Elemental Tears: An Urban Fantasy Series (The Eldritch Files Book 8)

by Phaedra Weldon

  They got into the place easily enough. The padlocks were easy to remove or melt, but the mildew smell inside could have knocked everyone on their asses. He also picked up the scent of urine and feces, probably from animals. Probably. The dim light exposed graffiti on the walls, some of it covered in a thin layer of grime. The dirt-covered floors were also strewn with papers and debris.

  They passed a nurses' station that looked as if the nurses who occupied it had only stepped away, decades ago. The chairs were still there intact, as were several old phones, wire baskets marked in and out, and a vase that might have held flowers a long time ago.

  The whole place reeked of ghosts and death, of promises kept and those broken. Crwys felt as if he were channeling Sam in some way because this was the way she would be thinking. Nostalgia with a bit of something dark and twisted.

  Maybe that was why he loved her so much and his heart was ready to burst.

  Ceridwen gave them directions to the third floor and then down a hall. He realized they were losing light. Fast. As the sun went down, he also knew time was running out for Sam.

  He couldn't make heads or tails of where they were, only that he spotted light ahead and his connection with Sam flared up. She was alive! But it was a faint pulse and there was shouting.

  Ranting almost.

  The delivery room was on the right, in the middle of the hall. It had accesses on two sides. Crwys spotted Kyle, Jack and Bastien at the other end of the hall and motioned at the double doors to his right. Light outlined the two doors and came through square glass windows in the doors.

  came Arden's voice through the link.

  Crwys didn't bother to retrieve his gun. His hands lit on fire are he churned up his furnace. Levi didn't draw his weapon either. His face in the light of the small doors' windows showed that Ashur was in control, and if he got hold of Quan, Quan would be dinner.

  And as for Tas…

  He didn't need to know she had her bow in her hand and a single arrow knocked and ready.

  Crwys peered into a window.

  He wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. He spotted Sam on the middle table, her legs up and tied to the stirrups with rope. She was fastened down by more of the rope, but she wasn't moving. Light came from three hovering orbs moving about the room.

  And Quan…

  No!

  Crwys charged in at that moment, when he'd seen the knife in the bastard's hand. Things moved in slow motion for Crwys. He held up his hands and aimed his Dragon's Fire at Quan as Levi came in, and Tas behind them. She stopped just inside the door and pulled back the arrow, ready to skewer the little fucker's heart.

  The slow motion came to an abrupt stop and Crwys realized it wasn't that time had slowed for him…it had slowed for everyone. Even Quan wasn't moving. He stood over Sam with his knife poised to come down on her protruding stomach. What was going on?

  That's when a door opened to the side, out of what Crwys believed was a closet. Solomon, a painted skull on his face, wearing black tattered clothing and an old black top hat, came dancing out of the room. He had a bottle of rum in one hand and a cigar in the other. He danced a little jig around the table and then stopped in front of Crwys.

  With a smile, he waved his hand and everyone could move, but they couldn't move forward. He'd put up some kind of barrier between them and Quan. Quan was still frozen in place, the knife raised above Sam.

  "What the hell?" Levi blurted out.

  "Hell has very little to do with dis here evil doer." And Samedi/Solomon moved to stand behind Quan. "He tinks Papa Ghede would grant his mama new life. But he is mistaken. Nadeen be gone long time now. And she not like what dis one here is doing." He turned his painted face to Crwys and his eyes glowed red, exposing the Loa inside.

  Crwys tried to get closer. He wanted to grab the knife from Quan’s hand. "Where is Papa Ghede?"

  "Here," came a deep, if not soft, melodic voice. To their right, the shadows shifted and the opposite of Samedi stepped through. Papa Ghede was dressed in a white suit, white top hat, and his face wasn't painted. It was indeed a skull. "There is little this creature can do to the dead, especially when she belongs to us."

  EIGHTEEN

  "See?" Samedi/Solomon said. "Da evil doer believes he brings his mama back. Greif, sorrow, dese be bad tings. But the bad ting…no, it wants back into dis world. It wanted to get rid of de Baron…’cause I say who crosses and who leaves."

