Charmed & Deadly (13 page)

Budapest
Tuesday
2 a.m.
Travel-weary witches: 1

W
hatever happened to me yesterday wiped me out. It’s a good thing I didn’t try to fly myself anywhere. I slept almost the whole way to Budapest and I feel way better than I did yesterday.

I love it here, and I try to visit as often as possible. I’m fairly certain that back in the day when they were writing fairy tales about princesses in castles they were totally thinking about Budapest. Everywhere you look it’s like a giant, picture-perfect postcard, castles against blue sky. It’s beautiful.

They also have these really great spas all over the place with water that is supposed to be both magical and medicinal. All I know is that after an hour in the water, I feel rockin’ good.

Cole met me at the airport in a big sedan. He was standing just outside in jeans and a dark blue button-down. Sometimes I forget how handsome he is with his curly blond hair and Caribbean blue eyes. “I just received a call from your boyfriend.” He smirked.

I shrugged. “Figured he’d track me down eventually. Did you have a pleasant conversation?”

Cole chuckled. “Not exactly. He wants you to call him as soon as you get in.”

He opened the car door for me and I sat down on the leather seat. “I’ll call him later.” Sam must really have been upset to call here, and right now it was just easier to avoid him. The guilt slid uneasily into my belly.

Cole stared at me for a minute. “Your funeral.”

“Yeah. I know. So what have you found out so far?”

We pulled out into the traffic. “There’s been a series of murders, all of them related to magic in some way. Most of the victims have been tortured, all of them had their powers stripped.”

I bit the inside of my lip. Why hadn’t I killed the bastard when I had the chance? More people had died and it was my fault. “Have you been able to track him yet?” The view outside was filled with historic buildings and the Danube. Everything seemed so serene; the exact opposite of the turmoil inside of me.

“No. We still aren’t certain it’s Jason.” He paused. “But whoever it is, he is using some dark magic. The same kind we found in Paris where we had that run-in with Calinda. If she really is involved here—well, you saw what can happen.”

Rubbing my head, I tried to think. “It doesn’t make any sense. Why would she be working with someone like Jason? He’s just your run-of-the-mill dumbass warlock.” I looked at Cole. “Sorry, no offense.”

He waved it away. “None taken. If Jason is mixed up with her, well, it could be bad for all of us.”

“I don’t get it, Cole. Jason hates women with a capital H and he wouldn’t work with anyone more powerful than him.”

Cole shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, but the magic definitely matches. It’s the same thing we saw in Amsterdam, Paris, and now here.”

Great
. “So what do we do?”

“For now we’re going to get you checked in to the hotel. Then I’ll take you to headquarters so you can view the evidence we found.”

“Any chance I can see the witches?” We’d turned the corner and the hotel came into view. It looked like a giant castle.

“Not a good idea.” Cole checked his rearview mirror and frowned. He moved the car into the other lane. “They were brutally tortured and left in rough shape.”

I sighed. “I need to see them.”

He glanced at me. “Okay, but I’ve warned you.”

I’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff over the past few years. Sometimes even by my own hands—blowing up evil warlocks may be necessary, but it can be gross. I’ve also seen some disgusting things done by true evil. That’s never fun.

“Someone must have spotted you. We’ve caught a tail.” Cole was looking in the mirror. “I’m going to skip the hotel and go straight to headquarters.” He pushed a button on the dash.

“Yes, Cole?” A feminine voice came through the speaker.

“Amy, I need you to check these plates.” He gave her the number.

It took a few seconds. “They aren’t registered.”

Cole took a big breath. “Okay, tell Marcus we’re coming in and I want him to set up a three-car tail.”

Amy had a high-pitched voice and I wondered if she might be a fairy. They were good with all kinds of communication. “Should I notify the locals?” Amy tapped on a keyboard.

“No. Don’t need the attention. Let them think we haven’t spotted them.”

“Okay, boss. What’s your ETA?”

I tried not to be obvious, but I glanced into the side mirror. The car following us was a black sedan, much like the one we were in. I was just about to send my mind out again when Cole grabbed my hand.

“No, Bron. If they sense you know about them, we’ll lose them. They’re probably tracking your magic, so you don’t want to clue them in that you know they are there.”

I opened my eyes. “Okay. But when we do find these bastards, promise me I can kill Jason.”

