Jason shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, no problem.” He stood up. “But I got something just as disturbing over here in my opinion.”
“What is it?” I stepped closer, impatient for answers.
Jason held up a finger. “Hold up a sec, chica. Let us work our magics.” He knelt, careful not to get in the blood directly, and I watched his nostrils flare repeatedly. “Ugh. Man.” He glanced back at his friend. “This is her blood, right, manito? I mean, the little girl who lived here.”
That was a good sign. I hadn’t told them who was missing, though the room’s decor probably made it obvious anyway. On the other hand, I had been hoping none of it was actually Rena’s blood.
From where they’d swapped places, Rain nodded. “Yeah. I mean… Just…Wow. Yeah.” He shook his head. “What makes people do things like thi—” He hopped into the air a little and away from the wall. “Holy crap!”
Jason chuckled. “You caught her scent too, then?” He grinned. “Kinda hits you out of nowhere.”
I bit my lip to keep from interrupting, but Jason gestured at me. “Go ahead and tell ’em, manito.”
Rain looked at me, soft, amber-tinted eyes big, wide, and innocent. “The ghost,” he whispered.
“The same one from before?” I asked.
“Well, we’ve only met one ghost.” He shrugged, moving closer to the bloodstained wall. “You were there, remember?”
Rain nodded, seeming honestly spooked. Which I supposed was appropriate. “Oh yeah. Never forget a scent.” He tapped the side of his nose even as he shuddered, the memory of fear rippling through him visibly. “Just like I’ll never forget that feeling she gave me.” He met my eyes firmly. “It’s the same smell. I’m sure of it.”
“Lemme break it down for you,” Jason said matter-of-factly. “You’ve got a little bit of blood here that’s from the little girl that lives here. She’d about five or six, right?”
I blinked, rather impressed. “Four, actually.”
He shrugged. “Whoops. Anyway, a little bit of it’s hers. Most of the rest, especially over by the wall and window, is that ghost’s.”
“Do ghosts even bleed?” Rain asked.
“Apparently, this one does,” Charles commented.
“And then,” Jason added, “the rest is from something else entirely.”
Charles and I exchanged a look. “How so?” he asked. “Like her?” He nodded at me.
Jason blinked. “Naw, man. There’s a deathly smell here, yeah, but…No offense,” he eyed me, “but you smell awful. Nothing like this.”
I shrugged. “No offense taken. I’m used to it. Does it smell like the other vampires you talked about? The ‘bloody’ ones?”
The two teens exchanged another look, as if debating the matter. “I dunno,” Jason finally said. “We try not to get close to those, but we still smell them all over.”
“I’d say no,” Rain added. “This smells different. But it doesn't match anything we’ve ever smelled before, so…”
Charles and I frowned at each other.
“Dunno,” Charles said finally. “But I think I know why there’s a little bit of Rena’s blood here.” He moved over near the bed, where Rain and Jason had indicated her blood was. “Maggie took it, using her blood as a bridge to draw Rena Next Door with her.”
Rain held up a hand. “So the ghost took her? Like it tried to do with me—”
“Ghost? What ghost?” Rebecca’s voice caught me off guard. I spun around to see her in the doorway, with her husband close at her back and Tamara beside her, giving us an apologetic expression. I’d been so intent on the matter at hand I hadn’t heard their heartbeats coming. My senses were muddied from the now-overwhelming scent of blood in the room anyway. “Do you know what happened to our little girl?”
Charles crossed his arms. “We’ve got some good ideas, but nothing’s set in stone yet,” he replied, not unkindly.
The couple looked at each other. “Ghost…” Rebecca commented thoughtfully. “What kind of ghost? What did it look like?”
“You don’t think…” Alex frowned.
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you guys know something ghost-wise we don't? Is it about the missing Keys girl?”
They exchanged another long look and Alex nodded. “Kind of. Brian and Amanda were longtime friends of ours. After Maggie...disappeared...they used to mention this ghost they kept seeing. They didn’t really believe in the supernatural—”
“Despite us trying a couple of times,” Rebecca inserted, wiping her eyes.
