by Dana Davis
Daisy nodded in understanding. “Sure. We’ll wait in the hall.” She motioned the others up then patted Liam on the shoulder. “Good to see you again, Chesh.” She and the others left the room.
Liam didn’t look like he recognized the name now.
Just like Hattie said. He goes in and out. Bridgette swallowed, her mouth going dry all of the sudden. “Liam. I have something to tell you. About your parents.”
“Are they coming to see me soon? I’ve been waiting.”
Fuck. “They can’t come, Liam.” She slid her chair next to him, taking his bony hands in her own. “They’ve been in an accident. I’m so sorry. They died.”
He stared at her and she thought for a moment she’d pushed him back into his semi-catatonic state. But he blinked and put his arms around her. She held him as he sobbed, guilt boiling to the surface like a volcano. I did this to him. He would’ve had his parents all these years if not for me. She refused to let even a single tear escape now.
* * * *
The nurses had sedated Liam so that he could sleep, and Bridgette felt exhausted, mentally and physically.
“You okay, Bridge?”
She pulled her eyes from car window to look at Daisy, who had twisted to peer into the backseat. “Fucking great.”
“Stop blaming yourself. It was an accident. You were both just stupid kids.”
Bridgette nodded but her cousin’s words didn’t help her guilt. I am responsible. I knew better than to drink. Mom had drilled that into me enough times. If I hadn’t taunted Liam, pushed him into it, he would’ve grown up here in the real world just like any other kid. She turned her focus on Scarlet and Kali. “You two get anything? I saw you studying him.”
Kali shook her head. “I didn’t see anything abnormal. But if you’re right and that Madam – whoever – was a necro, then it’s possible he got caught up in her aura. Tangled, if you will. And part of him stayed behind here, while his consciousness was in the afterlife. I can’t say for sure if that’s exactly what happened. I’ve never merged like that with a medium before.”
“But it’s possible? This merging?” The car turned and Bridgette shifted her weight to look around Kali, who sat in the middle, at Scarlet.
The medium sniffed. Even in the orange glow of streetlights, Bridgette could see that she’d chewed off her pink lipstick. “Possible sure. But very few could do it. A merger like that would take a very powerful necro and a powerful medium.” Scarlet glanced at Kali a moment. “Untrained and unprotected, either of them could get into real trouble.”
“How about a teenage medium with a few drinks in him.”
“That could do it. But—”
“But what? Scarlet?” I hate when people keep things from me.
“I don’t think your friend is a medium anymore. I think whatever happened made him lose those powers.”
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. “How do you know?”
“He didn’t respond to someone who was there with us tonight.”
Daisy clicked her tongue. “Oh, good. So I didn’t imagine her. Wait. You think Liam gave me his powers somehow? When he followed me back here?”
Scarlet thought a moment. “Could be? Or maybe he ignited something latent in you.”
“Latent how? I’m a witch.”
Bridgette nodded at that. “I agree with Daisy. A grown witch doesn’t suddenly get new powers.” Unless an ancient Kachina merger does something funky to her. She didn’t have to say that last part and didn’t need to open her senses to tell that Daisy was thinking the very same thing. But the Kachina only enhanced Daisy’s witch powers. It couldn’t turn her into a fucking medium. Could it?
Scarlet raised a dark brow. “As paranormals go, witches and mediums aren’t that far from each other. Daisy, why do you think you and Bridgette can do séances to contact the dead? Yes, you have to use spells. But mediumship is a kind of magick in its own right. You wouldn’t have been born a medium, not without at least one medium parent, but the potential is in your bloodline. Why do you think most mediums marry mediums or witches and not trolls or some other paranormal?”
Bridgette’s dad was half-troll. Not the ugly, hairy, hide under a bridge, scare the crap out of people kind from mortal storybooks. But fables had a smidgen of truth to them. Her dad had sported a lot of body hair, red. He had loved to fish and he had liked his fish raw. But like most trolls, his main power had been in business ventures, not unlike Jay’s leprechaun lineage and the luck they had with real estate.
