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  UNDER THE WIZARD’S SPELL

  SUSAN E SCOTT

  Under the Wizard’s Spell

  Copyright © 2014

  Published by Dark Hollows Press

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  WRAITH: Under the Wizard’s Spell

  Copyright © 2014 Susan E Scott

  ISBN 10: 1942176082

  ISBN 13: 978-1-942176-08-4

  Author: Susan E Scott

  Editor: Ashley Kain

  Original Publication Date: September 2014

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2014 by Dark Hollows Press

  Cover Design by 3 Rusted Spoons

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  W.R.A.I.T.H

  Witness Recovery and Inter-dimensional Tactical Hunters.

  There is a world just beyond our own. A world where Fairies and Demons rule, where Fae and Paranormal creatures exist in a dimension parallel to our world.

  It is the Vargr Realm.

  The Vargr have known about our world for thousands of years and have, in the past, crossed dimensions to prey on it. In recent centuries, however, the Vargr Ruling Council has tried to put a stop to it. Humans have become more technologically savvy and some human scientists have even come close to cracking the barriers that exist between the realms. But there are those who disobey the law…

  The Vargr are attracted to humans. Some like to eat humans. Some come to have sex with us. Some travel to our world to obtain items that are common on Earth, but priceless on Vargr. A special Vargr task force has been established to retrieve those of the Vargr Realm who travel between the dimensions unlawfully and to neutralize any human witnesses who come in contact with these travelers. The Vargr Ruling Council has contacted the governments of our world and they have agreed to cooperate in order to protect human citizens. But there is a war brewing in the Vargr Realm…

  As a civil war begins to brew in the Vargr Realm, the agents of WRAITH find themselves caught in the crossfire. Can the agents - human and Vargr - find the common ground needed to see that the order between the world is preserved?

  CHAPTER ONE

  Slade Delaney took a sip of his Jack Daniels and Coke, savoring the taste, before glancing down the bar where he sensed someone staring at him. He didn’t have any trouble locating the guy because he was still staring with a half-smile and a hopeful look. From what Slade could see in the darkened bar, he was hot—dark hair, dark eyes, a killer body. But he was a little too young, probably about twenty, which meant he was most likely in the bar on a fake ID. Slade had played that game himself from the time he was seventeen until he reached legal age. That was when he’d first tried to adopt a “too cool for school” persona that had eventually become a little part of who he was.

  At twenty-eight, he had the facade pretty much perfected—that aloof, don’t-give-a-shit attitude seemed to be like a magnet to the younger guys. Slade could have just about any of them he wanted, except he didn’t really want any of them. Cole Gregory had been one of the most notable exceptions to that rule, however. The one man Slade had desperately wanted who looked on him as just a friend.

  Slade smiled. That might just change this weekend. He’d met Cole about three years before when they’d both been stationed in Afghanistan. They’d been in the same unit and had gotten fairly close. After the Army, they’d lost touch, and then, by a twist of fate, they’d ended up in the same class at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. They’d recognized each other right away, of course, and after about a week of training, they took things up where they’d left off and started hanging out together when they had a chance, commiserating on the difficult training. Slade wanted it to be more but was willing to wait a while.

  Right away, Slade had noticed the differences in him. Cole had always been handsome, but now he was gorgeous. His facial features and body seemed the same, but there was a kind of glow about him that Slade couldn’t describe. He was so beautiful it was almost mesmerizing, and it seemed to change for the better every day.

  No doubt about it, Slade was terribly attracted to him, but didn’t pursue it while at the Academy. They did, however, develop a bond of sorts since they were both gay and hiding it. They’d kept in touch sporadically after they graduated and received their assignments.

  Cole had received the plum assignment—the bureau in Washington, DC, while Slade had been assigned to Charlotte, NC. He’d been okay with it. It was fairly close to his mom’s house. He and Cole kept in touch— in fact, they’d talked about three weeks ago and planned for Slade to come for the weekend.

  Cole had called just as Slade was walking in the door after work. “Hey, man. How’re you doing? I haven’t heard from you in about a month.”

  “I’ve been doing great, just busy.”

  “I know. Me, too. How do you like Charlotte?”

  “I love it. It’s beautiful down here and I’ve got a great apartment. Why don’t you come for a visit? There are a couple of great clubs here that we could go to, do some drinking and dancing.” And fucking.

  “I’d love to, but I can’t get away right now. Why don’t you come up for a weekend and I’ll show you the sights up here.”

  “I might do that. I’m going to be taking a couple of weeks off in about three weeks.”

  They’re giving you time off already?”

  “Special circumstances,” Slade said. “You know that my dad died about three months before I entered the Academy and now, my mom has decided that she needs to move into an apartment so she doesn’t have to worry about yard work and upkeep on the house.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.”

