Page 31 of Haunted Eclipse

Marcus let out a shriek as Reese produced a pair of handcuffs. They had an air of magic to them, and the moment he slapped them on Marcus’s injured wrist, Marcus let out another shout, but I immediately relaxed. Astra brought up her phone and handed it to me.

“Record this,” she said, turning to Marcus.

“Marcus Levius, you are under arrest by the order of the Court Magika, for murder. You have the right to remain silent. If you speak, we may hold anything you say against you. By the order of Queen Heliesa, Her Majesty of the Witchblood Nation, we take you into custody. Any attempts to escape will be considered an admission of guilt and will be met with violence.”

Astra let out a sigh, then nodded to me. “Okay, you can stop recording.”

As I turned off the video, she turned to Reese.

“You can take him in. I’ll text the video to Nightshade, and she’ll send it to the Court. I suppose that we can release Devon from the Safe House?”

“Leave her there till morning. It’s late, and she needs her rest. Plus, we need full statement from her for the court, and it’s better we do it there. Not everybody wants to give evidence once they feel the problem is over.”

I was still shaking. I had no idea what had come over me or where those words had come from. “Are we done here?”

“We’re done for the day,” Astra said. “I suggest that, while Garns and Reese take Marcus into custody, we find a diner and have a bite to eat.”

“I could go for food,” Crystal said, still looking shaken. She touched her throat. “That was too close for comfort. But whathappened—what did you—” She paused as Astra gave her a shake of the head.

I cleared my throat. “I could use some food, too. Are we done here?”

Reese nodded. “You can go. We’ll search his apartment for any evidence, and Cleo will call you in the morning, Astra.” He motioned for us to leave. “Trust me, this ain’t my first rodeo.”

We had come in Astra’s car, and Reese and Garns had ridden together. As we headed back to the parking lot, I had the feeling that I’d stumbled into some surreal movie plot—where everyday life had taken a stand on its head.

The feeling lingered all the way out to the car, and all the way to the Pacific Blue, a diner that was open all night long.

The diner wasempty save for a few patrons. The waitress led us to a booth in the corner, and I gratefully slid into the soft, velour covered seat. She handed us menus.

“Drinks?” the waitress—who was wearing a nametag that read Jelico—asked.

“Hot cocoa with lots of whipped cream and chocolate shavings,” I said.

“Same,” Crystal ordered.

“Why don’t we make it three?” Astra said. “I think we know what we want to order for food.” She ordered pancakes and bacon, I asked for fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and Crystal wanted a burger and fries.

After the waitress moved off, we leaned back against the booth and let out a simultaneous sigh.

“This morning, if someone told me I’d be breaking into some guy’s apartment, arresting him after he threatened my bestfriend’s life, I’d have laughed them out of my shop.” I shook my head, still trying to process everything that had gone on.

“Me too,” Crystal said. “Except…Instead of my best friend being threatened, well…me.” She stared blankly at her menu.

“Howisyour throat?” Astra asked. “Do you want to see a doctor?”

Crystal thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I think I’m okay. Though I think he would have actually gone ahead and broken my neck, if circumstances deteriorated.” She turned to me. “So, what the hell wasthat? It wasn’tyoutalking to him.”

“She’s right,” Astra said. “The words may have been coming out of your throat, but you weren’t the one saying them. Your eyes turned black, Maisy. There wasn’t a gleam of color in them. Somebody was speaking through you.”

“I know, but I don’t know who.” I decided to ‘fess up. “Although I have my suspicions—just like we were talking about, Astra.” I turned to Crystal. “I’ve been having instances lately, where I thought somebody was talking to me. I hear a woman’s voice on the wind, or in my head, or wherever. I’ve been writing it off as my inner thoughts coming out, but I don’t think so now. Somebody is trying to get my attention, and I have my suspicions that it might be Aphrodite. Whoever it is, she’s the same one who spoke through me tonight. I recognized the energy. I was going to meditate on it later tonight, but then the whole thing with Devon went down.”

“What did it feel like tonight?” Astra asked.

I thought about it for a moment. “All I know is that when I realized he was holding my best friend hostage, I was furious—and then, that energy came through. It was preceded by…oh…the best way I can describe it, is a feeling of‘oh no, you don’t!’.”

At that moment, the waitress returned with our drinks and our food.

“That was fast,” I said, realizing I was starving.

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