Nothing Familiar Page 3

  “Control over what?” I asked.

  His upper body bent across his desk in my direction. I barely held my ground. He jabbed a long, bony finger in my direction. “Over us. Over the normal people.”

  I felt my lungs tighten and suddenly found it hard to breathe. “Normal?” I asked in a slightly strangled voice. “What do you mean by that?”

  As if suddenly realizing how crazy he was acting, Becksmart blinked, swallowed hard, and reached up to tug on one of the ears marooned above his neck. “The powerful will always try to control the great unwashed underneath them, Ms. Mapes. Since your mother owns one of the city’s most successful businesses, I would think you’d understand that.”

  He frowned. “And speaking of successful, what exactly does your mother’s company do, Ms. Mapes? It doesn’t seem like anybody knows.”

  “Human Resources,” I said quickly. “We provide temporary and permanent hires for organizations all over the state.” I smiled my “business” smile. “I believe we’ve even placed people here at the paper.”

  Becksmart blinked hard and went pale. “Who?” he bellowed.

  With a smile, I stood up. “Mr. Becksmart, if you decide you’d like to help us keep the city safe, please give me a call.” I handed him the Familiar, Inc. card I just recently started carrying around so I could do what I’d just done. Writing my phone number on the back of a napkin or the label of a beer bottle just didn’t say “trustworthy”.

  I felt his gaze on me as I turned and walked out of the cramped, overstuffed office. Deg joined me a beat later and we exchanged looks. Malice Becksmart definitely knew more than he should, which meant either he’d been in touch with our agitator again, or he himself had some magic. Either way, we had a problem.

  If we added in the man’s near manic state of mind, it became an even bigger problem.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Brock strolled in our direction as we exited the newspaper. I’d forgotten until that moment that I’d asked him to keep an eye on the news outlets.

  His darkly handsome face was filled with the kind of strain only an office job could cause. As he stopped in front of us, I noted the fine lines that had moved in between his eyes and the spark of sunlight off a single gray hair.

  He was much too young to be going gray. Especially for a Demon. “Hey. How’s it going?” I asked in a determinedly chipper voice.

  He shrugged. “Mandy managed to create a spell to fix the problem.”

  I couldn’t believe he’d delivered the news so matter-of-factly. “That’s awesome! She can wipe the Sensitive’s memories?”

  He looked confused for a beat and then shook his head. “Not that problem. The Troll issue. She’s magicked the plumbing...”

  I held up a hand. “Stop right there. Any words you say after plumbing are words I don’t need or want...ever...to hear.”

  His smile was filled with enough devilment to make me wonder if he’d tweaked me on purpose. “You asked.”

  “No. I really didn’t. What’s going on out there in news-land? Any indication of leaking or inappropriate digging into our business?”

  “Nothing specific. But we’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about some big story that’s brewing. Becksmart’s name keeps popping up, but they all seem to be speaking in riddles.”

  Deg sighed. “That can’t be good. I doubt Becksmart is sitting on more than one story this big. The question is, how many of the buzzers know what he’s about to reveal?”

  I shook my head. “None of them.”

  Brock frowned in my direction. “How do you know that?”

  “Because this is a bloodthirsty group. If they knew, they’d scoop him in a heartbeat. No way they’d sit on it and let him grab all the glory.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Deg agreed. “But it’s still a problem. If they believe he’s onto something big, they’ll do everything they can to find out what it is.”

  “Agreed,” Brock said. “I’ll keep my people on this. If anybody gets too close, we’ll snatch them up quietly and take them into the office.”

  “Keep us posted,” I told him.

  “Of course.”

  Deg and I drove in silence back toward my house. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something I should be doing to keep The Guild from spilling our secrets and blowing up our world. There was one person we’d yet to speak to. And he was an important component of the current problem.

  “I think we should talk to Littleton,” Deg said.

  I nodded. “You read my mind.”

