Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Page 29

  "And if something happens to you?" Gabriel asked.

  "I'm not defenseless, but if something happens, it happens. That wouldn't be your fault."

  "So I should have let the bookshelf fall on you?"

  He had been half grinning when he said it, but Mira's response was adamant. "Yes."

  He shook his head, but said nothing.

  "I'm surprised the streets aren't worse," Mira said after a while.

  "Me too." He sounded relieved in the change in subject. "While you run in and talk with Barney, I'll wait in the car and call Ian to see what's going on."

  "I thought you wanted to talk with Barney?"

  "Ian should talk with him."

  "We need to discuss you and Ian as well. He needs you on the case."

  "I'm not ready to start telling people I'm an angel. I don't even believe it. It seems less and less real each day."

  "You don't have to tell anyone."

  "How does that work?"

  "No supernatural is going to ask what you are, or if they do, you can choose to ignore them, because it's extremely rude to ask. If you don't want to tell Ian, we can imply I spelled you, just like I did him."

  "Imply?"

  She shrugged uncomfortably. "I've caused enough trouble between the two of you. I don't want you both to have to lie to each other anymore."

  Thankfully, Gabriel didn't have the chance to reply. He pulled to a stop in front of Barney's building and she hopped out right away.

  "I'll be a few minutes," she said before shutting the door on any response.

  The sidewalk had been salted, so Mira hurried into the apartment building. The hallway held the same chill as outside. She was grateful to be in the cold for once. She had a feeling warmth would make the smell of rotten eggs stronger.

  Mira knocked on the door and waited, bouncing up and down on her toes in an effort to keep warm. There was no sound from the apartment, so she knocked again, louder this time.

  "Barney," she called through the door, "it's Mira. I was in the area and wanted to stop by."

  "Mira?" Barney said.

  Mira jumped, startled to hear him almost directly on the other side of the door. "Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't call first. I don't have my cell phone on me."

  Locks began to click, and Barney peeked out. The security chain rattled as he confirmed it was her. He snapped the door shut and dropped the chain.

  When he opened the door again, it was barely far enough for her to squeeze in.

  As a seer, Barney looked old. Mira didn't know if he aged because he spent time staring into the Ether, or if seers naturally grew old faster. He appeared almost twice her age when he actually wasn't much older than she was.

  "I wasn't expecting anyone," Barney remarked. He ran a hand through his hair and refused to look at her.

  "Sorry. I figured since Tyler wasn't around—"

  "Where did he go?" Barney asked.

  "Oh." Mira had expected others to know about Tyler's disappearance. When she thought about it, though, she supposed it might not be common knowledge outside the witches. "He's... he's been gone for about a week now. Did anything break in the earthquake?" She glanced around, trying to find reason to keep the subject changed.

  Barney looked around as well. "That was real? It was here?"

  "It was," Mira said, carefully, "but you look like you weathered it."

  He stared around the room.

  Seers didn't always handle their abilities well. It had to be difficult constantly to see things no one else could.

  "I brought tea in case you wanted it," Mira said. "Did anyone let you know there's a conclave tonight?"

  "John told me yesterday," Barney said, his head bobbing up and down.

  Ice struck Mira's heart and began to filter through her veins. "John did?" She couldn't keep her voice steady. "Yesterday?"

  "Yes. He usually stops by each week. William called today. He's picking me up."

  "Did you... was John here?"

  "Are you?"

  Mira gave him a smile—which felt as though it trembled—and handed him the tea. "I am."

  "That's good. Thank you for the tea. John said I should avoid taking it, but he never really understood."

  She nodded, afraid to ask when John had said that. She struggled to catch her breath without knowing any more. He’d seen John, or thought he saw him, yesterday.

  John died. A creature had possessed him, and Gabriel had shot him through the chest. There was no way...

  But, Barney was the one saying this. Sure, he's a seer, but maybe he remembered something from a long time ago.

