Together We Stand (Book 6)

Chapter 9

'Yeah, or clocks.' Katherine said.

'What about that place with the picture of a clock in the window.' Dani pointed out.

'How nice and obvious.' Lauren said sarcastically as Katherine pulled the car to a stop in the road.

'Remember, don't get too close to this guy.' Christina said as they filed out of the car. Lisa stood and looked up at the building, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked to the very top.

'It's a tall building.' She pointed out. 'Do we know which floor he's on?'

'I'd guess the basement.' Amy said. 'Demons are weird.'

'Hey, don't write off the basement until you've tried it. It was quiet down there.' Lisa said as Amy nudged her playfully. Katherine went up to the door and looked at it. There was a padlock on it.

'Looks like this guy is more paranoid than the others.' Katherine said, puling on it. There was something magical about it but she wasn't able to figure it out. 'It feels reinforced with a spell, but not a forcefield, something else.'

'Can we open it?' Lisa asked. 'I mean, without Chris' beam to blast through it?'

'I have an idea.' Dani said, stepping forwards. 'Chris, can you push the door in with your telekinesis and I'll pull the lock outwards with mine.'

'That's a great idea.' Christina said, standing next to her. 'On three....' They both prepared themselves. Everyone else stood back and out of the way. 'One, two.... Three!' Christina said, as she sent her power into the door. Dani pulled away as hard as she could and the padlock came flying towards them. They ducked and it crashed on the floor behind them. They looked at the wide open door before looking at each other.

'Nice.' Dani grinned, waiting for a high-five which Christina returned.

'I'm pretty sure Lex heard that though.' Katherine said.

'Let's go find him then.' Dani said, walking confidently towards the building.

xxxxxx

They had started in the basement but it was empty. As was the ground floor and the first floor. They entered the landing on the second floor and looked around. There were two rooms, one on either side and both doors were closed. 'Which one first?' Lauren asked.

'That one.' Amy said, pointing to the door on the left. 'There's an odd feeling coming from that room.' She told them.

'Okay.' Christina said. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it cautiously. She pushed it inwards and took a step into the room. The others followed in and took notice of the many jars lined up on several shelves on one of the walls. They were filled with orbs of varying colours and levels of brightness. Some sparkling, some had little bursts of electricity. 

'They're all powers?' Lisa whispered.

'I guess so.' Lauren responded. Christina got to a bend in the room and looked around the corner.

'Shit.' She sighed, her shoulders deflating.

'What is it?' Lauren asked coming over to her side. They all gathered and looked at the back of the room. There was a man slumped over a desk. He was dead. They walked towards him and Amy went over to get a better look. She put two fingers on his neck and confirmed that he wasn't breathing.

'Is that Lex?' Dani asked.

'We have to assume so.' Katherine said. 'This looks like where he stored powers.'

'What killed him?' Lisa wondered as Amy looked for any injuries.

'I don't know. There's no obvious wound. Without an autopsy I couldn't tell you.' She said.

'Well we lack the time and skill to give this guy an autopsy.' Lauren said.

'Let me try and get a vision.' Katherine said, walking over and taking a deep breath before putting her hand on his shoulder. She inhaled sharply and was transported back.....

.......Lex was running away from something. She could see him jumping up the stairs two at a time until he came into this room. He closed the door but something forced it open from outside. He was thrown to the ground and began scrambling back on his heels. 'No, no please!' He begged, hands out in front of him. The next thing Katherine heard was his scream and she could smell burning. Then she was brought back to reality.

'Katherine?' Lauren looked at her. She blinked a couple of times and remembered where she was.

'Yeah.' She said. 'I'm good.'

'What did you see?' Christina asked.

'It was more about what I could smell.' Katherine said. Dani gave her a strange look but she turned back to Lex's body. She looked him over but saw no signs of burning, until she went to his other side and pulled up the sleeve of his jacket.

'I can't believe you're touching him that much.' Lisa said, holding her stomach.

'Look.' Katherine said. She held up his arm and they saw a marking. It had been burned into his skin.

'He's been branded.' Christina realised.

'Like farmers do to cattle?' Dani asked.

'Yeah, but why?' She wondered.

'I think the better question is who.' Amy said. 'If we find out who the brand belongs to, we'll probably find the person attacking witches.'

'Was Lex killed because he was getting in the way, taking powers from witches before this guy could get to them?' Lauren suggested.

'We're assuming this is one person. It could be a group.' Katherine said.

'It makes more sense that it would be a group, especially if they have their own brand.' Lisa said, she had moved closer and was studying the brand. Her brow furrowed in thought.

'What is it Lise?' Christina asked.

'I don't know. I feel like I've seen this before.' Lisa admitted. 'But I can't put my finger on where.'

'Can we talk about this at home.' Dani said nervously. 'The dude is dead, we can't really do anything else here.'

'She's right.' Amy said. 'Let's go.' They made their way out of the building, but failed to spot the pair of eyes watching them from under the staircase. They got in their car and started their journey home, with a mystery figure right behind them.