Page 73 of Mystic Justice
Krieg shook his head. ‘He’s dead. I can only control the living.’
God damn it! ‘I’ve got a kill order,’ I said firmly. ‘Let’s carry it out.’
He smirked. ‘You got it, Inspector.’ He swung the mace in his hands and cricked his neck then smiled at the griffin. ‘Come on, birdie.’
‘Rude!’ Loki squawked above us, making me smile despite the situation we were in.
Harbinger screamed and flew at Krieg. His claws moved like blades and his wings buffeted the air so hard that the blast knocked me off balance. Krieg caught a brutal swipe to his trapezius and my heart stopped. That was too close to his neck, too close to being deadly even for an ogre.
I slammed my dagger up into Harbinger’s joint where his wing met his shoulder and he screamed. Krieg recovered fast and drove his mace into the same shoulder from the other side, crunching bone with the impact.
Harbinger roared and turned on Krieg, beak snapping – and that was when Calder regained consciousness and jumped into the fray.
‘You fucking bitch!’ she screamed, sending a fireball rolling towards me. I made a hasty shield of air, one around myself and one around Krieg; it was hard to maintain two separate areas but I was motivated. I angled the shield carefully so that Jane’s flames hit it and bounced off, redirected into her half-dead lover.
Jane Calder screamed as her fire slammed into Harbinger’s chest and consumed him. He gave a deathly scream as his flesh burned, much like Ruben had probably done when she’d killed him, I thought coolly.
Harbinger hit the ground, spasmed once, stilled. Calder screamed. Broken, she fell to her knees.
The silence that followed was suffocating. My breath sawed in and out as my chest heaved, and sweat stung my eyes.
‘Jane Calder,’ I said when I’d regained my breath. ‘You’re under arrest for the murders of Moss Hollings, Joe Bogan and Ruben Jones, and the kidnap and attempted murder of Ji-ho Lee.’ I cuffed her wrists behind her back.
I prayed it was onlyattemptedmurder: I still hadn’t gotten into the damned casket and Ji-ho’s air supply had to be dwindling. ‘Get the coffin open!’ I barked to Krieg.
‘What does it matter now?’ Jane said softly. ‘Nothing matters now.’ Tears fell down her cheeks as she walked slowly to the smouldering remains of her lover. Her knees buckled again and she dropped to the ground beside him, her shoulders bowed in despair.
I let her have her moment: she was cuffed and I had other concerns, namely Ji-ho. She could have a moment to say farewell to Harbinger and then, once Ji-ho was safe, I was booking her and dragging her to the station. She might be grieving, but raising your lover from the dead and going on a murderous spree was rarely the answer. Therapy was a thing for a reason.
There was a loud crunch and shards of wood went flying as Krieg forcibly ripped open the coffin. ‘There was a lock,’ I said faintly.
He shrugged. ‘Yeah, but I didn’t have a key.’
I looked inside, fearful of what I’d find. Ji-ho’s eyes were closed: was he unconscious or dead? I stared at his chest but I couldn’t see it rise or fall.
‘No—’ I breathed as I clambered into the coffin and desperately pressed my fingers to his neck. Rule number one: always verify death.
A thready pulse fluttered against my fingertips, faint but there, and I saw Ji-ho’s chest rise a little. Now that he had oxygen, he’d be okay. ‘Thank fuck.’ I closed my eyes as relief swamped me. ‘Can you help me get him out of here?’ I asked Krieg.
‘I’ll grab him if you move out of the way.’
I climbed back out of the coffin and Krieg slipped his arms under Ji-ho. He carried him with the same care he’d shown for Helga and Moss, laid him down gently and put him in the recovery position.
I touched the comms. ‘Situation under control. The suspects have been neutralised. Ji-ho is alive but unconscious.’ Mindful of the fact that I was supposed to be heading a team, I threw out a task for someone to snag; it was good to feel useful in emergencies. ‘Someone call for urgent medical assistance.’
‘I’m on it,’ Channing promised before anyone else could jump in.
The adrenaline was fading and the pain was coming back. My ribs ached: Harbinger’s claws had scored a few hits, close calls that hadn’t missed by quite enough.
I looked at the griffin’s corpse and saw that Jane had managed to move her cuffed hands to the front of her body. She was leaning over her lover and grasping one of his burning claws; the heat had to be scorching her flesh but she didn’t even blink. I guessed she was used to heat. She stared into the griffin’s empty eyes then lifted his claw to her throat.
And that was when I realised what she intended to do, but I was too late. Too slow. Too damned tired. ‘Jane! Don’t!’ I barked.
She didn’t take her eyes off Harbinger, just drew his deadly claw sharply across her jugular. ‘Shit!’ I swore. I ran towards her but she was already toppling. Murderously competent to the end, she’d done a thorough job of slicing her own throat.
I stared down at the pool of blood rapidly growing around her and hesitated. I had very limited skill with healing; I hadsomebut my brother Julian had gotten the lion’s share of a wizard’s healing powers. But with all the lives that she’d taken, I couldn’t summon the intention to save her. I thought of Moss, Joe and Ruben, and I let her bleed.
Krieg pulled himself to his full height, approached me and gently wrapped me in his arms. Leather, sandalwood and black pepper.It was becoming one of my favourite scents.
