A Stitch on Time 5 (10 page)

“You’re a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.” Papan’s cheer faded instantly. “What about Mace? You said he was at the pack’s estate.”

“That bastard is a different story.” I sighed. Now
this
was someone I didn’t particularly want to discuss. There was no mutual understanding, friendship or even respect between Mace and me. We were enemies with differing ideals. He wanted to force me into something I wanted no part of. “You know he’s a phantom now, and can manipulate electricity as well as other spooks made from any sort of electrical charge. He’s no longer human, if he ever really was, and is as determined as ever to use me. He wanted to get his point across—become his willing tool, or he’ll kill all my loved ones.”

“He didn’t kill me.”

“And he’s not going to.” I took his hand again. “I won’t let anyone else suffer Ebony’s fate.” The lump in my throat made me gasp. “I’m going to make sure that bitch releases Ebony’s soul—”

“Whoa, when did this happen?”

“Huh?”

He turned my hand over and stared. “When did you get this tattoo?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know yet.” I sucked down all the anger and fear, even the sadness. He really had missed a lot. “The Goddess Hecate marked me when Grandma moved on.”

“And it lights up when you get emotional?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, it just lit up,” he said with a smile. “And your eyes flashed pink.”

“Really?” The mark of the Goddess was intense and affected me most when I was enraged and destroying demonically-touched creatures. That my eyes flashed shouldn’t come as a surprise—not after my chat with Oren.

“Do you feel any different?” he asked, examining my hand.

“Most of the time, I feel the same. It’s only when there’s danger that I change.” I thought about the shadows and phantasms flowing within me. Did I get stronger or weaker every time I sucked the demonic into my body and spat them out? “I destroyed the shadow patch, Papan.”

“You’ve always been a dangerous chick, but it looks like you’re lethal now.” His dimples made an appearance.

I squeezed his hand. “Listen, I don’t want to hide from the
Obscurus
freaks anymore.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that if it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight I’m going to give them.” I paused to lick my lips. He needed to know how serious I was about this. “I’m sick and tired of their bullshit games. They want to use me to get Legion across from the other side and Maya came real close, but with this power, I can turn it around on them. Let them think they’ve got the upper hand even though they really don’t.”

“So you’re sick of defense and want to attack?”

“Exactly!”

“Just remember what I taught you during our sparring sessions. Never underestimate your opponent or get cocky about your ability.”

“That’s exactly where I’ve got those assholes beat. I’m not cocky. Hell, I’m not even sure about the full extent of my power, but I know it’s waiting to be unleashed.”

“Whatever you decide to do, I’ll be there.” The back of his left hand lit up pink, flashing out before I could point to it. “Don’t leave me out of this. I might be somewhat weaker at the moment, but I’ll recover soon enough. I already feel a lot better. Demonic blood has many benefits, and speeding up my natural healing is just one of them.”

I nodded, because it was all I could do without getting choked up about his blind support.

Papan yawned, and I followed suit only seconds later.

“Let’s get some sleep,” I said.

He nodded and as we settled back on the bed and I placed my head on the pillow, I remembered something. “Hey Papan, if you heard everything downstairs, you now know about the Alliance putting an order on my sister and me, right?”

“Yeah, I heard all about it.” He yawned again. “But I already knew.”

“Who told you?”

“Oren.”

“I should’ve known. I didn’t want you to worry, and then everything happened, and—”

“No need to explain. Now, let’s get some of that sleep you suggested.”

It was so warm and comfortable in Papan’s arms that it took only seconds to be swept up by slumber. This time there were no dreams, at least none that I could remember.

The next time I opened my eyes I found myself in the same position, but the slant of the sun’s last rays filtered past the window.

My mobile phone rang and I picked it up before it woke Papan. “Hello?”

“Sierra, it’s Saul, I need to speak to Jason.”

“Hey, yeah, I’m good and how are you?”

“I don’t need to ask how you are, I already know.” He chuckled. “You’re having a lazy day in bed, and a pleasurable one by the feel of it.”

“One of these days, I’m going to block you out completely!”

“Not gonna happen, but you could learn to be quieter.”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?”

“I just told you, I need to speak to Jason.”

“What do you need to speak to him about?” I asked, just because I wanted to annoy him.

“It’s pack business.”

“He’s asleep.”

“It doesn’t matter. I need to speak to him ASAP. So just put him on the phone.”