  ARGOLD LITTLETON’S penthouse palace overlooked the rolling greenery of Illusory Park and the pond at its center. Unlike the last time Deg and I had visited, the landscape beyond the wall of glass didn’t sparkle beneath a jewel-like array of multi-colored lights. But it still glittered under a thick blanket of snow, which I was beginning to think would never melt.

  Argo offered Deg and me a hand, his dark gaze flashing. “It’s nice to see you again, LA. Deg.” I fought a shiver under the magical effects of the Elf’s deep, melodic voice.

  “It’s nice to see you too, Argo. Did you have a nice Christmas?” We shared a secret smile. I’d discovered something about Argo at Christmastime that would forever change the way I looked at him.

  “It was wonderful as always. You?”

  “Perfect.” My grin was filled with remembered pleasure. It had been perfect. Well...after it had been unspeakably ugly.

  “What can I do for you today?” Argo asked. I noticed that, unlike last time, he didn’t invite us in for tea and cookies. I was kind of sad about that. Along with a long list of other talents and accomplishments, Argo was a phenomenal baker.

  I could still taste the buttery perfection of his frosted sugar cookies on my tongue. My mouth watered, and I was forced to swallow before I could respond.

  Fortunately, Deg saved me from embarrassment. “We need to speak with you about The Guild again, I’m afraid.”

  Argo didn’t quite wince, but his lips tightened slightly. “I don’t know how much help I can be to you.”

  “I know you trust them, Argo...” I said, “and you’re loyal to Angelica.”

  “No. It’s not that. I’m afraid I’ve lost touch with the group.” He spread his hands. “You see, Angelica and I are no longer together.”

  “Oh.” I blinked in surprise. Why hadn’t she told us that when we’d talked to her? “She didn’t mention that.”

  He lifted dark eyebrows. “You spoke to her?”

  “We did.”

  “What’s happened?” Argo asked.

  “It seems our memory wipe after the Town Square incident didn’t fully take,” I told him. “A reporter at the Artifice Gazette is threatening to break a big story about magic in our midst.”

  Argo paled. “If he or she is basing the story on that event, we can assume it won’t be a flattering piece.”

  “Our thoughts exactly,” Deg said. “It goes without saying that we need to stop him.”

  “Who is this reporter?”

  “Malice Becksmart,” I told Argo. “And we believe he might be a Sensitive.”

  Argo’s eyes widened. “He’s not part of The Guild.”

  “Are you sure?” Deg asked.

  “I am. Before I entrusted knowledge of my lineage to Angelica, I insisted on meeting all of her associates.”

  “But they don’t go by their real names,” I said, frowning.

  He gave me a look of such pity, I flushed. Of course, with his connections in both the human and magical worlds, he didn’t need them to tell him their names.

  “He might not be part of the group,” Deg told the Elf, “but we’re afraid he’s working with Graham Cullpepper.”

  Argo sighed. “That’s unfortunate. Becksmart’s a nasty piece of work.” He motioned toward the interior of the penthouse. “Come, sit down. This will require some discussion.”

  THERE WEREN’T ANY FROSTED sugar cookies, but the assortment of tiny, buttery pies was every bit as delicious as the cookies.

  I sipped my tea and closed my eyes as flavor burst over my tongue. It was so delicious I almost forgot why we were there. A beat later, my host reminded me.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Cullpepper is a dark and troublesome character.”

  I swallowed the bite of chocolate pie in my mouth and wiped my fingers on my napkin. “Tollman said something about that. Though he wouldn’t give us any details,” I added, pulling a face.

  “Yes, the Angelic Code. Bothersome thing,” Argo said. He frowned over his delicate china teacup. “Culpepper’s a crook of the highest order. Always looking for an opportunity to put one over on someone. But his worst quality is by far the fact that he puts no value on human life.” Argo settled his cup into its saucer. “When I learned he was a Sensitive, I tried to warn Angelica, but she doesn’t see Cullpepper’s evil core.”

  Despite having broken up with his Sensitive girlfriend, it was clear that Argo’s inability to persuade her about Cullpepper still bothered him.

