Spell Tamer, page 8
Her heart pounded in Cassie's throat as she watched the magic wrap around Gloria. It was almost as if she was seeing it in slow motion.
She only breathed again when the magic unwound and tightened into a rope of sparks, tightening around Gloria's arms and tightening with every move. The woman shifted her hands back into their human form, but it was too late, Cassie's magic had taken control and there was no going back for it.
Hadrian shot forward, using his increased speed to get to her at the same time as Zack transformed back into his usual self.
"Gloria Reinbeck, you're under arrest for the murders of Fred Owens, Ronald Hughes, and Philip Duke..."
Cassie didn't bother listening to the rest of what Hadrian was saying, she'd heard it many times before. Instead, she rushed over to Issac, throwing her arms around him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he promised, putting one of his arms around her and pulling her as close as he could. "Cassie, I'm fine. She didn't touch me. You saw to that."
"But she nearly did..."
"I promise, I'm fine. We did it."
His words started to sink in and the full realisation of everything hit her. She breathed a sigh of relief into Issac's shoulder. The adrenaline crash along with the familiar satisfaction of catching the person who did it coming over her.
Chapter Fifteen
Several cups of tea, a sleep, and a shower later, Cassie was already feeling more rejuvenated after Issac's date last night. While she loved the feeling of having caught someone, she couldn't wait for the day when someone else was the one doing the catching and all she had to do was do her tests in the lab.
Or that was what she was going to keep telling herself. There wasn't a whole lot of truth in the thoughts. When it came down to it, she loved every part of the job, especially when it resulted in a successful conviction.
And this one would.
Zack wandered into the briefing room and sat down next to her, a lemonade in hand.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good," she responded. "I like this bit."
He chuckled. "More than testing out a new experiment?"
"Maybe not that much. But nothing compares to knowing an experimental test I've been working on has done what I need it to."
"I know how you feel. I get the same when I have a new procedure for an autopsy. Maybe it's a bit morbid, but I like knowing that I can find answers to things I haven't even had the questions to before." He leaned back in his chair, a blissed-out look on his face. She didn't think she'd ever seen Zack look like this before. It was almost like he was at peace with his role in life.
She hoped that was in part due to their mating bond helping him feel more settled than he had before. She knew it had made a big difference to the way she felt about her life. In part, because she now had a job she loved more than all of her others combined.
"Morning everyone," a cheery voice said as a familiar woman entered the room.
"Hello, Ms Reed," Zack responded.
"How many times must I ask you to call me Arabella?" the red-head asked as she took her seat at the briefing table.
"At least once more, I was always taught to keep lawyers on my good side," Zack retorted.
Cassie attempted to cover a snort, but given the amused look Arabella threw her, she failed miserably at it.
"He doesn't have a good side to keep on," she explained.
"I've dealt with a few of those before. I'm not particularly worried when I have you to help keep the Doctor in check."
"I try," Cassie promised, not adding that it was weird to hear Zack referred to as a doctor.
She knew it was the case, even if he'd never formally completed his pathologist training, but they had so little need to use his proper title that it only ever came up in briefings like this. One day, she'd have to ask him why he chose to study medicine when he didn't really like people. Though she supposed that did at least explain why he ended up working with the dead.
"Sorry we're late, we were just finishing with the confession," Hadrian said as he walked in, Issac following behind with a drawn expression on his face.
"It's no problem, I only just got here myself," Arabella said, though it was hard for Cassie not to notice the meticulously laid out notepad and pens that made it seem as if the woman had been in the room longer than all of them.
"That bad?" Cassie whispered as Issac sat down beside her.
"It's not great," he admitted.
"So, what are we looking at?" the lawyer asked.
Hadrian took a deep breath. "Five murder charges."
Cassie's eyes widened. She supposed that explained the gap between Duke and Hughes, even though she wished there wasn't one.
"We have three bodies in our care at the moment. None have been collected by family members yet, but they are due to. The suspect gave the location of the remaining two bodies during her confession. We'll be heading to the scenes after the briefing today," he said.
"Good. With the confession, we can take Ms Reinbeck with us when we leave today," Arabella said.
"Thank you. This place isn't particularly designed for holding criminals," he reminded her.
She sighed. "I know. I've been trying to petition the High Council for something more permanent, and a small force to police it, but I think it's still a year or so away. But at least we have the legal part of the process in place to deal with these kinds of circumstances in the right away."
Cassie leaned back as the other woman spoke. She was slight, with shocking red hair that seemed completely natural. Cassie knew she was a member of the Shifter Council as well as the head of the legal team that worked with the PCI, but that was all. Maybe one day soon, she should make more of an effort to get to know her.
She pushed a strand of bright blue hair behind her ear, relieved to have it back to its normal brightness. She couldn't even remember when she'd started making her hair like this with magic, but it had been so long that it had become part of her.
