by E. E. Holmes
I looked over at Hannah. “What do you think?” I asked her. “Does that change anything for you?”
Hannah didn’t answer right away. She was sitting cross-legged in her chair, with Milo squished in beside her; he was slightly luminous, like the opposite of a shadow.
“I don’t want to fight it,” she said very slowly. “And it’s not just because I don’t want to cause more problems.”
I raised an eyebrow at her; she hastened to defend herself.
“No, I mean it! Just think about it for a minute. This paranormal-vigilante thing has become really important to us. We’re always looking for new projects, even when we have a million other things going on. We even went after Freeman when we knew we might get in trouble—and not just from the Durupinen. But now we have a chance to do it for real, without worrying if we’re breaking any rules. We’ll get to work on cases that really matter, big ones. And we’ll have the resources of the Trackers behind us; I’m sure we can learn something from them. Plus there’s the money—having the Council fund us will be a huge relief for our finances. I love what we do, Jess, but let’s be honest—that Ghost Oracle trip was really expensive. Imagine not having to consider if we could afford to take a case!”
I couldn’t argue with Hannah on that point. I’d been thinking about the money, too. It took us nearly six months to plan the Poughkeepsie trip, largely because we had to scrimp and save every extra penny to afford the travel expenses and Freeman’s overpriced tickets. There was a reason we’d driven four hours each way inside of one day: It saved us from having to shell out money for a hotel room.
Even in the hour since we had informed the Council that we would join the ranks of the Trackers, I had allowed my imagination to run away with me just a tiny bit. What kinds of places might we be able to travel to? What injustices might we be able to stop? As much as I hated to admit it, the Durupinen were likely giving us the chance of a lifetime. It was growing harder and harder to see this as a punishment.
In fact, there was only one factor in this situation giving me true pause, and she had just walked into the room.
Catriona took care to slam the door loudly behind her to announce her presence. It wasn’t until she’d strutted behind the desk, dropped into her chair, pulled an apple from her top drawer, shined it on her shirt, and enthusiastically bit into it, that she even bothered to look at any of us. It was quite a show.
“Well, then. Here we are. Isn’t this right lovely?” she said in a bored voice.
Karen clenched and unclenched her fists but said nothing.
Catriona took another bite of her apple; she didn’t bother to swallow before continuing, and gross little chewed flecks spit from her mouth as she spoke. “Before we get started, I want to make a few things perfectly clear. To begin with, I did not volunteer for this job. I didn’t want it, and neither did anyone else, for that matter. But as you all bloody well know, the Council doesn’t give a damn what any of us want. They have their agenda—our value lies only in how we can serve it, and nowhere else.”
Well, she had that part of it right, anyway.
“There’s another thing I have to make very clear straight off if we are to work together: I had nothing to do with Lucida’s betrayal. I didn’t know she was working with the Necromancers—if I had, I would’ve done my damnedest to stop her. She’s my cousin and I love her still, but her mistake was not my mistake. I shan’t tolerate any confusion on that point,” Catriona declared, before taking one last bite of her apple and tossing the core into a trash can halfway across the room.
“Now despite the fact that the Council stuck their noses into every titchy corner of my life, they found not a shred of evidence against me. Because there’s none to find. Yet regardless of my own loyalty, the Council seems to be of the opinion that I, too, should be punished for Lucida’s crimes. They can’t sanction me properly, of course, but they’re throwing me those tasks that no one else wants. So here we are, and we all must carry on,” Catriona said.
“And has the Council bothered to take into account your obvious animosity toward these girls?” Karen asked. I could see her nostrils flaring from the effort of keeping herself under control. Finn too tensed up; I could tell he didn’t trust Catriona with us.
“I don’t have any animosity toward them,” Catriona replied, using a tone that made it clear she meant exactly the opposite.
I laughed incredulously. “You don’t think anyone actually believes that, do you?”
