To Kiss A Kringle (Southern Sanctuary Book 13)

by Jane Cousins

  “But she doesn’t have innate magic?” Cullen was all about the details.

  “I don’t know. But it would be dangerous to presume that she hasn’t found a way to get her hands on some. Gap’gn, the mega asshole, he aligned himself with the Goddess of the Sun, then double crossed her, trying to steal all her powers after he made a pact with the God of the Underworld to bring eternal darkness to the earthly plane. More troubling is. My last skirmish with Conchetta was only a few weeks ago, or five hundred years ago on a beach in South America, depending how you look at the time frame. How did she manage to turn up in England four years ago and get involved in this whole… what ever this is?”

  “Let’s get back to the party Saturday night. Why did Mara and her posse break cover?” Patricia was staring at a photo taken of Mara and her three long time cohorts. Something about the way they were standing. Gathered. As if they did it a lot, as if it were natural for them to stand in a circle. “They’re witches.” She pointed at the picture she was staring at. “Look at the group dynamic. It would explain the fire. I know in the panic we didn’t get a clear shot of Elena tracking down her victims. But we do know that Hulme, the Headmistress, and her always present lackey were trailing her. One of them must be able to control fire. In all that panic, it gave Elena the perfect opportunity once she had identified her targets to cut them from the herd, so to speak. It would explain why no one is kicking up a fuss. Why the coroner declared the victims all died of crush injuries. One of the witches must have some type of mind control ability.”

  It felt right to Cullen. And damn it, if Trix didn’t continue to impress him at every turn. “I like it, but, it begs the question. Why risk their entire operation to kill these five men? I’ve looked into their background, they are just who they appear to be. The fire, the panic, killing them in such a public place. No one can control every factor. It was a gamble, an extreme one. Why not wait to kill these men in private, covertly?”

  “Con… Elena is not exactly known for her patience. And I don’t think those five men were her ultimate target. You were.” Slate grey eyes flicked to Cullen. “I studied the party footage. Did you know that when you guys headed to the dance floor you brushed past these four men?”

  “Yes. It was a tight squeeze. What does that have anything to do with how things played out?”

  “Watch Elena hunt. Start from the moment she leaves the conversation. Here she is heading for the bar. Headmistress and assistant tail along behind, giving her space. Nope, Elena doesn’t like that direction, turns right, and then begins to veer further right. Now. Hold on a moment.” Elijah cued up some earlier footage. “Watch this.”

  Cullen and Patricia watched as they, wearing their Luis and Evangeline personas, sauntered into the room, heading towards the bar. Their path is blocked, too crowded, so Cullen moves them over to the right, near where the waiters enter so they could grab some drinks and continue strolling onwards, deeper into the room. “It’s the exact same path we took.”

  “Yes.” Elijah nodded. “I think Mara gave something to Elena with your scent on it. Is that possible?”

  “Sure. I left a wardrobe full of clothes behind when I disappeared. But that doesn’t explain why these four… five men were killed.”

  “Yes it does if Mara considers you a loner. Look at those coroner photos again, all single men, carrying your scent, because you transferred it to them as you brushed past them. She really wants you dead bad.”

  “But why the fifth man, Kevin Barnett? Did Elena make a mistake?”

  “Perhaps. Or he just got in her way. Or there might have been some secondary scent transference. I’m not sure if you will ever know.” Elijah studied all seven photos of the dead. “Nothing but collateral.”

  “Bloody hell, if I know something… I don’t know what it is. I’ve been doing my best to recall Mara’s movements, her early missions prior to taking over the Internal Threats Team. I didn’t notice anything off or unusual at the time. But there has to be something. She hired a Russian hit squad to take me out. She instructed a deadly half jaguar woman to kill me and anyone who got in her way at a very public venue.”

  “Do you have eyes on her and Elena at the moment?”

  “Yes, on all five of them, business as usual. Elena has retreated to Carlyle Manor. It’s a large estate. My people are watching the front and the rear exits. But if she wanted, she could be long gone.”

