“Oh, geez.” I slapped my hand to my forehead and fell back against the pillow.
“That’s what you get for acting like an idiot,” Raven chastised, causing me to peek through my fingers until I found her sitting in a chair next to my bed. “I can see you, so pretending you can’t see me seems silly.”
I groaned as I shifted. “I wasn’t pretending I couldn’t see you. I was simply wondering if I’d died and ended up in Hell.”
She chuckled. “Not quite. You’re very much alive.”
She sounded sure of herself, but I wasn’t easily persuaded. “It felt like I was dying. It was fast. Whatever it was ... it was fast.”
“It was venom from the banshee’s talons. At least that’s what we think. The one we captured had the same venom coating her nails. It’s not naturally occurring, which means someone dosed her.”
“Was anyone else infected?”
“Just you. We dispatched the others fairly quickly.”
I had trouble searching through the dim memories. “How many others?”
“We took out five in total. Kade took out one on his own. The one that you captured was too dangerous to let live — she kept lashing out and trying to infect people — so she’s gone.”
Five banshees. Five young women plucked from the streets and killed. That was more than the four reported missing. When you added the two already dead, we were talking seven people ... and I had a feeling there were more waiting in the wings.
“We’ve done the math,” Raven offered. “We figure there could be anywhere from five to ten more of them out there. Whoever is doing this really did build an army.”
I felt sick to my stomach and rolled to my feet, gasping on a sob as I hurried to the bathroom. I tried to shut the door so I could be sick in private, but Raven was having none of it. She knelt behind me and pressed her hand to the back of my neck, making a tsking sound as she shook her head.
“I don’t think this is the poison affecting you,” she said.
A wretched sob escaped my throat. “No, not poison. At least ... not that type.”
Raven’s expression was hard to read. When she finally spoke again, it was with authority. “Get up.”
My eyebrows hopped. “Excuse me?”
“I told you to get up.” She didn’t back down, instead standing so she towered above me and crossing her arms across her chest. “You need to get up right now. We have work to do, and you sitting here feeling sorry for yourself won’t help get it done.”
I wanted to strangle her. “Where’s Kade?”
She didn’t look surprised by the abrupt shift in topics. “Kade is outside checking on the perimeter. The dreamcatcher failed last night. We need to figure out why. Nixie and Naida are with him, working on the problem.”
That didn’t sound right. I knew Kade. He wouldn’t have left my side. “You made him leave.”
“I did.” Raven nodded. “He was being ridiculous, crying like a big baby, and getting absolutely nothing done. I knew that he would coddle you when you woke, and we don’t have time for that. There’s a lot going on, and you can’t be out of commission for it.”
I wiped my hands under my eyes, annoyance and bitterness tinging the tears. “What’s going on? I thought you handled the banshees.”
“We did. The dreamcatcher still failed. Cotton and Michelob still saw that we have magic ... and they’re asking questions. I put Nellie in charge of answering them. I thought he would be a unique fit.” She looked so proud of herself I almost wanted to laugh. Almost.
“Where’s Luke?”
“He also would’ve coddled you,” Raven replied. “He pitched an even bigger fit than Kade, but that’s because Kade’s smarter. He’s been trying to figure out a way to lure me out all morning so he can lock the two of you inside and shut out the world. He slept next to you for a few hours, but when he woke I sent him out. I didn’t figure it was good for him to sit here and fret for an additional six hours.”
“What time is?”
“It’s not even eight. You were out about ten hours total.”
I glanced down at my arm. It was covered with white gauze, and it was sore. “Can I look at it?”
“I don’t see why not.”
To buy myself time I removed the gauze and bandage and stared hard at the ugly mark. Only one of the cuts was deep, the other two already fading, but there was something familiar about the wounds. “Will it heal completely?”
“Yes, with time and pixie magic. The poison on the banshee fingernails was not naturally occurring. Someone concocted it.”
That was interesting. “A witch?”
“I think that’s a term that gets thrown around a little too often,” she replied. “I don’t think we’re dealing with a straight-up witch or bruja either. By the way, Aisling and Izzy stopped by. They heard what happened and wanted to see you. I said they would have to wait.”
“How did they hear?”
“Two of the Grimlock brothers — the mouthy one and the one dating the bruja — showed up at the tail end. They helped with the clean-up and managed to calm the girls. They were hysterical, convinced you were going to die, and wanted to know about the magic you put on display. I’m not sure that was your smartest move.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” That was the truth. “I didn’t think I would survive if I did nothing.”
“Probably not. It doesn’t matter now. The truth is out. If your Fed friend was watching us closely enough last night, he saw the magic. It is what it is.”
That hadn’t even occurred to me. “What are we going to do now?”
Raven looked amused at the question. “Aren’t you second in command? Shouldn’t you already know the answer to that?”
Her superior attitude grated. “Where’s Max?”
