Page 6 of Magic Unleashed

She frowned, crossing her arms. “What do you mean?”

Griff’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t talked about his father’s death in years, not since the investigation had gone cold. But now, standing in this room, surrounded by the remnants of dark magic, he couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was connected.

“My father,” he said quietly, his voice strained. “He was killed years ago. The case was never solved. But the scene—it was just like this. Magic, strange injuries, no answers.”

Phoenix’s eyes widened, and for a moment, the tension between them shifted into something more. Understanding. She stepped closer, her voice softer now. “Griff… I didn’t know.”

He shrugged, trying to push down the flood of emotions that threatened to rise. “I don’t talk about it much. But this—this is the closest I’ve come to finding any kind of lead. If this is the same kind of magic, then maybe—just maybe—it’s connected.”

Phoenix studied him, her gaze piercing but compassionate. “Then we’re not giving up. We’ll track them down, whoever they are. And we’ll get answers.”

Griff wanted to believe her. He wanted to think that this would be the moment when everything finally clicked into place. But deep down, he knew the road ahead wouldn’t be that simple.

Dark magic had a way of twisting things, of hiding the truth in shadows and lies. And the closer they got to uncovering it, the more dangerous it would become.

But he wasn’t about to back down. Not now. Not with Phoenix at his side and the weight of his father’s memory driving him forward.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice firm. “We’re not stopping until we find out the truth.”

And as they stood there, in the aftermath of the battle, Griff couldn’t help but feel that they had just crossed a threshold—one that would take them deeper into the heart of the darkness than they had ever gone before.

Griff’s cell phone buzzed, and he answered. “I’m needed across town at a murder scene. Can you get home safely?”

Phoenix snorted. Griff shook his head and headed back to The Thorny Rose to get his Harley and head for his day job—homicide detective. But whatever was going on, Griff was convinced he and Phoenix needed to work together, even if it meant unraveling the secrets of his past, one painful thread at a time.

Chapter

Three

GRIFF

The streets of New Orleans were deceptively quiet as Griff pulled up to the scene of his latest case. His Harley rumbled beneath him, but the usual comfort he found in the powerful machine did nothing to shake the tension tightening his chest. The humid night air clung to his skin as he parked and swung his leg off the bike, the distant wail of a police siren blending into the background noise of the city. He could sense it, a low hum in his bones—the energy of dark magic still hanging heavy in the air, invisible but potent. Something was very wrong here.

As a dragon-shifter and a seasoned detective, Griff had seen his fair share of gruesome scenes, but this one felt different. He’d been tracking this kind of darkness for weeks now, and the closer he got, the more it felt like the shadows were reaching out to him, calling him deeper into their fold. His father’s face flashed in his mind, his unsolved murder had been a weight on his shoulders for years. The connection was too strong to ignore.

“Broussard,” a voice called from behind the police barricade. He turned to see Officer Daniels waving him over, his face grim under the dim streetlights.

Griff nodded, ducking under the yellow tape that cordoned off the area. The scene was tucked away in a narrow alley off Bourbon Street, a place Griff knew all too well. The air was thick with the smell of blood and something far worse, a tang of burnt flesh that made the dragon inside him stir uneasily. He could feel it, coiled and waiting just beneath his skin, ready to take over if necessary.

The alley was a mess of flashing lights, uniforms, and forensic techs snapping photos of the body. Griff’s dragon-sharp eyes took it all in as he made his way to the center of the chaos. The victim lay sprawled in a pool of blood, the body contorted in unnatural ways. Griff had been to far too many murder scenes, but this one was off. There was a difference to it that was almost palpable. His instincts screamed at him to tread carefully.

Captain Evelyn Moreau was already on the scene, her arms crossed over her chest, a permanent scowl etched into her face. She turned as Griff approached; her expression unreadable.

“Broussard,” she greeted tersely. “Glad you could join us. We’ve got a situation here, and I need this wrapped up quickly.”

Griff nodded, his eyes scanning the victim. “What do we know?”

Moreau sighed, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Not much. The victim’s name is Travis Mitchell, local bartender. Found by a passerby about an hour ago. But it’s what’s been done to him that’s the problem.”

Griff crouched down beside the body, careful not to disturb the scene as he studied the injuries. Mitchell’s skin was marred with deep, jagged lacerations, but that wasn’t what caught Griff’s attention. No, it was the strange, shimmering residue clinging to the wounds—a dark, oily substance that seemed to pulse with its own energy. Magic. Dark magic.

His gut twisted. This wasn’t a normal homicide. He could feel the residual power in the air, like static electricity clinging to hisskin. It was the same kind of magic he’d felt with Phoenix earlier in the night, the same dark energy that had nearly choked him.

“What the hell is that?” Griff muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“That’s what I want to know,” Moreau said, her voice low. She stepped closer, lowering her voice so only Griff could hear. “Look, I know you’ve got your… unique way of handling things, but we don’t have time for some of your more out-there theories. I need this case closed, and fast. The higher-ups are breathing down my neck, and I don’t want any more questions than necessary.”

Griff’s jaw tightened, a flicker of irritation flashing through him. Moreau had always been pragmatic to a fault, more concerned with keeping the peace than digging into the unknown. But this? This was beyond the ordinary and pretending otherwise would only make things worse.

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