Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Annoyingly, of the two doors on the street with door cams, one was out of charge and the other had been smashed a few nights ago by destructive kids trying to get their kicks. I could strangle the vandalising teens. Without their idiocy, we might have captured the whole murder on camera.
The location of the murder was a clear taunt, too. Jingo had made sure the corpse was on Kate’s property, and he knew full well I’d get called in to deal with it. Crane wasn’t the only arsehole in my life.
I called Reed, Jingo’s second-in-command.
‘Yeah?’ he answered laconically.
‘You want to tell me which body Jingo’s now in?’
There was a pause. ‘No, not really.’
‘Tell me anyway.’
Reed laughed. ‘I don’t think so, Inspector.’
‘Then tell Jingo “fuck you” from me.’
‘He’ll be delighted to get any message from you with “fuck” in it,’ Reed said mockingly.
My teeth ground, and I hung up.
‘Well,’ Channing said mildly, ‘we wouldn’t want it to be easy.’
I snorted. ‘No. We wouldn’t. What did you get from the door-to-door?’
‘Sweet FA,’ Channing confirmed grumpily. ‘No one saw or heard anything, though a witch who lives at number 14 said her anti-vampyr runes flared at roughly the same time Troy Fairglass said he found the body.’
‘Interesting,’ I murmured. ‘There were no signs of exsanguination. Blood was dried on Aspen’s skin, his face.
They have supernatural strength and speed, but if a vampyr was responsible for Aspen’s death, they’ve shown remarkable restraint in not licking up the blood.
Unlike satyr blood, which is poisonous to vampyrs, dryad blood is known to be especially tasty. ’
Channing grimaced at the thought.
‘All right,’ I continued, musing aloud. ‘We’ve got a vamp wandering around who may or may not have wandered too close to a ward.
That’s something to pull at.’ I checked the time and grimaced.
‘We’ve been on the clock for thirteen hours and we’re both running on empty.
Let’s call it a day and pick it up tomorrow when we’re fresh and have reports from Ed and Crane to dig into. ’
Channing cracked a yawn. ‘Sounds good. You want me to drop you at your mum’s?’
‘Nah,’ I said lightly. We were close to Mum’s house. ‘I’ll walk. Thanks for the offer though.’ The steps would give me time to settle the murder into my head, to put it away before I joined my family for a cup of tea and maybe some warmed-up dinner if Mum had any leftovers.
‘Sure thing. Night, boss.’
I watched Channing walk to his car and motor off. I picked up my father’s old briefcase – full of potions and other useful things – and started to walk towards Mum’s house.
The autumn air was brisk but not too cold, and as my muscles coiled and moved I couldn’t help but think of Jude Jingo and which poor bastard’s body he had taken.
I realised abruptly that I was walking the same path home I’d taken the day I was kidnapped. I froze mid-step, swallowing reflexively.
Okay, Pigdog? Loki asked from a nearby lamppost. He had been flitting from post to post, waiting for me to catch up before he flew on, but he too had frozen when he sensed my disquiet.
I was taken here. Kidnapped. Not this precise spot, but on this road. Tantalisingly close to home. Tauntingly close to home.
We take another route? he suggested softly.
The suggestion was sensible, and it was hard to stay on this street, having realised its significance. I normally avoided this road for just that reason.
I can’t avoid this street forever, I replied.
Even though my heart juddered, blood rushing in my veins, I shoved my shoulders back and continued walking.
I couldn’t help Ji-ho face his fears if I ran away from mine.
I’d barely walked fifty yards when a prickle crept up my spine. It was the same feeling I’d had as a kid, walking home with my schoolbag biting into my shoulder, knowing someone was watching me before I saw them.
I didn’t let fear consume me as it had then. My pace didn’t change. My posture didn’t either. Predators noticed that sort of thing.
I should know – I was one of them now.
Paranoia, I told myself. Yet my gut refused to still.
Not paranoia, it insisted. Awareness.
I reached out to Loki, still fluttering high above me, trying to hide my jitters, but I could tell he felt them instantly because he dive-bombed straight towards me. Okay, Pigdog?
