by Melody Raven
“Yeah, sorry. I forgot how loud it gets in here.”
Sam didn’t look as if she really believed Claire, but she didn’t say anything. They were both a bit grumpy at this point. They’d been reading barely legible books for hours and hadn’t found a damn thing. Claire knew she’d heard Sam’s stomach growling a bit ago, but they hadn’t stopped to eat.
They just kept on searching, no matter how pointless it got. It was strange. A few months ago, she’d known almost nothing about this strange world the witches lived in. After all of this reading, she might actually be on her way to becoming an expert. Maybe Sam could lend her a book that she could dive into at home….
She flipped the book open and, as if she’d just been slapped in the face, there it was. The soul sucker. There was even an illustration. If Claire wasn’t freaked out enough by the terrifying name alone, the drawing was there to make her feel worse.
It was all shades of black and gray. A robed figure with the face of a skull and the only piece of color on the page—glowing red eyes. “I think I found something,” said Claire, trying to keep the fear from her voice.
Sam looked up and brushed some hair out of her face. “A book that mentions the darkness?”
“Well, this can’t be good.” Claire pushed the book over. “Have you ever heard of a soul sucker?”
Claire had hoped like hell that Sam would laugh or roll her eyes, but she didn’t. Instead, she pulled the book over and looked at the picture. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Heather isn’t a soul sucker.”
Claire wasn’t about to let it go that easily. “But that drawing pretty much looks like darkness to me, right? You said to find anything that could possibly help.”
Sam shook her head. “No, soul suckers are more like… mutations. Magic gone bad kind of thing. Darkness is different.”
“Wait. You can’t just drop something like soul suckers on me right now and then not give me any more details. This is a witch thing? Are they dangerous? Do you know any? Do they actually have skulls for faces?”
“Soul suckers have been extinct for centuries,” said someone from the doorway.
Both Claire and Sam turned to see Abigail. Sam mentioned she was worried about how her mother was handling things, but from the sleek gray pants and black silk shirt she wore, Claire thought Abigail looked right back to normal.
“Mom,” said Sam.
Sam didn’t stand and Claire decided to follow her lead.
“Extinct is good, right?” Especially good if that meant Jackson was full of shit about her true identity.
“They were hunted down and murdered by witches who were threatened by them. It was heroic and tragic.”
Okay, not good. Jackson had warned her to keep her identity a secret and this would be a damn good reason to heed his advice.
“They are magic thieves,” said Sam, taking a very unsympathetic stance. “Why was it tragic?”
“You don’t know as much about history as I do,” said Abigail. “It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario. They were evil and everyone knew they were evil. So were they bad because everyone told them they were? Or did everyone tell them they were bad because they were? Either way, they were a threat and threats won’t be tolerated. Someone like Claudia can’t have a witch running around who could drain her powers without even casting a spell. It’s dangerous for everyone.”
Claire glanced down at the table and carefully controlled her breathing. If they knew she was afraid…. “That’s horrible,” she said, hoping to toe the line between an indifferent and a normal reaction.
“History books are full of bloody massacres that are now merely footnotes. We’re in the process of trying to prevent one of those at the moment.” Abigail turned her attention to Sam. “Mother called. She wants you there tonight.”
Sam’s brows rose and Claire could tell she wasn’t expecting it. “Okay. Good. We’ll get ready and—”
“Not we. You. She wants you there. She said you can bring your boyfriend if you want.”
“Derek? Claudia hates Derek.”
“Yes, but she loves you and he loves you. For the moment, their interests align.”
“And that’s why the two of you wiped my memories out?”
Abigail crossed her arms over her chest, not even a hint of remorse showing. “Him loving you was never the problem. We are going into an unprecedented attack on our way of life, Samantha. You being distracted was what worried us. What still worries us. You must remain focused.”
“Why? I’m the least useful person involved here.”
“We all have our parts to play. Well, except for me. I have been explicitly requested to stay here and out of the way.”
Claire was quiet, but she was silently in agreement with the order. If it weren’t for Abigail’s interference, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Derek’s bullet never would’ve missed Heather.
She knew that Sam and Abigail both had sentimental feelings toward Heather, but Claire wasn’t related and Heather had almost killed her twice. The very idea that this woman who wanted her dead so badly was still running around and dangerous was terrifying.
Adding to the terror was the fact that Heather knew what Claire was. What had Sam said? A magic thief. She’d pulled the magic right out of Heather and it had been the only thing that allowed her to escape. So now Heather, someone who had killed people for a lot less, knew exactly what Claire was.
Fantastic. “Maybe I should get going.” Claire stood. “Want me to take some books with me to see if I can find anything else?” She subtly closed the book with the drawing of the soul sucker and pulled it closer.
Abigail shrugged. “Whatever. Don’t spill anything on them.” She then left and Sam was staring in shock at the doorway. Claire got the impression that “whatever” wasn’t really in Abigail’s vocabulary.
Sam leaned back in her chair and tightened her lips.
“So….” said Claire, trying to break the tension. “Maybe our next girls’ day can be a mani pedi.”
