“I guess.” Logan stroked his chin. “If you knew he was evil, why didn’t you say something years ago? I could’ve taken care of him.”
“I didn’t understand what was going on with me. I knew I could do things others couldn’t — and was very careful to keep that to myself — but I didn’t know how far I could take it. Max taught me about controlling it. Back then, I only knew that Beacon’s mind was a blank slate. That always made me uncomfortable. I hated the nights it was so cold I had no choice but to try to get a bed at his place. I didn’t know about shuttering then. He shuttered around me because he realized what I was.”
“Or, if he didn’t realize what you were entirely, he got a hit off you,” Max added. “I believe you. You must have more to go on than just a hunch, though.”
“I do. He was the only person who knew that Tawny was working for Logan. He would’ve known what Logan was even back then. I never got a pervy vibe off him because he was careful not to show his true face. Why do you think he did that?”
“Because of Logan,” Aisling perfunctorily answered. “He knew Logan was a cop and didn’t want to risk the law falling on him. He stayed away from you and groomed others.”
“Yeah. I always thought he just didn’t like me. He clearly feared me.”
“And with good reason.” Kade moved his hand to my back. “I still don’t understand what’s going on with the banshees. Why can they slide over the dreamcatcher?”
“I think he’s been over here sniffing it out, but he stayed on the other side. You haven’t seen him on our turf have you?”
“No.”
“That’s because he realized what we have going on here and stayed away. These aren’t normal banshees. We’ve already figured that out. What he’s done is hollow them out. They could cross the dreamcatcher because they didn’t have evil intentions. They were programmed to follow their master. There’s no evil intent in blindly following orders.”
“Ah.” Realization dawned on Max’s face and he became more animated. “That makes sense. When you created the dreamcatcher, you wanted to make sure it drew in evil beings. You didn’t want to kill just for the sake of killing. If a paranormal wasn’t dangerous, you were fine letting it be.”
“So the banshees don’t mean to do evil, they’re simply fed orders and don’t know right from wrong,” Raven mused. “It’s an ingenious plan. But how did it start? I mean ... how did he know he could do it?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t think he’s been doing this from the start. I think he was evil, used street kids for nefarious means, and hid his magic for a specific reason. I think Tawny was his first. That’s why she looked different to Creek. She had red eyes when she attacked Creek. The banshees we’ve seen haven’t had red eyes.”
“You think he’s been experimenting,” Izzy deduced. “I get what you’re saying. Tawny was his first. He made strides with her, but she’s not perfect.”
“I think she’s a lieutenant of sorts,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. “She hasn’t crossed the dreamcatcher either. That’s because she still has a sense of being. She knows who she is, probably remembers on some level what she was.”
“How did he turn her?” Logan asked. “I mean ... how did he do it in the first place?”
“My guess is he took her captive somewhere in the cemetery,” I replied. “According to the Grimlocks, half the old mausoleums have basements underneath them. That means the older crew in Detroit was probably up to some funky stuff.”
“I would agree with that,” Cormack said. “I happen to know quite a few families that dabbled in dark arts. It was en vogue at the turn of the century. That would be 1900, not 2000.”
“I bet Beacon is tied to one of those families.”
“He is,” Griffin volunteered. He had Aisling pinned close to his side. He didn’t look happy about her being included in the raiding party, but he was a wise man, and a wise man never tells his tempestuous wife what she can and can’t do. The baby was home with his sister and the mysterious Jerry, who I was really starting to wish I’d been able to meet. The rest of the clan was in for the fight.
“You know who he’s related to?” I asked, surprised. “How did you figure it out?”
“It wasn’t hard. The shelter is registered in his real name: Rick Baxter. I ran the name and came up with something interesting. His father had the same name ... but there’s no mother listed on the birth certificate. The same thing happened with the grandfather. One son birthed, but no mother.”
“And there it is,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s been alive for a long time ... and he’s been changing his name to cover for it.”
“I’m sure it was easier before the computer era,” Griffin noted. “I very much doubt he’ll be able to get away with that again.”
“Then he’ll move on to another location. It might even be in Detroit. It just won’t be where anyone could recognize him. Is there a Baxter mausoleum?”
“Yep.”
“Is it near the Grimlock mausoleum?”
“Right around the corner.”
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
IT WAS A MOTLEY CREW OF MAGICAL individuals who made their way into the cemetery. I put sentries on each exit. They had specific instructions. When the banshees fled — which was inevitable — they were to dispatch them. The banshees were beyond saving. If we could find Valentine alive, then we could do something. Otherwise ... the girls were lost causes.
It was a hard reality to swallow, but there was no other option.
The second part of the equation was more difficult. I had to ensure that Beacon would be in the cemetery. To pull that off, I needed Michelob and Cotton to run their mouths. They were still confused about the magic — probably would be for a very long time — but they were eager to help.
They weren’t alone when they returned to the shelter. I couldn’t risk that. I went with them. Because I could glamour myself, I made it look as if I was another young teenage runaway. We talked about how crazy the circus folk were, their plans to search all the mausoleums after dark, and made sure Beacon was within hearing distance. I knew he took the bait. Seth was watching the back cemetery entrance from the shadows and reported when he went inside.
