“You’ll never win,” someone shouted from behind me.
Something thudded into my back, sending me flying to the ground. My hands grazed the concrete as whatever had landed on me wrapped an arm around my neck. My stomach rolled as oxygen was instantly cut from entering my lungs.
Throwing my elbow back as hard as I could, I clenched my teeth when the impact did nothing to dislodge my attacker. Clenching my fists, I pulled as much power as possible from beneath me, causing the Earth to shake violently. The sound of voices drifted into my head as I tried to breathe. My face burned as I attempted to throw whoever held me off my back. The bucking didn’t work.
“Leave her,” one of the witches called. They’d obviously got backup. “She’ll kill you.”
About to unleash all of the magic within me, I froze when the arm disappeared and air sucked down my windpipe, inflating my lungs. Gasping hard, I coughed several times, unable to concentrate on anything other than trying to breathe.
Footsteps retreating entered my ears as I released some of the magic and the earth stopped moving. The spinning of my head gradually slowed as I stumbled to my feet and looked around. The cowards had disappeared, leaving the street completely empty apart from myself. They had got me down too easily. Taken me by surprise. My instinct was nowhere near as powerful as it had been when I was alive. It seemed that the longer I was dead, the weaker I was becoming.
Getting my phone out, I contemplated whether to call my team. Deciding against it, I strode towards the pub at the end of the road. The bastards had run away which meant they had feared me. In a way, it didn’t really matter that they had almost got the better of me. In fact, my heart was slowly starting to freeze, unable to care too much about what was happening. Maybe I was depressed. Maybe I just needed to go and read a book.
The sound of music from the karaoke filtered towards me as I got closer to the pub. A drink, that’s what I needed. When we had left the church the night before, Dave had insisted that we tried to find Xvair Harvey. Although we had tried to trace him online, it had been impossible. After almost 24 hours, we had decided to have a break. Which was why I had been heading to the pub to meet Brianna.
Pushing open the door, I thrust my way inside. Most people were focused on my friend as she danced on the small stage and sang a Whitney Houston song. It seemed that she hadn’t missed me that much.
“What can I get you?” the attractive barman asked, his eyebrows creasing when he saw the grazes on my palms.
Folding my fingers into my hands, I whispered a healing spell as I rubbed them on my jeans. “Oh, I’ve been painting today. Can I have three vodka and lemonades, please?”
I didn’t tell him that each one would be for me as he went about his work.
Brianna came to the end of her song and hopped down from the stage, rushing over to greet me. She’d already drank several alcoholic beverages by the smell of her breath and the pitch of the giggle.
“You finally made it.” Her breath rushed over me as she patted my cheek.
Her long wavy brown hair was piled high on her head, her pretty brown eyes all big and wide. The energy that rolled off her was warm, and yet, dangerous. Her vampire tendencies were usually heightened when she’d been drinking, which was why I never went on a night out with her. Why had I come tonight? It had already caused me more harm than good. Bloody witches attacking me because I was an Essex witch. The PFF needed to be taken down.
“I’m sorry, work was-”
“Yeah, it always is,” she muttered, the bitterness in her tone covered by a fake bright smile. “Anyway, look who’s here!”
Pointing to the corner, Brianna waved at Archie Roberts. Oh great. The attractive vampire book nerd who also wanted Joseph Cambridge dead. Could the night get any worse?
As he came over, I picked up one of my drinks and downed it in one go. I currently had a serial killer on the loose, an ancient witch to find and a crazy bunch of people running a terrorist group. We might have Joseph and Helen Cambridge in custody, but the group still had other leaders. A vampire and a shapeshifter. They would probably carry on their legacy. Right now, I didn’t need a handsome vampire to quote Shakespeare at me.
“Gemma,” Archie greeted, holding out one hand while he undid his jacket button with the other.
Tempted to ignore his extended digits, I quickly downed my second drink before giving his hand a half-arsed shake. He tried to cling to my fingers, but I literally shook him off. My Miss Nice Girl attitude had run out for the day. Not that I’d had much spare recently.
“What song did you sing?” I asked him as Brianna ordered more drinks.
My friend was eye flirting with a human across the bar. Wait, wasn’t she in a relationship?
“I’ve not indulged yet. Care to do a duet? We could attempt the Phantom of the Opera. The musical isn’t as good as the book, like all adaptions, but I have a soft spot for that song.”
Now he was just trying to smarm his way into my good books. Brianna had obviously laid on my book obsession profusely. The man had what he wanted, he didn’t need to charm me anymore.
“I’m not a singer. Brianna will happily give it a go.”
Shoving another drink in my hand, Brianna threw her head back and laughed. “No, no, chica, I have more important things to do. We’ll catch up properly soon.”
Throwing Archie a wink, she left us to join