Cole frowned. “I’m a cop, Bron. I can’t give you permission to kill someone.” He squeezed my hand. “But after what he did to those witches, and to you, I have no problem with you doing whatever you need to in self-defense. In fact I’ll help you if I can.”

I nodded.

We were nearing a beautiful castle that looked like something you might see in fairy tale, only it was very real. The large iron gate opened as we approached, and Cole pulled into the circular driveway at the front entrance. The sedan continued on, but we heard the other spook squad members as they took off to follow our tail.

The gates clanged behind us. I jumped a little when the car door suddenly opened. A beefy man with a gun stood there. I hadn’t even seen him approach.

“Ma’am.” He held out a hand to help me out of the car.

I grabbed my bag of supplies and stepped onto the drive. The car had been surrounded by security guards, which appeared out of nowhere.

One of them handed Cole an earpiece. He motioned to me to follow him. We climbed the large marble steps to the entrance. Two large iron doors opened into one of the grandest foyers I’d ever seen.

A chandelier with millions of little crystals shone above and gave everything a beautiful glow. There were paintings and tapestries all the way up the walls of the three-story entrance.

I followed Cole toward the side of the massive stairway and to a door. It was a closet under the stairs.

He was busy talking to whoever was on the other end of the earpiece so he didn’t notice my surprise. He stood inside the small room, which was empty except for a light on the ceiling above.

“What are you doing?” I wasn’t going into a closet with Cole. It was weird.

He didn’t answer, but he grabbed my hand and tugged me inside. As the door shut behind me, the floor shifted and moved. I almost fell down and Cole grabbed my elbow.

It was an elevator and we were heading down.

I turned to Cole. “Very James Bond.”

He smiled and nodded. Then he frowned. “Marcus, what happened?”

The door opened again and we were in a large laboratory. There were computers on long metal tables and a variety of magical creatures sat at them. Two gnomes were arguing over something on one of the screens. Most gnomes, like gargoyles, are actually guardians and are really great at security. People always underestimate them because of their size, but you don’t want to get into a fight with one. People look at me strangely when I pass gnomes in a garden, because I always say hi. Trust me when I tell you it is smart to be on their good side.

A fairy, about fifteen inches tall with blond curly hair and green eyes flitted around another monitor and waved a wand. She was dressed in a red top and jeans. Except for her height, translucent wings, and pointed ears, she could have been any woman on the street. Not many fairies chose to live in this dimension because of the pollution of the planet, so it was a surprise to see her. When I heard her speak, I realized it was Amy.

I’d never been to a magical investigator’s headquarters, and for a witch, this is a good thing. If you wind up here you’ve usually done something really bad. Sometimes I even forget how many magical beings we have on Earth, but here they had a very eclectic group.

“Crap. They couldn’t have just evaporated!” Cole yelled into the earpiece.

He obviously didn’t like the answer and yanked the earpiece out. “They lost the tail about two miles from here.”

“You said they disappeared.” We were walking through a long hallway with offices. Everything was concrete, metal, and glass, but there was art, sculpture, and plants everywhere. I wondered how they kept the green stuff alive in the concrete bunker.

Cole paused outside a door. “Yes. Marcus says the car evaporated into thin air. They’re checking the area to see if maybe there was a portal used. If so, there will be trace magic around.”

He stopped outside some stainless steel doors. “Okay. This is the morgue. I’m warning you, it’s bad.” He pushed a button and the metal door slid open. I’d been in a few morgues and they are always the same. Dead people on tables, and an antiseptic smell that never does a good job of covering the stench of death.

“Rolf, I need seven and eight.” Cole moved inside the doors.

Rolf reminded me of that scientist on
The Muppets
: round wire glasses and bald, with a shock of hair right in the middle. Plus he didn’t have any feet.

“You have a ghost for a medical examiner?” The room was chilly and I rubbed my arms with my hands.

“He’s the best, and he wanted to continue his work when he crossed over. Who better to look after the dead than the dead?” Cole helped Rolf pull a rolling table out of one of the bays.

I didn’t really follow his logic. I was a little distracted by the two women in the corner. They were both witches and I could feel the magic rolling off them. Their hands were joined over a cauldron and they chanted.

“Who’s that?” I asked Cole.

“Bernice and Chowana.” He moved the table in front of me. “They are tracing the magic from some of the evidence we found in the witches’ homes. Are you sure you want to do this?”

