by Jen Pretty
CHAPTER TEN
Lolita and I chatted about the murders and she filled me in on what she knew which wasn't more than I had heard on the morning news.
When we were finished eating, I knew it was time to get back to work.
"We should check on Nick, maybe. I do have to figure out this case.:"
"Oh, of course!" Lolita said, rising from her chair. "Don't let me keep you. The sooner the killer is behind bars, the sooner we can all rest easy."
"Thank you for lunch," I said rising too.
"Please come back before you leave the city. I would love to chat more." Anlon and I moved through the small apartment and out into the hall where the young witches and warlocks from earlier were sitting, obviously waiting for me, but holding books as if they were studying.
"Oh. Hi Selena!" the young woman who had asked how old I was earlier said with a smile. "How was your lunch?"
"It was great, thanks. I'm just going to head back to work now though."
"Oh, okay! I hope you come back. We have so many questions." The other youths in the group nodded their agreement. "My name is Trina, by the way. And this is Mandy, Evard and Rodrick."
"Nice to meet you all." I gave them a wave as we walked back to the elevator. Their eyes followed us until we slipped inside and the elevator doors slid shut.
"Sorry about them. I'm not sure homeschooling is the best option for your witches and warlocks. They always seem to be scheming something."
I laughed. "I went to Catholic school, I'm not sure it was much better."
Anlon laughed too but stopped as the door to the elevator opened in the parking garage and a dark figure stood straight ahead.
"Having fun, Selena?"
I recognized Falcor's voice, but Anlon took up a defensive stance, his hand wrapping around my arm as if he would drag me behind him.
Falcor laughed and threw back the hood of his coat.
"Who the hell are you?" Anlon growled. "And how did you get in here?"
Falcor scoffed but didn't answer.
"This is my warlock. The one who bailed as soon as things got a bit stressful this morning in the morgue."
"I didn't bail," Falcor sneered. "I just didn't see the point in all three of us getting arrested. Instead, I called Niri and had him send a senior officer of the DPI to smooth over the relations with the local law enforcement."
"That doesn't explain how you are inside our secure parking garage," Anlon said, still holding onto my arm.
"Yes well, it seems this place is warded a bit too well and a certain annoying bird is unable to come in. He wouldn't stop pecking at me until I came to find his necromancer."
"Crow can't get in?" I asked, turning my accusing eyes to Anlon.
He shrugged. "I don't think a Black Crow has ever visited. The building is warded."
"Jesus," I said, pulling away from Anlon. "Can you just take me out of here Falcor. Crow must be freaking out."
"Gladly," Falcor said with a glance back at Anlon.
Then we were suddenly outside, in an alley that ran along beside the apartment building. Crow screamed and swooped at my head.
"I didn't know you couldn't get in," I yelled, covering my head with my arms.
He landed on the ground beside me, picked up a tin can and tossed it at my leg. It didn't hurt but made it obvious that the bird was pissed. Who knew birds could even get pissed off? I mean, I had seen him have a temper tantrum when I put leftovers in the fridge and he couldn't get it open, but he had never been mad at me before.
"Shit, we might need to find him some Chinese takeout," I muttered. Falcor was grinning like it was all hilarious. "Can you take me back to Nick?" I asked. "And not drop us in the middle of a busy street?"
"Sure, Selena. Can I get you anything else? How about I fluff and fold your laundry while I'm at it?"
I was about to say something snarky, but Falcor could drop me in the middle of a lake or something, so I bit my tongue.
His hand wrapped around my arm and the world wobbled for a second before we were back in the old mansion owned by Nick's family. Nick was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands.
"Hey," I said, startling him.
He jumped up and crossed the room in three big strides before gathering me up in his arms. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault."
Falcor snorted. "It was absolutely his fault, Selena. He can hardly protect you if he's behind bars."
"Says the guy who ran away. You are supposed to protect me too."
"You don't need my protection, Selena."
