by J. L. McCoy
Swallowing thickly, I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably. “Well, uh, I know this is going to sound completely cuckoo bananas, but I think I just saw a ghost.”
“And?” he asked, not understanding the significance.
“Do you know if they’re real?” I asked first, needing to get that out of the way.
Rioghan and Ruarc exchanged a glance before Ruarc chimed in. “They exist, but most aren’t sentient. We sure as hell can’t see them, but werewolves can. Like most other dogs, they can see things we cannot.”
“So I’m not completely crazy?” I questioned in immense relief.
“That remains to be seen.” Rioghan chuckled diminutively.
Ignoring the jab, I told my story. When I was finished, I found that Ruarc and Rioghan were staring at me like I’d just sprouted a horn.
“Evil?” Ruarc asked at the same time Rioghan chimed in.
“Harbinger of death?”
“So you see why Hagan thought it would be a good idea to tell you guys about this,” I said before turning to Ruarc and addressing him directly. “Do you have any idea what she was talking about? What she was going to say next before Hagan came in and interrupted? Have you ever heard anything like this?”
Ruarc cleared his throat and shook his head. “That’s a pretty wild story.”
“It’s true,” I stated, rather defensively. “Every word of it.”
“Sounds like she was referring to possession to me,” Rioghan said thoughtfully.
“But she’s a vampire,” Ruarc spoke up as he looked me over once. “How can a demon be inside of her?”
“Demon?” I exclaimed, holding one hand up. “Hold the effing phone. What are you talking about? There’s no demon inside of me.”
“You told us before that Amun shared his soul with you. Would it not be plausible that in doing so, he created some kind of ‘possession’? He inhabits you, therefore, you could be referred to as possessed.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Ruarc stated, rather excitedly, at least as excitedly as I’ve ever seen him. “That would explain so much.”
I wanted to scoff and call them crazy, but I played devil’s advocate and asked the question I most wanted to know. “Okay, say I am actually buying into the theory. How would you get the ‘spirit’ out of me?” I asked, making quotation marks with both of my index and middle fingers. I refused to refer to it as a demon.
“An exorcism, of course,” Rioghan answered like I’d asked the silliest question in the world. “Cardinal Flannigan would perform an exorcism and follow it with a blessing.”
“I don’t buy it,” I argued, shaking my head slowly side to side. “I’m a good person. I believe in God for crying out loud. And I took communion at my Sacred Vow ceremony. Would a person who is possessed be able to do that? I think not.”
“I think you have something much bigger than a common demon inside of you. You have a piece of Amun, the father of all Dark vampires.”
“Will you just stop saying demon?” I exclaimed exasperatedly. “I’m not evil.”
“No, you aren’t, but the part of you that is Amun is, Skye,” Ruarc explained carefully.
Sighing, I put my face in my hands and felt myself tear up. I knew deep down that what he said was correct. There was something dark and dangerous inside of me, and it was something I had difficulty controlling at times. So what if they’d called it darkness or spirit or demon; it was still Amun and Amun was clinically, irrevocably insane.
“I haven’t found any other plausible explanations for why you two are connected so deeply. It wouldn’t hurt to take a visit to Cardinal Flannigan and talk to him about this.”
“I don’t know, Ruarc,” I said, rubbing my face with my hands to wipe away the tears before I met his eyes.
“This isn’t up for negotiation,” Rioghan stated plainly, getting up from his chair. “You will have a consultation with the Cardinal.
“But what if it completely changes me?” I asked, suddenly afraid. “What if I lose all my powers and everything that makes me unique? I’m afraid it will take away my immortality. Everyone on this earth can die but me, including you. I just don’t know if that is something I’m ready for. I have so much I need to do still.”
To say I’d gotten used to true immortality was an understatement. I liked the fact that I could take on anyone in any situation and not worry about dying. If they took that away from me, I would be like everyone else and I’d actually have to look over my shoulder every day.
