The Lost Ones
Here Witchy Witchy
Book 12
A.L. Kessler
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Snippet
About the Author
Copyright © 2021 A.L. Kessler
This book is a work of fiction and all people and events are a product of the author’s imagination. No part of this book may be reproduced without the author’s expressed permission.
Cover by: Mia Bishop
Editing by: Jasmyn at No Genre Left Behind
Formatting by: Imagine Ink Designs.
To my reader’s group, thanks for all the encouragement.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Jasmyn who deals with my massive amount of questions. To Mia for my beautiful cover, and to my readers’ group for keeping me going. Thanks to hubby who kept telling me ‘get to work’ and to the sprint group who keep me on top of my words.
CHAPTER ONE
I threw up a circle to block the magic coming at me. The purple haze easily obeyed my command, and I felt the magic bounce off of it, my magic shuddering a little at the strength. I looked at the man standing in front of me. Nick, I had so much anger and bitterness towards him since he’d left me and Simon to be tortured. All that emotion building over the last three months. And then the news came.
PIB had let him back onto the force, and I attacked him out of anger. Now we were in a lock of magical anger.
I let my circle down and snapped my purple whip at Nick. I really wasn’t out to hurt him, and I didn’t think he was actually out to hurt me, but we both had aggression toward each other that we needed to get out.
“Children.” A female voice boomed over the clearing that Nick and I were using as a battleground. “This is a peaceful place. I do not permit magical fighting.”
I glanced at the petite woman dressed in jeans and an eighties rock-band t-shirt. Her blond hair was tied away from her face, and her hazel eyes gave us a stern look, as if indeed she was talking to two unruly children.
I took a deep breath and pulled my magic in. Nick stepped within reach of me as he pulled in his own magic. “Sorry Melisandra, Abigail didn’t like the news we got and naturally, she’s blaming me.”
I turned toward him and pulled back to punch him. I could take him in hand to hand, and it wasn’t magical.
“Abigail.” Melisandra’s voice made me stop. “Your anger and temper have gotten worse these last three months.”
Pressing my lips together, I tried to think of the reason. “My magic wants me to use it. I’m antsy. I’m ready to go back to work and be useful. As much as the peace and quiet here has helped, I’m ready to go back to my life.”
“Nick’s psych eval came back then.” She crossed her arms and looked at Nick. “And you’re back on the force?”
She didn’t sound nearly as surprised as I did.
Nick nodded. “On probation and desk duty. I will not be working with a team on the field like I wanted, but I supposed this is more than I deserve.”
Especially since his father and stepmother were still alive, and despite the cleansings that Melisandra helped him with, I wasn’t completely convinced he still wasn’t magically tied to those two. The people who had killed my parents.
Another anger rose in me, this time accompanied by grief.
“And yours hasn’t come back, Abby?”
I shook my head. “No, O’Donald said he wanted to look at it as well before they gave me a pass or fail.” I didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a way I could argue. “I’m ready to go back to my house. Magic can’t do the type of healing I need now.”
Nick snorted. “Maybe he plans on fudging your results.”
“You need to leave now, Nicolas. Your time here has ended.” Melisandra gave him a soft smile. “Congratulations on returning to work.”
She always sounded so sincere. I shook my head and went back to the middle of the clearing and sat down with all intentions of meditating and trying to control my anger.
I heard Nick’s feet shuffle over the grass as he headed inside. I let out a long breath and counted to four, took in another, counted to four.
I felt Melisandra sit next to me as I focused on my breathing. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Her magic was a comfort against the raging sea that was me.
“Abigail, I know you want to go home, but you are still lost.”
Lost.
That’s what she had called me when I got back from the case three months ago.
Lost. Like I was some type of dog someone needed to find and adopt.
“I’m not lost. I’m antsy and ready to go back to work.”
Melisandra sighed, and she sounded exhausted. “Abigail, you have to come to terms with what is going on with you, your magic, and what you are.”
“I’m a witch.” I opened my eyes and looked at her. “I’m a witch with vampire blood that gives me some advantages.”
Something flashed in her eyes. “And disadvantages. Like the increase in your temper.”
“No, that’s always been there.” I offered her a smile. “I come by it honestly, I think.”
She chuckled. “I’m agreeing to let you return home, only because I know that you’ll be supervised most the time. So someone will be there if your magic gets out of control.”
“I don’t know if you’ve talked to Oliver much about my magic.” I didn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice, because I knew she had talked to Oliver about it. “But my control is damn good. There have been very few times that I’ve lost control.”
She pressed her lips together. “Then perhaps I should say in case your good judgment fails.” She got up and walked back into the house, leaving me to contemplate what she had said.
In case my judgment failed. I closed my eyes again and focused on my breathing. The last few months I had to take some pretty risky chances. They led me down paths I wouldn’t have normally chosen. But I didn’t think it was my nature that had made me choose them, at least not my vampire nature.
