Mirov glanced away for just an instant, and in that second, the demon struck. One clawed hand dug deep into Mirov’s shoulder, ripping his left arm from his body. The demon jerked forward, sinking its teeth into Mirov’s neck. Mirov spasmed, managing to thrust one more silver shiv into the belly of the demon before the creature gave a vicious shake, breaking Mirov’s neck and throwing him clear.
Lucinda’s chanting rose above the chaos of the winds, and I clung to its sound for sanity. I stared at the double image of Lucinda and Papa Legba like a drowning man searching the horizon for rescue. The staff rose, and the agate gem flared a brilliant, red light that swept across the corridor and the unit, clearing the area like a blast wave.
I fell flat on the ground, and the shadows and energy that had pulled at me were swept backwards with an irresistible force. Lucinda/Papa Legba raised the Baphomet Orb to the sky, then hurled it into the maw of primal darkness that loomed behind them. It exploded like a supernova, sending a pillar of fire up through Building Four’s rusted tin ceiling, rising into the night sky.
Lucinda stood at the intersection of two corridors. A crossroads. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the vial of dirt and kufwa dust and hurled it to the ground just behind where Lucinda was standing.
Cold, cleansing wind swept through the storage unit, sweeping past us with a rush, and in the frigid air, ghostly hands reached forward, grabbing hold of the demon and holding him tight as he struggled, howling his rage. The winds snatched up Moran’s bucking and writhing headless body, heedless of the dark blood that surged from the stump of his neck, impervious to his grasping, bony hands.
The ghostly jailers dragged Moran, his minions and the shrieking demon toward the portal. Just as he tipped into the abyss, Chuck reached into a pocket and lobbed what looked like a grenade into the darkness after the demon. There was a flare of blindingly white light, a deafening boom, and the acrid smell of chemicals.
Abruptly, the portal closed. The shadow men disappeared.
The vision of Papa Legba lingered a moment longer, and the smell of pipe smoke replaced the stench of the demon, wafting through the brick building. The old man beckoned toward the ghosts that still stood sentry around Teag and me: Jimmy and Kevin, Fred, and the others. Like weary refugees, they turned toward Papa Legba, drifting toward the place where he stood. When they reached him, they and the Loa vanished. In the distance, we heard a dog bark three times. Wind, sound, and shadows disappeared.
“What the hell did you throw at the demon?” Teag asked, staring at Chuck.
Chuck’s jacket was covered with blood and ichor. His gimme cap was long gone, and sweat beaded his forehead. His clothing was shredded and he stood like he’d broken some ribs.
“Just a little Willie Pete,” he said with an exhausted grin. “White phosphorous grenade. Couldn’t use it before without killing the rest of us, but in the right spot, it makes a nice flash-bang.”
I thought there really should be some kind of response to that, but I was too exhausted to think of it. I sagged against Teag, as the adrenaline rush faded and I let a different kind of darkness sweep over me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“WE WON, DIDN’T we?” I woke to find myself in my bed in my own house, with Baxter snuggled by my side. My arms had fresh bandages and I could feel more gauze on other body parts, beneath the covers.
The drapes were pulled closed, but the nightstand lamp cast the bedroom in a warm glow.
“Mostly.” Sorren was sprawled in an armchair, looking more disheveled than I’d ever seen him. One glance at the glimmer of light beneath the closed curtains told me it was daylight, but my vampire business partner had not gone to ground.
“It’s dangerous. You should be in the basement,” I murmured, and the words sounded slurred even to my own ears.
“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t go outside. How are you?”
I looked at Sorren, and realized that the gashes had healed from last night’s battle. He had cleaned up and discarded the ripped and soiled clothes for a t-shirt and shorts, and if it weren’t for his pallor, he might have looked like a college student with a bad hangover. Except for the eyes. Those were ancient.
And right now, it was clear that he was worried about me.
“I’ve felt better.” Baxter woke when he heard my voice, and wriggled up onto my chest where he could lick my face and my nose. I hugged him, and he snuggled against the dog collar on my left wrist as if he were cuddling up to an old friend. They say dogs can see spirits. Perhaps he and Bo had made friends.
“The doctor gave you something for the pain when she patched you up. You’ve got some stitches and bruises, but you’ll heal quickly. You just need rest.”
More memories of the battle returned, fighting their way through the drugs. “What about the others?” I asked.
“Chuck will be fine. I took him home and made sure he got patched up as well. He was the surprise of the evening,” Sorren said with a tired smile. “Your instincts were good. In fact, I think we’ll keep him on our friends list, like Lucinda.” He paused. “And I left him a key to a unit at a different storage facility, one I’m certain won’t be closing any time soon. There’s a note with the key assuring him that he will find his clocks moved to the new unit by midnight tomorrow.”
“What about Teag?”
Sorren let his head fall back against the chair. “Teag’s got a couple of broken ribs, some nasty gashes and plenty of bruises, but he’ll be fine. A pretty remarkable young man; he more than held his own.
Anthony kept close tabs on the doctor and is quite adamant about taking care of our boy personally.
He’ll make sure Teag gets his rest.”
“Surprised none of us needed the hospital.” I managed to get out before a yawn took me.
“I have very good doctors on call. There’s not much they can’t handle, and they’re extremely discreet and trustworthy,” Sorren assured me. “They’ll continue to check in on you, Teag, and Chuck until you’re fully mended.” He chuckled. “Don’t be surprised if Anthony stops by to fuss over you. After he got over the shock of seeing Teag covered in blood and demon ichor, he was very concerned about you.” Sorren closed his eyes and smiled. “Teag swears that Jimmy Redshoes was his guardian angel. He says Jimmy’s ghost pushed him down and kept him from getting sliced up by one of the shadow men.”
