She shook her head and dropped her hands to her sides. She was of slim build. Her long dark hair had beautiful natural curls that most girls would kill for. Her eyes were the color of freshly grown spring grass. She was everything a guy would look for in a mate—unlike me, who was a normal blonde, which I considered to be a dime a dozen since the Light Fae had joined the party bringing with them a new view of what a perfect blonde should look like. Forget Barbie—the Fae gave new meaning to feeling inadequate.
One of my Guild instructors had been quick to point out that I was indeed not the type to ever listen or follow rules, let alone make him a sandwich. I'd agreed, oh I would have made his ass a sandwich, but he'd have worn it in his face.
"Yes, I get it. If he reneges on the deal then I'll be first in line to fry his balls Syn. But right now there's more at stake than what either of you have been told." Adam snorted but Larissa left the room only to return moments later with a file in her hand. "This is what you were really brought in for."
She tossed the file on my bed and crossed her arms while she waited for me to pick it up. Adam and I stared at her and then the file that sat discarded on my bed. Red letters that read Confidential written across the manila folder caught and held my eye. "We couldn’t tell you until you agreed to the contract and well, I know it isn't something we normally look into, but they need us to do this case. We think this has to do with the person or persons trying to get to the Light Heir."
I looked up at her, as if she'd grown another head.
"Read it already!" Larissa shouted picking up pacing where I had left off.
"What is it?" Adam asked, afraid like I wasn't going to pick it up.
I blew him a raspberry before picking it up and undoing the metal hook that kept it together. Pictures of dead women slid out of the folder. Gruesome pictures, that made bile rise in the back of my throat. "What the hell."
"Witches from the Seattle Guild. Some from the Guild itself, others are from some of the smaller covens across the state. Oftentimes their mutilated bodies have been found with some of the dead Fae," she paused nibbling on her lip as she considered telling us more. "They're somehow tied to whoever is trying to kill the Light Heir, that’s all we know. None of the Guilds sent them out to work with the Fae and yet they were strung up beside them and killed."
I sat down as my knees threatened to give out. Adam did the same. This wasn’t happening, but Alden throwing me to the wolf made sense now. I stared at picture after picture of dead Witches and Fae. "Their spells are missing," I said pointing out the missing skin of the Witches.
"And their tongues. The Fae are missing glands and other goodies. It's like someone is building a Frankenstein so to say," Larissa said finally stopping long enough to point out the mutilated Fae that were indeed missing pieces.
I considered it, moving to another picture, this one had been picked over. Most spells were written in ink and placed in the skin. They were written in Latin though, which meant whoever was doing this knew the language or was working with someone who did.
"The Fae, what are they missing, exactly?" I asked trying to scan their pictures without throwing up. Someone had cut them open and dissected them—and the Fae did not die, which meant someone had some sort if mythical weapon. Or they had figured out a way to kill them.
"Sex glands among a few other things, another is missing her milk glands, they seem to pick out weak ones, at least that is what the Fae seem to think."
"If they are killing Fae and Witches, they have to be killing other creatures."
We both looked up at Adam. And waited.
He shrugged and continued, "Witches and Fae have nothing in common, so why them. Why not other creature's?"
I narrowed my eyes and scrunched up my nose. "We both have magic. But why not just hire us if that is what they want?"
"The Fae also reported a child stolen three days ago, from a Fae compound in daylight, no one saw anything. Whoever this is has magic, we think they want more." Larissa said oblivious to the looks I and Adam were now throwing at her.
"Just how long have you been working on this Miss I Hurt My Ankle?" I barked. How could she work a case without telling me? I was her Head of Coven. She was supposed to report any missions or findings to me and yet I'd known nothing of this before now.
"I knew you wouldn’t be too mad Syn, they found this at one of the scenes. And I couldn't tell you, Alden insisted it be kept quiet until we had more information," she tossed a small trinket on the bed.
It was my mother's locket. I flinched and picked it up placing it in my hand. "How? Where did you find this?"
"At one of the first scenes. No connection can be made between them or your parents so far," Larissa said and smiled sadly, "We were afraid it would dredge up the past too much for you."
I snorted. "You should have told me Larissa, Why would someone be killing immortals?" I asked myself out loud. It made no sense, but neither did the murders of innocent women. "Are we sure it's only women?" I asked as an afterthought struck me.
"So far. Why? What are you thinking?" Larissa said narrowing her eyes.
"And the Fae, they're actually dead? Not regenerating?"
She nodded in confirmation.
"So whoever this is can kill an immortal Fae and is strong enough to withstand Witches' powers?" I asked trying to think of what, if any creature I'd ever encountered that could manage a feat that great.
"Alden thinks so but it makes no sense since they're killing Witches and Fae for body parts. The only break we've got is they had pictures of Arianna inside one of the crime scenes. With a giant red X on her face." Larissa stalls, her eyes turning to take in my pale complexion.
I'd had enough of the Fae and Ryder. My eyes drifted over the charm, simple yet beautifully crafted. It was hers and I'd watched the Fae tear it from her neck before leaving the strong beautiful woman who had raised me, reduced to nothing but a mindless body. Those empty eyes haunted my dreams, she haunted them.
