Breaking the Nexus (Mythrian Realm) (2 page)

Gradually she grew aware of her surroundings, the surface beneath her body cold, hard, and…sticky? What the hell? Maybe she’d been hasty in assuming she’d kept her wits. The last thing she remembered was walking into the forest clearing. Trepidation welled up inside her body. Inhaling, she barely stopped herself from expelling what little she’d had for breakfast that morning. The stench of blood and Goddess only knew what else sent her stomach roiling. She had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t in Mythria anymore.

“Right, let’s just state the obvious, shall we? And now I’m talking to myself. I’m going insane, that’s it.” Since Luca hadn’t teased her for muttering to herself, nor had he asked if she was alright, she surmised he was either missing or unconscious. “Stop being a baby and just open your eyes. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Steeling herself, she pried open one lid. The dawning sun lanced into her brain, triggering a resurgence of her headache. Could this day get much worse? As her vision cleared, she wanted to kick her own ass for taunting the fates.

“Hey miss, you alright? Cops are on their way. Do you know what happened?” The voice was unfamiliar, the accent not quite like anything she’d ever heard before. Her eyes narrowed, trying to bring her surroundings into focus. Holy hell. She was in the Human Realm. Lying in an alley. In a pool of blood; a lot of blood, though not hers since she’d notice
 
losing important limbs or acquiring new holes. A commotion nearby drew her gaze to a crowd of strangers growing larger by the minute, all eyes fixated on her. Yup, she’d been an idiot to tempt fate.

Struggling to pull herself upright, she waved off the hands outstretched to help. “Fine, I’m fine. Just dazed, I think.”

A shrill scream amplified the pounding in her head. Why did some women have to sound like the infernal banshees that roamed the Enigma Forest?

“Oh my God! There’s a body over here! Oh my God, that woman’s covered in blood! She had to have done it! She could be armed!”

Rough hands grabbed her arms, fingers digging into them as a man jerked her to her feet. She glared up at the mountain of a man
 
who held her in place. What a tough guy, restraining a woman half his size. “Can you lighten up a bit? I’m not exactly resisting here.”

“Cops will be here any minute and they’ll sort things out. In the meantime, you just stay put.”

Under normal circumstances, she’d have just blasted the guy and made her escape; just her luck, the backlash had left her magic tapped out. Resigned, she turned her attention to trying to piece together what the hell had happened and how she’d ended up across the Nexus among the humans.

It didn’t take long for the morning air to fill with sirens and lights, neither of which did anything to help the killer headache. The woman Sha had dubbed ‘Miss Squealer’ raced over to the men exiting the vehicles, still wailing and making enough noise to wake the dead. Couldn’t that woman shut up for two seconds?
 

Another car pulled up to the scene, drawing Sha’s gaze to the newcomer, the chaos around her fading into the background as she studied him. He was tall with dark hair buzzed short and a lean, muscular body that had unbidden desire curling low in her belly. Sitting in the middle of a crime scene wasn’t the best place to be lusting after someone, let alone a man she presumed was an investigator of some sort. But could she help it if she had a weak spot for rugged men?
 

Judging by the speed which Miss Squealer abandoned the cop she’d been talking to, she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed his appearance. Annoyance flashed across his steel gray eyes as the inane woman vied for his attention. Satisfaction had Sha fighting to hold back her grin; good to see he was smart as well as handsome.

Brushing past Miss Squealer, the tall man began issuing orders. “Officers secure the perimeter and any witnesses. Nobody is to leave the scene until their statements have been logged and contact information taken.”

“Officer, it’s so terrible! That poor young man was killed by that horrid little bitch! I saw it all!” Persistent as well as yappy, Sha concluded. Fool hadn’t taken the hint when the man had ignored her. Miss Squealer looked to be in her late fifties at least, her face beginning to show lines and her hair more than half gray, the skin tight dress she wore ridiculous on her pudgy body. Hopefully he was as intelligent as she suspected because there was no way in hell that woman witnessed anything.

“It’s Detective, ma’am. And you saw everything?” His eyes narrowed, skepticism clear in his tone. “What did you say your name was?”