Fay might be a good manager but Jay’s talents got them that successful condo complex in the first place. From what Mom’s told me, Dad had an uncanny intuition about which businesses would be successful. After he left Bridgette’s mother, he made a fortune with his seafood business and sent her more than generous checks. And when he died, his will listed Bridgette and her mom as the only heirs. They were both very wealthy women now.
Her phone vibrated and she looked at the screen. “Crap.”
“What is it, Bridge?”
She glanced at Daisy. “Mom. Cousin Brendon must be showing her how to text again. She wants to know if I’m on my way home, yet. Pesky woman.”
A smirk danced on Daisy’s lips. “Be nice to her or I’ll tell her about the time you spelled the water fountain in middle school.”
Bridgette smiled, remembering how Sheryl Baker got soaked and had to wear gym clothes for the last two periods because her nanny wasn’t available to bring her a clean outfit. The bitch had made a snide remark comparing Bridgette’s freckles to a connect-the-dots coloring book. “That was a good one, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah it was.” Daisy smirked, the way she always did when she had something juicy on Bridgette. “Aunt Marge will probably try to ground you for it even now.”
Margaret McDougal didn’t approve of doing magick in front of mortals, unless it was for protection. Bridgette grunted. “More likely, she’d add another couple of months to her visit.”
“Tell her we’ll take her to a nice lunch before she leaves.”
“How ‘bout I tell her you’ll take her to lunch?”
“You’re terrible, Bridge.”
Bridgette texted her mother that she would be home later than expected tonight. Then she added Daisy’s lunch offer and smacked the phone down onto her thigh. Kali squirmed like she wanted to say something and Bridgette eyed her. “What? You want to take my mom to lunch too?”
“No.” Kali shifted the sequined purse on her lap. “I think you’re right about that woman, the one at the carnival. She must’ve been using her necro abilities when you guys showed up that night. Otherwise, Liam conjuring a ghost wouldn’t have affected either of them the way you described. Certainly wouldn’t have left him in a stupor.”
“But if using those powers ages you,” Daisy said. “Why would she do that? Especially for something stupid like a carnival act?”
Kali shrugged and her silky black hair fell over one shoulder. “Money probably. If word got around that she was good, she’d have a lot of clientele. You’d be surprised what some people will do for money.”
“I get the money thing, Kali. I’m not that naïve. But there are mortals at those carnivals. Even a necro hungry for cash wouldn’t do anything to out herself.”
“She wouldn’t have to. She could use the guise of a séance to give herself time to connect to the afterlife and not draw unwanted attention. You know, be all showy about it. Some people will spend a fortune for a chance to talk to loved ones who’ve died.”
Scarlet nodded. “Exactly why we have to lay low. Too dangerous for us to work around mortals. Stupid woman. She’ll out us all if she’s not careful.”
Kali placed a hand on Scarlet’s arm then pulled away like she’d been shocked. “Sorry.” Those mysterious black eyes moved to Bridgette again. “You remember what she looked like?”
I’ll never forget. “She was dressed like a gypsy woman. Lots of makeup and long hair. Probably a wig.” Her phone vibrated
again. Her mother seemed excited about the lunch offer and didn’t bother asking what time Bridgette would get home tonight. ‘Bout time she minded her own damn business. “Without her costume, I don’t know that I’d recognize her. And it’s been a long time.”
“Was she ethnic?”
“Well, she could’ve been Hispanic, I guess. She had on a lot of makeup but her eyes were generic brown, a little darker than Daisy’s.”
“So now I’m generic. Gee thanks, Bridge.”
Bridgette smirked at her cousin but she didn’t want to start bantering just now so she turned her focus back to Kali. “She had a fake European accent too. And before you ask, a lawn jockey could tell it was fake, she sucked at it that bad. Why?”
Kali shrugged. “I just thought since this Rebecca woman is a necro and you ran into one at the carnival—”
“That they might be the same woman? No way. Rebecca’s not old enough. She would’ve been a teenager, like me.”
