Summer's Stolen: (A Witch Detective Urban Fantasy Novel) (Seasons of Magic Book 2) Read online

  Contents

  June 19, 2017

  1. One

  2. Two

  3. Three

  4. Four

  5. Five

  6. Six

  7. Seven

  8. Eight

  June 20, 2017

  9. Nine

  10. Ten

  11. Eleven

  12. Twelve

  13. Thirteen

  14. Fourteen

  15. Fifteen

  16. Sixteen

  17. Seventeen

  18. Eighteen

  19. Nineteen

  June 21, 2017

  20. Twenty

  21. Twenty-One

  22. Twenty-Two

  23. Twenty-Three

  24. Twenty-Four

  25. Twenty-Five

  26. Twenty-Six

  27. Twenty-Seven

  28. Twenty-Eight

  29. Twenty-Nine

  June 22, 2017

  30. Thirty

  31. Thirty-One

  32. Thirty-Two

  33. Thirty-Three

  34. Thirty-Four

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Sarah Biglow

  About the Author

  SUMMER’S STOLEN Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Biglow.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  If you enjoy this book, please consider leaving a review.

  For information contact; www.sarah-biglow.com

  Editing by: Under Wraps Publishing Services

  Formatting by: Under Wraps Publishing Services

  Cover Design by: Deranged Doctor Design

  Print ISBN: 978-1513659596

  Published by Sarah Biglow: 2020

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Created with Vellum

  June 19, 2017

  One

  I stared up at the Authority’s imposing building that until a few short months ago had only been a bad memory from my childhood. Still a lot had changed for the better since I’d learned the truth about my mother’s death—she’d given her life to protect me until I could fulfill my destiny—realizing that the Authority wasn’t the heartless conspirators I’d long believed them to be. In some ways, her death had shaped me into the Savior everyone needed to stop the Order of Samael from raising druids from the dead.

  “Unless you’ve learned how to astral project, I’m pretty sure you have to go inside for the council meeting,” a familiar baritone voice said from behind me.

  I turned to look at Desmond, my cousin, and grinned. “Not yet. I’ll add it to my to do list, right after teleportation,” I quipped. We could do a lot of amazing things with magic, but even it had limits.

  The noontime sun beat down on us and he wiped sweat from his forehead. Spring had been mild and it was shaping up to be a cooler summer than we’d had in years. I’d hoped stopping the Order from raining terror down on all of us three months ago would have restored the balance of nature, but signs of the imbalance lingered. At least we were only three days from the Summer Solstice. Light magic would be at its height and I was eager to feel the surge in my own power. A voice crackled over the radio on my belt, calling out codes for crimes currently in progress. I was off duty and lowered the volume.

  “I guess we better go inside,” I said gesturing to the front doors.

  I followed Desmond inside and up the staircase to the second-floor meeting room. I nudged the door open all the way to reveal thirteen chairs laid out in a semi-circle, about half of them filled. Thirteen members had occupied the council since the time of the Witch Trials when the Authority was founded. Until I’d come back into the fold, they’d operated with only twelve members.

  I barely had time to sit down when Belladonna Montes—one of the Authority’s healers—descended upon me. She was a kind woman and had helped me recover from some serious scrapes. Worry lines pinched her mouth and the corners of her eyes. She took the seat meant for Desmond and he moved off, sensing Belladonna wanted some privacy.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s Adrian. I haven’t heard from in a couple days.”

  Her teenage son had been training to take up the mantle of healer like his mother. I’d only had a few interactions with him, but he seemed like a good kid. “Are you sure he isn’t just crashing with friends?”

  “No. He was supposed to be with a friend three days ago, but I called. His friend’s parents said he never showed up. I wasn’t expecting him home until last night. When he didn’t come home, I got worried.”

  I knew she was telling me, because I was a cop. For a long time, I’d been police first and a witch second. These days I was trying to find a better balance of my inherited family traits with the career I’d chosen. “We usually have to wait at least twenty-four hours for someone to be missing before anything can be done officially. Still, if you give me his cell phone number I’ll see if I can find him.” I patted her arm. “Relax. Kids act out and take off sometimes. Lord knows I did when I was his age.” Although he hadn’t come home to find his mother dead in the living room with a knife in her chest.

  “Adrian has never been a wild kid, Ezri. Though …” She trailed off.

  “What?” I prompted.

  “He’s been spending a lot more time online lately. I told myself it was nothing. Although what if something happened to him, because of someone he met online?”

  It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Crime in social media was a whole new world for us and we were desperately playing catch up. I knew bailing on the meeting would be frowned upon, but I also knew that I needed to put Belladonna’s mind at ease as soon as possible. “What’s his cell number? I’ll get on it right away,” I said pulling out a notepad and pen.

