Burned (A Magic Bullet Novel Book 1) (19 page)

I
left
the Office of the Protectorate and headed north. Where was the Challenger when you actually wanted it? Mickey and Niko could take me straight to O'Leary and Pinky. Of course, that would mean I'd have to suffer through another car ride with Mickey, but I'd suck it up. This way was harder and involved more walking. My human form was proving tiring. I'd never spent this long in the same skin without shifting and it was wearing on me.

A cab sped past and I started to raise my hand but quickly dropped it when I realized I had no cash on me. Still no credit card either. On top of everything else, I really needed to find O'Leary's heirloom. Of course, if it turned out he was connected to the murders, chances of a paycheck dropped dramatically.

I stopped walking and shook my fist in the air like some deranged homeless woman. "Is this what you wanted?" I shouted, to no one in particular. "This is what I'm reduced to.

A young couple gave me a wide berth as they passed by. Whatever. I'd given them something to talk about later when they binge-watch the latest hot series on Netflix.

I pulled out my phone and called Farah.

"You okay?" she asked hurriedly.

"Eventually. Listen, can you call your new paramour and ask him to bring me to O'Leary? Like now."

"What about your tail?"

"They must be busy annoying someone else. I haven't seen them in a while."

"Okay, I'll text him, but now I'll owe him a favor."

"Yeah, but chances are that favor will benefit both of you."

She giggled. "You're probably right. Don't move. I'll send him your location."

Unsurprisingly, Rocco Paretti proved to be a man of means. Within five minutes, he had a Lincoln Town Car pulling curbside to collect me. He was almost as good as a djinni. Almost.

The driver's side window rolled down and an older woman with cropped white hair and bright blue eyes smiled at me. "Alyse Winters?"

"Rocco sent you?"

She gave a crisp nod. "Get in. I'll take you to Mr. O'Leary."

The back door flew open and I peered inside. The backseat was empty. I climbed in and closed the door.

"You're his mage," I said.

"Rose," she said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. "Nice to meet you, dear."

"Do you usually drive his car, Rose? That seems like a waste of magical talent to me."

"I run errands for him on occasion. Dry cleaning, food shopping. Gets me out of the house. I'd be a hermit otherwise."

"You know where you're taking me?" I asked.

"I do, but I'm afraid I'll need to knock you out first." She cocked her head. "You don't mind, do you, dear?"

I opened my mouth to object, but it was too late.

"
W
e're here
," a cheerful voice said inside my head. Rose.

My eyes fluttered open. "Everything's blurry." Knocked out again. The next one to render me unconscious was going to answer to the pointy end of my dagger.

"Ever so sorry about that, dear. Your vision will clear in a moment."

I was still in the back of the car.

My nostrils flared. "Couldn't you blindfold me next time? I promise not to peek."

Rose craned her neck to look at me. "Rules are rules, I'm afraid."

My anger receded. With her short white hair and soft voice, she reminded me of Esme, my favorite youth guardian in the Marida court. She died before I left for the Academy. Esme and another guardian were killed defending their charges when a band of Ghuls attacked them on a field trip to Baltimore. It had been a devastating loss for the court and for me.

Rose tapped the clock on the dashboard. "I have to get to the dry cleaners, but I'll be back to collect you in about thirty minutes. Is that enough time?"

That depended on the reception I received. "Thanks, Rose. I appreciate it."

Rocco went up about three notches in my estimation today.

I reached for the handle and the door flew open again. I left the car and found myself standing in front of a nondescript building. All faded brick, small windows and no character. It looked like an apartment building from Communist Russia.

Rose rolled down the window. "Say hello to Pinky for me," she called. "Such a sweet girl."

I certainly hoped that was true. Otherwise, Rose would be picking up a corpse.

Niko and Mickey met me at the door. I guess they weren't too busy to tail me. Lazy bums.

"Hi guys," I said brightly. "Have you missed me?"

"I know it's hard to believe," Mickey said, "but we do have other jobs to do besides babysit you."

"Where's the boss man?" I asked.

Niko jerked his head and I followed them through the lobby to the elevator bank. The interior of the building was as bland as the exterior.

"What is it with you guys?" I asked. "Can no one afford an interior decorator? Based on what I've seen, crime really doesn't pay."

"We try not to draw attention to ourselves," Mickey said. "Unlike some people." He didn't even bother to mumble that last part.

"Oh. I guess you heard about my visit to Organs 'R Us."

The elevator door opened and we stepped inside. Mickey hit the button for the lower level.

"What did you think of Vito?" Niko asked.

"Well, he's not as cuddly as O'Leary, is he?"

Niko's barking laugh quickly dissolved into a coughing fit.

"I don't even think Vito's mother would describe him as cuddly," Mickey confirmed.

