The Fabled (12 page)

He eyed my hand for a second before taking
it, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it. “I look forward to
hearing from you.”

I took back my hand as quickly as possible.
His actions had taken me by such surprise that I didn’t even think
about taking some of his magic. When I turned for the car I saw
that Tristan was giving Roman the stink eye. I patted his shoulder
as I walked by and he finally stopped staring at Roman long enough
to follow me.

“
Wescueing Wacky Witches”

We drove around to the front entrance of the
asylum and I showed my ID to the guard at the gate. He allowed us
in so I drove up the long driveway to the front doors. I waited for
a moment after shutting off the car.

“I need you to act like a professional during
this case. I don’t know what your problem is with Roman but I want
you to work on burying it. At least until after we’ve caught these
killers.”

“He’s a jerk. He’s been nothing but an
asshole ever since before I actually even met him. And I don’t like
the way he looks at you. You already have one guy who isn’t good
enough for you. You don’t need two.”

“He’s not Doyle and I’m not interested in
Roman.”

“No, but you sure used to be. Didn’t
you?”

“Mine and Roman’s relationship is in the
past. Hell, I haven’t even seen him in almost fifty years.”

“And now he’s back and I don’t think he’s
going to stop trying to get with you.”

“I fail to see where that is any of your
concern. I’m a grown woman. I don’t need my son taking care of
me.”

“I see the effect he has on you. Lucian told
me about your relationship and I don’t want him to hurt you
again.”

That explains his ill mood this morning.

“See, that’s where you have it wrong. He
didn’t break my heart. I broke both of ours. Like I said, that was
a long time ago and I have no intention of allowing myself to be
drawn back into Roman Alexander.”

“Is that why you told him we were
involved?”

“How did you…? I didn’t tell him we were
involved. That’s just wrong on too many levels. He assumed we were
involved because of our obvious concern for each other and I just
didn’t correct his misassumption.”

He laughed. “You talk more like Lucian every
day.”

“Hey, there’s no need for slander. How did
you know?”

He laughed again. “Alexander acts like a
jealous ex, especially toward me. It wasn’t until you stopped me
from telling him about our relationship that it dawned on me.”

“Actually I didn’t want you to tell them
about our relationship because I was trying to protect you. But,
yes, I would prefer if you don’t set him straight.”

“As long as you don’t want me to act like
your boyfriend I’m cool. That just goes into intense therapy
territory.”

“I would prefer you to act like my partner
and leave the personal stuff out of it. Which is what this
conversation was supposed to be about.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” He was quiet for a
second. “How old do you think Alexander is?”

“I’m not completely sure but I do know that
the name he was given at birth was not Roman. That was who he was.
A Roman.”

“Wasn’t there a Roman emperor named
Alexander?”

“You mean Alexander the Great? I don’t know
if there’s a relation or if Roman’s surname was Alexander before he
was turned. He could have chosen that name to go with Roman. Why
don’t you ask him some time? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing his
life’s history with you.”

“Ha, ha. You’re so damned funny. I thought we
were going to beat some information out of some Witches.”

“Son! You wound me. I would never hurt an
innocent.”

“Well, lucky for you all of these chicks are
criminals so it isn’t likely you’ll be finding innocents.”

“You sound more like me every day.”

He shrugged in response.

“In that case we had better get a move
on.”

We got out of the car and started for the
front entrance.

“You have some Vamp magic now, right?”

I drew my brows together.

“You stole some from Roman while he was
planting one on your hand, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. You should know me well enough to
know I don’t let opportunities pass me by.”

I continued through the door. Hopefully he
wouldn’t see through my lie.

Inside I walked to the window and explained I
was investigating the gaping hole in their wall and needed to
verify no inmates have went missing. Hey, it seemed like the most
plausible excuse. The woman at the desk thought I was joking for a
fraction of a second until I raised one brow and she contacted the
security guard on duty watching the surveillance cameras. He
verified that there was indeed a hole in the wall and complete
lockdown of the facility ensued. The clerk gave me and Tristan
visitor’s passes and explained that the director would be with us
momentarily.

