“What do you want? I’m not here for a party. I don’t have time for your games. Besides, everyone is staring at us,” I hissed at him when he found a cosy spot behind a pillar. I was getting a familiar sense of déjà vu. The room was filled with a few elderly elegant ladies who were admiring gold chains behind the thick, probably bulletproof glass.
“I have planned a special dinner for us on the roof terrace,” he said, running his fingers over my arm. Then goosebumps broke over the surface of my skin. “And I wanted to tell you that you look bloody amazing in red. I wish we could get away from here, get to your flat or a hotel.”
“I told you that night in my flat was a one off. Now walk away and let me work,” I told him, thinking about Ricky without clothes on. This was supposed to distract me from the fact that I was drowning again. Arthur brought back that looming guilt. The screams from the past would keep coming back every time I stared at Arthur’s blue eyes. “This has to stop, you chasing after me. Your ex-fiancée is in another room. Don’t you care about her feelings?”
“Is everything all right, Maxine?” Zach asked, appearing in front of us all of a sudden. I had no idea how he managed to find me so quickly. Arthur’s energy shifted as he narrowed his eyes at his rival.
“She’s fine, Detective, and this is a private conversation, so I would like you to leave,” Arthur snapped, angry that Zach had dared to interrupt us. I had never seen him acting so hostile toward anyone. I was hoping that we could all act like civilised adults. In the end, I was single, and what I had with Arthur was now in the past. Even though his thick skull couldn’t understand it. That night in my flat shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
“I asked her, not you, mate,” Zach snarled back, releasing a lot of anger toward the future king. Yep, this wasn’t going to end well.
“Right, Arthur, I think we are done here. I’m here because of the case and because you asked me to work with Zach,” I said, using my demonic energy to calm the situation down. Zach was now standing so close to Arthur that their chests were nearly touching. The atmosphere shifted and the air turned icy. My energy wasn’t doing what it was supposed to. Zach couldn’t afford to lose control just because Arthur was stubborn.
“I think we should get something straight, Detective. Maxine and I had an understanding. She’s currently romantically involved with me, so I suggest you to back off,” Arthur barked, pushing Zach away from him. Zach stumbled on his feet. Now the ladies who were admiring the jewellery earlier on were looking at us. It was obvious that the prince and Zach were ready to fight over me.
“Arthur, stop this nonsense. You can’t claim me, and this isn’t the time or the place to discuss it,” I said, worried that those two were about to go for each other’s throats. Zach was on the verge of losing his temper, but I couldn’t let him ruin his career just because he wanted to prove to me he was ready to kick Arthur’s arse. This evening was too important, and I felt an odd energy nudging me over the nape of my neck. Someone was inside the palace, a demon, or maybe another creature. The energy felt hostile, almost foreign to me.
“You broke her heart, you arsehole, and I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re the prince or Mother Teresa. She’s dating me, and if she didn’t tell you then, that’s too bad,” Zachary snarled and then two things happened all at once: Arthur lost it, he grabbed the detective by the collar, and then Zach swung his arm ready to throw a punch.
I roared at top of my lungs and let go of my energy, ceasing the time. It wasn’t something that I controlled, and right then, I felt like it was the only solution. The two men became frozen statues. I felt hopeless, not knowing what to do, or how to split them apart. On top of that, there was a demon inside the manor, a demon who had something that belonged to me.
Chapter 22
“For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble.”― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
My head pounded; I felt like my veins were going to explode at any second. The magic riddled through me, zooming around the humans inside the room, burning the surface of my skin. The strong wind nearly knocked me off my feet. There wasn’t any good way out of this situation. I waved my hand, hoping to release pressure in my skull, but instead I accidentally resumed the time again. Either way, the blood would have been spilled. Zach was determined to hurt Arthur. Suddenly I wasn’t controlling anyone in the room.