  Or something he’d thought would happen, but couldn't now that John was dead.

  That must be the case. It was the only thing that made sense.

  "I've got someone waiting for me." Mira reached for the doorknob, ready to get away, "but I'll see you again tonight. We should talk."

  He smiled. "I'd like that."

  As she opened the door, his eyes went blank and he stared at nothing. A coolness began to steal over the room. Mira froze. The Ether closed in on Barney, allowing him to peer into probable futures. She wanted to run and she berated herself for not thinking this through.

  Mira had never been comfortable with the wall between the worlds thinning out, but now that she had been to the other side, the experience had become so much worse. Her imagination showed her dark beings stretching out to her. She had been sucked into the other side before. How easy would it be for them to pull her through again if she was around Barney?

  "You alright?" Barney asked.

  Mira blinked and saw Barney was back to normal. Fear still had a tight grip on her.

  "Good," Mira said in a bitterly cheerful voice. "I have to run. See you later!"

  She hurried out the door and out of the building. Not caring if karma kicked her on her ass on the icy sidewalks, she rushed to Gabriel's car, desperate to put more space between her and the Ether.

  She felt childish when she jumped in the car and pushed the button for the locks. Then she pressed it again, just to be sure, before trying to get her chest to unfreeze.

  "What's wrong?" Gabriel asked.

  Mira shook her head. "Let's go."

  "No. What happened?"

  "Please, just go," Mira said.

  In the space of a few heartbeats, Mira thought he would argue. He cast a confused glance at the building before putting the car in gear and leaving.

  As the distance between her and the apartment grew larger, her lungs began to relax. She slumped back in her seat and closed her eyes.

  The spark of adrenaline had gone by unnoticed when the Ether approached, but as she calmed down it left her exhausted.

  "You good now?" Gabriel asked.

  She nodded automatically. "Fine."

  "Don't do that."

  "Do what?"

  "Lie. It's like a squeaky balloon or fingernails on a chalk board." After a moment, he added, "Plus it aggravates the hell out of me."

  She chuckled under her breath. Seeing his point, she opened her eyes and looked around, noting they were well away from the apartment.

  "Sorry, it's a habit."

  "What happened?"

  How did she start? Being close to Barney shouldn't bother her so much, and she didn't want Gabriel to freak out either.

  "It shouldn't have upset me. I just didn't think about it."

  "Go on," Gabriel prompted when she stopped.

  "Did I tell you how seers work?"

  "You told me they see a possible future, and it sounds like hell to be one."

  "Right! And they get confused sometimes about futures, and what they may have had as a vision about in the past, they sometimes remember in the present."

  He thought that over. "It makes sense, I guess. So, what did he see?"

  "He told me John talked to him yesterday."

  "What? But—"

  "It couldn’t have happened," Mira jumped in quickly. "And logically, I know that." She gripped her seatbe
lt. "But, he seemed certain John spoke to him and told him about tonight's conclave."

  Gabriel's tensed. She could practically feel his mind racing, trying to figure it out.

  "I think," she continued, "that he must have seen a possible future where John was alive, and he's mixed it up with real life."

  "How—" He cut off and looked like he struggled with the concept. "How could he confuse the two?"

  "I think it would be fairly easy," Mira said. "He sees so much. Some of it happens and some if it doesn't. That can't be... well, it wouldn't keep me stable for long."

  "Does he get things mixed up often?"

  "I'm not sure, but when I asked him if John had actually been there, he asked me if I was actually there."

  Gabriel relaxed. "I get it. I think I do, at least. I can see why it bothered you."

  "That was the start of it, anyway."

  "What was the rest?"

  "Maybe we should wait till we're back at my apartment. I need a few minutes, and telling you while you’re driving isn't the best time."

  "Now you're scaring me. It's fine, so you can tell me now."

  "It wasn't a big deal."

  Gabriel frowned and rolled his shoulders.

