Sorcerous Deeds: Special Investigators for the Magickally Challenged. An Urban Fantasy Novella. (Adept Solutions Book 2)

by Teagan Kearney

  Adept Solutions

  Special Investigators for the Magickally Challenged

  Book Two

  Sorcerous Deeds©

  By

  Teagan Kearney

  The right of Teagan Kearney to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchases.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover photo: Shutterstock, Unsplash

  Dedication

  To Tim, as always, for your loving support and help.

  And to every single one of my readers—a genuine heartfelt thanks.

  Acknowledgment

  Grateful thanks to my editor, Sarah Watts.

  http://yourwords-proofreading.blogspot.co.uk/

  Sign up for the author’s mailing list to receive a free copy of Hekate’s Chalice, Book One in the Adept Solutions Series, and information about new releases, discounts, and advanced reading copies: http://tinyurl.com/hk39yun

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Monday, 14th June, 3 pm

  Chapter Two: Adept Solutions Office, 5 pm

  Chapter Three: Office, Tuesday, 15th, 11am

  Chapter Four: Freeway Motel, Room 301, 12 pm

  Chapter Five: Jeff’s Diner, 1pm.

  Chapter Six: Madame Mari, 7.30 pm.

  Chapter Seven: Office, Wednesday, 16th, 10 am.

  Chapter Eight: Keon’s House, 11.30 am.

  Chapter Nine: Office, 1 pm.

  Chapter Ten: Freeway Motel, Room 301, 3 pm

  Chapter Eleven: Office, 8 pm.

  Chapter Twelve: Office, 9pm

  Chapter Thirteen: Office, 10 pm

  Chapter Fourteen: Didi’s Apartment, 11.00 pm.

  Chapter Fifteen: The Wraithlands, Time Unknown.

  Chapter Sixteen: Time Unknown

  Chapter Seventeen: In Transit, Time Still Unknown.

  Chapter Eighteen: Summer Solstice, Sunday, 20th, June, 1 pm.

  FROM THE AUTHOR

  Chapter One: Monday, 14th June, 3 pm

  None of the heat and bright luster of the mid-afternoon sun bathing the city of Tropolis reached Lower Level Park Four of the multi-storied downtown parking lot. The erratic flickering of the fluorescent light bulbs created uneasy shadows, and the air was rank with the stink of old seaweed, rotten cabbage, and sewage stirred into the mix. It was a stench that slunk along the ground like a dense November fog off the river—the stench of goblin.

  As the elevator door slid shut behind them, JB turned first to Nikki, indicating she should go to the right and block the exit ramp. He signed he would head in a diagonal line toward their quarry before sending Gemma straight ahead. They padded off with guns raised, making little noise as they eased closer to their objective. A dark indistinct shape blurred across the back wall.

  Shots rang out, echoing through the deserted space.

  “A hit!” Gemma yelled.

  Nikki and JB altered direction and the three of them raced through the parking lot, dodging around cars, and arrowing for the exit to block their quarry’s escape.

  Nikki skidded to a halt, planted her feet wide, and waited directly in the goblin’s path. She fired her weapon repeatedly into the chest of the bald lumpen-headed sharp-toothed pointy-eared creature charging at her—whose pace had hardly been slowed by Gemma’s strike.

  JB and Gemma simultaneously burst out from the cover of the parked cars, firing non-stop at the target.

  The goblin ran a few more steps, grunted, staggered to his knees, and fell, landing spread-eagled flat on his front inches from Nikki’s steel-toed black boots. His arms and legs twitched for a full minute before he lay motionless.

  Nikki kicked the prostrate figure hard in the ribs—twice. “That’s for taking thirty-six hours of my life to search through the cesspits of Tropolis when I should have been arranging my wedding.” She booted him again.

  Gemma delivered another few wallops to the other side of his ribcage. “And that’s for trading Neonice in my town.”

  Neonice was the latest highly addictive drug to hook its tentacles into the weak and vulnerable, with deadly results for both humans and paranormals.

  She raised her foot again.

  “Hey, pack it in you two.” JB grabbed the unconscious figure’s wrists, yanked them behind his back, and slapped on several pairs of double thickness plasticuffs before securing his ankles. “They say males are violent. You pair are savage.”

  “Yup, we are.” Nikki grinned wide, her bright white pointed teeth, gifts of her half imp heritage, gleaming in the dim light. “That is one ugly creature,” she muttered, holstering her pistol.

  JB shot a sideways glance at Gemma. “We could have done this job in half the time if we’d had Jason with us.”

  As twins with a mixture of psychic talents, Gemma and Jason made a superlative tracking team.

  “I already told you Jason’s sick.” Gemma glared at JB, yanking the bandana off her mess of red curls, fixing and retying it with a savage tug. She tightened the belt of her ex-army camouflage pants, tugging at the matching T-shirt as she noticed JB still staring at her.

  “Call the Goblin Squad, and give them our location,” JB ordered, his expression darkening as he turned away. “They’re waiting for our call. Nikki, let’s drag him over to the side. We’re trying to keep any mention of this out of the news.” They hauled the heavy body out of the aisle, then leaned casually against the wall hiding most of the trussed captive’s body from view.

