by A J Brahms
Was deflected before it could reach the center of Beau's forehead and lodged into a painting behind the Vampire's head. I held my gun back and froze.
We were surrounded by Vampires. Hundreds of them as I looked up at the spiraling ramp of the High Museum. They were all looking down at us. At me, Beau, Aubrey, and Jedediah. Jed had defected the bullet with a sword, as Aubrey ran to Beau and caught him before he fell. Beau's arms hung useless at his sides as he screamed. Pure silver hurts for a Vampire. And I'd plugged him with two.
I lowered my gun and watched as Jedediah motioned for Aubrey and the others to take Beau away. He then went to Julie, moved his hand in front of her face, and she collapsed on the bench. I knelt beside her, after I put my weapon away, and stroked her hair. I didn't free her because she and Luke would need something plausible for the captain and others to see. That she'd been kidnaped and her killer, gone.
I remained behind with Jedediah as the sounds of sirens came close. Occam showed them to me as their flashing lights came down Peachtree Street. Aberdeen was nearby too, ready to literally pull me out of a situation I couldn't handle.
"I take it you were able to show everyone what Ellery said?"
He nodded at me, not locking eyes with me like he usually did. "I was. And Beau will be punished by our laws. Though…I'm afraid things might get a bit dicey with the Fairies." He pointed to Jazzi's body.
I mourned her loss, but only to that point.
"We plan on making amends to the Church for accusing them of interfering and for the deaths of four of their own. I hate to tell them we will never be able to produce a body for Teddy, Jeff and Ryan, but they were innocent victims and don't deserve the Church's hate."
"I'm sure they will appreciate that. You're a good man, Jedediah Talmadge."
He still wouldn't look at me. So we cleaned up a few things in silence.
Flee! came Occam's warning. She rarely talked, and when she did, I'd learned to listen.
I offered my hand to Jedediah. He didn't take it. Instead he looked at me. Really looked at me.
And I knew.
He'd seen the truth, even when he promised he wouldn't look. I didn't say anything. There was nothing I could say. It was what it was. Nothing was going to change what happened.
Finally, when I turned to leave him there, he said, "Grainger."
I stopped and turned to him. "You looked."
"I can't always stop the blood from showing me what it wants. She was in your thoughts, so it was in your blood."
I waited, very much aware that the police cars were pulling up outside. "And?"
He stared at me. "I will keep your secret…but I will never defend it."
He was gone.
And so was I.
Sixteen
The next week or so was a bit dicey. It always was after cleaning up a mess. And Beau had left a big one. Conway wouldn't accept Jedediah's offer for reparations. Instead he hunkered down on his pledge to rid the world of all Vampires. Jed took that with grace and the Family moved on. I hadn't seen any of them since. I'm not even sure what happened to Beau Woodard, but knowing them, I'm pretty sure it wasn't nice.
We located Tonya's family and were able to make sure she had a decent funeral. The police explained it away as some mugger, high on drugs, and that he'd slashed her throat and she'd bled out somewhere else. And that Cimitir Hall had nothing to do with the event, but were victims too. The parents of Ryan Guess and the other two boys were left wondering where their children were, and each of them was declared missing.
And would remain so. I'd seen what those Brownies did to them.
My life got back to relative normality. I got my things back, in pretty good shape. Set it all back up. Occam swept the place for bugs, something she could hear with her bird hearing. I guess. We were fine.
Julie took some time off and I took her fishing. A friend of hers joined us and Meehan did as well, on a weekend. It was nice. She asked questions…I evaded a lot. Luckily she didn't see how the event actually ended between Beau and I, but she knew enough about the unconventional side of things to know the public answer had to be plausible. And it was. Only those involved knew the truth.
I took a job for the High Museum, who wanted to do a nice spread on Jazzi's life. Of course, they didn't find Jazzi's real body, but a Changeling the Fairies provided. I went to her Summerlands rest, invited by Anand herself. No mention was spoken about our agreement, so I assumed I'd followed the rules.
The only thing that didn't fit was Carson's disappearance. I thought it'd been explained with Beau, but after a few weeks went by and he'd been declared officially missing and dismissed from the morgue, panic set in as to where I was going to get my Vampire blood. I needed that so I wouldn't turn into dust. Aberdeen and I tried a few back-alley places, but the blood had already expired, and some of it was created with Fairy glamour.
During this time, there were several bodies found in Lake Lanier. A young boy, an elderly man, a middle-aged woman, and then one night while I was looking at some shots on film, I heard the TV anchor in the other room say, "…bodies found was identified as Emmet Carson, a local medical examiner reported missing three weeks ago. Further details are forthcoming from the authorities."
I'd stepped out of my darkroom bathroom and stared at the TV, just missing the full report.
My phone rang, and after wiping my hands on a rag from the kitchen, I answered the familiar number. "I just saw it on TV. Did you know?"
"No," Detective Julie Wallace said. "Just found out this afternoon. Pulled some strings though. Luke wants to know if you want to meet us at the morgue?"
"Of course."
"And bring your cameras," she paused. "All of them."
Something’s In The Water
COMING MARCH
2017
Stay informed on the release date of AJ’s next book in the new Cast In Shadows series!
Glossary
Night Walker - Vampires
Families - Clans of Vampires / Nightwalkers, all gathered around a central figure, either a Patriarch or a Matriarch.
Stupor - the 24 hour coma a Ghoul will fall into after their usual feeding on a Night Walker’s Blood.
Ghoul - the product of giving a human three infusions of a Night Walker’s blood. Ghouls obey their Makers without question and will die for them. They are forever devoted to serving them and crave their attention.
Chevalier - Next evolution for a Ghoul. Pronounced she-vo-yay. These are the Knights created, bred and trained through various secretive means, to protect their Night Walker makers by whatever means. A dedicated Chevalier is a boon to any Night Walker.
Fairies - Bastards
Mórrígan - Also known by many as The Promise Dealer. The triple Goddess of the Tuatha De Dannan. Badb, Macha and Anand are her personas. She is the CEO of one of the largest tourist conglomerates in the world. Hey, a retired Goddess has to make a living.
About the Author
A J Brahms is the pen name for a duo known separately for several series in Urban Fantasy.
For more information
A-J-Brahms-1250163345042323
www.ajbrahms.com
[email protected]
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Caldwell Press
Cover Design © 2016 by Lou Harper
Editing Kime Kirkpatrick
Thank you for purchasing and reading HOUSE OF BONES. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take a moment and leave an honest review of this novel within the guidelines of your favorite retailer.
If you want to be notified when AJ’s next novel is released please sign up for her mailing list by going to: http://tinyurl.com/z7cll26
Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
All rights reserved.
