He paused for a moment. “All right. As much as I’d like to tell her to fuck off and die, except I don’t want her hounding me in the afterlife here, why don’t you tell her this: I miss her too. And that’s really not a lie. I miss being able to get revenge on her for what she did to me over the years. She had four affairs, and she still expected me to leave her every cent even though she flaunted her lovers in front of me. Not only that, but I have the suspicion that she doctored my food. I was in good shape before that heart attack. But there’s no way to prove it.”
He was pacing now, but he only got a few paces from Mary when the energy of the Keeper’s Seal pulled him back to her side again, like a rubber band snapping back after it had been stretched too far.
I thought for a moment. “Who do you want the information on your bank accounts to go to?”
He gave me a long look. “If you can free me, I’ll trust you enough to tell you. I’m sorry, but I obviously can’t pay you for your trouble, not from here.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “No payment necessary. Tell you what. I’ll do what I can and if I can free you, give me the information and I’ll pass it on to whomever you want to know about it. Consider this a pro bono case.” I glanced at Mary. “I’d better wrap this up. If I take too long, she’s going to get suspicious.”
“Thanks.” He paused. “I don’t even know your name.”
“Raven BoneTalker. Hopefully, I’ll see you Sunday night after midnight. That’s the earliest I can make it.”
I gave him a little wave, then walked back to my body and slid back inside through my crown chakra. Another second, and I blinked and opened my eyes.
“Did you find him?” Mary asked, her eyes narrowing again.
I gave her a soft smile. “Oh, yes, I found him. Though it was difficult—the energy used in attempting to contact the dead is tremendous.” I feigned a yawn and stretched.
“Did he have anything to say?” She gave me a nervous look.
“He told me to tell you he misses you. That much I could hear. Your husband seems like he was a wonderful man. I’m certain he’s watching over you.” I was sorting through my thoughts, thinking about what to do with the second part of her request.
“Did he say anything else?” The question was grasping, a grumpy demand.
I was rapidly coming to dislike Mary. “A few things, but nothing much to make sense of.” I cleared my throat. “Speaking to the spirits isn’t quite as easy as calling someone on the phone.”
She looked put out, but then pointed to my crystal ball. “Can you find out anything about the missing accounts? I mean, the ones I lost the information on?”
It occurred to me that maybe I should put her on the spot and ask her why she just didn’t contact the bank, but that might tip her off. Better she think I was some woo-woo ditz than think that I knew what was going on. At least, until I had a chance to free Frank.
“Let me see.” I cupped my hands over the crystal ball and gazed into it with a look of concentration. In reality, I was thinking about what to make for dinner. I didn’t want to see anything because then I’d feel obligated to give her some sort of answer. Instead, I thought about food—always a safe choice. I’d need to eat plenty of protein to ground myself before going over to Lana’s, so decided to stop on the way home and buy myself a steak.
After an appropriate amount of time, I sighed, pushing the sphere away from me. “I’m afraid that all I see are jumbles of numbers and dates—and they all run together. There’s nothing usable there. I’m sorry, but the spirits aren’t cooperating today. I’ll cut my rate in half for you today, because I wasn’t really able to help.”
Like I expected, she bought into it. As she reluctantly handed me two twenties and a ten, I stood, indicating the reading was over. As soon as she was out of the shop, I turned to Llew.
“I need the components to break a Keeper’s Seal.” I leaned on the counter.
“Uh oh, she trap a spirit?” He turned to the wall behind him and began pulling jars of herbs off of the shelves. “You’ll need some devil’s tongue, and mandrake root—but I know you have the mandrake. You’ll also need powdered silver,” he said, adding a small packet of silver powder, “and a bottle of Uncrossing Water.”
“I already have the Uncrossing Water and the mandrake, yes. Anything else?”
“Graveyard dust. I assume you’ll be casting the curse-breaker in the cemetery so that shouldn’t be a problem, unless you want some that’s been purified.”