Alex nodded. “But we heard them describe the same thing, the same figure, too many times. So we knew better. We figured something was going on at the time. But then they moved out of the neighborhood, and after a while, we didn’t think about it anymore.”
“But, the last couple of weeks, we’ve been having these...headaches,” Rebecca’s voice turned soft. “Migraines. Mostly at night, and mostly just Alex and myself.”
“But sometimes Mara, too,” Alex added.
She nodded. “Then, as the headaches got worse, we started seeing things. At first, it was just a couple of glimpses of something, out of the corner of my eye.”
“Then it got more and more real. I even thought I saw something watching from over my shoulder in the mirror,” Alex shuddered.
“Could it have been the same thing the Keys described?” I asked. I already knew the answer.
The Redgraves only had to confer for a moment before nodding.
Charles, Tamara and I all looked at each other.
“Well holy shit, Batman,” I said. “I think we have our first theory.”
- - -
We bid the family goodbye and assured them we would do everything in our power to find their daughter and bring her home safely. Well, Tamara did. I knew I’d be as much as a detriment as a boon to the whole reassuring process; so Charles and I cut out and left her with the really difficult job, taking the two changelings with us. I mean, if I had to choose between weathering their grief while trying to figure out what to say in return and following some clues and getting beat up, I’d sign up for the latter easily. At least that way I could be kinda useful.
Once Tamara was done, the five of us reconvened near the tough old Silverado and shiny new Hellcat.
“First things first,” I cleared my throat. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t believe you guys, but…” I looked between the two teens. “How can you smell a ghost? It’s a ghost. How can it even have a scent?”
“I dunno?” Rain said. “We just...do.”
“It’s the same thing we smelled at Sloss on the one that attacked us, though.” Jason shrugged. “That was before either of you showed up, so there’s nothing else it could be. You’re just gonna have to trust us, chica.”
Charles grunted. “What does a ghost smell like?”
They conferred wordlessly for a moment. “Kinda like…Dry death, I guess.” Jason said thoughtfully. “But it’s more nuanced than that. I mean you smell like death too,” he nodded at me, “but, um, fresher.” His nose crinkled again.
“But also,” Rain added, “other stuff mixed in. Like this weird ozone-not-ozone smell.”
I furrowed my brow. “Ozone?”
Charles nodded. “Energy from Next Door discharges into the environment, sort of like electricity. Or lightning. Since the energy discharge is breaking up O2 and it’s getting fused into O3, it can often leave a lingering ‘ozone-like’ smell, if you know what you’re looking for.”
“Or if you have very sharp senses,” Tamara said. “Like a Changeling.”
Jason grinned.
“It’s not just that,” Rain clarified. “There’s more nuance and detail to it, but I don’t know how to explain it to someone who can’t smell it.”
“Like explaining Van Gogh to a blind man,” I nodded.
“But it would be enough depth to give any particular ghost its own scent,” Charles commented.
“Probably,” Jason shrugged. “Most everything do
es.”
“The headaches really tie it together anyway,” I said.
Tamara nodded. “The detective I talked to that worked with a bunch of the old victims said it always turned up beforehand, in every case since Maggie’s.”
“So let’s break this down,” Charles commented, leaning against the hood of his truck. “Maggie is abducted and killed.” I suppressed an angry rumble; the two boys shifted uncomfortably. “In such a way that she leaves a specter.”
“And for some reason we don’t know yet,” Tamara added, “she begins stalking other children, having them let her into their homes, and eventually abducting them as well.”
“Causing the headaches in their families?” Rain asked. “As far as I know, my dad hadn’t been having headaches before I went to Sloss.”
Charles made a thoughtful noise. “Not only are you the odd man out, but you’re older than most of the victims. I think that means you were a target of opportunity.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow.
