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“Interesting,” he said. It was all he could say. A cop talking about magical anomalies would draw the wrong kind of attention. That part of our investigation would have to wait till later.
“I can send you some photos once I get a better look,” Shado offered, drawing my attention back to the body.
I smiled at her. “That’d be great.”
“Yeah.” Jackson cleared his throat. “But please, keep that between the three of us.”
“It’s not my first rodeo, Detective.” Shado glared at him.
“Mine, either,” he said. “Let me know as soon as you have the report ready.”
“Of course,” she said. Shado was under the impression that Jackson had cheated on me. Which would never have happened, but I wasn’t going to correct her. It was easier than listening to her ask me endless questions about what really happened.
I flexed my hands at my sides until my fingers burned. “I’m going to try something.”
“What?” Jackson and Shado asked together.
I shook my head and focused on the magic buzzing under my skin, crouching beside Nadia. Something in my gut told me there was more to see around her body. I twisted my fingers through the air, between my knees, and exerted my will beyond the edges of my physical body. It wasn’t a spell exactly, but it would give me an idea of what kind of power lurked behind the markings on Nadia’s skin.
To the outside observer, I appeared like someone staring off into space. But I felt my pupils expand, and my vision shifted. The world turned a mottled shade of gray, and multicolored lines of energy threaded through the air in front of my nose.
Angry red and black strings tangled around Nadia’s body. I brushed one with my index finger and pain shot up my arm into my neck. I gasped.
“Rebekah?” Jackson knelt beside me. “Are you okay?”
I exhaled, “Yeah.”
Every time I’d done the spell in the past it stung. Typically, that pain faded, but not this time. I pushed my will harder against the magic in front of me and pain burned along my spine, radiating out into my arms and legs. My hands shook violently, and my vision started to blur.
“Bex, stop,” Jackson demanded, dropping his hand down onto my shoulder. I shifted to pull away and his index finger brushed my neck. I gasped, and the spell snapped. The sensation of his skin against mine was like a taser shock. I leapt to my feet and took a giant step back away from him and the body.
Jackson reached out to steady me, but I threw my hands up warding him off. “No, don’t touch me. I…I need some air.”
I turned on my heel and darted away between the crypts. Jackson and Shado both called after me, but I ignored them, running deeper into the cemetery.
My heart vibrated against my ribs with every step, but I kept going until my head spun and I staggered into a stone wall. I pressed my back against it and slid to the ground, hyperventilating.
Jackson filled every corner of my mind. My nose was full of his scent, and my skin crawled with want. I craved his touch, but I couldn’t touch him. The moment I did, I’d see him die again. I’d see his blood all over that room, all over my hands. That vision haunted my dreams every night. I knew I’d be the one to kill him if we stayed together, and that was enough. It was safer for us both if I kept my distance.
2
A Study in Avoidance
It wasn’t the first panic attack I’d had in my life. My mental state was volatile on a good day. The magic in my veins liked to wreak havoc on my nervous system. Its pulse under my skin would push and push until I gave in and watched Jackson die all over again.
The only tricks I knew to make it stop were drinking, pain, and meditation. I didn’t have time for a normal long meditation, and I’d left my flask at home, so that meant I’d need pain, but the only thing close enough for me to reach was a rock.
Grabbing it with one hand, I plucked my cellphone out of my back pocket. I tapped the screen once, and nothing happened. I tapped it again and again. It took five tries before I realized my gloves were still on, hindering the process. I could barely breathe, let alone think straight. The soft black leather may have kept my hands safe from things touching me, but it also prevented me from accidently or in this case purposefully touching other things.
I dropped the phone into my lap and ripped them off with my teeth. My hands shook, but I found one of the hundred or so meditation tracks I had downloaded, pulled my wireless earbuds from my back pocket and shoved them into my ears. I flipped the rock over to its sharpest side, inhaled a deep breath and pressed my hand down against its jagged surface as hard as I could.
I closed my eyes and the long notes of a Tibetan singing bowl swelled in my ears. It took a minute, but my breathing slowed, and my heart rate fell back into a normal rhythm.
Inhale…one…two…three…exhale…one…two…three…
I was still counting each inhale and exhale when something tapped my foot. I jumped and ripped the music from my ears. “What the—”
Jackson stood in front of me, eyes wide. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
