"Good luck," said Carter. "But joking aside, I meant what I said earlier. You've got to be careful. At the very least, don't do this stuff alone."
"You sure you can't break the rules and come with me, then?" I asked a bit wistfully.
"Nope, but why do you need me when there are plenty of other candidates?" With a grin, he nodded at something beyond me.
I glanced back and saw Seth standing at the take-out counter. I jerked my head back toward Carter.
"Hey! How'd-"
Carter was gone.
Just then, the waitress set down the bill, which included Carter's meal. "Fucking angels," I muttered, fumbling for my credit card.
Turning back around, I studied Seth, feeling my stomach twist in that usual way. As though sensing me, he suddenly turned and made eye contact. Surprise registered on his face, and then he held up his hand in a hang on a second kind of way.
A few agonizing minutes later, he walked over to my table holding a take-out bag.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey."
"Is that lunch?" I was suddenly embarrassed by the fact that I had two plates in front of me.
"Yeah, I'm actually heading home to work. The café at the store's too crowded and noisy."
"I thought you could work through anything."
He shook his head. "These days I'm more…distractible than usual." His eyes studied me for a moment, and then he looked away. But in that moment, I'd felt a tingle run through my skin. Seth cleared his throat. "So…what about you?" He forced himself to look back at me. "You look…I don't know. Uneasy. Not as bad as yesterday but still troubled. More immortal intrigue?"
A good portion of my present uneasiness was simply due to his proximity. "Yeah, afraid so."
"So, you haven't found Jerome yet, and you're still…"
Now it was my turn to look away. "Yeah. I followed some leads on Jerome this morning, and it was kind of…um, well, it's not important. Let's just say it wasn't a pleasant experience, and I didn't find out anything anyway." I glanced back in his direction, making sure I kept my eyes on his Blondie T-shirt and not his face. "I've got one more thing to check into, then I guess I can call it a day."
"Well, that's good, I guess." He shifted uncomfortably, and that awkward tension that was so characteristic for us multiplied. I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. "So…" he began at last. "I know what you said before…but I still have to ask. Is there anything…anything I can do?"
The retort was on my lips, to tell him I didn't need him, not anymore. But an image of Greg flashed into my mind, and I hated myself for the fear it invoked. I didn't want to be a damsel in distress. I didn't want to live in fear and need a man to watch over me. Greg's weight and element of surprise had shown that self-defense wouldn't always work. Sometimes it was hard to face danger alone. Carter's words repeated in my head: Why do you need me when there are plenty of other candidates?
I blurted out my question before I had time to reconsider. "Would you go with me?"
It was hard to say which of us was more surprised by this. "On…your errand?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. But I mean, if you've got stuff to do…"
"I'll go," he said quickly. He held up his take-out bag. "Can I eat in your car?"
"You can eat right now," I said. "Seeing as I don't know where we're going yet."
Leaving Seth to eat at the table, I stepped outside to make a couple of phone calls. The first was to Dante. He answered, fortunately, but had no clue about what I needed.
"Someone who carves crystal?" he asked incredulously. "I don't do fluffy New Age stuff."
"Yeah. I found out more about demon summoning. Apparently there's some kind of seal involved that only a master artisan can make."
"I don't know anyone like that," he said. "As much as it pains me to admit a lack of knowledge about anything."
"Well, I guess even you have limits."
"You are so in trouble for that the next time I see you, succubus."
After we hung up, I tried Erik. He too answered, and in his usual way, he never bothered to ask why I needed the information. "There is someone," he mused. "I've acquired crystal jewelry from her before, carved into assorted sacred symbols-ankhs and crosses. I don't know if she works with the arcane or spellcraft, but she's the only one I know in the area who comes close."
I took down her name and address and went back inside. Seth had nearly finished his meal, rivaling Carter for speed. "Do we have a mission objective yet?"
I nodded. "Yup. Out to the hinterlands, even."
