Belador Cosaint

by Dianna Love

  Now what am I supposed to do? Reese chewed on her lip. What if that really was one of Phoedra’s parents?

  The psychic said in a low tone, “I feel someone who cares about you close to us.”

  Phoedra blurted out, “Ask why they left me.”

  The ghost’s hand stretched out from the sleeve. Narrow fingers with sharp nails looked to be feminine. The ghost balled her hand into a fist. The floor trembled.

  Oh, no, no. Reese’s palms dampened. She gripped the doors.

  The psychic’s face gave away her surprise.

  Hold everything. Reese lowered her hands. Did the psychic know someone was there or not?

  Madame Salina now stared at the crystal ball, licking her lips and showing no sign of acknowledging the ghost standing behind Phoedra, who made no move to touch the girl.

  Damn. What if that was Phoedra’s mother? If Donella knew who it was, wouldn’t she have told this girl? This couldn’t be the first time Phoedra had wondered about her parents.

  This might the girl’s only chance to find out.

  The ghost wasn’t a demon. Seeing how the ghost now held a hand above Phoedra as if protecting her, Reese took a breath and gave the psychic another minute.

  Madame Salina said, “O spirit, if you are this child’s parent, move the candle flame.”

  The ghost unfurled her other hand from the deep sleeve.

  Reese watched the candle closely for any tiny change, which ended up not being necessary. The flame flickered once then grew and twisted unlike any flame Reese had ever seen.

  Riveted in place, Phoedra’s gaze locked on that braided flame as if it was a direct cyber connection to the afterlife. She whispered, “Which parent is it?”

  Madame Salina had lost some of the pink in her cheeks, but she said, “O spirit, if you are her mother, give us a sign.”

  The candle bent to one side.

  Yes, it tilted toward Phoedra and wax drizzled from the candle. Reese couldn’t see what the wax looked like.

  Phoedra got excited. “It’s an M. It must be my mother!”

  The psychic looked less thrilled by the minute. Could she feel the power vibrating in the room that Reese felt even from behind the door?

  Who was that ghost?

  Madame Salina must have felt something. Her skin turned pasty. She lifted her disturbed gaze to Phoedra.

  Reese expected the psychic to finally comment on the ghost standing in her line of sight, but Madame Salina didn’t say a word. She seriously couldn’t see it?

  Practically bouncing now, Phoedra asked, “Who is she? What’s her name? Did she ever care about me?”

  The table began to vibrate, making the candle dance around.

  Madame Salina slapped her hands on the table and shouted, “O spirit, please show your love and cross over. Be at peace.”

  “No!” Phoedra shouted. “Don’t send her away!”

  The melting candle lifted up, the flame blinked out, then the candle flew against one of the door panels where Reese hid. She jumped back, then lunged forward and shoved the doors apart, determined to get Phoedra out of there now.

  A loud crack sounded as the table ripped in two with each half falling to Phoedra’s right and left side.

  The psychic made panicked animal sounds.

  Madame Salina’s chair spun around and shot her out of it onto the floor. She jumped up and ran to a door at the back of the room, screaming.

  Reese had made it two steps inside when everything calmed except for Phoedra crying.

  The spirit floated toward Reese, stopping between Reese and Phoedra.

  In a furious move, the ghost pointed a finger at Reese then shoved the same digit in Phoedra’s direction in a silent order. Then she vanished.

  But not before Reese recognized the face she’d seen all too often on the darknet.

  That face belonged to a dead Medb priestess in Atlanta.

  The same body Reese had left with Quinn.

  Holy crap.

  Was Kizira of the Medb coven Phoedra’s mother?

  That made no sense. No Medb priestess would leave her daughter to be raised by someone else, and definitely not a human.

  Had Kizira’s spirit shown up because Reese was present at the reading?

  That seemed more logical, but why?

  Was Kizira trying to get Reese to help Phoedra find her mother and father?

  Again, why?

  This was like a twilight zone episode of that old show with Timmy and Lassie, but with Kizira’s spirit playing Lassie’s role of pointing out trouble.