  “Though why would she? If the others are acting normally. And it certainly does seem as if they got away with it.” Patricia put forward her thoughts.

  “Yes. I concur. So just what are your plans?”

  “We need to find those missing children.” Patricia hated to think what a coven of witches needed with so many of them.

  “They’re not at the school. It’s been searched by the family member I inserted. Potentially the children could be at one of the witch’s private residences, or, alternatively, at Carlyle Manor, it’s certainly big enough and isolated.”

  “Alpha team could search it. Once we find them a clear window.”

  “Which we have coming up this weekend. The school is holding their Christmas Musicale. I read on the school website that the proceeds will be used to build a memorial for the victims who died at the last event.”

  “You think they’d cancel it.” Patricia mused out loud.

  “No, their using it as a rallying cry; we will rise above tragedy. That kind of bull. Besides, the media are placing the blame on faulty wiring that ignited the tinsel and caused the panic. The school is positioning themselves as the victim.” Cullen bit back a sigh before settling his jade green gaze on Patricia. “How do you feel about some more undercover work?”

  “As Evangeline?” Patricia was torn, she’d really gotten a kick out of playing at spy. But it had come at rather an uncomfortable cost.

  “No. I’ll find us two discreet identities this time. My family and your alpha team can conduct thorough searches of our suspects residences whilst they are attending the function.”

  “And what will you and I be doing?” Patricia wanted to know.

  “You and I will be plan B. If we don’t find the children or anything that can tell us where they are and what the witches and Elena are up to, then you and I will kidnap Mara.”

  “Kidnap? Just like that? A highly trained former field agent? A witch with unknown powers? And if she knew you were at the party Saturday night and got away, then she will be expecting you to turn up again.”

  “I appreciate you letting me in on this Op.” Elijah rubbed at the dark golden stubble on his chin. “Rather than expose Patricia to any more danger, why don’t I introduce you to a couple of our female Enforcers?”

  Before Patricia could open her mouth, anger coursing through her, Cullen beat her to it. “Thanks, but no. Trix knows the players. She has an excellent eye for detail. And a proven track record that she and I work well as a team. Kidnapping Mara should be our last resort. We know at least one of the witches has power over fire. Maybe Mara shares that ability, maybe she has others. I wouldn’t say no to some highly skilled, discreet back up. If you have the manpower to share?”

  Patricia listened with only half an ear as Cullen and Elijah began to plan the operation, too busy sorting through her feelings. It was nice to be appreciated, wanted. But then on the other hand, anger began to roil in her gut. Wasn’t she just one more useful tool in the Archer’s quiver?

  Which was fine, it was. Cullen clearly admired her mind and thought her competent. Yet, it was only part of the equation, Patricia wasn’t just her skill set. She worked hard to stay mentally and physically fit. She was a sum of all her parts. Would it kill the man to stare in admiration at her ass occasionally?

  Not that she needed or courted his approval. But she kept returning again and again to the kiss. He’d initiated it. Those heated looks he’d been sending her way, that challenging glint in his eye… she was beginning to think the Archer was nothing but a master gamesman. And she, along with eve
ryone else in his life were just chess pieces to be manoeuvred at his leisure.

  Which again should technically be fine. After all, she wanted this mission to succeed just as much as he did. Perhaps doubly so now that unwanted, annoying… feelings had been stirred up. And it was all too clear that Cullen didn’t share those feelings. So helping him was paramount. Once Mara and her cohorts were caught. Cullen would have no choice but to face reality. Realising how much he had missed the spy life and that he hadn’t lost his edge. Admit that his country still needed him.

  And he would step up, because that’s who he was, it was his duty, his destiny to serve and protect the sovereign soil.

  So she would take Cullen’s words for what they were and nothing more, a compliment from a work colleague. And she would lock down all these silly niggling feelings.

