Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  ‘God, he was hard work,’ said Jennifer, flopping back on her desk. ‘Who was that on the phone?’

  ‘No one. I think someone was just checking whether we were in the office. I don’t know when this is going to stop,’ I replied. ‘But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Caleb McGregor.’

  ‘Caleb McGregor?’ Jennifer repeated, staring at me as if I said something that I shouldn’t. She went pale.

  ‘I accidently found out he was the one behind all the kidnappings in the city. He was trying to replicate Magic Shot, using elf and fairy blood,’ I explained.

  ‘And do you think he was calling just now?’ Jennifer asked in a squeaky voice. I didn’t understand why she was panicking. She didn’t even know the guy.

  Chapter forty-seven

  I want to get out of here alive!

  ‘I don’t know, Jen, and I don’t care. He will be caught sooner or later.’

  I didn’t want to discuss this anymore. Jen looked as if she couldn’t handle any more news. We didn’t have many more phone calls. The rest of the night passed peacefully and around three o’clock in the morning, I was certain that we wouldn’t have any more clients.

  Then someone came in. He looked around for a few seconds. He was tall and broad—he was probably a giant. He glanced at both of us.

  ‘How can I—’

  Then he was gone before I was even able to finish my sentence.

  ‘So many weirdoes in the middle of the night!’ Jennifer exclaimed.

  I was just about to go back to my emails when we heard a noise outside the office. Then someone threw a burning bottle through our door that rolled over the floor toward us. I smelled petrol. It burst into flames. Jennifer started screaming, and soon a few more bottles started flying through the windows, spreading the fire. I hid under the desk. Jennifer was still screaming as if someone were tearing her apart. The bottles stopped flying and I got up.

  I raced to the entrance, but someone was behind the door, barricading it, so we couldn’t get out. Panic shot through me. I realised this was a deliberate attack. The fire increased in a matter of seconds, consuming the furniture like a burning tower of destruction.

  Jennifer ran towards the door, but the fire separated us from the only way out. ‘I’m on your side, you bastards! Open up! I'm still inside!’

  I was struck speechless and I rushed towards her, trying to push her away, but she was going mental, screaming and shouting. ‘Jennifer, move away! This is too dangerous,’ I yelled.

  ‘Leave me alone, you idiot! This was supposed to be you, not me! They were going to do it next week.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ I shouted, feeling the blood rush to my ears. I started coughing. We were losing oxygen, and the flames were spreading quickly.

  She looked at me, angry and frustrated.

  ‘You work for whoever is doing this? Don’t you?’ I asked her, breathless.

  She threw her hands in the air. ‘You are a fool! Do you think I was going to work here forever and earn crappy money? Caleb McGregor approached me and wanted information about the agency and about you.’ She ran towards the windows in the back, but there was no way out. The other windows were sealed with metal bars on the other side. I felt as if a giant block of ice had just cascaded into my stomach. We were trapped inside the office.

  ‘You sold me out to Caleb. How could you?’

  ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Julia. Caleb was paying me a fortune and he wanted to finish La Caz. He has been planning to burn this place for weeks,’ she cried. ‘But I'm not going to die here with you!’

  Jennifer had been selling information about me to Caleb? How could I be so stupid?

  She was screaming, searching for a way out, but there was none. I rushed to her and scooped her head in my hands. ‘Listen to me! No one is going to come to save us, they cut the phones. We are trapped here, so you better think about some spell or we are not getting out of here in one piece!’

  She wouldn’t listen. She pushed me away and started checking the phones. The lines were dead and it was impossible for us to breathe. The fire was eating away at our desks and it was getting hotter by the second.

  Think, Julia, think! What can you do? You don’t want to die here with this bitch.

  I looked around in desperation, but the magnificent yet terrifying flames were surrounding the office, burning everything around us. My eyes were streaming; my skin itched with magic. I didn’t know any spell that would help me with this. We were on the first floor and all the doors were blocked. I was losing hope. Jennifer was screaming at the top of her lungs, her face flushed. I pushed her towards the interview room and locked the door, but the smoke was coming inside. The colours were melting into each other, forming a dreadful inferno.

