Split at the Seams (36 page)

But if I didn’t adopt the
them or me
state of mind, I wouldn’t survive their continual attacks. I had no doubt this dark maniacal group would continue to send more of its members my way, and I had to be prepared.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Did you read it over?”

Lavie shook her head. “It’s not my business. This is something you need to know about. I’m not going to interfere…unless you need my help. My aunt said that if you have any questions, you’re free to pay her a visit.”

I didn’t know why her aunt would offer such a thing, but decided not to pursue that line of questioning just yet. There were so many things I had to deal with at the moment that I’d started a to-do list in my witchy journal. I’d also added all of the things the professor had told me about my spook-catcher line, and made a note to learn more about whatever ritual my grandmother took part in to strengthen our familial line.

“How’s Ebony holding up?”

“She’s okay.” Ebony was taking some time off work—or maybe, life. She hadn’t left her apartment since the night we got away from the Council and didn’t want any visitors, just Conrad. I’d tried to visit anyway, but he’d greeted me at the door and we seemed to have reverted back to the can-rarely-stand-each-other routine.

I didn’t push, knew what it was like to feel totally disconnected from the world and unsure of whether you would ever make it back to your body, so I gave Ebony the space she wanted.

Roe was doing okay, though. He and the three girls were currently staying in my house. The spook catchers were sharing a room, and didn’t leave each other’s sides. Roe was staying in my grandfather’s bedroom. He said it made him feel at home. I assumed it was the spook residue.

“Sierra, is everything okay with
you?
”

I nodded, staring at the USB drive in my hand. “It’s just…I was actually expecting a small explanation, not this many files.”

“There are pictures too.” Lavie’s hazel eyes were shiny as she looked into mine.

“How did you get all of this?”

“My aunt knew some of it, and I have an acquaintance who owed me. He supplied everything else.”

“Is this acquaintance of the demonic kind?” I was starting to learn that although these people called themselves “hunters”, sometimes they dabbled in the same circles as those they hunted. Or in some cases, were even the same kind of thing. Like my biological grandfather, Oren.

She shrugged. “Just like humans, not all demons are the same.”

“I understand.” I pocketed the USB drive and flashed a weak smile. The left side of my face still hurt.

“Are you feeling better? I hear things were pretty brutal the other night.”

“Yeah, you missed out on all the action.”
I wish I had
. Instead of being left with new knowledge and questions I didn’t know how to answer.

I hadn’t told anyone what Professor Spooker told me about my grandmother, especially Oren. I didn’t want to tell him that my grandmother might have gone out of her way to have a daughter with him for
otherworldly
purposes. Though I now understood why Mace was so hell-bent on keeping Grandma from moving on.

“I wish I could’ve done something more to help,” Lavie said.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re helping now.”

She pointed at my face. “I think you’re doing the right thing by not running to Jonathan to get healed. I’m convinced he’s dangerous.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed my healing eye, which was no longer swollen shut but still bruised. The other random bruises and scratches were working their Technicolor-healing process. I refused Oren’s offer of magical healing, but did notice that the cosmetic effects were fading a lot faster than the emotional ones.

I hadn’t even considered Jonathan’s help. He
was
dangerous, stupid and kept leaving me messages I refused to listen to. After seeing him stalking around the Council building, I didn’t want to see him, or hear any bullshit excuses.

According to the evening news, the Spook Catcher Council Tower was currently on lockdown. After constant inspections by structural engineers they’d found the building wasn’t in any danger of collapsing, but the accommodation floor was trashed. I could only hope that meant the chairs were destroyed. Beyond confirming it was an explosion, the authorities didn’t seem to know much and had found even less. Though I did hear reports of them locating eight corpses, and prayed Mace Clamber was one of them.

I hadn’t gone anywhere near the place. I knew I’d get a call soon—either from the police, or the board members—but I didn’t care. I’d deal with it then. Right now, even my office had lost its usual shine. I hadn’t been there for ages, and still needed a little distance.

Benita’s cause of death had been labeled “a freak animal attack” and I’d attended her funeral. But even then, I still couldn’t deal with stepping anywhere near the red-brick office block.

Besides, I knew what was waiting for me. More cases requiring I disappoint grieving families by telling them their beloved friendly ghost had faded from existence. I’d deal with it eventually. First, I needed to make some sort of sense out of my own life before trying to help anyone else with theirs.

The silent ghosts that were forcibly taken from Sydney were gone for good, but at least the damage Mace tried to cause between patches had been permanently sealed. It still left a bad taste in my mouth. Sure, new spooks would appear because the business of death never ended, but what about all the ones we’d lost when they weren’t ready to move on yet?

I missed Mr. and Mrs. Wicker.

“Anyway, I better get going. I’ve actually got a job to do nearby,” Lavie said.

“Sorry, Lavie, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” I felt bad about being lost in the random chaos inside my head, and not giving her the attention she deserved.

“Of course you do. It’s understandable.”

“Do you need a lift?”

“Nah, you know I like to walk.”

“Are you sure?”

Lavie nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder as she passed by. “Take care, Sierra. I hope we can catch up soon, whenever you’re ready. And if you ever need any help, you know I’m here for you.”

“Thank you.” I had no doubt that I would need her help in the future, especially when the demonic were obviously involved in all of this.

I turned and watched her walk away. Tonight, she was wearing a long denim skirt, black boots and a button-down, long-sleeved sweater. Her red hair was still a shaggy, uneven mess, but she carried herself with a quiet dignity. She always appeared so scatterbrained, but I doubted it was the case. There was only one thing Lavie couldn’t control, and that was the demonic seed within her.

“Oh good, at least you saved me the usual trip up the stairs.”

