Authors: Jennifer Rardin
“No.”
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He glanced over his shoulder at Viv. When he turned back to me I sighed in relief. He didn’t wear the look of a man who’s just lost his home to a tornado. More like somebody who’s misplaced a library book and knows he has to pay to replace it. “We would’ve been good, Jaz.”
“Maybe. Until you left me. Or I killed you. Whichever came first.”
He snorted. “So this spell. Who are they zapping with it?”
“Nobody in your area. Must be one of the people by the door.”
“Excellent,” said Vayl, the extra bounce in his voice letting me know he fully approved of my break with Cole. “I will meet you there.”
I stalked around the corner, grim and focused as half of a hunting pack closing in on its prey. Who were . . . giggling like a bunch of kindergartners. Gawd. Are people always the most oblivious when they’re inches away from stone-cold killers?
This group could hardly stand still. If I’d had access to a jug of Ritalin I’d have climbed a ladder and emptied it into their gaping mouths. And no, it wouldn’t have been hard to get them to open up. They were all talking at once, none of them shutting up to listen to anyone else for more than ten seconds before they zoomed on with their own stories.
Tall, anorexic girl: “So my mom died really suddenly when I was, like, fifteen, you know? And that’s terribly hard on an impressionable teenager.”
Attractive bank clerk who’d either live an unremarkable life or commit suicide before his thirtieth birthday: “I didn’t even believe in ghosts before I came here. I just thought, why not? I had some vacation time coming and I really hate the beach.”
Half-wrecked forty-something holding a ragged handkerchief: “My husband’s been haunting me since the day after I buried him, over three months ago. I’ve seen him standing in our bedroom window as I take my morning walks. But when I run inside, he’s always gone. I’ve got to figure out how to lay him to rest. He’s never rested, not even in life.”
And the Haighs, having heard the ruckus and decided to make the most of their free vacation despite the fact that Humphrey had nearly caused a riot two hours before. Reassured that nobody in their group recognized him for the rabble-rouser he’d turned out to be, Humphrey had relaxed into the moment: “Don’t you think the ghost stories are fascinating, though? So many different reasons why people get stuck in between.”
Lesley, twittering on taut nerves that anticipated yet another dumbass move on his part but were trying to make the best of the pleasantness while it lasted: “But so heart wrenching as well. Some of those tales just yank the tears right out of you.”
Humphrey, patting her on the back: “Aw, Lesley, you always were such a softie.”
As soon as he touched her, the spell coalesced into a pitch-tinted web that wrapped them both. They didn’t react, but my Spirit Eye could see the strands of Scidairan magic bind them head to toe until I wondered how they still managed to speak.
Vayl edged through the door-blocking crowd and moved toward me. As he reached my side I coiled my arms around his, smiled up into his eyes, and said, “Jeremy, I hope someday when we’ve been together for years we’re still as happy as these two lovebirds.”
I nodded at the Haighs, who smiled graciously. I returned the favor, though I squeezed Vayl’s
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bicep so hard he’d probably have bruises to show for it. For a couple of seconds anyway.
The spell reached inside the Haighses’ mouths every time they spoke, as if to steal something vital hidden at the backs of their throats. Watching that sinister black blob crawl over their tongues was definitely going to give me nightmares. And I’d just shaken the ones from the last mission, dammit!
Vayl’s steely blue eyes marked Lesley as he took her hand. “How nice to see you again. And what a lovely necklace that is. I do not believe you were wearing it the last time we met,” he said, pointing out the diamond-encrusted rose around her neck. It hung from a diamond-link chain that sparkled every time she moved.
Putting a self-manicured hand up to her throat, she fluttered her lashes in embarrassed gratitude as she said, “Why, thank you! It’s actually one of Humphrey’s creations. I didn’t even realize he’d brought it, because he usually keeps it in the safe. In fact, I’ve never worn it until this very moment. But Floraidh had sent us a coupon for a free dinner at Adair’s, and Humphrey knew I’d want to look my best for the occasion.”
I looked at my watch. “It’s nearly two thirty in the morning. A fancy restaurant like that can’t be open this late. Unless they’re doing a special service just for »rvi atyou?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that!” She giggled. “Our reservations are for tomorrow night. I just put on the necklace tonight because Floraidh said the diamonds would protect me against angry ghosts.”
