by Dora Blume
“Hey, we’re just here to talk,” Erik said, positioning himself in front of Jessie. Jessie shook her head and realized Erik was standing in front of her. Was he really willing to put himself in danger for her? She tried to clear her head. She’d been slammed pretty hard into the wall. The blow reverberated through her whole body. Everything was going to hurt tomorrow. Erik was saying something else, but she’d been distracted. She needed to get it together now and freeze him. Jessie hadn’t been able to see if he had an amulet before he threw her. Oh well, gotta give it a try. Holding her hands up, she froze him. When he stilled in place, Erik turned to face Jessie.
He dropped down next to her. “Oh good, you’re all right. I didn’t know if I’d be able to stall him very long. Wait, are you all right?” He ran a finger down her face and lifted her chin.
“Yeah, I’m just a little shaken. You should say the spell.” Jessie held a hand out to indicate the guy who was frozen. “I don’t really want to explain why he’s not moving to whoever decides to use the bathroom.” She pulled her feet toward her to stand. Erik held his hand out to help her up. Wobbling forward, Erik’s hands went to her waist to steady her.
Erik turned as soon as she was steady on her feet. “Are you sure we don’t want to question him?”
“With a power like that, no, let’s get on with it. My mom will probably know anything he does.” She held her hand out. “If you’re not going to dispossess him, I will.” Jessie took a step forward.
Erik held his hand out to stop her. “No, no I got it.” He spoke the Latin quickly and turned back to Jessie. “You can unfreeze him now.”
“Okay, but I’m going to step around the wall. I don’t want to be thrown again.” She walked to the other side of the wall before her hand poked around to unfreeze him.
“Hey, uh, welcome back. I’m Erik.” She could hear a slight shuffling. “Whoa, I’m another Shikari. We just got rid of the demon who possessed you,” Erik said.
Jessie poked her head around the corner. Erik hadn’t gone flying, so she figured she was safe. She waved as she stepped fully around the corner. The guy stood with his eyes wide. He looked out of sorts as his head looked from one to the other of them.
“Who are you?” she asked. “We didn’t exactly ask the demon who possessed you.”
“Uh, Scott, where’s Tammy?” He glanced around the room. “What are we doing in the bathroom?” His eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. When he flinched, Jessie hid her laugh behind her fist.
“What’s the last thing you remember from before your possession?” Jessie asked.
“Um, I guess I was home in Santa Barbara. I was going to check out a lead on the local campus. I can’t remember much after that.” He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes.
“Do you know when that was?” Erik asked.
“Oh, it was July seventh, just a few days after the huge celebration for the fourth. There shouldn’t have been many people on campus. That’s why I was checking it out. We got a tip about some demons possessing kids on campus,” Scott shrugged.
“Shit, that was months ago. How do you remember my mom’s name if you can’t remember anything since then?” she narrowed her eyes at him.
“I don’t know. I guess it was like watching my life through a fog. I could see and hear most everything, but I didn’t have control.” He rubbed his forehead. “The last time I had control was at campus. Wait, have you gotten to the bomb?” he asked, panic in his eyes.
“No, we were waiting for you,” Erik said.
“Shit,” he raced out of the bathroom and into the restaurant. Erik and Jessie ran after him. His head whipped to the door. Everyone’s eyes were on them when they entered the room.
“What is it?” Jessie asked.
“They were stopping here so someone could pick it up from them. His instructions were to leave the car unlocked.” He ran out the door and to a blue Nissan parked in the lot.
“We had people out here watching. They would have stopped anyone who went up to the car. They were supposed to get the device while we were inside,” Erik explained as he stood next to Scott. Jessie scanned the lot for Sloane. She would have been watching. She was sure of it. Scott hit the button to open the trunk. It was empty.
“Shit, are you sure they were watching. I’m not even sure the people who were coming were demons. I think they were humans who were paid to pick it up.” Scott scanned the lot.
“I’ll go check with Sloane.” Jessie ran over to the car where Sloane and Ely were waiting. The car was empty. “They’re not here.” She called back to Erik. He ran over.
