“Ahhh, enough already,” I mutter in annoyance. I can’t try second-guessing what I just don’t know. It will drive me crazy.
Shaking my head, I stand with a grimace. If anyone had spotted me muttering to myself in the woods, they would definitely think I’m crazy! With a snort of derision, I scurry along to Vlad’s Bar, but keep to the woods.
I feel a strange sense of safety in them; actually, it’s probably a stupid sense of safety, due to the fact I have found three bodies in the woods. With this thought I speed up. With a feeling of relief, I finally arrive at the bar. With a final glance around, I step through the door and straight into darkness.
Chapter 17
The darkness is complete. I can’t even see my hand in front of my face. I know because I wave it in front of me just to make sure. Just as suddenly as the enveloping darkness surrounds me, it’s gone, and I’m in a beautiful bar with an oak counter and tables and red cushioned stools and chairs. Simple tapestries adorn the walls and a great fireplace covers one wall near the bathrooms, with a peculiar old wooden chart listing species eye color:
VAMPIRES = BLUE EYES
WEREWOLVES = GREEN EYES
SHAPESHIFTERS = SILVER EYES
WITCHES = GOLD EYES
DEMONS = ORANGE EYES
ZOMBIES = YELLOW EYES
FEY = PINK EYES
HUMANS = NO LUMINOUS COLOR CHANGE
I take all this in and the gaping faces. Why is everyone staring at me? Have I stood in something? With a discreet sniff, I rule out that scenario thankfully.
“Okay, why are you all staring at me, and what’s with the weird chart?” I inquire, pointing to the eye color chart above the fireplace.
Clearing his throat Victor stares intently at me. “It’s a species eye color chart.”
“So my eyes changed to gold, weird, but okay, what’s the problem?” I demand. Seriously, why are they all staring at me unless…?
“Your eyes went violet, not gold. I’ve never heard of anyone having violet eyes…what exactly are you, Candi? I mean, I know you’re a witch, but are you more? But how can it be? I mean, it’s not possible right? But Big Michael did call you Double Magick Woman…”
Victor, who has been steadily pacing stops in front of me, stares into my eyes for what feels like an eternity. With a spreading smile, and a slight shake of his head, Victor seems to come to a realization that causes him great pleasure.
“We have got to find the book of prophecies.”
“Okay, actually we have to stop a murderer.” Looking at Victor I wonder if he’s okay. “What is the big deal about this prophecy book anyway?” I finally demand in frustration. “I mean seriously, I never heard of it until a couple of days ago.
“Was it really only a couple of days? Flipping hell! Anyway, never mind about how long it’s been. What was I saying…?” I trail off, going slightly red at how quickly I fell into bed with Victor, flushing even redder when I realize I can’t wait to repeat such a fantastic experience again, or...I put the brakes on my mental thought. I don’t want or know how to finish it.
“Look, let’s get you something to eat.” Gently taking hold of my hands, Victor leads me to the counter so I can order. The bar is thankfully empty, except for our small group and the barman, who appears to be in shock.
“Okay, well, that was different,” laughs Jasmine breaking the ice.
“Certainly one way of putting it. Here’s the menu, Candi, and…yeah.” Kheda trails off, for once looking at a loss for words. Rubbing his left hand over his mouth, he seems to shake his surprise off. Looking at Jasmine, he finally relaxes.
“Thanks. I could murder a mug of coffee, if you have any please,” I ask the barman who still hasn’t moved. Opening the menu, I peruse it, giving me time to gather my thoughts. “Okay, can I have the hot chicken salad, a jug of water with lemon in it, and my mug of coffee please?” I politely ask the staring barman. I look at the others with a raised eyebrow.
“We’ve already ordered, but asked Simon not to send our orders up until you’ve given yours,” Victor supplies. “Simon, can I have a quick word with you, please?” Excusing himself, Victor goes around the counter and out a door with Simon following him.
“So, what’s with the strange sign anyway?” I ask, as I wonder what Victor is saying to Simon.
