Mysterious Ways

by Christine Pope

  “Any change?”

  Cat didn’t have to ask what “change” he was talking about. “I don’t think so. I guess Yesenia texted Dad early this morning to let him know that both Louisa and Malena were stable, but that they also didn’t show any signs of waking up. They were both able to get some water down, though.”

  Which was something, but if this went on for too much longer, they’d have to do something about getting some nutrients into them. He let out a sigh. “I guess it’s better than taking a turn for the worse, but Jesus. I wonder why they both went into comas when you only passed out.”

  Cat gave a small shrug and glanced away, which meant she was probably feeling guilty over the situation, even though there was absolutely nothing she could have done to make things any different. “I don’t know. There isn’t much about any of this that makes sense.”

  No, except that Simon Escobar still had Miranda held captive somewhere. Hopefully somewhere in La Cienega, but they didn’t even know that for sure. All they had to go on was the advice of some disembodied voice who’d decided it was a good idea to visit Cat’s bedroom in the middle of the night to dispense advice.

  Rafe came over and sat down at the kitchen table, then got out his phone and shot off a quick text to Daniel, letting him know they were almost positive Miranda had to be somewhere in La Cienega, even if they couldn’t yet pin down the exact location. Daniel responded almost immediately, thanking Rafe for the tip and telling him he’d be in touch as soon as he had something.

  “What now?” Cat asked.

  “I don’t know. All we can really do is sit and wait.”

  “Which is excruciating.”

  That was a word for it. Rafe drank some more coffee and contemplated their options…not that they had many. La Cienega wasn’t a big place, but they still couldn’t exactly go door to door, inquiring whether the residents had seen anyone who matched Miranda’s description. If nothing else, they’d let Simon know they were closing in on him, and that would only give him a chance to grab Miranda and find another hiding place. The only way they’d be able to get her away from him was to utilize the element of surprise as best they could.

  Which meant sitting tight, even though every minute that passed felt more like fifteen, or twenty.

  Or a hundred.

  “What about Lorena?” he asked. “Do we know if she’s set out for San Antonio yet?”

  “Yes,” Cat replied. “Dad said she left a little after seven, so even allowing for a couple of pit stops, she should get to San Antonio by around three or so. Which means we still have about six hours to kill before we hear anything.

  “Great,” Rafe grumbled. Maybe they should have told Lorena to fly to San Antonio. Was there even an airport in Clovis, though? Flying wouldn’t save them any time if Lorena had to backtrack all the way to Albuquerque.

  “Maybe we should go visit Louisa,” Cat suggested. When Rafe lifted an eyebrow at her, she went on, “You know, to give Oscar a break. I’m sure he’d appreciate it if we stopped by. And it would give us something to do rather than just sitting around here and waiting for Daniel to call. What he’s doing could take hours, or it could take days.”

  God, it had better not. Rafe reassured himself that Daniel tended to work quickly, even though he was also thorough. He’d figure this out today.

  In the meantime, it was probably better to take Cat up on her suggestion. Oscar would no doubt like the chance to step away from his wife’s bedside, run some errands or go down to Rio Rancho and visit his two kids where they were staying with relatives, and a change of scenery might help to keep Rafe’s thoughts from running in the same troubling channels.

  “Okay,” he said. “Why don’t you text Oscar, and I’ll make us some breakfast. You okay with toast and eggs?”

  “Sounds perfect,” she replied, then picked up her phone from where it sat on the kitchen table by her elbow.

  While Rafe wouldn’t call himself a gourmet cook, he was pretty good at scrambled eggs. He got the carton of eggs and some butter from the fridge, and started prepping the pan while Cat sent out a text to Oscar. Just as Rafe began to crack the eggs into a bowl, she looked up from her phone.

  “He says that would be great, and he really appreciates it. I told him we’d probably be over in about forty-five minutes.”

