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  Rise and Fall

  A.L. Kessler

  Copyright © [Year of First Publication] by [Author or Pen Name]

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  1. CHAPTER ONE

  2. CHAPTER TWO

  3. CHAPTER THREE

  4. CHAPTER FOUR

  5. CHAPTER FIVE

  6. CHAPTER SIX

  7. CHAPTER SEVEN

  8. CHAPTER EIGHT

  9. CHAPTER NINE

  10. CHAPTER TEN

  11. CHAPTER ELEVEN

  12. CHAPTER TWELVE

  13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  16. Author Note

  About Author

  Also By

  To my readers: thanks for joining me on this journey

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to everyone who has read and supported me through the writing of the Here Witchy Witchy series. To Jasmyn who assured me I wouldn't be causing a riot with this book. To Mia who's always cheering me on. Tothe sprint group who helped me get through the tough parts of this book. To the secret reader's group who has assured me there is no need to hide on release day and of course, to my husband who provides me with endless coffee and doesn't question why I cried at my own book. I'll see you all on the other side.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I stared at Hannah through the red and purple circle surrounding me, waiting to see what her next attack would be. The past two months had been exhausting. The amount of magic I had to use each night made my body ache. My neck and wrists burned from repeated feedings from Samuel, but I used that pain to move forward.

  I smiled as Hannah wiped the blood from her cheek.

  “You’re getting better, Abigail,” she said. “Last week you couldn’t get close to me.”

  What she didn’t know was that she was basically training me to kill her, and once I did, Samuel would be easier to take care of. As if on cue, Samuel’s voice entered my head.

  “Abigail…”

  I tried to force the distraction out with magic, but unfortunately for me, his voice seemed to be immune to it. Another distraction for Hannah to get a shot in.

  My circle faltered. Hannah’s magic sliced right through it, cutting my shoulder. I cried out and whipped at her with my magic. It flashed red and purple as it bit into her wrist. It circled around it, and I pulled it to the ground. She cussed at me in Italian before my body suddenly froze and my magic died.

  I couldn’t breathe. This was the one trick I hadn’t figured out how to get past yet. Her ability to bind someone temporarily. I hated it. I felt helpless every time she used it. She ended every sparring match this week with it.

  She walked to me and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her. “You made me bleed.”

  I couldn’t answer. Her magic wouldn’t let me, but I knew the smug look was on my face. I’d wounded her. Twice.

  The door to the ballroom opened, but I didn’t dare move my eyes from Hannah. She twirled a loose piece of my dark hair. I studied her. Her normally carefully done black hair looked frazzled and out of place from our fight and it stood out against her almost porcelain pale skin. She lifted her lips into a cruel smile, and I wanted nothing more than to kill her right there.

  “Hannah, you need to let her go.” Levi’s voice was the last I expected, but I was thankful he was there to keep Hannah from hurting me.

  Hannah’s magic flooded out of me, and I took a deep breath before I turned to Levi. Hannah gave a small curtsy, and I bowed my head.

  “My King, Abigail and I were simply sparring like we do every night.” Her voice was sickeningly sweet. She and Samuel had made a show of giving Levi fake respect.

  Levi walked over to me and helped me up. “Abigail, your phone has been going off for the last hour.”

  Work saving the night. Perfect. “Okay, I’ll go see what’s going on.” I glanced over my shoulder as I walked out. “Thanks for the workout, Hannah.”

  She sneered at me as the doors closed behind Levi and me.

  Levi kept a hand on my back, guiding me to my room. There was no doubt in my mind that he didn’t miss the fine shake in my body as I moved. Exhaustion was already creeping through me, and I was actually looking forward to the few hours of sleep I got before heading into the office. Levi and I stopped at my room, and he handed me my phone.

  “I wasn’t lying when I said your phone kept going off, but I also saw that Hannah was wearing you out.”

  I glanced at my phone and saw the missed messages from Detective Mason and Liz Jefferson. “Every night gets harder and harder. I thought it’d be easier as I learned, but it’s not.”

  “They want to keep you wore out. I don’t know why, but they do. See what Mason needs and sleep when you can.” He walked away, and I gazed longingly at my bed. I didn’t even dare sit on it for fear that I would fall asleep. I called Detective Mason back first.

  “Agent Collins, it usually doesn’t take this long for you to get back to me.” His gruff voice came over the phone and I let out a sigh. “Sorry I was… on a run.”

  Detective Mason wasn’t in on Samuel and Hannah’s visit, and even if he was, I wouldn’t have told him the deal they forced me into. Three months of training under them. Either they were trying to kill me by exhaustion, or they hoped I would join them in the end. Either way, I thought they seriously underestimated my stubbornness.

  “You didn’t take your phone?”

  “I forgot it. Sorry, I won’t let it happen again. What did you need?” I tried not to sound grumpy. The truth was, I didn’t take my phone into the ballroom with me because I’d already broken two during my time with Hannah.

  He cleared his throat as if swallowing and changing his mind about what he was going to say next. “We have a body down in the 8th Street shopping center. I need you and Liz down here. I already called her, and she’s on her way. How soon can you get there?”

