The smaller person, the one who'd removed the first mitt, threw back her robe, and Illy smiled down at me. "You look awful. And you're shaking. Here…" She pulled a blanket from her bag (yes, it was on her shoulder) and grabbed hold of my upper arm to help me into a sitting position. The thing was warm and once I was upright, the real shaking began. "I think you have hypothermia. What did they do to you?"
"B-b-basement." My teeth clacked when I talked. She pulled the blanket closed over my bare chest. "Wu-wu-wet pants." If I shook any faster, I'd disappear.
"Yes, I see. Mike, we need to get him out of here and warmed up. He's going to get sick if we don't. Oh." She'd put her hand to the back of my head and then held it out so she and I could see. It was covered in blood. "You need a hospital, Dags. Do you remember them hitting you in the head?"
"N-n-no." I didn't. But that didn't mean while they were carting me into the basement or out of it, someone hadn't dropped me. Just for kicks and giggles.
Mike came back then, his gun in his hand. "Where's the one who took you?"
I pointed to Jack, still in his gold robe and still sprawled out where he fell. It took a few minutes to get control of the shaking but I managed it, and I told them what Jack told me. Illy had already filled Mike and Raven in on what the map and reports were for.
Jack woke in the middle of my rehash but didn't comment. In fact, he didn't look at me at all when Mike used the rope they'd used on me to bind him. Illy wrapped her arms around me from the side and I leaned into her. My vision wasn't a hundred percent, my head hurt, I was freezing, and my pants were starting to chafe.
We were in the backyard of a house. A six-foot fence closed it off from everything. No buildings surrounded us, so no one could look down from a window to see any nasty ritual stuff. Which made sense why they felt comfortable tying a guy to the ground in broad daylight, dressing in robes, and putting on a goat's head. I didn't actually see Jack put the goat head on, but I was pretty sure, given his fascination with all things Allard Bonville, he had one ready for the occasion.
These people were nuts.
But Illy's expression grew serious. "Guys, what does this mean? That someone is directing Mr. Klinsky's actions? In order to do what, exactly? Does Faerie exist?"
Raven came from a door in the back of the house. I hadn't been sure she was there 'til now. "Faerie is a place within the Peripheral. What they were doing—what they would have done if they'd managed to kill you—is—"
"I was not planning on killing him." Jack found his voice, though he didn't look happy. "I just wanted to get that book out of him."
"That's not true." Illy shifted, and I pulled back from her to look. She scowled. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen the expression on her face. "I overheard your members talking about Dags being the last body needed to open the Coyote Flame."
Raven stood over Jack and thumped him Gibbs-style in the back of the head. "Idiot."
"I wasn't going to kill him. I told him and I'm telling you. I haven't killed anyone. I don't know anything about any bodies in those Squares."
I cleared my throat. Shivered. "Who—who told you to bait me?"
All eyes turned to Jack. He looked down, and I assumed he wasn't going to answer. "I can't say."
"Why not?"
"Because she'll kill me if I do."
Mike leaned in close to him. "I'll kill you if you don't." He pressed the end barrel of his Eagle against Jack's cheek. "Now."
"Fine—I don't know her name. I just know her face. Sort of. She's always dressed in a black robe. She's the one who came to me and told me I could open the gate to Faerie if I did this ritual." He looked up at Mike. "But I didn't know anything about dead bodies. I just wanted a little bit of power. Like Darren got." He swallowed. "Did you know I have tattoos on my palms just like he does? But I can't throw light. How can he throw light? How is it he has magic spells? Fafner didn't teach us spells." He looked at me. "I would hide, if I were you. She's watching you. And one day, she'll catch you."
She? She who?
Raven frowned at me. "What does he mean throw light?"
I held out my palms. I knew and Mike knew the tattoos were invisible to the eye. "Before I got this Grimoire, I used to send light out of my palms. I haven't been able to do that in a while…that I know of."
"Bottom line," Mike said. "Is that we don't know if anyone else is going to get killed in Chatham Square to complete this pentagram." He looked at Jack. "Frankly, I don't believe you."
