Joyce & Jim Lavene - Taxi for the Dead 02 - Dead Girl Blues

by Joyce Lavene

  And that didn’t begin to cover Lucas being angry that I hadn’t told him about Artemis being my father.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked after taking a hot shower and changing clothes. “What did you fear from me?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t fear anything.” I stripped down to get in the shower after choosing not to shower together with so much blood on both of us. “I was worried that it was true. I guess I hoped if I didn’t tell anyone, it would go away.”

  “He could have extraordinary power over you.”

  “Which he obviously doesn’t since he couldn’t make me see things his way.”

  He followed me into the bathroom. “Blood magic is the strongest magic. Even if you do not see things his way now, it could win out.”

  “I’ll deal with that when I have to. Besides, we only have his word that he’s my father, Lucas. Maybe a normal person can’t lie to a sorcerer, but I’m sure sorcerers lie all the time. Maybe he was just hoping to convince me that we’re related. Abe probably told him my history. It was easy.”

  I hopped in the shower, glad for the distraction, but he was still there waiting when I got out. “What else can I say?”

  “You may be correct,” he admitted. “I thought he wanted to bed you. Sexual magic is very strong too. He could have influenced you that way.”

  “Probably not.” I pulled a towel around me. “I can only handle one sorcerer at a time in my bed.”

  He smiled as he handed me the cotton nightie I liked to wear at night. “I would prefer to think that he might be your father. It would explain the magic in you, Skye. The story could be true about you being taken from him. He had no time to teach, or corrupt, you.”

  “But you understand why I didn’t tell you?”

  “I understand, although succumbing to his will might have been a more unpleasant experience for you than my anger.”

  “You probably couldn’t have stopped whatever he wanted to do anyway.” I shrugged on the nightie that grazed my thighs. “Not that I don’t have faith in your magic.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  I touched his face, glad he was still here with me. “Can we put this aside now and talk about what I should do with Artemis tomorrow?”

  “Yes.” He kissed my hand. “But no more lies between us.”

  “I didn’t lie—”

  “Or sins of omission!”

  “Cross my heart.” I made the X over my heart. “Can we go to bed now?”

  * * *

  We stayed up the rest of the night in the silent house working on the plan. I sat on the bed in the turret room while Lucas built a roaring fire in the hearth and then stalked from one end of the room to the other.

  At least he was walking on his own.

  His skin under the shirt he wore was smooth and unblemished—though white as a baby’s. It was amazing, knowing that I’d shot him at such close range. He seemed to take it for granted that he had healed. We were fortunate that his plan had worked in the woods.

  All we needed was one more brilliant idea.

  “I’ll just find him and tell him I want in on his plan. We’ll do another pickup with a zombie changing into a ghost. Abe will see what I’m talking about with his magic wire thing, and that’s that. We’re back where we were before, except that Jacob’s killer is dead.”

  “It won’t be that easy.” He’d already poured both of us a double whiskey and gulped his down. “Artemis will know that you’re lying to him. I can tell when people lie to me. We have to assume he has similar magic.”

  “I’ll avoid obvious lies.” I was still sipping my drink. “And I’m a good liar.”

  “Really?” He stopped pacing. “Tell me a lie. It has to be something I don’t know.”

  “Okay. It’s not like you know everything about my life.”

  “Just most of it. But find something.”

  I searched my brain. There were lots of small details he couldn’t know about me. We didn’t talk much about those little things most lovers discuss—your favorite color, your favorite food, your favorite music. I didn’t know any of those things about him either.

  “What about this? I didn’t want to be a cop when I got out of school. I wanted to be a dancer.”

  He paused. “No. I knew you were lying.”

  “What? No. How? I wasn’t lying. I wanted to be a dancer. I only became a police officer because Jacob was going to be one. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight.”

  “You were lying to yourself then,” he remarked. “Try again.”

  “If I tell you it’s a lie, how is that going to help?”

  “Because I can tell if you’re lying, just like Artemis will. Tell me another lie.”

  “This is stupid and doesn’t make any sense. Wouldn’t we be better off going outside and doing some kind of magic moon spell for success?”

  “Now that was the truth.” He held his hands behind his back as he began pacing again. “Your only hope is to be very tricky. Don’t lie or tell him the truth. Sneak around him. Avoid absolutes.”

  “Sure. Kind of like I don’t necessarily doubt that he’s my father.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But you believe he is, don’t you?”

  “I don’t doubt the possibility. It makes no sense to tell you of your relationship otherwise. He was hoping his words would enhance your feelings toward him.”

  “That’s what I thought too.” I took another sip of whiskey, beginning to feel better despite thinking about werewolves coming to kill me.

  “There is something else,” he said. “He’s going to want proof of your allegiance to him.”

  “I can do that. Just tell him I think he’s the greatest thing since cable TV, right?”

  “It won’t be that easy. He’s going to insist on removing the mark on your heel. He’ll want to replace it with his own.”

  “But that’s not a good idea, is it? If he does that, he’ll control me like the other zombies he’s stolen from Abe.”

