The Devil's Daughter Complete Box Set, page 81
part #1 of The Devil's Daughter Series
Doodlebug detected a glimmer of hope. “That would mean the Cormorant has a secret she needs to keep from Marjory. She would never turn the vault over to the woman in fear Sanguine would be set loose and threaten to expose her divinity as a sham.”
Sere aimed her knife at Doodlebug like it was a lecturer’s pointer. “And expose our connection. As the only living immortal, Marjory has a fascination with how I tick. Jenna is the key to how homemaker Jennifer’s image is bounced off of hell and back to me in life. If Marjory figures out who the Cormorant really is, she’ll focus on her instead of me. Though that wouldn’t be the worst situation in my case, it would be a lot harder to control Marjory’s aspirations.”
“That still doesn’t help me find the vault.”
Sere nodded as if realizing she’d been off on a tangent. “If the Cormorant does have it, she could have moved it anywhere with her bird squadron. Sanguine knows that dimension’s architecture better than anyone alive. Hell bends itself to her wishes. That’s how she ended up with wings and magical eyes that can see the potential futures. She may be trapped in a cage, but she’ll be like a rattlesnake locked in a treasure chest. The first person to open it better be ready for a venomous strike. If there’s a way of influencing hell from inside the box, Sanguine will figure it out.”
Doodlebug stared at the swirling wall of clouds out above the water. “Then I guess it’s back into the hell storm for me.”
“You’ll have to keep the hunt a secret. If the Cormorant discovers you’re looking for it, she’ll sic every bird and harvester she has on your ass. And if Marjory’s goons figure out who’s got the vault, there will be an all-out war between the two women.”
Doodlebug climbed on Lefty’s back for the return trip to Joe’s cabin. “According to Nocturne, war may be inevitable, and I’m not about to get stuck in the middle.”
74
Chapter 5
Sere sat fuming against the brick wall behind the Scratchy Dog nightclub. “All Doodlebug had to do was keep Marjory’s demons from escaping, convince Jenna that I was still in hell, find Sanguine, and keep me in the loop.” She looked up at Bart, feeling more than a little overwhelmed and betrayed. “That final one was kind of important.”
Bart handed down a double shot of Jameson’s. “Even you have to admit that’s a pretty impressive list of chores for a sixteen-year-old girl living in hell. And you’re giving her a failing grade for something that wasn’t even her fault?”
“It would have been nice if she’d have run her ideas past me first.” Sere didn’t want to get into an argument, but emotions had a way of intensifying her tone. “Having both her and Dooly walk into the Laroque mansion sounds like a great way of getting caught.”
“Don’t go blaming the messenger. So far, has she actually done anything other than her job of stopping the demons from reaching the hellmouth?”
Sere hated it when he had a point. “Well, no. I never should have left hell,” she blurted out before taking a slug of the whiskey.
Bart put his denim-covered muscular bottom against the wall and slid down next to her. “When? The first time when Sanguine saved you from your unintended damnation or the second time after you rescued Jennifer and had to escape Jenna?”
She snuggled against him. “Stop using logic on me.”
“Fine. Then how about this? If you’d have stayed in hell, I would have come after you.”
She had no doubt that he would have. Even when she’d been stuck in the professor’s laboratory in the hell dimension, she’d known if she didn’t come up with an escape plan, he would never rest until he was with her again. And if that wasn’t in life, then it would have to be in hell. The former Navy SEAL had mad skills when it came to tactics and fighting, but hell played by different rules. Sere couldn’t have risked losing him to that dimension. “Okay, I’ll stop feeling guilty, but only if you help me figure a way out of this mess.”
He stared across the courtyard. His expression was one she’d seen before. Like a computer booting up for a long computation, he was clearing the random thoughts from his mind. “Lay it out for me. If Marjory and the Cormorant are meeting, they each must want something that the other one has.”
