by Fatima Fayez
"I gave you sources. I introduced you to Ethan. You heard his story. I'm done with excuses and delays. Make this happen or you'll lose your only source on this," Sebastian threatened, and hung up on her.
I pulled on Rafael's arm and we moved over to the window to see how Charlie was taking it. She was looking down at her phone in frustration. She didn't know what decision to take.
She raised her phone again. We listened in as she talked to her editor.
"I'm telling you, this guy is legit. I'm willing to stake my reputation on it," Charlie said.
"Then let me meet him," her editor replied.
Charlie sighed. "He doesn't want to meet."
"Then how can I trust his story?"
"Don't you trust me?" The journalist sounded frustrated.
"I do, but this whole thing has been strange from the beginning. I'll need tangible proof to sell it. I'd be staking the reputation of the paper on this. And you know the rule: any story has to be sourced by three people."
"I think I met two today." She gave him a brief overview of the encounter with us.
"That's great. Can you get them on the record for your story?"
Rafael and I looked at each other. I raised my eyebrow. His eyes sparkled with mirth.
"No," she admitted.
"Then what's the point? You tell your source to get you two more sources on the record. Once they clear the fact-checker, we're good to go."
"I'll get them for you," she promised.
The editor paused. "This is one of the craziest stories I've ever heard. If you break it and it's legit, you’ll be changing the world. Are you ready for that?"
I could see from her expression that it was something she wanted to do.
"We need to grab her," I told Rafael. "Sebastian's given her too much information and she knows too much."
"I agree. We should go over tonight," he affirmed.
"What will happen to her? Will they erase her memory?"
"The Alliance will take care of it." Rafael appeared grim. "Even if they erase her memory, we'd have to take care of the editor and neutralize Sebastian. We’ll have to find out anyone she's spoken to about this.”
I thought it through. "We can use her as bait to get to Sebastian. Once we get him, we can get to her editor. We can also get her to tell us about anyone else she's told."
Rafael nodded. "That may work. We can go to her apartment after her work is done."
"Will you tell Leon?"
Rafael shook his head. "We'll tell him once we have her."
We looked back through the window at Charlie Gale. Her life was going to change tonight, and she had no idea at all. I glanced at Rafael and pulled him back into the alley. I took away the invisibility spell and we walked away from the deli. We spent the rest of the afternoon planning how we were going to kidnap the journalist.
Chapter Forty-Five
Rafael and I waited in Charlie Gale's apartment covered in an invisibility spell.
Charlie walked in with Sebastian.
"So you're telling me that your editor wants two other people? My word wasn't enough?" Sebastian was cross.
Charlie sighed. "It's the rule for a story, and you know how this is more sensational than most."
"I've been telling you for months now."
She tried to change the subject. "Why don't you introduce me to some of your vampire friends?"
"If they know we're going to break it, they will kill you." Sebastian was frustrated. "What about that don't you understand? The vamps don't want their world to come crashing down around them. No one does. Do you know what it means for them? They've ruled you secretly for a millennium and none of you has been any the wiser. They make money off your backs. They want to maintain the status quo. Any vampires I introduce you to will tear out your throat without a backwards glance."
"There has to be somebody from your world you can introduce me to."
"You won't be able to see. The only way you can would be through..." He broke off, probably thinking of Dina's charmstones. He shook his head. "No, that would just be asking for more trouble… There's a stone that can help humans see the supernatural world, but they're highly regulated, so stealing one is out of the question."
"No, that won't work anyway. You'd have to introduce me to a vampire or a witch or something," Charlie said.
Sebastian thought about it. "Tell me again, what did Aisha say?"
"First there was a man. He was slim with delicate features." As a human, Charlie wouldn't spot Rafael's pointed ears. She continued, "He sat in the chair, and the one you call Aisha, with the wavy hair, sat down as well. He asked me where you were and said that they were friends of yours."
Sebastian shook his head. "I don't know that man. He doesn't sound like anyone I've met."
Charlie went on, "Then Aisha asked if I was recording and said it didn't matter in the end. And then they left."
Sebastian's eyebrows raised. "If I were Aisha, I would stand outside and listen to your conversations."
"How?"
"She's a witch. You wanted to meet one, and you have. She can use invisibility spells and everything."
Charlie was silent for a moment, then spoke up. "My editor has a copy of the first draft of my story. I told him to publish it if I was found dead in a mysterious manner."
I stilled. Sebastian paused, too. The journalist had made a blunder. She thought Rafael and I were the risk in the situation, but it would be Sebastian that would benefit from her death. With one stroke, Sebastian could guarantee his story reached the world. He didn't need to worry about her stubborn editor. He didn't need Charlie anymore. He just needed to kill her in a way that her editor would deem mysterious.
"You need to talk to him," Sebastian insisted.
"He needs time or sources."
"Time's run out if Aisha's found you. What about this aren't you understanding?" Sebastian paused. "Are you sure they're following you for the story?"
"I don't know."
