Boreal and John Grey Season 1 (7 page)

Throwing her keys on the kitchen counter, she opened the fridge, stared blankly at its empty contents and her last bottle of beer. She closed it again. God, she needed a vacation. And a life.

Missy wandered by, meowing and stopping to rub herself on the chairs and walls. Crap, she’d forgotten to get more cat food. She fished out the last can from her cupboard and grabbed the can opener.

“See, Missy, there’s food for you in this apartment, but not for me. What does that tell you about me, huh? No sense of self preservation, Simon always says.” She paused, her chest heavy. “But what does he know? I’d much rather pass out drunk on my sofa, thank you very much.”

Missy watched intently as Ella dished out the smelly food, waited until she moved away, and then approached the bowl.

Ella sank in a chair, watching the kitty feed, and unscrewed the lid off the beer. “Glad to see me, Missy? Because you sure don’t look like it.” She took a swig of cold beer and shivered. Damn, the heater. She lurched to her feet and went to flick on the switch. Hot air hit her face and she turned, letting the warmth work on the knotted muscles in her back.

Missy growled softly, making small slurping noises.

“Simon is missing, you know. It’s been...” Ella shook her head. “Two days now. I’m scared.” She staggered back to her seat, put the bottle on the table. “Can’t be a coincidence, can it? That he’s vanished just as the world went out of spin.”

Missy didn’t seem interested in listening or answering, which reminded her of someone. “He hasn’t called me, you know. Finn. Not that he said he would. Or even that he needs my help.” She swallowed more beer. She still had to get that pleasant buzz that softened the edges of the world. A second beer might do the trick, and she didn’t have another, dammit. “But I’m worried. I’ve a right to be worried about him, okay? He saved me twice; we’re practically family. Like you and me.”

Missy didn’t seem impressed. With typical feline focus, she finished her food, sniffed around the bowl in case she’d missed any, and settled down to give herself a bath.

Ella pulled out the piece of paper she’d found in Simon’s apartment and stared at it. The letters and numbers swam in her eyes. God, she was tired. And she hadn’t had a chance to show the paper to Jeff, see what he thought. Who else could she ask? Dave was avoiding her, avoiding the whole question about the Gates, and damn if just the word didn’t make her stomach do backward flips with dread. But even that wasn’t enough to put her off her search for Simon.

Maybe Mike from next door might have an idea?

A bang jerked her to her feet. The noise had come from Mike’s apartment.
Talking of the devil...
With all that was happening lately, she felt justified in grabbing her gun and rushing out to check on him.

Mike’s door was half open. She’d need to have a word with him about security. Nudging it open with her foot, gun aimed, she entered. Quiet blanketed the apartment. Nothing moved. She listened for tell-tale clicks, but the soft ambiant music playing on the speakers distracted her. Where was Mike?

A groan from the adjacent room made her shoulder muscles clench. She stalked to the door and waited, then stepped out, pointing her gun.

“Oh, dear,” Mike muttered, on his knees, sweeping glass shards off the floor into a dust pan, “see the mess I’ve made. And this was my favorite crystal ball, too.” Messy dark hair fell into his eyes, hiding them.

Ella lowered her gun. “Are you all right?”

 “Ella?” He fell back, eyes big as saucers. “Didn’t hear you come in. What are you doing here?”

Feeling foolish, she holstered her gun and went to help him gather the shards. Belatedly she realized she hadn’t even washed her hands and they were covered in grime. Her nails were encrusted with dirt and blood.

“Sorry. I heard a noise and thought maybe you were in trouble.” She gestured at him. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Mike pushed himself up and smiled, his dark eyes lighting up. “That’s nice of you. I was having some trouble — with the Voices. Too loud lately.”

“Ball slipped?” Mike liked to hold it in his hands, said it helped him focus.

“Yeah.” Mike winced. “Damn expensive thing.” He sighed, wiped his hands on his jeans. “Can’t do one thing right these days.”

“Welcome to the club,” Ella muttered. “Look, sorry I barged in like that.”

“Nonsense.” He frowned. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

Crap
. She’d been afraid this moment would come. “Look, if it’s about the hours I return home from work, I do my best to keep it quiet but sometimes the door—”

“Oh, no.” He looked startled. “Not that. I mean, you don’t make any noise, nothing to worry about.”

Relieved, she leaned against the sofa. “Then?”

“Not here.” He wrung his hands together. “Not now.”

Odd
. Well, since she was there, she might as well say what she had to say. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, too.”

“About?”

“The thinning of the Veil. Oracles are getting killed, Mike, maybe you should—”

He waved his hand up and down, pressed a finger to his lips, nodded over his shoulder.

What the hell?

“Mike?” A man’s voice. “Is everything okay?”

Ella turned. There was indeed a young man — a half-naked young man — in the doorway of what had to be Mike’s bedroom. “Who’s that?”

“Um. You remember Scott?”

Ella blinked. “Your boyfriend who lives on a ranch out of town?”

Mike grinned. “Yeah, he’s the one. Only just arrived today.”

