Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1)

by Amanda Booloodian

  "Oh, yes," came that rich voice. "But I haven't met anything like you before."

  "Huh." Gabriel sounded disappointed.

  "So," the man continued, "what are you, and are there more?"

  Mira's eyes narrowed in on the man.

  "I thought you couldn't ask that," Gabriel said.

  "Oh, there's a lot you can do when you're on the fringes," the man said. "But when people need you, there's a lot they are willing to put up with."

  "Who are you?" Mira asked.

  "You can call me Chris," he said, then addressed Gabriel again, "but you can call me tonight."

  "Sorry," Gabriel said, smoothly. "I'm unavailable."

  "Oh, that is the story of my life," Chris said.

  "Do you own this store?" Mira asked.

  "I own the books," Chris said. "If you find yourself alone after the next new moon, you can call on Chris."

  "If things go that way," Mira muttered, "I think they expect others not to help me. I’ll have to go at it alone."

  "Oh, that's the joy of being on the outside and having something they need," Chris said.

  "I don't think I have anything they need," Mira said. "Nothing unique, anyway."

  "Oh, honey, you are swimming in power, and that's not easy to come by," Chris said. "I'm not sure they could lock that strength away, even if they put a full thirteen together. Unless your friend here will lend them his strength."

  "Gabriel won't be," Mira said. "I mean, he wouldn't."

  "No one may even get the chance to try if you don't get out from under that cloud," Chris said.

  Mira blinked at him and stared, waiting for an explanation.

  "The karma, honey. It's like a giant black weight pressing down. You're gonna have to clean that up."

  "I thought it was getting better," Mira said.

  "Oh," Chris said, nodding, "it's storing up something big for you. Better keep tall, blond, and gorgeous by your side."

  "Can you see it?" Mira asked.

  Chris cocked his head and gave her a little smile. "I have what you came for, right here." He picked a brown paper bag off the shelf next to him and handed it over.

  Mira felt gloomy taking the package. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

  "You have two days with this, then you must return it," Chris said. "And bring your friend back with you. I like a big strong man around."

  "All these books," Mira said, looking at another, "are they all about witches and witchcraft?"

  "Just my little collection," Chris said.

  "Are they for sale?" Mira asked.

  "Occasionally," Chris said. "When I feel up to letting one go to a good home."

  "Isn't all the smoke bad for them?" Mira asked

  "Not at all," Chris said. "The smoke is what keeps them hidden. It keeps all my darling books safe."

  Mira had never heard such a thing. How would smoke hide anything?

  "You run along," Chris said. "You have what you need. Mr. Singer will want you to read that carefully. More importantly, you're going to want to know what's in there."

  "Thanks," Mira said, not feeling remotely convinced that she wanted to read whatever she had been given. Mr. Singer had been adamant that she know the protocols, but if there were enough of them to fill a book, she wasn't going to like it.

  "Give the key to the girl, but if anyone asks, you don't know me, and you don't know this store," Chris said. For the first time, he sounded stern instead of playful. "See you in two days."

  Mira couldn't help but glance at different titles on her way to the real store. She practically gulped in the fresh air.

  She dropped the key off without a word and stepped out into the frigid winter. Gabriel led the way to the car. Thankfully, he was silent.

  Mira ran her gloved hands over the package as Gabriel started the car and cranked up the heat.

  "What's next?" Gabriel asked.

  The paper crinkled in her hand as she squeezed it. "You can drop me off at Emmit's. I think I need to read this before we go see anyone else."

  Gabriel sighed. "Why are you staying there?"

  Mira looked at him sharply. It was the first time she’d really looked at him since entering the store.

  "I guess it's none of my business." He put the car in gear and moved into the light traffic.

  "Where else was I supposed to go?" Mira asked.

  "Home?" Gabriel suggested.

  "You think I should go home? It was easy enough for John to get in there once, I doubt he'll have any trouble a second time."

