Page 5 of Soul Sucker

Ella raised her eyebrows. “You have ten seconds to make up your minds before I call in backup.”

“All right, we’re leaving.” The Fae growled. “Humans are pathetic anyway.”

“Sure, remember that. It will stand you in good stead in the future.”

He stared her down as they started to dissolve into the air, his last words a hiss. “Good riddance,soul sucker.”

She gave him the finger and kept smiling. His foul name for her kind didn’t bother her, especially when he hadn’t even had the balls to say it to her face. And there was some element of truth in the tag. She did steal part of a person’s essence when she took their memories, which was why most of Otherworld feared her as much as humans feared them.

With a sigh, she surveyed the now tranquil scene, making sure the young Fae had really gone. They were even more arrogant than human teenagers and far more dangerous because they had magic to add to the usual craziness. She tried to give the young ones a break. With a lifespan of centuries, they had a lot more time to grow up and learn from their mistakes.

The kinder word for what she did wasgatekeeper. When the human government realized they couldn’t stop Otherworld creatures from entering their space, they’d signed a treaty to regulate those visits, using the abilities of their empaths to seek out and police the Otherworld ‘guests.’

She contemplated the trek back to her office and the paperwork that awaited her. Human computers didn’t work in Otherworld, so she had to type everything up on her laptop, and then print it out to send to the authorities on the other side. Even though she hadn’t taken names or officially identified the Fae, she still had to explain what had happened to Mr. Knight, and arrange for his compensation payment from the ‘parks’ department. The wind picked up and Ella shivered. She wasn’t waiting for the bus. The department would just have to pick up the tab for a taxi.

She’d hardly cleared the park before her cell went off and Feehan’s name flashed up. Why couldn’t the man just let her return to the office before he bothered her again? Despite her reluctance, she took the call.

“Ella? You need to get back here asap.”

“I’m already on my way, boss. What’s up?” She braced herself for another so-called emergency. Feehan still hadn’t worked out that in the SBLE there were emergencies and then there werecatastrophesthat could alter the course of history. She was far more interested in the latter.

“There’s been a murder.”

She felt her derisive smile fade. “What kind of murder?”

“Possibly an empath.”

Shit. She immediately thought about her colleagues. “In San Francisco?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you in the lobby at Market and we’ll take it from there.”

2

“The police receiveda disturbance call at ten this morning from the neighbors, and went to the apartment to check it out.” Ella nodded as Feehan joined her in the unmarked SBLE car and filled her in on the details. “After trying the polite knock-knock route, and failure to locate the building super, they broke down the door and found the victim lying on her couch. Luckily, one of the more sensitive cops noticed the bad psychic atmosphere and also called us.”

“She was already dead?”

“Yeah. Music loud enough to shake the whole building, clothes everywhere, and bottles of alcohol littering the carpet.”

Ella nodded, her throat tight as they pulled up outside the new high-rise apartment block just off one of the entrances to the Bay Bridge. It must have been a quiet day in the city because the police and a paramedic crew were already there. Lights flashing, crime scene tape fluttering in the breeze and several personnel filling the sidewalk. Feehan opened his window and they were waved through to park beside the waiting ambulance. She stared up at the glass building. Something from Otherworld had been near or in the space; she could sense the dark magic in her bones.

Feehan bumped into her and she jumped. “You okay?”

“I’m good,” she managed. “Are we going up?”

“Yes, I’ve already cleared it with the necessary authorities.”

She rode the elevator up to the eleventh floor in silence while Feehan yakked into his cell phone. She didn’t like elevators and she didn’t like the vibe she was getting at all. There was a sense of immense psychic power laced with a triumphant glee that made her want to puke. Whatever had murdered the woman wasn’t quite human. She wasn’t surprised that someone had picked up on it and called for help. Despite the government officially failing to recognize the SBLE, most first responders were more than willing to pass the difficult cases over to them.

As usual, the crime scene was busy. Ella stood back and viewed the setting as objectively as she could. The victim was sprawled naked on the couch, arms thrown out, her expression fixed in a grimace that could have been either horror or extreme pleasure. Or both.

One of the cops started talking to Feehan. Apparently, there were no obvious wounds on the body apart from a little blood coming from the woman’s ears, nose and mouth. She’d been drinking, and there were no signs of an intruder.

The older female cop lowered her voice. “I’m the one who called you guys.” She shivered. “I just got a real bad feeling about this. I’ve learned to listen to my gut.”

Feehan nodded. “Thanks. We appreciate it.”

Ella guessed the victim was in her mid-twenties, and tried to think if she recognized her. There weren’t that many empaths in the Bay Area, but the face wasn’t familiar. She took a hesitant step forward, and shuddered as the residue of the killer’s pleasure swept over her.

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