"Did he hurt you?" Niko asked, regaining his composure.

"I think he would've liked to try. You've got the right guy in organ trafficking, I'll say that much. He's heartless." The memory of his cold expression made me shiver even now.

"Did he have the heirloom?" Mickey asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think he's lying either."

"Why not?" Niko asked.

"He's too arrogant to lie. Besides, if he took something from you, he'd want you to know that he was the man responsible. Vito's all about power." And bad cologne. Can't forget the cologne.

"So if you don't have the heirloom, why are you here?" Mickey asked. "Jimmy's not going to be happy to see you without it."

"I'll take my chances."

The door opened and I followed Mickey and Niko into a familiar room. The one with the farmhouse table where I first met O'Leary and Pinky.

"Miss Winters, I hear you've been a busy lady," O'Leary said, coming over to greet me. He moved to kiss my cheek, and I held up a hand to block him. As far as I was concerned, we didn't have that kind of relationship.

He stepped back, seemingly unoffended.

"Before we get started, I don't have your heirloom yet, but for the record, how do you expect me to bring you the heirloom if I don't have your number or address? If I'm going to work for you, I need to be able to get in touch with you."

"You're a resourceful woman, as you've demonstrated," he said, smiling. "I have no worries that you'll be able to find me when necessary."

I put my hands on my hips. "You don't trust me."

"And nor do you trust me."

Fair enough. "Mr. O'Leary, I need to ask you something and I really need you to not be angry about it."

He studied me for a moment. "Gentlemen, please leave us. It seems our guest would like to have a private conversation."

"She would," I said to the others. Mickey and Niko dispersed, along with a few stragglers.

O'Leary gestured for me to sit down on a nearby leather sofa, but I declined. This was a conversation best had on two feet, in case I needed to make a run for it.

"Is Pinky here, by any chance? This involves her, too."

O'Leary squinted. "She's down the hall, practicing a new spell."

A new killing spell, perhaps? "Can we interrupt her?"

Reluctantly, he nodded and padded down the hall with me next to him. We found Pinky in the last room on the left. The door was open and she was seated cross-legged inside a chalk circle. A lit candle burned in front of her. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration and she was chanting under her breath.

Her blue eyes popped open before we could say anything. "Oh, it's you. Hey." She blew out the candle and moved to her feet.

"Rose says hello," I told her.

Pinky gave me a tiny smile. "Rose is so cool."

"Now that we're together," O'Leary said. "How can we help you?"

"The murders," I began and my stomach churned. So this was how it felt to be weak and vulnerable. I was confronting two potential killers on their turf with no powers and no backup. Maybe I was deranged.

"What about them?" O'Leary asked. "Is someone using my heirloom to commit the murders? The scian is for djinn, not the Nephilim."

Pinky frowned at him. "Magicians have died, too. Not just Protectors."

Interesting. It seemed to bother Pinky that magicians were overlooked. That certainly suggested that she wasn't the one killing them.

"Your heirloom hasn't matched any of the wounds so far," I said.

I watched relief wash over him. It wasn't an act. O'Leary was genuinely relieved that his family heirloom wasn't involved in the murders. Whatever criminal activity this guy was engaged in, he wasn't a serial killer. I didn't need my powers to see that.

I turned my attention to Pinky. "When I saw you at the Enclave, you were teaching a class on cloaking spells."

She snapped her gum. "So? I teach a lot of classes there."

"What about glamours? Do you teach those kinds of spells?"

"What's this about?" O'Leary asked.

I held my hand up. "You're in the clear, O'Leary. Now let me talk to your mage." Even if she wasn't involved, she still could have useful information.

"My name is Pinky," she corrected me.

Good. She didn't like belonging to him like a piece of property. There was hope for her yet.

"I teach glamours, too. Only to more advanced students, though. A good glamour requires confidence and new magicians don't always have enough of it, especially girls." She wrinkled her button nose in disappointment.

Despite her own young age, Pinky certainly didn't lack confidence.

"Have you ever been to Viper Pit?" I asked. I watched her closely to gauge her reaction.

"That dance club downtown?" Her expression suggested that the cat peed on her bed. "No way. It attracts weirdos."

No argument there. "Have you ever dated a Naphil?"

She looked at O'Leary. "What's a Naphil?"

"It's the singular form. Nephilim is the plural form." His tone projected mild impatience and I got the sense they'd had similar exchanges in the past.

"Pinky dropped out of high school," O'Leary said, almost apologetically. "She found it difficult to fit in."

"I got my GED, though," she told me, shooting her boss a scathing look. "I'm not stupid."

"Nobody here thinks you're stupid," I said. I sure as hell didn't and if O'Leary did, that didn't say much for his intelligence.