“I believe it,” I murmured. “Jimmy and the ghosts held the line for us. Once a soldier, always a soldier.”
“Perhaps,” Sorren said quietly, and I heard something in his voice I could not identify.
“Is Lucinda OK?” I asked. “I saw Papa Legba… she channeled him.”
Sorren chuckled. “Lucinda is as gifted as her foremothers. It’s no small feat to call a Loa of that power.
I suspect Lucinda will need some time to recuperate, but she took the least damage of any of us.”
That left one more person, and I was afraid I already knew the answer to my question. “Did we lose Mirov?”
Sorren nodded. “He fought bravely. An instant’s distraction – that’s what it comes down to in these fights. I took care of the body, and let the Alliance know.”
I didn’t have much chance to get to know Mirov, but his death made the dangers of our work soberingly clear. “So it’s over?”
Sorren nodded. “Yes. Getting rid of the demon closed the conduit to the spirit energy that was spilling over to the objects and energizing the Navy yard. It doesn’t get rid of the area’s bloody past: that will always make it a hotbed for supernatural activity. But it should end the killings and dampen the hauntings. The minions and the shadow men are gone, too.”
“Too late for Jimmy Redshoes,” I murmured fighting the draw of sleep.
“Not entirely,” Sorren said. “Papa Legba holds the keys to the afterlife. He helped the ghosts who wanted to go pass over and move on. They’re at rest.” If I heard a bit of envy in his tone, I decided not to mention it. Perhaps final rest sounded good, now and again
, to a being that had lived as long as Sorren.
Baxter had settled onto my chest and gone back to sleep. I stroked his fur and felt happily adrift.
“I suspect the Navy yard will always have its ghosts, but it should have fewer – and less dangerous – ones now,” Sorren added.
I felt pleased in a warm, woozy way, as if I’d had a little too much wine. If I had to guess, I suspected Sorren had worked some of his vampire magic to help me sleep and heal. And right now, that was okay with me.
“Go ahead and rest, Cassidy. I’ll stand guard,” Sorren said. “It’s not like I can leave, now that the sun’s up,” he added with a lopsided grin, “And besides, your cellar’s a bit damp. Just think of me as your own dark guardian angel.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“And when you’re up to it, there’s a new crate for you at Trifles and Folly,” he said matter-of-factly. “Turned up in an estate auction. Quite a few things from 1918. That was an interesting year.”
World war, flu pandemic. Yep, that was bound to be an interesting box.
And the funny thing, as I drifted back to oblivion, was that I was already looking forward to the adventure.
Author’s Note
THANKS FIRST TO my agent, Ethan Ellenberg, to my editor, Jon Oliver, and to all the folks at Solaris who have been wonderful to work with over the years. I’m very excited about this new adventure, and looking forward to explore where it will take us.
Authors have a funny way of using fiction to filter real life experiences and turn them into something different. This novel, and the short story Buttons that inspired it, arose from a particular set of circumstances and events, without which the story would not have developed as it did. It’s been a very interesting process seeing what my subconscious made of things, embellishing and embroidering and changing pieces around to end up with something distinct, yet rooted in the original. For that reason, it’s also been a different kind of book for me to write, which was fitting, considering that we were venturing into new territory.
My partner and husband, Larry Martin, has come to play an increasingly important role with the books over time. He is my primary beta reader and first editor, with an eye for finding typographical errors and continuity issues. Over the years, he has become an excellent plot brainstorming partner, and he played an essential role in bringing this book to life. The books are stronger because of his involvement, and I am happy that a life partnership has developed into a creative partnership as well. Watch for us to co author a new Steampunk novel, Iron and Blood, in 2015.
Charleston, South Carolina is a real place. Some of the landmarks and a few of the historical figures in this book do exist, and some (but not all) of the historical events were real. But the characters and their shops are all a work of fiction. So for example, if you go to Charleston (and I hope you do, because it’s a lovely place to visit), you can see the real Charleston City Market and walk down King Street, but you won’t find any of the businesses or restaurants I’ve mentioned by name. The old Navy yard is real, but not the history I invented for it (so far as I know). Any resemblance to real people or actual businesses is completely coincidental.
Many people in Charleston will tell you that the ghosts, however, are real. My ghosts are fictional, but that’s because Charleston has enough of its own already. But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself.
Want more about Cassidy, Sorren and Teag? Check out my Deadly Curiosities Adventures e-book short stories on Kindle, Kobo and Nook!
About the Author
Gail Z. Martin writes epic and urban fantasy, steampunk and short stories. She is the author of the Chronicles of the Necromancer series, the Fallen Kings Cycle series and the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga series of epic fantasy books, as well as the Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy world and coming in 2015, Iron and Blood, a steampunk novel, co-written with Larry N. Martin. Gail is a frequently contributor to US and UK anthologies. She also writes two series of ebook short stories: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures and The Deadly Curiosities Adventures.
Find her at www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at DisquietingVisions.com blog and GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com. She leads monthly conversations on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin and posts free excerpts of her work on Wattpad http://wattpad.com/GailZMartin.
When she’s not writing, Gail also enjoys reading, cooking, watching anime and Dr. Who, and hanging out with her husband, kids and dogs.
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