Magic Resistant (27 page)

Jackson wondered if the demon supplier would
be there as well. The chances of Gavin identifying the supplier
would be slim if the demon donned its meat suit. Demons could adopt
any form they wished and, in most cases, humans never knew they
were interacting with one. There were the rare humans sensitive to
the nuances between the races, but they were smart enough to keep
their mouths shut.

Other races could tell though. Mages due to
the aura, werewolves and vampires from the smell (faint sulfur) and
the Fae saw through basic glamours since they relied so heavily on
them. Jackson had forgotten to ask Gavin how he knew it was a demon
before it’d dropped its disguise. Was he one of the rare
humans?

The floor bore witness to Jackson’s
frustration as he continued to pace the floor. They’d said their
goodbyes to Markus and now he needed to work off some excess
energy. He wanted to visit the gym, but was leery of being spotted.
His mind moved from one point of data to the next, trying to figure
out what the hell was going on.

“Ah damn, that explains it.” Slowly, the
pieces fit together. Part of the puzzle began to make sense.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Up until three days ago, the werewolves were
tracking us. Their orders, bring us in. Probably to save you from
me since I accidentally kidnapped you.”

Julia interrupted him with a chuckle. She
stretched out on the bed, watching him intently. “An accident, eh?
Is that how you’re playing it?”

He gave her a mock sideways glare and
continued, “Anyway...”

She stuck out her tongue and raspberried him.
Unable to help it, he laughed, wondering how he'd existed for so
long without her. And to think, she'd been moving in the same
social circles as him and they'd never met. Not once had their
paths crossed even though she was Markus' partner and he'd been
friends with him for a several years now.

“Stop interrupting me, woman. As I was
saying, three days ago, the plans changed and they tried to kill
us, both of us. Three days ago, Gavin escaped from the werewolves,
that
werewolf. He was tying up loose ends. Who else would
Gavin go to about demons and werewolves but to an Enforcer on the
outs specializing in demons? It also explains how the message got
to the clean-up crew without Derek’s knowledge or permission. He
went over Derek’s head. And the clean-up crew wouldn’t question his
authority.” He dropped himself onto the bed and Julia moved to
sprawl on top of him.

His mind didn’t want to process just how high
up this went. Could they actually do this, could they accuse a
Coterie leader? Would the rest of them believe him or would they
haul Jackson off to prison to await trial? Assuming they even
bothered with a trial instead of executing him on the spot.

Huh, what a cheery thought.

A pall hung over their time together. No
longer did the little room seem like a love nest, a world away from
it all. Instead, it was a trap, an existence he couldn’t escape.
His skin tight and itchy. His mind screaming at him. How could he
give himself up, walk calmly to his possible death?

Ignoring the situation though, not an option.
Too many innocent people died, would continue dying if he did
nothing. No matter what the Coterie assumed, he was still an
Enforcer. His duty to the people, to keep the monsters locked
away.

Would this be the last time he saw Julia as a
free man? He couldn’t accept that. He refused to accept it would
all end with him being convicted for something he didn’t do.

Would she stand by him? Did he honestly
expect her to waste her life waiting for him? Could he be the
bigger man and tell her to leave and never come back? Damn, how
could he give up the only ray of light in his soon to be gloomy
existence?

That night, when they went to bed, their
lovemaking was slow and unhurried. They both knew their time
together limited and neither wanted to waste it. They fell asleep
in each other’s arms, holding on tight, trying to deny the worst
outcome possible.

Jackson’s death.

JACKSON’S CELL WOKE him with an incoming
message. Checking it, he saw the text from Markus, “
Coterie to
assemble in 3 hours. Leaders travelling through Fay
.”

He looked at the time and groaned when he saw
it was the ungodly hour of 8:00 A.M. What was wrong with people?
Who was honestly awake at this hour? Bunch of crazy people, that’s
who. At least he had a few hours to fully wake up, get a hold of
Gavin and meet at a neutral spot.

No way would he let anyone find out about
this place. If he needed to run again, he wanted a bolt hole. Plus,
he’d paid for this place for the next year.