“With Cormack Grimlock. They’re at the reaper library conducting research. He was very upset when he got to you last night. He worked with Nixie to heal you. Things were touch-and-go for a bit. The poison gets a foothold fast, and it took a lot of effort to combat it. We have an antidote now. They won’t get past us again with that little trick.”
That was good news. At least ... I hoped it was. “And the dreamcatcher? Do we have any idea about why it failed?”
“None. But we’ll figure it out before nightfall, I promise you that. It won’t be easy with the circus opening in four hours, but we’ve dealt with worse. I can guarantee the banshees will be back again tonight.”
“As long as whoever is doing this sends soldiers to fight us we’ll never get anywhere in finding our culprit. We need to figure out a way to track one of the banshees to her master. There has to be a magical way to do it.”
Raven broke out in a genuine smile. “Now you’re talking. That’s a fabulous idea. You can work on that while we’re trying to figure out what happened to the dreamcatcher.”
“Okay.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “I need to shower and see Kade first. He’s probably melting down.”
“In a way,” Raven agreed. “He was furious when I kicked him out. He realized we were dealing with something new, though, and didn’t attempt to fight me to the death. We’ve never had an issue like this before. The dreamcatcher has never completely failed. It makes me realize we’ve become complacent because we rely on it too much.”
I couldn’t disagree with her assessment. “Well, we need to get it up and running for tonight. We can talk about our reliance on it after we leave this place. For now, we need to find the master. That’s the only way we can end this.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Raven smiled as she helped me to my feet. “If I were you, I would take a long shower and brush your teeth. The security stud will be all over you, and nobody wants to kiss someone who has been puking.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”
“Not particularly. You almost died. It was enough to shake everybody. Kade, Luke and Max were the worst. I don’t particularly like you, so I was fine.”<
br />
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, although the sound was weak. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
“I don’t see where I had a choice. I need you to help me fix the dreamcatcher.”
“So ... you would’ve let me die if you didn’t need me?”
“Oh, without a doubt.”
Somehow I didn’t believe her.
I FELT LIKE A NEW WOMAN AFTER showering and changing. I was in the middle of trying to bandage my arm again — explaining the injury to guests was unnecessary — when Kade flew through the door of the trailer.
“Good morning,” I offered, managing a wan smile for his benefit.
“I saw Raven leave.” He dragged me in for a tight hug. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I awkwardly patted his back. “I’m sorry I frightened you.”
“You promised you weren’t going to do that again.”
I didn’t remember making any such promise. “I said I would do my best. It’s not as if I realized they had poisoned talons. I mean ... that’s never happened.”
“Still.” He wrapped his arms around my back and held me tight. “You have no idea how frightened I was. You were out of it and wouldn’t wake up ... and then Raven kicked me out of my own bedroom.”
He sounded more upset about that than my near death. “I’m sorry she was mean to you.” I stroked his back. “I’m also sorry I didn’t realize what was happening. It was already too late when things came into focus.”
“I don’t care about that.” He smoothed my damp hair and kissed my cheek. “I love you. You scared the crap out of me.”
“I love you.”
We were silent for a beat, just holding on, and then he decided to lighten the mood. “I said ‘I love you’ fifty-eight times while you were unconscious last night. I’m definitely ahead.”
I was delighted with the absurd statement. “I thought we weren’t keeping score. Didn’t we agree that was unhealthy?”
“Yeah, but I like winning ... and I’m beating the pants off you right now.”
“As long as you keep it in perspective.”
I let him hold me for another five minutes, and then pulled away. I was starting to feel better, stronger, and Raven was right about there being a mountain of items to tackle before guests started arriving. “Have you seen Cotton and Michelob this morning?”
“I have. They’re with Nellie.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good pairing. They’re bound to have questions about what went down, and I’m guessing you guys weren’t forthcoming with answers because you were too busy taking care of me.”
“That’s pretty much the gist of it,” he conceded, sheepish. “I might have snapped at them once or twice because they wouldn’t stop going on and on about the lady vampires. That’s what they called them. Lady vampires. We had to explain they weren’t vampires. Er, well, Luke had to explain that. I thought maybe they were vampires and you guys somehow got confused.”
I was amused despite myself. “You didn’t think we could recognize the difference between vampires and banshees?”
He shrugged. “I was a little unhinged.”
“So I heard.” I brushed my fingertips against his cheek “I hate to say it — mostly because I was annoyed to find Raven playing nursemaid this morning when all I wanted was you — but she probably did us a favor. If she’d allowed you to stay, you would’ve doted all morning and we wouldn’t have accomplished a single thing.”
“I’m still mad.”
“Okay.”
“Like ... really mad.”
“I understand.”
“I might beat up her boyfriend as payback because I’m so mad.”
I laughed. “Or you could just let it go. I’m fine. You’re fine. The girls are fine ... although ... do you think we’ll have to modify their memories? I didn’t ask Raven about the possibility because I didn’t think of it, but it’s probably something we should consider.”
