by Julie Kenner
“Then what can I do?”
A little finger of guilt wiggled its way up my neck. “Can you relieve Allie? Her brother is cramping her style.”
“For Allie, anything.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem. Just one more dessert on the ever-growing tally.” We were right outside the doors now, and she paused, shaking her head slightly as she hugged herself, looking at the building before us. “Sad and inspiring all at the same time, don’t you think?”
I wasn’t thinking about anything except the zillions of boxes still waiting for my review. After having come so close only to be sadly disappointed, I can’t say I was too psyched for the experience.
“Kate?”
“Sorry. What?”
“I was just thinking about the cathedral. The bones of saints mixed into the mortar. And those five martyrs in the basement. I mean, on the one hand it’s inspiring, but it’s also kind of creepy and weird.”
I tugged open the door. “I’m not interested in creepy, weird, inspirational, or devotional. All I want are answers, and instead of spending the next two hours having fun buying beaded scarves and tacky earrings with you, I’m going to be huddled down here with vermin-infested boxes. So forgive me if I’m not soaking in the historical wonder of it all.”
Her lips twitched, but she nodded gravely. “Right,” she said. “Go work.”
She headed back toward the playing field, and I paused just past the foyer to dab my finger in the holy water and genuflect. I’ve never been particularly good at genuflecting (I’m sorry, but the motion is just not natural) and this time I fell on my butt, knocked completely asunder by the thought that had slammed into my head.
Laura said there’d been five martyrs, but there were six bags of remains. An extra one was in the display case, hiding in plain sight.
A thrill whipped through my body like electricity.
I knew where the Lazarus Bones were.
I ran back outside, pulling my phone out of my purse, then turning in a circle as I waiting for the signal bar to show up. As soon as it did, I punched in Larson’s number. “I know where the Bones are,” I said, skipping polite preambles.
“Are you certain?” His voice was tight, tense.
“Positive. I think. Where are you?”
“About a mile from the cathedral. Go in, retrieve the bones, and meet me in the parking lot.”
“I can wait,” I said. “I’d rather we bring them out together.”
“No time,” he said, his voice urgent. “Goramesh has ears everywhere. You shouldn’t even have called me. But since you’ve spoken of this aloud, you must get the bones now.” My cheeks burned from the dressing down, and I opened my mouth to defend myself, but nothing came out. Was he right? Had I just put myself—and the bones—in danger?
“I’ll be there when you come out, and together we’ll take them to the airport. Now go.”
I went. I raced down the aisle and took the four steps up to the sanctuary in one leap. I yanked open the door to the sacristy and pounded down the stairs.
And then I stopped short, letting out a little squeak of surprise as I saw the man sitting there.
Stuart.
Oh, dear God, was he waiting for me?
He was seated at one of the long wooden tables, an oversize book with yellowed pages and tiny handwriting open in front of him. He looked up at me, and I could see the surprise on his face. For my part, I felt only fear, betrayal, and an odd sense of hope. Was he still my Stuart? Or was he here to hurt me?
He glanced down at his watch, then frowned before meeting my eyes again. “Am I late? I didn’t think you were expecting me until six-thirty.”
“What?” The comment was so unexpected, I couldn’t quite process it.
“Isn’t that why you’re here? Looking for me?”
“I—Not exactly.”
For a moment confusion colored his face, but then it cleared. “You snuck down here to do a little more work on your project.”
“Something like that,” I said, still rooted to the spot. “Why are you here?”
He closed the book with a thump and a cloud of dust. “Doesn’t matter. Just a project I’m working on.”
I let my head fall back, exasperated despite the surreal circumstances. “What’s going on, Stuart? Just tell me. Tell me the truth, okay?” I took the chair opposite him and reached across the table to take his hand. “Please. However bad it is, I can take it.”
“Bad? Kate, what’s wrong with you lately?”
I leaned back, my eyes wide, and pulled my hands safely back to my side of the table. “Me?”