"It's true."
"You were just about to cut my best friend's chest out to get to a book."
"Not literally." Jack shifted where he sat. Now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable tied up. "The knife I have was meant to astrally cut the book out."
"A-astrally?" I blinked at him. "Is-is that p-p-possible?"
Jack still didn't look at me. "She said it was. And I believed her."
"We need to set up a watch on the Square," Mike grabbed Jack by his shoulder and jerked him up on his feet. "I say we tie this jackass to a tree and see if he's good bait."
"No!" Jack tried to twist away. "You can't do that! I have rights."
Raven moved next to him and he visually shrank back from her. "You have nothing."
"Well, that's nice," Illy said, and put a hand to my chest. "But if we're done here and the city's not in any danger of being overrun by Oberon and Titania, can we go? Dags needs a shower, a doctor, and clean clothes. Not necessarily in that order."
"No doctors," I piped up. I reached behind my head and touched the now-tender spot. I felt a few things there that I shouldn't. Dirt, debris, maybe even glass. Damn…that was stuff Mike and I couldn't completely clean out. I didn't even know if I was all right with this sleepy juice in me.
"Sorry about that." Jack spoke up. "I'm afraid we weren't that careful dragging you out of the basement."
"It looks like you dropped him," Mike said.
Jack winced. "We did."
Illy sighed. "Dags, you might have a concussion."
"I can't go to a doctor, Illy."
"I know a magic doctor," Jack said in a quiet voice. "She's nice. And she's good. But…."
Mike pushed the gun in Jack's face again.
"Okay, okay…don't use me as bait."
"We'll think about it."
Jack sighed. "This doc likes to be paid up front, in cash, and her healing methods are a bit—"
"Unconventional?" Mike said.
"Yeah."
"Guardian," Raven said in a quiet voice. "Listen… "
I can sense injuries within you, Darren McConnell. As well as two drugs. It would be preferred if you didn't become ill and vulnerable to those wishing to take the Grimoire…. If you don't care about yourself, then at least have a bit of respect for those who do. Mike's beside himself and will only rest as long as he knows you're okay.
Nyx's voice was calm. Soothing. Pretty much like the voice of all the First Borns I'd met.
He doesn't need to worry.
He does. You were taken on his watch and he feels responsible for you. And there's…
When she paused, I cocked my head to the side.
"Dags? What is it?" Illy asked.
"Nyx is speaking to him. Sshh." Raven put a finger to her lips.
Nyx?
Were you aware there is a bond between the two of you?
I leaned into Illy's shoulder. Yes.
He is like a brother to you, and you to him.
Yes. He's…more like family to me.
This type of bond can be both a burden, and a boon. I would suggest you choose which.
I wanted to ask her what she meant but I was too tired and my head hurt way too damn much.
REGROUP
Jack and Mike came to an agreement. Jack gave the doc a heads-up and Raven produced the cash. Jack would contact Mike if he got another visit from the mysterious woman. Jack did this in exchange for not being used as bait or sent to jail for kidnapping and having his name exposed in the Savannah Morning
News, much to Illy's disappointment.
I think he did it because Mike made him pee his pants.
Doc Grace was everything I didn't expect her to be. First, she was a woman by sight with a heavy, masculine voice. She reminded me of Delilah, a rather nasty Fae we encountered inside a Cairn. The damn thing had the front end of a Drag Queen and the ass end of a Black Widow spider.
And at any other time this comparison might have bothered me. I honestly didn't care. She was a healer, and a licensed doctor with a private practice.
Within a half hour, she had the nasty cut on the back of my head cleaned and stitched up, requiring only two shots. One antibiotic and one tetanus. She agreed with me that it looked like someone had dropped me on my head, which she said accounted for the wooziness. "I'd say you have a mild concussion. My suggestion is to get a good day's bed rest, and don't be surprised if sudden noises or smells make you throw up."
