“No.” This time Evangeline answered. “I haven’t encountered him face to face yet. He’s been helping some witches deal in black magic and he’s been attacking me from afar, probably also using magic. Is magic big in the underworld?”
“It’s a big misconception to think only witches deal in magic. Everything supernatural deals in magic, it’s magic that keeps a vampire animated, that lets a shifter take on it’s animal shape, and so on. Black magic would be an appetizer to a demon and whatever he’s getting from the witch would be the main course. Demons thrive on the destruction and chaos. What would it want with you?” Ethan explained, his eyes moving around her face in interest.
“Hell if I know.” Evangeline answered, bitterly. “We don’t know too much yet. My memories were wiped after I started to investigate the witches and their shop.”
“Investigate?” His interest was thoroughly peaked. “Do you work for the SCF?”
“Yeah, you know of it?”
“I know your boss, Bess.” A faint cloud of regret filled his words at the mention of the other woman. He turned his attention back to Caleb, “What do you want from me?”
Caleb didn’t know enough about demons to feel comfort tacking them head on alone and putting his pack at risk, or worse by putting Evangeline at risk. Being a smart alpha was knowing when to ask for help. “You help us destroy this demon and your debt with me is resolved.”
Ethan didn’t stop to give it much thought. Killing demons was his favorite pastime. “Deal.”
Chapter 10
Bess was alone when they arrived to her office. She glanced up for the smallest of seconds from her computer screen to greet them. When her blue-green eyes landed on Ethan, that split second lasted much longer. There was history between the two, Caleb noted, and whatever it was, was complicated.
Bess stood from behind her polished wood desk. “What am I missing now?” her tone of voice stayed in control, it was the wariness in her expression that gave away her hesitance to know the answer of the question.
Evangeline spoke up. “With a demon problem, we need help from someone who knows more about them than we do. Apparently Ethan here owes Caleb a favor.”
Bess allowed herself a long sigh before slipping back into that perfected boss persona of blank looks and hard stares. “Thomas is back on his way in. Jake, if you’re done here I need you on the field with Chase.”
Jake silently turned to his alpha to seek out his permission. “Go ahead.” Caleb felt confident in the deal he and Ethan struck. Ethan was a man of his word, and wouldn’t try to stab him in the back just because an opportunity presented itself. Only vampires were so conniving.
Evangeline waited until Jake made his exit to ask, “Rebecca hasn’t arrived yet?” It was the first time since this ordeal began days ago, that she looked anxious to finally get her memories back.
“She’s here and clearing up another matter for Thomas until he gets here. What happened since we last spoke?”
“We came up with a plan.” Evangeline walked over to the guest seats positioned in front of the desk, folding her body in one of them. “If Rebecca can get me back my memories that’ll be great. We’ll take what I knew before and what we’ve figured out now, and go after the witch and her demonic partner with Ethan’s help.”
“And if you don’t get your memory back?” Bess inquired, playing devil’s advocate.
“We’ll still go after the witch either way and then she’ll reverse the spell.” A tight fury laced her simple words. As the days progressed, the need to find the witch became something personal and less about the job she swore to uphold weeks ago.
Caleb watched her from his spot against the wall. He knew he was going to have to keep an eye on her before she did something she’d regret. It was easy to feed into darkness when you were angry. Evangeline would come to regret killing the witch when all the dust settled, it was something Caleb didn’t want her to have to live with.
Bess shared the same worries and exchanged a look with Caleb that spoke volumes of her concern. “Can I talk to you alone for a moment outside?”
The alpha had no objections and followed her out into the narrow hallway. Bess was a woman used to working with and around supernatural creatures with superior hearing. She took several long steps away from the office before uttering a word. “I want you to stay onboard until this case is officially closed. Evie could use the extra back up and there’s no one more invested in her safety than you.”
Caleb was glad to hear that. “She might disagree with that when her memories return.”
“That’s why I’m talking to you now. If you’re assisting the SCF she won’t have a say in you sticking around. You’d be her partner for the duration of the case.” Bess didn’t leave any base uncovered.
“You have a deal.”
With a curt nod, and nothing else to say, Bess turned back for her office. Coming up the other end of the hall was Thomas with a blonde woman at his side. Caleb assumed she must be Rebecca Kayden.
Back inside the office Bess went around and made formal introductions, then kicked everyone out. “Evie and Rebecca don’t need an audience.” She physically shooed them out of the office and told them where to wait in the lobby.
Caleb didn’t put up a fight. Evangeline trusted Bess, and he trusted the other woman wouldn’t allow anything to go wrong. Rather than sitting around and twiddling his thumbs, he went outside to call Jamie and let her know everything was ok. He was sure his teenage daughter had just about a million questions to ask.
Evie rubbed her hands up and down her thighs. Nervous, her palms were sweating and driving her already frantic nerves to the edge. “What do I have to do?”
