To Seize a Wayward Spirit

by R. L. Naquin

  I jotted down what she said, then frowned. “What do you mean ‘players’? What did they play?”

  “Oh, they played dress-up at conventions.”

  Ash sat up straighter. “You mean cosplayers?”

  I glanced at Ash. “What’s a cosplayer?”

  Ash grinned at me. “Something you’re going to fall in love with.”

  “Here.” Gardenia moved to a small secretary desk in the corner, rummaged around in a drawer, then came back with an envelope addressed to Felicia. “This is from the convention committee. They’d already called and talked to her, but this was to make it official.” She handed me the envelope.

  Inside was a letter inviting Felicia to be this year’s cosplayer guest of honor. I had no idea what that meant, but the letter talked about an award ceremony and speaking on panels and a lot of other things I wasn’t familiar with. It was dated five months ago.

  I frowned. “All this for playing dress-up?” I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what sort of dress-up they were talking about. “Like, dressing as a cowgirl for the day? Or a Southern belle? Is this like Halloween?”

  Ash pointed at the header on the letter I was holding. It showed a unicorn with a rainbow mane and tale jumping over a gold circle with the words CanDorCon in the center. Underneath the circle it said SciFi & Fantasy Convention.

  “Oh. So, they dress up as...unicorns and stuff?” I was fascinated at the idea of a bunch of goblins and other Hidden creatures dressing up as each other and calling it fantasy. “Are there humans there, too?”

  Gardenia sat in the overstuffed chair and crossed her ankles. “There are all sorts. It’s run by Hidden. That’s why they named it CanDorCon. They were being clever, you see. Like calling it Truth-Con. It’s both the truth and a lie.” She shook her head. “Personally, I think the name was a little too on the nose. I always worried they’d get caught. But now with the change in things, they don’t have to try so hard to look like humans looking like elves when they’re really yetis.”

  My head swam with the possibilities. Why had I never heard of such a thing? I glanced at the letter again. The convention was less than two weeks away. Oh, we were so going. I handed the letter back to Felicia’s mother. “Thank you for sharing that with us. Would you mind giving us a list of Felicia’s friends? Not just the dress-up people. Anyone else she was friends with. Or enemies.”

  “I gave a list to the officer who was here right after it happened. Nice young man. Enormous head. It was a little disconcerting. Tyrell something, I think. It took me a while to get all the information he wanted. I emailed it to him.” Her lips drew down in a grimace. “He was so kind and seemed so interested. But I never heard back from him.”

  I didn’t want to alarm her by telling her the local OGRE squad was virtually nonexistent. That was a good way to spread panic in the Hidden community. I chose my words carefully. “Tyrell is no longer with the OGRE squad, though we do intend to talk to him about your daughter’s case. We’re with...” I wasn’t sure what to call us. We were reaper-chasers. We weren’t exactly Hidden FBI.

  Tahm cleared his throat and jumped in to help me. “We’re from Headquarters. We’re not part of the local authorities.”

  Her eyes widened and she scanned each of our faces. “They sent you from Headquarters? Why? Why would they do that for a simple hit-and-run? Is there a bigger problem? What are you not telling me?” She bit her lip and fiddled with a lace doily from the arm of her chair.

  Clearly we were upsetting this nice lady. I wasn’t sure if there was an approach that wouldn’t upset her. While the full truth probably wouldn’t do her any favors—she didn’t need to know her daughter’s soul had made a run for it and we were trying to chase it down—I still felt like some of the truth was necessary to help her to help us.

  “Mrs. Appleton.” I scooted forward on the couch and placed my hand over hers while making eye contact. Eye contact was important to looking sincere. I’d learned that in the sixties during a protest march. I’d had no idea what we were protesting, but it had been a relief to take my bra off and toss it in the bonfire. “Gardenia. We’re here because a very similar event occurred yesterday. A young lady in the Hidden community was hit by a car and killed. The driver didn’t stop.”