“Oh.” What, are you casting spells now, Lesley? Because unless you’re bowing down to Scidair, I think Floraidh’s yanking your chain. The question is, why?
The jeweler’s wife pointed at Cirilai. “I see you have a few diamonds in your ring. But that might not be enough to protect you. Floraidh said I should use as many as I had. The necklace contains a thousand diamonds altogether. Isn’t that amazing?”
Yeah. Especially when we all know Humphrey would much rather hook that chain around a rich customer’s neck so he can do the miser tuck-and-roll. Wait. What did you just say?
Suddenly I knew. Floraidh and Dormal didn’t need a thousand pounds. They needed a thousand diamonds. Whatever they were planning required major protection from exactly the sort of entity that only diamonds would divert. And what I’d overheard Dormal talking about in the hallway was a spell that had coerced Humphrey Haigh into bringing that necklace to Tearlach. Since Floraidh was trying to make it as an upright businesswoman, maybe she’d only meant to manipulate him into giving it to her wholesale. But time had run out on her, and now she had to get it the heinous way.
I looked a question at Vayl. He shook his head slightly. Let it go.
You’re shitting me.
I think it is the quickest way to understand what she wants. And from her own mouth we know time is of the essence.
I usually appreciated understanding his unspoken communications. In our business, sometimes having that edge can save your life. But now I didn’t want to recognize his expression. Because it reminded me, once again, why we were here. Not to prevent the wicked witch from riding her broom. But to keep Dorothy from dumping water all over her.
Just for now, I promised myself. That’s all Vayl’s expecting of me. Keep Floraidh alive.
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Terminate her assassin. Then find out what she’s up to. And if it ends up threatening the safety of our nation, or anybody I’ve grown to like in the past fifteen minutes, to hell with our original mission. She’s outta here.
A squeal from Lesley Haigh brought my attention to the kitchen. Our visitor, who I should probably now refer to as Oengus, had come back to reempty the cabinet. I didn’t know why he was so offended by the cookie sheets. Maybe Floraidh had slipped arsenic into his gingersnaps. I stifled the spurt of rage that flared at the thought and made my mind stick to business. Who’d brought the ghost clone this time? Dormal didn’t seem to be making any effort as she sat at the dining room table, keeping watch over the awed GhostWalkers. But I could smell the spell cooking, stinking up the atmosphere as it mixed with the pollution they’d already floated up there. Which meant somebody else had taken over her job.
I reached out with my senses, already nearly overwhelmed by the gook flooding the lower level of Tearlach—and found what I was looking for outside. Somewhere behind the house, maybe in the barn, the stench of Scidair fl»h o goowed toward me like a garbage-filled river. So hard not to charge outside and pound a couple of heads together. At the very least I could get them for fraud. But that wasn’t my job. Which, at the moment, was to stand around twiddling my thumbs. Dammit!
Vayl’s breath, whispering against my hair, distracted me. He murmured, “I was going to search the bedrooms while everyone enjoyed the show down here. But perhaps, considering the frustration rising off you like lethal radiation, you would prefer that task?”
“Are you kidding? I’d agree to play the pony at a five-year-old’s birthday party if it meant we were making some sort of progress on this crap deal.”
“Be thorough. Be careful. I have plans for you, after all.” Hopefully Cole and Albert would take that as a professional comment. But the soft touch of his tongue tracing the edge of my earlobe let me know exactly what he meant.
“Okay,” I said, my voice pitched half an octave higher than usual. I turned, not even needing to channel Lucille to unlock the bright smile I gave Floraidh as I danced toward the stairs. “I think I’ll check the rest of our equipment. Lots of times when one manifestation occurs another will be happening at the same time in another part of the house.” I paused at the dining room’s entrance to shake her doughy hand. “This is so exciting!”
The smug expression on her face let me know she felt sure she’d pulled off a major play with this whole scenario. Great. Now let’s see if I could do the same.
I took the steps two at a time, understanding at some level how pathetic it was that one guy sticking his tongue in my ear should make me feel capable of flying. Don’t care, I thought stubbornly. It feels good to let go. Even for five seconds.
