by Casey Wyatt
Hours later, we made our way downstairs. As promised, Luca had clothes for me. Turns out, part of the reason I hadn’t seen him was he and Meadows were planning this excursion. I was thankful they packed comfortable clothes and remembered shoes.
In the afternoon light, the castle took on a new life. The modern touches, like plumbing, electricity, and weatherproofing, while much appreciated, paled in comparison to the detailed care taken to preserve the castle’s integrity.
“Did you oversee all these restorations?” I said, admiring the wood paneling lining the main staircase. The smooth grained oak warmed under my palm as I clung to the banister. The height and length of the staircase would provide anyone a good workout.
“I did. I completed them only last year.” He paused and stopped at one of the spots we’d made love. “I can smell your luscious scent here.”
My cheeks flamed like a tree lit up for Christmas.
He chuckled and kissed me softly on the mouth. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Hello?” A sweet melodic voice carried up the stairs. “Luca, are you home?”
Luca swore under his breath, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant for you to meet them quite yet.”
“There you are, darling,” said a sweet-faced lady, trudging up the stairs, hands outstretched. Her hair, black as midnight had a white streak in the front bang. And her figure was lithe like a ballerina.
For an eighth of a second I worried that this might be a girlfriend I didn’t know about.
“Bore da, Mother.” Luca clasped the offered hands and pecked her on the cheek.
She, in turn, bent him down for a big hug. “I haven’t seen you in months. The least you can do is hug your Mam.” She peered over his shoulder, then poked his back. “And who is this fair lady?”
“I’m Radiance Ashworth.” I stuck out my hand.
Luca’s mother bowled him out of the way and scooped me into a hug. “Welcome to the family. I’m Carys.” She grinned from ear-to-ear. “I’m glad he’s finally settled down and taken a mate.”
I swear I could see thoughts of grandchildren floating over her head. I shook the image away. No babies as long as I was in the service of the Hereafter.
“Mother, please. Give her some space. I suppose you came alone?” he asked with forced cheer.
“Ack, no! Your brothers and sisters came with me.”
Luca’s face paled. “Oh Lord.”
I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a laugh. Witnessing Luca rattled by the presence of his family was amusing, especially after his assurances to me about my own relatives.
His mother playfully swatted him. “Stop your fussing. We’ve all missed you. Come down. I’ve made you lunch since you slept through breakfast.” She padded down the stairs, leaving us both slack-jawed.
I shot Luca a panicked look. I sure as hell hoped the castle had good soundproofing. Judging by the pink flush of his cheeks, I was thinking not.
It turned out that Luca had a wonderful and loving family. Nothing like the backstabbing, step-over-your-granny bunch that I was related to.
They each introduced themselves and seemed genuinely pleased to meet me. While they all appeared human, I’d come to recognize the same cold beauty of the Alkhari. They moved and spoke with a fluid grace that humans didn’t possess.
In total, Luca had two younger brothers, Dylon and Gaven. They were virtually identical, both with stunning red hair and green eyes, although they assured me they were two years apart. And he had one baby sister, Teagan. She was blond haired, blue eyed, and gorgeous. I’d imagine anyone man who got too close to her would get beaten.
One person who was absent was Luca’s father. The proverbial elephant in the room, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was an underlying tension between them all. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask. What if he’d died? Or left the family? One never knew, and I could sense Luca was at his breaking point. I’d seen him face down a Jiang Shi without a lick of fear, but being around his family seemed to unsettle his sense of balance.
“So how long are you planning to stay?” Teagan asked, pouring me a glass of white wine.
Lunch was chicken leek pot pie covered with a flaky crust and delicious Welsh cheese. I had to stop myself after two servings. I didn’t have an Alkhari metabolism and didn’t want to have to work-out any more than I already did.
“Not long.” Luca checked his phone under the table for the tenth time. I knocked him with the toe of my shoe and made a face. He shrugged and acted like he didn’t know what I meant.
“So were you born into your role as a Redeemer?” Dylan asked. Or maybe it was Gaven.
“No. She wasn’t,” Luca snapped. “Please don’t pester her. You know there are some things we’re not at liberty to discuss.”
Dylan and Gaven exchanged a mischievous glance, which told me that as soon as Luca was out of sight, they’d be peppering me with questions.
The rest of lunch was eaten with no more work-related inquires directed at me. Instead, the men debated the best Rugby team and the state of Welsh politics.
“Who’d like a cup of tea?” Luca’s mother bustled in with a plate of tasty-looking treats. “And I’ve made your favorite Welsh cakes.”
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to go through all the bother for me.”
The brothers burst out laughing. Probably because they knew what would happen next.
Carys narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare rob me of my pleasures in life. You are my first-born child. You know what I had to go through to have you.”
Gaven and Dylan made wide, sweeping motions behind her as if playing imaginary violins. Clearly, they’d done this routine before.
She rounded on them. “And don’t think I can’t see you two. Off with you both. You can do the dishes.” She put her hands on her hips and muttered after them, “I don’t know why I have to put up with such ungrateful children.”
