On Pins and Needles: Sierra Fox, Book 3

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  I couldn’t spend all afternoon trying to separate fact from fiction. Instead, I thought I’d hand out instructions. “Gareth, I need your help getting Papan out to the van. Lavie, can you go with Willow while she gets a few things? Then we’ll all get together right here and torch the place from the bottom up.”

  “You’re going to burn the house down?” Vixen asked.

  “Yeah, we are. So you better get outside,” I said.

  “Sierra, what happened?” Oren asked, his brow furrowed as he surveyed each of us.

  I sucked in a quick breath and exhaled, trying to calm my rampant thoughts. So much had happened—where could I start? In the end, I settled for simplicity. “Eli Moss died downstairs, and so did Jonathan. Both of them inside a dark pentagram…” I could only hope he knew exactly what I meant.

  Oren looked at me for several quiet moments, and I had no doubt he did. “It’s the only option, then,” he finally said.

  “Are you sure?” Lavie asked.

  “Positive,” he replied. “And the sooner, the better.”

  I turned away so I could concentrate on Papan. He was lying in his wolf form and there were a few bits of bloody, clumped fur on his side. I pressed a hand to his muzzle, patting him and avoiding the blister on his nose. I might still be reeling from the fact a demon had actually come into being through my body, that I’d almost died and been saved by Jonathan, but the only important thing now was to get out of here undetected.

  As I prepared to follow my own instructions, I couldn’t help but shiver. An invisible foe had attacked Papan and Vixen—one able to access fire—plus I knew Maya had gotten away. Yet, after this failed attempt at conjuring Legion, I suspected she’d have to deal with the wrath of what was left of the Obscurus.

  I looked up to find Gareth staring at me. I offered him a weak smile. It was all I could manage. I hadn’t intended for him to get caught up in all this, but hadn’t Maya mentioned something about him having magic within? I decided to push the thought away, because it was something to deal with some other day.

  Why couldn’t things ever be easy?

  “Are you ready to get him outside?” he asked.

  I nodded, but when I made a move to grab Papan’s feet, Gareth pulled him up in a fireman’s carry all on his own.

  At least I was going to live another day.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Wait.” Ebony grabbed my sleeve to stop me from knocking on Roe’s front door. “I need to talk to you for a sec.”

  I turned to look at her, surprised. She hadn’t said a word to me since we’d left the church. Not even when we arrived at our destination and I asked if she was all right. All she’d done was stare out the windshield while hugging the duffel bag Lavie had helped her pack, because she’d refused my—and Conrad’s—offer to help.

  I’d told her where I was taking her and why, but she still hadn’t commented or disputed the notion. She seemed a little out of it, and I was afraid to ask any questions about how much she remembered.

  “Sierra,” she began, licking her lips. “I wanted to say sorry for being such an ass.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” After everything we’d been through, I didn’t want an apology. I might not be happy about Maya being MIA, but Papan was okay, Willow seemed to be getting over her loss, Gareth was back to being a police officer, and Lavie had proven herself to be a lot more valuable than I’d expected. And an even better friend.

  We’d slammed the door on Legion, and that had to be enough.

  I’d learned to accept small victories.

  “I treated you so badly and you didn’t deserve it.” Ebony’s blue-gray eyes were filled with unshed tears. She always looked so young and vulnerable without makeup, and wearing a skull tee with skinny jeans hanging off her skeletal frame, made her look malnourished. “I was just so lost. After what happened at the Council my body felt disconnected from the rest of me. I never thought something so bad was possible, but there you have it…”

  I took her cold hand and squeezed it. “You’re alive, and now you’re going to get help from someone who’s been through something similar. Roe knows what to do to make things better. You know he’s a good guy—he’ll take care of you.” I pushed a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear. “Besides, I wouldn’t leave you here if I didn’t trust him.”

  She was still looking at me. “About the vampires, I—”

  “You don’t need to say anything.”

  A rueful smile spread over her lips. “I heard you were pretty kick-ass in the club.”

  “Oh yeah, is Papan telling stories again?”

  “No, that cute guy Conrad told me.” She took a breath and exhaled. A faraway look darkened her features.

  “You still don’t remember him, huh?”

  Ebony shook her head. “I can’t remember a single thing about him.”

  “I’m sorry.” I sighed. “Maybe it’ll all come back soon.” I had to avoid her eyes when I said that because Conrad and Father Luke had pretty much confirmed that any memories Cam erased were lost.

  “I hope you’re right,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip. “Sometimes when I look at Conrad, I can almost see him…but then I lose the image, and it’s replaced by someone else.”

  “By who?” My pulse was racing because I had a pretty good idea who it was.

  She shrugged. “Must be my ex—blond hair, tall, and very good looking. I can’t remember his name or much else about him, though.”

  “Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” The last thing we needed was for her to remember whatever bullshit relationship Cam the vampire fabricated and forced into her head.

  “Oh well, at least Conrad seems to want to get to know me again.”

  I was glad to hear her positive outlook, so I nodded.

  “Are you and me, okay?”

  “Yep, we’re more than okay. I’m so happy Father Luke was able to help you.”