“Okay, so much for that theory.” Kali shifted in her seat. “You sure you never saw this woman again? This necro?”
“Not that I remember. Besides, she could be anywhere in the world by now.”
“I doubt that.”
That peaked Bridgette’s interest and she tugged at the seatbelt to turn toward the Asian woman sitting next to her in the car. Noah slowed to a stop as they came to a red light. “What do you mean?”
Kali took in a long breath, as though deciding how much to reveal. “Once a necro uses her powers, she, or he, usually doesn’t stray too far from that area.”
“Why not?” Noah this time. He lifted his chin as he glanced in his rearview mirror.
“Her powers leave a signature behind.” Kali licked her full lips and sucked on the bottom one a moment. “If she practices in the same area, she can avoid aging too fast.” One arm waved off Bridgette’s next question. “Oh, she’ll still age. But it’ll be more subtle. A few extra gray hairs. Light wrinkles. Something she could cover with makeup or laser treatments.”
Daisy stuck her head farther around her seat. “How close does she have to be to this signature?”
“Not more than a few miles. Depends on her strength.” Kali’s black eyes focused on Bridgette again. “Where was this carnival?”
“The fairgrounds.” I’ll never forget that, either.
“Oh.”
“What?”
Kali looked deep in thought for a moment. “Nothing. I mean if it was at the fairgrounds, it had to be a touring carnival.”
“Yeah. I don’t even remember them having one out there the following year. So you’re saying this Madam Zenar has to be a local?”
“Probably. A practicing necro couldn’t use her powers in a touring carnival. She’d be an old lady inside a year. She was probably there because it was close to where she lives.”
So I could’ve run into her any time after that night and not even known it. I don’t think I would’ve recognized her in street clothes. I need to see if I can find a roster for the fairgrounds that night. Slim, but I don’t have many options.
Daisy reached back and tapped Bridgette’s leg, bringing her thoughts back to the car as the light changed and Noah moved forward. “You know what this means, Bridge? Rebecca’s probably still in the area too. And if she was doing necro rituals from her home—”
“She wouldn’t have gone far.” Bridgette’s heart hammered against her ribs at the thought of finally taking that woman down for what she’d done to Daisy.
“Right. She has to be in the Phoenix area. Someplace. She might have relatives nearby.”
Kali shook her head. “Just because most active necros don’t stray, doesn’t mean this Rebecca woman won’t. You told me she abandoned her house. You got too close, Daisy. She might’ve just taken off.”
“Is that why you didn’t mention this signature thing before?”
“That, and we’d run out of time to find her before you crossed over. To be honest, I was more worried about you, Daisy. Keeping you safe during the ritual. And who says Rebecca’s even going to use her powers again?”
Something darted into the street in front of them. “Noah! Watch out!” Bridgette’s heart hammered as she put her hand out to catch herself on the seat in front of her when Noah slammed on the breaks.
“Everyone okay?” Daisy said after the car screeched to a halt.
Bridgette glanced at the others, who nodded. “We’re fine.” Two eyes glowed in the beam of the car headlights. A coyote. The animal stood in the middle of the road, eyes focused on the car. Bridgette let her mental wall down just a tiny bit and received a familiar whisper touch against her mind. A telepath couldn’t read animals but Bridgette had encountered this one before. “It’s your friend, Daisy.” One of the coyotes that had appeared to Daisy when she was being harassed by the skinwalker.
“Really? The last time I saw him, he tried to warn me that something bad was coming.” The coyote turned its head and strutted across the street, disappearing into the nearby wash. “I’m not sure whether to be grateful or scared he showed up again.”
Bridgette didn’t want to think about that, either. Headlights came up behind them and Noah moved the car forward and continued down the street.
Daisy leaned around her seat and frowned at Scarlet. “Okay, where were we? Oh, yeah. What about the Charon reaper? The one Rebecca used to soulnap my mother. Can she use him again?”
“Of course. A Charon reaper can’t resist a strong necro. But she won’t go after your mother’s soul again.”
“Why not?”