“I would love to try a Welsh cake,” I said, holding up my plate, wearing my brightest smile.
Luca mouthed a relieved, Thank you.
I nearly swooned when the buttery treat hit my taste buds. “These are fantastic.”
Carys beamed and waved away the compliment. “They’re nothing special. I suspect you’ve had fancier and better elsewhere.”
I was about to protest when Luca’s phone chirped. He flashed his eyes down. His face paled and he stood. “We have to go.” He bent down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Sorry, Mam, but duty calls.”
She nodded heavily, and I realized she really did understand. Her shoulders were set in a straight line. Resignation was on her face, the body language of a war wife. “Be safe, son. And you, too, my lovely new daughter.”
Luca hugged Teagan and waved goodbye to his brothers, then ushered me out the door.
“Would you mind filling me in?” I hurried to keep pace.
He stopped when we were outside the castle walls and showed me the text from Joanna.
More murders.
Same MO.
Soul Kitchen.
Chapter 14
Generosity provides a solid foundation for mindful practice.
I hustled to my room and gathered my weapons, anxiety cramping my gut. I hoped Gabriel and his ghosts were okay. It sickened me to learn that more innocent mortal lives had been taken.
“I don’t understand,” I said, meeting Luca in the hallway. I shouldered my new weapons bag. “That Jiang Shi is locked up. Could this be a copycat?” Did the supernatural world even experience such a thing?
“Unlikely, but anything’s possible.” Luca, expression grim, opened a portal.
We landed on the street across from Soul Kitchen. From the outside, it looked like nothing had occurre
d. The same old trash and clutter littered the pavement. But my skin tingled as if static electricity danced over it.
I rubbed my arms, brushing the sensation away. “Where is everyone?” There were no cars and none of the usual miscreants hanging around either.
“Stay alert.” Luca’s gaze roamed around before he opened the door.
I gagged and stumbled back. “No!”
The restaurant was unrecognizable. Tables and chairs were shattered like matchsticks. Broken metal and wooden shards protruded from the walls as if a tornado had rampaged through. Random body parts hung from the debris, squirming with maggots and buzzing flies.
I clutched my stomach and tried to breathe shallowly through my mouth. I tore my gaze off the walls only to be confronted with a worse sight.
The luncheon countertop had been “decorated” with blood and gore. Stark red streaks soiled the formerly white surface.
Luca held me close. “I think that’s writing,” he said, his voice neutral.
I whispered hoarsely, “Please tell me that is not Gabriel.” Even though we’d only met twice, I liked him. He seemed like a good man.
The kitchen door swung open. “Good. You’re here,” Joanna said.
I opened my mouth to ask about Gabriel, when he appeared behind her. There was an ugly gash across the top of his forehand and his arm was in a sling. His clothing was a ragged mess, torn and bloodstained. Overall, he looked like something had dragged him behind a truck.
“Thank God. You’re okay.” I rushed over to him, stopping short of hugging him. “What happened here?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Joanna said. “As you can see, Mr. Cross is fine. He’ll heal.”
Gabriel smiled, then winced. “I’m tougher than I look.” He frowned, gaze taking in the destruction. “All of the souls were unscathed. But it’ll take a while for them to feel safe enough to return.” Anger simmered under the surface of his words.
I couldn’t blame him for feeling that way. Soul Kitchen was supposed to be neutral ground. A safe haven. And something or someone wasn’t abiding by those rules.
I knew what the answer would be, but I had to ask again. “Are you sure that the Jiang Shi is really imprisoned?”
“I verified it myself. In person,” Joanna confirmed, her tone annoyed. Her expression said, How dare you question me?
“We never did recover the vessel,” Luca said. “Some beings are tethered to physical objects.”
“Do we know whose body parts these are?” I asked. The longer I stood there, the queasier I grew. The stifling air wasn’t helping the smell any. I wasn’t about to run away. I’d owed it to, whoever this was, to stay.
“Not yet. We know they’re human. But based on the condition, they seem . . .” Joanna paused, as if choosing her words.
“Old?” Luca suggested.
“There were no humans here when the attack happened,” Gabriel added.
Joanna pursed her lips and nodded. “When I find out what the writing on the counter says, I’ll text you. In the meantime, you two need to find out what caused this.”
I knew what that meant. I was going to have to touch things. I inhaled and exhaled a few times to clear my head. I didn’t know where to start. Everything was smashed to bits. My attention landed on the countertop. We knew for sure the culprit had touched it. So had a thousand others.
With another fortifying breath, I walked over to the shiny surface and chose a spot near the blood. Without touching the remains, I tapped into my power. Numbness traveled from my palm, through my fingers, and up my arm. A second later, my senses were assaulted with loud shrieks, smashing objects, and rage. Whoever had done this was seriously pissed off.
A never-ending stream of hatred slammed into my brain. I staggered from the force but maintained contact. Luca and Gabriel stepped forward, but I gestured them away with my other hand.
