Yes, and there are a lot of specters there. Pets, children lost, parents lost. They're getting eaten and it's getting stronger. Ray tried to push out another thought about limes but slid back into the water, out cold.
Ray could feel her brain wake up just enough to realize that her body was soundly asleep and wanted to stay where it was. She managed a stretch and smiled to herself at the sheets, smooth and buttery with a ridiculous thread count against her skin. A hand skimming along her thigh produced a little moan but nothing else.
"Hey, my little Ray." Clancy's gravelly voice filled her ears and her body instinctively rolled over to touch his side. She could feel him move closer, his lips on her shoulder and his fingers sliding under the sheets and on her belly.
"Would a taste make you feel better, baby?" He pressed his lips under her ear, lingering there as he worked his fingers down.
The door swung open, hit the wall behind it and Jakob Noble rushed in, followed by Fish and Anna yelling at full blast.
"Uncle Jake! UNCLE JAKE!" Anna was yelling at the top of her voice.
"We just cleared out three HEB produce departments to heal her! Be careful!" Fish said.
Becca and Cindy, another hob, ran past Jakob, grabbing Ray’s robe and was able to cover her as Jakob pulled the covers back and sat on the other side of Ray.
He lifted the robe from the bottom and Becca meeped and landed on Ray’s privates, meeping disapproval to the Shaman.
“That is the least of my worries, hob.” His voice had a dark tone.
Becca meeped defiantly, flaring her huge nose and pointing a finger at him.
"I do apologize, hob, but really, in what world is Mama Ray LaCoure unable to draw a spectral sword and kill everything around her?" he said, raising his eyebrow at the half groaning, all naked and exposed Ray. He rolled his eyes, placing a hand on her stomach and his eyes flashed. Ray convulsed in front of the influx of spectral power and her eyes flew open.
Jakob's nose went back down her belly and ran his finger down the scar. "I said, 'In what world—'"
"In the same world where I get cockblocked and have my full bush exposed to God and everybody by the Shaman of Texarcana." Ray pulled herself up slowly and Jakob's face followed.
"WHY ARE YOU SO CLOSE TO MY BIKINI WAX?"
Jakob snapped upright and everyone else took a step back. Jakob Noble looked every bit the elder statesman, but those that had been in the Hunt knew that Thomas Noble was the diplomat. Jakob Noble was the killer. You weighed your words carefully around him, especially about his beloved Cassandra. Words said out of turn could be painful.
"No, no... you were too close to the pink to give me murder, Shaman. Ray rolled her eyes and reached for her nightshirt. "Like you don't get bent out of shape when I call you at seven a.m., your appointed get-groovy time with the Lady Cassandra." The room filled with snorts and muffled giggles.
Jakob got to it first and slipped it over her head, pulling her hair through the hole at the top and fluffing it out a bit. Ray was only 82 percent sure that he wouldn't rip her specter out, but he always had a gentle touch.
He gave her a quick once-over and a slow wink. The specter-ripping risk fell to about 45 percent. He lifted up her chin.
"Well, as you are fond of saying, your baby-making days are over. Up you get; Clancy can taste you after we've decided what we're going to do about the triskull," he said. There was a beat of silence, then the low groan of adult children clearing the image of their parents having sex out of their minds. Clancy clicked his cheek and winked at Ray.
Fish threw her hands up "Okay, done. I'll be in the living room with Christian. Anna let's…why did you leave me?"
"I dipped at 'cockblocked.' Sorry you couldn't but they were talking about old folk sex!" Anna said.
Ray, Jakob, and Clancy glared at the door. Ray gritted her teeth.
"Ew! MA! No! I cannot unsee that!" Anna yelled. Ray smiled at the men, both doing their own patented version of raising an eyebrow. Ray shook her head.
"Like I have seen either one of you have sex... no wait." Ray said. Fish and the men flinched. "I'm joking. I blurred out your faces."
"It didn't help!" Anna yelled back. "Can we talk—and think—about the triskull and what the hell someone is trying to bring back from the dead?"