Rebecca smiled softly. “Just give me your hand. When I touch someone with my hands I can see inside their memories, unless of course they know I can do that and block me out. I normally see what the person is remembering at the moment or something they have constantly present in their thoughts. It’ll help if you focus on those blank spots you can’t remember, maybe we can push through them.” The woman spoke with a pleasant voice to match her angelic features. Evie could see someone spending hours confessing all their secrets to Rebecca and not even realize it.
It sounded like a dream come true to be able to push through the wall blocking her form the rest of her life, but it was one she feared wouldn’t work. Hope was a tricky thing and with all the blocks stacked against her throughout this ordeal, Evie was short on hope. She laid her hands on top of Rebecca’s and hoped for the best.
Rebecca called herself a dreamwalker, a title given to her as a child, even though her power worked just fine when the person was awake. “Although, it’s less of a fight if I touch the person when they are asleep. It’s a second nature to fight against things you don’t understand. It’s really not as crazy as it sounds to peak though memories.”
Bess agreed. “With Holly’s connection to Death she can see tragic memories left over by traumatic events. Zoe has the power of empathy and it’s been showing her some memories too attached to the emotion. It’s not something she’s thrilled with.” She spoke of her sister with fondness and sadness. They were emotions she normally didn’t put on display, and they left Evie wondering what could be wrong.
One problem at a time, she turned to Rebecca instead. “Can you see anything?”
“Oh, I’m seeing a few things but none of it shows something pertaining to the magic shop you mentioned. You’re thinking about the alpha outside.”
Evie tried not to blush. The memories she managed to retrieve about Caleb weren’t something she wanted a third party to see in such vivid color. “It’s not intentional. He’s been helping me with all of this.”
“I can see that too. Let’s try another tactic, close your eyes.” With no other choices, Evie did what she was asked. “Empty every thought you have right now and every emotion. I want you to see nothing and feel nothing.” Something warm started to surround her hands, it felt like
a puddle of warm water, almost too hot to be deemed comfortable. A pins and needles sensation soon joined it and Rebecca’s grip tightened, fearing the other woman might try to pull away. “Tell me the first thing you feel.”
“I’m scared.”
“Why?”
“My father is angry with me. He knows I hate the life of the coven, I’m terrified he’s going to figure out my plan to run tomorrow night. The only person I told was Kevin, I used to think he’d never betray me.” Evangeline frowned heavily.
Rebecca kept the questions following to follow the pattern of the memories returning. “What did he do to change that?”
“He sold me out to the coven for his own selfish needs. He couldn’t handle the prospect of having to find love the real way, he wanted the elders to assign him a new mate like a coward. True love isn’t meant to be manufactured with spells.”
“And who was your true love?”
“My first love was Michael, a vampire I met when I arrived in Celestin, but he isn’t my true love. He can’t accept everything about me and sometimes I think he doesn’t even want to try. Sometimes I think Caleb accepts me, at least the fact I’m a shape shifting witch, but I’m also infected with the vampire virus and that he likes to ignore.” It rang strange to bring Caleb into a conversation about love. Even now she was still trying to figure out what she felt for the alpha.
“Evie, without thinking about it, tell me the next thing you see.”
“My sister Elissa. She’s following in my footsteps and running away from home. I didn’t want to be married to someone I wasn’t in love with and she feels the same way. I left her there to suffer all these years alone at the hands of their laws and merciless ways.” Silent tears started to fall from Evie’s eyes. “She came to me for help and I had to do it.”
Rebecca’s ears perked up and took a great deal of notice to that last word. “It?”
“I got her away from the coven once and for all.”
“How?”
“I forged a case file and a request to talk to Elissa on the record, it came from the SCF and the coven didn’t try to fight the request. It looked like some routine questioning about an accident my sister saw when she came to visit the safe house. It felt good to pull one over on the elders. I got her somewhere safe and they’re never going to find her.”
“That must’ve got them very angry. Did anyone from the coven come to pay you visit lately?”
“They wouldn’t dare and Bess made sure of it.”
“That’s good, we know for sure now it wasn’t the coven to cause your loss of memory. Do you know who was responsible for your attacks?”
“Yes. We’ve been on the right track investigating the Martin family of witches. They’re doing very bad things right here in Celestin.”
It had been almost an hour since Caleb left Evangeline alone in Bess’ office. He continued to question what could be going on in there, but didn’t dare impose at the risk of getting on her bad side. Instead, he left the SCF lobby and went outside from some much needed air.
It was alarming to watch how many came through the SF doors to file complaints about the vampires in their neighborhoods, most of the complaints had no merit though and sounded just plain stupid. Caleb knew without a doubt it was best for his pack and all the others to remain hidden under the radar. The public would lose what was left of their minds if they learned of shifters. The only saving grace anymore was the public knew vampires came out to play at night, days in Celestin were relatively normal, like they used to be before the mass exposure.
Out of thin air, Ethan appeared by Caleb’s side. “I went by the magic shop.”
“Someone went by earlier and said it’d been empty for the last two days.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth checking out. The way I do things and the way other folks do it, is very different.” Ethan spoke with an arrogant smirk, his eyes turned upward to stare at the blanket of stars hanging low on the horizon. “The place stunk of demon. I put in a call to an exorcist in the area to see if she heard anything about the shop or it’s owners.”
