“I wanted to spend time with Aisling. Pacing the hallways with Lily as she refuses to go to sleep was just an added bonus.”
Griffin rested his hand on his father-in-law’s shoulder. “I heard what you and she talked about. I could’ve told you that she was okay, still struggling a bit with what happened ten months ago, but mostly okay. She’ll be fine moving forward.”
“She will be fine,” Braden agreed. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Izzy told me what you guys talked about, that Aisling is worried about being a mother because her most recent memory of our mother gutted her. She needs to remember that wasn’t our true mother, because she risked everything to come back and save us. That’s what’s important, not what that … thing … did to us.”
“That’s very well said, Braden,” Griffin offered. “She’ll be fine. You guys need to stop worrying about her. That somehow makes it worse.”
“That’s my fault,” I volunteered. “I just see her surface thoughts occasionally. I think it’s when she’s feeling weak. It’s not very often. I only brought it up because I think she would be totally fine if the baby smiled at her first.”
“No way.”
Braden, Cormack and Griffin all shook their heads in unison.
“Lily is smiling at me first,” they said at the same time.
Men. Seriously. They’re so much work. “Whatever.” I could do nothing but roll my eyes. “Shouldn’t we focus on our actual problem right now?” I gestured toward the misshapen figure on the ground. “I’m pretty sure that’s Ray Smith.”
Three heads jerked in my direction.
“Ray Smith?” Braden was the first to speak. “That’s not Ray Smith. It can’t be. You said he looked the same as when he disappeared. That definitely doesn’t look like the guy I saw in the photo.”
“It’s not.” Griffin’s gaze was heavy. “I saw the body. That’s most definitely not the same guy.”
“No?” I shifted closer to the body. “Then why is it wearing the same watch?”
Cormack moved closer and peered at the piece of jewelry in question. “That’s an Omega stainless steel watch,” he said after a beat. “It’s vintage to the sixties.”
“You recognize the watch?” Griffin slipped on a pair of rubber gloves and knelt next to the body, intent.
“My father had one. He wore it for years. He got it from his father as a gift. It lasted forever. I even bought him an expensive watch to replace it. He refused until it stopped running.” Cormack’s expression was hard to read. “This isn’t a watch that someone could just stumble across, especially a … monster.”
“How could it be Ray Smith?” Griffin carefully shifted the creature’s head to study what looked to have been a hairline at one time. “Does anyone know what this is?”
“It looks like Bub,” Braden answered. “I mean … what Bub would look like if he walked on two legs, that is.”
That was an interesting comparison. “He is kind of rubbery.” I reached out to touch the monster, but Braden slapped my hand away. “Hey!”
“He could be diseased or something,” he snapped. “You don’t want to catch what he has. I mean … I’ll still adore you, but it might have to be from afar.”
Cormack cuffed his son. “That was lovely, Braden. Now I see why you’ve gone so long without a steady girlfriend. Try not to scare this one away. She’s a keeper.”
“I know she’s a keeper. That’s why I don’t want her to touch that thing.”
“You mean Ray Smith,” I corrected. “He used to be a human being.”
“And then he died,” Griffin pointed out. He’d completely ignored the exchange between Cormack and Braden. “I saw the body. He was gone. This can’t be him.”
“Unless it wasn’t really Ray Smith that came back,” I noted. “He was already dead when he landed. Maybe that’s because whoever sent him shoved something inside his body that couldn’t survive the trip without a host.”
Cormack made a face. “That’s a cheery thought.”
I turned to Griffin. “Can you check to see if the body is still at the morgue?”
“Yes, but not until tomorrow morning. It will look strange if I call tonight.”
“Fair enough.” I slid my eyes to Braden. “I guess that means we’re going back to Grimlock Manor for the rest of the night. I want to be close when Griffin makes the call tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He slung his arm around my neck and focused on his father. “You’ll have to call the home office to take care of this. It’s not as if Griffin can call this in to his people.”