It was the closest to a compliment Falcor had ever given me. It felt weird, and I was glad when Falcor left the room, closing the bedroom door behind him and leaving Nick and me alone.
"That as weird," I said, but Nick was still staring at me as if he was looking for injuries, his eyes scanning my face and arms.
"I'm fine, Nick. But I did find out some things. I need a piece of paper."
Nick turned back to the kitchen, opened a drawer and pulled out a pad and pen as if he knew they were there. Maybe he had known, he had grown up in this house, after all.
I sat down and clumsily drew out the symbol i saw on the dead man's neck.
"What is that?" Nick asked.
"Crow took me to the morgue and showed me the side of the dead man's neck where there was a very obvious bite with incisor marks."
Nick frowned and took a deep breath as if he was about to speak, but I interrupted whatever he was going to say.
"There was also this marking just below the victim's ear. Like a smear of something on the skin."
"Hmm," Nick said.
"I saw this, just a little while ago." I held the image from the man's neck over the star. It was a good match. "This was a pendant worn by an old woman who is a member of the local witches' coven. One of their members was a police officer at the station today and he took me back there with him to wait for you."
"hmm, that is suspicious, but not necessarily evidence that the witches had anything to do with it."
I filled Nick in on all the details, including that Crow couldn't get into the building, which had his eyebrows raise nearly to his hairline.
"I didn't think there was magic strong enough to keep you from Crow."
"Neither did I. It freaked me out. I had no idea he was even trying to get into the building." We shared a concerned look.
Nick shook his head as if he was trying to forget about that little piece of information. "The DPI had a representative in the area, so we can go back and raise the body whenever you are ready. There has been another murder in the time wasted fighting with that detective."
"Shit," I muttered.
Crow flapped in at that moment and landed gently on the counter, before hopping across to peck at the covered tray that sat beside the small sink.
I crossed the room and took the lid off, hoping to repair the damage I had done to our relationship, if you could call it that, by making sure the bird had lots to eat, but someone had beat me to it and under the tray was a can of sardines.
Crow had shown up at my apartment with a can of them once, so I knew he loved them, and I also knew they stunk.
"What is it?" Nick asked, coming closer. Then he chuckled. "The housekeepers said he was in the cupboards in the kitchen and kept dropping the cans on the counter. They must have figured out it was because he wanted them."
"Why would they even have cans of sardines in the cupboard?"
Nick shrugged. "My parents keep food in the house in case humans stop by."
I let it go. It was weird. Vampires were weird. Instead, I popped open the can and moved through the suite toward the bedroom I had slept in the night before. "I'm just going to change, then maybe we can get Mr. Moody to bring us back to the station for round two of rising the murder victim?"
"Sounds good," Nick replied.
I wasn't sure about 'good’, but it was a plan, anyway. Hopefully, this time I would actually get to raise the murder vi
ctim and maybe he would be able to give me some clues about who killed him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Finally, back in the morgue, the place was empty except for a man in a business suit who had introduced himself as officer Zander. He was with the Department of Paranormal Investigation.
I pushed away all the thoughts of the DPI and approached the sheet-covered table. I already knew what the dead body looked like since I had seen it before, with Crow, but I was still anxious.
Crow had landed on the body and was bopping his head up and down like a weirdo. I stepped the last step, so the front of my shirt was brushing the table and felt the pull of the dead body tugging at my magic. The tiny fire inside me leapt and twisted, trying to break free, but I held it back a moment longer before finally letting it slip through.
It moved slowly at first, then all at once. Blue sparks slid across the floor, like reaching arms in all directions, before turning and flowing up the legs of the table to surround the sheet-covered body.
Then there he was. The man I had seen when Crow dragged me down here. His face was pale and his eyes dull in death, but his mouth was open in a silent scream that contorted his features in pain.
