Demons in My Driveway (16 page)

Chapter Sixteen

The Chairman of the European Coalition of Hidden Operations, located in Portugal—similar to Bernice’s boss, Marcus, chief of the North American Division of Hidden Relations here—had been the genius behind the idea to house all four remaining Aegises in the world in one place. The decision made sense, to some degree. I’d been under the impression that all the Aegises had a team of people helping to protect them—like I did—and that all the Aegises lived on property with specialized, Hidden-driven security—like I did.

On both counts I was mistaken.

My mom, had spent nearly twenty years in an isolated cabin in the woods, helping those who needed her until they were able to go back to wherever they came from. Darius was the only frequent visitor, and even he had to leave her for months at a time whenever the Board had freelance soul catching for him to do.

She was never in any danger—until she was kidnapped, of course—so security had never been an issue.

To my astonishment, Mom was the norm, not the exception.

Many of the world’s Aegises had died before anyone ever got word to them that there was danger.

Others felt their gifts were enough to keep them safe. They didn’t last long.

The rest had scrambled to get to the nearest Hidden government compound for safety.

In Europe, only Annika and Julia had made it. That morning, a portal had opened inside the gates of the compound in Portugal, which meant that whatever was going on over there was likely an inside job. Government security was compromised until they could figure out who was opening the portals.

The only secure place was my house, where the security of fairies and invisible-bubble force fields was strictly done by people who loved me. People I’d helped, who wanted to help me in return. Private security by friends and family was far safer than security hired by bureaucrats and flunkies. Too many holes.

So, there we were. All four of the world’s eggs sitting in one basket.

Genius.

And with Kam kidnapped right in my front yard, I hardly felt qualified to keep two strangers safe when I couldn’t keep my own family from being abducted.

Both women seemed shaken, but settled in without a fuss. Maurice, ever the proud host, set them up in Kam’s room. I brushed aside any guilt I had over that, but my house was small, and technically, that was the guest room. Kam used it when she visited. Had she been there, she would have been quick to volunteer to sleep on the couch.

It wasn’t like I could ask these two women—Aegises or not—to camp out in a tent in my back yard. They’d come to me to feel safe. Tents didn’t feel especially safe, despite being inside a magic bubble within a fairy ring.

But I didn’t have time to hold their hands. Maurice would have to do that. I needed to concentrate on finding our girl.

As much as I wanted to take off to go look for her, Darius was right. With only four of us left, risking my own life—even if it was for someone I loved—would be selfish. But I’d helped a lot of people—both human and Hidden—over the last year, and I’d be damned if I was going to sit on my hands and not ask for help.

While Lionel didn’t technically owe me anything, it was his job as the foreman of the local O.G.R.E. squad to get his creepy face over here and help lead the charge. So, before I began my quest to activate a non-existent phone tree of supernatural desperation, I needed to call the Hidden version of the cops.

Seriously, Lionel had been all but useless so far, but at least he could get more bodies in on the hunt. If nothing else, we could use him and his team to amp up security.

Dude needed to start earning his damn paycheck.

I frowned and went into the house before calling. There was a lot to do. Having an assistant would help. After a short search, I found Gris sitting on my nightstand, reading a book on California tax laws. He’d already gone through every book in the house.

Gris liked to learn new things.

He’d also been a huge help when Riley and I had driven cross country to rescue Mom. Along the way, Gris had been the Board’s representative and did the negotiations and contracts to get the O.G.R.E. squads we’d met back to work.

Gris glanced up from his book. “I heard the commotion. Is everything all right?”

The concerned look on his tiny face was almost enough to make me burst into tears. Almost. I had shit to do before I could fall apart.

“Somebody was here and took Kam.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but it cracked when I said Kam’s name.

Gris leaped to his feet and paced across my nightstand shaking a tiny fist in the air. “Here? Right here under our noses?” He blew his cheeks out in a way that might appear comical if it weren’t for the context of the situation.

I’d never seen Gris angry.