I focused, concentrating on the images before me. The kitchen. Ghosts fled, helter skelter. Wind blasted and smashed tables and chairs. Gabriel emerged from the kitchen like an avenging angel. Blue light emanated from under his skin. Matching colored flames engulfed his hands. He grappled with the intruder. His resistance only angered it further.
Threads of a thought reached me. Must avenge him. How dare they—?
A white-hot burst exploded against the side of my head. I must have blacked out because when I opened my eyes, Luca’s worried face hung over me. Gabriel, looking equally concerned, stood over his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Luca held a cloth against my nose.
Warm metallic liquid seeped into my mouth. Blood. My head throbbed like I’d been clubbed with a blunt object. “Maybe.” I pinched the bridge of my nose to stem the bleeding. “Did I hurt myself when I fell?”
Gabriel and Luca exchanged an uneasy look before Luca responded. “Not exactly.”
My eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
“You sprung a nosebleed,” Joanna said. “It means you’re probably empathic. A pity for you.”
“Joanna. Really? That was rude,” Gabriel said, glaring at her.
Luca looked worried and pissed at the same time. He helped me upright and spoke into my ear. “No worries, annwyl. It’s not fatal. We will have to work on your control more. That is all.”
“Well, what did you learn?” Joanna tapped her foot.
“This is not the same Jiang Shi.” I dabbed at my nose, happy to see the bleeding had stopped. My stomach rumbled. The lemon craving ignited and my nausea made me queasy. I needed fresh air.
Joanna nodded as if happy that she’d been correct all along.
I headed for the door. If I spent another minute inside, I’d hurl. I yanked the door open, the bright sunshine hurting my eyes.
“Wait!” Gabriel called to me. “You said it’s not the same one. There are more than one of those things?”
“Yup,” I said, before vomiting in the street. Oh yeah, there was another Jiang Shi out there. And if she was a volcano, she’d be Krakatoa and Vesuvius rolled into one.
“Better now?” Luca rubbed small circles into my aching back. He’d thoughtfully supplied me with lemon candy drops. While they made the craving go away, sickness roiled my insides. All his mother’s fine Welsh cooking wasted.
“Yeah,” I lied, popping another candy into my mouth. “Should I worry about the empathic thing?”
He took a long time answering. So not good. “I will think upon it.” Translation, he’d be lying awake at night. “You are not the first one. Barriers can be placed in your mind.”
That would suffice for now. We had bigger issues. I took his hand into mine. His face seemed fuller, less gaunt. Like he’d been recharged. That book on the Alkhari had been right. I wonder how long Luca would have gone before he collapsed.
“The forehead wrinkle is back.” He caught my gaze and smiled. I smiled back. “That’s better. I have some good news. I have a possible location for Allen Chen.” He tapped his cell phone.
“Ah. The eyes and ears found something.”
“Indeed, they did.”
Chapter 15
You will have a long, adventurous life.
When we arrived at the city museum, I snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why on earth would he come here?”
Luca shrugged. “Why don’t we go inside and find out.”
We walked up the wide stone stairs for what seemed like ten flights. When we reached the top, my lungs burned. Luca, as usual, hadn’t even broken a sweat. As we passed by the stone sphinxes guarding the entrance, he spoke soft words, then patted the foot.
“Those are your eyes and ears?” I gaped, half expecting the statue to wink at me.
“One of many,” he said, holding the door open for me.
A uniformed guard nodded as
we went by. The lobby was filled with lines of noisy school children ready to depart onto the black and yellow buses we’d passed on the street. Every noise, from the squeak of sneakers on the marble floor to the hushed conversations of passing employees, was magnified by the high-domed ceiling’s acoustics.
Luca hustled us out of the lobby and away from the more popular exhibits like the mummies and Greek statues, past the Renaissance paintings, deep into the more neglected displays. The corridors grew more and more quiet. He stopped when we reached the Asian art displays.
I pivoted around, searching the area. My hands were buzzing with energy. I imagined if I unleashed my power here, the sheer number of objects in this room alone would blow my mind apart. The artifacts whispered their stories into my ears as if they had mouths to speak with. It was almost too much to handle.
“Cariad,” Luca called in a hushed voice and motioned for me to join him, his fingers to his lips for silence.
We peered around a set of Chinese Fu Dog statues to see a lone man sitting on a bench in front of glass case of jade objects. On display, row upon row of beautifully hand-carved pieces many of them lidded jars like funerary urns.
Low sobs carried across the room. His shoulders shook up and down, molded by despair.
Allen Chen was not a happy camper. And I didn’t blame him. He was about to become a lot more unhappy if he didn’t cooperate. Retrieving the stun gun, I crept around the statue as silent as possible. Luca circled around the other side to cut Allen off if he tried to run.
I approached the bench cautiously. He appeared not to notice my arrival, but it could’ve been an act. I fingered the gun’s trigger, ready to use it if required. As I entered the periphery of his vision, he seemed lost in his own thoughts. His lips moved silently as if uttering a prayer. In his fingers, thick beads clacked. I’d seen them before used by Buddhist monks.