Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Penn spent the rest of the evening reading over what Carson had sent her.
“Isn’t that going to give you the creeps?” I asked. “You don’t want to have nightmares.”
“I have nightmares almost every night,” Penn said, looking at me. “There are things in my life…before I met you…that I’ll never let go of. And…” She paused.
I knew what she was going to say. “You saved me, Penn. You were right. If you had let me go through with killing Jace, I don’t think I would have come back. I’m sorry that you’re still paying for it.”
“That price? Was easy to pay. You’re my best friend,” she said, setting aside her laptop. “You remember that I told you I had a cousin who died?”
I nodded. “Shari?”
“Right. I loved her like a sister—she was fully human, my uncle’s daughter. She ended up in a bad relationship and developed a heroin addiction. She slid further and further away from everybody. Finally, her father kidnapped her and took her to the hospital Turns out, she was dying. She had developed severe liver complications and was so thin that her heart…well, it was ready to give out. Her kidneys were failing…everything was shutting down. There was nothing the doctors could do. They gave her morphine to ease her withdrawal symptoms, but they said she only had a few days left at the most.”
Penn looked so stricken that I crossed to the sofa and sat beside her, taking her hand.
“My uncle refused to let them to give her another shot. She was screaming, going in and out of convulsions. The doctor argued with him. He said that the only kind thing to do was to give her more morphine to calm the pain. She deserved to die in peace.”
“And your uncle still refused?” I knew where this was going.
Penn nodded. “He was a stubborn man who believed that if you put your mind to it, you could overcome anything. He believed the doctors were ‘soft’ and that Shari could survive by going cold turkey and then into rehab. But her organs were failing. And still, the drug had such a control over her. And that stubborn jackass refused to listen to the facts.”
“You helped her, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Yes. My uncle was in the waiting room when the doctor left to check on another patient, but I was with Shari. I cast a circle and called on the spirit of death, to claim her. It was only a matter of a couple minutes before she let go. At that last moment, Shari opened her eyes and looked at me. She knew what was happening, and she thanked me. She died holding my hand.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“We grew up together. Shari was the only one who I trusted with all my secrets—until I met you, Kyann.” Penn teared up, ducking her head. “Sparing her the pain that I knew would never leave…that was something I needed to do.”
“That was the kindest thing you could do,” I said.
“Right? But you know what keeps me up at night? It’s not killing Jace. It’s not handing my cousin over to death. It’s the memory of Jace , and what he did to your mother and those other women. It’s the memory of my uncle, who was willing to let his daughter go through agony because he refused to accept facts. Those men… the memory of what they chose to do and believe… that’s what keeps me up at night.” Penn sighed.
“Cut from the same mold. I’m not saying your uncle was in the same class as Jace, but…”
“But he was willing to let his daughter suffer for his own blind belief and his embarrassment that his daughter was an addict. Sometimes, the illness is too great. And all the willpower in the world isn’t strong enough to keep the demons at bay.”
“I wish people understood that willpower isn’t always strong enough,” I said.
“If my uncle had his way, my cousin would have been in agony for days.” Penn threw her notebook on the floor, angry. “So, when I tell you that you shouldn’t feel guilty over what happened with Jace, I mean it . I’d still kill Jace…and I’d still free my cousin, if I had it to do over again.”
My heart swelled. I’d never seen Penn quite so passionate. “How old was she?”
“She was fifteen. I was sixteen. She died on September 2, 1969, during the summer of love. She’d just hitchhiked back from spending a month in New York when my uncle kidnapped her. Shari went there for Woodstock.” Penn sighed and picked up her notebook.
I blinked. “I forgot sometimes how much older you are than I am.”
“I’m part Fae. We age a lot slower than humans. But so will you, since you’re part demon,” she said. “I remember the date because that was the night Hecate claimed me. I went home from the hospital and went to bed. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but Hecate came to me that night. She called me out of body and marked me as her priestess. I’ve been hers ever since.”
“Is that why you can see spirits?”
“I suppose so,” Penn said. “Ever since that night, I’ve seen and heard ghosts. Hecate decided I should work with the dead, and my powers align with the Veil, and with portals—all the crossroads in life.”
After such a heavy discussion, we decided to watch A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life , and put aside all thoughts of spirits and death except for the three ghosts Scrooge faced. Penn made s’mores, and we drank hot peppermint cocoa, and I did my best to keep Penn from dwelling on her dark past that I had known nothing about.
Next morning, the blanket of snow had frozen over, as a light snowfall dusted the yard. I shivered, but still couldn’t stop smiling. Though cold, it was beautiful.
Penn was in her nightie and robe, making pancakes, eggs, and sausage.
“You want soup tonight?” she asked. “I think I want to make a beef vegetable soup.”
“That sounds good,” I said. “Remember, I’m supposed to go to the gym so I’ll probably be late.”
“Are you still going, with your hurt arm?” she asked. “You need me to dress that again?”
