Page 40 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

IZZY

P ushing through my other mates, I duck under Legion’s arm braced on the doorframe to look at what’s going on. When I see Moore, I wish I hadn’t.

His throat is slit, and rust-colored blood covers the front of his white dress shirt.

That’s not the most disturbing part, though.

It’s not his bloodshot brown eyes frozen wide in terror and his mouth open in a silent scream.

What’s really messed up is that his limbs are strewn about his office, blood and gore decorating almost every surface.

I look around for his soul. I’m pretty sure this qualifies as a traumatic death, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the councilman hanging out. Unfortunately for me, there’s no soul to be found. “I don’t think he’s going to be much help.”

“You don’t say,” Bishop deadpans.

Rolling my eyes at him, I look around the rest of the room. “Think there’s anything useful in here?”

Rhys hums in thought. “Could be. Doesn’t hurt to go through his drawers.”

Before I can take a step toward the former councilman’s blood-covered desk, Luca brushes past me and makes a beeline for it.

Cain stalks over to help him, and the two of them have his drawers and bookcase rifled through in less than a minute.

They’ve definitely done this before. Probably on one of their arms-running or contract-killing jobs. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were all sitting at the diner and I was giving them a hard time over their side businesses.

Finding them seemed like the worst thing that could’ve happened at the time.

It’s funny how the people I never wanted to find have become such an integral part of my life and my heart.

I know I’m a better person for knowing them.

I just hope, one of these days, I can even approach doing as much for the five of them as they’ve done for me.

When Luca stops in front of me, he holds a couple of leather-bound books and some loose papers. “At a quick look, these seemed like they might be important.”

“I’ll definitely lose them if you guys give them to me,” I tell him with a small laugh. “So the two of you can hold on to them for now.”

He nods before stuffing his bounty in his pocket.

Levi’s the one to lead our not-so-merry band out of Moore’s office.

“What do you think happened to him?” I ask no one in particular.

Luca’s mouth flattens into a grim line. “Someone was cleaning house. Either it was one or several of the councilmen doing it, or we’re going to find the rest of them in a similar state.”

Oh, goodie. I can collect more nightmare fuel and fail to figure out how to drain Lua. Just what I wanted.

Rhys nods. “That was my thought too.”

Sighing, I run a hand over my face as I try to figure out what our next step should be. “So what do we do now? Is Byrne even worth checking at this point, or should we go straight to Giles or Wheland?”

I was hoping we could avoid having to talk to councilmen Giles and Wheland, who are the spitting images of their sons. They’re massive bullies, too, so having a terrible personality seems to run in the family.

It’s been a while since I’ve had to see Mason, Richard, Tyler, or their look-alike fathers, and I was planning to extend that streak for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, it seems like fate has other plans for me.

“I think we’re going to find Byrne in the same shape.” Rhys’s nose wrinkles in disgust as he thinks about the mess we’d find in Byrne’s office. “It makes sense to start with one of the other two. I believe Giles was closer to Doyle, based on what Dad said, so let’s start with him.”

Legion makes a beeline for Giles’s office with Luca, Cain, Levi, and Rhys following him. My steps drag as I fall in behind them.

Bishop walks up beside me and leans down to whisper, “You don’t have to go in there, sweetheart. We can handle it, and you can wait in your dad’s office.”

I stiffen. “I’m fine, St. James.”

I shouldn’t have said anything about not wanting to go into Giles’s and Wheland’s offices. Of course Bishop would question why I wanted to avoid their offices. He knows the names of the council kids I go to school with, so I doubt it will take him very long to realize why I’m wary of them.

Once he does, three sons from some of the most influential mage families in Hawthorne Grove will go missing mysteriously. I doubt anyone will ever find their bodies once Bishop is done with them, but there’s still the potential he could face consequences for it, which I don’t want.

I just want to forget any of it even happened.

Resisting the urge to groan at my own stupidity, I wipe all expression from my face, not wanting to give him any more to go on.

He lets out a humorless laugh before grabbing my hand and spinning me to face him. “You’re not fine, Isabel. Don’t fucking lie to me. But if you want to be with us to interrogate Giles, you can. I just wanted to give you the option.”

