Murder by Magic Read online

“Yes, it does. I hadn’t thought about it being a possibility before. I thought all the shifters who decided to stay in the mortal world were long gone. At the very least, I would never have thought them to be a threat to us.”

  “A shifter? I don’t understand.” Jessica’s mouth was drawn into a thin line.

  The look between Euros and Mixt told her that they had momentarily forgotten that she was there, and it annoyed her. She opened her mouth again, as if she was going to yell out something, but she stopped, and her expression softened. Finally, Euros spoke.

  “There used to be creatures in our world that could transform from a human into a fox. They also possessed magic powers. They are called shifters.”

  “A fox that changes into a woman?”

  “There were many different clans of shifters. Fox, bear, even dragon at one time.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” That was directed at Euros. I trusted you. I’d started trusting you again. Why?

  But Mixt answered instead. “The Elders forbid many things. Having a mortal in our world has crossed many lines. Telling you any more than we already have…” His gaze moved from her to Euros. “Telling you any more is forbidden.”

  “But if it helps stop this creature from killing anyone else…”

  “Or from opening the portals.”

  She glanced at Euros, then turned to glare at Mixt. “Yes, your portals. I’d think you’d want to protect those at all costs. And even though I’m just a mere mortal…” She put enough spin on that to make Mixt’s brows quirk down. “Even with that, we all want the same thing.”

  “Yes. For the greater good, and all that.” With a wave of his hand, Mixt started to pace. “I don’t understand why Anastasia would be after the grimoire. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “How does it not? Could it be as simple as her wanting to come back to a place that she felt was her home?” Euros asked, grimly.

  “Yes, sure… but why now? It would have been her choice to remain in the mortal world.”

  “What do you mean?” Jessica asked, stepping closer.

  “When the elders decided to seal the portals, they gave all our people the choice whether to stay here, or live in the mortal world. They were free to make their decision, but they knew that they could never cross through the portal again. All the shifter clans chose the mortal world. To them, it was the best of both worlds. They could hide their magic in shifter form, go undetected when needed, but still live in a world they loved.”

  Euros’ scowled, his eyes darkening. “It seems as though Anastasia has changed her mind.”

  “Yeah, it appears so.” Mixt face reddened in anger.

  Euros stiffened. “The buckle. Hudson is wearing it in the photograph. I’m willing to bet that he’s her next target. She’ll kill him for the buckle, and to be rid of any ties to the mortal world.”

  “And that’s the last piece of the grimoire. It’s all she needs to reassemble it, and use its power.”

  “Then what do we do?” Jessica asked, stepping forward. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

  “We find Anastasia.” Euros’ voice was steady, even, but Jessica could feel the tension rolling off his body.

  Mixt threw his hands up in the air. “And then?” His face was flushed, and his voice came out as a croak. “What will you do then?”

  “We…” Jessica stopped. Arrest her. The logical thing to do, what she’d do with any murderer. But how could she pin two murders on Anastasia, if there was only fox fur, and theories about magic books? And if the person truly was magic, then how the hell would she ever be able to do anything at all when up against a force like that?

  Damn Mixt, and his know-it-all grin. “Not as easy as you thought?”

  They needed to do something, but she didn’t know what Then it hit her. She turned to Euros.

  “You said time stands still when I’m in here, right? Can you take me, us, to Hudson’s residence? Make sure he’s okay, warn him?”

  “Yes, I can, and I know someone who possesses the ability to locate.” Euros reached out and laid a hand on Mixt’s shoulder. “Where Anastasia’s half magic, he can find her exact whereabouts with a spell. I think it’s a better idea to go after her, instead of warning Hudson. Just in case he gives her a heads up that we are onto her. We can’t be sure how much he knows, or if they’re in this together.”

  Mixt breathed out in frustration. His pulse raced at the thought that if they didn’t stop Anastasia before she assembled the grimoire, she would be able to open the portals once again, and allow anyone entry. “Yes, I can locate her using the photograph and a spell, but I am not strong enough to join you. Tell me though, what will you do? You’re going to arrest a magical creature, and take her to jail? Will your mortal ways work for you when up against a shifter who possesses the power of dark magic?”