Sere tried to corral the puzzle pieces of the two women’s desires. “We know that Marjory wants to create a family of immortals. So far, we’ve been able to thwart her attempts. According to Doodlebug, there’s a possibility that Marjory’s most recent effort involves sending a soul to that dimension. If her plan is to raise a devil in hell, it might be so she can keep me out of the picture.”
“Assuming that is her plan, what does she still need?” Bart asked.
“The biggest challenge is digging up the baron’s old vault. Then Marjory would need someone to get into the professor’s labs, but even then, Aloysius’s soul in hell’s software isn’t something that can be downloaded to a smartphone. That doppelgänger would need a way to transport the human spirit to wherever the baron’s old vault is stashed.”
“That would take care of the raising-a-new-devil part.”
“Exactly. We know she has a demon contingent. She keeps trying to get them through the hellmouth, but they’ve been too disorganized to mount a serious attack.”
Bart gave her his smoky side-eyed look of disbelief. “They’ve done pretty well.”
“For a leaderless band, sure. Oh, and Marjory now has dragons.”
“Of course she does.” Bart returned to his analytical stare across the courtyard. “So she’s planning on creating a devil in hell who will lead her demons on dragon back through the hellmouth. Sounds bad. What does she need from the Cormorant?”
“Presumably that’s her plan. I’m still not convinced. But to follow our line of thought, my assumption is that the Cormorant has the vault. If she had something to do with Sanguine being locked inside, she would also know how to get her out. Marjory can’t create her devil if there’s an angel standing guard over the equipment. But as hell’s deity, Jenna wouldn’t want the granddaughter of Mother Nature challenging her for supremacy. She’s not going to turn over the vault without a fight. Where she’s hiding the vault is the big mystery.”
Bart nodded as if the puzzle pieces fit together in a way Sere was missing. “And as for Jenna’s desires, we know she wants your body. Like Marjory, she would need the vault to complete the transfer. Assuming she does have it, the next step would be to drag you down to her dimension and stick you inside. So how does she plan on getting you to hell?”
Goose bumps erupted along Sere’s arms at the prospect of being dragged back under. “So long as Jennifer and I don’t meet in person, Jenna can’t physically pull me through the gate again. The Cormorant might think she’s hot shit in hell, but she has no power in life. If I don’t return to her dimension on my own, she has to rely on someone on this side to abduct me.”
“Marjory has the benefit of your father’s journals to create her devil but no vault in hell. Jenna has the vault, but no knowledge of how to make the physical transfer. And she needs your body. They’re definitely a match made in hell.” Bart stroked the stubble on his chin. “So once Marjory gets her demon army out of hell, they abduct you and haul you back to that dimension. As for the Cormorant, she relocates Sanguine out of her vault prison so Marjory can create her devil. Then her flock locks you and Jenna inside so birdwoman can get her body back and you become a ghost in hell. Sounds more like a list of problems than a plan. The party Doodlebug talked about must be so the two women can hammer out the details.”
Sere spread her arms and looked at her body like she’d never really inspected it before. “I don’t even know why that birdbrain would want this doppelgänger body back. As the Cormorant, she’s able to fly and command the birds and harvesters. Once she’s in a normal body, her claim to divinity kind of disappears. I’m only immortal because of my soul’s connection to the various dimensions and the professor’s stored data. It’s not like Jenna would have any superhero powers.”
Bart rested his elbows on his knees and swirled his drink. “I think you already hit on your answer: birdbrain. The woman doesn’t think like a human. Things look more logical from the perspective of the greedy and manipulative bank president. Once she has created her devil and has him and her demons on this side, she has no incentive to continue to help the Cormorant. Abducting you makes sense, as she’s still trying to figure out how to fine-tune her immortals and wants you to stop decapitating them. Sending her army back to hell with you in custody, however, just sounds like a foolish risk. Even for a birdbrain, the Cormorant must see that. She must have something else up her feathered sleeve.”
