Chapter 6

Julian tossed his keys on the counter. They slid right off the other side to the kitchen floor. “Damn it.”

For a moment, he considered leaving them there. The train had been delayed and all he wanted to do was get changed and go downstairs to use the pool on the ground floor of the apartment block. He wanted half an hour alone thinking only of his breathing.

He’d need his keys to get out again. He stalked around the counter, into the kitchen to pick up his keys, and as he did, something caught his eye. He didn’t bother turning on another light. Fire formed in his hand. There were things all over his kitchen floor. Shiny metal things. He glanced down to see if where he was standing was clear.

It was, by a couple of inches. Not nearly enough.

It was almost as if someone had been hoping he’d get home in the dark, kick off his shoes—which he had done—and walk in his socks into the kitchen, where iron tacks were waiting to be stood on. He swallowed hard and didn’t move. If his keys hadn’t slid off the counter, he’d have come back up after swimming and walked right into the trap.

It wouldn’t kill him, not immediately, but it would weaken his magic. Iron nails were a typical Guardian of Adam threat. They liked the dramatic. They liked the Albah to know they were coming so that the Albah being hunted would call for help and thus damn others to the same fate.

Being a male of his kind, he had wondered if he was ever going to get a threat. Guess he didn’t need to waste any more time wondering.

Carefully, he picked up his keys.

He didn’t want to involve other Albah, but at the same time Dad was a cop and they had a human cop on their side too. There had to be clues. Forensics had to be on his side. The Guardians couldn’t hide from modern technology.

Without taking another step, he pulled out his phone. His father answered after three rings. “Make it quick.”

“Iron nails on my kitchen floor.” How was that for quick? He could almost hear his father come to a complete stop.

“That isn’t funny, Jules.”

“I’m wearing socks. I missed one by about an inch. So, I’m not laughing about it yet.” He hadn’t checked the rest of his house. For all he knew the Guardian was still here lying in wait. He turned slowly to look around the apartment. He was almost certain he was alone.

“Leave the apartment now. I’ll send a unit over.”

“Can I grab some things?”

“No. Leave now.”

Julian inspected every step he took. Fire in one hand to light the way, and phone and keys in the other. “And where am I supposed to go?”

“If only you had a car.” It was a line his father had said more than once.

Julian didn’t take the bait. He’d got a car eventually. “I can catch a train to your place. After I’ve met the uniforms. Are we going to call it a weird home invasion?”

“You don’t call it anything. Just that you got home and found it. Someone has broken in, maybe played a prank.” His dad managed to make it sound less threatening than it was. But then he was probably still at work and there’d be other cops there who would be listening. “A car is on its way. They’ll take some prints, ask some questions.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve seen some cop TV shows.”

“So you have no idea.”

He’d known that would wind his father up.

“Nothing will happen. It will just be a piece of paperwork,” his father said.

“Then why bother?” He could put on some shoes, sweep them up, and get on with his night. He’d check the bed, change the sheets, check every inch of the sofa before he sat down. Was he ever going to feel safe in his home again?

Footsteps and then a door closed before his father spoke again. “Because it becomes a pattern, and if enough get logged before a murder happens, then maybe we can start getting a clearer picture. We have to use technology to our advantage. You can be damn sure they are using it to theirs. I have a debriefing to run. Call me when you get to my place, or get Kirin to pick you up.”

“If it’s all the same, I might stay at a hotel. I don’t want to point anyone in your direction.”

His father paused. Then exhaled loudly. “Okay. That might be for the best. They might be watching, but I would rather have you home.”

“I know.” His father had been hurt when Julian had chosen to study over east. Like his older half-brother, Finley, he’d just needed space and time away. He’d grown up in the shadow of his mother’s death. At eighteen he’d wanted to move on and be someone else.

He’d left her diaries and his old life here.

