Half Past the Witching Hour (Paranormal Personnel Saga #3) (17 page)

‘Maybe we should try this bar on the next street,’ Kate suggested with a deep sigh.

‘Hey, what you guys—’

‘Excuse me,’ Kate asked, ignoring Kelsie. ‘Are you from around here?’

The mermaid turned to look at us. She smiled. That was a good sign. ‘Let me guess— you guys are looking to have some fun?’

I glanced at the barman, who was still serving drinks on the other side of the bar. ‘Yes, we’re from North England and we are kind of lost. Could you direct us to any paranormal clubs?’ I asked, making sure that I whispered the word ‘paranormal.’ The mermaid shouldn’t have been surprised that we all knew that she was one of those non-human creatures. Her vibrant skin was glowing, which meant that she swam often enough, maybe even twice a day. She had a name tag the read ‘StaffSpell’—the name of the rival agency.

Was he talking about Kelsie’s ex?

‘Of course. I would be more than happy to show you guys around here,’ said the mermaid girl.

Kelsie finally got what we were doing as we all moved to a table in the corner. The mermaid introduced herself as Abi Jeffrey. Kate apparently sensed that she would be even more talkative if we started buying her rounds. It was clear that Abi talked to strangers often enough. She told us she’d been craving some paranormal company all week.

‘Thanks for being our guide. We’re here to start over, and Beck here is hoping to get together with some pack of shifters.’

‘I’d stay away from shifters if I were you, no offence,’ Abi said, looking away. Kelsie opened her mouth to stay something, but I kicked her beneath the table.

‘None taken.’

‘Why do you suggest that we should stay away from shifters? Becky is pretty cool,’ I said, trying to turn this serious conversation into a joke. Abi finished her drink. My energy was stirring my insides and I saw in my mind that Abi was going through a painful breakup. Her thoughts were intensely transparent. For some reason after months of not hearing anyone else’s thoughts I was reading hers easily.

‘No, my co-worker was fine until she met a shifter; then everything went wrong.’

Kelsie, Kate and I exchanged a silent glance and I squeezed my own fingers under the table.

‘Co-worker? What happened to her?’ I asked, doing everything I could to keep the tension from my voice.

‘She’s dead now. She’s been murdered, but no one knows who killed her. At first I thought that she had a thing for vampires. Not long after she was hired I’d seen her with so many vampires. Then a few months later she started missing work, calling in sick all the time…’

Abi stopped talking in mid-sentence, and I swallowed hard, feeling the tension. Kate and Kelsie were completely silent. Then I heard Abi’s thoughts again, her sour feelings of resentment and fear. She had been trying to help Jennifer, covering for her at work some days. Jennifer was her friend; they’d become close, like I used to be with Jennifer before she betrayed me.

‘Oh my God, Abi, that’s terrible,’ I said.

‘Yeah, right. I tried to help her, but she didn’t want to listen. Our boss was ready to get rid of her. It wasn’t long before I saw her with a shifter. They were arguing on the street outside the office. A day later the agency got a call from the police. She was found murdered in one the factories that’s owned by a Dhampir.’

I was trying to read Abi to see if she remembered the face of that shifter who was involved with Jennifer, but she was distracted and tipsy. Her thoughts were strained, clouded like she was afraid of even thinking about her dead friend.

Soon she started talking about all the paranormal clubs that she wanted to visit, intentionally switching the subject. Kate tried to ask her about her work, but she wasn’t interested in talking about recruitment. For the next hour we had to sit listening to her stories about the best paranormal clubs in London and all the guys that she had been out with. When she went to the bar to get a drink, we decided that it was time to leave. Abi started talking to a few men by the bar, completely forgetting about us. My magic rose again and I knew it was influenced by Abi’s emotions. I wasn’t often able to truly read anyone’s thoughts, but tonight’s experience felt like my gift had been more useful than ever before.

‘Jennifer goes out with a shifter and the next day she ends up dead. That’s fishy, very fishy,’ Kelsie stated after we were back to her car.

‘I agree,’ Kate muttered. “You couldn’t have killed her, Julia. Maybe that blackout never happened; maybe someone wants you to believe that you’ve done it.’

‘We need to find out the identity of that shifter,’ I insisted. My head was pounding now and I didn’t know what to think anymore. I remembered the moment in my dream when Jennifer screamed and seeing the knife in my hand, but all my other memories were unclear about what actually went on that night. All I knew was that I woke up in my living room covered with blood. ‘We have to find out more. Let’s split up and ask around over the next few days.’

