by Cat Adams
I waited on the bench, trying to figure out the best way to break the news to them. There wasn’t one. So when they walked up to me, I just cut to the chase.
“Rahim tried to kill me.”
“He what?” Bubba was outraged. Kevin just blinked. I could actually see him making connections in his head.
When he spoke his voice was even, almost flat. “Hasan can inhabit your body. You’re alive, but part of you is also dead. You’re the perfect vessel. He can use you for a lifetime, do all the things he couldn’t without a physical presence.”
This was some of what I liked best about Kevin—he’s got experience, a background in metaphysics, and the brains to figure things out on the fly.
“That’s my guess, yeah,” I confirmed.
“Oh, fuck. Celia—” Bubba’s eyes were wide enough that the whites were showing all around. “This is so bad.”
“I know. And it gets worse.”
“It can get worse?” Bubba sounded astonished.
I opened my mouth to give them the rest of the bad news, but said nothing. Two people were coming toward us from the ER entrance.
They were an interesting pair. The woman was beautiful. She wore a traditional Indian sari in pink and turquoise, edged in gold, the bright colors emphasizing her warm brown skin and liquid brown eyes. Over one shoulder she carried a large pink bag that was meant to be a purse, but was the size of a tote. With her was a boy of about ten, wearing a striped T-shirt over blue jeans. He looked like a younger version of Rahim, down to the mark on his wrist.
“You are Celia Graves,” the woman said, her voice soft and lilting, with a bit of a British accent. There wasn’t the least bit of hesitation in her manner.
I nodded.
“I am Abha Patel. This is my son, Ujala.” She extended her hand. I shook it, but only after spraying mine with a bit of holy water. Ujala and I repeated the gesture and I got a jolt of magical energy for my trouble. He was a mage, and already a powerful one despite his youth. My natural magic reacts to mages. With Bruno and John Creede, the reaction definitely included a sexual element. This was just pain. I managed not to flinch, but wasn’t sorry when the boy released his grip.
“These are my associates, Kevin Landingham and Bubba Conner.”
Everybody shook hands. When we were all done with the polite greeting ritual, Abha spoke. “I am a seer. I know what my husband did. I know that you have the evidence that would convict him—the dagger and your recording.”
Kevin’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything. Bubba just stood there, never taking his eyes off of Ujala. It was clear to me that he didn’t trust the boy. I didn’t know what Bubba had sensed, but I trusted his instincts.
“I am here to offer you a deal,” Abha continued.
“What deal?” I kept my voice even, calm.
She didn’t answer directly. “Ujala is very powerful. He will be an excellent Guardian when fully trained. But he has just begun his training. Pradeep was a powerful Guardian, but he is old and is more feeble than pride would let him admit. Tarik is too ambitious to be trusted. Rahim is needed, whether his family believes it or not.
“So I offer you a trade: information and protection in exchange for your evidence.”
“And how do I know he won’t just try again? Holding that evidence protects me from future attempts.”
“No. It does not. Because to perform his duties, Rahim is willing to go to prison or to die. At the start, he did not want to kill you, but Pradeep convinced him that it was the only way, that you are too much of a risk left alive.” She broke off, her eyes filling with tears.
Ujala picked up the tale. “Great-grandfather and Tarik have accused my father of incompetence and have turned many of the members of our family against him. Great-grandfather claims my father is incapable of doing what is necessary, and that he and Tarik are now our only hope.”
I said to Abha, “You’re helping me because—”
“I’ve seen the various futures. We have little chance, but what hope there is lies with you. Ujala,” she added, turning to her son. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and withdrew a drawstring bag made of black velvet.
Loosening the string, he poured its contents into his palm. The gold of the chains and charms shone brightly. The gemstones set into each of the three circular charms sparkled and the air around us buzzed with magic. It felt like I was breathing power rather than oxygen. Normally, magic burns across my senses. Not this. This was cold, cold enough that goosebumps broke out over every inch of my exposed flesh and my breath misted the air.
