Denai Touch: Excalibar Investigations Series (16 page)

“You’re not the only one who felt something the day we met and I’ve waited a long time for you to admit there might actually be something between us,” Cate added.

“Cate, we can’t.” He shook his head and his expression became pained.

“Maybe we’re already doomed. You’re a Nuardan, I’m an Ashrali witch, and lots of people want us dead. I’m not happy you kept secrets from me, but I thought I was going to die today and you’re the one who kept me strong,” Cate said. “If you really want me, then I’m here and I want you. But for this to work you can’t hide things from me anymore, you have to be honest. We’re partners — we’re supposed to face things together.”

Jason wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and she put hers around his neck, resting her head against his chest. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “It won’t be easy and I don’t want to put you or anyone else at risk.”

“I’m sure I always want you to be part of my life.”

He ran a hand through her hair. “Everything aside, I don’t want to lose our friendship either. You’re my best friend.”

She smiled. “Let’s just take things slow for now, see how it goes.”

“What about the team?”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

After a couple of days staying at Niara’s and getting her powers under reasonable control, Cate was eager to throw herself back into work. Having a week off was all she planned on taking; despite Seline’s objections she wasn’t just going to sit back and meditate until the ascension finally came. She was taking control of her case and her life again. The first thing she intended to do was find Bethany Turner.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jason asked as they were scanned and waved through security at the Tower.

“We talked about this,” Cate replied and headed straight for the lift. “I took a few days off, I’ve been preparing and getting my powers under control, now I’m going to find Bethany. She’s the key to this whole case. She led the Thorn, the very people who distributed the drugs that killed five people, including a Denai.”

“Jade is handling things. She’s already interviewed the members of the Thorn that we brought into custody.”

“I know, but Jade can’t get information out of people the way we can.” They headed to the briefing room; Steve, Ian, and Jade were already there.

“Nice to have you back. Gran was about to assign the case over to Carey to begin the prosecution process,” said Steve. “She says we’re wasting our time, but the case is already closed since we brought in the Thorn and they’ll face trial for their crimes.”

“We don’t have Bethany and she was their leader. She’s the one with the ties to Raven and I want to know how she managed to use the kind of power on me that she did,” replied Cate. “Gran doesn’t want me back at work or going after Bethany because she’s scared. Well, I’m not going to curl up and hide until my ascension is over with. We’re still Excalibar and we still investigate when the council laws are broken.”

“What about your powers?” Steve asked.

“My powers will be fine. I’ve been working on controlling them,” she said. “So while you lot are working on putting the case together for trial, Jade, I want all the evidence you’ve gathered so far. Jason and I are going to interview Colbane.”

“He’s not talking. But you can try,” said Jade.

Colbane was brought into the interrogation room. He looked unusually paler than normal, with circles under his bloodshot eyes. Obviously he hadn’t fed since being taken into custody. He stared at Cate, completely ignoring Jason, but said nothing.

“Record on. Lieutenant Cate McCray and Commander Jason Talbot, interviewing Dante Colbane. Mr Colbane, you are accused of distributing the Pandora drug, which led to several deaths, and having ties to the Covenant. You have already been advised of your rights and I understand you refused to comment on these charges. Correct?”

“That is correct.” Cate was surprised by Colbane’s reply, having expected him to say nothing.

“We’ve being working on this case for two months, we both know the evidence against you is overwhelming,” said Jason, “unless you wanted to make a deal?”

Colbane ignored him, still staring at Cate, who had on her impassive Denai face. She didn’t let his creepy gaze unnerve her, she’d met men accused of worse crimes than he had committed. “The drug you distributed led to the death of a Denai. You know that carries a death sentence if you’re found guilty,” she went on. “Tell me more about the drug. I want details. What it’s made of, where you got it from. Everything.”

“Tasha Phelps, she came to us and–”

She raised her hands, energy beating through the air as Colbane froze in place, and paused the recorder.

Jason frowned. “I thought you were limiting your use of power.”