“Why, my name is Agnes Blanchard,
Detective
.” She simpered at him, leaning forward to give a better view down her dress. Sha wasn’t sure if her rolling stomach was from her headache or disgust at the blatant attempts at flirting.

“You saw everything Ms. Blanchard?”

“Well…that is…I didn’t witness the
murder
exactly.”

“I see. And yet you’re positive she committed the crime?”

Agnes turned bright red. “Well she’s covered in blood! Why else would she have his blood all over her if she wasn’t the murderer? And—and look at the way she’s dressed! I bet she’s a vagrant.” She nodded once, as if she’d just laid out an ironclad case.
 

Entertained by the spectacle despite the grave accusations, Sha wondered why her clothes made a difference. She wore a simple pair of black pants with a charcoal, sleeveless tunic decorated with a knotwork pattern in navy blue. Her pair of knee high black leather boots bore a similar knot pattern. Given the garish red dress Miss Squealer wore, Sha guessed the woman took exception to the dark colors.

“I appreciate your input, ma’am. If you could please follow Officer Kent, he’ll take your statement for the record and then you can go home. I’m sure this has been a trying morning for you.” He waved over a young officer whose expression said he’d be happier to face a pit of vipers than talk to the obnoxious woman.

Agnes pouted. “Oh but can’t you take it, Detective?”

Did this woman have no shame? There was a dead body not even twenty feet away from her, but she was hell bent on flirting with the investigator. Granted, Sha may have
wanted
to flirt, but there was a line of propriety you shouldn’t cross. She would have waited until she’d left the crime scene at the very least; a woman should have standards.

“I’m sorry ma’am. It’s procedure and I need to question actual witnesses to the crime. You’ve been very helpful and the department thanks you for your cooperation. If you’ll excuse me…”

 
The detective started toward Sha, stopping to address the mountain who’d maintained his grip on her arm the entire time. “Sir, I appreciate your help restraining the woman, but I don’t think she’s going anywhere with all these cops around. Please see one of the uniforms and give your statement.”
 

She had to admire the deft way he dismissed people, she thought as she gave one last glare to the mountain. This whole situation was a mess and her mind worked to find a plausible explanation she could tell the detective. At least she had some idea of what would happen after reading a few stories that detailed police procedure. Who knew real cops could be so sexy? He crouched down to meet her eyes, his black slacks pulling to accentuate his well-defined legs. Ogle later, she scolded herself.

“Ma’am, I’m Detective Connor Flynn of the Denver Police. Do you need medical attention?”

“Uh, no, I’m okay.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll need to read you your rights. It’s just a formality at this point, but you do have blood all over your clothes without any visible wounds on your body.” While he recited the list of everything to which she was entitled, Sha wondered if they applied to someone of a different realm. “Do you understand your rights?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Let’s start with something easy. What’s your name?”

“Sha Phoenix.”

He took out a little notebook and began to scribble her information. “And where do you live?”

Of course he’d ask the one question that was hardest to explain. “I’m sorry, Detective. I can’t answer that.”

His gaze sharpened. “Is that so? Why is that?”

Her thoughts raced, scrambling for a logical response. “I just moved from my old home and haven’t found a new place to live yet.” Technically that wasn’t lying; she had moved from her old address. Granted it was courtesy of a Gateway through an enchanted barrier, but he didn’t need to know that minor detail.

“Okay, how long have you been in Denver?”

“I, um, drove here last night.” She hoped she had used the correct term. In Mythria, they ‘ported across distances or traveled by way of animals, most often gryphons or horses.

The detective made a few notes. “I see. Where is your car now?”

Crap, she hadn’t considered that part. “Uh, I’m not sure where I left it?” She winced at how lame that sounded.

“Is that a question or a statement?”

“Sorry. I don’t know where I left it, sir. I think the blow to my head may have rattled me more than I first thought.”

He scrutinized her face for a long minute, his expression impossible to read. This wasn’t going to end well for her. “So you don’t have a current address, you drove here but misplaced your car, and you’ve been here less than a day. What city did you come from? Surely you’ll be able to answer that?”

