"Yeah, tell me about it. All I do is live in this tiny town, wondering if someone is going to try and kill me or blow my cover. I've integrated so much into this place I sometimes forget I'm PIB." There was almost a tint of sadness to her voice. "I'd much rather be rocking PIB clothes and scaring the shit out of people." She glanced at me. "Or you know, hunting down most wanteds and doing a case or two for the King of Vampires."
"You know, all any of this has gotten me is my best friend killed, a cool leather jacket, and a few death threats." I tried to keep a joke in my voice but failed. "And now I'm here." I opened the binder and started looking through all the information.
She didn't say anything as I read through the pages. "After all of this, the only thing that's common for the victims outside the city is they were all wolves, and the ones inside the city were all witches or warlocks."
She sighed. "Yep, Curt doesn't know what the connection is between the wolves. At least, not that he's saying. He lets his wolves leave the pack if they wish. He's a good pack master."
That was good to hear. "Simon is too." I nodded. "Maybe Curt will trust him enough to share information."
"Remember, not talking about this in public. I don't even trust technology to share information."
I snorted. "Trust me. I won't be passing information through my phone. Simon and I will find a way to trade information without giving it away. We've had to do it before."
"You trust him?"
"With my life, or I would have fought for someone else to be here with me." I thought about Merick and realized there was no one else I could have brought. "This has been going on for a while. The question is, what is the motive behind it?"
She shrugged. "I wish I could say. The Coven is tight-lipped about it. Every time one pops up they ignore it. Occasionally someone speaks up about what is going on, but our priest always say that it's because of Karma or the Goddess willed it."
I found it weird that she didn't have much more details about it since she'd been there so long. I tried to push the paranoia out of my mind. "Are you a member?"
She nodded. "I have to be to do the job. They put the person to rest, the coven grieves, and that's it. If someone new comes into the city and they are a witch or warlock, they are invited to the coven and they rarely refuse the invite. When it comes to the murders, one person mentioned PIB coming in, and that person disappeared for two weeks and came back with a change of heart."
In the paranormal world, a change of heart normally meant some form of torture.
"And the Cult of Ra? This is typically more their area. Vigilante misconstrued justice."
She glanced at me. "How much do you know about the Cult?"
Oh, I just happened to have the son of the high priest living in my house. So not much. I kept my sarcastic thought to myself. "A bit, they were involved in one of my cases a while back."
"They are gray when it comes to magic, sometimes a bit darker. Most of these people, they are black, Abigail. Just wait. They make the Cult look like puppies."
Having that confirmed didn't make me feel any better. "Great, I've met a few Cult members, one who had gone AWOL, I can't imagine him as a puppy."
She snorted. "Our high priest and priestess will make him look like a chihuahua."
"Well okay then." I settled back with the binder and spent the next hour or so going over the names of the victims and the details that might have hinted to anything important. The good news was that Ana had done most of the footwork already, the bad news was, there wasn't a lot of connection to all the dots yet.
∞
Ana pulled up to a small restaurant, and I put the binder back in Ana's bag. I handed her the bag as she got out and then grabbed my own. I really wished I would have had a moment to get my gun, but arming myself in the parking lot probably would have looked suspicious.
I followed Ana up to the old red brick building. Patches of the brick had been worn smooth and were almost colorless from years of weathering. The building might have been as old as the city itself, but it was still standing sturdy. We walked in, and a rush of pinpricks went through my body. I instantly recognized it as magic. I glanced at Ana, and she smiled.
"Best protected place here in Luna Grove, and you won't find finer food." She waved at a waitress towards the back and then led me to a booth. "Order what you want."
I picked up the menu and looked it over. I hadn't eaten breakfast, and I had a feeling a long day was ahead of me, so eating a big lunch was probably a good choice.
The waitress stepped up to the table. "Ana, I didn't know you were going to be in today. Who's this stranger?" She gave me a big smile, and I glanced at her name tag. Jodie.
"I'm Abby, a college friend of Ana's." I smiled. "Just came for a visit."
Jodie looked me up and down and shook her head. "You stick out like a sore thumb. Ana, the coven is going to want to meet her."
"Yes, yes, I know. I've already talked to Nathan. It's okay."
I glanced at Ana and then to Jodie. "Stick out how?"
"Your aura is too clean, love." Jodie smirked. "Now, what are we eating today?"
It was good to know that after some of the questionable things I'd done over the last few years that my aura was clean. "I'll have the double burger with a salad, please. Water to drink." I set the menu down.
Ana ordered something similar, and Jodie walked away. "She's right. You're too clean for this town." She laughed. "You'll get a lot of odd looks so just be prepared for that."
I shrugged. "I'll deal. I get weird looks all the time." Granted most of them were from Simon, Merick, or Levi. Occasionally Mason.
"We'll be meeting with -" the door opened, and she stopped mid-sentence. A small look of fear flashed in her eyes, but she forced a smile out. "Nathan, what are you doing here?"
My heart dropped just a little bit. I hated surprises, and meeting the high priest of a local black coven without prep was not a good surprise.
