Witch Hunt, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series)

by Rawlings, Rachel

  “Maurin, can I have a word with you? In private,” Aidan said.

  “We’ll talk after,” I waved him off.

  “What did you have in mind?” Mahalia asked.

  “I really need to talk to you now,” Aidan said.

  Aidan got up and walked away from the group. He was lingering in the hallway between my kitchen and bedroom, hoping that I’d follow. I didn’t.

  “I won’t be able to hurt, never mind kill the Afrit from outside the circle, but what if I’m inside with the Retaliator?” I asked, ignoring Aidan.

  My idea wasn’t well received by anybody. Well, except for Graive. Surprise, surprise.

  “That’s crazy. Tell her how crazy that is, Mahalia.” Amalie said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

  Mahalia didn’t say a word. I could see her spinning the idea around in her head.

  “No, that might actually work,” Graive said.

  “Maurin?” Aidan called.

  I could tell from his tone that I wasn’t going to be able to put off a private conversation with Aidan any longer. I excused myself from the conversation and followed him to my bedroom. He started in on me before I had even closed the door.

  “Are you insane?”

  “Keep your voice down. It sounds like you’re yelling at me."

  “I am yelling at you. It’s the only way to penetrate your unbelievably thick skull!"

  “I think that this will give us the best chance at getting rid of the Afrit,” I wanted him to understand, but seriously doubted I had the energy to convince him.

  “You’re not doing this."

  “It’s not up to you,” I reminded him.

  “Well it shouldn’t be up to you either. You obviously have no regard for your own life."

  “I’m doing this,” I turned to leave.

  “Maurin, wait,” Aidan grabbed my arm.

  I stopped and tugged my arm free, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want him to talk me out of this. The Afrit had to be stopped and I was going to be the one to do it.

  “Why won’t you even consider other options?” he asked.

  “What other options, Aidan? The only other option presented was summoning another demon and that is not happening. Do you have any ideas?”

  “No, not yet,” he admitted. “But you’re rushing into this. You haven’t thought it through."

  “If I think it through, then I won’t do it."

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. This is madness. Just give it till morning. Sleep on it. That’s all I’m asking."

  “If by sleep on it you mean sleep with you, it won’t change my mind."

  “Is that a challenge?” he asked, backing me up against the door.

  He leaned in with his palms flat on the door like he was about to do a push up. He kissed behind my ear, whispering “If so, I accept."

  I started to protest, but his lips found mine preventing any objections. The kiss was long and deep and full of passion. It was by far the best kiss of my entire life. He stopped to let me catch my breath and I made my escape. I slid down the wall and out from under his arms.

  “That’s not fair,” I moaned.

  He just laughed. “According to whose rules?”

  “Aidan, I have to do this."

  “Someone else could. It doesn’t always have to be you."

  “I really wish that were true."

  19

  Aidan had finally conceded defeat. We were back in my living room going over the details of our plan when there was a knock at the door.

  “Maurin, open up! It’s Masarelli!” he yelled through the door. I guess he figured there was no one to disturb with Ms. Costa, my only neighbor, currently MIA.

  I sighed. This was the last thing that I needed. I got up and caught an “I told you so” look from Aidan. I didn’t know what he thought that he had told me. It’s not like I asked Masarelli to check on Ms. Costa’s apartment personally, and I certainly didn’t invite him over.

  “Don’t let him in,” Oberon said.

  “What? You mean you don’t want me to ask him to join the team?” I said, glaring at Oberon.

  I slid the chain lock in place and opened the door. I did my best to block Masarelli’s view of my visitors.

  “What’s up, Masarelli?” I asked as casually as one can with a vampire, two witches and a necromancer sitting in her living room.

  “I’m checking on the old lady’s apartment. That’s what’s up,” Masarelli snapped.

  “Still no sign of her?” I asked.

  “That’s what I came up here to ask you. You’re the one who lives above her,” he said.

  “I haven’t heard a peep from downstairs. Well, thanks for checking, Masarelli,” I said, starting to shut the door.