“I am not fully trained yet,” Ujala said softly. His voice still had a childlike pitch, but the tone and emotion behind it were eerily adult. “But I know enough to make the sujay, the protection amulets worn by those of our family who are not Guardians. While these are around your necks, Hasan cannot use magic against you, cannot control your mind or possess you.” Ujala held out the necklaces with their sparkling charms, offering them to us … to me.
Abha said, “When you are thus protected, though Hasan cannot harm you, or act directly against you, he can, and will, attack indirectly—using humans he can influence or control, nature, or even objects.”
“So he can’t take my body, but he can have his minions shoot me?” I said.
“Or make the earth swallow you whole, or—”
“Got it,” I interrupted, not really wanting to hear a more extensive list. My imagination could supply enough horrific possibilities without help, and the memory of what had happened on that oil rig was still fresh in my mind.
“Will you take our deal? Will you accept these and leave my husband free to do what he must?”
I looked from the glittering gold in Ujala’s hand to Bubba and Kevin. What we were being given wasn’t complete protection, but it was the best we were going to get. And since I didn’t have time to deal with the authorities right now, I figured, why not? Reaching into my jacket, I removed the sock-wrapped dagger and passed it to her. I took the recorder out of my pocket and, while the Patels watched, hit the delete button to erase the scene I’d recorded earlier.
“Good.” Abha gave a short, satisfied nod. “Now you must go. Rahim should be in surgery for one hour. I will wait another thirty minutes after that before reviving him, to give you a head start.”
With a low bow to each man, Ujala carefully handed one necklace to Kevin and one to Bubba. Last, he turned to me. Bowing, he said, “May the sujay protect you in your quest. May you be blessed with courage and insight to do what is right, and good to protect all others.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“No. Thank you,” the boy said sincerely.
Mother and son moved away, reentering the hospital as we put on our sujay.
The metal was quite cold when I first put it around my neck, but soon warmed to my body temperature. The circular charm fell gently against my breastbone. I felt a warm tingling and the gemstones flashed brightly, once, before returning to normal. If the same thing happened with Bubba and Kevin’s necklaces, I didn’t see it.
Bubba looked me straight in the eye and said, “So, now what?”
20
Kevin and Bubba are my friends, my employees, and damned good at their jobs, but they have different skill sets and training. For one thing, Kevin has an affinity for covert work that Bubba doesn’t. Of course, Kevin also has to deal with being one of the monthly furry, and tomorrow was the full moon. Whether his condition would be an asset or detriment was a coin flip at this time, but I wanted him free to handle it.
Explaining that Jones had been hired to protect Rahim, I asked Kevin to covertly keep an eye on them. “I need to know what they’re up to and I want advance warning if Rahim plans another attack.”
“Got it.”
“Bubba, you’re with me.” I stood between the two men, looking from one to the other. “Do either of you have a spare gun?”
Kevin gave me a long look. “What happened to my Glock?�
�
“Rahim used magic to melt it. I don’t know how he managed it—the spell didn’t even burn my hands, yet the gun is a puddle of goo on the floor of the casting room at Notre Dame.”
“Damn.” Kevin’s voice held equal parts admiration and irritation. “That was one of my favorite guns.”
“Sorry. I’ll replace it when we get home. In the meantime…”
“I’ve got another nine you can use,” Kevin said. “It’s locked in an airport case in the trunk of the rental car. He turned to Bubba. “Give us a minute?”
“Sure,” Bubba said, but he didn’t sound happy about it and his body language made it abundantly clear that he didn’t like being left out of the loop. He dug the car keys from his jeans pocket and passed them to Kevin. “Don’t dawdle.”
Kevin and I crossing the parking lot quickly. My skin heated almost immediately in the late afternoon sun and I remembered, belatedly, that it had been a while since I’d put on sunscreen. The package labels claimed the stuff lasted four hours, but it never did.