“Where could they have gone?” Erik asked. His phone began to ring. He looked down. It was Mike. “Hey, have you seen Sloane?” he asked. He nodded as he spoke to Mike.
Jessie turned to Scott. “What do you know about the guys picking up the bomb?”
“Not much, I was the middle man. I was supposed to bring the bomb and Tammy to Kansas City. They are both key to some big plan. Whoever’s in charge is good at covering their tracks. I only knew enough to get this far. I’m not sure what was happening after we got here. Speaking of, where’s Tammy? They had a special demon who was waiting for her here. They wanted her for her ability.” Scott glanced back to the building.
“I’ll go get her.” Jessie ran back toward the door. Her heart ached at the thought her mother may be in danger. Scott’s footsteps were crunching close behind her. Jessie ran back to the booth where her mom sat earlier. It was empty. Her heart clenched. Her mom was gone again.
CHAPTER 16
“Where did she go?” Scott asked stopping behind Jessie.
“I don’t know. She was just here. We weren’t gone that long.” Jessie turned her attention to the waitress. She hurried over to the counter. “Did you see where the woman went who was sitting there?” Jessie turned to indicate the booth. “She had long blonde hair, skinny. She had a green maxi skirt and jean vest over a white blouse.” Jessie gave the woman a pleading look.
“Yeah, I think she just went to the bathroom.” Jessie nodded and took off toward the bathroom. The weight in her chest eased a little at the possibility she was just in the bathroom.
“Hey, are you going to eat your food?” the waitress yelled after her.
Jessie could hear Erik behind her asking if they could get a few to-go boxes. Scott followed her to the bathroom. Jessie ran in and began pushing open the doors to the stalls. The last one was locked. “Mom, is that you?” Jessie called. For a moment, she was transported to the little girl that had been left alone too many times on her mom’s adventures.
“Yeah, damn, Jess, can’t a woman use the bathroom in peace?” she called from the stall.
Jessie relaxed instantly. She walked out of the bathroom. “She’s in there.”
“Okay,” Scott’s shoulders sagged. “Good, for some reason they need her. We need to keep an eye on her.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jessie leaned back against the wall, just outside of the door to the bathroom. “Where’s Erik?” she asked. Last she remembered, Erik had followed them into the restaurant and was talking to the waitress.
“I’m not sure. He was talking to the waitress about getting your food to-go.” Scott glanced toward the restaurant.
“Wait, really? Did he find Sloane?” she asked. Glancing toward the restaurant, her brow furrowed. He wasn’t there. “Can you keep an eye on my mom? I have to go find Erik.” Fear gripped her momentarily as she scanned the room. The waitress was wiping down the table they had been at earlier. Running out the door, she scanned the lot for the cars. When her eyes spotted Erik’s lean body bent forward over the window of their car, she blew out a breath of relief. “Oh thank God, Erik.” She ran up to him. He turned when he heard her voice.
“Hey, I got our food. Did you find your mom?” he asked. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly against her. “Hey, are you okay? Jess, I didn’t go anywhere.” He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back. She pressed h
er cheek into his chest, relishing the comfort of his body against hers.
“Erik, I thought you were gone. I was so scared.” She sniffled against his chest.
“Jess, this isn’t like you. What’s going on?” he asked.
She looked up at Erik. “I don’t know. I just get overcome with emotion sometimes.” Jessie bit her lip as she looked at Erik.
Tammy, Jessie’s mother, strode up behind her. “I might know what’s wrong.” She drawled stopping to put her hand on her hip. Jessie narrowed her eyes at her mother as she waited. “You’re pregnant,” she said matter-of-factly.
“What? How would you know tha…” she paused, realizing her and Erik’s last few times together. “Oh shit, you might be right.” She stood staring open-mouthed at her mother.
“Honey, come on, you know I’m always right about these things.” Her eyes made their way from Erik’s head to his pants and back up. “Well, at least you know how to pick ‘em. I was afraid you learned nothing over the years.” Her eyes met Jessie’s
“Mom, this is Erik. Did you really forget him?” Her eyes narrowed on her mother.