“It’s so anyone who enters can tell what paranormal species has walked in. When you walked in everything went black for you, but we all saw your eyes light up with their supernatural color. Though, what yours is I have absolutely no idea…” Kheda trails off looking at the sign above the fireplace.
Crossing over to inspect the strange sign, I notice above Vampires there is a space, as if something else could fit. Seeing Victor come back, I call him over and point it out. With a look of surprise on his face, he lifts it down from the wall, gently runs his long talented fingers above Vampires = Blue Eyes.
With a look of resignation he goes to put it back, I reach for it spreading the tips of my fingers evenly across the area where something else could be written, before pressing firmly down into the old wood.
A quiet click is the only sound it makes, before the section I’d pressed smoothly lifts up to reveal a hidden compartment containing an old scroll. I reach in and remove the scroll passing it to Victor. I close the now empty compartment and attempt to put the plaque back.
Kheda moves quickly and takes it from me, hurriedly putting it back on the wall. He drags Victor and me back to the bar with a hiss of “Hide it,” directed at Victor, nodding at the scroll in his hands.
****
I watch Victor quickly stuff the scroll in his pocket, and with great effort shake the surprise from himself, just before Simon arrives carrying a jug of lemon water with four glasses, a pot of coffee, and a mug which he puts in front of me.
“Thank you, Simon. Shall we sit at a table?” Picking up the tray, I march to a table big enough to hold all of our food and us comfortably, which thankfully happens to be in the farthest corner away from the bar. Imagine that!
I quickly unload my tray and pour myself a glass of water and a mug of coffee. I guzzle my first glass of water, and then happily sip my coffee. Jasmine, Victor, and Kheda grab their drinks and follow me. Once we’re all seated, I turn to Victor expectantly. When he doesn’t move, I blurt out, “Are you going to open it or what? Come on, I’m going to explode from curiosity if you don’t.” I encourage him, as I practically jump up and down in my seat.
Looking at me, Victor bursts out laughing, extracts the scroll from his pocket, carefully unrolls it, reads it to himself, pauses and rereads it again before looking at us with a baffled expression. Finally he hands it to me to read.
Victor,
Time’s gone by with no hope of the Pharaoh’s book of prophecies being realized. I’ve kept it by me these many years, but now I will put it somewhere safe.
Follow the clues I leave behind to find it. I only hope I’m doing the right thing, and it is you who finds the two magicks one. Be careful on the quest I am sending you on, and only share this with those you trust with your life, and mine as well. The Protectors have many who would stop you from finding the book of prophecies.
Remember, to find what is missing you must retrace your steps to where you saw it last. Be safe, find the two magicks one, and destroy The Protectors once and for all. I hope to see you again, but I fear it is a wish not to be realized. In this life and the next, I wish you happiness.
V
“V is your sire?” I ask for lack of anything else sensible to say.
“Yes. It seems we need to...ah, here’s our food.” Victor smiles as he quickly takes the scroll from me re-rolls it and puts it in his pocket in a blink of an eye.
“Tattoo Parlor is very good, and I definitely recommend going there,” I hastily say.
“Thank you, I was wondering if it was any good because of its name more than anything,” Jasmine replies as she scrunches up her face prettily. “Oh yummy, our food has arrived and I
am starving.” she beams at Simon, making him smile back at her.
“Rib burger and chips?”
“Yay, that’s mine,” states Jasmine, licking her lips in anticipation.
With a smile, Simon places her dinner in front of her.
“Mashed potatoes, sausages, and peas?”
“Mine thanks,” Kheda scowls, obviously not impressed with this pup of a boy looking at Jasmine in such a way.
Seeing Kheda’s expression, I stifle a laugh, which turns into a cough. Catching Victor’s eye, I realize I’m not the only one trying not to laugh at Kheda.
“So the warm chicken salad is yours.” Simon smiles as he passes me my dinner.
“Thank you.” Smiling back at Simon, I take my plate from him, only to notice this has caused Victor to glower at the poor man. My salad looks divine, crispy lettuce, hot chicken, peppers, carrots, croutons, hot baby mushrooms, coleslaw, and grated cheese with a Caesar dressing drizzled over it. Hmm, yummy. I can feel my mouth watering in anticipation.
