“Jerry cleaned it the other day.”
“How?”
“The vacuum cleaner from upstairs and lots of extension cords. Oh, and he found a Dustbuster in the maintenance closet.”
Maxine chuckled. “That sounds just like him. Are you ready to get this show on the road?”
“Absolutely.”
BRADEN SAT TO MY RIGHT, Cormack to my left, and Redmond and Cillian dispersed around Maxine so we could begin the ritual. It was obvious they were nervous by the way they kept glancing around at the shadows. I pushed their agitation out of my head and focused on the problem at hand.
“Let us do the talking,” I warned as I lifted my chin and snagged Maxine’s gaze. “We need to control the flow of magic if we’re going to make this work.”
“Are you sure it will work?” Redmond asked as he grabbed Maxine’s hand. “I mean ... are you sure you can get these ghosts to talk?”
“No.” That was the truth. “Something has been done to them. I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out if we’re going to free them. That is the ultimate goal here.”
“I thought the ultimate goal was to get Carroll out of Granger,” Braden countered. “That’s the big worry, right?”
“Yes, but the ghosts are still a problem we need to solve. Lauren’s soul never appeared. There was never a chance for anyone to absorb her. That means something else is being done to these people to absorb their souls right away. We need to figure out what that is ... and how to free them.”
“Okay. I’m ready.” Braden gripped my hand tightly. “Bring forth the ghosts.”
I grinned at him as Cormack rolled his eyes and got comfortable. “That’s the plan.”
“I can’t remember the last time I sat on the ground like this,” Cormack complained. “It’s undignified.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Maxine admonished. “Just let us do the talking. We’ve got everything under control.”
That was a bit of an exaggeration, but there was no reason to worry them. I cleared my mind, inhaled deeply through my nose, and held Maxine’s gaze for almost a full minute. Then we started chanting in unison.
At first we called to each other, essences joining. Then we called to souls that might be lingering near us. Gathering spirits is tricky business, so we had to make sure the words were exact. At a certain point, we sped up and started speaking over each other. Our voices grew, started echoing, and there were at least four voice trails going when a pounding started in the back of the library.
“What is that?” Redmond asked, jerking to look over his shoulder. “Is that a ghost?”
“Shut up,” Braden warned. “Can’t you see that Izzy and Madame Maxine are in the middle of something? You’re ruining it.”
“I’m not ruining it,” he shot back. “You’re ruining it. I mean ... big time. Why can’t you just shut up?”
“Why can’t both of you shut up?” Cormack challenged. “I mean ... seriously. You’re acting like children. If I knew you were going to behave in this manner I would’ve brought your sister. At least she would’ve been entertaining ... though she wouldn’t have liked the dirt and bugs either.”
“What bugs?” Cillian made a face. “I’m not a fan of bugs. You’re not talking about spiders, are you? Ugh. I really hate spiders.”
I tuned out their voices and focused on the whispers. Come. Speak. Transcend. The orders were given over and over and still the chanting continued. At one point I lost control of what I was doing and jerked my head to the ceiling. Out of the corner of my eye, in the reflection of a window pane, I could see the Bruja mask blinking as I took control of the situation.
“Phasma,” I intoned, the mask increasing in strength. “Phasma. Pervenio. Phasma.” Over and over and over. Eventually, I wasn’t even sure I was saying the words out loud. There was a possibility they were trapped in my mind.
That’s when Lauren appeared at the edge of the circle. She slammed into being, seemingly from another plane of existence given the twisted expression on her face, and still I repeated the words over and over again.
She opened her mouth and I was certain she would finally speak. But she made no sound. Instead, she raised her hands to her ears and shook her head, anguish rolling across the room in waves.
“Will you look at that?” Cormack was focused on the ghost. “She’s really here.”
“That’s Lauren,” Braden explained. “That’s the teacher who died. Izzy pointed her out to me on our picnic yesterday.”
“You had a picnic?” Redmond was incredulous. “It’s not warm enough outside for a picnic.”
“We had it in the aquarium.”
“Oh, that is so romantic,” Cillian deadpanned. “Our little Braden is turning into a real Romeo. I’m so impressed. That right there is how you keep a girl for the long haul. You have to keep doing stuff like that.”
“I think it’s lame,” Redmond lamented. “I think Braden is already whipped and I’m never going to let him hear the end of it.”
“Shut up,” Cormack barked. “Don’t you understand what’s happening here? There’s a freaking ghost right over there.”
“I see her.” Redmond was blasé. “She’s not doing anything. In fact, she’s pretty boring. Has anyone tried to see if we can simply absorb these souls with our scepters and be on our way?”
“No, Redmond, no one thought of trying that,” Braden deadpanned. “You’re the smartest man in the world. You clearly came up with the best solution.”
Redmond ignored the sarcasm. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t mean it!”
I poured as much energy as I could muster into the spell, but it didn’t help. Lauren simply shook her head hard and offered up a tortured expression.
“She still can’t speak,” Maxine noted. “We’re missing something.”