“Look at him! He’s still under compulsion.” She tried not to panic, knowing her powers would automatically react, but she couldn’t help it.

“You don’t know that for certain.”

“Yes I do! I can feel it and look at the way he’s only answering
my
questions. He’s doing everything I tell him to.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Goddess, this is a nightmare.”

“Stay calm,” Jason gripped her hand. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”

“Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this.”

“That’s Seline talking. I’m right here with you, we’ll get through this.”

“What if the compulsion is permanent? He’ll be a slave to my will forever.”

“That would be too kind a fate for him.”

“He can’t stand trial if he’s still under compulsion, you know that. There are laws against that because I could get him to say anything,” she sighed. “I’ve got to try and break it.”

“But not yet. Not until we get what we need out of him.”

Cate hesitated. “The longer the compulsion lasts, the harder it is to break.”

“We’ll break it.”

Turning the recorder back on, they spent the next few hours getting Colbane to tell them everything he knew about the Thorn, the Covenant, Pandora and Bethany. It made their case stronger, but it didn’t get them any closer to the Thorn’s High Priestess.

“You did well, Colbane,” she told him, feeling tiredness set in.

“But it’s time to end this.” Jason stood up and grabbed Colbane by the throat. His eyes flashed blue as he chanted words in an ancient language.

It wasn’t just a Mavis’s job to provide energy and help when needed, they had their own unique spells and magics. There was a violent impact in the air and Cate gasped, feeling as if a cord inside her had suddenly snapped.

Light glowed in Colbane’s dark eyes and he gasped, looking dazed. “What the –?” The vampire rubbed his eyes as Jason stepped back. “Where am I?”

“You don’t remember?” asked Cate, wide-eyed.

“Where is Bethany? I demand to know where the hell I am.” Colbane glared at Cate. “You did something to me, didn’t you, witch? I’m not saying anything without –”

“Oh, you’ve said more than enough already, mate.” Jason smirked. “You’re going to need a good lawyer to get you out of this one.”

“How’d you do that?” Cate asked as they left the room.

“A bit of Mavis magic, they don’t use it much now. The Mavis Order went into decline after Seline came to power and made us nothing more than an energy source,” Jason said. “It’s our job to ensure justice too.”

“I know you’re more than just an energy source.” she smiled and brushed her lips against his.

He grinned. “I thought you said no kissing at work.”

“I’m allowed to change my mind.”

“In that case…” He leaned down to kiss her again.

“I’ll take the files to Carey,” she said. “Then we’ll start going over the evidence again. Maybe we can use something to track Bethany. We’re on a roll.”

“If we find Bethany, maybe I’ll take you out to dinner to celebrate. A real date.”

“Love to.”

Deciding to spend the rest of the afternoon working from home, Cate grabbed some candles and incense as she prepared her spell circle and brought out Bethany’s Book of Shadows, which she had found in evidence.

“What are you doing?” Jason asked.

“Trying to find Bethany again. Niara showed me how to focus my powers better. You don’t need to keep staring at me,” Cate told Jason. “It’s like you’re bracing yourself for the next bad thing to happen.”

“I can’t help it. I’m on edge.”

“Well, relax. We’re safe in here.”

“Until a Null turns up again.”

“Raven was too badly hurt to come after me again.”

“Doesn’t stop everyone else.”

“Someone is always going to be after us and we’ll deal with it. But now we have a job to do. Let’s focus on that.” Cate smiled. “Will you relax more once I’m immortal too?”

“Maybe a bit.”

“Think about our date instead then.”

“Date? Doesn’t sound very romantic. Whatever happened to courtship?”

“Now you really sound old. I thought in the old days you met someone you liked and then you just got married.”

“It didn’t always happen like that. You got to know each other a bit first.”

“Did you ever have a wife?”

“No, you’re the only one I wanted.”

“Good thing we already know each other.”

“And we live together. In the old days people would consider us married.”

She laughed. “I'm not ready for that yet.”

