by Krysta Scott
She sighed. “It’s hard to say. That’s not the crazy part. Guess who met me there.”
“Who?”
“Garrett Nightshade. He was in my mind but I was able to lock all access before he could do any damage.” She left out the rest. Some things weren’t anybody’s business but her own.
“Good for you.” His raspy voice turned cold. “What did he say?”
She hesitated unsure how much to reveal. If Garrett was telling the truth, Songe couldn’t be trusted. Both men had reason to manipulate her. She was the lucky one stuck in the middle. “Not much at that time. But he came to my office and once again informed me he was an Enforcer. He warned me to back off.”
“You need to be wary of him. If he is an Enforcer, he has more than one way to get to you.”
“What can I do?”
“Just be on guard when you go casting. If he can get into your mind, he can get into any. The Nightshades are very strong and they have the ear of the Guild.”
“What, exactly, can the Guild do to me?” She had been raised apart from an entity that now seemed to have her life in a vice. There was no justifiable reason a group she knew nothing about should have such a huge impact on her choices. But from the moment she received the necklace the walls had closed in with no sign of relenting.
“For one, they can stunt your abilities. We can’t have that now that we are so close to our goal.”
Alarm shot through her. She had just been introduced to her talents and now there was an agenda? One that she was being brought into piecemeal. If Songe let her in on the whole plan, would it stop her from doing as he wished? A shiver shimmied down her spine. Maybe Garrett had good reason to fear her. She was casting without all the facts. It just felt so good to assist floundering parents. All she wanted was to create healthy families. Had she been wrong to try? She didn’t want to be part of a larger plan she knew nothing about. “What goal is that?”
“Bringing your father back.”
What? “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” Seriously, her grandfather had forgotten she was a mere novice and knew next to nothing.
“Just keep doing what you are doing, Nikki. All of these events are intertwined. Once we find out which Guild member set the fire, we’ll settle things. It’s important to get to the information before Nightshade.”
A chill of regret engulfed her. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so candid with Garrett. What if she’d delivered information right into the enemy’s hands “What makes you think they’re looking?”
“Now that our family is back on the grid, they’ll be looking. I can promise you that,” he said harshly.
She drew her brows together and sighed. God, her life had become complicated. Last night she had started a chain of events that would end in disappointment for someone or worse. But she couldn’t back track now. There was no alternative but to move forward. “What do you need me to do?”
“You have access to Garrett, and therefore Guild business. Be on the lookout for things that appear off kilter. For now, see what you can do for the Hanovers. You need to practice your skills before you go back that far.”
“How far?”
“Farther than any caster has gone in a long time. Back to where it all began.”
She hung up the phone. Everyone was speaking in riddles. If she read her grandfather accurately, he wanted her to reach back in time and change events that happened when she was a child. How the hell was she supposed to do that?
Chapter Sixteen
For someone who had been hiding for sixteen years, Mr. Songe was a little too easy to find. The minute Garrett left Nikki’s office, Mark called with the address. William Songe seemed to be thumbing his nose at him. Garrett quelled the uneasiness brewing in his gut. Just what was Songe up to? The series of coincidences were stacking up at an alarming rate. Nikki’s assignment to the Hanover case just as her powers surfaced had fix written all over it. That meant there had to be a connection between the Hanover family and Songe. There could be no other explanation. He would explore this connection when he spoke with Parker this afternoon. But first up was a visit to Songe.
Garrett pulled up in front of a two story, white brick house with iron fenced wraparound porches on both floors. Songe hadn’t suffered much during his exile. The house gleamed with mockery. The well-manicured lawn and exquisite landscaping was lush—every plant and bush expertly placed along deep green healthy grass. The man who lived here didn’t care about watering bans or droughts. He was rich enough to pay the fines, and arrogant enough to flaunt his financial status. When you had power to influence people, money wasn’t hard to come by. It didn’t matter what Songe said he did for a living, the man could weasel his way into any business from a purloined pen or business card.
