I didn’t see any reason to tell her that they were shielded. But they drew on the ley line for their power, and that was my playground. It was equally easy for me to draw ley line energy from another mage as it was to draw it from the ley line directly. Their shields didn’t shield against me but fed into my power. A witch’s shielding, which didn’t draw on the ley lines, was another matter.
That didn’t mean I could absorb the energy of a fireball or those exploding orange balls the guy who got away was conjuring. Once a mage created a weapon like that, it was no longer connected to the ley line, and I would burn as readily as anyone else.
“I take it you haven’t questioned him yet,” I said.
Shaking her head, she finished chewing and said, “He was in surgery most of the day. The doctors say we might be able to talk with him in two or three days.”
Frankie hung around for a couple of hours, then I called her a cab. In spite of the potion, I didn’t think she should be driving, and she didn’t ask for her keys back.
After she left, Lizzy came up to the bar and sat down.
“You might think about using arcane means to find the man you’re looking for,” she said.
I did think about it as I mixed drinks and pulled beers, occasionally glancing at Lizzy as she sat there reading something on her phone.
Finally, I planted myself in front of her and said, “How do you think I could do that?”
A sly smile grew on her face. “You do know some people who find things.”
“Things. And people?”
Lizzy nodded.
“Would those people who can find things include you?”
She winked. “Sometimes. Who exactly are you looking for?”
I pulled out of my pocket the list Trevor had compiled and unfolded it. “I’m thinking that someone on this list summoned the Hunter. I’m also interested in who has been blabbing all over town that I’m connected to him. I’m not sure it’s the same person.”
“Let me think about it. Can you leave the list with me for a while?”
“Yeah, think I’ve got it memorized.”
“Okay. You probably want to talk with Jolene as well.”
Trevor and Josh came in later, but Jolene wasn’t with them. I pulled Trevor off to the side and asked him, “Do you think, with the information you gathered for me, it would be possible to find out which of the men in the Columbia Club is orchestrating this whole uproar in the supernatural communities?”
He scratched his chin and looked thoughtful. For some reason, he looked more handsome in that moment than he did when he was trying to flirt and impress me.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s an interesting question.”
“Lizzy suggested that I talk to Jolene.”
Trevor turned and looked down the bar to where Lizzy still sat playing with her Tarot cards. “I’ll tell Jolene to come see you.”
“I thought you guys were all joined at the hip, but I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“New boyfriend, and he’s a norm.” He turned back to me. “You know, Jolene and Lizzy together might be able to pull something like that off.”
Jolene came into the bar alone the following afternoon, right after I started my shift.
“Trevor said you wanted to talk with me.”
Suddenly embarrassed, I said, “Well, I was hoping I might be able to use your professional services, but I don’t have any money.”
“Well, why don’t you tell me what you want, and we’ll figure something out. Free drinks for a year or something.”
“It’s a little complicated to explain right now. Maybe I could come by tomorrow, or you could swing by my place, and I can show you what I’ve got.”
She nodded and slid a ten across the bar to pay for her drink. “That will work. Got a pen?” She wrote an address on a piece of paper and gave it to me. “Stop by around eleven.”
“On me,” I said, shoving the ten back to her. She smiled and held up her glass to toast me.
That night, I wrote out the list of members of the Columbia Club and added it to the folder of information Trevor had given me. With that done, I got ready for bed, but before I climbed beneath the covers, I felt a push against my wards—much stronger than the night the Hunter visited me. I tumbled out of bed and crawled across the floor, casting my personal shield for protection in case the wards fell.
I peered through the blinds of the sliding-glass door to my balcony and almost had a heart attack. The Hunter was there, standing on the balcony, less than five feet away from me, with his unsheathed sword in his hand. A sword that I knew could probably pierce my shield.
A second push, even stronger. Not sure what to do, I pulled power from the ley line and backed away from the door, prepared to do battle. I wasn’t dressed, but that wouldn’t stop me from bolting out the front door if he made it inside. Nothing happened. I waited a few minutes, then cautiously made my way back to the balcony door and peeked through the blinds again. The Hunter was gone.
I sat up for another hour, coiled like a spring waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Finally, I turned out the light and went to bed, but it was a long time before I managed to fall asleep.
After checking my trusty map, I took the bus to the train station, then took the train to Jolene’s place. That put me six blocks closer than taking the bus.
She lived in a small cottage about a mile from downtown and a mile from the port. A compact car sat in the driveway in front of the garage.
The neighborhood looked to be 1950s, all the houses about the same size on large lots. A couple of places, however, were new—two-story McMansions that almost covered the lots they were on. One of the houses on the corner of the next street over from hers was being demolished, I assumed to build another of the huge homes that stood out so much from their neighbors.
“I love your house,” I said when she invited me inside. It really wasn’t any larger than my apartment, but the yard showed a lot of flowerbeds and what looked to be a vegetable garden in the back, visible through the kitchen window. I wondered if I might ever have such a lovely, cozy place to live.