“While things like you and Tamara,” the magician nodded at the two of us, “draw power from sympathetic areas Next Door, ghosts are different. They draw power from places of significance to them. Though they can still travel to places that share their deathly sympathy, they aren’t as strong there.”
“Which is why Maggie seemed stronger in her old neighborhood than at Sloss or Monument Valley,” I cut in.
Charles nodded. “While she can travel to those places, they aren’t hers.”
“Then, there’s the blood issue,” Tamara said. “Ashes, what you were smelling at each site wasn’t Sanguinarian blood, but just near-human blood.” She looked at Rain and Jason. “Am I right?”
Jason nodded. “Easy mistake to make.”
“Follow the blood path,” I commented, eyeing Charles. “Remember what Mama Flora said, about following the trail and linking together the echoes, the patterns that lead Next Door, that lead to the killer?” I shrugged. “Seems like that’s what we need to do.”
“There’s an issue though,” the magician declared. “Ghosts, even specters, don't have true intelligence. They follow patterns similar to those they followed while alive.” He paused. “Or rarely, they do as they’re told.”
“Who could boss a ghost around though?” Rain asked. “Another wizard?”
Charles nodded. “Or even a weaker necromancer. A demon. Maybe a few other things.” He gave me a significant look; I knew he meant Strigoi.
A thought struck me. “What about a Sanguinarian?”
Charles frowned. “Normally, I’d say no. But at this point, I’m hesitant to put much past that Salvatore asshole.” He made a face. “She could also simply be searching for some misguided vengeance or reenacting her murder.”
I shivered at that thought.
“So, it seems to me you guys are a bit stuck,” Jason said. “So…” he glanced at Rain.
The younger boy nodded eagerly, if nervously. “Can we help? That one smell, the unique one…If you guys need a trail to follow, that would be it.”
“We start here or maybe at the other places this has happened or whatever…” Jason shrugged. “Or, hell, just drive us around town. If that scent’s out and about in Birmingham—”
“We’ll find it,” Rain finished.
“After all, this is our territory too,” Jason said.
“And those kids need help!” Rain added. “Since we’ve never smelled this thing before, in any of our usual areas, we can even narrow down the search for you.”
“So, wait.” Charles held up a hand, looking skeptical. “How can you be so certain? How many unique smells can you remember?”
“How many faces can you remember?” Jason retorted. “All we need is a reason for them to stand out, ese. And sometimes not even that if the smell really stands out. Just like if a certain face is just really gorgeous...” He cast a charming grin over at Tamara. Charles didn’t catch the line, but Tamara did. She rolled her eyes but smiled a little despite herself. Charles just nodded thoughtfully.
This was starting to sound like a plan; the boys even sounded eager. But at the same time, I hated to throw more innocent lives into the mix. Maggie by herself was dangerous, and that was without Salvatore or the unknown tall man in the mix yet. “Are you certain?” I asked, almost hoping they’d say no.
But Jason nodded with conviction. “Órale, chica. Ninety-nine percent certain.”
I shared long looks with Tamara and Charles. “That’s ninety-nine percent more than anything else we’ve got,” I said reluctantly. “Are you guys up for it though? Don’t you have, like, school or something?”
Jason barked a laugh. “No prob there, homes. We’ll skip that shit.” Rain looked at him disapprovingly. “Aww, c’mon, man. Lives are at stake. Is Ms. Sawyer’s math class really worth more than that?”
Rain glared at him. “No, but my dad…”
“Leave your dad to me,” Jason grinned. “I got this.” He turned back to me, glancing between the three of us. “We can do this,” he insisted. “Let us help.” Rain nodded, first with hesitance, then with more conviction.
Charles thumped me with his staff. “You heard them,” he said. “We need their help.” He assessed the two high schoolers, looking them up and down. “Tomorrow then. We’ll meet up, and I’ll drive you around, and we’ll see what we can find.”
“During the day?” I objected. “Wouldn’t it be better if I can come?”
