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  Alterations

  An Elemental Witch Trials Novel

  Book Five

  Lucretia Stanhope

  Alterations: An Elemental Witch Trials Novel Book Five

  Copyright © 2017 by Lucretia Stanhope

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2017

  ISBN 978-1542345002

  Also by Lucretia Stanhope

  Elemental Witch Trial Novels

  Blessedly Bound

  Burning Captivation

  Fateful Attractions

  Familiar Betrayal

  Romantic Horror

  Beating Hearts

  Paranormal Fantasy

  Unfamiliar Territory

  Horror

  Rather Be Fishing: Tales of a Reluctant Monster Hunter

  For Jamie

  Thank you for being a beautiful part of my world

  Chapter One

  A small scream escaped from Gwen as she tripped on something in the doorway to her office. The papers she studied, flew from her hands. Unable to catch herself, she fell face first, winded when the floor smashed against her hands and knees.

  While her knees felt the sting of carpet burns, her hands sank into something warm, with a consistency that reminded her of raw hamburger meat.

  Her eyes focused on her hands. The entrails of the person scattered around her office, coated them like a set of grotesque gloves.

  Gwen closed her eyes and listened to the shrill sound of someone who let out scream after scream. She sucked in several times as the air around her thinned to the point she couldn't get a good breath. She tried to stand, but panic gripped her and her legs refused to move.

  On all fours, she heaved and threw up on the carpet. The smell of her last meal mingled with the scent of the disemboweled body. Bile burned her throat as it crawled up.

  Screams continued to fill the room and carry down the hall. They belonged to her, her throat hurt from the combination of the constant screams and being sick.

  She looked away from her hands to her feet and saw what she tripped on. An arm. Part of an arm. The hand and forearm ended in a gnawed mess of blood, meat, and broken bone. She heaved again.

  “Timofei,” she said with as much volume as her sore throat could manage. Only a few minutes had passed since he left realm for home. “Timofei!”

  She knew the details of where everything laid would be needed to figure out what happened. She tried to put the entire scene in her memory. Parts spread out across the room in such small fragments they didn't fit together in her mind as anything that resembled a person.

  Her initial panic lessened and she crawled a little toward her desk. A head sat in her chair, she arched her neck to get a better look. The discernible features she needed to tell who she looked at didn't remain. A mustache stood out against the blood and muscle. A man.

  “Gwen,” Mikhail said, and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped her in his arms. “What the hell happened here?”

  “I don't know. I can't focus. I can't seem to concentrate.” Her eyes flashed from the office and gore to Mikhail. “We need to get investigators here.”

  “You need to see Percy. You are cold and weak.”

  She nodded in agreement. She knew shock dampened her senses and a boost from Percy would sharpen her mind. It needed to be sharp. The daily attention to her bond with Timofei gave her the physical strength to stay on her feet, but even with the extra help she felt unstable.

  Mikhail walked with her, he suggested first she stop to clean herself up as best as she could in the bathroom. His company gave her comfort as she realized trouble found her again after so many years of peace. Timofei kept his promise that she never needed to worry about anything, and the long break in drama, free of anything unpleasant, lulled her into a sense of safety.

  The illusion blew away in a second.

  She looked in the mirror while she waited for the water to get warm. The pale skin on her face made the blood spatters stand out. She washed her hands, the water tinted with pink gore as it swirled down the drain. Hands cleaned, she grabbed a paper towel and wet it before she scrubbed her face.

  She felt like the gore was still on her. She needed to get a better idea of what happened before she went home. She did not want to bring anything dangerous to Brac, Kyna, or the colony.

  When she stepped back into the hall her face was still pale and her aura still wavering, but she felt able to string together thoughts.

  “What happened?” Mikhail took a few steps closer and put his arm around her.

  She explained what happened as they walked toward Percy. “I was just going to grab something before I left. I couldn't even tell who it was. Did you alert Gregor? Timofei?”

  Mikhail kept her close as they walked the empty corridor. “Once I am sure you are better, safe, with Gregor, I will go get Timofei. Gwen, whatever did that wasn't a person. No person could. It smelled demonic.”

  “Demonic.” She leaned heavier on him. “But how would a demon get here?”

  He started to answer when they neared Percy's door. She gave half a smile before she walked inside. When she came out, she felt stronger and ready to face whatever waited in her office.

  She never got inside the office, a small crowd gathered outside in the hall, blocking their way.

  Gregor walked over and hugged Gwen. “Are you okay?”

  “No, no. Who the hell would be okay? Someone finger-painted my office with body parts and guts.” The murmurs from the crowd, the foul smell that leaked into the hall, and the suggestion of demons already rattled her nerves again and threatened to undo Percy's work.

  “Easy, boss.” Mikhail pulled her back under his arm. “I'm going to get her husband, Gregor. Please don't leave her side.”

  Gregor nodded.

  “Wait, Mikhail.” She walked after him. “Don't, not yet. He will whisk me away.”