“You’re distracted, you bring old men home without asking me, you enroll Tim in a day care without asking me.”
“I thought you were okay with that.”
“With your judgment, sure. But you didn’t even discuss it with me.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, hon. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is definitely up. Is it the old man?” He drew in a breath. “Is it Eric?” he asked, pain filling his voice.
“It’s not Eric,” I said. I ran my teeth over my lower lip. “It’s you.”
“Me?”
“I saw you here the other day. But when I asked, you lied to me, Stuart. What’s going on? You never lie to me.”
His mouth turned up for just a second, flashing an ironic smile. “Looks like we both lose on that count, doesn’t it.”
But I wasn’t going to get drawn into a game of who lied to whom. I just wanted to know. “Why, Stuart? Why are you so sure you’ll win the election?”
He actually laughed at that. “Oh, good God, Kate. Do you think I’m taking bribes or something?”
“I—” I closed my mouth, not at all sure what to say.
“I was just excited. And, yes, I do think I have an excellent shot. Jeremy Thomas is taking a job in Washington, and Frank Caldwell is shifting his support to me. I didn’t want to tell you until Caldwell made the announcement, just in case something changed. But it’s solid.”
I couldn’t hide my smile. “That’s fabulous!” Jeremy Thomas was a prosecuting attorney who also happened to be Stuart’s biggest rival for the county attorney seat. Frank Caldwell is the San Diablo county district attorney. His endorsement was worth its weight in gold.
“Pretty sweet, huh?”
“Very,” I said. A weight seemed to lift off my heart, but then I looked around at where we were, and felt the familiar squeeze again. “But what are you doing down here?”
“A land buy,” he said. “And Clark swore he’d have my neck if I told anyone, including you. If this leaks, we’re going to be in a bad position.”
I just stared at him. “Land. You’re down here to buy land?”
He opened the book and I realized then what it was. Church property records. “I’ve been trying to track down the title on some church property the county’s going to make an offer on. There are political ramifications, so we’re keeping it quiet.”
“And that’s all? That’s all you’ve been up to?”
“Yeah. What did you think? I was having an affair under the cathedral altar?”
I shook my head. “No. Nothing like that.”
He stood up, then, holding his yellow legal pad like a shield. I expected him to ask me what I’d been up to, but he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t want to know. Maybe I was wishing so hard for him to stay silent, that he heard my plea. Instead, he simply said that he needed to go. “I know I said I’d meet you and the kids at six-thirty, but I think I found the missing link just now, and I’d really like to—”
“Go,” I said. “Head back to the office and say hi to Clark for me.”
He came around the table and kissed me on the cheek. I was so full of guilt I was afraid it was seeping out my pores. Hopefully, he couldn’t taste it.
He started toward the door, but I reached out and caught his hand. “We okay?”
His smile lit me all the way to my toes. “The best,” he said.
I watched him go, then took three deep breaths, forcing myself not to cry. I didn’t have time for that. I needed to get the bones.
I moved to the glass display case, the fear that I was wrong slowing my step. But the moment I looked into the glass, I knew I was right. Five martyrs, but there were six bags of remains.
I opened each, one by one. Dark ash, bits of hair, chips of bone. Each bag. And then I opened the last. “Reginald Talley,” the label read, but I was certain I wouldn’t find Reginald inside. I pulled apart the drawstring and peered in. Pure white. Bone, crushed to the finest of powder.
Lazarus.
Brother Michael had ground up the bones. The gold box filled with dust hadn’t simply been a decoy, it had been a clue. Part of a whole series of clues meant for Eddie. The first clue was the name: Michael Florence. The priest’s name, and then the Italian town to make sure Eddie understood that the box was left there by his friend. And Michael had deliberately put dust in the gold box. The dust was the second clue, telling Eddie that the bones had been crushed and ensuring that Eddie knew to look for the powdered remains.
