Devilish Game - Linsey Hall Page 0,1

of the dumpster. I gestured to the chair. “Please, sit. I’m sorry. We don’t have any refreshments we can offer you.”

“I couldn’t drink or eat if I tried.” Her voice was so thin it seemed like it would break. She ignored the chair and came to me, gripping my arms tight. “My baby has been stolen. My Katine—just nineteen. She was taken right out of her bed late last night.”

I gasped. “Kidnapped?”

The woman nodded her head, her teary eyes desperate and her grip viselike. “I heard a bit of noise but thought nothing of it. Then a few minutes later—a scream, short and fierce.”

The guilt in her voice sounded heavy enough to drag her to the bottom of the Pacific. “Did you see anything?”

Mac, Seraphia, and Cordelia all gathered around, concern vibrating off them.

“I ran to the window.” The woman’s voice nearly broke, but she stiffened her spine. “A man—perhaps a demon—was dragging her through the back garden, right into a portal he made with a transport charm.”

Oh, shit. This was so much worse than a normal kidnapping case. In the human world, you had twenty-four hours to solve the case before your chances plummeted. In the magical world, with portals and transport charms, you had minutes.

They could be anywhere by now. I could see the thought reflected in my friends’ eyes, but none of us spoke it aloud.

“You didn’t go to the police?” I asked.

“I did. I’ve just come from there. But they’re slow. And I’ve heard what you’ve done for Guild City. If you can save so many, surely you can save Katine.”

Oh God, that was a lot of pressure. But I had to try. “What did the kidnapper look like? Did he leave anything behind?”

I tightened my hands into fists, wishing that my power didn’t require something to touch.

“He looked human for the most part, but he had terrible red eyes. Evil eyes.” She bared her teeth in a snarl, as if she could reach through her memories and strangle the kidnapper. “He was tall—dreadfully so. Two meters if he was an inch. And he wore a dark cloak that concealed almost all of him except a shock of dark hair and the red eyes. Like blood, they were.”

I looked at Seraphia and Mac. “Have you ever heard of anyone like that?”

They shook their heads.

I looked back at the woman. “And you have nothing of his? Nothing from the scene?”

“I can go search again. I didn't spend long before I went to the police. But they….” She shook her head, clearly irritated. “They’re working on it, but too slowly.”

“I can try.” I really needed something to touch, though. I held out my hand, palm up. “May I touch you?”

She frowned. “I suppose so.”

“Thank you. My gift relies on touch.”

She thrust out her hand. “Anything for Katine.”

Gently, I laid my palm on hers, trying to corral my magic into doing my bidding. Show me what she saw.

An image blasted into my mind. A young woman, pale and terrified, was being dragged backward by a cloaked figure with brilliant red eyes. She screamed, fighting his grip, but he was too strong. He slammed a transport charm to the ground, and a poof of orange smoke burst up next to them. He dragged Katine into it, and the vision ended. I shuddered, withdrawing my hand from the woman’s.

“The portal was orange. Is that strange?” I’d only been in the magical world a short while, but all the transport charm portals I’d seen had been silver gray.

“That is strange,” Mac said. “There could be some residue left behind if you’re lucky.”

“Could Eve track that?” My Fae friend was a potion master. In this strange, magical world, she was a combination of forensics and weaponry.

“Maybe,” Mac said.

“Do you want me to take you?” the woman said. “It hasn’t rained yet, and the garden is shaded from the sun.”

“All right.”

“Come.” She turned, her bathrobe flapping.

“Wait, I don’t know your name,” I said.

“Oh, of course.” She turned back, eyes weary and face drawn. “I’m Martha Templeton. Mother of Katine Templeton.”

“I’m Carrow Burton, Martha.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. I pulled it out, my heart leaping when I saw the two little words from Miranda.

He’s back.

Mac’s eyes zeroed in on my face, knowledge sparking in her gaze. “I’ll go to Martha’s and get a sample if there is one. You go see what’s going on there.”

I hated not going with Martha, but for all I knew, Grey was at death’s door.