The Devil's Daughter Complete Box Set, page 97
part #1 of The Devil's Daughter Series
“If I said no, would it make a difference?” Bart glared into the screen.
She couldn’t blame him for his display of emotion. If their roles had been reversed, she’d be far less understanding. “We have to go through this problem to get me back to being whole. From Marjory’s description of using doppelgängers and reals to create immortals, I believed her when she said she had everything she needed. But now that I’m in this computer, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something missing.”
The professor finally looked up from his computer. “To begin with, she doesn’t have her doppelgänger body.”
Sere blinked the computers on either side of the room as her way of shaking her head. “She said she doesn’t want to be an old lady for all of eternity.”
“Doesn’t matter.” The professor turned to his ever-present pad of paper. “Unlike you, Marjory is starting off with a physical body. She can’t just abandon it. The only two possessions the baron accomplished both started out with an unencumbered soul—both his spirit and yours having come from Guinee. We have plenty of examples of doppelgänger spirits trying to take over their humans’ bodies, but when it comes to a foreign human spirit occupying a doppelgänger body, there’s only Sere.”
“And now Marjory,” Sere said.
The professor shook his pen at the computer screen. “Not really. Marjory’s body must be kept safe. She is still tethered to it, as you must still be connected to yours.”
“How do you figure?” Bart asked.
Kendell crossed her arms. “To start with, we haven’t been visited by Baron Samedi. If Marjory’s body had died, he’d be poking around, searching for the lost soul. Ever since the demons collected the spirits for that woman’s interdimensional bridge, that loa of the dead has been keeping a more watchful eye on events.”
“You’re all making my head hurt.” Doodlebug took the pen from the professor and jabbed it onto the page. “Marjory has an actual body.” She jabbed the pen on the hell side of the professor’s drawing. “She needs her doppelgänger, either as a mirror in hell or the actual body in life—which one, we don’t know. But either way, she needs to make contact with her hell self.” She drew a big question mark back to reality. “So either the damned version of her spirit acts as a mirror—which would only work if it were encapsulated in these fucking computers—and she hauls her bony puppet’s ass back here for her eternal use, or she leaves her doppelgänger where it is and occupies another marionette. Even the baron’s journals can’t explain that trick, as he never had to deal with his original form. Have I got that about right?”
The professor took his pen back and inspected the crushed tip. Then he threw it away and grabbed another from the coffee cup on his desk. “No one said the calculation was simple.”
Polly hadn’t stopped pacing since the others had arrived. “Aloysius’s soul traveled down the cord from life to hell. Presumably, his body is rotting in some swamp. Using Doodlebug’s connection to our equipment, Marjory united human soul to doppelgänger spirit, thus allowing the united being to exist in the puppet body. Doodlebug’s connection was the key. Without that, she wouldn’t have been able to access our data on the doppelgänger body and thereby allow him to regenerate at will.”
“I’m with you so far,” Bart said.
Polly pointed her chewed fingernail at the screen. “She thinks she can use Sere’s soul in the same manner. Doodlebug was right. Why does she want Sere’s body? Marjory knows her process only works if she uses her own double.”
Sere’s scream of frustration blew out a section of computer monitors. “And now I’m inside the computer—one step closer to giving her exactly what she wants.”
“But the step is out of order.” Bart pushed off of his position against the wall. “Without making contact with her doppelgänger self, she has no play. What is she expecting?”
Sere knew he wasn’t going to like her answer. “For me to go to hell. That’s where the battle will be. With Sanguine distracted by the Cormorant, Madam Laroque will think she has control. It will be a race to see who can open the gate first. Marjory said I was the key, but Sanguine is the lock.”
“Then don’t go to hell.” Bart glared at the screen.
“Then Sere abandons her body to Marjory.” Polly kept pacing while chewing another fingernail. “Even tethered to her real body, Marjory could live indefinitely inside of Sere. She’d just need to leave her real body in the interdimensional vault, where it wouldn’t age. And Bart’s right. The longer Sere hides out in these computers, the harder it will be to drive Marjory out of her body.”
