A Stitch on Time 5 (24 page)

“You don’t understand what I’m trying to tell you. You’re strong enough to withstand possession.”

“That’s not true.” I shook my head. “I invited a multitude of shadows and phantasms inside me. That’s possession in my book.”

“No, it’s not.” Saul sat back in his chair. “You invite them in so you can destroy them. There’s a big difference.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I grabbed my mug and took a sip of coffee, enjoying the feel of the warm liquid sliding down my throat. I even plucked a Tim Tam.

“Papan, how did you get out of jail?” I asked between bites.

Papan offered a lopsided smile. “Saul got me out.”

“Sheila came through for us,” the demon said with a smile. “She went to the police, asked to speak to your friend Gareth and gave a statement.”

“Does that mean I have to do the same?”

“No,” Saul said, shaking his head. “She didn’t mention you or the diner. Claimed she was in the city at the time of Henry’s shooting and witnessed it there.”

“Really, and they believed her?”

“There was no reason not to. Henry was found in that spot, and she even described the shooter. So well they had a composite sketch of Anna Smith within minutes. When ballistics confirmed her fingerprints were on the murder weapon, they found her in the system.”

“How did Shapiro take it?”

Saul met my gaze. “By the time I got to the station, Shapiro was hospitalized for exhaustion. He’s also suffering from a bad case of amnesia. He doesn’t remember anything about Papan’s arrest. Burns is leading the case.”

“So you’ve been exonerated?”

Papan’s dimples appeared when he smiled. “That’s right.”

“The charges were dropped,” Saul added.

“I know what happened to the detective,” I said.

“Oh yeah?” Papan cocked an eyebrow.

“Narelle bit Shapiro and was manipulating him.” I took another sip from my cup. “Turns out she was behind all of that vampire crap we went through a few months back. She was manipulating everything, but I don’t know what she did with Conrad.”

“So that’s why Shapiro smelled like vamp!”

There was a knock on the door and Saul jumped to his feet.

“Are you hungry?” Papan asked, leaning close. “We ordered pizza.”

“I guess…” My stomach betrayed me by growling, even after so much chocolate.

Papan smiled but his attention was temporarily sidetracked when Saul charged into the kitchen with three boxes of pizza. He took two from Saul and went about placing them on the table.

I turned to Oren and leaned close enough to say, “Are you okay?”

“Not until we find Willow.”

“We will.” Though I had a feeling Jacinta would be so pissed about missing her chance to strip my power that she would strike sooner than later.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Oren said.

“Me too.”

“Aren’t you two going to eat?” Papan asked, through a mouthful of pizza.

It didn’t take long to devour the pizzas, mostly in silence. We all had personal thoughts to sort out. I was relieved to have survived to live another day, and that Papan was a free man. I was also more determined than ever to tidy up all the loose ends.

When I started yawning, Papan suggested we get some sleep so we could get an early start looking for Willow. He led me to the bedroom and closed the door. When he stripped my clothes and laid me out on the bed, he claimed this time it was all about me.

But there was something on my mind, a confession I needed to make before we went any further. So I said, “Papan, I need to tell you something…” And told him about the poison-tipped bolts, what happened in Diana’s car, and how I ended up meeting Gareth in a dream. When I told him about the healing kiss, my pulse quickened and I expected the worst.

Papan was silent for a few moments before meeting my eyes and saying, “I appreciate your honesty. I don’t like the thought of you kissing some other bloke, even in your dreams, but if it helped save your life…” He brushed his lips against mine, then pulled back. “Gareth might have something to worry about, though.”

“It was just a dream—”

“Yeah, it was.” He kissed his way down to my abdomen. “But what I’m about to do now is very real.”

Papan didn’t lie, every sensation he roused made my senses come alive. I enjoyed every minute of it.

After we were done, it didn’t take us long to fall asleep.

I awoke still wrapped up in Papan’s arms, and glad I hadn’t met Gareth in my dreams. I wasn’t sure what had woken me, so I’d snuggled against Papan’s warm, naked body, hoping to get back to sleep. But after hours of trying, clearly it wasn’t going to happen. I slipped out of bed and put my clothes back on.