  “What the hell, Maurin? Why are you acting so weird?” he asked, getting suspicious.

  “Real smooth,” Graive mumbled.

  I tried not to grimace. “Who’s acting?” I said, trying (and failing) to make a joke.

  “You’re hiding something. Or someone. Who’s in there with you?” he asked, trying to peer over my head.

  Masarelli jumped when Aidan suddenly appeared behind me.

  “Can I help you with something, Detective?” Aidan asked.

  “So that’s it? You didn’t want me to see the vampire in your apartment? Worried that I’d tell the magic man you’re running around on him? What the hell do I care?” Masarelli said.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything!” Oberon called out.

  Masarelli’s eyes widened at the sound of Oberon’s voice. There was no hiding the grimace on my face then. If looks could kill, then the look that I gave Oberon would have stopped his heart.

  “They’re both here?” Masarelli asked in shock.

  “Yes, and as you can imagine, I’ve got my hands full right now,” I said trying not to sound mortified.

  “I’ll bet you do,” Masarelli said, raising one eyebrow.

  I could feel the heat of embarrassment on my face. I didn’t want to know what Masarelli was thinking. And I definitely didn’t want to know what he would tell the guys at SPTF. Damn it. I’d never be able to show my face there again.

  “Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your little party,” Masarelli said.

  I didn’t have anything else to say, so I just shut the door in his face. Embarrassment was quickly replaced with anger. I turned and started walking very slowly toward Oberon. He just shrugged his shoulders.

  “Oh come on. I couldn’t resist,” Oberon said, smiling.

  I was about to leap across the room and smash his face in when Aidan opened the door. He called after Masarelli, telling him to come back. Masarelli said something about wanting no part of whatever was going on in my apartment. Aidan assured him that he did.

  “What are you doing? He was leaving,” Graive said incredulously.

  “He wasn’t going anywhere but out to his car to sit and wait. Besides, we may have a use for him,” Aidan told her, holding the door for Masarelli.

  I knew that Aidan had no use for Masarelli. He thought he was an idiot and totally inept when it came to being a detective, but he saw how upset I was.

  Masarelli was wide-eyed again when he walked into my apartment. I watched his eyes move from face to face, trying to figure out the game and all the players.

  “I thought the idea was to get rid of him. No offense,” Amalie said.

  “If I cared what you thought, I might have actually been offended,” Masarelli replied.

  “Watch it, cop. We could just wipe your memory and send you packing,” Graive said.

  “If your boyfriend had just kept his mouth shut, then we wouldn’t have to consider that,” I told her. “Long story,” I said in answer to Masarelli’s sideways glance.

  “Would someone explain just what in the hell is going on in this insane asylum?” Masarelli demanded.

  “I’m going to need more coffee,” I said.

  “I’ll take something strong
er if you’ve got it,” Masarelli said.

  “I’m not lining up shots while you’re still on duty,” I informed him.

  “My bartender never seems to have a problem with it,” he said.

  I just stared at him slack-jawed. My approval rating of Masarelli as an SPTF agent wasn’t very high, but I had mistakenly given him enough credit not to drink on the job.

  “That was a joke, Maurin. I got off ten minutes ago. You were my last stop. I was heading home for the night,” he said.

  Aidan settled back into his spot on the couch. Masarelli looked around for another chair before reluctantly sitting on the couch with Aidan.

  “I’ll see what I have,” I said as I headed for the kitchen.

  I grabbed my cup and headed for the kitchen as Mahalia started to fill him in on the plan. I could hear her going over what we knew about the Afrit and the beginnings of our plan to kill it. I opened the freezer and grabbed the bottle of Van Gogh. She was done explaining before the coffee was done brewing. I topped off my coffee and poured a shot for Masarelli. I set the shot glass on the table and sat down on the arm of the couch next to Aidan.

  “So let me get this straight. You’re going to lure that thing into a circle with Maurin as bait and then she’s going to kill it with some magical sword?” Masarelli asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah, that about sums it up,” I said.

  “That’s a stupid idea!” he exclaimed.