My head told me I didn’t need to test the dust, but having been burned once, I wasn’t listening to my head. I pulled out the vial of holy water and set it on the table. Then I reached into my back pocket and pulled out one of the napkins from the funnel cake stand. I spread it out and shook out a tiny bit of powder. Then I opened the vial and turned it on its side until a single drop emerged, clinging tenaciously to the rim of the vial.
I held my breath as the drop fell, and then, when a flame of pure blue fire erupted, I dropped the vial and fell to my knees.
This was it. The real deal.
My heart pounded in my chest, and I stayed on my knees until the flame fizzled out. I’d witnessed something amazing just then, the power of God, and I trembled, sure I could still feel His presence in the room with me. He’d guided me here, and now He would guide me out in safety.
After all, it had been easy so far. No human minions threatening my safety. No demon pet rushing to take me down.
Nothing that I’d feared had come to pass, and although I was happy not to have to fight my way out of the cathedral, the situation was a little disconcerting. My instincts weren’t bad. Not at all. And I’d been so certain Goramesh would have sent a human.
If not Stuart, then who?
And that’s when I knew—the truth so horrible it made me retch.
It had been me all along. I was the mortal pet.
Me.
Nineteen
I grabbed the edge of the table to steady myself, something dark and cold filling my stomach.
Goramesh had almost succeeded. Because of me! I held the Lazarus Bones in my hand, and I’d been about to take them upstairs and hand them over to—
Oh, shit.
I’d been right that very first day, and I should have trusted my instincts. Larson really was a demon! He’d lied when he said Goramesh wasn’t corporeal.
Goramesh had a body, all right. Larson was Goramesh.
I sank to the dusty wooden floor, hugging my knees in front of me. Terror and relief enveloped me, and I couldn’t do anything more than rock back and forth. I’d almost missed the truth. I’d almost destroyed everything.
Slowly the terror faded, replaced by a cold, hard anger. He wanted the Lazarus Bones? Then he could damn well come down here himself and get them.
I crumpled up the napkin and shoved it in my back pocket along with my vial of holy water, then I retied the drawstring on the sack. I returned it to the case, took a deep breath for courage, then headed up the stairs.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I did know that Larson wasn’t getting those bones. As soon as I got outside the cathedral and got a cell phone signal, I’d call Father Corletti. If he didn’t have Hunters to spare, that was fine. Send the Swiss Guard. But I wasn’t going to back down until those bones were safely out of San Diablo and en route to the Vatican. Eddie could help me guard them in the meantime. Father Ben, too, for that matter; if I had to, I’d even enlist his help.
I burst out of the cathedral at a dead run and ran straight into Laura. “Where’s Larson?”
She pulled herself up short, clearly surprised by the tone in my voice.
“Where is he?” I demanded.
“By the ice-cream stand, I assume,” Laura said. “What’s wrong? The kids will survive a night of really bad food.”
The kids? That didn’t make any sense. The kids? And then—
I grabbed her by the shoulder. “Where are my kids?”
“They’re with Larson.” Her brow furrowed. “Paul came by just like he promised he would, but when he told me couldn’t stay, I was so furious I almost lost it. I didn’t, though, because I was watching the kids, but I think Paul knew I was fuming.”
I made a circle motion with my hand, encouraging her to get to the point.
“That’s when Larson volunteered to take them to get ice cream.” She licked her lips, clearly worried. “He said you okayed it. You didn’t?”
“Oh, no. No, I definitely did not.” I turned in a circle, then raced toward the ice-cream stand, the Lazarus Bones all but forgotten.
Laura raced after me. “What’s going on?” I heard her heavy breathing beside me as we skidded to a stop in front of the booth.
“It’s Larson,” I said. “He’s Goramesh.”
She paled, and I caught her just as her knees gave way. “Oh, God, the kids. Mindy.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “If anything happens to them. To her—”
“It won’t,” I said, my voice like steel.
“What are you going to do?”
“Beat the shit out of him,” I said. At the moment that was the only plan I had. Frankly, I thought it was a good one.
