“What do you want?” he asked, and then my stomach growled. It had been a while since I had eaten anything. Too long.
“Black coffee, and something to eat, please. Something with meat if they have it,” I answered and looked around the little cafe. It was quiet, just another couple sitting across the room. Not that Asher and I were a couple. Just two people in a cafe waiting for a girl who was almost murdered to get pumped full of blood. No big deal.
Asher came back shortly with two cups of coffee, and a breakfast sandwich for me.
“Thank you. What do I owe you?” I went to pull out my wallet from my back pocket, but he waved it off. I wasn’t the type of girl to fight for the bill when it came to men. Some didn’t even try to pay for a meal, so when they did, I’d accept it.
We were both silent as I ate, and he drank his coffee. I felt my nerves start to ease with every bite.
“You’ve seen it before, haven’t you?” Asher decided to break that silence with a sledge hammer.
“Yep. Once, about twelve years ago, there was a serial killer that had the same M.O. He or she would cut little slices about the body, and then depending on the person, would carve either two slits between their shoulder blades or two smaller slices on their forehead. There were fifteen murders, then it all stopped. No one knows who it was or why.” I didn’t mention that my parents were the last victims.
“So, the killer is back,” he said in a matter-of-fact way. I nodded. We didn’t know for sure, but it seemed likely. But why now?
“You’ll catch him.” Asher spoke with confidence. I didn’t know what to say to it. I’d never given up trying to solve my parents’ murder, and the others. But it was a very cold case. Absolutely no leads. The victims seemed completely random.
“So, what’s the deal with your powers?” I needed a subject change, and I had never gotten the scoop on his powers. I had been too anxious to get away from him last time—I didn’t care how he changed me back, I just wanted out.
“Magic, not powers,” he corrected and drank some coffee. His eyes staying glued to mine from over the rim of the cup. They were challenging me somehow, I just couldn’t figure out why my body suddenly turned warm with his stare.
“Phillip said what we have is a gift from the Greek gods,” I retorted, and he grinned.
“I’m not like you guys. My magic comes from a different place. It’s wild magic, that stems from the energies all around us. Everything has an energy to it; my people are able to wield that energy. Mold it for our needs. Of course, there are some rules and stipulations. Magic for selfish gain is a no-no, can’t bring back the dead, that kind of thing. Your transformation was natural since you are a human who can change. I can’t turn a cat that is actually a cat into a human.” He laughed to himself, probably thinking about changing a cat to a human. Wild magic. So many interesting revelations today.
“So, you’re like a witch?” I was curious; this was something I hadn’t thought was real until now.
“I don’t like being call a witch, or even a warlock. But yeah, essentially what you most likely would associate us with are white witches. Most are nature freaks that want good for mankind, to keep the bloodlines going and be a nice little family.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but his grin was gone. There was more to his words than he was letting on. But he didn’t push me, so I didn’t push him.
“What made a beautiful girl like you become a detective?” It was his turn to switch subjects on me, apparently. I felt a little flutter in my stomach, hearing him speak. That breakfast sandwich must be causing issues with my insides.
“I have natural protective instincts, thanks to all the animals in me, and wanted to help save people. Bring the wrongdoers to justice.” Which reminded me, I needed to hunt down those two men who took Janie and bring them in. They’d match her descriptions, of course, and she’d testify they were her kidnappers. Case closed.
“A warrior woman. I like it.” He was looking at me like he’d love nothing more than to lean across the table and give me a kiss. The vibes that were coming off him were absolutely magnetic.
“You feel it, too, don’t you?” he asked. The grin was back and lighting up his face.
“The urge to vomit when you look at me that way?”
“What way am I looking at you, exactly?” He was amused by my feigned indifference.
“Like you want to kiss me and expect me to kiss you back.” I gave him my best resting bitch face, showing him that I was not affected by that look.
“I see. You do understand that I can not only manipulate energy, but I can see it, as well, right? And your energy is digging my energy.”
Chapter Nine
Asher
She did a good job of hiding her attraction to me. If it wasn’t for my extra sense to see and feel the energies around me, I would have believed her. Everything about her, from the badass outfit of leather and boots, and the face that said she’d bite if touched, that said she wasn’t interested. But I’d felt that shock between us when we kissed. That shock was no coincidence.
“Sounds like you’re seeing things. Maybe the coffee was poisoned,” she bit back, with that cool mask of indifference. I could honestly say I hadn’t had this much fun around a woman in a long time. She was tough and didn’t need a man. Or so she thought.
“Could be. I am having thoughts of playing a naughty game of cops and robbers with a purring detective.” I watched that mask of hers fall straight off with the realization that she’d been purring like a kitten. I hadn’t wanted to point it out until now, enjoying that she was unaware to her own body’s response to me. She might not feel that her powers had chosen me. Those animals of hers liked me very much.
“The sandwich was very good.” She tried to recover, but we both knew the truth. Somewhere in there, she was feeling something toward me. Maybe lust? Maybe something more?
There’s this story with my people about mates. We are born with a combination of all the energies of earth inside us, unlike the normal energies of man. It’s what gives us the power to control the wild magic. Like everyone else, we try to find that special person who we want to spend the rest of our lives with, but because our energies are vastly different, a bond is never created.
It’s not common to find someone with as much energy inside them as us, and many of my people settle for someone without ever finding it, marrying simply for lust or to keep the bloodlines going.
That shock that happened between us was a clash of energies, hers battling mine for dominance. Her powers were strong, and she wielded the energy of all creatures inside her. Enough to rival mine. Now a subtle current flowed between us, the more we are around each other the more apparent it will become. She was my equal, and I had no issues with it at all. Her attitude was entertaining for me, and only made me want to push her buttons more, to get emotions out of her that she probably never let anyone see.
“Maybe they should use that in their marketing for the food. ‘It’s purr-worthy.’”
“Maybe they should, since that’s what happened.” She was staring me right in the face, her poker face on point. I would have continued our conversation, but Esme caught my attention and waved us over.
“Time to go, pussycat.” We stood at the same time and she walked off toward Esme without another word to me.
Lisa was doing better, and while she would need to stay another day after having lost so much blood, she was awake and wanted to talk to us. Esme got paged and had to go, but she promised that Lisa would continue to be taken care of and she’d be back in an hour to check on her.
“Thank you for saving me.” Lisa’s voice was hoarse and didn’t sound good. But who was I to say how she was supposed to sound after everything that happened?