by Ramy Vance
He nodded. “To support your research on Others.”
“Well, this woman who’s my new lead, Dr. Russo, is expecting me to spend basically all my free time—“
He held up a hand. “Did you say Russo? As in, Serena Russo?”
“Yes …?”
Justin looked like he’d just seen a celebrity. “You met her?”
“In the olive-skinned flesh. Why—what’s up?”
“Sergeant Johnson mentioned she was on campus, but I never even thought I’d get a glimpse of her. And you’re going to be working under her! Wait until I tell the O3 guys.”
I set my hands on Justin’s shoulders. “Hold up. What are you talking about? You don’t give a flip about biology.”
He looked wounded. “In the sense that I am a biological creature, I very much do.”
“Fine. But how do you know about Dr. Russo?”
“She’s one of the World Army’s top scientists.” A small grin spread across his face. “Leading the way toward a brighter future.”
Oh boy. It seemed the koolaid was plentiful, and Justin was drunk on it. And then his words fully processed: the World Army’s top scientist. I shrank away, staring at my own fingers in my lap.
“What is it, Isa?”
The buzzing in my ears drowned him out. I was working for Dr. Russo. By extension, I was working for the World Army. Why was the World Army investing in Other anti-extinction research? Didn’t they want to see every Other wiped off the Earth?
I squeezed my eyes shut. Now I had two puzzles in my head, and as much as I wanted to focus on where we were right now, my brain would never stop trying to navigate both until I had gotten through one and then the other.
Maybe I should quit my research at the lab. The last thing I wanted was to be a pawn of the World Army. But then again, they were doing important work, and Dr. Russo hadn’t just “made it rain,” as they say—she’d brought a thunderstorm of dollar bills and planted it right over my head.
My timeline for mapping the triple helix was about to get much, much shorter. Maybe if I just hung on for a while …
Justin was trying to get my attention. His hand was on my shoulder now, shaking it.
“What is it?” I snapped, flaring on him.
He pointed at the far wall. “That.”
My gaze followed, and my anger died. All my attention zeroed in on the image on the far wall, and the two of us stood together and crossed over to it. We stood in silence as we read the placard.
“Merda,” I whispered after I’d finished reading. “That’s the murderer.”
↔
Empusa. She was the daughter of the goddess Hecate and the spirit Mormo, and she feasted on young men. She was a shapeshifter who played on your fears, often taking the form of that which frightened you the most. Notably, she always appeared to be missing a body part.
Heart. Eyes. Was she harvesting these boys’ parts?
As I stood in front of the exhibit, I understood why I hadn’t heard of her; she was only mentioned in a few pieces of literature: two of Aristophanes’ plays and a biography, Life of Apollonius of Tyana.
“But both of those men were killed at night,” Justin said. “It doesn’t say anything here about her being a nocturnal huntress.”
I set a finger to the placard. “She attacks young men while they sleep. Nocturnal. The one they found in a tree on campus … that tree was right next to his dorm.”
“The one we found that night hadn’t been sleeping, though.”
I glanced up at Justin. “Are you sure about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“There are apartments above some of the buildings on Saint Catherine Street, aren’t there?” I turned away from the display. “And think about the way he was slumped against the wall. Remember how his leg was bent under him?”
“You think he fell from a window?”
“Or he was thrown.”
He nodded. “She’s probably not done, either. She’s still out there.”
I thought back to Professor Allman’s advice about not talking to the cops until I had a specific suspect in mind. Well, now we did. “We should go to the police. Let them know our suspicions.”
He nodded. “And I’m going to see Sergeant Johnson. I think the World Army would be very interested to know such a dangerous Other is wandering around the city, picking off students.”
I made a face.
“What?” he said.
“It’s just … getting the World Army involved is worse than the police. They’re not very Other-friendly.”
“Uh, in case you hadn’t noticed, Isa, this Other isn’t very human-friendly. And as soldiers, we’re training to deal with situations like this.”
My eyes widened on him. “You’re a soldier now?”
I could tell he hadn’t wanted to deliver the news to me this way, here in the museum. But a certain pride burned in his eyes as he stared back at me. “I am.” He paused. “At least, I want to be. Need to be.”
“Why?” I said, though I suspected I knew.
He sighed, lowered his face. “This is embarrassing to talk about.”
I set a hand on his leg. “What is?”
He mumbled something too quietly for me to understand, but it sounded like …
“You were possessed by a demon?” I repeated, leaning closer.
His head seemed to hang lower. “That’s right.”
“How?”
And he explained the whole story: dybbuk’s box and speaking when he shouldn’t have—”so stupid of me,” he said—and ending up with the demon inside him. How he’d tried to kill everyone he knew. In the end, Katrina had saved the day.
“Just like she always did,” he ended. “Once again, my girlfriend saved me.”
“It’s OK,” I said. “It’s—”
He raised his face, that flame now returned to his eyes. “I’m different now. I’m not weak like that anymore.”
“You weren’t weak, Justin. You’re only human.”
“Only human. It’s a shame being only human, isn’t it?”
