Chapter 32

The Swedish witch who desires immortality.



I felt so relaxed, snuggled up in soft and amazing sheets. I spread my legs and arms, stretching. The soft aroma of lavender and lime zest permeated the air; my muscles relaxed, and I wanted to drift back to sleep. Alerting thoughts made me realise there was something that I’d forgotten. I shut my eyes after recognising my own devastated bedroom. The memories from last night came back slowly until I concentrated. My dress was on the chair and I was in my underwear; the morning light was streaming into the room.
How the hell did I get here?
The pain in my skull reminded me of the party. Someone in the venue used their magic against my own. The penetrating sources of power came unexpectedly, knocking me out and I lost focus. I flinched, hearing my phone vibrating somewhere on the bed. I started to search for it and after a moment I found it under the pillow.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Julia!" Kelsie screamed into my ear. "Where the hell have you been all night?"
"I don’t know. I just woke up," I replied and then the realisation of yesterday’s event hit me and I slid off the bed. "Oh, my God, Kelsie! The party! Did Dannika get the witches?"
"Wow, chill. The party ended early; there was a gas leak or something like that. They had to evacuate everyone, but a few of those bitches are in custody right now."
I was going to ask her what happened to me, but then I spotted a note on my dressing table. Still holding my phone close to my ear, I picked it up, recognising the handwriting.

Julia.

You passed out and I managed to get you out of that party.
We need to talk. I have something really important that I have to tell you. I’ll call you as soon as I can.

Nathaniel.

