Chapter 40

Dragging myself from Connor’s bed to meet with Liv really should have won me some sort of award. It had taken a herculean effort to walk away from those warm eyes, hard abs, and rigid … morals.

I went to the Nomo’s office early, before my shift started. Liv wasn’t waiting for me, which was good because Sidnee let out a scream when she saw me. ‘Oh my God! You’re beaming! You fucked Connor!’

My face went fuchsia. ‘Shout a little louder, I don’t think Gunnar quite heard you.’

She grinned. ‘He’s not in yet, and he won’t be in until you give him the all-clear that Liv has left. So tell me everything! I have to live vicariously through you now that I’m a washed-up old maid.’

I snorted. ‘You’re a sexy young mermaid with plenty of fish ready to dive into your sea!’

She smiled but not as brightly as a moment before. ‘Yeah, maybe.’

I didn’t want to talk about Connor and me because it was fresh, new and private, so I changed the topic to work. ‘How was your day? Many calls?’

She shuffled some papers on her desk. ‘Nothing noteworthy. Anyway, if you’re in – and you’re not going to spill the tea – do you mind if I cut loose before Liv rocks up? She scares the bejesus out of me.’

I’d never known Sidnee to baulk at anything, but she looked tired so maybe she wanted to chill. ”Sure thing. You go home.”

”Thanks.” She smiled again but it didn”t reach her eyes. Gone was the bouncing, teasing Sidnee of moments before. What had I done to scare her away?

As she scarpered, I thought about the meeting with Liv. Now that Donaldson was out of the running, the only leads I had were the gems themselves. There had to be something about their history that would lead to the real thief and murderer. And the one with the answers was Liv. I hoped.

She sashayed in bringing the hot desert wind with her. We sat in Gunnar’s office; it was less formal than the interview room and the last thing I wanted was to make Liv feel defensive. She was there to help me.

I settled into Gunnar’s huge chair and had a sudden flashback to sitting in my father’s office chair when I was child. I shook it off with effort. My father was on the other side of the world and I wasn’t a child anymore.

‘So, what do you want to know?’ Liv asked briskly, not purring as she usually did with Gunnar.

‘Anything about the history of the gems. Where did they come from, what do they do, how did we get them, what is the curse? You know,’ I said drily, ‘everything.’

She tilted her head and contemplated me. ‘Why do you think I know all that?’

‘You’re the magic leader,’ I said simply. ‘Someone has to know enough about them to harness their power – and that’s you.’ Plus, she’d screamed at Stan for losing her gems that she’d ‘lent’ to the council, though I didn’t think it was diplomatic to remind her of that.

‘Hmmm.’ Liv tapped her red-painted fingernail against her full lips. ‘I don’t know everything about them, but I know more than most.’

She settled into her chair. ‘It took me centuries to collect enough information to locate them. Back then I was searching for them for fun and I followed their trail. They’ve been passed around, lost and found, fought over and gifted for as long as history has been recorded.’

I felt a shiver of excitement and I leaned forward. I loved a good story.

‘Once they were pure elemental magic, but they were twisted by the darkest of dark powers.’

I swallowed. That was a lot coming from a necromancer who used death to power her magic.

‘I found the great water gem at the source of the Blue Nile, in Lake Tana in Ethiopia, where I am from. Rumours that it existed had been around for as long as anyone could remember, and I coveted it from the first time I heard about it. It was said to give everlasting life to whoever drank from a pool where the gem rested. I believe the Fountain of Youth myths began with that rumour.’

I bit my lip. Could the rumours be true? After all, Liv was ancient … I looked at her flawless skin. Yeah. It had totally worked.

Her eyes glittered with amusement as if she could read my thoughts. She folded her legs demurely at the ankle. Her bangles clattered against each other as she laid her arm against the wooden arm of the chair. Everything about her looked relaxed; that was how I knew she was anything but.

She continued. ‘However, despite the rumours nothing good ever came from the gems. They weren’t meant for men, or even for supernaturals. They were wielded by the archangels and I believe they were used for Creation itself.’ She spread her arms above her and looked at the ceiling. ‘Gabriel bore Water, Uriel bore Earth, Raphael bore Wind, and Michael bore Fire.’

My family wasn’t overly religious but I’d studied the philosophy of religion at university. I knew the names.

‘The lore says there was a great war in the heavens and the gems were lost as the angels and demons fought for control of the earth.’ She shrugged casually. ‘Who knows?’

I hoped she did because that was why I’d asked, but I kept my mouth shut and let her tale unfold.

‘I’m not sure how the stones became cursed – or by whom – but all the stories agree that at some point the gems were captured by the demons. To keep them from throwing the balance of the war in favour of the angels, the demons subverted them by taking noncorporeal beings and locking their tortured souls inside the stones. The possessed gems hated their own existence and as time passed, the fury of the captured souls grew in sentience and evil. Each gem began with its own elemental strength and grew in power with the hatred of its lost soul.’

That was grim. If the gems had Creation-level power to start with, we needed them locked up or returned to the angels. My stomach was starting to feel as though it was the pit of despair. If the story was true, who wouldn’t try to steal them? Angels? Demons? That was a terrifying thought. If Beelzebub came knocking at my door, I’d throw the stones at him and run.

‘So the boxes control the stones somehow?’ I asked, licking my suddenly dry lips.

‘The boxes focus their power and keep it drained down so the gems are fairly weak. But the fire gem has been out of the box for several days now and its power will be growing.’

‘So get it back as soon as possible,’ I said, deadpan. We’d been trying. ‘Do you know anyone who understands what the gems are and would want to steal them?’

She shrugged. ‘There are ancient beings out there who are aware of them. But the stones were thought to be lost and I haven’t advertised that I have them.’

‘You’re saying maybe?’

She laughed, a sharp noise that seemed to surprise her. ‘Yes, Bunny, maybe. It is entirely possible that someone wants to steal them for their overwhelming power. However, I still think the thief is someone from this town who knows nothing about them, other than that they power the barrier – and they want the barrier down. Gems and their lesser cousins, crystals, are commonly objects of power so they might just think they are getting very large, expensive gemstones.’

I sighed. This was one job I wanted to be above my paygrade. The beast outside the barrier scared me witless and now I was terrified of the gems, their powers and their past owners. ‘Thanks, Liv. That does give another angle for the possible thefts. I hope you’re right and it’s about the protests.’

She stood up and smoothed down her clothes. ‘Me too.’ She walked out without saying goodbye; she needed to work on her manners, but it was still the most pleasant time I’d ever spent in her presence. I was starting to think that maybe she liked me a little.

Nah.