I blinked, shook my head. “No.”
This was shaping up to be our first fight, and even as I felt ashamed and embarrassed and wanted to end it, I also felt a certain anger flaring in me. Anger at his anger. Frustration at his choice to become a soldier for the World Army.
It must have shown on my face, because he reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. He held it out to me. “Can you flick this off your thumb? Straight up?”
I took it. “Of course I can.”
“Good. Do it.” He closed his eyes and waited.
“What’s the point of this?”
His eyes remained shut. “Just do it.”
So I set the coin on my thumb and launched it into the air. As it reached the height of its arc, Justin’s hand flicked up and the fingers closed around it. He lowered his closed hand, extending it between us. When his palm opened—the coin at the center—so did his eyes.
I swallowed. I knew he had good reflexes, but pulling a coin out of the air with his eyes closed? “How did you do that?” I whispered.
“I’m not weak anymore,” he repeated.
“What does that mean?”
He pushed the coin back into his pocket. “It means I’m being trained to handle myself. I’ve been pushing myself to learn all sorts of new things.”
Justin couldn’t have been a cadet for more than a couple weeks, and as a biologist, I knew as well as anyone that muscle memory took time. More time than he’d had. But I kept my thoughts to myself; Justin looked so happy.
Still, this made me uneasy.
“Wonderful,” I said. The word lingered in the air, and I felt it again: that wedge between us. It had grown. “Well, I can cover the police front, and you can handle the World Army front.”
He glanced back up at me. “You don’t want me to come with you to the station?”
“I …”
The truth was, I did want hi
m to come with me. I’d felt completely uncomfortable around Tremblay, and having Justin there as my human ambassador would probably help to grease the groove. At the same time, I hated thinking I needed an ambassador just to talk to the police. Principle and my own pride made me want to go it alone.
We stared at each other for a while, and my gaze finally drifted to the image of Empusa behind him. She might be out there still, somewhere on the campus. I shivered, crossing over to Justin and setting my hand on his forearm. As soon as we touched, that iciness dissipated. “Until this is resolved,” I said, “I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
He smiled at me. “Does this mean I get to sleep on the floor of your dorm?”
I blinked. “Actually, that’s a good idea.”
His smile grew, and a name popped into my head.
His girlfriend’s name. I remembered for the hundredth time: Justin’s with Kat. Justin’s with Kat.
I sighed. “Have you talked to Kat yet?”
“Not yet.” A cloud passed over his face. “She’s been … incommunicado.”
He and I may have already slept together twice, but that was when he thought I was Katrina. Not when he knew I was me. Things were different now. And before we got together—truly together—I wanted him to make things right with Katrina. It was the only way any of this had a hope of longevity. And I wanted longevity.
I forced a neutral expression before I looked up at him. “Talk to her,” I said. “OK?”
“I will,” he said with utter seriousness. Then that spark returned. “But I still get to sleep on your floor tonight.”
I nodded slowly. “For your protection.”
“Right. Maybe I should wear one of your nightgowns, too.”
I glared. “It won’t fit.”
“Empusa won’t suspect me in a floral nightgown.”
We pushed the museum doors open, stepped into the daylight. “You’re way too irreverent about this whole situation.”
“One thing I learned from Kat,” he said, a certain wistfulness entering his voice, “irreverence can be a great weapon against your enemies.”
Chapter 18
We came into the police station and walked up to the desk, where a forty-something female officer sat with forms strewn in front of her. As we waited to be acknowledged, she scratched at her brown bun with one finger and didn’t lift her eyes from the paper she was filling in.
Her pen just kept scratching.
It occurred to me that the police station used to have a valkyrie officer roaming campus, or maybe I was imagining things. Maybe the valkyrie had just been a student, and I just hoped the police force employed an Other. Because right now, they were looking pretty universally human.
“Hi there,” Justin finally said.
Her eyes lifted, wanton and tired. When they settled on Justin, a tiny flame burst into life. “How can I help you?”
I sighed; the halo effect.
Before Justin could answer, I stepped forward. “We’re here about the two murdered McGill students. We believe we know who the suspect is.”
Her eyes trailed reluctantly over to me. “Who are you two?”
“We’re students at McGill.” She looked unimpressed, so I added, “We were the first two on the scene of the murder on Saint Catherine Street. I spoke with Officer Tremblay last night.”
Her eyebrows went up. Apparently I had strung all the right words together. “All right.” She lifted her pen, pointed at a row of chairs. “I’ll see if I can get you in to talk to him.”
We sat, and she went back to her forms. Around us, the only noises were the sounds of her pen and a wall clock ticking down the time until evening came again.
Evening, and her. The killer, Empusa.
Justin leaned toward me, eyes on the officer. “I’ll bet this is the last thing she expected when she signed up for the force.”
“Who knows.” This woman worked in a warm, relatively non-stressful environment compared to most officers on duty. “Maybe this was exactly what she expected.”