Okay, Carnation wasn't exactly the hinterlands, but it was well outside the Seattle urban and even suburban sprawl. It was one of several small rural communities that clung to western Washington's edge before giving way to the wilderness of the Cascade Mountains and the desert on the other side.
I made a Starbucks stop along the way so that I could acquire some caffeine. It seemed requisite to get through this. When Seth asked me to order him a mocha Frappuccino, I nearly crashed into the drive-thru window.
"That's got caffeine in it," I said.
"I know. But they're really good. Maddie got me hooked on them."
We drove in utter silence for ten minutes after that. If not for Jerome's summoning, I would have said this was the most astonishing thing to happen to me in the last twenty-four hours. Seth was drinking caffeine. It was unheard of. He'd abstained from it for years, and despite my clear addiction and coaxing throughout our relationship, he'd never shown any interest of cracking. Yet, Maddie- Maddie! -had somehow gotten him to change?
I don't know why I took such offense at that. Honestly, it was an inconsequential thing in the greater scheme of the universe. Still…I couldn't help feeling hurt. Well, maybe hurt wasn't the right word. Inadequate, perhaps. She'd gotten him to do something I couldn't. Why? Why her and not me? Was she more inspiring? Did he care about her more?
"Is something wrong?" Seth finally asked. My silence and death grip on the steering wheel had probably tipped him off.
"Nope," I lied. "Just worried about all of this."
"You are not."
"I'm not worried about all this?"
"Okay, you are. But that's not why you're upset right now. You're upset about this." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him wave the Frappuccino. After all this time, he still knew me.
"That's stupid. Why would I care about that?"
He sighed. "Because I know you. You're irritated that I did something I never said I'd do."
"Why should I care?" I replied stiffly. "I'm happy you're expanding your horizons." The look he shot me told me he knew better.
We reached the address Erik had given me without further argument, largely because we didn't talk. The house was an older rambler set on a huge yard that would have held an entire subdivision back in Seattle. Lawn ornaments-a deer and a gnome, to name a few-cluttered the grass, and wind chimes dangled on the porch.
We knocked on the door, and several moments later, a woman in her late forties or early fifties answered. She had hair dyed an unnatural shade of red that put me in mind of Tawny's current hue. Her tight-fitting top pressed a lot of cleavage into her scoop neckline and was also not that far off from something Tawny might wear, albeit a little less tacky. The look the woman gave us wasn't unfriendly so much as curious.
"Yes?"
"Hi," I said. "Are you Mary Wilt-"
" Oh my God! " she squealed. She had just done a double-take on Seth. "You're Seth Mortensen!"
Seth stiffened and exchanged looks with me. "Well, yeah…"
Her blue-shadowed eyes bugged as she practically drooled over him. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it! Seth Mortensen's on my porch! I recognize you from your website. I look at it every day. Every day . Oh my God. Oh my God ! I'm your biggest fan. Come in!"
Seth looked like he wanted to bolt then and there, but I nudged him forward. This turn of events was a bit unexpected-and creepy-but could possibly work to our advantage.
We stepped through the doorway. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the inside of her house. The décor was more modern than the outside suggested, all done in neutral shades. There was a bit of normal lived-in clutter and far more figurines than I found tasteful, but overall, it was a nice place. Some of the figurines were carved out of crystal, which I took as a good sign.
"Come in, come in," Mary gushed, beckoning toward the living room. "Sit, sit! Can I get you anything? Iced tea? Coffee? Tequila?"
"Er, no. I'm fine," said Seth, who was clearly becoming more and more uncomfortable with all of this. "Thank you."
He and I sat down on the couch, and Mary sat in an armchair across from us, leaning forward in a way that afforded an ample view of her breasts. "What can I do for you?" she asked. "Are you here to buy something? I'd do anything for you. Anything ." She grinned at Seth, making her "anything" intentions obvious. "You're so much cuter than I expected. Will you sign my books while you're here? I own all of them."