“I’m from the east coast.” She wished the Gateway would open up and swallow her back to the familiarity of Mythria. All her life she’d wanted nothing more than to explore the Human Realm, but now all she wanted was to go home.

His face hardened. “Look Ms. Phoenix. We have a problem here. You were found lying in a pool of blood next to a murder victim. Speaking with you, I’ve been able to ascertain that little, if any, of the blood belongs to you. I have witnesses reporting you seemed confused, disoriented, and that you showed little reaction given your current state. Now given the brutality of the crime, I’m inclined to believe you’re not responsible because I doubt you have the physical strength necessary.” She bit back the automatic retort at the implication she was weak. No sense in digging herself in any deeper.

“That being said, I find it difficult to believe you don’t have some knowledge of what happened here. You can’t give me a logical explanation for your present condition so you’re going to have to come down to the station. It would be easier if you also consented to a drug test.”
 

She supposed she couldn’t really blame him for thinking she was on drugs. Even she had trouble comprehending what was going on. “Alright, Detective, I’ll consent. You won’t find anything though.”

“I hope you’re right about that. I just have a few more questions before we leave. Witnesses stated you were initially unconscious. Were you injured?”

Finally a question she could answer. “I don’t know what happened, but I woke up with my head killing me and a knot on the back of my head.”

“Do you mind if I take a look?”

Sha started to shake her head then thought better of it. “No, go ahead.”

Connor moved her hair aside, pausing when she winced as he glanced over the lump near the base of her skull. “Sorry about that.” His fingers gentled, moving across her scalp as he probed the wound. A shiver ran through her body, accompanied by a flash of heat low in her belly. What was
wrong
with her? She had better control than this.

He sat back on his heels, studying her. “Are you cold?”

Her cheeks burst into flames. No way could she tell him she was having inappropriate thoughts at his touch. “Um, a bit. I hadn’t expected it to be so cold out here or I’d have worn something different.” Seconds later a blanket settled around her shoulders, brought by one of the uniforms.

“Are you feeling dizzy or having double vision?”

“No, neither.”

“Do you know how long you were unconscious?”

“Silly me, I forgot to mark the exact time I passed out.”

His lips twitched in amusement. “I suppose you have a point. This is what’s going to happen. An officer and a crime scene tech will accompany you to the hospital and process you for evidence while a doctor checks for a concussion. Assuming you’re cleared, the officer will take you to the precinct where you’ll need to wait until I’m done here and can question you further. Any questions?”

“I think you pretty much covered everything, Detective.”

Connor nodded his approval then waved to a man wearing a light blue suit that covered his entire body. “Go ahead and process her now.”

Sha stamped down the spurt of disappointment as she watched him walk away. Where had that come from? The thought left her shaking her head in disgust at herself. She needed to find a way out of her predicament, not moon over the detective. Resolved to put him out of her mind, she allowed the technician to lead her to a waiting squad car.

There was something very strange about that woman, although Connor wasn’t sure what it was. Her evasiveness with the simplest of questions was puzzling to say the least. What had been most disconcerting was his reaction to seeing her once he’d arrived. When he’d gotten the call of a homicide and possible suspect still on the scene, he hadn’t been sure what to expect. During his tenure in homicide he’d seen everything from drug addicts beating someone to death over a dime bag to people shooting their spouse in cold blood just to avoid the cost of a divorce. There wasn’t much that surprised him anymore.

Finding a petite woman with blue streaks running through her blonde hair sitting in a pool of blood didn’t faze him. The quick punch of need that had slammed into him, though…
that
shocked the hell out of him. He’d seen his share of beautiful women on the job, it was hard not to in a city the size of Denver, but never had he felt attraction to them. Hell, that was too tame of a word for what he’d felt just now and it made no sense whatsoever. At least he’d had a good excuse to put some distance between himself and the witness.

Rather than continue to dwell on his reaction, Connor pulled on gloves and crouched next to the crime scene technician photographing the scene. He tried to remember the name of the woman he’d worked with on multiple occasions. Marla Sandoval, if he wasn’t mistaken. “What do we have here, Marla?”