Mike asked if it was okay to see her without Jack's recommendation. She agreed, and we piled into my SUV with Mike behind the wheel. I was still cold and still without shoes, socks, or shirt. We went to the townhouse first and I took a shower, keeping my head out of the stream. Doc Grace had already cleaned my hair so I wasn't worried about that. Dressed in jeans, shirt, boots, and a jacket, I came down the stairs to where the others were gathered around the table looking at the book.
Illy was in a chair, up on her knees the way a seven-year-old would be. She had her nose so far into that book that she jumped when I put a hand on her back. "Gotcha."
"What're you doing dressed?" Mike wanted to know as he set a glass of water in front of me. I sniffed it and then downed half of it.
"I'm ready for the discussion."
"What discussion?"
"The one you and I always have when we're stumped on a case."
Raven and Mike exchanged looks. Illy kept her face in the BBOE.
"Uh." Raven frowned. "Mike and I already discussed things."
"And?"
Mike pulled the chair out, facing me. "And you're going upstairs to bed. Illy's going to stay with you while Raven and I go check out Bonaventure."
"You guys didn't go already?"
"No." Mike looked like I'd hit him in the face. "You were missing, Dags. I wasn't going to do anything until I found you."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Ain't that the truth."
"So…" I finished my glass of water and pushed it away. I felt a little awkward, and a little embarrassed. It was starting to feel like I was becoming a burden. Always getting my ass kicked. Always getting into trouble. And technically, this was the third time I'd gone missing on him. The first when a changeling kidnapped me into the Cairn the first time. I was gone for two weeks. The second a week ago, when Ripp'n Ja— tried to take me to its employer, so to speak. And now this. "When did you notice? That I was missing?"
"After we searched Kevin Barry's for you. Your boss called me and said you never came in from your break, but someone had seen you talking to a cute blonde. I looked at my phone and that's when I saw your text. Did not understand it at all."
"He called me," Illy said as she turned a page of the book. "And I told him what you and I talked about."
"Illy met us at the pub about 2 a.m. We backtracked from where she left you. The trail sort of lead us in the direction of the Sheraton. We found the folder, Illy went over it with us, and we started looking for you."
I frowned at him. "Have you been to sleep?"
"Yes," he said. And at the same time Raven said, "No."
I was quiet for a second before I glanced at the clock. "We're running out of time. We have got to get Stella out of there."
"That's what we've been working on. Jack Klinsky, his crazies aside, was convinced by some mystery woman that he could create a Coyote Flame and make it a stationary portal. My gut tells me he didn't have anything to do with the zombies. I think he's a harmless wizard wannabe."
I shook my head. "I wouldn't underestimate him. Always assume what you hear when he talks is a lie."
Mike laughed. "He won't be doing anymore magic in any more Squares."
"How do you know that?" I grabbed my glass.
Mike strolled over to one of his trunks in the living room. "Because I took his stuff." The inside brimmed with a plethora of magical accouterments. Half used candles stuck up through the assortment of brass and silver candlestick holders and braziers and old books like thick quills of porcupine. "I promised he could have them back when we're done and the killing stops."
Neat plan. But I still didn't trust Jack. I wasn't convinced he wasn't lying. But for right now, it'd be better to refocus on getting Stella out of the 'Pheral. Tick tock, tick tock. "So…We go find Thomas and have him open the Cairn? I'm thinking we can find where she is pretty easily? Maybe see if Hob's still there?"
Mike started to answer me but Raven stepped in. "Dags—I think running into the Peripheral unprepared is a trap. Specifically for you. Someone wants you in the 'Pheral. They went as far as to hire a Djin to bring you there. Now…some of this feels like a Revenant's working behind the scenes, and some of it doesn't. We just don't know where the separation is. I think our best line of defense is gathering information on the known element. The Revenant. We know there's a Revenant involved because of the Lamias, which are Ghoul made. And that Ghoul sent them after you. The best way to learn more about a Revenant is through their Ghoul. Our first objective should be finding that Ghoul which will lead us back to its maker."
"The Revenant." I sighed. "So how do we find this Ghoul?"