  It was past time she woke up. She was turning fifty soon, and planning a solo holiday. Damn, that was kind of a depressing reality. Doh, it was obvious, she didn’t have feelings for Cullen. She was just trying to channel her own avoidance of the coming major milestone. Fifty? It was just a number. But still it must have gotten to her just a little bit.

  Huh, ultra-smart Head Librarian heal thy self first. Worst needlepoint throw pillow cover ever, but a pointed reality check for herself.

  Phew, she didn’t have feelings for Cullen. Her gaze settled on him, watching as his sensual mouth moved, his dexterous fingers tapping away at the keyboard as he took notes and those jade green eyes sparked with determination. Heated tingles coursed through her blood, popping like bubbles of champagne under her skin. Okay, no feelings, but there was definitely a physical attraction there. Hmm, pity she couldn’t just slake that attraction and move on.

  Hold on a moment. A plan began to form, it would be kind of nice to get in one more big bang - so to speak - before she turned fifty. Okay, she’d make a plan. Find the missing children. Help Cullen catch Mara et al. Oust him from the Annexe. Make him realise that the spy life in London was where he truly belonged. And bang boots with the man… without the boots on, obviously.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cullen had made a serious error somewhere in his calculations. How else to explain the sheer amount of Library related work that was being assigned to him. He had considered confronting her, Patricia knew he was in the midst of planning a critical mission, but thankfully all his instincts had flared, sending up copious warning signals.

  Studying the situation he realised several important things. First off, the services the Library performed were more often than not deemed critical. With lives on the line. So his own work shouldn’t take precedence just because it was personal.

  Second, he couldn’t help but feel that Patricia was applying even more pressure. Almost as if she were trying to force him to choose between his old life and the new one he had established here. Damn it, he was just trying to tie up loose ends. Catch a traitor, and foil what ever machinations Mara had in play. It shouldn’t be an either or equation. But he got it, Patricia wanted to test where his priorities lay.

  So he did what he did best. He multi-tasked. He delegated. After all, both Elijah and his own family were heavily invested in discovering what the witches and their half-jaguar gal pal, Elena, were up to. All determined to put a stop to it.

  Cullen assigned the task of following the money to several of his cousins placed in high profile financial institutions. Requested several more who were positioned in various ministry roles to delve into the history of the women’s previous connections. The adoption agency. The women’s shelter. And he placed Elijah in charge of spear heading the various surveillance teams.

  Which just left him Tuesday morning sitting in the Cryptozoology field guide office, other wise known as Monster Central or Creature-Feature-Ville. It was a normal sized room, unlike the Research Department. The ceilings didn’t soar. And there were no phones ringing off the hook. Actually, it was pretty quiet, bordering on the dead.

  In the middle of the room sat four desks, grouped together in twos, facing one another. Each had a computer with a large screen. Taking a seat at one of the computers, Cullen flicked open a nearby manila folder with the title Operating Manual on the cover and followed the instructions.

  Placing a set of headphones on, he booted up the computer, calling up the first item logged, hitting the icon attached to it. Camera footage began streaming. Suddenly his ears were assaulted with grunts and high pitched screams while the screen depicted gouts of black blood shooting into the sky, glittering weirdly with flecks of yellow. The footage jerked, and jumped. A sword cut across his field of vision, once, then again. More screams followed.

  Bloody hell. He dragged off the headphones and hit the stop button. Deciding to read through the entire operating manual first, before subjecting himself to the surround sound graphic violence on offer at such an early hour of the day. It took several minutes but by the time Cullen was finished he was gritting his teeth.

  He got it, he totally did. Ideally, the Enforcers should have been the ones to review their mission tapes and update the field guide if new creatures or new information regarding creatures already listed in the guide became apparent. And while there appeared to be a few meticulous Enforcers who insisted upon taking on the responsibility such as Elijah and all the Alpha Elite Team. The majority just dumped their footage online, tagged it with what ever title came to mind and moved on to their next kill.