“Oh, well you certainly have grown.” Her eyes roamed over him again.
“Mom!” she scolded.
“What? You know I have certain tastes,” a crooked smile spread across her face.
“Wait, so you mean to tell me you were going along with this guy the whole time without fighting against him?” Jessie stared unbelieving at her mother.
“Oh honey, you have to know me better than that. I would never go along with something that unpredictable. I wanted to know what these demons wanted with me. He certainly wanted me pretty bad.” Tammy flicked her gaze over to Scott. A flush spread over his cheeks. Jessie wondered if he wanted her mom for more reasons than the demon who possessed him.
“Wait, so we trekked to California for nothing. Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” Jessie glared at her mother.
“I needed you to think I was in trouble, so you would investigate the demons. I knew there was a lot more going on than I knew about and if I investigated I could blow my cover. As long as they thought I was with them, I was safe.” She patted her daughter on the shoulder. Jessie rolled her eyes at her mother’s antics. Again, she’d used her for her own gains.
“So, you’ve been doing better then?” Jessie cocked her head as she pressed her lips together. Her mother was never this healthy for this long. She had to be taking meds again. It was the only time she could remember when her mother had it this together.
“Yeah, I saw a doctor in California. I’ve been using medication to help me have more good days. It’s why I was able to see Scott coming.” She turned to look at Scott. “Well, not this Scott but you know what I mean.” She closed the distance between them and smoothed her hand over the back of his shoulder.
“Can I ask, if you knew the whole time, why didn’t you vanquish the demon?” he asked.
“I needed to know more about what they were doing. I was following some students from the campus for a few days. You think it was a coincidence that I was on the beach that day?” She smirked. “No, I knew what was going on.” At his surprised reaction, she patted him on the shoulder. “You’re cute.”
“Mom, seriously, we should have been here helping after Colorado. Instead, I went looking for you.” Jessie threw up her hands and walked away.
“Yes, but what did you learn when you went to California?” she asked, her eyebrow rose as Jessie turned back to face her.
“Shit, you knew. You knew everything. I’m your daughter! You couldn’t have filled me in on some of what was going on.” She clenched her hands into fists.
“No, Jess, you know how these things work. If I told you, it could have changed things. I’m going off of the memories and visions I have to decide.” Tamslyn took a step toward her daughter. “I’m sorry you were worried.”
Jessie pressed her lips together, unsure of her mother’s sincerity. She had trouble believing that her mother was actually sorry for deceiving them all. “It’s fine,” she grumbled.
“So, where’s your car?” Jessie turned to Scott. “Were they meeting you at the car?”
“No, they were grabbing the device out of the car. They didn’t want us present at the exchange just in case.” Scott glanced toward the parking lot. “Where’s the car?” he asked, his head moving as he scanned the parking lot.
“It’s not here? Sloane, I thought you two were watching the car. You knew the device was in it.” Erik studied his sister. Her cheeks flushed and Erik knew in a second she hadn’t been doing her job.
“Um, well, we were watching for the car, but we thought we were good when they went inside.” Sloane shrugged her face still flushed.
“Are you serious? You knew you were supposed to get the device. That was the whole plan. With that, they can destroy us all. It won’t matter that we got my mom back because we’ll all be dead.” Jessie’s eyes blazed as she glared at Sloane.
“We’re not going to be dead. That’s a bit of an overreaction.” Sloane rolled her eyes.
“Scott doesn’t even know who was supposed to come get it. We literally just lost our only lead.” Jessie threw up her hands. “Ugh, now what the hell are we going to do?” She began pacing the lot.
“I think you forget we had a tracker watching everything. I’ll just call Mike. He’s probably already following them.” Sloane grabbed her phone out of her pocket. She turned away from the group. “Hey babe, you got eyes on our guys. They got the device.” She strode away from the group to continue her conversation.
“So, what were you two doing instead of watching the car?” Erik glared at Ely.
“I’m not sure I like your tone.” Ely took a step toward Erik, his eyes narrowed.