I stared at the sheet covering the body on the metal table.
No
. “Yes.”

He slid the sheet back and I bit the inside of my lip to keep from throwing up. The perfect skin and beautiful auburn hair were at odds with the black holes where her eyes used to be, and the enormous slit that began at her throat, separating her perfectly round breasts, and stopped where her belly button used to be. At some point her wrist had been bound and the bruises there were still swollen and blue.

I sent a spell of healing to her soul and hoped that she had been able to move to the other side in peace. That asshole Jason would have done the same to me if I’d given him the chance. I wished I could go into her mind, but it’s difficult with the dead. The soul usually takes the memories with it. Still, I thought it was worth taking the chance.

Placing my hands over her body, I concentrated. Her life force had been gone for hours, but I probed her brain. There was nothing but darkness. The brutality of what Jason had done tore at my heart. I would kill him. I would do it for this poor woman.

“Do you sense anything?” Cole pulled the sheet back up when I moved my hands.

“No.” I circled my head to pop my neck, easing the tension. “Can I see the other woman now?”

“The injuries are exactly the same.” Cole pushed the table to Rolf, who slid it back into the metal bay.

“I don’t care. I need to see her.” My voice caught. I blamed myself for all of this. These women had died because of me.

Cole was right about the other witch. She had been attacked in much the same way, but I sensed magic coming off her, which gave me some hope.

I moved my hands over her. At first there was nothing but blackness. I was about to give up when a tiny light appeared. A flash of a memory moved through me. She was tied to the bedposts crying. She’d been drugged and her brain was foggy, but she knew her life was in danger.

A dark figure stood at the end of the bed, chanting. The witch’s body arched as the golden aura of her powers flowed out of her and into the other person. I could feel her terror and her pain.

Her body was weak, and yet she fought. Pulling against the ropes on her wrists, she screamed.

“I like it when you scream.” Jason’s face came into focus. He was older, with lines around his eyes, his cheeks thinner, and his hair stylish but shaggier.

The nasty warlock was a vicious as ever.

Something glinted in his hand, and I saw the athame. It was double-bladed with a black hilt.

Terror filled the witch, but she said a small prayer of peace as Jason moved to the side of the bed. She closed her eyes, and then there was darkness.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. Cole was chanting a healing spell. I must have fainted.

“What the hell?”

Rolf moved beside him, holding a glass of water. I sat up and took it. “Did I pass out?”

Cole nodded. “Rolf caught you before you hit the floor.”

I looked up at the ghost. “Thank you.”

My head hurt. Not as bad as the day before, but painful just the same. I rubbed my temples with my fingertips.

“Let’s get you to the med facility. Do you think you can walk?” Cole reached down a hand.

“Yes, I can walk, but I don’t need a doctor. Cole—it’s Jason. I saw him kill her.” I grabbed his hand and stood up. I was a little woozy. “We have to find him.”

“We will. Maybe you need to eat or something.” I saw the concern in his eyes.

I thought about it for a minute. It
had
been a really long time since I’d eaten. “Food would be good.”

Cole pushed the button that opened the door. I started to follow him, then turned back. “Be at peace.” I waved my hand over the second witch’s body. I prayed that she did find solace.

The guilt of both of their deaths fell heavy upon me. I sighed. I would avenge them. I would find Jason and burn his rotten soul to hell.

Tuesday
2 p.m.
Witches with really angry boyfriends: 1
Spells: 2
Potions: 3

I
t’s kind of sad, but food is often my greatest solace during troubled times. Seriously, give me a piece of chocolate cake and I can deal with the fact that my ex-boyfriend is a serial-killing maniac, and that my current love is ready to hang me by my toes.

Cole thought it best I stay here at headquarters for now, until we are able to locate Jason. They’ve given me a small room the size of a walk-in closet. Okay, it’s a little bigger than that, but it looks like something on a spaceship in one of those bad horror films. It has a small bunk that folds out of the wall, a metal rack to hang clothes, a two-drawer dresser below, and quite possibly the tiniest bathroom I’ve ever seen. You actually shower next to the toilet. No curtain or anything.

“The room isn’t meant for anything long-term,” Cole told me as he showed me around. We’d just eaten in the commissary and I was feeling loads better about life after having eaten the chocolate cake I mentioned before. “A place for those of us who have to work extra-long shifts and need to catch some sleep now and then.”

