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  “Both of them?” he asked.

  “Yes, both Maria and Shaun,” she nodded a bit too enthusiastically.

  “I’m sure you have emergency contact details for them, do you have an address for Shaun?” he breathed as he leaned closer to her.

  The woman, Penny, going by her name-tag, shuddered at his closeness. I wanted to gag at how easy she was to manipulate. I knew vampires could do this, and some preferred a more light, flirtatious way of getting information. It left the manipulated person feeling like they’d been helpful and good rather than forced. Less likely to report it then.

  “Yes, here, I’ll write it down for you,” she grinned as she scribbled down an address and pulled the sticky note off the pad.

  “You’ve been most wonderful, Penny,” he drawled her name out.

  She gasped as he plucked the note from her hand and dipped his head before turning away.

  My father was just watching with an amused expression as Alex read the address.

  “Let’s go,” he stated, his voice devoid of the flirtatious tone he had used.

  We hurried out, leaving poor Penny to come to her senses alone. She’d be confused but happy at least.

  “Do you use your persuasion often?” my father asked, intent on remaining the driver despite Alex offering. We were headed to the address listed for Shaun now.

  “No, I’m an attorney and a good one at that, I don’t need to use it,” Alex stated proudly from the backseat.

  “Have you ever used it on me?” I asked as I swiveled in my seat to look back at him.

  “No, never,” he murmured, his blue eyes shadowed as he watched me quietly.

  Axle was watching me intently from his seat behind me, and he took the chance to lean forward to prod my cheek with his wet nose.

  It was a comforting gesture, and I stroked his head lovingly as I looked down at Otis. His extremely human eyes were watching me, and I wondered what he was thinking.

  I looked back at Alex, who was smiling softly at me.

  “It wouldn’t work anyway with you being a Sorceress,” my father added.

  “Good to know,” I said, dragging my eyes away from Alex. I wished I’d sat in the back with him now. Not that there was any room. Maybe Otis could’ve sat in the front.

  “Can you tell me anything else about Shaun?” my father asked.

  “No, I only met him once, briefly. I went to visit Maria, and he was there, he’d stopped in on his way to see their Mom. He was a bit upset about her deterioration and they were hugging when I arrived. He left after that and Maria told me it was getting to him too, watching their mother fade into nothing but a shell. All I know is that Maria says he loves to play PlayStation a lot.”

  “Right,” my father nodded.

  I stared down at my jeans and played with a frayed rip in the knee. I looked out of place with my two companions, my father in his brown suit and Alex in his tailored black suit. I really needed to start dressing better. At least the animals made me feel more suitable, considering I probably passed as a farm girl with her pet dog and pig. Not that I’d expected to be going out when I’d thrown my clothes on this morning. Today had taken a wild turn. My father coming back into my life, finding out what I was, practicing some magic, this murder at Maria’s place, finding out about my mother’s murder, and to top it off my body not even being in this realm anymore. I really hoped it was just floating around somewhere and not in the hands of the Sorceress who poisoned my Mom. How would she have gotten it anyway? None of it made sense. I just had to focus on this for now. On finding Maria and figuring out what was going on. I’d worry about my own problems later.

  We tried to fill the time in with light conversation, my father bringing up and sharing some of my childhood moments with Alex. He even laughed at some of them, and I enjoyed hearing his deep, sincere laughter at some of my most embarrassing moments. Like when I got stuck out on the fire escape of our apartment in the rain because I’d tried to follow a stray cat, or the time at our first house when our dog, Buster, had chased Timothy, the neighbor’s cat, and she’d tried to spray him with the hose and ended up in a tangled mess on the ground crying for help. A story Alex had already heard, but my father had a way of telling it better.

  I enjoyed the tender gaze Alex gave me as my father reminisced, and I wanted to jump into the backseat and cuddle into him. I wanted to spend more time with him once all this was over. We had something just beginning now, a step forward and a chance at us. I wanted to grab it with both hands and enjoy it.

