Chapter 22: Marina Murders (2)

I felt sick.

I flipped the photos over and set them down.

“Jesus,” I mummured, “What the fuck is this?”

“You look pale.”  Lev chimed in cheerfully.  “Don’t throw up now.”

I wanted to throw him a scowl, but didn’t trust any sudden movements for reasons he mentioned  I opted to look out the window instead.

“Over the last couple of months, bodies like that have been turning up in a town not too far from here,”  said Penelope “We believe it to be supernatural.”

“Who’s we?”  I managed not to make my voice crack, but it still shook.

“...People.”

“No shit.”  I scowled.

Penelope sighed.  “Our aunt.”

“Pen.”  Lev’s voice took on a seriousness of his own, but the petite blonde raised her hand.

“I know.”  She said, then to me, “Our aunt is in real estate.  There’s a lot of money in that town.”

“So what?  She asked you two to get to the bottom of this?  What is this?  The freaking mystery gang?  All you need is a talking dog and swap this truck for a green van.”  I scoffed then narrowed my eyes and them, “How old are you two anyways?”

“I’m the same age as you, Jain Hallow.”  Penelope replied.

Barely Eighteen then.  I rolled my eyes and turned them on Lev.

“Twenty.”  Lev said offhandedly, his eyes searching the road in front of us.  We weren’t even driving, what was he looking for?

“How do you even know about me?”  I sputtered.

“You’re the talk of the town.”  Penelope said simply.

“Especially considering that your parents were Dark Mages.”  Lev muttered.

Dark Mage.  That was new.

“I’m not–”  I started, trying to form the words.  

It was complicated, even to me.  My dad had apparently been a Diabolist .  My mom was technically a Shaman, but apparently she dealt with spirits so evil that there was practically no distinction between her practice and my dad’s.  Even with my limited knowledge, I knew that calling someone a ‘Dark Mage’ wasn’t a compliment.

I gave up trying to explain. “Whatever you think I am, whatever you think it is I do, I’m not it.  I’m not… I’m just not.  Ok?”

Too many things to put into words.  Too much feeling that there were expectations placed on me, yet again.  From strangers of all things.  Then again, it’s been strangers all the same.  The scorn from the Ryus and the Valentines, Emyrith’s alien way of teaching..  

Manipulating me.

An overwhelming sense of inferiority, that I was in way over my head, and that I was struggling to even figure out what direction I should take a step in.  Scratch that, what I should even be doing.

“Why did you even come to me?”

“Like I said, we believe the killings to be supernatural.”  Penelope answered.

I let out a frustrated sigh.  “I meant why me.  Call the cops”

“They don’t touch murders like this.”  Lev had a faraway look in his eyes, staring out his side of the window with hands gripping the steering wheel.  “They write it off as cold cases.  No clue.  No suspect.  Dead end.  Too many other cases where people kill people.”

The weight of his voice caught me off guard, leaving me a bit speechless.

“I’m not asking you to solve it, Jane.”  Penelope said, “Let me finish.  We just want you to come take a look.  To confirm that it is indeed supernatural, and maybe even identify what it is we’re dealing with here.”

“Again, why me?  There must be other… I don’t know.  Practitioners who do this kind of stuff.”

“You’d be surprised how much knowledge is out there, but how little access there is to it.”  Penelope shook her head.  “Besides, no self-respecting mage would do… mercenary work.”

“No self-respecting mage would–”  I repeated her words, throwing my hands up in the air without finishing it.

Geez, thanks.

And mercenary work?  I thought I was just taking a look.  What the hell was this?

“There must be someone.”  I said, exasperated.  “What about Society?  They seemed smart.”

Lev laughed.  “Oh, that’s rich.”

I’ve known about Society for less than a week and already I hated them.  If they weren’t actively trying to get in my way, they sounded mostly useless.

Exactly like the government.

Viva la revolució, baby.

“Society generally don’t mix well with non-Society members.”  Penny explained for my benefit.

“Why?”

“Because Society is Society.  ”  She deadpanned.

I grunted in acceptance.

I thought about it some more.

There was just no way.  I wouldn’t even know where to start.  I was already in over my head and add this on top of that?  This was just a time sink.  Nothing more.  Another pointless mystery that was better left to the authorities.  If I was understanding it right, which considering the lack of information on hand I most likely wasn’t, this had something to do with the supernatural and they wanted my take on it.

How could I give a take on it when I’ve been at this for less than a day?

"Answer's still no.”  I shook my head.

“Just tell him.”  Lev said cheerfully.

I frowned.  “Tell me what?”

“I said this will be worth your time and I meant it,”  said Penelope.  “Your upcoming trial.  We have information.”

Now that hit me like a sack of bricks.  I sucked in a breath, inhaling sharply between my teeth.  Penelope caught the look.

“Just come and take a look using… whatever it is that you mages do.  That’s all I ask.  You’ll get the information either way.  We’ll give you a ride there and back too.”

“Hell, auntie might even tip you.”  Lev chimed in.

Risks.  Pros and Cons.  At what precise point does one outweigh the other?  How long had I spent in this car?  Five minutes?  Ten?  And already, I had a piece of information that was pivotal to protecting my parent’s inheritance dangled right in front of me.

These guys weren’t regular people.  That was for sure.  They weren’t Society either.  I wasn’t too sure what they were. Were they practitioners?  Something else?

Help. That’s what they were.  Help that I badly needed.  A lifeline to a drowning man.

Hell, out of everything that happened to me so far, Penelope was the only one who saved my life.  If I wasn’t willing to go out on a limb and trust her, the list of people I could trust became a very short one.  Almost nonexistent, as a matter of fact.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, simultaneously thinking and calming my nerves.  “Fine.  Let me just get my stuff.”

As I left the truck for the walk back to the RV, Penelope’s icy blue eyes gleamed.  “You won’t regret this.”