“I’ve always been in love with him. I won’t deny it.”
“It must really chafe your behind that he fell in love with my mother and forgot all about you,” I supplied. “Did you pine for him? Did you grow bitter and … stupid?”
“I’m not sure how you can sit there and call me stupid when you’re the one locked in a storage shed.”
“That’s because you hid like a girl and punched me when I didn’t expect it,” I snapped. “Griffin was waiting for me at the top of the hill. Do you really think he’s just going to throw up his hands and say, ‘Oh, well, I guess I’ll move on,’ because I disappeared? He’s going to come looking for me. And he won’t be alone.”
“I’m sure he will try to find you,” Dauphine said, seemingly unbothered by my diatribe. “But right about now he has his hands full.”
My blood ran cold. “What does that mean?”
“It means that we had to call on some additional … I guess you’d call them friends … to deal with the threat your family poses,” Dauphine explained. “Had you left things the way they were, we would’ve been able to finish up our plans without involving you. Now we have to kill you. I’m not happy about it, but perhaps it will bring your father and me closer when it comes time to mourn.”
“You really think that’s going to happen?”
“I think your father has five children. You might be the only girl, and it will gut him to lose you, but he will have to carry on for the rest. He will grieve. I will help. By then the ritual will be complete. I’ll get exactly what I’ve always wanted, I just didn’t expect to use you to do it.”
“And what do you want again?”
“To live forever.”
“There has to be more to it than that.” I shook my head, annoyance and disgust warring for top billing in my head. “You want his money, too.” I thought back to her store. It was nice, in a kitschy sort of a way. It clearly wasn’t bringing in big bucks. “You want to live forever, but you’ll need money to do it. My father has that money.”
“You’re not as dumb as you look.”
“I couldn’t possibly be.” I realized what I said too late to take it back. “That came out wrong.”
“You should think before you speak,” Dauphine suggested, turning her eyes to the door and tilting her head, reminding me of a dog listening for its master. “I think that’s your biggest fault. It’s too late to adjust your attitude now, but perhaps if you believe in reincarnation you’ll get another shot.”
“You seem pretty sure of yourself,” I said. “Your zombies aren’t fast or strong. They’re not smart. They can’t problem solve. My entire family – well, except for my mother, who is back at Grimlock Manor ripping apart the zombies you sent – is here. They will come for me. They won’t let anything stop them.”
“And now you’re the one who sounds pretty sure of herself,” Dauphine countered. “Your father and brothers, and that man you seem to care so deeply about, they will look for you. The undead have this place surrounded, though. They cannot cut their way through. By the time they do, you’ll be dead and the ritual will be complete. If it’s any consolation, you’ll be giving yourself to something greater than yourself.”
“You sound like a deranged fortune cookie,” I snapped. “You’re overestimating what your mob of undead freaks is capable of. They’re like possessed dolls, and not like Chucky, because he was a badass. Those things out there are pretty far from badass.”
“They will hold as long as they need to hold.” Dauphine kept her eyes on the door, causing my suspicions to pop.
“Who are you waiting for?”
“It won’t be long.” Dauphine didn’t even look at me as she responded.
“You’re waiting for someone,” I said, struggling to my feet. I gingerly brushed off my filthy rear end as I looked her up and down. “You said ‘we’ earlier. I missed it the first time – my mind is kind of slow thanks to the punch – but you said ‘we.’
“You also said that you didn’t hit me and you didn’t unleash the spell that sent the zombies into your store,” I continued. “You’re working with a partner. Who is it?” I was practically salivating. “Is it Angelina? I’m going to be really upset if she fooled me with a fake ‘dying mother’ story.”
“You need to stop with the Angelina obsession,” Dauphine chided. “She is nothing but a pathetic girl trying to save her mother. She’s not worth your time.”
“Neither are you, but I’m still talking to you.”
“That’s because you believe I will free you,” Dauphine said. “That’s not really an option for me. You see, I need you to complete the ritual. I had other options, but you’ve forced a confrontation and I’m out of time.”
“You keep mentioning your ritual. What is it? Why do you need me?”
“I don’t need you particularly. I need the blood of a reaper.”
That’s when things clicked into place. “Of course. You’re not so different from wraiths. They get a special boost from reapers if they can absorb the right souls. They’re different from you, living more of a half-life, but you think you can use reaper blood to live forever.”
“I think that Oscar Santiago was on to something when he tried his own experiment,” Dauphine corrected. “The mistake he made was going after his own family. Do you know that it was his great-granddaughter who killed his wife? She knew she was next on his list and fought back. She ended him. Going after reapers should eliminate the problem of making enemies.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think reapers are pretty much the worst enemies ever. Still, my mother will make you pay in ways you can’t possibly imagine.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” Dauphine fixed her full attention on me. “Your mother died in a fire more than ten years ago. I read about it.”
“She came back.”
“You’re a reaper. You know that’s not possible. Once crossing over, there is no escape from death.”
“That’s true,” I conceded. “Lily Grimlock didn’t die in that fire, though. She was burned. She was taken captive. She was held for a long time. She was kept alive by nefarious – and I’m guessing really gross – means. But she didn’t die. She came back.”
