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She’d been the first to arrive at the triple homicide in the Graveyard, a part of Five Bridges she’d only been to a handful of times.
Her corrupt boss, Tribunal Chief Donaldson, had ordered her to head out here or resign. She wasn’t a quitter, though the sweat on his forehead had told her she was in trouble the minute he’d come into her office. The three major cartels of Five Bridges owned one of Donaldson’s testicles. The dark spellcasters of Elegance territory held the other in a crushing grip. She wasn’t even sure she blamed Donaldson anymore. If you were high up in the administration and didn’t play ball, you got killed.
She picked her way carefully down the side of the ditch, avoiding chunks of blown-up cement, cactus and a helluvalot of rocks.
Her alter witch senses told her the girls had died within the past two hours. She also knew because of her unique gift that the ghosts were struggling to leave their bodies.
She didn’t know why her witchness leaned toward the deceased. But it had from the time she’d gotten stuck with the spellcaster gene and sentenced to live out her life in Five Bridges. She’d been here seven years and had strived to remain as human as possible by repressing her gifts.
Yet, the sight of the teens below made her wish she’d taken a different course. If she’d spent her nights developing her abilities, instead of ignoring them, maybe she’d be able to take Loghry on. But he was one of the most powerful spellcasters in Elegance and she was an infant by comparison.
Anger bloomed in her chest suddenly as she stared down at the young women. They would never breathe again, never fall in love and marry, never bear children. And all because of a psychopathic wizard who ran a vile sex racket that exploited teens.
Everyone knew who Loghry was, as well as the extent of his operation in Elegance. He didn’t go out in public often, being one of the rare monsters who lived a secluded life. She’d only seen him once herself a year ago. It had been July in the desert and despite the intense summer heat, he’d worn a black scarf around his neck, no doubt to hide the violet markings on his throat. An addiction to any of the flame drugs created a skin discoloration in the shape of flames, especially on the neck, sometimes rising onto the face.
When the pull of the girls’ struggle became an ache in Emma’s chest, she came to a decision. She would embrace what she’d avoided for so long. Simple witch spells or standard police work weren’t effective against Loghry and his kind. She needed power, the kind that came from being a fully engaged alter witch. From this moment forward, she meant to acquire as much power as she could.
She turned to Vaughn, who had made his way into the ditch as well and stood beside her once more. “Loghry is not going to win this time. I won’t let him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m not going to hold back anymore. I’m going to access who I am in this shitfest of a world. I should have done it years ago. Maybe if I had, these young women would still be alive.”
“Em, please don’t. You’re talking about a level of power the dark witches employ. I’ve felt how much potential you have. Bes
ides, I know what this means to you. I know how hard you’ve tried to hold onto your humanity.”
Emma’s heart heated up as she stared back at Vaughn. Was it possible he felt more for her than she thought? They’d had an amazing round of sex in his townhouse, but they’d also agreed not to repeat anything like it again.
Then, of course, he’d called her and they’d fallen into conversation like they’d always known each other. She’d come to cherish their time on the phone like a lifeline she’d grabbed in high seas. “Thanks for saying as much. It means a lot. All this time, I’ve held back developing my gifts for selfish reasons. I’ve been trying to hold onto something that doesn’t exist anymore, that hasn’t existed from the time I was slipped the alter witch serum. And I owe it to these girls to make a change.
“If I can become a force that will bring Loghry down, then I don’t care about anything else. Not after tonight. I’m done trying to use a rolled up newspaper to battle a hurricane.”
From the rim of the ditch above, one of the officers made a crack about ‘bloodsuckers’, the slur aimed at Vaughn.
She glanced up, surprised to see seven officers now, standing side-by-side and watching them. “Bastards. All those men are on the take.”
“Just ignore them.” He sounded angry.
She met his gaze once more. “I’m going to fight Loghry on his own terms. There’s no other way to do this. So, please don’t interfere.”
“And there’s nothing I can say?”
“I’m afraid not.”
For a moment, though, time slowed as she looked at Vaughn. She’d wanted to see him again so badly after she’d been with him the night of the rescue.
He was an incredibly handsome man, rugged looking with his thick black hair cropped close on the sides and tattoos showing through on his skin. He had straight black brows, drawn tight together in concern and gray eyes that melted her into a puddle. His cheeks were strong and angled to a firm jaw. His lips were full and sensual and had stolen her last reservation when he’d kissed her outside the bar.
Having sex with him had been an incredible, healing experience.
Yet now she was here.
She gave herself a mental shake and turned back to the girls. She didn’t wait for Vaughn to say anything else. Instead, she extended her arms slightly and held her hands palms up.
As she’d never done before, she opened herself up to her spellcaster power. She focused her energy and thoughts on the core of her being, on all that she was as an alter witch.
A sensation like electricity whipped through her, awakening her latent abilities. To her surprise, she found the seat of her power with no trouble at all. And contrary to all expectation, everything about the moment felt sacred and good, not corrupt like she’d feared.