  Ten minutes later an ancient Dodge campervan rattled down the ramp, and three long- armed fat-bodied goblins in olive green uniforms scrambled out. One, taller, with heavily scarred ears, strode toward them. “I’m Captain Deekgrak.” he barked in a cracked bass, “pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lucerne.” He held out his hand.

  JB took the extended hand and shook it, concealing his revulsion. He slid his hand out of the captain’s slick grasp and agreed. “Likewise.”

  “What brought him down?” Deekgrak studied the prisoner.

  “Twenty or so shots of rhino tranquilizer.”

  “Yes, that’ll do it every time. As arranged, we’re more than happy to keep this little affair between ourselves. Our species doesn’t have the best of reputations.”

  JB could think of nothing positive to add. It was true: human and goblin standards in morals, culture, ideals of beauty, food preferences, and everything else were universes apart and unlikely to coincide anytime in the next few millennia. “We’ve got your billing address and we’ll be in touch,” he informed the captain. He wasn’t going to declare, ‘A pleasure doing business with you,’ because it wasn’t.

  They had taken on the case as a favor to JB’s father. One of his Houdan congregation members, Lester Wainton, was a prominent pharmaceutical manufacturer whose reputation and company would be adversely affected if it came out that products stolen from his warehouse had been us
ed to make Neonice.

  Captain Deekgrak nodded at his officers, who grabbed the unconscious prisoner by the ears and dragged him around to the back of the campervan. Opening the door, they yanked him up and flung him into the van. He landed with a loud thump and judging by the number of moans and groans coming from inside, the squad had had a busy day.

  “What about doing a few more bounties?” Nikki asked as they headed for the elevator after the campervan had rattled off up the exit ramp.

  “No, thank you,” JB answered, attempting to wipe the slime from the handshake with the captain onto his already scruffy jeans. “Being a private investigator is dangerous enough at times without going looking for extra trouble. Is Juan aware of your appetite for this type of thrill-seeking activity?”

  “What, your father wouldn’t approve?”

  “The agency’s mine now and I can take any job I want.”

  JB’s father had wanted him to continue his architectural studies, but JB had argued passionately and persuasively to let him take over the agency. JB Sr. had given his son a year to prove he could run the agency and, although their cash flow had been at a critical level eight months ago, after the team successfully solved a case for a witches’ coven they’d had no lack of work.

  “We could take more training. I’d love to do some karate. You could continue that sword stuff, and be honest,” Nikki persisted, “didn’t you get a buzz off it?”

  A slow wolfish grin spread across JB’s face and red sparks flared in the depths of his dark brown eyes. “Being honest? Yeah, I got a rush, but I don’t know if I feel the need to repeat it.” He glanced at Gemma, who stalked tight-lipped on the other side of Nikki. She’s staying as far away from me as possible he thought. When he remembered her words to him seven months ago, they continued to sting. Not as much as when she’d said them, but the rejection still hurt. I do like you, JB, but if this thing between us goes south, work will be a nightmare. So, let’s just be friends, okay? He’d moved on, dated other women, and arranged the schedules so they were rarely on the same job. Yet her close presence during this hunt had been an itch he couldn’t scratch, and reminded him that, damn it, he still liked her. A lot. It didn’t help that the details of the night they’d spent together remained as strong as a shiny new sharp-edged steel blade. “Mind you, if we’re ever low on finances again, then perhaps I’d consider it. Nice shooting, both of you.”

  The drive back to the office was a quiet one. After tracking their quarry for the previous day and a half, the adrenaline buzz of action receded, leaving them hot, tired, sweaty, and smelling none too sweet. The priority was finishing the paperwork, with getting home, taking a much-needed shower, and putting on clean clothes a close second.

  Nikki and Gemma trooped behind JB past his apartment on the second floor and up the stairs to the office on the top floor of the building. He pushed open the door and froze.

  “What is it, JB?” Nikki asked, her voice as weary as her body.

  JB walked into the room with Nikki and Gemma crowding in behind him.

  JB’s father stood by the window, and lounging at the table, their elegant arms draped over the backs of their chairs and their long legs sprawled out as if relaxing at home, were two elves.

  Chapter Two: Adept Solutions Office, 5 pm

  As a species, elves kept themselves apart and were one of the few supernatural races who rarely ventured outside their own realm, except for the occasional flash of a messenger elf taking a shortcut through a far-flung forest where no human trod.

  “Hi, Dad. Won’t you introduce us?” JB casually studied the visitors taking in at a glance the upward tilt of their piercing emerald eyes, the aquiline noses, the defined rosiness of the lips, the luminescent glow of their pale skin, and their arrogant expressions. Delicate pale pink pointed ears peeked out through luxuriantly curling hair. They wore identical heavily embroidered purple velvet jackets with layers of rich cream lace at the neck and wrists and rested their slender fingers close to the elaborate handguards of the two dueling sabers on the table. Elvish runes engraved into the curved metal blades glinted and sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine.

  Nikki’s eyes narrowed.

  Gemma’s mouth fell slightly open. She took a quick breath and licked her lips.

