Athena's Jewel (Aya Harris Collection 2)

Two of them shoved a bag over my head, yanking my arms behind me and forcing me to my knees. I screamed and kicked, but they held tight. The third person sprinkled a blue powder over my head. In an instant, my body gave out, collapsing to the cement like a ragdoll.

And just like that, the vision vanished, and I was back in the museum lobby with my hands clutching the countertop. My legs shook in terror as I ran a clammy hand over my forehead. This was what we’d been waiting for. This had been my nightmare for seven years.

The harpies were coming for me. They wouldn’t stop. Not until I was dead.

Chapter Two

I was still reeling from my vision when I arrived at my apartment that evening. Thankfully, Gideon was waiting for me when I stepped off the stairs and into my hall.

“What are you doing out here?” I hissed. “Mrs. O’Conner can sense when someone is loitering in the hall.”

He gave me a weary frown. “Too late. I was already cornered.”

Even after Theo was killed, and Michelle and Kit Yonas had returned to their apartment below, Mrs. O’Conner still interrogated me every chance she got. It was like she thought I had something to do with the kidnapping and murders. She’d gotten creative with the insults lately.

“Oh no.” I slapped a hand on my forehead. “What happened?”

“She accused me of having an affair with an unclean maiden. When I told her to mind her own business, she told me, and I quote, that my little finger is thicker than your father’s loins. I had to flash her my badge before she’d leave me alone.”

I grimaced and shook my head. Another creative insult to add to the book. I almost wanted to knock on Mrs. O’Conner’s door to start another round. Maybe someday I would, when I had a few glasses of wine in me.

“Come on,” I told him, unlocking my apartment door, “I’ll make you supper for your troubles. I hope you’re okay with frozen pizza.”

He grinned and nodded. Already, he’d had a taste of my infamous cooking abilities. Steak and asparagus didn’t sound too hard, in theory. But when you burn the steak and overcook the asparagus, it’s safer to rely on prepackaged food than risk burning down the apartment again.

Walking in, I saw that we weren’t alone. Johnny, my roommate, was already camped out on the kitchen table. His law briefs were strewn all over the top, files and papers everywhere. A couple of empty file boxes lay on the floor next to him.

It was unusual for him to bring work home. Usually, he liked to separate work and play. Work hard, play harder was his motto. It had to be a big case if he was breaking his own rules.

“What’s all this?” I asked, throwing my keys on the counter and letting Gideon in before closing the door.

Johnny didn’t look up, but threw a finger out and pointed at the key holder he’d installed next to the door last month. I sighed and grabbed my keys from the counter, placing them gingerly on the hook labeled Aya. So what if I’d lost my keys in our apartment a million times? It didn’t mean he needed to go all Super Nanny on me.

Satisfied with my obedience, Johnny looked up from his notes. “This mess” – he waved his arms over the table – “is my new case. A federal judge appointed it to me this afternoon after the last attorney disappeared. No note. No phone call. Not a single scrap of evidence. Just disappeared off the face of the planet.”

My eyes grew wide. Sliding into the chair on the opposite side of the table, I grabbed a brief off the top. “Seriously? What’s the case?”

Johnny pulled the brief out of my hand and placed it back on the pile. “My client is connected to an underground crime organization in Arcana, that’s been under the observation of the SI for some time now. He was picked up on a minor charge, but they want him to testify as a witness for the prosecution.”

Gideon looked over my shoulders at the papers. “Let me guess, they’ll drop all charges if he cooperates?”

“Of course. That is, if he survives long enough to cooperate. He was released on bail this afternoon.”

I watched my friend scan over his notes, restacking the piles of papers in front of him. The federal judge who appointed him to the case probably saw the same dedicated lawyer I did. Despite the danger of handling this case, he’d do his very best to help his client.

“Just be careful, okay?” I told him.

The last thing we needed was Johnny getting kidnapped again. We hadn’t talked much about how Nicky had taken him hostage last month. I think we’d come to a silent agreement that if we didn’t talk about it, then it didn’t really happen.

“I will, don’t you worry.” Johnny kept his nose pointed at his legal pad. “Besides, I don’t have anything to fear until he actually talks to me. The guy was as silent as the grave when I met him in prison today. Couldn’t get a peep.”

Gideon nodded. “Must be scared. I imagine he confided in his first lawyer, and that’s why he went missing.”

“Could be.” Johnny answered. “But that’s not going to stop me. The Judge ordered me some extra security, just in case.” He pulled out a chain from under his t-shirt. A small wooden charm hung from it. It was round with tiny gold etchings. “This little guy’s supposed to keep me safe. I guess they enchanted it.”

“That’s complicated magic.” Gideon grabbed the charm to get a closer look at it. “One of our mages tried to charm a gun to never miss last week. It went wrong and nearly zapped him of all his strength when he touched it. Left him in the hospital for a week. But this looks legit. It should help, at least.”

“Until this case is over, I’ll avoid walking down any dark alleys by myself,” Johnny said, tucking the charm back under his shirt. “And I won’t answer the door to any strangers. That’s how I got in trouble last time.”