Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Midafternoon, after I’d eaten a sandwich I made with actual food I had in my fridge, I read through my notes about Tim. He was the sort of guy who’d cheer about a dead werewolf online, but was he the sort to use unknown magic to kill one?
In fact, despite all the students being magical-studies majors, only about half volunteered the information indicating they were practitioners. Of those, the only one I was suspicious of was Acacia. If she had even a portion of her mother’s magic, then she was more powerful than most users.
Unlike me, she’d been trained in fae magic since she was a child which meant the glamours involved in the spellwork would be simple for her. But what would she gain from killing the SoPa alpha? The magic would sit just as uncomfortably in her as the incubus’s had in me.
My phone pinged, and I grinned when I saw who it was. So, Mister Hotshot Detective wasn’t playing hard to get. He didn’t seem like a guy who’d follow the three-day rule or any of that nonsense, but it surprised me he’d made time to text me when I knew he was busy with two dead bodies.
How’s your day going?
I pondered how to respond.
Ruled out most of the seminar students.
Most?
There’s one who I haven’t been able to get a hold of, and he’s my best suspect right now.
Name?
Timothy Powell.
I’ll pick you up in twenty.
Raising my eyebrows, I wondered if I should call him on how high-handed he was being, but the same frisson of attraction made me quell the urge.
I was so used to taking care of myself that having him take charge was exciting.
On the other hand, I knew he’d just ask for consent as soon as he got here, so it felt. .. safe.
Safe was not a feeling I was used to.
I gathered my things, including my camera, and was waiting in front of my apartment when he pulled up. The car rumbled, a sleek cat, and I couldn’t help but make a face when I got in.
“So, the car...” I said.
“I just like it, okay?” He smirked. “When I was growing up, we weren’t allowed to drive, there were always bodyguards and employees around. Once I was on my own, I wanted something fun to drive.”
“If you say so. I was just going to say from personal experience, you don’t have anything to compensate for in that department,” I teased. “I’d rate the entire package very satisfactory.”
“You’re terrible,” he huffed, his face gone rosy as he pulled the car back into traffic.
There was an address already plugged into the navigation and it put us squarely in the Quarter. It reminded me about something that had been nagging me since last night, and I pulled out my camera, toggling through all the photos of Dieter I had.
Nick’s glances were heavy on me, but he kept his focus on the road until I found the photos I was looking for.
At the time, it had been just another drug deal from Dieter, but now that I knew who I was looking for, I could tell it was Woolworth Dieter was talking to.
With jerky movements, Dieter had looked over his shoulder, then at everyone in the park, before handing something to Woolworth.
Having heard their conversation the night before, I wondered if Woolworth was as assertive with Dieter when he wasn’t worried the pack werewolf would endanger his job. Maybe he had Dieter wrapped around his finger because he made him a lot of money?
“Something interesting?” Nick asked.
“Dieter Rossi knows Woolworth,” I said. “I heard them together last night.”
“Huh. I could tip off a detective in Vice, if you want?”
He sounded unsure what the issue was, and I couldn’t blame him since I wasn’t sure what the issue was.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “We headed to Tim’s house?”
“Timothy Powell,” Nick confirmed. “No priors, no contacts with police. In fact, the only thing we know about him is his driver’s license number and his address.”
“Isn’t that most people? Most people don’t make it a habit to get arrested.”
“I still like to know more before going in,” Nick said.
“Well, what I know is our baby Humans Are Human member made everyone in the seminar uncomfortable. He didn’t tell anyone if he was a magical practitioner, but most people thought he wasn’t, because of his views. So I’m not sure why he chose to use the spells as his murder weapon.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone used a tool they weren’t familiar with to kill people,” Nick said. “Still, it’s a leap to go from espousing HAH views to killing people.”
I shrugged. “I know, but unless you’re turning up leads, this is the best I’ve got.”
Nick shook his head. “No. We’re trying to track down which pimp the incubus worked for, but we don’t even know his name. The cops who walk Sintown aren’t any help, either.”
I made a questioning sound and Nick sighed. “‘It’s how they are.’ ‘It’s what they get.’ That sort of thing.”
“Helpful,” I said, irritated. “So glad we pay you boys in blue the big bucks.”
“Hey, there are some good men on the force,” Nick said sharply.
