"You are a man at war with himself." The man watched Toby with interest. He tilted his head. "You want out?"
"Yes."
"Fine, I can grant that. But I'm coming with you."
"Is that a good idea?" Toby peered into the darkness. "What will happen to the souls in here if you leave? I heard them screaming and moaning a little while ago."
"Sorry. That was just sound effects for your benefit. I like to give the newcomers something to worry over when they first get here. Darkness, wind, shrieks, moans and groans--that's just standard protocol here in the box. The souls I drained last week are long gone." The man gave him another impish smile." Besides, I'm bored. I need stimulation."
Toby debated a moment, trying to figure out what the man's game plan could be. How much havoc could he create outside the box? In the end, he nodded his head. "Fine. What should I call you? Keeper of Souls doesn't exactly make for a good introduction."
"Just call me Gabe," the man said. "You ready?"
*****
"Wake up."
Jacqueline fluttered her eyes, blinded a little by the harsh fluorescent lights of her kitchen. She became aware of the cool tile beneath her and the splitting headache digging its way into the back of her head.
"Wake up!"
Someone slapped both sides of her cheek.
"Stop," she moaned and opened her eyes fully. "My head…"
"I bet it hurts like a son of a bitch! That was a real humdinger of a fall you took."
Jacqueline sat up and focused on the woman squatting down next to her.
"Matilda? From Merlyn's Bar?" Jacqueline stared. "What are you doing here? What happened?"
"I was looking for Toby." Matilda gave a deep, raspy cough. "I need him to open up shop."
"So you came here?"
"Well, yeah. I followed his smell."
Jacqueline rubbed her head, confused. Smell?
"What are you? A dog or something?" Jacqueline joked and managed to stand up with the help of the kitchen chair.
"Yeah."
Before Jacqueline could respond, she spotted Toby's body on the floor.
"Oh my god!" Jacqueline rushed to his side, disturbed by the lifeless blue eyes that stared up at her.
"Oh, he's dead," Matilda called out, unconcerned. "You killed him pretty good."
You killed him.
The words ripped at Jacqueline's heart, and she tried to remember what had happened before she blacked out. Her gaze went to the silver box on the table.
"Don't open that," Matilda advised. "It's bad for your health."
"We should call 911."
"Wouldn't do a bit of good. He's dead."
"Don't say that!"
"Honey, I'm just telling it like it is. At my age, you have to." Matilda coughed again, the hacking noise of a long time smoker. "Besides, you didn't mean to do it. It was an accident, right? How are you supposed to know what the Box of Souls can do? It's not like it comes with instructions."
"How do you know about it?" Jacqueline touched Toby's face.
Cold. His cheek was cold. Her fingers trembled.
"You hang out at Merlyn's Bar long enough, you hear things. I've been a regular patron there since Toby's father owned the joint back in 1963."
Matilda's words barely registered. Jacqueline couldn't believe that Toby was dead or that she'd killed him. She had a memory though, a memory of on overwhelming power rushing through her. It had come from that silver box. How had it opened?
"So like I was sayin' I came to get Toby because I need a drink." Matilda walked over to Toby's body. "You think he has the key to the bar on him? Sometimes when I get desperate I go to his house and he lets me open the bar up myself."
"Don't you touch him!" Jacqueline said, her voice full of warning as Matilda reached forward to search for the key. "He's dead and all you can think about is the damn key to the bar?"
"He ain't completely dead," Matilda told her with a small smile. "I can smell life in him and it's getting stronger."
"You're crazy," Jacqueline whispered. "You're a drunk and you've lost your mind."
"Hey, now. Let's not go naming calling, sweetheart. I may drink a little, but I never get drunk! And I sure as hell haven't lost my mind!" Matilda tapped on her nose. "This honker never lets me down. I tell you that I smell life, then there must be life in him!"
"And what," Jacqueline gritted her teeth, "does life smell like?"
Matilda sniffed. "Peanuts and beer."
At that moment, Toby sat up with a gasp.
Both Jacqueline and Matilda screamed.