Someone set a knife in my hand, but I was frozen, staring at the horror on the man's face. I stumbled back half a step, but a strong pair of arms cradled me until Crow hopped forward and cawed once loudly, settling the man's features and easing the pain of the wraith.
I huffed out the breath I had been holding and stepped out of Nick's arms, bumping my thighs against the cold steel table.
My hands worked automatically with long-practiced movements as I slit my forearm and held my arm over the dead man's legs. A single drop was all that fell before my skin healed again. The power granted me from the Black Crow had improved my ability to heal dramatically, and I had to cut myself twice now every time I raised a wraith.
The man began mumbling lowly to himself, his eyes trained on the sheet that covered his body's legs.
"Hi there," I said, folding the pocket knife and slipping it in the pocket of my jeans.
The wraith's head snapped up; his eyes startled.
"Where am I? Who are you?"
"My name is Selena," I said. "You had some trouble the other night."
"I remember," he said, turning his head to look around the room. "Shit."
With his head turned I could easily see the bite mark on his neck, but the other mark, the one that looked like the lightning bolt of half the star of Bethlehem, was missing. I circled the table and pulled the sheet back to reveal the wraith's body.
"Oh, wow, I look like shit," he said. This wraith was life-like, almost as solid as the one Colvin and I had raised together, and it took me aback for a moment before I looked down again to see the star was no longer on the body either.
"I thought you said there was a mark on his neck?" Falcor asked from behind me.
"There was." I glanced back up at the wraith. "Can you tell me what happened to you?"
The wraith shook his head, his floppy hair falling on his forehead. His hand reached up and pushed the hair back from his face. "I'm sorry. I know I died, but I saw nothing. It was so dark."
"Did you hear anything?"
"No, it was silent. My ears were still ringing from the music."
The wraith hadn't faded at all, but I was done talking to him and wanted to discuss the star with Falcor or maybe someone who wasn't such an ass.
"Oh, holy shit," a shocked voice whispered from behind me.
A man, scratch that, a vampire I had never met before stood behind us dressed in a tailored suit and shoes shiny enough to see my reflection in.
I ignored him and turned back to the wraith.
"Thank you," I said before pulling the knife out of my pocket.
"You'll find whoever did this?"
I bit my lip, hesitant to make another promise to a dead person, but I knew in my heart I would see this investigation through. "You have my word." Then I slit my forearm, enjoying the sting of the knife a bit more than usual, and let the single drop of blood fall on the sheet. The wraith slipped away, leaving the stark red bloodstains on the pristine white sheet as a reminder I had just promised to find his killer.
The drops had fallen side by side, about the width of incisors, sending a chill down my spine and reminding me that Nick's family drank from humans.
I took a steadying breath and turned to face the man in the suit.
His eyes were still round, and I raised an eyebrow in question.
"Sorry, I've never seen one of you do that before."
"A necromancer?"
"Yes," he said shaking his head. "Sorry, I'm Zander Murray, from the Department of Paranormal Investigation. You're Selena?"
My magic pulled towards him and I had thought for half a second to let it all go. It was annoying that raising a wraith didn't empty the magic that clamoured to fill me, but instead, I shook his hand, holding the fire down in my stomach.
He half bowed to Nick. "Thank you for being here."
Nick rolled his eyes but nodded.
When Zander turned to Falcor and offered his hand, Falcor ignored it. Classy man, that Falcor.
We all stood in awkward silence for a moment while Zander stared at me. "Sorry," he shook his head again. "I just wanted to let you know that everything here has been straightened out and no charges will be pressed by the officer, however, you are within your right to press charges, Selena, should you choose to. The officer had no right to put his hand on you and I can see the bruises on your arm.
I glanced down at the ring of dots on my upper arm where the officer had grabbed me. "I'm not interested in pressing charges. He was just doing his job."
"Hardly," Nick scoffed, but I ignored him.
Zander's eye's never left mine as he smiled softly. "Sure, of course. They asked me to accompany you though." His eyes slid to Nick. "Um, to ensure there are no more unfortunate incidents."
