Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1) - Linsey Hall Page 0,51
with that tie, and I wasn’t sure what that said about me.
I shook the thought away.
“Please sit.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
I looked at it like it was a snake. If I sat, it would be that much harder to fight back. To run. “No, thank you.”
“Understood.” He stood, his movements graceful, and walked around the side of the desk.
I stepped back, determined to keep my distance. The memory of his touch sent heat shivering through me, and I didn’t need that kind of distraction. I had no idea why I was kind of into the fear—probably some predator magic of his making me feel this way—but I certainly didn’t need to encourage it.
“Well?” he asked. “Did you find your man?”
“First, I need to clear something up.”
“Yes?”
“When you are looking for me, don’t use your mind control powers on my friends.”
“What do you mean?”
“You used mind control on my friend Eve. Don’t do that. Ever.”
“Friends already, are you?”
“Yeah, and I don’t have many of those, so I’m going to protect her.”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “I quite like you.”
“It’s not mutual. And it never will be if you treat my friends like that.” I couldn’t imagine ever liking him. It was such a weak word for a man like him. Loathe, lust, love.
Love?
Where had that one come from?
Insane to even think the word. It had to be magic. Hell, in this world, anything I didn’t like I could explain away with magic. Convenient.
I gave him a hard look. “Before we go any further, I need to know why you are interested in this murder.”
“Murder is always interesting.”
“Don’t try to smooth-talk me. I’m still not one hundred percent convinced you don’t have some role to play in this.”
“Yet you returned here?” Concern flickered across his face. “You should protect yourself better. If you think I’m involved, you shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous, and I don’t like it.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“I’d like to change that. For example, you seem very invested in this murder.”
“Um, I’m wanted for a string of serial killings. My face is on posters in pubs. Of course I’m invested in clearing my name.” My throat tightened at the thought of Beatrix.
“That’s not the only reason.”
“How do you know?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I can feel it.”
“Some bastard killed my friend, okay?” The words burst out of me. “My only friend, a year ago. And I found her dead.”
“The woman you asked me about.” His voice was softer.
“Yes. And there were no leads until this guy ended up dead with the same little spiral burn on his neck.”
He nodded. “I see. I’m sorry.”
I shook away the thoughts, hardening my face as I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. “Tell me more about your interest in this murder.”
I could tell from his dissatisfied expression that he wanted to ask me more about Beatrix, but he just nodded. “Fine. I like to keep track of everything that happens in this city. And I believe that there may be a necromancer in town.”
Just like Mac suspected. “And that’s bad?”
“Exceedingly. They are powerful, dangerous, and unscrupulous. There is one particular necromancer that I’ve clashed with since I came to England.”
“From where?”
“I thought you didn’t want to get to know each other.”
“Fine.” I didn’t really need that information, anyway. “So you think the killer might be this necromancer?”
“Yes. And I think he might be up to something that threatens me and my empire. An acquaintance tipped me off that he came into town about a year ago. At the same time, a valuable dagger of mine was stolen. Perhaps by him.”
“You think he used it in the murder.”
“It was capable of great magic, so yes, it is possible. When our victim was killed, there was a flare of magic—likely from a spell performed at the time. I tracked that magic and was going to investigate the scene when you showed up.”
I supposed the story worked. And the flare of magic described the crazy symbol inside the victim’s chest. There was no way I’d be letting my guard down, though. “You have no idea what this necromancer is after?”
“No.”
“Why haven’t you looked for him, then? Why give me clues?”
“Because you’re competent and skilled and will get the job done. Leaving me free to spend my time on other things.”
“Like?” He’d better be trying to solve this damned murder, too, if I was going to trust him.