Page 1 of Encore
Chapter1
Beyla
Isat in a ball by the piano and tried to tune everything out. The guys were yelling at Marsden for letting Bellatrix get to the point that she would bring a gun to rehearsal and try to kill me right in front of everyone. I didn’t think Marsden would have covered that up and let her keep her job. But, even if he would have, and Bellatrix had shot me, not even Marsden could have stopped one of the guys from killing her.
Kaine warned me about this exact scenario when he tried to talk me out of being an agent. He wanted to tell me what it felt like, and I didn’t listen. Kaine said there was this great adrenaline rush solving the case and catching the bad guy. Unfortunately, not every case was like that. Sometimes, the choice was to kill or be killed.
I wasn’t even trying to kill Bellatrix. I knew the spell if I needed to, but I just sent her a simple disarming spell to get the gun out of her hand. It should have sent the gun away from her instead of flinging her out of the window, but someone gave her a genuine ‘evil eye’ pendent knowing she was deranged.
Kaine told me it would happen, and it felt like shit every time. I thought I could handle it because I would be so careful. But I wasn’t handling it. I just killed someone. Yeah, she was terrible and had ruined plenty of people’s careers. Bellatrix fully intended to shoot me, but taking a weapon away should have been easy.
I had my head buried in my arms, trying to ignore everything in the room. I felt someone sit next to me and wrap their arms around me. I knew enough about what the guys’ auras felt like to know it was Merlin. I got everyone wanted to yell at Marsden for letting it get to that point, but I really needed a hug right now. I snuggled into Merlin.
“Want me to take you home, cook you dinner, and rub your gross dancer feet?”
Merlin just had this way of making me smile, even when I felt like bursting into tears and losing it.
“You’re crazy if you’re offering to touch a ballerina’s feet. I’d actually love to do all of that, but none of us can leave until the Paranormal Investigation Bureau gets here to question everyone. This is a different branch than the one Kaine runs and I work at. These guys don’t know me, but they’ve heard of him.”
“They’d better not be little bitches about it. Witches aren’t bulletproof.”
“I wasn’t trying to send her out of the window.”
Merlin squeezed me and nuzzled my head with his cheek.
“I know. Being an incubus isn’t all about sexual feelings. I can take away some of your pain and make you feel better. Only with your permission, though.”
It meant a lot that he asked me first. He used his magic on me when we first met without asking me. Now that I had gotten to know him, I knew he was better than that. He could have done it, and I would have felt better. I just didn’t feel like I deserved it.
“Can you just hold me?”
Merlin squeezed me again.
“We can do whatever you want, Beyla. What do you need?”
“I really need to call Kaine.”
The guys were great, but Kaine was the only one who knew what I was going through right now. I came here to stop people from dying, and the first death was by my hand.
“Look, there’s the Paranormal Investigation Bureau now,” Merlin said.
I needed to put on my big girl panties. I just wanted to hide under my blankets and pretend none of this happened, but I was an agent now.
This was Marsden’s ballet company, and he was the reason I was here, but I’d be damned if he spoke for me.
Chapter2
Beyla
Iwas finally out of my own little world and paying attention to the rest of the room. Nicolai and Bevan were trying to stop Arden from assaulting Marsden, and it looked like he was fighting a war with his gryphon. Marsden had erected a magical barrier and was trying to talk Arden down. Our accompanist was hiding behind it but shot out when he realized agents from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau were here.
One agent was a banshee and let out this loud warning shriek to get Arden to back down. Unfortunately, her eyes narrowed right at him.
“I can guess which one of you threw the succubus out of the window, but why don’t you start from the beginning?”
Oh, fuck no. Kaine was an excellent agent. He taught me everything he knew. He made damned sure I never walked up to a crime scene like this agent. You never wanted to have already made up your mind with none of the facts. Yeah, Arden was raging right now, but he didn’t do this.
I didn’t start keeping my badge in my dance bag until Bevan got me a lock, but I had it with me now. So, I flashed it and just dealt with the scorn on her face as she took in my leotard, tights, and pink pointe shoes. Fuck her. There were so many ways I could beat her ass in my pink tights.