“Really?” Dauphine’s expression was thoughtful. “I would very much like to compare notes with her.”
As if on cue, the storage shed door opened. Dauphine’s smile was serene as she turned, clearly expecting to find her partner. Instead, she found my mother, or at least the woman who had been my mother at one time. Neither woman looked happy with the predicament.
“What the … ?” Dauphine scrambled to get away, heading toward me in an effort to put distance between my mother and herself. I was too smart to let her get close to me.
“Don’t even think about it.” I grabbed a rake hanging on the wall and slapped it against Dauphine’s head. The blow wasn’t hard enough to knock her out, but it did ring her bell.
“What’s going on in here?” Mom asked, her tone prim. “I heard my name mentioned and thought now would be a good time to join the party.”
“Where is everyone else?” I asked, thinking of Dad, my brothers, Jerry and Griffin. “Are they okay?”
“Your father is dealing with his attorney about five hundred yards from here,” Mom replied, her eyes never leaving Dauphine’s face. “Apparently they have a billing disagreement.”
I furrowed my brow. “His attorney? Neil?”
Mom nodded. “It seems that faithful old Neil is involved in Evelyn’s plan. He was the mastermind. She was the power. Your father is discussing it with him now.”
That didn’t sound good. “Discussing it?”
Mom ignored the question and remained focused on Dauphine. “How are you, Evelyn? The years haven’t been kind.”
“You should talk,” Dauphine sputtered. “You’re so pale you look like a ghost.”
“There are worse things than dying,” Mom said quietly, her gaze momentarily meeting mine. “What happened to your face?”
<
br /> “I got punched. I thought it was Dauphine at first, but now I’m starting to suspect it was Neil. There’s no way she could hit me that hard. I don’t think she could’ve dragged me into this shed without help either. She’s not very big.”
“Well, I’m going to hit her that hard as retribution just to be on the safe side,” Mom said. “What was her plan?”
“She wants to live forever.”
“Like on Highlander?”
“Or Fame.”
Mom snickered, although the amusement didn’t make it all the way to her eyes. “I think you should head out. Griffin is helping with the cleanup. He’s not far up the hill, but he’s ready to melt down. When he saw I was heading in this direction I believe he first thought I was coming to hurt you rather than help.”
“He didn’t believe that. He knew. After what happened at Grimlock Manor, he knew.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Mom forced a smile. “You need to go to your father and Griffin. They’ll want to see you. No, scratch that. They desperately need to see you.”
I spared a glance for Dauphine. She’d recovered a bit, was no longer cowering on the floor. She looked terrified. I couldn’t muster any sympathy for her, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious. “What will you do with her?”
“What was she going to do to you?”
“Bleed me dry because she believes that she needs reaper blood to live forever.”
Mom’s smile was hideous as she hunkered down so she was at eye level with Dauphine. “Then I believe I will bleed her dry. We need to have a bit of a discussion first. You don’t need to be present.”
“But … .” I was lost, confused. “How will you explain this to the cops?”
“I wouldn’t worry about Detective Green,” Mom said. “We had a long talk after you left. I believe he’s going to put this case to bed rather quickly, and without bothering you again.”
That sounded a little too convenient. “But how?”
Mom swore under her breath, exhaling heavily as she faced off with me. “Aisling, I understand you’ve had a trying night. I know you value human life, even when a particular human tries to hurt you. You get that from your father. This is an exception.”
Was it? “She’s still a person.”
“And she’s utterly dangerous,” Mom said. “She would’ve killed you for some ritual that she wasn’t even certain would work.”
Wait … would it have made a difference if she knew it worked? “Mom, hand her over to the police. You don’t need to kill her.”
“The police will have no idea what to do with her,” Mom argued. “They’ll think she’s a crackpot, that she’s crazy. She won’t serve time in jail. If we’re lucky, she might get a year or two in some lockdown facility. Then she’ll come back. Do you want her to come back?”
“No, but … .”
“Do you want her to go after Griffin? After Jerry? Do you want her to go after the children you and Griffin will share one day? They’ll have reaper blood, too, Aisling. This woman is a threat as long as she lives.”
I wanted to argue further. I wanted to find a way to spare Dauphine, not for her sake but rather my mother’s benefit. Finally, I heaved a sigh and relented. I’d killed to protect my family. I’d done it more than once, and in brutal fashion. Expecting Mom to do differently somehow seemed unfair.
“Okay, I’m going.” I shuffled to the door, doing my best to ignore the terrified squeaks Dauphine emitted. “Don’t torture her.”
“We’re going to have a talk first. Then, I promise, I will make it fast.”
I figured that was the best I was going to get. “Good luck.”
I didn’t turn back as I exited the storage shed, instead pointing myself up the hill. When I reached the top, I heard Jerry and Griffin bellow my name in unison. Griffin was on me before I had a chance to catch my breath.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I got hit in the face.”
