. Alex was in the backseat while I sat in the passenger seat of the lavish new silver Mercedes sedan. Axle was perched on the other side of Alex, his tongue lolling out as he stared out the window contentedly. Otis was poised between them, watching the road ahead with keen eyes. My father had been right, as soon as we were out of the building, Axle had peed on some nearby bushes and seemed overjoyed by the chance to release his bladder. I’d been too caught up with magic to take him out again since the park this morning.

  “A few years,” Alex answered.

  I dialed Maria as we drove, but it reached message bank like usual. I shot her a text demanding her to call me ASAP. I was worried for her, and I frowned as I stared out the window, wondering where on earth she was.

  “So Ivy tells me a vampire killed her, were you able to find the guy?” my father asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

  The tension that filled the air made me shift uncomfortably.

  “Just let it go,” I muttered. I didn’t need him turning on Alex now. As if my life wasn’t stressful enough.

  “Well, no, Alex is an old vampire, he must have some control and power in this area, and I’m curious if he found and made your attacker pay. I’m sure you told him about it,” my father’s voice was level as he focused on the road.

  “It’s been dealt with,” I snapped, wanting him to drop the subject. I could feel Alex’s eyes burning into me from his seat behind my father.

  Otis snuffled, and a quick glance back showed me he was staring up at Alex with a questioning look.

  “How?” my father demanded to know.

  “I handled it myself,” Alex spoke up, and the dark, low tone he used shut my father up. He sounded like he meant he’d killed the man. But I knew the truth. Alex had been my killer. An accident one night when he was torched outside our office. I came just in time to try to put out the flames, and his injuries turned him onto me in a desperate attempt to survive by feeding.

  I didn’t blame him anymore for it. I blamed those who’d torched him. Alex had only found one of them, and from my understanding, he was deceased.

  I did wonder where the others were.

  He’d never meant to hurt me, it was a survival instinct. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  “So this Maria is your friend?” my father questioned.

  “Yes, we met through my work when I first started, we hit it off. She’s a psychic witch,” I stated, not wanting to go into details.

  “Interesting,” he mused as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “I can’t get a hold of her, I haven’t been able to for a while now,” I muttered, annoyed that I hadn’t checked in sooner. I’d been meaning to, but she dropped off the radar around the time my work friend was murdered, and I was busy trying to figure that mess out. I should’ve stopped in at her place, made sure she was okay.

  I kept eyeing my phone as we drove in hopes of even just a text from Maria.

  Nothing.

  I was glad the tense, silent car ride was over when we arrived at Maria’s house. A lone cop car was outside, its lights not flashing.

  “This is an Area Enforcer matter before it becomes a Council matter,” Alex reminded us. “The officer here has called in the local witch Area Enforcer. He’s a lion shifter himself.”

  Area Enforcers, powerful beings that handled situations like this before the Council got involved. I didn’t realize each race had its own Enforcer though.

  “Evelyn Green,” my father murmured.

  “Wait, the elemental witch?” I frowned, my hand poised on the door handle of the car.

  “Yep, that one. She’s the Enforcer for both witches and elementals in the area,” Alex added. I knew Walter was the Area Enforcer for vampires, but I hadn’t known there were other Enforcers.

  “We went to her about my ability when we thought it was an elemental one,” I said. “She couldn’t tell us about you,” I added dryly.

  “The spell still works then,” he said, ignoring my attempt to guilt trip him. “And she called me about you, remember?”

  “We’d better head in before she gets here, we didn’t exactly leave on good terms,” Alex muttered.

  “Right,” my father nodded as he pushed the door open and climbed out.

  Alex allowed the two animals out, and Otis trotted along after my father, his studded red collar glinting in the streetlight. Axle seemed intent to follow the pig, as if he was learning from the smaller creature. I wondered momentarily if they could communicate between themselves.

  I followed behind my father and Alex, my feet heavy and my stomach twisting. I usually enjoyed coming to Maria’s quaint little place. But looking at it tonight filled me with dread. The unkempt lawn was the first warning for me. Maria spent her days off tending to her garden, she loved making her home as presentable as possible to the outside world. Her rose bushes were always well trimmed, and the lawn was always neat. Not tonight. Weeds sprouted in the garden beds and the lawn looked like it hadn’t been touched for weeks.

  It made me feel sick. Where was she? What had happened?

  We trudged up the few steps and onto the porch where the wicker set sat off to the corner with wind chimes overhead and her small lavender plant on the table. It looked frail and on the brink of death inside the vibrant purple pot. I’d given it to her as gift for her birthday as she always loved lavender. It being so close to withering into nothing only worried me more.

  I turned back and hurried after my father, who’d headed inside through the open door.

