Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
A week later, we’re all frustrated and annoyed.
We’ve made progress—we really have. Of all the at-risk couples we identified, none have been taken.
The protections we’ve put in place are working.
But they can’t continue indefinitely, and unfortunately, there have been other couples taken that we hadn’t yet identified.
The number of couples kidnapped is now up to forty-one.
We’re leaning heavily on other teams to help with other cases, because of course, the other bad guys planning to expose the community don’t take time off when we’re busy.
That means everyone’s attention except Gideon’s is divided—they’re all nominally managing those cases, even if most of the legwork is being done by others.
And speaking of Gideon…. *big sigh* He’s a dilemma wrapped in a conundrum, all packaged in a sexy scowl. Sometimes I feel as though there’s something between us, but then he’ll be an asshole, and I’ll wonder if I’m becoming delusional.
Like, most of this past week I’ve basically been glued to his side.
I’m coordinating all the data collection and mining, plus all the reports from the teams on site, and making sure Gideon has anything he might need to figure this shit out.
He and I make an incredible team—we’re in sync more than I’ve ever been with anyone I’ve worked with.
I can mostly tell what he’s going to want to see or know next, and he always gives me exactly the information I need to help him—I don’t need to ask for more or go hunting to figure it out.
He’s taken me with him to several of the scenes when he went looking for clues, and he’s always super patient about my questions (and also when I threw up after being teleported the first time.
That was super fun). And this one time, when one of the investigators asked me to step back (politely), Gideon insisted I stay right where I was.
“He’s more valuable to me right now than you could ever be,” he said, which made me wince but also feel good.
Then there was the time we both reached for the same file at the same time.
Our hands touched. We were suddenly standing so close.
When I turned my head, I could feel his breath on my face.
His gaze locked with mine. He leaned in.
I was so sure he was going to kiss me, and I was ready for it. Eager, even.
Too bad Elinor walked in right then and ruined the moment.
Which brings me to the times when he ignores me completely.
So… yeah. It doesn’t help that I seem to be caught in some kind of hormonal vortex.
The last few months, it’s been like I’m twenty years younger.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always had a healthy appreciation for sex—as in, gimme gimme gimme—but once I hit my mid-twenties, it settled down from thinking about it every hour to something that allowed me to actually get other stuff done.
Lately, though, it’s become somewhat of a priority again, which is kind of weird.
I mean, at my age, isn’t sexual appetite supposed to be slowing down, not heating up?
It’s especially annoying because I haven’t dated much since I started working in the community, so sex has been limited to random hookups and self-care.
And these past few weeks or so have been ridiculous.
I only have to take a breath and I’m getting hard. Reminds me of when I was thirteen.
Andrew growls and throws the stress ball he’s been squeezing to death against the wall.
It actually cracks the plaster, which I wouldn’t have thought possible even with vampire strength.
“This is fucking stupid,” he snaps. “No matter how many times we look at this, it’s not going to change.
The Coalition for Community Advancement is the most likely and obvious candidate for this whole disaster, but their movements don’t indicate any involvement, and we’ve interrogated as many of them as we can find to no avail. So who the fuck is doing this?”
Lily rubs her palms over her face and leans back in her chair. “I can’t think,” she admits. “My brain is mush.”
Gideon sighs and drops the pen he’s been tapping onto the table. “Same. Okay, we need a break. A real break—no checking other cases.”
David gets up. “Come on, Sam. Let’s teach you how to use magic.”
My eyes get really wide, and I battle between excitement and terror. “What? Now? Are you sure?”
“That’s a great idea,” Elinor enthuses. She looks around. “Maybe not in here, though. We’ve got a lot of work here, and if something goes to shit….”
“The break room,” Andrew suggests. “There shouldn’t be anybody still here at this time anyway.”
“Wait, what do you mean, if something goes to shit?” The terror starts to take over. Who do I think I am, trying to use magic? I mean, come on.
“Relax,” Lily soothes, grabbing my arm and towing me toward the door. “It’s going to be fine.”
I resist her pull, dragging my feet. “Then why would you say something might go to shit?”