"She's already tried to kill me once before," Sebastian confided.
"What? Why?"
"We dated for some time." Sebastian paced.
I resisted the urge to dash across the room and stab him. A year was not 'some time.' How could I have been with such an annoying guy? I glanced at Rafael and wondered what he thought of Sebastian.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Sebastian said.
"You shouldn't." I stepped forward. I couldn't take any more of this.
“Fire and brimstone,” Sebastian cursed. He instantly moved toward Charlie and stood in front of her. "I knew I should have checked for spells."
"You were never as paranoid as you should have been," I said.
Rafael stepped forward, and the spell shimmered and fell away from him.
The journalist stared at us wide-eyed from behind Sebastian's shoulder. "That's them!" she squealed. "Did they...? Is that...?"
We all ignored her.
"Turn yourself in," Rafael said to Sebastian.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Rafael pulled out his ID and flashed it at the vampire. "Alliance."
Sebastian looked between the two of us incredulously. He bit back a harsh laugh and turned to me. "You're working with the Alliance? You? What's happened?" He turned to Rafael, his features serious once more. "You know she's an assassin, right?"
From behind him, Charlie squeaked, "Assassin?"
"She's Alliance," Rafael said.
Sebastian's hands turned to fists. "You know what I'm doing is right," he told me.
I shook my head. "You don't know what's right anymore. You're so invested in this that you've lost track of how many people would suffer by your revelation. Humanity would turn on us."
Sebastian's hands had begun to shake. We were entering dangerous territory. "You don't know that. Those are the lies they tell you to keep you in your place."
"What benefit is there to tearing our systems down?" I asked him. It was a question I'd asked him
many times before. He never gave me a good enough answer.
"We have to tear it down to start fresh. Why can't you see that?" Sebastian yelled.
"Because you're so intent on destruction, it doesn't make sense," I said back. I knew my explanations were futile. There was no reasoning with Sebastian.
"Supernaturals need to be held accountable. They must be revealed." His eyes were desperate.
Somehow, I knew what he was going to do before he did it. I rushed forward, but I was still too late. Sebastian turned around, grabbed Charlie, and ripped her throat out.
Chapter Forty-Six
Charlie clutched her throat and gurgled as she slid down to the floor, blood pooling around her.
I rushed to her side. I bent down and slammed my hands against her wound to stop the bleeding. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."
Her eyes were panicked, staring at me.
Sebastian stood there defiantly. "Now her editor will have to publish the story. The truth will come out."
Rafael moved toward him, but Sebastian was fast, and he disappeared out the door. Rafael ran after him.
"Stop," I called out to him.
Rafael looked back at me.
I had to explain quickly. Charlie's blood was everywhere. I could feel her pulse weakening. "We can't let that happen. We can't make the editor disappear. It will be too suspicious. We need to take her to Ibrahim."
"How?" Rafael peered at the journalist. He knew she was dying.
"He owes me." Ibrahim also owed the Alliance. Giving him the journalist would lay the fault squarely at his door, and he wouldn't be able to stand aside and claim that this had nothing to do with him. As a Master, he had to take accountability for Sebastian's actions.
"She won't make it." Rafael kept his voice low so Charlie wouldn't hear him.
"It doesn't matter. He'll still be able to raise her after she dies if we get there soon enough." I stared down at the journalist. "Do you want to live?"
It was slight, but she nodded. Her eyes fluttered as she began to lose consciousness. We didn't have much time. I looked at Rafael. "Pick her up. We need to get her to Ibrahim quickly."
My only wish was that Ibrahim was home and not out somewhere. We had wrapped Rafael's jacket around her neck, but she passed out in Rafael's arms halfway down the stairs. We sped through the streets of Barcelona to get to Eixample. Rafael parked as close to the house as possible. I smashed Ibrahim's door open, yelling for him. I moved through his place to the living room.
The vampire appeared instantly. I must have shocked him. He gaped at the three of us.
"Put her down there." I pointed at the couch.
Rafael complied with my instructions.
Ibrahim stared after us. "Who is that?" he asked me.
"Your progeny's victim." I couldn't keep the bitter tone out of my voice.
"What?" He blinked.
"Sebastian did this. But you can bring her back."
"You want me to turn her?"
"Yes," I said.
"Why?" He crossed his arms.
"If she dies, it's on you," I reminded him.
"She's already dead," he pointed out.
"Drain her, do what you do. If she dies, our secrets will be revealed, and it will be on you. Sebastian was yours, and you couldn't control him. He shared our secrets with her, and she's given the keys to her editor. If she disappears, then our world as we know it crumbles. You can't claim not to be complicit. One thing I know about you vampires is that you're serious about your offspring and how their actions affect your standing. Do the right thing. Save our world."
We glared at each other.
His shoulders slumped. As if gathering resolve, he straightened, looked at the both of us, and said, "Leave my home."
I let out a long breath and looked at Rafael.
He looked just as disappointed as I felt. He moved to pick up Charlie's body.