“I know.” Cormack pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “This is definitely something we don’t want to hit the mainstream.”
“I’ll let you handle that,” Griffin supplied. “I need to get back to my wife. I still have a chance at a solid four hours of sleep.”
“Get to it. I’ll handle this. All of you get out of here.”
He didn’t have to tell us twice. We were already gone.
THE ENTIRE FAMILY – MINUS GRIFFIN – WAS ALREADY in the dining room when Braden and I joined them five hours later. A few hours down and a hot shower completely revived me. I was starving.
“Good morning, lovebirds,” Aisling teased as she shoveled blueberry pancake into her mouth. She looked bright and shiny. “I hear you had a busy night … one that required my poor husband to be dragged out of bed.”
“You don’t look very sorry about that,” I noted.
“Actually, I am sorry for him. I’m sorry for myself because I missed him. I’m just happy that I’m not the one losing sleep. Having a baby was a great idea. Now everyone spoils me.”
Cormack snorted as he shifted Lily, who was on his lap and watching the activity with mild interest. I could never tell what was going on in her brain. It probably wasn’t much given her age, but there was something about her that made me think she was brighter than most infants. She had … something. It was a spark, and I was fairly certain she was empathetic, a power most reapers didn’t have. She was going to grow into something special.
Right now she was just a curious lump on her grandfather’s lamp. She was darned cute, though.
“You’ve always been spoiled rotten, kid,” Cormack countered. “I don’t know who you’re trying to fool. The reason you weren’t called out last night is because it wasn’t necessary for you to be there. It had nothing to do with the baby.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Aisling waved off his statement. “I like my version better.”
“You always do.” Cormack shifted at the sound of footsteps near the door and focused his attention on Griffin. “What’s the news?”
Griffin didn’t even have to answer. His face said it all. “Ray Smith’s body is gone. It looks like Izzy was right. They’re treating it as further perpetuation of a hoax, but we know better. That thing that she killed last night was Ray Smith.”
“So … what does that mean?” Aisling asked.
“I have no idea,” Cormack replied. “I just … I don’t know what to make of any of this.”
Twelve
I lost my appetite fairly quickly, but Braden seemed intent on making me eat. Once we separated for the day — he had work and I had an idea — I perked up a bit. That lasted only until I found Aisling waiting for me in front of the house.
“Aren’t you supposed to be sucking souls?” I asked as I headed for my car.
She nodded, her expression hard to read. “I am. My father is giving me special treatment. I have only two charges and they’re both this afternoon ... at an assisted living center in the safest neighborhood around. I have time to burn.”
That made sense. Cormack would’ve instructed Redmond to make sure Aisling was unlikely to run into trouble when he was doling out assignments. He would keep up that mandate long after Aisling had tired of being treated like a porcelain doll. “Why do I think you have a specific idea for how you want to burn this time?” I asked, wary.
“Because you know me well.” Ai
sling’s smile was mischievous as it split her features. “It’s kind of interesting because I tend to dislike females a great deal. You’re the exception.”
I held her gaze for an extended beat. She meant the statement as a compliment but there was something telling about the way her lips twisted. “You’re one of the boys,” I said finally. “You’ve always felt that way and it’s what you desired from the start. You didn’t want to be treated differently from your brothers so you went out of your way to be one of them.”
I usually didn’t get off on psychoanalyzing people, but the Grimlocks were a cornucopia of dysfunction that somehow always managed to work itself out into a relatively healthy family dynamic. It was fascinating ... and often ridiculous. “You even found a best friend who was the best of both worlds. He allowed you to be a girl — even encouraged it — but he was still a boy, so you were clear when it came to doing decidedly female stuff that freaked you out. It wasn’t that you didn’t like females. You simply didn’t want to give your brothers a reason to treat you differently.”