“I’m not bothered whether you believe it or not,” Catriona replied, tracing her finger over the suggestion of a wrinkle near the corner of her eye. Perhaps I was imagining it, but I thought Catriona’s formerly flawless beauty seemed strained and faded now, like it had been left in bright sunlight for too long. Actually, on second thought, I probably wasn’t imagining it; Catriona had been a Leecher, like so many others.
“Oh, you don’t care? Big surprise there sweetheart,” came Milo’s caustic voice through our connection. I wasn’t sure if he’d meant for us to hear him or not—every once in a while, especially when he was angry, something like that could slip through. Hannah ignored him, so I took my cue from her and stayed focused on Catriona.
I sat up straighter as Catriona continued. “But for clarity’s sake, here’s a summary of my feelings toward you both, as they stand at the moment. Jessica, I think you’ve got a proper attitude. I think your gifts as a Muse and Walker have given you a fully exaggerated view of your own importance. Your actions were rash, stupid, and careless. If the Council had any bottle, they would’ve thrown the book at you.” She looked at Hannah. “And you. I’m not sure what to make of you—nor does anyone else. You’re a properly dangerous and unpredictable little match, aren’t you? And I wasn’t at all put off by your stunt in the Council Room—Lucida’s been Calling the spirits since she was fifteen!”
Hannah flushed and retreated deeper into Milo’s space. I could feel his anger running through our connection like scalding water through a frozen pipe; he might burst at any minute. “Take it easy, Milo,” I thought-spoke to him. “You’re not doing us any favors if you lose it with her.”
“You’re warning me to keep my cool? Oh, that’s rich!” he replied, but I felt his attempt at reigning himself in.
Catriona continued her diatribe. “As for what’s happened to Lucida… well, those were her choices, but the two of you were mixed up in it. I won’t pretend I’m not upset about the Council’s letting you walk out of here without so much as a slap on the wrists. But I’ve no intention of having a heart-to-heart with you about it. In fact, consider this the last time I mention Lucida to you. She’s not relevant to Tracking. And if you lot want any help from me, you won’t speak her name to me again.”
Catriona’s truculent expression left no doubt that the subject was closed for discussion. I saw no point in beating my head against the brick wall of her determination—and neither, it seemed, did Karen.
“Fine, then. But how will this mentoring arrangement work?” Karen asked bluntly. “What will your role be in their day-to-day activities?”
“I’m not a nanny,” Catriona said, addressing me and Hannah. She dropped some of her irritation, and instead took up a more businesslike tone. “On the whole, you two will be on your own. I’ll be in touch when there’s a case for you, and will give you instructions on handling those cases. You will follow those instructions and report back to me on your progress as needed. I will oversee the distribution of any resources you need, and organize your travel and other arrangements. If you cock it up, I’ll likely be the one to do damage control. But if you follow my instructions and don’t make a proper mess of things, we will hopefully see little of each other.”
“So that’s it, we just… start?” I asked, a bit incredulously. “There’s no training or anything?”
“Some Tracker positions require strict training, and heaps of it. But we’re not expecting you to forge documents, burgle, or perform any other specialized duties. We are
asking you to do is what you have, in essence, already been doing on your own. As you move up in the Tracker scheme, your skill sets may expand. We will train you as appropriate.”
“Burgle?” Hannah squeaked, looking petrified. “You mean breaking and entering?”
“No one is going to ask you to do that, Hannah,” Karen said soothingly. “And even if they did, you could certainly refuse. You’re not required to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”
Catriona smiled lazily. “You’d be surprised what you can get comfortable with after a time.”
“Yes, a flexible moral compass works wonders,” Karen said, as her expression turned disdainful.
“So what now?” I asked, jumping in. “Do we just go home and wait for your phone call?”
“There’s no waiting required this time around. The Council already has an assignment for you,” Catriona said, reaching into her desk again and pulling out a bulging file folder. “We’ve been following this one for several months now. Based on what we know so far, it seems a perfect fit for you. Have a look.”
