Chapter 8 Chapter 8
We stepped out of the portal in the reception area of the morgue. A quick glance around the room revealed no threats. Except perhaps the cheery yellow they had painted it. I dismissed the only occupant as harmless. The young witch was so engrossed in her phone she didn’t even look up when we stepped off the arrival pad. I walked over to the reception desk and signed us in. The young vampire behind the desk eyes widen when she glanced at my name. She fumbled with the button on her desk for a moment before she managed to release the doors and wave us through. Apparently she had heard of me. Always good to know my badass reputation was intact. The hall we entered was long, white, and smelled of death and cleaners.
"Aren’t you afraid of humans seeing us appearing out of thin air? How do you do that?” Tristan asked while mimicking me ripping a portal.
"What? Rip a portal? “I asked. When he nodded I explained. “Think of it as magically following GPS. You know where you are, you know where you want to go. Access some magic and rip a doorway. As far as humans, this is a supernatural morgue. No humans allowed. "
"You have access to magic? I thought only wizards and witches had that.” Oh good grief. This kid knew even less than I expected. I took a deep breath before answering his question and reminded myself it wasn't his fault his father had failed to teach him the basics.
"Technically I'm a sorceress. I have objects of power that I pull magic from. “Seeing the blank look on his face I answered the next question before he could ask it. ”An object of power is just that, an object that has magic stored in it. In my case, I have two big ones. The first is The Sword Of Aries."
"As in the Greek god of war?” He interrupted sounding dubious. “You’re saying the gods were real?"
"Yes. They were the first wizards. Today’s wizards are their descendants. The bloodlines have become less powerful due to breeding with humans. Dilute it enough and get a witch instead of a wizard. The main difference between the two is Wizards do magic internally. They don’t need spells or incantations. Witches however, do magic externally requiring them to use spells, incantations and rituals. Both can be equally dangerous depending on the wielder.“ I gave that a second to sink in. “I also have The Ring Of Aphrodite.” I made sure I was looking at him when I said it. His eyes widen and he looked kind of dazed. This teaching thing might be kind of fun.
"You have the power of love AND war? Wouldn't that make you the most powerful being on the planet?"
I couldn't stop the snort. I know, it's not ladylike. But, no one has mistaken me for a lady for some time. "I know of several beings that could kill me without breaking a nail. Being a vampire, I can't access all of the power. Life magic doesn't work for the dead."
Connor opened a door to an exam room. He even held it open like a gentleman while Tristan and I went in. Who says chivalry is dead? The smell of decomposing bodies, chemicals, wolf, and vamp assaulted my nose. Ugh. I hate these rooms. A vampire in black scrubs stood by the body of Cyrus Howl on the table. Of course. He would have to be the ME on duty. This was not going to go well. He turned to me with a formal bow.
"Duchesse. Je suis honore de votre visite." His head might be lowered but I could see the gleam in his eyes. Clenching my jaw I reminded myself I couldn't kill him until after he did the autopsy. Maybe not even then. If I killed him I'd probably have to fill out some kind of paperwork. I hate paperwork.
"Knock it off Samson. You know I don't speak French.” Crossing my fingers I prayed he'd drop it and move on. His response was an almost believable confused smile and a raised eyebrow. Clearly he didn’t understand I was plotting his death. I could make it look natural too. No wait, he was already dead. Hmmmm. I might have to get creative in his disappearance. Wonder if anyone would believe he tripped and fell on a guillotine? Shoot. Where was I going to find a guillotine?
"Oh? How odd. I was sure you were born in France." He responded in English with his native British accent.
I fired a quick volley at him in old French. None of it was flattering. Too bad he wouldn't understand most of it. He was too young. Modern French had already taken over by the time he was born. But I'm pretty sure he got the point of what I said since he laughed and turned back to the body.
"So he has been positively identified as Cyrus Howl, council representative for the eastern packs of the US. There is no outward sign of cause of death. I won't know much until I get him opened, but, I'm confident that COD will be magic. He had no defensive wounds or any signs of a struggle. Whoever did this was either known to him or did it from a distance. The only scents on him are those of the wolves that found him and one Nicole Pearson. He smells of the woods where he was found and nothing else. My guess is they did a cleaning spell before the stasis spell.” While he was talking he put on his plastic apron and latex gloves. He reached for his scalpel and made the first incision.
The pup covered his mouth and ran to the sink on the other side of them. As soon as I heard the unmistakable sounds of him tossing his cookies I held my hand out to Connor. He gave me a disbelieving look before he answered. “You said you had twenty on him puking. I never said I had twenty on him not."
"But you didn't say no. Therefore, you implied you accepted my bet .Now give me my twenty!” I demanded. He just looked down at my outstretched hand and shook his head. How typical. Trying to get out of a bet on a technicality. Before I could persuade him to pay up, the smell of magic flooded my nose. Connor and I turned as one to face the body. “Get back!” I ordered Samson while Connor shouted “Careful.” We dashed over to where the vampire and the dead wolf were.