“Yeah, so do I. Unfortunately, I’m just renting, so I dread the day my landlady dies. She’s in her eighties, and I’m sure her daughter will sell the place to one of the property monsters as soon as she can.”
I showed her the research Trevor had given me and explained my suspicions about the Columbia Club.
“So, you want to know who the black widow sitting in the middle of the web is,” Jolene said.
“Exactly.”
“Interesting problem. Any guesses?”
“Frankie’s boss—the District Attorney—and the mayor’s chief of staff are my first guesses. I’m assuming she reported what is going on up the ladder. The attack on her at my place kind of reinforces that.”
“Makes sense,” Jolene said.
“Do you mind my asking? I’ve heard of finders, and I always thought they were witches.”
Jolene laughed. “It’s sort of complicated. Our dad is a mage, a pyromancer like Josh, and our mother is a witch.” She brushed at her hair with her hand. “We get the red hair from her. But things got all intertwined with me. I’m a witch, but I can draw on the ley lines to enhance my spells.”
“No kidding? I’m a ley line mage, but I can cast a few spells, and then I enhance them.” I had never run into anyone else like me. The Illuminati said that my mix of talents was extremely rare.
She took me into the garage through a door off the kitchen and showed me her laboratory. A circle enclosing a pentagram was painted on the concrete floor. Stands holding black candles surrounded the circle. Counters and a pair of sinks lined the walls next to an old gas stove and the clothes washer and drier. Cabinets lined the other wall. The garage door looked as though it wouldn’t open and was insulated with fiberglass insulation and Styrofoam.
I shook my head. “I’ve never had any real training in witchcraft. I wouldn’t know what to
do with any of this stuff.”
Jolene dipped her head, her hair sliding forward to hide her face, and she hunched her shoulders. Her voice fell in volume, almost as though to dismiss what she said next. “If you want to learn, I’d be glad to teach you. I’m not an apothecary or an alchemist, but I’m good at a lot of useful stuff.”
“I would love that,” I said. “I love learning anything.”
Her head came up, and she seemed to search my face, as though to see if I was serious.
“Sure,” she said. “If you like, we could set up some time and I can show you a few things.”
“And hope I don’t blow up your house.”
She laughed.
“Trevor said something about you and Lizzy together might be able to figure out who the black widow, as you call him, is.”
Jolene turned her gaze up to the ceiling and was quiet for a very long time. “You know, sometimes that boy has some good ideas. You do know about Lizzie, don’t you?”
I wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “I know she’s a seer, and a clairvoyant, and a genius.”
“And her hair isn’t dyed.”
“Oh. I hadn’t thought about it, but I knew that she lives out in Killarney Village, and I was told that is a Fae town.”
“Yes, it is. Her father was a witch, and her mother, well, isn’t human. Look, let me read through all this stuff you brought me and try a few things, and if I think Lizzy could be helpful, I’ll let you know.”
We agreed to meet for lunch the following week and give me my first witchcraft lesson, and she said she would come by the bar and let me know if her investigation turned up any information about my mystery man.
Chapter 20
Jolene, Trevor, and Lizzy came in during the dinner rush, looked around for a table, then decided to sit at the end of the bar closest to the door.
“We’re here to work on your project,” Jolene announced when I approached them.
“Where’s Josh?” I asked.
“He has a date,” Trevor said.
I raised an eyebrow, and Jolene laughed. “They’re going to a hockey game. He seems to have found a woman who shares his interests.”
They ordered dinner and drinks, then Jolene pulled out Trevor’s folder and the three of them bent their heads over it. I checked on them occasionally, and once or twice they asked me questions, but otherwise they didn’t seem to need my input.
After I cleared away their dishes, Jolene said, “Lizzy thinks the mayor’s chief of staff is the villain. But you don’t really need to find him. We know where he lives and works. What we need to find is the Hunter. Right?”
“Why the chief of staff?” I asked.
“I See him,” Lizzy said. She shrugged. “When I went down your list and looked up their pictures on the internet, he gives me a buzz. And when I visualize the Hunter with all of their pictures, he’s the one who feels right.”
It might not be scientific, but magic wasn’t science. I remembered someone asking me how I knew where to find a ley line. There wasn’t a way in the world I could explain it. I just felt them.
Trevor said, “I mean, the Hunter is just a person. He has to eat and sleep someplace. Right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s a mage, but still human.”
“So,” Jolene said, “if we can find him, we can take him down.”
“Uh, we? You mean the whole damned bar?”
They all laughed. “We’ll let Blair and Frankie figure that part out,” Trevor said.
Sure, I thought, and let the Hunter slaughter their whole little paranormal crime group. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I could do if I did confront the Hunter. I was a little bit puzzled that he was so cautious about me. I had never worried that one of my targets might best me. Even William Strickland had little chance against me, and he was one of the most powerful mages I’d ever encountered.
“Do you know anyone who’s good at trap spells?” I asked.
Jolene looked thoughtful, then said with a laugh, “I do pretty good trapping mice, but I’ve never tried to trap a mage. Sam might know someone.”
I glanced at Lizzy, but she shook her head. “You don’t want the kind of help I could find.”
