Murder Between the Worlds: A Between the Worlds Novel (27 page)

She felt a momentary uncertainty about the wisdom of this; there was no way to know if it would work at all or what long term effects it would have on her or Jessilaen and she could very easily create something permanent that she’d regret later.
Yeah well, at least I’ll be alive later to regret it,
she thought grimly.

She took a deep breath and allowed herself to feel the pain of every bruise, scrape, and blow. She sensed the energy building and struggled to divide her attention, so that she was still feeling the pain while also setting the spell to gather the energy and set up the energetic echo that would create the permanent power effect. She wrestled with it and then without warning the spell fell into place with an almost physical snap. She took the channeled energy and used it, reaching out to Jess; she could feel what he was feeling now as if he were next to her and when she closed her eyes, she could see through his, but still she could not get him to hear her. She ground her teeth down on the gag in frustration. The spell had worked, had amplified her natural ability, but not in a helpful way.

Then it occurred to her to use the emotional energy as well, since the set spell was in place and needed no more effort from her. If she doubled the energy–doubled the effect–maybe that would give her the extra reach to communicate with him. She took a deep breath and repeated the process, this time intentionally bringing up all of her emotional pain; all the feelings of grief and guilt about Syndra, the fear for herself, the anger and betrayal that this was all at the hands of someone she–and Syndra–had trusted. The emotions rose like a wave and she wasn’t sure she could control it. It was much harder to get the spell set this time and she was sweating and panting on the cold floor when it finally worked. The spell fell into place, resonated, and melded with the first one. Unexpectedly it did not double the effect; it increased it by orders of magnitude. Allie felt a moment of panic as the combined energy surged and overwhelmed her. The tingle of magical energy became a painful burning, like grabbing an electric fence, and she felt her whole body convulsing slightly as the energy went into the only outlet she’d given it–herself. It was over in an instant, the spells still holding and radiating energy. She lay limp and stunned on the floor, feeling very much like a blown fuse.

She had no idea what she had just done to herself, and there was no chance to worry about it. She could only hope it was enough to reach Jess and get a message through, and she would have to worry about the consequences later. This time when she reached out to Jessilaen, with the combined energy of the two echo-spells powering her it was noticeably easier. She could see clearly through his eyes, and she felt his sudden disorientation as he subconsciously acknowledged her. With rising excitement she tried again to speak to him.

“Jess, can you hear me?”

            ***********************************

Jessilaen was standing looking down at the maps spread out on the cheap table, trying to see what possible pattern they could be missing, while the others went over everything they knew for the third time, when he felt suddenly dizzy. He staggered slightly and grabbed the edge of the table. He heard his brother asking, “Jessilaen, what is it?”

And then Allie’s voice was in his head.

“Jess, can you hear me?

He fell to the floor, caught completely off guard by the uncanniness of it.

“Allie?”
He thought back automatically
.

“Yes! You can hear me! Finally!”

He imagined he could feel an excitement, almost exhilaration, that wasn’t his own, and it was quite unnerving. He wondered if this was how it always was for her, and if so, how she could stand it without going mad. Zarethyn and Brynneth had rushed to his side and were trying to understand what was wrong; he looked up, disbelieving, “It’s Allie, she is speaking to me.”

“Speaking to you?” Riordan said, shocked, “Speaking to you how?”

“Telepathically,” Zarethyn guessed correctly, “Although that skill should be well beyond her.”

“Allie has a way of working around her own limitations,” Bleidd said briskly. “Ask her where she is.”

“I can hear them through you
,” Allie replied in his mind, before he could pass the question on. “
I don’t know where I am exactly. In a shed, probably a backyard. But it’s important, you have to know–Walters is the killer.”

As soon as the words reached him he surged back to his feet, enraged. Riordan flattened himself against the wall, obviously afraid that the elf had lost his mind. The other Guards were trying to restrain him, as his brother pled with him.

“Jessilaen what is it? Tell us. You must share what she is saying, we cannot hear her.”

“Walters.” He growled, “Detective Walters is the killer.”

“No,” Riordan said, his face going pale. “That’s impossible. Not Rick. No way.”

Jess turned to glare at the human and the man shrunk away from the burning rage in his eyes. “Allie says it is him and she has no reason to lie.”

“It makes sense, Detective, distasteful as it may be for you. He had inside knowledge of the case from the beginning. Aeyliss would have trusted him enough to give him her back near her car, and Officer Lyons would have trusted him as well. Indeed all the victims would have trusted him, if only because he was a police officer,” Zarethyn said grimly.

Riordan grimaced. “I know he doesn’t like elves, but I can’t believe he feels so strongly he’s willing to kill people to push the worlds back apart with some crazy ritual. He isn’t even a mage or witch.”

“That you know of,” Bleidd said, “He could have been hiding that part of his life from others.”

Riordan winced, “I still don’t want to believe it. But the ritual site was on an empty lot near his parent’s house. Didn’t seem suspicious at the time.”

“And he was the one who was supposed to check the list of descendants from the original coven, and said it came up empty,” Zarethyn said. “Who would waste time double checking? And I wager we shall find his name on the list of descendants.”

“Where is she?” Bleidd interrupted.

“She does not know. In a shed somewhere, she says,” Jess answered quickly. Then he held up a hand to get them all to quiet down.

“
Are you alright? Have you been harmed?”
He was trying to focus on Allie but unsure how this communication worked.