She tossed the folder across the desk. It skidded across the surface; I had to jump out of my seat to catch it before it slid onto the floor. I opened the folder and saw a ruggedly handsome face staring back at me—a face I already knew.
“Jeremiah Campbell?” I cried.
A shard of surprise finally pierced Catriona’s perpetually bored expression. “You know Jeremiah Campbell?”
“Not personally, but we already have a huge file on him. He was going to be our next major case, once we’d finished with Freeman.”
“Out with it then. Tell me what you know,” Catriona demanded.
I explained all the information Annabelle had gathered on Campbell, including all we knew about Whispering Seraph. I went into detail about the rich and famous guests—including Talia Simms—who were flocking there. Hannah had read the Campbell file on our drive to New York; she added in her own always-keen insights as I explained.
“To be honest, though, I’m surprised the Durupinen are interested in him,” I said. “He’s just another con artist, as far as I can tell; he’s not much different than Freeman, except for the wealth of his clientele.”
As I rifled through the file, one particular picture caught my attention; Campbell, with an utterly enraptured expression, was standing by the wrought iron gates of his new property; his head was cocked gently to one side as though listening to something no one else could hear. I kept staring at the photo; there was something about it that left me cocking my own head to the side and listening, it seemed, for echoes trapped in the paper itself.
“There’s more to the Campbell situation than meets the eye,” Catriona said. She held her hand out for the file, which I passed to her. She flipped through it for a moment, then handed a single sheet of paper back to me. It was a photocopy of an old, hand-drawn map. “His property is situated on a site once owned by the Durupinen.”
Karen, Finn, and Hannah all peered over my shoulder at the map. The words were in ancient Gaelic, but someone had used a yellow highlighter to show the location in question. One word in particular caught my eye: Príosún.
“Was there a príosún on this site?” I asked, as my heartbeat sped up. A príosún wasn’t just a Durupinen jail, it was a prison reinforced by many Castings, where Elementals—horrifying creatures which inspired in their victims the very terror they fed off of—were sometimes Bound for use in Durupinen interrogation and trials. My own experience in the Fairhaven Príosún had been one of the most harrowing of my life; I still had nightmares about the Elemental Bound there.
“Yes, indeed,” Catriona said, oblivious to my silent panic. Campbell’s so-called miracles caught our attention. When we began researching him, we found that his mansion, Whispering Seraph, was built on land which belonged to the Durupinen at one time. It’s been abandoned by our clans for centuries, but the one record we could locate documents the existence of a príosún on the site.”
“And now this man who can ostensibly talk to spirits just happened to purchase the property? And he’s using it as the hub of his paranormal enterprise?” I asked.
“Quite the little coincidence, isn’t it?” Catriona said. “One day, he’s a successful real estate magnate, the next he’s the spirits’ best friend.”
“Coincidence doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Karen murmured, intrigued in spite of herself.
“So you think this guy actually can see spirits now?” I asked.
“We don’t know. There’s certainly no blood relation to any Durupinen, Caomhnóir, or Dormant—at least not one that we’ve discovered. But his purchasing this property and using it in this way means there must be a connection we’ve missed.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Hannah asked. “If we were doing this on our own, we’d be trying to expose him as a fraud. But if you don’t think he’s a fraud… what then?”
“Simple. We send you undercover to Whispering Seraph. We’ll pay Campbell’s outrageous fee. You’ll pose as wealthy young heiresses who recently lost their best friend—terribly tragically, of course.” Catriona nodded her head at Milo. “That’s your ticket in, Spirit Guide.
“Wait, I’m a Tracker too?” cried Milo in genuine surprise. “Did I miss that part?”
Catriona rolled her eyes. “No, you’re a Spirit Guide, pledged to these girls. If they’re on a mission, you are too. Now pipe down.”
Hannah looked at Milo. “Is that alright with you?”
