"I love you. Just as I loved your mother." She pulled back and tucked a strand of my unruly hair behind my ear. "Now go. Find out who is behind it, and once you have that, you'll know what step to take next."

  FOURTEEN

  Ina's suggestion worked a miracle.

  Not only did Medbh's entire demeanor shift when I put the box next to her, her voice changed back to Aunt B and she adopted a southern accent. A bad…southern accent. I'm sorry…but we don't sound like that.

  Something else I noticed as Kyle and I pulled up stools to talk to Medbh. The chips, scars and cracks on the head were less noticeable. Were they actually healing?

  "Medbh," I began as I put my hand on the box. "I need you to tell me everything about this person that's after you. The one controlling the Changelings. And if you tell me, you can have what's in the box and I'll do my best to protect you."

  She didn't answer at first. But when she did, her voice sounded as if it were filled with emotion. :You'd do that…for me?:

  "Yes, I would. You're under my care, and so far my wards have protected you. But I have to protect Ivan too, and I need you to tell me everything. Otherwise I can't fight them."

  The head didn't move for several seconds, and then it rocked just a bit to face me. I reached out and pulled the incense stick from its nose. And to my astonishment, the hole closed up.

  "You know," Kyle said as he leaned in close to me, "rowan wood has healing properties to it."

  :Yes, it does. Just having the box next to me is enough. Show me what's inside?:

  "Tell me what you know. Please, Medbh."

  :Fourteen years ago, a woman summoned me using a very old, tried and true spell. It'd been decades since anyone had used our magic, other than ourselves. She told me her name was Dionysus.:

  Kyle held up his hands. "Whoa…this woman said her name was Dionysus? You mean like the Greek God?"

  :Yes.:

  "That's messed up. Was she human?"

  :She had been human once. But I sensed that was a long time ago.:

  I suddenly had a thought. And I didn't like it. "Medbh, when you said the shop filled with witchy ninjas…they weren't Ghouls, were they?"

  :Yes.:

  Damn.

  "Dionysus is a Vampire." Kyle rubbed his face. "Great. That makes her, him, harder to find. What is with these demons and their power trip names?"

  "Eh, they all have them," I said. "But they're not harder to detect. Remember, I can sense Vampires."

  Medbh laughed. :You can sense what we call the white Vampires. Revenants. Those demons join with humans to share a body. But Dionysus doesn't share, she takes.:

  The hairs along my neck stood on end. "You mean there's no dual possession."

  :None. There are those demons like Dionysus who take hold of a human body without permission. They do not give the human the option of inviting them in. They ride the human souls inside, use them as their mini-throne to torture, and bind the body to do their will. These are the ones we call Leviathans.:

  Great. Revenants and Leviathans. I was going to need to write this shit down.

  I blew air out between my lips. "What did Dionysus want?"

  :She wanted me to get rid of a Witch. This Witch had learned all her secrets, even her tells. Everywhere Dionysus turned, the Witch was there.:

  "Why you? Why not just get rid of the Witch herself?" Kyle asked. "She's a Vampire. Vampires can kill Witches."

  :Not this Witch. Dionysus had tried three times to kill the Witch, and each time the Witch survived. Then she learned the Witch was using Arcane Magic to keep one step ahead of Dionysus. That's when she turned to me.:

  I looked around the floor and into the other room. Where was Grey?

  "And?" Kyle prompted.

  :She struck a deal with me. I would remove this Witch from the world, and she would give me something in return.:

  The thought of a Vampire making a deal with a Faerie surprised me. "Dionysus must've been desperate. What did she give you?"

  During the conversation, I noticed ongoing improvements in the condition of the ceramic head. The chips and dings were almost non-existent, and the paint was less faded.

  :She offered me her soul.:

  I choked. Kyle nearly fell off his stool. "Medbh—Faeries can't steal souls. That's ridiculous."

  :Not from a human directly. But we can remove the soul from a Vampire. So she offered up the soul of the body she possessed.:

  Kyle tilted his head to his right shoulder. "What's the catch? Deals with your kind don't always work—strike that—they never work in favor of the other party."