It was dark outside and my alarm clock said it was three in the morning. I felt antsy and uneasy. I needed to do
something
. Waiting had never been one of my strongest virtues. Now that I was awake and Papan was home, all I wanted to do was find Willow.

The archive closet caught my attention.

I leaned over and kissed Papan’s forehead. “I love you so much,” I whispered, before heading for the closet. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The contents were already shoved aside, so I continued past the opening in the wall and made my way down the concrete stairs.

The hidden rectangular room was cold. The cupboards along the back wall remained thick with dust, but some of the candles piled into the crevices were lit. Oren must have been here earlier. He knew I didn’t mind as long as the bedroom was empty and Willow didn’t find out. But of course, Willow wasn’t here.

Maybe there was a spell or a way to scry for lost sisters in one of Grandma’s books.

My vision blurred with tears, causing the candlelight to become one big ball of light.

Why couldn’t things stop falling apart? Just when I thought I had a grasp on everything, someone else was ripped away. Or a new nemesis revealed itself. Would it always be like this?

“Sierra, what are you doing down here?”

I jumped and swung around to find Oren sitting on a wooden stool, with Penny standing beside him. The body of my ghostly, childhood best friend appeared solid. I’d recently found out she wasn’t a spirit, but the deliberate imprint of my grandmother. She’d made Penny using a bit of her essence with the intention of leaving a piece of herself to watch over me. But when Grandma died, Penny became the sentry of this room.

“Shit, you scared me. I didn’t see you.”

“We were cloaked,” Oren said with a shrug.

“Uh, didn’t we agree that you weren’t going to wander into my room if it was occupied?”

“I didn’t come in through your room.”

“There’s only one way in and out, so unless you’ve got a new magic trick you’re about to teach me, I’m confused.”

Oren flinched when he stood, but I didn’t comment. He headed for the concrete stairs and waved a hand over the solid wall. A doorknob appeared. He turned it and pushed the wooden door open.

“
What the
…where’s it lead?”

“To the garage,” he said, closing it again.

“I’m surprised you got into the garage at all.” I felt my cheeks warm at the reminder of the mess. There was access from the house to the garage, but I never used that door because of the clutter.

When Oren sat down, Penny placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Oren, what’s wrong?” I asked.

He sighed, avoiding my eyes. The weight of his misery pushed against me. “I should have known Jacinta would stoop this low.”

“It’s not—”

“Sierra, I should have at least known about the vampire.”

“How were we to know Narelle was scheming behind our backs? Last week she helped us take out rogue werewolves, and even told us about Duff helping Jeff and Laura.” It was true, we probably could’ve been more cautious, but there was a fine line between cautious and paranoid.

“Vampires are not to be trusted.” He looked disgusted, and I couldn’t blame him. I felt the same way—betrayed and stupid. “These creatures are only loyal to themselves. Make sure you never forget that.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and didn’t tell him about Narelle refusing to save Ebony’s life. Then again, if saving my friend meant turning her into one of those parasites, I was glad she hadn’t. It didn’t take the pain away, though.

“I’ll never forget,” I whispered.

“The Alliance has your sister and I don’t know what to do.” He placed both elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “I’ve tried contacting Jacinta via magical and non-magical means, but she’s virtually impossible to trace.”

Penny rubbed his shoulders.

“Oren, don’t you give up on me now. We’ve been through so much together, I nearly died—again.” I strolled closer. “Jacinta and Duff might have Willow and even see her as a tool, but they can’t
use
her without me.” The admission empowered me. No matter how crazy they were, Jacinta and Duff were her grandparents. I had to believe that at least one of them would care enough to keep her unhurt until then.

“How did you heal yourself?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Sierra, I tried everything. A goddess and a demon brought you into the house convinced you were going to die. I know something happened.”

I sighed. “Gareth healed me.”

“So he’s finally come into his gifts.”

“You knew he was a healer?”