The candles suddenly flared to life as Jason stepped into the circle with her.

“I don’t think it’s big enough for both of us to sit in here.”

Jason pulled her down onto his lap, as he dropped to the floor. “See, plenty of room.” He pulled her close to his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

“What are you doing?” She laughed.

“Keeping you safe and enjoying myself at the same time. But I’m helping too.”

Yeah, and sending her hormones through the roof. “How do you expect me to concentrate like this?”

“How did you manage all these years we’ve worked together?”

“I reminded myself you were off limits and I admired the view.”

He stroked her hair off her face. He seemed determined to touch her as much as possible and she liked it.

“No touching. We’re still working.” She grabbed the book.

She hoped it would have a strong enough link left to Bethany to lead them to her. Placing her hands on the book, Cate felt magic rise from inside. Warmth flooded through her as Jason’s power merged with her own. Feeling a twinge across her temples, a vision began to unfold before her eyes as she astral projected.

Cate found herself surrounded by dense woodland, her heart was pounding and she felt a sense of panic, as if she were running from unseen forces. A mental pull made her turn in the opposite direction, just as she locked eyes with the other Denai.

“Ah Beth, has Raven grown tired of you already?”

Bethany scowled at her. “On the contrary. Thanks to you I’m in the Covenant’s favour again.”

“Then why are you running?”

“From you, of course. I knew your ascension wouldn’t stop you from hunting me.”

“Damned right. You’re going to pay for kidnapping me and my niece.” She noticed Bethany still had the strange aura of power about her, but it wasn’t as strong as before. Raven must have gone into hiding and let Bethany fend for herself. “Why not just come in quietly? I could make sure you get a more lenient sentence.”

“We both know I’ll be executed for my crimes. Nothing you say will change that.”

“I can make a deal for you, life imprisonment instead of death.”

“I have a better idea,” Bethany raised her hand.

Cate felt invisible fingers wrap around her throat, her skin beginning to sting from the burn of Bethany’s Touch. No!
she thought and her eyes lit up with power
.

A strong mental blast knocked her to the ground. Where the hell was Bethany getting that kind of power from?

Cate narrowed her eyes, unleashing her own magic as she blasted Bethany. She could feel her power burning, aching to be unleashed but she held it back. She wouldn’t lose control again. Energy pulsed through the air as she outstretched her hand, gripping Bethany in her power. Bethany struggled, unleashing the darker side of the Touch once more.

You’re mine, bitch,
Cate thought as she deflected the onslaught of death magic
.

Cate suddenly felt as if she were being pulled back and gasped as her eyes flew open. “Damn it, Jason!” she said furiously. “Why the hell did you do that? I had her!”

“She was attacking you. You didn’t expect me to do nothing, did you?”

“I expect you to help me bring her in. Goddess, you’ve got to stop trying to protect me and start treating me like your partner.”

Jason sighed. “Your powers don’t work in astral form the same way they do in physical and we still have no idea how Bethany is getting more power.”

“If you can’t work with me as equals, then what’s the point of us doing this?”

“I just don’t want to lose you. Between Raven and the Devas, I’m scared, okay?” he snapped. “Fear doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Don’t you think I’m scared too? I could die when I ascend or when I face off with Raven. The prophecy doesn’t say I’m going to live through it.”

“You will, because I’m not going to lose you.”

“Then work with me. You can’t protect me from everything. You used to trust me to take care of myself, it’s what you trained me for,” she said. “We agreed we wouldn’t let our feelings get in the way of our work.”

“I know. I promise I’m trying. Do you know where Bethany was?”

“I can try to –”

He pulled her to him and kissed her, enough to take her breath away. This kiss was powerful, filled with years of longing and need so intense she didn’t know if she’d ever catch her breath. No man had ever made her feel like this. Their tongues mated as they explored and tasted. Orbs sparkled around them as they fought to be closer to each other.

Cate smiled as she pulled back. “You owe me a date, remember?”

“We haven’t caught Bethany yet.”