The Fae never did anything for free, and the payment they would ask had nothing to do with money.
“Right,” I said. “I’ll talk to Sam. You’d think Blair would have someone like that on his team.”
Trevor shook his head. “Most paranormals don’t want to get involved with Blair. I’ve gotten the impression that his budget could handle more people, but he has a hard time recruiting.”
Since I was one of the people he’d tried to recruit, I understood. As Westport had demonstrated, sudden death in the magical world was all too common. Only a fool stepped in between warring paranormals or supernaturals unless they had no other choice.
Lizzy and Jolene stayed for a couple of hours more, then they took off. Trevor stuck around, flirting and talking to me when I wasn’t busy. He walked me out to the bus stop when I got off work, saying he’d ride the bus to the train station.
“The offer to buy you dinner is still open,” he said as we walked.
He was handsome and seemed very nice. I did know that I felt comfortable with him, but I wasn’t sure I was looking for a romantic relationship. Hell, I didn’t know what a romantic relationship entailed, other than what I’d seen in a few movies.
“Trevor, I like you a lot, but my life is so crazy right now. I don’t want to lead you on. Hell, I don’t know what I’m doing or what I want.”
He gave me a smile. “Have you had west coast crabs?”
“No.” I actually couldn’t remember ever eating a crab. They weren’t on the menu in the City of the Illuminati, situated in a forest near the Canadian border. Trout, muskellunge, and walleye were the fish I knew.
“Let me take you out as a friend. Show you a little of Westport.” He cocked his head, a slight smile on his face. “No expectations. Okay?”
“Oh, hell,” I said with a smile. “Okay. I’m off on Mondays through Wednesdays.”
“Next Tuesday, then,” he said. “I’ll pick you up at your place.”
We got to the bus stop about five minutes early. I dropped onto the bench and looked around in time to see the Hunter emerge from the trees behind the stop. Dressed in a black, skin-tight bodysuit with a balaclava covering his head, he would have been almost invisible except for his movement and a flash of light reflecting from his sword.
“Shield!” I called out, casting my own shield as I leaped to my feet.
Lightning shot from Trevor’s hands and created a fireworks show as it hit the Hunter’s shield.
The Hunter ignored him, heading directly toward me with his sword unsheathed. I pointed at him and said a Word, casting the same spell I’d used to kill the vampire my first night in Westport. My magic wasn’t showy, and no one could see it, but I knew when his shield deflected it. It rocked him for a moment, but then he kept on coming.
The Hunter was armed, I knew, with a spelled short sword or long knife in addition to his spelled sword, and had a half-dozen knives and a dart gun. I had no weapons at all. When he got closer, I dodged, diving to my left and forward under his sword. My quickness took him by surprise, and he continued for a couple of steps before he stopped and whirled.
I crashed into his legs, knocking him down. It took him by surprise, as he expected his shield to protect him, but my shield absorbed his shield’s energy. Before he could recover, I kicked him in the head, then leapt away.
Another bolt of lightning, condensed and focused, hit the man on the ground. He rolled away, but the following bolt also found him. He fought to get up, but I could tell he was weakened, staggering a little as he found his feet.
Deciding that Trevor was a threat, he hurled a fireball in my friend’s direction. Trevor ducked it and let loose another lightning bolt, forked into four prongs. Two of them hit the Hunter.
He turned his head in my d
irection, and I could tell he was calculating a charge at me, but I was fifteen feet away.
The lights of the bus approaching illuminated the scene. The Hunter turned his head and saw the bus coming toward us, then gathered himself, tossed something at me, and sprinted away in the direction of the trees.
I backed up as fast as I could and saw the ball the Hunter had thrown hit the ground. Smoke or gas exploded from the ball, and I tweaked my shield, making it airtight.
The bus slowed to a stop past the smoke, and Trevor and I ran to catch it. We boarded and showed our transit passes; the driver closed the door and pulled back onto the street.
I dropped into a seat, and Trevor plopped down beside me.
“So, this is how you get your exercise?” he asked. “Definitely saves on paying for a gym membership.”
I laughed, and it sounded shaky even to me. “Not my preferred workout.”
“So, that’s a Hunter?”
“Yeah.”
“Nasty. If anyone ever accuses you of being paranoid, tell them to talk to me.”
We rode for a little while, then I said, “You’re a badass. Who would have thought?”
He chuckled. “I can stick up for myself. Had to face an ogre once. He lost.”
“I’ll bet you’re a major hit at Fourth of July parties.”
I felt his hand on my face and turned to look at him. He leaned forward and kissed me. A very gentle, very full kiss. Lots of lip and only a bare touch of tongue. Then he pulled back and smiled.
I was stunned. And speechless. No one had ever kissed me like that before.
“Wh-what was that for?” I finally managed to say.
“Your knight in shining armor claiming his prize for rescuing the damsel in distress.”
In the back of my mind, something was saying, That’s awful damned cheeky. Who says I was in distress? But I didn’t really feel that way. I thought it was sweet, and I wanted him to do it again.
Shadow Hunter Page 14
