Touching Evil (The Leila Marx Novels Book 1)

by Amber Garr

  Atticus turned toward her. “I think some of the City Coven members are involved as well.” Leanna’s hand covered her mouth with astonishment, and I saw tears in her eyes.

  “No, this can’t be,” she whispered, shaking her head in disagreement.

  “Why do you suspect this, Atticus?” Terez asked, trying to get more information.

  “The chant that Leila heard is a clear incantation for a demon summoning. A posse ad esse transcende Asomodeus roughly translates into “From thought to being, rise Asmodeus”. Plus it was a female voice repeated over and over, right, Leila?” I nodded in confirmation.

  “That’s ridiculous Atticus,” Leanna said. “She could have heard someone practicing their spells. Besides, the wording isn’t even correct.”

  Atticus sighed and looked down at his feet before responding to her doubts. “Well, I also found some remnants of ancient rituals at one of our sites last week. I’m not well versed in the dark arts, but I’m familiar enough to know that no one would be using those artifacts for anything other than summoning a demon.”

  “What did you find?” I asked.

  Everyone stared at me. I didn’t know why until Conner chimed in from the kitchen. “You don’t want to know, Leila.” He turned and looked in my eyes, and I could clearly see the pain in his. “Trust me.”

  “He’s right.” Mac added. He’d resumed his aura of nonchalance and now rested comfortably in the recliner again. “Demon summoning is not something to take lightly. There are many different rituals depending upon the demon you want to call, but none of them are pretty.”

  Elise spoke for the first time. “Do you know exactly what they’re doing Atticus?”

  He shook his head. “No, but if it really is Asmodeus they’re dealing with, then we need to stop them.”

  “How do we do that?” questioned Elise.

  “I would need to look at the grimoires to understand how they’re summoning him in order to send him away permanently.” He glanced at Leanna with that last statement.

  “We can’t do that, Atticus. And you know it.” She’d lost all of her composure now. “How would we get to them?”

  The large vampire stood and walked around the couch so that he could look the witch and sorcerer straight on. “Where are they?”

  Leanna and Atticus had another staring session, but before it could go on too long, Mac said, “Any day now, magicians.”

  That grabbed their attention and Leanna snapped back, “How dare you? We are not lowly magicians, and I suggest you watch your tongue if you’d like to keep it in your mouth.” Mac smiled and gestured with his hand to get on with it.

  “They’re locked in the Coven leader’s house. But I’m not sure which one we need,” Atticus replied. Leanna’s lips pursed so tight I thought she might break the skin.

  “I do.”

  We all turned to see Conner walking back toward the group. “I know which one we need.” He sounded defeated again. I wondered what this Asmodeus meant to him.

  “Okay then, let’s go get it,” said Mac looking around the room as though this is what all of us were thinking.

  “It’s not going to be that simple,” countered Atticus. Leanna didn’t contribute. “We’ll need a plan, a good plan, if we are going to break in and steal the grimoire. That place is fiercely protected by ancient magic and modern security, including a sophisticated safe.”

  “Not a problem,” said Mac. “I can help with that.”

  “So can I,” added Gallus.

  Leanna snapped out of her stupor. “You guys are absolutely crazy! Break into the coven leader’s home? It’s suicide.”

  “Have faith my little witch,” cooed Mac. “Look around this room. We have a collection of talents that can be used for such an undertaking. We have strength, magic, visions, stealth, and even a guard dog.” King growled at that last comment, but Mac brushed it off as always. “We can do this. We have to do this to stop what is coming.”

  Terez finally rejoined the conversation. “We cannot let those imbeciles summon a demon and we need to stop the kidnappings.” She gestured in my direction. “Leila has been working with the police on this. Can you tell us what you know so far?”

  I hesitated. Not because I didn’t want to help, but because I didn’t know what I could say. Technically, I always respected the confidentiality of my work. Even when I spoke to Terez. However, yesterday I’d withheld information from the detectives, thinking that it would be better to share with the supernatural crime fighters first.

