Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“We have the students’ photos.”
Luke glanced toward Sorcha who stood in the door of his office. “Did you upload them?”
“In the folder.”
“Thank you.” Luke opened the file, then gasped as he saw the unravaged faces of the girls who’d been slaughtered.
Sighing, Sorcha closed the door to his office and moved to stand next to him. She did her best not to breathe in his intoxicating scent. Leather and a sweet smokiness that she couldn’t define. That alone made her ache to take a bite of him.
She forced her thoughts away from that. “I know. It’s so sad. They look enough alike, they could be sisters.”
Luke got up and moved closer to the screen. “That’s not what has my attention.”
“What, then?”
He lifted his hand and waved it in front of the screen.
Using his powers, he posted a third photo in the middle of the two student IDs.
Like the murdered women, this one also had long dark hair and eyes.
She was dressed in a pair of jeans with a green sweater and brown jacket.
They were so similar in looks that they could easily be related.
This was looking more and more like a serial killer.
Sorcha gasped audibly. “Is that another open case?”
He shook his head slowly. “She’s Amandine Dufresne. Daughter of the head of one of the most powerful hidden Orders.”
“What do you mean?”
“I told you about them earlier. The secret organizations that basically run the entire world.”
“I think I saw this episode of Ancient Aliens.”
He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. “That show’s a lot more right than you think.”
Sorcha felt the blood drain from her face. She wanted to call bullshit on what he said, but how could she? He was the son of the devil. If anyone knew about secret societies, Luke was the…demon. “Who exactly are these organizations?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Illuminati.”
“Of course.”
“They’re real and it’s a large group of humans. Then there’s Brotherhood of Shadows. That is made up of elves and sídhe.”
Sorcha’s head swam at what he was telling her. “Awesome. Any other ulcer inducing groups I should know about?”
“Probably.”
“And does Santa have his own?”
He smirked at her. “Don’t be a smart ass.”
“Sorry. I believe you. It’s just a little hard to wrap my head around this.”
“I know. It’s why they’re secret societies who go out of their way to make sure humans have no idea they exist.”
No kidding. As chaotic as the world was, she could only imagine how much worse it’d be if anyone knew the fey and others had power and pulled strings. “Makes sense. Please go on.”
“Centuries ago, the Free Masons founded the Phoenix Society, and they’re usually crossed up with the Dragon Society.”
“Shapeshifters?”
“No. Triads.”
That shocked her. “As in the Chinese mafia?”
“Yes, but this particular sect has some special skills and friends that make them IA eligible.”
Which meant they were packed with psychic abilities, shapeshifters, cambions or who knew what. “Great! I’m so glad I work here and am learning about all these fun entities.”
“I know, and you’re going to love this next group even more.”
What could be worse?
Oh wait, a Celtic paranormal group. “Lucky Charms Society?”
“No. The Star Overlords.”
Sorcha burst out laughing. Until she saw that Luke wasn’t amused so this had to be a real thing. “You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head slowly. “Ancient alien astronaut theorists would have a field day with them. They’re made up of a number of representatives from various worlds who want to stake a claim here on Earth. Why do you think they created the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs?”
Her head reeling, she moved to take a seat in the black suede chair in front of his desk. “But the group goes by the name Star Overlords?”
“No one ever said they were creative.”
“No, but they are a bit conceited.”
“Again, not of this earth. They view humanity as a parasite they want to corral and put in a cage. It’s been hard to keep them back, but so far, diplomacy and treaties have worked.”
That made her feel all warm and fluffy. “You think if we buy E.T. a phone they’d go home and leave Earth alone?”
“Tried and failed.”
Her jaw went slack. Of course they’d tried. This felt more and more surreal. “And the rest of the Orders?” she asked, afraid of the answer.
“La Quinta Columna.”
“Spanish?”
“Close. Aztec and Mayan. In English they’re known as the Fifth Column.”
“Beautimous. Next?”
“Sisters of the Cauldron who are sometimes known as Magespawn.”
“Why Magespawn?”
“Some of the males and others of their Order get a little miffed at being called sisters. They wanted a more gender-neutral moniker.”
“But those in the Brotherhood of Shadows are okay with that?”
Luke shrugged. “I’m not the one who created the groups or who participates in them. Take it up with their ancestors and members.”
“Fine. How many are left?”
“Just a few more such as the Infernal Order—”
“Your father?”