  “I’m at the mansion, but I’ll have Mario pop me down there. It’ll be the fastest way to do it. Let me call Liz and then I’ll meet you both there.” I hung up and gave my bed one last look. “Guess I won’t be seeing sleep today.”

  I changed out of my clothes and into something less bloodstained while I called Liz.

  “Special Agent Collins.”

  Oh boy, either I was in trouble, or she was in front of people she felt needed to see the professional side of her.

  “I know, I’m sorry. Mason already told me, and I wanted to let you know that I’m going to have Mario take me there.”

  “Good, we can catch up on everything else after we look at the body. I’m assuming you’ll need a ride back to the office?”

  I snorted and pulled on a clean shirt. “At the least. I might go home for a bit just for some downtime.”

  And time away from the vampires. “But we’ll start with the office.”

  Mario appeared with me at the 8th Street Shopping Center. The Italian vampire looked over the crowd of gawkers that had already gathered by the police line, and he raised his lip in disgust. “Nothing like a death to bring the onlookers.”

  I shrugged. “It comes with the territory. Liz will be here, so you can head back to the mansion.”

  “Levi’s instructions state you must be—”

  “With a guard at all times, yada, yada, yada. Liz will be here,” I said, a little more forcefully than needed. “Seriously Mario, I’ll be fine.”

  He was about to say something else, and then he let out a curse and disappeared. I rolled my eyes. Ho
nestly, the biggest threat was back at the mansion. I was probably safe working on a PIB case. I made my way through the crowd, using my badge to get people to move out of my way, and then I ducked below the PIB crime tape and walked toward the shop where all the officers were standing.

  Detective Mason walked up to me. His hair was grayer than it was a few months ago and he looked about as tired as I felt. “Agent Collins.”

  “Detective Mason.” I nodded. “Sorry about the delay.”

  “You look like shit, Collins.” He chuckled a little. “Come on in.”

  I tried not to take his comment personally, but it was probably true. I hadn’t run a brush through my hair before I left. I at least changed into PIB clothes before I had Mario bring me. And I was so damn tired. I followed him into the store and stopped as I saw a person spread out on the floor, looking way too pale. My stomach churned when I realized she was missing her fingernails. Her wrists looked like some type of cuffs had bit into her skin, leaving wounds around them. I imagined she probably earned those wounds by fighting against her restraints. My eyes wandered up the body, marred with cuts and slices all over as if someone wanted to prolong the suffering. Then, on the woman’s right shoulder, was a rune carved into her. I locked my jaw because it was one that I learned from Hannah. It kept death away. It kept the person awake and aware of the torture, even if their body and mind wanted to give in.

  Fuck.

  “Agent Collins?” Mason prompted.

  “I know the rune,” I muttered, and bent down to look closer at the body. There wasn’t enough blood under her for them to have tortured her here, which made me wonder where they did it. If this were Hannah, it would give me enough to go after her as PIB and not as the Princess of Vampires, therefore not breaking any rules. The thought brought a smile to my face, and I was sure it wasn’t nice.

  “Collins, why are you smiling?” This from Liz, who stepped in front of me.

  I looked up at her, and the smile disappeared. “Sorry, I had an entertaining thought.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Care to share?”

  “Not here. Maybe later though.” I stood and shrugged. “One victim, female, looks to be about thirty years old. They didn’t kill her here, not enough blood. One rune carved into her shoulder. It’s a black magic rune, so this is our department.” I tried to put my professional voice on.

  Liz looked at me. “Not a lot we can do about it from here. We’ll need information on the rune and an autopsy on the body.”

  “I’ll get the crews in here and get the body to Jason. He’ll be in contact.” Mason stepped away and pulled his phone out.

  I stripped my gloves off and tossed them in a biohazard bag nearby. Liz did the same and followed me to the parking lot.

  “I need a ride to the office.”

  Liz nodded. “I know.” She looked me up and down. “I’m not even sure I’d trust you behind the wheel right now.”

  I waved her off and headed toward her SUV. “I don’t need a lecture on rest.”

  “You’re right. What you need is some fucking sleep.”

  “Coffee,” I corrected. “What I need is some fucking coffee.” I climbed into the SUV’s passenger side and buckled up.

  Liz got behind the wheel and looked over at me. “Close your eyes on the way to the office. I promise we’ll stop by the drive through for coffee before we get there.”

  But if I closed my eyes, I was going to see Samuel. I was going to dream about his power coursing through me and screwing everything up. I didn’t tell her that though, I just gave a small nod and leaned my head against the window. I kept my eyes open with every intention of staying awake, but the car ended up swaying me to sleep.

  I woke with a jump when Liz shook me. She’d hit the spot that Hannah had gotten me earlier, and it hadn’t felt good. Liz looked at her hand, then showed it to me. Blood dotted her skin, and I looked at my shirt. Fuck, the wound had reopened. Great.

  “Sorry, I should have patched it up before I left. It wasn’t bleeding when I got out of the shower. I assumed it had healed.” I’d been healing quicker than a witch as of late. Vampire blood, Levi claimed, and it was getting to a point that I couldn’t deny it.

