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  “This is Agent Collins. You need to go on lockdown. Please tell me you have provisions in place for vampires popping in?”

  “We don’t. Tell me what I need to do,” the nurse said.

  “You need to move Cynthia Moll. I’ll be sending a vampire name Mario out to help you. He’s familiar with the case, and you can trust him.” Assuming I could get a hold of Mario. “And I’ll be sending a PIB containment team. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hung up and looked at Loraine. “You never bothered to check if she was still there?”

  She shook her head. “I buried my child.”

  “I have a feeling that you buried a doll.” I dialed Mario, and it didn’t even ring once before he answered.

  “Where are you?”

  “No idea, check the tracker on my phone and send Levi to me. You go to the Tree Leaf Grove Mental Hospital and protect Cynthia Moll. Now.” I hung up not giving him an option.

  Loraine was just staring at me, watching as I went through my motions. “I want to see my child.”

  “I can’t take you there right now.”

  “They’ll lock me up and won’t let me see her. She deserves to know why I wasn’t there.”

  The child deserved that at the very least. “I have to make sure she’s safe first, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  Levi suddenly appeared and looked from me to Loraine back to me.

  “I’m fine, promise. I need you to take me back to the crime scene with Loraine.”

  “You sent Mario to handle Moll?” Levi held his hands out, one toward me and one toward Loraine who was holding the doll. I realized that Drake had used the doll and the image of a child to make me think that Loraine was truly behind everything. He had been trying to scare me away from looking into his family because he knew I’d discover Cynthia.

  “I did. I’m hoping to get there before Mario does something he may regret.” I took Levi’s hand, and so did Loraine.

  The world faded away, and then we found ourselves standing back at the burnt house. I took my cuffs off my belt and put them on Loraine.

  “You’re under arrest for the murders of Lark Creets, Carmen Jones, and Karen Lowe. You’re also under arrest on suspicion of using magic to aid in murder.”

  I heard her sob a little bit when an officer approached us. “This officer will read you the rest of your rights.”

  I stepped away and Levi put a hand on my shoulder. “How did you manage not to be killed?”

  “Believe it or not, I talked my way out. Drake is sporting two bullet holes though, and I have a feeling a lot more damage if we don’t get to Mario.” I shook my head. “This case…it’s not like the others.”

  Levi laughed. “No long list of suspects. No interrogations. No thrill of the hunt?”

  “Something like that.” I nodded. “I need to check in with Liz real quick and let her know that I’m going after Drake.”

  “Are you going to take the Hummer or do you want me to take you there?”

  Liz had been the one who drove. “Let me check in with Liz, and I’ll have you take me.”

  He nodded and motioned to the mess of forensics and cops. Liz stood talking to Mason, her arms crossed and brow creased.

  “Agent Collins.” She nodded as I stepped up. “I was just telling Detective Mason that I wasn’t sure how this was all connecting.”

  I sighed. “I’ve got the connection; it boils down to the fact that the Moll bloodline is very powerful and known for coming into their magic early. This can drive someone insane. Drake Moll was changed by a vampire for his ability to work with Life Magic, that drove him more insane than his magic already had. He manipulated his daughter into helping him create living dolls for people who wanted them. Recently, she started killing mothers she felt abandoned their children because she thought her daughter was dead.”

  Liz raised a brow. “Interesting, where’s Loraine now?”

  “In custody. I’m going after Drake now with the help of the local vampires. I wasn’t able to match magic to magic with Loraine, but I was able to talk her down. Drake, he’s insane. I put two bullets in him already, and he was still coming after me.”

  “Vampire back up, smart. I’ll see you back at the office?”

  I snorted. “I’ll have paperwork to file so of course.”

  Mason shook his head. “Life Magic, Black Magic, explosions, Abby why aren’t your cases ever normal.”

  “Because I’m PIB, duh.” I grinned and started walking back to Levi. I gave Mason and Liz a little wave as I walked off.

  Levi put his hand on my shoulder. “Ready?”

  “No, because I have no idea what we’re walking into, and honestly, I’m really tired of traveling vampire style.”

  “You’re going to have to get used it.” And once again, the world around us disappeared.

  Levi and I appeared in front of Tree Leaf Grove to see a few cops and Mario standing there. Mario bowed his head to me. “The girl is safe; there’s no sign of Drake yet.”

  “Where the hell have you been? You had hold of my wrist when we disappeared.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did you leave me there on purpose?”

  He shook his head. “My intended destination was Levi’s mansion, but Drake was just a bit faster than I was, and his destination for you won out, leaving me at the mansion without you. Wherever you were, it blocked your location from the cell phone tracking.”

  “Creepy steel basement, found our murder weapon. Great fun. Now, while we’re waiting for Drake to turn up, I need to know who the hell gave you the order to make him.”

  Mario looked at Levi, and I think it was the first time I’d actually seen him look to Levi for permission instead of the other way around. “Go ahead.”

  “Keira and her…our maker.”

  The creepy dolls for her suddenly made sense. “You didn’t think I should have known this earlier? That both cases were connected?”