  “Okay.” That would give them enough time to eat their breakfast and then drive out to Las Campanas. Although Rafe wasn’t really looking forward to seeing his sister still trapped in a coma, it would be good to get out of this house. Louisa’s place was much friendlier, with big picture windows that offered gorgeous views of the Sangre de Cristos, and a feeling of light and space.

  Once he was done with breakfast prep, Rafe brought the plates of eggs and toast over to the table. Cat smiled at him as she took hers and set it down.

  “This is nice,” she said, and he shot her an unbelieving look.

  “‘Nice’?” he repeated. “With everything that’s going on?”

  “Well, I wish the circumstances were different, but it’s been a long time since you and I sat at this table and had breakfast together. That’s all I meant. Plus,” she added as she lifted a forkful of eggs to her mouth, “you make some mean scrambled eggs. You’ll have to make some for Miranda after we get her back.”

  “If we get her back,” Rafe said darkly.

  “We will.”

  The way Cat made that statement, she clearly thought the outcome was nonnegotiable.

  He hoped she was right.

  Oscar greeted them enthusiastically, relief at their presence in every plane of his face. “Thanks for coming over — Rosalie and Lewis have been watching the kids, but they really needed to go into Albuquerque today on some business, so it helps that I can go down and spent that time with William and Crystal, if only for a few hours.”

  “We’re glad to help out,” Cat said as Oscar closed the door behind them and led her and Rafe farther into the house. “And if we need to leave for some reason, we’ll make sure someone else can come over and take our place. You need a chance to get out.”

  “I don’t like to say it, but I think you’re right. And I know the kids would like a chance to go to the park. I think I’m going to take them over to the Bosque, see if there are any birds left to watch. We’ll probably have lunch, too, if that’s okay.”

  “Take as much time as you need,” Rafe told his brother-in-law. He figured that the eggs and toast he and Cat had just eaten for breakfast should keep them satisfied for a while. “We’ll hold down the fort.”

  “Great. Our room is just down the hall at the end.”

  Rafe nodded, and Oscar hurried off, phone in one hand as he lifted it to his ear. Probably he was making a quick call to either Rosalie or Lewis, letting them know that he was on his way. If traffic cooperated, he should probably be down there in less than forty-five minutes.

  And he’ll be back in a lot less than that if there’s any change with Louisa, Rafe thought. He and Cat went down the hallway to the master suite, where their sister lay in bed, half propped up against some pillows. She looked better than Rafe had expected; someone had brushed out her long, dark hair, and it lay neatly over her shoulders, which were covered by a long-sleeved T-shirt in a cheerful turquoise hue. Her color was natural, and really, it appeared more as though she was just deeply asleep, rather than in a coma.

  “She looks good,” Cat said in a half-whisper, as though she feared the sound of their voices might wake up their sister.

  “I know.” Maybe too good? His sister’s healthy-looking flush made him think of Snow White, lying asleep after taking a bite from a poisoned apple. No glass coffin here, though. Rafe had a feeling that Oscar had probably kissed his wife as she lay there, and yet she still remained locked in unconsciousness, taken away from them all.

  “You might as well sit down,” Cat told him. “We’re going to be here for a while.”

  True. There were two chairs grouped together with a small side table in front of
the gas fireplace embedded in one wall; Rafe picked them both up and brought them over closer to the bed. He and Cat sat down, then gave one another a pair of uneasy looks.

  “So….” she began, clearly not sure what the protocol was in a situation like this.

  Not that Rafe knew, either, but he’d always heard it was comforting for people in comas to hear the voices of their loved ones. He certainly wouldn’t say anything he didn’t want Louisa to overhear, of course, but having her there as a silent audience shouldn’t keep him and Cat from talking. “I wish Daniel would get back to us.”

  “He will…when he has a reason to call.” Cat set her backpack-purse on the floor, glanced over at the bed, and added, “It’s just going to slow him down if we keep bugging him every five minutes for an update.”

  “I know that,” Rafe replied, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice. “But between the radio silence from him, and knowing that Lorena’s on her way to San Antonio but won’t have anything to tell us for hours — ”

  “And having Miranda held captive by Simon Escobar and us not knowing what’s going on,” she cut in. “I get it. Just remind yourself that you’re doing a good deed here.”