“Thanks, but no. The liquid bandage will dissolve in a few days. And yes, I can at least do cardio. If the gym is open, that is. It might close early, given the weather.” I settled at the table as she brought over the food. “Tomorrow, I’ll do laundry. If you have anything that needs dropped off at the dry cleaners, leave it hanging on the coat rack, if you would.”
While Penn had taken over the cooking, I had taken over the laundry. We both cleaned house together on the weekends.
“So, what besides the gym is on the agenda?” Penn asked, handing me the maple syrup.
“Not much, all our clients rescheduled. I guess we do what research we can on Michael’s house. Oh, and I have to sign up for that stupid app that Dante asked me to, and see if I can set out enough bait for Jet Shy to bite.”
Penn snorted. “ Lovely . Have fun. May you get lots of nibbles.” She cut into her pancakes.
“Right, just what I need,” I said. “I should make you do it.”
“I don’t have the temperament. I’d scare him off and you’d be no closer to the truth than you are now. Not that I have any doubt that he’s a scam artist, from what you’ve told me.” Penn set to her breakfast. “This morning, I’ll finish reading through what Carson sent me and let you know what I think. I can pack orders for my shop this afternoon.”
“How’s the store doing?” I asked.
“Good. Better than when it was in an actual storefront.”
We finished breakfast, she made me a triple shot white-chocolate raspberry latte to go, and I gave the kitties a cuddle before heading out into the frozen world.
As I wove through the streets, I kept myself alert. The city had turned into an ice rink. Snowplows were out and about, but given that Seattle had hundreds of streets and a lot of them were steep, the plows couldn’t handle the grade. In fact, Seattle didn’t even have dedicated snowplows—they outfitted trucks with the blades and sent them out.
Queen Anne would be closed, of course, along with several others. Even the flat streets were dangerous. As I slowly crept along, a van in front of me spun out. In slow motion, it listed to the left and hit the curb. Luckily, there were few cars parked along the street and the van bumped against the curb without getting damaged.
I managed to make it to work without incident, and saw that Sophia’s car was there, but Dante, Carson, and Orik didn’t seem to have arrived yet. To my surprise, however, as I entered the office, I saw Dante sitting beside Sophia.
“Hey, I caught a ride in,” he said. “My neighbor has all-weather tires and he offered me a ride in, and he said he’d pick me up at five. I need to leave right on time.”
“That was nice of him,” I said. “What about Carson and Orik?”
“Carson’s stuck. The eastside got slammed, and he’s in the Juanita area of Kirkland. He got seven inches of snow. Orik’s battery died. He’ll be in later, if he can get a jump.” Sophia handed me printout. “Here’s the info on one of our clients coming in next week.”
I glanced at it. The man’s name was Tedly, and he was Fae. Apparently, he was having problems with some sort of creature that had killed two of his five of his cows, leaving them ‘turned inside’ out on his property. He had an urban ranch, with five acres, and he sold eggs and homemade cheese at the farmer’s market.
“Well, this doesn’t look good. I’d chalk it up to a rival, except the state of the cows.” I glanced over at Sophia. “They weren’t just killed?”
She grimaced. “No. They were turned inside out, all right. He showed me the pictures and they’re nasty.”
“Well, file this till next week,” I said. “Meanwhile, I’m going to call Michael and make sure he’s doing all right. Penn’s going over all the footage Carson sent her last night. Dante, why don’t you keep watch on the cameras today, until Orik gets here. If he makes it.”
I headed back to my office, wondering what we’d be able to get done today.
By noon, Devon had called me from the gym and cancelled till our next appointment—Monday. Orik hadn’t managed to get out of his driveway. The day was setting up to be a complete bust. I hadn’t even managed to get hold of Michael yet.
I was about to suggest that we all go home when Dante came racing into my office.
“We have a problem,” he said. “Follow me.”
I followed him into Carson and Orik’s office, where the computers were monitoring the Caramite house.
“What am I looking at?” I asked, trying to pick up which camera to watch.
“There—in Jules’s bedroom,” Dante said.
I leaned in and froze. There, in the corner of the room stood a figure shadowed in mist. I could see red, glaring eyes staring at the empty bed, and then, as the shadow moved out of the corner, the figure took form, coming out of the mist. He was tall and jet black, like the Void, with no visible features except for his eyes. He looked almost like a two-dimensional cardboard cutout.
“What is that?” I sat down. “Is it a shadow person?”
“I don’t know.” Dante took his seat, staring with wonder at the screen. “He looks…wispy?”
Another look showed me what Dante meant. The shadow didn’t look fragile , but like an image being transmitted, flickering like old video tape.
“It has to be a shadow man. I can’t think of anything else.” I sat beside Dante. “Is it really there? Could it be a projection, like it looks?”
“I doubt it. Who would be sending it, and how?”
As we watched, the man walked toward the camera, still flickering like an old-time movie. He leaned in to stare at the lens and, in the depths of the shadow, I thought I could detect a cruel smile on his face. The next moment, the screen went black as the camera died.
“Uh…okay,” I said. “Who the hell was that? Was it a ghost? Did we get a clear recording of what he looks like?”