  Her frustration with Mixt had reached its end. She turned back to him. “I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m not walking into this alone. Euros will be there with me. I’m pretty sure between the two of us, we’ll figure out a way to stop her, and to protect your world…and mine.”

  Spinning around, she grabbed Euros ‘hand, pulling him toward the portal, before she realized he wasn’t moving. Practically tripping over her feet, she turned back to him. “Can we go?”

  He was smiling. “We can. But not that way.” He pulled her back against him, his arms around her waist. Somewhere over his shoulder, Mixt made another of his disproving noises. For a split second, she wished she had the magic ability to silence him. But then Euros’ arms tightened around her, and she forgot about Mixt. Her heart thudded against her ribs. “We need his help, Jessica.”

  Mixt stepped towards them, and began murmuring what sounded like a chant, his voice growing deeper and deeper, his words unintelligible, a blur of methodic tones. The world turned grey around the edges, and Jessica closed her eyes.

  “I guess I’m still not used to this whole traveling magic thing.” With the strange magic of this world swirling around her, Euros was a relative island of calm, even if he radiated his own magic. But that was familiar, almost comforting.

  “Stick with me, beautiful, and it’ll be second nature in no time.”

  She had a smart ass reply ready, but her words never formed. The last memory she had was Mixt, frowning at them, mouth open. And then she was flung through time and space again, her mind struggling to accept that this was happening, taking it on faith that she’d end up in one piece when they landed, or arrived, or whatever the hell it was they did.

  Then they were in a stairwell, one she didn’t recognize. The stairs wavered in and out of focus for a moment, like something from a fun house of mirrors. Then they came into focus.

  “Not sure if it’ll ever be second nature, but at least the room stops spinning sooner each time.”

  He held her gaze for a moment, and then stepped away. “This is Hudson’s building. We’re in the basement. He’s on the top floor. Anastasia is here…with him.”

  She eyed the stairs. “You couldn’t have gotten us a little closer? This building has to have a dozen floors.”

  His shrug was disarming, as was his grin. Damn him for making her notice. Damn her for noticing. “I did the best I could. Come on.” He glanced at his watch. “We don’t have much time.”

  With her heart pounding, and her breath coming in gasps, she followed Euros up the stairs at a sprint.

  The top floor couldn’t come fast enough. She was breathing hard by the time they reached the 12th floor. Euros reached for the door, but she put her hand on his arm.

  “Wait. We need a plan…” She took a breath, but he shook his head.

  “I can feel it, Jessica. Here, now. It’s happening.”

  He was through the door before she could stop him. Drawing her gun, she shouldered the door open, as it swung back and followed him down the hall. His coat swirled behind him, as he took off at a sprint down the hall. Gun drawn, she followed him.

&nb
sp; Then it hit her, like a pocket of dead air in the hall. Tendrils of gray, snaked along the floor, growing thicker as she ran, writhing like angry snakes on the carpet. The fear of stepping on them was almost overwhelming. Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.

  “Euros…” She flung herself against the wall, gun pointed at the floor. She wanted to shoot it, kill whatever it was. But no matter where she pointed, the things moved away, as if they were taunting her.

  “Jessica, come on.” He had her hand, pulling her down the hall, deeper into the swirling gray mist. “Try to ignore it. We’re almost there.”

  The hall seemed to stretch on forever. The faster she ran, the further it seemed she had to go. “Which one?”

  “Here.”

  Euros had stopped in front of a door. Her body felt disjointed, like her hand and arm had arrived at the door, well ahead of her body. She bumped into Euros, and wondered vaguely how he could be so calm.

  But then he kicked at the door, a vicious kick that splintered the frame. He brought his foot up again, heel slamming into the wood. This is wrong…

  “Magic, Euros. Use your magic.”

  He turned to her, eyes wide, pupils dilated. It took everything she had inside not to step back; to get away from him as quickly as possible. The struggle behind those eyes terrified her, and she slipped her hand down to the butt of her gun.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t sound fine.”

