I paused. “Wait—you mean the morgue you guys went to was the one where the first bodies were brought?”
He nodded. “I didn’t realize it either till halfway there.” He searched through the pantry and pulled out a container of cocoa powder and proceeded to load up the glass with it. “The general idea is—Daniel’s responsible for the murders.”
I nearly dropped the mug I’d pulled out. “Say what?”
“The first body was found the day after he disappeared from the facility. Now he’s been seen asking specific questions about the bodies—he seemed to know about the symbols and described a few. The employees he spoke to all said he was courteous and polite, and a few said the word, and I quote, ‘hawt.’ ”
Yeah. That was Daniel. I’d always said he was hawt. And kind. But . . . “Daniel’s the suspect?”
Sighing, Joe reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded wad of papers. He unfolded them and set them on the counter. “These are photocopies of things he’d drawn on the wall of his room at the facility a week before he vanished.”
I took them up and immediately recognized them. “These were on the bodies.”
He nodded. “Finding that didn’t help.” He resumed his chocolate-milk making, pouring the milk over the heap of cocoa before fighting a spoon down into it. “And I wanted to talk with you away from all the others. Is it possible he’s possessed by a Horror again? Not necessarily yours?”
I shrugged, still looking at the copies. “I suppose anything is possible, Joe. Though unlikely. Apparently, it’s not that easy to make a Horror and unlikely Phanty will have the opportunity soon.”
“But it is possible that once used by Phanty, Daniel could be again?”
I put the papers down and narrowed my eyes at him. “What are you getting at?”
“Nothing really—just theories. The nurses at the facility all said Daniel had all the symptoms of someone suffering from posthypnotic stress syndrome. And that five days before he disappeared, when he started drawing these, Daniel seemed lucid and cooperative. The model patient. And then he vanished.”
I pursed my lips. “Sure sounds like possession, don’t it?”
“Yeah, and the murders started a day later.” He took up the milk and drank half of it. His milk mustache was priceless. “He’s the prime suspect right now. No other leads. What I don’t have in this is motivation. Though Jason had a theory.” He leaned against the counter. “As a Horror, Phanty had access to Daniel’s mind. What if that’s what’s happening now? He’s using Daniel to wipe out the competition? Only he’s looking for the spell of obliteration or whatever it is and is working on it through Daniel from memory.”
“Makes sense that it’s not working. He’s only got most of it.” I shook my head. “I don’t know. I would say ask TC, but—”
“Yeah, about that.” He set the glass down. “Why did he make off with that small book?”
“To see what was inside? Did Jason tell you that all the Revenants received notice prior to the killings that someone was resurrecting that spell?”
“No . . . but that explains their wanting grimoires. And our little buddy is a walking book.”
I asked him if he’d been told about the break-in yesterday. He nodded. “And how the book inside Dags might belong to a Revenant. This just keeps getting better and better. I can always count on you to raise the spooky, Zoë.”
I grinned at him. The kettle whistled, and I dropped a tea bag into the mug. After a few seconds, I poured hot water in on top of it.
Joe’s phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket. With a frown, he answered. “Halloran. What’s up?”
Within seconds I knew it wasn’t good news. He didn’t say much, but his expression gave away everything. When he hung up, he looked at me. “Go get showered and dressed.”
“What is it?”
“Another body. They found this one near here. Over at the Jimmy Carter Center.”
Damn. “Lex have it?”
“Not yet. But she will. And Zoë—”
I reached out and touched his arm. “I know. It could be another Revenant.”
IT was.
I could hear them calling the moment I stepped out of Joe’s truck and into the morgue. Coming here in the daylight was a little different, especially in the heat. Once we were through the make-shift Dekalb security area up front, Joe led the way to Lex’s area. There were bodies stacked everywhere—well, not literal bodies, but gurneys with bodies littering the area. I’d say Lex had a backup.
Moving through into the private examination room, we found Lex standing next to another carved and drained body. This one was another male. Asian. Lex looked at me with an accusatory look. “This has to stop.”
“Like I’m doing it?” I said in a less-than-happy voice.
“They think it’s the crazy cop. That he’s been possessed.”
I glared at Joe for sharing his views with Lex, though I could understand. Lex was a good friend of his. I could only shrug. “I don’t know, but I don’t believe it.”
“He tried to kill you.”
“He was recovering from being possessed. It takes time to work through the bugs. And I seriously doubt Mr. There-Is-No-Such-Thing-as-Magic has access to or possesses some arcane spell capable of destroying Symbionts—or First Borns—or whatever.”
Lex only glared at me. “And maybe the spell is in the book inside your lover.”
Okay, wasn’t expecting that statement. I glanced at Joe, but he looked as bewildered as me.
“Lex, who told you that?” Joe said.
“No one.” And I knew she was lying. “But I knew it when I met him, sensed he wasn’t right. There is a Grimoire inside him, and if there is any possibility it contains the spell, then we must have it. If we can get that spell and use it on the Phantasm—”
I knew where she was coming from, and I could respect it, but, “Lex, we’re not sure how to get the spells out of the book. And he doesn’t have access to them on a voluntary basis.”