Songe isn’t much different from me. Acid roiled in the back of Garrett’s throat. It had been a long time since he helped someone in any significant way. As misguided as she was, Nikki was at least trying to make things better, and he was the man hired to bring her down.
He rapped on the door, not expecting Songe to answer, but the door swung wide. The thin man with thick white hair and glasses delivered an unnerving grin. His eyes gleamed. Had he been expecting him? “How nice to see you so soon, Mr. Nightshade.”
“I’m sure it is,” Garrett retorted. Nikki must have tipped him off. “If you have a moment, I have a few questions.”
“I always have time for my granddaughter’s friends.” His emphasis on ‘friends’ made it sound like a distasteful word. Nevertheless, Songe stepped back, allowing him to step inside.
The interior surfaces gleamed deep, rich, golden brown without a speck of dust despite a faint musty tinge tainting the air. The long plush carpet runner absorbed the impact of their footsteps so that no sound intruded during their solemn walk down the hall. Songe turned right into a large living area. A stark green Victorian couch stretched across the backside of the room facing a vast stone fire place. A large mahogany coffee table occupied the space between the couch and a wing back chair. Songe dropped into the chair and motioned for Garrett to take the couch. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to talk to you about Nikki.”
His grin broadened. “Exquisite, isn’t she?” Songe settled into his chair with a self-satisfied tinge as if he was contemplating a rare work of art.
Garrett’s lips twisted. Nikki was nothing but a mere tool to Songe. Sure, she was a bleeding heart who wanted to rescue the world, but it was also charming the way her hair dropped in her face like she was a shy teenager rather than a competent attorney. Songe didn’t appreciate her real value. He saw her as a means to an end. Garrett crossed his arms and glowered at his adversary. There was no way he was going to let Songe use Nikki. “You think you have created the Shadow Dancer.”
A deep chuckle. “I have created her. Everything I have done was to bring her to this moment.”
Songe’s arrogance festered in Garrett’s gut. An air of madness clung to the man like a shroud. “What moment might that be?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, Mr. Nightshade.” He offered him a toothy grin, picking crumbs from his pants. “I’m not quite ready to expose my plans just yet.”
“I don’t think you have a choice.” Garrett kept his voice even. No matter how much this man goaded him, he refused to play that game. “You do know that I’m an Enforcer. It is my duty to look into these matters.”
“Ah, yes. My plans would annoy your precious Guild. Not that it matters much. They won’t succeed in stopping me. Nikki is strong. You won’t be able to touch her.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Yes, we will.” Songe leaned forward, elbows on his knees, smile never wavering. “The Guild is such a pious organization—so filled with their own virtue—they don’t even know when to stay out of matters not their concern.”
“This is a concern of the Guild.”
“You think so, young man?” Songe leaned back, rubbing his fingers across his l
ips. “What would the hired help really know about Guild matters?”
Garrett bristled. Songe was clearly trying to egg him on, determined to send him in the wrong direction. Getting under his skin was apparently some family trait. If Garrett was to gain the upper hand, he had to skirt Songe’s diversion and narrow his focus.
“Maybe.” Garrett surveyed the opulent room with contempt. He trailed a finger over the stiff back of the couch. Stiff and immobile like Songe. There must be a way to get through to the man. “But you have allowed a Shadow Dancer to survive, and that is against the dictates.”
His expression went grim. “She is my granddaughter, and no one will tell me how to deal with my family. Making her an isolate was out of the question. You have no idea what that will do to a person.”
“And you do?”
“Oh yes.” His eyes grew harsh. “I wasn’t always an outcast. When Nikki was born, I pleaded with the Guild to allow her develop naturally. They forbade it of course. I was left to train her myself.”
Garrett stood and crossed to the far wall taking in the oil paintings depicting scenes from more pastoral days. An old rickety farm house, golden fields of grain and fine English gardens. The room reeked of archaic traditions. The exact type, Songe mocked. No pictures of family lined the walls or the hearth. Just trinkets and nothing more.
