Page 38 of Mystic Justice (The Other Detective #2)
Chapter Thirty-Five
Not sure what Calder had done to Ji-ho, we called Amber DeLea in to negate any runework. The scorched runes suddenly made so much sense: Calder had somehow combined her witch heritage with her fire magic and burnt the runes onto the very bones of her victims.
Julian had found internal burns on Ji-ho; the runes had started to work and we’d come very close to fighting an invincible griffin.
With Jane’s death, theoretically the runes on Ji-ho should have stopped working but none of us wanted to risk it.
Luckily, Amber didn’t keep us waiting long before she rode in on Bastion like she was channelling Queen Boudica.
I mentally amended my opinion of her; she was far more badass than I’d given her credit for.
While Amber started rooting around in her tote bag, Bastion went to the burnt remains of Harbinger and knelt next to him. ‘Rest now, brother,’ he murmured quietly.
Amber paused long enough to squeeze her lover’s shoulder in sympathy.
Bastion reached back and patted her hand.
She squeezed him one last time and returned to her potions, selecting the jar she needed and painting nullifying runes on Ji-ho’s skin.
With every rune she painted, he relaxed a little more.
Meanwhile, Jules healed me. Krieg refused any healing with quiet but firm grace; ogres didn’t believe in healing magics or potions, you survived a wound or you died from it. That was utterly stupid, of course, though they did have extra-fast healing on their side.
‘You coming for a drink, Wise?’ Channing asked with Elvira, Bland and McCaffrey crowding around his heels. The grove was now crawling with SOCO and the clean-up crew, all getting on each other’s tits. It was a total circus but importantly it was Faraday’s circus. I was officially tapping out.
I managed a smile. ‘Thank you, but not tonight.’ I fished out some bank notes that were usually reserved for bribing less-scrupulous citizens and handed him a hundred pounds.
‘Get the team a drink on me. Tell Frost she can release Sandra and join you. Kuckoo will still be open if you hurry.’ The rock cocktail bar stayed open late. ‘Go. Blow off steam.’
‘Thanks, boss.’ Channing pocketed the notes. ‘Ji-ho, you want to join us for a drink?’
Julian had healed him and given him the all-clear, but he still looked like a phoenix feather would bowl him over. ‘Thank you, but no’ he said faintly. ‘I’d like to see Mei.’
‘Of course,’ Channing said, clapping him on the arm.
‘We’ll drop you home,’ Krieg offered.
Ji-Ho smiled slightly. ‘Thank you, I’d appreciate that.’
‘You’ll all have the day off tomorrow,’ Faraday ordered.
‘Thackeray and I will hold the fort. I’ll write the official report, Wise.
’ He grinned at his DSU. ‘I rather enjoyed the adventure, Thackeray. Living behind a desk, you sometimes forget what real policing is about. Fieldwork does us good, don’t you agree? ’
Thackeray nodded. ‘Of course, sir.’ He didn’t sound too convinced, but for once I had no issue in relinquishing control of this situation to the brass.
‘Come on.’ I slung an arm around my shaken tech-whizz. ‘Let’s get you home.’
I frowned as I looked at Ji-Ho in the rear-view mirror. ‘One thing I don’t get. How did Jane know you were afraid of the underground?’
He sighed. ‘My fault. She came in while I was securing some cameras in the back room when we were doing the stakeout to try and prevent Ruben’s death.’
‘And you didn’t mention this because…?’
‘We didn’t suspect her then,’ he said defensively.
‘We were looking for a psychotic witch, not a fire elemental – and she was only re-potting some plants. She said she didn’t want to let them die because Moss had loved them.
She even cried. I know now that they were crocodile tears but at the time I felt bad for her.
I made a joke about leaving the dirty work to her and said I wasn’t keen on getting my hands grubby.
She asked if I hadn’t liked playing with mud as a kid and I said I’d always hated it, said I was a water guy.
I guess she extrapolated my fear from that. ’
He shifted uncomfortably in the back seat. ‘I should have mentioned it.’ He should have, but he’d already been through so much.
I shrugged. ‘Don’t beat yourself up, you couldn’t have known.’ It was done now; there was no point in letting him get mired in guilt. He had quite enough shit to deal with in his own head without adding guilt to the mix.
We pulled up to Mei’s flat and he opened the car door. ‘Stacy?’ He paused. ‘Thank you. And, er, my thanks to you, Your Excellence.’ He bobbed a half-bow, the gesture made extremely awkward by his half-in, half-out position.
‘No problem,’ Krieg said. ‘We’ll wait, see you safely into the house.’ His tone was emotionless but my heart warmed at his offer.
‘I appreciate that. I’ll be seeing you soon, no doubt.’ He bobbed again then shut the car door.
We watched until his front door was shut and locked behind him. ‘Thanks for that,’ I said softly.
‘No problem,’ he repeated and drove me home, his fingers laced through mine. Automatic cars were a genius invention.
‘It’s late,’ I said when he stopped outside my apartment.
‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘No funny business, but do you want company? I’m not keen on leaving you just now. I’ll sleep on the sofa. It was surprisingly comfy.’
‘That’s not necessary. I’m fine.’
He reached out and tilted my chin. ‘There are shadows in your eyes, Inspector. And they were in Julian’s, too.’
I forced a smile. ‘I’m fine, just tired. I’ll message you in the morning.’
He pressed his lips together but nodded. ‘Fine. I’ll see you to your door.’ He gently picked up Loki, who’d been snoozing on the back headrest. My bird squawked a little in alarm but settled when he realised it was Krieg cradling him.
When we got to my front door, Krieg insisted on clearing the whole flat. Only when he knew it was safe did he take his leave. I locked the door behind him and turned on all of the lights. Tonight, I needed them as much as Loki.
Because I was a woman of my word, I texted some details to the number I had for The Mystic Informer and confirmed they had the green light to print the story.
Holding my shit together with the thinnest of threads, I fed Loki. I had no appetite for food because my own demons were pressing on me, making me feel sick. I could still feel the magic-suppressing cuffs around my wrists, the knife cutting into my skin.
I kicked off my shoes and climbed into the shower fully dressed. Turning the water to hot, I let its warmth soothe me. I wasn’t in darkness; I wasn’t in the cold. I sat on the shower floor and only then did I start to cry.
When the door opened and Krieg filled the doorway, I was too far gone to stop the tears. Loki was fluttering around the bathroom, visibly agitated. ‘Thanks. I’ve got her now,’ Krieg murmured to him.
He opened the shower door. I expected him to turn off the water, but instead, he climbed in and sank down next to me.
Then he put an arm around me and held me as I cried.