I cringed at the thought. I opened my eyes to find I was still alone with my thoughts. Something I was never good at. I was mentally begging for someone to interrupt me, but Melisandra and Oliver were still in the house and Nick was gone.
I closed my eyes and went back to my meditation.
When I went back into the house, I wasn’t much better off than I had been when Nick was here. I sat on the couch in the living room and grabbed my phone. I saw missed calls from Liz, not one, not two, but three.
Liz was lead of the Black Magic Task Force. Other than a few texts here and there, I hadn’t heard much from her for the last three months. Mostly she checked up on me, and she would occasionally send me memes that described her day.
I picked up the phone and called her back. My heart pounded as I tried to wait patiently for her to answer the phone. She finally picked up.
“Hey, Abby.”
“Sorry I missed your call, I was outside meditating.”
She laughed. “Seems like that’s all you’ve been doing the last three months.”
“Yeah, it really does. Oliver doesn’t even let me watch the news. And he and Melisandra have this thing for old b
lack and white movies.” I made an ‘ick,’ noise and she laughed harder.
“When do you get to come home?”
“Soon. Melisandra finally agreed to let me go. She says I’m still ‘lost,’ whatever that’s supposed to mean.” I sighed and leaned my head back. “I’m just ready to go home and back to work.”
“Yeah…” There was hesitation in her voice. “I have news about that.”
I cringed. “I’m assuming it’s bad news?”
“Well, O’Donald said his higher up wants another evaluation, and this time under a truth spell.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ugh, okay, fine. When?”
“It’ll be a few days before someone will be available, but O’Donald said you can come into the office and do some paperwork. He got you cleared for that.”
It was better than nothing, and it beat sitting around in the middle of nowhere. “Okay, Monday then?”
“Monday. Take the weekend to get home and get settled. Also, Nick will be sharing my office.”
I snorted. “I’m glad you’re dealing with him. Thank you, and tell O’Donald thank you as well.”
“Of course! We’re excited for you to come back. The office isn’t the same without you.”
I smiled. “Miss you too. When I get back, you should come over for coffee, I’m sure the house will feel empty without Merick or Simon there.”
“Simon’s not staying with you anymore?” She sounded almost sad.
“I don’t know, I haven’t heard much from him either, though honestly, I wouldn’t blame him if he tucked tail and ran. I mean, they tortured him because of me.” I tried to stop the hitch of breath in my voice, but failed. I took a deep breath. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t have an entire pack after me.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I could see that being an issue, but don’t worry about it. I know he’s still allied with Levi, so you didn’t scare him away completely.”
“That’s not helpful. I’ll call him when I’m back in town. Levi won’t be happy to know that I’m alone at my house.”
She laughed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Hopefully, he doesn’t have Mario move in with you.”
“Like hell, I don’t want him living with me. Maybe I can just enjoy the house to myself for once. Maybe I’ll get another cat. One that’s actually a cat.”
She laughed. “You’re not home enough for a real cat.”
“Not true, they are very self-sufficient.” I smiled. “I’ll be home tonight. I’m going to go pack my stuff up and head back to town before Levi or the council decides that it’s not the right move.”
“Or before Melisandra convinces you otherwise?”
“Or Oliver. Granted, I would expect more extreme measures from Oliver.” But I wasn’t sure if Melisandra would allow him to get away with any of those tactics.
“I’ll inform the team that you’re going to be home. Yada, yada, rules, rules, rules.”
Once upon a time, she hadn’t been part of my security team. I wasn’t even sure how she got pulled in other than Levi liked her and thought she was good for me. “Yeah, I’m sure they heightened security since we confirmed Christof was working for Samuel.”
“You have no idea. PIB wants a piece of him too. O’Donald dragged out the evidence and files from your parent’s case. He’s determined to get them for that as well.”
My heart leaped. “Really?”
“Yeah. Look, he won’t let you near it. You aren’t even supposed to know. Levi is furious about it because he doesn’t want more attention brought to that case. As far as he’s concerned, it’s solved now, and that’s it.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed. I wanted to see Christof and Annabella brought to justice for it, and then I wanted Samuel’s head separated from his body for putting the order in. “Thanks for letting me know, I’ll make sure not to mention it to anyone.” Oliver walked into the room and had his arms crossed. His hair was combed back, and he wore a suit like he was about to go to a meeting.
“Um, Oliver’s here and glaring daggers at me. I’m assuming I’m in trouble. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Got it. Keep me updated,” Liz said before she disconnected the call.
“Niece,” Oliver said as a way of greeting.
“Uncle Oliver,” I said back in the same icy tone. “Something I can do for you?”
