Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 (14 page)

"There are Powers all over this city.
That's kind of the problem."

"But they have something you would
want."

They have something? I narrowed my
eyes at him, and my bunny slippers growled. "They have something?
Do they have Dags? Or do they know where Dags is?"

He shook his head.

"Is it Daniel? Do they have
Daniel?"

"Daniel Frasier?" Geist looked
dubious. "I thought you knew the location of the First Born
Inanna."

"No, and did you always call them by
their First Borns?"

"The First Born is how I identify
them." His expression did look a little disappointed. "If you do
not know where he is, I believe I can help."

I waved at him to shush. "Ignore all
that. What is the something they have?"

"It is a woman. A human. And she is in
distress."

Oh, damn. Was it possible my rapist
and his gang already had their next victim? I looked back at the
crowd of law enforcement. I needed Joe, but he was working that
case. I couldn't find Daniel; I had no idea where Jason was, or
Manuel. TC had important business.

Well, I was a Wraith, right? Some kind
of Abysmal badass?

Guess it was time to see if I actually
had the ability for badassery. "Geist, show me where they are." I
launched into flight and followed him across the park.

Chapter Fourteen

Geist led me out of the park and down
Boulevard toward Abernathy to a house in an old but nice
neighborhood. I made sure I was still incorporeal as I slipped
through the front door and stood just inside. Geist appeared beside
me, still wearing the Barry-suit.

The inside of the house did
not match the outside. The yard looked trim in the dark, with
manicured shrubs, a sidewalk swept clean of dead leaves, and a
recently painted exterior. But inside—damn, it looked like an
episode of
Hoarders
.

Stacks and stacks of papers, boxes,
pizzas, half-empty trash bags, and fast-food wrappers all obscured
what might have been a nice living room at one time. The yellow
walls of the living room glowed in the dim light from the kitchen.
I felt a bit skeezy as I phased through the mess toward the
light.

Dirty dishes, pots and pans, more
pizza boxes, wing boxes, and empty gallon jugs with something green
growing in them littered the kitchen as well.

I heard voices, and went completely
invisible as a guy with a shaved head, dressed in a dirty gray
T-shirt and ripped jeans squished barefoot through the food scraps
on the tile and opened the refrigerator. From the looks of things
inside of it, I was pretty happy I wasn't able to smell.

When he turned to look to his left,
with me behind him, I could see the facial marking.

A Power.

"John, I don't see it in here. You
sure Chopper didn't eat it?"

"Well, if he did," came a distant
reply, "then she's gonna have to go hungry again."

"But that'll make three days with no
food." The guy closed the fridge.

"Don't matter. Zach hasn't asked for
her. I think he forget we ganked her."

Zach?
Zacharel?

Ganked?

Her?

Who?

I looked at Geist when he pointed at
the floor. Basement? Possibly.

The owner of other voice appeared in
the doorway. Long, thick, greasy hair, and dressed in a similar
uniform, but he covered it with an oversized surplus Army jacket.
At least he was wearing sneakers in this pigpen. "Why don't we go
out for food?"

"We can't leave her here."

"She ain't going nowhere. And nobody
knows she's here." He nodded to the door. The shaved head one
grabbed a jacket—I'd had no idea that mound of food bags on the
floor was actually hiding it—and the two headed outside.

I looked at Geist. "This is
convenient."

He vanished.

I went incorporeal and floated down
through the floor, the wood, the steel (ugh, I hate the cold bite
of steel), and found myself in a finished basement. Whomever had
owned this house before the Powers took over must have had a
grandmother or relative living down here.

It was a finished bedroom, with beige
carpet and soft blue walls. Dresser, door into what looked like a
half bath, closet, and regular-sized bed.

And on the bed was a young woman I
didn't recognize immediately. She was slumped over, her wrists
handcuffed out to her sides, fastened to the bed's headboard by
steel hooks screwed into the wood. Her ankles were held together by
a thick zip tie. Dark brown hair covered her face, and as I moved
in closer, I saw cloth wrapped around her eyes and
mouth.

A quick look around revealed a knife,
which from the look of her arms and legs, these assholes had cut
her with. I grabbed it—wondering briefly if I'd leave fingerprints
in this shape—and cut the cloth off of her face and the zip tie off
her ankles. Cuffs? Um…

"Here is a key," Geist said in a soft
voice.

I took the key from him and tried it.
Opened both sets. And once she was free, she toppled over onto her
side. Geist grabbed her before she fell off the bed. When we got
her on her back, I studied her face. Geist found a pulse. She was
alive, but it looked like she was dehydrated. "She looks really
familiar."

"She should," came a familiar voice
behind me. I freaked out a little and turned, my talons out, my
bunny slippers ready for action, and faced—

Daniel Frasier.

I didn't know whether to run at him,
smack him, scream at him (regular scream, not banshee wail), throw
something at him, or wave.

I opted for dead silence as he came in
the room from the door. He wore new clothes. Black sweatshirt,
jeans, white sneakers, and an oversized black trench coat. He went
straight to the girl on the bed and put a hand on her chest. "She's
alive, but she needs medical attention."

I finally got my shit together and
swatted his back.

He looked down at me. That's when I
realized Inanna was in control. As soon as she saw my face, his
features softened as Daniel moved to the front. He smiled. "Hey,
beautiful."

"You left me in the park!" I
shrieked.

