Luna's Sokjan (Book one) (3 page)

“I have seen worse.” I
replied watching Joanna. “No, I didn’t see the downstairs. That
bad, was it?”

“We have dead and
half-eaten animals everywhere. We’ll check around but based on what
we have found so far. I think we’re gonna find out that the killer
had been living there for a while, and the neighborhood is missing
quite a few family pets.” He stopped speaking when Joanna returned
with the coffee.

I smiled my thanks to her
and refilled our cups.

“We found the internet
cables as you thought. He tapped into one of the neighbor’s high
speed cable.” He shook his head, “How did you know?”

“Even monsters like to
Google, Ted.” I gave a little laugh and reached for the file. “Did
you get the mother’s computer yet?” I asked him.

“No, all the alibis check
out. I can’t get a warrant based solely on your suspicions,
McKenna.” He said a little testily.

He was getting more and
more frustrated. This case was wearing him down. They didn't have
any real leads and had no idea who was involved in the kidnapping.
I touched his hand moving a little bit of power through him to help
him relax.

“Be calm, my friend.” I
whispered the command and felt him relax before I pulled my hand
back. “That’s why you called me, remember? I’ll have a friend of
mine look into it. Did you know that Meg was a
shape-shifter?”

His shocked expression
told me he obviously didn’t.

“McKenna, I didn’t know. I
only asked you to help because we’re getting nowhere in the
investigation.” He said and looked out the window into the early
morning dawn. “How do we prove it? I can’t just ask the parents for
a blood test.”

That was one of the things
that I liked about Ted, he didn’t ask the stupid questions,
like:

‘How did you find out that
Meg was a shifter, McKenna? Well, Ted I dipped my finger into her
blood and tasted the magic in it'.

“I could tell you after I
met them.” I looked at his profile
.

Ted knew what I was. What
he didn’t know was. I considered him my pack, the only one I would
ever have. I had never explained any of this to him. Only that if
he called me I would come.

“Let me see what I can
arrange for later today.” His said when his phone rang. “Where are
you staying?” He asked and checked the caller ID.

“Near here.” I answered
him and scanned through the file.

He nodded answering the
phone. “Okay, I am on the way.” He said and hung up. “You could
stay with us.”

I smiled at him putting my
coffee down, “As much as I enjoy playing with your pup, Sarah. I
don’t think that Lucy would approve.” I told him. He started to
object. “Ted, I am a single woman coming into your mate’s
home.”

This was an old
disagreement between us.

“She has single female
friends, and they come over all the time.” He told me and looked
pained over the fact.

“Yes but not like me.” I
told him.

I could never get him to
understand this. I had told him once that if we’re mates, and he
brought someone like me into our home. I would have killed her
without asking any questions. He had laughed at me. Apparently he
couldn’t see his gentle little mate killing
anybody
,
but I
could. The last time I had seen Linda. She had acted like I was
there to kill her and take over her home. Not bloody likely. I
liked Ted but I had no desire to be anything more than friends.
Mates can be difficult to deal with even at the best of
times.

“Walk me to the car.” I
said with a sigh.

I dropped enough money on
the table to cover the bill and tip, as we walked to the
cars.

“Call me when you have the
time and place for the meeting.” I touched his face. “Be safe, my
friend. Linda and Sarah need you.”

On the way to the hotel, I
called Adam, and left a detailed message of what I needed and
wanted him to do for me. Hacking into the mother’s computer would
be like child’s play for Adam but getting the other items might
take a while. I could wait, one had to learn patience if you wanted
to be a hunter and I was an excellent hunter.

Steam rose from the tub
and swirled teasingly around the streams of hot water. I sat in the
tub enjoying the heat. The hot water helped to reduce the tightness
of my overly tired muscles. The calling tonight had to be just
right, or things could become extremely unpleasant quickly. Any
witch could call a spirit, but only extremely gifted witches could
communicate with them. My mother had taught me when I was young how
to make a calling. It had taken years of practice to learn how to
talk to them correctly.

“Spirit of the Water, I
need your help tonight. Come and aid me in my quest to bring a
monster to justice.” I called out softly, pushing power out around
me. I waited for an answer. “Come to me, I am willing to pay your
price.”

I felt a strange power
oddly mixing with my own.

“I am here, Golden Witch.”
A disembodied voice said.

I opened my eyes, white
with power. I had asked a spirit once why they called me ‘Golden
Witch’ and the spirit claimed it was because of the golden tone of
my skin. Made sense, I guess.

The spirit was a grey
swirling mist that tangled in upon itself as an ever moving
mass.

“Accept my magic as
payment for the calling.” I pushed my power towards the misty
form.

The spirit’s form took on
a touch more density but not a true form.

Lifting the sharp black
dagger from the water I cut my finger. Magic bit at us as the blood
swelled up from the cut. The misty figure moved forward attracted
by the magic in my blood. I had never liked using blood magic but
sometimes we have to do things we don’t like.

Time was my enemy now.
This monster had to be killed before another person died, and he
wouldn’t wait long. Meg’s magic had been strong, but it wouldn’t
last.

I offered the spirit my
finger and it attacked. A sharp pain ran through my finger as the
spirit fed and using the connection of the blood. I pushed the
monster’s taste and smell into the spirit.

“By blood, I bind you to
me. With blood, I command you to obey me and only me. Bring me the
address of where this monster is or how to find him. Do not be seen
or detected by human or supernatural creature’s eyes or senses. I
will not release you from this binding until he is dead, spirit,
and no other can bind you while you are in my service. His spirit
is your payment for your service. Do what you with it.” I watched
colors spin through the mist. “Do you agree to my terms, spirit?” I
asked the spirit.