She gestured toward a set of shelves on the wall, and sure enough, Seth's books stood out prominently. I had been a longtime fan girl of Seth's before we started going out, and I wondered uneasily if I'd sounded this crazed and desperate way back when. She probably would have passed out if she'd known about the advanced copy Seth gave me.
"Sure," said Seth. "I'd, um, be happy to." He elbowed me, no doubt in an effort to get me to state our business and save him. Still a little irritated from our car argument, I almost enjoyed watching him in her clutches.
"We're actually not here to buy anything," I told her. "We wanted to find out about a piece you might have recently made for someone."
Mary turned toward me, seeming to notice me for the first time. Her gleeful, ravenous expression dimmed and even turned a little suspicious. "Who are you again?"
"Georgina. We're wondering if you recently made a piece for a client. A carved disc about this big with some sort of arcane symbol on it." I approximated the size Carter had shown me.
Her face grew more wary and pinched. "I can't say."
I frowned. "You don't remember?"
She shook her head. "I keep records of all my pieces. But that's confidential. I can't give that kind of information away."
"This is really important," I said. "We think…there may be a crime involved."
"Sorry, Giselle. I can't tell you about that. Not unless you're with the police or something."
"Georgina," I corrected. Her adherence to client confidentiality was perfectly understandable-but well, I wasn't really concerned with what was morally correct right now. Giving Seth an elbow poke of my own, I hoped he'd jump in and use his author god power. It took him a few moments, but he did.
"It would help us so much, Mary. We'd- I'd -really appreciate it." He stumbled over the words a little, but from the way her face lit up, you'd think he'd just murmured the sexiest thing in her ear.
"Oh, Seth," she sighed. "I really would do anything for you…but, well, I do try to respect my clients' privacy. Surely a man like you understands that."
"Well, yeah, of course I-" I elbowed him again. He shot me a quick glare and then returned his gaze to her. "That is, I do understand, but like I said, this is really important."
Indecision warred on her face, and I kind of admired her principles. She actually looked uncrackable, and I had a feeling Seth wasn't going to be too much more assertive. Glancing beyond her, I noticed a hallway leading off to another part of the house. I keep records of all my pieces .
"You're right," I said abruptly. "We can't expect her to give out that kind of information. Right, Seth?"
He turned to me again, giving me a curious glance. "Right?" It was more of a question than an agreement.
Mary nearly melted in relief, her eyes all over Seth. "Oh, I knew you'd understand. I could tell right away that we think just alike. Kindred spirits and all that, you know? Just from the way you write I-"
"Hey, Mary?" I interrupted.
She looked over at me, again seeming astonished that I was still there.
"Do you have a bathroom I could use?"
"Bathroom?" she repeated, like it was a crazy concept.
"It was a long drive," I explained sweetly. "Besides, that'll give you and Seth a chance to get to know each other while he signs your books."
Her face brightened again, and she turned to Seth without another glance for me. "Oh, sure! That's a great idea, Georgia. It's down the hall."
I stood up. "Thanks."
Seth and I made brief eye contact. There was a look of both panic and wariness. He didn't want to be left alone. And he also knew I wouldn't give up the fight so easily. He suspected that I was up to something.
He was right. I was about to go break into Mary's records.
CHAPTER 15
Mary's excited blathering rang through the house as I hurried down the hallway. I could see the bathroom at the end and three closed doors along the way. Great. Did they have to be shut? With my luck, they'd probably squeak. I could only hope that Mary would remain too loud and too distracted to notice.
The first door opened-with no squeaking-into a bedroom. The bed was unmade, and clothes had been pushed into piles against the wall. An old dresser sat against one wall, and a nightstand with some papers stood near the other. There was also a mirror on the ceiling.
Shuddering, I considered going in to investigate the nightstand papers but decided to hold out and see if I might find an office behind one of the other two doors. Shutting this one silently, I continued down the hallway.