My skin had reddened by the time we reached the silver rental Honda. I kept a close eye out for anything suspicious, but saw nothing unusual. It was unnerving, knowing that somewhere out there, people were waiting to kill me: skilled, determined people.
Kevin hit the button to unlock the car doors. “Get in, out of the sun.”
I climbed into the passenger seat, leaving the door open so we could talk. He went around to the back of the car. I heard him pop the trunk.
“I’ve got your back, boss,” Kevin said, his voice raised slightly. “So does Bubba.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.” I glanced over my shoulder, looking through the rear window. My view was blocked by the trunk lid, but I kept looking back there anyway.
“You’re still nervous.”
“Yep.”
“Good. That’ll keep you alert. The people they hired to hit you are good—a team from Europe, a man and a woman. They specialize in making things look like medical accidents, using spell-poisons that cause heart attacks, strokes, that sort of thing.”
“How do they get needles—” I started, but he cut me off.
“No needles needed. He creates a distraction. She taps the victim in the confusion; she wears a ring equipped with a biodegradable spike that has the curse on it. I’m told it’s no more painful than a mosquito bite.”
That was appalling, disturbing, and very scary. I mean, seriously, I would never look at a crowd the same way again. “How do you know—”
“Jones called me.”
Kevin took Jones’s call, but let Dawna go to voice mail? Interesting.
“I’d heard of them back when I was working for the Company. They’re top of the line.” I couldn’t see him, but I could hear the concern in his voice.
“You think I should keep you with me instead?” I asked, scanning the parking lot. No sign of trouble other than an ambulance driving up to the ER, siren wailing and lights flashing. I saw that Bubba was watching it closely; he didn’t relax until the EMTs and their patient had gone inside.
“No. Bubba’s no good at covert. You need someone who can operate in the background, and that’s me. And you need Rahim alive until the ifrit is back in the bottle.”
“I do.”
I heard him shuffling things around in the trunk, felt the shift of energies when he found the gun carrier and started releasing the protections on it.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Kev, I … I’m in way over my head. The crew from the Needle job are behind this; there’s the ifrit; and something demonic showed up during the interview with the Feds.”
“I know.” His voice was calm. “Dawna briefed me. So did Emma.”
Emma Landingham DeLuca, his sister and one of my best buddies, wasn’t as powerful a clairvoyant as Dottie, but I’d given her some magical tools that let her make the most of the gift she has.
“What did Emma say?”
I heard the sound of a zipper sliding open, then the sound of a weapon being checked. It’s hard to describe if you’ve never heard it, but the sound is unmistakable. A moment later, Kevin appeared at my open door. In his hands was the Glock he’d promised, along with a box of ammo.
Even though I’d heard him check the gun seconds earlier, I went through the usual routine as well. Partly from habit, but mostly to get a feel for it before sliding the weapon into the empty holster under my jacket. He walked back to the trunk and I listened as he zipped the bag shut and reactivated the spells. He rummaged in the trunk for a few more seconds; then the weight of the car shifted as he lifted something out. There was a slight crunch of loose gravel as he set whatever it was on the ground before slamming the trunk lid.
I waited for him to answer my question.
“I can’t tell you anything,” he finally said, frowning. “It’s too dicey. I might screw things up, make the situation worse.”
“It can get worse?” My joke had a hint of hysteria around the edges.
Kevin grunted in acknowledgment. “It can always get worse. But I’ve got your back and you’ll have Bubba with you. He’s a good man. You do whatever you have to and we’ll cover you.”
“Thanks.”
He snorted, saying, “Gotta protect the old paycheck.” He added, “We’d better get moving. The clock’s ticking.”
For a second, I debated whether or not to ask my next question, before deciding that, while it wasn’t a particularly diplomatic question, the situation was dire enough that it had to be asked.
“Is this going to be too much for you? What with the PTSD—”
“We’re at the full moon. I’ll be fine. Stress doesn’t bother the wolf in me. It’s the human part that has problems.”