Nathan was a warlock that rivaled Levi in height, with dark curly hair that brushed the top of his ears and dark brown eyes that met my gaze. A smile curled over his lips that made me pause. Had I not been able to feel the taint of his aura sliding over me, I would have called the smile welcoming. He could have been handsome, but every bone in my body was screaming at me to leave.
"You must be Ana's guest." He sat down in the booth next to Ana. "I'm Nathan, the high priest of the local coven."
I smiled. "I'm Abby. Pleased to meet you." I had manners when I needed them. I didn't offer to shake his hand or touch him in any way. I learned at a young age that it could end poorly. Some spells could easily hurt you with a simple touch.
"What brings you here?"
"Visiting Ana." I shrugged. "Had some time to kill."
He laughed. "I know you, Abigail Collins. There are whispers about you in the darkest corners of our world. You don't do anything without intentions."
"Glad to think the underground thinks so highly of me, but seriously, I'm on leave." I smiled at him. "I lost my best friend recently, and I needed a break." Once the words left my mouth, I realized how true they were. My tension had lifted a little bit once we had left because I wasn't surrounded by constant reminders that Clarissa was gone.
He studied me for a moment. "You'll come meet the coven tonight." There was no room left for arguing there. "We like to welcome visitors, and I think you'll find our meetings…interesting."
I didn't like the way he had said that. I thought better of arguing, especially because Ana gave a subtle nod of her head. "I look forward to it."
He smiled and stood. "I'll see you there, Abigail."
"Abby, please."
He didn't respond to my request as he walked out of the restaurant. I looked at Ana. "Well, I can tell tonight is going to be interesting. I was really hoping to just chill at the hotel."
She shook
her head. "Oh no, tonight is going to prove to be very interesting."
"Anything you can warn me about?"
She shook her head. "No, because I don't know what he has planned tonight. Just know that if you react poorly, he'll kill you."
I wanted to ask why PIB hadn't brought this coven in before, but I couldn't. Not in public. I had heard of little towns that refused to follow the laws that PIB couldn't touch. We had managed to get an Agent in here for a while without risking her too much. If I asked her about it, then I could be putting her cover at risk.
"If I shed blood tonight, you're buying me a drink."
She laughed. "Deal."
∞
By the end of lunch, Simon had texted me that he was at the hotel and all checked in, complete with the room number. Ana dropped me off so that I could get a nap and ready for the coven meeting.
I walked up to the room number that Simon had given me and knocked since I didn't have a key card yet. Simon opened the door, and I walked in with my bag.
"I thought you were going to pack lands." I dropped my bag in the closet by the door and then paused. "Ah, one bed."
He snorted. "We're dating. Remember?" He nudged my shoulder. That small fact had escaped me for a moment. Probably because I was distracted by the big scary coven meeting I had tonight.
"And the pack lands?"
"Right outside of town." He shrugged. "Not a long drive, too close for my comfort, but the town is pretty close-knit. I guess having lands further away wasn't really an option."
I guess so. I was starting to think this place was too tightly knitted. "Well then, okay. I'm going to take a nap and then a shower before Ana picks me up to meet the local coven."
He nodded. "I could go for a nap too."
For a moment I pondered what it was going to be like to share a bed with Simon. Then I realized that we were both adults, and if we wanted to make sure we didn't blow our cover, we were going to have to sleep in the same bed. I snorted.
"What?" Simon asked.
"I was just imaging Curt sniffing me to see if your scent had rubbed off on me."
Simon shook his head. "What the hell goes through your mind?"
"I'm paranoid. All kinds of scenarios go through my mind."
"Your brain has to be a very scary place."
I shrugged. "You get used to it after a while." I walked over to the bed and fell onto the side closest to the window. "Meeting with the alpha go okay?"
"I guess so. They are still grieving for Brittany, and some of the other pack members they've lost." He sighed. "He wants me to run with them tomorrow night."
"Go ahead. I'm sure Ana has something planned. Maybe we'll go sightseeing or something."
Or, you know, go take a look at past crime scenes, it was the same basic concept, really. He laid down next to me, and I turned on my side to look at him. "Honestly, you take care of your wolf stuff and don't worry about me."
He glanced at me. "You know how hard it is to not worry about you?"
"I'll try to make it easier. I swear I don't mean to make it hard."
He smiled. "At least I don't have to worry about you getting eaten."
"Yeah, pretty sure your pack won't mistake me for a meal, and I shouldn't be anywhere near Curt's pack. So I'd say being eaten is probably off the list of worries for this trip." I closed my eyes. "Now, I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if anything explodes."
"We've been here less than twenty-four hours. Nothing better explode."
I shook my head and rolled over so my back was facing him. He was right, typically things don't explode the first day on the case. Typically.
CHAPTER FOUR
Simon didn't wake me up, but my alarm did, telling me it was time to get up, shower, and prepare to meet Ana. But when I woke, I found I didn't want to get out of bed. Simon had fallen asleep next to me, and the warmth of his body was tempting me to stay in bed.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes before heading to the shower. I just needed a quick one to wake up and tame the mess of waves that was my hair. I grabbed the things I needed from my bag and then locked myself in the bathroom.