  “Yes, but I’ve only been asked to do a reading for the last two missing girls and you already know about the chant.”

  I filled them in on what I knew about the case thus far, and tried to remember everything Garrick told me about the other murders. I talked about my visit to Erin’s and Angela’s homes. Then I told them about my encounters with Jake Montgomery.

  “So you think you were attacked at the café?” asked Mac.

  “Yes, I do. It was like I was frozen and I couldn’t breathe. But I’m not even sure I saw Jake in the park. He could have just been in my mind because of what happened with him at the house.” I noticed Leanna and Atticus exchanging looks again.

  “What?” I screeched.

  “It sounds like a magical assault. Like a sorcerer spell,” Atticus admitted.

  “And you said the Detective was with you? Was he attacked?” Leanna asked.

  “No. He wasn’t. But…” I glanced at Conner remembering the train event. “But we both might have been attacked the other night.”

  I proceeded to explain what happened after my trip to the morgue and how we’d been trapped in the car until Conner arrived. Everyone went silent again. When I looked at their faces, they all stared at Conner with….with what I thought was fear.

  “I felt the magic,” he said, apparently not wanting to say any more. My mouth dropped open in surprise and frustration.

  “You can break through it, can’t you?” Leanna breathed. Conner didn’t respond, but Mac let out a laugh which relieved a little of the tension.

  “Well then. I guess we learn something new about this demon spawn every day.”

  I didn’t fully understand the exchange going on here. It seemed as though the group didn’t know the extent of Conner’s abilities and I think that it scared them. Wanting to change the subject, I decided to tell them more about my last vision.

  “There’s something else too.” I recounted the entire story I got from Angela’s watch, finally connecting the pieces to realize that Jake was attached to all of these events. “I didn’t tell the detectives about seeing his face or about the sleeping spell.”

  No one spoke for a few moments. Had I made the right choice to tell them about all of this? I didn’t think I was skeptical, but perhaps I felt guilty for not being completely honest with Garrick.

  “You should tell the detectives about seeing him,” Terez said.

  Elise stepped closer to the group. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Terez? I mean if we’re going to be stealing things and taking matters into our own hands, do you really want the police around? What if they connect Jake Montgomery to someone in the City Coven or in The Order?” Some of the others nodded in agreement, but before she could respond, a new voice cut in.

  “Then we don’t steal anything,” King stated.

  Turning my body to face him I asked, “What do you mean?”

  “The cambion knows which book we need, right? And you could get us the lock combination through your visions, right? So all we would really need to do is get in, find the right book, copy the pages, and get out. Easy.” He moved against the back of the couch as though all of the speaking exhausted him and he had nothing else to add.

  “Hmm. That might work,” agreed Mac. “I can take care of the copying, Leila cracks open the safe, Conner identifies which grimoire we need, and the rest of you help get us in and keep watch.” The fairy and werewolf exchanged a glance filled with mutual respect.

  “I�
��m not breaking into someone’s house!” I cried. “I wouldn’t even know the first thing about doing such a task.”

  “You’ll be with a professional,” Mac said, nodding toward Conner who shifted uncomfortably back into his spot on the couch.

  “I draw pictures for a living.”

  “Yes, and he’s a lawyer. But we all have our own special talents, Leila.” Mac gestured to the circle of people gathered around. “Sometimes we need to stretch the laws a bit to make it in this ignorant and intolerable world. So we’ve all developed a unique set of skills. But this time, we have a real purpose. We can save the life of someone’s child.”

  It’s like he knew exactly what to say to hook me. How could I not help? Angela was out there somewhere, and if the pattern held true, we still had a week to try and find her alive.

  I couldn’t believe the next words coming out of my mouth. “Okay, I’m in. I don’t have the faintest idea of how to break into a witch’s home and open a safe, but I’m in.” A chorus of agreement followed and for the rest of the meeting, we came up with a plan to copy the grimoire in two night’s time.

