Medusa's Dagger (Aya Harris Collection 1)

With a disgusted sigh, I threw my hands into the air. “Really? That’s your question?”

A tiny voice inside my head rejoiced that he didn’t think I was ugly. I wanted to squash it.

“Oh…uh, no,” he said, licking his finger and flipping through the pages of his book.

As he skimmed his notes, I watched him for signs of the glimmer. To catch a glimpse of a supernatural creature’s true form, you’d have to wait for a slight glimmer or disruption in the air. It only lasted a second, but that was usually long enough to figure out if someone was human or not.

I couldn’t spot a glimmer around Gideon. He had to be some sort of spirit or creature. The SI would never allow a human in their ranks.

Supernatural Investigations had been formed in the seventies. It was based on a court system almost identical to that of the Federal system, except we had a few more laws to govern our kind and our special abilities. Mostly, it protected the humans from become walking blood bags for the vampires, or unwilling hosts for demons.

“When did you have this vision?” Gideon asked. He pulled out a golf pencil and waited for my answer.

“I had it four days ago.” I rolled my eyes at him. “This was all this in the anonymous message I left.”

He ignored my attitude and scribbled on his paper. “Tell me about the people in your vision.”

“I couldn’t see their faces. I think there were four victims. It was all blurry. But the man used some sort of spell or charm to freeze them. That was all I saw before it went dark.”

Even now, I still had a slight headache leftover from that vision. It throbbed between my eyes. I’d had a few bad visions over the years, but nothing as powerful as that one. By the time it was over, I was left crawling on my hands and knees, barely able to see.

“I need you to be more specific.” Gideon looked up at me. “I need more details.”

“I told you, everything was blurry,” I snapped. “I didn’t see much.”

“I don’t believe you.” He flipped his notebook shut. “I think you know more than you’re saying. You have to know more.”

I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to drive my harpy talons into his perfectly shaped chest. “I’m telling you, that’s it. That’s all folks. The end.”

“No, I don’t think so.” His voice was frustratingly calm. “I think you know because I think you’re the one that did it. You took that family.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. First I was a liar, and now I’m a kidnapper? That escalated quickly. “Family? What family?”

“The Yonas family.”

That name sounded familiar. It took me a moment to search through my mental files, but soon I remembered why. One of the bronze plated mailboxes in my apartment building had the name Yonas taped to it. An older man of about sixty would often check it at the same time I picked up my own mail. He didn’t say much, but he seemed nice.

“The Yonas family that lives in my apartment building?” I asked. “In Kenneth Manor?”

“Yep, that one,” Gideon replied. “They were reported missing this morning. No one’s heard from them in three days.” He leaned forward as if to whisper in my ear. “And I think you had something to do with it, Aya Harris.”

Chapter Two

I jumped back like I’d been stung by a bee. Gideon was serious about these accusations. As if I could ever kidnap anyone – the girl who wouldn’t even drive five miles over the speed limit. It was ridiculous.

He studied my reaction. If what he saw convinced him of my innocence, he gave no indication. Instead, his eyes remained narrowed and his jaw tense.

“I didn’t do it. I told you.” I ran my hand through my long blonde hair and tugged on the ends of it. “Like Angel said, I was just trying to help. Seriously.”

His eyes narrowed even more before he pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay. Say I believe you. But why would someone want to kidnap this family?”

That was a great question. Most of the people in my building were supernatural creatures. The landlord was a troll – literally – and he catered more to the supernatural variety. The Yonas family had lived there longer than I have. And no one in that building had much money. It was doubtful they were being held for ransom.

“I don’t know. I think they’re Elementals. Wait… yes… they’re sylphs. Air spirits. They’re completely harmless.”

Elementals are spirits or creatures that come from nature – earth, water, air, and fire. Most of them had low to average magical powers, and simply tried to blend in with the humans. The Yonas family could probably control the wind in small ways. Enough to create a healthy breeze but not enough to cause a strong storm gale.

“Hmmm.” He snapped his notebook open again and scribbled on the page.