“I can’t imagine what it would be or how we’d figure it out.” Sere got off the brick-covered ground so she could pace as she thought. “The Cormorant may not think logically, but she does have Jennifer’s mental structure—even more than I do.”
Bart sipped his Jack Daniels and coke. “What are you thinking?”
“If I played out the scenario to Jennifer, maybe between the two of us, we could triangulate on what Jenna is thinking.”
His hard stare of disapproval was one she knew all too well. “Don’t go getting any foolish ideas. Your meeting with Jennifer didn’t go so well last time. The professor made it clear even talking to her again would be very dangerous. I think we might want to listen to his advice this time.”
Having met the woman and sharing a hellish adventure, they’d bonded even tighter than sisters. “I guess you’re right.” She resumed her pacing. “Any direct communication I have with her could too easily attract Jenna’s attention. And other than you, I wouldn’t trust using an intermediator. The big problem is that Jennifer is too sweet to keep the secret from those who care about her. It would be all too easy for Marjory to manipulate her son or husband into saying something they shouldn’t. If either she or the Cormorant turn their sights on Jennifer, I’ll have the devil’s own time of it trying to protect her.”
“What’s Doodlebug’s idea?”
Sere worked her thoughts back to the original line of conversation. “She wants Dooly to sneak into the party as part of the entertainment. That way, Doodlebug can go on autopilot to get a look at what’s going on from hell’s perspective.”
Bart got off the ground as if finally joining her in figuring out the plan ahead. “Would that work? I’ve never seen you mirror Jennifer’s actions.”
Sere clenched her fists at the thought. “And you never will. Occasionally, I get twinges of what Jennifer is up to, but having a soul of my own, the inclinations are more like flights of fancy than demands for action. As a true doppelgänger in spirit as well as body, Doodlebug might have an easier time mirroring Dooly’s actions, but if a fight were to break out, I doubt she’d be able to calmly watch from the sidelines. She’s been her own person for too long to play the connected shadow for any length of time.”
Bart watched her from against the wall. “Something tells me that’s not what worries you, though.”
Sere leaned back next to him and stared into her whiskey. “Right now that girl is my secret weapon. If she’s discovered, she knows more about me than I’d like. I need her, but I still don’t totally trust her. She did kill Joe, and that’s not something I can ever forgive—and Doodlebug knows it. Walking into a room filled with Marjory and Jenna’s spies sounds way too dangerous to do without some kind of fallback plan. She’s keeping something from me.”
“Do you have a choice other than letting the two versions of the gutter punk attend the party unchaperoned?”
There was only a thin layer of Jameson’s remaining to coat the bottom of her glass. “It wouldn’t take much to stop Dooly from going, but then we’d have to come up with some other way of finding out what happens at the party. We do know someone in life who will likely be attending, assuming we trust him.”
“Former chief of police Gerald Laroque? If Marjory’s intention is to kidnap you, contacting him could spring the trap. And even if he is on our side, do you really think he’s going to rat on his sister?”
Sere frowned at her glass, as much due to the lack of alcohol as her understanding of Gerald’s position. “Probably not, but if he’s also using his doppelgänger the way Marjory will be, he could help Doodlebug if things turn ugly.”
“So you’re going to let her attend the party?” Bart sounded like a father unsure of the wisdom of letting their daughter out past curfew.
“I did ask her to keep an eye on Marjory and the Cormorant. If the two are forming a pact, finding out about it would fulfill that end of her agreement as far as I’m concerned.”
Bart looked into Sere’s eyes. His penetrating stare made it impossible for her to turn away. “That would only leave her freeing Sanguine to complete the bargain. Once she does, will you really allow her to escape hell into life?”
Letting a fellow doppelgänger out of hell had always been a risky proposition, but at the time of the offer, Sere hadn’t had much to entice Doodlebug into returning as her spy. “Of course I’ll honor the agreement—when the time comes. I need Sanguine freed first, though. Without an ally in hell, there’s no way I’m letting Doodlebug off the hook. After all, the little doppelbitch did kill Joe.”
