Stained

by Jessica McBrayer

  “Uncle wants to talk to you. Do you mind? I’ll just jump in the shower while you’re talking,” Thorn asked.

  “Of course, hand me the phone.”

  “Thanks, Sé,” Thorn said and stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek before leaving for the bathroom. It felt like a natural thing to do but it still stunned him. He wanted to swing her back into his arms and really kiss her but she was gone before he’d recovered enough to act on it.

  “Sé, I say, young man, are you there?” Uncle Charles said.

  “Uhm, yes, Charles. This is Sé, how are you today, sir?”

  “Good, good, son. Had another visit from the infamous Special Agent Simms. She tried to harass me, until I reminded her that I might be old but I’m not stupid.” Sé laughed and sat down on the futon.

  “Give her hell for me, Charles. She deserves it. I didn’t want to worry Thorn unnecessarily, but I think that Kate would fabricate evidence at this point to convict her. It’s one of the reasons I want Thorn out of their hands.”

  “Why is she so bent on getting my niece, Sé?”

  “Kate has an obsession with me. Woman scorned, I guess. She has never forgiven me for ending our brief relationship. Since then I’ve dealt with calls, flowers, gifts, visits. I’ve blown it off until now. I think she sees Thorn as a potential rival.”

  “And is she?”

  “Yes,” Sé whispered.

  “I can’t tell you how thankful Thorn and I are for your help. I know this puts you in a terrible position.” Charles paused, then there was silence, before he proceeded in a quiet voice. “You are a brave and honorable man. Your mamó would have been proud.”

  Sé picked at the quilt, suddenly sad. “Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me.”

  “Bring my girl home safely, Sé.”

  “I’m trying to, sir.”

  “Good, now I’ll let you go so you two can get something to eat. Thorn told me she was going to tell you everything tonight and you need to be prepared.”

  Alert now, Sé sat up, “Why, Charles, what’s going on?”

  “Thorn will tell you, son, it’s not my place or story to tell. Tell Thorn I love her.” Nothing more but silence then. Uncle Charles had disconnected.

  Sé was angry. Thorn had been holding back. He thought they’d put that worry to rest. She’d had this information and hadn’t given it to him before. He’d risked a lot for her. Sé took a deep breath. Thorn had decided to trust him like he had come to trust her. He would wait to hear what she told him and then make a judgment.

  Thorn walked into the room then, in hip-hugger jeans and a black cashmere sweater. She sat down on the futon to put her boots back on. God, she smelled great. This was a woman who needed nothing but a shower to look stunning.

  “So you know somewhere around here to get good food?” Sé asked, immediately realizing what he’d implied. She knew the area. Of course, she knew where to get food. He did a mental head slap.

  “Yeah, I know a few places,” she smiled at him as she finished lacing up her boots. “But where we’re going to go is quiet too so we can talk.”

  “Sounds good. From what Charles said, you owe me an overdue conversation.”

  “Sé, I’ve wanted to have this talk with you for a while but wasn’t sure if I could trust you to believe me. I also wasn’t sure what all was going on until recently.”

  “I understand,” he said, feeling better. “Let’s go eat and you can explain everything to me.”

  They left the room and headed out down the back stairs to their bikes. Thorn took the stay-away spells off of them. Sé’s bike had so much power that when he started it, the windows rattled next to him. He was careful not to rev it up and make more noise. In contrast, Thorn’s Ducati purred. The two moved carefully down the crowded streets for a few blocks and then parked outside a sushi restaurant. From the outside it looked like a dive. Sé wasn’t too excited about eating there.

  When they went inside, he was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was. It was virtually deserted. He thought it had something to do with the exterior. The only people in there were Japanese, no regulars. It was a local’s restaurant. The proprietor came around the counter and gave Thorn a hug and spoke to her in Japanese. Sé was realizing that they didn’t have a clue about this woman when they’d investigated Thorn. She had led a multilayered life. Getting to know her was like opening a Japanese puzzle box, one inside the other. Sé was introduced. He bowed slightly and said hello in English. Thorn smiled at them and was proud of how well Sé responded to the elaborate ritual courtesies, without any coaching. He had a natural sense of politeness.