  “Oh, no.” Mrs. Appleton covered her mouth with her hand. “What kind of monster would do such a thing?” Her eyes filled with tears. “And you think it could be the same person who killed my girl?”

  “Well, we’re here to see if it’s related or if we can rule that out. The two incidents could simply be horrible accidents.”

  She sniffed and used the doily to dab at her nose. At the other end of the sofa, Tahm moved his arm off the doily there. “And you said it happened in the same parking lot?” She wadded the doily in her hand and dropped her fist to her lap.

  Tahm shook his head. “No, ma’am. It was at a toy store this time.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “I don’t suppose you can tell me her name?”

  I glanced at Tahm and Ash for confirmation, and they both shrugged. I was in charge. It would have to be my call. On television, this would be against the rules, but screw it. We weren’t the police. We made our own rules. “Her name was Wendy Stevens. She was—”

  “She was a banshee,” Mrs. Appleton said, her eyes wide. “Oh, my stars.” She fanned herself with the limp, damp doily.

  “What is it?” I knew what she was going to say but I needed to hear it.

  “Wendy was part of Felicia’s cosplay group.”

  I nodded, knowing we’d just stepped into a huge mess that now belonged to us. “We’re going to need that list of Felicia’s friends and enemies. I don’t think the deaths of either of those girls was an accident.”

  Chapter Four

  We made it back to the boarding house with time to spare before dinner. At first, I thought the place was empty, but we nosed around a little and found a room at the back of the house full of wood paneling, dusty books and a bunch of strangers sipping pre-dinner cocktails.

  I had to squelch a nearly overwhelming urge to magic myself into some sort of elegant evening wear from the twenties. When I glanced at my wrist to gauge the level of magic available, Tahm nudged me with his elbow and gave me a disapproving scowl.

  He needed to loosen up.

  Still. Nobody else was dressed up, so it probably wasn’t necessary, no matter how much I wanted it to be.

  “Well, well, well.” A man with reddish-blond hair and closely trimmed beard hopped up from an antique sofa. He was about five feet tall, and his tailored suit made him stand out as the only person in the room wearing more than casual clothing. He grinned at my breasts. “It seems we have some new residents. How fortunate.”

  I tried not to let my distaste show on my face, but leprechauns were the worst. Next to satyrs. I gave him a polite smile, then looked over his head at the rest of the room. “Hi, everyone.”

  Two elven women returned my greeting. Both were blond, one with long hair in two braids and the other with a cute bob that didn’t quite reach her shoulders.

  The one with braids raised her hand in a brief wave. “I’m Eliza, and this is my sister Nessa. Welcome.” She glanced at the leprechaun, who was now eyeing Ash. “That’s Buzz. He and his buddy Finn are on your floor.” Her nose wrinkled. “Lock your doors.”

  Nessa nodded. “Even when you’re in it.”

  Tahm’s arm brushed against mine, and the muscles were tense. I rested my hand on his forearm to calm him. The last thing I wanted was a brawl on our first day. That was more of a third-day activity.

  Glasses clinked to our left, and I turned. A dwarf with a bushy red beard that hung to his belt approached with a tray of drinks. “Welcome to Harpy House, folks.” He handed us each a glass. “For the lady, a nice single malt from my family label, I think. For the young lady, a drink I invented myself. I call it a
Bermuda Triangle. Letheberry-infused ginger ale. Not a drop of alcohol in it, but it’ll make you forget where you put your car keys.” He winked. “And for the gentleman, a dirty martini with extra olives.”

  I sipped my drink and enjoyed the fire as it burned its way down my throat to warm my belly. “This is wonderful.” I took another sip, letting the liquid slide over my tongue so I could savor the taste after it was gone. “How did you know what each of us would like?”

  The dwarf shrugged. “It’s my gift.” He stuck his hand out. “Douglas. Pleasure to meet all of you.”

  I shook his hand. “Kam. And this is Ash and Tahm.”

