We end up downstairs in the hotel having an outrageously overpriced breakfast. Normally, I’d object, but Lukas cheerfully announced that he’d be paying, leaving me with little room to argue. Besides, I’m not exactly in the mood to wander around looking for food. I also make a mental note: weaponized cheerfulness is just as effective as I thought. I am definitely going to keep using it in the future.
“So, what’s the plan for today? Did you come up with something while you were busy being annoyingly chipper and who knows what hellishly early time you apparently woke up?” I ask, stabbing a piece of toast dramatically. Lukas finishes the last bite of his eggs, clears his throat, and sits back.
“That depends. I know you can fix computers, but how are your research skills?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. I narrow my eyes at him.
“Are you questioning my skills again?” I demand, a touch of indignation in my voice.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He says smoothly, his lips twitching into a smirk.
“But I was thinking we could do some research and see if we can find signs of necromancer activity, and by we I mean you because I suspect you’ll be way better at it than me.” He concludes. I tilt my head, intrigued despite myself.
“Signs like what? It’s not like I can just search ‘necromancers near me’ online.” I reply sarcastically. Lukas chuckles, shaking his head.
“No, but think about it. If someone is trying to raise the dead, what do they need?” He asks. I pause, tapping my fork against my plate as I think it through.
“A spell book? Ritual supplies? Something dramatic and creepy like candles or chalk circles?” I guess.
“Exactly.” Lukas answers, leaning forward.
“And what else?” He prompts.
“What else…” I trail off, my brain finally catching up.
“A dead body. Someone to raise,” I realise.
“Exactly.” Lukas nods.
“Unless we’ve got zombies parading through the streets, those bodies are still missing. And missing bodies? That’s the kind of thing that gets noticed. Police reports, news articles, maybe even rumors online.” He says enthusiastically. I bite my lip, considering.
“You’re not wrong. We don’t have access to police files, but news reports? That’s doable. Maybe there’s something out there about bodies going missing or showing up in weird places.” I agree. Lukas leans back in his chair, his smirk still firmly in place.
“Exactly. So, ready to work your magic? And I don’t mean your actual magic.” He jokes. I wave my phone at him.
“I’ve got this. I don’t even need a computer to start. I’ll do a quick search now. If I can’t find anything, I’ll grab my laptop later and really dig in.” I decide. Lukas raises an eyebrow, he seems amused.
“You brought a computer with you?” He questions.
“Technically, it’s in my car. But I don’t need it for this. I can handle basic searches from my phone.” I shrug and start typing.
It only takes me about fifteen minutes to make my internet history look like something straight out of a horror writer's research. Seriously, I’m probably going to be flagged on some kind of watchlist, and my ads for the next month are going to be wild. But my sketchy searches do turn up something potentially useful.
“In the last few weeks, there’ve been a series of fires. People died in all of them, but in every single case, the bodies couldn’t be recovered. That’s weird, right? This article says the most recent one was just last night.” I tilt my phone toward Lukas, showing him the article. He leans in to read, his expression turning thoughtful as he scans the details.
“We should check it out.” He says decisively, handing the phone back to me.
“Check it out? You want to go to a crime scene?” I ask, eyebrows shooting up.
“Why not? It’s not like we have any better leads right now. It’s worth a try.” He says, his tone annoyingly confident. I frown.
“If we go now, there’ll probably still be cops there. Do you really think they’ll just let us wander around and start snooping?” I point out.
“Even better.” Lukas replies.
“I can read their minds and get information that way.” He says it like it’s totally obvious. I blink at him, incredulous.
“You’re just going to read their minds? And you don’t think they’ll notice you, what, brushing up against them? Most people don’t go around casually shaking hands with cops.” Lukas smirks and he leans back in his chair like he’s got everything figured out.
“Ah, but that’s where Roxy comes in.” I stare at him,
“What in the world does Roxy have to do with any of this?” I demand. Lukas doesn’t answer right away, just gives me a knowing look, which is even more annoying. Whatever scheme he’s cooking up, I suspect I’m going to hate it.