She furrowed her brow. “No, I’m pretty sure I just find most women to be stupid.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. She wasn’t the best liar when she didn’t put effort into it and she clearly didn’t care if I believed her. “What do you want?” I opted to get to the heart of matters because I didn’t have time to burn. “I have an errand to run and then I need to get back to the island.”
“I want to go with you on your errand.”
“Why? You don’t even know where I’m going.”
“You’re going to see your aunt.” She was matter-of-fact. “You feel out of your element and you want to see if she has any ideas about what’s happening. I think that’s smart. She knows a lot of things ... even if she keeps those things to herself when she shouldn’t.”
There was bitterness to Aisling’s tone that set my teeth on edge. “That’s fairly astute,” I offered. “I am going to see Aunt Max. I feel as if I’m missing something in this scenario that I shouldn’t. But I’m not sure you should go with me.”
“And why is that?” Aisling frowned. “I can be useful. Whatever your aunt has said, I’m totally useful.”
“I have no doubt that’s true. My aunt really hasn’t said anything about you.” That was a lie, but I recognized that Aisling’s paranoia would jump if she believed my aunt was talking out of turn. “I don’t think it’s a good idea because you’re still mad at Aunt Max about your mother.”
Aisling frowned. “That’s not true. I’m perfectly fine about the fact that she helped my mother’s soul cross over to help us and didn’t say a word about it. Why would I be upset about that?”
There were a million reasons for her to be upset about it and I understood every one of them. That didn’t mean I wasn’t on my aunt’s side. I also understood Aisling’s emotions. There simply wasn’t time to deal with them when we had so much going on.
“I think it’s best if I talk to Aunt Max on my own.”
Aisling held my gaze for a long moment and then shook her head. “I’ll behave. I know this is a big deal. I have a few questions of my own. I won’t ruin things for you.”
She seemed sincere. She always had good intentions, but that didn’t mean she could carry them out. “I don’t know.” I felt caught. Aisling was used to her family members capitulating to her whims. I didn’t want to reinforce bad inclinations, but I didn’t have time to argue with her.
“I’ll be good.” Aisling mimed crossing her heart, and I knew I was about to make a mistake because there was mischief lurking in her eyes. “I just have a few ideas and I think Madame Maxine is the best one to bounce them off of.”
As long as she didn’t bounce anything else — like a brick — off my aunt, we were probably fine. I was going to give in ... so I did it. “Fine. The second you get out of line, though ... .” I left the threat hanging.
She didn’t look worried. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Sadly, I knew that wasn’t saying much.
MAXINE SAT ON THE small settee in the middle of her store, what looked to be a catalog on her lap. She was jotting down notes when we entered. Her smile was pleasantly bland ... until she realized who we were.
“Izzy.” She broke into a wide smile and stood to offer me a hug. She seemed delighted to see me. She’d tried to keep me with her after the death of my parents — we were always tight — but my grandfather put his foot down. Even though they didn’t always get along, they pretended to for my sake. I appreciated the effort on both their parts.
“Aunt Max.” I was legitimately happy to see her. She had a soothing presence and would listen for hours as I told her my woes. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” Maxine’s gaze was keen as she slid it to Aisling, who was loitering about five feet behind me. “Hello, sourpuss. You look pretty good for giving birth six weeks ago. I see you’re one of those women who got her body back right away ... which essentially means all the other women in the world hate you.”
Aisling merely shrugged. “My father had the cook make healthy stuff and didn’t tell me. I’m a little disappointed myself, if you want to know the truth.”
Maxine snorted. “Right. I’m sure you’ve been quiet as a mouse and not chasing after Angelina to show her how great you look.”
Angelina Davenport was Aisling’s nemesis — that’s the word she used — and she’d been nothing but a pain the few times I’d met her. In truth, I could see Aisling happily taunting Angelina with her physique. Unfortunately we’d been too busy to wedge that in this week.