“But what good would it do Sere to go to hell?” Bart asked.
“Marjory doesn’t really want to live in my body,” Sere said. “This was just her opening gambit. She wants all of her heirs to become immortal along with her, which means she’s ultimately going to need to get her body out of the vault so she can use it again. She needs not merely to unite real and doppelgänger but to do it by passing the mirror through hell. In hell, I can stop that from happening.”
“How?” he asked. “You’re nothing more than a ghost in a machine.”
“By uniting Sanguine and Jenna in our cause. Hell needs someone to rule over it, and we can’t let that be Madam Laroque. Without my help, Sanguine is about to be blindsided and challenged for control.”
Doodlebug bit her lip. “Living Marjory wouldn’t even need to make contact for that to happen. The two Madams Laroque don’t have the usual doppelgänger-real mistrust—they practically think with one mind. Certainly, when it comes to ruling hell, either version would love to be at the controls.”
Sere leaned back into the constantly running computations. “So I sit here, and Marjory takes control of hell, abducts Sanguine, and breaks open the hellmouth. Or I go to hell to join the battle and risk being used as the key that opens the gate.”
Bart fell into the chair. “Like that’s even a choice for you. Okay. So Sere goes to hell. How do we help?”
“First, it’s not that easy.” The professor waved at his equipment. “I’m not the one who sealed the gate shut. For Sere to change dimensions, we’re going to need some non-paranormal-science magic to clear the way. The original gate was Wiccan in origin. Anyone know how to find Chloe Aberrant?”
90
Chapter 5
Doodlebug had been out to the swamp enough times to know more or less where Chloe lived. Flying on the back of a dragon or creeping through the vegetation at midnight during a hurricane, however, were radically different from riding on a Harley in broad daylight. The old engine made a poke-poke sound, mirroring the vibration that shook her from feet to fingers. She missed the high-performance Honda Blackbird. The sun made her squint under the full-face helmet Bart insisted she wear.
“Like I would really get hurt falling off this slow-moving motor scooter.” She pushed the visor up for better visibility. The lack of rain and incessantly bright light made her feel like she was on display to any adversary that might be lurking among the trees.
As she entered a small town, she knew she’d made a wrong turn somewhere. During Smoke’s flights, she’d never seen any habitations. “Shit.” She couldn’t even pull over and ask directions. Even if any of the townsfolk did know about the swamp witch, they’d probably refrain from handing out directions, for fear of being cursed.
Doodlebug took the first left that she came to that veered away from the Mississippi River. “I know she’s inland, and I know she’s still farther away from New Orleans.”
For the next hour, she took turns at random, relying more on instinct than memory. When the Harley finally ran out of gas, she coasted it to the side of the dirt road. She’d have been happy to toss the useless motorcycle into the river, but she still needed a way to get home.
“Who ever heard of a motorcycle running out of gas? Jeez!” She got off the bike and threw the helmet on the ground next to the front tire. “Hopefully, Chloe knows how to brew up something that will make you run.”
Doodlebug headed into the cypress forest without a clue as to where she was or how to find the swamp witch. “Why does life have to be so damn confusing?” A low growl made her spin around and search the tree limbs. “Midnight? Is that you? I could really use your help if you’re around.”
The black panther lumbered down from his perch in the tree, but he only stared at her without leading the way.
“It’s me, Doodlebug. You led me to your mistress in hell. Do you remember?”
He blinked at her and turned toward the forest. Even in the light of day, his dark coat so easily meshed with the shadows that she dared not take her eyes off him as she followed. The trees, vines, and streams were every bit as confusing in life as they’d been in hell. At a large river, he stopped and lapped at the water while she remained in the shadows.
“Hey, boy.” The man’s voice made her heart flutter.
“Bernie?”
The strapping twentysomething dude who played the real for the dragon named Smoke rose from the river’s edge. He had a handful of plant stalks. “I’m Bernie. Do we know each other?”
“I’m Doodlebug.”