"Oh great, you mean my parents have hired a babysitter for me?"
Zander looked away from Nick. "That's not the exact words they used."
"And how do my parents have any control over the DPI?" he asked, taking a half step forward.
Zander took a half step back.
"Nick, be cool, it's not his fault," I said in a low voice I knew he would hear.
Nick turned on his heel and crossed the room to lean against the door frame beside Falcor. I didn't like this side of Nick. He was weird here, in this city. On edge, or something.
"Sorry," I said to the DPI agent.
"It's fine. So, tell me more about yourself."
I glanced around. "I think I have another wraith to raise, maybe we can chat over lunch."
His eyes grew round. "Oh, of course! I'm so sorry. Let me go get the coroner." Zander strode out of the room and I locked eyes with Nick. His jaw was clenched.
"Is this how it's going to be?" I asked under my breath, low enough that Falcor wouldn't hear.
Nick just looked away, his jaw still clenched and the anger practically radiating off him. I knew it wasn't directed at me, but that didn't change the fact he was making a tough situation worse for no reason. His parents weren't even there, and it wasn't Zander's fault that he had orders to stick with us.
I shook my head and turned back to the sheet-covered body. The missing star imprint was weird. Dead bodies don’t heal, or whatever, unless someone removed the mark.
I turned back to Falcor. "Could a warlock or witch remove a mark on a dead body?"
Falcor crossed the room to stand beside me. "You said there was a mark here? Beneath his ear?" Falcor pointed.
"Yes, just a bit lower maybe, but in that area."
Falcor studied the skin there and then let a bit of his magic pour out. It was thin threads stretching from his fingers to the skin around the dead man's ear. They snapped and Falcor looked back at me. "I don't think anyone used magic to make the mark disappear. Are you sure you saw something? Maybe it was just a trick of the
light."
"I'm sure. Crow brought me down here to see it for a reason." Crow was perched on the end of the small bed, preening his feathers and ignoring everyone.
"Hmm," Falcor said. Just then the doors behind us opened and a man in a white coat, escorted by the suit-clad Zander entered. They spoke in low voices for a moment before turning to us.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Elliot. I'll just put this one away and get the other one for you."
"Great, thanks."
The coroner moved towards the table and stopped when Crow turned and stared at him.
"Uh," Dr. Elliot said, keeping his eyes on Crow.
"Crow, move your feathery ass," I said.
Crow hopped up and flew over our heads for a few moments then landed with a flutter on a desk across the room, making papers blow onto the floor.
"Shit, sorry," I said.
"Oh, no worries," Dr. Elliot said with a nervous laugh. "This is so weird," he muttered under his breath as he pushed the metal table across the floor towards a back hall. "I'll be right back."
I glanced back at Crow who was pecking at a file folder. "Quit that."
Crow cawed, and I rolled my eyes. I couldn't take him anywhere.
"Wow, the tension is pretty thick in here," Zander said, glancing between all of us.
"You said it," Falcor agreed as if he was so chill.
"Oh, shut it, Falcor," Nick said, helpfully.
"Why don't you shut it, Nick. You're the one with a chip on his shoulder today."
Luckily, the coroner came back into the room, pushing another steel table with a sheet-covered body.
"How many other victims do you have available?" I asked, trying to refocus everyone on the investigation.
"None, I'm afraid. The detective released the earlier victims to the families."
"Damn." I would have liked to get a wider frame of reference. I could always track them down in whatever cemetery they had been buried in if they were buried yet. But that would take more time than we had, and it wasn't exactly safe to do in the middle of a big city like this one.
As the coroner locked the wheels on the table and stepped back, I pulled the sheet down from the murder victim's head. The bite on her neck as more like that of a wild animal. Skin and muscle were shredded down her neck and across her shoulder. The sound had been cleaned, but the viciousness of the attack was still evident.
