Chapter Eight
Echo
I didn’t even talk to the nurses as we entered the emergency room. I simply requested Esme come to meet us, and while the woman at the desk gave me a stern look that would have probably frightened many people, she paged Esme to the floor.
We’d met when I’d been shot, and the chief forced me to go to the hospital. She was kind and knew about my powers but didn’t care. She was nice to people like me and had no quarrels with working with them. Anytime I had an issue that needed medical care, she was the one I trusted. So, in this situation, with a magical element to it, she was our girl.
I peeked a glance at Asher, who was standing to my right, holding Lisa in his arms easily.
At first, when he said his name on the phone, I thought he was calling in a favor for something way different. I’d thought about his kiss a few times when the silence surrounded me at night. I had been taken by surprise by his lips touching mine, then there was a low-running current of electricity moving between our connection. It was strange but somehow comforting. Then it hit me, everything that had happened, and I was in a bitchy mood, so I pulled back and punched him. Just a tap, with only ten percent of my strength, against his muscular gut, but he got the point. Then I left. I really didn’t think he would call me after that, but he did.
My eyes moved from him down to Lisa.
The M.O. was the same.
My legs had given out on me at the apartment when Asher started describing what happened to Lisa. It was the same as my mom. I didn’t want to believe it. That nightmare had been so long ago, tucked neatly away in my past.
Until now.
Whoever had murdered my parents was back.
“Echo. What did we injure this time?” A sweet voice spoke to me from our left. Esme had a tall frame, with her reddish-brown hair tied up in a messy knot on her head, wisps of it framing her elfish face.
“Not me this time, but I have a special patient for you.” I nodded my head toward Asher and Lisa. The smile on her face fell, then her expression turned very serious.
“This way, please.”
We followed behind her to a private room where Asher laid Lisa on the paper-covered table.
“What happened? I need all the details you can possibly give me,” she demanded as she started looking over Lisa with the normal routine while Asher gave her a rundown of what happened.
“She needs blood. I’m going to go grab some, and then we will get her all taken care of. You did a good job sealing up the wounds.” She complimented Asher then went to get blood for Lisa. She wasn’t gone long and came back with a bag and an IV stand.
We sat back and let Esme get to work. Lisa fell asleep shortly after the first bag was done, and Esme assured us that she was going to be fine.
“She’s going to be okay, really. Why don’t you go home and rest? I’ll give you a call later and give you an update.”
I wasn’t ready to go yet, but I did want to leave the room for a bit. I needed space from the past that was threatening to take over my head.
“Come on, Snow White, let’s go get some coffee.” Asher lightly touched my arm and guided me out of the room. It took a few minutes of walking in a mindless stupor to realize he called me by my cat name.
“I’m not Snow White!” I jerked my arm away from his and looked at his face. He had a smug smile going on.
“I’m aware, but it got that feisty Echo back instead of the ghost that showed up at the bar and never left.” He walked over to a table and pulled out a chair for me to sit in.
“What do you want?” he asked, and then my stomach growled. It had been a while since I had eaten anything. Too long.
“Black coffee, and something to eat, please. Something with meat if they have it,” I answered and looked around the little cafe. It was quiet, just another couple sitting across the room. Not that Asher and I were a couple. Just two people in a cafe waiting for a girl who was almost murdered to get pumped full of blood. No big deal.
Asher came back shortly with two cups of coffee, and a breakfast sandwich for me.
“Thank you. What do I owe you?” I went to pull out my wallet from my back pocket, but he waved it off. I wasn’t the type of girl to fight for the bill when it came to men. Some didn’t even try to pay for a meal, so when they did, I’d accept it.
We were both silent as I ate, and he drank his coffee. I felt my nerves start to ease with every bite.
“You’ve seen it before, haven’t you?” Asher decided to break that silence with a sledge hammer.
“Yep. Once, about twelve years ago, there was a serial killer that had the same M.O. He or she would cut little slices about the body, and then depending on the person, would carve either two slits between their shoulder blades or two smaller slices on their forehead. There were fifteen murders, then it all stopped. No one knows who it was or why.” I didn’t mention that my parents were the last victims.
“So, the killer is back,” he said in a matter-of-fact way. I nodded. We didn’t know for sure, but it seemed likely. But why now?
“You’ll catch him.” Asher spoke with confidence. I didn’t know what to say to it. I’d never given up trying to solve my parents’ murder, and the others. But it was a very cold case. Absolutely no leads. The victims seemed completely random.
“So, what’s the deal with your powers?” I needed a subject change, and I had never gotten the scoop on his powers. I had been too anxious to get away from him last time—I didn’t care how he changed me back, I just wanted out.
“Magic, not powers,” he corrected and drank some coffee. His eyes staying glued to mine from over the rim of the cup. They were challenging me somehow, I just couldn’t figure out why my body suddenly turned warm with his stare.
“Phillip said what we have is a gift from the Greek gods,” I retorted, and he grinned.
“I’m not like you guys. My magic comes from a different place. It’s wild magic, that stems from the energies all around us. Everything has an energy to it; my people are able to wield that energy. Mold it for our needs. Of course, there are some rules and stipulations. Magic for selfish gain is a no-no, can’t bring back the dead, that kind of thing. Your transformation was natural since you are a human who can change. I can’t turn a cat that is actually a cat into a human.” He laughed to himself, probably thinking about changing a cat to a human. Wild magic. So many interesting revelations today.
“So, you’re like a witch?” I was curious; this was something I hadn’t thought was real until now.
“I don’t like being call a witch, or even a warlock. But yeah, essentially what you most likely would associate us with are white witches. Most are nature freaks that want good for mankind, to keep the bloodlines going and be a nice little family.” He shrugged like it was no big deal, but his grin was gone. There was more to his words than he was letting on. But he didn’t push me, so I didn’t push him.
“What made a beautiful girl like you become a detective?” It was his turn to switch subjects on me, apparently. I felt a little flutter in my stomach, hearing him speak. That breakfast sandwich must be causing issues with my insides.
“I have natural protective instincts, thanks to all the animals in me, and wanted to help save people. Bring the wrongdoers to justice.” Which reminded me, I needed to hunt down those two men who took Janie and bring them in. They’d match her descriptions, of course, and she’d testify they were her kidnappers. Case closed.
“A warrior woman. I like it.” He was looking at me like he’d love nothing more than to lean across the table and give me a kiss. The vibes that were coming off him were absolutely magnetic.
“You feel it, too, don’t you?” he asked. The grin was back and lighting up his face.
“The urge to vomit when you look at me that way?”
“What way am I looking at you, exactly?” He was amused by my feigned indifference.
“Like you want to kiss me and expect me to kiss you back.” I gave him my best resting bitch face, showing him that I was not affected by that look.
“I see. You do understand that I can not only manipulate energy, but I can see it, as well, right? And your energy is digging my energy.”