Chapter 5

In Nathaniel’s shadow.

When I arrived at the office on Thursday, I knew that the media had sniffed out the paranormal murder case. All of the sudden, Nathaniel’s handsome face appeared next to the picture of the Queen and other famous celebrities. I wasn't sure how, but the press found out the troll who died worked for La Caz. I wasn't linked to that mess, at least for now. The ordinary world assumed that Nathaniel was involved with some dodgy business and the death of the troll was supposed to be a warning. Of course, none of the humans knew that the troll, named, Ludwig Spencer, was part of the paranormal world. Nathaniel hadn't released any kind of statement, and I didn't believe that my ex-boyfriend was doing anything illegal. All supernatural creatures kept low profiles. Humans weren't supposed to know about "our" cases, but sometimes stories got out. We had our own special department in the government that dealt with that sort of thing, making sure the media didn’t sniff out the unusual crimes. That department took care of all leaks, but last night someone talked, and the story was all over London.
I refused to get a lift with Roberto this morning. He wasn't too happy, but I needed to feel normal today, so I took the tube to work instead. A group of witches were glancing at me from time to time, like they knew what I’d been up to last night. The male elf sitting next to me shifted away a few times and, when I looked at him, he pretended he was reading the paper. For some reason, everywhere I went, I was seeing paranormals reading about Nathaniel. My internal voice told me that this was just the beginning.
It was odd walking to the office alone. Sara was late, as usual, and Kate wasn't working today. In the past few weeks I’d been getting all the day shifts. I think my dad had some kind of influence on Rufus. They both agreed to keep me close and only working when they could both keep an eye on me. When I checked my emails, there was nothing from Nathaniel. It wasn’t that I was expecting something, but I wanted to talk to him about the dead troll.
It started raining just after ten and a few minutes later, Sara walked in.
“I'm sorry, Julia, my alarm didn’t go off and then I got stuck in traffic."
“Don't worry. Could you speak to these two candidates for a curse breaker position? I need to see if Lucinda needs anyone else for tonight," I asked her, hoping she would just shut up and get on with work.
"Yes, right away," she said promptly, and I exhaled with relief. She went to her desk, dropping the files on the floor yet again.
I just needed to get used to it. We had to go out and buy a few more mugs because she’d smashed them all. Whenever she offered to make a cup of coffee, I preferred to do it myself, so did Kate. After Sara sorted out the mess with her files, she made a phone call to the first potential client. Just before eleven, I saw Dad walking through the door, accompanied by Stuart. My stomach tightened automatically: they weren't just here to visit.
"Hi, Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked, swallowing hard. Stuart’s expression didn’t give anything away.
"We need to talk to you," Dad said, glancing at Sara who was talking loudly on the phone. "In private."
I nodded, then took them to the interview room, wondering why they were here. Dad looked like he needed a good night’s sleep. Stuart appeared tense and distracted.
"So, what’s going on?" I asked with an edge in my voice.
"Rufus is missing; his wife called last night. He was supposed to be back yesterday from Manchester. He called her, stating that he was leaving, but he never made it home. Since eight o’clock last night his phone hasn’t been working. His wife mentioned that he always calls if he’s running late."
I had to sit down and take a deep breath.
"Maybe he didn’t want to drive for so long and stopped at a hotel," I suggested, not allowing myself to think that something might have happened to him.
"When was the last time that you spoke to him?" he asked.
I sat back, thinking about Rufus; he was supposed to be in the office last week, but he didn’t show up, stating he had to go to Manchester. He sent me a quick email telling me to attend that networking event, but we hadn’t spoken since he left the office the week before last. A bead of sweat rolled down my back as I looked at my father’s worried face.
"Last week. He was going to Manchester, then he sent me an email asking me to go to that networking event. I tried to call him for several days, but he never got back to me," I explained, trying to stay calm, but my heart was already pounding.
Dad looked at me for a long moments before he spoke. "We can’t trace his phone. I wanted to talk to you before I took any actions. I’ll speak to the unit in Manchester to see what they’ve got. First, the murder, now Rufus? I don’t like this, Julia, not one bit."
"Dad, I hope you don’t think something happened to him..." I whispered, trailing off.
"We have to consider every possibility," he answered, shrugging.
"If he’s missing, then McGregor is behind this," I said, balling my fists.
"We don’t know that, hon. You might be right; someone already tried to burn the agency. Rufus has a lot of knowledge and contacts in this industry. He was telling me that Paranormal Personnel made tons of money dealing with La Caz Pharmaceutical."