“Exorcist?” It was the first Caleb had heard of such people outside of the church.
“There’s a race with the ability to send the bastards back to hell in seconds using a power they’re born with. I’ve only met one and she’s….a pain in the ass.” Ethan’s voice sat heavy with memories and frustration.
“Did she know anything?”
“Yes, apparently it’s not the first time the Martin’s have gotten mixed up with demons. There was a possession two months ago she worked where the Martin’s were involved. Since then they’ve taken measures to hide their tracks and it sounds like your girl caught them in the middle of something big. The Martin’s are known for a spell of compulsion that allows them to control humans and lower supernatural races. I think they miscalculated with Evie and this amnesia is the result of it.”
It was nice to finally have the answer how all of this happened, Caleb thought, but it still wasn’t enough. The Martin witches had to be stopped.
Bess stopped outside, her eyes quickly detouring from Ethan and settling on Caleb. “You can come in now.” The FBI agent turned and went back inside with no further explanations.
The alpha cursed. He wanted to know if Rebecca got through to Evangeline, he wanted to know what to expect, his feet growing heavy at the countless scenarios running back and forth in his mind. Wasting no time, he pulled the double doors open and followed Bess’ previous movements back to her private office. Ethan opted to stay outside.
Back in the office, Evangeline stood from the couch when Caleb arrived. He took one look at her face, her startled expression, the way her eyes wouldn’t met his with that bold curiosity any longer. Inside the office with no exit but the one he stood in front of, she still found a way to run miles away from him.
It only took one look and he knew; she remembered everything.
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STAY TUNED FOR A SNEAK PEAK AT BOOK 3: REVELATIONS
CHAPTER 1
It felt like a kick in the teeth, how easily I could find myself in these situations with no control and no escape. I tried not to seem too embarrassed as I thanked Rebecca for all her help. She had seen a lot of dark parts of my memories, secrets too, many of which I never wanted known. Worse were the memories of my time with amnesia. I sure made a fool out of myself. Such a fool that I couldn’t look at Caleb for even a split second.
I needed to get out of there, I needed to get home and process these last few days, but Bess wasn’t letting me off the hook that quick.
Wearing a polite smile, Rebecca made her exit out of the office, leaving me with one less buffer between me and Caleb. Bess asked, “What’s your next move? I want to be kept in the loop every step of the way.” I was standing in front of her desk, with her eyes paying attention to mine, I glanced back at Caleb with a question she understood. “Caleb is temporarily working with the SCF to help close the file on the Martin witches. You’re going to be partnered for the extent of the investigation.”
I kept my mouth shut and didn’t curse like I wanted to, but I know my body gave me away, my shoulders tensed and my back turned into a taut wire pole. “Thomas is my partner.”
“Thomas is good at what he does but he’s also human. I don’t want anymore of my team being taken advantage of.”
Caleb’s shoes moved with no sound on the carpet, close to where I stood. I wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t know the feel of his shadow encroaching, covering my senses until I only felt him. “Ethan managed to find out the Martin’s have a spell they use to control humans and lower level supernatural races. We suspect they tried to use it on Evangeline, and instead wiped her memory clean as a result.”
Bess sighed. “That just further proves my point. Evie, we can’t have anymore mishaps and you need a partner those witches can’t manipulate.”
I started to panic. Just hours ago I told Caleb truths that should’ve never
been uttered. I kissed him. Oh god. “The SCF is made up of people the witches don’t stand a chance against” I didn’t like to second guess her, I didn’t like to appear desperate either.
“Jake is working his own case, Zoe is throwing herself deep into her work at the CPD, Rebecca has to catch up at her firm, and I’m stuck here.”
“What about Matthew?” Bess’ boss, Matthew Stevens, was a scary guy but even he was better than Caleb, the alpha wolf I threw myself at just hours ago. Just a fool, yup, that was me.
“He’s in Washington. You and Caleb work well together, you trusted him to keep you safe throughout this ordeal and that’s exactly what I want him to keep doing. The decision has been made. What I need from you are constant updates, on this case and any others you work in the future. Tell me from the beginning how the Martin witches came into play.” Bess sat down behind her desk, crossing her hands over one another, and waited.
I agreed to all of this when I took her deal. I knew I couldn’t bail just because it got too messy with Caleb in the mix. Bess knew it too. I sank my butt into one of the visitor’s chairs. I had to stop pouting and remember, I still decided now this would end.
Nothing I admitted to Caleb had to change anything, I could feign stupidity and weasel myself out of it my errors. Except, that wouldn’t be the truth. With no memory and nowhere to turn, I clung to Caleb like a lifeline because my heart knew to trust him. Scared and alone, there was nothing more I wanted than to stay with him. The scary part was, I had my magic and my memories, I wasn’t helpless anymore, and I still wanted to stay wrapped up in him.
Crap.
Sighing, I tried to put my focus on Alexandra Martin.
To be continued…
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