“Ah, and your steak, Victor,” flushes Simon, as he quickly passes Victor his dinner before scuttling away.
“Poor boy, you two are terrible,” I murmur, with a nod of my head toward Victor and Kheda, so they know whom I’m talking about. I fill my fork up with delicious crispy salad, chicken, carrot, and coleslaw before popping it into my mouth and munching away on it happily.
Stifling a laugh at their expressions, Jasmine hastily bites into her rib burger and moans in delight.
****
Silence descends on our table, as we all dig into our food, until with a happy sigh we all finish. Leaning back in my chair, I drink my coffee and pour myself another mug topped off with loads of milk. A comfortable silence descends on us, broken eventually by Jasmine inquiring about the scroll.
“What did it say?”
Victor quickly informs them, and we all sit in brooding silence for a while longer, until Simon arrives to remove the plates.
“That was lovely, thank you. Can you give my compliments to the chef please?” I beam.
“And mine as well,” Jasmine pipes up. “Man it was divine.”
“No problem, ladies. I’ll pass on your compliments.” Simon smiles before hurrying away with the plates.
“So what happened earlier to upset you so much,” Kheda inquires curiously.
I quickly update Victor and Kheda on the morning’s events. Surprisingly it doesn’t take long to do so. I tell them what happened on my way to the pub.
“I think we should all stick together as much as possible. I mean, if they’re using black magick, we can’t take any chances. Also carry plasters with you. If you cut yourself, you need to make sure you don’t leave any trace of your blood behind. Blood magick is the most powerful, and trust me, you don’t want to mess with a witch pumped up on blood magick,” I finish with a grimace of distaste.
We fall into contemplative silence for a while, each of us digesting all we’ve found out, until Kheda’s phone rings. Standing up, he walks away from the table before answering it. All of us have exceptional hearing and by the looks of it, everyone is trying not to listen to the one-sided conversation.
Until we see the blood drain from his face. Now he has our full attention. A second later Kheda hangs up and runs a shaky hand through his hair, returns to us. A shadow flits across his face, and in that second he arrives at a decision.
****
“The Protector’s have struck again, three werewolves, two vampires, and a witch. Apparently they were killed at different times over the last couple of weeks. It could be the same killer who killed the human you found in the witch’s woods. I want all of you to come with me. I know I’m asking a lot…”
Without giving Kheda time to finish his sentence, we all stand and put on our coats. “I’ll have to go to the bathroom quickly before I go, and then I’m ready,” I interrupt before hurrying off to the bathroom. A second later Jasmine joins me, and as quick as we can, we do our business and hurry back to where we find Victor waiting.
“Kheda had to go to the toilet as well,” he explains with a smile.
“Victor, do you think the two vampires could be the missing ones?” I ask quietly.
Exhaling noisily Victor looks at me. “Probably, the time is about right, but we’ll never know as it will be ashes we find,” Victor replies in frustration.
Kheda exits the bathroom, and we leave. We all realize at the same time we have no cars with us.
“How far is it?”
“Hunters Park, inside the caves,” answers Kheda with a grimace.
“Okay, let’s go,” I grumble as I start off at a run. A minute later the other three join me, and as if in one body we speed up.
As we pass people, we receive some weird looks. Someone else curses us, but since we’re running on the road, I don’t get what their problem is. Then again, it’s not often you get such a weird bunch of supernaturals together, let alone running as if the hounds of hell are chasing after them.
Ten minutes later we arrive at Hunters Park and turn left toward the caves, located at the far left corner. Within a couple of minutes, we notice the yellow tape cornering off the crime scene, and a crowd of people surrounding it. A couple of harassed-looking officers try to keep everyone back. The scent of fear is intense and makes my nose itch, but there is another scent underlying the fear, not as strong, but there. It takes me a second to realize it’s glee.
Someone in the crowd is enjoying themselves. I come to a sudden stop, and Victor runs straight into me. I would have fallen on my face, but he grabs me and steadies me. Kheda and Jasmine stop beside me with puzzled expressions.