“Sure, you.” I rolled my eyes to his face. “I haven’t met any others.”
Shaking his head, Nick repeated, “There are good men on the force.”
I crossed my arms, letting him have the last word. Unsurprisingly, my acquiescence seemed to bother him more than if I’d kept arguing. He opened his mouth to argue some more, but hushed when he saw my smirk.
We parked in front of the building, Nick using a placard listing his car as a police vehicle in order to use the red fire zone. As we got out, I looked up. It was a four-story building, larger than Acacia’s.
“Tell me there’s an elevator,” I said. “I’m walked out.”
“Maybe we should add more cardio to your days.” Nick’s voice dripped with the implication of what kind of cardio he was interested in.
My head whipped around to see if he was being as suggestive as he sounded. His face was neutral, and he arched an eyebrow at my open mouth. Pointing at him, I shook my finger.
“You, Mister Only Good Cop, are nasty.”
With a snort, he led us into the building, using a master key to unlock the lobby. The elevator was working and Nick looked at the stairs pointedly before following me into the elevator car. He pressed the button for the third floor and we rode up in companionable silence.
At the door, Nick knocked. “Timothy Powell? SAPD, please open up.”
“Please?” I raised an eyebrow. “Where are we? Tea with the Queen?”
“It doesn’t hurt to be polite,” Nick said. “Pounding on doors is for tv. Most people respond to a knock faster than a threat.”
I was about to poke fun, when the door across the hall opened.
“Oh, good,” an elderly woman said. “You’re here. I called about Timothy days ago.”
“Ma’am?” Nick asked.
“Timothy! I know something happened to him. He always does my grocery shopping when he does his on Sundays, but this past Sunday he didn’t come over.” She squinted at Nick. “You’re here to do a wellness check, aren’t you? To make sure he’s alright?”
“We’re here on another matter,” Nick said. “Do you know where Timothy might have gone?”
“No.” The woman closed her door halfway and emerged with a set of keys, her arthritic fingers finding a brass-colored key. “Since you’re here, you can check on him. This is his key. I didn’t feel right going in without permission. But you’re the police. You can go in, can’t you?”
“Thanks, ma’am.” Nick took the keys and unlocked Tim’s door, nudging it open with his boot. I could see his hand inching towards his gun, and I leaned over.
“You might want to wait for an actual threat, detective. Right now all we know is he missed his grocery date, and he’s an ass.” I pointedly slid my eyes back towards the neighbor who was standing in her doorway, hands clutching at her floral housecoat.
Nick’s lips tightened, but he led the way inside, saying, “Timothy Powell? We’re here to check on you. Please let us know if you’re inside.”
Someone sat on the couch, head tilted back, throat exposed.
“Tim?” Nick said. “I’m going to need to see your hands.”
His hand rested on his gun, ready to draw it. We circled around the couch and I swore, loudly, colorfully, using some words I was glad Shannon wasn’t around to hear.
“Is everything all right?” the neighbor called, peeking in the front door.
“Ma’am, you need to return to your apartment. I’ll be there in a moment to talk to you,” Nick said.
Timothy Powell’s dead body stared at the ceiling, lips gone blue. He didn’t smell at all, which might have meant recently dead, or, if my suspicions were right, something more nefarious.
Nick pulled out his cellphone calling in the body, and I grabbed a pen out of my bag and nudged his t-shirt down at the collar. Black circles, uncontained swirled. The spell was still active.
“Nick,” I hissed. “Nick. This is a trap.”
“What?” Nick turned. I gestured to the spell with my free hand.
“That looks different,” I said. “It looks like it’s summoning something.”
Glancing around the room, Nick said, “I don’t see anything. Maybe it’s not functioning.”
“I think we set it off by coming inside. I don’t know what it’s summoning, though.”
Nick came closer and pulled Tim’s shirt down with his hand, fully exposing his chest.
“Jupiter’s puckered anus,” Nick swore. Despite our situation, I felt my eyebrows shoot up.
I hadn’t been sure he even knew words like that.
Grabbing his alchemy pen out of his jacket, he started drawing a large circle on the floor, so quickly he stumbled, righting himself before the line did more than waver.
“Get him inside,” he snapped. “And I hope you have some defensive magic in your bag.”