  “I know.” Then again, if he were really doing a good deed, he probably wouldn’t feel as grudging about it. Family was supposed to look out for family, especially in a witch clan, and it wasn’t as though they had anything else they could be doing. That was probably the part which bothered him the most. He always got antsy when he couldn’t be actually doing something. Sitting and waiting wasn’t part of his nature. Unfortunately, he couldn’t change his current situation, except to hope that Daniel would come up with something very soon.

  “I wish I knew who he was,” Cat said, her tone musing.

  “Your ‘friend’ from last night?”

  “Yes. I mean, obviously he was trying to help…but if he actually knew where Miranda was, why didn’t he just come out and tell me?”

  “I have no idea. I’m more interested in how he knew in the first place. You’re sure it wasn’t someone from another witch clan?”

  “Of course I’m not sure,” Cat replied. She rubbed nervous hands over the knees of her jeans, then shook her head. “I wish I did know, because if it had been someone from the McAllisters or the de la Pazes or whatever, then it would have proved that witches and warlocks from outside can get into New Mexico somehow, even if we can’t get out. But I don’t think it was a warlock. He felt…different.”

  “Different how?”

  “I don’t know,” she said irritably. “I’m just going on my gut with this one. But I don’t think it was a warlock, and I know it wasn’t a ghost, so I don’t know who this guy was. About all I can hope is that he wasn’t leading us on a wild goose chase.”

  “Well, we were checking out La Cienega anyway. All he did was confirm that our hunch was right.”

  “True.”

  Cat went silent then, her gaze focused on the still figure lying in the bed. Rafe didn’t think he’d ever seen his sister Louisa so motionless, because she always seemed to be involved in something — chasing after her kids, or helping Genoveva to organize the numerous get-togethers and gatherings that involved the Castillo clan throughout the year. Now, though…she wasn’t dead, but the next thing to do it.

  From down the hallway, Rafe heard Oscar call out, “I’m going now — I’ll be back in a few hours,” followed by the bang of the door that led out to the garage. Now the house felt truly empty, even though it really wasn’t.

  Cat’s phone buzzed, and she hastily pulled it out of her purse and looked at the screen. “It’s a text from Daniel,” she said. As Rafe waited impatiently, she scanned the contents of the message, then nodded to herself. “He says there aren’t any houses in the La Cienega area that have been up for rent as long-term rentals during the past three months, and also that there haven’t been any listings on the various vacation rental sites. He’s checking property records now to find out what’s been bought and sold there over the past year.”

  “Of course it couldn’t be that easy.”

  “Is it ever?” Cat returned her attention to the screen, then tapped out a message, probably acknowledging receipt of the information and thanking Daniel for sending it over. When she was done, she didn’t put the phone away, but left it sitting on her knee — presumably so she could get to it immediately in case Daniel got back to her in the near future. If he was going on to do a title search, Rafe doubted they’d have any new information anytime soon. Even with digital record-keeping, digging through that kind of stuff could be tedious and time-consuming, especially if you were hunting for someone who so far had shown a real talent for flying under the radar.

  It would make sense that Simon might buy a house rather than renting one, just because if you were paying cash, you wouldn’t have to be quite as much under the microscope as you would if you were applying for a mortgage. And once the house was yours, you might have to deal with nosy neighbors, but there wouldn’t be a property management company to come sniffing around.

  In La Cienega, neighbors probably weren’t too much of a problem. The properties there tended to be spaced widely, and if, as he and Cat had speculated, the place where Simon had hidden Miranda had a lot of trees around it, no one would be able to see much, if anything, of what was taking place there.

  Rafe really didn’t want to think about that.

  He was about to tell Cat that maybe they should have Daniel limit his searches to properties of two or more acres, but he didn’t get much further than opening his mouth when something completely unexpected occurred.

  Louisa yawned, stretched, opened her eyes, and said, “What happened?”

