Spells & Death

by Rachel Medhurst

  “Logan, thank you for the call. Have you got any evidence that we need?”

  Reaching up, I discreetly put my ear bud back in and switched the camera on. No matter how much I wanted to block Dave out, he was the one who recorded everything that was said or viewed at a crime scene, typing up the report in live time. Which saved me a hell of a lot of paperwork. I loved the guy really, even if he was swearing in my ear at the same time as Logan was talking.

  “We found the wand and assumed we’d need you. Other than getting the human evidence we needed, we’ve left it as we found it.”

  “It?”

  Gesturing to the female, who was almost naked bar her underwear, he screwed up his nose. “Yeah, the body. The room. All of it. The undertaker is on standby. When you’re done, let him know and he’ll take the body for an autopsy.”

  “What did you find?”

  It was quite unnerving to think that the man had closed his emotions off so much that he couldn’t even associate the body as a previous living thing. Would I become like that? Had I already become like that?

  “Ask him if there were any symbols anywhere,” Dave said in my ear. “Have they taken anything at all?”

  Clearing his throat at the same time as rubbing his thinning blonde hair, Logan ran his tongue across his top teeth. “We found the bedroom door ajar, and the front door wide open. The neighbour noticed the door when she popped to the shop. When she came back, she approached and called out. Obviously, there was no reply, but she noticed the bloody fingerprints on the doorbell. That’s when she phoned us.”

  “We saw those on our way in,” I said, going closer to the body. “Did you see any symbols? Anything been taken for forensics?”

  Shaking his head, Logan came closer. We stared down at the bullet wound in the woman’s chest. I’d noticed it immediately, which was why I’d had my little freak-out. It was uncannily familiar to my own wound, except it wasn’t stitched up.

  “The blood has spurted directly behind, meaning she was shot at close range.” Logan jabbed his finger near the bullet wound, not quite touching her blue skin. “She has a wedding ring on, but according to our records, she’s not married. My team found the wand and the grimoire, so they reported to me instantly.”

  It wasn’t always immediately obviously if a corpse was a supernatural creature, but there were often several clues. In this case, a wand and grimoire gave plenty of weight to the species of the woman on the bed. Most witches kept those items very close to them.

  “I don’t worry too much about wedding rings nowadays. People wear rings on all fingers.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” he said, scratching his thin jaw.

  “Kate?”

  The seer had opened her eyes, her chest heaving slightly. The dark brown of her irises looked black in the dim room. “I’m going to have to write it down. It felt as if I was drugged for the last twenty -four hours, which can’t be true.”

  Rubbing my arms as goose bumps exploded over my skin, I gestured for her to go back to Paranormal MI5. We needed her memory as fresh as possible.

  “My people will send you their report in the next few hours. I’ll leave you to do the rest.” Shaking my hand, Logan left Jake and I at the crime scene.

  Dave’s deliberate clearing of his throat reminded me that he was there. “What was that about?”

  “Later, Dave,” I hissed as Jake came over.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  Flinging my ponytail over my shoulder, I took a deep breath. “Yes, let’s just get on with it.”

  Going over to the door, Jake nodded his head, his jaw set as he waited for me.

  My feet were reluctant as I went to the centre of the room. Closing my eyes, I felt into the ley line. The magic that poured through the energy lanes of the earth was protected by Essex witches only. Our DNA had been connected to the earth when our line was born. The first ever witch on earth was an Essex witch, although they weren’t called that way back then. Ever since, we’d sworn to protect the magic. If we allowed anyone direct access to it, the purity would be tainted, maybe even drained.

  Other witches were able to draw from the pure magic in Mother Earth, but they couldn’t take from the ley line. Warlocks took their magic from the impure magic created when the first evil witch broke from the witches, became a warlock, and used the magic for evil.

  “I love when you do this,” Dave whispered in my ear. “I wish I could experience it, just once.”