“Mommy, Mommy, Mom.”
We both turned at the sound of the voice. “Mindy,” Laura breathed, the relief in her voice so tangible I could almost touch it.
My relief was tainted by fear for my own kids, who were conspicuously not with Mindy.
“What happened?” I said.
Her face was pressed to Laura’s chest, her arms tight around her mom. But I could see part of her tear-stained face. “He shoved me away,” Mindy said. “And Allie had to stay with him, he said, or else he’d hurt Timmy.”
I closed my eyes, too scared to even pray.
My cell phone rang.
I answered it before the echo of the first ring died out.
“Bring me the bones, Kate,” Larson said.
“Screw you.” I said the words, but my bravado was false.
“Darling Kate,” he said. “Let me put this in words you’ll understand—bring me the Lazarus Bones, or your children are dead.”
“Bastard,” I whispered, but he’d already hung up.
I lashed out, wanting to hit something and finding only Laura. I fell against her, sobbing, as she patted my back and made soothing noises that I know she didn’t really believe.
All along, Larson had been playing a role designed to fool me. But I wasn’t fooled anymore. Larson was Goramesh—a High Demon. The Decimator. And I was truly afraid.
Enough.
I pushed back and wiped my eyes.
“Kate?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Instead, I turned away and started back toward the cathedral. Tears spilled down my cheeks, but I knew what I had to do.
These were my kids, after all.
I clutched the cloth bag tight as I raced back up the basement stairs, my mind churning. I should have known. Should have seen the clues. They were all there. His hesitancy to enter the cathedral. His constantly chewing mint-flavored gum. His strength when we fought in the courtyard. His ability to recognize another demon—and to throw a knife so straight and true.
It had been the holy water that had won me over.
But now, as I passed the receptacles, I realized how even that illusion had been easy for him. A
demon can enter holy ground even though it pains him. The pillars of holy water are a long way from the sanctuary and its sainted, impenetrable mortar. Goramesh would have simply knocked over the bowls and refilled them with tap water. I recalled the puddle on the floor before our meeting and knew I was right.
There were other clues, too. I didn’t want to research, but he’d convinced me. And I’d agreed to up the ante if there was any sign of demons infiltrating San Diablo. That night Todd Greer paid a little visit. I’d called that a sign. It was a sign, all right—I’d just read it wrong. Larson had ordered the hellhound to kill Todd Greer so a demon could move in and convince me to do Larson’s research. And then Larson killed the demon in the alley to reinforce his position as one of the good guys.
What a crock.
And then there was Eddie. Larson had been the one who’d “discovered” Eddie’s presence here. And no wonder. He’d brought Eddie here himself. I had to meet Eddie, because Eddie was the only one who knew what Goramesh wanted. I’d even bet that Larson ordered the drugs decreased so that Eddie would be able to think more clearly—all the better for him to tell me the truth once he decided he trusted me.
And why not trust me?
I was another Hunter, and even I didn’t know that I was bait.
Larson had even fueled my fears about Stuart, probably hoping that pointing me in that direction would keep my mind away from considering him too closely. It had worked, too.
With a foul-mouthed curse, I burst through the cathedral doors. The clues were academic now. All that mattered was getting my kids back.
The descending sun cast long shadows on the ground, giving the world a surreal quality that matched my mood. I shaded my eyes with my hand and scanned the grounds, but I didn’t see any sign of Laura or Eddie.
I flipped open my cell phone and started to dial Laura’s number, but the squeal of rubber against asphalt caught my attention. I leaped backward, realizing that Larson’s Lexus was barreling toward me across the nearly empty parking lot.
It fishtailed, then careened to a halt in front of me. My muscles tensed, ready to pummel him. Between the tinted windows and the distortion from the fading light, I couldn’t see Larson, but I was ready for him. I raced to the driver’s-side door and yanked it open. “Get out of there, you son of a bitch!”
