by Ciara Graves
“I’m going to help you find Gigi.”
She lifted a bookshelf and shoved it back against the wall then bent to pick up a stack of books. “Why should I believe you? How do I know you didn’t come here to stall me and you’ve got Iris and the rest of your freaking agents coming to arrest me?”
“I should be doing that, but I’m not.”
“Yeah? How about you piss off then. I don’t need your help, and I definitely don’t need you babysitting me.”
“Gigi helped me out a few times, too. I’m going to help you find her.”
Mercy picked up the books and arranged them on the shelves, not even looking at me as she spoke again. “And if I told you Gigi’s been helping us with the Shuval issue? Heaven forbid I tell you the truth about her, too.”
“Is she part dragonborn?” A growl came out with the words.
Mercy dropped the stack of books as she whirled around and nailed me with a glare. “No she’s not, but if she was, you’d what, let the reapers have her? Good riddance.”
“Mercy, stop.”
“Why should I? You and me, we had something, and you just broke it apart. You shredded it.”
She stalked toward the back room, but I grabbed her arm and forced her back around to face me.
“Get off me,” she snarled.
“You don’t get to be the only one pissed off here.”
“Oh, no? You’re the one that held a gun to my head.”
“You lied to me, and your lie cost lives,” I seethed, not letting her go just yet. “Those agents might not have died if you would’ve come clean with me and told me the truth. I could’ve handled it.”
Her laughter was bitter, and she stomped on my foot hard enough I released her. “Liar. You would’ve done the exact same thing. It’s how everyone reacts when they hear the word dragonborn. It’s like a plague.”
“People died, Mercy.”
“And more people are going to die if you tell the truth,” she shot back. “Sometimes a lie is all you get.”
“I wanted to know everything about you.”
“Yeah, and now that you do, you wish you’d never met me. Go on, admit it.”
“You want to keep acting like the only one who’s hurting here is you and play the victim? Be my guest, but at the end of the day, you’re the one who chose to keep the truth from me. You didn’t trust me,” I whispered as I lowered my face to hers. “You can live with the guilt of all those dead. You can have their blood on your hands. And you are not the only one suffering here. Not even close,” I added harshly then backed off. “I’m offering to help you find Gigi for her, not for you. Take it or leave it, but I won’t offer it again.”
Again, I expected her power to manifest in the face of so much emotional upheaval, but there was no sign of it.
A voice in the back of my mind said that was cause to worry, but then she nodded.
“I accept.”
“Good, but I don’t want to hear about anything else. Not about Shuval, or what you’re doing with the others. I don’t care.”
That was a damned lie, and from the way her brow arched she knew it.
“What have you got so far on Gigi?” I simply had to act like a Fed, and I’d get through this. That’s all I had to do. Act like Mercy was just another investigator, nothing more.
She brushed by me, and I was struck with the image of holding her as we laughed.
She paused as if seeing it too, but then she kept walking. I watched her pick up a few more items around the shop.
“Mercy?”
“I don’t have much.” She scooped up broken glass and dumped it in a small trash bin nearby. “I found her cell with her bags. She hadn’t even unpacked when they came for her.”
The urge to comfort Mercy was so strong, I walked to the other end of the shop, picking up random items and righting them, keeping my hands busy. There were specks of blood here and there on the floor, and when I glanced around, I saw a handprint near the front door. Had to be Gigi’s. “So you do know who took her?”
“Dark witch covens.”
“So you lied to me, again.”
“Are you going to be like this the whole time?” She chucked several large pieces of glass in the bin then stood. “I can berate myself just fine on my own. I don’t need a hot-headed demon to do it for me.”
“Fine. Dark witch covens. How do you plan on reaching out to them without giving your true intentions away?”
“Already taken care of. I’m simply killing time here.”
“You’re going there tonight?”
“No, but a witch, Gigi’s inside informant, has been texting and calling her almost non-stop. I finally answered, and she agreed to meet with me tonight at the Wailing Siren.” Mercy pulled out her cell. “Have about two hours until she can get there.”
“And you trust this witch not to curse you when she arrives? Or to have backup?”
“Right now, I don’t trust anyone, but she’s my only chance to get a lead on Gigi.”
I bit my tongue against telling her what a terrible plan this was. If I hadn’t come after her, she’d be meeting with this witch alone, and potentially getting herself killed. Mercy wasn’t an idiot and though she’d been impulsive in the past, her behavior tonight had me fearing for her life. I helped her pick up Gigi’s shop, getting everything righted the best we could, neither of us saying a word the entire time. We steered clear of each other, too. Being close was too hard. Stirred up too many emotions I tried and failed to bury deep.
When almost two hours passed, Mercy closed the door. Not that it’d keep anyone out, what with a busted window.
“Use your magic and seal it,” I suggested.
She lifted her hands, and I waited to see those gold and white flames. But nothing happened.
She shook out her hands, muttering, “Come on,” under her breath then tried again. When no magic manifested again, she gave up and headed down the steps.
“Something wrong with your magic?” I followed close behind, my worry growing.