I hefted Tim, awkwardly dropping him in the middle of the circle as he began to glow red.
“Get out!” Nick kept his eyes on the alchemy circles he was drawing as he spoke. I hopped over his lines and dug through my bag, finding a handful of rocks I sent spinning above my hand.
As Nick finished his circles, I coaxed the rocks into a new purpose. They took to it eagerly. It was one reason I’d kept them around. Rocks were usually staid in their purpose, but these ones, made of volcanic rock, were eager to explode.
As Nick began filling in the anchor points, his pen dragging across the carpet in messy lines, Tim’s t-shirt moved.
With horror, I saw a claw rip through the cotton, an arm following and then a shoulder.
The head that came through was a thing of nightmares, as though a bat and a lizard had combined into a chimera.
“I’m going to need more rocks,” I muttered. The creature, using its bat-like wings to climb out, finished escaping through Tim’s chest, red organs and blood dripping down its scaled green skin.
It opened its mouth and shrieked. The windows rattled. I jumped, the rocks in my hand spinning faster and faster as I pumped more magic into them.
“Keep it in the circle until I’m done.” Nick didn’t glance at the thing, and whether that was out of necessity or because he had faith in me, it left a lot of pressure on my shoulders.
The creature lunged for the boundary and I sent two rocks spinning towards it, the explosions knocking it back. It screamed, batting at its eyes with its claws. It had four legs like a lizard and a tail I was keeping an eye on.
The long appendage swept out, crossing the circle, and I jumped over it, reaching into my bag and pulling out a handful of dried leaves. As I poured magic into them, they turned green, vines linking them, until I had an undulating palm of twisting plants.
Tossing them down on the tail, I watched as they took hold, roots digging deep through the floor, searching for somewhere to find water. Luckily before they dug all the way to the person who lived under Tim, they found a pipe and began drinking, growing thick and heavy.
With its tail pinned, the creature lunged at me again, and I shoved more magic into the rocks in my hand, splitting them into smaller pebbles.
I shot a few at the creature’s face, peppering it with smaller explosions as Nick began a second circle.
With this one, he frowned as he wrote, pausing every few seconds.
“Seriously?” I called out. “You aren’t done?”
He started to answer, but the creature turned to him, long claws reaching and grabbing his arm. Throwing himself back, he got away, but I could see blood staining his stupid expensive suit. My stomach plummeted, and I shouted to get the creature’s attention.
“Hey, ugly!”
It turned to me, spit dripping down from where it gnashed its teeth. It lunged at me and I sent one of the rocks straight into its eyes, exploding like fireworks in its face.
The rocks in my hand were getting smaller as I split them again.
As small as they were, all I was doing was irritating the creature rather than doing any actual damage.
When we finished, I’d be able to call the rocks back together from the exploded pieces, but right now it would cost me too much energy and time.
The demon yanked at its tail, ripping up part of the floor before the vines tightened down again. It swiped at me, the long wing giving it an extended reach, and its claw caught my cheek. I felt hot blood dribble down my chin.
Time for a new strategy. If the vines had found water, I could, too.
Calling the water from the sinks, it wound towards us like a river, coming faster and faster as the water from the bathroom joined in. It swirled around the creature, staying inside the circle Nick was finishing.
Freeze, I commanded it. The temperature plummeted, and the demon slowed as its blood cooled. The ice leapt up its legs, water following, building manacles of ice trapping the creature’s legs to the carpet.
“A little help would be nice!” I shouted, my attention on the creature as it twisted, shattering the ice. I pumped magic back into it and the ice froze up again, but the damage was done. The ice was weaker where the cracks were and it was only a matter of time before the demon was free.
“Get clear!” Nick yelled.
I drew back, and the circle lit up in Nick’s familiar green magic, racing towards the anchor points. When the circle fully illuminated, the area burst into flame. The demon screamed, and it looked as though it was melting.
Wincing back, I shielded my eyes. After a couple of minutes, the flames faded. The carcass of the demon sprawled out, half bone, half burned scales in the messy circle Nick had drawn.
Curious, I glanced at the ceiling and didn’t see any black soot or char. Nick’s circles had contained the whole fiery mess.
The apartment door burst open, cops flooding in. “SAPD, get down on the ground!”