Rousing Julia, he relayed the message to her.
A thorn in the Coterie’s side for quite some time now, he wasn’t
surprised at how quickly they acted. He was prime material to be
made an example of; show the supernatural community there was no
escape from justice.

Both too nervous to eat, they skipped
breakfast. However, Jackson needed the morning stretch to help calm
him. He went through the moves, but found no joy or peace. His gut
churned, giving him indigestion even with an empty stomach.

“Alright then. Time to get Gavin and meet
with Markus. Are you sure you want to do this? Last chance to
disappear.” She asked him, half-joking.

He gave it some serious thought, more worried
over Julia’s role in everything, but he had to help end this
bloodshed. While this wouldn't clear Jackson's name, turning his
back on justice wasn’t an option.

“No, no more running.” He answered, looping
his arm through hers as they left the room together.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

GENERAL CONSENUS
DEEMED Moss Park the best meeting place. The large park sprawled
almost the full length of a city block and was half as wide. A
small group of people would be overlooked amongst the normal
crowd.

Jackson and Julia followed a winding cement
path through the trees, the cool shade a welcome relief from the
hot July sun. It wasn’t as thickly treed as some of the parks
around the Greater Toronto Area, but enough to shield them from
cameras and prying eyes.

A faint breeze ruffled Jackson’s hair,
bringing the scent of oak and maple trees mingled with car exhaust.
Tiny feet pounded and children’s laughter drifted from the nearby
playground, infectious squeals of joy.

His resolve strengthened. If he walked away,
the next generation of children would become prey. Their innocence
ripped away in blood and terror. He refused to falter.

Walking close together, they refrained from
touching. He wanted to avoid anything implicating Julia. Best they
thought she was a kidnap victim and nothing else.

He smiled a little, knowing she was anything
but a victim. Keeping her locked up would’ve been impossible had
she attempted an escape. Hell, those earrings of hers alone
would’ve been enough to take him out, never mind her training as an
Enforcer.

He kept his attention on the other people in
the area, checking for a trap. Why they’d go through the trouble,
he had no clue. He’d surrendered, making it easy on them. However,
it was hard to turn off years of habit.

No werewolves, mages or Fae hung around, just
a few humans. Not many frequented the park during mid-morning on a
weekday and, if he’d had his way, he wouldn't be here at this hour
either. Mothers pushing strollers, dads wrangling energetic
toddlers, teenagers with nothing better to do on a hot summer day.
Jackson took it all in and filed away faces and locations in case
he needed to recall it for later.

Gavin leaned against a large maple tree at
the prearranged spot, out of place with the young families. His
dark brown hair washed and pulled back into an untidy ponytail.
Still unshaven, several weeks of growth obscured the lower half of
his face. Dingy clothes hung on him, too big for his emaciated
frame. Even though he kept his back to tree, he was alert to
everyone around him. Haunted grey eyes constantly scanned the area.
His body stiff with tension. Captivity had a nasty way of changing
the way a person viewed the world.

Julia tensed imperceptibly and he realized
they were near enough to sense the vampire aura radiating from
Gavin. He hadn’t told her the full truth about Gavin, kept his oath
to the other man. Instead, he went with the official explanation,
he’d forcibly ingested the blood. Not many Ire junkies sensed as a
vampire though, unless they were chronic users for several
years.

If luck stayed with them, no one would
examine their cover story too close. Gavin would soon be eclipsed
and perhaps forgotten.

Her reaction wasn’t as extreme as his and
Victor’s since she expected it. Ignoring a newly made vampire was
tough though, or at least the sense of one. Within seconds, she had
herself under control again and he knew no one else would have
noticed. Pride swelled as he realized this amazing woman wanted to
be with him, spent time forming her own opinion, dug for the truth
and deemed him worthy.

They stopped several feet away from Gavin,
keeping their hands loose at their sides. Neither one wanted to
spook him since his testimony was key in stopping the hunts and
murders. A quick nod of recognition their way and he was back to
warily scanning the crowds. Jackson suppressed any twinge of pity,
knowing it would be unwanted and an insult to a person strong
enough to survive such an ordeal.

