Corruption

by Jennifer Blackstream

  Magic warmed my palms. “You can’t even pretend to be sorry, can you?”

  Andy’s grip on my shoulder stopped me. “We need to take care of the body,” he reminded me quietly.

  I gave a jerky nod. “I’ll call Kylie.” I pointed at Lorelei. “This isn’t over. Patrick might have shot the twins, but we don’t know he did it on his own.”

  “He couldn’t have done it on his own,” Andy said, keeping his voice low. “Father Salvatore said the location and time of the exorcism were kept secret. Someone told Patrick when to be there.”

  “Depends on how smart your boy was,” Paul spoke up. He nudged a lump of clothes with the toe of his boot. “If he was obsessed with our Lorelei here, he might have been following her. Wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure out the closed for renovation sign was a ruse. Maybe he staked out the church.”

  I dug my phone out of the side pocket of my pouch, my hands shaking so badly I almost dropped it.

  “I’m not evil,” Lorelei told Andy, her voice sounding less like a thousand year old demon and more like a pouty debutante.

  “Yes you are,” I shot back, punching in the number for the ambulance.

  Lorelei glared at me. “I am painted in an evil light because I have the audacity to encourage people to live their passion, to free themselves from the constraints of ‘polite’ society and the moral laws such a society imposes on them.” She pointed to Patrick. “If Patrick had killed the twins because it pleased him to do so, because he enjoyed killing, or hated them so much he wanted them dead, then I would have applauded him.” She paused. “I would have killed him for it, because I needed the twins alive, but that is the inherent conflict within the system when people have the courage to fight for what they desire.”

  “Kylie, I need you to come pick up a dead body,” I barked into the phone. “The demon drove a boy to shoot himself.”

  “I did not!” Lorelei growled.

  I took a deep breath, composed myself. “I’m sorry for snapping. If you could get here as soon as you can, I would appreciate it. I need someone to go over it for evidence.”

  “I’m not working with the CSI unit, I’m working as an EMT. But go ahead and text me the location. I’ll drop everything and race to help you.”

  Kylie hung up before I could respond. I stared at the phone.

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” I said dumbly.

  “You know what she’s doing,” Peasblossom said quietly. “She doesn’t want you to like her.”

  I shoved those thoughts away. Peasblossom was right, Kylie didn’t want me to like her. She didn’t want me to have any warm feelings for her at all that might prevent me from fulfilling the promise I’d made to her. But I didn’t need to think about that right now, not when Patrick was growing cold less than ten feet away, and the demon who’d driven him to take his own life had left her desk chair and was now trying to climb Andy like a cat.

  Andy frowned at the demon, brushing one of her hands off his shoulder. “You’re upset because he killed the twins to help you instead of killing them for pleasure.”

  “That is an overly simplified version, but yes.” Lorelei pressed her breasts against Andy’s chest. “Everyone should seek pleasure.”

  “Kylie is on her way.” I glowered at Lorelei. She’d put one foot beside Andy’s and was only a few inches away from straddling him where he stood. If she moved her other foot forward any more, she’d have to jump and hope Andy caught her or she’d lose her balance entirely. “Give me one good reason not to call in the Ministry of Deliverance to take you to prison right now.”

  Lorelei scoffed, holding onto Andy’s shoulder so she could look at me without falling over. “For what?”

  “For killing him!” I pointed at Patrick. “You goaded him into it, and that makes you as responsible for his death as if you’d shot him yourself.”

  “You don’t believe that?” Lorelei asked Andy, sliding one hand down the side of his face. “Your laws do not punish someone for words? Or hold one person responsible for another’s actions?”

  “It doesn’t matter what he believes,” I snapped. “The Ministry of Deliverance will know what you did.”

  “You believe they would lock me up because some mentally deficient human shot himself?” Lorelei demanded. “Shot himself because I didn’t praise him for two murders?” She snorted. “You know as well as I do that I’m a special case. I am not one person, I’m two. Now that the twins are dead, they can’t punish me without punishing Laurie, and they won’t do that unless they have to, unless it can be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt I’m a clear and present danger to others.”