"Thank you, Arabella, it's appreciated," Hadrian said, pulling Cassie's thoughts back to the briefing.
"Is there anything else I need to know before I take Ms Reinbeck into custody?"
"I don't think so." Hadrian looked between each of them in turn, trying to prompt them into speaking up if they thought he'd missed something. "Everything should be outlined in the files we'll send you after the meeting. I just have the confession document to scan and upload and then it'll be complete."
"Excellent." Arabella snapped her notebook shut. "As always, it's been a pleasure working with you, even if it is under undesirable circumstances."
"It's better than us saying we don't think we'll be able to get a conviction," Issac pointed out.
She chuckled. "Very true. I'll arrange for transport out of here for Ms Reinbeck now. I look forward to reading your report when I return to my desk. Thank you for all of your hard work, as always." She rose to her feet and flashed them all a genuine smile. She waved and left the room, leaving the four of them behind.
"Another one bites the dust," Issac muttered.
"Did she tell you what kind of shifter she was?" Cassie asked. She could have waited for the same report Arabella would get to find out, but it was easier to outright ask.
"A praying mantis, of all things," Hadrian responded.
"I didn't even know praying mantis shifters were a thing," Issac said.
A bemused smile graced Zack's face. "Most animals have a shifter counterpart. Some are just rarer than others."
"Where do insects normally fall on that scale?" Cassie asked.
"They're more common than you think, but most won't admit to it because of what they see as shifter bias."
"You're going to have to enlighten me on that one," Issac prompted.
Zack shrugged. "Basically, exotic animals, big cats, wolves, they're all seen as desirable. Some of the smaller or more mundane animals think they have something to be ashamed of. It doesn't make much sense to me when they can't control how they were born, but it influences a lot of what shifters project to the world. It's why you'll find the same types in positions of power over and over again."
Cassie leaned back in her chair. "Huh. that kind of makes sense."
Zack nodded.
"Being able to change my form into anything would be pretty amazing," Issac countered.
"I agree," Zack said. "But a lot of shifters don't."
"Is Gloria Reinbeck one of them?" Hadrian asked.
"I have no idea without talking to her, but I suspect she probably isn't if she's using part of her shifted form to commit the murders themselves. That would be more in line with how I'd expect a lion shifter to behave."
"Shifters confuse me," Issac admitted.
Cassie snorted. "I think that's putting it lightly."
"Is it any surprise? None of the other paranormal species have so much variety within them to manage. How many types of witch are there? Or necromancer? Or vampire?" Zack asked.
"Just one," Cassie answered, though she only knew about the witches for sure.
"Exactly. That's why shifters are complicated. You can't rule a lion and an insect the same way. And yet, the system tries."
Cassie reached over and put her hand on Zack's leg to give him some comfort.
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Hadrian asked.
Zack snorted. "The system? I doubt it. And it's been that way for so long that it almost works. Besides, aren't we the change in the system?"
"That's true," Cassie conceded.
Crimes like the ones they were dealing with used to be dealt with by each of the Councils individually. Which normally meant that the culprit was executed without a trial and no one ever truly paid the price. She could be part of the change and make sure that they shaped the way to come for future paranormals. They'd make the world a better place, one solved crime at a time.
"So, we have some crime scenes to visit?" Issac said.
"Yes. We should prep and then head out," Hadrian instructed.
"And once we're done, you owe me dinner at a fancy restaurant," Cassie reminded the three of them.
Hadrian smiled. "Once we're done, I think we all deserve it."
There was no doubt of that. They'd worked hard to subdue Gloria Reinbeck, and they should celebrate, for the sake of themselves, and for the victims they'd managed to get justice for.
Chapter Sixteen
Cassie hummed to herself as she moved about the lab, making notes on the DNA and samples from the various cadavers in Zack's morgue. Whether or not the High Council approved the database she wanted as an official PCI tool, she was still within the law to create one of her own from paranormal volunteers, and the samples from the bodies they examined. She suspected the line would be drawn at anyone still living who had their DNA processed but hadn't given consent, which ruled out being able to use Gloria Reinbeck, but she could live with that.
She punched in information on the siren sample from Duke and made a note to herself to compare it to the mer DNA she already had on file. As far as she knew, there were very few people doing research of this kind, and by doing it, along with the work on the mating bond, she could answer centuries-old questions the paranormal community as a whole had.
It was a little bit of a pipe dream, and one that she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to see through. But she hadn't met a scientist who didn't dream of their name headlining an important paper, and she wasn't going to pretend to be different.
"Knock, knock," Hadrian said, drawing her attention to the doorway.
"Everything okay?" she asked, setting down her tablet so she could turn her full attention to him.
He nodded. "Is Issac here?"
"No. He's at a demonstration with Zack about some new technique for extracting...I'm not actually sure. Zack used a lot of words I didn't understand. I'm not sure why he wanted Issac to go with him, but that's where they are." She shrugged, knowing it wasn't particularly important while they didn't have a case.