Pinky crossed her arms. "I never dated a Naphil. In fact, I've never met one. I've seen Protectors around, but I steer clear."

"Why?" I asked.

She chewed her lower lip. "They seem way uptight and Oscar says they think they're better than everybody."

Not too far off. "Do you know anyone called Tessa?"

"What kind of name is Tessa?"

I resisted the urge to call attention to her own name. "She teaches yoga in Rittenhouse Square."

"I only take classes with the Enclave."

So she didn't know Tessa. That ruled her out as a registered mage at least. I had been tempted to send a request to Oscar Martinez, but I didn't trust him to give me an honest answer. Like many groups, the magicians closed ranks when one of their own was in trouble. It didn't matter whether she was the victim or the cause.

"Thanks for your help." I tapped my cuff like it was a watch. "I'd love to stay and chat longer, but Rose is waiting for me upstairs. I'll get back to tracking down that heirloom. I'm getting closer. I can feel it."

Okay, all I felt right now was frayed nerves but whatever.

I hurried back to the elevator before anyone could stop me. I'd ruled out O'Leary and Pinky. To be honest, I was relieved. I'd developed a fondness for Pinky, but that left me with Tessa. Could she possibly be responsible for luring the young men to their deaths? For what purpose?

Good thing I had a training session booked with Flynn later tonight. It was time I asked my ex about his seemingly perfect girlfriend.

F
lynn surveyed
the interior of the Willow Steam Plant and emitted a low whistle.

"You sure about this?" he asked, one skeptical eyebrow raised. "This place is a hole."

"It's perfect," I assured him. "I got my ass handed to me here."

"So you want to relive the glory?"

No, I want to quiz you about your girlfriend without you catching on. "I want to do better next time. I want to train in difficult environments until I feel as comfortable in this skin as I did in my djinni form."

His hands rested on his hips as he looked upward. "It's full of asbestos."

Now it was my turn to launch an eyebrow. "You worried about your health, Flynn?"

"Not mine. I can shift often enough to keep my lungs clear." He gave me a look that said
but you can't
.

"I'll take my chances." And wipe that smirk off his face in the process.

"You always do." He rolled his neck and shoulders. "What do you want to start with this time?"

"A little hide-and-seek?"

He grinned. "I always liked your playful side."

"I'm guessing that's not one of Tessa's qualities."

He winced. Bingo.

"She took me back," he said. "After that night at Viper Pit. The next morning I misted into the room when she was meditating and she was so vegged out that she stayed quiet long enough to listen to me." He smiled. "She didn't even notice the door was locked."

"Do you honestly believe she doesn't know anything about your true nature?"

"I assume you mean the fact I'm a djinni."

"Well, I'm pretty sure she already knows you're a jackass."

He lowered his head. "I'll tell her eventually. When I think she's ready."

Most relationships were built on trust, whereas Flynn's was built entirely on smoke and mirrors. It didn't bode well for them. Then again, if she was a murdering mage, that probably didn't bode well for them either.

"Speaking of ready." I placed my hands on my hips. "You hide. I'll seek."

"Safe word?"

I nodded. "The same."

He began to move away and then turned back toward me. "You're not expecting anyone to rush in and rescue you this time?"

"I didn't expect him before and he didn't rescue me," I argued. The mention of Reed again as my knight in shining armor pissed me off. "I was about to use the safe word when he showed up, remember?"

"The only thing I remember is getting sacked. I'd prefer not to repeat the experience." With those words, his body dissolved and the remaining mist drifted upward.

I faced the opposite wall and counted to twenty. If I ever got trapped in this building again, so help me gods, I was going to fight my way out tooth and nail without a guardian angel.

"Twenty," I yelled and heard the sound reverberate throughout the building's metal innards. "Ready or not, Flynn, here I come."

I turned around and came face-to-face with Tessa's beautiful heart-shaped face. Mix's words came flooding back to me --
Maybe that's what she wanted you to think. Maybe she's known who you are all along.

"What are
you
doing here?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

I glanced upward. No sign of Flynn. Did he see her come in?

"I think the better question is -- what are you doing here?"

"I followed..." She stopped and looked around. "This place is hideous."

"Don't blame me. I'm not the decorator."

Tessa whipped back to me. "Where's Flynn?"

Where
was
Flynn? I kept my eyes pinned on Tessa. I had to know if she was the secret mage.

"Can't you see him?" I asked. Fine, I couldn't see him either, but as soon as he manifested, I'd see how good of an actress she was.

"I saw him come in here," she said. "Then I saw you."

"I bet that pisses you off," I said. "Seeing your boyfriend sneak off to meet some other woman."

