Axel shook his head. “No. I haven’t heard from him since he left Saturday morning. Whatever they’ve got him doing, it’s taking all his time. But then it’s not been all that long over there.”
I groaned and rested my head against the back of the seat. I really fucking hated the weird time thing between our realms.
By the time we reached the police station, I was almost vibrating with the need to know what was going on.
Mase waited for us in the car park. “Thanks for coming in again.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “How come you didn’t ask me and sent Axel instead?” As my best mate, I would’ve expected the request to come from him.
Mase scrunched his nose. “Sorry. I know I should’ve called, but we’ve been busy with…” He glanced around the car park, not that anyone else was about. “Come inside and we’ll explain everything.”
“Good, because my curiosity is off the charts right about now.”
Mase snorted. “I bet.”
“Mine too, just so you know.” Axel caught Mase’s arm as he turned to head back into the police station. “Do I need to contact Dathal?”
Mase’s gaze shot to mine, eyes full of apology, then back to Axel. “No, not yet. CI Thornton has instructions from the high court to call him back when we’re ready to make a move on Yates’s compound.”
And clearly that wasn’t yet.
I didn’t like the looks they were both sending my way, so I started walking. “Come on then, let’s get this over with. I do actually have other things to do today.”
Max was already in the large meeting room when we got there. The same one as I’d been in last time.
“Hey, Nick,” Max greeted me with a tight smile, which was so unlike him, my steps faltered.
“Everything all right?”
“They’ve been better.” He crossed his arms and leant on the corner of the table. “We’ve had a bit of trouble getting permission to search Yates’s property. But I’m hoping that’s all about to change.”
“Good.” I wanted whoever was behind all this caught and dealt with. The fact it might be a hunter didn’t surprise me one fucking bit. I’d never understood how Mase had survived being part of the Silver Arrows. He was the opposite of every hunter I’d ever come across.
Thank fuck he’d got out of there before they’d really got their hooks into him. The thought made me shudder. I glanced around the room, wanting to take my mind off that train of thought, and noticed the photoboard had a few new additions. I walked over to get a closer look.
Max joined me and pointed to the three new photos at the bottom. “Those are the three witches we’re trying to find. Do you recognise any of them?”
“No.”
“I didn’t expect you to, but worth asking.”
I glanced at him. “What’s their connection to Yates?”
Max bit his lip, probably debating how much to divulge. Finally he sighed. “All three of them were reported as fugitives by one of the Birmingham paranormal police divisions. They were wanted for suspected assault and attempted murder of two humans.” He waited a beat, then added, “For testing out magical poisoning by using banned substances. A local coven reported them to the witches’ council, and they informed the police.”
“And Yates?”
“He was the lead hunter who took the job to find them. According to the records he filed with the police station, he and his hunter group killed all three of them.”
I frowned, rubbing my jaw as I stared at the photos. “But you’re saying they’re not dead?”
“Not according to the fae guard that Dathal interrogated. The one that smuggled Blake Tehlin through the gateway.”
“What about the bodies?” I asked, looking at Max. “Surely someone had to identify them?”
Mase and Axel had joined us by this point, and it was Mase who answered. “The police file states the bodies were recovered, photographed, and then the witches were identified by their covens from those photos.”
“So magic could’ve been used to alter the appearances of whoever those poor fuckers were, and no one would’ve known because they identified them from photographs.”