I clench my jaw so hard I’m worried I’m going to break a tooth but don’t say anything more. Nothing I say will make him forget about this, so there’s no point.

Extracting my hand from his, I’m honestly surprised when he lets me go and allows me to walk away from this conversation. His narrowed eyes promise that we’ll talk about this later, but I firmly file that as future Izzy’s problem.

When I walk the short distance across the hallway to the rest of our group, I see all of them watching my interaction with Bishop curiously. Levi’s, Luca’s, and Cain’s faces are thoughtful, Rhys’s is confused, and Legion’s is concerningly blank.

As much as I need an older-than-dirt hydra finding out what happened and going on a revenge murder and maiming spree, I really don’t.

“Are we gonna stand out here all day or what?” I ask to turn the focus away from me and why I don’t want to speak to Giles.

Legion squints at me before shaking his head. He doesn’t respond verbally as he marches over to Giles’s door. After trying the handle and finding it locked, Legion smiles, somehow making the expression sinister enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

His eerie purple eyes start glowing before a blast of bright purple magic slams into the door. The impact knocks it completely off its hinges and sends it flying across the room. The door collides with the opposite wall with a loud bang.

Legion marches into the office first, followed by Levi and me. Luca, Cain, Bishop, and Rhys bring up the rear.

Giles’s space is in complete disarray, with papers and books scattered everywhere. The councilman is currently hunched over a filing cabinet, frantically shoving things into a black duffel bag.

“I told you I needed an hour! I can only move so fast,” Giles throws over his shoulder nervously before turning around, wringing his hands. His washed-out blue eyes, that are the same shade as his sons’, widen when he does.

We’re apparently not who he was expecting, because his terrified expression morphs into haughty fury as he runs his gaze over us. His mouth curls into a sneer when he notices me.

I roll my eyes at him. People from Hawthorne Grove need to get more creative. Their obvious disdain does nothing more than annoy me these days. It’s kind of hard to care what B-level mages think about me when I know how much else is out there and how low on the food chain mages really are.

“How did you even get in here, vilis ?” He flicks his gaze to Bishop before understanding and disapproval roll across his face.

“I will never understand how a girl like you landed someone like a St. James. As I told my sons, you’re the perfect sidepiece.

Pretty enough to fuck, and unpopular enough that no one will believe you if my sons want to explore more…

depraved interests that aren’t suitable with girls they’ll marry. ”

I hear static as the world around me grows fuzzy as I desperately try to process what Giles just said.

Apparently, at least one other person knew what they were doing to me and not only didn’t care but encouraged it.

I don’t know why I’m so shocked that a councilman knew and did nothing about it, but I am. I distantly hear myself asking, “What?”

I sound dazed, but I can’t find it in me to care. Not right now, when all of my mates and my oldest brother are on the cusp of learning something I’ve tried for so long to keep secret.

Giles scoffs. “You’re stupid, as well as magicless.

You thought my sons did anything without my approval?

Who do you think encouraged them to pursue you, vilis ?

They dodged a bullet, with St. James making you his problem now.

Not that any of you will live long after breaking in here.

You have no idea the power I have access to now.

Especially with all the other council members gone. ”

Before I can even begin to formulate a response, Legion is in my space, his gaze swirling with emotion that I can’t quite decipher. “What is going on here, mate?” His voice is soft, but it’s impossible to miss the edge of danger in his voice.

His glowing purple eyes are narrowed on me, and his expression is lined with anger. Even though I haven’t known the hydra all that long, I can still tell that his fury isn’t directed at me. It’s on my behalf.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something not awesome happened with the way I’m shaking like a leaf. My eyes are wide, and I’m sure I’m paler than usual. As much as I would like to pretend that I’m fine, that ship has sailed.

“I can’t…” I shake my head as I trail off, my voice sounding weak and pathetic to my own ears.

I hate that I can’t just get over what happened. I hate that any of them ever touched me. I hate that Mason, Richard, and Tyler still have such a fucking hold on me and make me feel so ashamed about something I didn’t even do that I can’t talk about it with anyone.