  “What about the meeting?” She gestured at the gathered people.

  “They survived without me for years. I think they can handle one meeting on their own,” I answered.

  She nodded taking the pad and pen from me, scribbled down her son’s phone number. I stood, pocketed the pad and started for the far end of the room that led into a well-concealed tech hub. I felt a hand on my arm before I reached the threshold. I grabbed the wrist joint as I spun, facing a startled Desmond on the other end of the arm. I let go.

  “Sorry,” I apologized.

  “Where are you going?” He asked, massaging his wrist.

  “To put a mother’s mind at ease and to do that I need to pay a visit to your girlfriend,” I answered.

  “Let me know if I can help,” Desmond said.

  I gave him a nod and disappeared through the doorway. Thankfully Avery sat at the bank of computers. Until three months ago, I never realized the Authority had their own version of tech support. After helping to crack a serial murder case, Avery had accepted a freelance gig with Boston PD, which wasn’t a secret. So, why hadn’t Belladonna gone straight to Avery? Because Avery isn’t the Savior.

  “Knock, knock,” I said, announcing my presence.

  Avery spun in her chair to face me with a pair of headphones slung around her neck. She was petite and blonde. Not what I would have pegged as my cousin’s type—
before our decade-long separation he’d only dated brunettes—but she was whip smart and snarky. She’d quickly grown on me, too.

  “Hey, Ez. Aren’t you supposed to be in a big, important council meeting?” She asked, gesturing back towards the way I’d come.

  I shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve got more pressing concerns.” I pulled the pad from my pocket and handed it over. “I need you to give me a GPS location on this phone number.”

  Avery quirked a brow at me as she turned back to her computer setup. “And you didn’t go to the actual police with this, because?”

  “Because I wanted to keep it in-house,” I answered, hoping she caught the meaning behind my words.

  “You going to tell me who I’m looking for and why?”

  “Right now, I’m just hoping it’s a kid out for a joyride or sleeping off a bender too afraid to go home and face the consequences.” God, my words made me sound so old. I was only ten years older than Adrian.

  Avery said nothing else, instead focusing her attention on the screen in front of her. I picked up the now-familiar scent of her magic—peaches—as she gave the search an added boost. Some people were born to be healers. Me, I got the ability to pick up on a person’s magical signature. Sure, even that power had boundaries. If it had been more than twenty-four hours it was basically useless. I’d been honing that particular skillset for the last three months though. Now I could stretch that period to nearly thirty hours.

  “Got it,” Avery said about five minutes later.

  “Where?” I leaned over her shoulder, trying to study the grid-like map in front of me.

  “Near Atlantic Avenue, I’d guess it’s probably somewhere near South Station. I can’t get any closer than that even with the magic boost.”

  “What if I called it?”

  She shook her head. “I mean, if you were actually there then maybe that would work. Given the size of the station, from here it’s useless.”

  At least I knew where I was heading. “Thanks. I’m going to head there now, so stick around in case we need you.”

  “We?” Avery glanced at me from over her shoulder.

  “Me and Jacquie.” I had a partner to grab.

  Two

  South Station was one of the busiest travel hubs in Boston, save for Back Bay Station and Logan International Airport. It housed not only two branches of the transit system, but train and bus services, too. I stood above ground near one of the entrances to the station when a tall, caramel-skinned woman approached me.

  “So, you want to tell me what we’re doing here on our day off?” Jacquie DeWitt, my partner, asked. We’d been partnered for almost five months now. When she’d first been assigned as my partner after earning my Detective’s shield, I hadn’t known that she knew my magical secret. There’d been some tension and hurt feelings on my part when I’d learned the truth three months ago. Now, I couldn’t imagine the world without her having my back even on all things magical.

  “Belladonna Montes thinks her son, Adrian, is missing. I said I’d look into it for her. We tracked his cell to this general area,” I explained.

  Most people were oblivious to the existence of magic in the world. We were all safer that way. I counted myself lucky every day that Jacquie wasn’t most people.

  “Well, where do we start? T, trains or bus?” She replied.

  “Avery said she had pinged his cell near Atlantic Avenue. So that makes me think trains or bus terminal,” I said before heading down the stairs to the underground connection of the subway trains to the upper level that served the trains and buses. I took the stairs two at a time, popping up in the heart of the food court.

  I scanned the crowds of people milling about waiting for their trains or getting lunch. I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Adrian’s number. It rang four times before going to voicemail. I ended the call. “The phone’s still on.” I passed Jacquie my pad with the number on it. “I’m going to have Avery track the phone. Call it when I tell you.”

