Embodied

by Shona Husk

  She got up and rearranged a few of the flowers. Some of the buds had opened overnight. They smelled amazing, summery and sweet, and they brightened up the otherwise beige area. She should’ve done it years ago. After grabbing a glass of water to top up his vase, she knocked on Peyton’s door. It was open and he was working. He’d had a meeting elsewhere and had only been in for ten minutes.

  “I just came to water your flowers.” But they were no longer on his desk. Annoyance snapped through her.

  “They’re on the filing cabinet. I nearly knocked them over yesterday.”

  The filing cabinet was tucked to the side of the door so when the door opened the vase was hidden. Her lips thinned, but she topped up the flowers and turned them to their best side. “Do you know where Mr. Campbell is?”

  “No.” He looked up from the document he was reading.

  “He’s not answering his calls.”

  “Reschedule the rest of his meetings.”

  “I’ve started. He’s usually here by now.”

  Peyton nodded in agreement. “I’ll give him a call at home and then try his wife. Maybe there’s a family emergency.”

  She hoped that was all it was. The cats that had been out the front of the office yesterday had been out the front of her building this morning. A dozen of them now. She didn’t know where they were coming from. At first she’d thought it amusing, now she was a little worried. Were they following her?

  And if so, why?

  She’d always wanted a cat, but she was pretty sure that Bethany’s spell had been about getting love, not becoming the Blue Cat Queen of New York. Although that did have a nice ring to it. Queen of Cats.

  If she were their queen, they’d do what she wanted.

  Her gut twisted. “Hey…” He’d asked last night if she were in trouble. Last night she’d laughed it off. Today?

  “Yes?” He’d gone back to the document already.

  If she started talking about the cats following her, he’d think she was weird. She’d ask Bethany if she’d experienced any side effects instead. She put on her brightest smile. “Just wondering if tonight was any better for you?”

  “Sorry, I have training tonight.”

  She pressed her teeth together. He was blowing her off again. “I’m starting to think you’re all talk.”

  He lifted his eyebrows but he was smiling. “I promise, Friday night I’m all yours.”

  “A date?”

  “I’ll book a restaurant and you can come to my place after.” Something shifted in his gaze, a glimmer of something, then he blinked and it was gone.

  Alexis considered him for a moment. “I look forward to it.”

  She spun on her toe and walked out of his office, her grin as wide as it could be. She’d gotten him. She was going to call Bethany to gloat. Although that would only give fuel to Bethany’s idea that she was an actual witch.

  Chapter 5

  When Peyton left the office, the cats were once again out the front of the building. He carefully picked his way through them, not wanting to break his neck on the steps. There was something about them today that riled the hellhound and made him want to snap and give chase, leaving a metallic taste on his tongue.

  They were just cats, though, not magical themselves, and most of them looked well fed. They had collars and would be missed. He hoped someone had called the city to deal with them. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture for Mason. If he was going to the coven to be supervised, he might as well ask about the cat phenomena.

  Who was playing Pied Piper?

  His first though was Alexis, but that was for the wrong reasons. She was never far from his mind and he wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to the date so easily. He’d resisted her for two years. Now that she’d changed her hair color he couldn’t look away. It was a splinter he kept picking at when she wasn’t around because it didn’t make sense.

  Because of Mason’s visit he hadn’t done any casting before work, but he could look for magic sources in the city tonight. Tonight he was glad to be going to the coven, where if the hound did slip free, they’d keep him from getting out and hurting anyone.

  Two cats followed him toward the subway station.

  Coincidence? Cats were not trained surveillance operatives. Not to humans, anyway. If the Morrigu had her crows and ravens, who was using cats? There were too many of them to be a witch’s familiar. That meant they belonged to a deity. Or he was being paranoid.

  He quickened his pace and they kept up. He turned a corner and they followed.

  They were definitely tracking him.

  They wouldn’t be able to get on the train with him. It was a relief when the doors closed with them on the other side. This was ridiculous. He was afraid of a couple of cats. But it wasn’t just a couple. There’d been nearly twenty outside the office. And the numbers were swelling with each passing day.

  He studied the photo he’d taken.

  What if it wasn’t two following, but all the cats attacking? Could they do enough damage that dental records were needed?

  Death by one thousand tiny bites. He got off the train and hurried to the coven. He burst through the door of the Uncommon Raven Agency. Oskar was sitting at the front desk, books spread out as he studied to be a paramedic in his spare time.

  “Mason in?” His heart was beating too fast and the hellhound was prowling the edges, wanting out so it could chase cats. That would not be safe for either of them. Peyton was sure twenty cats could stop even a hellhound, but that wasn’t a theory he wanted to test.

  “Yeah. How come you are?”

  “Um…” It wasn’t a good sign when even his fellow witches thought it odd he was there. “I need to see him.”

