Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Read online

  Mira practically flew down the stairs. “Thank you,” she said when she jumped into the vehicle.

  The man got into the passenger seat, and the car began to move the moment the door was closed.

  She had no idea who these people were. The thought flitted around.

  And they’re taking me somewhere, but I haven’t told them where I need to go.

  It was too strange to contemplate, so she told them where she was headed to settle her nerves.

  “I’m sorry I’m in such a rush. Thank you for picking me up.”

  “It’s our pleasure.”

  Mira stared out the window and tapped her fingers on her purse.

  “Is this a situation in which you need further assistance?” the man in the front passenger seat asked without turning around.

  “What?” Mira had almost missed what he said. “Oh, um... no. I just need…”

  What? What did she need to do?

  “I just need to reach someone,” she finished.

  The man nodded. They didn’t ask anything else, and they didn’t attempt to make conversation. What they did make was time. At least it seemed that way. They were pulling to a stop in front of the building faster than she ever could have if she had been driving.

  “How much do I owe you?” Mira asked as the man got out of the vehicle and walked to the other side.

  “We don’t work that way,” the driver said.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Mr. Harker has you covered,” he said.

  The strangeness washed over her again. When the door opened, she thrust the thought aside.

  “Thank you,” she said, then jumped out of the vehicle and hurried into the building.

  The moment Mira stepped inside she realized that she had never entered the building from the front. They had always taken her in through the garage.

  She hurried up to a thick glass window and waited, bouncing on her feet with impatience, until she was noticed.

  “I need to speak with Detectives Burke or Flint,” she said.

  “What is this visit regarding?”

  Mira blinked at the man behind the glass. “I’m a consultant on an investigation. It’s very important that I talk with them.”

  “I’ll let someone know you’re here,” the man said.

  When he didn’t move, she glared at him and whipped out her phone, starting her string of calls over again. Each time she received no answer, her heart beat faster. Where was everyone?

  There was that mind, that killer’s mind that continued to lurk alongside her own. She should have concentrated on the spell longer. It was still moving through her, though. Maybe she could reestablish the connection.

  Uncomfortable looking seats were in the foyer, which didn’t look conducive to spell casting, but Mira decided it was worth a try.

  “Mira?”

  It was Gabriel. Of course it was. She couldn’t have been lucky enough for it to be Ian.

  “If you’re here to file a complaint about yesterday—”

  “Is Ian here?” Mira asked.

  Gabriel looked like he had smelled something bad. “He’s not.”

  “Fine. We need to talk,” Mira said. “Now.”

  Gabriel shook his head, but said, “Fine, follow me.” He nodded to the man behind the glass and led Mira into the station, where they climbed up several flights of stairs.

  “Where’s Ian,” Mira asked when she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. There were things she needed to discuss with the detectives and she was sure she wouldn’t get far with Gabriel.

  “Out,” Gabriel said. “We do have a job to do.”

  “Who was arrested last night?” Mira asked, ignoring his disgruntled attitude.

  “I’m not going to discuss an ongoing case with you,” Gabriel said. “In here.”

  He led her into a small interview room.

  “You know I’m going to find out from Della anyway,” Mira said.

  “Great, find out from her,” he said, sitting down. “I’m assuming that this is about last night?”

  “What about last night?” Mira said, trying to concentrate on Gabriel and not the perspective of someone else.

  “The search? Your fall down the stairs? Any number of things.”

  She looked at him blankly. “You had a warrant. It’s not like you forced your way in.”

  “I was doing my job,” he stressed.

  “Right,” Mira said without a hint of sarcasm.

  He sighed. “I could have been nicer about it. I figured that’s why you were looking for Ian.” He wasn’t as gruff as he had been. There may have even been a trace of regret hidden in there.

  She had really been counting on Ian being at the station. What could she say to Gabriel?

  Well, she had to say something. “I’m looking for Ian because I think a friend of mine is in trouble and it might be connected to the case. And I know you don’t like me, so I wanted to talk with him.”

  “What makes you say I don’t like you?” Gabriel shook his head. “Never mind that. Tell me about your friend.”

  “His name is Tyler and I think—” What did she think? The name had weighed heavily in the mind of the killer, so he had to be thinking about Tyler, right? It couldn’t be Tyler, right? “I think he has a connection to the other victims.”

  Gabriel frowned. “Wait here.” He strode out of the room, not waiting for a response.

  Mira tried to put her thoughts together, but she felt like her mind was being torn in two. Using Gabriel’s absence to her advantage, she closed her eyes and let herself fall back into the spell. The hemlock and other items that had been in her circle danced in her thoughts.

  Another witch. Witches can find proof.

  Mira probed the mind, but whoever it was wasn’t thinking about Tyler.

  She distinctly felt that the person was male, and he was thinking about witches. Which witch?

  “What about witches?”

  She hadn’t noticed Gabriel coming into the room, or that she had spoken out loud.

  Mira shifted in her seat. “Nothing.” Grappling with her own mind, she tried to push herself away from the spell.

  Gabriel had a notebook with him. “Tell me about Tyler.”

  It took Mira a few moments to remember what she had said before. “I think he’s connected to the other victims somehow.”