  What had I just agreed to?

  Thirteen

  I woke up the next morning to a phone call. It was Detective Sherwood and it was early again. Didn’t these men have any respect for sleeping in? Out of breath, he whispered heavily into the phone.

  “Leila, look I don’t have a lot of time and I can’t figure out this texting thing. We’re getting together tonight at Phillips’s for Garrick’s birthday, and I thought maybe you’d want to come.”

  “Oh.” This was certainly unexpected. I knew I needed to talk to Garrick today to tell him about my “forgotten” vision with Jake Montgomery. I was planning on doing it over the phone, but perhaps a conversation in person would be better. “Thanks, Detective Sherwood. It’s really nice of you to invite me.”

  “You should probably call me Danny at this point. Are you coming? Let’s say around seven?”

  “Sure, that sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  Short and to the point. Nothing but the most enlightening conversation with that one. I immediately sent a text message to Sara telling her that she was accompanying me tonight because I certainly wasn’t going to a cop party alone.

  We parked in the public garage and walked the half mile to the restaurant along the harbor. The tourist season was coming to an end but it was still crowded for a week night. Inner Harbor was a really nice place to visit. Russ and I would often sit along the pier and watch the boats head out to the Chesapeake Bay. I’d usually take my shoes off and dangle my feet over the edge toward the water, although I would never want my feet to actually touch that water. Sometimes it smelled too bad and looked like soup.

  Muffled music along with a symphony of laughs and dialogue drifted out from the numerous restaurants and bars that lined the harbor. Between Sara and me, there usually wasn’t any lull in the conversations. However, I found myself drifting a bit and wondering if I should tell her about my big exploit taking place tomorrow night. She’d known about my gifts for a long time and had always accepted me, but I don’t think that she’d want to be privy to my breaking and entering plans. Although, knowing Sara, she’d probably want to come along for the adventure. I decided to keep it to myself for now.

  “So tell me who’s going to be there,” Sara said as she wrapped her arm in mine. We both wore jeans with black heels, but where my simple top and sweater was tasteful, hers was anything but. Being so tight and low-cut, I was surprised Ben let her out of the house. Don’t get me wrong, she looked great, but I worried about the group of men we were about to spend the next couple of hours with.

  “I only really know Garrick and Danny. I may recognize a few of the other detectives, but haven’t spent much time with any of them. I would think Danny’s wife will be there too. You’ll like her.” I’d only met her once, very briefly at the station, but something about the friendly smile hiding her strong personality appealed to me.

  “And Garrick? Is he bringing anyone of the female persuasion?” she asked, winking at me.

  I thought about that for a minute. Did I know if he had someone in his life? Had he ever talked about it? As I tried to remember, I felt disappointment and jealousy stirring within me. My mind spun in an attempt to erase those feelings. Garrick and I had nothing going on between us, so why did I suddenly feel so concerned?

  “I don’t know if he’s seeing anyone,” I finally replied. If Sara saw my unease, she let it pass without comment, no small feat for her.

  “Well, regardless, I’m happy to see you going out again. I mean with someone other than Ben and me.”

  A rush of emotion tangled in my stomach and lodged in my throat. Every single time there was a reminder of my new single life, I had an intense reaction like this. I just wanted this to end.

  Plastering a smile on my face, I swallowed the pain back down and nudged against Sara for comfort. I couldn’t speak without fear of choking on my words, and thankfully, I didn’t need to talk the rest of the way.

  Phillip’s was a famous seafood restaurant overlooking the water and known for their Maryland crab cakes. Our party sat in a semi-private area near the back corner of the establishment. Sara and I arrived fashionably late of course, so by the time we got there, everyone had already been served drinks and appetizers. Fifteen people, mostly men, gathered around a bunch of smaller tables pushed together to make one large one. Luckily, I didn’t see my best friend Lieutenant Baer among the group. Danny, the first to recognize us, jumped up to introduce everyone.