  “We may be able to figure a way around that.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure yet. But you need to be aware that the moment will come. If I truly wanted to believe that you were mine, I would demand it. It’s the only way you can show him that you’re not part of Abe’s army anymore—and that I haven’t demanded such fealty from you myself.”

  I thought about the situation as he described it. “Won’t that mean he’ll find out I’m tricking him? He’ll release me, and I’ll be really dead.”

  “No. Absolutely not. We have to think smarter than him. We have to hide the truth from him, as he has hidden it from Abe.”

  “So a magic moon spell after all. That’s the only way, isn’t it?”

  “Let’s not be too hasty.”

  “You mean like me shooting a large caliber bullet into your chest to kill a werewolf?”

  “As I said, I’m still working on that aspect.” He poured himself another glass of whiskey.

  “Okay then. Anything else I should think about?”

  “You may be actually tempted to join him.” He stared at me. “His blood runs in your veins. What he says may be emotionally appealing to you.”

  “That didn’t happen at Debbie’s house,” I reminded him. “I think I can handle that part.”

  “Yet perhaps he wasn’t trying to influence you as much as he could. Perhaps he was just testing the waters. He may have wanted to know how you would react when he revealed himself. A sorcerer understands how to manipulate emotions to get what he wants.”

  “Really? More than anyone else?”

  Lucas sat beside me on the bed after putting his glass on the side table. “A sorcerer could have the love and loyalty of anyone he set his mind to obtain.”

  I put my glass on the table too. “You mean like you could have charmed me into loving you anytime you wanted. Then why didn’t you?”

  He put his arms around me. “Because I wanted your honest emotion, Skye. I was drawn to
you from across time and space. I knew we were meant to love one another. There could be no other way.”

  I kissed him. “That’s right. Sorcerers are incredibly patient too, right?”

  He smiled as he fell back against the bed, taking me with him. “That’s right. Because we know that all will come to us in good time.”

  “I guess I never had a chance, huh?” I kissed the side of his neck.

  “Never.”

  His kiss lingered, deepening, and making me stop thinking about werewolves and evil sorcerers.

  “It’s six-thirty,” Addie announced from the doorway. “Time to quit fooling around up here, and get Kate off to school.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Our day started like most days when Kate was in school. I got her up and helped her dress. We talked about what she was doing. Since it was so close to summer vacation, they were watching movies. We talked about the boat trip we had planned.

  We went downstairs together and ate breakfast, oatmeal with raisins. Lucas had started adding brown sugar to Kate’s oatmeal. I ate mine with salt and pepper. Addie hung around, smiling at Kate. Lucas ate a mouthful of oatmeal. I had coffee. He had tea.

  I took Kate to school and then went back to Apple Betty’s Inn.

  That’s where the day took a turn for the weird. Although how I could think of it that way, I wasn’t sure. Weird was every day, a shadow that stretched over the normal things. I didn’t know what was normal or weird anymore.

  But this day might be the day I was going to foil an evil sorcerer. I somehow was going to convince him that I was on his side because he was my father. Talk about weird.

  After that was anybody’s guess.

  Lucas had worked on a spell that would protect me from Artemis during the supposed changeover between Lucas’s magic tattoo and Artemis’s. Lucas was convinced this would happen and wanted to make sure I was ready for it. I wished I had more faith in my lover’s magic. I wasn’t sure it would work when it came down to the crunch.

  Though, he had been right about shooting him to kill the werewolf.

  “This is going to hurt a little.” Lucas stared at the bottom of my foot. “I would normally feel quite bad about it, but perhaps it may be your comeuppance for not telling me that Artemis is your father.”

  “Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”

  “What did you think I would say? I would hardly turn my back on you.”

  “Every child without parents that I’ve ever known always dreams that one day their mother and father will suddenly swoop down and claim them. Everyone wants to hear that they were kidnapped, and their parents have been looking for them.”

  Lucas glanced up at me. “Which rarely happens, and thus your skepticism. I understand that much.” He zapped my foot with a green spark from his finger.

  “Ouch! You did that on purpose. It didn’t hurt last time.”

  “Last time, as you say, I was simply trying to turn you back into a being of flesh and blood. This time, we need Artemis to think he’s removed my protection. That requires something more.”

  He smiled slightly, and I kicked him with my other foot. The ooph that came out of him was satisfying.

  “I think that should work.” He examined his magic, still holding my foot. “We have to assume he knows that Abe’s magic isn’t on you. He’ll be looking for my magic. What he won’t know is that there is a protection under my mark.”

  “Or at least we hope he won’t know.” I took my foot back and sat up on the sofa. “What do I do if he realizes it?”

  “Nothing. It’s unlikely that he’ll tell you, and if he puts the full strength of his magic into you, you won’t know anything but what he tells you.”

  “But I can see his other magic. I’ll be able to tell about this too, right?”

  He sat beside me. “If he takes you, rest assured that I shall find you. I won’t allow you to stay with him as his slave.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just remember your promise about Kate. I’ll get myself away from him.”

  “You say that only because you don’t fear him. That is a mistake. He is a master sorcerer. He will take you if he can, and you won’t be able to fight him with your gun.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk.” I put my sandals back on. “I guess I’m ready to go. Anything else I should know?”