  Andy ignored Lorelei despite her complete invasion of his personal space. “Is that true?”

  I clenched my teeth. “Yes. But I’m sure I can make the case. Two dead priests, and now a dead child.”

  “He is hardly a child,” Lorelei scoffed.

  Something in her tone made me pause. A hint of smug amusement, a taunt. I shoved aside thoughts of reporting her to the Vanguard and studied her face, glancing from her to Patrick where he lay in front of the two mourning priests. “You knew him, didn’t you?”

  “I think we’ve already established that,” Paul pointed out. “The kid said as much before he shot himself.”

  “I mean she knew him, knew him.” I watched Lorelei’s face. “You were lovers.”

  Lorelei lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. She started to say something, probably a flippant remark about Patrick’s sexual prowess. But she cut herself off with a yelp when Andy abruptly stepped to the side, simultaneously pushing her hands off his shoulders. She lost her balance and hit the floor with a grunt.

  “Why didn’t you tell us that when we ran his record earlier?” Andy demanded.

  “Perhaps it’s because I knew the witch would try to pin the murders on me?” Lorelei muttered. She shoved herself to her feet, glaring at Andy. “Or perhaps it’s because I never bothered to learn his name. Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re so fixated on this. I will say it again. The twins were my only chance to get out of this wretched body, and now they’re gone. I did not want them dead. I certainly would not have encouraged their murder.”

  “To be fair,” Paul spoke up. “It is cruel you forgot Patrick so quickly. He obviously tried hard to be memorable.”

  Andy and I turned.

  Paul had made his way to the far corner of the room, where a square of black velvet draped a battered wooden crate. A blood-stained skull sat in the far left hand corner, and a melting red candle stuck to the right. In the center of the altar was a grey shoe box. The lid lay on the floor, and Paul held a stack of cards and photos. He waved a Polaroid in my direction.

  “Very hard,” he said again, his eyes sparkling.

  “Don’t touch anything.” Andy pointed at the box. “You’re contaminating evidence.”

  “The murderer is dead. I’m not contaminating anything but your woman’s desire to prove the lovely demon is somehow to blame.”

  I curled my hands into fists. “She did this.”

  “You want to believe she did this,” Paul corrected me. “Deep in your heart you know it’s much more likely the boy took a shine to her and killed the priests because he didn’t want to lose her.” He gestured to the picture. “Can’t say I blame him.”

  I stalked over snatched the picture out of his hand. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. A lot of flesh, but arranged in a way that made it hard to tell which part of the body it was. Then it clicked. I cursed and covered Peasblossom’s face.

  Lorelei let out a snort of exasperation. “Why are you covering her eyes? She’s older than you, yes? She’s not a child.”

  I didn’t respond. Yes, Peasblossom was older than me, and yes it was silly to treat her like a child. But I couldn’t help it.

  “I want to see!” Peasblossom clamored, hefting herself over my fingers.

  Paul saw my expression and dropped the photo into the box. “Sorry, little sheila.
”

  Peasblossom scowled and leapt off my fingers to perch on the window sill. “I never get to see the good stuff.”

  Andy stood next to Paul, sifting through the box’s contents. “There are at least fifteen photos in here.” He reached in and stirred them around. “All of them of you and Patrick,” he said to Lorelei.

  “I’m always up for sensual selfies.” Lorelei trailed her gaze down his body. “I’ll bet you’re very photogenic.”

  “You were having sex with him. Is he even legal?” I demanded.

  Lorelei threw up her hands. “I do not understand humans. Why must you reach a certain age before you can have what you want? And why is everyone so insistent on controlling the sex lives of people they will never meet, let alone bed?”

  “Did any of your pillow talk involve telling him how afraid you were of being banished by the big bad exorcists?” I pressed.

  “Please,” Lorelei scoffed. “I didn’t talk to him.”

  “What’s this?” Andy reached into the box and pulled out a black square the size of a postcard. The card stock was thick, textured as if it had been custom ordered. As Andy shifted his grip, I saw there were four triangles sticking out where they’d been folded over the card to form a self-contained envelope. Red wax tipped the top triangle.