I’d seen Kevin with his wolf on once—it had been scary as hell, and I’m no cupcake. If he couldn’t control his beast, there’d be all sorts of trouble. “And the wolf?”
“He’ll be fine too. I’ve got this, boss. Really.”
I heard the conviction in his voice, but I wasn’t finished. “Michelle?”
He smiled at the mention of her name, a smile of relief more than fondness. Michelle was the client he’d had to turn wolfy to save. Doing so had made him responsible for mentoring her into her new life. Unfortunately, she’d shown every sign of having a huge crush on Kevin, while he was not at all interested in her in that way.
“Michelle now has enough self-control that I felt able to introduce her to a friend of mine who runs with a secret pack. She’s hunting with them this month and with any luck at all, that’ll be that.”
“There are packs?”
“I mentioned it before. I know I did.”
He probably had—maybe in the middle of some battle or other, because I truly didn’t remember. I suppose having a pack was a good thing for the shifters, but for me, it was a little frightening to think about. Kevin alone in wolf form was scary. Kevin with Michelle was terrifying. A pack? Holy shit! Made me think seriously about locking myself inside, somewhere really secure, during every full moon from now on.
“It’s going to be fine.” He met my eyes, his expression calm and earnest, and I believed him … mostly. And really, there wasn’t a damned thing I could do about it. I needed him to do this if I had any hope of success, and the mission was too damned important for us to fail. But it was a huge risk, and one I didn’t much like taking.
“I’ve got this,” he said again. This time, I heard the barest hint of a growl.
Yeah, it was the full moon all right.
“Fine.” I forced myself to smile up at him. “Thanks for the gun.”
“Just make sure you live to give it back to me.”
* * *
Bubba and I decided to take the car from South Bend to O’Hare airport in Chicago. I let him drive. The trip is a little over two hours if you obey the speed limit, and driving rather than flying meant that we could stop to get me fed … and I could bounce ideas off Bubba without having to worry about who might be listening from
the next seats. Plus, I had access to phone and the Internet. In any case, I wasn’t sure that flying would have been any faster, even assuming there was a flight leaving right away and that we could get through ticketing and security at the local airport in record time.
We stopped at a PharMart so I could pick up a few things—a particularly good idea since I was beginning to feel more than a little irritable. I’d been under a lot of stress, had recently been in a fight that brought the vamp in me to the surface, and it was getting on toward sunset. This was not a good combination. I thought about having Bubba go shopping for me, but it would have taken longer to tell him what I needed than to take care of it myself.
The guy behind the cash register was in his early twenties, with dark brown hair that curled over the collar of his white uniform polo and eyes that were just a little bit lighter shade of blue than his vest. I tried to smile at him as I grabbed a cart and ducked down the nearest aisle. I didn’t feel like smiling. Not in the least.
I found an inexpensive bag in aisle four I could use to replace the duffel Dawna had sent me. Unfortunately, the lovely new clothes Dawna had provided, along with the bag, were in Rahim’s car, as was my original suitcase.
So I needed to start from nothing. I grabbed sunscreen, toiletries, socks, a six-pack of cheap cotton underwear, and a pair of T-shirts. Yeah, they’d look a little weird with the dress pants and jacket, but at least they’d be clean. After a moment’s thought, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants as well. For all I knew, something would happen to what was I was wearing and I’d be out of clothes again.
Down another aisle, I loaded up on nutrition shakes and baby food.
I told myself to relax, but I couldn’t seem to manage it. This case was getting to me in a big way. And there was a real chance that it would all be for nothing. After all, whether the Patels would pay the bill without a fight, now that they’d tried to kill me and I’d quit, was anybody’s guess. Assuming Hasan could be returned to his jar and one of the Patels survived.
The light in the store was beginning to hurt my eyes, and I could now hear the throbbing pulse of the woman standing in front of me in the checkout line. She was older, maybe seventy. Slow enough that she’d be easy prey.