  It was starting to make sense now. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand Quan’s actions, it was just that he’d never experienced that kind of grief before. The kind that would drive him to do the unthinkable if only to see the one he loved again.

  "He…he thinks she can be born into a Dragon?" Tas's voice was a bit skeptical.

  "Yes," Samedi said and took a long puff on his cigar. He blew out smoke rings and then took a big swig of his rum. "Take de child, raise it, bring Nadeen back from the dead." He looked over at Papa Ghede, still floating in the air. "Ready?"

  Papa Ghede gave a slow nod, then disappeared. The light in the room shifted and grew brighter. Too late Crwys realized that time started running again.

  "NO!"

  He saw the knife come down and heard Sam scream.

  Levi moved, Tas moved, and so did Crwys. They all converged on Quan and with one concerted concentration of power, obliterated him. Flesh exploded with the concussive force of Tas's arrow and what remained evaporated in a brilliant flare of Dragon Fire.

  What remained standing there, the knife in its hand, was little more than a pale visage of Quan. He stared at the knife and then at his transparent hands and arms. He looked at Crwys, at Tas and at Levi, and finally, the knife fell through his hand and clanked on the floor.

  "Go wid Papa Ghede. We have no need for dis." He gestured to the ghost with his cigar. "You ready, mama?"

  A woman appeared beside Samedi. She was beautiful, with rainbow braids, bright green eyes, and soft, chocolate skin. "It is time, my son."

  "Mama…mama!" the ghost screamed, but there was nowhere for him to go.

  He vanished as the woman raised her arms, and a splash of water cleaned the area where he'd been standing. "It is done," she said.

  Another blink and they were gone. Except the woman. She stood where she'd been.

  Everyone else sprinted into action. The doors opened and several people in uniforms came in, pulling a stretcher with them. Crwys was pretty sure these were Arden’s people.

  Crwys burned off the ropes and helped them move Sam to the stretcher, then he was moved back as he caught her face and saw pain. Her eyes were closed, but she was alive. He'd sensed that.

  He stood alone in the room when everyone left, looking at the blood that had pooled on the table, run down the end and now dried on the floor. Some of it mingled with water and that's when he saw her. The woman was still there.

  Crwys knew her. He'd know her anywhere and bowed. "Unbearable grief…how do you stand it?"

  Her appearance shifted to a beautiful woman with raven hair, still in braids, dressed in white robes. Her skin color had lightened, but not by much. "You take it in, Apollo. You make it yours. You control it or it controls you. Like it did him."

  "Can you see this?” He gestured to the room. “When you look at the future? Do you know this kind of horror will come?"

  She clasped her hands in front of her. "I could get all oracle-like and say yes. That I see every death and every birth, and for me it’s an unending cycle of life.”

  “He’s gone back to the Well. He kills all those people, threatens my wife and child, and he’s returned to the fucking Well.”

  "There are things set in motion, Apollo. Events began long before you were born, and they will continue long after you leave this existence. Whether or not I share them…" She shrugged. "Even I can't see that."

&n
bsp; "And Sam?" He took a step toward his Mother, the only one he had ever known.

  "You should ask about your child."

  "I don’t want the child, Mother. I want Sam."

  "Oh…that is no way to be, Apollo." Her voice was hard with anger. "You go to her, and you be with her. Now." And then she looked away. "The decision is made."

  When she vanished, Crwys felt his heart drop in his chest. He ran out of the room, down the hall, and outside to his Mustang. Levi was there, waiting on him, in the driver's seat. Crwys got in the passenger's side and Levi hit the lights as they sped toward Tulane Medical Center. The radio was on and a song began playing. A song whose lyrics would forever remain with him as he grabbed a hold of everything he held dear.

  Arden had arranged everything and the surgery lasted for several hours. The operating room and the waiting room of this part of the hospital had been blocked off with an admittance list, and everyone on staff was a part of Arden's coven, or handsomely paid by Arden herself.

