Red Queen (45 page)

“Who told you?” I asked, delighted to hear his voice. He sounded just like Jimmy, maybe a little older.

“Alfred. I ran into him in town. Is your prohibition over? Can we be friends again?”

“Yes. I want to see you. I miss you.”

James lowered his voice. “Alfred said you've made progress getting Lara back. Is it true?”

“I'm going to see her tonight. Would you like to come?”

“Are you crazy? Of course. That's fantastic news. Does this mean everything's okay now?”

“Lara's still a prisoner of sorts but we'll be able to see her when we want. As long as we cooperate.”

“Cooperate with who?” he asked warily.

I hesitated. How much did he know?

“Guess,” I said softly.

“I hear ya,” he replied quickly, as if he was afraid someone was listening. Did the Lapras tap phones in witch world? James asked, “Where should we meet?”

I gave him the details and we exchanged good-byes. But a moment later I wondered if I was making a mistake. If I was just taking him along for selfish reasons. However, there was a certain shrewdness in bringing James. It would show Susan that we were united when it came to accepting her offer.

At ten to eleven I met James in front of the Tropicana. I had come full circle. It was the hotel where I had first met Russ.

James grabbed me and kissed me before we even said hello. I didn't protest. He felt so alive in my arms, so full of love. It was odd how Cleo's embrace had made me feel safe, while James's hug made me swoon. And yet I felt something in common in both hugs that I couldn't explain. Maybe it was the mystery of true love that Cleo had spoken of, that was able to flow between dimensions.

“God, you feel good,” James whispered in my ear.

“You feel better,” I said, finally letting go. I had to take a step back to size him up. His hair was longer than I was used to, an inch or two, and his clothes were sharper. He wore gray slacks and a black leather coat that was soft enough to sleep on. How I wished we could curl up together in bed right then.

“Tell me what's happening with Lara,” James said. “Is she all right?”

“Physically she's fine. But emotionally . . . well, the people who kidnapped her are suffering because she's cranky. She misses her mommy. Remember when she was born how we talked about how special she was? How she lit up the room?”

“Doesn't everyone think their kid does?”

“Probably. But it turns out Lara is special. That's why these assholes want her.”

“They don't just want money?”

“No.” I paused, still wondering how much James knew about what was going on. “Tell me how you hooked up with Alfred?”

He hesitated. “Through Alexis. She introduced him to me.”

“Did you spend much time with him?”

“A few hours. He just slipped away before you arrived. I'm surprised you didn't see him. He thinks he can help us.”

He was lying, or only telling me part of the story. It made me uneasy. My Jimmy never lied to me.

A black limousine suddenly appeared. It pulled up beside us and the driver motored down his window. When I saw who was behind the wheel, I almost fainted.

“Frank!” I gasped.

He grinned a big mouth of snow-white teeth, his black skin and bald head glistening in the rays of moonlight pouring down from above. He ordered us to get in.

Yet James hesitated once I was in the backseat. He stopped and looked around. I didn't know who he was searching for.

“What is it, James?” I asked.

He shook his head and climbed in. “Nothing.”

Frank put the limo in gear and we rolled onto the Strip. It was always busy in witch world, it didn't matter the time or day. I wondered if the perverse compulsion to constantly gamble came from the gloom that seemed to hang over the city. Were people in this society so desperate they kept searching for one big score? As I had noted before, from the time I had left the morgue, the nights in witch world seemed darker, the neon lights brighter. Even the moon appeared to have a veil over it.

Frank was taking pleasure in my discomfort at his amazing
resurrection. “You're wondering how I reattached my head,” he said.

“Something along those lines,” I said.

“That right there should tell you about the type of people you've been talking to. Damn Tar. They lock you in a meat locker so they can turn you into a witch and then they don't tell you shit. Not even the basics. You should listen to Susan when she tells you that their docile approach is a dead approach.”

“Speaking of the dead?” I said.