Oren met my gaze. “I know he’s destined for great things and that he’ll become one of your most powerful magical allies.”

I could see how he would, since I already relied heavily on him. But it was time to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Oren, we’ve got something over Jacinta.”

“What’s that?” His light blue eyes glistened in the dark.

“She also doesn’t know Grandma has already moved on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“That’s interesting.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “So they intend to take you for their own personal use but have no idea they won’t be able to steal what’s already yours.”

“After injecting me with wakh ichor, they nearly fluked it, because if they’d taken me and performed the ritual… But the fact remains—they have no idea.” It dawned on me how lucky I was to have gotten away. With Willow already in the car, no wonder Jacinta was cocky and determined. Not to mention condescending towards Mace. Still, their infighting might prove to be a valuable tool. “Something doesn’t make sense, though. Mace is the one who had Grandma imprisoned by the shadows—”

“That’s it!”

“What’s it?”

Oren stood and started pacing. “Mace organized for the shadow monsters to take your grandparents, so he assumes they’re still there. Yet, you destroyed the shadow patch which is probably the reason he doesn’t know.”

“So, he reckons the radio silence means everything’s still the same.”

“Exactly!”

“What’s that noise?” Penny asked.

“What noise?” I asked.

“It sounds like a song.”

I listened and realized it was my phone.
Shit.
“I’ll be right back.” I raced up the stairs, my heart beating rapidly by the time I reached the bedside table. “Hello?”

“Sierra, darling, glad I caught you.”

Speak of the devil.
I cleared my throat and said, “Mace, what do you want?”

“What are you wearing?”

“None of your business, you pervert.”

“If you didn’t have so much protection around your house, I would make it my business.”

“Where are you?”

“Close,” he said.

On heavy legs, I headed for the window and peeked out between the blinds. I could just make him out past the fog. Mace leaned against a lamppost and had a hand plugged
into
the phone lines.

“Ah, you’ve found me!”

I hated his casual demeanor, as if so much crap hadn’t happened between us. “The last time I saw you, you were wearing a spear.”

“It’s a shame you had to see that,” he said, sighing into my ear. “But you remain my biggest weakness. Have you thought about my offer?”

“I’m not going to come willingly,” I spat. “So if that’s why you called, you can shove—”

“Actually, I called to tell you something else.”

“What’s that? Because unless you’re going to tell me where my sister is, I don’t give a crap about anything you have to say.”

“Oh, I’m sure you want to know about this.” His eyes were black and shiny. Even from afar, I could feel him mentally stripping me. “As for your sister, you’ll see her again soon enough.”

“If you hurt her—”

“I don’t have her.”

“Then I’m hanging up.”

“Sierra, surely you care about the Tower.”

“What have you done now?”

“Nothing yet,” he said with a chuckle. “I was going to wait a while longer, but since you led the police back to the Tower and they’re constantly loitering… I’ve decided it’s time to eliminate it.”

“I don’t see why that’s got anything to do with me.” He was so infuriating.

Mace sank both of his hands into the phone lines and several sparks flew above his head, showering down around him. “I know Lee called you. Even after all the precautions I took to keep her from contacting you, she led you to the councilors.”

“Why’d you kill them? They didn’t want to play your games anymore?”

“You could say they were developing a backbone, and I had someone take care of them for me.” A small smile curved his lips. “Anna was willing to do just about anything to destroy you. I just gave her a slight push.”

“You heartless bastard,” I said.

“You’re the only one I have room for in my heart.”

“Lay off the lies! If you care so much, why did you send orbs and a wraith after me?”

“I didn’t do that.”

“You’re a liar.”

“Sierra, I might have lied to you about everything else, but my love for you is the only truth. Why would I try to kill you when you’re so close to being mine?”

“Why are you holding catchers inside the Tower?” I wasn’t going to get into a conversation about the possibility of this ancient creature loving me. And if he hadn’t sent the volatile spooks, who had?

“Some habits are hard to break.” He sighed a little too dramatically.

“What are you planning this time?”

Silence filled the space between us before he said, “Oh, that’s right I was trying to tell you something…”