“No, I just decided not to listen to you,” she said sarcastically as she neared her bike. “Yes, there’s something wrong with my magic. No, we’re not going to talk about it. You going to walk or ride there?”
I should’ve said I’d walk, but time wasn’t on our side. “Ride.”
Mercy shoved her helmet on her head then climbed onto the bike, waiting. I told myself not to feel anything as I sat down behind her, but as soon as my arms closed around her waist, a jolt shot through me. A reminder of all the other times I held her like this.
She revved the engine, then we were off. If I could’ve loosened my hold on her, I would’ve, but as fast she was going, I’d end up on my ass. The rain had stopped, so we didn’t wipe out on our way to the Underground. I hopped off as fast as I could, once she parked. Then without a word, followed her into the Underground.
The crowded main street made it hard to stay right behind her.
The Wailing Siren was packed. Shep was too busy behind the bar to see us at first. When he did, he glowered at me and waved Mercy over.
“You here for drinks or trouble?” the shifter asked, tossing a towel over his shoulder as he eyed us.
“I need Wesley’s backroom.”
“For what?”
“Meeting someone.”
Shep’s eyes flared yellow. “Damian told me to keep an eye on you while he was gone, and now you’re down here with the Fed? Give me one damned good reason for not calling Damian and telling him to get his ass home.”
“Gigi’s missing,” Mercy told him. “Dark covens have her.”
Shep’s eyes glowed brighter as he slapped the towel on the bar in his anger. “Who are you meeting?”
“A witch. She said she’d be wearing a black cloak and have a sapphire pendant around her neck.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for her and send her your way.”
“Thanks, Shep.” Mercy started to go, then paused. “You’re not going to cal
l Damian, right?”
“Not yet. Go on.”
We pushed our way through the mass of paranormals in the place. Once inside Wesley’s room, with the door closed, the noise from the bar was cut off.
Mercy walked around slowly, tossing her dagger end-over-end as I watched from beside the door. The unspoken words between us piled up, as did the tension. A war brewed within me. One between my anger and my annoyance and so many other emotions I wasn’t willing to acknowledge right then. Being near her was getting to me, and I dug my nails into the palms of my hands to ground myself and remind me why I had to keep my distance. No matter what Mercy said about keeping the war against Shuval a secret, at some point everything would come crashing down on her head. She’d either be dead from the fallout or taken into custody. Feeling anything for her would only make doing my job down the road harder. On us both.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, you moron. You know exactly how you feel for her, and you can’t simply forget it.
I grunted at the nagging voice in my head and looked pointedly at the floor. The silence dragged on as we waited for this witch to arrive. I had no intention of saying anything until she did, but then my mouth opened. “Why’s your magic acting up?”
She caught her dagger and sheathed it at her hip. “Thought you didn’t want to know about anything else unless it had to do with Gigi.”
She had a point, but apparently, I wasn’t good at listening to myself. “Something happen to you?”
“Do you mean was I attacked by Envy again? Or some other hybrid?”
I tensed, waiting for her to say she was, but then she shook her head. “Then what?”
“Dunno.”
“You don’t know. How can you not? Aren’t you concerned at all?”
“So what if I’m not?”
“It’s part of who you are. What if Envy attacks and you don’t have your magic?”
“And again why do you care, Rafael?”
Her voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t hear the words.
I ignored her words and asked, “When did it start acting up?”
This time, she turned her back on me. “Stop.”
“When, Mercy?” I demanded. “Give me that much at least.”
“Why, because you think I owe you answers?”
She had me there, but I wasn’t backing down. “When?”
“The night you held a gun to my head.” She spun around, face red in anger, but no glow from her magic. Not even a flicker. “The night you shattered my heart into pieces because you said you could handle the truth, but you lied, Rafael. You did.”
She burst out laughing, but the sound grated on my ears it was so harsh.
“God, I sound like some pathetic little girl.”
“Mercy—”
“Don’t, just don’t, alright? I know exactly how you feel now. I’ll get over it.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You’re a piece of work. You know that? You told me plain and simple how you felt about me because of what I am. And we’re finished talking about us.”
I couldn’t let it go, but just as I was about to say something else, the door flew open, and Shep tossed a cloaked woman into the room, then turned and left without a word. The woman threw back her hood and looked around, eyes wild.
“You,” Mercy snapped as she charged toward the witch and grabbed her by her throat. “Where is Gigi?” She shoved her into the far wall as the witch sputtered. “Where?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, the witch shaking in Mercy’s grasp. “It’s my fault.”
“Who has her?”
But the witch was sobbing and kept mumbling she was sorry over and over. She wasn’t going to tell us anything useful with Mercy ready to break her neck.
“Mercy, give her some room. She’s not a threat to us.”
She let the witch go and backed off but didn’t go far.
“Catch your breath then tell us everything,” I told the witch.
