Chapter Eight: One Door Closes

~ Marie ~

That had turned out to be more tiring than it should’ve been. Marie had wanted to stay longer to speak with Connor but they only managed to speak a little more before he insisted that she go back and rest. She frowned. Connor told her that if she needed to ask him anything else, all she had to do was call or visit. If possible, she didn’t want to pull him into this investigation any more than she had already done. No telling who was spying on her during the day. It wasn’t like the vampires didn’t have humans working for them.

She caught a glimpse of her watch as she opened the back door. There was still a couple of hours before the vampires would be up. Some coffee to replenish her energy then back to the study for more research. She needed to pick another book to go through since she finished the last one. Since researching the script was going well, she would continue with that.

Two hours and one book later and another break was in order. Her energy still wasn’t back from whatever it was that Connor did and coupled with her lack of sleep, her concentration wasn’t what it should be. Her mind was wandering too much. She walked out of the study to find Mark sitting on the sofa drinking out of a blood pack. He froze, his eyes widening. Mark immediately hid the blood behind his back and tried to wipe his mouth. It was better to ignore him. She went straight to the kitchen. Marie didn’t want to stress him out and have Adrian mad at her. As she waited for her coffee maker to be done, she leaned against the counter. Hopefully, this would give her the energy she needed. Adrian probably still wanted to head back to the apartment tonight. Mark shuffled into the kitchen and stopped just past the doorway. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he glanced up at her.

“Did you need something?”

“I wanted to get something to eat. There’s a place right across the street I thought might be safe to go to.”

“Isn’t Adrian cooking for you?”

“I don’t want to trouble him.” He put his hands in his pocket as his gaze went to the floor. The cafe across the street was open. There was plenty of traffic around this time, which would make it harder for someone to attack him. And with a few spells for protection, It should be safe enough. The only problem was, would he come back?

“You have money?” He nodded. “Will you come back?” His expression was serious as he looked into her eyes and nodded again. “Fine.” His smile, which had spread across his face at her agreement, wilted a little as she stepped closer. She wrote two quick spells on his shoulder. He stood stiffly, his eyes never left her finger.

“What was that?” He swallowed visibly as his eyes went from her to his shoulder. Marie reached into her pocket to pull out a twenty. She was supposed to be providing for him.

“You’ll find out in about an hour.” She offered him the money and he took it absentmindedly. Mark stared at the money like he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“What?”

“I would get going if I were you.” His head snapped up and he quickly opened the back door and rushed out. The door opened briefly again as he threw away the empty blood pack then closed it again. This time he was gone for sure. Marie placed a barrier on him to protect him while the monitoring spell allowed her to observe his progress from here. She would be able to see whatever happened within a twenty foot area around him. They would have to get close to kidnap him again and if he was trying to meet with someone she would see it. The coffee maker beeped and she switched her attention over briefly. She poured herself a cup of coffee before she returned her attention back to the spell. Mark had his hands in his pockets as he scanned the cafe. What was he searching for? And was this his idea or someone else’s?

Not Adrian’s idea. That was the conclusion she came to after watching for several minutes. This was too haphazard to be something Adrian came up with. Mark was still waiting in line like everyone else. No one made eye contact or tried to talk to him. Hmm. Maybe Mark thought he could escape on his own. Something about this was off if only she could put her finger on what it was.

She moved to the living room and sat down. With her eyes closed, it was easier to concentrate on the spell. Marie leaned her head back and got a little more comfortable. She should have taken a nap earlier instead of staying in the study. A presence at the back door barely registered in her mind as she waved her hand and let Adrian in. Marie barely glanced at him as he passed her and went upstairs. She stared into her coffee, letting her eyes unfocus. There was still nothing new on Mark’s end and now it was his turn to order.

“Where is he?”

“Getting food.”

“Where?” She finally understood what had felt off to her before. How did Mark learn about the cafe? It wasn’t visible from her house and it had been closed the night he arrived. She gave Adrian some rough directions but he wasn’t satisfied. “I thought it was too dangerous for him to go anywhere.”