“You scared me.” Griffin tightened his grip as he kissed my good cheek. I let him hold me, glancing over his shoulder to where Neil Graham rested on the ground. Dad stood over him, a dark look on his face. The lawyer didn’t move. It looked as if Dad had exercised his own brand of justice.
“I want to go home.”
Griffin stroked the back of my head. “You’re going to the hospital first.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re still going.” Griffin pulled back, cupping my head as he regarded me. “Then, if you’re good, I’ll get you some ice cream and tuck you into bed.”
“Our bed?”
Griffin spared a glance for Dad and shook his head. “I don’t think that will go over well. We’ll head home tomorrow.”
“Fine.” I was resigned. Griffin was right. Dad wouldn’t take it well if we disappeared. “I want heaps of hot fudge with that ice cream.”
“Consider it done.”
30
THIRTY
It was almost midnight by the time we made it back to Grimlock Manor. The yard was free of bodies – I had a feeling my Dad made a call to the home office and requested assistance – and Griffin managed to talk everyone out of accompanying us to the hospital while still retaining access to the Jaguar.
The house was dark, and I headed straight to my bedroom. Griffin detoured to the kitchen. I was barely in my pajamas and under the covers before Dad appeared in the doorway.
“Can I come in?”
I eyed him suspiciously. “That depends. Are you going to yell?”
“Not tonight.” Dad stepped into the room. “I’m reserving the right to yell tomorrow morning. I need a good night’s sleep to decide if I’m angry.”
“Can we have an omelet bar?”
“Again?”
“You can never have too many omelet bars.”
“We’re having omelet and waffle bars tomorrow,” Dad said. “I even got my hands on some fresh blueberries because I know they’re your favorite.”
“Sold.”
Dad smiled as he circled the bed and sat on my side of the mattress, his fingers gentle as they moved to my face. “I’m sorry this happened.”
The simple words surprised me. “You didn’t do it.”
“No, but the man I sent to defend you was responsible for this entire mess. I can’t help feeling that I should’ve been aware of that.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
I propped myself up on the pillows and locked gazes with him. “Do you remember what you told me when Angelina made Jerry cry at the homecoming dance junior year?”
“No.”
“I was angry. I told you I should’ve seen it coming. I said I should’ve locked her in the bathroom, or drowned her in the toilet or ripped her hair out and left her bald. You told me that I’m not responsible for the actions of others, and that I did the only thing I could do.”
“Which was?”
“Take care of Jerry.”
“I sound like a wise man.” Dad smiled. “That doesn’t change the fact that I feel a bit blindsided. I should’ve seen what Neil was doing. There weren’t any signs, but … I still feel as if I should’ve gotten to him before he went after you.”
“I think, at least from what Dauphine said, they made a point not to go after us right away because she wanted to forge a relationship with you,” I supplied. “She thought she could finagle a way into your good graces and bank account.”
“Well, that’s ridiculous.”
“It is.” I pursed my lips. “What happened to Mom?”
“She handled Evelyn and left the cleaners to deal with the rest. She got Evelyn to admit to quite a few things, although the attack in the store was apparently all Neil. He was worried she would spill the truth. He wanted the book for himself, so he sent the zombies to retrieve it. He also placed the anonymous call about the body in your backyard.”
“I’m not really surprised about that.”
“Once I got over the initial
shock, I wasn’t either,” Dad said. “Redmond called Madame Maxine when we were finished. She was … reticent … but admitted she thought Evelyn was up to something. She claims she didn’t know exactly what Evelyn had planned.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I didn’t speak with her. It hardly matters now, though, does it?”
“I guess not.” I rolled my neck, cringing when I felt the initial twinges that signified I would be sore in the morning. “Mom didn’t want to stay?”
“She had a busy night. I believe she was tired.”
“I know I’ve been the one fighting this, the one trying to keep her out, but she came through tonight. She came through six weeks ago, too. Maybe … maybe we can try to let her come through more often.”
“I’ve considered that,” Dad said. “I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
“It’s up to you to decide, because I think it will be hardest on you and you’ve earned the right to make the ultimate decision. I’ll agree with whatever you want.”
“Oh, that has to be a first.” Dad chuckled as he pushed a strand of my hair away from my face. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. I would like to find a way for this to work for all of us.”
“For what to work?” Griffin asked, striding into the bedroom with a package of frozen peas in his hand. He cast me a sidelong look before pressing the peas to my swollen face, and then focused on Dad. “Please tell me we don’t have another crisis to deal with already.”
“No, not a crisis. Aisling and I were simply discussing how to handle the Lily situation.”
“Ah.” Griffin stripped off his shirt before reaching for the button on his jeans. He didn’t seem to care that we weren’t alone. “What did you come up with?”
“We’ll talk about it in the morning and try to make things work to the best of our ability.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.” Griffin kicked off his jeans, leaving his boxers on as he crawled in next to me.
Dad arched an eyebrow. “Did you need to do that in front of me?”
“I’m tired and sore. You’ll live.”
Dad snorted. “Do you remember when you feared me? Good times.”
Grim Rising (Aisling Grimlock Book 7) Page 29