Zach’s fist landed on Arthur’s mouth before I could do anything, and the prince went down, slamming his back against the wooden floor. One of the old ladies screamed when Arthur started to bleed, swearing loudly, and instantly trying to get back on his feet. On top of that, he was ready to beat the shit out of Zach. I threw myself between them before either one of them could do something really stupid. I heard loud voices out in the corridors. God, this was embarrassing.
“Stop it, both of you,” I shouted. “You’re not teenagers, but two adults!”
Jonathan was the first one in; he cornered Zach before I could say anything else. Zach was fuming. I had never seen him that angry. He was ready to come back with more and teach Arthur a real life lesson.
“Get out of my way,” Arthur shouted, but I placed my hands on his chest, knowing that I should have dealt with it outside the manor, away from any witnesses. Jonathan was glancing at me, a few more guards barged inside, too.
“Maxine doesn’t belong to you, pretty boy, so stop treating her like a commodity,” Zach snarled, trying to push through Jonathan.
“Zach and Arthur, please, stop this nonsense. We need to stay focused. We are all under a threat, and Zach can’t be distracted,” I insisted, using my energy to influence both of them. Then Arthur looked at me, and shook his head. Jonathan was ready to escort the detective away, to avoid further conflict. This wasn’t good. I still felt the foreign magic in the manor. Was it possible that Nameless was already inside?
“Fine, but we are not done. I’ll have a chat with him once this thing is over,” Arthur snarled, trying to stop the bleeding. I was certain that my energy must have influenced at least a little, because he seemed much calmer now. Just a moment ago, he was ready to throw himself at Zach. This whole incident was really stupid. I wasn’t worth fighting over. I was an addict filled with insecurities and flaws. Those two needed to get their act together and stop acting like bloody children.
Jonathan nodded to his men to move back to the corridor. I blamed tequila again. If I hadn’t gotten drunk and slept with Arthur, this whole thing could have been avoided.
“This is ridiculous. I’m going to check if everything is all right upstairs. And for the record, I don’t belong to anyone, so cut this bullshit with the fighting,” I snapped at them, ready to forget getting romantically involved with either of them. I was too fucked up to make the right decisions and stick to my own resolutions. Humans could never be part of my world. It was time to move on.
Neither Zach nor Arthur stopped me when I walked past them and left the room. The elderly ladies were outside, talking loudly, probably about what just happened. If I had to bet, I’d say this story would spread through the manor really quickly. People were going to talk. I headed straight upstairs, breathing hard. There was a demonic creature somewhere on the third floor without an official invitation, and I wanted to look at this further.
Emma was somewhere downstairs and I felt really guilty leaving her on her own, but my sixth sense had never let me down. Zach should be here with me, but right now he was a distraction, a burden on my shoulders. A few guests were walking around. There was some more jewellery exhibited on this floor. I was certain that I was being paranoid, but at least this way I didn’t have to deal with the mess downstairs. Arthur had crossed the line this time.
I kept rubbing my forehead, hoping the pressure around my skull would ease off a little. My demonic energy was suddenly vibrating inside my chest. I kept checking every room all the way until the end of the corridor. The last bedroom looked bigger than my entire flat. I smelled ammoniac and some other odour that I didn’t recognise. I h
ad no idea, maybe for the first time in years, my sixth sense had misled me.
“Finally, you’re alone,” the voice said. I turned around abruptly, facing Natalie. She walked out of the bathroom. She couldn’t have been the person I sensed all the way from downstairs. I scratched my head, wondering what the hell was going on here. This wasn’t the best time to discuss her emotional well-being.
“Natalie, it’s not safe for you being here. I think we should have this conversation another time,” I said, making sure she understood that she was in danger. Where the hell was Rodriguez when I needed him? Everyone was expecting Nameless to show up, so why wasn’t one of Zach’s people patrolling this floor, too? Natalie looked miserable. She had dark circles under her eyes. She probably hadn’t slept too well since Arthur had broken off the engagement.
“Maxine, I always liked you. I thought that we could have become friends,” Natalie said, giving me a faint smile. I had no idea how to respond. Natalie was a good person and I always wished her well. It wasn’t fair that Arthur had played with her heart. “But you have to talk to Arthur. He doesn’t want to listen. I don’t know what is going on with him.”