  "Sorry," Mira said, recognizing his discomfort when what she said wasn't exactly truthful. "What I should have said was it shouldn't have been a big deal. I overreacted to something completely normal."

  "Normal?"

  "For supernaturals, anyway."

  "Which is a whole new normal for me."

  "I know."

  "I give. It can wait."

  Chapter 5

  The wait wasn't long enough for Mira, mostly because once she was safe back in her apartment, she started to feel foolish for letting herself get so worked up over what had happened.

  "This is good tea," Gabriel said.

  "Thanks, it's my own blend," Mira responded, looking around the room. The damage to her apartment didn't match the wreckage of Tyler's house, but she definitely had some work in front of her.

  She scratched Oracle behind the ears and the cat gave a deep, rumbling purr, which made her relax and feel better overall. Alchemy was sitting stately on the arm of Gabriel's chair, but he leaned into the angel's hand anytime Gabriel stroked his fur.

  "I'm embarrassed I let my visit with Barney upset me," Mira said.

  "What happened?"

  "He had a vision."

  Gabriel didn't say anything and looked like he was waiting for the rest.

  "I know I mentioned this before, although we were talking about something else at the time." Mira shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with talking about the Ether.

  "You'll have to tell me again."

  "It's the way seers see things. When a psychic sees things, they see what's really going to happen, but don't see it far into the future. Not usually, anyway. When a seer sees the future, it's a possible future and it could be about anything in the world. It's undirected and uncontrollable."

  "So they see things in a different way."

  "Right. There used to be oracles as well. They could see far into the future and target what they wanted to see. At least that's my understanding. There aren't any oracles left, though, as far as I know."

  "And oracles are important because...?"

  She shifted in her seat. "They aren't, really. But each of these people see what they see in different ways."

  "Makes sense. So, how does Barney see the possible future?"

  "He looks into the Ether."

  Gabriel eased back in his chair and folded his hands together.

  Oracle purred, and then rubbed into Mira's arm once before leaving her for Gabriel. Once Oracle jumped on his lap, the angel appeared to thaw and stroked the cat.

  "Are you saying," he said after gathering himself together, "that he has a way to look into the Ether?"

  "The Ether kind of... comes to him. It's hard to explain. He had a vision while I was there, and the room chilled and it felt..." Mira remembered the sensation of someone reaching out to her and she shivered. "It felt like the Ether was closing in."

  "Does he control it?"

  "No," Mira said quickly. "It comes and goes as it pleases. The tea I took to him should reduce its effects, but it can still happen."

  "And you let me take you to his house?" Gabriel looked incredulous.

  "It’s fine. I told you I was over reacting. It's natural for the Ether to come to him like that. I've been around him loads of time when that happened. It's not like I can see the Ether."

  "Can those creatures on the other side see him?"

  "I have no idea. Until a week ago I didn't even know things lived on the other side."

  "You should avoid being around him," Gabriel said.

  "That doesn't sound very fair to him. He has a hard enough time the way it is."

  Alchemy decided not to vie for attention and joined Mira while Gabriel silently thought over the new information.

  "He doesn't control it?" Gabriel asked.

  "No."

  "What it—" He stopped and shook his head.

  "What?"

  "Is it possible that he saw John from the Ether?"

  "John's dead," Mira said flatly.

  "He was pretty lively after he died."

  "That sounds awful."

  "It does," Gabriel agreed.

  Mira let the thought seep in, even though she wanted to avoid the idea completely. "Maybe I can ask Barney a few more questions tonight."

  "You're seeing him tonight?"

  "At the conclave, yes, and I'm telling you, if you go, you need to go with someone. You can't just show up."

  "The hell I can't. What if something happens?"

  "You said it's important, not imperative. Tonight, you're going to ignore the feeling of wanting to help until it goes away. Besides. Emmit will be there. I'll be fine."

  "I don't trust him," Gabriel said.