  "Your parents’? Maybe your sister's house? Hell, a hotel room would be better."

  Mira gripped the package again before smoothing the brown paper back out. "I can't go to my family. I can’t go anywhere. My store's been gone for almost two weeks now. That's a lot of money going out with nothing coming in. I don't even have a car."

  "Why can't you go to your family?" Gabriel asked.

  "I—" Mira stopped, not knowing how to continue. How do you tell someone you'd been shunned? It was so rare, and banishment hadn't been heard of in her lifetime. Even with all the trouble she had in college, they'd never contemplated banishing her. "Besides, the doctor has everything he needs there."

  Gabriel was quiet for a few moments. "I feel like I'm missing a lot.”

  "It's not a big deal," Mira said.

  Gabriel winced but said nothing. He drove them across the city to the towering skyscraper that held Emmit's apartment.

  Mira embraced the silence. After a while, she took a chance and peeked into the bag. The book looked old with a blue cloth cover. What was the worst that could happen if she didn't read the book? She carefully closed the top and folded it down, making a hard crease before folding it again and again.

  Mr. Singer and even Chris had been adamant that she read the book, but they couldn't make her read it. They couldn't make her jump through their hoops, right?

  Then again, why not read it?

  Gabriel slammed on his brakes and his arm shot out, catching her across the chest. Mira looked up, her heart pounding as she searched for whatever catastrophe was coming for her.

  Horns blared from behind them, but Mira saw nothing.

  Gabriel lowered his arm, but it was only to grab her hand. "Something’s wrong."

  "I gathered," Mira said over the increasingly persistent horn blaring.

  Mira's heart was starting to slow, but the reprieve was brief. The world started to move. Mira's breath caught as she watched the skyscrapers wave. Ahead of them, where their car might have been if they hadn't stopped, a fireball billowed out of a store.

  "Shit," Gabriel said, trying to look everywhere at once. "It had to be a gas line. Either that or a giant meth lab.”

  The ground stopped shuddering below them. The towers swayed slightly back into place. Some of the windows were broken out, but the buildings stood. In front of them, one store was engulfed in flames. The fire that had leapt across the street was hard at work on a parked car.

  "It's done," Gabriel said. "At least I think it is. We're okay."

  Mira shook and looked around, worried another unknown threat might jump out at her. Gabriel twisted in his seat and rubbed her hand. She realized she still had a death grip on his other hand. Although she loosened her grip, she wasn't ready to let go. It was a small comfort, and she needed it.

  Sirens were blaring from all directions. Looking behind them, she saw that cars were turning around in the street, ready to find another route or flee the city. Mira heard her cell phone ring in the depths of her purse, but she ignored it.

  Little by little, she began to relax.

  Gabriel's phone also began to ring. He dug around in his pocket, glanced at the screen, and then answered it with one hand, unwilling to let her go.

  "Yes," he said.

  He listened intently to the other end. Fire trucks were arriving in front of them, rushing in from the other direction.

  "Got it," he said. "Yeah, we'll pick it up tomorrow."
/>   Gabriel hung up, and his phone almost immediately rang again.

  He let go of her hand and drew back. "It's Emmit." Gabriel jabbed at the screen as though trying to smash the little green symbol that flashed on it.

  "What?" Gabriel growled into the phone.

  Mira watched the devastation outside as an ambulance and police arrived.

  "Yes, we're fine." There was a long pause, then he said, "Right," and hung up.

  "What did he want?" Mira asked.

  "Wait here," Gabriel said.

  He stepped out of the car and went to the officer that had driven around them and parked, to block their path. Gabriel flashed his badge. There was a lot of pointing, some conversation, the officer spoke into his radio a few times, and then they watched the firemen work for a short time before Gabriel came back to the car.

  Gabriel turned the car around and drove back the way they had come.

  All the traffic lights were out, which was never good downtown.

  They had crawled down a few streets before Mira spoke up.