  He stood up and kissed me. “I love you. Come back to me.”

  “I will.”

  I started for the door. We’d been brainstorming this most of the night. I was ready to get it over with.

  Addie popped up in front of me in the mud room. “I never meant any of this to happen to you, Skye. How do you always get in such a mess? My husband’s twenty-year service to Abe was nothing—no sorcerers, no werewolves, no ghosts. I don’t understand why this time is so different.”

  “It’s just me, I guess. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. And at least now I probably know who my father is.”

  “A murdering scumbag? I hope you haven’t mentioned this to Kate. This man doesn’t seem like grandfather material to me.”

  “I haven’t told her. I don’t plan to tell her. Take care of her, Addie.”

  “Go on. Try not to get killed again.”

  She disappeared, and I let myself out the back door. Lucas seemed to think that I could call Artemis from wherever I was and he’d show up. I wasn’t so sure after our last meeting, but I didn’t know how else to contact him.

  First I had to get the magic gizmo Abe had for me. Two secret magic things on one dead girl seemed like a lot to get away with. If I could keep that concealed from Artemis, the rest should be a snap.

  I walked into Deadly Ink. Simon was there, working on his snake tattoo. He flinched when he saw me. I didn’t know if it was because Abe had talked to him or because he was worried that Abe would talk to him.

  I nodded to him as I walked by. Either way worked for me.

  Abe and Brandon were in the office. I could tell by Brandon’s face that he knew what was going on. I closed the office door and waited.

  “You still want to go through with this?” Abe asked.

  “I don’t see any other way, do you?”

  “You’re not taking Lucas with you?”

  I thought about the sharp stab of pain in my foot. In a way, he was with me. “I’ll be fine.”

  “All right.” Abe took out a black velvet-covered box that looked like a jewelry case. He opened it and then sat back in his chair, breathing hard. “This is a witch stone. Wear it around your neck. I’ll hear and see everything you do.”

  The chain was made of heavy gold. The stone was purple with what looked like light blue glitter inside. The whole thing was big and gaudy. There was no way to hide this under my tank top as I’d hoped.

  “I think Artemis is going to see this coming, don’t you? It might be better if I don’t wear it.”

  “It’s the only way.” Abe feebly waved his hand toward Brandon.

  Brandon got up on cue and picked up the necklace. He put it around my throat and made sure it was secure.

  “Isn’t he going to know what this is?” I asked. “I don’t think he’ll spill his secrets when he sees it.”

  “It’s actually disguised from its normal form. He won’t suspect a thing.” Abe seemed very certain of his plan. Looking at him made me wonder if he was going to last through his next breath.

  “Okay. I’ll go see if I can find him.” Yet another secret magic charm that Artemis was expected to overlook. I felt like I was going to a gun fight with a switchblade.

  “Be careful, Skye,” Brandon warned. “Artemis is pretty powerful by now. If he thinks you’re trying to trick him, he might kill you.”

  His words of warning in this situation were funny. I had to keep myself from laughing. How would Artemis miss the fact that we were all trying to trick him? It seemed like I was doomed.

  The one thing I had going for me was the feeling Artemis gave me when he’d offered to share Abe’s power with me. It was tha
t feeling that had finally convinced me late last night that he was telling the truth about being my father. I was reluctant to admit it to Lucas, again, a little embarrassed to have an evil sorcerer as a parent. But I really believed he wanted me to share his life.

  Maybe that was the most naive part of the whole plan. He was my father. Would he kill me the way everyone was predicting? The way Lucas told it, Artemis could have killed me before if that was what he wanted.

  I thought about Harold’s gruesome death and shuddered.

  “How do you plan to find him?” Abe asked. His words were followed by a five minute coughing spasm.

  “I haven’t had any problem with that since we met. I don’t think that will be an issue now.”

  Abe removed his sunglasses and stared hard at me with his white eyes. “Yes. I see the layers of magic Lucas has tried to use to protect you. I wish I had something to add to those layers. I’m afraid if you’re not successful, today will be my last day on earth.”

  No pressure. “I’ll take care of it. Just hold on.”

  I nodded to Brandon who leapt to his feet and hugged me. I returned his embrace, and he gave me a cell phone. “A little birdie told me that you needed one.”

  “Thanks.” I left the room, closing the door behind me. As the door was nearly closed, I heard Abe say, “She’s never going to make it.”

  It was nice to know that no one felt like I was up to the task. “Come on. I’ve been through some tough things,” I argued with myself. “Give me some credit.”

  Glad that Debbie wasn’t with me, I got in the van and started driving. I had no idea where I was going. The van was headed for downtown. I went with the flow.

  “Looking for me?” Artemis was suddenly there in the passenger seat. “Good morning, Skye.”

  “Yes.” There was no point in pretending that he didn’t know what I was trying to do. As Lucas had told me, don’t lie to a sorcerer.

  He smiled. “Thank you. That might be the first honest answer I’ve received from you. I’m waiting for you at this warehouse.”

  The older abandoned warehouse near the heart of Nashville suddenly flashed into my brain.

  “I’ll see you there,” he said. “I have a surprise for you.”