“I’m keeping an eye on him with a spell. If there’s trouble, I can protect him.” A knock at the back door interrupted whatever Adrian was going to say next. Marie waved her hand and unlocked the door for Mark. The door slammed open as he rushed into the house, breathing heavily.

“I made it.” He plopped three to go plates on the counter, as he leaned against the counter himself and caught his breath. Marie touched him to deactivate the spells. “What kind of spell was it?” His brow knit as he waited for her response.

“Monitoring. I was watching you from here.” He dropped his head back on the counter before pushing himself up. Only then did he notice Adrian standing there.

“M-Master!”

“Why were you out there?”

“I just wanted to get something so you wouldn’t have to cook all the time.” Mark hung his head as he stuck his hands in his pocket. “Sorry.” Adrian nodded but Marie could tell they were having a conversation without her. Mark had that faraway look on his face as he stared at Adrian. Just when she was about to turn away, Mark turned around and handed one of the plates to her. “This is yours.” He walked around her and handed the other plate to Adrian. The two of them went into the living room without another word. She hadn’t expected anything when she gave him the money. Now what?

Marie went into the living room. They were sitting on the same side again. Was she supposed to join them or would it be ok to just go back to her study? Mark was already digging into his plate, shoving fries into his mouth without breathing. He wouldn’t notice if she didn’t stay.

Adrian gestured to the other sofa with his head. His expression was neutral but she figured he’d still be angry with her. Why did he want her to eat with them? She sat down on the opposite sofa and opened the plate. The plate held a burger that was taller than her mouth. There was also a generous helping of fries. There was no way she would be able to eat all of this. Marie checked the inside of the burger for onions while she chewed on one of the fries. She met Adrian’s eyes.

“I thought you only ate sandwiches.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You really just eat sandwiches?” Mark gaped at her as if she had grown another head. “You don’t cook?”

“I don’t know how.” Both of them stared at her in silence.

“Um, well, I didn’t know how to either until Master showed me how. He could probably teach you.” Mark’s gaze bounced from her to Adrian as he babbled. “Uh, I mean…” He trailed off as he went back to eating.

“Is it really that odd?” There was no point in learning so she never tried.

“No.” Adrian had that polite smile on his face. She decided she did not want to know what he was thinking.

“Couldn’t you use magic to cook?”

“There’s no spell for it.” Not that she looked for any. It was a waste of magic.

“Magic can’t do everything then?”

“There are many things magic can’t do.” Magic was just another tool that was dependent on the person using it. It could only do as much as the user was capable of. The room was silent after that as everyone focused on eating. Mark got up and threw his plate away before going back upstairs. Adrian closed his and placed it on the sofa next to him. She had only managed to eat half the burger and a third of her fries. There was no way she was going to finish the rest. She closed the lid. Adrian was leaning forward with his arms resting on his legs.

“You don’t have to rush.”

“I’m fine.” Adrian shook his head before he spoke again.

“Did you find anything else?”

“I deciphered another script. Powerless.”

“Powerless and Blind. That’s two of the symbols used in the spell, correct?” Marie nodded. “Why would anyone want a demon like that?” It seemed like a redundant question but she shrugged anyway.

“Did you still want to go to the apartment tonight?”

“Did you have something else you need to do?”

“No.” Might as well get this over ths. Marie stood up and Adrian followed her as she went into the kitchen. He threw his plate away while she opened the fridge. The fridge was packed to the brim with food. Did he really need all of this to cook? There was no obvious space so she made room in order to fit her plate. Once she was done, he opened the door and waited with a smug smile. Would the rest of the night be like this?

The walk there was uneventful. They made it all the way up to the apartment door in silence. Marie reached out and undid the seal that she had replaced after Connor left. Even though the miasma was purified and the circle burned she still didn’t want just anyone going in and out. She held the door so Adrian could go first. He narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t say anything. Marie scanned the area for magic again while he walked around the apartment. Nothing. She joined Adrian in the back room after she had peeked in each of the rooms. He was kneeling next to the scorch march. Nothing looked out of place. Hard to say if Adrian was able to tell if Connor had been in the room. He wasn’t saying anything and she wasn’t going to ask.