  As a witch who couldn’t harness Earth’s magic, Dave had always had to stem his desire to drain everything and everyone of magic for his own use. I had a degree of sympathy for him. Without my link to the ley line, I was nothing. Well, that’s what it felt like, anyway. I might be a kickass agent, but that was all I was good at. Except reading. I was an expert in that.

  Concentrating, I let the pure magic of Mother Earth run into my veins. Once the energy was inside me, I pushed it outwards, searching for other energy sources relating to magic. The Magic Sweep as I called it, was a way for me to pick up the magical imprint of other magical beings that had been in the room. As soon as my magic brushed against it, I was able to store it in my aura until I got back to the office. Dave would then run a scanner over me, taking the imprint and running it through the magic DNA database.

  “There,” I told Jake, pointing at the edge of the bed, right where the woman’s head was. “Someone stood over her.”

  My muscles shook as the negative energy of the magic entered my aura. Clenching my hands into fists, I resisted the urge to push it out. I had to disconnect from it, shut down.

  “Take it easy,” Dave whispered as I swept through the rest of the room.

  Jake moved to where I’d indicated, checking it over for any clues that might have been missed. My energy touched the bathroom door handle, but it was only the woman’s energy. I had felt it as soon as I’d come into the house. She lived here, that much I could tell instantly.

  “That’s it,” I said, releasing the link to the ley line and imagining a tight white light around myself.

  The protection would help me to stay disconnected from the magic that wasn’t mine.

  “So, one person...” Jake was crouched beside the bed, sniffing the edge of the mattress. “I can smell them.” His wolf traits came in handy when he wasn’t being stubborn.

  I had to admit that my mother had given me two very good agents to work with. As much as I was a lone wolf - yeah, I made a pun - I did appreciate that Kate and Jake had strengths that I didn’t.

  “I feel sorry for any woman who dates Jake,” Dave said. “Can you imagine having someone smell you all the time?”

  “Shut up,” I whispered.

  “Is he making that joke about me sniffing people’s arses again?”

  The pair were incredibly immature when they got together. Kate and I had often left them in a room alone because their bromance was starting to grow.

  “No,” I muttered, suddenly desperate to get back to the office and clear my aura so I could go home and sleep. “I’ve got to get this evidence back. Can you catch up to Kate?”

  Rubbing my arms as I left the room, I acknowledged Jake’s affirmation with a wave before I closed my eyes and whispered a relocation spell.

  Dave jumped when I landed in front of his desk. “I wish you’d warn me before you did that.”

  His cheeks burned pink as I leant forward and looked him in the eye. “Please, get this magic off me. I’m weary.”

  The crease of his usually smooth forehead warned me of his impending lecture.

  “I told you that you needed sleep.” Getting up from his seat, he grabbed the techy looking scanner and came around the desk. “Once I’ve done this, shall I give you a shoulder massage? I know you want my hands on you.”

  Rolling my eyes, I held my hands out to the side. “Don’t start that again.”

  Dave had a habit of insinuating that I was in love with him, even though I wasn’t. It went in phases. One month, he would
n’t shut up about it, the next, he went into himself and didn’t say much about anything. It was this swinging back and forth that confused the hell out of me, but also intrigued the fuck out of me. How could someone be so different from one moment to the next? I’d quickly realised that I didn’t know the man at all.

  When his tall thick bulk was in front of me, he looked down and winked. His shaggy hair was thick and slightly wavy. As his hazel eyes stared into mine, I tried to look away. He was reading me, trying to work out why I’d been acting weird that morning. I could tell from the probing stare.

  “Just scan me, please,” I whispered.

  My chest squeezed as his free hand reached forward. It hesitated before he coughed and pulled away, raising the scanner in his other hand. Swiping it all around me, he smiled sadly when it beeped. I released my held breath when he clicked the absorb button and the harsh energy left my energy field.

  “Thank you.”

  Going to turn away, I paused when he stopped me with a hand on my wrist. “Gemma, if whatever happened this morning is going to affect your work, you know you have to speak to someone about it. I’m worried for you.”