I knew straight away what Dad was talking about. Since Nathaniel started outsourcing his recruitment, we made money and his production line expanded. We were the biggest supplier of his staff. The other two agencies were smaller, and they were struggling, as far as I knew. Then I exposed Caleb McGregor, who was producing and smuggling a fake Lucrative Shot, and now he was no doubt looking for revenge. Nausea hit me as I thought about Rufus. I could only hope he was all right and safe. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to him because of a decision I made, especially after what happened to Claudia. She’d been kidnapped in the middle of a busy street, and now Rufus was also missing.
"Rufus has done nothing wrong. He might have knowledge, but he isn’t important."
“It's too early to speculate, Julia. I’ll see what the unit up north has to say first. If we don’t hear from him within the next twenty-four hours, then I’ll start an intensive search," Dad said. "I just wanted to give you a heads up."
"I can’t believe this is happening. You must have some leads on McGregor?"
"We already discussed this. It’s not that difficult to disappear, Julia. McGregor has contacts and money." Dad frowned.
"What do I tell the girls and anyone from management if they call?" I asked, feeling hopeless.
"Just keep it quiet until tomorrow. I’ll call you if I know more."
They left shortly after that. I put on a brave face and got back to work. I couldn’t find my place for the rest of the day, thinking about Rufus. I tried to talk with Sara but didn’t concentrate much on what I was doing. Clients came in and I dealt with them the best I could, but my mind drifted away too often. Rufus had a family to look after; I couldn’t imagine what his wife was going through.
After work, I skipped the gym, waiting anxiously for any news from my dad. Roberto gave me a lift home; I didn’t have time to think about Nathaniel because Rufus was on my mind for the rest of the evening. I kept checking my phone, hoping that my father would call with news, but the tiny voice in my head told me that I was wasting my time.
It was ten o’clock in the evening when I’d had enough of sitting on my bum waiting for the phone to ring. Roberto was away, and I didn’t feel a bit guilty for leaving the flat on my own. My neighbourhood was quiet and there was never any trouble around there. I wanted to get some wine to take the edge off from the stress of the day. The past few days were draining, and I hadn’t been sleeping well. The local shop was only a five-minute walk from my apartment. Maybe I was stupid drinking on a work night, but my magic was whipping through me like frosting for a birthday cake. I needed to cast a spell, but I knew that I would mess something up. Dad kept telling me to go see a healer to avoid the burst of magic, but I could never find a spare minute.
The young Asian shopkeeper gave me a smile after I paid for the wine. Dark clouds covered the moon and it was warm despite the rainy weather we’d had the past few weeks. On my way back, a few youngsters gave me a dirty look, pointing at my slippers.
I couldn’t help it; I showed them a middle finger. Yeah, very mature. I slipped between the houses, taking a shortcut. I was only two minutes away from my apartment when I heard a scream. I told myself to ignore it and just move along when the woman’s terrifying voice rang in my mind.
I stopped, glancing around, and my stomach tightened. A current of energy charged through my body quicker than I anticipated. During the day, I’d been lacking concentration, so all my senses were sharper and hypersensitive. I darted around, but my path was empty; I could hear the screams further down. Then I heard a loud laugh. I charged through the passage, not even thinking about what I was doing. In the corner of a dark alley, a bright blue light was radiating from an old garage—a place where most teenagers gathered to drink.
My breathing was shallow; my heart beat furiously in my chest. I peered behind the wall. A tall figure was standing above someone, possibly a woman. From the bright light, I gathered that I was dealing with paranormals. My energy was pulling me toward them. Adrenaline crawled through my body, awakening the rest of the energy I tried to pull back. The excess magic was making me shake like jelly. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the cracking voice again.
“Don't you dare touch me, you, fucking areshole!" the woman screamed. She was lying on the ground, trying to drag herself away from her captor. She was Scottish, her accent strong.
"Oh, you’re so wrong, sugar. I’ll teach you a lesson; no one walks away from me," the rasping, sharp voice growled.
It would be morally wrong to dismiss that she was in trouble, and I wasn't the kind of person who kept walking when people needed help. I was caught in the moment, so I stepped out of my hiding place and roared, "Hey, arsehole, leave her alone!"
My voice was thick and strong, but my whole body was shaking. I didn’t know what to expect. It was dark, but my senses were working better than usual, and I was ready to kick his ass. He turned around carefully; I sensed that he was a wizard.
"Keep walking, my dear, or this one here might not be satisfying enough," he barked, waving his wand quickly, not giving me a chance to react. I wasn't ready for what came after that. I was swept off my feet, landing on my butt, seeing stars. I moaned as sharp pain shot through my back; my elbows were bruised; my heart was romping. Shaking my head, I inhaled, really pissed off. The bomb started ticking once I lifted myself off the ground.