I glanced over at Justin, who sat ramrod straight in his chair. His left leg had fallen into a slight jiggle, and I knew what he meant was: this was the last thing he expected for himself. He’d rather be out there, in the world, climbing mountains and fighting three-headed dogs. He was all physicality and action and utilizing each of his senses.
But I could sense this was new. He wasn’t always like this. Justin, with all his gung-ho-ness, was a man with something to prove. But unlike so many men who set goals to prove their worth to themselves, I got the sense that Justin needed to prove his worthiness to someone else.
That someone: Kat.
I’ve seen love drive men to acts of insanity for love. Justin loved Kat. Loves Kat.
I just hoped he had the good sense to navigate those mountains and three-headed dogs—and people like Sergeant Johnson and the World Army—without getting himself killed. I worried about him; I could at least burn time to use magic, but he was just … human. All he had were his (ample) brawn and his brains.
And, of course, his halo effect.
Ten minutes later, a door opened. Officer Tremblay appeared, his eyes settling on Justin at once. He gestured us into his office, where we sat down opposite him at his desk.
Before he could ask any questions, I launched right into it. “Officer,” I said, “we’ve been doing research, and we think we know who was behind those two murders. And she’s very likely not done terrorizing the city.”
To his credit, Tremblay jumped right into it with me. “She?”
“An Other from Greek mythology called Empusa,” I said. “She’s a shapeshifter who preys on young men.”
“A shapeshifter.”
“Right.”
“An Other from Greek mythology.”
“Right.” How many times was I going to have to confirm what I’d just said? “She always appears missing a body part—a leg or eyes or an arm. And she especially craves young men for the freshness and purity of their—”
He exhaled. “I still can’t get my head around this kind of talk. A few years ago, the worst criminals were druggies and drunk college kids.”
“It’s not talk—it’s a solid lead,” I said, irritation rising in me. “She’s actually out there, and she’s going to kill another male student. It’s in her nature, and McGill is like Candy Land.”
Tremblay looked surprised, sitting back in his chair. “OK,” he said, arms folding over his chest. “So you’re telling us to be on the lookout tonight for this Empusa.” Once again, I could tell he wasn’t sold on whatever I had to say. He knew I was an encantado—an Other.
I kept trying. “You should alert the campus administration so they can take steps to protect the male students.”
The tiniest smile bloomed on Tremblay’s face, so small I could have mistaken it simply for interest in what I was saying. “Like lock them all up in a gymnasium with coffee to keep them awake?”
I wanted to sock him in his vaguely amused mouth. “That would be at least doing something.”
His eyes drifted to Justin. “You said you’re one of those World Army cadets.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Has Sergeant Johnson been made aware of this Empusa ahead of tonight’s patrol?”
I looked over at Justin. “Patrol?”
“Not yet, sir. I was planning to tell him this evening.” He glanced over at me, apology written on his face, before returning his attention to Tremblay. “If Empusa is the Other responsible—and I believe she is—we’ll be safer on patrol than asleep.”
“We?” I said. “I thought you were going to be sleeping in my dorm tonight. Wearing my nightgown.”
Tremblay’s eyebrows went up again, and Justin’s cheeks reddened. “I was just joking around with you, Isa.” He turned fully toward me now, taking one of my hands in his. “I’d already volunteered to be part of the squad patrolling campus after sundown. We’ll be going half the night.”
My mouth
hung open. They hadn’t even known about Empusa when Justin volunteered, which meant this World Army patrol around campus had been in the works.
“This sounds a lot like security theater,” I blurted. “A lot like a bunch of students with false, martial authority.” The worst part: Justin had been planning to do this all day, and he hadn’t bothered to tell me.
Justin dropped my hand. “We’re protecting this campus.”
“Well,” Tremblay said, “if you see anything, do not engage. Call us—the number’s on the wall.” He pointed at a sign with 911 written on it. “We’ve got a whole slew of equipment for dealing with Others of just about every species …”
I stood, set my fingers on the desk. I wasn’t about to listen to him detail all his anti-Other gear. And I was getting angrier and angrier that Justin had hid this patrol from me. “Well, Officer, I’ve told you everything I came to tell you. Thank you for your time.”
Before Tremblay or Justin could react, I grabbed my purse and walked out of his office. When the door closed behind me, the female officer didn’t glance up from her paperwork. And even though I hoped—expected, even—Justin would come after me, he didn’t.
No one did.
↔
The next morning, I woke to another murder.
At some point Aimee had crawled into bed with me—which was unusual, given she usually woke up way, way earlier than me—and was spooning me like a baby koala on its mother’s back. When I sat up, she murmured, “Don’t go. It’s too scary out there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I went to the dining hall for breakfast, and everyone was crying. It’s so sad.”
I turned toward her, pushing my hair out of my face. “What’s sad?”
Not Justin, I selfishly thought. Whatever happened, please don’t let it be Justin. Because if something had happened to him, it would have been because I had just walked out of the police station and left him alone. Even when I knew what he was going to do, and what Empusa was all about.
Aimee’s eyes finally opened, and she pulled the covers tight around her. “The student body president was discovered dead in his bed. Missing his tongue.”