  Crwys paced in the waiting room. It was filled with everyone he knew, all of the Aces, including his little godchild Regine, who clung to Tas. She and Bastien remained in a corner, though he could feel her reaching out to him. He shut himself off from everyone. And everything.

  Jack, Kyle, Arden, Ivan, Dharma, Levi…everyone seemed so far away from him as he waited, helpless, unable to do anything. Levi had filled everyone else in on the truth of what happened and Crwys had ignored repeated calls from his captain.

  Finally, Arden appeared through the double doors. She wore a very stoic expression and he couldn't feel anything from her. Bastien had dissolved the link and he still couldn't reach Sam. He felt utterly alone.

  She gestured for him to come with her. He did and when he wasn't given booties, or a smock, or a mask, he already knew what the outcome was.

  Sam lay on the table, covered in soft teal linens. Arden had made sure she was cleaned up, and her hair combed out. Her body was flat, so he knew the egg was gone. He couldn't think of it as anything other than that.

  An egg.

  He took her hand in his. She was still warm. And he knew she wasn't gone. Not yet.

  She opened her eyes and he tried to smile down at her. "You look…terrible…" she said in a whisper.

  "You look beautiful."

  "Liar."

  He blinked and a tear escaped. It made a dark spot on the sheet over her breast.

  To his surprise, she moved her hand from his and reached up, shaking, to caress his cheek. "Sorry I didn't tell you…I just found out yesterday…" She smiled. "We're gonna have a baby."

  He didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

  And then she frowned and her arm came down. He took it in his hands and watched her face.

  I love you…take care of our child, my darling… was the last connection he had before the bond vanished.

  He watched her face until there was no expression, no color, and no life left to cling to.

  Epilogue

  Dharma pulled a few more things out from under Sam's old desk. A few books, a few old candy wrappers, and…she wasn't sure, but she thought she put her hand on a dead mouse. Her squeal was silenced the moment she smacked her head on the desk getting out.

  "Hey, you okay?" Ivan said as he came running into the office.

  "Yeah…I swear, did she ever clean this room?" Dharma tossed the non-dead-carcass trash into a black plastic bag and silently refused to go under the desk again. "I think if Kyle wants to move his office into this room, then he needs to come clean it himself."

  "Oh, come on." Ivan moved to her and took her in his arms, then he lifted her left hand and kissed the emerald ring on her ring finger. "Be a sweet fiancé and give me a hand in the main room? He wants to move his herb table out of here, and I promised I'd get it over to their house."

  She grinned up at her husband-to-be, and arm in arm, they walked out of the office and into the back of Bell, Book and Candle.

  The store was Kyle's now, and Ivan's. They shared it down the middle. Jack was a full-time employee, but was going to night school to be a nurse. Another of his many half-started professions. Dharma decided that's what she liked about Jack. His devotion to Kyle and his love of learning.

  It'd been six months since Samantha Holliard passed away. An urn with her ashes sat on the mantel of Kyle and Jack's house, waiting for the day when Crwys would come back to claim them. But then…he hadn't even claimed his child.

  At first, she'd understood the Dragon's sorrow. She had commiserated with his anguish at Sam's loss. She'd seen it reflected in Kyle and in Ivan. Very much so in Ivan. Dharma still found him staring at something in their home, something Sam had given him, and tears would come down his face. She'd taken him in, made him one of her own.

  But now…with time behind her and the others, they were getting on with their lives.

  Except for Crwys.

  No one had seen him since that night. And Tas was pretty sure no one would. She wanted to go find him after he fled, but there was an egg to tend to, a little niece or nephew she wanted to bring into this world. So the pack had found her a place to transform and keep the egg warm and nurtured while it grew. She'd given notice via her pack link that the egg was brittle now and would open any day, and Bastien had relayed the news to everyone else. There was a buzz of excitement for all of them.

  Especially Bastien, who just wanted to know if he could take the little girl or boy into the woods to hunt. He figured it would be handy having a Dragon to cook his meat.