I sighed as dramatically as I could. “Don’t you think he should be resting?”

“If you thought he should be resting, you wouldn’t have seduced him.”

“You’re an ass, you know that? Besides, we’re sleeping.”

“Just get him on the phone.”

“Don’t get snippy with me—”

Saul cut me off. “Look, I know you’ve got plans for tonight, so I’m doing you a favor by distracting Jason.”

My pulse spiked. “How do you know about that?”

“Really, you’re going to keep asking me that after what I just said to you? Get him on the phone.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Who’re you talking to?” Papan asked, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s Saul and he wants to speak to you.” I handed him the phone.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said. “Sure. Yeah. No time like the present. I’ll be ready in an hour. No, give me two so I can freshen up and eat something.” He winked at me, before handing the mobile back. “Saul’s coming over. We’ve got some business to discuss.”

“Sure.”

“You got something planned?”

I bit my lip. “Actually, I do.”

He looked as if he was about to say something but didn’t. After my admissions, he seemed determined to trust me. The desire to know my plans warring with the resolve to support my decisions was written all over his face. I intended to tell him all about my adventure with Gareth, afterwards.

“How about a shower?” he finally said.

“Sounds good to me, but I don’t want to wear you out.”

He laughed. “Unfortunately, this time I really mean a shower. I don’t think I can hold you up until I’ve eaten a few rare steaks.”

“Right,” I said. I’d heard the innuendo when he told Saul to give him a few hours, and the wink, but nodded anyway. I stood and offered my hand, leading him into the bathroom.

As hard as he tried to keep to his word about the platonic shower, we managed to sneak in a delightful quickie. There were plenty of surfaces that could do the holding.

Chapter Six

I waved at Papan and Saul as they drove away. According to the demon, they would be back in a few hours, so I wanted to maximize the time I had. After everything Papan had been through with the pack, I knew he wanted to clear up whatever business was left. I just didn’t realize I’d miss him so soon.

Saul actually arrived early and had dinner with us—a nice lasagna Oren and Willow had whipped up with Michael’s help. Watching my sister with the pooka confirmed he was a lot more than just a friend and study partner. They might have met last week under the weirdest circumstances but teenagers fell fast, and these two had suffered a lot more than most. I just wondered about Jamie, who as far as I knew was technically still her boyfriend. He was living and studying at a poltergeist school and she went to see him often, but lately Willow refused to talk about him.

Oh well. She’d spill soon enough.

Gareth was due to arrive any minute. Oren was in the hidden room talking with Penny—a deliberate imprint my grandmother had made of herself to watch over me—and Willow was downstairs with Michael. I’d checked on the teens several times to make sure studying was the only thing going on. Both my grandfather and half-sister knew I was going out but neither knew where or with whom.

The Spook Catcher Council had been a thorn in my side for years and it was time to completely cut them out of my life.

I raced back to my bedroom and strapped on my blades—boline to thigh, dagger to ankle. I tucked the other weapons into the dresser drawer and locked it. Before stepping outside, I checked my reflection in the full-length mirror to make sure my daggers were concealed. The shrouding incantations were recent on both, so I looked like an average girl in a blue long-sleeved T-shirt dress with matching stretchy jeans, tucked into shin-high boots. I’d pulled my long hair into a low ponytail, ready for battle.

The
Ghostbusters
ringtone echoed from my bedside table but I didn’t bother answering because I could see Gareth’s police car at the curb. I left the phone where it was, because I figured I didn’t need it. I descended the stairs and grabbed my keys. As I was about to step outside, I felt compelled to check my back pocket. I reached inside and found a small piece of folded paper.
Be careful at that place, it’s not safe,
the note read.

Damn. It was annoying as hell to have someone able to read my thoughts and feel my emotions. I’d been trying to shield better but with all the emotional turmoil, I kept forgetting and probably broadcast everything in stereo.

As I held the piece of paper, new words appeared in the same scrawl.
Keep it down. I’ve got work to do.

I scrunched the note into a tiny ball and threw it in the small vase on top of the hall table before ducking outside. I locked the front door and fast-walked across the path and grass in front of my house. The protection-barrier spell Oren had strengthened was the heaviest yet, and he claimed it now encompassed the entire street. With all the hoopla and the amount of creatures that had penetrated his defenses, he was tired of taking chances.

I climbed into the passenger side of the police sedan and greeted the constable.