Frank snorted. “This is witch world! All that crap you've been fed about this being a mirror image of the real world is a lie. This is the only world that counts. This is
the
real world. The other is just a shadow. What happens here is what matters.”

“So you're saying if you die in witch world, you automatically die in both worlds. But die in the real world and all bets are off?”

“You've got it, girl. But you should have been told that five minutes after you woke up here. If you'd stayed with us, you'd know what's real and what's a lie. Now, I've never seen Susan take an interest in someone like she has in you. So don't go playing any games with her tonight. I can tell already she's not in the mood.”

“Something put her in a bad mood?” I asked.

Frank peered out the window at the moon. It was full. Like the night Lara was born. My daughter was one lunar month old tonight.

“Something heavy is about to go down,” he said without explaining what he meant.

Tonight Frank didn't bother taking any side roads, nor did he backtrack. He hardly looked in his rearview mirror. It was clear he wasn't worried about being tailed. He drove straight to Henderson, to the north side where the gated community was located, and the guards waved him through. There were six instead of two.

At the end of the block, before making a left and climbing toward the mansion at the base of the stone-crown hill, we passed Kari's house and I couldn't help but notice all the lights were on. The front door was wide open and I saw a guard inside. The fact she had gone missing was no longer a secret.

I considered pointing out the house to James, so he would at least know where they were keeping Huck, but then I remembered he didn't know who the boy was.

James leaned over and whispered in my ear. “What else can you tell me about these people?” he asked.

“They're heavily connected. Bad to the bone.”

“And they took Lara, why?”

“Because she's a saint,” I said, the words coming out before I had time to think. A saint? How could I believe in saints when I wasn't sure if there was a God? Yet when I told him what I did, it felt right.

The mansion was also well lit, with a fountain out front that was continually fanned with a rainbow of colors. Parking
beside the splashing water, we got out and took a moment to drink in the view. James quickly stepped away from the limo and stared out at the night. Perhaps the glow of the moon drew him. I had to admit the light seemed to soften what was otherwise a harsh terrain.

I remembered the wondrous light I had seen inside my head the first night Jimmy and I had made love. I had seen it with James as well, naturally. Curious how my father had talked about seeing almost the same thing the night Lara was born. And he had spoken of the sound as well, that music that was not the product of any earthly instrument. There was a mysterious connection to both events I wasn't grasping yet, although I sensed the answer was near.

We went inside. Susan and her son, Whip—he of the stinger tail—were waiting. Lara was also present but Susan gave her to Frank instead of me, which established who was in charge. My chest physically ached to look at my daughter and not be able to touch her. Frank retreated to a corner, where Lara sat on his lap, his massive black hands holding her firmly.

While Whip sauntered about the living room, his tail sliding across anything he pleased, Susan ordered James and me to sit on the sofa. She paced in front of us, no longer wearing the blue scrubs of our last encounter but black pants and a red blouse that hugged her toned chest.

Susan wasted no time. She demanded to know where Kari was. I shook my head. “How should I know?” I said.

“Are we talking about Kari from school?” James asked.

I found it odd he didn't call her Karla. That was, after all, her name in witch world.

“Yes. She's the mother of your son in the other world,” Susan snapped, her attention still focused on me. “You know how important this meeting is tonight. I'm surprised you would begin it with a lie.”

“What makes you think I'm lying?” I asked.

Susan stopped and held up a CD. “A copy of a security tape that was taken this afternoon at one fifty. Kari had a visitor at that time. The guards let her inside because they thought it was me. Of course they were tricked by a powerful witch. But even though this witch has power, she's still a fool. Because she didn't stop to think that her spell wouldn't have an effect on a nonliving camera.” Susan tossed the CD in my lap. “Should we play it?” she asked.

I shrugged. “You win some, you lose some.”

“Where's Kari?” Susan repeated.

“In a shallow grave fifteen miles from here,” I said.