As she hugged herself, I took in the details of her face. Her eyes were dark green, and she looked young. Twenty, maybe younger. Her cloak was black, and she wore a blue sapphire pendant surrounded by symbols designating the dark coven she was a part of. I wondered if she’d chosen to join them or if she’d simply been raised within their ranks. How had Gigi known her? Her dress was also black. The hem of it and the cloak were soaking wet and muddied as if she’d run all the way here. There were scrapes on her knuckles too, as though she’d fallen along the way. Or gotten in a fight and had to defend herself.
The power coming off her was minimal, nothing like I sensed the first time I met Gigi, and not even close to what I felt from Mercy. Or had felt from her. I shot her another worried glance, but she only had eyes for the witch.
“I’m sorry,” the witch murmured again. “I tried to warn her, but I was too late.”
“Let’s start with your name,” I suggested. “How did you know Gigi?”
“Onyx, but it’s just a code name. Gigi wanted to keep me as safe as possible while I helped her,” she whispered, clearly scared to talk.
“Then we’ll do the same. Go on.”
Mercy’s hand slipped to her dagger as she stared me down, not happy with my compromise.
“Gigi found me a few years ago. I was traveling with other witches from my coven. We stopped by a specialty market, and she was there. Saw me and we talked. The others didn’t know about it. That’s when Gigi gave me her number.”
“What for?” Mercy asked, her tone softening, slightly.
“In case I ever needed a way out. My parents are dead, and I was being raised by the coven, but Gigi was worried about my being with them. Said my magic could be used for the light instead of the dark.” She sniffed hard and smiled. “She was nice to me.”
“Gigi has a way of finding lost souls,” Mercy murmured. “You’re the one she contacted about going undercover and investigating the dark coven?”
Onyx bobbed her head. “I told her it was too dangerous, but she said it was important.”
“Do you know if she met with anyone? The reapers or the elders of your coven?”
Onyx cringed at Mercy’s questions. “Gigi didn’t want me to know too much in case she was caught. She went off on her own a few different times, but all the dark covens were gathered, so it was easy for her to blend in. Or at least, it had been. So I thought.”
“Did Gigi have to participate in anything while she was there?”
With the witch calmed down and Mercy appearing to be in control of her anger, I stepped back and let her keep up the questioning. I peered out the door to make sure no one followed Onyx. It was clear.
“There were some rituals, yes, and Gigi found ways around them.” Onyx shook and sank to the floor suddenly, her face pale. “I warned her to be careful who she talked to, but she told me it would be fine. The other witches and warlocks there, they started to pay close attention to her in the end. Followed her around. They never seemed threatening, but I heard them talking about her one night.”
“Had they found her out then?”
“No, they just wondered where she came from.” Onyx hung her head, and when she lifted it a few seconds later, tears burned in her eyes. “They were talking about someone else, too. Someone bad was coming, and they wanted to introduce Gigi to her, then take her away.”
Mercy’s gaze latched onto mine. Her. It had to be Shuval. “Did they say when she was coming?”
“Yes, she should be there by the end of the month, in time for the conference being held.”
“Conference for what?” I asked. “Weren’t they just all together?”
“That was for the pre-conference rituals. Many come to assist in preparing the space and the elders. This is different. Every few months, all the dark covens gather and discuss plans for the coming weeks. There’ll be vendors and workshops.”
It was like listening to Nor tell me about the conferences the Feds held once a year. Leave it to the dark witches to do the
exact same amongst their covens.
“I’m not always privy to those conversations,” Onyx went on, “but there’s a lot of witches and warlocks there. They bring in donors every now and then. Sometimes the reapers join us, but it’s rare.”
“They found out Gigi was not a dark witch.” I looked at Mercy.
Mercy’s brow was furrowed. “If that was all, they would’ve just killed her,” she said slowly. “Taking her means they want her alive, to meet this woman. They think she’s useful in some way. That she has the information they need. Or Shuval needs.” She paced once around the room, then stopped when she reached Onyx. “I need you to get us into this conference, give us different faces. Can you do that?”
“You want to go back there?” Onyx asked alarmed. “You can’t. They’ll just take you, too.”
“No, they won’t. But I’m not going to let anything happen to Gigi.” Mercy crouched down and rested her hands on Onyx’s shoulders. “Please. We need your help.”
“You’ll get killed,” she whispered, voice shaking.
“So will Gigi, if we can’t get to her in time. They won’t kill her quickly, Onyx. They’ll torture her for information. Somehow, they found out who she is, which means they’ll know she’s a friend of mine.”
“But I don’t understand. Why would they care about you?”
“The witches won’t, but the one who’s coming to see them, Shuval, I have a damned good idea she does. Please, we can’t do this without your magic.”
I didn’t move a muscle as we waited for Onyx to answer.
She threw her head back and closed her eyes. “Alright, I’ll do it, but I’m not as strong as Gigi. Those disguises will take time.”
“Can you have them ready by the end of the month?”
“I can. I’ll have to go back to Sector 13 in the meantime. They’ll get suspicious if I disappear for too long.”
“Will you be able to get away again?”
For the first time, she smiled. “Yeah. I still have family outside the coven. They live in this sector, that’s how I managed to get away tonight.” She tilted her head. “You said Shuval. Who is she?”
“A very bad person, trust me.”
