The Skinwalker Conspiracies - 02 (21 page)

“Thirty minutes, Ross,” she answered not looking terribly pleased by my presence.

“You’d think forty bucks would at least buy a smile.” I turned and headed back toward my table.

For the next half hour, I watched Cassandra work the semi-private area doing lap dances for one hundred twenty a pop. Even after the house’s cut, she probably cleared more than my meager monthly pension in that short span.

As the girls on the three stages rotated once more, Cassandra pulled on a halter top and turned down an obvious invite to go back to the screened-off area from an Asian man and his fist full of cash.

She slid into the booth I was occupying. “Time is money, Mike. You’re costing me a cool grand just by sitting here.”

“Nice to see you too, Eckels. Give me the info I want and I walk out of here. If not, things just might get unpleasant.”

She shook her blonde mane and rolled her eyes. “Oh please, I wave my hand to that group of steroid abusers and your little Ferryman ass will get dragged out into the alley and beaten to a pulp.” She leaned forward and thumped the table to emphasize her point. “And when they’re done, my other friends will move in and finish the job.”

“Sounds like a good time, Cass. There are a couple of problems with that. More than likely, your other friends aren’t there anymore and the moment I get tossed out of here, my buddy comes in, and I don’t think you want that to happen.”

She wasn’t impressed by my “tough guy” talk. “Aw, did little Mikey go make some new friends? It’s going to take more than a couple of civil war rejects to scare me.”

“No, my friend is from around these parts. More specifically, Dallas. He’s got a few issues with Skinwalkers and because I’m a nice guy, Cassandra, I’m trying really hard to forget that the last time we saw each other you tried to kill me.”

Sucking in a breath, Cassandra let a look of genuine fear cross her face. It only lasted a second before she banished it and reclaimed her composure. “Mike, you shouldn’t be dealing with a lunatic like Oswald.”

“Travis said that too,” I quipped, taunting her with the implication of that little bit of information. “You’re both probably right. If word gets out, it’ll ruin my rep,” I said. “Besides, William wasn’t terribly stable either. I think this is definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”

She crossed her arms. “William was just a megalomaniac. Oswald is a sociopath. There is a difference.”

“Yeah, I took abnormal psych during the winter semester. You can save it.” I didn’t bother telling her I’d gotten a “B,” though in my defense, I was a bit busy during that whole time.

I could see her searching for an angle and continued, “So, are we going to talk like sensible people, or are you going to call in the goons? It’d be worth a few bruises to be finally rid of you.”

“Okay Mike, since you haven’t come looking for a fight nor turned your wild animal loose, you must want something bad. What is it?”

“First thing is William. Is he still out there?”

“You were in a better position to know, Ross. I was busy trying to get out of the range of your cleansing burst.”

She could be lying, but I decided to believe her for the moment. “Pity you weren’t just a bit slower. Unfortunately, I didn’t see whether or not he was destroyed. So he hasn’t been in contact with you?”

“No. If he is still among us, he’d be weak. He wouldn’t come out of hiding until he was strong enough,” she answered. “I ran in Baltimore and didn’t stop until I could possess someone at BWI who was flying west. It’s possible he is still alive, but he hasn’t come after me.”

“Come after you?”

“William would see my sense of self-preservation as betrayal.”

“That actually makes sense. Still, you don’t sound terribly worried,” I said, glancing at the bouncers to make sure she hadn’t given them some kind of secret signal. It actually looked like I might get out of this without being beaten up; that was certainly a change of pace. I tapped my knuckles on the lacquered wood, just in case I was jinxing myself.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I talked William out of destroying me,” she answered with a shrug. “So, if that’s all you’re looking for, you’re leaving empty handed. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

“Don’t screw with me, Skinwalker.”

“Oh, we’ve already done that, Mike. Not interested in doing it again.”

I’ll admit that one threw me. “What?”

“Oh come on! Do you honestly think it was always you and that dingbat, Heather?”

I felt a little repulsed and was reduced to monosyllable questions, “Why?”

“If you’ve teamed up with Oswald, you already know the answer.”

“The Governor,” I said as my suspicions crystallized into a rather ugly picture.

With a sarcastic grin and fingers drumming on the tabletop, she continued, “You deserve a cookie, Mike. That means you also know what body he’s in.”

“Yeah.”

“Good, I’m glad we can skip all the emo-melodrama. The Governor was keeping tabs on you. When you enlisted, he sent me to see if you had any powers or potential. Frankly, you didn’t seem special at all, but he wanted me to stick around and keep an eye on you. So, I settled in and started grooming dear old Donnie. Such a waste. He had such potential.”

“Yeah, dear old Donnie … too bad he tried to kill me. Well that covers the good old days. So you work for De Soto?”

“More often than not, yes. But not always by choice. The question is what are you planning to do about the most powerful Skinwalker I’ve ever met?”

“First, I need to know if there’s anything left of my dad worth saving.” It was the million dollar question.