  Mason wasn’t on the mats training. The mats were stacked away and the floor had been chalked up, ready for magical workings. That wasn’t why he was here. Unless he was the one going to be bound in the circle for the night. They’d done that to him once soon after he’d been bitten. He’d paced all night and been wrecked the next day.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

  “I said I would. I keep my word. Is it possible to control cats? Like summon them to do your bidding?” He dropped his backpack on the floor by the door and strode over to where Mason was standing, chalk still in his hand. Peyton pulled up the photo. “Or do they work for a deity? Cats have been gathering outside the office building. They weren’t there this morning, but they were back tonight.”

  Mason zoomed in and panned around. “That’s really odd. They’re all the same.”

  “Yeah… Could they have done the mauling?” The hairs along his arms shivered. “Oh shit. Ben Campbell wasn’t at work today. His wife said he never made it home last night.”

  Without a doubt, Peyton knew Ben was the unidentified victim. He was still enough of a witch to know when something was true without needing proof. The truth had a vibration to it that couldn’t be faked.

  “Does he have a client with a grudge?”

  “What lawyer doesn’t?”

  Mason managed a smile. “True. It looks like a case has literally landed at your door this time.”

  Peyton closed his eyes for a moment and he was back in the field with the Morrigu and Her cattle. He’d known he was going to have to tell Mason at some point, but it didn’t feel right to be saying something so soon. He’d only just started thinking about what his life would be without magic—less complicated was the summary. But he’d also be losing a sense that he couldn’t remember never having. “I know. It’s a test. The Morrigu cut my access to Her power and told me I had to prove myself or walk away.”

  Mason didn’t speak. Peyton opened his eyes and lifted his gaze. Mason was watching him as though he’d shifted without realizing. He checked his hands to be sure, but he was still fully human, except for his lengthening nails. The moon would be up soon. He could feel it rising in his blood.

  He needed to fill the silence. “I think… I know it would be for the best. I haven’t be
en an effective witch since the bite. I’m a danger and the coven would be better without me. If She’s taking the magic, maybe She’ll take the bite and I can have a normal life.”

  And if She left him with the bite as punishment?

  This place had been part of his life for over twenty years. There’d been a time when he’d thought coming here with his father would bring them closer, but it hadn’t. If anything, it had driven a wedge. The better Peyton had gotten at magic, the less his father wanted to do with him. His father had never wanted the magic, but Peyton had reveled in it and being around people who were like him. The scent of this room where they trained and did workings was a mix of sweat and magic. There was a power residue in the walls and floor that smelled like home, a place he belonged.

  But he didn’t. Hadn’t for four years. He’d turned up out of obligation and duty.

  Mason crossed his arms. “Of course it’s a test. She wants to make sure you know what you’re giving up.”

  He knew, but it was for the best. He could have a normal life. He’d be like everyone else who walked through the city not realizing that there were demons and gods and all manner of things living alongside them. But he’d know, even though his ability to sense or see them would fade.

  Along with his ability to fight them.

  His fingers curled. “She wants to get rid of me.”

  “Does She? Or does She want you to examine the path you’re on?”

  “I can’t do anything more magically strenuous than a little blood magic without shifting. I’m barely even a witch.” It hurt to say. He’d been prouder of being accepted as a full coven member than he had of getting his degree.

  “There’s more than one way to be a witch.”

  Peyton knew that. They all had different skills. He missed being able to work big magic. “She should’ve healed the bite.”

  “Maybe She thinks you need it.”

  Peyton glared at his mentor and coven leader. No one needed a hellhound bite. There was never a good reason to become one, not even when it felt so good to run free. “I’m not working the case. You can take it. I’ve done what I can anyway.”

  “What? It’s your case and it’s yours for a reason.”

  “She’s cut off my line to Her power. She’s done with me.” And maybe he was done with Her. She’d left him in this limbo, not quite a witch, not quite human. Not quite anything. He needed to figure out who he was again and what his life was going to look like without magic. And hopefully without the bite.

  “No She’s not.”

  “It’s a conflict of interest.” Alexis didn’t deserve to be part of his test. “My secretary is involved somehow.” Was she acting weird or just coming out of her shell? “She’s made some sudden changes, I asked her under blood if she was in trouble and she said no. There’s no magic around her, but there is something. The cats follow her.”

  “You’re close to her. You should do this.”

  Too close. He shook his head. He wasn’t the warrior the Morrigu wanted anymore. Her gift had broken him. “I can’t keep going like this. Look at me. I can feel my hair growing.” He lifted his hand to touch his face. His nails were now claws.

  “Have you tried shifting more regularly?”

  “You mean giving in each month? No. I’m not a hellhound.”

  “You are.”

  Peyton bit back on the snarl that would only prove Mason’s point. “There is a pack of cats mauling people to death. Worry about them.”

  “One person is dead.”

  “One person that I work with. And since when has it ever been one?”

  “You could go hunting. Hellhounds have very sensitive noses.”

  Peyton raked his claws through his hair; strands came away in his fingers. He wanted to hunt and run. The beast within prowled, wanting out. This was a good excuse to do something and put his bite to use. “I can’t roam the streets as a hellhound.”

  “I could cast a glamor.”

  “I’m not walking around on a leash.” He was a person not a hound, and he didn’t want a part in this.

  If Alexis was at the center, he didn’t want to be the one bringing her down. He’d rather be protecting her from magic, but she had an army of cats and didn’t need him.