He glanced towards the stairs and then at me. “Melisandra is upset with you.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here anymore. I need to get back to my life and work. There’s no longer a hole in my aura, I’m not having spells or anything, and I’m not craving blood or turning into a vampire.”
His glare lightened a little. “Abigail, your magic is still unstable. You’ve worked hard to bring it back to a flame from the spark Annabella’s attack left you with, but you don’t have the effortless control you had before.”
“And I’ll continue to work on it. Oliver, you’re like me in this, you can’t just sit around and do nothing. You need to feel productive, you need to feel useful.”
He chuckled. “I am useful here. But I understand where you are coming from. Just please, don’t take all of Melisandra’s hard work with you and throw it into the gutter by doing something reckless.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be on desk duty.” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“Probably a wise choice for now. Melisandra is worried about you.”
“Can you explain why? She’s just told me I’m still lost, and she’s worried about me losing control.”
“Your control has almost always been impeccable. By lost, she’s worried that you’ve lost your way in life. Who and what you are. Your passion.” He sat down with me. “Your parents' death drove you forward in life, why you joined PIB, why you dug deep into Ira and Samuel and anyone related that crossed your path.”
I was silent for a moment. “That may be true, but I still love my job. I love that I help people, I bring the bad people in so that’s one less worry on the streets.”
“What are you without PIB though?” Oliver asked. It wasn’t snarky or angry, but honest curiosity.
I tried to think for a moment. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly,” Oliver said. “I’m not saying it’s time you left PIB, but it’s time to consider what and who Abigail Collins is.” He got up and walked out before I could answer him.
What and who was I? Abigail Collins, witch, PIB agent, vampire princess, girlfriend of the pack leader. I bristled as the uncomfortable question sat in my mind.
I pulled the yellow Hummer up to my house. I had expected it to look abandoned, but the kitchen light was on, the green grass in the yard was trimmed and gave me the promise of spring coming. I had a feeling that Merick was taking care of it while I was gone. Levi had built the three-story house for my mother and Tobias to raise me in. After my house in town imploded, I had moved back home and made it my forever house.
Typically, Simon would spend the night with me here, and Merick lived here as well, but I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out now that Merick had become a High Priest of the Cult of Ra.
I threw the Hummer in park and got out. I grabbed my suitcase, backpack, and a duffel bag before heading to the door. I hesitated for a moment before I put my key in the lock. My mind was still on the question Oliver asked me before I left. Still pondering who I was.
I’d been gone from my life for three months, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to step back in or not. Things were going to be different. Things had changed since my last case, and I wasn’t sure now if I was ready to face it.
Taking a deep breath, I turned the key and walked in, dropping my stuff by the door.
There, as if waiting for me to return home, was Merick in cat form sitting on the counter. I paused, because Merick hadn’t hidden in cat form since we finally told Levi and Mario about it. His sphinx form was pink with black splotches on the skin with just a fine layer of fur almost invisible to the eye. His tail flic
kered back and forth, hitting the steaming cup of coffee on the counter. I wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.
I scratched his head like I would a normal cat. “Glad to see someone’s here waiting for me. Hello Osiris, I hope Simon took good care of you while I was gone.”
A creek in the floor had me turning with my gun drawn.
Nick stood there, his hands in the air. And I watched him. How did he manage to get past my magic on the house, the security system, and Merick’s magic?
“I can’t believe you’ve kept that cat alive for so long.” His voice was joking.
“How the fuck did you get into my house?” I lowered the gun, but I didn’t put it away.
Nick shrugged. “Apparently now that I’m free of my father, I can come in. Merick’s magic doesn’t block me anymore.”
Interesting. “Get out of my house.”
“Look, Abby, I just want to talk without Oliver or Melisandra or anyone listening.”
I took a deep breath. If he’d gotten past all the magic, then he probably wasn’t here to hurt me, not right now. I holstered the gun and picked up Osiris and went to the living room. Nick followed.
“I wanted to talk to you about what happened while we were captive with my parents.”
I met his gaze. “Nick, what is there to talk about? They tortured me, they tortured Simon, they tortured you, and your parents wanted an authentic life magic spell that they were forcing me to translate. A vampire hired your parents to slaughter mine.”
“They forced my actions, as well. I want to say sorry. I want to make it up to you, but I don’t know how.”
I frowned. “I don’t know how either, and honestly, I’m not sure if there’s a way to trust you again. Not while your dad and stepmom are alive.”
“Did you expect me to kill them?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t a threat still. PIB will take care of them from here.” And I hoped it wasn’t like Michele where they got out. No, O’Donald wouldn’t let that happen. Not after a case like that. I rubbed my eyes. “I think it’s time for you to leave, Nick. It’s almost sundown and the last thing you want is Levi finding that you’re in my house.”
The Lost Ones (Here Witchy Witchy Book 12) Page 1