Finding the crime scene is ridiculously easy. A massive, burned down building tends to stand out, especially when there’s still smoke wafting around, making my eyes sting and my throat burn. As soon as I park, Roxy hops out of the backseat, her nose twitching as she sniffs the air. She doesn’t look impressed. I stand beside the car with my hands on my hips, eyeing Lukas skeptically.
“Well? Let’s see this genius plan of yours,” I challenge. Lukas nods, giving Roxy a reassuring pat on the head.
“Go get ‘em, Rox.” He murmurs. Roxy immediately trots off toward the nearest cop, tail wagging like she’s greeting an old friend. My eyebrow arches. There’s no way he trained her to do that, it must be another side effect of his magic rubbing off on her, she’s very good at figuring out what he wants. The cop yelps as Roxy circles him, and Lukas springs into action, rushing over with exaggerated urgency. He knocks into the cop as he grabs for Roxy, probably trying to get a glimpse of his mind.
“Roxy, sit!” Lukas commands firmly. She drops obediently by his feet, looking like the perfect, innocent dog. I creep closer, expecting the cop to be annoyed, but instead, he’s grinning. And wow, what a smile. Actually, the guy has a great everything. Is there such a thing as a sexy cop calendar? Because I’d absolutely buy one if this guy were Mr. January. Or any month really.
“Aww, don’t be mad at her. The ladies love me.” The cop jokes, scratching Roxy behind the ears. Yeah, no kidding. I totally believe this guy does well with women. The hot cop notices me approaching. He winks at me, and I feel my cheeks heat. Dammit.
“Sorry about Roxy.” Lukas says casually, clearly fishing for information.
“She’s usually really well behaved. It must be all the smoke messing with her.” He says apologetically. The cop doesn’t seem particularly annoyed. If anything, he looks amused, but there’s a flicker of something in Lukas’s expression, like he’s wary now. That’s odd. I step closer, ignoring Lukas’s subtle warning look. Surely, he doesn’t actually want me to stay back. Lukas sticks out his hand.
“My name’s Lukas.” He introduces himself formally. The cop shakes it without hesitation.
“I’m Eli.” He says with that same charming smile. His hand is still resting on Roxy, who looks way too pleased with herself. Eli glances at me, extending his hand in greeting.
“I’m Clare.” I say pleasantly. I reach out instinctively, and the moment our hands touch, a rush of heat surges through me. Oh. I snatch my hand back, shivering, and glare at him.
“An incubus.” I mutter. Eli raises an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised.
“Huh. Clare, was it?” His eyes narrow briefly, and then he smirks.
“Oh, you’re a witch. I didn’t think so at first, your hair threw me off. Don’t get me wrong, I love the pink, but wow. You’re really committed, huh?” I want to be offended, but my brain is still slightly fogged from that magic. Why does he have to be so hot?
“Yes,” I reply coldly, although I might sound a little breathy.
“And it’s not polite to use magic on strangers without permission.” I say firmly. Eli holds up his hands in mock surrender, his grin never faltering.
“My bad. I thought you were human. It’s part of my job to… You know, convince humans to mind their own business. Don’t want them stumbling across things they shouldn’t.” He explains.
“Are you saying this fire was caused by magic?” Lukas cuts in, his tone sharp. Eli’s grin fades, his gaze narrowing as he studies Lukas. “
What exactly brings you here?” he asks, suspicion creeping into his tone. Lukas adopts an innocent expression that’s so fake it almost makes me laugh.
“Just grabbing Roxy. Total coincidence.” He says. Okay, Lukas is a terrible liar. Understandably, Eli doesn’t look convinced. His gaze flicks between us before he turns and gestures toward someone else. “Hey, Damien! Come over here.” He calls, waving another figure over. I sigh, this is so not going to go well.