As I stood under the water, I tried to keep the paranoid thoughts out of my head. It'd probably be in bad form to bring my weapons, which meant that if I needed protection, I was going to have to rely on my magic.
Nathan had already heard rumors about me, but I didn't know which ones. Using magic could turn into a pissing contest that I didn't want to enter or even knew if I could win.
I scrubbed the conditioner out of my hair and then turned off the shower. Ana had promised it was going to be an interesting night with no real hint of what was going to happen. I could be walking into a trap, a sacrifice, blood magic. I growled as the thoughts continued to flood into my head. I needed to refocus my brain and push off the paranoia. I took a few deep breaths and cleared the thoughts. I focused only on what I could control. I knew I was walking into dark magic, I knew I couldn't blow my cover, and I knew how to protect myself with magic.
I was going to survive this night. It was as simple as that.
∞
Ana greeted me at the door of the hotel not long after I'd gotten out of the shower. Simon had gotten in right after me, so I assumed Curt was going to pick him up pretty soon as well.
Ana smiled at me. "I hope you enjoyed your afternoon?"
"I took a much-needed nap. So yeah, I guess you could say that I enjoyed it." I shrugged. "I'm sure I need to be rested for tonight. What are your coven gatherings typically like?"
"Normally uneventful, but Nathan likes to show off for guests, so your guess is as good as mine." She led me to her car.
Once more I hesitated.
"I promise Abby, it's not going to blow up." She laughed and got in.
I rolled my eyes and followed her in. "I'm a bit gun shy."
She started the car and nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that."
"Simon said that everything here was in walking distance, why are we driving?"
"Because my house isn't in town, it's on the outskirts, so I have to drive in, and it makes no sense to park the car and leave it somewhere just to walk around town." She pulled on to the street and headed north of the hotel.
Most of the buildings we passed were older, much like the restaurant we had stopped at for lunch. Some were old enough and neglected enough that the roofs were falling apart. Occasionally we'd pass something that looked newer and cared for, but it wasn't often.
"This town is a bit worn, isn't it? I bet it was cute back in the day." I watched as a pedestrian shuffled into a little shop.
"Yeah, until the coven moved in, then people started leaving until most of the town belonged to either the wolf pack or the coven. And most of them don't care enough to take care of the town. It's sad really. I've seen pictures in the archive of the town when it was first built, and it was really pretty and lively." She sighed. "I would love to see it turned back that way, but it's not my job to do it. My job is to figure out how to bring the coven in for their crimes, starting with these weird dual deaths."
I nodded. "Then maybe some life will come back to the town."
"Or it'll become an abandoned ghost town."
"Why do the wolves stay here? If the coven owns most the town?"
"That's a question for Curt, but you can't just approach him and ask him out of nowhere."
I thought for a moment. I couldn't ask him, but maybe Simon could. Of course it could come up in a general conversation as well. If I steered it that way. Though there would be no reason I'd be chatting it up with Curt that I could see right now.
"Whatever you're thinking, you'll have to play your cards right." She pulled into the parking of an old warehouse.
"This is where everyone meets?"
She nodded. "Not ideal, typically, but it allows for a large group."
"T
he coven back home meets in the woods." I looked at the building. "In my experience nothing good comes from warehouses."
She snorted. "Nothing good happens in this one either."
"You're making me paranoid, Ana."
"Paranoia keeps you alive Abby."
Levi had said something similar to me growing up. I took a deep breath and got out of the car, reminding myself that I was an off-duty, on leave PIB agent who could be walking into a massive black magic trap.
The pentagram around my neck warmed just a little bit, and I remembered that Oliver had put an extra protection spell within it to protect me from my second bout with Hannah. Maybe it would serve me well here. I wrapped my hand around it and whispered a prayer to the goddess that I would survive this night. I just needed some clue, some hint that would lead us in the right direction on this case. We could follow it, and I could get the hell home.
Magic pressed against me as we approached the open metal door that was the entrance. I couldn't breathe for a moment, and the pentagram warmed even more. Ana put her hand on my shoulder, and the feeling dissipated as we walked through together.
"The Coven makes sure no one can enter without a member when the circle is active, it's what keeps them safe."
Nathan stepped up to us as we walked into the building. "And anyone who enters here, swears themselves to secrecy."
"That's a pretty complicated spell." I was impressed, and it explained why Ana couldn't tell me so much about the Coven.
He smiled. "I'm sure it's not as complicated as some of the ones you know."
"I've been known to do a trace spell or two, but that's about as complicated as I've done." The lie slipped easily off my lips, good to know that the coven didn't have a truth spell active here.
He laughed. "That's not what the underground says about you, Abigail. They say that you killed a hundred vampires with your hand, that you control fire, but I guess your aura is too clean for all of that."
"That's the thing about the underground, a lot of time it's nothing but rumors." I put my hands in my pockets.
Between the Lines (Here Witchy Witchy Book 7) Page 5