"Alden says that this might just be a serial killer, but one who is doing it on a massive scale and can kill immortals."
The phone in the kitchen rang and Adam jumped up quickly leaving the room to answer it, which was a habit of his since he spent more time at our place than at his own.
He came back a few seconds later and tossed a curious look at Larissa. "Alden's on the line. Says it's urgent."
We both watched as Larissa exhaled deeply and headed for the kitchen alone. Two seconds later we followed her, too curious as to what Alden wanted to stay in the bedroom and wait. We rounded the corner in time to watch her eyes go wide and then wince at whatever was being said on the other end of the phone.
"That can't be good," Adam said jumping up to sit on the bare counter and reached for the jar of peanut butter.
"Yes I understand," Larissa was saying in a strictly professional voice, "Yes we'll go to the scene," she paused, biting her lip and nodded as if Alden would be able to see the motion. "No, I understand and we'll be strictly professional."
She hung up the phone and turned to Adam who had grown bored with the conversation and was focused on licking peanut butter off his finger, sucking on it for a moment before he noticed us both staring at him.
"What? I got hungry waiting."
We both looked at him and shook our heads. I narrow my eyes on Larissa. My brain knew what is coming before she says it. It wasn’t good.
"They found another dead Fae, Alden's sending us since you're now working for the Dark Prince. His men will assist us at the site."
Just freaking peachy!
"Let me guess, the prince himself will be there?" Adam said falling in line with my thoughts.
Larissa sighed and nodded slowly, "You guys need to be professional, it's one of their own that was killed and for them—it's huge, someone is killing off immortals."
"And Witches," I piped in making sure she hadn't missed that fact. We weren't immortal. She seemed to be forgetting that there was a trail of bodies a
nd a killer of Witches and Fae alike on the loose. Whoever it was needed to be stopped and fast.
Eleven
We pulled up at the dead Fae’s house shortly after five o’clock. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon bringing beautiful contrasting colors to the dour mood of the crowd gathered around the crime scene trying to catch a peek at the body of the deceased.
Apparently a dead immortal brought out all the freaks. It was a nice yard, vivid green bushes that continuously flowed to the mailbox in the front yard of the small green house. From the flowers and roses planted throughout the yard it was easy to tell that the Fae who lived here had been blessed with green thumbs—or was an actual Fairy.
The Guild had figured out that the difference between Fairies and the Fae was small, but there, the lines between the types of Fae often seemed blurred. Ryder and his merry men had more in common with the mythical Elves, minus the pointy ears and that they were not exactly gentle folk. These guys would kick your ass, mess with your head and then probably steal your soul just to liven things up a bit. Fairies on the other hand were gentle creatures that preferred to live alone unless mated. I was willing to bet that since I heard no pitter of wings, or crying from family, that this one had been alone and unmated. Fairies like Sprites and Dryads were connected to nature and drew from the earth and not the human race, which made them worth keeping around in my book. Myths and legends often had basis in fact, how many types of the Otherworld creatures were out there was uncertain and the Fae weren’t sharing that kind of information anytime soon.
I opened the van's door and stepped out waiting for Adam and Larissa to pile out of the beat up van designated for official Guild business since it had the Guilds name in red down the otherwise white side. My eyes searched the Dark Fae closest to us and found a pair of narrowed golden eyes watching as we moved closer to the scene.
"Here, put these on," the closest Fae said holding out a pair of cloth booties you would see in an operating room on a surgeon.
I kept my comment to myself as I took them and put them on over my sneakers. I'd changed into the black fatigues and tank top which was protocol for members of the Guild on a crime scene, or so Larissa said. "How many dead?" I asked taking in the broken window I could see from the front porch.
"One," Ryder replied moving over to where we stood. "It's gruesome, sure you can stomach it?" He questioned me.
"It’s a crime scene, I think we can handle it," I mumbled ignoring his hard stare as I looked around him to the glass shards on the porch. I narrowed my eyes considering it and then looked at the untouched flowerbed right in front of it.
Ryder turned to stand beside me, the electrical current of his power sizzling over my flesh reminding me of everything he had done to me today already. I dismissed him from my mind going into enforcer mode, blocking out every sound as I took in what the naked eye would miss. There was an aura trail leading around the back, it was faint but there none the less, the aura was green and was already fading.
"The body. Who's been in to see it so far?" I asked.
"We were waiting for your Guild, wasn’t aware they were sending you in to help us," Ryder didn’t sound any happier about me being here than I was.
"So no one has entered yet?" I said stopping and turning my head around as he ran into me.
He pulled back instantly as if I had burned his flesh. "No, we looked in through a window."
I nodded and started walking again. The trail around back was growing fainter with every second. "It's not a Witch, or Fae…I've never seen a green aura, has a slimy feel to it."
I could feel his penetrating gaze on my back as I followed the trail ignoring the house as I walked around to the back. It was as green as the front yard was with flower pots bursting with beautiful flowers in every hue of the rainbow.