  “I know. I feel so holy after all those baths in the blessed water.” She looked at the back of her other hand. “I think it’s done wonders for my skin.”

  I laughed, but the slightly off-color shade on her skin still bothered me. She might be recovering but she still shared more of Roe’s complexion than I cared to accept. Which reminded me, if we didn’t knock soon, he’d wonder what the hell was going on outside on his doorstep.

  “Are you ready to go in?”

  Ebony nodded.

  After a few knocks, we waited.

  “Can you promise me one thing?” I said to Ebony, meeting her gaze.

  “What?”

  “Promise that you’ll talk to me about whatever problems you have before going off the deep end,” I said, taking a quick breath and hoping I didn’t sound too insensitive. “You could’ve been killed. Or worse, could’ve become one of those bloodsuckers.”

  Ebony’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “I promise not to act like an immature brat next time. And just for the record, what happened at the Council wasn’t your fault. You tried to warn me.”

  “Hey, we don’t need to get into specifics right now, okay? Just make sure you learned your lesson from this situation.” After coming so close to death, I sure hoped she did. Not just because I cared about her, but because she would no doubt influence Willow in some way.

  “Ah, Ms. Fox and Ms. Aikan,” Roe said, opening the door. His ashy-tinged skin was something I suspected he’d never lose, but since being away from the Council his hair was no longer greasy and combed flat against his head. His eyes were clear, and a smile seemed permanently stuck on his large mouth. “It’s so nice to see you both. Come in.”

  “Sorry about missing our appointment and all of your calls,” I said as he motioned us inside. After missing our appointment two days ago, he’d left about ten messages on my mobile phone and each had sounded a little more concerned, even frantic. After calling back and giving him a very brief version about what was going on, he’d offered to help Ebony. He was positive he had techniques to get h
er back on track and feeling like herself again, so she’d never slip into such a desperate situation.

  “She might seem better but a relapse is common,” he’d said.

  He’d been through this many times before, so I had no reason to doubt him. And like I’d said to Ebony, I trusted Roe. He’d always been helpful as the Collector and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the Council building last month.

  “As long as you’re both all right, that’s all that matters,” he said. Today he was wearing a pair of gray slacks, a white shirt and charcoal-colored cardigan. He looked like a man who had found a new sense of self-pride, and I couldn’t be happier.

  I followed Ebony into the large entryway, which was painted a burgundy color with paneled ceiling skirting to match the wooden banister. This was a massive Victorian house, though I hadn’t expected anything less for a place in East Serene Hills—the part of town where the wealthier people resided.

  “This way,” Roe said, leading us into a large floral wallpapered living room. Most of the furniture was still covered in plastic sheets and I noticed cobwebs on the ceiling. “Excuse the dust. We still haven’t had a chance to clean this story. We started downstairs, moved up to the attic, and are now finishing up the second story. We figured the bedrooms were a little more important than the reception rooms.”

  “Is that where the girls are?” I asked. I hadn’t seen the three young spook catchers since they took a cab with Roe and left my house.

  He nodded. “And before you ask, they’re doin’ great. I’ve got them doing Catcher exercises, have already tested their theory skills, and I was hoping you would take them into the field when you’re ready. Theory means nothing without practice.”

  “I can take them,” Ebony said a little shyly.

  “Of course you can,” Roe agreed with a nod. “But first you need to recover, and I’m afraid these girls are just about itching to get out there.”

  “I’ll take them to the cemetery as soon as I get some things cleared up,” I said with a nod. There were more than a few matters I needed to take care of before getting stuck into the work waiting for me at the office, so helping these girls would also have to wait for the time being. “Are any of them licensed yet?”

  “No, they were all still learning the ropes.” He led us from the dusty living room and into a darkened corridor. The navy blue walls were bare but all had imprints where picture frames had previously hung. “And I think Mason hadn’t gotten his hands on them yet, so we can at least be grateful for that.”

  “Y’know, come to think of it, I still haven’t got my full license either,” Ebony said.

  She was doing so well before everything went to shit that I’d also forgotten. With the problems at the Council, I wasn’t sure how she was going to get it.

  “Don’t worry. I’m working on something as we speak. You girls probably won’t need to deal with the Council ever again.” He opened the only door at the end of the corridor. “Which is why we’re headed into the cellar right now—I’ve got something to show you…and it’s probably not what you might be expecting.”

  Ebony strolled inside, descending without further instructions.

  I hesitated in the corridor.

  “Are you okay?” Roe asked, with concern etched on his wrinkled face. “I can tell you’re concerned about Ms. Aikan because she seems to be doing such a good job at hiding the turmoil of emotions she must be going through.”

  “No, it’s not that.” Well, it kinda was because I’d been thinking the same thing. But my main concern at the moment was where we were headed. “I’ve had some pretty bad things happen in basements.” And one of them had only happened a few days ago.

  My hand flew up to my throat, double checking that the place Maya had so viciously ripped apart was still undamaged. It might be smooth physically, but just like all of my other scars I could still feel it there. Sometimes I’d wake up in the morning thinking Mauricio’s ugly, black stain was still on my clavicle.

  Internal scars were the worst. I looked down at the bandages around my wrists. At least these would eventually heal and scar in the proper way.

