Jule had watched the Magician for a good half hour. He wasn't sure what he expected-maybe a cold, hard Medusa-but the young woman Sean indicated was nothing like that. Her hair was fiery red and curly, her frame tall and slender. Almond-shaped green eyes were large and expressive while her skin was touched with honey. She'd barely met Sean's gaze and her smile was hesitant.
She looked too sweet to be someone about to destroy the fabric between the immortal and mortal worlds, even if he did sense some sort of dark secret in her gaze. She radiated power that even humans could feel. Despite the pub's standing room only capacity, the table next to her booth was empty. He'd watched Sean subtly steer people away from it.
His own unease grew. The Watcher wanted her dead, and yet, Watchers couldn't always be trusted to tell their true intentions. He understood it was in their best interest to protect humanity. Why, then, was he starting to feel as if he'd been set up? The Magician looked like a sweet, innocent Natural, one of the humans with extraordinary gifts who could be brought into the Guardians' organization.
How he wished he had his power! He'd be able to read her mind and confirm she was indeed intent on destroying the gateway between the realms. Instead, he had to do this the way humans did.
The Magician piled her coat on top of her table with shaking hands and walked toward the hallway where the restrooms were. Sean was supposed to serve her dessert laced with a sedative, so they could drug her and take her back to the station for questioning. He had a feeling she wasn't sticking around and wondered what had alerted her. Sean caught his eye and tossed his head towards the restrooms. Jule rose and maneuvered through the crowd and down the small hall. He emerged into the alley in time to see her replace a phone in her pocket. He moved silently down the alley and had almost reached her when she froze.
"Don't make me do it," she said in a soft voice.
"Make you do what?" he asked and stopped just out of arms' reach.
"Kill you. I have a sort of … magic power that will turn you to stone."
"Sweetheart, there's not an evil bone in your body," he said, amused. "I don't need magic powers to see that."
"You're here to kill me. Why should I not defend myself?"
Stalking an innocent woman in the alley was a cakewalk, until the moment she said something she shouldn't have known. Jule's wariness made his senses heighten. Again he felt more was going on than the damn Watcher let on.