“You’re the one who has to do that, right?”
I nodded. “I’m the one.”
“Do you want to do that?”
“No. I hate doing it. It’s a form of raping their minds. But if they’re going to expose us ... .” I left it hanging. The sick feeling was back in my stomach and I didn’t want to finish.
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. Raven has talked to them. Nixie has, too. Nellie is filling their heads with horrific stories. Now they better understand why you can’t risk bringing them with us until they’re adults. It’s a brave new world for them and they have a lot to consider.”
“That’s great.” I meant it. “It still doesn’t cover our collective behinds. They could talk. They might not want to talk, but they could get high and spill the beans at some point. Cotton does meth. So does Michelob. Although I think Michelob was doing it for pain management. They could easily blab without realizing they’re doing it.”
“If you were in their position, would you blab?”
“I ... no.” I understood where he was going with the question. “I wouldn’t blab in their position. I would recognize that we’re their only chance out and suck it up for a year and a half. But they aren’t me.”
“They’re certainly not, but I think they understand. They’ll be okay. I feel it here.” He took my hand and pressed it to his heart in a ridiculously romantic gesture. “I don’t want you worrying about this. I’ll talk to them. We’ll come to an understanding. You don’t have to modify their memories. I know you hate that.”
I certainly did. “Thanks.” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to his and then was reminded of my arm when he accidentally jostled it. “Hey, can you put a bandage on this so I don’t have to answer a bunch of questions?”
“Absolutely.” He flashed a smile and reached for a bandage. “Did you apply the ointment Nixie left for you? She says it should heal eventually, but it might take longer than normal because the toxin was magical in origin.”
“Raven ran me through that, and I did use the ointment.”
“Good girl.” He kissed the tip of my nose, causing me to smile. “Let’s get you fixed up.” He extended my arm and prepared to place the bandage, frowning and shifting his head to look from another angle. “Huh.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just ... does this remind you of something?”
It was odd that he brought that up. “I was just thinking that before you came in. It definitely jarred me, and I figured there was a reason, but I couldn’t remember what.”
“That’s because you’re too close to it and you had a rough night.”
“Does that mean you know who it should remind me of?”
“Yeah. Creek.”
That’s when things started crashing together in my head. Creek. He was right. “She had that scar on her arm.”
“It looked almost exactly like this wound,” Kade confirmed. “I mean ... if not exact, they’re ridiculously similar.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Do you think she was attacked by a banshee?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did she survive without magic ointment?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the talons weren’t poisoned for her. She’s just a normal girl, right?”
As far as I knew, that was true. “Yeah. Um ... I need to find her. I have to ask.”
He sighed. “I’m guessing you want to go alone.”
“Yeah. I need you to bandage me up first, though.”
“Fine, but I want my complaint lodged on the record for this one. I don’t think you should be running around by yourself in your condition.”
“It’s fine. I really think this is a conversation Creek and I should have on our own. She’ll be unlikely to talk in front of you.”
“Which is the only reason I’m agreeing.” He perched the bandage on my arm and grabbed the roll of gauze. “You’re going to owe me big time when you’re feeling better. We’re talking a
n hour-long massage here.”
“I’m sure I can make that happen.”
“And I want you to wear one of those coconut bras while you’re doing it.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because I had a dream when I was a teenager and I expect you to make it come true.”
I wasn’t in a position to argue. “Fine. Do you want me to rub coconut oil all over you, too?”
“What do you think?”
I think it sounded like an entertaining evening. We had to get through the rest of this first. Coconut bras would have to wait.
“Once we’re out of here, you can have as many massages as you want. I just want to get through this ... and save whatever girls we can.”
He gripped my hand and gave it a squeeze. “We will. I promise you that we won’t leave until we end this.”
25
Twenty-Five
It was easier to find an address for Creek than I thought. Logan had uniformed officers posted around the perimeter, including an individual one block over who had a great view of the fairgrounds. It was easy to sneak up behind him, take over his mind, and then ask him to run a simple search for me.
The man almost seemed happy as he typed in the name. “Creek Carpenter, real name Christy, lives on Alfred Street.” He rattled off an address that I plugged into my phone. “Do you want her record?” he asked dully.
“Um ... sure.”
“She’s been arrested seven times.”
I swallowed hard. Seven seemed a lot. “List the charges.”
“Panhandling. Solicitation. Making up a false story about an attack. Solicitation. Burglary. Resisting arrest, though that was dismissed. Solicitation again.”
My mind was busy. “Tell me about the false story.”
“Um ... hmm. It says here she was discovered in an alley, disheveled and clearly high, with blood on her arm. She claimed she’d been attacked by a woman with claws for fingernails and red-rimmed eyes. She was confused, but refused medical attention. She grew increasingly worse until she fled during questioning.”
Freaky Reapers (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 8) Page 24