“Add that in. The cleaner, the better. I don’t want to mess this up. That bitch paid a skud to bind her husband’s spirit to her, so she could attempt to bleed his accounts dry. I assume she’s holding him hostage for the information. She also seems to have had a hand in his death, but I can’t do much about that. I don’t generally cast justice spells.”
I frowned, wishing I could do more for Frank. I used questionable means to achieve my ends at times, but I never bound a spirit without good cause. It was as cruel as throwing someone in a cage.
“All right. You might also want some blightwort. It will cloud what you’re doing until you’ve actually accomplished it. Just burn it before you start the spell.” He held up what looked like a fireworks sparkler. “Set it alight and it will give you about half an hour in which to work and get out of there without anybody being the wiser.”
“Thanks, Llew. I wish I could get to it tonight, but I’m busy until Sunday. I’ll take care of Frank’s situation after we deal with your creepy doll. Will noon be all right?”
“Noon’s fine. We’ll both be here.”
“Okay, it’s a date. Sunday’s setting up to be a busy day, but I like busy.” I accepted the bag of supplies, then turned as my next reading walked through the door. “Looks like it’s back to the cards for me.”
As I headed over to the table, relieved to see it was one of my regulars who never had difficult questions, my thoughts lingered on Frank’s situation. Sometimes working with the spirits could be a pain in the ass. Other times, it made me feel like I was actually doing some good in the world. I had the feeling this was one of the latter.
Chapter Five
By three-thirty, I was ready to go home. I’d made over six hundred dollars. I handed Llew his ten percent cut. “I’m toast. I’m surprised I had so many readings today.” I usually preferred to keep it to two or three readings on the days I read the cards, but today I’d had six, back to back. I didn’t need the money, but I wasn’t going to hand out my services for free. That just brought an attitude of indifference and entitlement from customers.
“I think that word is getting around about how accurate you are,” Llew said. “I’m nearly out of your business cards, by the way. Bring me another stack when you come in next week?”
I nodded. Most of the time, I read out of my house, but now and then I needed to get out. My presence helped bring in customers for Llew, too, so it was a win-win situation.
“Will do. I’ll see you and Jordan on Sunday to take care of creepy-pants up there.” I jerked my thumb toward the ceiling. “I don’t think we should hold the ritual here. It’s not safe to tangle with spirits in a place that has so much magical energy in it. Remember, we need Jordan, too.”
Jordan wasn’t fond of magic—at least being involved in it—but I needed him present since the doll was his.
“Oh, he’s going to love this. But I guarantee he’ll show up, given how much he hates that thing. I found an iron box in a closet upstairs that has a locking lid. I put the doll in there. Will that work until Sunday?” Llew finished counting out the till and locked the cash register.
“Yeah. That should be fine.” I slipped my package of spell components in my tote bag. “All right, I’m ready to head out.”
“Oh, what do you want in return for taking care of Chucky’s sister?” Llew snorted, but then shook his head. “I shouldn’t joke about it. I halfway expect to see that thing come creeping into our room some night, meat cleaver in hand.”
“Consider it done. When we finish the ritual, we’ll head down there for dinner. See you Sunday,” he said, waving as I headed out the door.
I stopped on the way home to pick up some steaks. Raj loved steak and I always made sure to buy plenty for the both of us. I also added a few tomatoes, some potato chips, and cookies to the cart. I’d given Raj the last ones for his morning snack.
By the time I got home, it was four-fifteen. I gathered my mail, then headed up the walkway to my house. I’d bought the place about thirty years ago, when I moved to the Eastside to be near Ulstair. My father had sent me a check for my birthday to cover the cost, and I paid for it outright, rather than just put a down payment on it. My house was worth sixty-five thousand dollars the day I closed on it. Now, it was worth over a million.
