AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What is it?" Jake asked, all serious now.
Ben placed the box down on the worktable. "It looks like the kind that's usually used to contain magical artefacts. I thought it best not to open it." He would know. He was orphaned as a child and raised amongst witches. Not a happy childhood, from what I could tell. On the rare occasion a witch needed to be killed, he was usually the first to volunteer. Maybe he just had a death wish. Witches were more trouble than they were worth. Luckily they tended to avoid me.
I glanced at Jake. He nodded. None of us had magic, so there was little risk to us in opening it. Artefacts didn't tend to work by themselves.
Since there was a first time for everything, Jake opened the box carefully. Inside was a row of stones, all black but with streaks of various other colours. Two were round, two were oval-shaped and three were shaped like doughnuts. A couple were semi-precious stones.
"Wild guess: these contain magic of some kind," Jake said.
"More than likely," I agreed. There was probably a small fortune sitting inside that box. We wouldn't know how much until we had a witch look at them. "Kyle, take them to Rachel. See what she has to say about them." Rachel owned a small magic shop not far from here. She was about as reliable as a witch could be. I paid her well enough for that.
Jake snapped the box shut and handed it to Kyle. "Lucky thing we came here today. We probably put a stop to somebody's shenanigans."
I nodded. "Ben, keep searching the office and see what else you can find." If there was that much sitting out in the open, there might be more hidden away.
He nodded smartly. "Yes boss." He looked relieved I hadn't chosen him to take the artefacts to Rachel. Given his aversion to witches, I thought it better to keep him away from her. One or the other might otherwise end up dead. That would put me in a bad mood, and no one liked to see me like that.
"Does this feel weird to you too?" Jake asked.
"Being alone with you in a garage full of chopped up cars and people?" I asked. "It's pretty weird."
He flashed a brief smile, showing a dimple in one cheek. It would be better for everyone if he wasn't so fucking attractive.
"That wasn't what I meant," he said. "We knew Silas was dealing artefacts, but seven of them, right where we could find them?"
"You think someone set him up?" I asked. "He admitted what he did."
"I know," Jake said slowly. "But it has Alastair Dagen written all over it. If he was trying to provoke you, it worked."
"Silas wasn't the smartest paranormal in the city, but why would he die just to piss me off?" I drummed my fingers on my thigh.
"Why does anyone die to piss someone else off?" Jake asked rhetorically. "Presumably he has a family they threatened. There isn't anything the Onyx Ridge pack wouldn't do to get under your skin. Or your fur. Especially Dagen."
This used to be black wolf territory, before I took it over. The only thing more cranky and aggressive than a black wolf is a white one. I wouldn't let them get in the way of what I wanted. Dagen vowed revenge, but he had yet to be more than a flea that needed to be scratched off once in a while.
"Let him try," I said. "Sooner or later, he'll realise he can't win and he'll fuck off, his tail between his legs."
"I guess you're right," Jake said. He didn't look convinced.
"Of course I'm right," I said. "When am I not right?"
"Only when the other person is wrong," he said.
"Exactly." I nodded. There were many reasons why I needed him around, including to stroke my admittedly healthy ego. "I'll see you back at Crimson."
He hesitated. "I'll send Ben with you. He can come back here after."
"I can take care of myself," I reminded him.
"If Dagen is trying to start something, I don't want you out there alone," he said firmly. "Either I go with you or Ben does. Or you wait here while I call someone else to—"
"Fine." I threw up my hands. "Ben can play nursemaid if it makes you feel better. Don't forget who is the boss around here. I own this town."
"Yes, you do," he said. "Unless you get yourself killed."
"I have no intention of dying anytime soon," I said. But his worry was infectious. It had me on edge.
2