  “See? Even the Norm knows it’s a bad plan,” Aidan said.

  “Don’t even start with that again, Aidan,” I warned.

  “I saw what that thing can do. There’s no way that this ridiculous plan will work,” Masarelli said.

  “It’ll work. It has to,” I said.

  “Fine. Let’s pretend for a second that it will work. Where is this supposed to go down?” Masarelli asked, after downing the vodka.

  “I’ve been thinking about that. What about Winter Island?” I hated that place but it seemed like a good location.

  “That’s too big of an area to contain. I want Mahalia focused on the circle alone, not warding the whole island. We should go back to the warehouse,” Aidan suggested.

  No wonder he wanted Masarelli to stay. It would be a lot easier using the warehouse, especially if he was involved.

  “No,” Masarelli said adamantly.

  “Why not? Think about it. It’s perfect. Mahalia can ward it. Besides, nobody will be down there that late,” I said.

  “It’s private property,” Masarelli said.

  Yeah, but you haven’t turned it over to the owner yet. It’s still a part of your investigation,” I told him.

  “Exactly. If you fuck it up, then it’s my ass on the line,” he replied.

  “What if you come with us and the Council agrees to pay for any damages? Not that there will be any,” I added.

  He looked at the only Council member in the room for confirmation.

  “I can’t speak for the Council, but the coven will cover all expenses and any damages,” Mahalia assured him.

  “Then it has to happen tonight,” Masarelli said.

  “That’s not enough time. We’re not ready!” Amalie said.

  “Well, I hope that you have a spell to make time stand still then, because that’s all the lead time that you’re going to get. The owner takes the building back tomorrow,” Masarelli told her.

  20

  The apartment was empty and eerily quiet. Everyone was gone, even Aidan. He needed to feed before we faced off with the Afrit. I didn’t ask him where or whom he would hunt. I assumed – well, I hoped - that he had gone to Agrona’s to feed upon one of the donors that were always hanging around the vampire king and queen. He left his car outside and his keys on the counter. I was supposed to meet him at the warehouse in a little over an hour.

  I ditched the sweater for a less bulky long-sleeved shirt, put my shoes on and tied my hair back, yet I still had forty minutes to kill. I was too edgy to sit in my apartment any longer. I grabbed the keys off of the counter and headed out for the warehouse. Driving Aidan’s car was exactly what I had expected - so many horses with nowhere to run.

  I pulled up to the gate, surprised to find it open. Amalie waved me through and pointed to an empty parking spot to the right of the bay door. It looked like I wasn’t the only antsy one. Mahalia and Graive were already inside, cleansing and preparing the space for their casting. Masarelli had been assigned the task of containing the area around the warehouse. With the wards in place, it looked like all the rest of the warehouses. No one could see our activities or us, but that didn’t mean that someone couldn’t get hurt if the Afrit got loose. We weren’t taking any chances. Masarelli and a few of his guys were already set up on the corners of the adjacent streets and alleys to keep any Norms from getting too close. I grabbed the Retaliator off of the back seat and followed Amalie inside.

  “We’re almost ready,” Mahalia said.

  “Don’t rush. There was nothing else for me to do but wait, so I figured that I could do that here instead of at my apartment,” I told her.

  I watched as they finished prepping the space. There were herbs, candles, salt and a few items that I didn’t recognize arranged neatly on the floor. Mahalia checked to make sure that they had everything. After a few minutes, she seemed satisfied.

  “We can begin as soon as everyone has arrived,” she said.

  “We don’t need the vamp. We can start without him,” Oberon said.

  “He has a name and we are waiting for Aidan too,” I said.