“I have tried talking to him, but he doesn’t listen to me, Natalie,” I said, feeling like I was betraying myself by sleeping with him a couple of days ago.
“I do love him very much, Maxine. You must know this. Arthur’s family is hoping that he will change his mind, that he will realise that he made a mistake,” she continued. She was very beautiful. She was the complete opposite of me, and yet Arthur didn’t want her. God, I really fucked everything up two years ago, and now I had to push Arthur back to Natalie. He didn’t have any kind of future with me. There was also the letter, that one piece of information that could ruin not only me, but Arthur, too.
“I don’t have any influence over him. I do believe that you guys should be together. I’m no one, after all,” I admitted, knowing that she always wanted him.
“Do you love him? I know that this isn’t my place to ask, but I want to know—what is going on between you two?”
There was no point lying to her. It was just the two of us in the room, and she needed to understand that my feelings didn’t matter.
“Yes, I do love him, but that doesn’t change anything. We were never supposed to happen, and I’m doing what I can to bring him back to you,” I said, wanting to get the hell out of this room. I couldn’t do this. Natalie was going to cry and I hated myself for bringer her to tears. Then we both heard giggles somewhere in the room. Suddenly every tiny hair on the back of my neck rose, and my energy punched the air out of my lungs.
A woman appeared right behind Natalie. She’d most likely been hiding behind the bathroom door. She grabbed the girl and wrapped her elbow around Natalie’s neck before I could make a move. I was frozen, rooted to the floor, any movement had been ceased by some unknown power. It was Zara, Zach’s missing sister.
“Shhh, pretty girl. You need to be quiet now; otherwise I’ll slash your beautiful throat and the blood will spill,” Zara said, suddenly waving her machete in front of Natalie. Her human soul was intact, but I wasn’t sensing it. All I could feel was her demonic energy swirling around the room, but that was impossible. No one could turn a human into a demon. I couldn’t figure out how I hadn’t sensed her behind the bathroom door.
Natalie went pale, but she didn’t dare scream. She was staring at me with desperation while I was trying to think fast about my options.
“Zara, let go of her. She isn’t important. I can help you,” I said, taking a step toward her. Zara giggled again and used her free hand to dig something out of her pocket. I widened my eyes with disbelief, seeing that she was holding gold chains in her hand. She had stolen the bracelets from the room downstairs. Her eyes were gleaming with light, as her foreign power fizzled around me. She was able to manipulate my energy, keeping her magic sealed tightly.
“Nameless is sending his regards,” Zara stated. “He wants you to stop looking for him; otherwise he will be forced to reveal your dirty secret, Maxine Brodeur.”
“I get it, you’re working with him, but why?” I asked. “Your brother has been searching for you for so long. Have you even thought about your little daughter?”
She was holding on to her humanity, and I just needed to reach for it, to make her realise what she had left behind.
“I’m not that Zara anymore and that child isn’t mine. My master is in danger and he is sending you a message. He needs the letter to crossover, and you’re ruining everything,” she growled, widening her eyes, all of a sudden pressing the machete to Natalie’s neck. A bead of sweat ran down my face, as I fought with my own energy that wasn’t obeying me any longer. Zara must have taken another demon’s abilities. She wasn’t skilled enough to trap me like that.
“Arthur will get your letter if you don’t stop looking for Nameless,” she said, “mark my words, Maxine.”
I didn’t want to waste anymore time. I lifted my left foot, murmuring the words that released the elixirs hidden inside my thin heel. Purple fog started filling the room and Natalie screamed. I panicked, as I had no idea if she was hurt or not. I dodged my body to the side, hoping to trap Zara inside the room for a bit longer. Her giggle echoed in my head, and a strong wind ruffled my hair. Something was wrong. My elixir wasn’t working the way it was supposed to.
