by Paige Orr
“Morph, do you think you could hack into the child welfare database and track down any children who could have been Witches lost to the system.”
“I can give it a try. If I don’t have much luck though, you could always ask Melissa’s hacker friend. She’s probably a lot more skilled than I am.”
“I guess so. I just didn’t want to bother her with anything else since I’m pretty sure Melissa will already have her working on this case with her.”
“Wait, didn’t she insinuate she was a supernatural when she threatened to kick your ass if we hurt Melissa.”
“Yeah, I think she did, but she didn’t exactly mention what type.”
“Then call and ask her, if it turns out she’s a Witch then she could be better suited to the job than I first thought.”
I let out a sigh as I pull my phone out and scrolling through my recent call list till I got to her number. I don’t know how welcoming she’ll be on the phone to me, but Morph is right. If anyone is in the right place to be searching about unclaimed Witches, then it would be another Witch. Dialing her number, I wait patiently for her to answer, expecting her to completely ignore me. When she answers the phone though, she sounds nothing but professional, which surprises me.
“Annika Craft, hacker extraordinaire! There’s no code impossible to break when I put my mind to it. What can I do for you?”
“Miss Craft, It’s Zaphyr. I have a few questions for you.”
“Fucking hell, I’m still working on the shit that Mel gave me to do with your case, so what could your royal pain in the ass need me for?”
“I do apologize for interrupting, but we think that we have a lead that we could use your help with. I can pay you as a client if that makes it any better.”
Morpheus turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised at the fact I’ve just offered the woman money. If I know anything about people who live and breathe their job though, it’s the fact that unless you’re a friend, they aren't usually willing to help for free.
“You can just add it to what you're paying Mel, she needs it more than me. Now, what do you need to know Z.”
I cringe at the nickname that she's given me, no doubt intentionally trying to piss me off. I can see why my little songbird is friends with the woman. All I need right now is to be dealing with two sassy females.
“It’s quite simple. When my advisor spoke with you last time, you made it obvious you aren’t human. So what I need to know is if you’re a Witch.”
“Well, aren’t you a smart boy? I don’t see why my race could be important to your investigation though.”
“We think the cultists could be behind this, but they’ve wiped all trace of their presence from the scenes of the crimes. Usually, the only people who can do so are Witches.”
“Yeah, and what’s your point?”
“I was wondering if you could hack into the child welfare system to see if there are any possible Witches who could have slipped through the cracks.”
“Sure, in fact, that job is simple. What I want to know though, is why you think it could be one of the lost?”
“You know yourself Miss Craft that some of the Witches that slip by undetected, are usually ridiculed, and when they are finally found they usually have a lot of resentment. It’s the only theory we have to go on right now,”
“Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll get back to you shortly and let you know what I find.”
She hangs up before I can thank her, and I turn to Morph in disbelief. That girl either has the biggest lady balls ever or she just doesn’t care at all about my opinion of her. I’m willing to bet that it’s both.
Chapter Thirteen
Melissa
I pull up in front of the first house on my half of the list, trying my best not to dwell on what just happened at Adelaide’s. On one hand, I was happy to see my mother, but it’s been so long since she died and I’ve done my grieving, all this is doing is dragging up feelings I can’t afford to get caught up on.
Deciding the best thing to do is throw myself into this investigation to distract me from thinking about it too much, I throw it all into a box and push it to the far recesses of my mind to examine at a later date. Getting my mind back on track with something that I can make a difference with, I slip out of the car and make my way up to the front door.
I look around, trying to see if there are any windows that I could make my way inside through. Finding none on this side, I check under the plant pots and rocks lying near the front door with no luck. Although I suppose that makes sense. Almost every time you see a robbery on the TV, the robber always uses a key that's hidden in plain sight like that.
Having no other choice, I pull my lock picking kit from my back pocket and set to work opening the door after checking that no one is around. Since it’s been a while since I’ve had to pick a lock, it takes me longer than it usually would before finally the lock clicks open. Carefully, I slip through the door, closing it quietly behind me, and turn to study the room.
In front of me, I find an open plan living room that looks like it belongs in a catalog instead of someone’s living space. There’s not a speck of dust on any of the surfaces, and everything looks like it’s brand new. Left confused about the appearance of an apartment that no one has been in for a while, I go deeper into the house.
Every room is the same as the first, and I feel like I’m viewing a show house instead of someone's home. The whole thing is fucking creepy, and I sure as hell don’t want to spend long in here. Walking Into the bedroom, I check out the closet and when I open the doors I’m greeted by the sight of something that belongs in an Amish home instead of the home of a Fae.
Fae are known for being highly sexual beings, so I doubt the woman that this house belongs to would be caught dead in drab grey turtlenecks and black floor-length skirts. The fact that none of the people that Zaphyr has had investigating the disappearances has pointed this out to him leaves me feeling bewildered.