“I don’t know, maybe, and yes, I think we got everything up until the moment he killed the camera. I’ll check to make certain…” Dante rolled the footage back. Sure enough, we had everything recorded.
“What about the others—” I started to say, but at that moment, the attic camera picked up something. The shadow man appeared in the doorway to the attic. As he walked in the room, there was a bright flash and he was swept off his feet, slammed against the doorway as though something had sent a giant fist into his midsection.
“Get out,” a voice snarled, echoing through the attic.
The man jumped to his feet. “You want to play?”
As he raced forward, toward whatever unseen opponent had smacked him down, another brilliant flash filled the attic, and the man froze for a moment, then vanished. The attic once again went dark, illuminated only by the light from the side window.
“Well…it seems that not everybody in Michael’s house gets along,” I said, shaking my head. “I hope that…whatever or whoever he was, he didn’t destroy the camera. Those are expensive gadgets. If the creature in the attic is a revenant, then it’s probably the most powerful entity there.”
Dante ran his teeth over his lips. “So, we agree that’s the man is probably a shadow man?”
“I want to yes, but I’m not absolutely positive.” I closed my eyes, trying to listen to my inner guidance. “I don’t know, to be honest.”
“Shadow people are dangerous,” Dante said.
“Yeah, I know. So are revenants.”
Dante cocked his head. “My question is, are they working together?”
“By that little display, I don’t think so. Maybe they’re at war?”
“Can you call Penn? Send her the footage we just saw?”
“Yeah, I think that’s the best way to go about it,” I said. As I settled down in front of the laptop to fiddle with the controls, I gave her a quick call. She answered right away and I asked her if she could check out the footage I was ready to send her. She said she’d call me back as soon as she had a chance.
I wandered out to where Sophia was finishing up some data entry. “I feel like we’re killing time today.”
“Well, Orik definitely won’t be in,” Dante said, joining us. “His car battery’s deader than a doornail.”
“We might as well go home,” I said. “Dante, I’ll give you a ride, if you like. You can call your neighbor and tell him he can go straight home without picking you up.”
“Thanks,” Dante said.
We gathered our things and shut down the office, heading down to the parking lot.
“Hey, why don’t you come over to my place?” I asked. “I can sign up for that app and we can see whether or not I can snag Jet’s attention.”
“I suppose if I get stuck, I can crash on your sofa,” he said, sliding into the passenger seat.
“Sure thing. Now, let me focus on driving. It’s slick as hell.”
The temperature had warmed up just enough for the ice on the road to partially melt, but it was still snowing, and everything was an absolute mess. I put all my attention into keeping on my side of the street. As I managed to navigate home with one or two slips, it occurred to me that, unless he wanted to call a taxi, Dante was going to be my houseguest for the night. I didn’t want to go out again. By the time we reached the house and I eased into the driveway without plowing into Penn’s car, I was sweating.
“That was rough,” I said. “I’m not sure how we made it.”
“I assume I’m staying the night,” Dante said, slip-sliding across the driveway toward the house. The temperature was already dropping again and now the melt-off was glazing over, and the snow that was still falling was giving it an extra sheen of ice. “How long is this crap supposed to last?”
“I think into the weekend. Then it’s supposed to warm up again.” I took another step toward the porch and my feet slipped out from under me. I wavered, but went down on my ass. “Youch.”
“Here,” Dante said, steadying himself on the porch railing as he reached down to help me. I took his hand, trying not to pull on him as I slowly got to my feet.
“Thanks,” I said. Then, we were on the porch and on steady ground. Penn had salted the porch and we were able to get to the door without incident.
“We’re home,” I yelled as we entered the house. Jangles and Murdoch were lazing on the kitty condo, while Penn peeked out from the kitchen.
“Hey, you’re home early. And look at what the cats dragged in,” she said, winking at Dante.
“Tea, woman!” he said, hanging his jacket on the coat rack.
“Tea, yourself. You want some, you come help me fix it,” she said, vanishing back into the kitchen.
“She has a certain charm to her, doesn’t she?” Dante snickered, but when we entered the kitchen, he gave her a hug. “Hey, Penn. You were smart to stay home.”
“I don’t drive on snow,” she said. “You know that. So, the office quiet today?”
“It’s already quiet due to the holiday season, but with the snow…it’s dead. Neither Orik nor Carson could make it in today.” I shivered. “I’m chilled. When I fell, I landed in a partially melted pile of slush. I’m going to go change.”
“I’ll start lunch,” Penn said. “You go change.” She turned to Dante. “Come on Wolfie, come help me out.”
Dante sighed. “That’s all I am to you, isn’t it? A slave-boy,” he intoned pathetically.
“Babe, you don’t know the meaning of the word,” Penn said, laughing. “Let’s go figure out what to eat.”
As I headed toward my room, I ran over what we had seen on the cameras this morning. We’d have to re-set them, but I had no desire to do that on my own, and I wanted to know what we were facing before we went into that house again.