Blood Catalyst

by A. L. Kessler

  He shook his head.

  "What about Zayden? Any contact that you know of?"

  "None, we're not even from this area. We just moved here."

  "And why did you move here?"

  "Work. Zayden had gotten a contracted job here. It was good money, and I tagged along."

  "I'll need the name of the company."

  "I'll add it to the e-mail. I'm still working on gathering contacts for you." He stood. "I'm sorry for the outburst Agent Collins."

  I nodded. "Just don't attack me, and we'll be good. I don't take threats lightly."

  "Of course." He bowed his head. "I'll speak to you later."

  He let himself out, and I sat in my chair wondering what the actual purpose of his visit was. My mind then wandered to what would happen if his grief got out of control. I'd dealt with zombies once, and I didn't want to do it again.

  I sighed, maybe I could solve the case before Jon lost his shit. I grabbed my phone and dialed the phone number for one of the priests of the local coven.

  "Hello, Jack."

  "Abigail, why on earth are you calling me?"

  "Well, it seems that a member of your coven might be mixed up in my case." I tried to keep the smugness out of my voice. I reminded myself that I was trying to solve a case, not piss Jack off. "Do you happen to know the name Zayden Serif?"

  "Seriously, Abigail? No one in the coven would murder someone."

  Interesting. "I didn't say anyone was murdered, Jack."

  "You only deal in murder, Abigail," he mocked me.

  He had a point there. "Will you please answer my question?"

  "We did have a gentleman named Zay Serif stop by at the end of our meeting last week. He was interested in joining the coven, but we didn't like his…background."

  "That's a bit discriminatory isn't it?" They'd asked me to disconnect from the coven because someone sent them a video of me using my elemental ability. "What in his background would keep you from welcoming him?"

  "He's willingly performed black magic. That's what," he snapped. "We're trying to keep the coven clean since Michele was taken in by PIB for that binding spell and since Clarissa was killed."

  Her name hit me like a ton of bricks, and I had to force myself to not lash out at him. It wasn't actually the coven's fault that she had died. I took a deep breath. "Well, Zayden is dead, and your coven's runes were found all over the site."

  Jack took in a deep breath, and I wondered if he was debating on denying it. I was fluent in the runes and the base though. "No one would have killed him. Sean and I simply turned him away. He knew why. He was aware that it was a possibility that we would deny him membership. Either way, he said that he'd be staying in town, and we let him know we appreciated his openness about it and not trying to sneak in under our radar."

  "Did he happen to mention why he wanted to join the coven?"

  "Why do most warlocks and witches reach out to a local coven, Abigail?"

  "Community and protection. Did he say what he needed protection from?"

  "No, I'm afraid not. Sean and I were the only two that met him. None of the other coven members stayed after the meeting. So he didn't have a chance to make any enemies."

  So Jack was a dead end. "Thank you." I'd call Sean next to see if the stories matched up. Assuming Jack didn't get a hold of him first. The phone went dead, and I searched my phone for Sean's, but I got his voice mail and cursed. "Sean, this is Special Agent Collins, and I need to speak to you about a case. If you could, please call me back."

  I left my number and then hung up.

  If what Jack had said was true, then I had no current leads. A soft knock came from my door just before Liz peeked in. "Okay if I come in?"

  I looked up. "Hey, yeah, come on in. I thought you were running another case?"

  She walked in and closed the door behind her. "I am. I wanted to apologize for the way I was acting at your scene."

  I gave a small shrug. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

  She nodded. "I am. The Serif brothers are family friends. We grew up together. I didn't want to tell you that, but since Zayden ended up dead, you'd probably pull up the information on your own anyway."

  "I'm sorry for your loss. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

  She shook her head. "I have a case to focus on, and so do you, but I thought my non-answer to your question deserved an explanation."

  "Thank you, I appreciate the honesty. Do you know anyone that would want to hurt Zayden?"

  She shook her head. "Zay was a calm soul, the complete opposite of his brother. He always had control over himself and his emotions. He didn't make enemies, and he always made friends no matter where he went."

  "Did you know that the local coven turned him down for membership?" I leaned back in my chair and watched her.

  Anger crossed her face, and her fists curled up. "I had no idea. Those assholes."

  I tried not to snicker under my breath because it was always nice to see someone agree with me. "They said they turned him down because he'd participated in black magic before."

  She waved a hand in front of her face as if dismissing the thought. "Jon does most of the darker magic. Zay was much more on the side of protection."

  Interesting, maybe they really were opposite of each other. If that was the case, maybe whatever power Zayden was trying to control dealt in the opposite of necromancy.

  "You've thought of something?"

  I nodded. "Jon said the runes were meant to keep an uncontrolled power suppressed. Jon's is-"

  She held up a hand. "I know what it is."

  I nodded. "So if the two really are opposites of each other and Jon can bring people back to life uncontrollably then maybe Zay developed an ability to kill instantly."

  "One of the cult members would have had to do those runes though, or a witch or warlock who are familiar with the language." She sighed. "Talk to Merick? Maybe he knows who would be in charge of something like that."