  “There haven’t been any other victims from her since she disappeared, there’s hardly a case there.”

  I shook my head and marched toward the building. I was tired of the vampires hiding information from me that could have changed the cases. I could have turned Drake on Keira if I had had the chance. Just like I turned Loraine against Drake. Sometimes it was just better to outsmart than overpower your enemy.

  I showed the officer at the door my badge, and he let me in without an issue. The nurse from before was standing there with Cynthia. “I thought I told you to move her.”

  “There’s no place that she can go without her magic going haywire. I thought it best that she stay here and make sure that everyone was safe.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. “Okay, I’m sorry, it’s been a long night. Cynthia, can we talk?”

  She nodded. “Something is going on, and they won’t tell me what.”

  I sat down so that I was at her eye level. “Someone told your mother that you were dead, that’s why she hasn’t come to visit.”

  She squeezed the doll a little tighter. “Who told her that I was dead?”

  “Your grandfather. They buried a doll version of you, and your mother, blinded by her grief, didn’t notice.” I touched her shoulder gently. “She loves you very much.”

  Cynthia looked down. “And you told her I was still alive?”

  “I did. Your grandfather disappeared, and I was worried he was going to come here to hurt you. That’s why I had them put the place on lockdown and why all those scary people with guns are outside.”

  She hugged the doll until she shook. “Grandpa would never hurt me.”

  That’s what I wanted to believe as well, but I couldn’t because he’d lost his fucking mind. I couldn’t tell her that though. “I really hope not, but a little bit of extra caution never hurts.”

  “You’re lying to me, Agent Collins.” There was that tone again that made me feel like she was older than she should have been.”

  I slowly shook my head. “Cynthia, I have nothing to gain from lying to you.�
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  “My mother couldn’t handle me; she tried to kill me.” Something flashed in her eyes. “My grandfather saved my life at the last minute. Tying my soul to my body, using life magic to keep my magic within me so that I could live.”

  I looked at the nurse who was backing away slowly. My mind went through the details I had.

  I buried my baby.

  Cynthia’s body refusing to age.

  A bloodline of insane witches and warlocks.

  I assumed that the body had been a doll. I needed to know if Loraine actually saw them bury the body.

  “You’re starting to see your mistakes, Agent Collins. My mother, she’s like me. That’s why we’re crazy. It’s not the bloodline. Grandpa…he was supposed to be like that too, but my father trapped him in a burning house trying to kill him, but he escaped and was saved by a vampire named Mario.”

  Magic started to build around me, and I was wondering if I could bring myself to fight a seven-year-old child.

  I threw up a circle around myself before her magic exploded around us. It hit my circle with an audible thunk, and the blow vibrated through me as it hit my magic. Luckily it didn’t seem like she could break through my circle.

  “Cynthia, I’m trying to help you here. So far everyone has just lied to me.”

  She laughed. “Of course we have, we’re trying to protect ourselves.”

  “I have your mother in custody.” I met her gaze. “Magical cuffs, containment van, special cell, so she can’t work magic or escape. You want to see her again?”

  “No, the bitch tried to kill me,” she snarled. “Because she thought I was going to be a monster like her. My magic was too much for her to handle.”

  I couldn’t imagine what went through a mother’s mind when they thought death for their child would be better than anything else, but looking at the terrifying child in front of me, I was starting to understand why Loraine would think she was a monster.

  I let my circle down, and she stared at me. “There are people who can help you.”

  “I’m being kept alive by magic; do you really think people will help me?” She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t have to eat like a normal person, sleep, nothing; I’m just a soul trap in a body. Eventually, the body will wear down.”

  Her magic faded around me, and she sat on the couch and put her head in her hands. “Grandpa says he’s still perfecting moving souls to the dolls.”

  So that was the true motive. “That’s not how life magic is supposed to work. I’ve seen it done before; you should be perfectly healthy, functioning.”

  “Something went wrong.” She shook her head. “Not a strong enough sacrifice, something interrupting the spell.” She glanced up at me. “No true intentions.”

  It was a very complicated spell. Human sacrifices were best, but I’d seen a lot done with just some blood. But the bigger the task, the bigger the sacrifice that was needed.

  “What do you want?”

  “Does it matter?” She looked up at me. “Can you do life magic?”

  I thought about it. “I know there’s a spell to release a trapped soul.”

  “An exorcism?”

  “Sort of. Less painful.” My heart broke at the idea of her basically being a conscious version of a zombie. “It’ll let you move on without pain.”

  She nodded. “That’s what I want.”

  I held my hand out to her and squeezed hers. “I need to call someone to get me the information I need, can you stay right here for me?”

  She nodded. I walked out of the building and took a deep breath. The evening air still held a little bit of heat from the day, and it was nice change from the cold inside of the building. A life magic spell gone wrong. That poor child.

  I opened my eyes to see Levi and Mario both staring at me.

  “She’s a victim of life magic gone wrong. I’m going to have to release her soul.” I shook my head. “And then I’m going to kill Drake.”

  Levi raised a brow. “As PIB or as one of my people. It’s not like you to want to kill your suspect.”

