Chapter 29
SHARA
As we walked back into my house arm in arm, I couldn’t help but think about how much differently this goule attack could have gone if Leonie wasn’t here.
At least this time the zombies didn’t have a personal relationship to me, so I didn’t have the gut punch of seeing Mom’s corpse attacking my nest.
I didn’t doubt that we could’ve dealt with them—with flames and screams of agony if I couldn’t free their spirits quickly enough. Even if we’d been able to subdue each of the corpses long enough for me to easily pull out their spirit first, it would’ve taxed my energy.
Hit after hit after hit. Even small drains—without a break—would have taken a toll. Add to that healing Leonie and dealing with the thralls, so quickly after surviving the Skolos Triune attack…
The Dauphine might be dead, but she still managed to wage war from the beyond.
Each of these attacks were calculated and executed before she ever went to meet Undina.
It made me wonder what else Jeanne had planned.
How many Blood had turned thrall? How many times would we be attacked?
Were each of the trapped queens booby trapped with more thralls?
Each night that passed was another night for her former Blood to turn as many humans into thralls as possible. Yet we didn’t know where they were or even how many we might need to kill.
“One day at a time, my queen,” Guillaume said, holding the back door open for us.
“I know. I can’t save everyone. I know. But I can’t help but feel like there’s a ticking bomb around every corner that gets bigger every single day.”
“Which is why we get bigger every single day.” Rik pulled my chair out at the round table. “We have plenty of time to clean up whatever the Dauphine left behind.”
“She had centuries to plan out her revenge on whoever managed to kill her,” Guillaume added. “It’ll take time for us to unravel her plots.”
Even though I was never up this early, Winston somehow managed to have a full breakfast spread of all my favorites. I’d nibbled on the croissant earlier, but I was peckish, even though my part in this round had been minimal.
“What you did for all of those dead people was very cool,” I told Leonie.
Smiling, her cheeks colored at my praise.
“I didn’t know I could handle so many at once.
It must have taken several practitioners to create so many goules.
I can start reaching out to some of my contacts and see if we can track down who might have been able to pull off so many rituals, or even who’s been in the area. ”
“That’d be great. What do you need?”
She grimaced. “All of my records are at home, assuming the Dauphine didn’t destroy everything.
Even if she burned my personal records at home, hopefully I can still access the shop itself.
I’m hopeful our former employees managed to keep everything running in my absence.
If I’m allowed to use the tree portal, I’ll pop back to my house and see what I can find. ”
“Of course, though I don’t want you to go alone.
” I was tempted to go with her myself but Rik’s fingers tightened on my shoulder, reminding me I needed to stay home if at all possible.
My period would likely start today, and I didn’t want to be out and about with thralls hunting me.
“I’m sure Vivian would be glad to accompany you. ”
:Absolutely, my queen,: Vivian replied before I could touch her bond.
“Is one Blood enough?” I asked out loud, waiting to hear what Rik and Guillaume recommended.
“I think at least one more Blood who can be on the ground,” Guillaume said. “Either Xin or Itztli would be my recommendation.”
“Xin had the long run from New York City just days ago. I’d like to keep him close and have some extra time with him if possible.”
“Done,” Rik said. “Vivian and Itztli will meet you at the tree when you’re ready to go, Your Majesty.”
I had a sudden idea. “If you met a human, would you be able to tell if they were a practitioner?”
Leonie nodded. “Absolutely. I can also visit one of the marked graves and pick up traces of the spell, which can be tracked back to the individual. Unless they’re very, very good, there’s almost always a signature.
A tell-tale sign of who owns the magic. I made a mental note of the closest graves, so maybe Vivian and Itztli can go with me there first before we go to New Orleans. ”
“I may want you to meet Regina too. Do we have an update from Sekh or Frank’s team yet?”
“Hold on!” Gina called from the front of the house as she made her way to us. “I’m coming with an update. I heard Frank’s name.”