“You can wait in the atrium if you’d like,”
she added when I explained how much I don’t like to be kept
waiting.

She pointed to a door at the end of the hall
and I as I walked toward it I heard the lock buzz. I pulled the
door open and just stood there for a second. If I didn’t know I was
in a building I would think I was standing in the middle of a
meadow with a waterfall to one side and sprites flying about
gathering nectar from the flowers. I looked at the sky and felt a
slight breeze as I watched the clouds float by. I could feel the
sun’s warmth on my skin and it brought a drop of tranquility with
it. Or perhaps that’s what the spell was designed to do. I walked
to the stream splitting the meadow in two and looked into it. There
were fish swimming around. I reached my hand into the water and it
came out wet.

“You’ll never catch them that way. I know
I’ve tried.”

I turned to see a young Witch with auburn
hair and the most amazing hazel eyes. She looking at me with a
smile.

“Hello Thief. I’m Brennan.” She held out her
hand to me.

I took it with a smile of my own. I made sure
to take only a very small amount of her magic. She was young,
probably no more than sixteen, but she was strong magically. I got
several images with the magic I absorbed. A boy, perhaps a brother,
his face was torn in pain. She was screaming with flames
surrounding her then a woman was talking to her and then there was
a sense of confusion. The last image seemed the most prominent
meaning this was either her current condition, she had been in this
state for some time or both.

“Hello Brennan. I prefer Sunny and this is
Tristan.”

“Wow. You’re hot,” she told my son.

“Uh, thanks. Nice to meet you Brennan,”
Tristan said.

“We don’t see many males around here. Only
the guards and they look like donuts.”

I must have looked confused because she felt
obligated to explain.

“You know, round and doughy with a slight
glaze if they have to do any work.”

I laughed but she seemed to sober.

“I know why you’re here but you won’t get the
answers you seek. She lies like a serpent. Don’t touch her. You
won’t like it.”

I moved closer to her. I don’t know why,
maybe it was because she wasn’t scared of me like everyone else,
but I felt drawn to her.

“And, why are you here Brennan. Don’t bother
lying. I will know.”

She smiled. “I burned. I didn’t mean too. It
built up until I couldn’t stop it.”

“Others were hurt and you were brought here.
Why?”

She shrugged. “No one else wanted me. They
give me pills I don’t like.”

I nodded. “They’re blocking your magic.
That’s not the way to help you. One day the pills won’t work
anymore and you will burn again.”

“I know. You could help me.”

“That’s enough, Brennan. Move along and leave
our guests alone.”

A woman in a sharp business suit was walking
toward us.

“Yes Headmistress,” Brennan said before
slinking away.

I caught her eye before she left and nodded
slightly. She smiled shyly before disappearing. She must have left
the room but the illusion didn’t show any doorways.

“I’m headmistress Beasley. What concern do
you have with my facility?”

“Headmistress, I’m Sunny Dubois with the
council. We are investigating the disappearance of a Vampere in the
area and the abductors used the hole in your wall to evade capture.
Do you have any knowledge of this?”

“Ms. Dubois, I did not know there was a hole
in our wall until you informed us.”

She said my name like it was sour on her
tongue.

“Pretty shabby job you’re doing here then.
This is an institution for the
criminally
insane. Is it not?
One would think you would know about a ten foot hole in the wall
keeping the prisoners in.”

“It is being investigated.” She was speaking
with her jaws clinched. I’m sure someone used to being the boss of
everyone didn’t like being told she wasn’t doing her job. I don’t
really care though. I’ve never really been a social person and I
really don’t like dealing with assholes. Headmistress Beasley was
an asshole to the Nth degree.

“This is a nice atrium you have here. I’ll
admit I was taken by surprise upon entering.”

