Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Eighteen years later
The years roll by in the blink of an eye.
I slam the door of the taxi and wave to the shellshocked girl huddled inside.
I nod to the driver and mouth a thank-you.
He returns my thanks with a cheerful smile and drives away from the loading bay.
As the taxi disappears around the corner, I quickly check that I’m alone, and then I shift into the girl.
I mimic her perfectly, from her clothing to her hair. My magic is incredible. I can even remove an item of clothing and it will stay real for a few hours before dissipating, it’s that complex.
No wonder John had an issue with me when we first met. The things I can do now with magic…I scare myself sometimes.
It’s freaky.
John…I sigh. He’s been off-world with a team of hellhounds for over a year, so I haven’t seen him.
The hellhound has thrown himself into work, doing more and more dangerous things; he puts himself at risk.
John is more renowned, more dangerous than he ever was before.
I can’t help thinking I’ve had a lucky escape, but a niggle in the back of my head tells me I am ultimately responsible.
That I snuffed whatever goodness he had right out of him.
When I don’t see him or hear about his antics for a while, I can’t help the fear and the worry I feel.
I know he’s a grown-ass man, a man who I rejected, even if we don’t talk about “the elephant in the room,” he is still my mate.
We gravitate towards each other. I catch the odd flash of pain in his green eyes, undoubtedly mirrored in my own.
Ha, I’m not one to talk about risk. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, and what I do isn’t rainbows and kittens. John isn’t the only one who has thrown himself into work. Daily I mess with people’s lives, and there is nothing more dangerous than that.
With that fun thought…I turn and slip back through the fire-exit door into the shop’s storeroom. I enter the changing rooms and nod at Penny, who has been my vigilant changing-room gatekeeper while Jessica was making her getaway.
The shop assistant twists her fingers together. “They are getting impatient,” she whispers.
I give Penny a reassuring smile and I gently squeeze her shoulder. “It’s okay. Thank you so much—you’ve done amazingly. I shouldn’t need to ask for your help again.”
I have a network of people I have helped over the years who owe me favours.
I don’t ask for much. It might be like today, a request to use the back door to a shop that they work in so I can smuggle a girl to safety, or for them to delay a bus for two minutes.
Little things that add up like puzzle pieces in a sometimes-complex scheme that involves me helping others.
In a world full of monsters, I am the light in the darkness.
Mentally, I snort and I roll my eyes. Ha, what a big head: I am the light in the darkness. I am so glad I didn’t say that out loud. I grab the clothes that Jessica has supposedly been trying on, and her small bag.
“Oh, no,” Penny urgently whispers, “if you ever need help, you’ve only got to ask—I’m your girl.
” Her big brown eyes fill with tears and her lower lip trembles.
“What you do…what you did…for my brother, for me. I can’t ever repay you.
So anything, anything I can do to help you…
” her whispered words fade and she shrugs and rubs at a stray tear that’s escaped.
Impulsively, I give her a quick hug. “I’ve never met a witch like you—your illusion magic is incredible. ”
“Thank you.” I smile, and I don’t correct her assumption that I’m a witch; I let her think I am, like most people.
Others think I’m a high-level fae. No one has yet to suspect that I’m a demon, which is how I like it.
I scoop up and void the sound-masking potion ball Penny laid before the switch.
The little ball crumbles to dust in my fingers and I rub my hands on my jeans.
I almost walk into the burly shifter bodyguard who is guarding the changing room door. “Mrs Philips, it is time to go,” he says sharply.
“Of course. Thank you, Briggs.” The voice that comes out of my mouth isn’t my own. No, I look and sound a perfect copy of Jessica Phillips. I even smell like her. The shifter in front of me would be unable to tell us apart.
It took me a while to work out my demon magic.
Transforming into a person took a little bit of finesse in the beginning.
If I wasn’t careful, I’d look fake, or worse, like a bad illusion.
I spent days sitting and observing people, their faces, clothing, and their movements.
I got good at mimicking people, and when I realised I could change not only my voice but my scent, I was hooked.
The satisfaction I feel knowing that the real Jessica is already safe and on her way to an entirely new life is addictive.
It is why I do what I do. It started with my pup, and then there was my mum and the frustration of not being able to help her.
You don’t have to beat people up or kill people to be a hero—sometimes you can uniquely, sneakily use your gifts.
I am a silent hero and I don’t care if no one knows.
It’s better that they don’t. Every time I do this, my soul feels a little lighter.
Jessica is half-fae and unfortunately gained the attention of the wrong man, Henry Phillips. They met six years ago, and the cat shifter, a former member of the old corrupt shifter council, would not take no for an answer. He forced poor Jessica into a relationship with him.
No one realises what goes on behind closed doors, and with powerful creatures—especially powerful shifters—even if people know something is not what it seems, they still turn a blind eye. Too frightened. I guess they think it’s not their fight.
When an associate gave me Jessica’s information and told me she needed my help urgently, I didn’t hesitate to step in.
I have to play the role of Jessica until I can safely slip away.
The clock is ticking down and Jess is less than twenty-five minutes away from stepping through a portal into Ireland.
Shifters aren’t allowed in Ireland. The country is a haven for humans and the fae.
It has strict rules, so I’m confident Mr Philips won’t be able to track her.