My feet hit gravel and I stopped. The green trail from the aura was gone. "There was a car parked here for a quick getaway if needed, but the killer wasn't in a hurry," I scanned the gravel kneeling down to touch the rocks and measure out the tire print from where the killer had been parked, "There was at least one female in heels here," I said coming back up. "The car is most likely a Dodge Charger," I turned looking at the garage which had a small fleck of red paint on the corner which had been hit on the way out. "Red, blood red."
"Do you realize how many Red Charges there are in Spokane?" Adam whined.
"Yep, I'd say she was around one hundred and thirty pounds, maybe more."
"You got all that from following a trail?" Dristan asked coming up behind us.
I turned and gave him a leveled stare with a slight nod before turning back to the garage that besides the paint was otherwise in place, minus the obnoxious odor coming from inside. I chewed at my lip before looking closely at the lock for tampering, "You guys smell that?" I asked turning to take in the Fae's reaction to my question.
"Yeah, it's fertilizer from Faery," Ryder said crossing his arms over his immaculate white lawn shirt. He wore loose fitting jeans with off black boots that made him seem almost human—if he wasn’t glaring with his brutal air of authority.
"Hmm, it reeks," I complained before walking off in the other direction without waiting to see if anyone followed me. The evening air was chilling, but manageable. The sunset was now vibrant shades of orange and red with a cloudless sky.
It was chilling how beautiful it was outside in the face of a tragedy. The world around us had not stopped because of the tragedy inside. I think that was one of the things that bothered me the most the day my parents had been brutally murdered, outside the sun had been shining, welcoming. It had pissed me off even at five.
"Planning on killing the sun?" Ryder asked keeping up with me easily with his long gait.
I stopped and removed the booties on the porch and held out my hands for new ones slipping them on just as quickly before I stepped onto the porch and looked through the window. "The glass is outside," I remarked.
"Yeah, they broke the window to get in." Dristan said quietly from behind me.
"No, she let her killer inside. If they had gone through the window, the glass would be on the inside from being broken into."
"Smart, so the killer broke it on their way out?" Ryder asked narrowing his eyes on the glass at our feet.
I nodded keeping my eyes on the figure slumped in the small wooden chair in her kitchen. Ropes held her in place and she was missing part of her face, there were also holes in her shoulders from either being stabbed or pinned by something. Bile rose in my throat but I pushed it back down shaking my head.
"It's bad inside,' Ryder said in a low voice.
"You don’t investigate things like this normally?" I asked trying to dispel the image of my father that filtered briefly through my mind. I pulled my eyes away from the body to look up into his eyes.
"No, it's not often we find our own dead," he growled moving to open the door.
I followed slowly, the stench of death overwhelming as the door was thrown open wide. I scanned the room briefly. Two tea cups with green tea sat on a breakfast nook, along with knives that I was betting had not been part of tea time. The carpets were once white, now were splattered with blood from the brutality which the murder occurred with.
I tilted my head looking at the eyeless face that was facing the floor. If not for the slashes against the shallow cheeks of the blonde petite Fairy she would have appeared to be sleeping. Blood had been used to write scribe marks across the wall in the language of the dead.
"She knew her killer, enough that she made tea and sat down with her to talk," I said narrowing my eyes on the symbols on the wall. "Can you read the message?" I asked carefully.
"It's a warning and a draining glyph. Myrsa didn't have much power though. She was after all a simple earth Fairy. Good at growing, but otherwise not powerful by any means."
"No, but she was beautiful. Maybe this killer isn't just sucking out power, but beauty as well," I mumbled tilting my head to better look at the missing skin of t
he poor woman's fingers. "She is missing her eyes, her fingertips and—oh wow," I swallowed violently against the nausea rising once more.
The white pants were open and her woman parts were completely missing, including her womb. "Was she—" I stopped clearing my voice again as I took an involuntary step backwards, "Was she breeding?"
Ryder hissed with anger, his eyes doing his glowing thing again filled with his outrage. "No, she was in waiting. She was to be married to a Water Sprite next week. She chose this house because of the portal one block over that leads to the main garden inside Faery."
"That makes no sense, why would someone steal her organs? Eyes can be used for certain spells—"
I switched into second sight and took in the scene around us. I instantly felt the air crackle and the room went deathly silent. As if everyone knew what was coming but couldn't do anything about it. The air was charged and everything felt as if it was moving in slow motion. The Fae looked at us, as we looked at them. Horror filled the small room as I turned and looked at the body of the deceased. My hand began to itch painfully.
Adam and Larissa's hands sought my shoulders as they pushed their own powers into me. The moment the connection and circle was made, I brought my hands out wide mimicking them in a circle before my palms slapped together—and the room exploded.
Wood from the roof splintered and hit the protection field I'd created, violently sending spasms through my body. It was a part of me. I was consuming the damage so that the others could be protected. The Fae might have been able to live through the blast, but my friends wouldn’t have.
I turned, looking over at the Fae who still stared at us, Ryder's eyes narrowing as he took in the pinched strain on my face. Blood was pumping loudly inside my ears making impossible to hear what he was saying. Sweat broke out on my brow as Adam and Larissa kept their hands touching my flesh, feeding me power to keep the protective barrier up.