Coming back, all he’d wanted to do was reconnect. Meeting Leira had given him an excuse to pull the diaries and get to know his mother through them. He was the same age as she was when she died. He was sure that his father knew that already.

“I hope I didn’t bring it with me from Sydney.”

“I doubt it. The timeline is wrong. You’ve been back six months.”

If he’d stayed in Sydney, no other Albah would have been at risk. He’d been the only one there. If he’d been attacked over there, he’d have been truly on his own. He was glad he had family he could call on, who weren’t on the other side of the country. He was glad he’d come home.

“I’ll call you later.” He hung up.

In the lobby, he put on his shoes and waited for the cops. They turned up forty minutes later. Which wasn’t bad, considering this wasn’t a real emergency. By the time he’d shown them his place and the tacks on the kitchen floor he knew exactly what they were thinking.

“So you’ve just split up with your girlfriend?” one of the cops said, a look on his face that suggested this was all her fault.

Emily hadn’t really been a girlfriend. They hadn’t really gone on dates. They had only ever gotten together for one reason and sometimes it was as though she didn’t really like him. Sometimes he felt the same way. In the end the sex hadn’t been good enough to continue.

“Yes.” It was easier to agree that she had been his girlfriend. “But she never had a key.”

And she knew nothing about the Albah. She wouldn’t know the meaning behind the tacks. If she was a Guardian, he’d have been dead inside of a week. They had been together for nearly four months.

“Are you sure? There’s no sign of forced entry and nothing of value is missing.”

Julian knew that. And he knew the cops were just doing their job. To them this was a dumb prank. To him it was the promise of death. He couldn’t say that, though. It was hard to believe his father had thought this was a good idea. So far it seemed like a waste of time for everyone.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I moved in five months ago and I haven’t given the key to anyone except my brother.”

“Would he do something like this?”

Julian wanted to laugh. “No. He’s not a prankster. Plus he’s been camping all weekend.” He’d gotten back yesterday, or was it today?

He wouldn’t have said Emily was a prankster either. She was taking the breakup far better than he’d thought she would. Unless she wasn’t. Was it possible that she’d found something online about the Albah? Was the internet going to make life more dangerous as people discovered who they were again? He didn’t want to believe that there were people out there determined to expose the Albah. If the Guardians did that, there would be more trouble than the Albah could handle. A couple of hunters was one thing, but when anyone could try their hand at Albah hunting the world would become a scary place.

The cops looked at each other. “Well, we’ll write it up. But really there’s nothing we can do.”

“Breaking and entering without theft or violence doesn’t rate highly, I know. But I don’t want this to be a regular occurrence.” What if whoever had done it came back and he was home? Staying at a hotel was looking like a really good idea.

“We are taking this seriously. If something else unusual happens, don’t hesitate to call. We’ll have a word with your ex too.” He checked his notes. “Emily Fergus. Maybe once her travel visa runs out, you won’t have any more trouble.” The man smiled.

This was all a joke to them. No doubt they’d have a laugh at the station about the man who was freaked out by some tacks on the kitchen floor. If they’d been brass, he wouldn’t have been concerned. Well, he’d have still been worried about who had been in his place but the meaning wouldn’t have been the same.

“Thanks.” He really hoped he didn’t have to call them again. And he would stay at a hotel for a couple of nights just to be careful.

When they left, he quickly packed a bag and put the rest of his mother’s diaries in the bottom. Leira had the first one. If it was a Guardian, surely they’d have taken them. It wasn’t as though they had been hidden or even locked away. They were as valuable to the Guardians as they were him and Leira. The secrets of Albah fire magic written down, wouldn’t they want that?

As he walked to the train station in the dark he’d never felt more vulnerable. He refused to glance over his shoulder or search for someone in the shadows. He would not start acting like prey.

Unlike the Albah, whose blond hair and folded ears made them stand out to those who were looking, the Guardians of Adam could be anyone.

But Emily? No, she could have killed him in his sleep a dozen times over. She wasn’t a Guardian.