The Fabled (11 page)

“Djinn?!”

“Cute little Carly. You said she was strong
and you were right.”

“Wow. A Djinn. I wasn’t thinking that. I
mean, I did know she was strong but I wasn’t expecting that. I
figured she got the security job because she was hot but now I know
it’s because she’s hot and a badass.”

I didn’t say anything in response. It was
obvious from our brief encounter that Carly had a thing for Roman.
That he has one for her too is not something I want to think
about.

We arrived at the address Roman had given me
about twenty minutes later. There were several Fabled standing
around including Roman and his Djinn. We got out of the car and I
took in my surroundings as I approached them. They were standing at
a relatively busy intersection. Or, it will be a busy intersection
in a few hours. There were several businesses at all four corners
with a large apartment complex next to the business on this side of
the street. Behind where the Fabled stood was a larger sized alley
that appeared to run for several blocks behind the businesses.

All eyes were on us as we approached and I
could tell some of them wanted to step back as I got closer.

“Aw, waiting on us. How sweet. Please tell me
this isn’t where the Vampere was actually taken.”

“No, he was cutting through the alley when he
was abducted. He lives in the complex next door,” Roman told
me.

“Who saw him taken?”

“Charles.” He motioned to the man and he
stepped forward but still kept his distance. He was a black man
about six-three with thick shoulders and corded arms.

“I need to know exactly where he was taken.
You could allow me to take it.” I pointed toward my head. “Or you
can show me.”

His eyes were big. “He was taken down there.”
He pointed down the alleyway before starting forward.

“Make sure you take me to the exact spot. I
don’t want to have to use my magic on the whole alleyway. Then I’ll
need to refill.” I waved my hand toward him.

His eyes widened slightly and I motioned for
him to lead on. The group parted like the red sea for us as I
followed Charles and Roman and Tristan followed. I noticed the
Djinn followed behind Tristan. I really didn’t want an audience but
didn’t say anything.

We were about thirty feet into the alley when
Charles stopped and turned back to me.

“That’s where he was taken.” He pointed
toward the middle of the alley beside a dumpster.

I nodded. “If you will step back, I’ll try to
see what happened.”

Everyone took several steps back except for
Roman. I looked at him and raised my brows and he just looked back
at me deadpanned.

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Proceed.”

I narrowed my eyes before turning away. Okay,
I’m going back to my plan from last night. Ignore him and if I
happen to suck some of his energy out, so be it. Not that I can
without skin-to-skin contact but who knows what I could do if he
pisses me off enough.

“Roman.” I heard the Djinn behind me. I
didn’t bother to turn around and see their exchange but it sounded
like she was trying to convince him to move away from me. He didn’t
say anything aloud in response but I didn’t hear him move
either.

So my ignoring technique needs some work. I
tried to shut them out as I knelt down and touched my hand to the
asphalt. I sent my magic out into my surroundings then pulled it
back to me. As typical of my magic all of the energy in my
surroundings clung to it so when I pulled it back into me I got it
too. From there I could sort through depending on what I wanted. In
this instance I wanted to know what happened to the Vamp so I
focused on him. His energy was one of the strongest residual
energies in this spot so it wasn’t hard. I could see the Vamp
walking through the alley. He has taken this same route a thousand
times. The club was his favorite in town but there was nothing
special tonight so he decided to head home early. He didn’t even
bother to pay attention to his surroundings. He was on the top of
the food chain after all. If he had been paying the least bit of
attention he would have sensed the Human hiding behind the dumpster
or maybe the two standing on the roofs of the opposing buildings.
As it was by the time he saw them it was already too late. He was
hit by what looked like a tranquilizer dart and the effects were
instantaneous. The Vamp stumbled three steps before falling against
the wall and sliding down to pass out in an almost seated position.
The Humans didn’t waste any time. Within a few seconds a black van
similar to the one used in the first body dump in Dallas pulled
into the alley and the Humans quickly loaded the body.

I couldn’t get a good look at the two Humans
on the rooftop but the one on the ground looked to be in his
mid-forties with a crew cut and no nonsense look about him. He was
wearing a black t-shirt with black fatigues and boots. His physique
showed he was in good shape plus he single handedly picked up the
Vamp into a fireman’s carry and placed him in the van before
climbing in behind him. As he got in I managed to catch part of a
tattoo on the back of his neck. The Caduceus.

The van took off and there was no more
information I could gather from here so I stood up and turned to
Charles.

“I need you to take me to where you lost the
van.”

“I didn’t just lose it. It turned a corner
and I followed. I was no more than four car lengths behind it and
by the time I turned it was gone.”

“That’s why I need you to show me where it
was. I might be able to figure out how they did it.”

He turned to Roman who nodded slightly then
he looked back at me. “Alright. You can follow us.”

“Lead the way.”

We started back down the alley together and
Roman moved to walk beside me.

“I’m eager to know what you learned,
Sunshine.”

“That is council business,” Tristan said as
he squeezed in between us.

“I was under the impression we were working
together in this case,” Roman said.

“We appreciate your cooperation but that
doesn’t make you privy to all information.”

“If it was not for my security detail, you
wouldn’t be learning about this disappearance for days. You should
appreciate my assistance.”

“I said we do but we’re not going to tell you
everything.”

“Without the proper information my people
will not know what to look out for.”

“We don’t need you to act on this case. Just
report what information you find and we can handle it from there. I
don’t even understand why you’re here.” Tristan was getting
progressively more aggressive.

“I wanted to help Sunshine in this
investigation. It is my club that is being targeted after all.”

“Her name is Sunny and she doesn’t need your
help. She has a partner.”

“A boy.”

“A man.”

Oh my dear lords above. What the hell has
gotten into Tristan and why the freak is Roman being such a Nosy
Nancy.