I spun around at the sound of the voice. My right hand hovered at my side, ready to snatch the silver dagger from my boot. I now took it everywhere. “Burr, you scared the crap out of me! Do you like to give people heart attacks?” Hard to believe that someone so big and round could sneak up on anyone, but he just had.

“I’m sorry, dear.”

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

He pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped his sweaty face. When he pulled it away, the handkerchief was stained with what looked like makeup.

“I know it’s not our usual meeting time, but since I felt your presence, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Do you live nearby?” I looked past him, trying to find another wavering portal. Was that how this Tailor moved around?

“Not exactly… Why are you here, Sierra?”

“You know why. You probably listened in to the whole conversation.”

Sweat slid off his face like water from a faucet. “Yes, quite right I did, and it’s probably a smart move to keep what you’re doing from everyone else for as long as you can.”

I straightened. “But you already know what I’m dealing with?”

He raised both of his chubby hands, the handkerchief hanging limp from one of them and swaying in the breeze. “I can’t answer any questions about the group you want to know about, but I can tell you you’re on the right track.”

“Why do they want to use and corrupt my power?”

Burr looked at me and frowned. “Like I said, it’s not possible for me to answer your direct questions, but judging by the mess on your face, I assume you already know some of the answers.” He cleared his throat. “I want to thank you for closing off the opening disturbing the patches. We are once again grateful for what you’ve done. And I wanted to let you know that if you ever need any help outside of the hunter meetings, all you need to do is come here alone, and I’ll show up. We are eternally grateful for the continuous sacrifices you make and would like to do whatever we can to ensure the
Obscurus
don’t get their hands on you.”

“Okay.” How could they help me without being able to answer any of my questions? I filed that away for another day because I was pretty sure I would definitely need Burr—just like I’d need Lavie—eventually.

“That’s all, dear. I better get shuffling, got work to do.” He smiled and a tooth fell to the ground, turning to chalk dust. “Ah yes, my work—much like yours—is never done.”

I nodded and was about to say bye, when he took a step and disappeared into thin air, between blinks.

Releasing a breath, I turned away from the street and kept my eyes on the motorway behind the chain-link fence. The spirit activity was nothing like it used to be around here, so I hoped no big-time developer noticed long enough to finally build on this sacred ground. I liked this place abandoned, liked to think it offered lost souls a place to exist without interference.

The back of my neck prickled. For the first time, I detected
other
things I’d never sensed in this area before. Since the spooks were mostly MIA, there were different creatures stirring beneath the shadows, and they were all watching me.

I still had so much to learn, and a lot more to accept…but now, it was time to get back into my whale of a car and head home.

Epilogue

A week after the Council fiasco, the three spook catchers—Juliet, Claire, Jana—and Roe, stood outside my front door. A taxi waited on the curb, but the quartet lingered on the porch.

“Are you sure you don’t mind taking them with you?” I asked Roe, pressing my shoulder against the doorframe. I’d offered to keep the shy teenagers with me multiple times.

He nodded and his greasy hair swayed over his face. “I’ve got plenty of room at home, and I can continue their education.”

“Where are you going, anyway?” I asked. As far as I knew, this man had always lived inside the Council building. I just couldn’t see him outside that place, although I was glad he was out. “You know you can all stay here as long as you want, right?” I looked at each of the girls, so they’d know I meant all of them. “I’ve got enough room too.”

“We’ve been here long enough. It’s time to get some sort of normalcy back into our lives. Besides, I have an old family property in East Serene Hills. There’s plenty of room there, though I imagine it’ll be a bit dusty after so many years of neglect. I’m sure the girls won’t mind helping me clean and dust the place down.”

They all nodded. The haunted glaze in their eyes hadn’t faded yet.

Roe handed me a folded piece of paper. “This is the address. Feel free to drop in whenever you like. We’ll need to chat about what we’re going to do now that the Council’s in strife.”

I took the piece of paper and looked at him. I’d never seen Roe outdoors in daylight. His skin still had an ashy tinge to it, and the three spook catchers behind him shared the dull complexion. I’d looked in the mirror trying to see if I had it too, but it was hard to tell with the fading bruises.

“Girls…” Roe turned to them and smiled. “Can you go and wait for me inside the taxi. We don’t want the driver to think we don’t need him no more.” His voice was gentle and friendly, and I suddenly realized I wanted to ask him a thousand questions.

The catchers seemed reluctant to move without him. Since we’d left the Council, the trio shadowed Roe’s every move and depended on him too much. But who could blame them after what they’d been through? Eventually, each girl nodded, waved at me and held hands as they made their way to the cab. Once they were busy getting into the backseat, Roe turned back to me.

“I think they’ve been through enough. I just wanted to have a few words with you.” Roe glanced over his shoulder and then back at me. His limp hair framed his gaunt face.

“Do you think this is it? Do you think any of the other girls survived? You know the ones who weren’t strapped to those chairs…” I hated to think about how many were tucked into bed during the explosion.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe some girls were out that night, but I think Mace had everyone strapped into those chairs. Any of the other girls are probably already dead, but I’ll look into it. The numbers have been dwindling for a while now. You and Ms. Aikan were the only ones droppin’ off canisters for weeks. I think Mace was responsible for killing a lot of them with the chair before he perfected how to use it.”

I sighed, and nodded. The thought made me sick. “How did you know what to do with Ebony?” I’d wanted to ask him this question for days.

Roe looked uncomfortable for a moment, shifting from foot to foot. “You’re a very smart girl, so I’ve no doubt you’ve already worked it out…but I’ll tell you, anyway. I’m just like they are. The same thing that happened to them happened to me many years ago.”