  Roe placed a hand on my shoulder. “I promise nothing bad will happen in this one. To be honest with you, I think it’s the brightest room in the house. And we don’t call it a basement, it’s the cellar—or the Vault, as I prefer.”

  “Wow.” I heard Ebony gasp from below.

  “Go ahead,” Roe insisted, motioning for me to walk in front of him. “There’s nothing to fear in this house.”

  I swallowed my distrust of basements and attempted to wash away all of my bad thoughts long enough to descend into the brightest room I’d ever seen.

  “What the hell? When did you set this up?” Three of the four walls inside the Vault were covered with the square holding cells and levers that connected to the canisters.

  “It’s been here for decades—just needed to be cleaned up and have a few light bulbs replaced. A little maintenance was necessary on the levers, but it cleaned up real nice.” Roe strolled past me, headed for one of the walls covered from top to bottom with spook holding cells. “My father knew all about spook catchers and he constructed these cells. He simply introduced a more practical way of securing spirits, making it a little easier than my grandmother’s way.” He pointed to the large circle inscribed into the concrete—encasing a triangle. “Years before spooks and catchers were known to the world, my grandmother used this cellar to summon and banish evil spirits. Of course, back then it was nothing like it is now. Spooks weren’t given a trial—they were simply expelled from this patch. The Council eradicated most texts and books detailing our history, but my family kept some of it. Not everyone could afford to have a Collection room of this scale, but they all had a private space to deal with troublesome spirits.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if my grandmother had a place like this. I knew she and Granddad had lived in the house I now owned for years. Then again, she left the spook catching business before getting married, which would explain why she didn’t have a room similar to this one.

  “This is amazing.” Ebony was wide-eyed. “With a room like this, we don’t need to go to the Council for anything.”

  Roe nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to establish. Thanks to the information Jason gathered, I was able to contact several places out of state that actually run their entire businesses, from start to finish, independently. Instead of having a central building where they’re all forced to drop off canisters, they simply carry on the spook catching end of the deal, secure the spooks, and then the local court sanctions hearings for the misbehaving spirits. It’s pretty much the same, though the catchers there also take on the responsibility of banishing the spooks to the ghostly patch. Looks like they might know a thing or two about how it was done in the past…”

  I suddenly remembered something both Travis and Troy Slevani had mentioned several months back. They told me that once ghosts were banished into the ghostly patch by the Spook Catcher Council, they weren’t actually going where I thought they were. At the time, I’d had no idea what they meant, but after actually entering that patch when Mace tried to use me as a conduit to shatter the pathway, I’d seen only tranquil spooks moving about their business with no one threatening around.

  So where exactly did the troubled ghosts go?

  “Roe, do you know if the Council is actually banishing the spooks we captured to the ghostly patch?” If anyone knew, he would.

  He frowned. “What makes you ask that, Ms. Fox?”

  “When I was in the ghostly patch—”

  “You were actually in the ghostly patch?” Ebony asked, and her eyes looked just about ready to pop out of their sockets.

  “Yeah, I was briefly. Don’t you remember? You tried to stop me but I was pulled in by Professor Spooker.”

  “You saw my—you actually saw Professor Spooker?” Roe asked, interest gleaming in his eyes.

  I nodded.
“He was in pretty bad shape and had turned into a wraith, but was still determined not to let Mace have his way. If it wasn’t for Professor Spooker, I wouldn’t have gotten out of there.”

  Roe closed his eyes for a second and nodded, a small smile teased the corners of his mouth.

  “There’s a lot I don’t remember,” Ebony said with a shrug. “I think I’ve forced myself to forget a lot of things.”

  Cam was probably responsible for a lot of the gaps in her memory.

  “You should never forget any experiences in life. Whether good or bad, you need to learn from everything that happens to you. But don’t worry. I’ll explain everything more extensively later.” Roe seemed a lot cheerier now.

  “Anyway,” I said, trying to catch my initial stream of thought. “Do you know about the spooks, Roe?”

  He frowned and crossed his arms over his narrow chest. “The Council hasn’t been forthcoming about a lot of things. Since its conception by Rochelle Spooker, the only people who really know what’s going on are the four councilors and Mace. They’re very secretive for a very good reason. Although we might all believe—just as they convinced the general population—that the misbehaving spirits are banished to the ghostly patch, they’re not.” He paused for a moment. “The ghostly patch is where spirits go when they first accept death and move away from the living world. It’s their first step towards what comes after. Most remain there for some time, while others move on right away. It all depends on the individual.” Roe clasped his hands together. “Now, I’m not sure what comes after, and I don’t believe any of us will find out until it’s our time, but the Afterlife has different paths. And in one of those places is where the evil spirits are eternally sentenced to remain. But the Council hasn’t sent anyone there in a long while.”

  “Where are they, then?” I asked, a wave of dread storming over my skin.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  My stomach lurched. There was one person who would know exactly where they were—Mace.

  One day, I’d make him pay for everything he’d done to help corrupt the system. According to the now-dead Professor Spooker, Mace used to be one of his assistants, so he’d started out small and spread his infectious ambitions for decades.