  “Hey, you made it!” I guessed he’d been drinking for a while. He smiled at me and then noticed Sara. His gaze lingered on her breasts for a few seconds too long before shifting back to me. “And you brought a friend.”

  Sara held out her hand to the ogling detective and flashed her teeth. “I’m Sara, and you must be Detective Sherwood.”

  “Please, call me Danny.” A shorter dark haired lady moved to his side. She was in her mid-fifties like the detective, and although she wore very little makeup, her strong Italian bone structure made her a striking beauty.

  She slapped Danny on the arm. “Please, call him a creepy old man,” she joked as she acknowledged Sara and me. “It’s good to see you again, Leila.” Then nodding to Sara she added, “And nice to meet you as well, Sara. Please ignore my husband and his disgusting male habits.” She held out her hand. “I’m Mimi.”

  Sara laughed and took the lady’s hand. “Very nice to meet you, Mimi. And you too grandpa,” she continued and looked up at Danny. The whole table laughed and cat-called as Danny was put in his place. He shook his head and grumbled, then looked over our shoulders to acknowledge someone.

  “Ah, the birthday boy. Don’t tell me I never got you anything,” he said, waving his hands at us. “Two for the price of one.” Mimi hushed him and dragged him back to his seat before he could make a bigger fool out of himself.

  Rolling his eyes, Garrick stepped closer to us. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t know he’d invited you.”

  “I didn’t know it was your birthday.” Nudging Sara forward I introduced her. “This is my good friend, Sara. I hope you don’t mind I brought her along.”

  His smile was genuine when he replied, “No, not at all. Hi Sara.”

  I heard the unmistakable screeching of tables and chairs being shifted around at the other end of the room. Someone called out to Garrick telling him to come back to his spot because his drink was getting warm. We followed behind and I noticed that the group had added two empty chairs to the left of Garrick.

  “Leila, you sit there,” which was next to Garrick, “and you sit here, beautiful lady.” That was directed at Sara. One of the younger detectives anxiously pulled Sara into the seat next to him. She and I still sat side by side, but I could tell she loved the attention.

  Garrick pulled out the back of my chair in a totally old-fashioned, yet greatly appreciated, gesture. Smi
ling as I sat, I saw that he was surrounded by other male cops and no females. This secretly made me happy.

  Our end of the table was the furthest from the entrance into the little room, so we had the most privacy in the group. I picked up the menu in front of me and began to look at the fancy drink selections. Without warning, Garrick squeezed my forearm.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said and lightly brushed my hand before pulling back. I suddenly had another round of emotions fluttering in my stomach, but this time it was for a different reason.

  “You’re welcome. It’s good to get out of the house every once in a while.”

  I returned his smile with full appreciation and a little bit of flirtation. I’d managed to relax enough to enjoy my evening at the sushi place with Conner, so I vowed to try and do the same tonight. Garrick was a great guy. His job, his compassion, his drive, it was everything that I admired in people. Add that to the fact that he was incredibly handsome and I could almost let go of my memories long enough to imagine what it would be like to go out on a date with him. Almost. I still didn’t think I was completely ready for that step.

  Sara and I ordered cosmopolitans and gorged ourselves on shrimp cocktails and crab cakes. The conversations flowed throughout the evening and I identified some of the relationships within this group of detectives. Garrick was the youngest at thirty-three, as of today. There was an ongoing poll to see how long he would stay single, and although I thought it cruel, Garrick laughed it off. The fact that I was there encouraged taunts from those who believed they were going to win the bet sometime soon. I did my best not to participate in those discussions.

  The one sitting next to Sara, Detective Remington, was the next oldest, and apparently had a fiancé at home. That didn’t seem to stop him from enjoying Sara’s company and physique so I made a mental note to tell Sara to avoid him in the future. The rest of the group came from the homicide division with a few guests from forensics. Since this was an impromptu get together, I thought it nice to see so many friends supportive of Garrick.