  “Yeah, it is, but she needs me to come go through things with her and help her move. My brother’s still in Afghanistan, so I’m all she has right now. Anyway, I could leave on the weekend and come up there before flying home to Tennessee.”

  They had spoken the next week and firmed up the plans, but Slade hadn’t been able to reach Cole since then. He figured that Cole was on an assignment, but he still planned on detouring through Washington.

  Slade realized that he was still smiling as he thought of seeing Cole again and that the young guy at the end of the bar must have taken it as encouragement because he moved toward him. Damn. Don’t have time for this. As Young Guy moved closer, Slade could see how hot he really was—tight shirt, tight jeans, nice package. Well, maybe one drink. That won’t take long and I’m already packed.

  Young guy sat down on the stool next to Slade and smiled. “Hi, I’m Greg.”

  Slade gave a slight nod. “Slade.”

  “Nice to meet you, Slade. What are you drinking?”

  “Jack and Coke, but this is probably going to be my last one. I have to catch an early flight in the morning.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “DC.”

  “Business or pleasure?”

  “I’m going to visit a friend.”

  Greg put his hand on Sla
de’s thigh and gave it a little squeeze. “A good friend?”

  Slade felt his cock responding and thought what a whore he was. “Not that good. Not a boyfriend, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “You know it is. Do you want to go to the back room and have a, uh, cigarette?”

  Slade was tempted. After all, the guy was hot and it had been a while. “I don’t smoke.”

  Greg grinned. “Me either, but I think we should go back there and discuss how cigarettes are bad for your health and what else you can do to occupy your hands. My grandmother is always saying that idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

  Slade laughed. “Yeah, my grandma used to tell me that, too. Usually when she had chores for me to do.” They both laughed at that and after a long pause, Slade said, “Another time, maybe.” He was tempted, and usually that was all it took, but not tonight, for some reason.

  Greg looked frustrated, not old enough or cool enough yet to hide his disappointment. Slade took another speculative look at him. Why not tonight? It was getting late, but not that late. He had an early flight, but that had certainly never mattered before. Maybe it was the sense of dissatisfaction and restlessness he’d felt lately. He couldn’t explain it and didn’t want to think too much about it. He looked regretfully over at twenty-year-old Greg. Hell, he’s probably really only eighteen. He decided to let him down easy so he wouldn’t feel totally rejected. “I mean it. Another time. I’ll be back in here after my trip. I’ll see you around.”

  Greg’s expression brightened. “I’m counting on it.”

  Slade walked out of the bar and didn’t give Greg another thought.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Slade tried to call Cole several times on his way to the airport, with no response. He’d left several messages, but Cole had not yet returned his calls and his voice mailbox was full. It wasn’t like him to ignore his calls, so Slade felt that it was a good idea to go on to Washington as planned. After all, if something had happened to him, or if he was sick, no one would notify him. There would be no reason to, so he might as well go find out for himself.

  The plane was delayed for an hour due to bad weather, but finally they were in the air, and the flight time was actually shorter than the delay had been, taking only about forty minutes. Once he was in a cab and on his way to the Regency Hyatt on Capitol Hill, where he had reservations, he tried Cole’s number again. No answer.

  Slade was getting worried. They weren’t best friends, exactly. After all, they hadn’t known each other that long, but they were good friends and he knew him well enough to know that it wasn’t like Cole to skip out on plans without calling to cancel. Something must be wrong. As soon as he got settled in, he’d go to Cole’s apartment and check things out. After all, he was an FBI agent and should be able to do some investigating on his own.

  He ate a club sandwich in the hotel dining room before heading out to Georgetown, where Cole lived. He’d only been to Washington a couple of times, so being unfamiliar with the area, he took a cab. Traffic seemed to be fairly light since it was a Saturday, and it didn’t take long to reach Cole’s address. It was an older-looking brick building that appeared to have once been some sort of factory or warehouse. Cole had sublet the apartment from another agent who had been transferred. He’d told Slade that it was small, only about five hundred fifty square feet and one bedroom, but it suited his needs and the price was right.

  Slade paid the cabdriver and entered the lobby area of the building just as a woman was exiting. She gave him a curious look as he slid past her, but didn’t say anything. That was a lucky break, since the door would have probably locked when it closed and if Cole wasn’t answering his phone, he was certainly not going to answer a door buzzer.

  Once in, Slade stood next to a row of mailboxes looking around. Not much to see. Typical of most apartment building lobbies— a sofa, two chairs, lamp, the aforementioned mailboxes and two elevators.