  Looking up at him sideways, I tensed as his thumb stroked the pulse in my wrist. The skin burned where he touched it. He was unintentionally taking some of my magic. He realised when I swallowed hard.

  Jerking back, he shook his hand. “I’m so sorry. I hate it when that happens. I’ve even considered wearing gloves around women. The witches I date are getting fed up of me accidently stealing a bit of their magic.”

  Although he laughed, it was awkward. Grabbing his hand when he went to walk away, I stopped him. “No, don’t ever hide who you are. Just... take precautions.”

  He blinked, his gaze clashing with mine before he looked at the floor. “I may not have known you for long, but man, I admire your drive to be exactly who you are.”

  Letting him go, I retreated to my desk. He had hit a raw nerve. Just because I wore my book T-shirts, didn’t mean I showed exactly who I was. In fact, I was starting to doubt whether I really knew who I was. My brush with death - if that’s what I could call it - had brought up some questions that I had never asked myself.

  “If you want to go and get some sleep, I’ll run this through the magical DNA system. We can handle the evidence until you’re back tomorrow.” Dave smiled as I picked up my satchel from where I’d left it under my desk.

  He had switched back into his happy-mode. I, however, was still well and truly in a zoned out mood. My body and brain needed sleep. Using the ley line was always tiring, let alone when I hadn’t slept at all.

  “Thanks, Dave.” I patted my bag to check that my latest book was still inside. I would need it to help me sleep. “I’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”

  As I flashed away, I caught his slight look of surprise. When my feet landed in my kitchen, I sighed to myself. I never went home straight after a crime scene. My work ethic was the strongest in the whole agency. I never took a day off. Ever.

  Today was different though. Today, the dead witch had some thinking to do.

  Chapter 4

  “Dude!” Brianna exclaimed as she came into the hallway.

  Okay, so I had recently painted the walls a bright shade of purple, but there was no need for her overreaction. Who didn’t love a hint of purple?

  Shaking her head, my vampire best friend pointed at the large framed photo on the wall. “Why the hell do you have a massive picture of you with JK Rowling on the wall? That’s creepy as fuck.”

  Ah, right, I had wondered if the picture was a bit much. Considering I had classic book and film posters dotted throughout the house, I figured a photo of me with one of my favourite authors wasn’t too weird.

  “Well, I like it,” I stated, not caring what she thought as I led her into the galley kitchen.

  My little house was long and thin. The hallway ran half way down the right hand side of the house, the stairs leading up to two bedrooms and a bathroom. I had a small living room at the front of the house with an archway into the dining area, which had French doors leading out into the small patio and garden at the back of the house. The kitchen was alongside the dining area, its long small area a hindrance for when I wanted to cook up a storm. Not that I often bothered. No one came to see me. Being a secret agent was hard to keep secret.

  “You may like it, Senorita, but I have to say, it’s no wonder you’re single.”

  Throwing her long deep brown curly hair over her shoulder, Brianna blew me a kiss when I snarled in her direction. She had a habit of bringing up my single status every time I saw her.

  “How do you know I’m not dating someone?” I filled up the kettle and stirred the risotto.

  Putting her long delicate fingers on her curvy hips, Brianna stared at me. Her big brown eyes were highlighted by mascara. Her full lips were painted red, as usual. Her Spanish origins couldn’t be more obvious, even her accent was sexy as hell. “As if you wouldn’t tell me. I mean, something is different about you. I can’t quite place it, but I would be able to tell if you were dating someone. Firstly, you’d be walking funny.”

  “What?” I gasped, trying to hold back my laughter.

  It was the first time I’d smiled since I’d left work that morning. I’d slept all day before having a shower and inviting my friend over. It had been a month since we’d last seen each other. I always made an excuse when she tried to see me.

  “Well, you know... it’s been a while since you’ve had sex. I’m sure I’d notice a glow or something, Chica.” Her lips formed into a sexy smirk. “Anyway, my love, how is the library?”