  “Excellent. Excellent.” He turned to face the rest of the room. “If everyone’s ready, I believe it’s time for dinner.” He gave us a small bow then headed toward the door. “Right this way.”

  We followed him into the dining room, the elves and leprechaun following closely behind. At first glance, the long stone table appeared to be set for ten people. Once I was seated, I realized what I’d thought was an empty spot at the end of the table was actually a smaller table set for three on top of the large table. A tiny water sprite sat in a teacup filled with water. She waved at me and smiled.

  A moment later, a brownie shimmied up the leg of the big table and took his place at the table meant for folks six inches or less. He greeted the water sprite next to him, unfolded his napkin and tied it around his neck, then picked up his knife and fork in a pose of hungry expectation. Before I could blink, a pixie zipped down the stairs and flew to the last place at the small table. A dryad with green-tipped silver hair joined us, as well as the second leprechaun we’d been warned about.

  A dozen residents sat at the table. I wondered how many were permanent and how many were passing through like we were. The leprechauns, for instance, weren’t likely to stay in one place for long. Leprechaun scams tended to be elaborate, profitable and short-lived. Once they were caught, they’d probably move on.

  The rest I couldn’t guess about. They could be staying in a boarding house for any number of reasons.

  My thoughts were interrupted when the thirteenth member of this crazy dinner party arrived, carrying an enormous tray of food.

  Tahm jumped from his seat next to me. “Miss Angelica, let me help.” He took the tray from her so she could place the individual dishes of food on the table. His muscles strained and his arms shook. It was kind of him to help her, but I didn’t think he’d realized how much food she’d brought in. He was super strong, being a djinn. But he wasn’t bridge-troll strong. Miss Angelica could probably bench-press a VW Bug without breaking a sweat.

  She kissed his cheek when she took the empty tray from him. “What a good boy you are. Extra dessert for you tonight!”

  When Tahm returned to his seat, his cheeks looked a little pink. I considered giving him a hard time but decided to drop it. It had been a sweet gesture. He was a sweet guy. He’d always been a sweet guy. Stubborn as hell, but sweet.

  I sighed and looked away. It wouldn’t do to let him think I was staring longingly at him.

  “Pass the soil, please.” Across from me and two people down, the dryad’s green eyes caught my attention.

  “Oh. Oh, sure.” The dish directly in front of me was filled with dark, rich dirt. The surface shifted, and an earthworm wiggled in and out of view. I grasped the bowl at its base and held it out to Finn, who was seated beside her. “Can you pass this, please?”

  Finn held still a moment. The only movement he made came from his gaze flicking from my boobs to my face and back. When he finally moved to take the bowl, he licked his lips, then jutted his chin at me. “I’m Finn.”

  “I know.” I shoved the bowl at him.

  “What’s your name, doll?”

  Leprechauns. I gritted my teeth and did my best to be polite. “I’m Kam.” I nodded toward my right. “That’s Ash.”

  Tahm spoke up, his voice deeper than usual. “Tahm.”

  The two eyed each other for a moment before Finn finally broke contact. Buzz snorted, and Finn passed the soil to the dryad.

  On one hand, Tahm’s protective posturing in the presence of a pushy male gave me a tingling thrill in my belly. On the other, I was a little irritated. I’d handled far worse unwanted attention than what this slimy leprechaun was dishing out. I was hardly a delicate flower. I didn’t doubt that Ash could take Finn down, too. Neither of us wore the damsel-in-distress mask comfortably.

  It did show that Tahm cared, though, even if it was only because I was his best friend’s baby sister.

  The meal was chaotic, and the food—what I ate—was pretty good. Those of us eating regular food had fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. The brownie ate a smaller version of what we had, and the water sprite and pixie shared some sort of moss cakes or seaweed bread. The dryad had her fingers sunk into a heaping bowl of fresh dirt, and the elves appeared to be vegetarians, eating nothing but raw fruits and vegetables.

  I did not envy Miss Angelica having to prepare so many different things.