  :Vampires have to have the human soul to keep them anchored in the body. That applies to both Revenant and Leviathan. In order for Dionysus to keep the body, I had to fuse her to the framework.:

  "What does that mean?" Kyle looked at me.

  I stared at Medbh. "It means she fused Dionysus to the skeleton of her host. Which, if I remember the consequences of this little trick, makes it impossible for the demon to leave the body and find a new one."

  :Precisely!: Medbh sounded almost festive. :I did my part, but once I came for my price, Dionysus decided she didn't want to finish the deal. Much like you not finishing your agreement with Brendi.:

  I let that little jab slide. Mostly because she was right.

  :I called a Hunt, we took Dionysus and I took the soul.:

  "What did you do with it?" I asked.

  :Returned it to the Well of Souls. I keep my promises:—the head tilted a little—:most of the time. Dionysus has been looking for me ever since, and until about eight months ago, I was safe in Alfheim.:

  "Now you're vulnerable."

  :Yes. And she knows it. She knows where I am. Using those Changelings was her way of showing me she could master Arcane Faerie Magic. But I doubt she has a means to actually destroy me.:

  "What happens if she destroys you?" Kyle asked.

  :The spell would be broken and she would be ejected from the body. She would need a host ready and waiting for her, or her own essence will be called back to the Well. It's what happens to body snatchers. But she doesn't have that kind of power. Creating and controlling Changelings is child's play compared to the kind of power she'll need to destroy me.:

  "Medbh, I hate to be the bearer of seriously 'effed up news, but we think she does have the means, or she's at least figured out what means she needs."

  :That made no sense.:

  Kyle held up his hand, signaling to me that he wanted to deliver the news. "Malleus Maleficarum."

  The reaction was instantaneous. The head started vibrating and spinning a little. Sort of looked like it was searching the room for ghosts. :No. You can't let her get a hold of that book. That thing has magic in it that could literally destroy the world.:

  "We think that's why one of the Changelings took out Mr. Higgins. He was the local High Witch and the one we think was in possession of the original tome." I rubbed at my chin and pulled my phone out to check the time.

  :If she had it, I'd be dead already. Did this Higgins keep the book in his home?:

  "I don't know." I was a little remiss that I hadn't asked Ina if she knew the answer to that. "Normally, I'd ask Ivan to check and see if he could find anything about break-ins." But Ivan wasn't there. "Medbh, if Dionysus was in my store today, why did she take Ivan? It's been hours and I haven't gotten a phone call, a text message—nothing. I figured she'd ransom him for you."

  :He fought. Hard. I think he fascinated her because she realized he could see Arcane.:

  Aw damn. "Crap. How did she figure that out?"

  :She's not like other Vampires. Remember, she's a Leviathan. They're different, and they're stronger. She can hear others’ thoughts, so I'm sure she figured out his nature pretty fast.:

  But why take him if no ransom demands? Unless she planned on using Ivan's power to her advantage. He could see Arcane, as well as smell it. If they wanted to find that damn book in Higgins's house, having an Arcane detector would be an advantage. But, being Arcane herself, wouldn't she be able to see it? Sense it? I don't know…feel it?

  "Medbh," Kyle said as he shifted on the stool. "What is the worst thing Dionysus would do with Ivan? Or, I hate to say it, to Ivan?"

  :The worst would be relative to what Ivan finds most distasteful. If she is able to find that book and free herself, she could use him as her new vessel. Ride him like a magic pony, to put it bluntly. Think about a Leviathan possessing Ivan's sort of magic?:

  "Eh," I said with a shrug. "We already have a million crazy megalomaniacal bitches loose on the web. What's one more? What we need to do is get that book."

  "And do what?" Kyle stood up and moved the stool out of his way. "We can't use it. And to quote Gandalf, ‘I won't touch it.’"

  I slipped off my stool as well. "We just need to stop Dionysus from using it." I made a face at Kyle. "Is it me, or does it seem weird saying Dionysus?"

  "It's weird, especially since the image I had in my head was of a hot young guy in a toga." He pointed to the box. "You giving her the sparkly?"

