2 Witch and Famous (8 page)

So, I did. A month ago, I wouldn’t have had any options left. A month ago, I had thought I was weak. Far weaker than any other witch. Now I knew that all those spells I’d spent my life trying to learn weren’t as out of reach as I’d once thought. On the night we had finally slept together, Niall had shown me that by conjuring a witch light that I’d been sure was impossible for an enchanter. I’d been wrong. All I’d needed was the right emotional fuel.

There wasn’t a lot of energy in the beam of concentration, but there was something. Better yet, it gave me a clear line back to the shooter. I scooped it up, drank it in, and whispered what I could remember of the words to a spell designed to conjure lightning. The spark that formed in my hands wasn’t much, but I threw it anyway, flinging it back along the beam that sought me out.

As the cry came behind me, I ran. The bolt wouldn’t be strong enough to kill. It probably wouldn’t even be strong enough to stun someone for long, but a spark of lightning to the eye was still something. So I ran, not bothering to even try to find out who was shooting at me. I already had a pretty good idea of who in Edinburgh had the resources to send a gunman after me.

Which was why I ran down from Arthur’s Seat, heading down into the city, not going home, but instead, heading for a very familiar set off offices. The walk took me perhaps twenty minutes, and most of that I spent trying not to shake too much at the thought of what had just happened. Someone had tried to shoot me.

I could have done a lot of things then. I could have called Niall and waited while he took the kind of revenge that only he could. I could have called Fergie, and dealt with things through the long, slow processes of the law. I could have grabbed a bag and left the city, finally accepting that it was too dangerous for me to stay in Edinburgh.

I didn’t do any of those things.

Rebecca was just coming out of her small coven sub-office  when I arrived, looking every inch as blonde and businesslike as she always did. I didn’t hesitate. Instead, I strode over, pushing her back against the nearest wall, my forearm at her throat. She gasped and started the movements of a spell but I increased the pressure.

“You know that won’t work. If you fight me, it will only cost you the energy you’ve been working so hard to rebuild after last time.”

She stopped. Clearly, she could see that I was serious. “Elle? What are you—”

“Someone just shot at me, Rebecca.”

“Shot at you? And you just naturally assumed that it was me? First of all, you have no right—”

“I have every right.”

I could feel the indignation pouring off her, and the fear underneath it. Was she involved? It made sense if she was. The coven had plenty of reasons to fear me. Rebecca, especially.

 “A couple of hours ago, I opened an investigation about a dead body. One that had traces of one of my kind all around it. Suddenly, I have people shooting at me? Who do I know who hates enchantresses, who has access to trained killers, and who would just be looking for an excuse to decide we were too dangerous to live, hmm?”

Rebecca shook her head furiously, unable to say anything as I slightly increased the pressure on her throat. She looked like she was on the verge of panic. Maybe that had something to do with the levels of anger that were leaking out of me just then. Maybe it just had something to do with her lack of air. Yet, she didn’t
feel
guilty to me, not the way I would have expected if she’d ordered someone to shoot me. I relaxed my grip, just a little.

“I didn’t do it,” Rebecca said, gasping. “I promise you, Elle. I didn’t.”

“Yes, well, we both know what your promises are worth,” I said, but I let go of her. “If I find out that you’re going back on our truce agreement, Rebecca, you know what I’ll do.”

“You’ll drain me,” Rebecca said, the words coming out quietly. She swallowed a small sound of fear.

I stared at her for a moment or two, letting that sink in. The trouble was, I was sure it wasn’t her by now. Although maybe she could still help me.

“Maybe later. For now, I want information. Are there any other enchantresses anywhere near Edinburgh?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Not that the coven knows about. We keep track where we can.”

“I’ll just bet you do. Mostly waiting for a chance to kill us.” I turned to walk away, but I wasn’t feeling as kindly toward her as I had with Siobhan. “If you think of anything, you’d better let me know.”

  “Well, there’s one thing I know,” Rebecca shot back. “If someone has been killed by a vampire and it wasn’t you, there’s only one suspect.”

I didn’t turn and drain her just for saying it. I was actually quite proud of my restraint.

“There’s more than that, Elle.” She didn’t feel like she wanted to tell me this part. “I’ve been thinking about coming to you with it, but…”

“But it wouldn’t do to be seen working with me,” I supplied. “Oh, and you thought I might eat you.”

 Rebecca hesitated, but then said it. Quietly, but she said it. She really was terrified of me. I wasn’t sure whether I liked that or not.