Surely even something like this could be a clue. It’s like whoever took her also replaced everything in her home. What if the abductor has come back to do this after the Fae finished their investigations? But what would the point in that even be? I’m getting an awful feeling about this, but I can’t leave the investigation half-finished.
More than ready to do my final sweep of the house, I concentrate and switch on my sight before scanning through the rooms. To my surprise, I actually manage to find something. On the walls in each room are strange sigils that I’ve never seen before. They’re completely different from the sigils in Adelaides cave, and something about them feels fucking sinister.
Goosebumps spread across my skin as chills travel up my spine. I spin in a circle trying to take in every sigil and luckily enough I figure out that it seems to be the same phrase or sentence repeated over and over again. Knowing that I’ll never be able to remember the sigils, and it’s not like I can take a picture of something other people can’t see. I pull a writing pad from the bag hanging from my shoulder and quickly scribble them down.
Hopefully, Zaphyr and Morpheus will be able to recognize these from somewhere. If these are Fae sigils, then it’s a bust, but something tells me that these are fresh. Why else would Adelaide tell me that I needed my sight to find the answers?
Not wanting to stay in this house a moment longer than I have to, I make my way towards the front door. Just as I’m about to reach for the handle though, I hear a set of keys slide into the lock and quickly turn, running into the nearest room.
With my heart beating out of my chest, I find somewhere to hide as I hear the front door opening. Shit! I have no clue who it could be coming here, but either way, it doesn’t look good for me. If it’s a concerned family member, they’re not going to be happy about a stranger being here. And if it’s whoever is responsible for the disappearances, then I could be in danger.
Reaching into my bag, I pull out Justice and Mercy, flicking off the safety as I take deep breaths to calm my heartbeat down. I
hear whoever is in the house shuffling around in the living room and I creep my way towards the door. Crouching down, I slowly peek through the gap I left in the doorway when I came into the room.
My whole body freezes and my breath catches at what I see before me. On top of the coffee table, in the middle of the living room is something that I’ve only heard stories about. With wings spread wide behind her back and her poisonous claws poised to attack. The Harpy scents the air, clearly searching for something.
Whatever it is, she soon finds it as her maw gapes open, letting the light glint off of her razor-sharp teeth. She jumps from the table onto the floor, making her way towards the kitchen. The sound of her talons clacking on the hardwood floor causing me to shiver. I have no fucking idea if the iron bullets loaded in my guns will do her any damage, but I know I have to get out of here.
God only knows what that thing will do to me if she finds me lurking about, and I’m not prepared to find out. As she disappears behind the kitchen counter, I slowly nudge the door open to make my way into the living room but stop dead in my tracks when the hinges creak. My heart beats out a staccato rhythm as I pray the beast doesn’t come to investigate the noise. I know I’m shit out of luck though when an ear-piercing screech comes from where I last saw her.
Giving up all pretense of being quiet, I make a break for the front door, hoping to avoid this fight. It’s not that I haven’t trained in every style of fighting I could, but as a human, even having that knowledge would mean nothing against a supernatural.
As I reach the front door and stretch out my hand to open the door, the feeling of the Harpies claws grabbing the back of my shirt stops me in my tracks. One second I’m standing still, fear filling me, and the next I’m airborne as she throws me across the room.
I crash through the coffee table, groaning at the impact, but luckily I manage to keep a hold of Justice. Mercy must have fallen somewhere as I was flying through the air, but having one gun is better than none.
I roll to my feet as the Harpy charges me with her talons outstretched, and I get my gun aimed at her before she reaches me. Not making it in time, I scarcely manage to twist out the way of her grasp, bringing my gun hand around and hitting her with it on the side of the head.
The blow doesn’t even faze her as she turns to me baring her teeth in a hiss and I bring my foot up, kicking her in the gut. The air whooshes out of her lungs as she bends at the waist and as I bring my joined hands down to hit the back of her head she lashes out, catching me across the face with her claws.
A whimper escapes me as I feel the skin on my cheek beginning to sizzle as I back away from the enraged beast. She charges me again, but this time I’m too slow and she gets a grip on my neck, lifting me from the floor and throwing me against the wall.
Before I can even pick myself up, the Harpy is on me in a flare of feathers. She grabs me by the shoulders, her deadly claws piercing my skin, causing me to scream at the pain. She uses her hold on me to drag me up the wall, and I know I don’t have long left until she finishes me off.
Trying to push through the numbness spreading down my arms from her poison, I shakily bring my gun up to my waist, aiming it upwards and hoping it will hit the right spot. I pull the trigger just as she rips one of her hands from my shoulder for the finishing blow, and I gain a moment of reprieve when she stops in her tracks.
Her eyes move down to study her chest as blood pours from the wound, and as her head moves back up to me, I can see the determination to bring me with her to the underworld. I squeeze the trigger repeatedly, watching her body twitch as each shot lands.
Finally, her eyes roll back in her skull and her body thumps against the floor, causing relief to flood through me as I slide down the wall to land in a heap. I’ve heard about how dangerous a Harpies poison can be and I know that if I don’t do something soon with the amount pumping through my bloodstream, then the Harpies' dying wish will be granted.