For the foreseeable future it’s my new digs. I’d probably be fine in a hotel with some protection wards, but if Jason and his people do attack I’d be risking the lives of innocents all around me.

With a full stomach I thought I’d be able to pass out, but no such luck. I just spent the last twenty minutes listening to Sam become more and more irate on my voicemail.

“Bronwyn, I can’t believe you did this!” He growled into the phone. “You actually passed out today. Did you forget that? Jesus, what could have been so important that you had to run off?”

The next few messages were about the same, and then came the last one.

“Bron, please call me. I need to know you’re okay. There’s something about your test results and I need to talk to you about it. I promise I won’t yell. Well, not much anyway. Just call.” His voice was sad, which instantly made me wonder if I was about to die.

I held my cell phone for several minutes trying to gather the courage to call. When it vibrated in my hand I almost dropped it. I checked the number. It was Sam.

“Hey, please don’t be mad at me. I’m really sorry.” My words came out in a rush.

There was a pause. “I’m not mad.” He cleared his throat. “Well, not really, anyway.” He sounded more tired than anything. “Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on? I thought we were working on trusting each other. That’s hard to do when you sneak away.”

Issues with trust in relationships were something we both had to deal with, and there had been several times in the last few months when I thought we wouldn’t make it.

I sighed. “Honestly, I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s not an excuse and it was kind of dumb. But when Cole called and said they had a trace on Jason, all I could think about was getting here and blowing him up. I was afraid if I told you what was going on, you wouldn’t let me leave the hospital.”

“That’s probably true, because you don’t need to be running around the world right now. You should be resting.” This time his voice did catch.

I didn’t want to ask the question. My mind instantly flipped through the past few months. I’d survived multiple hits of black magic and almost died a couple of times. And I’d been in the jungle for all that time and I could have picked something up there. I was fairly certain I’d seen the monkey from that movie
Outbreak
, and we know what happened to the people who came into contact with
that
guy.

Maybe I’d done something irreparable to my body. I felt sick again. I reached into my bag for the herb capsules I’d made that helped to relieve cramps, and took some with a gulp of bottled water. “So, you said something about the tests.”

“Yeah, I did. Look, there isn’t an easy way to say this and I wish I could tell you in person.” He paused again and my chest tightened. “We ran a series of blood tests, most of which came back normal. Your white count is slightly elevated, which is a sign of an infection. But—it’s the…”

He cleared his throat. “Babe, your pregnancy test came back positive.”

I can’t really explain what went through my mind right then. Shock and, well, shock.

“That’s not possible. I’m on my period now. The tests were wrong.” I sat on the bunk and leaned back against the wall. Besides, we take more than one precaution to make sure that there are no babies in my immediate future.

“They weren’t wrong. Bron, you had a miscarriage. From what I can tell you were about six weeks along. Had you noticed your cycle was late?”

I put a hand against my forehead. I felt hot, but my hands were clammy. “No. I’ve never been terribly regular. Are you sure?” I thought about how much I’d been eating the last few weeks and the fact that some of my jeans wouldn’t fit. And how inexplicably tired I’ve been. It all sort of made sense now.

“Yes, I’m certain. You’re losing a lot of blood and we need to fight this infection. I’ve already sent antibiotics, and some medicine that will help with the cramps. When you get back we’re going to have to make sure all the tissue is gone.” He coughed. “I’m sorry that sounded cold, but you’ll need a full pelvic exam when you get back.”

I’d had a baby inside of me and I hadn’t even known. That’s when I began wondering if I’d done something to cause the miscarriage. I’d had the occasional drink, and had been running all over the world fighting bad guys. I’d like to think that if I knew I’d been carrying a child, I would have done things differently.

“Sam, I didn’t want a baby, but I’m feeling really sad.” The words sort of tumbled out of my mouth. “I’ve been doing everything exactly the same; I don’t understand how this could have happened. I mean, with the birth control. We’ve both been so careful.”

“No birth control is one hundred percent effective. And miscarriages can happen for a variety of reasons. Most of the time it’s because the fetus isn’t healthy, and the body rejects it.”