Mike spoke up. "Raven believes the Ghoul won't be far from where you're most vulnerable."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means he or she is watching you, waiting for you. So we go to a place where the Ghoul will feel confident enough to try and take you again. Some place where they nearly succeeded."
I made a noise and sat forward. "Aw no…you're talking about going back to Bonaventure."
"Yes." Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "But this time we'll be ready. If you insist on going with us instead of getting sleep, then we'll need to make this endeavor pay off. The three of us will set a trap and catch the Ghoul before they raise any more dead."
I looked from one to the other. "How is going there to look for the Ghoul going to help get Stella back?"
Mike sighed. "Raven thinks if we discover the Revenant's identity and follow it back to its lair, we might find Stella."
I sat in a chair facing the two of them and clasped my hands together on top of my head. "You're forgetting a very important question." I waited a beat. The glanced at each other. "Guys, why would any Revenant come after me?"
Raven spoke. "To be honest—I don't have a clue. I could always say it's to get the Grimoire, but we really have no use for it, other than to prevent its control by the wrong crowd. Which is why we need to find who this Revenant is. I personally want to ask them this question."
Mike didn't say anything, but I could tell from the expression on his face he was deep in thought.
I lowered my arms and put my hands on the table. "You think this Revenant is responsible for Jack's actions? Someone told him how to make a Coyote Flame. It's an easy spell but it's not widely known in Cruorem circles. Or it used to not be."
"The Lamias killed the victims—that much is evident. I can't be one hundred precent sure unless I examined the bodies myself. This is why I suspect a Revenant in the background…."
I watched her. "Then why are you making that face?"
"Because killing children to create some kind of door between this World and the Peripheral isn't something any normal, sane Revenant would do. It's…"
"Insane," Mike finished.
I had to agree. I'd only met a few Revenants that I could remember and every one of them seemed like level headed, rational creatures. In fact, one First Born, or Demon, had actually prevented her host from drowning in madness. But… "Isn't it possible that somewhere out there…there is an irrational Revenant? I
s it possible that one of the Demons that bonded with a human wasn't strong enough? That the human's mind was too twisted, too insane for it to control?"
Raven gave a slow shrug of her shoulders. "I supposed anything's possible. But in my experience, such a bonding wouldn't necessarily result in one personality over riding the other. If the end Revenant is insane or cruel, it's because their essence was shaped that way as well as the soul of the human."
"You mean," Mike said. "It'd be like Charles Manson bonding with Jeffrey Dahmer?"
I shivered when Raven nodded. "Yes. Like that. But other than the traitor that murdered our father, I'm not sure I've ever known any of my siblings to be that twisted. That sort of psychosis is usually reserved for the First Choir and their megalomaniacal egos."
I grinned at her because I knew exactly what she meant. Gabriel came to mind, she being a Cherubim of the First Choir and quite the power hungry bitch.
Raven put her hands on the table. "But, if this is one of those possibilities, the Revenant will be close to her Ghoul regardless. She might have instructed him or her to make the Lamias, but she'll also be responsible for all of them. Once they've fulfilled their usefulness she'll destroy them to prevent us from finding her."
"Even her Ghoul?" I tentatively touched the stitches in the back of my head. My hair easily covered the area but it was tender. And my headache was back.
"Yes, even her Ghoul."
"We don't really know this Revenant's a woman, do we?" Mike asked.
"I'm basing that on your friend Darius's description," Raven added. "The woman that came to see him and from his point of view, controlled him. I'm pretty sure she tasted him before he woke and used his blood to influence his actions and answers." Raven made a face. "But I don't believe the Revenant in question told Klinsky about the Faerie Blood. Like you said, no one knew about that but a select few. Those present when it happened." She looked at me.
I glared back at her. "So you're saying someone else is muddying the waters here?"
Raven nodded. "The descriptions are different. The one who told him about making the Coyote Flame is a straight-up blonde, same as Darius's description of this Beliti woman. But Klinsky's description of the one who told him to use the bars was a red head. Or he said reddish hair."
Minutes to Midnight Page 10