:I’m almost to you, my queen,: Sekh said.
:Though my quick update is that she appears to be exactly as we saw on the television.
Unless she has a way to completely change her appearance or knowingly mask an alter ego, the redhead is just a very curious college student.
I certainly didn’t See any evidence she was involved in the goules. :
Looking elegant and polished as usual in a beautiful indigo pantsuit and ivory silk blouse, Gina joined us at the table carrying her large leather satchel. “You’re up—”
“Early, I know,” I broke in, smiling. “Don’t get used to it. I’ve actually been up all night.”
Instead of giving me a salacious wink and nudge, she frowned. “You need to rest, young lady. You can’t keep up this pace.”
Nodding, I sighed. “I know. I’m resting today, I promise. What’s the update from Frank?”
“We have two people stationed outside in the hotel parking lot. The man used the name Alex Manning to check in. As far as we can tell, he’s a private investigator licensed in Texas and Louisiana.
Our surveillance indicates he’s awake and packing to leave shortly.
The rental car’s in his name, and it was rented in Houston.
Do you want Frank’s team to intercept him? ”
Everyone looked at me, waiting for my answer. I tipped my head back so I could look up at Rik. “What do you think?”
“I want to know why they’re here investigating my queen. Though my curiosity isn’t as important as keeping your privacy against humans.”
“That cat’s out of the bag,” Guillaume said. “If you wanted to keep a low profile, then we shouldn’t have done the stunt on the beach.”
My lips quirked. “But that was so much fun.”
He chuckled. “The best ride of my life, my queen.”
“Let’s pick them both up and bring them in. They already know where I live, so there’s no sense in pretending otherwise. Sekh can get a good look at the man’s face and see what he’s been up to.”
Speaking of the general, he stepped in through the back door.
“I’ve already Seen him since he was in the woman’s recent history.
After she returned to her hotel room in Galveston, she called the man.
She was still in her swimsuit. That’s how quickly she acted.
The man picked her up the next morning and they drove to the Isador house in Galveston.
Luckily we’d already left. The man buzzed the front gate, and his mouth appeared to move as if he was talking to someone, but I unfortunately can’t hear conversations. ”
Rik grunted. “Probably trying to find out if we were still there. How’d he find the house so quickly?”
Gina grimaced. “We made no effort to hide who owns most of the properties. If Alex is as good a detective as he appears to be, he probably figured out which boat we took out too. The only part of our operation that’s covert is the Talbott Agency.
We keep all the field offices under its umbrella instead of House Isador.
I’m texting Jensen now to see if she has record of a visitor. ”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have screamed House Isador at the top of my lungs.” I sighed, shaking my head ruefully. “I really didn’t think anyone would understand, let alone start investigating us.”
“Jensen says she did speak to a male the morning we left.” Gina looked up from her phone. “He asked to speak to Ms. Isador. Since he had your name, she thought he was affiliated with our house in some way, so she told him you’d already returned home. She feels terrible.”
“Tell her not to worry. There’s no way she could’ve known we had a couple of humans poking around where they shouldn’t be.”
“I think we should put out an alert to all the staff warning them not to interact or provide any information to anyone not completely vetted and known already to our people. I’ll coordinate with Frank and we’ll send out a picture of both Alex and Regina to be safe.”
I nodded. “I think that’s smart. If Regina really is just a college student, how is she affording to hire a private investigator? That’s not cheap.”
“I didn’t track her life all the way back to birth, but the house I See her leaving to head to college is as large as this house,” Sekh said.
“If we can get her full name, Frank will do a complete background check on her,” Gina replied.
“It’s possible she’s just from a wealthy family, but it’s also entirely possible her family is affiliated with another Aima house.
Even the Dauphine’s, without even knowing who she was.
” Her phone rang and she answered the call.
Nodding, she met my gaze. “Alex is on the move. Still a go?”
I nodded. “Tell the team to say Ms. Isador will see both him and Regina now.”