‘Michael is waiting for me,” Kelsey said, so I’ll see if I can find out anything from him. He has lots of useful connections around the city.’

‘Thanks, Kelsie,’

It was late when Kel dropped us home. We were all tired and I had to be at work tomorrow. When I started taking my clothes off, my phone rang. It was Dad. His phone calls always came unexpected.

‘Hey, Dad, what’s up?’

‘Julia, you need to get to the station now. Jasper turned himself in and we need your statement.’

I had to take a moment for this information to sink in. My ex-boyfriend Jasper hadn’t been much in my life lately. Almost eight months ago, a vampire who wanted to ruin Nathaniel used me as a motivation. McGregor was prepared to take over Nathaniel’s business and then kill him. He nearly succeeded until Jasper showed up. Jasper saved my life, probably feeling guilty because that he originally sold me over to McGregor himself. My ex-boyfriend was still emotionally attached to me and he told me that he’d been working with McGregor to destroy Nathaniel because he couldn’t stop loving me.

I didn’t think that I could cope with seeing him again after all that had happened between us. When I started going out with Nathaniel, Jasper attacked me, but he disappeared after a warrant for his arrest had been issued. Jasper murdered Nathaniel’s bodyguard in order to gain access to me. I kept my mouth shut because Jasper saved me from McGregor, and I owed him my silence.

I took the tube and within a quarter of an hour I was at the police station, chewing my nails and asking myself why he handed himself in? Why now?

The station was busy as I entered. A couple of filthy old hags were trying to wiggle their way out of the waiting room, shouting and swearing at the police, until they were dragged away.

‘Hi, I’m Julia Taylor. My Dad called for me,’ I said to the elf who was filing paperwork by the reception desk. He lifted his head up and measured me for couple of seconds.

‘I’ll let him know that you’re here,’ he muttered, getting back to his papers. I could have called my father myself, but I wasn’t ready for this conversation. I needed some time to decide if I was ready to grasp that Jasper murdered Ludwig.

I sat on the bench beating myself up over what was right and what was necessary. I had a lot of choices to make. Jasper, my magic, my grandmother. Quentin deserved to know and I had no idea how I was going to tell him that I was cursed and people were dying because of me. Kate was trying to be on my side, but these memories were too vivid to be ignored. My thoughts were interrupted by the noisy entrance of two officers with a short shifter who was screaming his head off. One of the officers was Stewart, Dad’s closest subordinate.

‘I need my solicitor, you fuckers, get me one now…oh and a phone call!’ screamed the shifter, who looked like he’d been in the fight. His face was bloody, his clothes filthy, and he stunk of sewage.

‘Shut the hell up and sit here before I smash your face,’ roared another officer, pushing his suspect down onto the bench a distance away from me. I had some time to think about what I was going to do, but instead I kept looking at that shifter, who kept talking to himself like he seemed slightly off his head.

I was sitting close enough to hear his loud ranting.

‘He’s going to kill us; he saw my face. It was simple, I just had to surprise him with Dimitry, but he shifted and attacked. Craig Murphy is planning to take over our territory—’

‘Julia, there you are. Come on,’ said Dannika, a paranormal that worked with my father. I glanced back at the shifter who was still talking to himself.

Was he talking about Kelsie’s ex?

Dannika was talking to me, but I kept thinking about Kelsie’s ex. It seemed that Craig was doing more than just trying to ruin Kelsie’s new life.

We walked through a number of doors until we reached my father’s office. Dad was alone. I had to stop thinking about what I heard out there, as Jasper’s freedom was in my hands now.

‘Hey, hun, sorry that I brought you here so late,’ Dad said, looking exhausted. Normally he would want to keep me away from guys that he caught, but we were talking about Jasper. The guy I had introduced to my parents as my boyfriend almost three years ago.

I started to question Dad. ‘Jasper walked in to the station? Why? What did he say?’

‘We haven’t charged him with anything yet, but he kept repeating that he wants to talk to you.’

‘Fine, I’ll speak to him.’

Dad narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on my shoulders once he got up. ‘All right, but I don’t want any funny business. He is dangerous and I’ll have Stewart there with you. There have been other things—’

‘Dad, I need to speak to him alone. He wasn’t himself when he attacked me three years ago, so stop being so overprotective. I’m going to be right outside this door. He won’t hurt me. I mean too much to him,’ I insisted.

‘Julia, he is dangerous. There have been other incidences.’