  Levi and Tas had moved into a comfortable team as partners. Captain Prescott kept away, having surprised everyone by showing up at Sam's wake. She'd never liked Sam, but she respected her and she wanted to support Crwys. Arden had taken on a more motherly role as well, and was now running for Cosgrove's spot in Parliament. He'd learned about Sam's death a week after the wake and she used that as a means to show his incompetency. They were all keeping the baby Dragon a secret. She wasn't sure if she'd win, but…as with all things in Arden's world, better to have tried and failed…before taking what she wanted.

  For now, things were business as usual, and life was continuing.

  The back door opened and Jack and Kyle arrived with Chinese food. She checked the clock, not realizing the morning was already gone. They made a spread on the great oak table, something Sam had always prized, and said a small prayer to the God Mother, asking her to keep Sam safe.

  As she ate an egg roll, Dharma looked at the group around her, thought about the coming baby Dragon and wondered if life had finally calmed down enough to think about a house and a family of her own. Maybe…the great Circle goes on, doesn't it?

  The shop phone rang and they let the answering service get it. Then Dharma's phone rang and she looked at the number. It was Arden.

  "It's cracking!" she yelled into the phone. "The egg is cracking!"

  Dharma stood up and the chair fell backward. "The baby's coming!"

  Glossary

  Pronunciations:

  Crwys - Cruise

  Medbh - Mayv

  Sidhe - Shea

  Daoine - Dana

  Djinn - Gin

  Alfheim - Alf-hime

  Circe - Seer-See

  Houngan - Male Voodoo Priest

  Mambo - Female Voodoo Priestess

  The Ghede Family:

  Papa Ghede - the first man who ever died. Likes cheap cigars and apples. He is a psychopomp who meets the dead at the cross roads to guide them. He will not take a life before its time. He knows everything that happens in the world.

  Brave Ghede - Watchman of the graveyard. He keeps the dead in and the living out.

  Baron Samedi - Loa of the dead. He is the head of the Ghede family. Known for debauchery, loves smoking and drinking and loves his rum and cigars.

  Erzulie - Love, beauty, dancing, she is the darker side of the mother. Many faces. Many lives.

  Language:

  I am not an expert in Cajun or French, nor am I fluent. B
ut I always had it in my head that while Vampires in New Orleans was a very well thought out trope, Werewolves in the Bayou was just as important. So this is my own blend of the two.

  Pischouette Mal Pris - Little girl's in a bad situation

  D'accord - Agreement

  Chérie - Darling

  Ma petite - My little one (feminine)

  Frére - Brother

  Soeur - Sister

  Chiot - Pup

  Loup de chiot - Wolf pup

  Diable du feu - Fire devil

  Trés bien, mon ami - Very well, my friend

  Tayeau - Hound

  Diable - Devil

  Tayeau petite - Small hound, insult; small dog

  Trés belle - Very beautiful

  Mon frére - My brother

  Homme mort - Dead man.

  Je regrette - I regret

  Bonne nuit - Good night

  Jai faim - I’m hungry

  Mère - Mother

  Je sais pa - I don’t know

  M’selle - Miss, young lady

  Le couer - The heart

  Êtes-vous bien? - Are you okay?

  Sa fait pas rien - It doesn’t matter

  Ce qui - What

  Pour quoi - Why

  Definitions:

  Magical Parliament - A grouping of thirteen High Witches chosen from all over the world to regulate magic use and the teaching of magic so as to avoid revealing a Witch's presence to the Cowen world. There are more than thirteen High Witches at any given time, but only thirteen are chosen to serve in Parliament.

  Demon Realms - Worlds that exist outside and yet beside the Material Plane. Other names used for these realms are the Mental, Astral, Abysmal, Ethereal, Peripheral, and sometimes Alfheim.

  Mother's Tracker - The Parliament once granted tracking rights to some Elder Witches, especially those with Elemental Gifts. The last Tracker to officially receive this right was Samantha's mother, Elizabeth Hawthorne. The right gave them the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell trails left behind by a named target. This is the magic Eliza used to track Dionysus and made it impossible for the Leviathan to escape Eliza's abilities.