Perhaps just echoes of bad memories, I murmured. Perhaps more. Can you see anyone following me?
No, I wasn’t looking back. His little voice was full of chagrin.
Don’t worry. It’s probably nothing.
I look now. After a beat he confirmed, I see nothing. No one.
Never mind. Let’s keep going.
He flew on to the next lamppost.
I adjusted my grip on my father’s briefcase, fingers brushing the familiar weight of cold metal. Streetlights cast long shadows, the pools of yellow light broken by dark gaps between parked cars and hedges that had grown wild with neglect.
Too many places to hide.
I crossed the road for no reason other than that creep along my spine that I refused to ignore.
With my ears straining, I didn’t miss the faintest scuff of a footstep as something crossed behind me too.
My magic flooded me, ready to lash out with a burst of hard air that would knock even a monolith down. My heart pounded, knocking against my ribs, but I wasn’t afraid. Refused to be.
I didn’t turn. Turning too soon would be a mistake. I kept walking, counted my breaths, keeping them even and calm. I flicked my eyes to the reflections in the darkened windows I passed. Someone was behind me. Tall. Broad. A male, but only one assailant. I could handle one.
I assessed my new shadow in quick side glances at the windows, keeping my head straight forward. Just a lady calmly walking home.
He was walking casually, hands in pockets like he belonged there. Or because the pockets contained a weapon.
I raised an air shield around me, thick enough to stop bullets, and kept walking. Kept stealing glances.
My stalker was attractive. Obscenely so.
Almost certainly a vampyr, then.
‘Inspector Wise,’ a smooth voice finally called from behind me, cultured and amused. ‘You walk like someone who expects trouble.’
Damn, and I thought I’d been playing coy so well.
‘Funny,’ I said evenly. ‘I was thinking the same about you.’
I spun fast, moving closer to a streetlight. Vampyrs could faze in and out of the shadows, but if I were showered in light, it would rob him of that particular power.
I readied myself to use another blast of IR, not just to keep the shield around me, but also to light up the night sky.
I was in a residential area, but the Other realm would protect itself from the Common realmers, whispering that the weird surge of light was a flare or firework.
As long as the brightness wasn’t too protracted, it would be fine.
If the light lasted too long, even the Verdict would have trouble explaining it away.
I turned to face my attacker, and he slid out of the remaining shadows with lazy grace, not attempting to get closer to me. A predator toying with its prey. Fool. I’d show him I was no meek mouse.
I catalogued his appearance: dark hair, pale skin, eyes a shade too bright. He wore an expensive coat and the kind of cold smile that had been practised in mirrors for decades.
Definitely a vampyr. Could it be Jude? Could this be his next body? It seemed coincidental that I’d just left his crime scene, and here I was, about to be attacked. But then, Jingo had yet to attack me. His interest seemed more of the carnal type.
The vampyr’s eyes flicked down to my briefcase, then back up, interest sharpening. ‘You shouldn’t walk alone at night, little girl.’
Little girl. Jingo didn’t call me that. He called me Inspector, the same way Robbie did. Not Jingo then. Just a vampyr with a chip on his shoulder. One I was happy to rip off.
I smiled. ‘I’m not a little girl, and you shouldn’t approach armed Inspectors at night in dark streets.’
I reached out to Loki. We have some vampyric company. Stay back while I deal with him. I won’t be long.
I felt Loki’s grumpy assent, but his lack of fear for me was gratifying.
The vampyr laughed, low and warm, and vanished, shifting into the shadows. He was trying to unnerve me while he waited to pounce.
He’d need more than shadows to freak me out. I kept my nerve and set the briefcase down to free my hands.
I cricked my neck and dropped the air shield. I was in the mood to scrap and prove to myself I wasn’t that scared little girl anymore.
The briefcase held nothing of real value, only potions and the like. Mainly I carried it for sentimental value, but I wondered if it would distract him, if he would try to seize it. I’d let him, I decided, and take it from his unconscious body later.