  She made it sound like the Cult just handed out jobs to people. You get to be the person in charge of tattooing out of control powers. Oh man, wouldn't that be a job. I tried to push the thought out of my mind. "It's just a thought. I'll talk to Merick. I'm not even sure if there is an ability like that. It'd be more of a question for Oliver."

  "Oliver?"

  I cringed and realized I'd spoken out loud. "My uncle. He tends to have knowledge of obscure things like this."

  "Can you call him?"

  I shook my head. "No, he's…on vacation." It was the best I had. Technically he was working for Ira, and any contact risked Ira gaining information on me that could be my downfall. "I have access to his library though. So I'll do some research there." If we could find out what Zayden's ability was and who gave him the tattoos, then maybe that would lead us to why he was killed.

  Liz nodded and stood. "Thank you, Abby. I mean it."

  "Hey, I'll do everything I can for you. Just like you did for Clarissa and me."

  She smiled over her shoulder at me. "We make a hell of a team."

  "Yes, we do." And we weren't even partners. She was supposed to be my superior, but she acted like she was on my level or I was on hers. Somehow we'd started growing a friendship.

  I glanced at my watch. It was almost time for lunch. I grabbed my phone to order in food when it rang in my hand. I looked down at the phone number. It wasn't one I knew, but since I was in the middle of a case, I answered it hoping it was someone with information.

  "Special Agent Collins speaking."

  "Abby, it's Grayson. I need you to meet me at my office please." Exhaustion tinted his voice. "Please," he repeated.

  "It's noon, why are you even awake?"

  "Do you sleep much when you work a tough case?"

  Point taken. "Okay, I'll be there in a bit. I'm at the south office still. Nothing we can discuss o
ver the phone?"

  "No, I have images to show you, and I don't trust the technology. I'll see you soon." The line went dead, and I sighed. I guess I could pick up food on my way to the north PIB office.

  I picked up my bag and headed out. I didn't like the sound in Grayson's voice. It must have been a hell of a case.

  ∞

  The North PIB building still looked shiny and new, despite it being active for the last few years. It had become our headquarters when the south one was magically bombed. I walked into the building, flashed my badge at the receptionist, and then headed to the stairs for the basement. I had shoved food in my mouth as I drove over, so I didn't have to eat in front of the vampire.

  I knocked on Grayson's office door and waited for him to open it. After a couple knocks, waiting, and more knocking, he finally got to the door.

  "Sorry, I was deep in thought."

  Grayson always looked like he'd stepped out of a 1920's mob movie with his pinstriped suit and fedora. He looked up at me with his one good eye. "Come in."

  I walked into his office and dropped my bag by the door. His office looked like most PIB offices, with a desk, an extra chair, and a computer. Grayson had shoved all those to one side and had spread pictures out on the floor.

  "You understand that this is a case for the King of Vampires and you're sworn to secrecy?"

  "Yes, I do. I've worked a case with the king's guards before. I know the ropes." Grayson knew this, but I'm sure he was just trying to cover his bases. Grayson was a member of Levi's council, so he was in on all the secrets. All. Of. Them. Luckily for me, he didn't care for titles unless we were at a council meeting, so I didn't have to deal with him calling me princess.

  I looked down at the photos that he had on the floor. "Talk to me."

  "We have a case that's more than a rogue vampire. There are signs of blood loss, feeding, magic, and we have found lycanthrope blood at the scenes."

  I looked over the images. Close-ups of a neck with a nasty bite mark on it, I could see the fang marks, but it looked more like a newly changed vampire mark. My first thought was multiple people had attacked. Witches couldn't be lycans, and as far as I knew neither could vampires. Then I had a nasty thought. "Holy shit."

  "What?"

  "You don't think Ira's succeeded, do you? With his experiments?" I glanced over the images again.

  Grayson shrugged. "I don't know, that's why you're here. I know you've been digging information up on Ira."

  "Stalking my searches are you?" I picked up a photo of a bite on an arm, it wasn't vampire, but almost human. I frowned at him. "Most of these point to different attackers."

  "Again, that's what we're working on figuring out." He sat at his desk. "Do you know Ira's whereabouts?"

  I shook my head. "No, I haven't been able to pinpoint him. Every time I think I have a trail on him, something in his pattern changes."

  "Tracking spell?"

  "Led me to Alaska last time, I put a note in the system and let the executioners handle it. I promised Levi I wouldn't try to handle it personally."

  "And the searches?"

  I rolled my eyes. "I have permission from my lead to look into it."

  "Dangerous waters, Abigail."

  I motioned to the pictures. "And this isn't? Calling me in on the case?" I paused as another image caught my eye. A magic circle. "Was this active at the scene?"

  "I didn't feel any magic, but I'm not an expert. Do you know what kind of circle it is?"

  I shook my head. "There's no runes to tell me. It could have been a protective circle, a way to keep someone in, or out. Were any of the victims a witch?"

  He nodded. "One was, we have three victims total."

  "Can we go to the scene tonight? I want to see if there's any remaining magic around the area."

  "Yes, there's also a council meeting tonight about this."

  I wrinkled my nose. "Levi hasn't told me about that."

  "He doesn't know that I've called you in yet."

  I stared at him for a moment. "Oh, he's going to be pissed."

