by Melody Raven
“Jackson!” called Derek once more, but it was no use. In a millisecond, Jackson was gone, flashing out of the room and to who knew where.
Sam turned in a tight circle, looking for any sign of him and verifying that he wasn’t about to pop out of the shadows and get his revenge for her part in sending him to hell.
Claire was still leaning against the wall and pressed a hand to her neck where Jackson had grabbed her. Sam ran to her side and looked over her stomach for any sign that Jackson had stabbed her or hurt her in any visible way. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
Claire winced and rubbed at her neck, but she didn’t see any redness or sign of early bruising. Everyone started to crowd around her. Dante stood over her, concern etched on his face, while Derek ran his fingers over her throat, looking for any sign of injury before he pulled up her shirt and saw for himself that her skin was unmarred.
“I’m fine,” Claire snapped as she pushed her clothes back down.
“I’ve seen guys shot before who didn’t realize it,” said Derek completely seriously. “Adrenaline makes pain hard to register.”
“He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
Before Sam could point out how silly that assertion was, Claire continued, “He was feeding off me. He needed enough power to get out of here and he took it from me.”
“Are you sure that’s all he did?” asked Sam, still not sure Jackson hadn’t found some way to get back at the woman who sent him to hell.
“I’m sure. He’s fed off me before.”
“When?” asked Dante.
Claire looked at the ground and kept rubbing her neck. Noticeably not answering his question, she said, “He said something before he left. Something about a diary.”
“What did he say?” asked Dante.
“The diary is in Benton.”
Derek pulled the last rolled-up piece of parchment paper out of the container next to the bookshelf and rolled it out on the table. “This is our last chance.” He reached for the various items they’d been using to hold the maps stable. “I’m telling you, he’s bullshitting us.”
“He wasn’t bullshitting us.” Angela leaned in closer to look over the tiny handwritten names of the cities listed. “There is no Benton.”
“I told you you’re not going to find it,” said Bastian, from where he was sitting, very unhelpfully, in the corner.
“Your method of sit back and do nothing isn’t exactly going to work for us, now is it?” snapped Derek, a bit harder than he intended.
Bastian suddenly stood and pulled the maps off the table and scattered them to the floor. “Then maybe you should listen to me!”
Just then, Sam walked in, juggling three bottles of soda, all caffeinated. “I’m gone for three seconds and you all are fighting already.”
Bastian let out something between a groan and a growl. “You’re wasting your time. I was there in Benton. I was there when the spell was cast. It wasn’t just Claudia’s magic. It was magic backed by all the families. Benton was buried so deep it will never be discovered again. So, if you go through that much trouble to hide a town, why the fuck would you keep a map with a big fucking arrow pointing to it?”
“If you’ve been there, you should have some clue about where it is,” Derek pointed out for what had to be the fifth time.
“Says the guy who had the love of his life forget he ever existed.”
Derek’s hand actually went for his gun for a brief second before it rested on the now empty table.
“I didn’t completely forget him,” said Sam carefully, not wanting to take sides but still wanting Bastian to offer something helpful. “I mean, I didn’t remember Derek but when I was under the mirror spell, I did feel something for Derek. Some sign that I knew him. That he was familiar. Maybe we can do something like that for you.”
Angela scoffed and Sam had to bite her lip to keep from yelling at someone. She was trying to be patient, but she was getting a lot of skepticism and hopelessness when she could really use some helpful suggestions. “Yes?” she asked, her voice a tad too sweet to hide the annoyance.
“You remembered Derek because you love him, for better or worse. What are the chances that Bastian has some soul-searing connection to this town?”
“Well, I did die there,” he said.
“You what?”
“That’s where Claudia brought me back to life. You can try to put me under the second sight spell and have me look at a map maybe? But the spell that Abigail and Claudia put on you was a lot weaker than the Benton spell. Who knows if anything will be able to pierce that veil, now or ever.”
Parker let out an annoyed sound. “Fine. Screw magic then. An entire town can’t disappear, not in this day and age. We have Internet maps and the NYPD at our fingertips. There has to be something we can do.”
Derek nodded. “You’re right. Sam, can you work on the second sight spell? See if we can jar anything. Parker and I will get to the station and work on that angle.”
Sam’s lips tightened and she was quiet for a moment. Then she bent down to start picking up the maps strewn about the floor. “That’s fine.”
He heard the words she said, but her body language was telling him something completely different. Looking over to Parker, he met her eyes. “Why don’t you head to the station? I’ll be there soon.”
She started to say something, but she stopped herself, probably realizing why he was trying to get rid of her. “Sure. Should I get Claire or Dante?”
“Claire needs her sleep. She just came back from the dead.” Everyone stared at him and Derek rolled his eyes. “I told you I feel fine. Give the girl a break just this once. We will need her soon enough.”