  "Do you trust that he'd help me? Besides, you have two choices. You can come with Ian and me, or stay away. It's time to make a choice."

  ***

  He made the wrong choice.

  Mira didn't think she'd need Gabriel at the conclave, and she didn't anticipate there would be cause for him to come charging in. Ian needed him, though.

  Once Gabriel had left the apartment, she started purifying wards for the partners. At the time, it felt like the only thing she could do to support them. She spent the rest of the afternoon straightening up her apartment.

  Ian arrived at Mira's dressed nicely in a sweater and slacks, and drove them the short distance to Lance's house.

  "Anything I should remember before going in?" Ian asked, holding a few files as though they would shield him.

  "Don't ask people what abilities they have unless it is absolutely necessary to the case," Mira reminded him. "There will be werewolves and elves here, so assume anything you say can be heard even when you are nowhere near them."

  Ian tugged at the collar of his sweater. "Anything else?"

  "Don't worry, either Della or I will be there to help you out."

  He stood at the door ready to knock.

  "You can go on in," Mira said with a grin. "If everyone knocked when they arrived at a conclave, Lance would need to hire more staff."

  Stepping inside, Ian took in the two-story foyer and sweeping staircase of the giant house. He had been here before while taking Mira's statement after the incident with John, but he didn't seem comfortable.

  Mira showed him the coatroom and then led him into the parlor. Several rooms flowed together. As they entered, Mira noticed that every werewolf in the room stopped talking and watched him, bringing a hush to the rest of the crowd.

  "Did I do something wrong?" Ian asked under his breath.

  That earned him a few grins from the wolves, but the others in the room watched stiffly.

  "No," Mira said. "They're wondering why a regular human just walked in."

  "Didn't someone tell them I was coming?"

  "
It's not like we have a phone tree, at least not between races. It could be that not everyone heard a detective would be here tonight. Even if they did know, they wouldn’t have known it was you."

  Before Mira was done, the noise of voices began to resume, but most of the room still kept their gaze on the two. Mira smiled and nodded to a few people when she caught their eye.

  "Come on," Mira said, leading him through toward the ballroom. "Let's find—"

  "Mira!"

  Mira turned, finding her mother coming up behind them.

  "Hi," Mira said, suddenly worried about what the older witch might think of Ian being at the meeting.

  Her mom embraced her and then let go. She gave Ian a not-so-friendly look before she turned back to Mira.

  "How are you doing?" her mom said. "You haven't gotten hold of us all week. Your sister said you ignored two of her calls."

  Mira sighed. Robin had this odd little ability that let her know if someone was ignoring her calls or texts or if they were actually busy and couldn't respond. It was an annoying trait that constantly got under Mira's skin.

  "Sorry," Mira said. "Between the business being burned down and my apartment getting trashed, I've barely had time to myself."

  "Of course not," her mother said. "And this is the detective?"

  "Yes," Mira said, "Mom, this is Detective Ian Burke. Ian, this is—"

  "Mrs. Clarke," her mother cut in.

  "Mrs. Cara Clarke," Mira said. Mira tried to convey 'be nice' with only a glance, but Mira and her mother had never been on the same wavelength.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you," Ian said.

  "Tell me," Cara continued, "what are you doing to keep my daughter safe?"

  Mira felt her cheeks go red. "Mom, I'm helping him, not the other way around."

  "My partner and I are in close contact," Ian said smoothly. Mira couldn't help but notice that he clutched his files a little more tightly. "By phone and in person. In fact, she’s spent most of her days with one or both of us. She's been an amazing help on the case."

  That seemed to satisfy Mira's mother to some extent. "As long as that continues until this awful mess is over."

  "We'll make sure of it," Ian said.

  "We need to go, Mom," Mira said. "Ian has a lot to do tonight."

  "Of course he does," Cara said. She leaned over to Ian and stared into his eyes, seeming to see beyond them. "And he could use some Refresh, Mira. If you let him get worn down he won't be able to do his job."