“That is enough gentlemen. I appreciate your
assistance Roman but I will need to gather more information before
I can give you anything. As of right now I can’t tell you any more
than Charles has already told you. So if you would both put your
dicks away, perhaps we could continue this investigation.”

“I’m sorry m…uh, Sunny,” Tristan said.

“As am I. It seems this investigation is
trying my patience.”

“You could always leave. I’m sure I could
stop by later today to tell you about what we found,” Tristan
replied.

“I would prefer to hear the information from
Sunshine. We have known each other for quite a while and I respect
her opinion.”

“You think you know her better than me? I’ll
have you know I’m her…”

“Tristan! Let’s keep this professional, okay?
There is no reason for you both to act like children.” Man, that
was close. There were too many ears present for anyone to learn of
our relationship.

“Well, there is reason for him to act as a
child. Primarily because he is one,” Roman added.

Before Tristan could retaliate I turned on
Roman. Using the last of the Werewolf magic I had taken from the
alpha of Yukon I slammed Roman against the brick wall of the
alleyway and held him there.

“You will hold your tongue or you will not be
allowed to participate in this investigation. Do you understand
me?”

He smiled at me and before I knew what was
happening I was against the opposite wall and he was holding me
there.

“I believe it is me who is assisting you so
show some respect. You will keep your boy away from me or I will
show him what an ancient Vampere can do.”

He released me and I shot daggers at him with
my eyes. No, not really but if I had that ability, he would surely
be dead by now. It has been a very long time since an opponent has
gained the upper hand. Of course I could have just touched his skin
with mine and been able to weaken him in a matter of seconds but
then again he could have broken my neck in the time it took him to
throw me against the wall.

After a moment of us both staring at each
other without either making a move I leaned in closer and whispered
in his ear.

“If you hurt him, I will hurt you and it will
be much more than your heart that gets broken this time.”

I stepped around him and walked on, leaving
him there facing the brick wall.

We got in our separate cars and I followed
them to the corner where Charles lost the van. As I parked along
the curb and got out I noticed a tall brick wall running along this
side of the street. I looked to my right and saw it ran for at
least a block. A look to my left showed it ran around the corner
and for another block. That’s odd. I tried to look over the wall
but this close I couldn’t see anything. I wonder if it was built to
keep people in or out.

“What do you know of this wall?” I asked no
one in particular.

“I believe it runs the perimeter of the
asylum,” Roman told me.

“Asylum?”

“Yes. It is the Southeastern home for
criminally ill Witches.”

“Witches?” Okay, I know I was starting to
sound like a parrot but I didn’t know this place even existed.

“Yes.” Roman sounded like he was talking to a
child.

“No Wizards?”

“No. This is a woman’s facility.”

I nodded and continued on to the corner. My
gut told me the wacked out Witches facility had something to do
with our disappearing van. I knelt on the asphalt and sent my magic
out. When I brought it back in I searched through for the van and
after a second I saw it. I saw the van turn the corner and continue
to turn directly into the wall on this side.

I stood back up and walked over to the wall
where the van had went through. I could feel the magic before I
ever touched it. It was strong Witch magic. I pulled it into me
until the spell broke revealing a large opening in the wall and a
road leading up to the front entrance.

“Holy fuck,” Charles said from behind me.

I took a moment to store the magic I had
absorbed while trying to get a read on the spellcaster. There was
nothing I could determine though. Whoever set the spell made sure
it couldn’t be traced back to them. Unless I absorbed magic from
the Witch who placed this spell I wouldn’t be able to say who
actually did it.

I turned to Tristan. “Feel like visiting some
wacky Witches?”

He waved his hand. “After you.”

I stepped through the opening and onto the
road that led to the asylum. And instantly was transported through
a portal. I looked around me and saw I was in a wheat field in
apparently the middle of nowhere. Fuck. Illusions within
illusions.

A few seconds later Roman came through the
portal. Judging by his body language he was ready for a fight.
Tristan was right behind him with Carly on his heel. I gave
everyone a moment to realize we had been duped.

“So they created an illusion of a wall just
to cover an illusion of a road that was covering a portal?” Tristan
asked just to be clear.

“That would be my assumption.”

“Why?”

“The first illusion was obvious. The second
would lead someone to believe the spellcaster was at the asylum.
Perhaps when the portal is closed the road is actually there.”

“Or perhaps the spellcaster is at the asylum
and wished us to be elsewhere,” Roman added.

“True. So the van could have traveled that
road and the portal was just a precautionary measure in the event
the spell on the wall is broken.”

Roman nodded.

“So the van didn’t drive through a portal
just to end up in a wheat field in the middle of nowhere?” Carly
pondered.

“No. There are no tire marks running through
this field. It doesn’t look like anyone has been here in quite a
while. Most likely the portal was set up with this destination as a
default. If you know where you want to go it will take you there
but if you don’t plan a destination it brings you here. Most
portals are setup like that.” I turned to Tristan. “Let’s get back
and check out the asylum.”

“Did you see who placed the spell on the
wall?” Roman asked.

I shook my head. “I know their magic but I
would have to experience it again to know whose it was.”

“That spell was strong. I would prefer you
not to experience one aimed at you by this Witch.”

“Aw, how touching? You see that Sunny. The
blood sucker’s worried about you,” Tristan said.

Roman’s eyes narrowed. Before they could
start arguing again I thought about where I wanted to go, grabbed
Tristan’s hand and stepped back through the portal.

We stepped back out next to Charles and his
partners. He raised a brow at me. Then Roman and Carly followed. I
held my hand out to Roman.

“Roman, thank you for your assistance. We
will likely be issuing a team to watch the club over the next few
weeks. We’ll meet with our superiors and get back with you.”