“Hi Sierra,” he said, glancing at the house. “Is your werewolf boyfriend going to tear any of my limbs off before I get the chance to drive away?”

“Relax. He’s not home.” I strapped on the seatbelt. “Besides, I told him everything.”

“You told him where we’re going and he didn’t mind?”

“No, I told him about us.”

He raised a dark eyebrow and leaned forward. “You told him
everything?
”

“Not in detail, but he knows that you’re a dreamwalker, and that you and I…you know. He also knows it was a dream. Hell, I even told him about the kiss.”

He whistled. “How did he take it? Am I a dead man?”

I shook my head, which dislodged my ponytail from behind my back. “You’ll live, as long as you stay out of his way for a while.”

“Good to know.” He physically relaxed and shifted the car into gear. He was dressed in his police uniform, without the vest or the hat. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay home while I check it out on my own?”

“No way, I have to at least try to find out what the hell is going on over there.”

“Fine,” he said as we continued down the road and he turned right, heading towards the city. “But I don’t like it.”

“Trust me, I don’t like it either. This is the last thing I want to be doing on a Saturday night but I have to help Lee.” Besides, I needed to check out the situation at the Tower. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it made me stronger.

We didn’t speak over the rest of the drive to Sussex Street. I gazed out the window as we made our way across the motorway and passed the abandoned part of town. Construction crews were already setting up shop and the crossroads would soon be impossible to spot from here. The Legion Apartments would be built directly over a magical power outlet. If the complex was built, it would become a demonic possession hotspot—Legion’s playground.

Even from this distance, I could sense the hum beneath the earth. It called out to me, so I glanced at my left hand and found the tattoo was glowing. The long pink thread connecting me to the heart of the magical power grid appeared. I’d used this link to find my way back after venturing inside the shadow patch to save captured children.

“Hey, are you okay?” Gareth reached over and tapped the back of my hand. As soon as he did, Hecate’s Wheel appeared on his skin and was quickly absorbed. He didn’t seem to notice. “Well?”

I closed my hand into a fist and the thread faded. “I’m fine, just thinking about what we’re going to find inside the building. I hate that place and promised myself I would never return after what happened last time.”

“You don’t have to. There’s still time to turn around and take you home.”

I shook my head. “No, keep driving.”

In less than ten minutes, we were parked in front of the glass and steel building. Being a cop meant he could park wherever he wanted, and stopping out front would come in handy should we need to make a quick getaway.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Gareth asked.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go, then.” He stepped out of the car.

I joined him on the sidewalk and together, we headed up the footpath towards the place I dreaded. As we marched closer to the doors, my stomach twisted into a thousand knots. I doubted Mace would be stupid enough to be on the premises, but the thought of going inside made me physically ill anyway. I couldn’t help but glance over both shoulders to make sure the telling electric arcs of his approach weren’t on the power lines.

So far, so good.

“What’s up now?”

“Nothing…why?”

“You look pale.”

“This place just feels wrong.” Worse than it had ever felt, as if the very air was polluted with dirty magic. I turned back to face the monstrous structure, which appeared deserted.

“Do you need to go back to the car?”

I gulped in air and let it out slowly. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

We continued on to the automatic doors. They shouldn’t open this late on a Saturday evening. Yet as soon as we were close enough, the doors slid apart and all the lights were on.

Gareth held a hand out in front of me while he peeked inside, his other hand hovering over his gun’s holster. “No security and the doors are open to the public. Does that seem right to you?”

“Definitely not,” I said.
Unless someone is waiting for us inside.
When I made a move to step into the building, he caught my arm. “What?”

“I can still see you. When are you going to shroud yourself?”

“As soon as we get inside.”

He didn’t look convinced but released my arm and we stepped past the threshold.

The automatic doors shut behind us and a pace later, I felt the air rush out of me because this stinking place was so freaking hot that I wanted to strip my clothes off and scrape away my skin. My skin felt like a gazillion ants were crawling over me. The buzz beating inside my cranium made it hard to think straight. It didn’t take long to realize the buzzing, at least some of it, was comprised of whispers. What was going on in this building?

I lifted my left leg with great effort but when I tried to step forward, I tripped. I remained upright because Gareth caught my arm. Nausea rolled through me, so intense his grip was the only thing keeping me steady.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to get the cover spell going after all.”

“Shit, you’re bleeding.”

“What, from where?” I looked down at myself but my vision blurred.