Jakob had already extended his hand and helped Ray off the bed. Becca and Cindy swept the robe down to its stopping point mid-thigh as she stood up.
"Yeah, I'm still moving slow," Ray said. She let it slide down the opposite shoulder, focusing on her movement. Even with the gift of specter power from Jakob, the new flesh burned with every step and it took effort to get to full speed.
Christian was already at the massive island that marked the kitchen in front of the living room, if the poured cement floor butting against the warm oak flooring of the living room didn’t mark it well enough.
Big enough to sit twelve people around, it was the perfect place for a massive membrane map, fully powered and replaying the moment that Ray was ripped through the middle.
Anna was playing it on a loop as she clicked away on her keyboard. Christian was turning it around and giving Anna readings.
“What do we know?” Jakob and Ray said at the same time, then looked at one another as if they were surprised they were there. Ray bowed to her Shaman and Jakob turned to Anna.
“Adolescent triskull. About a day or so from hardened limbs and causing real damage.” She clicked a bit more, then dropped her head on the keyboard. “These numbers are not adding up. There’s no way that it should be growing that fast based on how soft the tentacles were when Mom fought it to the big ol' one that Dad cut down. It should take weeks for it to get to that size.”
“What if it was being fed specters, like a lot in a small space?” Jakob asked.
“How many are we talking?” Anna asked.
Jakob turned to Ray, who was leaning on the refrigerator rack, chugging a gallon of milk. She shook the last few drops out of the carton, used the sudden but short boost to place it on the counter, and reached in for another.
“About two to three hundred.”
Ray's weary arms nearly dropped the carton. She willed herself to place it on the counter and remove the tab. “That hot spot was a sanctuary for the neighborhood, all kinds of pets, old hobgoblins that died in service, relatives. I felt it when I was in Kyla’s house. And it was within a shield—only those that were in it were able to pull from it, so no siphoning. Not from an outsider, anyway.”
“Tot said that they were hired to pull a specter, with the promise that they could siphon any specters they wanted.” Fish moved the milk container to the trash bin. “Can you imagine how much they could have made on the black market if they got a good fence for specters? A generic specter from something the size of a dog that won’t fight you when you absorb it? A few grand. Over a thousand at a shady pawn shop.”
Ray finished the second jug and was strong enough to throw it out herself. Fish nodded in approval. “A few of them and then you’re starting to look at low-end Elite team money.” Ray covered her mouth and burped. “Too bad they were never supposed to live to get them.”
Fish nodded and produced the specter tube and threw it at Jakob. Jakob caught it without looking at it, his eyes fixed on Fish. After a moment Fish’s eyes got wide and she bowed low. “Sorry Shaman Uncle Jake—it was reflex.” She kept bowed but rolled her eyes to the top of her head to see if Jakob was glaring. She straightened up until his smile was in view. Jakob pointed to the middle of the tube where a pink cloth baby shoe was smashed in the middle. “It was keyed to a specific specter, and as soon as it hit the soil it went right in the tube.”
“And the triskull to whatever was taking its power. They’re fussy bitches like that,” Anna said.
Jakob was still looking at the tube. “This specter is being pulled back into the real world.” He offered the end of the tube to Christian. “Go ahead, open it.”
Christian hesitated, then grabbed th
e end cap of the specter tube, snatching it off in one fast move and everyone immediately flinched. Christian looked up, then at the cap. Anna opened her tech bag, pulled out a thin probe, connected a probe to the computer, and slid the other end into the tube, touching the shoe.
Jakob smiled. “See? No energy loss at all. Someone wasn’t looking to put this specter in another body.”
"No energy loss, but it's not from an actual person. It's from the shield," Anna said. "If I had to guess, this was a trial run to see if they could do what? Turn spectral power into living flesh?"
“They were looking to build it a new one. With enough power you can change the cell structure of one thing to another as long as it's in the same family." Ray reached into the fridge again, this time standing straight.
"Like turning a maple leaf into a cigar," Fish said. "They're both plants."