  “This must be the place,” my father said as we pulled into a dim-lit street. I got an uneasy vibe here, a part of Portland that was lower class and more dangerous. The neighborhood was known for misfits and drug deals and so much more.

  Surely Shaun could live somewhere else? Their Uncle, Monica’s brother, had left his home to Maria and his life savings to Shaun. Surely he could’ve found a better place.

  “Great neighborhood,” my father muttered as he pulled up out the front of the run-down house and shut the engine off.

  “Their Uncle left him money, why would he have bought this dump?” I mused out loud. It made no sense at all.

  “Easier to hide, not even many supes come out here, it’s dangerous even for us. You have the more uncivilized and dangerous of our kinds seeking shelter in these areas. Vampires, shifters, werewolves, those who buy the powered up narcotics, they live here,” Alex explained.

  Powered up narcotics. I imagined that was what Philip, a local vampire trafficker, dealer and manager of cage fights, would have done. He was dead now after our last run in, by my own hands. His prodigy, the partner of my murdered work friend, had taken his place and was trying to change the face of the business and turn it into something better.

  “Let’s get this over with so we can leave,” my father muttered as he pushed out of his car. The silver Mercedes stood out like a sore thumb in this street with bashed up, run down vehicles and equally disastrous homes. A few dogs barked and howled, and I shivered as I rubbed my arms. How I wanted a jacket right now to just pull tighter around myself and hide my face with a hood. But not feeling the cold or heat meant I never wore one anymore.

  Axle gave a distressed whine as I told him to stay put, but my father invited Otis along this time. I hoped Axle wouldn’t get too upset being left alone in the car. We made sure to put one of the windows down a bit for him.

  We hurried up the broken stone footpath with weeds sprouting up everywhere. The lawn was a jungle, weeds and grass knee-high and assorted junk jutting out of it. I spied an old bicycle, the wheels claimed by a snakelike vine, leaning against the side of the house.

  My father pulled the useless screen door open, the screen torn and hanging off the frame. He tested the wooden front door and muttered when it was locked.

  He waved his hand over the doorknob and I heard the lock click.

  “We can unlock doors?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes, I’ll teach you it later,” he murmured as he pushed the door open.

  The smell hit us all, and I gagged as I covered my nose.

  Otis squealed and pulled back, and a vague memory of hearing that they had an incredible sense of smell came back to me, a show on how they hunted truffles in some places.

  “Something’s dead in there,” Alex stated, the only one not covering his face. Right, he didn’t have to breathe, lucky bastard. But he could still smell if he chose to.

  “That’s terrible,” my father grumbled as he covered his face with his arm and stepped inside.

  I choked as I invited Alex in after me, the smell overwhelming.

  My father whispered something as he waved his hand, and the soft yellow glow from his hands shot out and swirled around the room. I breathed as the smell dissipated and my father sighed in relief.

  Otis snuffled softly as he pushed past my legs to plant himself beside my father.

  “What was that spell?” I asked, grateful for whatever it was.

  “Dispersing
the smell,” he stated.

  The house was dark and dingy, the walls moldy and the whole place looked abandoned. How someone could’ve lived here was beyond me.

  “Do you think this is the real address?” I asked quietly, my mind trying not to come up with possible reasons for the smell. It was probably just a dead animal, not another body.

  My father flicked his hand, electricity surging forth and zapping into the light fixtures all around. The overhanging globe, the lamp over near the wall, even the kitchen light came on.

  It certainly made it easier to move around now, no longer relying on the faint glow of the streetlight outside.

  I turned and covered my mouth, withholding the cry that wanted to escape.

  “Guess we know where the smell is coming from,” Alex sighed.

  My father muttered as he approached the coffee table, and my eyes were glued to the furry body hanging from the strange wooden cross.

  “Mr Fluffs,” I squeaked, my throat constricting as I closed my eyes.

  “Maria’s cat,” Alex caught on.

  I opened my eyes once I’d fought back my sickness.