I really shouldn't have done
that.

He reached out and scooped me—the
Wraith-me, with all my prickly parts and wings—into his arms, and
gave me the hardest hug he could. "I'm so sorry, Zoë. I had to…. I
was getting rid of the bodies when more Powers showed up." He
stepped back. "The police had already found you when I returned. I
had to get out of there. If they got a good look at my face, there
was a chance they would recognize me."

His reasoning made sense. And if the
quick actions of the constables was an indication, getting the hell
out of there was a good idea. But why leave me?

Daniel looked guilty when I asked him
that. "Because…I wanted to keep drinking, Zoë. And I couldn't take
any more of you. I was—Inanna was—" He swallowed. "We were afraid I
wouldn't be able to control myself."

We stood to the side of the bed,
staring at each other. He looked—good. And healthy. I thought about
the DVD Mastiff had— "Daniel, did you know you got caught on
camera at The Oaks? You went through that wall!"

He didn't know that. And it was
evident in his face. "Oh, shit, I saw the camera but I'd hoped it
wasn't actually working. As for going through—your blood did
something to me…."

"No shit. What's bad is
Mastiff has a copy of that recording. They want
you
for these rapes."

"Me? But it's not me, it's Karl
Gibbons."

I blinked. "You…you know his
name?"

"I've always known his name, Zoë. I
looked for him after I read your file when we met. But that's not
important at the moment. Getting Tamera out of here is."

"Tamera…
Moultrie
? You mean that's that
crazy-ass anchor chick?"

He nodded as he eased the limp woman
into his arms. "The same."

I did know her face!

So…what was she doing in a House of
Powers, so to speak.

Geist and I followed Daniel up the
stairs. Now that I was corporeal, my sense of smell returned. And
Jesus H. Christ, it fucking stunk in this house. How did they stand
it?

Unless Powers just didn't smell
anymore, since they were technically dead?

"Wow, you were right, Jed," an
all-too-familiar voice said as Daniel stopped at the top of the
stairs. "Looks like our little romp to Taco Bell did attract some
attention."

Aw shit. I phased out and moved around
him. Geist vanished as well, and we both materialized behind the
two powers. I called up my sword, and Geist—

Whoa!

I stared at him and the machine gun he
had in his hand. He smiled.

Daniel caught my eye as he set Ms.
Moultrie on the floor. We nodded.

I went corporeal just as
the one with the hair, John, dropped the bag of food, pulled a
Glock out of his pocket, and turned to point it at my forehead.
Unfortunately for him, he moved
into
my sword thrust.

"Zoë!"

I went incorporeal as John pulled the
trigger—probably a muscle reflex from being shish kebobbed. I still
felt the bullet go through my brain.

We both went down. I heard the crack
of Geist's big ass gun and then nothing. I stared at the ceiling.
The sword was no longer in my hand. Daniel appeared in my line of
sight. "Zoë, say something. Zoë…oh hell."

He lifted me up, but I couldn't move.
I could see only what was directly in front of me. I
panicked.

Oh God, was I panicking.

What the hell…had I been
shot in the head? I'd been phasing out of physical form, right?
Things always went
through
me. I tried to reach up and see if there was a
hole, or blood, or something. But nothing moved! Nothing
worked!

Once outside, I could see the trees. I
could see the moon. It wasn't full. Not yet. But it was cold. I
could feel the cold. What was I wearing? I couldn't remember before
going Wraith. Daniel shifted me in his arms and tucked my head
against his chest. I could hear his heart beating. His human heart.
A heart that, if kept safe, would beat longer than the average
heart would.

But would mine?

Zoë?

Inanna!
I tried to answer back, but I didn't know if she
could hear me.

Shh. You should try and
relax.

I was shot in the head,
wasn't I? I'm dying!

I don't think you're
dying, but you do need medical attention.

How did this happen? I'm a
Wraith!

But you are still a
physical creature, Zoë. Same as Daniel or Jason. You can still be
hurt if you're not careful.

Oh, I can't die yet. I
have to find Dags. I have to get him back.

I think you have a lot
more to worry about right now. So I want you to sleep.

I can't sleep!

Rest. I will help
you.

Help me? How—

And then I knew. I
felt
her
. Oh, dear
God…I
felt
her!
She was inside of my head with me, a physical presence. Not like
when I overshadowed people, but more like being held by someone
warm. It felt as if she were holding me in her arms—

Shh. Rest Zoë.

How…how are you doing
this? How are you here with me?

There was a pause, and
then,
I have taken liberties, Zoë. But
your death, any injury to you, would make Daniel so very unhappy. I
promised him I wouldn't let you go.

What…what does that
mean?

Another pause.
It means…I chose you as my Right, Zoë.

I knew what that meant. Mephistopheles
had chosen Rhonda as his Right.

His…next host.

Sleep, little
one.

And I did.

Chapter Fifteen

"…think this is a joke?
Daniel—you
left
her in the park, in the snow."

"The police were there—"

"You should have taken her with you.
Then we'd have avoided this trouble with the Canadian Mounted
Police."

"Will you move on? I brought her back
here this time."

"Is she unconscious because you sucked
her blood again?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Joe. I didn't
take that much blood. And Inanna's already told you what
happened."

I moaned out loud as I turned over in
the bed. Why in the hell were Daniel and Joe fighting so freakin'
loud? And did they have to do it while I was trying to
sleep?