“I’m pretty sure there is. There have been a couple of times that I’ve been around David Michaels that he’s acted differently.”

“Should’ve seen the name change thing coming. If that’s the case, do you think my dad is a willing participant?”

“Well, De Soto surrounds himself with beautiful women, lots of money, drives expensive cars, and goes to all the best parties. Draw your own conclusions. So knowing that, are you still going to try and eliminate Hernando?”

“Does he know that I’ve become a Ferryman?” I answered her question with another. I’d just warmed up to the notion that Dad wasn’t a complete dick for abandoning our family when I was nine. Did Dad have any say in the matter?

“That topic hasn’t come up in conversation, but since you’re in the area, I’m sure he’ll hear about it soon enough.”

I exhaled a long breath. “Marvelous. I’m guessing he’ll come after me.”

“Count on it.  Your dad is over the hill and out of shape. You seem to be taking good care of yourself, and are in your early twenties. I’m sure De Soto would love to trade in on a newer model of Ross.”

“A Skinwalker in Jersey tried that. It didn’t end well for him.”

She clucked her tongue. “Yes, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when someone who isn’t prepared attempts to possess a Ferryman.  But De Soto is not some little Mafioso with delusions of grandeur. Even with Oswald, you will need luck to beat him.”

“Why is that? What exactly can De Soto do?” Oswald was never very certain about what this Governor character was capable of.

“He can be outside of a body and still have a piece of him inside controlling it. He can somehow split himself off into separate parts.”

“What?” I almost asked how that was possible, but stopped myself. Things had progressed to the point where I couldn’t rule out anything in the world of the paranormal.

“The original Skinwalkers in this part of the world were Indian shamans. All those legends about spirit guides, they were ghosts possessing animals. Possessing humans was supposed to be a taboo. De Soto learned their secrets and then wiped most of them out. He can control a pack of wild dogs, or a murder of crows, and still be inside a human host. That is how he can stay so powerful. That’s why it’ll be nearly impossible to surprise him.”

“How does that work?” This was sounding much worse than I imagined.

“He can store his extra power inside animals so that he is able to Skinwalk without burning up a host, but he can control the animals. If he leaves the body, he can summon all that power back to him. He’s only vulnerable for a few seconds and then you’re facing a ghost every bit as powerful as William … perhaps even more.”

My suspicious nature kicked in. “Aren’t you just a fountain of information all of the sudden? Tell me why I should believe you?”

“He’s the most powerful spirit in these parts. My existence would be much easier without him around.”

“So, you want the Governor out of the way. Typical. The only problem being out in front is you’re always watching your back. I guess that’s what you wanted William for.”

“Clever deduction, Mike. William had enough power and guile to have a good chance of pulling it off. You and Oswald combined have more power, but lack the necessary cunning. If you’re going to destroy him, you’re going to need my help.”

“You’re delusional if you think I’m going to trust you,” I said.

She smiled. It wasn’t the face that launched a thousand ships, more like the one that launched a thousand schemes. “Mike, I will tell you this one truth about me. It’s the only thing you’ll ever need to know. I will always do what is best for me. As long as working with you is that, I won’t turn on you. Can you say that much about, Oswald?”

At that point, I came to the conclusion that Virginia Poe hated me. “Gather allies,” she said. A few more allies like this and I would be stabbed in the back before I ever ran into De Soto.

“Alright Cassandra, we work together. Don’t make me regret this.”

“Do you have a pen and something to write on?”

“Here.” I handed her a pen and a pad of sticky notes.

“The number of a body I use in Phoenix. Give me twenty-four hours before you call it.”

“All I need is the Governor’s address,” I said.

“I’ll give that up along with everything else I know when we meet up there. Call it an insurance policy, Ross. I’d use this body, but she is booked here for the rest of the week. I’ll leave her here and catch up with you. This deal is between you and me. Keep Oswald away from me and out of it! I’m not coming within spitting distance of him.”

I shook my head and said, “Is that all she is to you, a body?”

“This one? Don’t waste any time feeling bad on her account. She spent two years lying to her middle class parents about being in medical school and bleeding them dry, while supporting her nose candy habit. The closest she’s ever going to get to medicine is dressing up in a nurse’s costume. I like them pretty and pathetic. Would you be surprised to know that Sonya’s family was rich?”

Shrugging, I brushed it off. Cassandra didn’t need to know I’d been in contact with her former host, who had seen enough to want to turn her life around. Maybe I’d become jaded to the point where I knew there was an endless supply of people for Cassandra to use.

“I’ll get Oswald out of town. If I don’t, you might be the only ghost left by tomorrow night.”  

“See to that,” she said, giving me the impression that the local spirits meant less to her than her host bodies. “I’m due back on shift. If you want to hang around, I’ll throw in a freebie for old time’s sake.”

I stood. “No thanks, that part about you possessing Heather is more than enough to turn my stomach. See you in Phoenix, Cassandra.”

When I stepped outside, Oswald drifted over to me.
“Do you have what we need? Can I deal with the Skinwalker now?”