“Yes, it helps to calm the patients.”

“It must have taken quite a spell to create.
Not to mention the magic used to keep it up. However do you
manage?”

“We have a very gifted team here that all
work together to maintain the illusion.”

“Did your team work together to create the
illusion on the wall outside?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking
about.”

“I’m sure you don’t. Tell me, are all the
patients here convicted criminals?”

“Most yes.”

“Most but not all.”

“There are a few exceptions.”

“Like extremely strong minors whose families
are killed.”

She laughed. “Don’t let Brennan fool you.
That is her gift after all. She can make you see whatever she
wishes. That was how she killed not only her family but every
foster parent she was put with until finally arriving here.”

“I thought her gift was fire magic.”

“Again that is what she wanted you to
believe. Why do you think she offered to touch you?”

I laughed. This woman obviously didn’t know
who she was dealing with. I leaned in closer. “I took her magic and
it doesn’t lie. Do you really believe she is powerful enough to
fool me? Here’s what I think. I think you know exactly how powerful
that girl is and that is why you pulled strings to bring her here.
This is how this is going to happen. I’m going to find out what is
happening to these Vampere and if I find out you had something to
do with it, I will make sure you spend the rest of your long life
in a cell.”

“Do you think I fear you, Thief? You are
nothing without the magic of others.”

I got right up close to her. “It’s funny you
should say that because that’s exactly what I think about you. I
can feel your magic, Witch, and I’ve gotta say, it’s not too
impressive. Have you found a way to syphon off the magic of others?
Is that how you created the illusion on the wall?” I pointed around
us. “Is that how the atrium stays running?”

“Get out of my facility.”

“This is one of the council’s facilities,
isn’t it? As an agent of the council I have every right to be
here.”

“No it is not. This is a privately owned
mental institute and you are disturbing the patients.”

“Oh, are you a patient now? It’s odd isn’t
it? A privately owned mental hospital. Why would anyone want to
fund an asylum? Especially, an asylum full of Witches. It does lead
one to ponder.”

“Well you can ponder elsewhere.”

I smiled at her. I would love her to try to
throw me out. But I wouldn’t make a scene since I was here on
council business.

“Very well, headmistress. I’ll be seeing
you.”

I turned and left the atrium which was easier
said than done. I basically walked to where I thought we had
entered and the door appeared before me when I was close enough. I
walked back to the window and tossed my visitor’s pass into the
tray before leaving the institution. The woman at the front desk
watched me the whole way out. Probably making sure I don’t break
anything on the way.

Tristan didn’t say anything as we left the
facility. When I got into the car I felt magic but didn’t
acknowledge it. Instead, I started down the long drive out of the
facility.

“We definitely need to find out who owns this
place. Head back to HQ and we can do some digging,” Tristan
said.

“We have to go to Lucian first.”

“Why? Do you think he knows what’s going
on?”

We passed the guard and he motioned for me to
stop. I flipped him the bird and kept going. He just managed to
lift the bar in time for my car not to break it off.

“No. I think he’ll be able to help Brennan.
What do you think?”

“Me?”

“I think she was talking to me.” Brennan sat
up in the back seat. “I’m cool with meeting the head of the
council. He’s your dad right?”

“Yeah but don’t hold that against him.”

“Are you kidding? You’re by far the coolest
person I’ve met in the past three years.”

“Wait. You just broke out a convicted insane
person from a mental hospital?!” Tristan said unbelieving.

“Technically she hitched a ride. I had
nothing to do with it.”

“You knew she was in here.”

“You can’t prove that.”

He just stared at me.

“I’m taking her to Lucian so she’ll be in
council custody. At least he’ll be able to help her instead of
pumping her full of drugs then stealing her magic.”

Tristan turned to look at Brennan. “Is that
what they’ve been doing?”

She bit her lip and nodded. He reached back
and put his hand on her knee. “Don’t worry. My mom will make sure
no one ever hurts you again.”