Milo didn’t answer verbally, but his form grew momentarily brighter in assent. The words that came through our connection, however, didn’t match his brightness at all. “Except for that piping down part, you hag!”
Hannah and I suppressed a giggle as Catriona continued. “Once at Whispering Seraph, you’ll be a part of his ‘Sanctuary,’ which is his posh name for his spirit-related services. You are to observe Campbell—we’ll need you to work out if he’s truly communicating with the spirits. If he’s properly Sensitive, we’ll need to know how his connection works. We’ll also want you to learn what you can about the property. We haven’t any way, at this point, of discovering the Durupinen link unless we have someone on the inside.”
“And you think we’re the best choice for this assignment?” I asked skeptically. “Surely you’ve got other Trackers who go undercover all the time. Why us?”
“For one thing, you’re Americans. Less likely to raise suspicion. You also have the added benefit of understanding how these supposed mediums operate. You’ll be able to spot his tricks, if there are any. And of course, Hannah is a Caller, isn’t she?” Catriona said, smiling coldly at my twin. “She can command the spirits on the property to help you. And I suppose, in a pinch, you could Walk, Jessica, if you needed to.”
“I only Call in emergencies,” Hannah said sharply. “I don’t use it unless I have to.”
“Nor should you, pet,” Catriona replied. “But if the emergency arises, you’ve got an ability that none of our other Trackers have. At least, not anymore.”
“Same goes for me and Walking,” I declared. “Let’s be clear about that.”
“And what about me?” Finn asked firmly, stepping forward suddenly. “They’re not going into that place unprotected.”
“Oh no, we wouldn’t dream of it,” said Catriona, throwing Finn a contemptuous look. “Many of the wealthy have bodyguards. You’ll be undercover as well, Caomhnóir Carey, as a typical guerrilla for hire. That ought to suit you, wouldn’t you say?”
Finn’s hands clenched into tightly balled fists at his sides, but he didn’t respond.
Catriona smiled at him with a false sweetness, as though she could hear every rude thing Finn was being forced to leave unsaid. “Once you’ve determined what’s happening there, we’ll be able to formulate a plan to put Campbell out of business. I do realize that you and the Council mightn’t be feeling very chummy at the moment, but at least we can all agree that this man needs to be stopped. Exploitation of D
urupinen gifts cannot and will not be tolerated.”
“Yeah, except for hundreds of years of Leeching,” Milo quipped through our connection, causing me very nearly to choke on my next words.
“So, when would we start?” I asked.
“It will take a few days to make the needed preparations. And you’ll need to study up on your new identities and properly commit to your backstory. Once we’ve organized a meeting with Campbell, we’ll fly you to New Orleans and… off to the races we go!” Catriona said, leaning back in her chair with a broad smile on her face.
I looked back down at the map in my hands and felt the stirring of something other than fear. We were Trackers. We were going undercover to take down Jeremiah Campbell and his multi-million dollar operation. It was insane. It was dangerous. And I was really freaking excited about it.
§
“I can’t believe you’re this excited,” Hannah said, as we made our way back to our room after dinner.
“I think you were more right than we realized, Hannah. I think I do need trouble in my life.” I sighed. “I’m sorry… I know that’s hard for you… but we’re both committed to stopping these frauds, right?”
Hannah stopped short and looked me in the eye. Thank God we were twins: Her look clearly expressed, “In some ways, we’re two very different people, but I love you and wouldn’t have it any other way.” Neither of us, though, would’ve ever said anything so stupidly sappy out loud. Milo, who was nearby but hadn’t materialized, made an exaggerated puking sound through our connection. We both giggled, relieved that Milo’s comic relief gave us a legitimate, unsentimental out.
A movement on the staircase caught my eye. It was Finn. Seriously, did he really need to follow us back to our room?
I pushed my resentment aside, at least for the moment. I owed Finn a conversation, and now was a good a time as any. “Hannah, I’ll meet you in our room in a little while,” I said, and began trotting toward the staircase before she could object.