  "Thank you," she said.

  "You're welcome," Gabriel said.

  Neither of them looked at the other.

  "I have a question," Gabriel said after a while. "When something like this occurs, does it release some of the negative karma that builds up?"

  "A little," Mira said. "But nothing happened, so probably not a lot."

  "Nothing happened? We were almost roasted."

  "But we weren't."

  "So, the only way to get rid of all this bad karma is to let bad things happen to you?"

  "No. Some of it goes away on its own if it’s not being actively increased. Good karma also helps reduce it."

  "This has to have reduced it some, right?"

  "Like I said, it probably reduced it a little, but a giant metal beam almost crushed me the other day and this still happened. It doesn't get rid of enough to make a difference."

  Gabriel was quiet until they were stopped by an officer directing traffic. "Tell me about these bodyguards Emmit has for you."

  Mira shrugged. "They're not bad, but if Emmit doesn't call them off, I really am going to have to find somewhere else to stay."

  "I'm not fond of Emmit, but I thought he had a good idea in keeping them around."

  "It's creepy. Especially when I wake up in the middle of the night and see them."

  "What are they doing in your room?"

  "They're always with me, except in the bathroom. Even then I think they're listening at the door. This is the first break I've had from them since I woke up."

  "You mentioned that earlier. Ian said you were okay when we got back. Nothing serious."

  Mira sighed and rubbed her head, knowing she couldn't lie and just tell him she was fine. "I passed out before they called the ambulance. I was technically awake the next day, but I wasn't coherent."

  "Passed out? I know you were tired, but—"

  "Exhausted, dehydrated, and faint from blood loss. It all added up. After a transfusion and rest, I was better. Well, I was lucid, anyway."

  Chapter 4

  Mira peeked at Gabriel and saw that he looked miserable. She quickly turned to look out the window again.

  "Did you lose a lot of blood on the other side?" Gabriel asked.

  "I don't remember. I guess so."

  "Can they use it? I mean, are you safe here when those things in the Ether have your blood?"

  "I don't think we have to worry about that," Mira said.

  "But you said—"

  "It's gone," Mira broke in. "I scorched the place." Memories welled up. The smell of burning flesh and blackened bodies threatened to swamp her before she could push it away. "They all died."

  "I'm pretty sure they filled Lance's house. Its reflection, anyway."

  "Lance's house isn't there anymore. In the Ether, I mean. There was part of a wall that survived. The rest is gone."

  "Is that all I'm missing?" Gabriel asked.

  Mira said nothing and was extremely grateful for the distraction when the officer let them start moving again.

  "You said you couldn't go to your family." Gabriel seemed to be running down a mental list.

  "That's right."

  "Are you worried about them getting caught up in this? I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you were."

  "I'm more worried they wouldn't open the door." Tiredness began to fog her mind. "My sister probably would, but she has kids. Like you said, I can't get them caught up in this."

  "Why wouldn't they let you in?" Gabriel asked.

  "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

  "I'm a detective. This is what I do."

  "Well, at least we know you're good at your job."

  There were a few moments of silence, which Gabriel broke. "If you tell me what's going on, then maybe I can help."

  "You can't," Mira said.

  "It will at least give me an idea of what's happening. That’ll keep me from doing or saying something stupid."

  A ghost of a smile flickered across her face, but was gone in a breath. "I've been shunned." It wasn't as blunt as she’d intended, but at least it was out there.

  "What does that mean?" Gabriel asked.

  "It means no witch should talk to me. If I contact anyone they're supposed to ignore me. I can be present if you and or Ian are there because it's part of the case. Aside from that, there shouldn't be any contact with other witches."

  "They can't do that," Gabriel said.

  Mira rolled her eyes. "Of course they can."

  "Is that the trial thing Chris was talking about?"

  "Sort of, although it sounds like they may be deciding then if they are banishing me or not."