  “Let’s eat, I’m starving,” she said. She went to the long counter to place her order. “Everything is good here.”

  “How do you know if I like sushi or not?”

  “Oh, don’t you?” she looked upset.

  “I’m teasing, Thorn. I love it.”

  “Just for that, I’m slipping a wasabi ball in one of your rolls.”

  They made their selection, filling their plates with fresh and various sushis. When they went to pay, the man hugged Thorn but wouldn’t take any money from them.

  “Thank you. Your kindness exceeds your delicious sushi,” Thorn said, as she smiled at him, bowing slightly.

  “What is this?” Sé grumbled, as they went further into the restaurant, where a private room was open for them. “Everyone acts like you’re an honored goddess.”

  “Hardly,” she chuckled. “They respect the efforts I’ve made mastering their art and culture.” He grunted, realizing again how little they’d known about her.

  After satisfying their immediate hunger, Sé looked at Thorn and narrowed his eyes and set his mouth, ready for her to talk.

  “The killer is a man, a witch,” she began. “His name is Caleb and he’s my half-brother.” Thorn dropped her eyes to the table after she said this. Sé thought she acted as if she was responsible for him. He didn’t know what to think. He waited for her to continue, picking up another roll and carefully adding some wasabi to it before eating it.

  “I went into a deep trance after Azayrid’s death to see who could be doing this and that’s how I found him. I thought I would have felt when he was near, but he was cloaking too well. He’s been following me ever since my mamó died.”

  “Why has he been following you?” Sé asked. His anger surged, the urge to control the danger aimed at Thorn overwhelming any training his job had given him.

  Thorn took a drink of water. “He said at first he wanted me to follow him, to be by his side as his sister. But I could tell something was off about him so I said no and then he tried to scare me into it and I still said no and warded myself against him.”

  “But he still follows you?”

  “He wants to kill me now. He’s said if I won’t join him, then I’m against him.” Her voice was without inflection. “He followed me to Japan and tortured my master and my best friend, trying to find me,” Thorn said softly. Her eyes welled as she remembered. Fat tears slid down her cheeks.

  Sé put his hand on hers and squeezed, “I’m sorry.”

  “I am too. If they hadn’t been loyal to me, if they hadn’t been people I cared about, they would have been safe. They were decent, kind people. Caleb is vile. He is cruel. He lives off the grid and he is immensely powerful in the dark arts.”

  “Can we stop him?”

  Sé saw fire replace the tears. “I will die trying. He’s gone too far for too long. No one else can stop him. I want my life back.” She hesitated, met his eyes. “I want to care again. I’m tired of running. I wasn’t traveling all those years, Sé, I was running.” Sé nodded, nothing could have distracted him from her words. “Caleb wants to strip me of my powers and kill me. I’ve got to be ready for him.”

  Thorn put more food in her mouth and chewed slowly. Sé did the same. He thought about what Thorn had told him. He believed her. As a cop and as a man. As a man, he was enraged and torn with worry.

 
“Tell me about Caleb, what does he look like?” Sé asked, forcing himself to use his skill rather than his feelings. Rationally he knew a man who acted on emotion was a man more easily defeated.

  “He’s about five feet eleven inches, I’d guess. He has long black hair that he keeps tied back in a ponytail. My coloring. He wears velvet jackets and poet shirts, at least he did the last time I saw him. Sorta sets his own style. He can be charming in a sociopathic way. I don’t think he has a familiar like Raven. He’s too solitary for that.”

  Sé grunted. “Sounds like a wannabe to me.”

  “Don’t let his appearance fool you. He is wicked smart and has lightning fast reflexes. He will be very difficult to beat.” She met his eyes and spoke slowly for emphasis. “He may win.”

  “Maybe you should run again, Thorn.” Concern clawed at his gut. This reaction wasn’t his way of dealing with danger. He stood fast and dealt with his problems, but he found another set of rules applied to what he wanted for her safety.

  “No, it has to stop. All these innocent people killed. He enjoys it. He has to be stopped, Sé.” Thorn squeezed his hand back. “I’ll be okay. I just need to do some studying and fast.”