Everything was in place.
Griffin led the way to the mausoleum. He’d printed out a cemetery map. I recognized the building as soon as I saw it. One of the banshees had been hiding near it right before attacking. She most certainly had been sent out as a distraction.
“Are we ready?” I looked to Kade for confirmation.
“Ready,” Nellie confirmed, ax in hand. “We’ll handle the stragglers.”
“Try not to make it hurt,” I admonished. “These girls are victims.”
“This ax is for the big guy.”
“I’ll be handling the big guy.” I was firm. “We have history. He’s mine.”
“If you say so.”
Max remained outside with Nellie, Dolph and most of the Grimlocks. Aisling whined about not being allowed inside to witness the action, but she didn’t have the required magic to meet the threshold. Raven, Nixie, Naida, Izzy and I headed inside. The mausoleum wouldn’t be big enough for a larger group to spread out and protect itself.
“This is exciting,” Izzy enthused as she watched me use my magic to pick the lock. “I love a good fight.”
I smiled. She had an infectious aura. “I don’t know about exciting, but I want it over. I can’t leave knowing these girls are still at risk.”
“We’ll handle it.” She patted my arm. “After, I would love for you to tell me my fortune. I have a few ideas and I want to know if they’ll come true.”
I’d seen a glimpse of her future upon our first meeting. “It’s better not knowing,” I offered. “If you spend too much time trying to avoid the bad stuff that you know is coming you might inadvertently mess with the good stuff. I guarantee you don’t want to screw up the good stuff.”
“Really?” She
cast a curious gaze over her shoulder, to where Braden stood with his father. He’d been the loudest voice of dissent when it was announced not everyone could enter the mausoleum.
“Really,” I confirmed, grinning. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine.”
“I can’t help but worry.”
“I’m sure he feels the same way.” The lock tumbled with little complaint and I glanced between the other women before pushing open the door.
It was time.
THE MAUSOLEUM APPEARED EMPTY. I wasn’t surprised. Beacon wouldn’t stand in the middle of it and greet us with open arms. He would strike from a place of strength, wait until our backs were turned, and then attack when he thought we were most vulnerable. He had no idea that our backs would never be exposed.
“Where do we think the steps are?” Raven asked, glancing around. She looked like a normal woman with extraordinary hair in the muted light — someone had left a lantern burning — but I knew better. She was gearing up for a fight.
“They can’t be far.” I narrowed my eyes as I glanced around the room, extending my magic as I searched for a void. I found what I was looking for a few seconds later. “This way.”
The east wall had open space behind it. Once I figured that out, it was only a matter of time before I found a button to press. When I did, the wall slid open to reveal stairs that led downward.
“It’s like Scooby-Doo.” Nixie’s eyes sparkled. “That’s kind of fun.”
Nothing about this was going to be fun, but I didn’t want to be the downer of the group and say it out loud. If she wanted to find joy in the attack, more power to her.
“I’ll go first.” I was insistent, even when Naida offered to send a tornado down in our stead. “No.” I firmly shook my head. “I need to see him with my own eyes. He won’t be able to hide from all of us.”
“He won’t,” Raven agreed. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
True to her word, Raven remained close. Izzy was in the middle of the group, delight practically wafting off her. Nixie and Naida brought up the rear. Naida was a bit pouty because she couldn’t use a killer tornado on our enemy, but once the bodies started flying, she would get over it.
We were quiet as we descended. It didn’t matter. Beacon was well aware the moment we breached his inner sanctum, and the look on his face when we hit the bottom of the stairs was murderous.
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?” he complained, fury etched across his face, eyes gleaming with onyx fire. In the atmospheric light, the lines on his face looked deep and entrenched. He barely looked human. “Why didn’t you stay away?”
“Why did you do this?” I challenged, gesturing toward the banshees flanking him on either side. “What made you even think it was okay to do this?”
“I’m doing important work,” he replied, his tone icy. “I’m ridding the street of the vermin. I deserve a medal for it, not condemnation.”
I expected him to justify his actions. That’s who he was. “Tawny was your first?” My eyes fell on the woman in the corner. She’d stopped aging years ago, which was why I so easily recognized her. She was a creature of the darkness now, a black hole where her soul should be, and there was no getting her back. “I’m sorry for whatever happened to you,” I offered. “I ... don’t know what else to say.”
She didn’t respond, only bared her teeth.
“What happened to the baby?” I asked Beacon. “Your baby.”
“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not father material and we both know it. I couldn’t believe it when she told me. I mean ... what the hell? I can’t believe she thought I would be happy about it. She assumed I would want her to stay with me rather than leave with that stupid FBI agent. She was wrong.”
Things slid into place. “Logan was going to take her away. You were okay with that because you were only using her anyway. She didn’t understand what you are, that you’re incapable of love. She thought you would want your child. She thought you would want to create a family with her.”
“She was trying to trap me. She got pregnant on purpose.”