Susan smiled coldly. “As I expected. I have to wonder how this murder will influence your future position. You, who always act so righteous whenever we discuss the Lapras and the Tar.”

I bowed my head in Susan's direction, as if to concede the point. “If you're going to learn to kill, you should learn from the best.” I added, “Kari was nothing. Why waste time talking about her?”

“I speak of her more for James's sake than your own.” Susan paused. “What do you think of your sweet and lovable girlfriend murdering a lover of yours in cold blood?”

James appeared guarded, confused. “I don't believe it.”

“Then put on the tape, Jessica,” Susan ordered.

“It's not necessary.” I put a hand on James's arm. “I'll explain everything later.”

“Be wary of ‘later' in witch world,” Susan warned. “It often changes into ‘too late.' ”

“I came here tonight because I'm interested in the offer you made,” I said. “That's the only reason I'm here. If you want to discuss trivia then I'll come back another time.”

“Well said, Jessica,” Susan replied. “How quickly you seek to regain control. Perhaps you have the makings of a Lapra after all.” She gestured to the mansion. “What do you think of the house? I was thinking this might be the perfect place for you and your little family.”

I glanced around. “I could get used to it.”

“Too rich for your tastes?”

“A little gaudy. But I'm more concerned about you honoring your deal and leaving us alone in peace.”

“You'll have peace, I can assure you,” Susan said as she took a step toward Frank and Lara. My daughter looked uncomfortable in his lap but wasn't crying. She kept looking over at me, I was sure of it. Susan appeared to notice Lara's attention because she brushed her fingers lightly over Lara's
face as if to distract her. She added, “I'll only require Lara once a week or so.”

“For what?” I asked.

“Study.”

“It sounds like you're going to perform experiments on her.”

“Nonsense. The child has been much better behaved since she last saw you.” Susan stroked the side of Lara's face. “She's also demonstrated even more potential than I thought possible.”

“Did she raise Frankie from the dead?” I said sarcastically.

Susan turned back to me at the mention of Frank. I knew what was coming. “I'm afraid that version of Frank won't be joining us anymore. But your question does raise the issue of who you were with when you were exploring the sewers. It must have been someone adept with a sword to take off the head of a warrior as powerful as Frankie.”

“I was taken by surprise,” Frank muttered.

“Kendor wasn't my companion,” I said. “He only showed up when Frank threatened to kill me.”

Susan was unable to hide the effect Kendor's name had on her. She almost stumbled as she strode toward me. “I hear the two of you talked after he finished saving your life,” she said.

“We didn't talk long. But he told me your real name was Syn and that you two were lovers for close to two thousand years.”

Susan's lower lip trembled ever so slightly. Again, she tried to hide it but was unable to. “Did he tell you why I left him?”

“We didn't get into that sort of detail.”

“Ah, Jessica, you lie but you also tell the truth. Kendor doesn't know why I left him.” She paused, thinking, her body swaying slightly. “What else did he say?”

“He told me about your past. The children you had, and how you both suffered when they were lost.” I paused. “Robere. Era. Herme . . .”

“Stop!” Susan suddenly cried.

I stopped—the whole room did. Even Whip sat still on the floor and Lara stopped fussing in Frank's hands. It was as if the names had swept through the room like disembodied tombstones and had struck Susan like a hammer made of hard memories. The pain in the air was almost palpable, and Susan was supposed to be able to harvest that special form of energy. But I think this sample was even too potent for her to swallow. A minute followed by a second minute ticked by, and none of us dared disturb her.

Finally, Susan sat down across from James and me.

She acted like her outburst had never happened.

“I need to know if your desire to stay here with Lara is genuine,” she said to me.

“Yes. But you ask for honesty so I'll give it. I want to be with James and my daughter. I don't want to be kept a prisoner.”

Susan shrugged. “You'll remain here until I'm confident you won't try to flee. The length of your confinement is totally up to you. Is that agreeable?”