Sam let out a laugh and for at least a moment, her smile appeared genuine. “I’m sorry to drag you into all this.”
“No, don’t be sorry.” Claire ran her hand over the valuable text. “Seeing all of these… I get that not every witch is lucky enough for that. So even though I was here helping you, it kind of felt like you were helping me too.”
“That’s a really nice way of looking at it. Wrong, though. I was totally just taking advantage of you.”
Now Claire smiled. “Should we have someone call me a car?”
“No. Take mine. I’ll have Derek pick me up. We’ll want to have a chance to go over tonight before Claudia and everyone gets in the way.”
Claire snorted. “Please. You all just want a chance to be alone.”
“No!” Sam shot up. “We’re going to be purely professional.” A wicked glint flickered in her eye. “Probably.”
Derek looked out at the empty concrete building in front of him. “What is it with bad guys and abandoned warehouses?”
“Heather didn’t pick this spot, Claudia did,” said Sam.
“My point stands.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but he wasn’t about to say he didn’t think Claudia was one of the bad guys. He was still way too bitter about Sam’s memories, and Claudia wasn’t on his good list even before that.
The fact that he was even invited to this little shindig had him… on edge. He was happy. With something this important, he wanted to make sure he was kept in the loop, and he knew Claudia didn’t give a damn about keeping him informed. But it also made him question Claudia’s thinking.
Heather had made it very clear that she didn’t want Claudia to bring backup to try to kill her, and she’d mostly stayed true to her word. Claudia currently sat in the backseat of her town car, not deigning to come out until the person of the moment showed up. He and Sam stood outside the car because he liked to keep a considerable distance from his girlfriend’s grandmother, who wanted him dead.
; “How’s Bob doing?” asked Sam. She’d been quiet about his family before, which made sense because of all the other stuff going on, but apparently she couldn’t hold the questions back any longer.
“He’s great. Home and stubborn as a mule as always. Ma thought she could use this scare as an excuse to get him to watch his cholesterol intake, but fat chance of that happening.”
Sam let out a little laugh. “They’re so cute.”
“You know, they like you too.”
Sam glanced at him and smirked. “They’re just happy you’re with someone. Your mother told me many times how surprised she was that you’re single.”
“Did you tell her I’m an asshole?”
“No… I told her that you’re very good at your job and the city of New York is lucky to have you.”
“No wonder they love you. You talk about how awesome I am and they’ll eat out of your hands for life.”
Sam moved in closer. “If only my family was so easy, right?”
“You said it.”
They were both leaning against the wall on the far side of the warehouse. Not hiding, because they weren’t trying to sneak up on Heather. Just far enough away so they weren’t in natural earshot of Claudia.
“What time is it?” asked Sam.
Derek had already been checking the time constantly, so he didn’t even need to pull out his phone to say, “We still have ten minutes.”
“She has to be here though, right? Like, if I were planning a meeting with someone who wanted me dead, I’d show up early.”
“Probably not a good time to mention the shirt she stole from you in tenth grade.”
“How did you know she stole my clothes?”
“You’re girls. I’m stereotyping.”
Sam gave him a playful hit on his arm and once again they gravitated closer to each other. “What would we be doing if we weren’t here?” she asked.
“Like, normally?”
“No. Together. Assuming we weren’t in bed,” she added quickly. “What would we be doing?”
“Well, I’d take you out to dinner, because we’ve never had an official date. It couldn’t be anywhere too nice because you’re rich, so I have to impress you with charm.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “You don’t have to impress—”
He held up a hand. “Let me finish. So I’d probably do Italian, because you can’t beat Italian charm. I’d go somewhere I’ve worked a case before. I’d call ahead of time, because then the owner can come out and tell you how I saved the business and go on about how great I am for so long that it actually becomes awkward to smile that much. And we’d eat so much that we couldn’t even imagine dessert, but that’s okay because then we’d go for a walk and talk until we have an appetite again and we’d get a piece of the best cheesecake in the city.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“It’s damn good cheesecake. And there are tables there but we’d decide that this should be savored somewhere privately. So then we’d take the cheesecake back to my place and share a fork as we eat it, because everyone knows sharing a fork is sexy.”
“Obviously.” Sam giggled.
“And then—”
“Don’t worry. I know what would happen after that. I think that you’re officially in charge of dates from now on. You’re much more creative than I am.”
“Why? What would your idea be?”
“Probably just handcuffs and whipped cream.”
“Hell, my idea is shit compared to that. You win this hands down.”
She shook her head. “You think we’ll ever be able to do that?”
“Handcuffs and whipped cream? Yes. You let me stop at the store tonight and—”
“No, the normal date stuff. I feel like nothing is ever going to be normal again. Ever since you met me, everything has been pain and misery for you.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but not everything that goes wrong in my life is your fault. I’m a homicide detective. Pain and misery is part of the gig.”
“Well, shouldn’t your girlfriend make things better for you instead of worse?”
He looked over at her and studied her face. “Sam, you make everything better. Never forget that.”