“I need you to help me make some phone calls.” Seeing how upset Gris was made me take a deep breath and calm myself. I couldn’t accomplish anything without a clear head.

He stopped and took a breath of his own. “Of course. Have you called that skinwalker man yet?”

“I was hoping you’d do it. I have a lot of calls to make myself.”

“Of course.” He reached in his pocket and drew out a miniscule phone.

“That’s new.” I tipped my head at the half-inch bit of plastic.

“Mother thought it might help. Looks like she was correct.” He winced when he mentioned Bernice. “Shall I call her next?”

I sighed. “No. You get the cops over here. I’ll call Bernice and tell her what happened. She may not know about our latest houseguests, either. Then we’ll make a list and a game plan.”

We both got busy, and I called headquarters. I’d been right. Bernice had no idea they’d sent me two Aegises by airmail.

“But that places all of you together.” Her voice was frantic. “What if somebody decides to set your house on fire or drop a bomb on you?”

“Thanks, Bernice. I didn’t think about that.” I dropped on the foot of my bed and pushed my hair out of my face.

Leave it to her to point out worse ways to die than I’d already imagined.

“I’m just saying, supernatural threats are not the only way they can get to you. Don’t get comfortable thinking a bubble and fairy ring will keep out the mundane trouble that can be lobbed at you from outside your protection.”

She had a point. I told her about Kam going missing. “We’re not positive she was outside the ring when it happened, although she might have been.”

“Well, you’d better make sure.” She sounded pinched and angry, though I could clearly taste the thick ribbons of fear she was trying to hide from me. “Have you checked with the fairies?”

“They can tell me if the line was crossed?”

“Only if they were there when it happened. But they can reinforce the barrier.”

“Good idea.” The back of my head pulsed with a dull thudding—I still hadn’t made it to the kitchen for a cup of Andrew’s migraine tea.

Bernice’s voice lowered. “Zoey, be careful. If Kam was inside the fairy ring when she was taken, the only way for someone to cross it would be...” She trailed off and went quiet.

“If we know the person who took her. I know. Darius already said something like that. I’ll figure it out, Bernice.”

“Let me know how it’s going. I’m totally out of the loop since Marcus arrived and took over.”

Now it was my turn to worry about her. “Are you okay? Is your job in danger?”

She sighed. “I honestly don’t know.”

“He has his own place to run. Why is he interfering with yours?”

She was silent for a moment. “I don’t know what he’s doing, Zoey. He’s been going through all our records, asking questions about who does what around here. Maybe he’s here to help rebuild us, but his own office is down to a skeleton crew for similar reasons.”

“I don’t like it. He needs to go home and tend to his own business.” I dragged my hand through my hair. “Did he
say
what he’s doing?”

“He just mumbles a lot and says things like ‘efficiency quota’ and ‘consolidation of tasks,’ which doesn’t really tell me a damn thing. For all I know, he’s planning to kick Art and I out on our butts so he can bring his own team in. Or maybe he’s genuinely trying to solve the problems.” She paused. “Zoey, I’m kind of scared.”

She didn’t have to tell me. I felt her fear leaking through the cell phone connection. My voice was nearly a whisper. “I’ll fix this, Bernice. Just hold on for a little while longer.”

As I hung up, it occurred to me that a little while longer really was all we had, one way or the other. Either we’d stop the cult and whoever was behind it or the zombie world would become part of our world.

Gris hopped onto the bed to stand next to me. “The squad is on the way. Lionel said to give him fifteen minutes or so. They were already in the area.”

I frowned. “Of course they were.”

He patted my leg. “What can I do to help, now?”

I reached for a pad of paper and a pen from my bedside drawer. The effort caused sparkles and swirling colors to crowd my vision. “You could go ask Mom to make me some migraine tea. That would be huge right now.”

He didn’t waste words before bouncing from the bed to the floor and running off into the hall.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the sparkles to make their slow move across my vision and at least out of my direct line of sight so I could see again. Before Andrew had given me the tea he made for me in his herbal shop, a migraine like this might incapacitate me for at least a day. I didn’t know if the tea was magic, but I did know the migraine would be gone a few minutes after I drank the brew. Magic enough for me.