Jessie stepped between them. “Let’s keep our focus on the real enemies.” She turned her attention back to her mom. “Looks like we could use a private conversation. I’d like to know more about what you have been up to.” Jessie clapped her hands together. “Let’s go back to the lake house.” She looked up at Erik. He raked his hand through his hair. Jessie watched as the long stands dropped slightly over his eyes.
“Yeah, we need to let the others know about what’s going on with Bryant.” Erik nodded.
“Okay, Scott, Mom, why don’t you two jump in with us. I think Sloane and Ely need to make up for the mission they just botched.” Jessie peered over at Sloane. She was pacing while she spoke to Mike. That wasn’t a good sign. Jessie shook her head. What the hell was going on with them that Sloane had taken her eyes off the mission? That wasn’t like her at all. She knew how to separate fun from duty. Maybe finding out about Amy had thrown her off. Jessie took a deep breath. Either way, they needed to track down the device. It could eliminate all the Shikari’s powers. Without powers, they wouldn’t be able to fight the demons. They’d be as helpless as humans. It was already bad enough that they were able to possess Shikari. If they stripped their powers, they would easily be picked off. Jessie was going to make sure that didn’t happen. Now that she had her mom back, she could focus entirely on saving all their lives.
Sloane strode back over. “Mike’s on their tail. He turned the tracker on his phone, so we can catch up to him. I don’t want him to confront them alone.” Her eyes shifted to Ely.
“It’s your mess. You clean it up.” Jessie’s anger came out in her voice. She wanted to be sorry, but she was annoyed they were even in this position.
“I will,” Sloane narrowed her eyes and grabbed Ely’s hand. “Come on, we have some catching up to do.” They got into the other car and drove off.
Jessie turned to the rest. “You guys ready to go?” she asked.
“Yeah, I even have food for all of us.” Erik held up the bag. “Let’s go eat and talk about what’s going on.”
“Oh yes, dear, we do have so much to talk about.” Tamslyn’s voice rolled. Jessie narrowed her eyes at her mother. She caught the obvious double meaning. She wondered what else her mom
hadn’t told her. Jessie strode over to the car. Erik got in the driver’s seat. The rest followed. Erik got them to the house quickly.
“Did you rent this place?” Tamslyn asked.
“No mom, we bought it.” Jessie rolled her eyes. “Of course we rented it.” She unlocked the door and held it for the others. Erik dropped the bag of food on the table and began taking out containers. The Styrofoam squeaked against the plastic bag. He set the dishes on the table and took out some plates and forks.
Once they were all sitting, Jessie studied her mother. “Okay, mom, you have some serious talking to do. I don’t believe you are suddenly this in control of everything. It was your abilities that always sent you on the run again. How is it you are suddenly in control and using your gifts to help us on this huge demon plot? I’m sorry, but this isn’t like you.” Jessie rested her hands on the table as she waited for her mom’s explanation.
“Don’t you think we should enjoy a meal together before we go into details? It’s been so long since we sat down to share a meal together,” she smiled as she blinked at Jessie.
“Come off it, I don’t believe you Mom. Start explaining.” Jessie crossed her arms over her chest. There was no way she was going to start eating without some explanation from her mother.
Tamslyn sighed and set down the fork she’d picked up. “Fine, it was Shaundra who helped me. She gave me a potion to make my power clearer. It’s similar to what they give people at the doctor’s office but it’s a little different for our different chemistry. She showed me the ingredients, so I could make it myself. I’ve been taking it ever since. I haven’t been this clear in years.” She rested her arms on the table crossed in front of her. “You’d think you of all people, would understand. No one else has suffered through more of my moods than you have.” The lines of her mouth softened as she looked at Jessie.
She had been right about that. It was the reason she’d stayed with Erik and Sloane when she’d gotten old enough to decide. Yet, something about her being suddenly better was just too good to be true. It was in Jessie’s nature to be suspicious of anything that easy. She thought back to the day Erik and her had found out Shaundra was a traitor. They’d gotten rid of her and some guy named Kyle who had been helping the demons. Shaundra wasn’t even possessed while she was helping them. They were still trying to flush out the other Shikari who’d been helping the demons.
