Chapter 8

Fear and other emotions.
 


I was literally glued to the pavement for a good minute, staring at the man who had threatened to kill me on more than one occasion. Jasper stood on the other side of the car park watching me as the darkness was slowly filling up the sky. I called out my magic, feeling it rushing through me slowly, hoping that he wouldn't notice. Electric sparks lifted my hair up and I swallowed hard, unable to decide if I should attack or not. I had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually Jasper moved, disappearing around the corner. In one moment he stood by the building, the next he was gone. 
I glanced around the car park, waiting for his magic to hit me, expecting him to appear again, but nothing happened. My breath was long and laboured when I got into my car. My hands were shaking when I tried to put the keys into the ignition. I needed to do something. I couldn't go crazy just because Jasper was playing his psychological games with me.
It took me three times to start my rubbish car and by the time I was driving off, sparks were flying everywhere. The air was so thick with magic that I had trouble concentrating. 
My ex wasn't stable, but after what happened with Emily and my father, I really just wanted to talk to him to straighten things out between us. He had done a lot of damage but also a lot of good. That day when I nearly died, battling the crazy witch, Jasper realised that I would never choose him, and he lost it. He didn't even give me a chance to explain.
I drove back to Nathaniel’s apartment; it was the only place where I felt safe. The rest of the evening dragged, and I was waiting for Nathaniel to come back from work, so I could talk to him about what happened. He arrived late, and by that time I already called the station and told Stewart that Jasper was stalking me. I also added that he was a danger to himself and maybe he should arrest him. It was a temporary measure and I had no idea if it would work, but I didn't want to get Nathaniel involved. He hated Jasper and we’d been fighting over him since we got engaged. I couldn't deal with yet another argument. Tomorrow, I was going to say goodbye to my grandma and I knew I wasn't ready for it.
 

***


"Right, are you sure you’ve got everything? If I have to go back to that apartment one more time, I'll drink your delicious blood, Julia, right now, in front of all my neighbours," Nathaniel said wrapping his long lean fingers around the wheel and giving me his irritated look. Fair enough. I might have pushed his patience to the limit today, forgetting about a million things and stressing about the funeral arrangements.
Mum woke me up early, panicking, because there was a problem with the flowers. Someone had mixed up the orders, and we ended up with large pink roses. I had to go and sort it out. Excess magic had been whipping through me from the moment I woke up, and I didn't need that today, especially when all my family was going to be there. I chose not to say anything to Nathaniel about last night. He already hated Jasper so much and it was just another thing to stress about. My ex was only trying to scare me. He wouldn't dare make a move now when I was practically living with Nathaniel. On top of that, I needed to be in the right frame of mind to deal with the funeral. Things were settled again between us and I didn't want to fight.
The funeral was to be held in Canterbury in the main cathedral. The Unit had just recently allowed us access to the house. Mum took care of the food and distant family. While Nathaniel was running me around the city sorting out the flowers, Dannika called to inform me that my dad was slowly losing patience. He nearly got into another fight, this time with a vampire over some new absurd theory.
"No, don't worry about it now, Nathaniel," I told him after relaying the conversation with Dannika. "I have everything Mum asked for, so let's just drive," I said knowing I couldn't do much about my father.
There was something in the air that day and I could almost taste it on my tongue when we started moving smoothly through the traffic. I didn't believe in bad luck, but I’d had a bad feeling before everything that had happened in the past. And I couldn't ignore this strange burning smell in the air. I shouldn't have read the horoscope yesterday, as my overactive imagination was working overtime.
Nathaniel looked slightly tense. My heartbeat was racing, and I kept rubbing my palms over my skirt. Grandma had a colourful past. From what I could tell, she lived a very wild and exciting life. Fireworks weren’t going to top the kind of person she was. The stories in the papers weren’t helping and I hoped the family wouldn't judge her based on the shit storm that was currently in the media.