“Then we take the book out of the boy.”
Joe put up a hand. “No can do. You do that, he dies.”
“So?”
Oh, piss off, bitch. I turned at that moment and left the room. Lex yelled after me, and Joe was right on my heels. He wasn’t trying to make me go back. No. He was walking with me, through the corridor and out the door.
When we got to the car, Joe’s phone started ringing. He paused at the truck door and pulled his phone out. Grinning, he said, “Lex,” and put it back inside his pocket.
“You’re not gonna answer it?”
“No. I’m gonna make her come out here.”
Come to think of it. “Do Revenants go out into the sun?”
“Zoë, they’re a product of the Abysmal plane. Nothing there likes the sun. They can tolerate it, but it gives them headaches.”
HAHAHAHAHA.
Once we got in the car, Joe put the key in the ignition. “Three . . . two . . . one . . .”
And on cue, Lex came out of the front of the building, a black umbrella shielding her from the afternoon sun. She walked with purpose and anger right up to my window. I banged the lock down and was glad the window was rolled up because she nearly pressed her unearthly face into the glass.
“You must release him!” she shouted through the window.
“Release him?” I yelled back. “You talk about killing an innocent man—someone I care about—to get your book, and you want me to release someone close to you? No!”
She put her hand against the glass, and I could see her First Born shining through. Oh lawdy . . . what do normal people look like? I forgot. My life consisted of nonnormal people.
I needed a vacation.
Joe opened his door. “I’ll handle this.” He got out and motioned Lex to follow him to the front of the car. I watched them fight for a while. I don’t know if Joe thought I couldn’t hear them—because I could—or if he thought he could better handle Lex in this matter. After a few m
inutes of conversation in a lower voice, Lex turned and stalked back into the building.
Joe opened the door. “Okay. She’s promised not to touch a hair on Dags’s head.”
“Or on his body.”
“Or anything. She’s to remain hands off if you’ll come and release her friend.”
I got out and followed him in. Lex was back at her position, staring down. I shifted into Wraith as soon as I entered the room and stood across from her. I took in a deep breath and allowed all the power I could muster from the physical plane to become evident to her. She took a step back as I spoke, my voice deep. “I’ll release them—but if Dags is hurt in any way, I will come after you. Are we clear?”
She swallowed and nodded quickly.
Everything happened the same. His name was Hephaestus (what was with these huge-ass power names?), and his host was Yoshi. Again, he could give me no real description of who did this to them—having been previously trapped inside of Yoshi’s body. I released both of them, and again felt the surge of power as He - phaestus gave me strength. Afterward, I remained in Wraith form as the body disintegrated into goo. I turned to Joe. “I think whoever is doing this knows enough about Revenants that it’s trapping them in the bodies first.” I looked at Lex. “How is that done?”
She was watching the body dissolve and looked at me with distant eyes. “I—it’s easy. We’re still locked to the weaknesses of the human host. If the human body slips into a coma—there is little else we can do. It’s like being locked inside of a dark box, with no windows or exits.”
That sounded a lot like where I’d been during both experiences. A dark box. “So the human hosts were somehow put into comas or somehow made unconscious. Someone in the medical profession?”
Joe shook his head. “It’s a new lead. I’ll check it out. Oh”—he grinned—“Lex found a hair on this body didn’t belong to the vic. It’s being rushed through trace.”
“Rushed?” I winced. “Joe, I know how this really works. It’ll take them weeks to get through it.”
“No, it won’t,” Lex said. “Because I’m doing the work myself alongside them.”
Well, that was a comfort.
Once Mastiff arrived at Mom’s, Joe left, muttering something about mending fences. Mom and Jemmy were there, and I told them what’d happened, after Jemmy made sure Mastiff had plenty of snacks and drink while he circled the perimeter of the house. The two of them filled me in on getting Dags to the estate and settled in. Jason had volunteered to work with him on accessing the book and seeing what sorts of spells were contained within, and perhaps helping him access them on call.
Mom didn’t seem to like that idea, and she was doubly worried about there being blanks in the book. “I don’t remember there being any blanks, Zoë. Rhonda and I went through that book thoroughly.”
I suddenly had a huge brain fart. “Mom . . . when you guys were looking at the book, back when we were dealing with the Shadow People . . . you didn’t happen to make photocopies, did you? ’Cause I seem to remember you doing that.”
She blinked at me. Jemmy cackled out loud and slapped her knee. “Lawd, chile—I think you’re right. I remember trying to get that book situated in the machine at FedEx Office. Nona here was all worried about bending the spine.”
“Oh great Lord and Lady.” She grinned and looked at me. “Sometimes you have moments of brilliance.”
Uh. Thanks. I think?
I shucked that away. “So what we need to do is find those copies.”
“Oh, I have them.” Mom moved to the basement door from the kitchen, opened it, and hit the light switch. Tim appeared beside the door.
“You going down?” Tim asked.
“Yeah. Where you been?”
“Dealing with Steve.”
“What’s up with him?”
“Apparently you’re playing favorites, always including me and not him. So he’s pouting.”
Oh God, I do not need a drama queen.