He shook his head. “I’ll keep them safe.” He gave the boys a serious look. “I promise.” He looked back to me. “The city’s safer during the day, anyway. And I want you fresh for nightfall. Because if we find something…”
I nodded, catching on. “We’ll drop the hammer after sundown.” I couldn’t help baring fangs in a vicious grin.
Tamara sighed. “I’d join you three, but I have…Family obligations tomorrow. I’ll do well to get away before dusk.”
Charles nodded. “Do what you gotta do. We’ve got this.” He offered Rain and Jason his best attempt at a friendly smile. “I’ll even buy you both lunch.”
I looked at the tall magician, shocked and deeply hurt. “Charles…You never buy me lunch,” I whined hoarsely.
“Let’s not do this again.” He glanced at me. “You’re dead. Dead people don’t eat.” I narrowed my dead eyes at him.
Rain started to speak, but Jason covered his mouth with a hand and gave Charles a shrewd, calculating look. “What kind of lunch?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
In lieu of a good night's rest
Tamara dropped me off at my church a while later. We didn’t chat much on the way; the night’s discoveries had left us both thoughtful and subdued.
Frankly, I wanted to still be out on the streets, finding the asshole or assholes behind all of this and ruining their night in a permanent manner. Charles had a paper map of Birmingham and, with a little help from Rain and Jason, we used it to determine the best areas to focus our search. By the time we’d finished, Charles and the boys were ready to call it a night. Rain and Jason needed to get back home before they were missed, and they and Charles both needed enough rest to be able to hit the streets tomorrow.
I wished I could join in on the festivities tomorrow, but I knew Charles was right. It would be safer for the search party to work during the day, when monster attacks were less likely and vampires were less common. I was still pretty worried about having dragged the two young shifters into this mess too and wished I could be there to keep an eye on their safety.
I also wanted to be there when we finally found something, dammit.
When Lori called me later to talk, it was still hard for me to get my head out of the night’s events enough to simply chat, even with her.
“So how are things going?” I asked after we’d said our hellos, preempting any curiosity she might have about how my night had gone.
“Nothing new, really,” Lori replied. “Except that I got the job!”
We squealed together for
a moment like old times. Everything else might weigh heavily on my shoulders, but she could still get me smiling, laughing.
“I’m really glad,” I rasped, relaxing into the cold stone of my sleeping corner. “Also, I told you so.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ash knows best,” she chuckled. “If only listening to you made my anxiety go away. Did you get my message earlier?”
Whoops. “Yeah. Sorry about not getting back to you, I had...something come up.”
She was quiet a moment. “Well, look over the options when you get a chance. I found several after hours beer and burger places I’d never even heard of before. Amazing how you can keep finding stuff hidden in a town even after living there for so long.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me.”
The quiet returned. I could hear the faintest echo of Lori’s heartbeat echoing through the phone. “We are still good for going out, right?”
Two days away. I wondered if I was going to have to postpone if I couldn’t help Charles end things tomorrow night. “No, we’re still on,” I hastened to reassure her. “I’m just distracted, I guess. It’s been a long night.”
I could hear her hesitation. “Do you...wanna talk about it?”
I smiled. “No, love, it’s okay. I don’t want to stress you or anything.” The offer meant a lot though.
“If you need me…” she insisted stubbornly, “I don’t want to let you down. I feel like I’ve done too much of that already.”
“No, no…” I trailed off. I wanted to deny that assertion, but I didn’t want to lie either. She’d disappeared on me for what was possibly the six hardest months of my existence. It wasn’t healthy to just pretend it hadn’t hurt, even if I understood, even if I didn’t really blame her. I sighed. “I guess I feel you there. I feel like I’ve let some people down too.”
“Your friends, you mean?”
“No. Some people I’ve never met, actually. But there’s no one else to help them. And I made some bad choices, some bad decisions, and I fucked up. And maybe now it’s too late.”
She took another moment to answer, but this time it didn’t feel tense. “Ashley…This may sound weird, especially coming from me and my...issues, but I think...the thing that happened...might have been good for you.”
Blood Red Ashes (Dying Ashes Book 2) Page 15