  None of that made sense either.

  Reese gave up for the moment. She got a shaky Phoedra up and held the girl as she cried herself out.

  When she caught her breath, Phoedra said, “I know you had to have heard some of that. Do you think it was my mother?”

  So Phoedra wasn’t wigged out over a spirit wrecking the room, only that it might have been her mother?

  Reese wanted so much to tell her yes just to give Phoedra something to hold onto, but she wouldn’t lie to her.

  “I’ll be honest. I know it was someone’s spirit, but I have no idea if it was definitely connected to you. If I thought it was, I’d tell you.” Wiping Phoedra’s tears, Reese said, “I’m not making any promises for success, but I will help you try to figure out where you came from and the identity of your parents. Okay?”

  “Thank you,” Phoedra blubbered, hugging Reese.

  Poor girl. Reese meant her words.

  She wasn’t sure what she could do, but she’d give it her best effort. Hopefully Donella would support her research and share what she could. Reese had spent recent years building a following as a celebrity photographer, selling her pictures under a pseudonym to media for the gossip columns. She had a way to shield her demon energy, which allowed her to leave this area to work, and now she would use her resources to track down Phoedra’s parents.

  Patting Phoedra’s back as she nudged her toward the door, Reese said, “You ready to blow this popsicle stand?”

  “What?” Phoedra wiped her face.

  “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t remember Skipper saying that in Madagascar Penguins. We watched that last year.”

  “Oh, you’re right.” Phoedra smiled a little. “I’m not thinking straight.”

  “I know, hon. Speaking of dessert, I’m hungry for a banana split.”

  Glancing back at the psychic’s building after walking outside, Phoedra said, “I’m in, but I still want to talk about what happened in there.”

  Reese expected that but had no answers. “Let’s get you somewhere you can freshen up and we’ll talk. Deal?”

  “Okay.”

  Avoidance plan working fine.

  Reese caught a break in the sparse traffic and crossed the street, then turned south to hunt up an ice cream shop she’d taken Phoedra to before.

  They were walking past glass windows covered in brown paper on the inside. Still trying to cheer up Phoedra, Reese said, “Maybe this is a new clothes shop.”

  Phoedra walked over to look into the glass pane on the door with her hands cupped on each side of her eyes. “I can’t even see ... ”

  The door opened and Phoedra fell in.

  “Hey!” Reese rushed over behind her and dove inside.

  Someone shoved her hard enough to take her to her knees, but she’d seen no one. Nonhumans? Her eyes adjusted quickly. The only reason she hadn’t fallen on Phoedra was because the girl was being dragged away kicking and screaming.

  I might not have my powers, but I still have some preternatural moves. Reese rolled to her left and flipped up to her feet, then raced after Phoedra, knocking over silver clothing racks set up between bulging boxes of clothes.

  Someone swiped her legs out from under her without even touching her.

  Reese was ready this time and rolled up to land on her feet again then turned, hands up for the attack.

  Finally, an actual body to fight. A wide one at that. He came at her, sil
houetted from behind by the bright light coming through the open door to the sidewalk.

  A woman walked by without looking in.

  Somebody had shielded this attack from view.

  The guy lunged for her. When his big hands touched her, she latched onto arms twice the size of hers, rolled back using his momentum, and shoved her feet into his gut to flip him over.

  He crashed against a stone fireplace that was under construction, and crumpled. Blood rushed down his face from where his head had taken a beating on the rocks. If he had any serious powers, he should have thrown a spell at her or used his ability to pin her better.

  Maybe he underestimated her and saved his majik.

  Everything about his rough look made her think merc.

  Or bounty hunter.

  But that would mean Phoedra was the target, because they didn’t seem interested in grabbing Reese.

  She didn’t hang around to find out how much that headache was going to piss off the guy behind her. Racing through the back storage area, she jumped over piled boxes marked with designer names and landed in an open space.

  Why couldn’t she still hear Phoedra screaming?