  “I am.” Abruptly, he turned back to the door, and put his hand on the knob. Like before, it turned an unusual shade of blue. Then he turned the knob, and the door opened, hanging crooked on its hinges.

  “In here.” His voice wasn’t right, but she had no choice, but to follow him into the apartment. He was through the foyer, past rooms she barely registered, other than a blur of color, and then pushing into a bedroom.

  Everything came to a screeching halt, every detail of the scene before her, hyper-real, like someone turned up the contrast, sharpened the edges of everything. And what she saw, made her blood run cold.

  Hudson was on the bed, on his back, shirtless, wearing gray sweats. The sheets under his torso were covered in blood, so much blood that she thought they were too late, that he was dead. For a minute, Jessica was captivated by the blood, by the way it pooled and moved on the sheets, the patterns it made, the deep color of it. It drew her, called to her, told her secrets in a language she didn’t know, but understood immediately in her heart, in her soul. She took a step forward, reaching for Hudson, for his blood.

  There was a blinding flash of light, so intense she had to close her eyes. It sent a sharp needle of pain through her head. She shook herself, trying to open her eyes, wanting to see, needing to see more of the blood.

  The slap across her face stung, the force of it whipping her head to the side. Something cracked in her neck, a shiver of pain running down her arms. She brought a hand up, either to her face, or to strike out, she wasn’t sure. But then Euros was in front of her, fingers wrapped around her wrist. His face inches from hers, he pushed her backward.

  “Don’t look. Do not…look at me.”

  She didn’t listen. Instead, she forced her gaze to his, and found his eyes almost burning with intensity.

  “You can’t be here, Jessica. You must…”

  “I’m not leaving. Do something, anything. Use your magic!” She looked past Euros, and for the first time, she realized there was a woman – or something that resembled a woman, though she was clearly made of dark magic. She was dressed all in black, her hair tousled in waves, and the look on her face screamed murder. She was on the bed, straddling Hudson’s hips, a knife raised over her head.

  “Euros! What the hell…”

  “She’s suspended…frozen. But not for long.”

  In amazement, Jessica saw that he was right. The woman was like a statue, a beautiful terrible woman, frozen at the peak of her rage. There was a strangely sensual, almost erotic, quality to her that was as compelling as the blood that was pooling on the bed. With an effort, Jessica looked away.

  “Jesus…”

  “She’s very strong. The magic here is powerful…dark. Her shifter side could never take me on its own, but her fae magic is stronger than I could have imagined.”

  “What can you do? How can I help you?”

  As she spoke, the fae started to move. It was clear she was fighting for control, her body thrumming, as she fought against Euros’ magic. And it was clear to Jessica that she was regaining control way too fast.

  “This isn’t going to work, not this time.” Fuck magic; it was time for plain old mortal physical force.

  Jessica pushed past Euros, his protests drowned out by the hammering of her heart, the harsh rush of air, as she tried to breath. The bed seemed so far away, but she ran toward the blood-soaked mattress, and the fae straddling Hudson.

  Setting her hands on the edge of the bed, Jessica vaulted onto the mattress. The woman was bringing the knife down, her arms corded with muscle and veins, the knife trembling, on the verge of breaking free of Euros’ magical grip. Jessica hit the bed hard, landing on her knees, momentum at least on her side. She lunged, hitting the woman’s hip, wrapping her arms around Anastasia. It was liking hitting a brick wall, albeit a wall that hummed and sizzled with magic, and rage, and power. And suddenly, all of that was directed at Jessica.

  That momentum carried them both off the other side of the bed. Anastasia made a sound, a high-pitched scream, that set Jessica’s teeth on edge. But she held on, tucking her head into her shoulders, bearing the woman down onto the carpet.

  They landed with a bone-shattering thud, sliding on the carpet, until they crashed into the wall. The sudden stop forced Jessica to lose her grip, and she rolled over the top of Anastasia, head hitting the wall hard. Stars blossomed across her vision, and her death grip on Anastasia loosened.

