Chapter 12
“I can’t believe he managed to get into your house,” Kate muttered as Dave knocked on the door of the agency.
My cousin, Devon Jinx, had agreed to allow us access to their brand spanking new DNA equipment. We were installing ours as we spoke, but we needed it now. The Hunted Witch Agency were agents who dealt with witch crimes. They were currently in favour with the government for dealing with one of the most notorious witches in London. That’s why they’d got their equipment before us.
“I can’t believe we’re having to ask these guys to help when we work for Paranormal MI5.” Dave hadn’t hidden his dislike of the idea that they had better stuff than us.
“Welcome!” Devon Jinx threw open the heavy wooden door.
A breeze pushed my hair back from my face as I glanced to check that no one watched us. The building was in front of the Thames, which meant that when it was cold, it was really cold.
“Come in, come in,” my cousin said, waving us into the hall.
“We can’t be long.” Dave stormed down the hallway and towards their laboratory. “We’ve got a killer to catch.”
Gerard, Devon’s partner, came down the stairs as we all followed Dave to the place where we would hopefully gain the information we needed. Gerard waved at me, a smile on his face as he glanced at the woman who had successfully integrated herself into the agency. A pang of jealousy rushed through my chest as I noticed how familiar they were with each other. Would I ever have that with my team?
“I can’t believe they haven’t installed your new DNA tester yet.” Devon almost skipped along beside me as we entered the lab. “Although, I also can’t believe you’ve got that T-shirt on.”
After a fitful night’s sleep in Dave’s spare bedroom, I wasn’t in the mood for Devon’s snark. Glancing down at my top as Gerard showed Dave how to use the DNA contraption, I didn’t even raise an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with this T-shirt?”
Putting her hands on her hips, my pint-sized cousin flicked back her dark hair and smiled broadly. “Nothing, I have the exact same shirt.”
Opening her leather jacket, she revealed her Goonies T- shirt. Really? Since when did Devon start wearing amazing T-shirts? That was my thing. Plus, not many twenty year olds knew what The Goonies was anymore. 80s classics were appreciated much less nowadays.
“I heard what happened to you,” Devon said, growing serious. “What can I do to stop the bastard? I want to help.”
Watching Dave replicate Lucien’s blood, I sighed as the others gathered around him, fascinated by the machine that could force blood or DNA to grow bigger. The small dot of blood was now a pool in a bowl. It would be the perfect amount to use for the location spell.
“Can you help with a location spell?” My sudden question surprised myself.
Frowning, Devon nodded slowly as she watched me. Her eyes fell to my holster where my dagger and gun was kept. Yes, I looked the part, I had the weapons, but my real weapon, magic, was weak. Weaker than it had ever been.
“Of course.” She wasn’t going to question me, which was a good thing considering I wasn’t going to tell her what was happening. We might be cousins, but we weren’t close. A sad fact of most people in my life.
The others spoke between themselves as they finished the reproduction of DNA blood. As soon as we had enough, we would do a location spell and head straight for the Harveys. We would not let them get away again.
“Read any good books lately?” Devon asked.
Glancing down at her sideways, I narrowed my eyes. She was being strangely civil. No sarcasm laced her voice as she shrugged. “Just trying to make conversation.”
Taking a deep breath, I kept my gaze forward. “Yes. One of my favourite indie authors just launched a new series. Ironically enough, she almost had some of our magic system correct. Not quite, though.”
“She must be part of the supernatural world. No human would innately know how we worked.”
She was right. Many humans had ideas of their own about how a magic system would work, but none of them actually knew. Not one author who’d written fantasy had hit all the points right.
“I think she’s human, although I don’t know for sure. I’ve not met her yet.”
I could feel Devon’s gaze on me, but I refused to look at her. She thought I was strange, I knew that.
“You’re so cool.”
What?
Turning to her, I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you talking about?”
Huffing, she stared at me. “When I first saw you, I was shocked by how kickass you were. Not only did you know how to fight, you had the cool calm collectedness of someone who had it completely together. And, you’re a book nerd to go with it. I aspired to be like you. Although, I’ve kind of found myself now. Mr Handsome Gerard over there gave me all sorts of philosophical lessons and shit.”
“Sounds like Gerard has good sense. Trust me, you don’t want to be like me.”
Before she could reply, the others whooped in excitement. Apparently, the kit had worked. We had enough blood to do the location spell.
“Thank you for your help,” I said to my cousin as the others piled out of the room with the bowl.
Going to follow, I hesitated when Devon stopped me with a hand on my elbow. “For a long time, I never let anyone get close to me. I have to admit, since being an agent for the Hunted Witch Agency, I’ve found a place I belong. Not because of what I do, although, believe me, I enjoy kicking some witch arse most days... but, because of the family I’ve built around me.”
The usual jovial Devon was opening up to me. A rush of longing mixed with happiness for her made me nibble