On top of that I was coughing, and the elixir was suddenly hurting my eyes. I managed to open the door. There was a fire alarm going off outside in the corridors, people were running, someone was screaming. Once I took more oxygen into my lungs, I went back to the room. Natalie was unconscious, but she didn’t seem hurt. Zach barged inside a moment later, holding a gun with Rodriguez right behind him.
“What the hell happened here?” the old demon asked.
“A girl was hidden in the room; she managed to grab Natalie. She said that she was working with Nameless. She stole the jewellery from the room downstairs,” I said, wiping the sweat off my face, finally gaining control of my energy. Natalie wasn’t even supposed to be following me, and now she heard that I was hiding something from Arthur. Zach started checking the bathroom and all the wardrobes. My head was spinning, while Rodriguez called the guards. Natalie had to be taken to the hospital. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with her, but she was unconscious.
“Why didn’t you use your energy, Maxine? The duchess could have been hurt,” Rodriguez asked, staring at me with disbelief, while Zach continued to check every single corner in the large bedroom. “That demon stole jewellery worth at least a half million. She must have entered the manor as one of the guests.”
“She wasn’t a demon, she was a human,” I said, wondering why my elixir didn’t work, and why I couldn’t use my energy with Zara in the room. This kind of transformation wasn’t possible, unless … unless Lucifer himself was involved. I felt like my head was just about to explode. Rodriguez narrowed his eyes and exhaled sharply.
“A human? And you let her get away?” he asked, fuming.
“She disabled me and threatened Natalie with a machete. I used an elixir, but something went wrong,” I said, angry with myself and the fact that he thought I purposely let her escape. “Get the hell away from me. I need to get downstairs.”
The alarm was still going off, and I didn’t care that Rodriguez wasn’t done with me yet. I had to find Zara. She could easily lead me to Nameless, who warned me to stop looking for him; otherwise my secret would be out. I had given my word to Ronan that I would retrieve the damn letters. There was no sign of Zara anywhere. All the guests were evacuated, and the whole event was postponed until further notice. More police officers were on their way.
After an hour I found Emma outside. She was on the phone to someone, most likely Ricky. I was glad that she was all right. Now I needed to get in touch with Ronan. I had never given up on any case, but right now my hands were tied. Natalie had heard Zara, but she was in shock and most likely didn’t even understand what Zara meant. Eith
er way, I couldn’t let Arthur find out the truth. Over eighteen months ago, I made a difficult decision that impacted not only my life, but also the life of others.
“Max, thank God you’re all right. I was so worried. Ricky told me to stay where I was,” Emma said, hugging me tightly when I approached her. I didn’t think that I could ever get used to her unexpected moments of affection. More undercover officers began arriving now. The party was over; Nameless had succeeded in tricking Zach again.
“Yeah, I think we should call ourselves a cab. Zach is going to be busy for the rest of the night. I’ll make a statement about what happened later on at the station,” I said, craving a drink of tequila. The sudden exhaustion hit me hard. This case was supposed to be simple, but it was starting to piss me off that I wasn’t making any progress.
“Okay, cool, but what happened up there? I was chatting with this nice man who met the Queen once and then the alarms started going off.” Emma was saying, brushing the purple dust off my dress. I felt nauseous, sick all of a sudden. Nothing was going according to plan, and I still had this one piece of important information. Frederick had revealed how to enter Gjöll using magic, but Nameless had sent me a warning message about releasing my secret. Was I ready to risk it all for the royals again?
“A woman who works for Nameless Thief stole bracelets worth half a million, and she attacked Arthur’s ex, Natalie Morgan,” I explained, wondering if I was able to get home without throwing up somewhere on the way.
“A demon?” Emma asked in a hushed tone of voice, looking slightly frightened. “I thought they were under control?”
“I thought that, too, darling, but the woman who took the jewellery wasn’t a demon or a human for that matter.”
Chapter 23
“…as a wheel turns smoothly, free from jars, my will and my desire were turned by love, The love that moves the sun and the other stars.”
Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel Page 43