  Facing away from her to make the coffee, I quickly buried the feeling of guilt that always arose when I spoke to Brianna about my fake job. “Oh, it’s good, you know. I’m reviewing a book by a new author right now. She’s written an urban fantasy story about witches and vampires.”

  “Isn’t it funny,” Brianna said as she leant against the kitchen side and stared off into the distance. “How the human government allow these books to be published, but they won’t let us be ourselves.”

  The irony in her words caused me to cringe. It was often humans who wrote paranormal fiction, their imaginations either extremely good, or their own powers of divination coming to the forefront. Some of them were even involved in our world. They had either somehow stumbled upon it, or they were introduced by supernaturals who had used them for their own gains. Usually, a human blood donor for vampires. Sometimes witches had befriended humans to try and feel normal. It never worked, hence why I’d kept to myself.

  “I was talking to mama the other day. She asked how you were, said that it had been a long time since she’d seen your mama.”

  Yeah, I would’ve never made friends with fiery vampire Brianna if our parents hadn’t become friends when they’d randomly met on the bus one day. In a way, I guessed my mother also wanted some normality in her life. Both Brianna and her mama had been turned into vampires twenty years ago. They were still babies compared to most of the vampires in London.

  “Oh, well, that’s not good. I’ll tell her to get in contact.”

  Going over to the pan, I served up the risotto, making sure to pile more on Brianna’s plate. That girl had an appetite, and if I didn’t cater to it, I’d get it in the neck. Although, not literally, obviously. Vampires hated the taste of witch blood.

  “I cannot believe you’re serving me risotto.” Brianna winked at me when I turned and handed her the plate. “Paella, Bella, Paella is my home country’s dish, no?”

  “Not today, no.”

  Following her into the living room, I almost tripped over when Smudge, my familiar cat, darted under my feet. As soon as Brianna was on the sofa, Smudge was on her lap.

  “Ah, little kitty,” she cooed, stroking the cat under the chin.

  Smudge was white with one smudge of black on her butt. Hence the name, Smudge. Original? Not really. Did I care? Not really.

  “You gave this cat such a bor
ing name.”

  Folding my legs under me, I sat next to her, about to switch on the TV. Batting my arm, Smudge looked smug when the remote control skidded onto the lino floor.

  The walls in here were a pale blue. Each wall had one poster on it. A Gone with the Wind one was directly opposite us, above the fireplace.

  “I’m giving my next cat a better name. Sir Didymus.” My little glare went ignored as Smudge hissed in my direction.

  My familiar loved me really. Well, sort of. She was an independent girl, like me, but it got lonely for the furry creature. I could feel the resentment rolling off her every time I came home. She often divined certain things for my cases, her familiar abilities stronger than most because of my link to the ley line.

  “Why are you so mean to this kitty?” Brianna said as she held her plate above the cat’s head and tried to eat her dinner. “She smells lovely... oh, wait...”

  Her mouth hung open, showing a perfectly white set of teeth. A pile of rice sat on her tongue, half mashed by her stupidly perfect teeth.

  “What’s wrong? Did I put in too much spice?”

  Grabbing my arm as I went to raise a forkful of food to my mouth, Brianna pulled it to her nose. Knocking the rice all over her, she ignored my exclamation as she sniffed hard. What the hell?

  “Gemma...” Slowly releasing me, she stared, her gorgeous expressive eyes widening. “...I can’t smell your blood.”

  My breath left my lungs so quickly, black spots came flooding into the corner of my eyes. My friend had often commented on how my blood smelt richer than all the witches she’d ever come across. Not because I ate richer foods, but because I was connected to the ley line. Vampires always knew that I was different from other witches, which was why they stayed away. I could easily beat them in a fight. Not that I bothered with them, they were too petty when it came to fighting. When I won, their egos were damaged. A vampire enemy could quickly become a hindrance. It had happened once or twice, but I’d quickly found a reason to arrest them.

  “You can’t smell my blood?” I almost choked.