No More Black Magic by A. L. Kessler Read Free Book Online Page B

around.
    I raised a brow. “Makes you uncomfortable?”
    “You could say that. I’ll be outside, I’ll let you work.” He slipped out of the room and I shook my head. “Stupid itchy humans.”
    Simon raised an eyebrow and then looked towards the door. “Obviously he’s got issues with magic.”
    It wasn’t unusual, people normally did. Especially in a morgue. There were still people who could raise the dead with magic. No one wanted to be around them.
    I walked around the table, looking at the arm. It looked like a normal arm. There were no runes carved or burnt into them. It did have a sense of magic, but it was fading, which meant that it wouldn’t hurt me. I put my bag on the table next to it and looked at where it’d been severed. Right at the elbow, perfectly clean. So much so that it reminded me of a Halloween prop.
    Simon stood there with his arms crossed as he watched me. “So now what?”
    “Now I use my magic and see if I can trace the spell. I’ll make a tracking item.” If I had the talent of scrying it would have been easier, but nope, not me. I pulled out a silver pendent. I knew I had to keep the silver away from Simon with him being a werewolf and all, but it was the best thing to use for this spell. I laid it on the table and pulled out a needle and vial.
    “Step back?” I asked and Simon backed up until he was leaning against the wall. I closed my eyes and summoned a protective circle. I heard Simon whistle.
    “Damn, I knew you could do that, but seeing you do it is completely different.”
    When I opened my eyes, I met his gaze through the purple around me. “Yeah, most of my magic is like that. In the case that I collapse it’ll fall and you can come to my aid.”
    He nodded and stood straight.
    I took the needle and used it to draw blood from the arm. I was thankful there was still some there. It slowly came up through the needle. I put it in the vial and tried not to gag. Closing my eyes, I let the words for the spell fall from my lips. My magic caused a soft wind to swirl around me and I could feel it flow through me and into the blood. I opened my eyes and picked up the silver pendent, continuing to chant. My words ended and the wind died around me. I opened the vial and dropped the pendant in it.
    The red liquid swirled and moved around it and in a burst of magic the blood disappeared. I clicked my tongue, hopefully this worked. The circle around me disappeared at my will and Simon walked up to me.
    “So now what?”
    I smiled. “Now we find a map. I should do this at Levi’s in the chamber, just in case.”
    “Just in case what?”
    “Just in case these people are smart. I’d hate to have this backfire.”
    I swore Simon’s eye ticked. “The chamber didn’t protect you last time.”
    “It protected everyone else though.” I pointed that fact out and went to string the pendant on a chain. It slipped out of my hand and on the skin of the arm.
    A hiss of smoke rose from where it landed and I looked down at the burn mark. “This person was a werewolf.”
    “If he’s a werewolf, there’s a chance he’s still alive.” Simon’s brows drew together. “Do you know the victim’s name?”
    I shook my head. “No, Detective Mason never said, just that someone’s wife had put him into missing persons.”
    “There’s no one in my pack missing right now.”
    “Your pack?” I chuckled. “You haven’t stepped up to alpha yet.”
    He shrugged. “You know it’s basically mine.”
    “Yeah, I know. Come on, it’s a long drive to Levi’s and I want to see if this works.”
    He followed me out. We both smiled at Dr. Lambsburg as we walked out. I hoped he wouldn’t be too upset about me burning the arm. We turned our badges in at the reception desk, the woman not even bothering to tell us goodbye. I suppose that someone doesn’t have to have a lot of personality to work at a morgue reception desk.
    We stepped outside and a sudden pain wove through my body, taking me to my