  “We haven’t made any connection to all the victims,” Gabriel said. He watched her closely.

  “Maybe that connection is him.”

  “What does Tyler think about this?” Gabriel asked.

  “I can’t reach him,” Mira said.

  “Did you try visiting him?”

  “No. Ian took me home yesterday. I didn’t have my car.”

  Karen didn’t have to die.

  “Of course she didn’t,” Gabriel said.

  Mira blanched. Was she talking?

  “Um, can I get a glass of water?” Mira asked.

  He looked at her for a few heartbeats before setting down his notebook. “I’ll be right back.”

  As soon as he left the room, Mira was closing her eyes and frantically trying to push the spell away. She took out the rock and concentrated on grounding herself.

  I can see that the witch has to wait.

  She felt her lips move that time. Getting away from the spell wasn’t working. There had to be another way out of this.

  Her eyes landed on Gabriel’s notebook and pen. Snatching the pen up, she realized that it might not even be his, but he had been holding it. It would have to do.

  She concentrated on the pen.

  Her mind shifted.

  And she watched herself through Gabriel’s perspective when he returned to the room.

  He sat down across from Mira and she openly gaped at him. It was almost as though two Gabriels were there, superimposed on one another. One was the everyday Gabriel that she saw, and the other was like nothing she had ever seen. He shimmered.

  “Are you ready to talk
about Tyler?”

  Mira was mesmerized. Gabriel alone was one of the most handsome men she had met, but this new Gabriel, the hidden one, was beautiful.

  “Or maybe you’d like to talk about Karen,” Gabriel said. “Or witches?”

  The second Gabriel was also larger somehow. Bulkier, maybe.

  “What do you have in your hand?” Gabriel asked.

  She looked down and it was as if a spell was broken. Unfortunately, not the one she cast.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said, handing Gabriel the pen.

  “I mean your other hand.”

  “Nothing,” Mira said. She moved to put the rock back in her pocket.

  “Mira.” There was a warning in his voice.

  “It’s just a rock.”

  “Let me see.”

  She didn’t move.

  “If it’s only a rock it’s not going to hurt to show me,” Gabriel said.

  She shrugged and handed it over.

  The room dimmed.

  “Why are you carrying a rock?” Gabriel asked.

  “No reason,” Mira said. Her eyes flickered to the corners of the room and back. Impressions of a shadow darting by made her look again. “Did you see that?”

  “I’ve seen a rock very similar to this recently,” Gabriel said. He ignored her question and twisted the stone over in his hands.

  Out of the corner of her eye, something moved close to the ground. Instinctively, she lifted her feet off the ground. “Is there something under the table?”

  “There’s nothing here, Mira.” He was inspecting the rock as though he were trying to memorize every line.

  Both Gabriels appeared to be talking. Mira stomach lurched and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t look at Gabriel anymore.

  “I came here about my friend,” Mira said. “Nothing else. Please, give me the rock back.”

  “Where did you get this?” Gabriel asked.

  “It’s a rock, who cares.”

  “You need to tell me.”

  “It was a mistake to come here,” Mira said, opening her eyes and trying not to look at the detective. “I’ll go find Tyler.” Taking a steadying breath, she put her feet on the ground.

  That’s when she saw the shadow standing in the corner. Trying to tell herself that shadows don’t stand did her no good. This one clearly stood.

  A dark shape moved, but she didn’t take her eyes off the corner. The thing in the corner was much worse than anything she had seen.

  “Have a seat," Gabriel said.

  The dark misty form was starting to gel and come together. As it became darker, her fear grew.

  “I need to go.” It came out as barely a whisper.

  Gabriel followed her gaze before looking back at her. “I need an answer. Where did you get this?”

  She only shook her head and slowly stood, as though she were afraid the thing in the corner would charge her.

  “I’m going,” she said.

  “I can’t let you do that,” Gabriel said. “Look, I’ll get Ian here if you’d rather talk to him. I’ll call Della or any other lawyer you might want to have with you, but I’m going to have to ask you to stay.”

  Mira heard the words, but she did not intend to listen to them. She began to ease away from the table.

  Gabriel stood, and his doppelganger did the same a heartbeat behind.

  Mira glanced behind her to the door. Something was standing there, still misty, but almost fully formed.

  She hadn’t noticed that she’d moved back until she bumped into Gabriel.

  Mira whipped around and Gabriel grabbed her arm. The air started to grow heavy.

  “What are you doing? Are you on something?” he asked. “Because that would explain a lot.”

  Mira was shaking from head to toe. “Don’t you see them?” Her stomach was clenched so tightly that she was forced to take shallow breaths.

  “There’s nothing here.” Gabriel said.

  Mira felt a tug at her waist. The woven silk cord was being pulled away, but there was nothing grabbing it.

  Nothing she could see.

  “Let go,” Mira said, twisting around and moving away.

  “I’m worried you’re going to hurt yourself,” Gabriel said.

  Pressure pushed at Mira from all sides. She had two Gabriels, superimposed onto each other, holding her arm.

  She closed her eyes tightly against the atmosphere that strained to crush her. There was a pop and the weight lifted.