‘You can have him, but let me talk to him alone without any witnesses, before you guys do. He will tell me what is going on.’

Dad seemed adamant about having Stewart with me. It took me a while to convince him to change his mind. He scratched his forehead, twisted his lips a couple of times before he led me through the narrow corridor towards the room where Jasper was kept, assuring me that his people were going to barge straight through that door if Jasper tried anything. It was late night and the last thing I wanted was to talk to my crazy ex, but I owed him this conversation for saving my life.

‘You’ve got ten minutes before I’ll take your statement,’ Dad warned me before he walked away.

I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I entered. Jasper lifted his head and smiled when he saw me. He eyes were bloodshot, and he had heavy dark bags under his eyes.

‘Julia, thank you for agreeing to see me,’ he said.

I hadn’t seen Jasper since that day when he vanished after slicing McGregor’s artery. Clearly his obsession with me brought him back, and although I didn’t have to be here I wanted to hear what he had to say.

His brown hair was long and it looked like he hadn’t shaved for quite some time.

‘Jasper, what are you doing here? My father has nothing on you. We made a deal to stay away from each other,’ I insisted quietly.

‘I’ve been thinking about you a lot in the past few months,’ he began. ‘I wanted to explain myself. I needed to see you.’

I rubbed my face, wondering where he was going with this. Once I’d thought that I was in love with him, but so many things had happened, and then Nathaniel came to my life. Jasper wasn’t the same person that I’d thought he was.

‘Jasper, you don’t have to do this. I get it and we are even. My Dad doesn’t have anything on you.’

‘Wait, no. I know that you moved on, but I want to show you that I’ve changed. My desire for dark magic blinded me for some time. Last year when I arrived at that networking event I wasn’t planning to chase after you, but then I saw you sneaking away with La Caz and I got pissed. That bodyguard was in my way and I lost control. I never meant to kill him.’

‘So it was an accident. It doesn’t matter now. Dad closed the investigation, so you don’t have to worry. Besides, you don’t need to explain anything. You saved my arse up there in that basement when Caleb McGregor was ready to rape me.”

‘Your father needs something from me, and I can give him an address. He should be satisfied with what he’ll see.’

Jasper wasn’t making much sense. He kept talking, trying to convince me that he had changed, that his obsession with dark magic was long forgotten. He said he wanted me back in his life, as a friend. I wasn’t sure what to think about his sudden change. I didn’t get it. The Jasper that I used to know craved power, control and violence. He didn’t want to be just another wizard. In the end he mentioned that I shouldn’t worry about him. He wanted to pay for what he’d done, just to get some peace of mind.

We both decided to stay quiet about Ludwig’s death. Once my conversation with Jasper was over I told Dad that I wanted to drop all the charges. I insisted that years ago Jasper was hanging out with a wrong crowd and he wasn’t thinking straight. Overwhelmed with a jealous rage when I broke up with him. he lost his temper when I told him to stay away from me. It took me a while to convince Dad that he was wasting his time with Jasper. Apparently a few months prior to the assault, the police caught him with illegal potions; then later he was arrested for burglary. When Dad mentioned that a Magic Thief was involved I didn’t know what else to say. Jasper made his bed, so he had to lie in it. Dad was stubborn and I couldn’t do anymore for my ex-boyfriend at that point. I decided to leave the station and speak to my father once he had a good night’s sleep. I had a feeling that Dad needed to have solid evidence to keep him locked up for longer than a day or two. I left the station a little baffled and tired.

The clock showed midnight when I took my phone out and dialled Nathaniel’s number after I got home later that night. I was disgusted with myself, being that ‘other woman’ who had to cheat on her boyfriend, and after seeing Jasper I knew that I had to make this right.

‘We need to talk,’ I said when he answered. He told me that he was at a meeting but he could see me in an hour. I agreed. My subconscious warned me to leave the conversation like that until tomorrow, but I was pumped with making everything right tonight.

Magic lifted every tiny hair on my body while I went to the bathroom and started preparing a bath. I shouldn’t have been so calm, but I didn’t want to stress over what I was about to do. I had some time to enjoy a warm, blissful and relaxing bath before the stressful conversation. I closed my eyes just for a moment, relaxing my body. It wasn’t long before I drifted off, forgetting about my visitor.

Someone was stroking my arm and I murmured, enjoying the touch. Slowly I opened my eyes, enchanted by own calmness. It took me a moment to realise that I must have fallen asleep, because I was still in the bathtub, but for some strange reason the water was still warm.