He walked around her. His inspection made her intensely self-conscious. “So you’re the one who’s caused me so many hungover mornings. I thought you were consigned to hell.”
“Clearly, I’m out. You must be seriously out of touch. I need to find your owner.”
“You mean Chloe? She’s hardly my owner.”
Doodlebug wasn’t in the mood to debate semantics. “Whatever. I need to find her. Are we far from her cabin?”
He nodded toward the other side of the river. “A couple of miles as the dragon flies. A couple of hours by foot.”
“Too bad you can’t transform in life the way you can in hell. Lead on.”
He rested his fists, filled with stalks, against his hips. “I’ve still got work to do. If you want to help, we can get it done sooner. Otherwise, you can start hiking.”
“Look. I’m not out here for the fun of it. Sere’s in trouble, and I need to find Chloe right now. Why do you have to be such a putz in both dimensions?”
“Why do you have to be such a doppelbitch?”
She stuck her tongue at him. “I’m on a mission.”
He wrapped a length of twine around his collection and stuffed them into a canvas bag at his feet. “I’m only doing this because Chloe said Sere was a priority.”
She wondered if this was what Dooly meant by flirting. “Don’t worry, I won’t let your help go to my head.”
He slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’ve just got one question. Since you would just regenerate anyway, why was it that my dragon double didn’t incinerate you when you first met? It seems like it would have been the obvious move.”
“Maybe because he was nicer than you. Now, can we get going? Sere has already spent half a day in the computer. Every minute we waste is one more that Marjory Laroque has control of her body.”
He let out a low growl that reminded her of his dragon double. “Come on, Midnight.”
The great cat emerged from the forest and rubbed along Doodlebug’s side. Bernie waited until the panther took the lead before following him into the shadows.
The sun blazed down like a demon’s fiery stare. Covered in sweat, Doodlebug wondered if the hurricane-driven rains of hell were really that much of a curse compared to what the living endured. Adding to her suffering, Bernie’s masculine aroma wafted behind him like the smell of a dead animal.
“You stink.”
“Sorry. I might be able to duplicate the smell of sulfur from hell’s brimstone if that would make you feel more at home.”
She looked up at him in disgust. “Please don’t.”
He pointed to the dark section of trees marking Midnight’s latest disappearance. “We’re here.”
Doodlebug pushed past Bernie and barged into the hovel. “We’ve got a problem.”
Chloe looked up through the steam rising from her concoction brewing on the wood-burning stove. “Nice to see you too.”
Doodlebug wondered why everyone in life thought they had all day for salutations and small talk. “Marjory Laroque has taken Sere’s body. Sere has retreated to the professor’s equipment. She believes the woman is going to abduct Sanguine in order to force her to open the hellmouth. Sere intends to go to hell, but she needs your help. Oh, and Bernie is a dick.”
“I see.” The swamp witch tasted her broth then set the ladle aside. “So I’m just supposed to magically let Sere’s soul into hell?”
Doodlebug couldn’t tell if the woman was annoyed or amused. “Something like that. I’ve seen you manifest your spirit in hell. Since Sere is just spirit, this can’t be much different.”
Chloe shook her head. “I will never understand why people think all I have to do is snap my fingers to use my magic. I can appear in hell because, as a swamp witch, I’m a part of that dimension. With the hellmouth closed, Sere would need a connection to hell that I could use to anchor her.”
Doodlebug hated any explanation, be it science based or Wiccan. “Sere is a part of hell. Stop making my head hurt.”
“Sere was a part of hell. Her connection was severed when Sanguine closed the door.”
Midnight nudged Doodlebug in the side, nearly knocking her over in his demand for attention. She patted his massive head, wondering if all great cats were secretly little kittens inside. “I didn’t think she could exist without bouncing Jennifer’s image off the Cormorant in order to derive the life-sustaining power.”
Chloe shrugged. “Apparently, she can—you’d have to ask the professor as to how. My point is, she’s no longer tethered to hell, so there’s no line for her to slide down. Even if Sanguine and I did open the gate, Sere would be just as stuck in life as she is now. To make the transition, she would need a body in hell to latch onto.”