  “Has he used magic for nefarious purposes in the past?” Deg asked.

  “Most assuredly. Unfortunately, the fact that humans don’t recognize magic for what it is works in the favor of the unscrupulous magic user. Cullpepper isn’t one to reject that kind of gift. He’s a master manipulator and a thief without a conscience. I can’t prove it, but I’m fairly certain he’s killed with magic.”

  Deg and I shared a look. “Do you think he could be manipulating Becksmart to cause trouble for the magic-using community?”

  “That’s highly likely. But only if there’s something in it for him. You must be clear on one thing, LA. He does only what benefits him. Nothing less.”

  I stared at the last bite of my little pie, my appetite gone. “This is a mes
s.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, Argo,” Deg said. “Why did you support The Guild if you knew a man like that was running it?”

  “A fair question. I nearly didn’t. Of course, Angelica pleaded with me to see things her way, but I was within a hair of going to the council with my concerns.”

  “I wish you had,” I ventured quietly.

  His lips tightened in sudden pique, but he nodded. “You have a right to feel that way. It probably would have been best after all. But in an attempt to be fair to Angelica and the others, whom I can assure you are generally a kind and hopeful bunch...”

  I was pretty sure the people who’d been hurt in the Square would disagree with him on that assessment.

  “...I took a different path to assure he stayed on the straight and narrow.”

  “What was that?” Deg asked.

  “I have proof that he’s used magic against someone from your house, Mr. Kincaide.”

  Deg’s brows rose. “Really? Who?”

  Argo’s lips twitched. “The high priestess of your coven. The lovely and sweet-tempered Serena.”

  I choked on the tea I was sipping, spitting it across the space between us.

  Argo lifted a flawlessly manicured eyebrow and dabbed at the front of his perfectly tailored navy-blue pinstriped suit with a napkin. “Are you all right, LA?”

  I held up a hand, coughing violently. “I’ll be fine,” I eventually wheezed.

  “He used magic against Serena?” Deg asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

  Crossing his long legs, Argo sat back in his chair and grinned. “He did. To make things worse, it was a crime of a very personal nature. One which assured that his victim would never speak of it to others.”

  I felt my eyebrows climbing into my hairline. “Romantic?”

  “Of a sort, yes. Suffice it to say, High Priestess Serena wasn’t always quite so sour as she is today. I fear she’s never quite gotten over it.”

  “But if she’s aware...”

  “She isn’t. Not completely. She realizes she was played the fool. But she has no idea it was at the hands of a half-magic human.”

  “Jeezopete,” Deg breathed. “If she knew...”

  “Yes. They’d be naming a hurricane after her. Despite the fact that Illusion City is landlocked in the virtual center of the country.”

  I fought the urge to smile. I didn’t like Serena. Pretty much nobody did. But it wasn’t funny that she’d been hurt.

  Deg didn’t seem in the least amused. “Use of magic against a magic user is a capital offense. You should have gone to the council.”

  Argo’s amusement slid away. Something dark skittered through his gaze. “I did attempt it. Serena begged me not to bring it forward. After much argument, I bowed to her wishes. But Cullpepper doesn’t know that. He is fully aware of the consequences, however. Trust me when I tell you I’ve been monitoring him very closely.”

  I couldn’t help thinking about the ancient symbols Deg and I had seen on the walls of the hidden passage at the first Guild headquarters. Before it had been burned to the ground. I had a strong suspicion the Elf sitting across from us might have had something to do with those.

  My cell phone rang and I glanced at it. I recognized our resident Angel detective’s number. “It’s Tollman.” I accepted the call. “Did somebody dial 911?”

  He didn’t give me the chuckle I expected. “LA, you and Deg need to return to the newspaper. Right now.”

  I frowned, glancing at Deg. “Why? What’s up?”