They both gazed at each other long and hard. I knew Ruarc was thinking there was a possibility that I would end up a normal Day Walker. I could hear his thoughts and knew he was unsure if he wanted that. He could use my gifts in the army of The Faithful, and he was busy counting the ways.
“Then it is for you to decide, Miss Morrison,” Rioghan said, rather gently for him. “It is your life. But I would take whatever warning the woman gave you to heart. If there is even a slight chance that you’ll turn out like Amun, I hope you will take heed and speak with the Cardinal. But just know this... if you do turn out like Amun, I will hunt you down to the four corners of the earth and plunge the Sword of St. Patrick into your very heart myself.”
I swallowed hard and looked over at Ruarc. “It would be easier just to kill Amun. We have his body here already, sir,” he said rather sadly as he stared at me. Even though his eyes said he would regret the decision, I knew without a doubt he’d sooner kill me than have another Amun on his hands.
“Are you threatening me?” I asked, miraculously refraining from the huge gulp I felt in the back of my throat.
“Absolutely,” Rioghan answered, crossing his thick, corded arms over his broad, muscled chest as he cocked an eyebrow at me in challenge.
“I’ll take it under advisement,” I said, mirroring his stance. Like hell was I going to let anyone intimidate me. Yes he could try to kill me any time he wanted by just going to Amun’s tomb and injuring him, but I knew the only thing that could kill me was safely locked away in a place only Archer knew where, and I knew my boyfriend loved and cherished me above all. He would die protecting that sword and in turn me.
“Touché, Miss Morrison.”
“You know, I came here for guidance,” I said as I drew energy around myself and got ready to teleport back to Hagan, “not to fight. I wanted your expert opinion, and you’ve instead made me wish I never came.”
“He didn’t mean—” Ruarc stated, but I teleported, cutting him off.
Landing back on the plane, I could tell we were still ascending by the angle and sat down in the chair I narrowly missed next to Hagan.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he stated, glancing over at me.
I pursed my lips at him, unamused by his comment, and he burst out laughing.
“What? Too soon?”
“Aww, kitten,” Corvus purred at me, laughter in his eyes. At least someone found Hagan’s joke funny. “Did your visit not go well?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I stated plainly, leaving no room for discussion. “Where are we off to next?”
Chapter Nineteen
Tierra del Fuego. Budapest. Morocco. Johannesburg. Egypt. Italy. On and on we searched, and every time we came up empty. I was growing more tired and impatient by the day. Sleep was hard to come by, and whenever I did sleep, I dreamed of Amun. It seemed like the more I denied myself sleep, the crankier I got. Hell, everyone was cranky after almost two solid weeks of searching. Hagan and Corvus were at each other’s throats, and I was at both of theirs. It was a fubar situation and we all knew it.
Every time the sun rose and set in a new location, the closer my father slipped to the guillotine. If I couldn’t find Stanus in time, I knew without a doubt that Atticus would kill him, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to live with myself if I allowed that to happen. Family was family, no matter how fucked up and dysfunctional the relationships were. And my relationship with my father was the most f
ucked up of all. I’d wondered more than once why I cared so much about a man who despised my very existence, but I never came up with any good answers.
“Well, that’s the last of them,” Hagan practically growled as we loaded up onto the plane again.
We’d just searched the last address we had in Italy and came up completely empty-handed. We had no solid leads, and it looked like Stanus just up and disappeared from the face of the earth.
“I say we find his girlfriend again and torture more information out of her,” Corvus said, sitting down at the conference table.
“We can’t do that,” I stated, walking over and taking a seat across from him. I grabbed the mound of paperwork and went through it for the hundredth time. “There has to be something in here. What did we miss?”
“We’ve been through every location, Morrison,” Hagan said, taking a seat at the head of the table. “I say we cut our losses and get back to the States.”
“For the last time, I’m not letting Atticus kill my father.”