“From your nose.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of tissues. He shoved them under my nose and then forced my left hand up to hold them.

I pulled my hand away and the tissues were stained red.
Shit.
If I didn’t get this under control, I was going to bleed out from my fucking nose. I wasn’t going to let some spook-polluted building steal the life I’d been fighting so hard to keep.

“Sierra, where are we headed?”

Not for the first time, I wished my Goddess-touched powers would help me heal even when I wasn’t obliterating demonic patches.

“I can’t stay here,” I said, as blood dripped from the tissues and down my fingers. Even my ears felt like warm liquid was trickling from them. “Get us to the elevator, please.”

Gareth didn’t hesitate, just wrapped an arm around my waist and practically dragged me across the expensive marble tiles towards the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button to close the doors. As soon as they did, I felt like I could breathe enough to think straight and push my thumb against the small panel next to the sixth-floor button. The red light glowed under my thumbprint and access lit up all the way to the twentieth. I usually hit the thirteenth to get to the canister deposit area, but no one would be there to collect anything.

Tonight, we were heading to the councilor’s offices. So I smacked the right button.

As the elevator gained height, I started to feel a lot better. I removed the wad of tissues from my nose and felt my upper lip. No more bleeding and the pain inside my skull eased enough for my own thoughts to be louder than the buzz of foreign ones.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I threw my head back against the cool wall, dreading stepping out of this metal box.

“What the hell happened?” Gareth asked, and he sounded concerned. “Even your ears were bleeding.”

I lowered my head so I could look at him. “Thanks for getting me across the foyer. For a second there, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”

“Don’t mention it. Just tell me what’s going on.” His hazel eyes were soft and willing me to talk, those thick eyelashes made them stand out even more. He really was good at compelling people to feel at ease. It was a quality I’d noticed since meeting him, and always suspected helped in his job as a police officer. Who wouldn’t trust a sincere man who was willing to listen, and was easy on the eyes? “Is there something inside this building that can kill you?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve gotten nauseated after stepping into this shitty building plenty of times, but even with nosebleeds and headaches, it was never this bad. I can barely stand the heat. The mess of spook activity is enough to make my head feel like it’s going to crack like an egg. This is worse than I thought. If I can feel it down to my very core, I don’t even want to think about how much time is left on this ticking time bomb.”

“Where are we going? What’s on level twenty?”

“The councilor offices,” I said. My mind was turning to mush, but I did feel better the farther we got from the foyer.

When the elevator door opened, Gareth motioned for me to wait before he rushed out. He stepped into the carpeted corridor with his gun aimed to the left and then the right. I couldn’t hear any activity or sense anything unnatural so when he nodded, I wasn’t surprised.

I pointed to our left and let him lead us down the narrow corridor, with its expensive art and crème-colored walls. The carpet beneath our feet was so lush my boots sank into it. The corridor opened into a reception area that held a marble desk and a gold-plated plaque reading SPOOK CATCHER COUNCIL. There was no one behind the desk, which wasn’t strange for a Saturday night.

At least my head didn’t feel like it was about to explode. What the fuck was going on beneath the building?

I made my way around the reception desk and noticed the monitor was missing, as was the hard drive tower. Only the keyboard and mouse remained, discarded and lying useless. There were pieces of paper with scribbled messages all over the desk. I picked up a few but couldn’t decipher the chicken scrawl. The visitors’ register the catchers usually signed whenever they needed to see one of the councilors was sitting to the side, collecting as much dust as the phone. The red line blinked several times, which meant there were messages.

“This desk hasn’t been used for a while,” Gareth said, sneaking up behind me.

“After all the trouble they got into and the ongoing investigation, I doubt they’ve had a receptionist since the incident.”

“Don’t put those messages back.” He stopped me from dropping the pieces of paper. “Pocket them and don’t touch anything else. The last thing we want is your prints all over the scene. I have a bad feeling we’re not going to like what we find on the other side of those fancy doors.”

I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat and nodded.

Gareth stepped past me and headed for the frosted glass doors that led into the main office area. He took a peek, but he wouldn’t see anything past the decorative swirls. The councilors cherished their privacy. He placed a hand over the long aluminum door handle and pressed down before pushing it open.

He held his gun in front of him. “Stay behind me.”

I didn’t say anything, though I secretly wished he’d let me go first because I wasn’t sure if what was waiting for us could be handled with a gun. Still, there was no point in starting an argument or distracting each other.