  “What do you need to do that?”

  “My books, but they’re at my place. They were spelled to look like ordinary books so no one would mess with them.” She smiled ruefully.

  Sé grinned. “It worked. We didn’t find a trace of anything magickal there. I’d wondered how you cleaned it out so fast.”

  “Everything was spelled. There wasn’t time to move anything. It’s all there still, just looks like something mundane.” She took a roll of sushi and popped it into her mouth. They ate for a while in amiable silence.

  Just as they were finishing their meal, Sé’s beeper went off. He looked at it and frowned. He grabbed his cell phone and called his partner.

  “O’Bradigen.”

  “We got two more murders and a witness to one of them.”

  “What? Who were they?”

  “A man with a fresh tat named Sean O’Hara and a biker by the name of Harley Polski. Sean’s tat was skinned and then he was beheaded like the rest. The biker was just beheaded even though he had tattoos covering him. The biker’s murder had the witness, a Deirdre Lovejoy. I guess our killer was trying to find out where Thorn was. He was mighty pissed off he couldn’t find her. Cut up the biker a bit before he took the head off.”

  Sé was silent. It exonerated Thorn and put her at greater risk at the same time. He looked up at her with worry. She looked scared but determined. Waiting to hear what he’d heard.

  “What’s next?” Sé asked. “Where do you need me? I’m in the city.”

  “The FBI is processing the scenes. It would help if you got your ass over here. It looks like Thorn is off the hook unless I can prove she was an accomplice, but even I can see that’s a long shot.” Scettico sighed in disgust. “I really wanted her for this, Sé. She fit so perfectly.”

  Sé let his temper settle before he answered. “I’ll bet Kate is still looking for a way to nail her. We always knew a female serial was unlikely.”

  “Well, Kate is really pissed. You should have seen her. She can’t back out now though. She was right. These cases fit too many open cases in a few other states. It might be this guy was following Thorn for a while now.” Sé searched Thorn’s face and rubbed his temple. Did she know how close she had come in the past?

  “I’ll leave word with her Uncle so that she knows it’s safe to come back home now. We’ll put a patrol on her house to keep a watch out for her. I’ll meet you when I get back to Berkeley,” Sé said.

  “Good enough.” They disconnected.

  Thorn looked at him expectantly. Sé didn’t know how to tell her. The good and the bad, it was all ugly.

  “There were two murders last night. Sean and Harley.”

  “Fucking bastard!” Thorn spit out.

  “He skinned Sean but tortured Harley trying to find you.”

  “Oh, poor Harley.” Her eyes filled with tears again.

  “Deirdre saw him and gave us a description so you are no longer a suspect. You can go home.”

  “At too high a cost. I’ll call Uncle right now.” She reached into her bag and took out the cell phone she had bought but stopped before she dialed. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

  Sé growled, “Kate Simms is still trying to nail your ass.”

  Thorn dialed. It rang and rang. There was no answer, finally going to voice mail. “That’s odd. Uncle always answers his phone. He even takes it to the bathroom with him. He’s always worried he’ll miss a call. Something’s wrong, Sé.”

  “Let’s head over there and see. We’re done here anyway.”

  They left the restaurant and got on their bikes. Raven had found a nice fat rat to gorge on while they ate. He grumbled about having to fly after so heavy a meal. They wound their way slowly through the people and cars until they passed the on-ramps to the Bay Bridge and gained the freeway. Then Sé opened up and Thorn followed. They weaved between cars on the freeway, eating exhaust and narrowly missing bumpers. They made it to Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley in record time. As they approached Stained they saw ambulances, and police cars blocking the street. A large crowd had gathered and a fire truck was parked directly in front of Stained. Thorn gasped.

  They parked their bikes as close as they could and then Sé used his badge to get them closer to the scene. Sé pushed his way through curious onlookers and worried shopkeepers. He grabbed Thorn’s hand to pull her along. The crowd was dense and he felt a sick cop feeling as they got closer. Smoked billowed out of Thorn’s windows above her shop. Glass lay shattered on the sidewalk where the front windows had exploded.