  "He wants Ira stopped. That means bringing you in on it since magic is now involved and Oliver betrayed us."

  I didn't correct him about Oliver. Oliver had switched sides to save my life when Mario left me with Ira and Hannah. I'd taken over Oliver's spot as magic consultant for the king's guard. "Then I guess I'll see you tonight." I rubbed my eyes as my phone rang. I glanced down at it to see Jason's phone number.

  "Special Agent Collins."

  Grayson simply leaned back in his chair, waiting.

  "Hey Agent A, I've got the cause of death on Zayden Serif."

  Oh good, progress. "What do you have for me?"

  "Well, he was in perfect health when he died. There's no sign of heart attack, stroke, no sign of foul play either."

  "I thought you said you had a cause, Jason." I tried to keep the irritation out of my voice.

  He laughed. "I do. He died because his heart disappeared."

  "Wait, say what now?"

  "It's gone, just poof. No heart."

  I opened my mouth and then stopped. How could a heart just disappear? The answer was obviously magic. But how on earth? "I'm not aware of a spell that can do that, but I'll add it to my list of stuff to look into."

  "There's no sign of it exploding or anything like that. Even the separations from the tissues and veins are clean."

  Interesting. "Okay, thanks."

  He disconnected the phone, and I looked at Grayson. "I have to go do some research."

  "Sounds like an intense case. You might need to hand it off. PIB doesn't like agents pulling double duty when working for the king."

  I snorted. "Liz has already approved me working double duty. I'm basically your consultant in this one. I think I can handle it."

  "Even after your leave?"

  I wasn't sure what he knew about my leave, but all the PIB documents said I was out for mental health reasons. That I needed time to recover. "I'm perfectly capable of doing my job, Agent Yorkingson."

  "I certainly hope so, Abigail. I certainly hope so. I'll be seeing you tonight." He turned back to the photos as a way of dismissing me.

  I grabbed my bag from the floor and walked out of the building.

  ∞

  I didn't go back to the office. Instead, I headed home. I wanted to pick Merick's brain a little bit before I started to dive into researching magic I didn't have any clue about. I walked into my house to find Merick standing in the kitchen, already making coffee.

  "Do you just know when I'm going to be home?"

  He laughed. "I know anytime you cross my circle, and if you're home this early, it means it's a rough day at the office."

  I laughed. "You have no idea. I need to pick your brain a little bit. Since I don't really participate on the darker side of things, I was hoping you'd have some answers for me."

  He turned away from the coffee pot and gave me his full attention. "What kind of darker things?"

  "Zayden's heart was gone."

  "Abigail, that's very basic. You know that a human heart can be offered as a sacrifice."

  I should have chosen my words better. "His heart disappeared from his chest. The M.E. said that it was a clean separation. There was no entry wound to the heart. It was just gone."

  He stared at me for a moment. "Now that's an interesting little trick."

  We both sat there for a moment in silence, waiting for the other person to say something. I was waiting for him to expand on his thought. The beeping of the coffee machine broke the silence, and Merick turned away from me.

  "Is it a trick?"

  He sighed. "It's a very difficult spell. It's like a transportation spell, except for an object. The only reason I would think someone would use it on a body would be because they needed the heart for something."

  "That's clear. I just neede
d to know if it was possible. The other thing I need to know is about Zayden. Would you be the best person to ask about that? His brother didn't have the answer for me."

  "You're wondering what Zayden would be trying to keep under control?"

  I nodded.

  "I don't know Abby, he had no special abilities on file. I suppose he could have developed one."

  "A friend of his mentioned that he was the complete opposite of Jon. Jon has a necromancer ability. Is it possible that Zayden would have the opposite of that?"

  Merick shook his head. "No, there's not a known ability to cause death without complicated spells. It's not like an elemental ability or necromancy where the magic spreads through. Even most necromancers need a magic circle to raise the dead."

  "Tomes didn't. He just needed blood."

  "Tomes is a powerful necromancer, and Jon's able do it without a circle because he's out of control. Like Devon."

  Devon was a warlock who had his powers bound as a baby. The Cult took him in, but as the binding wore off, Devon became out of control and bent on revenge. I'd killed him in self-defense.

  I sighed. "Okay, back to square one for that then. So I guess we need to keep an eye out for a heart somewhere."

  Merick handed me a mug of coffee. "It could be anywhere, so keep an eye on the PIB databases, just in case they stumble on to one."

  Because like dead bodies, people just stumble on to hearts. I snorted at the thought, and Merick raised a brow at me. I shook my head. "It's nothing."

  He shrugged it off, and we both took our coffee to the living room. I sat on the couch and curled my feet up underneath me. "I'll be going out tonight. I'm consulting on another case, and I have to go to a council meeting."

  "Ah, the princess duties call." Merick chuckled. "Good luck with that. There are whispers that things in the vampire world aren't as calm as they seem."

  I shrugged. "I'm not really a vampire, so I wouldn't know. Levi still keeps information very limited for me."

  "He's scared that you'll go too deep into the world and have no choice but to become the princess in truth." Merick sipped his coffee. "I can smell the fear on him when I'm a cat."