“Was this the only room that was used?” He stood and faced her. It was hard to see his expression. There wasn’t enough light coming into the room from outside.

“To summon a demon? Yes. I don’t sense any magic in any other part of the building either.”

“And the miasma?”

“What about it?”

“How long until it affects you?” Adrian moved closer as he scrutinized each part of her body. It wasn’t something that could be seen.

“I’m fine.” He frowned but he didn’t pursue the subject.

“Since the circle is gone, does the miasma go away on its own?’

“Yes.”

“How long until the area is clear?”

“Depends on how much miasma is released into an area. With the amount this one had leaked, it would have taken months for it to go away on its own.”

“Would have?” Tsk. She crossed her arms as she avoided his eyes.

“I don’t leave this much miasma just sitting there. I contact a specialist and get the area purified as soon as possible.”

“You can’t purify it on your own?” Was he asking because he knew something or because he didn’t believe her reason? She glanced at him but kept her emotions as even as possible.

“No. It’s a specialized ability I don’t have. There’s magic that can do something similar but the results aren’t as good or efficient.” Compared to an ability, magic was only about seventy percent as effective. Connor was able to get around this by using a special magic tool layered with multiple spells to achieve close to the same effect. His rate was about eighty-five percent. The last fifteen percent would never reach the bottom floor before dissipating, so it was negligible.

Adrian nodded before turning around. He walked around the apartment some more, going from room to room before returning to where she was.

“Find anything?” It was better to ask, in case he did find something she had missed. Vampires had better senses than humans. Adrian gave her a knowing smile but didn’t answer. If he was waiting to bargain, she wouldn’t be getting it out of him now. “Are you done?” The sooner she could get back to her study, the better. There was still plenty of research to do.

“For now.” He smirked. That look meant trouble. The only question was when. Marie sighed mentally. It was best to ignore him for the time being. She would deal with it when it came up. When they reached the door to the stairs, Adrian opened the door and held it.

“You can go down first. You don’t need to wait for me.”

“As a gentleman, it’s only right that I hold the door so you can go first.” She opened her mouth to speak when she felt something. A moment later, the ground shook under her feet and she pitched forward. Adrian caught her and held her as the ground shook harder. “This doesn’t feel like an earthquake.” The area didn’t have earthquakes as far as she knew.

“It’s magic.” She had felt magic just before the ground started to move. “We need to get out of here.” Adrian didn’t ask any more questions as he picked her up. He rushed to the stairs and peered down.

“You’re not going to like this.” He was right. She tried not to strangle him but she couldn’t help it as he skipped over whole flights of stairs in his rush to get them to the bottom. Her stomach flipped around after each jump. They landed with a jarring thud but he didn’t stop as he used his shoulder to force the door open. Debris was starting to fall down around them. Marie put a quick barrier on him as he rushed towards the back door. He repeated his earlier move, using his shoulder to slam the door open.

Adrian launched them away from the building with one final leap. Pieces of the building were falling and hitting the ground. The building gave one final shake and collapsed into a jumbled up mess. Marie pried her arms off his neck and he put her down without her saying anything. He disappeared between one blink and the next.

This was one time she wished he’d taken her with him. He had clearly gone after the person responsible. Marie searched for a safe place to climb. When she found one, she scaled the rubble as carefully as possible. She didn’t need to bring the debris down on her. Her magic senses were still open but she was only getting faint traces of magic. The building had fallen forward and covered the street in front of it as well as the nearby empty lot. Adrian returned as she reached the top of the pile.

“Find anything?”

“No. They had a car waiting. I saw it leave but they covered the license plate.”

“We should leave.” Already, the lights and sounds from emergency vehicles were headed their way. Marie looked at what had once been a building. Why did they risk being seen to destroy it? Did she miss something?