Bastian picked up one of the bottles of soda and twisted off the cap. “If you’re going to try to work your magic on me, I suppose I’ll prepare myself. Let me know when you’re ready for me, Samantha.” His shoulders were drawn tight, and a vein in his neck popped just enough to show Derek that the man was concerned. Made sense. Derek had just died and he already hated to think about it. They were about to drudge up a lot of memories for the guy.
But it had to be done. Bastian and Parker cleared out, finally leaving him and Sam alone. “What’s up?” he asked.
She started to roll up the maps; he took one of the ancient-looking papers and helped. The silence stretched between them, and he didn’t let himself try to fill it. He wanted her to give him an honest answer and knew he’d have to be patient.
“It doesn’t matter,” she finally said.
“It matters to me.”
She tightened her lips and met his eyes from across the table. “I just....” She winced and shook her head. “Never mind.”
As she started for the door, Derek moved to block her path. “You know I’m not going to let you get away with that, right?”
She looked down at the ground and shook her head. “Yeah, I figured. I want so many things right now, but everything’s changed, you know? We were in such a good place and now.... Now Claudia’s gone and you’re back from the dead.”
He frowned at that. “I thought being back from the dead is a good thing.”
“Yeah, of course it is. But we don’t know the price we have to pay for this yet. You’re supposed to be some weapon, but so is Claire. You know what happens if we use Claire against the darkness. She dies. What happens if we use you? What if you were brought back to me just to lose you again? And you heard about Bastian. He ended up being Claudia’s slave. What if that happens to us? What kind of relationship would that be?”
He stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands. “We’re going to figure it out. I promise. Look at all the shit we’ve already made it through.”
“Barely,” she pointed out.
“Barely is all you need. Besides, I’m not your slave. I’m too much of a dick for that.” She raised a skeptical brow and he added, “Try to order me around. I dare you.” Biting her bottom lip, she stayed quiet. Probably afraid that if she gave him an
order, he would actually follow it. “Anything you want me to do.”
She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. Stand on one foot.”
“Really? You can order me to do anything you want and that’s what you pick?”
“I’m not an expert at this! Fine. Rub your belly and pat your head at the same time.”
“Well, you have to order me to do something that’s physically possible.”
She let out a snort of laughter and it became apparent that he wasn’t going to do any of the things she’d ordered. Which was a relief. But he wasn’t naive. As much as he wanted Sam to not worry, he knew that something was happening to him. He didn’t feel the same. He didn’t feel quite right anymore. He might not be Sam’s slave, but he wasn’t human either.
And it was only a matter of time before all these differences made themselves apparent.
Sam stirred the contents of the pot a bit more as the smell wafted up and through her senses. She could still vividly remember how the second sight spell affected her. The black-and-white world with the sudden burst of light where Derek had been. This would work. This had to work.
Bastian walked inside the kitchen and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied what she was doing.
“What?” she asked.
“Why do you think I want something?”
“Well, you’re not here for small talk. And you and I aren’t exactly friends.”
“Maybe I just want to see the things you’re about to put in my body.”
That was logical. If what he said about dying and being brought back was right, he probably didn’t have the best relationship with magic. “Sorry,” she said. “The recipe is right there.” She pointed to the open book on the stainless-steel kitchen island behind them. The large house had an industrial kitchen that was more like something that would be in a restaurant than a home. But since Abigail threw so many large parties and soirees, it was necessary to give the caterers a place to work. And Sam had to admit that it made cooking up potions a hell of a lot easier.
Even when she pointed to the book, Bastian didn’t walk forward. “It wouldn’t matter. I don’t know what any of this stuff does anyway.”
She frowned at that. She assumed his knowledge of the magical world was more advanced than hers. “I know you’re not a witch now, but were you? I mean, before....”
“No. I was human. Like Derek.”
She blinked a few times. She really shouldn’t be shocked anymore by anything she learned from Bastian, but finding out that her grandmother had been in love with a human too was a shock. Especially considering the lengths Claudia had gone through to keep Sam and Derek apart.
But maybe it made more sense now. Especially considering Bastian and Claudia hadn’t ever gotten their happy ending. “I’m sorry,” she said softly as she kept stirring. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“You deserve to know. You’re in charge now.”
Well, if he had to think of the one thing to make her feel worse, that was it. “Debatable,” she muttered.
“No, it’s not. You were strong before, and now that you’ve killed Claudia, you’re near unstoppable.”
“You know, just because you say that doesn’t make it true.”
“Even if I didn’t say it, it would be true. You just have to admit it.”
“Admit it? I don’t have to admit a damn thing. My grandmother just died, Bastian. I’m allowed to take a beat.” He stepped forward and put his hand over hers. The contact was so jarring that she stopped everything she was doing to meet his eyes. She didn’t remember the big man ever touching her before, so it had an impact.
“No,” he said carefully. “It’s the price of power. You don’t have time to take a beat or collect yourself. You need to keep going. But when you do, I’ll be here for you. So will Derek. Eventually you’ll have more support behind you. Power like yours can’t be denied.”