  Mira no longer felt the pull at her waist.

  Chapter 20

  Gabriel let go, releasing her as though in slow motion.

  The air felt strange, so Mira opened her eyes, then immediately wished she had kept them closed. There was a haze in the room, as though someone had started a fire down the hall.

  If it were only the haze, she could have handled it, but the creatures that gathered around them, she had a problem coping with.

  The dark thing in the corner stepped out. It vaguely resembled a person in that it had arms, legs, and a head, but that’s where the similarities stopped. The skin of the creature was wrinkled and black, like leather that had been set on fire before being doused with water.

  “What did you drug me with?” Gabriel asked. “I swear to god, Mira, if you drugged me I’m locking you up.”

  “Quiet, Gabriel,” Mira snapped. She was grateful that she felt like herself again. There were no other people wading through her mind. Although, that was only a small comfort as the creature in front of them took another step forward.

  “Quiet, my ass.” Gabriel still sounded like himself. “What the hell is that thing? Oh shit. What the hell are they?”

  Mira marveled at how he could still sound the same. She felt like she was having a meltdown, but Gabriel was in his normal state of being pissed off at her. She would have expected his attitude in her house, the office, the store, and anywhere else in their normal reality. It was surprising to hear that same aggravation when pulled into another world.

  It was comforting in an odd sort of way. Seeing his everyday reaction helped keep Mira on an even keel.

  There was a hissing noise that extinguished when the creature began to speak. “Bassstard son of a god, we have no quarrel. Leave here now.”

  “What the hell?” Gabriel asked.

  Mira wondered the same thing. She thought the noise came from the creature in front of her, but it was difficult to be sure.

  The hissing rose and the voice came again. “Hell is what waitsss in store for the Witch. Ssshe has meddled and ssshe is oursss.”

  Gabriel tensed behind Mira. She tried to step back to get both creatures in sight, but Gabriel was still at her back. It was clear these monsters weren’t happy with her.

  When she angled herself, she caught sight of the other thing in the room. It was light green in color and looked as though a weird mold was growing over it. It was just as hideous as the first.

  Then she saw Gabriel from the corner of her eye. She gasped and tried to step away from him without getting closer to the others. There were no longer two Gabriels, but the Gabriel she knew was gone. In his place stood an angel.

  He took her breath away. His skin was pearly, as if light were trapped inside. The size difference she had noted was now explained. Wings. Fully formed and as clear as could be. At first glance, she thought they were pure white. She couldn’t help but look again. Toward the end of the feathers, the tips were light gray.

  “Gabriel?” Mira’s voice was filled with awe.

  “What are they, Mira? What did you do?” Gabriel asked.

  Turning her attention back to the two creatures, it dawned on her where they were.

  “No,” Mira said softly, “I didn’t do this. I didn’t take us here.”

  A gasping breath of a voice sounded from the creature closest to Gabriel. “You, witch, were brought here by usss. The cossst was great, but you meddled and you must pay.” It took a step forward.

  Gabriel lost his temper and reached instin
ctively for his gun, but his hand came back holding a sword. Out of the corner of her eye, Mira saw his puzzlement, but it didn’t slow him down.

  “I don’t know who or what you are,” Gabriel said, holding the sword out as though it were a loaded gun. He reached in his pocket and took out his ID. “But you are in the wrong place. You have ten seconds to start out that door.”

  The absurdity of what he was doing wasn’t lost on Mira. The twisted creatures, however, didn’t seem fazed.

  Gabriel held out his badge. At least, Mira had thought it was his badge. When she saw him pull it from his pocket, she knew it was his ID and badge. Now they were gone, and he held a shield instead.

  The angel didn’t so much as blink with the change. As beautiful as Gabriel was before, his beauty was doubled with the gleam of the sword and shield. They’d appeared out of nowhere, but fit so perfectly with the angel that Gabriel had become that you could tell they belonged to him. Gabriel, the warrior angel.

  “Basstard sson of a god. We have no quarrel with you,” hissed the first creature again.

  “And I don’t have a quarrel with you,” Gabriel said. “If you aren’t going to leave, we’re going to walk out of here.”

  He moved toward Mira. She hadn’t realized that she had backed so far away from everyone else in the room. As he approached, she saw that he was breathing heavy.

  Maybe he was freaking out.

  “The witch stays with us,” gasped the other creature.

  “The witch stays with me,” Gabriel said. “Mira, we need to head toward the door.”

  “It’s in front of the door,” she said quietly.

  “Right.” With his sword still pointed out, he wrapped an arm around Mira, putting his shield between them and the creatures. “Hold on to this.”

  Mira had no idea what Gabriel’s plan was, but she grabbed the shield as best as she could. It was heavier than it looked. The two creatures each moved forward.

  Gabriel and Mira both tensed when they moved.

  “Get back!” Gabriel’s voice came like an avalanche.

  No human could have sounded like that. It was an order. A demand. Now Mira understood why they called him the son of a god. They could not stand against that voice. Squealing and hissing, they fled the room. Mira wouldn’t have been surprised if they had fled the building, but that might have been asking too much.