Page 7 of Forsworn By The Vampire
Stepping in front of me so she could face me full on, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. I guess it would be cold for her. I hadn't really noticed. "We're afraid something may have happened. No one has heard from her since yesterday, not even Mike, who actually deigned to answer his phone this time. And still won't tell me where he is on this sudden 'vacation' of his..." Her expression became thoughtful.
A burning sensation erupted in my chest at the mention of that little punk's name, but I pushed it aside, focusing on what was important and not my dislike for Lizzy's assistant. And certainly not because every time I saw him aside from Ancient Magicks he was always hanging around with a certain, redheaded witch. "Can't you guys just do one of those location spells and find her?" I didn't know why she was telling me all of this. Angel Moss was not my problem.
Lizzy looked down at her feet, and I saw her shoulders rise and fall on a deep sigh. I narrowed my eyes at the top of her dark head. I knew what she was doing. And it wasn't going to work.
But she surprised me. Instead of trying to wheedle what she wanted out of me, when she looked up, her jaw was set in that stubborn way she had when she was determined to get her way. "Look," she told me. "You can live in denial all you want, but I know there's something between the two of you. I saw it that day at the shop when we were all there."
"There's absolutely nothing between me and that witch."
She continued on as if I hadn't spoken. "We can't find her, Jamal. No one has heard from her. Not even Mike. And those two are practically inseparable lately. Not that I think there's anything romantic there," she was quick to point out. Then she sighed. "Any spell we try is blocked. We're afraid she's in some kind of trouble."
"Did you try her house? Or apartment? Or wherever she lives?" It inexplicably bothered me that I didn't even know that much about her.
Lizzy nodded. "Of course. That was the first place we checked. I ran over with Aunt Judy yesterday. No one was there."
"Maybe she just wanted some alone time. She doesn't seem the type to need a babysitter."
"She doesn't," Lizzy agreed. "But as thorny and spontaneous as she can be, she's never just disappeared like this. Not without telling someone." She ran her eyes over my face, searching for some hint that I cared, maybe? "Jamal, I know you know something we don't. And I know it has to do with Angel. I don't know how I know that, but I do. I can feel it every time you're around me. All I'm asking is that you tell me so we can try to find her."
I stared at her, but said nothing. Damn witches and their sixth senses. Of course, with Lizzy, it might be more than that. She was still getting to know her magic after a life of being in denial of who and what she is.
"Jamal, please. I'm really worried. Something's wrong. I can feel it in my bones. We all can."
"I thought you didn't like her."
"I don't. She's a complete bitch to me, but that doesn't mean I want something to happen to her. Bitch or not, she's still family."
Running my hand over my shaved skull and down to the back of my neck, I tried to ease some of the tension there. "Look, Liz. I'd love to help you, but I really don't know where she is or what she might be doing." That was true. "I barely speak to the woman." Also true. "And I'm supposed to be at the club in a few hours, so I don't know how much help I can be. Besides, she's got a whole coven of witches looking out for her, I'm sure they'll find her before either of us could."
"They all went to Seattle for a meeting with the coven up there," she said distractedly. "Angel was left here to keep an eye on things. I haven't heard from her since." She chewed on her thumbnail for a few seconds. "So you haven't seen her recently? Are you sure?"
Jesus fuck. I couldn't lie to her. "Just briefly on the street the other night when she was wandering around The Quarter."
She perked up at that. "Did you talk to her?"
"Again, just briefly. I have no idea what she was doing, but she seemed to be heading home. That's all I know. I'm sorry." All true. I don't know why I felt the need to leave out some parts, other than I felt like somehow I would be betraying Angel's trust to say more.
She stared at me for a long time, like she thought if she did it long enough, she'd eventually see through to whatever she thought I was hiding from her. Finally, she dropped her eyes. Without a word, she walked around me and back into the main house.
"I'm sure she's fine!" I called after her. "Fuck." I released a deep breath through my mouth and continued on my way. But even after I got inside, I couldn't settle down. All I kept seeing was Lizzy's brown eyes, filled with worry and disappointment in me. What if she was right? What if Angel was in trouble? That girl was definitely up to something. Maybe I should've told Lizzy that I saw her sneaking out of her shop the other night. What if she got herself into some type of a mess she couldn't get out of? And what if Lizzy got pulled into it?
I stopped pacing my small kitchen and stared out the sliding doors toward the big house, different scenarios tumbling around in my head, and not a damn one of them good. Then I gave myself a hard internal shake. Nah. I was letting Lizzy get to me. Dae was right. Angel was hot. And stuff could happen. But she was also a witch. No one in this city could do anything to her that she didn't want them to do. Not even someone like me.
But what if it wasn't someone like us?
What if it wasn't a someoneat all, but a something?
After Kenya's attempted kidnapping, we never did figure out how the hell the djinn had escaped, not as injured as he was. That warlock--the scary one with the bird...Jesse--swore he'd exhausted enough of his magic that the only way he would've been able to get out of the city was if he'd had help. So, where had he gone? We'd all searched the woods surrounding the swamp house until the sun had forced us back to The Quarter. We'd found nothing...
Except some tire tracks.
However, we'd never found the car they belonged to. And no one recalled seeing or hearing anything. But magic could easily cover that. So, why didn't the djinn and whoever his little helper was make those tracks disappear? It's almost like they wanted to get caught.
I started pacing again as some seriously fucked up thoughts ran through my mind. But then I shook my head. Nah. She wouldn't be stupid enough to get involved with something like that. The cost would be too great. Djinns were notorious for their crafty ways. Angel would know better than to get involved with him.
Unless he was holding something over her.
My guts began to churn, and I made a beeline for the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. The djinn were nothing to fuck with. Hell, even I knew that. Surely, Angel did, too.