"Right. And the triskull has a generic enough cell structure to grow a new body. If you had enough spectral power and time. And to be careful that it doesn't absorb the intended host in the meantime.” Ray closed the fridge door and bit into a stick of butter.
Christian retched a little. Ray was not fazed. “All that green death is fine for nutrients, but my brain needs fat,” she said. "Anyway, that would explain why they pulled that specific specter."
“So, the Area Master is helping someone do some Iva Morrel-type fuckery? This genetic coding…reanimation-type stuff was just up her alley back in the day.”
Jakob shook his head. “He didn’t even know what was happening until it started. From there, he just removed the hot spot off the map. He just thought he could sweep it under the rug and hide it from me, like I got this old being stupid.”
“But to be fair, he did,” Christian said, “and there’s something to be said about the dumb obedient sort.”
“Until they decide that they want to use brain cells they don’t have,” Ray said.
“And that’s why he will be out by the end of the year,” Jakob said, looking dead at Ray. Ray put the last of the butter in her mouth, shaking her head.
“Don’t look over here. Shaman or not, I am a Hunter. Not a politician, not an admin, and I’m only a leader in the field, not in a boardroom or wherever you do your business. You’re not getting this woman out of her Hunt gear.”
“I leave my business for the bathroom. Gives me time to think deeply,” Jakob said, and let the words hang in the air before clapping his hands and facing the map. “So, let’s put this all together. We have someone that’s trying to use a triskull to reanimate a lost loved one, their little girl from the looks of it. They know enough powerful people to power a shield to keep a massive number of specters in one place while this happens.”
“And they would have at least three or four folks to power and lock a shield,” Christian said. “But no Hunter would lock down a hot spot—all it does is draw bigger things looking for a meal and makes it indefensible. At best they would hide it.”
"And apparently it wasn't Hunters, just powered," Anna said, squinting at the computer screen. "Kyla Pulter, Monica Corley, Meg Lewis."
"And Eli Becker, he's Nathaniel's assistant—you would have seen him on your way in, Anna," Jakob said.
"Yeah, Young Desk Dude. I was there when you made him release his lock and you... asked him to reveal the other names and he couldn't."
"Makes sense. He had to know that we would be around to ask eventually about the shield." Ray popped the last of the butter in her mouth. "Let me take a look at the shoe."
Jakob fished the shoe out the tube with two fingers and held it out to her. She took it and looked it over. It had a monogram on the sole of the shoe with a cross under it.
“This is part of a Christening ensemble,” she said.
“I thought it was supposed to be white,” Fish said.
“Not anymore, not today. And I recognize those names.” Jakob gave Christian a look and they both chuckled. “Tell me Ray, what do you wear to church?”
11
Ms. Monster Hunter Lady
Most churches in the Jocelyn Square area of Austin weren't all glorious houses on the hill that Jocelyn Square Presbyterian Church was. As a matter of fact, the Love of Light Presbyterian Church was in the cafe gymnasi-torium of Spencer Elementary. Early on Sunday morning, one of the small groups was assigned to setting chairs in rows, making coffee, and setting out donuts, bagels, and pastries for pre- and post-service fellowship.
Ray looked over the options and plucked a lemon-iced sour cream donut before the little exploring fingers of the children could grab them out the box and took a big bite.
She could feel a slight vibration in her pocket and she reached in and pulled out the small tube with the shoe inside. There were five bars along the side, one for each lock. The one marked Eli was black, leaving four left. The one marked Monica Corley was faded from green to black.
"How are y'all doing, ladies?" she whispered through a bite of fried dough and citrus.
"So far, so good," Fish said through the comm. "There's no alarm and I was able to catch one of them as they were going in. Explained the situation and they were horrified and more than ready to unlock the shield."
"Having a couple of Elite Teams walking through the area doesn't hurt either."