Then Matilda leaned forward. "Where's the key to the bar?"
"Matilda! Stop that!" Jacqueline admonished. She moved to Toby who looked at both of them, confusion in his eyes. "Are you alright? I thought you were dead!"
"I'm…okay…" he rubbed at his head. “Where is he?"
"Who?"
"The Keeper of Souls." Toby looked around. "He was coming out with me."
Jacqueline looked around as Matilda sniffed deeply.
"Hmm….you're right. There is another presence here." Matilda wrinkled her nose. "It smells sort of musty."
She sneezed as if to prove her point.
"He's pretty old though he doesn't look it." Toby got up off the floor, and Jacqueline supported him by grabbing an arm. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," she said, and ducked her head. "I'm sorry…that I…killed you."
"You didn't know." He squeezed her hand. "I should have guessed that blood would activate the box. After all, it's belongs to your family line. The O' Gradys."
"O' Grady? That wasn't my maiden name."
"You may want to talk with your parents about your heritage."
"So can I have the key to the bar or what?" Matilda tapped her foot. "I need a drink."
"Oh hush! Give the man a chance to catch his breath!" Jacqueline glared at the old woman.
"If you're that thirsty, get a beer out of my fridge."
"Why didn't you say you had beer in the first place?" Matilda helped herself to a beer and sat down at the kitchen table. Sniffing loudly, she said, "I think you've got incoming!"
A gust of wind breezed through the kitchen, bringing with it the scent of decay and dust.
"This should be my new friend." Toby gritted his teeth. "Be on alert. I don't know what his game plan is."
Jacqueline watched as a young man materialized. Something about him was familiar, as if she'd seen him before. But where?
"Hello," he said and nodded at her.
"This is Gabe," Toby said. "This is--"
"Jacqueline. Oh, I know." Gabe nodded to her, a bright smile on his face.
Jacqueline felt herself grow cold. She had seen this guy before. It had been pouring down rain and she could have sworn he looked a little older, but---
"Toby, get away from him," she said, her voice full of warning. "This is the wizard that killed my husband."
Toby stared, his face dark and unreadable, but he didn't move.
"Did you hear what I said? This is who killed Eric!"
"I don't think that's possible," Toby said.
"Yes, it is. I know what I saw. I'll never forget that face."
Gabe stepped forward with raised hands. "Jacqueline, my dear, you are mistaken. I have not been out of the box in hundreds of years."
"You sure?" She backed away, wary.
"Trust me. That's something you don't forget." Gabe gave her a small smile. "I'm the Keeper of Souls. We're actually related."
"Toby, could I talk to you in the other room?" Jacqueline wasn't interested in figuring out the links on her family tree. She knew that the other guy was a murderer. Her concern was getting Toby alone and making him see reason. "Please."
Toby nodded and let her lead him out of the room.
"What the hell!" she whispered once they were alone. "What are you doing? That guy killed Eric!"
"Not possible, Jacqueline."
"Yes, possible, Toby. I know that face."
"I doubt you do. That face belongs to someone you couldn't possibly have seen, someone who died a long time ago." Toby's jaw had a stubborn set to it that Jacqueline found both appealing and frustrating.
"Toby, I--"
"That is the face of my son!"
Jacqueline let the words die in her mouth. Uh-oh. This was a major problem. Just one more in a long chain of problems she couldn't begin to comprehend. She watched the stubbornness on Toby's face turn into misery, and she couldn't help but wonder about his son, his past life. He'd only been a devastatingly cute bartender to her until yesterday. Now she found herself wondering about this strange man, this wizard, who seemed to be getting under her skin.
"Toby, tell me what's going on."
"You killed me. I went into the Box of Souls. I met Gabe. He appeared to me in the form I would be most comforted by- that of my dead son. If he'd lived, Gabe's current appearance is what he would have looked like. So you see, there is no way you could have seen him. He couldn't have killed Eric," Toby said. There was a deep sadness in his voice when he said the word son that made Jacqueline's own heart ache a little.