  By the time dinner was over, I could only remember half the names of the people at the table, and my head hurt from all the chattering and, in some cases, squabbling. As the residents moved in twos and threes into the library for after-dinner drinks and whatever game was set for the night, I couldn’t bring myself to follow.

  “Hey.” I grabbed Ash’s sleeve on her way past. “I’m going to head up to my room.”

  “You okay?” She frowned and pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

  “What’s wrong? Is Kam sick?” Tahm had been speaking to Miss Angelica but immediately came to my side.

  I shook my head. “I’m fine. Just need to lie down. I think I’m done for the night.”

  His brows drew together in concern. “Do you want us to come up, too?”

  “No. Really. Have fun playing...whatever. Don’t go overboard with the bar. Art will want an itemized bill.”

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  I smirked. “Ash, keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t get too out of control.”

  Ash snorted. “I’ll do my best.”

  Tahm opened his mouth to protest, his chin out and shoulders back. “What are you trying to say, exactly?”

  Ash and I exchanged an amused look. “Nothing.” I patted Tahm’s shoulder. “We’re messing with you.”

  Tahm grunted. “I see.”

  “Be nice to each other. I’ll see you later.” I made my exit before anyone else could waylay me. As much as I loved having a team and being in a place filled with Hidden, I missed all the time I used to spend by myself. I was a social creature, but this was a little much. I needed to recharge.

  As a bonus, I was able to take a shower before anyone else who might want one before bed. The water pressure wasn’t great, but the bathroom was clean. By the time the rest of the people on the floor came up, it might not be.

  I stepped out of the shower and twisted a towel into a turban around my wet hair. As I reached for a towel to dry myself, my ears popped, and I heard—and felt—a sneeze directly behind me. I spun around and found another eye hovering a few inches above my line of sight. This time, it was accompanied by a nose, a single black eyebrow, and one ear. As before, the eye was staring directly at me.

  When I spun around, the eye drew back, and the entire half-structure of a face turned away from me, as if embarrassed. This time I didn’t jump. I wasn’t exactly prepared for half a floating face to appear, but it didn’t startle me now that I’d seen the eyeball once. Besides, anything that turned away politely because it saw a naked lady couldn’t have nefarious intentions.

  The backside of the floating features was translucent and pale, as if made up of smoke or mist. It made it difficult to see in the foggy bathroom. I wrapped myself in a towel, then cleared my throat to let it know it could turn around.


  “I’m decent. Sort of.” I held tight to my towel more to remind myself not to make any sudden moves than out of modesty. The eyeball was far more concerned with that than I was.

  The facial features turned, and the eyeball blinked several times. Without a mouth, however, this would have to be a one-sided conversation.

  “Do you need help?”

  The face parts bobbed in the air.

  “Okay. So...we’re going with once for yes and twice for no. That work for you?”

  It nodded once.

  I grabbed my bag of toiletries and poked my head into the hallway. “All clear. Follow me.” I raced across the hall and into my room. The floating half-face followed me in, and I closed the door. “Turn around for a second if you don’t want an eyeful.” Once it—he, most likely—turned, I shrugged into my fluffy robe and dropped my towel. “Okay. You’re safe.”

  I dropped onto the bed and bounced a few times to get used to the squeaks.

  The eye blinked and moved above the chair, then lowered a little.

  “Are you sitting down?” I pulled my hair free of its towel turban and blotted. “It looks like you just sat down. Do you have a body to go with the rest of you?”

  The eye blinked again, then bobbed once, hesitated, then bobbed twice more.

  Yes? No? I couldn’t tell. I turned on the bedside lamp so I could get a better look. The lashes were dark and full, but the nose had a definite masculine look to it. There was a little bit of cheekbone showing, so I could almost make out the facial structure. From his skin tone and what little I could see of his features, I thought he might be Japanese—or at least have some Japanese heritage.

  Or not. His family history wasn’t my main concern at the moment.