  Axle had whined at the doorway and shot me a questioning look. Otis simply snorted as he followed after my father. What could they sense?

  I sucked in a deep breath as my father led me inside, and Axle pushed himself up against my leg as he kept in step with me. Alex waited at the door, and it took me a moment to realize it was because he hadn’t been invited in.

  “You can come in too,” I offered.

  “Thanks,” Alex gave me a sheepish smile as he crossed the threshold.

  We moved down the hall and into the living room, where my stomach knotted.

  The officer was standing over the body, which he’d thankfully covered with a sheet.

  “Alex, this address was one of the ones you gave us. Do you recognize this person,” the officer asked as he pulled the sheet back to reveal the man in his mid-sixties. By the way he spoke, I could only assume he knew Alex quite well. He nodded in acknowledgement at my father and I.
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br />   Alex turned to me and I sighed as I looked away.

  “It’s Mr Hershel, the neighbor,” I murmured, my body relaxing ever so slightly. Why though, I couldn’t pinpoint. Alex had told me it wasn’t Maria, but a piece of me had to see for myself. To make sure she wasn’t the one lying unmoving on the floor.

  “Thanks, I’ll write that down,” the officer said as he pulled out a notebook and spoke into his radio.

  I focused on the room, a place where I’d felt so comfortable before.

  The overhead chandelier lit the room, its glittering dewdrop stones glistening and twinkling as my father moved around the room. Maria had inherited the home from her Uncle and done it up, adding her own flair to the old home, like the chandelier and assorted crystals littering the shelves. I eyed the assorted star maps on the wall over the fireplace, the chakra figure scrolls dangling near the entrance to the kitchen. No essence tonight, one of the defining features of Maria’s home. She always burned incense.

  “Have you seen Mr Fluffs?” I blurted as I looked around.

  Axle leaned against my leg as Otis trotted around the room, inspecting the area with his snout.

  “Who?” the office gave me a concerned look.

  “Her cat, he should be here,” I murmured as I wandered into the kitchen. I opened the cupboard above the fridge littered with family photos and pulled out his food box. I shook it as I called his name, worried about the little fur-ball. Food had always made him come running whenever he’d gone outside into the garden.

  No orange tabby greeted me, and I chewed my lip.

  “I can’t sense another feline here,” the officer popped his head in with a concerned look.

  “Oh,” I breathed as I set the box down on the bench. Maybe Maria had him with her, wherever she was.

  I followed the officer back out and smiled softly at Alex who was watching me carefully. Axle stuck to me like icing on a cake, determined to not leave my side. It was strange; he was always so obedient and loyal, but tonight he seemed more protective, and his perked up ears and flicking eyes told me he was taking everything in.

  “There’s been some powerful black magic used here,” my father stated as he scanned the bookshelves.

  “That’s not Maria,” I snapped, defensive against his blunt tone.

  “I’m not saying it is, relax, I’m just saying, the magic used to kill Mr Hershel here was dark magic. Evil stuff,” my father looked down at the now covered again body.

  Otis snorted as if in agreement as he came to sit beside my father and scan the room again.

  “I assumed it was a witch killing as I can sense the dark magic too. Question is why,” the officer said as he scribbled something down.

  “Can’t help you with that,” Alex sighed as he turned to me.

  “Any idea where the homeowner may be then?” the officer said, a lieutenant Johnson from his name-tag. His hazel eyes looked tired, and I wondered if he’d been working all day already. His blond hair was almost hidden beneath his official police hat.

  “No, I haven’t been able to reach her. Last time I heard from her was about a week ago, she texted me,” I answered.

  “Has she been acting strangely at all? Any enemies?” he continued.

  “Yes, she’s been distant, but her mother is getting more sick, she’s got dementia so I just assumed that was why,” I said, realizing he was questioning me. Great, so Maria was a suspect now. “No enemies that I can think of, everyone loved her. She wouldn’t have done this,” I stated as I narrowed my eyes at the officer.

  “Routine questions, miss…?” he raised an eyebrow.

  “Ivy, Ivy McCloud,” I said.

  “Your relationship with the homeowner and the deceased?” the officer asked as he jotted down notes.

  “Friends with the homeowner, only knew the deceased in passing. Waved at him a few times while he was gardening,” I sighed as I flicked my eyes to his body. Who would hurt Mr Hershel? He was a widowed man just living out his retirement. He was not of harm to anyone and he’d always given me a smile and wave whenever he saw me.

  “Right,” the officer nodded.

  “We’d better head off before Evelyn arrives. There’s nothing else for us here,” my father reminded us of the incoming witch.

  “And you are?” the officer raised his pen as he gave my father a pointed look.

  “Graham McCloud, Ivy’s father,” he said bluntly as he surveyed the room one last time.

