Page 24 of Ellie 3

“Fuck you, dog,” Joel snarled.

“Wrong answer,” Ha-joon chuckled darkly, shifting his hand into a claw and digging it into Joel’s side. He smiled when the vampire wailed in pain. “You are mistaken if you think I won’t get my hands dirty or will be nice because I’m young or a doctor. You are a threat to my mate and it’s taking all I have not to kill you. So talk.”

“I can make him,” I blurted. “Not long. Hold him still.” I waited until he nodded and forced Joel to be still. I grabbed the man’s head and made him look at me, catching his gaze and using my magic. “How did you know?”

“Bribed a warlock,” he slurred. “A few of us did when we learned what was happening. We wanted access to the owner after what you did. He faked the magic on five of the contracts.”

“Who?” I demanded, cursing when he told me.

“He’s gone,” Joel chuckled. “You’ll never find him. You’ll never put a lid back on this. Good. Fuck you, bitch. Now we know the truth and will ruin you. It’s what you deserve.”

I snorted. “You know nothing, maggot. Who did you tell?”

He fought me but eventually admitted he hadn’t told anyone yet. I got the names of the others who worked with the warlock and how it all went down.

I smiled at him. “This is going to hurt.” Then I seared the information from his brain, enjoying when he screamed in pain.

“He won’t remember?” Ha-joon checked when I was done.

“Yeah, and more than that.” I shrugged when he seemed surprised. “It’s not like I’ve had training.”

“Good. Glad it hurt.” He dropped Joel like a sack of shit, kicking the sobbing vampire. “What now?”

“Now I go handle the rest,” I told him.

“Not alone,” he declared. “Let me help.”

I was going to argue but honestly, I could use the muscle. “I’ll explain later.”

He sighed. “I knew but I didn’t. I mean, I knew—yeah, we’ll talk. We need to hurry before it spreads.”

Agreed.

I called Alan, Carla, and a few of the most powerful witches on ASH’s payroll that I’d known the longest. They met me faster than was reasonable, obviously understanding the urgency and ready to jump in.

“Thank you,” I whispered, touched they dropped everything for me, the witches even opening portals to me. Alan and Carla had been at the hospital working on something, so that was easier.

“What are you, Ellie?” one of the witches asked.

I sighed, knowing that it was probably fair to answer. “I don’t know. I only know what my stepmother just told me. Apparently, my grandmother was some type of fae?” I shrugged.

“Their power wasn’t supposed to cross species, but there are legends about it,” she muttered, studying me. “It skips generations if it does. I have some—I remember where I read some things about it. It was in a family journal. I think it was the grandson of a shifter and goblin. I’d have to check, but all the fae are long dead.”

“Or returned to their world,” the other witch muttered. “No one really knows. The last known recorded was five hundred years ago.”

“I really don’t know,” I sighed.

“But information would be helpful because she does have gifts and no one to help her,” Alan worried. “It’s caused issues.”

“Not for decades,” I drawled.

“Because you’re always exhausted, too stressed, and not taking care of yourself. That needs to change,” he snapped.

“Now she’ll have help,” the first witch promised. “We will help her. Quietly. And we will handle the bastard who betrayed our kind with false magic. I’m his elder and it falls to me. You handle the board. We’ll get you the information and plug the leak from him. Also, anything else you need.”

“Thank you. Really.” I was shocked when they each hugged me.

“You’ve created a miracle here, Ellie,” the second said. “This is a mecca and not just of medicine. It’s the one place we’re all just people, not witches to be ignored or magical humans to perform tricks. I wish the whole world was so integrated and accepting as ASH. This is a future I will fight for and support.”

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