Witch World (43 page)

“I misunderstood you, Mother,” he said hastily. “I just thought that a person such as yourself would have no need for a firearm.”

“Let me decide what my needs are,” I said as I counted out thirty hundred-dollar bills on his countertop. “I want a nine-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. Top of the line but compact. Plus I want a high-quality silencer that I can screw on the tip at a moment’s notice.”

The man’s bloodshot eyes swelled at the sight of the cash. “I have a Glock nine-millimeter that’s totally clean and untraceable. But you’re going to have to sacrifice bullets for size.”

“How many?”

“The compact model takes eight bullet clips instead of the usual fifteen,” he said as he sauntered toward the box I had
spotted on his floor the day before. I followed closely. I didn’t expect him to try to rob me, assuming he knew who or what I was, but I was cautious. He continued. “But with this particular Glock you could tuck it in your belt beneath your blouse and no one would be any the wiser.”

“Show me,” I said, gesturing to the box on the floor. But he surprised me by reaching above my head and taking down a shoe box lined with leather. Inside was the gun with three stubby clips, all unloaded, and a fat three-inch-long silencer. He handed over the gun and a single empty clip.

“Are you experienced with semis?” he asked.

“I know they fire faster and reload quicker,” I said.

“That’s a fact. But they’re more troublesome than revolvers. A revolver will never jam on you. A semi has to be kept super clean.” He added, “But it’s hard to find a revolver that takes a silencer. I know I don’t have one.”

The gun felt good in my hand. It made me feel
bad
. “This is the one I want. Show me how to use it. And I want the extra clips and two boxes of ammunition.”

“I’ll need five grand if you’re taking the silencer,” he said. “It’s a specialty item.”

“You mean it’s illegal.”

He held up his hands in mock defense. “Your words, Mother, not mine. As it stands, if you buy this gun, we never met.”

“Understood. I’ll give you four grand, no more. And you teach me everything I need to know about it.”

“I’ll take care of you, Mother,” he said.

He was true to his word. Indeed, he gave me such in-depth instruction that by the time I left his shop, the sun had set and it was time for my meeting with the Council. My father called the instant I climbed back in my car and told me the new location, a small house in the old residential area of town. I drove straight there but was careful to leave my gun hidden in the trunk.

Inside, the Council members were already gathered, waiting for me. My father was present. I felt a pang Russell was not. As witch world counted time, it had only been twenty-four hours since I had sat with the Council, but to me it felt like ages.

More of Jessica Ralle’s memories were returning. I recalled how Lara’s birth had not been easy. How my father had refused to give me anything to reduce the pain, not even a little Demerol to take the edge off. Nothing but a 100 percent natural birth for the Council’s perfect child. Of course, holding Lara afterward, it had all felt worth it.

To my surprise, I started the meeting by explaining how I had located where Lara was being held. Cleo acted pleased that I had obtained the information but insisted on knowing why I had taken it upon myself to visit Kari. Damn, the woman had radar.

“Since I became connected to your group,” I said, “I’ve known nothing but danger. It’s everywhere I turn. Yet you guys
don’t give me much advice, and I’m not the sort of person who likes to sit around and wait for things to happen. I went to see Kari because I felt I had to take a more proactive stance.”

“A proactive stance is one thing,” Cleo said. “Murder is something else.”

I let my anger show. “None of you accused me of murder when I killed Russell. Because you saw his death as necessary. Well, Kari’s death was just as necessary. She attacked me.”

“Did you give her reason to attack you?” Cleo asked.

“Maybe. I kidnapped her.”

Hatsu smiled. “Not a bad reason.”

“I couldn’t allow her to screw up Jimmy’s life,” I said.

Kendor nodded. “You did the right thing.”

Cleo shook her head. “I’m disturbed that you killed her so casually. Without consulting with us.”

“She attacked me,” I said.

“You continue to avoid my point,” Cleo said.

“What? That from now on I’m to obey you? I don’t remember signing up for that.”

“Jessica,” my father snapped. “Show respect.”

I shook my head. “Kari’s dead. I’m glad she’s out of the way. Now let’s move on. Have you come up with a plan to kill Susan?”

“We have come to a consensus,” Cleo said. “We still lack information on this bafflement, which has been twice used against us, and which seems to be strictly under Susan’s control.
For that reason we’ll stick with our earlier decision. You’re to accept her offer and allow her to place you in a home with Lara.”

I couldn’t have felt more deflated. They had not budged an inch. “That’s it? That’s all you have to offer? You meet and talk for two days and at the end of that time you say, ‘Do what the bitch wants.’ Excuse me, but that doesn’t sound like a plan to stop her. It sounds more like a reason to surrender.”

“Lara’s safety is still our number one priority,” Cleo said. “Until we can be sure she’s safe, we can’t attack, at least not directly.”

“Kendor,” I said, turning to my friend. “You can’t agree with this madness.”

He looked weary, beaten down, an expression I never would have expected to see on such a powerful man. “We took a vote. This is what the Council decided. I must obey.”

I stood impatiently. “Since when have you obeyed anyone? I’m telling you, all of you, I know this woman. I know what she’s capable of. While you sit and patiently study her from a distance, you can be sure she’s closing in on you with a net that will choke the life out of all of you, not just Lara and me.”

“You’re a brave girl,” Cleo said as she suddenly stood and put her hands on my shoulders. “We appreciate your courage, even if we feel it’s misdirected. Go now and obey. Keep Lara alive at all costs. Let this drama play out as it was destined to.”

“It’s more than a drama to me,” I said, my eyes burning.
But I held my tears in check, even when Cleo hugged me. My feelings were a confused mess. On one hand I wanted to strangle her for being so passive. At the same time I hated to leave her embrace. Her ancient love was like a shield that drove off the very root of my fear.

My father offered to walk me out. I told him not to bother and left the house. I was five minutes away from the Council when my cell rang. A young woman with a cold voice spoke.

“Be in front of the Tropicana at eleven sharp,” she said. “Don’t be late.”

“Can I—?” I began, but she had hung up.

I had two hours to kill. Heading for the desert, after making sure I wasn’t being tailed, I drove off a side road into the sand and stopped beside a collection of boulders. The man at the pawnshop had given me extra ammunition. Loading my clips—it helped to have superpowered fingers—I used a few discarded cola bottles to practice my aim. To my total lack of surprise, I discovered I was a crack shot.

I put three bullets through the silencer, no more. The pawn-shop man had warned me that even the finest suppressor quickly wore out. For now the attachment turned the nine-millimeter blasts into faint whistles.

I left the silencer attached to the gun. If I used the weapon, say inside a house, I didn’t want Susan’s neighborhood security to hear.

I was leaving my private firing range when James called.

“Hey, Jessica, I heard you’ve been trying to reach me.”

“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.”