They exchanged no words as they waited for
Markus to appear, all three lost in their own thoughts. A few short
hours until his life irrevocably changed.

A strange tingling, a feeling of being
watched, trickled through his subconscious and he carefully glanced
around, trying to pinpoint the watcher's location. Julia raised a
questioning eyebrow then smirked at someone behind him. He turned
around but saw no one. Whirling back to Julia, she helplessly shook
her head, trying hard to control her laughter.

“I’m sorry, it’s just...” She broke off,
unable to contain her mirth.

Markus dropped his invisibility, standing a
foot away from Jackson. His expression gave away nothing, ignoring
Julia’s outburst.

He gave a slight shrug and said “Julia finds
amusement in seeing me when no one else can.”

“Ha!” She exclaimed. “More like I find
amusement in your disguises when no one can see you. Honestly,
Batman? In a crime fighting mood or just wanted to wearing a cape
and cowl? Where’s Robin hiding?”

Another peal of laughter burst from her which
she tried to smother with her hand.

Markus blandly replied, “I have no idea what
you’re talking about.”

Then
sotto voce
he added, “I’ll
remember this next time you want to be Batgirl.”

Jackson choked back his own chuckle and shook
his head. He hadn’t expected Markus to use his magic so
frivolously. It humanized the infamous mage and made him realized
he didn’t know the man as well as he thought.

Wait, how could Julia see through
invisibility? Her earrings didn’t have the ability and he hadn't
seen her cast the spell on herself. Later, he’d ask her later. If
he had the chance…

Taking control, Markus outlined the details.
“I’ll go as lead Enforcer with Julia and Gavin as my secondaries.
We’ll have a magical disguise on them so no one will recognize
them, especially Julia. No need to overshadow our purpose and we
may need a distraction if this goes bad. Since Gavin senses as a
vampire, no one will question him with me. They’ll think he’s
another Enforcer I brought in to contain such a dangerous
criminal.

“We’ll have Jackson in proper restraints -
handcuffs, finger-cuffs and mouth gag - or else we’ll have a lot of
jumpy Enforcers who might make a mistake. We don’t want to tip off
our suspect and don’t want him beefing up his personal
security.”

Jackson interrupted, “I’ll cast the minor
illusions on Julia and Gavin. We want them to fly under the radar
at the Headquarters and your spells are too powerful, Markus.
They’ll set off the alarms.”

“I didn’t know you could cast illusions,
Jackson. I’ve read your file and it states nothing about learning
them.” Markus said, his tone indicating he wanted an answer.

“You learn to adapt when the people who
trained you are trying to kill you.” Jackson replied with a certain
amount of bitterness. “I had to figure out a way to say hidden in
plain sight or else they would’ve taken me in long ago. And just so
we’re clear, the only reason I’m under arrest now is because I let
myself get caught.”

Markus gave him a curious half-grin and said
“Of course. You’ve become a hated person with the Enforcers for
having eluded
us
for so long. We do dislike loose ends and
fugitives from justice. Okay, let’s get started.”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed at Markus’ emphasis.
Damn mage was hiding something.

Filing it away for further examination, he
weaved his spells. Julia did her own while Markus casted a few
defensive spells on Gavin. Each of them gained a shielding against
physical attacks and a minor shield against magical attacks. The
faint shimmering hues faintly registered to him as they faded away,
forming a barrier around each of them.

Markus had already protected himself, or
rather, he never went around without protection.

Jackson, however, found keeping a full
defensive line running at all times more of a hindrance than help.
Magic users sensed the energy on others and didn’t help him stay
anonymous layered with energy. Which meant he went around as close
to naked as possible unless he expected a fight.

“Okay, I’m going to cast the minor illusions.
It’ll change your hair, make your face appear different and turn
the eye away from you. It’ll be hard for anyone to remember what
you look like afterwards. Their brains won’t process it.” He
explained for Gavin’s sake, Markus and Julia already familiar with
this spell.