  “It says ‘I have noticed you.’” He flashed the card at me, revealing the words written in calligraphy with a shining silver ink. He put it back in the box and lifted another card. “’You are invited.’ There’s an address here.”

  “It’s mine,” she admitted with a shrug. “I sent those cards months ago, back when I thought Patrick was more than he turned out to be. He had promise. But soon his weaknesses became all too plain. I couldn’t ignore them.”

  “What are you talking about? What are those?” I asked.

  “My attempt to have a social life,” Lorelei said lightly.

  “Why did you invite him to your house?” I took the box from Paul and pawed through the photos. “All of these were taken here.”

  “I invited him to meet my other friends,” she said. “Am I not allowed to have a social life?”

  “Demons don’t have human friends, they have—” I cut myself off, my lips parting in dismay. “You didn’t.”

  Lorelei grinned. “Oh, but I did.”

  “What?” Andy demanded. “She did what?”

  I stared at the demon. “She started a cult.”

  Chapter 10

  Lorelei grinned at me, and there was a sharpness to the expression that made my brain superimpose fangs over her smile. “A cult? Moi?”

  “That’s what these are.” I waved the black cards at her. “They’re invitations. You’ve been recruiting.”

  Andy didn’t draw his weapon, but his hand hovered at his side in a way that suggested he’d like to. “When you say cult, are you talking about people being brainwashed and swindled out of their money, or is there something Other to this one because it’s led by a real demon?”

  I tried to cross my arms, remembered there’s no comfortable way for a big-chested woman to do that, and dropped them to my sides. “It could go either way. She could be surrounding herself with sycophants, letting them worship her and mining them for money and sex, or she could be corrupting them.”

  Andy narrowed his eyes. “And by corrupting you mean…?”

  “Corrupting someone means she infuses them with her essence,” Peasblossom spoke up. She walked down the edge of the windowsill with her arms held out like a gymnast. “She could have given them powers similar to someone who’s possessed.”

  “What kind of powers?” Andy asked sharply.

  “There’s a lot of variety, it’s impossible to say.” I glared at Lorelei. “Unless she wants to tell us.”

  Lorelei ignored us, her attention focused on the cell phone in her hands. I frowned. She hadn’t had a phone before. Had she? No. Her clothes were tight enough that a cell phone in her pocket would have been obvious—if it even fit. She tilted the phone and a flash of neon pink duct tape on the phone case caught my eye.

  “Hey!” I darted across the room and reached for the phone. “That’s mine.”

  The demon’s fingers moved in a blur. I snatched the phone away from her and glared at the screen. It showed a list of text messages, but they were all mine. Whatever message she’d sent, she’d deleted it.

  “Who did you text?” I demanded.

  “No one,” Lorelei lied. She smirked.

  My eye twitched the way it did when Peasblossom attempted to cook on the stove. “That’s it. I’ve had enough of this.” I straightened my spine and fixed Lorelei with my best witchy look. “I want to speak with Laurie.”

  “Well that’s unfortunate, because I’m not going anywhere.” Lorelei smoothed her hands down her body, taking the time to cup her breasts through the skin-tight red camisole. Paul let his appreciation for the gesture show on his face. I didn’t turn to see what Andy did.

  I leaned forward, putting my face close to hers. “Do you remember the last time you refused to let me talk to her?”

  Lorelei’s eyes glittered red, the first fiery sparks of warning. “Laurie called you to find out who killed the twins. You found him, and now he’s dead. As Laurie is not in any position to make further requests of you, you no longer have reason to demand an audience with her.”

  She leaned closer, bringing our faces close enough that a hard breath would bring our noses together. “I was willing to tolerate you when I thought my life was in danger. But as the lovely Paul has pointed out, that gunman was aiming for your delicious FBI partner—not me. Your presence is more threat than protection. It’s time we say goodbye. Leave now, or you will get the punishment your disrespect has earned you.”

