Beneath the Depths - Book Four (Moon Child Series)

Chapter Thirteen

MJ POV

“There’s nothing in here we don’t already know.” Romano growls frustratedly, his scales glowing a shade of purple around his eyes as he stands to pace. We’d just managed to get through the last of June’s journals. She was very old school when it came to report taking, worried that someone could hack into her laptop.

I picked up the journal Romano had just tossed and flicked through it, stopping at a random page.

“Another missing supernatural. 22-year-old Peter Knewlage. Wolf shifter.” I toss the book onto the coffee table and stand, something feeling off. “That was the last disappearance before June herself went MIA. So what did she find between then and her disappearing? More importantly, where’s the new journal she started to log that evidence.” My team look at me confused.

“What do you mean new journal? That journal was her last entry before she vanished.” Circe says, cradling her cup of tea. I shake my head and grab another of her journals and flipping to the last entry.

“June was nothing but thorough and a little OCD. She documented almost every minute of her day.” I point to her last entry which was exactly ten pages away from the back of the book. “Not to mention she had a weird habit of always leaving ten pages in the back of a notebook and starting a new one when she reached it.” Circe grabs the other journals to compare, her brow furrowing deeper as she notices the pattern too.

“So she had another journal the week she disappeared. where is it then?” I look around at my team, each of us growing ever frustrated by this mystery. I plop myself down in the recliner next to Circe and hold my hand out for the journal. The lingering scent of June still clings to the pages, growing my frustration that we can’t find her. Everyone in the guild is my family, and the fact that I can’t find her, that I failed to protect my family, irks me to no end.

“It has to be somewhere. Maybe she dropped it when she was taken… or she hid it.” Circe nodded in agreement.

“Maybe it’s still in her apartment.” Circe leaps to her feet and runs into the kitchen. Bowls and spices clatter haphazardly onto the bench, and we all watch in confusion as she starts tossing things into said bowls. I stand to observe her, her hands glowing as she waves them above a bowl.

“What are you up to, my love?” Romano asks as he joins me in watching her work.

“I’m doing a sort of find what is lost potion. It’s supposed to guide you towards what you’re searching for. I’m thinking we could find a way to get into the apartment and use it to find the lost journal.” A puff of smoke rises from her bowl as she works at top speed. Soon she’s spooning the concoction into a small glass bottle and holding it proudly in front of her.

“How do you expect us to get into the apartment?” Romano asks glancing warily at the small bottle in his mates hand. As tough a guy as Romano is, he’s still cautious about witches. The fact that his mate is one is a topic for hilarity in the office. He’s always hated witches, things in his past that he never talked about. So he is still wary about all things witchcraft. I however grew up surrounded by it and even practice it myself now. I grab the small bottle from Circe and watch the swirling patterns the concoction inside makes.

“If it’s occupied, we’ll just come up with a really good lie to get in. It can’t hurt to try. Our only other option is wait for someone else to disappear and find answers that way.” I place the small vial on the counter and shrug. “I don’t know about you guys, but the latter isn’t an option for me.” They all nod in agreement. “Tomorrow night we’ll pay a visit to Junes old apartment and hope for the best. For now, I’m off to bed. Night all.” I wave good night to my team and head to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Teeth brushed and face washed I sit at the small desk provided with the room and start typing out the days report. As I’m hitting submit, a flash of green sticking out my bag has me turning to examine it. I pull out Sirena’s sketchbook, a green metallic mermaid sticker on the front cover. I flick to page that has todays assignment on it and feel my mouth splitting into a goofy grin. She’d taken my name and created art with it. The two letter blocks filled with small, detailed drawings that oddly enough matched me perfectly.

Underneath this was her features assignment, and I’m floored by the majesty of her art. She drew my eyes first, and within the iris she matched my blue exactly but made it look as though deep within the eye was a storm at sea, small boats unable to withstand the waters wrath. Her detail was amazing. Such emotion conveyed on such a small canvas. I think about the assignment the professor had given us as homework, as I look over the rest of what she drew. Feeling inspired I pull out my art tools and start sketching, the pencils like an extension of my arm as I make my thoughts come alive on the page.

My phone dings next to me, pulling me from my fever dream of art, and the time startles me. 3am. A message from the director blinks to life on my screen asking if I’d submitted the daily report yet. A quick glance at my laptop shows I hadn’t hit submit yet. I was too distracted by the art I was creating. Hitting submit I place the sketch book back in my bag and shut my laptop before crawling into my bed. My eyes grow heavy the instant my head hits the pillow and I find myself falling into dreams where green eyes, that shimmer and glow like emeralds, watch over me.