I stared into the darkness, eyes straining to detect any hint of movement before he dived at me.
Behind you! Loki warned, giving me a split-second warning that was everything and felt a smidge like cheating.
All the same, I took the advantage and spun to face my attacker in the nick of time, giving him a roundhouse kick for his efforts.
Groaning, he phased away, disappearing into the shadows again, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.
I jumped up and down lightly on the spot to keep myself limber, ready.
One moment he was in front of me, and the next he was at the edge of the streetlight, flying towards me with unnatural vampyric speed, fingers reaching for my throat.
I twisted and slammed my elbow back into empty air as he blurred past me again, boots skidding on tarmac as I pivoted to keep him in sight.
He didn’t stop moving.
‘You won’t get a clean shot, Inspector,’ he taunted, circling, never stopping. ‘I’m too fast, and you’re too human. Your end is certain. Do give in with good grace.’
‘I don’t think I will.’ I deliberately put on a more laboured breath to trick him into thinking I was growing slower, tiring after a long day.
He lunged at me.
I let the IR fade. I wasn’t in the mood to use light or wind. I was in the mood to use my fists and my rage. And maybe the switchblade Robbie had insisted I carry following our engagement.
I ducked under the vampyr’s swipe, came up with steel in my hand, and tried to drive it hard into his ribs.
He parried the strike in the main, but I still scraped the blade along his skin.
He hissed, more surprised than hurt, and backhanded me across the face hard enough to spin me. Pain flared, sharp and bright.
All right, maybe I should have used the IR, but Jingo’s stunt had me simmering in a foul mood, and grappling with this asshole would sort me right out.
‘Fucking bitch!’ he spat. ‘It was just orders before, but now I’ll enjoy gutting you!’
I rolled my shoulders. Orders, huh? He wasn’t here to deliver a message then, but death. Fine with me. A fight for my life was just what I needed to get the blood pumping.
He came in low, and I slashed at his knee with the blade. He snarled, the pretty veneer cracking, fangs flashing as he leapt back.
‘That’s rude,’ he snapped.
‘You started it,’ I pointed out mildly.
He rushed me again, too fast for me to track, but I’d planted my feet. When he reached for me this time, I let him come closer, right into my web.
As his hands reached for my neck, I jammed the steel blade into his chest, into his heart, and drove it home with everything I had.
He froze.
Just for a second.
Long enough for his eyes to widen in shock, for his mouth to open on a breath he didn’t need.
His body convulsed, skin greying and cracking like old parchment. He collapsed in on himself, disintegrating into ash, his remains scattering across the pavement in a silent plume.
Goddamn it.
I grimaced as I watched the ash catch on the night breeze and scatter away, leaving nothing behind but the acrid scent of burnt chicken.
I’d let my emotions get the best of me. I should have blasted him over and contained him.
Despite dropping his fangs, he hadn’t once tried to rip into me – wizard’s blood was hugely addictive to vampyrs and made them lose their minds, turning them into nothing more than a feral animal.
Though he’d wanted my death, he hadn’t wanted to risk a drop of my blood on his fangs.
Fuck! I shouldn’t have killed him. Now I had nothing.
No body.
No face.
No evidence.
I stood there for a long moment, heart hammering, the switchblade clenched in my hand.
To my disappointment, I didn’t believe the vampyr had contained Jingo. I’d felt no attempt at taking control of my body.
Though perhaps I wouldn’t have, I mused. As a secret unregistered subterfuge wizard, my mental shields were far stronger than the average wizard’s. Maybe Jingo had tried to grapple with me, to subsume me, but failed?
No, I’d felt nothing. It was too much to hope that Jingo was dead, just like that. The vampyr’s death had been easy. I hadn’t even needed to use my dad’s pocket watch to access the Third and slow the vampyr down.
I chewed on my lip. Had it been too easy?
I looked back the way I’d come, then towards Mum’s house, very aware of how exposed the road felt. Enough. Time to get home.
The wind had already blown the crime scene away, so I flipped the blade closed and marched the remainder of the distance to Mum’s.