Kali sucked on her lip as Noah cruised through a green light and headed over the CAP canal. “She’s probably afraid of you now. Of what you’ll do to her if you catch her.”
“She should be. I plan to tear her a new one when I find her. She’ll regret the day she ever messed with this witch.”
Bridgette raised a brow at her cousin. “Get in line.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Kali said in a soft voice. She looked ill for a moment. Or maybe it was just the dim light.
Daisy’s gaze snapped back to the necro and Bridgette watched the exchange with interest. “Why else would she be afraid of me?”
Kali looked like she wanted to say more but the words wouldn’t come out so Scarlet spoke this time. “Now that you’re a medium, Daisy, a necro won’t touch your parents like that. She wouldn’t dare.”
“And again, I say, why not? What are you two keeping from me?”
Kali offered a pained look. “That’s all we can tell you right now.”
“Why? Does this have to do with my training?”
“Yes. But that’s not the reason.” Scarlet waved a hand at Noah and Bridgette. “We can’t tell you in front of them.”
“They’re family, Scarlet. You can trust them.”
“It’s not that. We can’t tell you in front of them.”
Bridgette sniffed back a wave of jealousy. “The Fates won’t let them. They can’t tell whatever this particular secret is to anybody except another necro or medium.” She raised a brow at Scarlet. “That about right?”
“Yes.” The medium didn’t look apologetic. Scarlet tended to see paranormal rules as facts of life to be accepted, not bemoaned.
The car took a right turn, this time into Daisy’s neighborhood. No other automobiles moved along the quiet street just now.
So, Daisy will have secrets from me whether she wants to or not. Probably just a matter of time before I can only hear her surface thoughts, like with Scarlet. Cousins by blood, sisters by bond. This might change that relationship. Just fucking fantastic.
Before she could wallow, an odd light caught her eye. Round and bright. It bounced around in a very unusual pattern up in the saddleback area of the McDowells. What the fuck’s up with all the mystery lights? She leaned her head to the side and squinted at the shadowy shape of the mountain. “What the hell’s going on now?”
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* * * *
Chapter 11<
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Fading Lights
Windows whirred down as everyone in the car strained to see the mysterious light on the mountain. Daisy hung out her window with her cell phone and clicked several photos. She’d never before witnessed an unidentified object in the sky and this made two in one night. Could this really be the famous Phoenix Lights Bridgette had mentioned? But only one light shone in the sky that she could tell. Where were the others? The light moved along the saddleback area of the mountain before winking out.
“Where’d it go?” Noah said. He had stopped in the right turn lane, no other cars on the street just now. The light was green so he turned, slowly. “Don’t tell me there are alien paranormals.”
Daisy and the other women chuckled. She looked at the photos she’d just taken. “Hey. Look at this.” With one hand, she reached into the back and held her phone out for Scarlet. “What’s that mist around the light? It’s in all the photos I took this time.”
The medium took Daisy’s phone and studied it. Then she craned her neck out her window to look back at the mountain. “Well, well. If I’m right, I’d say we have ourselves an orb.”
Okay, that’s a new one? “Orb?” Daisy got the word out about a second before Bridgette and Noah.
“She means ghost.” Kali sounded distracted as she checked something on her own phone.
Scarlet pulled her head back inside and turned to the necro. “Not just any ghost, Kali. You should know better.” She handed Daisy’s phone to Bridgette.
Kali smirked as she glanced at Scarlet and back to her tiny, lighted screen. “Yeah well, ghost shmost. Call me jaded.” A necro. A reverse empath. A telepath, though that was her weakest power. And a belly dancer – the woman had many talents, including being co-owner of her family’s memorial business, which meant she dealt with death all the time.
Daisy smiled and shook her head as Noah took another turn, this time onto their street. The more she got to know Kali, the more the woman surprised her. I wouldn’t want her day job.
Scarlet had been a medium since adolescence, when those powers usually blossom, and she usually seemed nonchalant about ghosts. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing them everywhere. Wonder if there’s a way to give this power back to Liam. If it really came from him in the first place.