“I don’t understand. We need to speak to her. We need ... .” I broke off, something occurring to me. “Wait a second.” I released Braden’s and Cormack’s hands and hopped to my feet. “I have an idea.”
“What are you doing?” Braden demanded, scrambling after me when I started walking toward Lauren. She’d stopped shaking her head and was now looking in my direction. “Tell me what you’re doing,” he prodded. “I’m serious. You’re making me nervous.”
“Braden, perhaps you should step back,” Cormack suggested.
“I’m not stepping back. I want to know what she’s doing. Izzy?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My attention was focused on Lauren as I closed the distance. She seemed to recognize what I was about to do, and instead of trying to dissuade me she eagerly nodded.
“Izzy?” Braden’s voice sounded as if it was coming from a long distance as I stopped directly in front of the fallen teacher.
“Communico,” I ordered, my heart pounding. “Communico.” I held up my hands to mimic her stance and stepped directly in front of her, my head snapping straight back so I could stare at the ceiling as she funneled every image she could into my brain.
“Izzy!” Braden was desperate as he moved behind me. “Stop! Whatever you’re doing, just ... stop!”
I couldn’t have followed his instructions even if I wanted to. It was already too late. In fact, it was so late I thought there was a chance I would never be able to separate my consciousness from hers.
“Izzy!”
I shut my eyes as the images blurred. It was time to separate, but I lacked the strength. I’d seen everything at least three times, but I couldn’t pull away.
That’s when Braden took it upon himself to intervene, even if it was ridiculously dangerous.
“Enough,” he barked, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling with all his might. “That’s freaking enough!”
We hit the ground hard, the muffled wind sounds I’d been engulfed in only moments before diminishing. My eyes rolled back in my head as Braden positioned himself on top of me and began to yell.
“Don’t you dare pass out! I’m serious. I me
an it. Don’t!”
It was too late. My brain was overwhelmed and needed to be reset.
Twenty-Six
“Izzy!”
I snapped open my eyes and found Braden practically lying on top of me. He looked as if he was about to have a meltdown – and not a fun one, like when he fought with his siblings about which Batman was the best Batman – and I gasped in surprise as I tried to move him off my chest so I could breathe.
“You’re cutting off my oxygen, Braden,” I wheezed.
“What?” He looked so relieved when I finally spoke that he didn’t fully absorb my words until I jabbed him with my elbow.
“Seriously,” I growled.
“Braden, get off her.” Cormack’s expression was kind as he grabbed Braden around the waist and hauled him up. “You’ll smother her, son.”
Braden was obviously shaken. He looked between his father and me for confirmation. “Right. I … right.”
“Chill out, drama queen,” Redmond ordered, clapping Braden on the shoulder as he moved closer to get a better look at me. “Do you know your face turns into a skull-like thing when you perform magic? It’s completely freaky.”
“I’ve been told,” I replied, propping myself on my elbows so I could look around the room. “What happened to Lauren?”
“The ghost?” Cillian asked, arching an eyebrow. “She disappeared when Braden wrestled you away from her. It was as if she didn’t have the power to stay.” He hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor. “That was really freaky, by the way. I hate to agree with Redmond because he’s always an idiot, but the skull thing is weird. It’s going to take some getting used to.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to him,” Braden snapped, grabbing my hand. “The skull thing is cool. They’re just jealous. I think it’s totally hot.”
Cormack shot his son a speculative look. “How much sugar did you eat today?”
Braden balked. “What? Why?”
“You’re a little shrill. I need you to take it down a notch.”
“Take it down a notch,” Cillian and Redmond echoed in unison, chuckling.
Despite the serious nature of the situation, Braden cracked a smile. “Dad used to say that to us all the time when we got out of control as kids,” he offered. “We started mocking him when he said it. Then, when we got older, we made it a drinking game and didn’t tell him.”
“They mock me all the time,” Cormack agreed, sliding his arm around my back and helping me to a sitting position. “Tell me how you’re feeling. Do we need to take you to a hospital?”
“No.” I immediately started shaking my head. “I’m okay. I just … saw a few things.”
“I’ll bet you did,” Maxine said, her expression dark and foreboding. She’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten she was in the room with us. “Do have any idea what you just did?”
I wasn’t a fan of her accusatory tone. “I communicated with a ghost.” I brushed my forehead with the back of my hand and found I was dripping with sweat. “She showed me something.”
“What did she show you?” Cillian asked. “Do you know how she died?”
“Yeah. She was attacked by whatever … thing … I saw on the camera. It wasn’t Granger.”
“I never thought it was Granger,” Cormack supplied. “The boy is too small to have broken her neck. Did she explain to you what that thing was?”
“It’s Carroll.”
“Well, of course it is.” He was calm as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe my brow. “You’re a little clammy for my liking. Are you sure we shouldn’t take you to a hospital?”
“I’m fine.” I was firm. “There’s nothing they can do for me. I’ll be back to normal in a few minutes.”