I had no idea if that was true. It hardly mattered. “You tortured her, experimented on her.” I glanced around the room. It was filled with ancient equipment, a multitude of torture devices I’d only read about in books and hoped never to see with my own eyes. “You did it here.”
“This is my laboratory. I’ve done a lot of experiments here.”
“I bet you have.” The banshees didn’t move, only stared, awaiting instruction. They truly were empty vessels. The only other person alive in the room was Valentine, and she was a sobbing mess as she huddled in the corner. “How many girls have you killed over the years?”
“Enough.”
“And why do you have them collecting souls? Is that because your light is starting to fade?”
Surprise, lightning fast, whipped across his face. “What are you talking about? I’m as strong as ever.”
“No, you’re not.” This was the part of the puzzle I hadn’t quite worked out until now. It had been touched on, but I’d dismissed it. I shouldn’t have. “You’re fading. I can see the veins pulsing under your skin. You’ve lived a long time. I don’t know if this is the natural end to your cycle or if you’re dying for another reason, but you’re not long for this world. You’ve been ingesting the souls they’ve been stealing to prolong your life. Not enough to become a wraith, but enough to buy time.
“That’s why you’ve stepped up your efforts,” I continued. “I couldn’t figure that part out before. If you created your first banshee with Tawny, why not create more right away? My guess is that it wasn’t as easy to perfect the process as you originally thought. So, what? Did you keep her around as a pet? Make her do your bidding for years?”
“I don’t have to answer your questions,” he shot back.
I ignored the sass. “You had to create more the past few months because your light is fading and you need them to bring you souls more often. You got greedy. You were flying under the radar at first, but you couldn’t sustain it. You needed more and more souls to survive ... so you created more and more banshees. You ingested their souls as they died and turned them into your vessels. You benefitted twice from each kill.”
“They were wastes of space anyway,” Beacon shot back. “They had nothing to contribute to society. They were never going to grow up, pay taxes and become so-called productive members of society. I was doing this world a favor by eradicating them. Then I was doing the world a greater favor by pointing them toward a cause.”
“You aimed them at street kids and the homeless because you thought they wouldn’t be missed. But they were. Logan missed them. Griffin Taylor missed them. They were on the hunt.”
“I’m not afraid of them.”
“You are afraid of me. Don’t bother denying it. I know what you see when you look at me.”
“An aberration of nature, just like me. I knew from the moment I saw you thirteen years ago. I knew long before you.”
“I don’t doubt it. I grew to understand, and now I’m stronger than you.”
“You’re not. I may be weaker than I used to be, but I can still take you.”
“Can you take all of us?” I gestured as those with me fanned out to take fighting stances. Izzy almost made me laugh despite the serious situation, because she looked like an extra from a kung-fu movie the way she held her hands. I didn’t laugh, though. It wasn’t funny. It was … depressing. It was altogether sad. And what happened in this place would haunt me forever.
It was time.
“I’m not afraid of little girls playing at magic,” he seethed. “You’re not strong enough to stop me. You’ll never be strong enough.”
“Let’s see.”
Our magic joined at the same time. Izzy’s extra fire added a pretty purple punch. Beacon’s eyes widened at the display, his gaze going to the lanterns on the walls as the flames flickered.
“I’m
not afraid of you,” he repeated. “You can’t take me.”
“If you believe that, you’re dumber than you look,” Raven snapped. “Good grief. Look around. It’s over.”
“No!” He roared the answer, raising his own hands in defiance. Red flames — probably like the red Creek saw in Tawny’s eyes the day of the attack — arced out as the banshees flew in our direction. They moved at once, an army of the soulless with only one thing on their minds: killing. He probably thought he could use them as a distraction. I wouldn’t allow that.
“Raven!” I yelled. She was already moving.
“I’ve got it.” She withdrew a series of silver stars from her pocket and dispatched them throughout the room, muttering a spell under her breath. The stars flew true, each embedding into the chest of a banshee. Within an instant, the banshees turned to dust, five of them disappearing in a breath.
“No!” Beacon’s fury only grew. He was alone now. He still had Tawny, but she didn’t look all that interested in joining the fight. Instead, she merely stared at where the women had been standing moments before, despair lurking behind her eyes ... which had started to glow red. “Do something,” he barked at Tawny. “Kill them. Do what I created you to do.”
Tawny didn’t move.
“She’s done following your orders,” I snapped. “She still has a sense of self, even if her soul is gone. She can fight you. That’s the real reason you kept experimenting. You knew your first attempt was ultimately a failure.”
“She was definitely a failed effort,” he agreed, frowning when I took a menacing step toward him. “What is it you think you’re doing?”
“Ending you.” I raised my hands. Nixie and Izzy were on either side of me. I didn’t need their magic, but they were holding firm. “When you’re gone, no one will remember you.”
“The kids will remember me.” Even in death, he was defiant. “My legacy will live forever.”
“No. You’ll be replaced by someone good, someone who really wants to help. Your name won’t even be a whisper on the wind in a few weeks.”
Freaky Reapers (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 8) Page 29