The drive to Canterbury took longer than expected; the traffic was horrendous. By the time we arrived, the funeral was just about to start. The mansion’s driveway was filled with cars. Aunt Dorothy had probably sent a few more invitations than she anticipated attending. My grandma had been involved in the Paranormal Community for years. Even so, I was surprised by how many people had turned up.
Nathaniel looked at me for a long moment as I stared at the empty house, moved that people didn't believe the horrific stories that had been splashed across the papers in the past few weeks.
"Julia, are you all right?"
I looked at him, swallowing my tears. For some reason my magic had just awakened itself again, running down my spine. My power still hadn't gotten used to the fact that these days Nathaniel was with me all the time. 
"I'm fine, just stunned that so many people decided to come," I replied. "There will be a lot of paranormals here who won't be very happy that we’re together." 
"I'm used to that. I'm here for you and I want you to remember that. No one should be concerned with our business." 
I nodded, took his hand and we walked inside. For a split second, I was waiting for my grandma to welcome me and when she didn't, disappointment filled me.
"Julia, Nathaniel, it's good you’re finally here. We’re just about to leave," my Aunt Dorothy said. All my cousins smiled, waving towards me. There was static electricity in the air. The house was full of elves, fairies and a few witches. It was hard not to feel influenced by such pure powers. I glanced at Nathaniel, who inhaled deeply closing his eyes. I wasn't surprised that he had trouble with his self-control with so many elves in the room. Vampires were intoxicated by fairies’ and elves’ blood. He normally didn't drink from me, because the bite weakened me, and he preferred not to risk it. I squeezed his hand tighter, knowing he was probably fighting with his urges.
"Where are my parents?" 
"Your dad had an argument with my mum, so he went ahead to the cathedral," Claudia whispered, smiling shyly towards Nathaniel when her mother went to the kitchen to check on the dishes. 
"Argument?" I asked. 
"You know, about Grandma’s involvement with that wizard." 
"Ladies, we don't have time for chitchat. We need to head to the cathedral," Aunt Dorothy announced, appearing right in front of us again.
 Claudia went red and rushed outside alone to the other guests. Many humans who still lived in the village were staring as we all walked by; a few people joined us. My grandparents chose to live in one of those rare communities where paranormals were happy to share their lives with ordinary humans. Most of the people in the village knew my family. Grandma was respected, well, maybe not so much now, but in the past, she had been an important figure in the paranormal world.
Nathaniel squeezed my hand as we approached the cathedral. The weather wasn't great—thick grey clouds hung above us—but it matched my mood. I spotted people outside, paranormals who I didn't know or even recognise. There were elves, fairies, some witches and even a hag. Kelsie, Ella, Nicky, Kate and Rufus stood by the entrance.  
I chatted with them for a while before Dad asked us all to go inside. Tron was sitting in the back with another tall elf who seemed bored. There was still no sign of Alex. The priest was human. Dad didn't really raise me with any religion, but Grandma used to go to church, so it was appropriate we had a service for her. 
I was anxious to see my grandma in the coffin to say goodbye just before she was buried.
My brain seemed fuzzy throughout the funeral. My cousins were crying, and I didn't know what I was supposed to be feeling. Nathaniel was squeezing my hand the entire time, probably expecting me to burst into tears at any moment. Right at the end, I couldn't take the tension any longer and sobbed, remembering the truly exceptional woman. The sadness was suddenly overwhelming, and I couldn't accept the fact that Grandma had died without accepting my relationship with Nathaniel.
"My condolences, Julia," Kelsie said later on outside. Then she leaned in and added in a whisper. "I want to nail the son of a bitch who did this. Just tell me what you want me to do." 
"Thank you. I appreciate it." 
"We’re all here for you," Nicky whispered while hugging me.
Tron approached once I didn't have anyone around me. He shook hands with Nathaniel saying something to him, looking quite moved. My parents and the rest of the family were walking towards the graveyard where the priest was going to continue with the funeral. 
"Your grandmother was a fine elf. We will all miss her," Tron muttered. "Have you heard any news about your grandfather?"
"No. I wasn't sure if you were going to show up. I was expecting to hear from you," I said, feeling disappointed that he hadn't called.