"Maybe I'm wrong then." She frowned. "But there is a strong resemblance to the guy I saw."
Toby sighed. "Look, I don't know why Gabe wanted out of the box, but part of the reason I'm back is because I made a deal that he could come with me if he let me free. I think he really wanted to meet you. You've sort of become the talk of the underworld."
"Great. Just what I always wanted." She looked him in the eye. "I'm glad you're okay. I was really scared you were dead."
"I'm fine. No harm done."
"Still if anything had happened…I mean, you've gone out of your way to help me…" She lowered her head, feeling at a loss for words.
To her surprise, he lifted her chin with his finger. His blue eyes were warm as they looked into hers. Something in the way he studied her made her body tingle with an old familiar sensation: desire.
"Nothing happened to me that I couldn't handle," Toby said. "It was you I was worried about. Still am, actually."
For a moment they just stared at each other.
"Oh to hell with it!" Jacqueline closed her eyes and put all her energy into planting a deep, passionate kiss on his lips.
She could tell he was surprised, but as she heated up the action, gradually his body relaxed and the next thing she knew, he had her pressed against the wall of the living room as he hungrily devoured her mouth. The little electric spark that occurred whenever they touched danced around them, a current of heat and passion that intensified as she wrapped her arms around his strong body.
More. Please give me more.
As if hearing her thoughts, he allowed his hands to skim underneath her shirt and touch her skin. His fingers practically sizzled with heat as he stroked her flesh. She could feel herself letting go, could imagine them falling into bed together.
"Wow!" Matilda stood in the doorway. "Now that is some crazy shit with all the sparks and stuff."
Startled, Toby and Jacqueline broke apart and looked at the older woman. There were tears glistening in her eyes.
"That reminds me of the first time your father and I kissed, Toby. He was a helluva good kisser." Matilda grinned and looked at Jacqueline. "Tell me, sweetie, is my son any good at kissing? I figure he must be since you guys were literally sparking!"
"Mom!" Exasperated, Toby released Jacqueline. He dug in his pants pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Take the keys and go!"
With a cry of delight, Matilda grabbed them.
"Mom?" Jacqueline tilted her head, studying Toby. "Matilda is your mother?"
"Uh-huh."
"How come I never knew that?"
"Because she's not exactly..." Toby lowered his voice. "She's not right in the head."
"I heard that!" Matilda stuck her tongue out at them.
"Yeah, she told me earlier that she thinks she's a dog," Jacqueline said.
"I am a dog!"
To Jacqueline's surprise, Matilda seemed to shrink down, losing her human form and changing into the shape of wolf-like dog. The keys to Toby's bar were in her mouth and she tilted her head to the side as if to say, "See? I told you so!"
"Is she a Siberian Husky?" Jacqueline asked.
"Yeah." Toby nodded. "That's my mom. My dad married a shape shifter. Because he was a wizard they had all kinds of issues with the Brotherhood. Wizards aren't supposed to marry other supernaturals."
Matilda barked and wagged her tail.
"But your dad isn't living anymore?"
"No he passed a long time ago."
Jacqueline thought a bit of frost come into Toby's tone at the mention of his father.
"Wow." Jacqueline went to sit down on the couch, fanning herself. "I think I might need a break."
"What do you mean?" Toby asked.
"Well, in the last 24 hours, I found out I'm a banshee and that you and my husband are wizards. There is another wizard trying to capture me so that he can control my new gifts. Your mother is a dog. There's a kid in the kitchen that looks like your dead son and the murderer of my husband. When we kissed just now, there were literally sparks jumping around everywhere and not less than thirty minutes ago, I accidentally killed you." Jacqueline gave him a tight smile. "I need a few hours to process all this."
"Hmm… I see what you mean." Toby's face was serious, but she thought there was a hint of humor in his eyes. "How about you take a little time to…what did you call it? Process? Take the time to do that and then we'll figure out a game plan."
"Sounds good. I think I'll call my mom and find out about this O'Grady thing, too."