“I’ll see her when I see her,” Aisling replied. She was keeping her distance, making sure not to get close enough for Maxine to touch her. That was clearly on purpose, but I didn’t chide her for it. If Aisling was uncomfortable, we would all hear about it until the end of time.
Maxine stared at her for a long moment before turning back to me. “I take it you’re here for a specific reason.”
“You could say that.” I sat on the couch. There was no sense being uncomfortable for what was sure to be a long conversation. “We have a situation.”
Maxine didn’t bother to hold back her sigh. “Don’t you have a situation every week now?”
“Pretty much.” I saw no reason to pretend otherwise. My life had turned into one big drama. “This one is different.” I launched into the tale, leaving nothing out. It was a relatively long story, but I managed to condense it. When I finished, she was thoughtful. “So ... what do you think?”
“I think you guys have definitely been busy,” she replied after a moment’s consideration. “I don’t even know what to make of this. I mean ... really. How did a man who returned from the dead manage to die within seconds and then turn into a monster? I don’t even know what to make of it.”
To my surprise, Aisling’s hand shot in the air. It was as if she were in a classroom and wanted to be teacher’s pet.
Maxine arched an eyebrow. “Yes, pouty wonder. Do you have something you would like to add to this conversation or do you merely have ants in your pants?”
Aisling licked her lips, making me realize for the first time that she was nervous. I should’ve figured that out sooner. This was a big deal for her ... and apparently she really did have something on her mind.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I’m thinking it’s a revenant.”
I wasn’t expecting that. “I ... you ... a revenant?” All I could do was draw my eyebrows together. My initial reaction had been to shut down that idea, but I honestly couldn’t.
“A revenant, huh?” Maxine didn’t shut her down either. “That’s ... interesting.”
“I know a little about them,” Aisling admitted, taking a tentative step forward. She still wasn’t close enough for my aunt to touch — a deliberate choice on her part — but she was getting bolder. “I thought maybe that’s what came back with my mother’s face.”
Sympathy washed over Maxine’s soft
features as she nodded. “I can see that. What did you find?”
“There’s a lot of conflicting information about revenants. Some think revenant is an interchangeable word for ghost. Others think vampires are revenants. There is one faction that thinks they’re different.
“Revenants originated in Western European folklore,” she continued. “Cillian and I talked about them one afternoon, but he wasn’t nearly as keen on the idea so I let it go. When I heard what happened to Izzy and Braden last night, revenants were the first things that popped into my head.”
“And what do we know about revenants?” Maxine asked in her most reasonable voice. “Are they blood-suckers, like vampires?”
“They can be. In this particular case, I don’t know what to believe. I can’t figure out why Ray Smith looked normal when his body was found and then he turned into a monster when he came back from the dead. That doesn’t make sense because if they were revenants, they would always look like monsters.”
I’d been thinking of the monster phenomenon myself and had a few ideas. “Unless the monster was hidden inside for a specific reason,” I offered. “Maybe someone wanted to send Ray back like a Trojan horse or something. You know, hide what he really is from the outside world with a simple glamour spell or something. I’m guessing he wasn’t meant to die. Something happened during the exchange that caused him to inadvertently die.”
“That makes sense,” Aisling mused, rubbing her cheek. “Maybe it was as simple as a glamour, like you say. I’ve read about them. I thought maybe the thing that came back with my mother’s face was using a glamour at first ... but I didn’t tell anyone I was thinking that.”
“We all had different thoughts about that creature,” Maxine offered, calm. “It’s nice that all the research you did wasn’t for nothing. It’s helping us now.”
Instead of being grateful for the words, Aisling was suspicious. “Oh, don’t shine me on,” she groused. “I’m being serious here.”
“So am I.” Maxine was firm. “You’ve grown quite a bit ... even though you’re still a massive whiner. I can tell. You’ve still got that look about you. I blame that on your father for spoiling you rotten. It’s too late to beat out of you, so I’m opting to ignore it.”
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