A lightning bolt shot to the ground in front of me, making my body jerk.
“Easy now,” a deep masculine voice said near my ear.
My body was laying down, my head pounding. I was no longer in the field with the wind caressing my skin. Wait, someone was stroking my arm gently.
“Please stop,” I croaked, too weak to move away from Dave’s attention.
A small snort was followed by the rush of air from his mouth. It fluttered over my face, making me shrink away from him. I knew it was him by the smell of male shampoo. His hair always smelt fresh, even when he’d been training hard.
“Is she awake?” Kate asked from somewhere in the room.
Forcing my eyes open, I blinked to clear my vision. “Yes, I’m awake.”
Dave’s stroking stopped as he leant over me, staring into my eyes. Tempted to hit him, I closed my eyes to block him out.
“Why are you so close to me?” I asked him.
“I’m checking that you’ve still got a working brain.”
“Huh?”
His chuckle was close to my ear. “You had so few brain cells before you went into a coma, I wanted to make sure you hadn’t lost them all.”
It was a good job for his sake that my arms and legs were jelly-like. They refused to move, even when I tried to flex my muscles. “What happened?”
The fog in my mind was refusing to lift. Where had I been? Hadn’t I just been talking to someone?
A softer touch cupped my cheek for a second. Kate’s warm fingers brushed my hair back from my forehead as I opened my eyes to look at her. “You’ve been out for four days. We were convinced you were dead, but Dave insisted that he’d read about Essex witches almost being disconnected from the ley line. Consequently, everyone thought they were dead, only to realise later that all they needed was a magic boost.”
Taking a deep breath, I filled my lungs with air as the feeling started to return to my arms and legs. “How was I almost disconnected from the ley line?”
Silence grew loud in the room as Kate and Dave glanced at one another. Looking around to check where I was, I almost coughed. The infirmary at the Paranormal MI5 building. Great, my mother would have something to say about my weakness.
“You attacked the serial killer. He did something to you, somehow draining your magic.”
“Who?” Trying to sit up, I groaned when pain exploded in my head.
Dave gently pushed me back against the pillow, grabbing some tablets and water. “Here, take these to help with the pain.”
“Gemma?” Kate asked, her dark eyes searching mine. “What can you remember?”
Closing my eyes, I searched my memory. “The last thing I remember...” I said, my eyes shooting open. “... is of me chasing Peter Mason. Did I catch him?”
“Erm...” Dave gulped as he put his hand to my forehead. “... Do you remember the train?”
“Train?”
What was he talking about? Peter had taken aim at me. He must have hit me, which was why I was in the infirmary. Although, I couldn’t feel the pain of a bullet wound.
“She’s lost her memory.” Kate’s words were quiet, almost inaudible, but I’d heard them.
Forcing energy into my arms, I pushed myself up into a semi-sit. “What do you mean?”
My whole body shook as she reached for me, her instinct to see what had happened to me in the last twenty-four hours. Which was crazy, considering I’d apparently been in a coma. Before her hand connected with my skin, Dave grabbed it to stop her.
“Wait. You said I attacked a serial killer. When was this?” My head was swirling with questions.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kate looked at her fingers as she clasped them together. “Four days ago, you had a confrontation with a serial killer who has been killing women. He has something against the Essex witches.”
“He’s been killing Essex witches?”
Quickly shaking her head, Kate glanced at Dave. He widened his eyes in warning. What were they keeping from me?
Sighing, Dave turned from me to grab his tablet device. Bringing it back to the bed, he started tapping the screen. “He’s murdering normal witches. Do you recognise this?”
Showing me the screen, he zoomed in as I gasped. The picture of the victim sent chills throughout my whole body. My stomach churned as he showed me the blood splatter behind the bed. The coat of arms was obvious when he pointed it out.
“I don’t remember any of this. What’s happened to my memory?”
The bash of the door against the wall as Jake strode in made me jump. There were five other beds in the room, but they were currently empty. The infirmary was rarely used considering we were very powerful agents.
“I’ve got coffees and cake. Kate, they didn’t have your chai latte bollocks, so I got you-” Jake paused when his gaze landed on me. “Shit, you’re awake!”
Rushing over, he plonked the cardboard cups on the cabinet beside me before standing right next to the bed. His baby blues were wide as he ran them over me. “Are you okay?”
Unable to meet his gaze, I looked at his bulging arm muscles. They were slightly bigger than Dave’s, but he often had them on show in his tight black T-shirts. Dave’s were hidden by his smart suits. Although, at this moment, he had no jacket on, just a shirt, the top two buttons undone.
“She’s lost her memory,” Dave said gruffly as he snatched a coffee cup and took a swig, swearing when he obviously burnt his tongue.
Jake blinked. “Oh. Erm. Hi, I’m Jake, I work with you-”
Dave’s fist flew out, the sound of it connecting with Jake’s shoulder loud in the room. Kate was giggling to herself, her hand firmly over her mouth. A smile came to my lips as I tried not to laugh with her.
Glaring at Dave, Jake rubbed his arm. “What was that for?”
“She hasn’t forgotten