“Maybe you can negotiate with him another way?” Hagan offered, halfheartedly,
“Maybe you can stuff it,” I replied under my breath, and Corvus chuckled.
Sighing, I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then apologized. “Sorry, it’s just... we’re out of time. We have thirty-six hours to accomplish the impossible. I think we should just take the risk and let me teleport to him.”
“No!” they both exclaimed in unison.
It was an argument we’d had several times over the last week. They refused to let me teleport to Stanus because they feared I’d be trapped in the lion’s den without any hope of escape. There’d be no way for them to find me if I did meet trouble, and they weren’t willing to risk it. I had to agree with them, even if I didn’t want to.
“Then help me go through this pile of paperwork again. We had to have missed something.”
Reluctantly, they both grabbed a stack and started digging through the mound again. I focused on mine and was soon lost in it.
For the thousandth time, I came across the tattered, faded map I found in the teahouse in Amsterdam and studied it closely. The lines were near invisible, and it was hard to read. An idea suddenly struck me, and I jumped up from the table, cut on all the cabin lights and held it up to the brightest one.
“What are you doing?” Corvus questioned as he got up from the table and came to stand next to me.
“Tell me what you see when you look at this?” I asked as my eyes followed the faded outlines of land.
“It’s a map of Scandinavia,” he answered, not understanding, as he lifted his finger to point the individual countries out. “That’s present day Norway, Sweden, and Finland.”
“Finland,” I whispered under my breath as my mind raced. “Stanus’s girlfriend is from Finland.”
“I don’t understand the significance,” Corvus stated as he looked over at me.
“Helsinki, she said,” I continued, not paying any attention to him. “Where is Helsinki on this map?”
Corvus thought a second and then pointed to the southern tip of Finland.
I held the map up closer to the light and gasped. There it was, on the northern end of Finland, the faintest circle, barely visible.
“What?” asked Hagan, coming over to take a look at the map with us. “What do you see?”
“First, tell me what you see,” I said, moving the map over, closer to him.
“I see... I see a small circle,” he answered, completely surprised.
“What city is this?” I asked, turning back to look at Corvus.
“That would be just outside of present day Inari,” Hagan answered, pointing at the lake next to it. “And Lake Inari.”
“We have to check this out,” I said excitedly, folding the map back up and turning to look at the two of them. “This is just too much of a coincidence, don’t you think? This may be the last lead we have on Stanus.”
“I wouldn’t call a faint circle on an ancient map a lead, Morrison,” Hagan said skeptically.
“It’s all we have,” I stated, practically growling in frustration.
“You want to use the last bit of time we have flying to Finland?” asked Corvus, folding his arms across his chest as he stared down at me.
“It’s either this or I teleport to him,” I answered, mirroring his stance. “I don’t have any more time.”
“Are you sure?” Hagan asked, leveling me with a serious gaze. “We won’t have time to search anywhere else.”
I thought long and hard for a moment as I chewed on my bottom lip. This was just too much of a coincidence in my book. Ansa had met Stanus in Helsinki right before she was turned. What else could Stanus have been doing in Finland other than living there? It just fit.
I nodded and met Hagan’s eyes. “I’m sure. We have to take the chance. I’m not ready to admit defeat here. Even if I miss the deadline with Atticus, I still want Stanus caught and punished for what he did to Nikki. I won’t rest until I find him.”
“I’ll have the captain fly us to Inari,” Corvus said before turning and heading toward the cockpit.
“Can you bring up a map of present day Finland?” I asked Hagan and watched as he pulled out the plane’s iPad.
Once the map was up, he zoomed in closer to Inari, and I lined up the lake on the Viking map with the one on the iPad. The circle was a direct match for a town named Uruniemi, and I knew we’d possibly just found Stanus.
Folding the map up, my excited eyes found Hagan’s and I smiled. “Let’s go get that bastard.”