He sounded so professional. “Sam, don’t be a doctor right now. Be my boyfriend.” I started crying. “I’m sorry. I feel stupid because I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“I’m going to sound like a doctor again, but your hormones are going to be a mess for a while. It’s normal to be overly emotional. For the record, you aren’t the only one who is sad. I wasn’t looking to be a dad anytime soon, but for a moment there, I didn’t mind the possibility. I love you, Bronwyn, and we’ll get through this together.”

His words made me cry harder. “I love you, too.” I blew out a breath and found a box of tissues on the small table next to the bed. “Every time I use magic, I pass out. I was afraid someone had hexed me, but do you think this is why it’s happening?” I dabbed my nose with the tissue.

“It’s possible. Your body has been through a lot the past few months. That’s why I think you should be resting. It’s the same advice I’d give any of my patients going through something like this.”

I suddenly felt really tired. So much so I could barely keep my eyes open. “I can’t come home right now, Sam. We’re close, and we have to get this guy before he kills someone else.”

“Do me a favor and try to rest whenever you can. Take the medicine when it arrives today, and drink a bottle of your blue potion every six hours or so.”

“I will. I’m sorry I ran away.” I sniffled.

“It’s okay.” He didn’t sound very convincing, but I chose to believe him.

When we hung up I curled into a ball on the bed, pulled the lightweight blanket over me, and fell asleep. Cole woke me up with the buzzer at the door. I pushed the button to let him in.

“Are you okay?” He looked at me funny, and I realized I’d fallen asleep in my clothes and I’m sure my makeup and hair were a mess. “This came for you a few moments ago.”

He handed me a FedEx package. I opened it and found two prescriptions and a note that read:

The words were so sweet and I couldn’t control the tears as they fell in big, fat drops down my cheek. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What is it?” Cole sat down next to me, and took the note from my hands. He read it. “I don’t understand.”

I don’t know Cole that well, but he’s a good guy. And right then, I just needed to talk to someone. I told him everything. When I finished, he shook his head and hugged me. I cried for another five or six minutes until there were no tears left.

“I’m a mess. I’m sorry. Sam says it’s hormones.”

“Well, I don’t know much about this kind of thing, but it’s understandable you’d be a little emotional.” He and I smiled over the “little” comment. “Maybe you should go home and get some real rest.”

I pulled away from him. “Cole, I can’t do that.” I took a deep, cleansing breath and sent myself a healing spell. I had to be strong. “We’re close to finding Jason, and I have to do this. Have you heard any news? Did they find traces of a portal?”

He leaned back on his arms. “There was something. If it was a portal, they’ve closed it, but there was magic.”

“The thing is, Jason isn’t strong enough to do something like that.” I stood up and paced in the tiny room. “Even if he’s been drawing powers from others for a while, he wouldn’t be able to create a portal like that. I mean, that’s something only a wizard or—oh, wow. Do you think he really
is
working with the sorceress?” I paused and looked at him.

Cole shrugged. “Yes, but why would she bother with someone like him? It doesn’t make sense.”

I pursed my lips and thought for a moment. Then it dawned on me: “What if he’s the one who brought her back? You said she’d been banished to another dimension. If he conjured her up, then she’d be more inclined to work with him. She hasn’t been a part of this world for several centuries, and she’d need someone to help her acclimate.

“Why are they in Budapest? That’s what we need to find out. He’d sent the killer to assassinate me and the prime minister in Amsterdam. He didn’t do it himself, but he did commit the murders of those witches. So, why are they here?”

Cole jumped up. “Time to do some research. I’ll see if maybe she had favorite haunts here back in the day. This city has been rebuilt several times by different conquerors, and she loved war. There’s a good chance she considers this home base.”

I nodded. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll help.” I looked down at my clothes. “I need to get cleaned up.”

“Take your time. Grab something to eat and come to lab A when you are done. I’ll put a team together and meet you there.”

He started to walk out the door and turned back. He took me in his arms and hugged me hard. “This sucks, what’s going on with you right now. But it’s going to be okay.”

His kindness was my undoing and the tears flowed again. I’d been certain I didn’t have any left.

I pushed him away. “Oh, stop being so sweet. I’ll never be able to get ready.” I shooed him out the door.

After he left, I took a quick shower. By the time I’d eaten and made my way to the lab, I was back to my old self. Well, not quite, but close enough.

I meant what I said before—it was time to be strong. If I needed to grieve over what had happened, I would, but later—much later.