Doing nothing came easily to me, at least that’s how it appeared to those around me.  Growing up, I could often be found staring into space, usually at an object or animal, sometimes at a person.  My classmates weren’t overly fond of me. 

After Jared and I discovered that the stones were placed in the houses for protection, he decided it was time for me to go home.  I didn’t argue, he had said he needed to think about what to do next, and that his process did not involve me.  Well, my process didn’t involve him, either.

On the drive home I asked about Yamuna and what she had meant when she said he had trapped her there.  All he gave me was the fact that she was doing things she shouldn’t have been doing and needed to be brought in last year during the revolution.  His blue eyes stayed on the road, jaw tense, knuckles changing colours as he gripped the wheel.  There was something about Yamuna that scared me, that feeling of terror still sitting on my chest even now.  When I had asked him what had made the witch’s eyes go so wide when we’d barged in he only brushed me off, mumbling something about being “spell-marked”.

My fingers couldn’t move fast enough to ask Google what the term meant.  I found a few forums with vague questions, and only a few serious answers.  From what I could tell, being spell-marked meant you were protected from most spells, but only the basic ones; any witch or Eidolon powerful enough could easily get through the mark.  Something told me there was more to Jared’s spell-mark, as well as Yamuna’s power.

So, while Jared was out doing…whatever it was Jared did, I was on top of my comforter staring at the ceiling.  My fingers drummed a rhythm against my stomach, a sinking feeling of helplessness coming over me.  I had only felt this way once before I met Jared.  There was nothing I could do to prove Luke’s innocence, nor could I follow Jared around as he had me.

The bed creaked as I rolled onto my side with a sigh, watching my lifeless phone on the nightstand.  For the first time in my life I was wishing for a guy to call me.

Just as my eyes were about to close, my phone lit up with a call.

I scrambled forward, nearly knocking it to the floor in my hurry.  “Hello?”

“Hey Liv,” Luke said, “I need a favour.”

“What is it?”  I sighed, the adrenaline spiking through my veins for nothing.  I rubbed my eyes and checked the clock; only a little after three.

“We need some help in the office, a few people called in sick,” he explained.  “Wanna come in until the next shift is on?” 

I weighed my options.  I could stay at home, watching my phone, or I could go into work and keep my mind off of everything that had happened.  By the low tone of his voice it didn’t seem to be helping him, but we were very different people.

“Sure,” I replied, “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Thank you, Liv.  See you soon.” 

I threw on a pair of black leggings and a long knit brown cardigan more suitable for the office, and headed out the door.

The creaking of the elevator at work never bothered me, if anything it was comforting me now.  It was one of those things in my life that remained consistent, even within the chaos.  I willed myself to not think of the blood at Alice’s crime scene, or how tired Luke had looked last night.  I tried to ignore the image of Heather on the bathroom floor, and Insp. Young accusing Luke just because he wasn’t human enough.  The same thoughts kept crossing my mind, and in a frail attempt to distract myself, I began to count the floors as I ascended.

Seven… has Jared found anything?  Eight… why would someone try and protect the girls without telling them they were in danger?  Nine… did Luke have any idea how grave the situation was?  Ten… what was going to happen if the killer was never caught?

The elevator dinged, doors opening to the eleventh floor.  A low breath parted my lips, glad I could get to work for the first time in my life.  Counting the floors was just like counting the questions in my head, but worse because I had more questions than floors.  Striding into the plain white office, I found my way to Luke’s cubicle near the windows.

Most of this job was filing.  Take information from here, put it there, and then put it back here again.  Simple.  The only thing it involved was typing and occasionally calling people should something go missing. 

As I walked through the office I noticed nobody was talking.  Everyone in the room was hunched over their computers, doing their work.  In a place like this everyone worked as hard as possible to do nothing, making the silence all the more eerie.

I hurried my pace to Luke and received my assigned pile of paperwork to put into the system, part of me looking forward to turning my brain off for a while.  As strange as it sounded, I didn’t mind doing stuff like this.  It was just reading and typing, and usually resulted in a meditative like state.  Maybe I’d be able to think clearer when everything was done.

An hour of quiet typing went by without a single notification from my phone.  I’d resisted checking it, just to make sure it was on as I struggled to pay attention to my work.  As I leaned back in my chair I rolled my head left and right, feeling a familiar ache in the back of my neck.  Standing, I rested my arms on the short grey wall that separated me and Luke.

“Coffee?” I asked, needing a break and knowing Luke needed one even more.  Luke leaned back in his chair, one hand on his lips while the other slowly pressed the down key again and again.  I glanced at the screen, seeing only a blur of pages go by as he kept tapping.

“Yeah,” he said.  Large hands with thin fingers rubbed over his face.  “Sure.”

As he pushed himself off out of his chair, two of our coworkers drifted by, deep in conversation.

“Did you hear about how they let the suspect go?” Susie questioned with too much eagerness.  Her tall stature and black pixie cut made her look more like an athlete than an office worker—I think she said she used to run track in college.  Now she’s the office gossip, though in Ellengale everyone was the office gossip.  Nothing happened in Ellengale…at least it didn’t used to.

“Yeah,” Amber replied, “it’s obviously not him.  I mean, there was another killing while he was in custody.” 

Amber was my favourite woman in the office.  Quiet and quick with her work, she rarely complained and often asked to help out others.  She reminded me a bit of Charlie but watered down.  Charlie Lite.  Even her hair was blonde and cut just at the shoulders for a face-framing wave like Charlie’s.

Their conversation faded when they turned into the office kitchen. 

My eyes slid to Luke.  “I can get the coffee, if you don’t want to listen to them.” 