  Liz sighed and got out of the SUV. I grabbed the cup of coffee that was in the cup holder and followed her to the office. “Hannah is killing you slowly.”

  “I’m nowhere near death,” I promised. “I was just stupid and didn’t patch the cut.”

  She glanced back at me, and I shrugged my shoulder. “I was in a hurry to get to the crime scene and out of the mansion.”

  I paused for a moment and watched as the sun came over the horizon. I welcomed the warmth and closed my eyes. I felt a little better after my nap, and the sun felt good against my skin.

  “You muttered about her in your sleep.” Liz stepped up next to me. “I can’t believe Levi is letting them run you that ragged.”

  I snorted. “He fears Samuel, and he fears breaking the truce they are under. That would give Samuel a reason to kill me.”

  “And you?”

  “Forced to play by the rules, but you have no idea how much I want to stab her in the face.” I turned and walked into the office. We were both silent as we waved to Mandy at the front desk. We got to my office, and I paused as I found a note on my door.

  “Cadets and Agent coming to speak with you today, answer your damn phone. -Mandy”

  Liz snorted. “Looks like Mandy is also tired of getting your voicemail.”

  “I’ll start having Levi answer every call or something. I’ve broken two phones already. I don’t want to break a third one.” I swiped my key card and opened the door to the office.

  The flamingo was still facing out the window, at Agent O’Donald’s request. He refused to come into my office because flamingos scared him. Yes, even the plastic lawn ones.

  The creepy vampire doll was still sitting on the desk. It had my curly dark hair and wore a pretty velvet dress, and had dainty fangs painted on its lips. I’d bought it on a case when Simon and I had been pretending to be customers at the store. Now it held a protection spell for my office. It was a nice thing to have.

  I sat down at my desk and sipped my coffee. “That rune is one Hannah uses.”

  Liz choked on her coffee. “Has she used it on you?”

  “No, it would count against the treaty. It would mean she had intent to harm me beyond my limits.”

  Liz dug in one of my drawers, and I was too tired to even argue with her. I knew she was looking for the first aid kit. We’d started keeping one in every office a few months ago. She finally found it. “Pull your sleeve up.”

  I rolled my eyes and pulled it up and let her see the slice. “It’ll scab up before lunch.”

  “Yes, but it’s bleeding everywhere,” she muttered as she pushed a piece of gauze onto my arm and taped it into place. “Magic?”

  “Yeah, Samuel distracted me. My magic isn’t keeping him out of my head anymore. I can’t cleanse him out either without him knowing that we know how to do that.”

  She finished and put the kit back. “And what is the problem with that?”

  “I’m worried he’ll find some other way to be in my head all the time,” I said honestly. “I still need to break Hannah’s magical hold, too. If I can break that, then the moment the treaty is over, I can kill her.” I locked my jaw and imagined how good it would feel not having to stare her down every day.

  Liz took the chair on the other side of my desk. “Back to the wound. Work first. I’m going to ask around about that spell. I have a feeling Oliver could help, but…”

  “He’s still MIA with Melisandra,” I muttered. “I can’t even get a phone call or a text to him.” I took another sip of coffee. “Yes, the rune, if it turns out to be Hannah, we can send an executioner out for her.”

  Liz chuckled. “As much as I’d like that, I’d like to do this the right way, so we bring the right person in.”

  “I know, I’m just hopeful.” I
shrugged.

  “Don’t let it cloud your judgment.”

  I waved a hand in front of my face. “I won’t. There’s not much I can do other than search the database to see if another case had a similar rune. When Jason gets back with the time and cause of death, we’ll have some more to go on.”

  “And the victim’s identity.” Liz sighed and stood. “Okay, you work on that.” I stood and walked out with her.

  “You need to make sure you get some rest, even if it’s just a nap in the office.” She turned to look at me when we got into the hallway.

  I shrugged. “I’ll try. I’m not sleeping well when I do sleep. It’s like he’s always there, waiting. Whispering.”

  She frowned. “Whispering what, Abby?”

  The elevator dinged, and I looked over at it to see an agent and two younger women walking toward us.

  “What can we do for you ladies?” Liz asked when they came close enough.

  “Special Agent Collins is expecting us.” The blonde-haired agent tugged on her jacket a little.

  I studied her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was talking about, then it came to me. “Oh, the note on my door. It said that someone from the academy was coming down to speak to me. Sorry, it’s been a long day already. Please come in.” I opened the door for them, and they stepped in. “I’ll let you know what I find, Liz.”

  Liz nodded and disappeared down the hall, leaving me alone with my guests. I walked in and sat down in my chair.

  The agent sat down in the extra chair while the two cadets stood behind her.

  “Sorry, all the note said was that you’d be stopping by. We had a murder dealing with black magic this morning, so I’m not really on top of my game.”

  The agent nodded. “We’re sorry to interrupt your work day. I have tasked these cadets with solving a case on campus.”

  I raised a brow. “What kind of case? The last case on campus resulted in a few buildings exploding.”

  “Not that serious. I’ll let the girls talk to you.”