  No one needed him. Not the coven, the Morrigu, or Alexis.

  Was no part of his life untouched by magic? Without magic, would he truly be living? He didn’t know. And he didn’t know what he was going to do, only that something had to change. He needed more in his life than work and an empty apartment, and for the last few years that’s all he’d had.

  “Do a casting to see what magic is around.”

  Mason nodded. “I’m going to, but I was hoping you’d give me more information. That you’d help.”

  “If I do you’ll end up with a hellhound in your circle.” Group magic was too much for the hellhound to resist.

  “So?”

  So? He didn’t want to be a hellhound. He couldn’t be a hellhound and a witch—that much was clear. He’d begged for the Morrigu to take away the poison in the wound. Maybe She’d wanted to get rid of him even then. His blood line was no longer fit for service.

  That rankled. He’d been good at magic when he’d been able to practice. He loved magic. He missed it, but he was never going to get it back. So he had to move forward, and if that meant cutting ties with his coven, so be it.

  “I’m here at your request to prove I’m not running around the city killing. I won’t be part of the working.” He walked away. “I’ll get Oskar to help.”

  Oskar was already locking the door and drawing the blinds. Peyton stopped him, his hand on Oskar’s arm, his nails turned claws. There on the sidewalk were two grey cats staring at the window. The hairs on the back of Peyton’s neck lifted. He wanted to growl, but he didn’t know what the threat was.

  “That’s not exactly normal,” Oskar said.

  “They followed me.” He didn’t know if they were the same cats or different ones, but either way he was being watched by whoever was controlling them.

  Oskar shut the blinds, but they both knew the cats were out there. “We could invite them in and see what they want.”

  “I’d rather not.”

  “Why are you being followed? Who have you pissed off?”

  “What makes you think I’ve pissed off anyone?” But he’d annoyed Alexis when he’d broken the kiss. He swallowed. He should share that information, but he didn’t want to get her into trouble. She’d said she wasn’t in danger, but would she know?

  In the dojo, Mason placed a map in the circle and was grinding chalk. A simple spell to see where the magic was clustered in the city and to get an image of what was happening.

  The need to participate was a siren song in his blood, but it was the full moon and the time he was most likely to shift. If he hurt his friends, he’d never forgive himself. So he didn’t step into the circle. He stayed on the outside as Oskar sat opposite Mason.

  “Peyton has a couple of feline stalkers.” Oskar pointed toward the front of the building.

  “The cats are drawn to Alexis, I’m not sure why they’re following me.”

  Oskar turned his head to stare at him. “Alexis, the woman you’ve wanted for years but haven’t made a move on because she’s your secretary, Alexis?”

  “Not everyone can have a cursed woman drop into their lap and end up happily ever after,” Peyton said dryly. Oskar had shaken off his death curse and was now happily married with a baby. Peyton envied the way Oskar had fixed himself. He’d battled his death-magic-using uncle and survived. Peyton was constantly battling his hellhound within. He was tired of fighting. Losing all magic seemed to be the only way he could pull his life back together.

  “Yes, that Alexis. She isn’t a witch, and there’s never been magic around her…but there’s something. Her kiss was magic.”

  “Aww, I never thought you were a romantic.” Oskar laughed.

  Mason didn’t. “What do you mean?”
>
  “That…” He didn’t know. “Something brushed over me but couldn’t hook. Last week she was the same old Alexis, we both knew we weren’t going to act on the attraction. I wanted her to go for another job within the firm so that maybe…” He shook his head. “Anyway, on Monday she’d dyed her hair and didn’t care about our unspoken agreement. The cats appeared and—”

  “And you stopped caring too.”

  He had; it had become harder to resist. Which wasn’t like him at all. “Am I cursed or something?”

  “Or something. Whatever it is, you’re all tangled up in what is happening and you should be working it,” Mason said. “It’s your case.”

  Peyton shook his head. That was it. He was resigning from the coven. The decision didn’t sit right, as though it wasn’t the right one. The only other option was to embrace the hellhound and became a part-time beast. “She’s my secretary; it’s a conflict of interest.”

  Mason glared at him and drew up the circle around Oskar and him, then closed his eyes. Peyton didn’t know if he was speaking with the Morrigu or just preparing his thoughts. When Mason opened his eyes, he gently blew the crushed chalk from his hand. It didn’t fall like it should if there was no magic involved, instead it eddied over the map of the city, swirling like storm clouds. Gradually the particles began to coalesce.

  There was always magic in the city. They knew where the other covens and solitary practitioners were. The places where magic gathered. Sometimes new clusters formed and those were the places to watch.

  Chalk-dust cats appeared over the map.

  As expected, some were near the coven building; he could get up and see them out the front. There were none near the firm like he’d expected, but there was a cluster across town.

  “Someone has coerced cats to do their bidding.” Oskar rested his chin on his hands. “To what end?”

  “Who is Alexis?” Mason swept his hand over the dust, lifting it again. A new cloud formed a good approximation of Alexis, but inside of her the dust churned. “That isn’t normal.”