Luke stared towards the kitchen, defeated.  He wasn’t going to escape this, not anytime soon and I think he was finally accepting that.  There was a moment before he took a deep inhale and then let it out, flatting his hands on his thighs.

“No,” he said, “I should get used to it.  Let’s go.” 

Luke’s steps were stronger than mine as we entered the small kitchen.  Susie and Amber had found their seats at the single round table, each of them still deep in conversation.  They didn’t give any indication they’d noticed us come in as they argued about the case.  One would think they were the detectives here.

You’re not a detective, Luke said to me in my mind.  I flinched, more from the sudden voice in my head than the small pain at my temple.  I shrugged at him as I grabbed the carafe from the coffee maker and poured the liquid into the two white cups Luke had set on the counter. 

Glancing out into the office I thought some caffeine might liven up the office.  Normally I liked when it was quiet, but today it reminded me of something else. 

The absence of sound.  Just like Charlie’s apartment.

 As I went through the process of making a new pot, I listened in on the girls’ conversation.  They seemed to still be in a debate about the suspect’s innocence.

“I say he’s guilty,” Susie announced.  Her voice had gone up an octave, a telltale sign that she was getting upset.  “I mean, the papers said he was present at almost all the crime scenes.  With witnesses I might add!” 

I turned and leaned on the counter next to Luke, having no shame in staring at the women while they talked.  Luke kept his eyes on his coffee.

“I’m not sure,” Amber said, twisting her unicorn mug on the table, “there was that one girl that died when he was in jail.  How did he do that?” 

Susie thought.  “He has a partner, that John guy.  Plus he’s not human, so he has superpowers that let him do it.” 

Amber stared down her friend, a flicker of colour changing her eyes from brown to a deep black.  I blinked and they returned to normal, making me unsure if I’d seen anything in the first place.

“Superpowers?”  She huffed.  Yeah, none of them were fond of that term.  Luke said it was because it implied they were different, something other than a person.  I understood that it made them sound superior to humans, which was the last thing they wanted, according to Dr. Wineman.

“Etheric’s,” I corrected.  The girls turned towards me, Amber furrowing her brow and Susie widening her eyes.  I added, “They prefer to be called Etheric’s or Eidolon’s.”

“Where did you hear that?” Amber questioned, gaze finding mine.  I couldn’t remember a time when she’d looked someone in the eyes, and it made me nervous enough to look away.  A chill not unlike what I’d felt at Yamuna’s house crept along my skin.

“We’re taking a New History course at the college with Dr. Wineman,” Luke said, “that was something he said.” 

An honest and simple explanation that I wished Luke had kept to himself.  By now everyone must know that the latest killing was after a lecture on Eidolon’s.  I had to take this opportunity before it slipped away.  “So have you guys heard anything weird about the killings?”

Even rumours had some sort of truth to them.  Susie’s head swivelled as she scanned the area, quickly jumping to her feet.  She closed the two doors that sat opposite each other, and even went as far to close the blinds.

“I have heard one thing,” she said as she sat down.  “It’s a hundred per cent true too.”

“What is it?” Luke asked.  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped.

“My boyfriend’s friend knew the first girl, Rosa,” Susie explained.  The wide smile on her face unnerved me, reminding me of Cindy, the reporter that was all too eager to report another murder.  “She was pregnant!” 

“No!”  Amber gasped.  Whatever anger she’d had earlier had vanished.

“Yes!” Susie confirmed.  “She had just found out she was, like, three months pregnant!  She was going to keep the baby by the way, at least that’s what I’m told.”

“That’s so sad,” Amber mumbled.  Her face fell as she looked to her mug, twirling it this way and that. 

“Yeah,” Luke agreed, looking down at his own coffee.

“Why wasn’t that mentioned in the news?” I questioned.  Something else kept from the public, but I’m not sure how it’s related to the case. 

Susie shrugged.  “Don’t know.  I heard she didn’t even have a boyfriend, and all her family is back in…wherever she’s from.”  She waved her hand in the air.

“I’m going to get back to work,” Luke said, rolling his head as I had earlier.  “There’s a lot to do.”

 Susie and Amber agreed but as followed Luke out the door I heard them continue to discuss the murders.  As I escaped their sight I could have sworn I felt Amber’s gaze on the back of my head, but ignored it with this new evidence.  I would have to ask Jared about the pregnancy, if he ever called that was.

I went back to work, the numbers taking my mind off of everything.  When the little hand on the clock above the kitchen door pointed to six, we headed home.  Normally we would complain about something on the ride back, or discuss a new way to get less work done while still looking productive.  This time it was silent, and I let it stay that way.

Jared’s car was waiting for us when we returned to the apartment, in my spot to boot.  My heart jumped into my throat for a second as I drove past, wondering if he was inside; it was too dark to see anything clearly.

In hopes of appearing confident, I parked right next to the Charger.  The back door on the Charger swung open so hard it smashed into my passenger side door with a loud metallic bang.  Jared leapt from the backseat and within five seconds he had Luke’s wrists cuffed behind his back.

“What are you doing?” Luke shouted.

“Arresting you,” Jared said calmly, “you need to be in jail.”

“But he didn’t do anything!” I yelled.  He knew that, so what was going on?  “You know he’s innocent!”

Jared didn’t say another word as he threw Luke into the back of his Charger, speeding off before I could even get around my car to jump in front of him.  I swore under my breath as I tried to calm down and think rationally.  That was when realized Jared was a bounty hunter.  He didn’t care about innocent or guilty, he certainly wasn’t on my side.  He cared about the money.  My face burned as anger welled in my blood, not just at Jared, but at myself as well.