While it was unusual for them to have nothing on, she was grateful for a chance to catch up on her pet project.
"Oh yes, they mentioned it to me. They might come back with some new equipment if we're lucky."
Cassie's eyebrows shot up. "We have the budget for that?"
"We have the budget for almost anything we want," he reminded her. "Except a helicopter." He made his way into the lab and sat on Issac's desk chair.
She took that as a cue for her to join him and went over to her own.
"Are you trying to tell me you asked for one?"
"No..."
"Hadrian." There was no stopping the amusement that filled her voice. "What would you even have done with it?"
"Gotten a bird's eye view of a crime scene."
"We have Zack for that."
"Arrive in style to meetings?"
She rolled her eyes. "I think the point is that we fly under the radar, not onto it with a big neon sign."
"You might be right. Perhaps not having a helicopter is really for the best."
"I think that might be the case, yes."
"I actually came to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me?"
"I'm impressed you've remembered it's that time of day," she quipped, but was secretly glad he had. Perhaps this was progress towards Hadrian taking care of himself. He really did need to start making more of an effort with that.
"I remember sometimes," he protested. "But admittedly, this time it was because Richard bid me an enjoyable meal as he left my office."
"Richard's been?" She perked up.
Their direct boss normally left them to it, choosing to let the results speak for themselves. He must like whatever he saw from their department based on the distinct lack of micromanagement, though perhaps that was more to do with the fact he had several other PCI units under his command now, and only so much time in the day.
"Yes. He wanted a rundown on this case so he could contact the respective Councils. With every victim belonging to a different species, it makes things easier in some ways."
"Do you think she was trying out each type to see if they were a match for her?" Cassie asked. She'd chosen not to read the full report on Gloria Reinbeck's murders so she could spend the time in the lab instead, but perhaps that had been a mistake. Once she was done for the afternoon, she'd pull up the report and browse through it so she had more of an overview.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it's just men she found attractive, or perhaps she thought they'd be easily controlled once she had them on a date. She was forthcoming about everything except why she did it. I'm inclined to believe your theory about broken hearts and her disliking the fact they didn't accept her as their mate."
"It tracks with what she said to Issac." She paused, unsure whether to say the rest of what she was thinking. But this was Hadrian. He might technically be in charge of the lab, but he was her mate first and foremost. She could tell him anything she needed to get off her chest. "I almost feel sorry for her," she admitted.
"Me too."
"You do?" That surprised her.
"Yes. I'm guessing that when she first started looking for her mate, all she wanted to do was find the one person the universe promised her. Then something inside her broke and she started killing the people who didn't fit that role, even though it was neither of their faults," he explained.
"And in the process, may have deprived someone else of their mate," Cassie murmured.
"I hope the universe accounted for that," Hadrian said softly. "Sometimes I wonder if that's how situations like ours occur. Maybe once upon a time, the three of us would have all had different mates, but something happened to two of them, and now we're here with you."
"I don't think so," she countered. "Some humans have polyamorous relationships because it's part of who they are. Why can't it be the same for us? The only difference is that the universe technically gets a say in it. But what does that really mean? I suspect that when it comes down to it, the whole design is that some people are supposed to end up with more than one person." She didn't realise she believed the words until they left her mouth, but the last thing she wanted was to start believing that she only had the three people she loved the most because two other people had died to make that the case.
Hadrian sighed. "I hope you're right."
"There'll never be anyway to prove I'm not," she pointed out. "We don't know enough about mating magic to be sure of anything."
"Perhaps that's the universe's way of telling us that we shouldn't look too hard for the answers to love and mating."
She gave a short laugh. "Now that's the real truth."
"But you're going to look into it anyway, aren't you?"
"Probably not. Maybe if I notice an anomaly while looking at how the power-sharing of mating bonds works, but I'm not going to go out of my way in order to find out. Like you said, some things should remain mysteries."
"But I do have one thing that shouldn't," he teased.
"Where you're going to take me for lunch?" she asked hopefully.
"Hmm. Not a mystery. I'm going to take you to that nice deli you like."
"Good choice. But stop distracting me from the solved mystery. What is it?"
"Whether or not you can start your DNA database."
She held her breath as she waited for him to tell her more, even though she realised this wouldn't be the way he told her anything if it was bad news. But she refused to get too excited just yet. He could simply be delivering the news in the wrong way.
"So..." she prompted.
"The High Council have agreed that you can set it up in whatever way you see fit." He sat back with a smug expression on his face.
Her mouth fell open. "Any way I want?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"I have it in writing." He held out a folded up sheet of paper to her.
She took it and unfurled it, scanning the words written on the page.
The High Council of the Paranormals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland hereby grant Cassandra Morgan the right to collate a paranormal DNA database for use by the Paranormal Criminal Investigations departments in whatever manner she deems fit while remaining in accordance with the law.