  JB Sr. gestured at the elves, “Let me introduce the brothers, Prince Casanova and Prince Romeo.” The brothers were so alike they could almost be twins, the differentiating factor being their hair color—Casanova had golden brown hair and Romeo’s was ash blond.

  With supple grace the princes rose to their feet and, with a fine flourish of their wrists and cascades of curls falling forward, offered low gracious bows.

  Nikki snorted, then clapped her hand over her mouth.

  JB Sr. plunged into the introductions. “This is my son, Jean-Baptiste. Nikki and Gemma are part of his team. Jean-Baptiste, I think we should take our guests downstairs. Ladies, please excuse us.”

  His father’s use of his full name wasn’t a good sign. “Uh, sure, Dad.”

  As JB Sr. moved toward the exit, the elves, both taller and more slender than the humans, swept up their swords and slid them into the scabbards at their sides before following.

  “Okay, Gemma, write up the report. Nikki, contact Mr. Wainton, inform him of our result, and send him the bill.” JB rubbed his hands through his hair. “The second you're finished, go home and get a good night’s rest. It looks as if we’ll be jumping straight into another case. Let me know in the morning if you’re unable to pull a weekender.” He headed for the door, speaking over his shoulder. “Oh, and Gemma, find Jason. Make sure he’s here tomorrow.”

  JB entered his apartment as his father tossed the last of the clothes that habitually decorated the sofa, the chairs, and the floor into his bedroom.

  “You make enough to pay for a cleaner now and then, don't you?” His father was clearly embarrassed at the state of his son’s apartment.

  “I know where everything is, and I would have tidied up if I’d known guests were coming.” JB was equally grumpy.

  The unexpected visitors leaned against the open window. One watched the cars and pedestrians with equal horror and fascination, while the other stared disdainfully around the room. With their richly decorative medieval clothing they looked as out of place as a sumo wrestler at a child’s tea party.

  “I need a coffee first. Dad, Casanova, Romeo?” At least their names were easy to remember.

  “Those are not our true names,” Casanova answered as if he had heard JB’s thoughts. “After a lot of research, we chose them to fit in with your world.”

  They go with the outfits, thought JB. “Okay.”

  Five minutes later, perched on the edge of the sofa, Casanova and Romeo tentatively sipped lattes, JB downed his cappuccino in a long grateful swallow, while his father left his drink untouched.

  “Mmm,” said Casanova, “a bitter taste, but yet possessing a faint sweetness, and with a mild stimulant. Interesting.”

  Romeo’s downturned mouth indicated he was not so taken with the new beverage.

  “Do you want to try something else? A soda?” JB asked.

  The elf observed JB pop the cola can tab with interest and smiled as the fizzy liquid burst on his tongue. “Much tastier.”

  “The elvish nations keep their distance from most other races,” JB Sr. began, “and this is the princes' first visit to our world, but don’t be fooled by their clothes. These two are no fops. If they pick up those blades, whoever they face better be ready. They’re deadly warriors.”

  Something in the darkening of the elves’ expression bore out his father’s words. “I believe you.”

  JB’s mother had been half elf on her father’s side. She’d died ten years ago, but the stories she’d told him about the beauty of their land and their way of life remained fresh in his mind. As did the tales of their rigid codes of honor and fanatical adherence to protocol. He addressed his guests formally. “I would like to ask, to what do we owe
the honor of this visit?”

  Romeo leaned forward, looking from JB to his father and back again, drawing his finely arched eyebrows together. A furrow formed, marring the smoothness of his forehead. “The summer solstice, now seven sun cycles from today, is a time of great celebration for our people. This year the Queen’s daughter, the Princess Selendriel, reaches her eighteenth birthday and will officially be named as the royal heir to the throne. It is momentous for another reason, too. We are also announcing the princess’s marriage to the prince and heir of our neighboring kingdom. This will create a union between our realms and bring an end to a war that has lasted for over a thousand of your years. You must understand, this occasion will have far-reaching consequences.”

  JB raised an eyebrow at his father as the elf lapsed into silence.

  JB Sr. cleared his throat.

  Romeo shook himself. “My brother and I are here to request your help as the princess has disappeared from our realm. We have searched every inch of our land, every dwelling, every cellar and loft, every field and forest, and we have found no trace of her anywhere.”

  The silence grew heavier. The hum of traffic punctuated by beeping horns drifted in through the window.

  Suddenly Casanova was on his feet, his sword in his hand. Faster than the eye could track, he blurred forward, resting the point of his blade at JB’s throat, his silver gray eyes granite cold and calculating. “I call upon the blood bond that ties you to my family, Jean-Baptiste. Fulfill your obligation or else I will kill you.”

  Chapter Three: Office, Tuesday, 15th, 11am

  JB sat at his usual place at the top of the table, one hand propping up his chin. His dark hair, still wet from the shower, was plastered to his scalp, and dusky shadows lurked under his eyes. Last night Casanova had calmed down as quickly as he’d erupted—once his father intervened and JB agreed to take the case. His mother’s ties to the royal elves gave him little choice. He’d ordered pizza and, after his father left, spent until the early hours of the morning answering the elves’ endless questions about life in his city.