"Hold on, Kelsie. I have to throw up," I said and then ran to the bathroom. In a matter of seconds all the memories were back, and I was violently sick. My stomach heaved, cold sweat soaked my body. I lifted my head, breathing hard. It took me a long moment to pull myself together and find the phone on the bathroom floor.
"I'm here," I gasped to the phone.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Nothing, it’s complicated. Just tell me if Dannika got anything out of those witches."
"Things got messy last night. The witch was trying to fight back. She killed one of the officers in the bathroom and injured Dannika. She was kept in isolation for a few hours and Dannika was in bad shape, so she couldn’t interrogate her straight away. I'm sorry, Julia, but once the alarm went off everyone went berserk."
I sat back down on the bed, swallowing my tears. Kate had less than twenty-four hours left, Dad probably a day more.
"Jasper showed up; he tried to talk to me."
"Yeah, he was arrested last night, but someone paid his bail today, so he got out."
Kelsie asked a few more questions about last night. I wanted to know if the witches were ready to talk about their plans. There was so little time and we still hadn't caught the head of the coven. I had to rely entirely on the unit. Apparently, the witch injured Dannika pretty badly. I had no idea if she was in the station or in the hospital.
I tried to gather my thoughts to understand what happened with my magic yesterday. Nathaniel brought me to my apartment, undressed me and then vanished. Everything was clear. He paid witches, so he could get close to them.
I couldn’t physically come to terms with this. At first, I had to rely on Jasper, a scum like him to get to Gordon, because Nathaniel was blind to the coven. Magic had never concerned him; it was always blood. What changed?
I wished he had stayed until I woke up. I was ready to question him. My phone started ringing again, but I didn't pick it up this time around or check the caller ID. I put some clothes on, brushed my hair and headed out.
First, I went to the station trying to speak to Dannika, but the paranormal in the reception didn’t want to let me in.
"She can’t see you now. She asked that you leave her a message."
I didn’t understand what was going on. Why all of a sudden couldn’t Dannika spare five minutes with me ? But the officer in reception refused to say anything more. Apparently, the station had been locked down. No one was able to speak to the officers. My vision blurred and I felt weak, but I needed to go to the hospital.
When I arrived, Kate’s whole family was sitting in the corridor. Her sisters were crying; Mr. Broomfield was hugging one of them to his chest. When her mother saw me, she only shook her head.
"She has until tomorrow afternoon."
"Be strong," I said to them, knowing that there was nothing that I could do for them.
My head was completely screwed, and I wasn't thinking straight. I didn’t go to see my father. I couldn’t bear looking at him when his life was slowly drifting away. I put my foot down and headed straight to Canary Wharf to see Nathaniel. I had to be certain about him betraying me with those witches. If there was any evidence, I could easily find it in his apartment.
The traffic wasn't so bad on Sunday, but it still took me around forty minutes to get to his complex. My gut feeling told me that he wasn't going to be there. Either way, I was ready to use my magic to make him talk, once and for all. His lies were sickening. I trusted him, gave him my life and now I just wanted answers.
I parked the car somewhere where I shouldn't and called reception. Luckily, it was the same porter who had seen me here before. I had to manipulate him to let me inside Nathaniel’s apartment.
The guard was sitting in his usual spot, his face was nearly enough glued to the TV. He was human, so this seemed easy. I switched on my girly mode and plastered a smile on my face. Maybe I wouldn’t have to use my magic at all.
I cleared my throat at first just to give him a chance to notice me. He sighed heavily and turned around.
"Hey, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Nathaniel La Caz’s girlfriend. He asked me to get something from his apartment and, silly me, I forgot the keys," I said, making a face and lying through my teeth. I had no idea if Nathaniel was inside. The guard looked me over up and down, twisting his lips. There was also a plan B, just in case he wasn't prepared to let me in. Now that I was so much more in control I could try a little spell.
"I don’t think he would like it if someone went into his apartment."
"I'm not just someone; I'm his girlfriend. He forgot his wallet, but he had to go to the office. Mr. La Caz won't be very happy if he finds out you didn’t let me in."
The guard frowned and scratched his fat chin. I was already searching for a spell in my head that would allow me to make him do what I wanted.
The guard with the name tag "Graham" lifted his large arse and reluctantly walked to the boxes with numbers. He found C21 and grunted at me.
"Follow me."
Satisfied with the outcome, I followed him.
"So, what were you watching?" I asked, pretending that I was interested when he opened the door to Nathaniel’s apartment.
"New episode of that American drama about a forensic unit," he replied, shrugging.
"Well, I'm sure you don’t want to miss any of it. I’ll be downstairs in ten minutes."
The guard hesitated for a second. He looked like he was really into that show.
"Just be quick. I don’t want any trouble," he barked and then strolled back, hurrying down the stairs. I was alone. Perfect.
I felt a little sick and on edge walking back into Nathaniel’s apartment. Memories shot through me like an arrow and I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about his place. I really needed to pull myself together.
I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. Maybe I just wanted to make sure that he was clean, that he didn’t sleep with that witch. Every room I went to was immaculate and his scent only enhanced the space, bringing my lust back. I had to stop thinking that he couldn’t betray me.
I opened some drawers in the living room, but found nothing. There was no paperwork in the kitchen drawers. He barely had any food in the fridge. Pictures of his sister and father were on the side table. I ran my hand over the edge of the table wondering why he lied about everything.
After a few deep breaths and searching in the guest bedroom, I went to his room. The bed was messy, and it looked like he had slept in it last night after he dropped me home.
In this room the smell of lemons and limes was so strong that warmth embraced my body. I felt like Nathaniel was watching me, wondering how far I would go. The wardrobes were open, his suits and ties were lying on the floor. I walked to the large bedside cabinet and gasped.
With trembling hands, I lifted the photograph of me. There were others of me as well. It wasn't like he tried to hide them; the pictures were on the top of the night table by his bed. My pulse started racing when I recognised the times when he took them.
In most of them I looked happy, relaxed. Some of them were taken in Paris. My heart clenched in my chest and my pulse raced away. That woman, Elvira, she couldn't have seen these pictures if she slept here. Was it possible that he never brought her to his apartment?
I didn’t know what to think anymore and started opening more drawers, wanting to find something, anything that could tell me he wasn't bad at all. Kate was dying, and Dad was going to be next. Dannika had witches in custody. I didn’t want to think about death and the end, but things were looking bleak.
I walked around the bed and saw a thick envelope popping out of the smallest drawer. Nathaniel didn’t try to hide it very well. Maybe he was in a hurry and didn’t think anyone would try to break in.
I took it out and sat on the bed, feeling excited. There were pictures in the envelope and some other papers. The first picture was taken from a distance, and on it, I recognised the witch from the party, the one he was dating. In the other photo she was stepping out of a familiar building. In the sunlight and with less makeup, her face looked much more deformed. There were a few more of these with some other women. My heart stuck in my throat when I recognised another woman with Elvira in the coffee shop. It was the witch from the yard, the one who Dannika had in custody. Then alarm bells started going off in my head.
I didn't recognise the others with them, but my heartbeat tripled. I shuffled through more pictures and started reading some of the papers. There were a lot of dates and places. Many of the notes were handwritten and in one of them I recognised Nathaniel’s handwriting.
We met in one of the hotels. She promised to help me; she promised to bring my mother back.
I didn't understand. I knew that he loved his human mother, but was it possible that he was willing to sacrifice everything to bring her back? Something wasn’t adding up.
There were other notes in the pile, invoices, the accounts in which he’d deposited large sums of money.
I put a ton of useless stuff aside and then I found another picture taken recently. When I turned it over and saw the note on the back my world spun all around me.
Emily Bishop. The head of the coven. The Swedish witch who desires immortality.
My heart skipped a beat as I realised that the person who I had been looking for so long had been right in front of me all this time. Nathaniel’s date was Emily Bishop.