  "Yeah." I put my hands on the box. It was warm and instantly made me feel…better. Rowan wood. "Medbh, what happened to the Witch? The one Dionysus wanted dead?"

  :I'm not sure. I grabbed a lot of Witches back then. Kinda got on this kick of making mutts.:

  I smirked. "You mean like Brendi Ross?"

  Medbh made a rude noise. Brendi was the reason the old queen was bodiless. :Yeah. Like that. I'm pretty sure she's dead, though. Not many Witches survived the transformation.:

  "Transformation?"

  :Into hunting wolves…so, what's in the box?:

  Kyle stepped up. "What was the Witch's name? Maybe we can look her up, and that could help with finding out more about Dionysus and about whatever body she's riding like a pony now?"

  Medbh bounced. :What's in the box?:

  "Answer his question," I said.

  If a ceramic head could make a frustrated tweenager noise, Medbh could. And she did. :Fine. Her name was Elizabeth something…:

  I narrowed my eyes. "Elizabeth?" My mom's name had been Elizabeth. It was my middle name.

  :Lemme see what's in the box and I'll tell you the rest!:

  "Tell me before."

  She didn't budge.

  "Fine." I opened the box to expose the shiny silver necklace and jewel. "Tell me."

  :Hawthor—:

  Something bright and mind-achingly loud flashed out of that box. My natural defenses kicked in as pentagrams of blue, yellow, green and red sprang up around Medbh and the box, only I couldn't see the head or the box through the blinding light. The pentagrams spun deosil, then widdershins, then deosil (clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise) as they worked to contain whatever magic exploded out at that moment.

  I heard a voice screaming in the chaos and put my hands over my ears. It sounded like a thousand freight trains barreling through the shop and into the basement and then—

  Silence.

  When it was over, I was crouched on the ground with Kyle beside me. We both had our hands up, and around us pulsed a white mist. I poked at it and it popped like a bubble. "You do that?"

  Kyle sniffed. "Yeah. I made a sachet last night for protection."

  "It worked." I stood on shaky knees, and he put his hand out as he stood.

  "I'm thinking…silver and Faeries is bad," Kyle said as he moved past me to the table where Medbh and the box rested.

  I gasped when I saw the head. It was completely white. No paint. No holes. Not even a ding. It looked like someone had covered it in a shiny coat of white paint. The necklace remained in the box, the topaz twinkling under the single bulb in the basement. The Elemental pentagrams still spun like gears in the air before I dismissed them.

  "Medbh?"

  No answer. Not even a hint of her.

  "No…no, no, no, no…" This wasn't happening. I grabbed her with both of my hands and shook her. "Don't you disappear on me. You said Hawthorne. I heard you say Hawthorne. Did you mean Elizabeth Hawthorne? You took a Witch with that name—"

  "Hey, calm down," Kyle said as he put a hand on my shoulder and quickly took the featureless head from my hands. "Stop it."

  "Give that back to me." I reached out for Medbh's head, but Kyle held it out of my reach like a bully taunting a smaller kid with their prize.

  "Sam, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath. And let go of my arm. Now step over there." He lowered the head and looked at it. "I don't think she's in here anymore."

  "Because of the necklace?" I picked the necklace out of the box and held it up. It didn't feel any different. Just silver. And topaz.

  "The silver. I think we just don't know enough about real Faerie lore."

  "Did…did it kill her?" I dropped the necklace back into the box and put my hand on the head in Kyle's grasp. "Medbh. Please…don't stop now. Please…did you mean my mother? Elizabeth Hawthorne?"

  Deafening silence.

  "This can't be right, can it? I thought your mom died while doing cop stuff. In the line of duty."

  I nodded as I gently took the head from his hands. "Yeah. That's what I was told. By my dad. By Ina. By everyone." I set the head back on the table and shut the box. "I don't…I don't know what to think."

  My phone rang. I pulled it out and didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

  "Miss Hawthorne?"

  "Yes?" I put the head back in the safe and closed it.

  "This is Doctor Redmond over at Tulane. I spoke with Rose Matisse's brother last night. You were with him. A Mr. Robin Tremere?"