  I tried to think of what the best course of action would be. Originally, I wanted to bring him in so I could get answers, but this was a man who’d messed with a child’s life. “I have to handle it as PIB.”

  “I want to come with you,” Mario said suddenly. “I want to make sure that you’re not hurt going up against my fledgling.”

  I turned to him. “You have to answer something for me before I let you.”

  “What?” He met my gaze.

  “Did you know about this?”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

  “If he had, Abigail, I would have killed him,” Levi stated. “There are very few times where someone should step in and mess with the life of a child.”

  I nodded in agreement. “I’m going to make a phone call.”

  I stepped away from them and pulled my phone out. I called Merick and took a deep breath.

  “Abigail, what do you need?”

  “I need help releasing a soul. I know you can do it and I know there’s a spell in my book for it.”

  He was silent. “Eventful night?”

  “Life spell gone wrong, on a child. Her soul is tied to her body, and it’s not aging.”

  He said something under his breath. “Where are you? I’ll be right there.”

  “Tree Leaf Grove. About forty-five minutes south.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Thank you.”

  “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, Abigail. There are very few cases of Life Magic like that going right.” He disconnected and Levi walked up to me.

  “Merick?” His voice was carefully even.

  “Yes, I can’t do the spell alone, Clarissa won’t touch it, and Nick is dead.” I looked at him. “I can trust him not to screw it up and guide me properly.”

  “I don’t like him.”

  “I don’t care.” I brushed passed him and walked back into the building to sit with Cynthia while waiting for Merick.

  Merick walked into the building and looked at me and then the girl. “You didn’t sense it before?”

  I shook my head. “No. Should I of?”

  “Dark magic surrounds her, Abby, you should have known something was off. Something crawling over aura, that slimy feeling that you want to wipe off. Things like that. Looking at her aura there’s black around it.” He knelt in front of her. “Hello, I’m Merick. I’m here to help Abigail.”

  She nodded. “I know.” She looked up at me. “Thank you.”

  I nodded. “Of course.” I got off the couch. “They’ve taken the wards down so that we can perform magic. They did it originally to put a protection spell up.” I threw up a circle around all three of us and looked at the purple and red mix of colors.

  Merick looked at it. “It’s okay, Abby, nothing to be ashamed of.” I felt his magic join mine and strengthen the circle. He looked at Cynthia. “This won’t hurt.”

  He handed me a piece of paper with Latin words on it. “I’ll do most of it, we both need to say the spell though in order for it to be strong enough to break the bond.”

  “Does this count as killing with magic?”

  He shook his head. “No, this counts as releasing a soul to the freedom it should have had already.”

  Oh good. I looked down at the paper and scanned the words while Merick pulled out a knife. I heard Cynthia gasp.

  “Don’t worry; it’s not for you,” I promised. “Sometimes spells need a little bit of blood to work. Merick is going to…” I looked at him to finish my sentence.

  “Prick my finger and put a dot of blood on your head.” He did just as he said and pressed his thumb to her forehead. I felt a jolt of magic, and he looked to me. We both read the Latin words, and as we did, a wind kicked up in the circle blowing my hair around. I locked eyes with Cynthia as I continued saying the words.

  Her big brown eyes faded and glazed over as our words died and her body dropped to the ground. The wind continued to whip
around me. The magic grew cold, and I knew it wasn’t mine. I looked to Merick, but he seemed to be faded by the wind.

  What the hell. I reached out for my circle and found it, but it felt further away than it should have. The cold overtook my body, dragging me down. I gasped as everything disappeared, the cold, the magic, the wind. I was on my hands and knees trying to draw a breath. Finally, I managed to remember that I had to breathe in and out to function.

  I looked up at Merick who gave me wide eyes. He held his hand out to help me up. Cynthia’s corpse laid in front of me, but her face looked peaceful, relaxed as if she was just sleeping.

  “That wasn’t your magic.” He looked around the now completely red circle, and I knew he’d taken it over by force.

  “It wasn’t yours either.” I ran my hands over my pants, my palms feeling wet and clammy. “I know who’s magic that was. I need to find him and put a stake into his heart.” Or a bullet or two.

  “Do you want my help?”

  I shook my head. “No, help them get things resettled here. Mario will help me with Drake.”

  “Be careful.” He knelt down by the little girl.

  “Of course.” I walked out, and Mario was standing by the door waiting for me.

  “Ready?” He pulled me into his arms, and I tried not to flinch. I leaned my head against him for a moment to try and put on a show for whoever he thought was watching.

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “I do, but I want to make sure you’re ready to face him.”

  I thought about it. I knew what I needed to do, and it was time to do it. “Yeah, I’m ready. You have my back?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  The world changed again. “When I’m done with this damn case, I want to drive and only drive,” I snapped when I pulled away from Mario.

  “You’ll be dead when you finish this case,” Drake’s voice came from my left.

  I spun and drew my gun. “Drake Moll, you’re under arrest.”

  Lightning shot out toward me, and I threw a circle up for it to hit. That explained the electricity running through the door when Loraine had trapped us. I wasn’t sure if that was an elemental ability or a really rare magical ability. What the hell?