Oh, and I don’t just shove her through the portal. I have an entire identity established for her and a place to live, a job. Once Jessica finds her feet, she can decide what she wants to do, how she wants to live. For the first time in six years, Jessica is free.
Now I’m about to play a game to keep Jessica’s bodyguards, and Henry Phillips, busy. Busy enough not to implicate any of the people that have helped me today. The game is my favourite: “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.”
I follow the bodyguard, my back ramrod straight and my chin high, but my eyes are firmly, submissively fixed on the floor.
I meekly hand over the clothing to another shop assistant.
“Just the white top, please,” I say in Jessica’s whispery voice.
Mr Phillips loves the colour white. With the help of my hacker friend Ava, I have eyes all over the city, and I have done my homework.
The shop assistant nods, and another bodyguard steps forward to handle the payment.
Jessica isn’t allowed any money of her own.
Once the guard has paid, we leave. The bell over the door chimes as we step out onto the busy pedestrianised street. Briggs tightly grips my elbow as the three other bodyguards that are waiting outside the shop join our small group.
Even though I’ve spent what feels like more time with other people’s faces on than my own, when I catch my reflection in a shop’s window, it is still jarring.
Like a living wall of shifter muscle, the five guards surround me as we head back towards the parked car. I chose this shop in particular to do the switch because they don’t allow cars in this pedestrian-only shopping area, and the loading bay at the back of the store makes the perfect getaway.
When we get to the main road, which is heavy with fast-moving traffic, it’s showtime.
“Oh,” I say. I rise onto the balls of my feet and peek around the bodyguard wall.
I pretend to recognise somebody across the street.
“That is my friend from school.” I elbow Briggs sharply in the ribs, whip around the guards, and dash into the traffic.
Chaos ensues as cars swerve to avoid me.
The air fills with the sounds of screeching tyres and angry car horns. No damage.
Jessica’s completely-out-of-character action leaves the five bodyguards stunned for a few seconds. A few seconds is all that I need as my feet land on the pavement on the other side of the road. I grin as I blend into the crowd.
I hurry into a department store, and I make my way through the store at a fast clip.
With a wink at another shop assistant, I snatch my earpiece off a shelf and stuff it into my ear.
I groan—this would work so much better if magic would work on me; a communication spell would be a godsend.
I shrug. Unfortunately, using other people’s magic is still not in my remit.
“They are tracking you outside. Turn left,” Ava says in my ear as she follows me on the security cameras.
I love this store, as it has various entrances that exit onto busy shopping areas.
“Look up to your left, flick your hair, perfect…got you on that camera. The bus is at the stop and it will leave in three…” I step onto the bus and wave the bus pass at the driver.
“…Two…” I move away from the doors and head to the back.
“…One.” I grab hold of the safety bar as the bus pulls out into traffic.
“Okay, they have seen you and they are following.”
I slide onto the bench seat and surreptitiously look about to make sure I have no one’s attention.
When I deem the coast is clear, I lean against the seat in front of me and I carefully wedge Jessica’s small purse, which contains her phone, underneath the seat.
I also leave the bus pass inside—dated today and dirty, with a footprint on it.
It’s almost as if it was dropped on the floor and Jessica conveniently found it. Fancy that.
“They’re following, two cars back,” Ava updates. The bus goes over the bridge. “The station is coming up in one minute—get ready.” I stand, leave my seat, and make my way slowly to the front of the bus.
It is imperative that we leave a trail for them to follow.
Over the next few days and the oncoming weeks, ex-Councillor Phillips will want to get his greedy hands on everything to do with Jessica’s escape.
No one can be implicated. The bus rolls to a stop and with a polite “thank you” to the driver, I jump off.
I head through a mass of people congregating around the station’s monitors. “Stand there…okay, three cameras have got you…that’s perfect. Look at the timetable. The next train to London is at platform six. Go, quick—you have three minutes, Boss.”
I rush past and dodge the many travellers, some lumbering along with their bags and others chatting and stabbing at their phones.
A few people are also rushing towards platforms. I run up some stairs that take me over the railway lines and then go down another set.
I am glad Jessica listened and wore flat shoes—running in heels is not my strong suit.
I arrive at platform six just as the train pulls in and the doors open.
I head for the closest carriage and step inside.
“Okay, train camera has you. I can take it from here.” I step behind a partition, and when I’m sure no one is looking…I shift and step off the train.
I tap my walking stick against the concrete as on doddering steps I slowly shuffle away.
There’s a beep-beep-beep behind me as the train doors close, and a whistle from the platform guard.
I turn my head and watch in satisfaction as he waves to the driver, and with a hiss, a clunk, and a grinding sound, the train pulls away.
Three huge shifters barrel down the stairs, just in time to watch the train leave. One of them picks up a bin and throws it at the departing train with a roar. The others stand there, looks of disbelief on their faces. The rubbish flutters onto the floor and track. I frown. God, I hate littering.
“It’s an express train to London. No stops, she’s trapped.
Come on, we have three hours to collect her from the other station,” Briggs says with a snarl.
He turns and almost knocks me over. “Watch where you are going, you stupid old cow,” he spits out.
He runs past me up the stairs. The other two shifters follow in his wake, not sparing me a glance.
I hum as I shuffle towards the lift, my walking stick tap-tapping. No one sees the old lady with her walking stick as she hobbles along. “Jessica made it, Boss,” Ava says. I cackle with glee. Boom, mental fist-pump. Today is another good day.