Breaking the Nexus (Mythrian Realm) (5 page)

“Tell me something…how the fuck did you do that?”

The harsh curse shocked her, making her flinch from the vehemence. Well, she couldn’t blame him for that. All things considered, he was taking hovering tables quite well. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Detective.”

“It was a trick. It had to be a trick”

She met his eyes, noted the mercurial shifting was more pronounced this time. Disregarding the impossibility of it for the moment, that man had to have some Metallum ancestors somewhere in his lineage. No human could have eyes that fluid. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

“And I’m supposed to believe you could make a table that probably weighs twice what you do lift itself
three feet off the ground
? How do you explain that?”

Her lips twitched. Well, he had asked… “Magic.”

Judging by his expression, he hadn’t seen the humor. Connor pointed a finger at her. “Stay. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I’m not a dog, Detective. Do not treat me as such.”

Rather than reply, he shook his head, bewildered. “I’ll be right back.”

*******

The moment he shut the door, Connor leaned back against it, his mind struggling to process what he’d seen. Logic had flown out the window when that table had risen, but his mind stubbornly refused to stop looking for a simple explanation.

“Flynn, get in here.” The captain’s stern command made his shoulders slump. Perfect, he must’ve been watching from observation, just what he needed right now. With a sigh, he pushed away from the door and headed into the tiny room that allowed others to observe the interrogation.

Captain Morrison’s face remained impassive until Connor shut the door.
 
“What the hell was that?”

“Sir, I—” Connor broke off, wondering how to proceed. Screw it, there was no good way to go about this and the captain would rather have honesty than the runaround. “I have no idea.”

Morrison pinned him with a glare, one which Connor was proud to admit he held up against. His glares were infamous for turning grown men into quivering idiots. “Good answer. Any other and I’d have known you were bullshitting me. I’ve seen a lot over the years, things I can’t explain, although nothing compares to a levitating table. Either we’re both insane, a distinct possibility at this point, or that was the real deal.”

Connor wanted to deny it, almost wished he could chalk it up to insanity. Frankly that would also account for the attraction he felt for Sha, but when he played back the recording of the interview, there was no running from the bizarre truth. She pushed back from the table without touching it, her face took on a look of intense concentration, and then with little apparent effort, the table began to rise.

“That’s fake, right? Don’t tell me that’s for real.”
 

His partner’s unexpected voice had Connor jerking his head around in surprise. “Dammit, Ian, do you have to sneak around like that?”

“Hey I didn’t sneak, I walked in like a normal person, didn’t bother to ease the door closed either. What has you so jumpy?”

A certain blonde haired witch
. At this point, the fleeting thought shouldn’t even faze him. So he was attracted to her, big deal. He had self-control. He was more than capable of resisting the pull. Connor nodded toward the monitor. “You’d be jumpy too if you’d been in the same room as that.”

“Fair enough.” Skepticism lurked behind Ian’s words; his partner was too perceptive sometimes.

Determined to focus on the more pressing issue, Connor turned to his captain. “What do you want us to do, sir? We’ve suspected a ritualistic aspect since the first murder. As far-fetched as it sounds, this may be the best lead we’ve had up to this point.”

“I don’t like any of this, but work with what you’ve got. Press her on those runes and whether she recognizes anything about the positioning and dismemberment of the body. That’ll be the best way to catch this guy.”

“Yes, sir.” Connor gestured for his partner to follow him as he left the room. Before he could shut the door behind them, Captain Morrison called out.

“One more thing, Flynn. I know your initial assessment was that Ms. Phoenix lacked the physical strength to commit the murder herself…”
 

Connor’s stomach dropped. The captain didn’t need to finish his sentence. After what they’d all witnessed, Sha didn’t need physical strength. She could have subdued the victim with little more than a thought. “I understand, sir.”