"Leave her," Ibrahim ordered. "I will take care of it."
A flicker of hope lit within me. "You'll turn her?"
"Yes," the vampire said. His expression was stoic.
"She'll need to call her editor to not run the story," Rafael warned him.
Ibrahim ignored him, speaking to me. "Close the door or what you can of it when you leave."
We left the dead journalist with the vampire, hoping we had done the right thing.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Leon stared at the two of us. "So you're telling me that you let Sebastian escape and you handed over the dead reporter to Ibrahim with the instructions to turn her into a vampire?"
"Yes," I answered when Rafael didn't say anything.
"And her editor has a copy of the story that he might run if she doesn't show up," Leon clarified.
"Yes," I said again.
"And you don't know the timeline for turning a vampire, correct?"
"No. Do you?" I asked him.
Leon turned around and grabbed a stress ball from a basket of them. He crushed it in his fist. It exploded into fluff.
I jumped at the sound. Rafael didn't. I wondered if this was a common occurrence for the shifter.
"I'll find him. I think I know where he is," I told Leon.
"Then why are you here?" Leon asked me. He took another stress ball. "Go get him!"
As soon as we left Leon's office, Rafael asked lightly, "Where do you think your ex-boyfriend is at the moment?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, he's my ex-boyfriend now? Is this your way of telling me you're mad at me?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Rafael said.
I stared at him suspiciously, but he kept his expression blank. I fluffed my hair. "There's a special showing of Casablanca. He loves that movie. I'll bet you anything he's there."
Rafael watched me thoughtfully. He nodded and stretched out his hand. "Done. I'll take a dinner date, thank you very much. What would you like if you win?"
"Come on." I laughed.
He raised an eyebrow, his hand still waiting for me. "What would you like?"
I thought carefully about it and said, "A fantasy."
Rafael gave me a crooked grin. "Okay, a dinner date or a fantasy. Let's see which one of us wins."
We shook hands, and I hid a smile.
I somehow convinced Rafael to let me go in alone. It was Friday. That was when Sebastian and I had usually gone to the cinema. I scanned the dim theater and saw that Sebastian was sitting alone. I slipped into the chair beside him. He glanced at me. He didn't seem surprised to see me there.
"Are you ready for the world to change, Aisha?" he asked me, his eyes still on the screen.
I shook my head. "It's not going to change, Sebastian."
"You never had the imagination to see what could happen. Your mother fed you too much paranoia. She raised you on fear and suspicion. But there's always hope. There's always a new world waiting to be created, even if sacrifices have to be made." His face was rapt on the screen, watching Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
"No," I said. "I meant that the world isn't going to change in the way you meant."
He turned his head sharply. "What do you mean?"
"We saved her." I couldn't hide the note of satisfaction in my voice.
"Impossible." He didn't believe me. "I ripped her throat out. There's no way she could have recovered from that. She died."
"She did die." I let the unspoken words linger in the air.
Sebastian slumped in his seat. "You took her to Ibrahim."
"Yes."
Sebastian had failed. Ibrahim had sent me an email just minutes before I stepped into the movie theater: Charlie had gotten in touch with her editor, and we were safe. For now.
He sighed. "Well, at least I can say that I tried to make the world a better place. What have you done?"
I didn't answer him. Instead, I raised my hand and several Alliance agents swooped in and apprehended him. He remained calm and silent as an agent cuffed his hands behind his back. I watched and remained seated. It was over.<
br />
Rafael slipped into seat next to me. "Looks like a good movie.”
"You've never seen it?" I asked him.
"No, I'm not really a fan of black-and-white movies." Rafael waited a beat. "So it looks like you won. Want to tell me what your fantasy is?"
I turned to face him. "I'd like you to take me out to dinner."
A slow smile spread across his features. "When?"
"Now." I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat.
We left La Barceloneta and walked over to the marina to my favorite seafood restaurant. We discussed what we thought was going to happen with Sebastian. Leon had told us that he would check in with Ibrahim. I tried to enjoy our time but for some reason I kept thinking of my upcoming battle with the Enforcer.
Chapter Forty-Eight
After my dinner date with Rafael, I spent the night over at his place. In the morning, I passed by Ibrahim's house. He had repaired the door but didn't open it for me. He told me through the door to stay away from him. I asked about Charlie, and he said she was as well as she could be. Leon had assured us that he would follow up with that situation, so I backed off and left. Since I was tying up loose ends, I decided it was about time to show up at the bounty office and say goodbye. Talking to Sandra had been hard enough, but Javier seemed to be taking it worse than she was.
"I just want to understand why you quit," Javier asked me.
"I didn't quit," I said.
"The Alliance contacted me and told me if I gave you one more job, they'd take away my license and shut my office down. Why? What did you do?"
"Would you believe they're forcing me to go on that vacation you told me to take?" I grinned at the dwarf.
He blinked quickly as if holding back tears and shook his head. "I don't think anyone can force you to take a break. You're a hard worker. I'm going to miss having you on my roster."