“Do you not smell it?” I demand trying to find the source.
“Smell what?”
“Glee. Someone is enjoying themselves, immensely. The scent is just under the fear, but it’s there,” I answer as I sniff the air.
With a perplexed look at me, Kheda and Victor start sniffing to catch the scent. I know the instant they do, because their eyes widen in surprise. Jasmine had started sniffing the air the moment I had mentioned the scent, so she caught it first.
We try scanning the people to see if we can spot someone who looks happy, or have an emotion on their face screaming I did it, but wherever he or she is I can’t find them.
****
Gleefully he watches the commotion at the cave. Serves them right for taking trophies. Soon they will be arrested, and their idiotic behavior will be stopped. The Protectors are not for pleasure of ownership, but prevention of cross bloodlines. His extra killings will go toward framing the imbeciles, especially the female werewolf.
A grin of pure pleasure at his cleverness spreads across his face. Quickly controlling his smile before anyone else notices, he looks around in time to see the detective arrive with Eve’s granddaughter, a vampire, and a female shapeshifter. Noticing them stop and sniff the air he decides it’s a good time to leave. Eve’s granddaughter had sensed him following her earlier. He did not wish for her to catch his scent again. With a final smug look, he disappears into the shadows.
****
We move toward the taped-off area where an officer is trying to convince people there is nothing to see. Strangely enough, no one seems to believe or listen to him. As we move toward him, he lets out an annoyed huff, until he spots Kheda.
“These three are with me, Foster,” Kheda informs the officer, indicating the three of us.
“You might not want to take civilians in with you,” Foster replies with a look of distaste on his face, as he looks at us before he moves the tape aside to allow us through.
I share a look with Jasmine, and going by her expression, she can’t tell if his dislike is at the crime scene, Kheda, or us. With a slight shrug off my shoulders, I cross over into the crime scene and follow Kheda to the caves. As we near them, the scent of evil surrounds us. The smell of death hits us in an overpowering stench. I stop and glance around.
“Is there a stream around here?” I look a
round while trying to breathe through my mouth.
“Yes, there’s an underground one inside the cave. Probably explains why they’re inside instead of out.”
“What I would like to know is, why was the human killed elsewhere when the rest of them are here? I mean, if most of the victims were killed around the same time as the man in the woods, why wasn’t he murdered here as well? Why was it so important he be found first?”
A second later, a young officer rushes out of the cave and throws up in the nearest bush.
“You okay?” Kheda offers the shivering officer a tissue, while looking at him in concern.
“No, I’m bloody well not all right. Fuck, how someone can do something like that I have no idea!” The young officer wipes his mouth with the tissue, his hands shaking badly, his face pasty and sweaty.
“Stay out here, and make sure no one else comes in,” Kheda instructs the officer. Turning toward the three of us he nods, then heads into the yawning mouth of the cave.
Chapter 18
The cave’s musty damp smell blends with the scent of coppery blood and death. Someone had set up sconces to light the way. I’m surprised, until I notice the stiffness in Kheda’s shoulders and the tightening of his mouth as he glares at the sconces, and guess it wasn’t the police who had done this. We’re met by a burly detective who glares at us, before pulling Kheda to the side to have a word with him. Seriously, does he not realize we can hear him?
“Detective McKnight, I want to know, why in all that is holy have you brought civilians with you to a bloody crime scene?” The detective growls his question at Kheda, displeasure dripping from his voice.
“Detective Callahan, these civilians are here to help identify the victims. Also they’re helping me on this case. Now is there anything else?”
I notice the respectful tone Kheda uses with the zombie detective. Even though they wouldn’t be able to socialize due to different species regulations preventing interracial socializing, it’s obvious Kheda respects him, but it’s also obvious he is annoyed. The detective is dismissive toward the three of us, even though if the circumstances were different, I believe Kheda probably would react the same way. After all, civilians are normally not brought to crime scenes. Kheda must have been having the same thought process, as suddenly he lets out a disgusted sound and shakes his head in exasperation.
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