Toby stared at her, uncertainty in his eyes. Next to him, Matilda wagged her tail and panted.
"Um, Toby, I can't process with you in the house. You need to go open up your bar," Jacqueline said.
"But---"
"Put up a spell around the house or something, but I need you, your mom, and the crazy kid in the kitchen to go," she said, not bothering to hold back her frustration. "I'll be fine."
He frowned and for a moment, Jacqueline thought he would protest, but maybe he sensed that she was at her breaking point. With a nod, he started to leave but then paused.
"We should talk about… that kiss later," Toby said.
"I don't want to talk about it," Jacqueline said, pleased when disappointment flashed in his eyes. "I want to do it again." she said with a mischievous smile.
The small smile he gave her warmed her heart as he collected the dog. She heard him speaking in low tones in the kitchen and a few seconds later, the back door opened and shut. Silence descended on the house.
"Alone at last." She plopped down on the couch and took a couple of deep breaths before fishing her cell phone out of her pocket.
"Hi, honey!" Her mom's voice bubbled over the phone line." I just love this Caller ID thingy on the smart phone. And to think that all my other phones were dumb phones! Now I always know who's calling."
"That's great, mom. Glad you're liking your new phone." Jacqueline took a deep breath. "So mom, there's something I want to ask you."
"Sure, honey."
"Am I adopted?"
Jacqueline could almost feel the happy energy seep from her mother.
"Mom?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because there is some strange things going on and I really need to know the truth. Am I adopted?" Jacqueline waited for her mother to speak.
"Yes."
"Do you know my birth parents? Are they Irish?"
"Jackie, how do you know that? Where is this coming from?" Tears strained her mother's voice and Jacqueline felt bad for causing her mother pain, but she needed to know the truth.
"Mom, I can't explain everything to you right now, but I've run into someone who knows about my birth family. I'm just trying to confirm if what they say is true."
"Oh, Jackie, you know how much your dad and I love you, right? We just wanted a baby so badly and we cou
ldn't have one of our own."
"I understand, mom. Really I do. Was the family Irish?"
"Yes. Your biological mother's last name was O'Grady. I know that for sure because her story just about broke my heart." Jacqueline's mom sniffled. "She was a young girl who'd given birth to you, but had been killed in a car accident. I guess she didn't have much family to help her out. The adoption agency gave me the impression that she was sort of the black sheep of the family and very much on her own."
Jacqueline sucked in her breath, feeling dizzy. So it was true. She was part of the O'Grady line.
"Honey? You still there?"
"Yes, mom." She managed to get out. "I need to hang up though. I'll talk to you later."
Jacqueline ended the call, despite the fact that her mother was protesting and trying to explain what had happened. She would deal with that later. Right now, only one thing was important.
She was an O' Grady, one of the most prominent families in Irish history. Rationally, she knew that it didn't change much--her adoptive parents would always be her family and they'd loved her, given her the best of everything. She couldn't find it in her heart to blame them for keeping the secret. Still, the confirmation of her heritage was a game changer.
It meant that she couldn't deny what she was or how she felt. About anything or anyone.
Toby. She pictured him and felt her body tingle in response. That was an area of her new life she wanted to explore in detail even though it seemed his life was a mess of complications.
I’m the one who's going to have to kill you.
His words from the night before came back to her. Why would he think that? Surely, she could control her banshee side enough to not be turned into a weapon. She was a strong woman. No one would boss her around!
The doorbell rang. When she didn't immediately get up to answer it, someone knocked on the door.
"Jackie? You in there?" Angela's voice drifted through the door.
Relieved, Jacqueline opened it. Angela stood on the other side, her facing beaming with happiness.
"Hey, girl! Just thought I'd drop by and check on you. I've been out and about this afternoon with my new guy that I've been telling you about," Angela gushed. "He's in the car right now. Isn't he gorgeous?"
Jacqueline looked over her friend's shoulder. She could barely make out the countenance of a young man sitting behind the wheel of Angela's car. The man waved at her.
The Banshee's Embrace Page 6