Looking around the living room, I spy my bag in the wreckage of the coffee table and push to my feet. Unfortunately, my legs don’t want to work and I fall back down to the floor with a whimper. Having no other choice, I drag myself towards the bag, and I could cry when my fingers finally catch on the strap.
I pull the bag towards me, digging through it for my phone as soon as I can. By this point, my brain is starting to go fuzzy, and my vision begins to blur. Unable to see what's on my screen, I click into my messages and call the number from the top text. As the phone rings, my breathing becomes labored and I beg the person to pick up. Finally, the call connects and I could cry with relief at hearing his voice.
“Yes, Miss Greene, what can I do for you?”
“Help me… Please.”
The words are barely a whisper as they pass through my lips and the strength in my arms finally fails, causing me to drop the phone to the floor. I can see darkness creeping in on the edges of my vision, and my eyes begin to close to the faint sound of Zaphyr’s panic.
Chapter Fourteen
Elias
I stand staring at Zaphyr in astonishment when whatever was said to him on the phone causes him to lose his well known cool. I’ve never seen him react to anything like this before, so I know that whatever it is must be bad. He turns to us with his eyes filled with fear as the phone drops from his hand, hitting the floor with a thump in the now silent room.
The others seem to be just as surprised as I am seeing him like this, and I look to Morpheus and Cail to find them looking at him with unease filling their expressions. None of us want to spook him any more than he seems to be, but thankfully Morpheus bites the bullet and approaches him.
“Zaph, I need you to calm down for me, man. What’s the matter?.”
The words don’t seem to be making it through his anxiety, which just sets the rest of us on edge even more. What the fuck could have happened to throw him over the edge like this? Morpheus shakes his shoulders, managing to finally get Zaphyr to concentrate on him.
“Zaph, I can’t help until you tell me what’s happened? Come on man, we can deal with it, whatever it is.”
Zaphyr nods his head slowly, seeming to pull himself together as he takes a shaky breath before answering Morpheus.
“It’s Melissa, I think something bad has happened.”
“Alright man, what did she say?”
“It’s what she didn’t say that’s worrying me. She didn’t sound right, and she asked for help, but something happened and it sounded like her phone clattered to the ground. I couldn’t hear anything after that but silence, I think she’s really in trouble.”
“Okay, so she didn’t tell you where she was?”
Zaphyr scowls at Morpheus like he’s an idiot before snapping at him.
“If she did, I would already be on my way to her! She literally got three words out to me and she seemed to struggle with that!”
“It’s going to be alright man, I can use her number to track where she is so we can get to her. Hopefully, we won’t be too late.”
Morpheus spins around and crouches down to grab Zaphyr’s phone, using it to track where their detective is, while Zaphyr paces back and forth across the office. I exchange a wary look with Cail as we wait on Morpheus to do his thing. If Melissa was investigating these disappearances, then if something bad has happened, It’ll be our fault.
I hate the fact that an innocent woman could be suffering right now just because she decided to help us with something that we should have been able to solve on our own. Whatever happens to her will be on our heads, and I think that each one of us can feel the weight of that on our shoulders.
Me and Cail haven’t even met the woman, and yet I can see that he feels the same pressure as I do at the thought of being hurt because of us. All in all, we’re all a bundle of nerves as we do our best to be patient while Morpheus tries to track her. Time seems to be moving slowly as I watch Morpheus intently, and I see the exact moment that triumph shines in his eyes before he jumps to his feet.
�
�Alright, I’ve got it. She’s at one of the addresses from the list we gave her this morning. Come on, we don’t know how much time we have.”
Cail gets to his feet and we quickly make our way to the front door. We burst outside like the very beasts of hell are on our heels and make our way towards Zaphyr’s car. We pile in as Morpheus starts the engine and within moments we’re pulling out of the driveway. Morpheus pulls Zaphyr’s phone from his pocket, calling who I assume is Melissa’s hacker friend as we speed through the streets.
We pull up in front of the house and jump out of the car, scrambling up the driveway as quickly as we can. Zaphyr gets there first and bursts through the door. The rest of us quickly follow behind him, and the sight that greets us has my stomach dropping. Halfway through the room is a small woman who is clearly unconscious and seriously injured, lying in a small pool of blood.
What surprises me though, is the fact that not far from her lies a dead Harpy. We thought that they were extinct so the fact that one is lying here dead surrounded by destruction is fucking worrying. There’s no doubt in my mind that the wounds covering the woman on the floor were inflicted by the Harpies' claws. The issue is that none of us have the magic to deal with the poisoning, and if she doesn’t get treated soon, then she will more than likely die.
I try my best to think of someone we know that would be able to help, but the only ones that know how to deal with Harpy poisoning aren’t in the city. I run my hand through my hair in frustration as I watch Zaphyr fall to his knees beside the prone form. He leans forwards, checking her pulse, and lets out a shaky breath of relief.
