No More Black Magic by A. L. Kessler

ready. I brushed my teeth and ran a quick hand through my hair. I’d grab a burger from somewhere for breakfast. I ran back through the living room and waved at Simon on my way out the door.
    I called Detective Mason on my way out to the car. “Hey, sorry, long night, but I’m back to being a hundred percent.”
    “I found something at the library. You’re not going to like it and I suggest you don’t wear good clothes.”
    That sounded fantastic. “What about the other place I sent you?”
    “Yeah, I’ll drive you out there when we’re done here. My men checked it out, but said there wasn’t anything they could see. Bill freaked out though.”
    I frowned and pulled the car into the road. “Bill? Isn’t he the psychic?”
    “He likes to be called a seer, but yeah.”
    It was never good news when the psychic freaked out, at least if they were the real thing. That of course meant that I would find something with my magic there. Made me grateful that I was back at full strength.
    “I’m on my way to the library now.”
    “Also, Abby, I suggest you don’t eat.” He disconnected the call and I sat at a stoplight debating on if I should take his word for it. Normally Mason’s stomach was made of steel, so if he didn’t think I should eat I probably should heed the warning.
    I gave a longing look as I drove past my favorite burger joint and continued to the library.
    The flow of traffic moved swiftly, making my commute easy and almost enjoyable. I pulled into the parking lot at the library and saw all the police tape. It had to have been bad if they blocked off the main part of the library. I got out of the car and grabbed my badge from my bag.
    I knew many of the police that were working the crowd and they waved me through. Unfortunately, I also knew the media people trying to get into the crime scene. Ah fuck, now they knew that there was something paranormal involved. I tried to cover my face as I moved under the yellow tape and to the entry of the library, but really, there was no fooling those people. My face and name would be plastered all over the media. Lovely. I hated the attention.
    I made it to the entryway and showed my badge to the police officer at the door who didn’t know me. Once inside I clipped it on my belt and checked that my firearm was accessible. Not that I would need it here, I hoped.
    I followed the strange amount of people who seemed to be standing around and found my way to the staircase. I walked down the dimly lit stairwell and found Mason standing at the bottom with his arms crossed.
    “Bout’ time you got here.”
    “There is a whole swarm of gawkers outside. It took me a few minutes to get through the crowd. Oh, and the media is here.” I waved a hand in the air like it would help explain. Mason didn’t crack a smile. His face looked a little gray around the edges and I wondered what he’d found in the library. He pulled at his black lapels and made a discontented noise.
    “One of the reasons I’m so grumpy. Come on, I’ll show you what we have.” He pushed away from the wall and walked further into the basement.
    The library was an old building, with a brick basement that was drafty and probably never even considered useable for books. Too much to worry about in terms of care, but storage for chairs and tables was an obvious solution for them. Mason walked into the room, but I paused outside the door just to make sure I couldn’t see any glowing runes. Nope, nothing active, but there were a lot of runes. Written in blood, covering the walls.
    I gagged at the smell and the thought of the blood. “It looks fresh.”
    “Do you know what runes these are?”
    I nodded, “They are runes for pain, to stop pain and they are in the local coven’s version.” Holy shit, what was going on? “I don’t know why it isn’t dry yet. Or why it’s here.”
    “Are you close to them?” Mason asked and I shook my head.
    “They helped take the hex off me last night, but honestly