Picked the perfect time, too, with the world going to hell. She wondered if the countryside was safer. Maybe she should move there. “I’m Ella, next door neighbor.”

Scott nodded, and Ella nodded back. The guy was taller than Mike, with broad shoulders and an easy-going smile, his tousled blond hair giving him a jaunty air. Not bad-looking at all.

“Listen,” Mike cast her a pleading look, “will you be in later?” He turned his back to Scott. “Please,” he mouthed.

“Sure.” Ella looked from him to Scott and back, her curiosity piqued. “I’ll be in.”

***

Missy chased a dust bunny across the floor, then abandoned it in favor of chasing her own tail. Looked like fun. Ella dozed on her couch, a stupid reality show lulling her to sleep, while the kitten ran up and down the living room on soft paws.

A knock on her door jerked her awake. A feeling of dread made her heart pound. The fading images of a dream teased her sense of reality —
white spirals swirling, swallowing her up, a hand approaching her face, a sense of danger
.

She shook her head to dispel the last vestiges of the dream and got up. The room was cast in grey. Dark was falling.

Another knock. Grabbing her gun, she crept behind the door. “Who is it?”

“Mike.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Ella unlocked the door and slid it open. “What’s all the secrecy about?”

“Oh, that? Um.” Mike’s cheeks flushed. “I just don’t want Scott caught up in this.”

“He’s with you,” Ella felt obliged to point out. “He’s caught up already.”

“You don’t understand. I don’t want to involve him in the Shade business. He thinks I’m fun-crazy, which is fine, but...” He shrugged. “With all the attacks, and the Voices getting louder, I’m afraid...”

He’ll leave you?
Ella swallowed a sigh. Her Sight had been one of the reasons her family had broken apart. The HQ psychologist had insisted it would’ve happened anyway, but deep inside she was sure it was because of her.

“Things are about to get worse, Mike,” she muttered. “Like I said before, the Shades have been attacking oracles. You’re in danger.”

He paled and backed away. “What should I do?”

“I’d say moving to Scott’s ranch might be best.”

“Can’t. He’s just sold it. He’s moving in with me.”

Man, Scott’s timing really sucked. “Okay, just — be careful. Redraw the symbols on your door and use more iron charms, wear your clothes inside out, hang a rock with a natural hole around your neck. Everything I’ve told you before. And carry a knife with you. In fact, what about a gun?”

He paled. “Gun?”

“Gun.” Ella holstered hers, tapped the grip. “Bullets. Weapons. You need to protect yourself.”

Mike said nothing, shifting from foot to foot. Damn the man, he’d probably sworn an oath to Buddha to harm no living being, not even cockroaches.

 When the silence drew long and tense, she gestured at the kitchen counter, visible through the doorway. “Want a coffee? I think I’ve got a bag of that instant stuff somewhere.”

“No, I...” He sank on the sofa. “I also need to tell you something.”

“So you said. Did you hear anything on the grapevine?”

“Yeah. I heard a name.” He looked down at his hands, twisting them in his lap, and drew a long breath. “Yours, Ella.”

She tensed. “What did they say about me?”

“Nothing. I mean, it could be another Ella, right? But they also mentioned a Simon not long after, and I thought it might be your partner.”

“What did they say about Simon?” She rounded the sofa and leaned over him, her hands itching to shake him until he told her all he knew. “What else? Dammit, man, spit it out.”

He shrank back, raised his hands. “Nothing interesting, I swear.”

“Anything you heard could help.” She took a deep, steadying breath, and straightened. “Anything.”

“Well, they mentioned this word — Boreal. Does it mean anything to you?”

Boreal?
“That’s something like northern, right? Like Aurora Borealis, the northern lights.” Could that be a clue?

He shrugged. “No idea. Is it important? I’m more concerned about your name being mentioned. Could they be after you and Simon?”

Ella fell in an armchair and threaded her fingers through her loose hair. “We think they went after Simon already. He’s missing.”

Mike blanched. “Oh, god...”

“When did you hear the names?”

“This morning. I’ve been turning this over and over in my mind, and I just can’t help thinking — could that mean you’re next?

She shrugged. “Well, they haven’t managed to catch me yet.” Thought they’d tried. If it hadn’t been for Finn...

“So they’re after voyants, too.”

“We think so. Mike...”

“I’ll be careful. You too. Promise?”

She nodded. A hell of a mess and no clues about Simon. And there was talk of Gates and shit that everyone had thought long forgotten and over with, returning to haunt them.
John Grey. Guardians. Aelfheim
.

“I’ll go now. Scott will wonder where I’ve gone.”

“Wait!” She fished the crumpled paper out of her back pocket and waved it at Mike. “Any clue what these letters and numbers could mean?”

He scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “Looks sort of familiar. Maybe a password for a bank account?”

Ella sighed. “Maybe.” Though it looked all wrong.

“Well, g’night.”

She threw an arm over her eyes. “Remember to lock. And use the charms. And don’t go out alone.”

“Yes, Mom.” She heard the fond smile in his voice, though. The door clicked open, and then shut.