  Mikhail cocked his head. “As he should. Maybe you need to just come with me.”

  She shook her head. “No, it could be looking for me. If I am the target. It could follow us. My kids, please.”

  “Gwen, I can't not go report this. That would be inexcusable. You can't expect to move here until we solve this either. Timofei would never let that happen.”

  She pressed her little finger to her thumb. “I know you have protocols, but can't we stay long enough to see what the investigator says? You don't even know what to report until then.”

  He pursed his lips. “No, I have to go report this. Go with Gregor.”

  She furrowed her brows as he stepped away. Gregor walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Can you tell, who it is?” Her voice trembled as much as her hands.

  “Not yet. You let us handle this. When Timofei gets here, you go home and rest. I will send word if I need to see you again.”

  A mix of frustration and anger started to boil up. “Don't you start too. I am not a china doll. There is a body in my office. My office. It is a message for me, or perhaps more likely I was the target and some innocent person was in the wrong place. Gregor, this was supposed to be me torn to pieces.”

  He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “We don't know that was meant to be you. We don't know anything. All I can say is it wasn't a human who did this. No human could chew, well, it wasn't human. An investigative team will be here before the hour.”

  “I want to stay and see what they think?” She looked back toward the door of her office. She couldn't see inside for all of the gawkers and the man stood in the d
oorway to keep people out.

  Gregor walked with her toward his office. “You know Timofei will not want you around this.”

  She sighed and searched his eyes. “You know it was meant for me. That is the only thing that makes sense. What creature like that would be after me? Mikhail thinks demon. I haven't been to any strange realms. There are no new claims. No voodoo. Nothing demonic.”

  He opened his door and escorted her to a chair. “Sit down. Let the investigators get on site, okay?”

  Once she allowed her mind to stop she felt sadness. “We've been so happy. Things have been normal. I don't want death and monsters again.”

  He stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “You are surrounded by people who will shelter and love you.”

  “That sounds good, but whatever did that was in my office. I could have been there. Five minutes earlier and I would have been there. It was still, it was still…” She couldn't say warm, instead she sobbed. “Where the hell is Mikhail and my husband?” Her mind flipped between her desire to stay and talk with investigators and the instinct to be safe with Timofei. Shock started to grip her again.

  There was a knocking on the frame of the open door. “Excuse me, Gregor? I'm, Kenneth, can I have a minute?”

  Gwen turned to see familiar blue eyes. She felt a rush of guilt about the broken promises they made to keep in touch. It was the same investigator she worked with when the mystery of Paulette first brought vampires into her life. Grey peppered his black hair and gave him a distinguished look, but his kind face was still the same. “Kenneth?”

  “Gwen, you haven't aged a day. You are exactly as I remember you. Was this related to you?” Kenneth asked. His eyes studied her and he frowned. “This was demonic.”

  “What?” Gregor said. “How can you be sure? You just got here.”

  “You are sure?” she asked.

  Kenneth nodded. “Certain.”

  “We need to get Mikhail back here. They are the only things that can fight demons. We are all vulnerable. Why are demons on council grounds?” she asked and leaned back in the seat.

  Kenneth looked from Gwen to Gregor. “You found the body?” he asked Gwen.

  She looked down at the blood stains on the legs of her pants and edges of her sleeves, then nodded.

  “I'll need to talk with you alone, if you are up for it.”

  Gregor stood silent, hands still on her shoulders a moment before he agreed. He led them to a meeting room where they could talk while he stood outside.

  “Gwen this is bad. Please tell me what you know or remember about tonight.” Kenneth held her hand in his across the table.

  She drew in a breath and told him every step she took until Mikhail turned up. “Are you sure it was a demon?”

  “Yes, I am also sure it was David. Did you know David, or why he would be in your office?” Even though his eyes remained kind, his tone said he asked as an investigator, not her old friend.

  “David? The twitchy cook? He has no reason to be in my office. I thought he went home at night.” She pulled her hand back and held it in her lap. Her fingers rubbed together.

  “Okay, have you and David talked recently? About anything? Even something minor might be important.”

  “No, he makes coffee and has pastries. I don't really know him outside of a few pleasantries. Why would he even be in that area? He has no business in the offices.” She took her hand from her lap and rapped her fingers on the table. “Maybe someone ordered a snack delivered to their office? Who else was working?”

  Kenneth sighed. “I don't know, but I will find out. You know I will ask everyone. I won't leave anything to chance with you. Can you do me a favor?”

  She nodded. “Maybe. Maybe, if it isn't stay away.”

  “You are perceptive. Of course I want you to stay away. I understand you live off realm. Stay off realm. Let me get more answers.”

  She pushed her chair back. “No, you know me. No way. I want to know why someone summoned a demon to eat people in my office. Can't the watchers know who worked dark magic tonight? They feel strong magic. Why didn't they report this? I mean it must have been on site. We need to talk to them now.” She stood up and paced. “I'm the only person who would know if anything was missing or out of place in my office, or be able to help with why he might have been there. Maybe we could have another vision, like we did before. It was pretty clear when we worked together.”