“Yes. And… people have been disappearing. I mean, there are always people who go missing but this…it’s more than usual, and the people…”

“What about them?”

“They’re all witches. Witches and warlocks. Barely, in some cases. Minor talents. But they’re all ours, and they’re all missing.
Recently
missing.”

Which explained another part of why she hadn’t come to me with it. She was worried I might be behind it.

“What?” I said. “You think that I’m on some kind of magic eating binge? You think I did this?”

“You have every reason to be angry with the coven,” Rebecca said, “and you have already explained on several occasions exactly what you would do to me if—”

“Because you tried to
kill
me!” I snapped back. “That doesn’t mean that I’m suddenly taking people off the street just for having magic.”

I started to walk away again.

“Elle, if it’s not you, it’s Niall,” Rebecca said. I stopped, and she kept going. “You know it, and I know it. This death of yours, definitely. And who else has a reason to go after our people? So, the only question is what you’re going to do about it. Or are you going to wait for the coven to do it for you?”

I did spin then, pinning her to the wall without having to use my hands, letting a wash of fear do the work for me. “You do not touch Niall. Not again. Not ever.”

“N-not even if he’s the k-killer?” Rebecca somehow managed, even through the fear.

I didn’t dignify that with an answer. Mostly because I didn’t have one myself.

“Did you get the petty cash back?” Fergie asked, when I got back to the office after seeing Siobhan.

“Dougie spent it,” I said. “It’s not like Siobhan knew about the theft. How did the goblins get in the office last night? Did you figure that out?”

I knew I was only putting off the moment when I would have to talk about the things that mattered, but some things were worth putting off. I’d already let Fergie know the basics of what had happened at Jessica Hammersmith’s house. It was enough for now that he knew.

“I sniffed them back to the ductwork, traced it down to the cellar of the building, and there’s a spot where the cellar connects to tunnels below.”

So, my office was connected to the goblins’ tunnels. Great. “Nice detective work, Fergie.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “It helps to have the nose of a werewolf. I’ve screwed down the access panel in the cellar more securely and have padlocked things for now. I’ve changed the door code as you requested. I have a couple of contractors coming the day after tomorrow to give you bids for installing steel security grates inside the ductwork.”

“Good decision.”

He nodded. “We can’t let goblins come in here…they like to take my food.”

The truth was that I wasn’t too worried about the food. The less haggis there was in the office, the better, from where I was standing. On the other hand, I didn’t like the idea that anyone could just walk into my personal space like that without my knowledge. Especially not when I had just been shot at.

I spent much of the rest of the day going through paperwork in the office. Maybe it wasn’t the most efficient way to catch a supernatural killer, but I couldn’t afford to miss anything. I wanted to be the first to know about anything in Jessica Hammersmith’s life that might give me the identity of her killer. At least, that’s what I told myself while Fergie and I were going through her insurance documents and everything we could find online about the former rising star.

Jessica Hammersmith had certainly been able to sing. I got that part from watching a few old YouTube clips of her on stage. More than that, she’d had a real stage presence. That indefinable something that made it seem like she was making a connection with every member of the audience, even in early gigs that were too small to be worth a mention. Her official website pointed to a new album close to being released, which might now be put out as a tribute to her, while her social network feeds had attracted the usual swarm of messages of condolence in the wake of her death. And speculation as well. How had Jessica Hammersmith really died? Thousands of fans wanted to know.

“Did you track down the beneficiaries of the insurance policy?” I asked Fergie.

My werewolf legal advisor nodded. “A sister out near Queensferry is the main beneficiary, although there’s a small provision for a Ms. V. de Newe. I managed to track down Ms. Hammersmith’s solicitors, too, and while they obviously wouldn’t give me details, an old acquaintance of mine there was at least prepared to hint that there wouldn’t be any surprises in the will.”

“So, there will be no leaving everything to a convenient third party?” I suggested.

Fergie shook his head and cleared his throat. “Elle. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but only in the spirit of concern in which I intend it…”

He had my attention now.

“At what point are you just going to walk up to Niall and ask him if he did this?”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “Leave it, Fergie.”

He shrugged. “You know as well as I do that Niall—”

“I said leave it.” I was firm that time.

He left it. Clearly, he didn’t want to be an
unemployed
werewolf legal advisor. Of course, I knew what he was saying: all this was little better than a distraction. We both knew that, with only two vampires like me in Edinburgh, if I hadn’t been around Jessica, then Niall had. If I had any sense, I would confront him about that. I should probably confront him about the missing people, too.

That didn’t mean I had to do it, though