“I’ve had better days,”
she answered evasively. “
I’m tied up and… I think my ankle is broken, so I can’t walk, at least not far. Don’t worry about me now though, you need to catch him! He doesn’t know you know it’s him. This is your chance to get him, before he gets wind you’re on to him and escapes. You can get me after you get him.”

Jess was shaking his head, and Bleidd grabbed him before Zarethyn pried the two apart, “What is it? What is she saying?”

“She will not tell me how badly she is hurt, beyond a broken ankle. She’s bound and cannot escape, I don’t think.  She wants us to apprehend Detective Walters before he knows we have learned his identity and escapes,” Jess said, feeling frustrated.

“Is he still there with you?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t killed me yet, so he’s got to be waiting for something, but besides calling me a bitch, we haven’t exactly had a conversation.”
Allie replied.

Jess looked back up at the others, “She doesn’t know where he is right now, but she thinks he might be waiting for something, and that is why he has not killed her yet.”

“Perhaps he plans to use her in his ritual?” Natarien suggested, frowning.

“No,” Zarethyn said, thinking quickly. “It is well after dark now, if he planned to use her in that way he would already have begun, and he cannot hope to hold her alive until the next dark moon.” He glanced at Riordan and then switched to Elvish. “No, the Dark elves attacked at the funeral, an uncommon, blatant tactic for them, and it provided the prefect distraction to allow for her to be taken.”

“You believe they have allied with each other? To what purpose?” Brynneth asked in the same language.

“What are you saying?” Riordan asked, confused. The elves waved him off.

“They attacked her before for the book. Perhaps he found them before we could and told them she had destroyed it after reading it. He could have offered her in exchange for their assistance. Or they may even have approached him first, asking for the same thing,” Zarethyn said thoughtfully, still in his own language.

“So you believe he is holding her captive intending to trade her to the agents of the Dark Court?” Bleidd asked.

“What’s going on?” Riordan asked again, starting to recover from the earlier shock enough to be annoyed.

“It doesn’t matter Detective, except that the ones who disrupted the funeral were elves who came here to cause trouble, and it was they who attacked Aliaine in her store. They were seeking her grandmother’s book, and now that she’s destroyed it they may be seeking her in its place.”

“Allie?”
Jess asked.

“Okay, now I’m really scared. But, still…you still need to catch Walters
” Allie replied.

“Listen, I need a warrant to arrest Rick,” Riordan flinched as he said it, “And we don’t have nearly enough to get that. We have to find Ms. McCarthy first, alive, so that she can testify against him.”

“For once Detective, we are entirely in agreement,” Zarethyn said. “Aliaine must be found alive as soon as possible.” He looked at Jessilaen. “Can she help guide us to her?”

“
I think so. I can feel you and see through you–I think if you start searching like we did for the ritual site, I can tell you when you are getting closer or further away
,” Allie answered immediately, and he relayed her words.

Zarethyn looked startled, “She can see through your eyes and hear us right now? She is not relying on you to tell her what we are saying?”

“Yes, she is present with me. It is difficult to describe. It does not work both ways though, I can hear her speak, here, but I cannot project myself to her, “he replied, unhappily.

Zarethyn looked impressed. “I do not know what magic that is then. It is not true telepathy if she is not relying on you to relay information.”

“Wait,” Riordan said, “let’s be logical here. If we just start driving around it could take hours to find her.”

“What do you suggest, Detective?” the Elven Captain asked.

“Let me think. He must have faked being knocked out at the cemetery, so he couldn’t have–he must have had her in the trunk of his car,” Riordan said, pacing as talked, “Yeah. He knocks her out and gets her in the trunk, then pretends to be knocked out himself. No one’s going to check the trunk of his car. He refuses the ambulance, gets sent home, and drives off with her in the car while we’re all still searching the grounds.”

“That is ingenious,” Bleidd said, “And no one would have any reason to suspect him.”

“
Allie? Is that what happened
?” Jess asked.

She replied slowly, “
I don’t know. I turned to get in his car and everything went black, then I woke up here
.”

Aloud Jess said, “She doesn’t remember if that is what happened, she said she was knocked out as she turned to get into the car.”

“He won’t be at his own place; it’s an apartment in the middle of the downtown residential district. He isn’t at the ritual site–no sheds out there.” Riordan said. “Ask her if she can hear anything–cars, kids yelling–anything.”

“
No, it’s silent. I hear an owl
.” Allie answered immediately again

“She says she hears an owl, but nothing else,” Jess relayed.

Riordan shook his head, then stopped suddenly snapping his fingers. “His parents’ house! He must be out at his parents. It’s been on the market since they died, but he hasn’t had any luck selling it. It’s about a half mile from the ritual site, quiet area, no neighbors for miles.”

Everyone was already moving for the door, and Jess thought to her, “
Be strong my love, we are coming.”

               *****************************

Allie pulled herself back from Jessilaen’s mind, only to find that she could still sense him to some degree and hear what was going on around him as a background murmur, as if it were occurring in another room.

Well crap,
she thought, hoping he couldn’t still hear her,
I knew this was a risk, but if this is permanent it’s going to get super annoying really quick…if this is permanent this might be more than annoying. I might have fused myself into his head forever which is going to make for some really awkward moments. If this relationship doesn’t work out–even if it does–I could find myself a little too aware of exactly what he’s thinking about someone else’s butt or…oh this could get really bad. I do not want to get a guy’s perspective on a lot of different things. And I’m sure I don’t want to know what he’s feeling all the time, or what people around him are saying all the time. Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now except hope it fades
.