  “What’s up is that Malice Becksmart is dead. And there are signs that magic was used to kill him.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  He was sitting at his desk, his eyes glassy and staring straight ahead. The reporter’s hands were flat on the desktop, the fingers splayed against the heavily marked-up blotter beneath them.

  Becksmart sat rigidly upright, his legs slightly spread beneath his desk and his feet flat. He looked as if someone had braced him there so he wouldn’t fall over.

  A pale gray aura shimmered around him, sparking in the light filtering through the room’s only window.

  Tollman was standing before that window, tension clearly showing in his profile. He stared out at the filthy snow cover beyond the glass, hands shoved into the pockets of his untidy slacks. The window overlooked the newspaper parking lot, and the snow on the ground had been stained in the soot of a hundred cars coming and going throughout the day.

  The Angel turned as Deg and I entered the office. He didn’t speak. Instead, he crossed muscular arms over his button-down-shirt-clad chest and looked down his long nose at us.

  The shirt of the day was light blue, wrinkled and unkempt as usual, tucked into charcoal slacks that had a rim of salty grime from the street along the cuffs.

  “Tollman,” Deg said as we moved into the room.

  The detective nodded at my partner then slid his gaze to me. I wiggled my fingers, already moving toward the corpse in the chair.

  “Do you think you can read his last minutes?” Tollman asked me.

  I blinked in surprise. “How did you...?”

  He shrugged. “I know a lot of things.”

  “Good,” Deg said. “Then you don’t need us. I’m sure you already know who did this.”

  “Hn,” Tollman grunted. “I do have some good news. Unless it’s masked really well, I don’t think a magic user killed him. I mean, a natural born magic user. The signature of the magic is weak, diluted with human soul.”

  That was both comforting and concerning. If it was a magic user, I was sure I could pull his last moments from him. If he was killed by a Sensitive, I just wasn’t sure.

  Tollman unfolded his arms and walked toward me, stopping at the end of Becksmart’s desk.

  I caught his gaze. “No promises.”

  “Just give it a try, LA.”

  Taking a deep breath, I reached out and placed one of my hands over the dead reporter’s hand, inwardly cringing at the cool, rubbery feel of his flesh.

  I closed my eyes, drawing the energy that sizzled in my core into my fingers and allowing it to ease into Becksmart’s flesh. I controlled the speed of its insertion, knowing that it would be easy to lose control if the energy waiting within the husk of his body was hostile or hungry.

  I looked for a spark of life that I could grasp. It was unusual for every bit of life energy to be evicted from the body immediately upon death. A small portion of magic usually remained for a while, a residual energy that I was able to tap into if I was lucky. That remainder was what I would use to read the deceased’s final moments.

  Unfortunately, I’d never tried to read a human soul. Because that was what the energy translated to in a human. What was a life force made of pure supernatural energy in a magic user, was something much more ethereal in a human. Something that went beyond magic and was tethered to the spiritual realm.

  I had no idea if my energy could even meld with that insubstantial force, let alone pull something out of it. When nothing immediately happened, I increased the energy, sending my explorative tentacles deeper. I probed more meticulously in my search for that spark of remaining energy.

  Rummaging around in there for several moments, I found nothing.

  Then suddenly, something changed. I touched a spark, seeing an internal flare of light as the energy pulsed into life, contracting and drawing away from my foreign power.

  I went very still, retracting the probing energy slightly so I didn’t cause Becksmart’s life force to retract again. I waited, expanding my sensors in an attempt to identify the tiny speck of energy. It was very different from what I was used to. Purer, less stark. Like a golden thread floating gently in a pool of mercury. I got the sense it would like to be set free. I needed to be very careful that I wasn’t the vehicle it used to gain that freedom.

  Aside from not knowing what residual effects that might have on me, I needed to read the energy before it fled the world for good.

  A hand touched my shoulder. “LA, are you all right?”

  I shook off Deg’s touch, frowning. On the outside edge of my awareness, I knew I was breathing really hard, and that sweat trickled down between my shoulder blades, but I still felt as if I had some level of control.