by A.M. Burns
13
Alexia Rosenbloom looked much better sitting in my office than in the conference room in the police station. William Cromly, Council lawyer, and werewolf, sat next to her. A short stocky man with thick gray hair, William was dressed impeccably in a dark suit like most lawyers. I debated if it were true black or midnight blue with single strings of gray running in an almost undetectable pattern. I wasn’t sure of his age, especially since werewolves, like most magical races, age so much differently than those of us from mostly human stock. The feral look in his crystal blue eyes must have given him an edge in the court room. Even mundane humans must’ve been able to see the predator staring out from them. Then again, I’ve often said there’s not a lot of difference between a wolf and a lawyer, except you can win fair negotiation with most wolves.
Daphnia Collins, a powerful empath who tends to handle special cases for the Council, occupied the third chair. I should’ve realized she’d probably be assigned to Alexia due to the trauma she’d been through in the past day. She’d handle getting Alexia back to normal, and if Alexia’s testing went well, Daphnia would integrate her into the Council since Alexia wasn’t a member of one of the ancestral witch or psi families and wasn’t a magical creature like a wer or an elf. She’d have a bit of a harder time making it very far in the Council hierarchy, but they’d at least give her a place and a sense of being. Depending on how good a medium she was, I might even see about trying to supplement that placement a bit. But right now Daphnia was the best thing for her. She’d do her best to make sure that the lasting psychological damage was minimal.
“I just don't think this is a good idea,” Daphnia said, for the fourth time since our conversation began.
“But I want to try,” Alexia pleaded with the counselor.
“I don't see the problem here,” William said coldly.
“We’ll do everything we can to minimize any emotional trauma that might have occurred,” I explained. “Besides, it’ll give her a chance to say goodbye. It might also help the spirit to rest better and she’ll have a stronger connection to him than anyone other than his mother. It’ll make things a lot easier. There’ll be less of a chance that something might go wrong.”
“Are you suggesting that things often go wrong when you try and contact the spirit world Mr. Peters?” Daphnia’s radiant blue eyes turned toward me.
I felt like a rabbit that just realized there was a hawk staring at it. But I refused to freeze under that piercing gaze. “Not at all, but I know from experience that it’s easier to communicate with a spirit if the one trying to place the call is someone the spirit knows. And since the body’s not buried and even Diane can't get us permission to do a séance in the morgue, we’re going to have to do the calling away from the body. That makes it more difficult, even if it’s less than seventy-two hours since the spirit passed over.”
“Mr. Peters has a point.” William sounded as formal as ever, or maybe I should say as lawyer like.
“Mr. Peters always has a point,” Daphnia argued. “The problem is we’re dealing with the emotional state of a very fragile young woman here. It might do her irreparable harm to actually summon the spirit of the man she allegedly killed.”
“And it just might give her a sense of closure so she can go on with her life knowing he knows she didn’t kill him, that it was something possessing her,” I’d grown weary of Daphnia’s arguments. Previously, I’d only had minor dealings with the woman. I ran into her once in a great while, like when I actually attended a Council function. She’d never been in my office before and I hoped she’d never be again. But I knew if I could get her to agree with this, she’d be here later when we tried to communicate with Barry Crabtree.
“There is certain validity to your argument, Mr. Peters,” she conceded coldly.
“So why not just let her try,” I interrupted before she could throw in more garbage. “If she fails, then Tiffany and I can do the calling. If she succeeds, then it can be added to her Council testing file, saving you and the testing group time.”
“I am certain the testers would appreciate the effort,” William added while Daphnia glared at me.
She turned to Alexia. “Dear, you don't have to do this.”
“I want to do this,” said Alexia on the verge of tears. “I need to do this. I’ll feel so much better if I can make Barry understand that it wasn’t me.”
“But what if he won't understand?” For an empath, Daphnia wasn’t being very sensitive at the moment.
“That’s a chance I have to take. I owe it to Barry.” The look on Alexia's face was so determined that I could see Daphnia flinch. I’m only a minor empath, but I could feel the emotions the girl focused on the woman. I have no doubt that given time and training, this girl would become a very powerful person in her own right.
Daphnia frowned and turned back toward me. “Fine, I’ll allow it, but only if I’m present.”
“As long as you sit in a corner and stay quiet, I don’t have any problem with you being here for the circle.”
“I can, as long as you realize that the second something goes wrong, I’ll yank her from the circle before it has a chance to cause more harm than good.” Apparently she didn’t realize that there are no corners in a circle. This woman just couldn’t think outside the box. I bet she had little or no sense of humor, either. “And I want Mr. Cromly here too. We might need his negotiating skills.”
“Now Daphnia, we’re going to be dealing with a spirit less than forty-eight hours dead, not an OD from one of the lower levels.”
“I don't care. If Mister Cromly isn't there, then neither are Alexia and I.”
“Have you asked William if he is interested in being here when we call the spirit?” I hoped he’d have something else going on. The circle was getting a bit crowded.
“Sounds like it might be interesting,” said William, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I've never been to a séance before. And it just happens that I’m free all evening.”
“We prefer to call it a Spiritual Calling,” I corrected as I buried the sigh I’d felt building from underneath my kidneys. “Séance has such a negative connotation to it. Sounds too sleazy, you know, like shyster.” I have to give William points. He didn’t bare his teeth. He didn't even bristle visibly.
“Spirit Calling, okay, I can be here.”
The light on my phone flashed a warning from Tiffany that I needed to wrap this up if I was going to make my next interview, the one with Madeline Fort. “Daphnia, if you don't mind, why don't you and Alexia spend a few minutes with Tiffany to review the procedure for Spirit Calling.”
Alexia's eyes lit up at the prospect of learning something new.
“I don't think we’ll need to do that, Mr. Peters,” Daphnia tossed her long brown hair as she stood up from her chair. “We’ll be here promptly at eleven tonight. Come along Alexia.” Daphnia sounded more like a governess than a trauma counselor.
Alexia caught my eyes as she stood to follow. There was the first faint hint of a smile on her lips that I’d seen so far. I could almost hear a slight telepathic thank you.
“You're welcome. See you tonight.” I smiled back at her as Daphnia's too narrow back approached the door.
“Well, since I'm driving I guess I should go along too before she comes back to get me,” said William with a sigh. “See you guys tonight.” He nodded submissively to Dusty. William was one of the lower-ranking wolves. He might be old and a damn good lawyer, but he’s not overly powerful. He knew his place in the pack and honored any wolf that was higher in the pecking order.
“Later William,” was all Dusty said as the lawyer headed for the door.
With a long held sigh, I slumped in the chair as the door closed.
“So what has Daphnia's panties in a bunch?” Dusty asked.
“No idea, I don't know her well. Maybe she just has a thing against trying to talk to the dead.”
Dusty slid off his customary perch on the corner of my desk and came over to straddl
e my chair. “Maybe she’s just trying to protect the kid.” He pressed his warm lips against mine.
I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him forward.
“Okay you two, no time for that,” Tiffany said from the doorway. “You need to get on the road. You've got forty-five minutes to get over to Madeline Fort's place and she’s out in Garland, so you better get moving.”
I released Dusty from my arms with a slight growl. “Yes, Tiffany,” I said, doing my best to make it sound like “Yes, Mother.”