  Slade walked over and pushed the UP button. Once in, he pushed three. Cole’s apartment was three-oh-one. When the elevator doors slid open, he walked to his right and saw the number displayed on a door about five feet down the hall from the elevator. Plush tan carpeting and soft lighting gave the hallway a warm, inviting look. Nice digs.

  Slade knocked on the door, not a cop’s pounding but a nice firm knock that should be heard inside without disturbing the neighbors. No response. He gave it a couple of minutes and tried again. Nothing.

  A door across the hall and down from the elevators opened a crack, and an elderly gentleman with gray hair and a beard opened it wider and stuck his head out. “Can I help you?”

  Slade turned with a smile. “I’m looking for my friend, Cole Gregory.” He began walking down the hall, taking his badge out as he went. “He’s a friend of mine. We went through the FBI Academy together. I’m from out of town and thought I’d drop in to see him while I’m here.”

  The man studied the badge in Slade’s hand before answering. “He’s out of town, I think. Haven’t seen him in about two weeks. Left for work one morning and hasn’t been back.”

  “Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

  “No, I don’t. After he’d been gone about a couple of weeks, he called from Mexico and asked me to tell the mailman that he was going to be gone for quite a while and to hold his mail. I believe that he said something about being on his way to Tennessee.”

  “Did he mention where in Tennessee?”

  “You know, I believe he said something about Gatlinburg, but I don’t think he meant to tell me that.”

  Slade thanked him and left, thinking about what his next step should be. He could wait until Monday and talk to Cole’s chief, but he’d rather not put it off till then. He hailed a cab and continued mulling over his options on the ride back to his hotel. On his way up to his room, he remembered that there was someone from their class that had been assigned here when Cole was. Maybe he’d know something. What the hell was his name? Jim something. What was it? Barton? No. Barnett, that’s it. Now all he had to do was locate a phone number or address for him.

  He decided to call the Bureau and see if he was working this weekend or, at least, on call. When he got someone on the line, he explained that he had gone through training with Jim and that he was in town and would like to say hello. The agent that answered the phone took Slade’s name and number and said that he would call Jim and give him the information. Thirty minutes later, his phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Slade, this is Jim Barnett.”

  “Hey, Jim, I’m at the Regency Hyatt on Capitol Hill, and I was wondering if you could meet me for a drink later.”

  “I’d love to see you, Slade, but my wife and I have dinner plans with her family this evening.”

  “Well, if you have a minute, I need to ask you something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you know anything about Cole Gregory? I actually came here to meet up with him. I’ve got some time off to go home to Tennessee to help my mother with some personal business and decided to come up here to have dinner and drinks. We made these plans three weeks ago so I’m here now, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with him.”

  “All I know is that he was sent on a special assignment, some kind of training, but I don’t know what.”

  “Okay. No big deal. I guess I’ll just catch him next time. Anyway, it’s good to talk to you. See you later.”

  “Yeah, good to talk to you, too. See you.”

  Now, what the hell is that all about? What kind of training could Cole be in where he couldn’t receive or return calls?

  Since he apparently didn’t have plans anymore and would be eating alone anyway, Slade decided to order dinner from Room Service and make it an early night. He was still puzzled by what kind of training Cole could be doing and in Gatlinburg, of all places. The only thing that he could think of was some kind of survival skills. That area, the Great Smoky Mountains Na
tional Park, would be great for that.

  There was nothing more he could find out tonight, though. The good news was that he was headed to the area and could maybe check it out. If it was an undercover thing, the bureau wouldn’t appreciate him nosing around. His parents’ home was between Townsend, Tennessee and Gatlinburg, though, and since he had grown up there, he had friends who were still in the area and might be able to help. He chuckled to himself. Some of those good ole boys knew more about what went on around there than local law enforcement did, and they were his old football buddies, so he should be able to get some information from them. Of course they had no idea he was gay. He had come out after he left Tennessee, and then only to his family and closest friends. In the Army, it wasn’t too appreciated either, despite the repeal of DADT. So his old friends didn’t know and he’d better keep it that way. If they had, they probably wouldn’t have given him the time of day.

  The flight home was uneventful and it was good to see his mother again, but questions about Cole were still nagging at him. He hadn’t had time to look up any of his old friends yet, since he’d been so tied up with his mother and the house.

  The first three days of his visit had been spent going through things with his mother and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. The problem was that she didn’t want to part with anything.

  The first day hadn’t been too bad. He had started with his old room, and it hadn’t been hard for him to get rid of most of the junk in there. He kept a few things—trophies, yearbooks, Army gear, but that all fit into one box that he could have shipped to his apartment in Charlotte.

  His mom started in the guest room and got most of the stuff in there squared away, but on the second day, Slade realized that things were not going to go smoothly. They were in the kitchen and every item that he took out of the cabinet was something that she felt she wouldn’t be able to live without.