He didn’t like to say mushy things for the sake of being mushy, but Sam needed to know how he felt. He wasn’t with her as some favor to her. It was a hundred percent selfish, because when he thought about not being with her, even back to a few weeks ago when they’d been pretending the other didn’t exist, he never wanted to go back to that. And he wasn’t going to beat around the bush. It was fast, but he was all in, no matter how scary her family was or how likely it was that they were facing some sort of magical apocalypse.
Speaking of magical apocalypse…. He heard the click-clacking of heels and a shiver went up his spine. For fuck’s sake, couldn’t she at least dress like she might have to run for her life? It was almost insulting how little fear Heather Harris showed as she strolled right into the dark warehouse.
Her blonde hair was loose around her shoulders, and she wore a tight dress that was black on the edges and bright pink on the inside. Made him feel underdressed in his off-the-rack suit he wore to work. Sam was back in the more expensive designer suit her grandmother had provided and that made her look like a drone.
Claudia also had dressed for the occasion. The guard dog, Bastian, went around to open her door and Claudia got out in all her regal glory. Her black dress was floor length. It billowed out with every step she took. Derek wasn’t a fashion expert, but he had a feeling material didn’t naturally do that. It had to be some sort of magical assistance.
He and Sam both got to attention. Even though he wouldn’t mind a few seconds to tell Heather exactly what he thought of the stunt she pulled with his family, he knew he was outgunned here. He and Sam held back while Claudia and Bastian took the lead.
“Grandmother,” said Heather, with her big, stupid smile he was coming to hate.
Claudia didn’t seem as though she was any more fond of it. “No granddaughter of mine would allow herself to be consumed by the darkness. We might share blood, but you are no family of mine.”
For the briefest second, Heather’s smile flickered. She might try to be cool, but the cut about not being part of the family anymore must’ve landed. “Oh, I’ve disappointed the great Claudia. So sorry about that.”
Claudia was silent, but she narrowed her eyes in the same way that was normally directed at him, and Derek knew Heather was way beyond forgiveness.
“So…” said Heather. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked you all here today.”
“I already know why,” said Claudia.
Heather raised a skeptical brow. “Is that right?”
“You’ve lost control of it, haven’t you?”
“I never lost control of anything. If I lost control, I wouldn’t even be here,” she snapped. There was a pause. “But a little more control is never a bad thing.”
Claudia scoffed. “I cannot help you. The darkness is greed incarnate. It craves power and control. There is nothing that can change that.”
“I hear there’s someone who has tamed the darkness before. In fact, she used a spell with a particular binding agent….”
“No,” said Claudia.
“Yes,” said Heather. “I want you to give me whatever it was you used in that spell and I want it now.”
“I no longer have it.”
“I don’t care. Get it. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you know just what the extent of my abilities is. The Beast back there already gave me the ‘we do not negotiate with terrorists’ crap and you saw what happened to him. If I need to prove my point again, I will.”
Claudia scoffed. “Don’t mistake me for a human. His entire career is based off protecting others. I protect myself. Threaten whatever you want. You can’t touch me.”
“Big talk for a woman who is meeting me all alone.”
Derek raised a bro
w. Apparently they didn’t count for much.
“Little girl.” Claudia took a step forward. “I don’t need assistance to take you out.” Just then, the wind kicked up, howling outside, and then shattering what windows were left in the abandoned building.
Instinctively, Derek moved closer to Sam and he unholstered his sidearm. But it was kind of hard to shoot wind.
Sam had flinched at the breaking windows, but as the wind kicked up, she held her ground.
“One last chance,” said Heather, as if the building wasn’t about to fall apart around them. “Are you going to help me or do I need to take over?”
“No more chances,” said Claudia. “This ends here.”
“Then end it.”
Claudia held out her hand and Derek aimed his gun at Heather, but Heather wasn’t looking at either of them. She stared right at Bastian, who wasn’t standing like a guard at Claudia’s side anymore. Instead, he had drawn a blade from inside his jacket and walked toward Claudia.
“Grandma!” screamed Sam. Her hand shot out and an invisible force had Claudia flying across the room. Bastian turned to follow and stopped.
“Kill her!” screamed Heather.
The wind was still howling and Derek had to squint to see through it. Bastian took a step for Claudia and then stopped. He slowly turned toward Heather, as though it took every ounce of strength in his body.
“Kill her now!” repeated Heather, but this time when Bastian took another stumbling step toward her, she stumbled back, her eyes wide with fear.
Derek took the chance to shoot, except Heather was gone by the time the bullet sliced through the air where she just had been.
“Fuck,” he muttered as Sam ran to Bastian.
He just caught her arm to hold her back. Bastian stood stock-still, looking at the spot Heather disappeared from.
Derek held a hand to signal Sam to stay there as he slowly approached Bastian. “Hey, buddy. You doin’ okay?”
He still stared straight ahead, as though frozen, with a grimace of either anger or pain etched on his face. No, he wasn’t still. He was almost vibrating, as though he were trying to move or fighting against something.
“Stay away from him,” warned Claudia. She’d gotten up and was using the back of her hand to wipe away some blood.