"Of course it does!" Her eyes went wide with indignation. "My mother warned me. She said 'he's far too good-looking to stay faithful. Mark my words, Teresa Louise. He'll stray eventually.'"

Wiser words had never been spoken. I felt a brief pang of sympathy, but I brushed it aside.

A gust of wind blew past us. Flynn.

"What was that?" she asked, whirling around.

"Like you don't know."

Tessa looked at me like I was nuts. "Did you do something to Flynn? Did you hurt him?"

I took a step closer to her. "You mean the way you hurt the Nephilim? Or the mage at Girard Avenue Bridge?"

"What are you talking about?" She narrowed her eyes. "What's the Nephilim?"

I had to give her credit. She was good. I almost believed her.

"Admit it, Tessa. You sent the Ifrits here to kill me. Why?"

She continued to stare at me, bug-eyed. "What's an Ifrit? When Flynn said you were his crazy ex-girlfriend, I didn't think he actually meant crazy. I mean, everyone says that."

I balked. "Wait. Flynn called me what?" He was going to be very sorry when I got my hands on him.

"He said you came to my class to check me out. That you were probably jealous and that's why you acted out."

My blood pressure boiled over.

"I acted out? I'm not the one running around town slicing up bodies. What are they for, Tessa? Extra money in the bank?"

"Slicing up bodies," she repeated and shook her head in disgust. "You're off your meds."

Talking wasn't getting me anywhere. I reached for her arm as I moved behind her and snapped it behind her back. If she was a mage, she'd easily disengage.

"Let's see how flexible you really are."

She winced. "That hurts."

"It's supposed to." I pulled harder on her arm and she cried out. "Who's your partner?"

"What partner? You know it's Flynn. I would never cheat on him."

Yes, but she knew there was a good chance he might cheat on her. What if she thought
I
was the other woman?

"Don't screw with me, Tessa. You are in a very vulnerable position right now. If I snap this bone, it will be a long time before you can do any more downward-facing dog."

This was her chance to save herself. I waited for her to bust out with a magic spell and give herself away. Instead, I heard the muffled sound of crying.

"Please," she sputtered. "Please let me go and I won't bother you again. I'm sorry I called you crazy."

Shit. It wasn't her. I released her arm and started to apologize.

I didn't see Flynn coming. He manifested into human form and tackled me so quickly, I didn't have time to draw a breath. We crashed to the concrete floor and I felt a stab of pain in my lower back.

"Flynn!" Tessa cried.

He sprang to his feet and rushed toward her. "Tessa, are you okay?"

Her mouth opened but no sound came out. Her cheeks burned and her eyes were brimming with tears. "I don't understand. How did you do that?"

"I can explain," he said and stepped closer.

Tessa stepped backward.

Uh oh.

"You...You were..." She closed her eyes for a moment. "This isn't happening. It must be a dream." She opened her eyes and there we were. Still.

Tessa promptly burst into tears and ran out of the building.

Flynn whirled around. "Of all the stupid stunts you've pulled, this was by far the stupidest."

"I'm sorry, Flynn. I thought she was a mage." I hobbled to my feet. My back ached and I noticed that my ankle was already swelling.

"How could you possibly think my sweet Tessa is a killer?"

"Because nobody's that sweet," I yelled. "Or that flexible. It had to be magic."

Flynn ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "Alyse, get a grip. I'm sorry about your situation and I'm sorry someone's taking advantage of it by trying to frame you or kill you or whatever, but I wish you'd have come to me with your wild theories before attacking my girlfriend."

"I didn't plan to attack her. She showed up." Tessa's tearful face flashed in my mind and I tried in vain to block it. "If I'd come to you, you never would have believed me."

"Because it's bullshit," he roared. "You finally see me settled and happy and you're determined to destroy it."

My jaw came unhinged. "Are you out of your mind? This isn't about you and me. This is about finding the killers before they strike again. This is about protecting innocent people."

"Well, Tessa's innocent. Great job you did protecting her. She'll be scarred for life and I'll be alone. Again."

"Sorry about that," I mumbled.

His broad shoulders drooped. "I guess I can kiss our happy life goodbye."

"Why did you show your face if you didn't want her to know?" I asked. "You could have attacked me as a bear. Wouldn't be the first time."

"A bear would have given her a heart attack," he said. "Besides, she knew I'd come in here with you and I wasn't about to sit back and watch you skewer her alive."

"I wasn't going to kill her," I said. "I only wanted her to confess so I could call PTF." I wasn't going for vigilante justice. I had every intention of going through the proper channels.

He didn't respond. Instead, he gestured weakly to my ankle. "You'd better put some ice on that. It's already swollen."

"You should go after her," I urged. "She's probably frightened."

"Gee, I can't imagine why." He gave me one final look of disappointment before he disappeared into shadows and darkness.