  ‘We are going to die here!’ she howled, huddling next to the wall. I tried to concentrate, but I couldn’t breathe. The smoke was thick and I had to stay calm and stop fighting because there was no way out. The fire was like an ocean of red, orange, and yellow colours and I felt like I was staring at the flickering eyes of hell.

  I lay on the floor. Jennifer wasn’t screaming anymore; she had lost consciousness, smoke filling her lungs. I could smell death approaching, this time for real. All my limbs were numb. The fire was scattering throughout the room. The heat was agonising. My heart thundered with adrenaline. The small window in the back cracked and splintered all over the place as the devilish flames avariciously overwhelmed everything in sight. We weren’t going to be spared.

  It’s made from a unicorn antler. It’s supposed to protect the person it’s given to. It was your grandmother’s idea; she recently had some dark visions.

  I heard my grandpa’s voice in my head and remembered his gift. I still had it in my bag; I didn’t know why I kept it. I got up, covered my mouth and nose with my jacket, and stormed into the office. The heat was unbearable, but I was desperate to live, so I didn’t care that the flames were burning my skin. My heartbeat slowed down through the waves of blazing heat. The bright hot flames produced a crackling sound as they busily licked every inch of my skin. I grabbed my bag that was on the floor near my desk and rushed back to the interview room, where Jennifer was lying on the ground, still unconscious. I was dizzy and felt I didn’t have any more energy to fight through this nightmare, but I dug through my bag until I found what I was looking for. I took out the shiny magical object and concentrated.

  I want to get out of here alive!

  I didn’t know what kind of power I was holding in my hand, and I had no idea what happened, but in a matter of seconds I heard a large bang somewhere by the door and the streaming light appeared on both sides, showing me the way out. I felt my skin burning, creating a large open wound. With the last strength I had in me, I lifted Jennifer and started walking towards the bright light.

  Just a few more metres and you will be out!

  The glow was protecting me from the fire, but I was exhausted, my breaths laboured. Jennifer was heavy but I couldn’t let her die here. The ceiling started to collapse. The light was directing me through the entrance with the missing door. I crawled backwards to the door, pulling Jennifer with me. The smoke was swallowing me back inside.

  Finally, I took a deep breath of oxygen. Someone began shouting, and right before I blacked out, I saw a fireman rushing towards me.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting by the ambulance. Someone was cleaning my face. My whole body ached, and my skin was on fire. I smelled blood, smoke, and thick, smutty ash. The police and firefighters were everywhere. I glanced at our building and gasped. The fire was still blazing, spreading towards the higher floors. I tried to get up but the paramedics pushed me down. They were humans.

  ‘Now, now, stay where you are. You are badly burnt,’ said one of them.

  ‘Where is Jennifer?’ I asked in a panic.

  ‘We had to take your friend to hospital. Her burns were more severe,’ said the other dark-haired man.

  ‘Julia!’

 
I saw my dad running towards me. He was with Rufus. They both looked pale.

  ‘I’m all right, Dad,’ I said as he embraced me.

  ‘Julia, what happened here?’ he asked.

  ‘Someone threw bottles filled with petrol into the office and barricaded the doors and windows. We couldn’t get out,’ I said, but my voice broke. I felt tears streaming down my face. Dad was beside me. Rufus was white as chalk, marching up and down.

  ‘I thought that was the end and I thought we were going to die there. We didn’t have any way out,’ I continued, sobbing. Dad waved off the paramedics. More police pushed away people who gathered around.

  ‘If the doors were blocked, then how—’

  ‘I used the unicorn antler. Grandpa gave it to me when I visited during Christmas and I think that saved my life,’ I said and looked at Rufus. ‘Jennifer was working for Caleb McGregor; she was the one who sold the information to him about the agency. I couldn’t leave her there. She was taken to hospital.’

  ‘Jennifer? But how did you...?’

  ‘She told me everything when they were blocking the door,’ I choked, hiding my face in my hands.

  ‘And you saved her life, after she confessed that it was all her fault?’ asked Dad in disbelief.