“It’s normal,” David assures me, taking my other arm and helping Lily pull me out of the room. “Like when babies are learning to walk and they fall. You know it’s going to happen. There’s really nothing you can do to prevent it, but you make sure there are no sharp corners or stuff like that.”
I turn that over in my mind. There’s something wrong with that analogy, but I just can’t put my finger on what. I mull it over as my teammates drag me into the break room. Part of me is super excited about the possibility of using magic.
“Okay.” David pulls out his phone and begins tapping the screen. “I contacted a friend of mine who’s married to a human magic practitioner—”
I snort-chuckle.
All eyes turn to me. “What?” Andrew asks, and I shrug.
“Human magic practitioner. I just… can’t believe I’m about to do this.
Sometimes I still can’t believe you all are real .
Like… how is this my life? I literally can’t talk to any of my old friends about half the stuff going on or introduce them to my new friends, because they’d think I’m a crackpot.
Which is how most of human society thinks of ‘human magic practitioners,’” I make air quotes, “and now I find out that they were actually right all along and that humans can do magic!” I give a weird all-over shudder, and Andrew laughs.
“You’re living the dream,” he says. “Now pay attention. We’ve still got a lot to do tonight.”
I turn back to David, who smiles and goes on, “Anyway, I got some simple spells that you should be able to do without any real problem and without needing equipment. He said these are great ones to start with because they’ll build your ‘magic muscles’ and your confidence, and you can practice them anytime without worrying about hurting anyone. ”
“That sounds good.” I try to inject a positive note in my voice.
The excitement waned a bit with the realization that I could actually hurt someone.
But… magic. How great would that be? My humanity has set me apart from my colleagues for the past five years.
That won’t change, but I’ll have a point of commonality with them—a return to how I would have been if my long-ago ancestors hadn’t been either brainless sheep or degenerate fuckwits. “Okay. Let’s do this!”
Judging by Lily’s snicker, the rah-rah tone might have been overkill.
“The first step is to develop acceptance that magic is actually possible. I don’t think you have a problem there, do you?” David looks up from his phone, and I snort.
“Nope. Magic is real. Believe me, I know.” I’ve seen sorcerers do some pretty spectacular stuff over the years… and some really mundane stuff, like switching off lights without getting up off their lazy asses.
“Great. So this spell is going to create a ball of light. Phil said it could be as small as a pinprick the first time, so a dim room is best.”
Wordlessly, Gideon, who’s leaning against the wall by the door with arms crossed and scowl in place, reaches over and turns off the overhead lights. We’re left mostly in the dark, with light coming in from the hallway and from David’s phone screen.
“You need to focus on the energy running through your body. The heart pumps blood everywhere. Tune in to the sensation of your own inner energy flowing to your extremities and then back again, an endless cycle of life and power.”
Wow, that’s kind of…. Okay. I can do this.
It does kind of make sense. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and concentrate on the idea of my blood flowing through my body, carrying life energy with it.
Soon I feel a kind of tingling rush through all my limbs.
Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s real or if I’m imagining it, but hey, close enough, right?
I open my eyes and nod. “Got it.”
My eyes must have adjusted to the dimness, because I can see much more clearly now. It’s not just brighter, it’s sharper somehow. Lily’s biting her lip like she’s trying not to laugh at me, which is nicer than Elinor and Andrew, who are both snickering openly.
“I guess it’s working,” Lily says diplomatically. “The energy thing, I mean. Your hair is standing up.”
David frowns. “That’s… uh. Sure. Okay. So the next step is to transfer that sense of awareness outside your body. You can feel your inner energy—now see if you can feel the energy flowing through the world.”
I close my eyes again to keep from being distracted.
I’m sure this will be trickier, because the world doesn’t have a “heartbeat” for me to start with, but shockingly, it’s so much easier.
As soon as I focus my awareness on finding “energy” flow—and I assume that’s the magic—it’s there.
It feels so amazingly natural and wonderful.
I can’t help but smile as it tickles around me.
When I open my eyes this time, it’s to find all my teammates, even Gideon, clustered around David, who’s frowning. Lily looks worried. Andrew and Gideon are whispering to each other.