She pursed her lips together and tried not to freak out. It was easy to pretend nothing had changed, but Bastian seemed hell-bent on getting her to admit her newfound position. “You don’t have to stay,” she pointed out. “With Claudia gone, you’re a free man. You can be anywhere you want to be.”
He released her hand but didn’t move away. “Just because I wasn’t a free man doesn’t mean I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be.”
His loyalty was admirable, but it was hardly enough to calm her rough nerves. “I’m glad you’re on board, but there’s a few thousand more witches we need to get to recognize me as their leader, which seems like a lot for a job I don’t even want.”
“Tough,” he said, rather unsympathetically. “Because this job wants you.”
Derek took the elevator up to his floor. It was late and the precinct was quiet, but it was never empty. He nodded at the officer behind the front desk and the few detectives he passed. Parker’s new office, now located next to his after Voss had pulled almost every string imaginable, was empty but the light was on, signaling that she was around somewhere. Once he sat down and checked his email and phone messages, he’d track her down.
Thanks to his rather unplanned demise, he had missed too much work. Parker had covered for him, but killers really didn’t like to respect a cop’s sick days, and he hoped like hell that none of his cases had been delegated out. At least he could tell Voss the truth about where he had been.
Though he had his doubts that Voss would believe him. Believing in witches was enough. Resurrection? That was a stretch. Hell, Derek was the one who came back and even he was questioning his reality at the moment.
He walked into the office and shut the door behind him immediately. He would need privacy as he fought through the voicemails and emails that were undoubtedly waiting for him. The worst thing about coming in this late was that he wouldn’t be able to get back to a bunch of the messages until normal business hours, when people were actually working.
As he reached to press the voicemail button, the phone rang. He thought it was Parker, but the caller ID listed a number he didn’t recognize. He debated ignoring it, but that would lead to one more voicemail to clear. So he picked up the receiver and brought it to his ear. “Detective Pierce here.”
“Welcome back, Detective. I heard you’ve had quite a trip.”
He sat forward at the familiar, sultry voice. Abigail. “What do you want?”
“Can’t a concerned mother call to check in on her daughter’s boyfriend?”
“We both know there’s not a lot of Abigail left in there. What do you really want?”
He wondered whether she was going to fight him on that, but she didn’t disagree. “I’m calling because there was a murder you were looking into. I want to know if there’s been any progress while you were away.”
He frowned in confusion until he realized what she was talking about. “You’re talking about the double murder in Brownsville?”
“You and I both know that someone did the deed. I want to know who.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Well, since I didn’t kill them, I don’t really matter.”
That was a load of BS, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t be receptive to hearing that. “If you know something that would help with the investigation, you should tell me now.”
“Now, Derek. A detective as good as you doesn’t need me to give any help. You’re going to be fine on your own.”
“So you want me to solve a murder for you but you’re not going to tell me a damn thing.”
“Life’s hard. I’m sure that you’re able to handle it on your own.”
“You don’t want to come into the station? You had no problem paying me a visit before.”
“Well, times have changed, Detective. The winds are turning.”
“I hear they’re not blowing in your favor anymore.”
“Well, rumors can be deceiving,” she warned.
She was definitely too afraid to confront him in per
son anymore, which meant there was a real possibility that he was a danger to her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous still. Especially if she was feeling threatened or cornered—she could be more deadly now than ever. It was going to be a matter of time before things came to a head.
“Why don’t you come here and tell me how deceiving those rumors are in person.”
There was a pause on the line. “Do your job, Detective. Solve the murder.”
He hung up the phone. He didn’t need to take orders from her, and he knew that he was going to work the case no matter what. And if the outcome of it was that important to Abigail... well, that made the case a hell of a lot more interesting to him.
The door to his office opened and Parker stood there with her armful of folders. “I thought you were going to call when you got here,” she said, the annoyance in her voice not exactly subtle.
“I just got in. I was clearing some voicemails.”
“Voicemails can wait. Evil witches who want to take over the city can’t. Let’s get started.”
Hard to argue with that. He forced himself to ignore the blinking voicemail light and followed Parker into her new office. It was still almost completely empty, but there were three boxes of items she’d moved from her desk in Narcotics, and her laptop was set up on the dock on the desk and connected to the dual monitor.
She set the folders down next to the laptop and sat down. “So I’ve been doing some research.”
“I can see that.” He rolled one of the chairs around the desk so he could get a look at the computer monitor at the same time she did.
“My original thought was that we could use satellite feed to show us any type of ghost town or area missing on the map. But, as you might know, it’s a big country. So I’ve been cross-referencing the places Claudia Harris has lived and working with that data. It would help if we knew when this all happened.”
“I can call Sam and see if she can get the dates from Bastian.”
“That would help. We can also run department transfer records. If the town truly stopped existing, the police officers would have to go somewhere, right?”