  I nodded. Rufus looked livid, breathing hard. The office couldn’t be saved; the firefighters were trying to gain control, but I believed this wasn’t an ordinary fire. Someone used magic. For a second, I thought about Nathaniel and wondered whether I even meant anything to him. Dad shouted at the paramedics to take me to hospital. My vampire bite wound was open. The blood was pouring out of my throat and my legs and arms were badly burned. I passed out once again.

  Chapter forty-eight

  God, he looks good!

  I woke up next day in the same room where I had been a few days ago. The same witch doctor was looking after me, but this time I had my mother and father in with me. My legs and arms were covered in some kind of cream. My burns were severe and I was still in pain.

  ‘Miss Taylor, welcome back, I wasn’t expecting to see you here so quickly,’ murmured Martha, leaning over me and checking my wounds.

  ‘I missed this place.’ I chuckled.

  ‘Oh, my dear Julia, I'm so glad you are all right,’ said Mum, taking my hand. She looked worried. She’d been beside my bed all night. Dad looked angry and he just flipped his phone off.

  ‘I’m just burned. I will heal quickly,’ I said, wondering whether Jennifer was conscious yet.

  ‘I told you she shouldn’t work at that place and those long shifts. It’s dangerous, and then this fire,’ Mum muttered, looking at Dad.

  ‘Mum, chill out. I'm fine, plus I like working there,’ I pressed, staring at Dad. I wanted to ask him so many questions, but I couldn’t because Mum was there.

  ‘Are you even listening to yourself, Julia? You were nearly killed!’ Mum continued.

  There was no point explaining anything to Mum right now, because she had made up her mind. We argued for a few more minutes and in the end, Martha came in and told my parents to leave because I needed a rest. She came back later to check on my legs. She used a rare spell so my skin didn’t look that bad at all. Dad managed to stay calm and told me he would personally find Caleb and kill him with his bare hands.

  I had to stay in hospital for one more day, where my healer applied the pads made from snakeskin to help me recover. I let Mum believe my neck was burnt and that is why I had to have the bandage on. Rufus came when I was packing to leave. He saw Jennifer, who was now conscious, and fired her. She admitted to everything. She had been working with Caleb ever since we first made the deal with La Caz Corporation.

  Caleb’s intentions were clear: aside from wanting to hurt me, he wanted to burn the agency down so we had to stop supplying staff to Nathaniel’s company. Rufus said he was going to find a new office. Most of the files had burned but all the names were still in the system, so it was just a short matter of time until we were able to recreate our client files. We always backed up a copy off-site, just to be safe.

  I left the hospital on Friday evening. Somehow I managed to convince Mum and Dad that I was fine and I would be over on Sunday. Caleb was still on the run, but now I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t angry that I nearly died twice in the past week. I wasn’t pissed off that I was jobless for a while or that Jennifer had been helping the enemy. I was pissed because I still hadn’t heard anything from Nathaniel.

  My legs and neck were still in bandages, but that didn’t stop me from taking a taxi to La Caz Corporation to face him. I was certain that he was back from Scotland. His phone was still ringing and he was ignoring me.

  ‘Thank you,’ I said to the taxi driver, giving him a twenty-pound note. My mind was racing and my heart was pounding, but I was ready to confront my informal lover.

  La Caz Corporation looked as I remembered. When I entered the lobby, Todd greeted me warmly.

  ‘Miss Taylor, what a pleasure seeing you here again.’

  ‘Is Mr. La Caz in the building?’ I asked him. He nodded. ‘Then I have to see him. Please just do me a favour and don’t tell anyone that I'm on the way up.’

  Todd nodded, but I could see he wasn’t happy about this turn of events. I had butterflies in my stomach, but I was determined to smash Nathaniel’s beautiful face. I pressed his floor and in the lift, I was going through everything I wanted to tell him. When the lift opened, I entered the reception area. Emily was sitting at her desk, looking her best.

  ‘I presume that he is in?’ I asked, walking towards her. She stood.

