Authors: Kate Pearce
FACT: 95% of empaths will be unable to function as gatekeepers to Otherworld or replace memories by the end of their twenty-seventh year.
And that was what really scared the authorities on both sides of the divide, the prospect of losing their gatekeepers. Discovering that empaths could detect those who weren’t quite human on a psychic level had both frightened and intrigued the human government. That empaths could take away the memory of a human/Otherworld interaction had been an incredible bonus. Even Otherworld liked that, as it enabled them to control the wilder elements of their society and know when they had transgressed in the human world. When it came down to it, no one was concerned about her at all, just what she could do for them.
FACT: 50% of empaths will attempt suicide before the end of their twenty-seventh year.
She whistled. Wow, that one was a kicker. She hadn’t realized the rate was so high. She turned to the center page.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?
“Fuck all.”
99% of empaths who enter the Otherworld FAM (Find a Mate) program go on to live happy and fruitful lives.
Ella stared at that statistic until her vision started to blur. Ninety-nine percent? That was high, but then who believed Otherworld statistics? Only desperate people like her and Laney. She flipped the leaflet over, and saw another drawing of a happy grinning couple with their arms around each other. Wow, just wow. Did they really think she’d fall for that load of crap?
She dropped the envelope and its contents in the trash, and returned to scraping the lasagna out of the bag and onto a paper plate. A bottle of beer and a fork completed her preparations and she took everything through to her small leather couch in front of the TV. She put the local news on and stared at the screen. Ninety-nine percent of empaths who took a mate survived... Was she tough enough not to cave to that promise? Her personal interactions with other humans had taught her not to trust or rely on anyone except herself, so the concept of a mate seemed repugnant. The prospect of having to thank the government for the continuation of her life rankled even more. But if Laney was reconsidering her options, should she be rethinking her own?
Chapter Five
Ella sipped her coffee and made her way through the cubicles to Feehan’s office at the far end of her floor. There was a buzz of interest in the air that resonated through her senses like a toothache. Whatever was going on, she couldn’t wait to make it stop. She was hoping it had something to do with the potential serial killer case, but she’d learned not to get too excited. Things changed rapidly at the SBLE and it could be something totally different.
She stopped at the door to Feehan’s office and studied the unknown male Fae seated at the table. He had long pale hair that was drawn into a braid at the back of his neck and he wore a dark blue suit. She wasn’t that smart before the caffeine kicked in, but she was guessing this gorgeous guy had something to do with the other guy in the suit she’d met at the vending machine. Didn’t they always come in pairs?
“Hey.” She took the seat opposite the Fae. “I’m Ella.”
He rose to his feet and bowed. “Good morning, my name is Alexei.”
“And you’re from Russia, right?”
“I am.”
“I met your colleague yesterday.”
“Vadim? He didn’t mention it.”
“No reason for him to. I just gave him change for the vending machine. What do you do, Alexei?”
“I work for the Moscow branch of the SBLE. I’m a Fae-Web specialist. I believe we’ve been drafted in to help you with the serial killer.”
Ella glanced up to see Feehan entering the office with Liz and the tall pretty Russian. She deliberately raised her voice. “Really? It would’ve been nice if the boss had mentioned it to us, wouldn’t it, Liz?”
It seemed Liz was too busy gawping at the two Russians to do more than mutter something unintelligible and sink into a seat beside Ella. Feehan took the chair at the head of the table, and Tall, Dark and Handsome sat opposite Ella. If one ignored the distinct lack of welcome in his cold blue gaze, he really was hot.
Ella turned to Feehan. “When did you decide to call in the cavalry?”
Alexei cleared his throat. “As soon as Mr. Feehan added the details of the crime into the SBLE worldwide database, I was alerted to the similarities by my superiors.”
“You didn’t work it out yourself?” Ella asked.
“Unfortunately, I was involved in another case which took all my attention.” The Fae looked suitably contrite. “When I became aware of the new data, I was able to incorporate it into my existing cache and confirm their suspicions.”
“What percentage of Fae are you?”
Before Alexei could reply, the other Russian spoke.
“With all due respect, I don’t see what Alexei’s parentage has to do with this discussion.”
“I don’t agree.” Ella focused her gaze on the man opposite her. “It’s important to know what facilities a Fae can utilize in both of our worlds. I’m also wondering why we need another web specialist when we already have Liz.”
“Alexei is exceptional.”
“So is Liz,” Ella replied swiftly.