  Anastasia’s body suddenly felt like a wiggling bag of snakes, as she fought to get out from under Jessica. She kicked at Jessica’s stomach, her aim was off, and the blow hit Jessica’s thigh. It hurt like hell, but somehow Jessica struggled to hang on to the woman.

  “Let go of me, you fucking mortal.”

  It was the words that shocked Jessica more than the tone. For a minute, the image of the petite smiling woman standing beside Hudson in the photo from Lansing’s house rose up in memory. The coarse words were such a direct contrast to that image Jessica gasped.

  “I’m not letting you get away with this. Not again.”

  Anastasia still held the knife, and as she twisted her torso, she brought the blade around, slashing at Jessica. There was a flash of metal, warm drops of blood from the knife, splashing across her face. Panic surged through her, and she threw up her right hand to protect her face. The knife slashed her palm, and she screamed in pain.

  “Euros…” Where the hell was he? Why wasn’t he helping her?

  The only place that seemed safe was under the bed. Banging her head on the frame, she crawled across the carpet. There was movement behind her, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to get away from Anastasia, and find Euros.

  Something grabbed her foot, and she kicked, losing her boot in the process. Then she was coming out the other side, wiggling out from under the bed, pulling herself with one hand, the other held against her chest. Euros wasn’t there. Scrambling awkwardly to her feet, she drew her gun with her left hand, whirling around, ready to fire at Anastasia.

  But Euros was in her way. He was on the bed, kneeling beside Hudson. For a horrible moment, she thought he was trying to kill the man.

  “Euros! Stop, or I’ll shoot. Please! Stop!”

  “Jessica, don’t...” He glanced at her, and she saw in his eyes that he was himself, as much as that was possible. “He’s alive, and I’m trying to keep him that way.”

  His hands were a blur, as he moved them over Hudson’s body. The blood no longer held her in thrall, and she watched in amazement, as what looked like rivers of blood, running over th
e sheets, slowed to a trickle.

  “Is he…”

  “She didn’t deliver the killing blow, but she had used magic on him first and he’s in a type of coma. This must be what she does – to prevent them from fighting, but still feel the pain. What a cruel bitch.”

  “Where the hell is she?” Anastasia seemed to have vanished. But she’d no more than said the words, than the woman rose like a specter on the other side of the bed.

  “Euros, watch out.”

  Anastasia screamed, thrusting the knife at Euros. Jessica had no shot, and even if she did, holding the gun in her left hand was awkward. But Euros turned, calmly holding up one hand. Anastasia’s arm came down hard, burying the knife in the mattress. With a snarl, she pulled it out.

  “Jessica, get out. You can’t stay…”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “You can’t fight her.”

  “Mortals…you are all so weak.” Anastasia’s face was contorted with rage, but she smiled. It distorted her face in a grotesque caricature of mirth. “Do you really think you have a chance against a fae?”

  Jessica managed to cock the gun, and held it steady with her bloody hand. Something was wrong; her fingers refused to work, and the blood made the grip slippery. But she held her stance, and took aim at Anastasia.

  “Try, bitch. Just do it.”

  Jessica pulled the trigger. The gun sounded louder than possible in the small space. Anastasia staggered back, a look of surprise erasing the hateful smile. For a moment, she was the pretty woman in the photo, eyes wide, mouth open in a little O, features softened.

  The force of the shot threw Anastasia back against the wall. A blossom of red appeared on her chest, and for a minute, relief flooded through Jessica. Mixt was wrong; the fae-shifter hybrid was vulnerable to mortal means.

  But the relief turned to horror, as Jessica watched Anastasia straighten, as she looked down at the blood on her blouse. The horror only deepened, as Anastasia began to laugh.

  “Silly mortal…you can’t possibly expect a bullet to stop me.”

  “No, but I can stop you.”

  Euros rose up on the bed, towering over both of them. He pointed at Anastasia, and for a minute nothing happened. Then the air around him crackled, static making Jessica’s hair standing on end.