Nikki was born exceptional. And the Guild knew. His mother had left out that choice detail. A potential Shadow Dancer had lived, yet they locked the information away insisting such a person couldn’t exist. Garrett shuddered to think how many other secrets lay hidden within the Guild’s sacred walls. “The Guild knew about Nikki?”
“Indeed they did, and then tried to destroy her. First, by attempting to curb her abilities. Thankfully, I was able to protect her from that. When they couldn’t make her an isolate, they tried to kill her.”
“What?”
“That shocks you?” Songe’s eyes narrowed with a wicked gleam, his smile widening. “People will try to control what they fear, and when they can’t—they kill them.” He shrugged. “The Guild never understood we could be so much more.”
Garrett wondered if Songe weren’t a little nuts. Even if he didn’t care to admit it, the years of exile had to have taken their toll. The loss of association with other casters was hard on all of them. They needed one another to survive. Songe’s maniacal speech was evidence of what the Guild had done by sending him away. “The Guild doesn’t kill. If they did you would be dead.”
“You think so?” Songe stretched out his legs with a casualness that belied the seriousness of this situation and winked. “You underestimate my talents.”
“Even you can’t manage to evade the will of the entire council.”
“I already have.” He cocked his head to one side. “It took a lot more effort than I’d have liked but I was successful in hiding from the council for twenty-four years. You know about me now because I allowed it.”
“Why?”
Songe bared his teeth his voice seething with venom. “Because when I bring down the Guild I want them to know exactly who did it.”
“What would that accomplish?”
“I’d get my family back.” Songe spit out the words with the certainty of a preacher’s faith in a higher power. But surely Songe knew what he wanted was impossible to obtain. Didn’t he or had insanity taken a firm hold?
“You can’t change the progression of events.” Garrett spoke in the soft tone one used to ease a troubled mind.
“True enough,” Songe said. “But Nikki can. And she will.”
****
“Come in, Mr. Nightshade.” Lars Hanover opened the door to his house and led Garrett straight into a living area with a couch, love seat, and chair with a matching ottoman. Mrs. Hanover already occupied the large overstuffed chair. She switched off the TV, rested the remote on the arm, and waited for both men to have a seat.
Parker waltzed into the room. The lines on his face had eased since the last time he’d seen him. He walked with a bit more swagger. He still wasn’t much to look at but the Hanover family resemblance was more apparent in the set of his nose and jaw.
Garrett took a place across from Carolyn Hanover. Parker leaned against the wall smirking and picking at his nails. For some odd reason, Garrett’s agitation increased in Parker’s presence. It didn’t help he was already burning from his meeting with Nikki’s grandfather. The bastard was bat shit crazy and he was going to drag Nikki down with him. But what puzzled Garrett most was the Guild had knowledge of a potential Shadow Dancer. His mother had conveniently left out that little detail. Maybe she truly thought Nikki had perished in the fire. But Garrett suspected a far more insidious reason. Could the Guild have been involved in Nikki’s biological family’s destruction? When Mark came back with the answers, he would be able gauge that for himself.
Garrett turned his attention to Parker.
“Took you long enough to get back with me.” Parker dropped into his chair with a loud thump. “If you had waited any longer, my wife and I would have reconciled.” Nothing in his tone indicated he was joking or being sarcastic. No eye tic or twitch of his lips. His expression remained placid, completely void of emotion. Had Nikki’s intervention caused Parker’s lack of concern?
“Now, Parker, that’s no way to talk to your attorney. Show some respect.” Although her words were meant to be a reprimand, her voice held no conviction. She didn’t meet Parker’s or Garrett’s gaze. Both Lars and his wife stared at anything but the people in the room. Garrett knew things had not gone well the last time he’d met with the Hanovers, but they seemed more uneasy than someone who had just lost one round in court. Something else was going on and that something had to do with their son and his bizarre statements.