I glanced next door at the neighbors. They were noticeably absent from the front yard, for which I gave thanks, and I unlocked my door and peeked into the foyer. The sound of the TV was still going, but everything else seemed quiet. Sometimes when I arrived home, I found the place in a shambles from Raj goofing around. Other times, he managed to keep his cavorting under control.
I dropped my keys in the dish by the door and locked the door behind me. I didn’t trust my neighbors enough to leave it unlocked. As I took off my jacket and hung it on the hook by the door, Raj came bouncing into the foyer.
“Raven home! Raven home! Raj missed Raven.” He leaned up against me and I stroked his head, the leathery skin cool to my touch.
“Was Raj a good boy today? What did you do while I was gone?” I held up the shopping bag. “I bought steaks for dinner!”
“Steak?” He perked up. “Raj loves steak.”
“Yes, I know you do, so let me take these into the kitchen so I can make us an early dinner.” I tucked the bag of spell components into my purse so I wouldn’t lose them, then carried the food into the kitchen. As I fired up the grill pan and coated the steaks with a thin layer of a mild spice rub, my phone rang. With one hand, I set the steaks to the heat, and with my other, I fumbled my phone out of my bra where I tucked it for easy access, and answered.
“Raven?”
Ember was a new friend, but I had taken a real shine to her. She was tralaeth in the Fae community—an outcast because she was half-Light Fae and half-Dark. But that didn’t matter to me. She worked for the Wild Hunt Agency, a freelance investigation company. Chartered by the gods, they policed both of the Fae Courts so they didn’t kill each other and everybody else with them. Ember lived in Seattle with her roommate Angel, and was heavily involved with Herne the Hunter, the demigod who ran the Wild Hunt.
“Yo, hey chickadee. What’s up?” I rummaged through the silverware drawer, pulling out a pair of tongs so that I could turn the steaks when they were ready.
“Angel and I were just wondering what we can bring tomorrow night.”
I grinned. “A designated driver. And snacks. I’ll supply the booze. You guys bring snacks. We’ll order pizza. I managed to get hold of a bottle of Stygian absinthe. That should take care of any alcoholic needs we have.”
“Stygian absinthe? Should we be afraid?”
“Very. It was a gift from a client who needed to visit one of their relatives who crossed over the Styx. I played liaison between the woman and the Boatman.”
“You negotiated with Charon?” Ember coughed. “You have to be kidding me.”
“Nope. I spent two days bargaining with him until he agreed to let her visit and return.”
“That sounds like a buttload of fun. Not.”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
In fact, the entire ritual had taken two full days, including the nights. I’d spent forty-eight hours awake, on the banks of the River Styx. The ritual had cost my client an inordinate amount of money—over twenty-five thousand dollars converted into gold—in order for Charon to let her cross. I’d been on the verge of panic the entire time, terrified something would happen during the money transfer, but we had managed it and she had her visit and found out whatever it was she needed to find out. In addition to my fee, which had been ten percent—twenty-five hundred dollars—she had given me several gifts, including the absinthe.
“So are you going to have to pour us into an Über?” she asked.
“Figure on that, or staying the night.” I glanced at the steaks. “Hey, I’ve got dinner on and I have an appointment tonight. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“I’ll ask Angel to whip us up something yummy. Or we’ll just buy junk food and slum it.”
As I slipped my phone back into my bra and flipped the steaks, Raj came up behind me, rubbing against the back of my legs. Feeling misty—I was missing Ulstair—I wiped my eyes, and set to making a salad to go with the steak.
Lana and Tag lived in an old house in the Old Town district of Redmond. The house had seen better days. It was large—three stories with a basement—and at one time, it had been lovely, but now it was weathered and the yard was overgrown. It was on a double lot, though, and the tangle of vegetation was a welcome change from parking lots or the heavily groomed lawns that were common in the suburbs.
I had brought my bag o’ goodies, as I dubbed my magical traveling bag, and now, as I stood looking up at the looming house that towered over me, I had the distinct impression that something was watching me from one of the windows. Perhaps it was the house itself, or maybe something was lurking inside. Either way, even before I approached the door, I felt a trepidation.