  “Call me if you have any further questions,” Alex jumped in as the officer went to speak again. He closed his mouth and nodded as he glanced at my father and I before scribbling some more notes.

  We exited the house, and I scanned the garden in hopes of seeing the fat ginger tom cat. Axle made no indication of noticing a feline in the yard as he sighed and carefully eyed the area, his hip pushing into my leg.

  “Anywhere else we can look for Maria?” Alex turned to me, the streetlight illuminating his high cheekbones and accentuating his facial features. He looked devilishly handsome, too bad my mind was preoccupied.

  “Her Mom, she’s at the Blue Sage nursing home. We could see if she’s there,” I suggested, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. I hoped she was okay. The thought of Maria being hurt or worse. No, I wouldn’t think that.

  I checked my phone again and pursed my lips. Still nothing. I shot her another text as we wandered back to the car, and waited until my father had pulled away from the curb before dialing her again. No answer.

  “Where the hell are you,” I hissed at my phone.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Alex reassured me from the backseat with his two animal companions.

  “I’m wondering if Maria was the intended target, and the neighbor got caught instead,” my father mused.

  “He was freshly dead, not even six hours,” Alex stated. “It looked like Maria hadn’t been home in a while.”

  “Still, we don’t know what happened,” my father murmured.

  Who would want to hurt Maria? She was a sweet, funny, caring woman who only wanted to help people. Why would anyone go after her?

  “So her mother is at the Blue Sage nursing home?” my father checked.

  “Yes, she’s got dementia, she’s slowly forgetting even Maria. She needs the care they can offer her,” I said.

  “Is she a witch as well?” he asked.

  “No, it was her father who was a witch, and he left when they were only small. His sister, Martha, kept in contact and looked after them for Monica, their Mom, sometimes. She taught them when they became teens about their heritage and witch lineage. Taught them the basic things, potions, minor spells. Maria discovered she was a psychic who could communicate with the dead so used that to start her first psychic business after school,” I explained. “She still keeps in touch with Martha.”

  “And her mother never knew?” my father raised an eyebrow.

  “No, she doesn’t know the truth, she just thinks Maria practices psychic stuff but doesn’t care much for it.”

  “You said they, does she have a sibling?” he asked as he came to a stop at some traffic lights.

  “Yes, a brother, Shaun,” I nodded.

  “What’s their family name?” he asked, his jaw hardening.

  “Priben, Maria Priben,” I chewed my lip at the way he muttered under his breath.

  Otis snorted loudly and my father nodded softly, silently communicating with the pig. How desperately I wanted to know what he was saying.

  “What?” I asked, hoping he’d elaborate on why it mattered and why he looked so unsettled.

  “Shaun Priben is known to the Council, a few years ago he was punished for practicing black magic. They made sure he understood the consequences if he tried again and he was stripped of all magic for a few years.”

  My stomach dropped at this information. Shaun did black magic? I’d only met him once in passing, and he’d seemed like a normal guy who loved his PlayStation a little too much.

  “So the dark mag
ic at Maria’s house could’ve been him then?” Alex spoke up.

  “No, I don’t think so. Shaun is a mid-range witch, also psychic but doesn’t practice it much. That power I felt there, it was much stronger, not something he could conjure up himself,” my father drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he mulled it over. “He would have his magic back now though, it’s been long enough for it to have been restored.”

  No one said another word until we reached the nursing home, where we parked and hurried inside. I instructed Axle to wait, who gave a soft whine but did as he was told. My father simply flicked his head at Otis, who sat back down on the seat obediently as Alex closed the door on the pair.

  This was the only other place I could think of as to where Maria was. She had to be here.

  My father and Alex waited back while I hurried to the reception desk, my sneakers squeaking on the white vinyl flooring.

  “Hi, I’m here to see Monica Priben,” I smiled sweetly as I leaned on the reception desk. The rotund lady behind the desk raised a curious eyebrow behind her wire-rimmed glasses. She nodded and typed something into the computer before frowning.

  “I’m afraid she’s been checked out,” she stated.

  “That can’t be right, she needs care,” I shook my head as Alex and my father joined me.

  “Well, her family checked her out, that’s all I can tell you,” she shrugged with an apologetic look.

  I pursed my lips but bit my tongue as Alex nudged me.

  “Let me try,” he murmured as he leaned on the counter and smiled sweetly at her. “Evening ma’am,” his thick Australian accent was being put to good use as he nodded his head at the woman. I could practically see her eyes cloud over as she drooled.

  He was using his power of persuasion.

  “May I please know who checked Monica out?” he gave her a deliciously sweet smile. If I hadn’t known he was just using her, I would’ve been jealous.

  “It says here her children checked her out,” she answered cheerily as she checked the computer.