“Perhaps your superiors felt they needed a more impartial observer to determine whether or not this killer is from Otherworld.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Wow. There are so many things I find objectionable in what you just said that I hardly know where to start. This team is very competent. I assumed the reason
you
were here was because we had already determined that we have an Otherworld serial killer on our hands.”
“A suspected Otherworld killer.”
Ella flicked a glance at Feehan, but he was listening intently. So she concentrated her attention on the asshole Russian opposite her.
“What exactly is your problem?”
His beautiful mouth quirked up at the corner. “I’m hardly likely to share important information with you when I have no idea who or what you are.”
“You haven’t exactly introduced yourself either.”
Feehan coughed. “I apologize. I should have taken care of the introductions when we came in. Vadim Morosov, this is Ella Walsh.”
His expression went blank. “You’re the empath?”
“Don’t tell me—you’ve got a thing about empaths. Did you get screwed over?”
He stared at her for a long while. “In a manner of speaking, yes.”
“So why are you here?”
“Because I was sent here. Why are you here?”
“Because I’m the one who had to delve into a murdered empath’s mind and discover that every thought and memory she possessed had been stripped away.”
He sat back. “And that’s why I don’t like working with empaths.”
Ella refused to look away. “I don’t follow.”
“Because you make everything about emotions.”
“It doesn’t bother you that someone had their mind stripped bare?”
“Empaths do it to other people all the time.” He shrugged. “Why is it so much worse when it happens to one of their own?”
Ella tore her gaze away from Vadim’s and stared at Feehan. “Are you okay with him talking to me like that?”
Feehan held his hands wide, and Ella got the impression that he was enjoying himself. “Mr. Morosov is only questioning your interpretation of the evidence.”
“Mr. Morosov can go fuck himself.” She stood up. “I guess you don’t need me then, boss. I’ll leave you in our guest’s capable hands.” She stalked toward the door.
“So you’re not interested in finding out who killed the empath?”
Ella slowly turned around to look at the irritating Russian. “I’m very interested, but I’m not going to allow a complete stranger to walk in here and start casting doubts on my ability to do my job just because he has some hang-up about empaths.”
“I’ll do my job, Ms. Walsh. Don’t you worry about that.”
“And I’ll do mine if you give me a chance.”
“Vadim,” the Fae spoke quietly. “I’ve run Ms. Walsh’s evidence through my Fae-Web. It appears her suppositions are correct, and match the patterns we have seen in our previous encounters with this serial killer.”
She leaned back against the door and smiled at the Fae. “Great. What do you think, Liz?”
“I agree with Alexei,” Liz said promptly. “I would also suggest that having two of us with Fae-Web abilities on this team allows for a great deal of balance
and
impartiality.” She glanced at Ella. “And I would also like to say that Ella is the most talented empath I have ever worked with. If you don’t wish to work with her, Mr. Morosov, I’ll step back from this investigation as well.”
Feehan stood up and walked toward Ella who suddenly wished looks really could kill. She’d like nothing better than to see his cold lifeless body laid out on the tan coffee-stained carpet, preferably just as a hungry shapeshifter came by...
“Ella, I don’t believe Mr. Morosov was suggesting you weren’t capable of doing your job.”
“Actually, he was.”
Vadim gave a cool nod. “I was, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not prepared to work with you.”
She brought her hand to her heart. “Oh, gosh, that makes me feel so special.”
Feehan reached behind Ella and slammed the door shut. “You are going to work with each other because neither of you wants another empath to have her brains sucked out. I don’t care if you hate each other. On this team and during this investigation you will behave like professionals. Do I make myself clear?”
Ella noticed that Alexei was glaring at Vadim and that her nemesis was glaring right back. Were they able to communicate telepathically? What would that make Vadim Morosov? Part Fae? That might explain his good looks. Fae were known to be beautiful
and
treacherous.
Vadim rose slowly to his feet and looked at Feehan. “I’d like to apologize to Ms. Walsh. I’m sure we will be able to work together perfectly.”
“Okay, but I’m not apologizing to him.”
“Ella...” Feehan said.
“I get it. Play nice. Now can we get on with this, please?”
* * *
As he sat down, Vadim flicked a side-glance at Alexei.
“
Satisfied
?”
“
I’m
saving
your
ass
,
here
,
Vadim
.
If
you
can’t
get
along
with
their
precious
empath
,
you’ll
be
on
the
next
flight
home
trying
to
explain
yourself
to
our
boss
.
Suck
it
up
.”
Unfortunately, Alexei was right on all counts, but it didn’t mean Vadim had to like it. The sweet-faced little empath had a temper and an attitude to match. If he wasn’t so terrified that she’d go nuts on him like Natasha, he might be looking forward to the battle of wills ahead.