  Had Shaun done this to the poor thing?

  Otis snorted, an unhappy sound as he stepped backwards.

  My father sidestepped the disgusting, torn up leather couch to inspect Mr Fluffs. Dried blood marred the coffee table now that I focused, and his orange fur was matted with his own blood. His body was already partly decayed, and maggots were wriggling around and crawling through his eye sockets. I gagged and forced myself to look away. I instead focused on the far window, completely open, the jagged glass remnants of it sticking up and glinting in the light. Why the front door had been locked was beyond me.

  “The magic used here, this ritual, it’s bad, very bad,” my father stated as he stood up.

  Otis snuffled as if in agreement.

  I looked back at the strange cross with Mr Fluffs, dragging my eyes to the table and the elements sitting on it. Assorted bones and stones, and if I looked closely, there were finger-drawn symbols in the dried blood.

  “What ritual is it?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never looked into black magic. But this, whatever it is, it’s really bad, we need to find the Priben family,” my father said as his eyes fell on me. The unease and masked fear I saw there made me catch myself.

  Whatever this was, it was seriously bad.

  3

  Alex helped me dig a hole outside and bury Mr Fluffs, although, he really just did all of it while I tried not to look. He didn’t argue or ask why it mattered, and I was grateful. Mr Fluffs had been Maria’s sweet little boy, and despite his uneasiness around me, he had grown on me.

  As we headed back to the car, my phone rang, the high-pitched melody making me jump as I scrambled to pull it from my pocket. Percy. I deflated, hoping it’d been Maria, but nodded at Alex and my father as I answered. They continued into the car while I took the call.

  “Ivy?” Percy’s soft voice made my stomach hurt. We’d dated for a while but after I’d gotten help from my childhood friends to find my friend’s killer, he’d ended things, somewhat. Because he’d asked me not to go to his pack for help, it didn’t matter that they were my friends long before Rose joined his pack, and that they offered to help. He thought I was ignorant and didn’t care about his requests, and he’d said he needed space.

  “Percy,” I breathed, unsure what to say.

  “I’m sorry for what I said, I know you just wanted to find Alena’s killer, and I’m sorry I couldn’t help you,” he blurted. He was originally helping me with tracking Alena’s killer, but when it brought us to the warehouse where I’d rescued him from being used in the cage fights, he couldn’t help me anymore. He couldn’t bring himself to go back in there.

  “It’s fine, we got it sorted,” I crossed my arms, my chest tightening. I’d missed him, but our fight had pushed me to try things with Alex, to allow myself the chance.

  “I know, Rose told me. It was that wretched vampire,” he growled. Philip Murdoch, the one who had orchestrated the whole kidnapping and using of the ‘wolves in the cage fights.

  “Yes, he’s dead,” I nodded, smiling gently at Alex as he shot me a questioning look from the back seat of the car. I wondered if he could hear our conversation. I wasn’t sure just how sensitive a vampire’s hearing was. Axle was sitting practically on him, waiting for my return.

  “I couldn’t go back there, and I was pissed at myself for it, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I just didn’t want anyone getting hurt,” he murmured, and I closed my eyes.

  “I know,” I said softly.

  “Can you forgive me?” he asked.

  Forgive him. Continue with what we had been. That was what he was really saying.

  I opened my eyes, locking onto Alex’s curious blue eyes staring at me from the car.

  I was just finally testing things out with Alex, and we’d had an incredible night and I wanted to see where things went, and yet I did still care for Percy. What we shared was something else, more passionate and animalistic, and yet soft and sweet at times.

  God, why now? Why in the middle of all this?

  “There’s nothing to forgive, but I’m right in the middle or something, can we talk about this later,” I tried to keep the frustration and confusion out of my voice.

  “Oh, okay. Sure, can we try to meet though, talk in person?” he asked, his voice strained. Like he was scared. Scared he was losing me.

  My stomach tightened, and I bit my lip. I did care for him, I’d enjoyed our last month together, our date nights and fun in the bedroom, the laughter and stories we’d shared.