A few hours later, the plane landed in Inari, and we geared up to the gills. Uruniemi was located on a tiny peninsula on Lake Inari, and I knew whatever compound Stanus was possibly hiding in would be easily found. Uruniemi was the last possible place we had to search, and I was treating the stop as my Hail Mary pass at catching him. It was either find him here in Finland, or admit defeat and return to Atticus empty-handed. I didn’t like losing and wasn’t planning on starting now.
“Transport to Uruniemi will be here in twenty minutes,” Corvus said as he assisted me into the spine reloader harness.
“Thanks,” I replied as I tightened the straps before looking over my shoulder at Hagan. “Anything promising on the GPS?”
“There’s a massive compound about ten clicks due west of town,” he answered before tossing me the small screen. “It appears to be a private residence, not a resort. I’m inclined to believe we may have actually found something.”
Catching it, I glanced at what was on the screen and let out a low whistle. “Someone spent a pretty penny on this place. Did you see the wall around the main compound? It’s a veritable fortress.”
“There are two guard towers on the southwest and northeast ends,” Corvus said, pointing to the screen over my shoulder. “What’s the game plan?”
“I’ll take out the guard in the southwest tower,” Hagan answered, patting the sniper rifle on his shoulder. “Corvus, you take the guard in the northeast tower. We’ll shoot on my mark.”
“Roger that,” he affirmed, as he chambered a round in his main pistol before holstering it.
“Morrison will run perimeter and eliminate any security she finds.”
I swallowed thickly as I finished strapping on my thigh holster. I really didn’t want to have to kill anyone else and would only do so if I had no other choice, but I chose not to tell them that. I doubted either of them would agree with my current stand on permanent elimination.
“Yes, sir,” I answered in agreement.
“We’ll rendezvous at the northwest corner of the perimeter wall once the ground is clear and scale it together. We move as a team this time. No splitting up. There’s no telling how much security the compound will have, so let’s err on the safe side and assume it’s holding heavy.”
Corvus and I nodded in confirmation.
I was silent as I loaded up on magazines and checked and rechecked my three pistols. My thoughts were on S
tanus, and I quietly sent up a prayer to the heavens that we had finally found where he was hiding.
“You okay, Morrison?” Hagan asked, coming over to watch me prep. “You’re unusually quiet.”
“Just praying, sir,” I admitted honestly.
“Say one for all of us, if you don’t mind. I’ve got a weird feeling about this one.”
“Sir?” I asked as I stopped what I was doing and glanced up at him. Hagan never had doubts about a location, and it worried me that he was voicing them now.
“Just watch yourself, okay? Don’t take any chances and stay on my six,” he said, gazing back and forth between my eyes.
“Shouldn’t you be on my six, sir?” I asked, jokingly. “On account of me being bulletproof and all that.”
“You aren’t bulletproof, Morrison,” he corrected, “just hard to kill. Don’t take any liberties, you got it? Stay on my six and follow my lead.”
“You’re no fun,” I smirked, but gave him a wink in understanding.
We all silently finished gearing up, and before long, the car arrived to take us to Uruniemi. Hagan had the service drop us off at a crossroads two miles from the compound as a safety measure to ensure we would not be seen.
“Comms on, eyes up,” Hagan whispered as he looked at Corvus and then me. “Silence is golden and stealth is key. I don’t want anyone knowing we’re there before we want them to.”
I nodded in agreement and met Hagan’s eyes. “Cake walk, sir,” I murmured before accepting an awkward fist bump from Corvus. He was trying in his own odd way to lessen the seriousness of the situation, and deep down I was a tiny bit grateful for it because my nerves were getting the better of me. After showing him the proper way to dap, I shook my head in amusement and flashed toward to compound.
The two mile journey to the southern side of the compound passed quickly, and I gave the previously agreed upon two radio static clicks to let them know I was in place. A few seconds later, I heard their answering clicks and quietly began my counterclockwise sweep of the perimeter wall.