As they stepped from the relative quiet of the observation room, the raucous bullpen grated on his nerves, and he mulled over the situation. His gut told him Sha wasn’t their killer, but there was nothing to back it up and she’d cast doubt on herself with her little display. Ian was no fool and would push him for answers he didn’t have if Connor tried to persuade him of her innocence without concrete evidence. Hell, why was he even so certain she
was
innocent anyway? For all he knew his gut was being ruled by another part of his anatomy. Maybe he’d been wrong and his partner hadn’t picked up on the attraction. Before he could open the door to Interview C, Ian grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of the closet-sized room that served as a kitchen.

“You know, I could go for a cup of coffee before we start, how about you?” Ian’s tone brooked no argument. He closed the door to give them a semblance of privacy in the cramped space. “I’ll only ask you this once, but tell me the truth. You have a thing for her don’t you?”

It wasn’t even worth playing dumb. “I don’t know, maybe. I can’t figure out what it is about her.”

“I could tell you don’t think she’s our perp, despite that freaky show of hers. Is it because you like her?”

“No. My gut tells me she didn’t do it. Even so we have to follow the evidence and last I checked, my gut wasn’t admissible in court.”

Ian continued to study Connor for a long moment before nodding once and pulling out a case file from the inside of his jacket. “Good, I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to screw things up. Your gut may not hold up, but this will. I stopped by the lab on the way over. CSU didn’t find any blood spatter on her clothes.”

Connor took the folder and scanned the results, a surge of relief barreling through him at Ian’s next words. “We saw she wouldn’t need to use physical force to take down the victim, however, it wouldn’t have been a clean kill. She could still know something. On the bright side, at least you don’t have the hots for a murderer, right?”

He snapped the file closed with a laugh. “You’re an idiot. Thanks for not saying anything to Captain Morrison.”

Ian looked wounded. “You have to know I wouldn’t do that without coming to you first.”

“Yeah, I know. This whole situation has me on edge and shit keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

“Well on that note, shall we see what’s next? Pretty sure it can’t get much worse than floating steel tables.”

Why did that make him think,
famous last words?

Sha didn’t know what was worse: losing control of your powers in front of a sexy detective, thereby giving him cause to believe you’re capable of committing brutal murder, or waiting to find out your fate. By the flame this was a royal mess. She could only hope Luca hadn’t been ambushed after the Gateway collapsed. Guilt at leaving him behind weighed on her regardless of not having a choice in the matter. Nothing that had happened since this morning made sense, especially the crime scene where she’d landed.

The runes were indecipherable but characteristic of some of the mages she’d studied over the years. They were odd, yet unremarkable overall. No, the remarkable aspect was the removal of the limbs, the right hand in particular. Had she been in Mythria, she’d have suspected blood magic because the right hand was believed by some to hold immense power. Granted, before she’d fallen through the Nexus, she had picked up traces of blood magic, so maybe it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. The idea of a mage in the Human Realm sent a chill down her spine. The odd creature or two finding a crack and passing through the barrier was rare, although it happened. There were supposed to be safeguards in place to prevent anyone possessing power from crossing.

“And look how well those worked to keep you in Mythria,” she muttered under her breath.

“I’m sorry?” Connor’s voice shocked a curse from her lips. Dammit, of course he’d have to come back when she was talking to herself.
 

“Oh, ignore me. Hello again, Detective. Did I scare you so much you had to bring backup?” Sha nodded toward the tall man who’d walked in with him. He had bright red hair and a complexion as pale as her own. Although his face was impassive, she got the impression he was a good man. With a little luck, he wasn’t here to cart her off in chains.

Connor’s lips twitched in response, though he held back the smile. Pity, she’d wanted to see it.
No, she wanted to get out of here, not turn into a lovesick fool
. Why weren’t her thoughts cooperating? “No, this is my partner, Detective Ian Kendrick.”

“I’d like to say it’s lovely to meet you, however, that’ll depend on whether I’m going to be locked away soon.”

The men took their seats on the opposite side of the table and she noted with amusement they both pushed their chairs back a few extra inches. “Gentlemen, I assure you the table isn’t going to spring to life and attack you.”

Ian cleared his throat, giving the scuffed metal surface a dubious glance. “I watched the show on the TV monitor; it was quite impressive, Ms. Phoenix.”
 