“You would think, but no. That group was founded by the Templars and is run by their descendants.”
Knights Templar. She should have known they’d have a hand in world affairs. “Do any of them know the secret of Oak Island?” She couldn’t resist asking.
“Probably and we need to have a serious conversation about your streaming addiction soon.”
Sorcha would argue that, but he was right. She spent way too much time watching everything Hulu and Netflix had to offer. And don’t get me started on Prime. “Fine. Does your father have his own group?”
“Of course, he does. Circle of Fyre.”
That made sense. “Isn’t that a bit on the nose?”
“Not as much as Infernal Order would have been.”
“Point taken. Is there any group we’re missing I need to know about?”
“Just the Order of Blackthorn.” He pointed to the pictures on his screen. “That’s why I don’t think this is being done by a serial killer.”
“Why? The victims all look alike. It’s an easy MO that makes sense.”
“Yes, and killing the heir to the Order of Blackthorn makes a lot more sense.”
It might, but she wasn’t quite ready to go there. She really wanted this to be human in nature and not a turf war between preternatural superpowers. “Walk me through your thinking.”
“I ran across Amandine a few weeks ago. Didn’t think anything about it as she was with a friend in a coffee shop, studying late at night.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was weird.
An immortal being attending classes at a local university?
Granted eternity can get boring. Not as boring as class, if you ask me.
But who am I to judge kink? Anyway, I put it out of my thoughts until now.
Now I’m thinking what if our perp is trying to get Amandine and the others were a mistake?
It would explain the condition of the bodies. ”
“How so?”
“Order of Blackthorn is made up of the more usual paranormal creatures. Vampires, werewolves, boogeymen, etcetera.”
“And Amandine is…”
“Vampire. They’re hard to kill. But if you bleed them out and ravage their body, they can’t regenerate.”
He was right. That would explain the overkill. “But wouldn’t staking their heart be quicker and easier?” Not to mention a lot less messy.
Creating a bottle of water out of thin air, Luke opened it and took a drink.
“Stop watching movies and bad TV. Nothing is that easy to kill…well, maybe a Daimon. But not all their marks are in the center of their chests either, and you better have the strength of a Dark-Hunter when you stake that mark or all you’ll do is piss the Daimon off. ”
Sorcha’s eyes widened as she made a note on her tablet about that. “Daimons…must pierce their mark. Don’t stake vampires unless I’m wearing tennis shoes.”
Luke moved to stand beside her. “Exactly. They tend to take those stakes and return the favor.”
She cringed at the image that went through her head. “Ouch. Duly noted. But I still don’t see how these all tie together.”
Luke gestured at the photos with the water bottle in his hand. “Look at them. They could easily be mistaken for each other.”
“True. And?”
“If you were given a picture of Amandine so that you could find her…”
“It would be easy to mistake them.” She finally saw what he did. “But why kill them and frame you for it?”
“I was my father’s heir. If you wanted to start a war between the secret factions…”
“Murder the heir of one organization and blame it on the heir of another.”
Setting the water aside, Luke nodded slowly. “I’m thinking the killer thought each one was Amandine and framed me for the kill so that her father would demand my head for it.”
“But you’re no longer the heir. Why bother?”
“I’m sure my father hasn’t told anyone that I’m gone. He’s paranoid and doesn’t like for anyone to know his business. The only ones who would know about my absence would be those who witnessed it. And I’m sure half, if not most of them, are probably dead or locked up.”
Wincing, Sorcha closed her tablet and held it up against her chest. “That’s shitty.”
“Yes, it is. But it makes a lot of sense. If Antoine Dufresne saw any of the evidence, he’d believe that it led to me and he’d want my cute, adorable ass on a chopping block.”
She ignored his comment because he did have a cute, adorable ass. “Have you ever met Dufresne?”
“Many times. My father seldom deals with those he thinks less of. In the past, he sent me in to interface with the other organizations.”
“So you’re like an ambassador?”
“Exactly.” There was a foreign light in those amber eyes that told her he was still mulling all this as he paced back and forth like a feral predator.
“What else are you thinking?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “Originally, that the first murder was someone fucking with me.”
“Yeah…the whole ‘Fuck You, Ken’ scenario. Now you’re thinking your banishment is unrelated?”
“No… Not… Maybe… I don’t know. I can’t shake this feeling that everything’s related. But I’m not sure how. If someone is trying to break the treaties, what better way than to target the heirs?”