"And neither does having your Shaman here," Jakob said, and Ray realized that that wasn't over the comm, but over her shoulder. She swung around, and her abs sent her a message that they were still too young and tender for sudden movement. She clenched her teeth a moment before she bowed discreetly before her Shaman. He wasn't in his usual summer pastoral garb—Jocelyn Square Pres pastors wore a collar during the summer months. Instead he was in black slacks, a white shirt, and a black, gray, and white plaid tie knotted in a full Windsor and tucked under a black vest.
"I still can't believe that you are ordained, " Ray said, then shoved a third of the donut in her mouth before she took a bite. She chewed slowly as she walked around, giving him the once-over.
"You can't believe that I was ordained, or that I don't catch fire as soon as I walk into a church?" Jakob said with a laugh in his voice and made an explosion noise with his mouth. Cassandra appeared, sliding her hand along her husband's arm as she walked by. That caught his attention and she nodded slightly to him.
He nodded back. "The second one has been contacted and the portion was lifted," he said to Ray. Ray checked the tube again and just so, the bar under Meg's name was slowly dulling from the top of the bar to the bottom.
"This is going fast," Ray said. "I would have thought there would at least be longer conversations about this.
What is there to talk about? Cassandra's voice popped in their heads, giving them both a start. They know enough about the situation and the Daughters of Eve to know why they need to do what we asked... and what may happen if they don't.
Jakob's smile went a little broader. Ray shook her head. "Is it normal that I forget sometimes that my child and your wife are trained assassins?"
Jakob bent down so they were eye-to-eye. "No."
"Seriously. We never forget who you are," Fish said, and Ray jumped again, then grabbed her stomach from the jolt of pain protesting another fast movement. Jakob arched an eyebrow and Ray pointed to her comm.
"I am tired of being injured," Ray said. "Yeah, but who I am is out there. You are a Hunter, Fish, Cassandra the Killa is Lady Cassandra now, and has been for a while. You see that and tend to forget that, for instance, she was called Cassandra the KILLA!"
Why are you using past tense? Cassandra said through the mental link and her husband chuckled.
"That was indication of title, not skill, Lady Cassandra," Ray said. "Do you have eyes on Kyla?"
No, but I am going to speak to JoJo for a moment. Remember that you have dinner plans tonight, Cassandra said, and Ray could feel her disconnect.
"What about you ladies? Any eyes?" Ray said.
"Negative, “Anna said, " but one of the vehicles registered to her is in the parking lot. Stil
l scanning."
"Good, what about you, Fish?"
"Nope. Will keep my eyes out while I get a donut. Any crème-filled ones left?" Fish said.
Ray looked at the table. When the little ones were walking by the table the donuts just seemed to vanish out the boxes. She scanned them and saw the target.
"Roger, there are ... three chocolate-covered left, and a little boy just vanished one. There are still some glazed ones, but you better hurry. I'm going to walk around a bit," Ray said, and slowly worked her way through the crowd. Walking wasn't a problem now, thankfully, but her abs still gave her quick hints that keeping a steady pace was in her best interest.
There were some familiar faces, mostly Hunters that she had met through JSPC—Love of Light was an offshoot created for those that lived in the Black Spur subdivision and in the surrounding areas. There were a few that pointed and whispered, but more came up and said hello.
“That doesn’t belong to you, Miss Monster Hunter!” A small voice rang out from just behind Ray. The crowd around her grew silent. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a woman pulling a little girl by the elbow. Ray looked down and realized that she still had the tube in her hand. She put the tube back in her pocket and pulled a little spectral energy into her palm, swirling into the pink shoe.
“Excuse me!" the little girl said to the adult. "I have to get my friend’s shoe back.” The girl’s eyes filled with blue spectral glow. She pushed it out with a palm thrust, knocking the adults back.
She marched up to Mama Ray, blue eyes intense, chin firmly lifted in the Elite Hunter’s direction.
“Ma!” Fish said into Ray’s earpiece, her voice on the edge of laughter, “you better give that shoe back to that little girl—she ain’t playing!” Both girls laughed through the comm link, then muted themselves.
Anastasia unmuted her mic. “At least she’s polite… ‘excuse me—POW’! Please tell me that little girl is on the hunt.” There was frantic keyboard clicking.
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