The second door did squeak, and I froze, waiting for Mary to come tearing down after me in an effort to bludgeon me with one of Seth's books. I wasn't entirely sure how far his star power would go to save me if caught snooping. She didn't look like the violent type, but one never knew. Fortunately, she kept talking without pause, and I stuck my head inside the new room. It was just another bedroom, a guest one by the looks of the dust and lack of personal items. I closed the door, grimacing at another squeak. One more room to go.
Jackpot.
The third wasn't an office, but it did appear to be a workspace. Wide tables lay along the walls, covered in chunks of crystal-clear quartz, smoky quartz, etc.-in various states. Some were raw and jagged; others were polished and carved. Tools like blades and picks lay nearby, along with a more sophisticated and modern-looking device I couldn't identify. Maybe some type of laser cutter.
Best of all, there was a two-drawer filing cabinet against the wall. I hurried to it, still mindful of Mary's chatter, and opened the top drawer. Over a hundred file folders with names met me. I pulled one at random and saw that it did indeed have a job order. There was a description of the item, client information, job status, and a picture of the finished product. Unfortunately, having all this information meant little to me. I had no idea what name had been used for the seal-or if Mary was even the one who had made it.
Frustrated, I opened the next drawer and found financial records, like bills and bank statements. I also located folders labeled "work logs" categorized by month. I eagerly pulled out this month's and discovered a simple list of dates, client names, and brief descriptions of products. All-except for the three most recent ones-had check marks beside them. Finished products, presumably.
I scanned the dates before Jerome's disappearance, cross-checking against the descriptions. Green Tara statue . Bracelet . Athame . Three invoices in the last two weeks caught my attention: round pendant, talisman, medallion . I recognized none of the client names, but the culprit could no doubt have used an alias.
Returning to the second drawer, I found each client's file. The pendant was the right size and shape, but it had a hole drilled in it for a chain or string. I couldn't say why, but something told me the seal's original form would be whole. The talisman turned out to be the wrong shape. It was thick and oblong, more like a stone someone would keep in their pocket for good luck.
I was starting to panic now. This was taking
too long, and I couldn't hear Mary anymore. God, espionage had been so much easier when I could turn invisible. With shaking hands, I pulled out the last file-the medallion. The client was Sam Markowitz, and he'd picked it up four days ago. The photo depicted a flat, quarter-sized disc made of smoky quartz with symbols I didn't recognize etched onto it. Was that it? It was the closest I had to a match of Carter's description. There could be other matches-items ordered months ago-but I didn't have time to go through any more files. I shoved the medallion photo into my purse, closed the drawer, and hurried back out to the hall, half expecting to find Mary blocking my path.
I had no need to worry, though. She had never left Seth's side-literally. She now sat in my spot, pressing Seth between her and the couch's arm. Two stacks of books were on the coffee table, and an open one was on his lap. He finished signing it and glanced up at my entrance with a relieved look.
"But you see," Mary was saying, "until O'Neill is able to confront the darkness within himself, he'll never be able to open himself to Cady. He's had his moments of vulnerability, of course-like the cave scene in Dominant Eclipse -but he's still keeping his armor up-just like on the veranda in Memories of Man -and so it's no wonder-"
"Hey," I said cheerfully. "We should probably get going."
Seth shot up from his seat, looking rather like a trapped animal who had just gnawed its own leg off and was about to run free. "Yes. We don't want to detain Mary any further."
Mary stood up too. "No, no! It's okay. Really. And you have to finish signing my books."
With a grimace, Seth grabbed the last three books and hastily scrawled his signature in them. "Thanks for talking to us," he said. "It's been great meeting you."
"Are you sure you have to go?" she pleaded. "I was going to make some dinner soon." She shot me an accusing look. "And if it's Ginger who needs to leave, I can give you a ride home later in my van-"
"No, really," said Seth, backing up to stand by me. "I appreciate it, but I have to, you know, get back to writing."
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