  I shut the box and picked it up as I walked to the basement steps. "Yes. What's wrong?"

  "I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Rose passed away an hour ago, and her brother has collapsed. He's in ICU and he listed you as a contact person."

  FIFTEEN

  With two mysterious deaths within twenty-four hours and now Robin exhibiting the same symptoms, the hospital wasn't taking any chances. What if this was contagious and someone else contracted it? Just mention the word lawsuit and the administrators sat up to take note.

  The nurses dressed me in booties and the full paper jumpsuit before they let me in ICU. I pulled my hair into a paper cap and had trouble with my trembling hands when I put on the mask.

  I had one nurse look at me funny and ask if I was in the hospital with Mr. Tremere the night before. I knew where she was going with that line of thought and instantly pushed a bit of Spirit her way, giving her a nice high and a very erratic memory.

  The last thing I needed was to get caught up in some useless quarantine.

  I shuffled closer to Robin, almost afraid to look at him. I had images of sores eating his flesh and blood coming from his nose. So when he turned his head to look at me, I wasn't prepared.

  He looked like Robin, just as beautiful as ever, but pale. Shadows on his face made him look thin, and his skin had a greenish tinge to it. My usual rein over my magic vanished as my hand touched his. The dex spell launched, and I watched the banishing pentagrams search his entire body. Even they couldn't give me what I needed to know.

  An antidote.

  I could smell the Arcane oozing from his pores through my mask. Apparently, Ina's salve hadn't helped at all. Robin's condition was steadily worsening. The doctors didn't think he'd survive past dawn.

  He put a hand to my cheek and I closed my eyes. "Oh, baby. It's going to be okay. You'll see."

  Robin's voice was so light and airy, I wondered if he knew his sister had died. If he didn't, I decided I wasn't going to be the one to give him the bad news. I put my gloved hands on his and kissed his wrist through the paper material. "I know. I can't stay. I just wanted to see you. Tell you I love you."

  "I love you." He coughed. Blood appeared on his lip, and I immediately grabbed tissues out of the box by the bed and dabbed at it. "Sorry…" he said. "That keeps happening. But I can't imagine what it is I ate to make it happen. I keep telling them to check for appendicitis."

  "I doubt that's it, baby." I slipped the tissue under my sleeve. "I have to go do a few things. One of the boys is in trouble."

  "I bet it's Kyle."

  "No. It's Ivan. But I'll be back tonight, okay? As soon as I can."

  The smile he gave me was so full of warmth. I blinked back the burning behind my eyes. No one had survived this. I couldn't get that thought out of my head.

  He patted my hand. "You go do your thing, okay? I'll be here waiting for you."

  I nodded, but nothing was stopping the waterworks. I was an emotional mess. I kissed his forehead. He squeezed my hand.

  I tore off the paper suit as I left ICU. I didn't sign out, even as the nurse called out my name. I threw everything into the proper receptacle, and the tissue fell out and onto the floor. My life came spinning into sharp focus as I stood there, transfixed by the blood.

  All my life I'd been a good girl. I'd done what I was told to do. I made good grades. I took care of the house for Dad. And I made Aunt Ina proud with my mastery of my Gift. And all that time, was it possible they had lied to me about my mother? I didn't have a clear memory of the night she died, other than I had been worried about a play, but I never went to that play because I had a funeral to attend instead.

  I knew so little about my mom, other than she was a Witch, and a detective, and she was good at both vocations. Ina reassured me, though my dad never mentioned the magic side of things. And Ina thought it best to keep those things out of his sight. Was it because he knew the truth of how she died?

  Was it because he knew she'd been taken by a Faerie queen? During a Hunt?

  Somehow, I didn't think that was possible. Not my dad. I doubted he knew anything beyond what he’d told me.

  But what about Ina? There had been a coven once. Or so she said. But my mom's death disheartened everyone and it closed. But she stayed with me through it all.

  Ina had to know the truth.

  There were too many things I needed to do. I needed those answers about my mom, but I needed to find Ivan first. I needed that book. If I had that book, I could get the truth from Dionysus, who arranged the death, or the disappearance, of my mom.

 

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