“Can we jump from your explanation of how it’s impossible to where you tell me my mission?”
Chloe frowned as if Doodlebug had denied her the long-winded story that ended with the swamp witch looking brilliant for having come up with a solution. “The most obvious answer would be to enlist the Cormorant’s help. She’s the most direct link Sere has with hell and the only one powerful enough to pull her to the other side. Even if Sere doesn’t need her energy, there should still be a connection.”
Doodlebug sat on the worn afghan-covered chair. “Maybe I should have gone with the longer buildup.”
Chloe poured two cups of sun tea from the large glass jar on the window shelf then handed one to Doodlebug. “The first challenge will be making contact with the deity. As you noticed, I don’t have access to all of hell. I can talk to Sanguine. She may be our best opportunity to gain the Cormorant’s trust, but it will still be a long shot.”
“Sere isn’t going to like the idea of involving the Cormorant. That birdbrain still wants Sere’s body, not her soul. Even if the Cormorant did pull her into hell, it would just be in an attempt to get what she wants. Hell’s self-appointed goddess couldn’t give a seagull’s fart about the real Marjory creating more immortals in life.”
Chloe cradled the teacup in her hands and sat on the couch. “How were relations between the Cormorant and Madam Laroque when you left? Maybe we could play the enemy-of-my-enemy card.”
Events had proceeded so fast in hell that Doodlebug wasn’t sure who held the most chips at the end of the game. “When Smoke and I stole the vault from out of the World Trade Center, Marjory had been spying on us. After we freed Sanguine, Marjory’s goons swept into the vault. Things get awfully hazy after that. Aloysius used me to complete his transformation. Sere said Sanguine got to the vault before the Cormorant could steal it back, but she lies sometimes.”
Chloe sipped her tea. “Which one?”
“Which one lies?” Doodlebug frowned. “I’ve caught both Sere and Sanguine in stories that proved to be untrue. I can’t say that’s ever happened with the Cormorant.”
Chloe stared into her dark brew. “And we know Marjory can lie as easily as her bank racks up interest charges. Even with the doppelgänger edict prohibiting such acts, we have to believe Madam Laroque could spin a fib with the best of them.”
Doodlebug tried the tea. The flavors of tree bark, wild herbs, and honey filled her sinuses. “What’s your point?”
“The Cormorant has been lied to by everyone she’s dealt with lately, and as hell’s deity, she’s not used to that. If I can get Sanguine to convince the Cormorant to meet me, I could gain her trust by sticking to the truth.”
Again, the idea sounded incredibly bad to Doodlebug. “What would you say? Something like, ‘We need you to side with us against Madam Laroque so Sere can have her body back’? That just sounds like a way of giving the Cormorant the upper hand.”
Chloe grabbed some chicken bones from a bowl on a shelf then set two next to each other and a third coming in like a ship conducting a head-on attack. “Right now, Sanguine is trying to win over the Cormorant while Madam Laroque is sneaking up on them.” She set a fourth bone in her empty teacup. “Sere is on the sidelines, but you can bet if the real Marjory has her way, she’ll have her dimensional mirror drag Sere’s soul to hell in chains.”
“All while we sit drinking tea and playing with sticks.” Doodlebug hated the human need to overexplain. It made things take way too long.
“Watch it, girl. I give you a lot of leeway, but we’re talking about saving the world here.” She pulled out the imprisoned bone and added it to the ones representing Sanguine and the Cormorant then turned them to face Madam Laroque. “If Sere agreed to aid the Cormorant against Madam Laroque for domination of that dimension, it would be three powerful women against one. Those are far better odds than the alternative of Madam Laroque acquiring Sere’s soul and holding it hostage. Our warrior will have to watch her back, but so long as there was a conflict brewing, the Cormorant wouldn’t make a direct attack on Sere’s soul. That would get Sere into hell to confront that version of Marjory, and it would gain us a conditional ally.”