Tron stared at me in silence as other people were slowly moving for the burial. Sparks of electricity danced along my skin. Tron’s strong magic pulsated, embracing us tightly.  
"I don't believe the individual who was seen with your grandmother was a wizard. There is a possibility that he was charmed or acting as wizard. He might be the key to everything, the key to finding the real murderer," he said. I wanted to walk away and tell him that he wasn't telling me anything new and I’d already thought of all that. 
"I know, Tron. I thought at least you of all people would have more information."
"It's strange, but all of a sudden, everyone has gone quiet. I'm sorry, Julia, but things are a little bit complicated."
"All right, fine. I need to go. The funeral isn't over," I said, knowing a few people were staring at me.
"Julia, I know you’re impatient, but collecting information will take time. I’ve been away, and paranormals don't want to trust me like they used to." 
"After today I'm going to get involved and I'll find whoever killed her myself. " 
"Julia, your dad is asking for you," my cousin muttered, looking from me to Tron. I nodded. 
"We can talk about this later," I said to him and carried on walking. There were other things I needed to ask him. It was a good thing that Nathaniel didn't hear what I told Tron. Besides, I was done with Tron’s promises. It seemed he was more worried about his own reputation in the community and now, I just needed to concentrate on my own investigation.
I felt a little absent during the rest of the funeral. People were sobbing, paranormals who I’d never even met. Dad looked lost.  
The priest said a few nice words and I kept feeling those odd magical vibrations circulating in the air. Deep down, I had already said goodbye to her. An hour later it was all over. Nathaniel and I decided to stay until the very end and walk behind the crowd. That didn't stop a good number of elves glancing back at us in obvious distaste.
"Who is that old man you were talking to earlier on?" Dad asked, catching up with me as we were walking back to the house. I’d never mentioned Tron before and I wanted to keep it that way. My dad had no idea that Ella wasn’t an ordinary human and for now I needed to keep it that way.
My magic lessons and his involvement in recent events could indicate that he was a suspect. Dad was already getting himself in trouble at work; there was no need to wind him up anymore. Besides, I still didn't know much about Tron.  
"He’s an old friend of Grandma’s from when she was dealing with the potion business," I quickly explained.
Dad was stroking his chin, staring intensely at my magic teacher. 
"I’ve seen him before but many, many years ago, when I was a teenager," he added. "Anyway, it's probably not important. I need to speak to a few people from the Association. They should give me some leads." 
"Dad you’re not supposed to be involved. Seriously, drop this. What’s going to happen once you lose your job?"
"Julia, something is going on with our family. Paranormals aren’t murdered in broad daylight for no reason. I need to get to the bottom of this." 
"No, Dad, the police are going to get to the bottom of this. The unit has to find the murderer, not you," I insisted as we approached the corner to get back to the house. Nathaniel was behind us probably listening to every word. I noticed the way a few elder elves were looking at him, like he was a monster.
"What the—"
Nathaniel didn't even finish his sentence, because everyone was all of a sudden blinded by flashes of the cameras and the surge of reporters outside on the driveway. I heard Dad barking at everyone to get inside the house.
"Comments, any comments, Mrs. Taylor?"
"Inspector, do you believe your mother stole the money?" 
"Get the hell off my property," Dad shouted, red-faced, rushing towards the group in front with his fists. A few of them started moving away, still capturing his picture. He couldn't use magic—there were too many humans amongst the magical press.
Nathaniel had joined my father. My mum and my aunt told everyone to get inside the house. People were angry that the press dared to disturb the funeral. Guests were squeezing through the gate, but the reporters were taking pictures from every angle, probably aiming for the best shot. Dad would have lost the plot if it wasn't for Nathaniel, who physically forced him inside. I was one of the last to go in, when I heard a voice behind me. 
"This is what you get for choosing a leech over me."
I turned around to see Jasper, who stood in the front row with his arms crossed over his chest. He was obviously the one who called the press, clearly wanting to disturb the funeral, all because of me.