  Raven circled and cawed loudly. Sé followed his movement. Below the big bird, two paramedics wheeled Uncle Charles on a gurney. Ambulance doors were open to receive the frail cargo. Sé’s heart dropped. He pulled Thorn closer. As one, they ran to catch up with the paramedics.

  “What’s wrong with him,” Thorn demanded, when they reached him. “I’m his niece.”

  “He’s unconscious. We can’t tell everything yet. He’s pretty frail looking. Looks like his hip is broken. Found him upstairs. There was a lot of smoke so he was breathing that too. We want to roll so if you want to follow, we’re going to Alta Bates,” the paramedic said, not unkindly.

  Thorn went for her bike. Sé had a hard time keeping up with her.

  “I’m going to find out what happened here and meet you at the hospital, okay?” Sé said to her. “He’ll be okay, Thorn. He’s strong.”

  “It was Caleb, Sé,” Thorn said, pulling her hands through her hair. “I had the damn place warded. I don’t know how he got in.” She kicked her bike on. “I’ll kill him if Uncle dies.” The look in her eyes promised retribution. Sé let go of her arm as she left to follow the ambulance.

  Sé went back to the epicenter of the chaos. Gwynn and Reese were being treated for lacerations because of the glass. Their clients had been spared everything but a scratch or two. A man with café-latte colored skin and close shaven hair walked cautiously up to Sé.

  “Detective,” Gérard’s voice was tense when he spoke. “There’s bad blood between Thorn and me, but it must end. She needs my help. This evil,” he waved his hand at the destruction, “is great and Thorn needs help to defeat it.”

  “If there’s bad blood, why should I take a message to her? Why should she or I trust you?”

  “This evil one affects us all. My magick is different from hers but it is not evil. She misunderstood. I was not trying to hurt anyone. You must tell her that.” Sé considered him. His cop sense told him the witch was sincere.

  “I’ll tell her. What she chooses to do is up to her.”

  “Of course,” Gérard said and he slipped back into the crowd.

  Sé watched him walk away, wondering what he could do to help. Then he got caught up in the mess before him.

  The area was soon covered with y
ellow police tape. Firemen cleared the apartment above the shop and said it was safe to enter. Sé told the cops he was going up. They had too much to deal with downstairs to argue. Raven landed on his shoulder when he went into the building.

  “Can’t go hosthpital,” the bird said. Sé nodded in understanding and reached up to stroke him trying to offer comfort. Uncle was a friend of Raven’s and being away from Thorn had to be difficult.

  They made their way through the store and up the back stairs. Sé opened the back door of the shop to let the smoky air out. The stairs were intact. He opened the door and took in a harsh breath and started coughing.

  The rooms had been destroyed. Everything was torn apart and soaking wet. The sprinkler system had gone off. Curtains hung off the rods in shreds. The glass in the windows was blown out. The mattress leaked foam and stuffing, like a broken rag doll. The book-case was blackened and the floor around it scorched. Thorn’s wards had worked on her books they looked untouched. The comfortable chairs and couches were smoldering empty carcasses of steel and charred wood causing all the smoke. They must have burned in a flash of fire for the sprinklers to have no effect. The bamboo flooring underneath was charred and ugly. The refrigerator was blown apart. The apartment was a total loss. She wouldn’t be able to stay here.

  Sé called a cleaning crew he knew and scheduled them to come over, as soon as crime scene investigators cleared the scene, to board up the windows for Thorn’s apartment and Stained. He’d have them remove the ruined furniture as well and clean up what they could.

  “Caleb bad bad man,” Raven cawed.

  “Yes,” Sé said.

  “Thorn in trouble.”

  “Yes. Come on, Raven, let’s get out of here.”

  They made their way through the sodden mess. He’d have to bring Thorn back to get clothes and her books. He hoped the cleaning crew had finished their work by then. When they got down the stairs, he approached Gwynn and Reese. They looked stunned.

  “Reese, do you remember me? I’m Detective O’Bradigen.”

  “Yes, Sé, isn’t it?” She held out her good hand, the other was wrapped in gauze. Sé took it and touched it gently, in lieu of a shake.