“There’s no point in engaging in wishful thinking, Mr. Hanover.” Garrett placed a legal pad on the table and picked up his pen. “I’d like to start preparing your divorce case.”
Parker sniffed. “Not necessary.”
“Pardon?” Garrett leaned forward from the edge of the couch clasping his hands in front of him. His palms grew sweaty. He wasn’t certain what it was about this meeting that made him nervous. Every breath he took was harder than the next.
“You heard me.” Parker’s eyes measured him steadily. Was he considering dismissing Garrett as his attorney? For a fleeting moment, Garrett considered pushing the point. Just a little nudge and he could be free of this loser. His jaw tightened. It was better to see this thing through especially since there were aspects to the case that extended beyond his client.
“Mr. Nightshade, can we turn this situation around?” Carolyn Hanover’s milky blue eyes poured sincerity as if she was asking how her son fared at camp. But hidden beneath the layers of her wrinkled skin lurked panic.
“I can’t help him unless he cooperates,” Garrett said mildly. He’d often met with Parker’s kind of arrogance from a client who wasn’t paying the bill. The last ditch effort of those who couldn’t manage their own affairs to maintain some semblance of control. Not that his bristling made any difference. He didn’t stand a chance of ever having more than supervised visitation if his attitude didn’t improve.
“See,” Parker leaned in conspiratorially. “I really don’t need your help anymore. It’s all been handled.”
“Parker…” Anything else Carolyn Hanover might have said was stilled by Parker’s acid glare. She closed her mouth and looked to Lars for help. But Lars wasn’t paying attention. He was still staring off into space in his own separate world.
Garrett dropped his pen onto his legal pad eyes never wavering from his client. “Usually my clients don’t come to terms with losing custody, their home, and having limited visitation this soon. What’s your secret?”
Parker drummed his hands on the chair arm and fixed him with a saucy stare. Confidence oozed from him. It wasn’t just false bravado, or even stupidity, there was substance behind his air of certainty.
“I don’t have one. I’m reco
nciling with Amy soon.” Parker traced a nonexistent design on the chair’s faded material with his index finger.
“And how do you plan to manage that?”
A slow satisfied smile crept across his face. “It’s already done.”
“What’re you playing at, Parker?” Garrett squeezed his pen so hard its cheap plastic flexed with the tension. He didn’t know why he was letting this ‘I’ve got my life under control’ wannabe irritate him so much. Maybe it was the way Parker so easily said the words. Like they were fact. He was so sure of himself that Garrett almost believed him. That set him on edge.
Parker’s expression melted into amusement. “You have no idea what I am do you?”
“Yeah, I do. You’re the schmuck who gave his daughter a black eye. Now you have to be babysat just to see her.”
Parker shook his head slowly from side to side. “Lori’s eye was an accident. Besides, that’s about to change.”
“Fine.” Garrett pushed himself from the table with such force the table trembled. “I don’t have time for your games. Since you have nothing more to offer, I’ll come back another time.”
Parker rose his unruffled grin never wavered. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“Right.” This guy was seriously out of touch with reality. A trait that had probably landed him in this situation in the first place. Providing zealous representation for Parker would not be easy.
“It’s true.” His velvet soft voice wound through Garrett, setting each nerve ending on edge. Nails across a chalkboard couldn’t have been worse. Garrett winced. “So I don’t have use for you after all.”
Garrett allowed a slow smile. This spoiled weasel was about to be out of macho posturing. After attacking the ability of your attorney, there was really nowhere else to go. He folded his hands on top of the table. The jewels on his ring glinted under the light. “You about done?”
Parker’s eyes traveled to the ring and then back to meet Garrett’s gaze. Although the arrogance had not completely left Parker’s face, he appeared more contrite. “I should have had one of those.” Parker swept his hand around the room and laughed. “But I wasn’t allowed to grow up in the usual way.”