The spirit pulled away
from my cold, bloody finger. The rainbow of colors continued to
roll faster and faster until becoming one single color, red. Red
was excellent. Red meant that the spirit was angered by this
creature’s actions and would agree to help me.

“You ask much of me,
Golden Witch.” It disembodied voice hissed through the room. “I
have seen and felt that which you seek. I will help you until the
creature is dead and will not accept another’s service until we are
done. Its spirit is a welcomed price for its crimes. Yes, I agree
to your terms, Golden Witch.” With that, it changed once more into
the smoky mist and then it faded from sight.

Shivering, I pulled my
power back to me before turning off the now cold water and stepping
out into the cold bathroom, spirits always chilled a room. After
drying off, I looked over my Zena warrior body type in the mirror.
Celtic tattoos outlined my body in never ending stream of lines
leaving my face, neck, stomach, hands, and feet totally bare. Dark
circles were forming under my eyes, and my cheeks had a hollow look
to them. Man, I was tired.

I had gotten the call from
Ted yesterday evening. I had just gotten back in from scouting for
a missing girl in my own home town of Fall Branch, a small city two
hours south of here. It was a growing city that was suitable for
anyone who liked farmlands and lots of forest areas. It had taken
me two hours to get here to Germantown, a large metropolitan city.
It was a convenient place to find vampires and other more social
supernatural creatures. It had taken me almost two hours to track
down Meg’s body, and now it was going on five am. I’d been up for
over twenty-four hours. Quickly brushing out my waist length hair,
I headed for bed. If, luck were on my side, I’d get a few hours of
sleep before Adam called me back.

Chapter 2

Ted called first, I
answered with a snarl.

“Hey there Sunshine, I got
the meeting with the parents set up in an hour from now. Do you
want me to swing by and pick ya up?” He sounded as tired as I
felt.

“No, I have GPS in the
car. Give me the address and I will meet you there.” I told
him.

I wrote down the address,
and after hanging up, I checked the time on the phone. It was noon.
Wow, I had managed to get almost four whole hours of sleep, and it
would have to do.

Dressed in form-fitting
jeans with a green short sleeve t-shirt that read ‘Beam me up,
Scotty. No intelligent life forms here’ and my beat up black docker
boots. Twisting, my hair in a knot and adding some light make-up I
was ready to go. As I headed out the door, I grabbed my jacket. It
took me almost the entire hour to get to the address. When Ted told
me that Meg was the daughter of a rich family in Germantown, it was
an understatement.

The long paved driveway
curved in front of a three story plantation style mansion. A
full-length second story porch over looked the perfect lawn. If the
mansion only had four bedrooms, I would have been shocked. I
studied the sculpted brushes and well maintained flower beds. All
of this beauty was hidden away behind a cold electric metal privacy
fence.

I parked behind Ted’s
departmental issued Ford before meeting him at the front door. I
gave him a quick hug, noticing he looked as tired as I
felt.

“Didn’t make it home yet,
huh?” I asked and gazed at the foyer as we walked into a formal
sitting room.

So far what I had seen of
the house was exquisite, and I hated it.

When we entered the large
sitting room, it was decorated in browns and reds. Brown couches
with maroon colored accent pillows faced a baby grand piano on one
side. On the other side of the room, winged backed chairs were
artfully place between cabinets full of collectible items. Lamps on
little tables were scattered tastefully throughout the room. I
hesitated at the door, it was full of people, and I didn’t like
crowds. Ted touched my shoulder for comfort.

“This was the only way I
could get the meeting for today.” He murmured to me as we walked
in.

I recognized some of the
faces from the pictures in the mother’s file. On one side of the
room, Meg’s mother was crying all over an older man. He must be
Meg’s grandfather. I noticed that he had the same brown eyes when
he glanced at me. Meg’s father stood on the other side next to the
piano with two other men. All three had the same build and looked
like each other, maybe his father and younger brother?

An ordinary man approached
us he stood roughly five feet ten. His fit build was dressed in a
black suite. His brown hair was stylishly cut, and his grey eyes
were full of pain. He offered Ted his hand in greeting.

“Ted, it’s good to see you
again.” His said in a heavy southern drawl. “This must be the young
lady you were telling us about.” He turned and offered me his hand
in greeting.

Stepping forward, I took
his arm in mine just under the elbow and quickly leaned in to catch
his scent, not a werewolf. Not that I thought he was but it never
hurt to check. I dropped his arm as I stepped back. If he found my
behavior odd, he didn’t say a word.

“I am Matthew Jones,
Megan’s uncle. Linda, Megan’s mother, is my sister.” His voice
hitched. “Thank you for agreeing to help us find the monster that
took our little Megan.”

“I am McKenna, and I am
sorry for your loss.” I responded back.

“I would like to introduce
you to Thomas, Megan’s father.” He motioned to the man next to the
piano. He was a handsome man in his early forties. He had my height
with short black hair, black eyes and the slim, muscular build that
most werewolves had. He nodded at me.

Nice looking, for a
werewolf.

I nodded to
him.

“My sister, Linda,” he
motioned to the crying woman.

I could see where little
Meg had gotten her looks she was the image of her mother. Linda was
a stunning woman in her late thirties. Her wavy brown hair was
fashionably cut and was shorter than Meg’s once glossy locks. Her
brown eyes were red and swollen from crying, but they took nothing
away from her beauty. She too was dressed in black. The dress
accented her slim figure and only enhanced her looks.

Not a werewolf.

I sent out my power. It
quested through the room, touching all the people in it. Normal
humans wouldn’t notice my power, which they didn’t. Thomas, his
brother, and father, on the other hand, rubbed their arms as the
power tingled down them. Three for the price of one, plus a killer,
I do love a bargain.