  In some distant corner of my brain, I remembered Gary’s warning. Laurie hadn’t awoken on the astral plane, it was likely that I wouldn’t be able to make her rise even if Lorelei was willing. But a child was dead. Dead because of the demon.

  Warning bells went off in my brain, and the ache in my chest throbbed. I was close to crossing the line. Again. I took a deep breath, forced my magic to calm.

  “Let Laurie out,” I said, straining to stay calm. “We will both benefit.”

  “How would I benefit?”

  My hands closed into fists, but I forced them open again. “You would take no pleasure in letting Laurie wake here?” I said a small prayer for forgiveness, then gestured behind me where the two priests still knelt in prayer beside the dead boy’s body. “Show her the pain her friends are in?”

  Lorelei paused. Malice gleamed in her eyes and the corner of her mouth lifted.

  I gestured to the array of pornographic photographs piled in the box the invitations had come from. “And I’m sure these photographs won’t go over well. Considering that’s her body you used to seduce him. And him barely legal…”

  Lorelei’s smile widened. “All right. Talk to the paladin. But best have your tissues ready.”

  She returned to the desk chair, reclining like a queen on a throne, despite the chair’s haggard state. Her eyes drifted closed, and I held my breath. A long minute later, she opened them again.

  “I can’t feel her.” She shrugged one bare shoulder. “Maybe she’s sulking.”

  I gripped the broken arm of the chair. “Let me try. I’ll use a healing spell. She was in control when the kelpie shot you, maybe she’s hurt.”

  “I assure you, I’m quite healed,” Lorelei said. “But if you want to try, then be my guest. Just be quick about it.”

  She closed her eyes again, and I put a hand to her forehead. As magic tingled against my fingertips, I had a flash of the last time I’d spoken to Laurie. “Andy?”

  “Yeah?”

  “See if you can find a bucket or something in case she’s still feeling nauseated.”

  Andy’s footsteps echoed on the floor behind me. I concentrated on Lorelei and pushed my magic down into her skin. “Sana.”

  The blue energy washed over her l
ike water, flowing down her temples before sinking deep into her body. Lorelei let out a slow breath, and relaxed deeper into the chair.

  Something metal clanged against the floor as Andy put a trashcan beside the chair, and I cringed. Fast food wrappers, a used condom, and a dead mouse.

  I opened my mouth to tell him to take it away, it would make Laurie more ill, but before I could say anything, Laurie’s eyes opened. I leaned forward, but a glint of red deep in her hazel irises made me scowl. “It’s you.”

  Lorelei snorted. “Such a warm welcome. Yes, it’s me. The simpering paladin won’t rise.”

  “That’s not good.” Peasblossom landed on my shoulder. “Not good at all.”

  “I want to try one more thing,” I told Lorelei. “Please?”

  The demon shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She lay back and closed her eyes.

  I shared a look with Peasblossom. It wasn’t like a demon to be this accommodating. But as long as she felt cooperative… A smile danced over my lips. Best take advantage. “Somnum.”

  Lorelei’s eyes flew open, but it was too late. She’d let her guard down, and the magic sailed past her defenses. Purple light exploded like fireworks, and her eyes fluttered closed. Soft snoring filled the air.

  “You put her to sleep?” Andy asked.

  “Yes. We have a problem. Laurie isn’t waking up. She should have been conscious on the astral plane, and she wasn’t. I healed her, if she was injured, she should have woken up. Lorelei wasn’t fighting her, wasn’t holding her down.” I stared at the sleeping demon as if I could see inside her, see the paladin deep within her psyche. “Something is wrong.”

  “What’s causing that?” Paul asked.

  “I don’t know.” I turned to Father Salvatore. He knelt on the floor by Patrick’s body beside Thomas. They weren’t praying anymore, instead were deep in conversation. I couldn’t make out any words, only the low tone and intense expressions suggesting the conversation had been going for a while.

  As if sensing my gaze on him, Father Salvatore stopped talking and met my eyes. Pushing his glasses farther up his nose, he made the sign of the cross, then stood to face me. “If Laurie won’t rise, then I fear she is beyond your help. With your permission, I would like to take her home.”