He turned his attention to Feehan, who was passing out some paperwork.
“We’ve had an update from the Humboldt police. Apparently they finally interviewed Christa Morehouse’s best friend, and she shed some light on why Christa decided to move to the city for the vacation.”
“Was she looking for a new job?” Liz asked.
Despite what he’d said to annoy the empath, Vadim already liked the look of Liz. She was just Fae enough to appeal to his Otherworld senses, but not magical enough to irritate him and remind him of the past. Her Fae-Web was constructed differently to Alexei’s. He could already sense they were going to complement each other well.
“Not a job, no,” Feehan said. “Apparently she was expecting to meet her OCOS assigned mate. As he was coming in cross country from New York, she agreed to meet him in a more accessible place than Humboldt.”
“Where is this Humboldt?” Vadim asked.
“It’s in the far north of California, almost three hundred miles away.”
“So it would make sense for her to meet her male here.” Vadim nodded. “Do we have any information about this man?”
“There was nothing about him in her head.” The infuriating Ms. Walsh spoke up for the first time. “Was there anything in her apartment?”
“We have her laptop, perhaps there is something on there,” Feehan offered. “I’ll set one of the tech guys on it immediately.”
“If we’re talking about a communication from Otherworld, it won’t be on her computer. They don’t use that stuff over there. They don’t need it. Otherworld communication comes the old fashioned way, through the mail,” Vadim added. And he liked it that way. It kept certain people off his back.
“He’s right,” Ella agreed. “If she was offered a mate, she would’ve received a letter.”
Feehan frowned. “Would we be able to get copies of any correspondence from Otherworld?”
“I don’t see why not. They have a big administration department over there at Merton. But that means one of us will have to put in a request, and you know how long that takes.”
“I’ll do it,” Liz offered. “And I’ll pop over there if I have to and hurry them along.”
“Good luck with that. Although they might be more likely to help you than they are to help me.”
“Do we know the name of this male?” All eyes returned to Vadim. “We can put him into the Fae-Web now and see if there is any data floating around about him.”
“Sure.” Feehan consulted his paperwork. “His name is George Ralston.”
Both Liz and Alexei’s Fae-Webs lit up. It was fascinating how their combined data was already entangling like vines and taking on a life of its own above their heads.
“Before we end this meeting,” Ella said, “I’d like to hear about Alexei and Mr. Morosov’s experience with this serial killer.”
So, he was Mr. Morosov now, was he? Well, he supposed it was better than being called a jerk. Vadim felt Alexei’s stare and forced a smile. “Most of the files are already available for your perusal on the main SBLE site.”
“I know that, I’ve already downloaded them. I was thinking more of your personal impressions of the case, why you think your killer might have moved continents and carried on murdering empaths.”
Vadim leaned back in his chair. “The three victims we dealt with were all found with their minds wiped clear. On the last occasion, we came quite close to capturing the killer. I suspect we might have scared him off.”
“You think it is a male?”
“Yes, we do.”
“And did your empath get the sense that the victims were almost relieved to die?”
“She said something to that effect, yes.” He frowned. “Although I’m not sure if she put it in her official report.”
“Can we contact her to confirm that? I think it might be important.”
“Unfortunately, she is no longer working for the SBLE.”
“But can we contact her anyway?”
He shrugged. “She’s dead, Ms. Walsh.”
Ella shivered and there was an uncomfortable silence until Feehan took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
“I’m afraid there isn’t any more new information to share with you all. I suggest we wait to hear back from the forensic guys and the medical examiner. Their reports are due tomorrow. Hopefully by then we’ll have something to work with.”
Vadim nodded. “I’d like to talk to Ms. Walsh about her impressions of the killer if I may.”
She was already getting up and grabbing her backpack. “Ms. Walsh has a lunch date and then she’s off home. She will see if she has time for you tomorrow.”
He met her gaze and tried to look approachable and contrite. “I’d really appreciate it if you could give me ten minutes before you go.”
She sat down again. He waited until everyone else filed out of the conference room and then got up to close the door.
When he returned to his seat she was quick to lock gazes with him.
“Why the privacy?”
“Why are you so defensive, Ms. Walsh?”
“Because you, Mr. Morosov, are behaving like a prick.”
“I apologized.”
“And did you mean it?”
“No, of course I didn’t. You don’t need to be an empath to work that out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t intend to try and get along with you.”
She sat back and folded her arms under her breasts, making her pink flowery shirt gape open to reveal a green camisole. “So you said. I’m still not buying it.”