  ‘Yes, he is in, but you can’t—’

  I wasn’t listening to her anymore because I barged into his office without knocking.

  ‘Mr. La Caz, Miss Taylor… she just…’

  ‘Shut up, Emily,’ I told her and shut the door behind me. He was inside, looking at me surprised and confused, as if he were seeing me for the first time in his life.

  He wasn’t alone; he had Carter and Porter with him. My heart gave me a giant smack in the chest and the energy stirred inside me when our eyes met.

  God, he looks good!

  He was wearing a black suit and navy tie. The memory of our night together flashed through my mind, but this wasn’t what this meeting was about. I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice.

  ‘Who are you and how dare you barge into my office?’ he asked in an icy tone, standing and eyeing me with mistrust.

  My jaw dropped to the floor and I glanced at Carter, who looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. Porter looked amused. My eyes widened as I stared at Nathaniel, who was pretending he didn’t know who I was.

  ‘Don’t be stupid. I hope you haven’t started taking crack or something,’ I said, folding my arms together. But in his eyes, there was no recognition, no warmth. He was pretending very well.

  ‘Who is that, Carter?’ Nathaniel barked.

  I had to change the way I was handling this situation. ‘Nathaniel, it’s me, Julia. How could you not remember? We were together before you had to leave for Scotland,’ I said, stepping towards him.

  My hands were shaking, but he stepped back, staring at me with a hard expression. I looked at Carter, who kept glancing from me to Nathaniel. Sadness and anger filled my heart. My hands were shaking because I didn’t know what was going on and why he was behaving like this.

  Then I heard Carter’s thoughts. Fuck! Jasper’s spell is still strong. What am I going to do now? She needs to disappear, fast; otherwise, I'm a dead man.

  I gasped and felt air trapped in my lungs. I stepped back, staring at Carter, who looked petrified as he glanced at the doors. Like he was going to run before anyone realised that he was a traitor.

  ‘Mr. Porter, you must have a wizard in the factory. Someone cast a spell on Mr. La Caz and Mr. Carter here is working against La Caz Corporation,’ I said, pointing at Carter.

  His face went ashen. He muttered something to himself and then I realised he was trying to shift. His silhouette went rigid; hi
s limbs began to shake. A horrifying snarling noise filled the office. Carter’s head and body lengthened. His shoulders hunched. His hair grew visibly on his face and his hands transformed into paws. Suddenly, standing there in front of me, I had a full-grown wolf. Before I knew what had happened, he was leaping across the room towards me.

  Everything happened fast, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I lifted my hands. There was a tang of iron in the air and I smelled blood. My mind’s eye was filled with the image of my own powerful energy. In a split second, I started creating a mass of silver, gold, and blue light that was now rolling down my neck, arms, and shoulders. Then the bolt of light struck the wolf and he swirled across the room, smashing the table to pieces and landing by the window. As usual, I used too much magic and the pain was sharp, as if someone struck me with a razor. I took a deep breath of air that was now buzzing with my spell; the veins on my forehead were throbbing.

  Carter was now lying naked on the floor in his human form. He was bleeding, but he was still alive. I felt his pulse. All my senses were sharper and my skin was oversensitive. Nathaniel stared at me, looking terrified, and Porter began clapping, moving towards me. My pulse was racing, so I sat and closed my eyes for several seconds.

  Jasper. I should have known that.

  ‘Miss Taylor, are you all right?’ asked Porter, helping me get to my feet. I felt dizzy and struggled to keep my balance. My energy reabsorbed. The blood rushed to my ears and I exhaled. I felt much more in control.

  Chapter forty-nine

  It’s not a dream; he is here with me.

  ‘Porter, I'm losing my patience. Tell me what the hell is going on here!’ Nathaniel roared. I wanted to cry because this was worse than I expected.

  ‘I will be right back, Miss Taylor. Nathaniel, just entertain this young lady for a few minutes,’ said Porter and he left the office before I could protest. My racing heart flickered between my ribs as I stared at his face, unable to move. I wanted to kiss him, hug him, and tell him how much I missed him, but he was so distant. Right now, he was a stranger.