The spots in my vision moved out of the way enough for me to look straight on at the pad of paper I held, though my stomach lurched and churned, and I felt a little out of touch with reality.

I made a list of everyone I knew who could go out looking or might have information. Everyone who might be willing to help—human and Hidden alike. The important thing was to list people who were familiar with the Hidden. There was no telling who or what was holding Kam. I couldn’t risk exposing the Hidden world to regular humans. Otherwise, I’d have started off by calling the real police instead of a guy who wore other people’s skin when they died.

So gross.

A few minutes later, Mom found me bent over my list, scowling past the pain blasting through my eyeballs. She took the pad and pen from my shaking hands and replaced them with the mug of herbal tea.

She sat next to me on the bed, rubbing my back with one hand while I sipped, and squinting at the list I’d made.

“Your handwriting is worse than it was when you were eight.” She paused her gentle strokes to turn the page.

I swallowed a scalding sip, already feeling the tension that threatened to blow apart the bones in my head loosening. “Mmmph.”

“Honey, are you sure you want to get the leprechauns involved? They’re dangerous and unreliable.”

I shrugged. “They also know more about what’s going on underground than anybody out there. I won’t ask them to search for her, but I think I have enough pull to get information if they have it.”

Mom clucked her tongue in disapproval. “When you say
pull
, you mean
fear.
”

“I’m using everything I’ve got. If that means invoking fear in an organization that deserves it, that’s what I’ll do.”

She let her hand drop, then ran a finger down the list. “That awful city councilwoman too?”

I gave her a weak smile. “Oh, she’s terrified of me.”

“Zoey, she’s human! You can’t terrorize humans.” She paused. “You shouldn’t be terrorizing anyone.”

I bent over my cup and let the aromatic steam brush over my face. “Mom, I know you don’t approve, but I have to do whatever it takes to get Kam back.” My throat tightened. “I’m not losing anybody else.”

Mom set the list on the bed next to her and gave me a long, worried look. “Baby, don’t lose yourself in trying to save everyone else.” She put her arms around me, and I sank into her, burying my head in her shoulder like I did when I was five. She smelled like shampoo, vanilla and an ocean breeze.

For that one moment, I allowed myself to feel safe. In another minute or so, I’d have to go back to saving Kam and preventing the end of the world. But for one moment, I was five, monsters were only stories, and Mom would take care of everything.

I was reluctant to let go, but I had to get to work. The faster I tackled the list, the more likely we were to find Kam.

Andrew answered on the first ring.

“What’s wrong?” He sounded breathless, as if he’d run for the phone.

I got straight to the point. “Kam’s been kidnapped.”

He blew out a lungful of air. “We knew it.”

“Knew what?” I frowned. Andrew wasn’t psychic. He read auras, which came in handy sometimes, but he couldn’t tell the future. “Did Madame Emilia call or something?”

“No. But Daniel and I have both been on edge since we were over there. Especially Daniel. And Milo’s been acting weird too. It’s as if the whole family has been waiting for something terrible to happen.”

“Well, this is something pretty terrible.”

We talked for a few minutes while I filled him in on the details. He took a huge chunk of my list from me—especially Madame Emilia, whose real name was Sheila. Her shop was right across the street from his, and they were old friends. She might be able to divine something with her cards or crystal ball. Or whatever it was she used. Despite her rather boring real-life persona driving her kids to soccer practice in her minivan, she was the real deal.

In fact, the area was surprisingly full of humans who had some sort of real-deal supernatural abilities.

I sat straighter, my voice tinged with hope. “Have you got anything of Kam’s over there?”

He thought about it. “I borrowed her headphones a few weeks ago. Why?”

“There’s that chick, Christie something. She finds lost things. Can you hook up with her and see if the headphones will help her find Kam?”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“Not yet.” I brushed my hair away from my face. “Might be running low on migraine tea, next time you’re in the shop.”

“Daniel made a batch for you this morning.”