  He shook his head as he stood up. “Slow down. I know you like to be hands on, but you don't want to see that. If I look at all, it will only tell me why he was there, maybe. I can almost guarantee whoever summoned this demon wasn't in your office.”

  “Like a witch? Some witch summoned a demon to kill me? David must have heard the commotion. Kenneth, I really can't help but draw the logical conclusion.”

  “I am going to ask everyone. You don't need to ask anyone anything. Please. If you ask the wrong witch, you remember what I told you about killers getting edgy. Same goes for witches turned rogue.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You agree it was a witch?”

  “That make sense initially. I will know more soon, but conjuring demons wouldn't be a too advanced skill. You would just need a witch that was angry enough with, well, you, to take the risk.”

  “Angry with me? We've made such good changes. Really good things,” Gwen said, her eyebrows pulling together.

  His eyes looked down. “Have you? I've heard things. Things about you and the vampires.”

  Her mouth dropped at the thought that people, witches, would be gossiping about her, after all she had done for them. “Say it, Kenneth. What do they say? I am one of them now? I married the darkest of the dark? I gave my soul to them? Do you really think that?”

  He scratched his chin and sighed. “I know you wouldn't have. The Gwen I knew wouldn't have given herself to a creature like that. Do you really live with the second in line, as his queen?”

  “Yes, but, it's complicated.”

  “Like with Dmitry?”

  “Not exactly, and we can't talk about it. I wouldn't want to put you in danger. Just know, I made changes to benefit humans. Always. Every decision I made was carefully weighted with how it would affect humanity.” She slammed her hand against the table in frustration, both about murder and demons entering her life, and at witches judging her. “You know I gave up everything to make things better here. Everything.”

  He walked over to her and offered his open arms. “I will get to the bottom of this. Not everyone knows you like I do. I know you are not one of them. Please be careful, Gwen, and leave this matter to me and my team.”

  The door flew opened and Timofei walked in with Mikhail behind him. He rushed to Gwen and took her in his arms.

  “You feel dreadful.” He reached out and placed both hands on her face, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I'm here now.” After he tucked her close to his side, he turned to Kenneth. “I understand you are the witch investigating this. I want answers, tonight. I will leave a man here to help you track.”

  Kenneth agreed.

  Gwen assumed his experience as an investigator gave him enough contact with vampires to know this one needed handled with care.

  After Kenneth left to start the investigation, Gwen let Timofei wrap her in his arms.

  “It was a demon, Timofei. Please, don't let demons near Kyna and Brac.” She looked at him with tears brimming in her eyes. “I don't want to do this hate and darkness again, but I am not going to sit around while demons kill witches. Just protect the kids.”

  He kissed each of her eyes. “No tears, my love. I am taking you home. No demons. I will devour whoever is responsible for this.” He turned to Mikhail. “I expect to know something before the night is up.”

  “Of course, Sir.” Mikhail bowed his head before he left to help Kenneth.

  Gwen looked up at Timofei. She could read in his face that he wanted no argument on the matter. She walked over and shut the door, then turned back to him. “Y
ou understand this was meant for me.”

  “Precisely why you are coming home with me now.” His lips pursed and his eyes became slits as he narrowed his look.

  “I love you, and I am not saying this to deliberately make you angry,” she started to say, but he interrupted her.

  “We are not having a debate, my treasure. You have seen what demons do. You have seen that they are not affected by your magic. What exactly do you think you are going to do here, aside from get yourself hurt, or worse?” He made a sound between a sigh and a growl.

  “I have some experience with them. I am going to find out who, and maybe most important, why some witch would risk everything by summoning a demon to kill me. After all we have done, why would anyone want to hurt me? We've changed the way people and witches are treated in so many positive ways.” While she talked, she shook her head in disbelief. “Did you see the office? It was beyond awful.”

  “You are traumatized. I know you wouldn't be disagreeable otherwise. Come home.” He took her hand as he started to walk toward the door.

  “Did you hear me? I am going to find out who and why.”

  His nostrils flared. “I will find out. You will go home.”

  “Timofei, I am not being disagreeable. People are in danger because of me.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face. “Kyna is at home. Matvei is gathering Brac. Between myself, Mikhail, and the soldier…” A look of utter disbelief washed over his face when she interrupted him.

  “No. Matvei will keep the kids safe. I'm staying. I have pressed you for very little over the last twenty years. I am asking you, please, let me do this.”

  She watched as he closed his eyes and balled his hands, his thumbs rubbed over the knuckle on his index fingers. When creatures or vampires made claims or breaches on his realms, his posture looked the same. He never directed it at her, she made it a point to be everything he wanted and nothing he did not.

  She reached up and traced his jaw with her finger. “Please, don't make this a power struggle. I am not as fragile as I used to be. You know that.”