Skipping the second floor, I jogged to the third, stopping at Rhona’s door long enough to learn that Viv’s mother snored like a drunken logger. I hoped that meant she slept like one too, but just to be on the safe side I snapped the wristband of my watch. The hair on my arms tingled as the sound shield rose around me.
My lock pick hung around my neck, a coral and shark’s tooth necklace that looked like jewelry any spring breaker could pick up between raves at Miami Beach. Except Bergman had crafted the tooth, which meant when you stuck it in a lock, wiggled and waited, it took the form of the mechanism inside. A couple of seconds later, voilà! Illegal entry.
Having spent way more time with Rhona than I’d have liked, I expected the room to reek of soldierly order. Nuh-uh. More like postriot sprawl. She slept in the full-sized bed, making enough
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racket to shake the table, the lamp, and the nearly empty bottle of sleeping pills beside her. A green mud pack covered her face and she’d pulled an orange shower cap contraption over her hair. Seriously, if I’d encountered her in the hall and I was drunk, or under the age of twelve, I’d have screamed, “Alien!”
The twin-sized bed looked like entire kindergarten classes had spent recess jumping up and down on it. She’d strewn clothes all over the floor and across the long pine dresser, whose drawers remained empty. Nothing under the beds or in the closet either. The bathroom sink, small as it was, had been packed with the junk you need to make yourself publicly presentable. Toothpaste flecks on the mirror. Hair in the tub. Gee-ross!
Other than that, no sign that she’d taken up murder as a hobby. No weapons besides the one I’d confiscated. No weird potions that would call forty Inland Taipans out of their natural habitat into this one. Dammit!
I flipped up pillows. Looked behind the dresser. Slipped my hand under the mattresses. Zip. I moved on to Viv and Iona’s room.
Nothing interesting there. At all. Unless you counted Viv’s underwear, which Cole would certainly get a kick out of. What is the deal with thongs? I think they were invented by some towering chauvinist who knew the best way to blow a woman’s concentration was to make her think she needed to run around all day with a piece of string wedged in her ass crack.
The Haighses’ room proved equally disappointing. It was so pristine I’d have thought nobody was staying there except for the suitcases standing at attention beside the dresser. I left the room just as I found it.
“How am I doing?” I asked as I moved to the fourth floor.
“Fine,” Vayl murmured. “The ghost is addressing people in the crowd now, mainly warnings about what will happen to them if they do not leave Brude’s lands posthaste. He is quite abusive, but they do not seem to mind. It is amazing.”
“Okay. I’m going to check out Floraidh’s room.”
“I expect more talking now. I want to know what you are seeing.”
What he really meant was that I should be careful because she might’ve set some sort of trap that would leave me a shivering glob on the floor.
“I don’t see any obvious triggers,” I said as I unlocked the door. I held my breath anyway, hoping she hadn’t set some sort of poison dart or cloud-o’-death trap. This is stupid. You’re messing with major mojo here, Jaz. As soon as the door opened I stepped aside. Nothing happened.
Why should it? She’s in and out of this room all the time. She’s already shielded the whole house. Nobody’s in here but the guests she allows.
Granny May looked up from the clothesline. She’d just taken off a pair of Gramps Lew’s overalls and was folding them in that I-don’t-give-a-crap-if-these-wrinkle way she had with all her laundry. You should still be careful, she warned me.
Okay, Granny’s right. No sense in making a rookie mistake that’ll get me killed here. That would be such a humiliating way to go. I sent a feeler out ahead of me to see if I could smell anything similar to the gunk Floraidh and her gang had pumped into the air downstairs. Yeah. Faint enough that I figured I hadn’t triggered anything yet. But then I hadn’t crossed the threshold either.
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I pushed the door open.
Her room resembled mine. Cheerful fruit-inspired wall-paper. Clean white comforter on the bed. Wooden floor covered by a couple of bright red throw rugs and a sweet old rocker in the corner. Nothing a passerby would blink at if Floraidh happened to open the door to find them wandering around soaking up atmosphere. But she’d hung a white silk curtain on the other side of her bed, as if to give her» ifed self a dressing area. I had a claws-on-the-heart feeling that whatever hid on the other side would’ve made her boarders run screaming for the door.