“Zoë!” Mom called from downstairs.
I put my hand on Tim’s shoulder. Solid shoulder. I patted it again. Wow. I was touching him. “Huh . . . that’s new.”
He was wide-eyed too.
“You’re kinda bony. Ask Steve if he was paying attention when that Revenant was in the house, okay? Maybe that’ll help. Just—see if he saw anything, so we can get a better idea of what was in here and what it was looking for.”
“They’re gone!” Mom called. “The box is open, and they’re gone!”
Tim and I looked at each other. But it was him that said, “I guess that’s what it was looking for.”
21
MOM was mad.
Okay, lemme rephrase that. Mom was pissed OFF. Believe it or not, Nona Martinique does enjoy her privacy. As do I—though I’ve had little of that lately. The thought that some Revenant had come into the house and stolen anything rankled her nerves to no end. She huffed and stomped back up those stairs, past me, and straight into the kitchen. Tim and I stayed out of her way, as did Jemmy.
In fact—where did Jemmy go?
Mom grabbed her phone off the counter—a Sidekick, I noticed—and pressed SPEED DIAL. I moved out of her way and into the tea shop. “Jemmy?”
“Rhonda—that motherfucker stole the copies!”
I was thinking Rhonda was going to need some serious Exced - rin, judging by the volume of that call. Yow. Abruptly, I felt a cold breeze in the tea shop and moved into the botanica. There was no sign of Jemmy—had she left?
But, standing in front of the fireplace, was TC, holding up the book. I stopped in the doorway and watched him. “Well, you’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here after stealing.”
“I didn’t steal,” he said, and tossed the book on the coffee table. “I borrowed. Had to have a look inside.”
“Didn’t find the spell?” I picked the book up and held it close to me without opening it. “I mean, you could have just sat here and looked at it.”
He looked at me over his shades. Milky eyes. “Riiiiight. Like that was gonna happen with the hen party about to start. I knew the moment you pulled that plug”—he nodded to the book in my hands—“those Familiars were gonna show up. Sorry if I wasn’t in the mood to deal with any supernatural PMS.”
I glanced down at the book in my arms. “So—it’s not in here.”
“It’s illegible. I couldn’t find anyone who could read it. It’s in code or something. And there’s nothing magical woven into it at all.”
“Really?” I held it out and looked at it, turning it in my hands. I half shifted (I can do this!) and stared at the book. But there was nothing of the glow I’d seen the night before. Maybe that had been simply an effect from being closer to the Grimoire? And on a whim, I held it in my right hand and opened it.
The interior was illustrated by hand, with very well-drawn diagrams. But the language—well—it looked more like a kid had drawn a bunch of pictures. I thumbed through it and shrugged before closing it. “Wow. Maybe this isn’t what they thought it was.”
“I would believe that,” TC said. “If it hadn’t lodged itself astrally in book boy’s chest directly into the Grimoire, nobody would care. We need to get into that book. The Bonville one.”
“Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “You harm a hair on his head, and I promise I’ll take you out.”
He didn’t flinch. He wasn’t even looking at me but in the direction of the kitchen. Ah. Mom. He was listening in on that conversation with Rhonda. Which was a good thing since I was holding the book in my left hand now and opened it back up—
—I could read it.
I blinked down at the actual English words, then closed it. Making sure TC was still looking away, I opened it again and just landed on a page and started reading silently—
—within the darkest heart. For if there be life without love, then there be damnation without salvation. Samael was full of loneliness and in that despair of darkness brought forth his brightest light, a child of sun and frivolity, and
he named him Aether to light the way—
I slammed the book shut.
WTF?
TC had moved away from me and was standing just at the door between the two shops, listening. I knew I should shoo him away, but—I looked down at the book again, holding it in my right hand. When I opened it—the language was indecipherable.
Huh? What? I held the book in both hands, and the text melted, to be replaced by English again. I flipped to the back, where it looked like there was a strange genealogy with names. I scanned down the list quickly, only recognizing three of them—Hephaestus, Mephistopheles, and Yamato. The list was in triple columns along several pages, with birth dates spaced a shitload of years apart.
Were these the names of the First Borns? Whose journal was this? And how was it I was reading it when I—
And then I remembered the scroll of symbols moving from the Grimoire within Dags to the mark on my arm. Was that—could it be—
Something like a Rosetta Stone?
To test, I held the book in my right arm—the language became illegible. When I held it in my left hand—
It was like a translation! I had to tell Mom!
And with that thought came an overwhelming need to throw up. I doubled over, dropping the book on the floor, and gagged out loud. I felt as if my stomach were going to come up through my mouth.
“What’s wrong with you?” TC said as he knelt beside me. It wasn’t exactly a tender moment. But it was a little odd having TC actually ask that question.
I shook my head, the nausea starting to slide away, but my stomach—
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER?!”
You know . . . lately . . . Mom really had the Charlton Heston voice going on. Moses on the mountain thing. I jumped, and it looked like TC did as well as we both looked up to see her standing in the doorway, a gun in her hand. Oh, I remember that gun—she’d shoved it in my face a while back. And now it was pointing at TC.
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