“It was also stupid and careless, I apologize for losing my temper.”

Connor shifted his weight, leaning forward. “Do you do that often? Lose your temper, I mean.”

He was baiting her, but she wasn’t going to fall for it. “Yes, I sometimes lose my temper. No, I didn’t fly into a rage and decide it would be a brilliant idea to subdue, mutilate, and kill a man. I don’t know what I can do to prove it to you.”

Both detectives were silent, their piercing stares making her feel like an insect under observation. She refused to let them see her squirm. What felt like hours passed when the redheaded one, Ian she thought, relaxed and nodded to his partner. What in the seven hells did that mean for her?

Connor was the first to speak. “Today’s your lucky day.”

“How so?” Sha asked, suspicious of the drastic change; they’d gone from almost hostile interrogators to amicable and relaxed. This could be a new tactic to make her slip up and reveal more about herself.

“Do you know what this is?” Connor dropped a file in front of her.

She shook her head. “No, should I?”

“It’s the preliminary report. Our techs didn’t find any blood spatter on your clothes.”

Though she didn’t understand what that meant, it sounded promising. Hope began to blossom, though she tried to be realistic.
 
“Does this mean you believe I’m not your killer?”
 

“More or less. You could have been working with a partner, but it’s far-fetched,” Connor replied.

“Am I free to go?”

Ian spoke up this time. “Actually, we’d like to ask you a few more questions if you don’t mind.”

Sha rolled her eyes. “I’ve been answering questions all day. What in the Seven Hells could you have left to ask?”

Connor shifted, capturing her attention. “Start with telling us how you ended up in the alley.”

By the flame, this was
not
going to be easy to explain. “You really want to know? I guarantee you won’t believe me.”

“Considering the day I’ve had, I’m open to just about anything.”

Sha felt the slow smile spread across her face. “Funny you should say that. How well do you know your mythology?”

The random question drew blank looks from both of the detectives. “Are you back to playing games?” Connor asked.

“The simplest way to put it is this: all the myths, legends, and fairytales from your childhood that you believed were nothing more than fiction are based on reality.”

Ian burst out laughing. “I think we need to redo your drug test.”

“I’m serious, Detective.
 
Think about it for a minute, suspend your skepticism. Cultures all across the world share common mythologies, like shape-shifters and dragons. Haven’t you ever wondered why?”

Connor scoffed. “Sure, but those things are just stories to entertain kids.”

“How can you prove they’re only stories?”

“How can you prove otherwise?” Ian countered.

“I can’t, not now. If I could find another portal in the Nexus, it’s possible to show you. Before you ask, the Nexus is a barrier that separates two realms. This world you live in is called the Human Realm. My home lies in the other realm, Mythria, inhabited by those creatures you say don’t exist. I ended up in that alley after I fell through a collapsing portal that we call a Gateway.”

Connor opened his mouth, but no words escaped. A sudden commotion outside of the interview room drew everyone’s attention. “Don’t move,” he snapped the order as he and Ian rose.

“Where else would I be?” Sha slumped in her seat, resigned to never escaping this damn room.

The door swung open and she saw the stern man from earlier, their captain if she wasn’t mistaken. His voice was grim as he addressed the detectives. “We’ve got a problem.”

That was never a good phrase to hear.

*******

Captain Morrison’s troubled expression had been indication enough that something serious had happened, but walking out into the eerie silence of the bullpen clenched it. The only time it was ever this quiet was when one of their own went down in the line of duty. Every cop, and a few handcuffed criminals, were glued to TVs and computer screens looking dumbstruck. At least nobody was grief stricken. Connor was at a loss for what could be so shocking to so many people.

“In my office. You’re going to want to see this.” Growing more curious by the second, Connor followed the captain to the glass enclosure that served as an office. Once the men were inside, Captain Morrison shut the door and closed the blinds. Faint alarms began ringing in his head; the captain
never
closed the blinds unless the shit was hitting the fan. “Before I show you this, has she said anything…unusual?”