  Avery’s line rang only one time before she answered. “Did you find who you were looking for?”

  “Not yet. We’re going to try calling their phone now that we’re closer. Can you try to get us a more precise location?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  I took off at a brisk walk out onto the train tracks. My instincts told me that trains weren’t the right answer. If he’d hopped a train, his phone wouldn’t still have a signal near the station. I moved on to the bus terminal building at the far end. I gave Jacquie a nod to place the call.

  “We’re calling now,” I told Avery.

  I stepped through the door to the first level of the terminal and took a slow breath. With my free hand, I touched the sandalwood charm at my throat, clearing Avery’s magic from my senses. Crowds weren’t the best place to hunt down magical signatures, but I didn’t have a choice. I could smell the remnants of fast food and the general body odor of the masses in 80 degree weather, but nothing that screamed magic.

  “Okay, I’ve managed to pull up a schematic of the terminal. Looks like the signal is above you,” Avery said.

  “Got it. Thanks.”

  I ended the call and barreled toward the escalator for the second floor, Jacquie hot on my heels. A few people gave us irritated looks as we bolted up the escalator. I flashed my badge and they stepped aside. I came to a halt in the hallway leading to the actual bus bays.

  “I’ll try again,” Jacquie said, setting her phone to speaker.

  The line rang again and this time, I picked up the faint sound of a ringtone nearby. It could have been a figment of my imagination, but I wanted to believe that we’d found Adrian and could set his mother’s mind at ease.

  “This way,” I said, motioning for Jacquie to follow me toward the escalators up to the top level.

  The sound grew louder as we approached a trash can. My heart sank as we both stopped and stared down at the edge of a cell phone haphazardly buried under fast food wrappers. Jacquie pulled a glove from her back pocket and fished out the phone. She held it up for me to see the display, her number on it with two missed calls.

  “That’s not good,” I breathed and glanced around our surroundings. If Adrian had decided to run away, there were plenty of places to pick as a destination and at least three different bus lines, too.

  “Are you able to pick up anything unusual around here?” Jacquie asked, alluding to my signature-scenting ability.

  I closed my eyes letting the sweet scent of strawberries bloom around me, fueling my magic. I poured my intent out into the world around me, seeking out any foreign bits of magic.

  Nothing.

  “It’s looking like he ran away. Even if someone did take him, they didn’t use magic to do it,” I answered. Belladonna had been right to worry. Now I just had to hope I could find a kid who possibly didn’t want to be found.

  Three

  Some habits as a cop were hard to shake like carrying evidence bags. Jacquie slid Adrian’s phone into a clear plastic baggie before heading back down the concourse.

  “Where are you going?” Jacquie called after me when I reached the stairs to the first floor.

  “To find security. See if we can figure out what time Adrian got here and where he might have gone,” I replied.

  “This isn’t an official case, Ezri. We can’t just walk in there without a warrant demanding they show us footage.” She closed the distance between us and put a hand on my shoulder. “I understand you want to help a friend, but we need to go through the appropriate channels.”

  I knew she was right, but that meant confirming Belladonna’s fears and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face her yet. “Okay. I’ll go back to headquarters and fill Belladonna in. I’ll get her to come down and file a missing person’s report. Then we get the warrant and try to find this kid.”

  We headed back through the station and out to both of our cars sitting in a small lot. I hesitated with my hand on the handle of the driver side door. Jacquie gave me a smi
le. “You want me to come with you to break the news?’

  Heat warmed my cheeks in embarrassment. I was a detective damn it. I should be able to handle this on my own. Yet, I couldn’t deny having my partner there to back me up gave me a huge sense of relief. “You don’t have to,” I said, trying to brush aside her offer.

  She shut and locked the door to her own car before rounding to the passenger side of mine. “You may be the Savior, but even saviors need moral support. Come on, get in.”

  I exhaled and climbed behind the wheel. The trip back to headquarters in Newton wouldn’t take long at this time of day. As I drove, I glanced at Jacquie preoccupied by her phone. “Everything okay?” I prompted as I eased to a stop at a red light.

  “The kids are just getting settled back with Denise. I was checking on them,” she answered without looking up from the screen.

  Until a few weeks ago, Jacquie’s niece and nephew had been in her custody while her sister-in-law completed rehab. Even after I’d learned the extent of Jacquie’s involvement in the magical community—Denise’s family had magic and it was highly likely Troy and Neveah had inherited it through her bloodline—my partner still didn’t like to talk about her family. She tried to keep her emotions under wraps, but I knew her well enough to tell losing them hurt. Sure, she was still in their lives, but they’d come to depend on her while she was their guardian. On the rare occasions she did talk about them, she lit up, even if she didn’t realize it.