  14

  Daring to Fly

  Miranda

  I stared at Simon, mind working furiously. “I — I’m sorry,” I stammered, hoping that I sounded frightened and confused and utterly, utterly harmless. “I don’t know exactly. I guess my foot got caught on this stupid robe you made me wear. It’s too long.”

  Which it was, although I doubted Simon would gracefully accept that explanation.

  My intuition proved correct.

  His grip tightened on my arm, and even in the semidarkness I could see the way his eyes glinted with fury — and, I thought with a note of satisfaction, a measure of fear as well, although I doubted he wanted me to know that. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

  “I broke the spell?” I asked, all innocence.

  “Yes, you broke the spell, and the binding. Now the Lord of Chaos is free on this plane, untethered by any sort of magical control.”

  If I hadn’t gotten the strange but distinct impression from the demon in question that havoc wasn’t what he had in mind, Simon’s statement would have been very worrying. As it was, I could only stammer once again, “I’m — I’m sorry, Simon. I didn’t even know something like that could happen. Maybe you should have warned me, told me what the risks were, instead of bringing me down here and using me as your magical battery or whatever without letting me know any of the important stuff.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I thought you at least would have enough sense to know how to act during such an important ritual.”

  “How exactly would I know that?” I shot back. “The only ‘rituals’ I’ve ever participated in were the ones the McAllisters performed at Samhain and at Beltane, and they weren’t exactly summoning demons, you know? I obviously couldn’t have learned anything on my own, considering I didn’t even have magical powers to work with until a week ago.”

  Simon went quiet for a moment, probably because he wanted to continue giving me a dressing-down but had realized some of this might actually be his fault. Finally, he said, “Ignorance doesn’t excuse what you did. But let’s go upstairs. I need to think.”

  No doubt he wanted to go over his contingencies…assuming he’d planned for any. But then, it seemed that Simon was the sort of person to consider multiple angles of a situation and determin
e how they all might go wrong, so surely he must have guessed there was the possibility — however small — that this summoning might not go the way he wanted. Even if that were the case, though, he probably had thought that the worst-case scenario would be the spell not working at all, not that a high-level demon lord was now free to roam around Santa Fe to do as he pleased.

  Would he, though? After all, even in a city as diverse and colorful as Santa Fe, an eight-foot-tall winged demon with a long mane of black hair would be pretty hard to miss….

  Simon sort of pushed me toward the stairs, and I stumbled for real this time. I hadn’t been lying about that damn robe being too long. Holding back a curse, I gathered it up as best I could and climbed the steps, while behind me Simon snuffed the candles and blew out the incense, then followed me up the stairs. By that point I was almost back up to garage level. The thought flashed through my mind that I could blink myself away now, when I was out of reach. Reluctantly, I pushed the notion aside. Simon was already angry, and if I disappeared on him, I would only invite quick retaliation toward the Castillo clan.

  Nice trap I was caught in.

  I stood off to one side as Simon lowered the door to the basement. He’d left the light on up here, so now I could clearly see the glower on his face as he turned back toward me. “Come on.”

  Without waiting for me to reply, he caught me by the bicep and dragged me inside the house. I wished I could yank my arm from his grasp, but I told myself that I still needed to act meek and scared. The last thing I wanted was to seem like a threat to him.

  He didn’t pause in the kitchen, but continued to the staircase and brought me up to my room. “You’ll stay in here,” he said. “Until I figure out what to do next.” And before I could reply, he slammed the door in my face. As I stood there, I could hear his footsteps loud on the polished tile floor.

  Well, fine by me. If I had to be stuck here, I’d rather be alone in this room than have to endure Simon Escobar’s company. At the same time, though, I had to wonder what he was going to do now that his prize had flown the coop, so to speak. It was too much to hope that he would give up his plans for domination of the Castillo clan — and, possibly, the world — but I didn’t know how he thought he could manage task that without some serious supernatural help. The lesser demons he’d been summoning to do his dirty work weren’t nearly powerful enough.