Lana let me in, glancing behind me toward the street.
“Is Tag gone?”
“He set off this afternoon on his trip. I broached the idea of asking you over to check things out and he got really pissed. I’m not certain why he was so upset. It’s not like you’re charging for this.” She paused. “You aren’t, are you? I mean, if you are, I’ll find the fee, but right now I’m between jobs and things are tight for me.”
I shook my head, glancing around as I entered the house. “Not to worry. I offered to come look.” It wasn’t entirely true. When she mentioned needing my services professionally, I had assumed she wanted to hire me. But Lana was a friend—albeit a friend from a bit of a distance—and I wasn’t going to quibble over money, unless the fix was terribly expensive. Sometimes the spell components to take on certain spirits could get pretty steep, like if I needed diamond dust or ground sapphires. But usually it wasn’t enough to worry about.
As I entered the foyer, a sudden breeze swept through, almost knocking me off my feet, except it wasn’t physical. I blinked, reaching out to touch the wall to steady myself. Taking a deep breath, I shook my head, suddenly dizzy.
“Is something wrong?” Lana asked.
I winced as the first inklings of a headache began to set up shop. “I’m not sure. There’s definitely some energy playing havoc here. Do you get headaches a lot? Or feel sick to your stomach? Nightmares?”
“Yeah, actually I do.” Lana frowned. “Come to think of it, I’ve gotten a lot more headaches since I’ve moved in. And I have a lot of nightmares, too. Dreams of vague creatures chasing me, mostly.” She paused. “Come on in.”
As she led me into the living room, I froze. There was an energy beneath my feet—beneath the floor—that reverberated through the soles of my shoes. What the hell was going on? I knelt, placing my hands against the carpet. The energy continued, rippling under my fingers like a slow heartbeat.
“Lana, what’s below this room?”
“The basement, I assume. The door’s in the hallway. Tag keeps it locked, but I know where the spare key is located. Should I take you there?” She shivered, pulling her sweater closed. “To be honest, I hate this house. I wish he’d agree to move, but he won’t hear of it. He said the landlord gives him a fantastic deal on rent and that he can’t beat it.”
“I wonder who his landlo
rd is. Maybe we could find out the background of the house easier if we talked to him…or her.” I glanced around. “How much do you pay in rent, anyway? This house must be worth a lot, given the jump in real estate prices.”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. Tag invited me to move in a few months ago, but he’s the one who pays the rent. I’m not on the lease or anything like that, especially since I’m between jobs. He talked to his landlord and got the go-ahead for me to move in.”
Lana opened a rolltop desk in the corner, searching until she held up what looked like a skeleton key. “Here we go,” she said, leading me into the hall, where she opened a door that was between the living room and another room.
The door opened to reveal a stairwell leading down. The stairwell was covered with cobwebs and dust, and the light illuminating the steps came from a single bare bulb hanging overhead. The lightbulb was old, giving off a yellowed hue. The stairs had a rickety railing, and they turned back on themselves after half a flight. Thirty steps and we were standing in the basement.
The walls were old brick, covered with a thin layer of grime as though the basement had been through floods and never been cleaned. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, along with spiderwebs in the corner. The place mirrored every low-budget horror novel or movie I’d ever read or seen. There were trunks and boxes scattered around the floor, and in the dim light, I could see that the basement had been sectioned off into several rooms.
“When’s the last time this place saw a broom?” I asked.
Lana laughed nervously. “As I mentioned before, Tag doesn’t want me to come down here. He said one of the steps was broken, but I didn’t see it. He won’t even let me down here to clean. He keeps saying that he’ll get to it, and that he wants to do some repair work first. Apparently, some of the lights down here also have frayed wires and he doesn’t want me to accidentally start a fire.”
Witching Hour: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 7 Page 6