  We didn’t have to wait long. Aidan came in and didn’t even look at anyone else. He only had eyes for me. He wrapped me up in his arms, squeezing me like he hadn’t seen me in years, even though it had only been a couple of hours. He was warm and I tried not to squirm as I wondered whose blood was coursing through his veins. Was it someone that he knew or a complete stranger? Did the victim mean something to him? If I wanted to date a vampire, then I’d have to figure out a way to deal with it eventually. I forgot all about blood donors when his lips touched my neck. He kissed the spot where you check for a pulse, and mine sped up immediately. Oberon cleared his throat. I felt Aidan tense from the interruption. He knew Oberon was trying to piss him off and luckily he chose to ignore it. Oberon had been acting like an asshole from the time that he had shown up uninvited at my apartment. I didn’t get it. He had what he had wanted all along. The connection was broken and he was back with Graive. Aidan kissed me again, this time on the lips, before letting me go and acknowledging the others. With hellos out of the way, there was nothing left to do but kill the Afrit.

  I took my place in the center of the warehouse while Mahalia and Amalie set the circle. They left a small section open. If the Afrit could sense the circle, then our plan wouldn’t work. There was enough room inside for me to fight the Afrit. I pulled the amulet’s chain until it snapped free of my wrist and dropped it on the concrete floor. I got into a fighting stance and waited for the demon to appear.

  There wasn’t any great flash of light or plume of smoke to announce its presence. One second I was alone in the circle and a second later I wasn’t. The Afrit let out a terrible roar when Mahalia closed the circle, trapping it inside. And then it turned its full attention to me. Something resembling a smile crept across the demon’s face and I knew it had thought of something that we had overlooked. I expected it to lunge for me and I braced for the impact. I should have seen what was coming, but the energy drain caught me a little off guard. I stumbled, but managed to steady myself with my sword. Aidan stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the circle. There was nothing that he could do to help. It was just me and the Afrit. I was an idiot. The only thing missing from this otherwise perfect opportunity was a nice ribbon tied up in a bow. I wish I had thought of it. Then the gift that I had just given him by isolating myself in a circle would be complete. I needed to turn this around quickly. I tucked and rolled in one of those SWAT maneuvers and swung low with my sword. I sliced through his Ach
illes tendon. The Afrit howled in pain and shifted its weight to the other foot. With its concentration broken, I could feel my energy coming back and scrambled to my feet.

  We sidestepped, feeling each other out. He moved right, I moved left. This little dance wouldn’t last long. One of us was going to have to be the aggressor and press forward. I had already decided to play defense. I was going to let the Afrit come to me. He moved left, I shuffled to the right. Tired of waiting for me to make the first move, the Afrit lunged for me. I thrust the Retaliator forward, stabbing it in the stomach. Its blood coagulated before it hit the floor. The Afrit stumbled back as I pulled the sword free for the killing blow. It had underestimated me and I intended to use my advantage fully. I could hear Graive and Oberon start the banishing spell. I didn’t have much time. I needed to kill its physical form before they finished banishing the spirit.

  I drew back, preparing to drive the sword through its heart. Just as I pressed forward, the Afrit rolled its body to the right. The blade sliced through its shoulder, missing its heart. The Afrit swung. I raised my left arm to protect my face, but left my side exposed - just as it had planned. The Afrit drove its claws into my side just beneath my rib cage and dug in. It hooked its fingers around my ribs and picked me up. I felt a crack in the center of my chest, followed by excruciating pain. I kicked wildly, hoping it had something below the belt for me to connect with. It didn’t even faze him. I pressed down on the hilt of my sword, inching the blade closer to its heart. The Afrit slammed me onto the concrete floor as Graive and Oberon neared the end of the spell.

  My eyes were watering and my ears were ringing, but I could still sense the commotion outside the circle. Aidan was shouting something. What was he saying? Why was he so angry with the coven? Something had gone wrong. The Afrit and I were still in the circle, both of us injured. He hadn’t made a move to escape our magical trap, so what had happened? I couldn’t waste anymore time trying to figure it out. The Afrit was still on top of me with its claws in my chest. It clamped its free hand around my neck and squeezed. I managed a couple of shallow breaths before it could strangle me to death and pulled down on the sword handle again. The blade was within an inch of its heart. Just a little further and it would be dead. I tried to pull myself up with the sword, hoping my weight was enough to move the sword. The Afrit forced me back down before I had a chance to close the distance between the blade and its heart.