“I’m not sure that’s good,” Redmond teased. “Is that skull face part of the ‘normal’ you?” He used the appropriate air quotes and got an elbow in the gut from Braden for his efforts. “I was just kidding. Geez.” He rubbed his ribs. “You have zero sense of humor where she’s concerned. You’d better learn to lighten up.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Braden smoothed my hair with shaking hands. “Just tell us what she said to you.”
“Yes, tell us,” Maxine echoed. The expression on her face told me something was bothering her, but I didn’t ask in front of our audience. She would tell me when she worked her way around to it.
“We need to go to the casino,” I replied, choosing my words carefully. “I need to talk to Oliver.”
“Why?” Cormack queried. “Hasn’t he helped all that he can?”
“I think he knows more than he’s letting on.”
“And Lauren told you that?”
“She showed me more than flashes of her death. She showed me images from Carroll’s death, too.”
“And Oliver was there?” Cormack didn’t bother to tamp down his surprise. “I don’t understand.”
“That makes two of us. We definitely need to talk to him. I can’t be certain what I saw. It happened far too fast.”
“Then we’ll talk to him.” Cormack helped me to my feet, going so far as to murder a hovering Braden with a quelling look when he tried to grab my arm. “Son, do you remember what I told you when you tried to beat up the gaggle of girls who were causing trouble with your sister in middle school?”
Braden made a face. “Yes, but I don’t think this is similar.”
Cormack feigned patience. “What did I tell you?”
“That girls don’t like being treated like girls.”
“I don’t believe that’s exactly how I phrased it.”
“That women don’t like being treated like women,” he automatically corrected.
“I didn’t phrase it that way either.”
“Oh, geez.” Braden let loose an exasperated sigh. “That women don’t need to be constantly protected because they can take care of themselves.”
“That’s better.” Cormack grinned broadly. “I’m glad to see you were listening.”
“I was totally listening,” Braden agreed. “That’s why it always struck me as weird when you said things like that and then tried to wrap Aisling in cotton to keep her safe. I even remember the time you tried explaining to her that the female brain didn’t mature until it hit forty, so that’s when she was allowed to pick her own dates.”
Cormack’s smile slipped. “You know, you don’t have to remember absolutely everything I’ve ever said or done simply so you can throw it in my face.”
“I’ll keep that in mind … on our way to see Oliver.”
“Yes, Oliver.” Cormack returned to the issue at hand. “Let’s see what he has to say for himself. I’m dying to hear his excuse for holding back information.”
That made two of us.
THE CASINO WAS A CASINO in name only. Basically it was a place for corporate events and weddings. It was a beautiful building, dated without looking old, and I was surprised by how quiet it was when we entered.
“I guess I expected something else,” I muttered as I trailed behind Cormack.
“Haven’t you ever been here?” Braden asked.
I shook my head. “I mean … I guess I could’ve been here as a kid. I don’t remember. I thought when they said casino that it would include slot machines and blackjack tables.”
“You said the same thing when you were little,” Oliver announced, appearing on the stairwell above us. “Good afternoon. I didn’t realize we were having guests today.”
“Yeah, well, we didn’t realize you were withholding information regarding Ryan Carroll’s death,” Cormack announced, causing me to cringe. This confrontation would’ve been better if it had been just the two of us. Now it appeared as if I was bringing reinforcements to bully him.
“I see.” Oliver’s expression was neutral. “What makes you think I’m hiding information?”
Redmond jerked his thumb toward me. “She just did the Hokey Pokey with a ghost and apparently they shared brains for
a bit.”
That was a simplistic explanation for what happened, but he wasn’t wrong. “I touched the other plane,” I added. “Lauren showed me a few things, including things she wasn’t present for.”
“And that brought you to my doorstep?” Oliver’s expression was dark. “Why?”
“I saw something.” I scrubbed my cheek. “I saw you … crying. They were tears of blood. You were in the library and there were people around you taking things off the shelves.”
“In other words, you were here when the library closed,” Cormack noted. “The actual moment when it was closed, I mean. You were present, but you failed to mention that.”
“More than that, you lied to me.” I found my courage and glared at him. “You said you didn’t know why the library was closed. You said it with a straight face and I believed you.”
“And you think I lied?”
“I think … you lied,” I confirmed, my heart twisting. “The thing is, I don’t think you lied simply to be malicious. I think you’re protecting someone.”
“And who would that be?”
“Yourself,” Braden automatically answered. “Everyone knows vampires only care about themselves.”
Oliver showed his teeth and growled. “If that’s the case, then why are you here? I may be outnumbered, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take the whole lot of you if it comes to it.”
Sensing things were rapidly getting out of control, I took a bold step forward and held my hands out in a pleading manner. “Don’t. I know you weren’t protecting yourself. Dragging this out will only end in disaster. Please don’t do this.”
“What are you talking about?” Cormack asked. “Do you know more than you said? Do you know who he’s protecting?”
“He’s protecting me,” a male voice announced from behind us, causing me to swivel quickly. There, walking in from the side door, was Brett Soloman. Not only was he in charge of the casino, which apparently meant booking weddings and meetings rather than the unsavory things I was imagining the past three weeks, he was Oliver’s longtime boyfriend.
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