  “Sure, we’ll catch up soon,” I promised, trying to handle the storm of emotions inside me.

  “Great, just let me know when,” he sighed.

  “I will, I’ve gotta go now,” I stated as I hung up, cutting off his goodbye. I couldn’t deal with this right now.

  I joined my father and Alex in the car, both of them watching me curiously. Axle nudged forward, his tail whacking the seat as he gave me a tender lick on the cheek. He almost toppled forward as he reached through to the front seat to do so.

  “Who was that?” my father asked.

  “Just a friend, nothing you need to worry about,” I muttered.

  Alex’s eyes bored into me and I tried to ignore it as my dad started then engine.

  “Where now?” I asked. Where did we go from here? What next?

  As if on cue, Alex’s phone sounded off and he answered it.

  My father pulled away from the curb as Alex spoke, just nods and words of understanding. I tried to listen but the voice on the other end was too muffled to make out.

  Otis was huddled close to Alex, his ears alert as he stared up at the vampire. Could he hear what the conversation was?

  “Well, looks like we’ve got another body, just like the first one,” Alex stated as his call finished.

  “Damn, where?” my father asked before I could open my mouth.

  “Milford Street, it’s just a suburban street though, nothing there apart from homes,” Alex said, baffled at the location.

  “In one of the houses?” my father asked.

  “No, just in the street, near the bus stop actually.”

  I jumped as my phone sounded off again.

  “Someone’s popular,” my father shot me a curious look as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

  My heart jumped at Maria’s name.

  “Maria?! Are you okay?!” I answered frantically.

  “Ivy, hey, I’m so sorry, everything’s been crazy lately, I’m sorry I haven’t called,” she sounded breathless. Something was off, and the alarm bells were ringing.

  My father pulled over abruptly and he just watched me quietly on the phone.

  “I haven’t heard from you in some time, I’ve been so worried,” I stated, my voice higher than I would’ve liked.

  Even Axle whined, sensing my unease and distress.

&
nbsp; “I know, and I’m sorry. Mom was getting worse, but then Shaun found something, a way to help her. She’s gotten so much better too,” she sounded thrilled, but… not quite. As if she was just doing it for show. I’d known her long enough to know when she was being genuine.

  “Things are weird right now, Maria. Your neighbor was found dead in your home, by black magic too,” I said in a hushed tone.

  “Oh really? That’s terrible,” she sounded upset, but it didn’t sound as shocked as I would’ve expected. Like she’d already known. My stomach twisted at the thought. What was she not telling me? What was going on?

  “Can we please meet? In person? Just to talk, I’ve been so worried,” I said as I shot my father and Alex a look. Something wasn’t right. Maria sounded strange, forced and off.

  “Of course! I’d love to see you and talk, although, do you think you could come alone?” the tenseness in her voice worried me even more. Who was with her that was making her so on edge?

  “Of course, where?” I asked.

  “Where we found Millie,” Maria said. “I’ll meet you there in ten minutes. I can’t come if you’re not alone though.”

  “Of course, I’ll come alone, I’ll see you there,” I agreed and the phone call ended.

  Millie. The ghost girl I’d freed from this living world over a month ago. Held here by a lock of her hair retained by her killer. Maria had helped me with her, she knew about ghosts and communicated with them on a regular basis as her job. I’d found Millie in a park near the mall.

  “You are not going anywhere alone,” Alex stated protectively.

  Axle growled, almost like he was agreeing.

  “I agree, it could be a trap. We have no idea what’s going on,” my father said.

  “She sounded off, like something was wrong but she had to act. I need to know she’s okay. I need to know what’s going on,” I glanced between them both.

  “Well, we’ll come and hang back,” my father shrugged.

  “No, she said she can’t come if I’m not alone,” I said firmly.

  “Well, that’s not happening,” my father said bluntly, in a tone that used to cut any arguments short back in the day. But not tonight.