“You keep hanging on to that death like it’s somehow going to get easier the tighter you squeeze. I suspect once Doodlebug is on this side of the divide and the contract is completed, she might have to watch her ass.”
Sere didn’t like hypotheticals. “The agreement is she stays clear of Dooly Buell and out of New Orleans. There’s a big country out there for her to make a new life for herself. Without access to the professor’s saved bodily updates like I have, she won’t become immortal. She’ll be just another lost girl trying to find her way among the living. I’m okay with that. If she crosses me, however, that’s on her.”
He swirled the ice cubes in his empty glass. “Then we’re back to the big challenge of finding the vault, but I guess the best thing is to face one problem at a time. How do we get Dooly into the party so Doodlebug can see what happens?”
Sere worked better when she only had to deal with what was right in front of her. “The only way for Dooly to be at the mansion is to be part of the night’s entertainment. Security will be tight at the event, and that means Gerald Laroque. Like it or not, sounds like my first stop will have to be to the former chief of police. I just have to figure out how to contact him without tipping off his sister.”
Bart nodded toward the loft above the club. “When you got sucked into hell after your last confrontation, he snuck me a burner phone for emergency use.”
In the loft above the Scratchy Dog, Sere changed into her leather riding pants and halter top as Bart concluded his call.
“He wants you to meet him alone, south of Delacroix. I’m not sure if that’s for his safety, a trap, or simply a desire to keep his special fishing hole a secret.” Bart finished his inspection and cleaning of her four-barreled shotgun. “I’d feel better going with you. There’s not a whole lot out there other than bugs and gators. It’d make a damn fine place to dispose of a body.”
She slipped on her gator-skin boots and checked that the army ranger knife sheathed inside was readily available. “He’s had plenty of opportunities to turn me over to his sister, or worse. At this point, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Bart handed the gun over butt first. “Just the same…”
Sere synched up the leather straps around her thigh before stashing the weapon next to her leg where it belonged. “I’ll be careful.” She grabbed the saddlebags with her two canebrake rattlesnakes inside before heading for the door. Goodbyes never made much sense. She would do what she had to and be back in Bart’s arms as quickly as possible. Drawing out the parting only made it harder for her to think once she was on the road. She headed out the door and closed it without looking back.
The snakes rattled their tails as she bounced down the stairs to the street. She still enjoyed making secretive exits when possible, but in broad daylight, Kendell and Myles would be comfortably back in their condo, resting up for the night ahead, not peeking out the window like overly protective parents. As for the real threats, now that Sere knew Marjory Laroque was behind the demons’ escapades, she was less paranoid about being spied on by every person she met.
Down on Frenchmen Street, she unlocked the side gate. Having the Triton motorcycle close made it more noticeable, but also much more available for quick escapes. I’m getting predictable and careless. But a full personal security analysis would have to wait. She secured the saddlebags and fired up the old engine.
Though she would have liked having Bart with her, being back on the road with only her snake companions gave her a sense of peace and purpose. She beelined it to the nearest freeway on-ramp and headed south toward the river-lined marshes of the Mississippi River’s alluvial plane.
Out in an open grassy field bisected by small streams, Sere sat cross-legged on a smooth boulder while Gerald cast his lure halfway across the river. The small hand-tied fly settled onto a riffle behind a rock and danced on the current. “What can I do for you?” The big man’s eyes never left the mote of hook and fluff.
She felt like a child watching her grandfather attempt to show her how to fish. “A girl named Dooly Buell is a violinist for a street band. They’ll be auditioning for your sister’s soiree. So long as the group is reasonably acceptable, I need you to make sure they land the gig.”
“My cop sense tells me you’re worried about the mirror party in hell.” He gave the line a flick before Sere noticed the miniature crest of water that ran counter to the current.