  At the back door, she burst through to the rear loading area in time to see Phoedra slumped over the shoulder of a big guy with a full tattoo sleeve and green hair. He tossed the girl into a van, jumped in after her, and it peeled off.

  Reese leaped off the steps and raced after the van, using every ounce of extra demon juice she had, but the van blurred, then disappeared.

  Had someone cloaked it? She didn’t think so since cloaking should be more immediate. Either you’re cloaked or you’re not.

  Same with teleporting.

  Had the van driven into a bolthole?

  Reese stopped and stared at the empty space where the van had been. She mentally reviewed everything she’d seen so she didn’t forget any details.

  One major detail hit her between the eyes.

  Phoedra’s kidnapper had a green Mohawk.

  Joey-the-jerk was not human.

  Chapter 14

  Atlanta, GA – Storm and Evalle’s building

  Energy strummed through Quinn, threatening to break free if he had to sit silently for one more minute of this séance. At what point was it over, and how would he know if Lanna was in real trouble?

  She’d stopped shouting about Phoedra, and although she still breathed rapidly, she’d begun to calm.

  Quinn took in Mother Mattie, who had yet to say anything but kept her attention bouncing from Lanna to Adrianna and back.

  No help there.

  Looking over at Evalle, he found her sitting forward, with her elbows on her knees and one knee bouncing. Storm put his hand on her thigh, calming the busy leg.

  Quinn spoke to Evalle telepathically. How can we know Lanna is safe?

  Evalle’s bright green gaze shot to his. She replied in the same silent way. You have to trust Lanna. Caron stopped by for just a moment when Lanna and Mattie arrived. Caron told Lanna that this was the next step she had to take. From what Caron was saying, Lanna is a powerhouse who can handle this. She just needs her confidence back as a person. Lanna doesn’t appear distressed physically. She’s only reacting to what she’s seeing. Just sit tight for a little longer and maybe we’ll have a way to find Phoedra.

  I will wait a little while, he conceded.

  Lanna lifted her head and opened her eyes, which were a normal blue color again.

  Quinn’s patience was shot to hell. “Are you okay, Lanna? Do you need to stop?”

  Mother Mattie hissed, “Silence.”

  “Not if I think she’s in danger.”

  “I am fine, Cousin. Please give me a minute.” Lanna squeezed his hand again and sounded strong. She asked Mother Mattie, “Are you hearing everything?”

  “Yes. It sounds like Phoedra is in danger. Do you remember any of it?”

  “Not much, but I do remember a man stalking her.”

  Quinn asked, “Could you tell if the woman with Phoedra was a friend or helping the man?”

  “I do not know. I may need questions when I am seeing into the water.”

  Mother Mattie said, “ Adrianna has been prodding you, which seems to help.”

  “Good.” Lanna’s gaze went to Adrianna, whose head was bent forward.

  The Sterling witch must still be in her trance state.

  Closing her eyes again, Lanna whispered words more to herself than anyone else. In less than a minute, she opened her eyes, which were bright crystals once again, and leaned forward.

  Adrianna’s head lifted. Her eyes were also shut. “What man follows Phoedra?”

  Lanna studied the water with her blind-looking eyes. “Three men. Not human. Maybe ... trolls or warlocks. They have powers. Very foggy. Hard to see faces.”

  What are they doing, Quinn wanted to shout.

  Lanna tensed and rocked forward then back. “Can not see her.”

  Maybe his daughter had escaped the stalker.

  Lanna was showing the first real signs of stress, even if Quinn was the only one who could recognize it. He’d seen this young woman grow up and she was cracking around the edges.

  Kellman shifted his grip on Lanna’s hand and said, “I’m here. You’re safe.”

  She visibly relaxed.

  Well, damn. Quinn would have to allow that the young man could be important to Lanna’s recovery, just as Evalle had suggested.

  He could feel Evalle’s eyes on him, so Quinn glanced over.

  Evalle had a warning eyebrow lifted. She feared he’d overreact again.

  Quinn sighed, resigned to accepting that Lanna was no longer a child. Any remnants of childhood clinging to her had vanished during Grendal’s vicious attack.