  Shit. And admittedly this was an important task. It meant that when Elijah was handing out assignments, the latest, most up-to date information on their foe was readily available. That the Enforcers would know that a Golly Morph shot poison out of its left nostril. That a Picnanjin was incredibly vicious during its three day breeding cycle every four years, but essentially placid the rest of the time. And that if you inhaled the breath of a Rhinkeet, you’d best drink a pint of milk, unless you wanted all your hair to fall out.

  So it was vital the Cryptozoology field guide was updated constantly to ensure the latest information was available. And the guide itself, was a thing of beauty. Monsters could be searched for by name, physical characteristics or by the wounds inflicted on their victims. Someone named Daniel Hammond had streamlined the system about seven years ago, and still added updates to this day. Though he wasn’t listed as an Enforcer.

  It was important, time-consuming, yet gory work. Cullen wasn’t deterred by the sight of blood, flying body parts or the wails and screams. Unfortunately though, he couldn’t come up with a better system than what was currently in place. Damn, he put the headphones back on, hit a key and started watching the footage again.

  Two hours and fourteen updates to the field guide later, Cullen was bored, awed and slightly frustrated. The Enforcers were an impressive lot as they charged, herded, cajoled and sometimes just gently nudged various monsters away from areas that mundane humans might be prone to travel.

  All his senses were engaged in the process of studying and updating the field guide with any new or anomalous information that he came across. Leaving him with little opportunity to think about anything else.

  Point in fact, the process required so much of his attention it wasn’t until he felt hot breath across the back of his neck that he realised he wasn’t alone. Acting casual, he chanced a glance out the corner of his eye and relaxed. It was his buddy Leon, Library volunteer and member of the Krell Spawn Campaign Re-enactment Society. All of Leon’s focus was on the screen in front of Cullen. Strangely, he noted Leon’s lips were moving. Well, the man did love to talk.

  Discreetly Cullen removed his headphones.

  “Duck, you daft twit. Hephorns have a hell of a reach… that’s it, get to the side. Those things can’t see worth a damn out the peripherals... Not, the sword, you don’t want to get any of their blood on you… ooh, nice boot to the ribs…”

  Cullen tapped a key and the footage froze. “Leon. Can I help you?”

  A look of disappointment momentarily crossed Leon’s face before he straightened and ste
pped back a little. “That was just starting to get interesting.”

  “Well, there’s plenty more where that came from.” Cullen waved a hand at the three empty desks. He’d been joking but Leon was already taking a seat at the nearest desk and picking up the headphones.

  “How do I get this to work?” The older man tapped at the keyboard, nothing happened.

  “Read the manual first.” He slid across the folder. “You can’t just watch the footage, you need to update the monster guide if you come across anything new or note worthy.”

  Eagerness stole over Leon’s face. “Cool. This is heaps better than waving that stupid little wand over barcodes or re-shelving.”

  Cullen studied Leon as he bent over the user manual. He supposed this was a better match for a retired Enforcer’s skill set. Hmmm, it got him to thinking. “I don’t suppose any of the other volunteers are ex-Enforcers who’d like a new job?”

  Leon looked up, his eyes sparking with interest. “No such thing as an ex-Enforcer. And yeah, I can think of quite a few who’d love to get in on this fun.” Leon was already pulling out his phone and beginning to text.

  Fun? To each his own. Hey, maybe Cullen had just solved the staffing problem when it came to the Cryptozoology Department. Hell, he had a feeling Patricia wasn’t going to be happy that he had re-assigned the volunteers without asking her. Another thought struck him. “Why were you looking for me?”

  Leon glanced up from his texting. “Oh, that. Yeah, the vote was unanimous. Congratulations.”

  “Vote?”

  “Yes, you are officially the President of the Krell Spawn Campaign Re-enactment Society, we meet every Monday. Welcome to the club.”

  He thought they’d been joking. Crap, how the hell was he going to get out of this one? Worse, he had a sneaky suspicion that Patricia would be waving that damn Town Charter in his face if he tried to turn down the position. “Thanks.” What else could he say?

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