  Gabriel gripped the steering wheel. "And what does that mean?"

  "Two hundred years ago, they would have bound my powers and chased me out of town with sticks and torches."

  "And now?"

  "They'll probably ask me to leave."

  "What about your magic—would they bind that?"

  Mira snorted. "They could try. Without Tyler helping, they wouldn't be able to."

  "Chris mentioned something about thirteen witches together."

  "They'd have to be desperate to try that. There are a few ways it could work, but every one of the thirteen has to really, really want it to happen, and if there isn't a good enough reason to justify it, the karmic backlash is big."

  "Like what's happening with you because you bound Ian?"

  "I'm not sure all of my bad karma has to do with Ian." The idea had been rolling around in the back of her mind since she had left Chris's store.

  Gabriel stayed quiet, but glanced at her a few times while she tried to work her way through and around the idea.

  "Ian isn't fighting the spell much anymore, though he did when you came back. I'm sure he beat hard against the spell at that point, but I don't think that lasted long. If you were still in the dark about everything, it might be getting close to what Chris described, but I get the feeling this is bigger than binding Ian should have caused."

  "What else could cause it?" Gabriel asked.

  "I'm not sure. Maybe the same thing the witches are so ticked off about."

  "Which is?"

  Mira closed her eyes and laid her head back on the seat. "I have no idea. It has to have something to do with the Ether."

  "But nothing that has happened there has been your fault," Gabriel said.

  Not knowing for sure if that was true or not, she said nothing.

  "They can't do this to you," Gabriel said, picking up his earlier mantra.

  "They can and they are," Mira said.

  "What's Emmit doing about this?"

  "Emmit? Nothing. He's not a witch."

  "But he's a Harker, whatever the hell that means."

  "It means nothing in a community of witches. He could say a few words to the council, but they can't do anything either. Witch business is witch business."

  "Okay, then I'll go talk to them."

>   "There's nothing you can do, either."

  "If I could do here what I can in the Ether, I could make them listen."

  "Don't you dare! As far as they know, you're a human helping out. Emmit and Mr. Singer are the only ones who are aware you’re something more. And Chris I guess."

  "They'll know what I am by the time I'm done."

  Mira cracked a smile. "I know you're trying to help, but you can't—not really."

  He fumed from the driver's seat.

  Mira put a hand on his leg, as close to the knee as she could reach without it looking awkward. "I appreciate your sentiment. But let the witches do what they're going to do."

  When she sat back, Gabriel grabbed her hand before it got far. This time when she smiled at him, he looked back at her and matched her expression. Briefly, she gripped his hand before pulling away.

  "Where are we going?" Mira asked, seeing that their slow progress was starting to move them out of the city. She watched for a while before closing her eyes and leaning back again.

  "The elevator is out in your building," Gabriel said. "I figured we should grab a late lunch or early dinner before we decide to walk up twenty flights of stairs."

  "Sounds good to me," Mira said, not opening her eyes. The noise of the catastrophe around them slowly began to fade away.

  When Gabriel turned the car off, Mira jolted awake.

  "Where are we?" Mira asked.

  "The Landing," Gabriel said. "I think the only meals we've had together have been on the go or carry-out at your place, so I thought we'd try this instead."

  The large lake behind the restaurant was covered with ice floating in sheets.

  "I didn't even know this place was open in the winter," Mira said.

  "There's no boat traffic, but it doesn’t close for the off season," Gabriel said.

  The cold air slapped Mira across the face when she stepped out of the car. Wind off the lake made the temperature feel even lower than it had been in the city. Inside, however, the restaurant was warmer than Mira had expected. The boat and lighthouse motif of the place made her long for summer.

  Since the Landing was well known for boaters, their casual attire fit in, even in the dead of winter. They were seated and given menus while the warmth of the room soaked in, making Mira yawn.

  "Sorry I fell asleep." She momentarily worried that she had snored, but then figured it didn't really matter.