  “Where did you go?” Lanna asked the water.

  Adrianna turned her head in a way that said she was focusing hard on something. “Where is she?”

  Clearly Lanna and Adrianna had their own conversation going on. Would Adrianna recall any details once she came out of her trance?

  “Men have ... van at brick building first. No more. They are ...”

  Jerking upright and blinking her eyes until they returned to their normal color once more, Lanna said, “I know where Phoedra is, Cousin. She is in this country, but very far away. You must go fast to find her.”

  His heart tried out for the drummer position with the Guns N’ Roses band. He said, “Just tell me where and I’ll head to the airport immediately.”

  “Where is she?” Adrianna called out louder and in a sharp tone.

  Everyone turned to the Sterling witch.

  Evalle walked over and put her hands on Adrianna’s shoulders. “Hey, Lanna is done.”

  Adrianna lifted her face and snarled in a different voice than hers, “Where is the girl? Tell me now!”

  Mother Mattie reached into a pouch at her waist that Quinn hadn’t noticed. She pulled out a pinch of something and shouted a blistering string of words when she threw the sparkling dust at Adrianna.

  The sparkles swept up as if on an invisible wind and dusted the top of Adrianna’s head.

  The Sterling witch’s face twisted. Breaking away from the hands of each twin, Adrianna grasped her head, jerking back and forth. Sweat glistened on her face.

  Kellman stood up and helped Lanna to her feet.

  When Adrianna finally stopped struggling, she dropped her hands. Evidently Mother Mattie’s dust had broken her out of the trance.

  Sounding panicked, Adrianna asked, “What did I say?”

  Evalle told her the gist of what happened.

  “Why didn’t anyone stop me or ask what I was doing?”

  Confused, Mother Mattie said, “I thought you were prompting Lanna.”

  “No.” Adrianna shook her head, looking not a bit happy. “I could hear some of what was being said, but it turned into a mash of voices in my head.”

  “But you were asking Lanna questions,” Evalle argued.

  “Not me. Veronika. She was l
istening in through me. You have to keep me as far from Phoedra and Lanna as possible.”

  Quinn hadn’t thought this could get any worse.

  What a foolish thought. He said, “I’ll leave Evalle and Storm to figure this out, but I want Lanna safe.”

  Storm had stepped over next to Evalle. “She will be. Lanna is staying with us.”

  Adrianna stood, a bit wobbly, then pulled herself together with that core of steel that made up her backbone. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do until Veronika is caught, but no one should trust me with any information.”

  Evalle said, “Don’t go hiding from me. It’s going to take all of us to stop Veronika.”

  If that were even possible, but Quinn would not give voice to the negative thought.

  “Right now, I’m going home where I can think.”

  “You shouldn’t be alone,” Evalle argued.

  “I have Witchlock,” Adrianna said as if that were her nuclear defense. “If I have to unleash it on her, I will, but right now I need some time to think. I’ll run a blood ward around my house using Witchlock. If Veronika gets through that, then nothing you or anyone else can do will stop her.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Evalle left with Adrianna.

  After a moment, Storm said to the room, “She’s out of hearing range now.”

  Quinn pulled Lanna into a hug. “Lanna, you are amazing. Thank you for doing this. Give me the location. I’ll have my driver here by the time I get downstairs and he’ll take me straight to the airport.”

  She swung a sad gaze to him. “No, Cousin. You do not understand. That is not fast enough. You must go there now.”

  “You mean ... teleport?”

  “Yes. The men are using a bolthole. One is looking to make deal with someone. I did not see where they went. I heard one say they would not stay long. A lot of voices.” She clutched her forehead with her eyes clamped shut. “They are in building with boards on windows and sign that says NO TRESPASSING. Bricks are faded yellow. Not painted in much time. It is near a ... uh.” She looked to Kellman. “What is place American football played here?”

  “The dome.”

  “Yes!” Lanna snapped her fingers. “Phoedra is near dome with ... letters on it.” She closed her eyes, concentrating hard. “B ... O ... and I think maybe K.”