Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dante was at his desk, leaning forward, watching the laptop that Carson had set up. He glanced at me as I entered his office. “Come here. You aren’t going to believe this,” he said.
I leaned over his shoulder. There, on the screen, was a scene right out of Poltergeist. The attic was hopping with activity.
Several books were spinning in the air, a doll was screaming and waving her arms as a toy dinosaur attacked her.
And all through the camera’s view, misty figures shimmered in and out.
We watched silently, listening to the eerie screams, grunts, and whimpering that came through the audio.
The sounds didn’t match the activity, and when I closed my eyes, I caught a disturbing flash of a man, grinning as he raised a scalpel over a woman tied down on a bed.
I shook my head, not wanting to see what came next.
It was bad enough, knowing what had happened to the victims.
“What?” Dante asked.
“I just caught a glimpse of what Longworld liked to do to his victims,” I said, shuddering.
Dante sighed. “He was a blight on the world, and most of the Wolf Packs cringe when his name comes up. But still, most Packs ignore the mental health issues of their members, and excommunicate them rather than work to help them. A lot of shifters are veterans, and the things they see in war change them forever. That homeless encampment? The Soldiers of Misfortune? Bet you ten to one that at least a third of the members are shifters.”
I did know that wolf shifters tended to be on the militaristic side, and they often volunteered for service. Dante wasn’t like that, but a lot of his Packmates were attracted to the discipline and hierarchy of the service.
“What do you make of this?” I asked, nodding toward the screen. “It screams poltergeist, but the history of the house doesn’t support it.”
“A thought occurred to me. I looked into the victims. Four of the victims were under fourteen years old, with the youngest being twelve.” Dante grimaced. “I can’t imagine a child enduring that, but it happens. Some predators…” He drifted off, biting his lip.
“I know…I know,” I said. “So, what were you thinking?”
“Look at the books, and the toys. What if one of the younger ghosts is doing that? It would make sense. We already know that the ghosts of children are often chaotic, because it’s harder for them to understand what’s happening.”
I thought about it for a moment. “You could be right?—”
Carson stuck his head in the door. “Good, the two of you are here together. Got a moment?”
I nodded. “Come in. We’re speculating on the activity going on in Konstantine’s house.”
“Put that on hold for a moment. So, Lazenti gave me the names of the five homeless people who vanished. They were from various encampments. Three were men, two were women, but all were in fairly good health, and none of them have any immediate family in the area. They’ve all been on the streets for at least five years.
” He tossed a bunch of printouts on the desk.
“One other common denominator is that they all worked in extremely physical jobs before they were fired or quit their last employment.”
“Did you have a chance to take a deeper look into Give A Hand Up?” I asked.
Carson shook his head. “That’s next. All five were involved with the group, though. In fact, their buddies on the streets said they treated it almost like you’d treat a church. One of them even said Amena—one of the women—was brainwashed by them. His word, not mine.”
“Dig deeper into the group,” I said, staring at the pile of papers. They were all news articles about the organization, from what I could tell. “Is there a local office we can visit? Who are the reps for it? What are their financials…you know the drill.”
Carson nodded, then joined me behind Dante’s chair, staring at the screen. “That’s fucking crazy,” he said.
“Yeah, and I happened to catch a glimpse of the killer. He was about to perform some sort of surgery on one of his victims. We need the full background of the house, of Longworld, and of the victims.”
“I’ll get on it,” Carson murmured, engrossed in what was happening in the attic. “Sophia can help me. By the way, has Orik said when he’s coming back to work?”
“Next week, I think? Since Hilda’s mother is there to help with the twins,” Dante said. “Why?”
“Because, there’s more going on in that house than a haunting,” Carson said. “The preliminary readings I got were sky high. Is there a cemetery nearby?”
“Not the old Indian burial ground cliché?” I asked.
“No, but there’s something more there, I’m telling you.” He rubbed his chin.
“Then dive in. Meanwhile, I’m going to make an appointment with Philip Groveletter out at Windchime Magical Academy and ask him for anything he can dig up on…what was the girl’s name? Riana, that’s it—Longworld’s last victim who cursed him.”
I shuddered, thinking about how terrified she must have been.
The true monsters of this world hid beneath smiling facades and glittering cold eyes.
And all of those men—for they were mostly men—learned how to lure in their victims. They turned them into possessions, into toys.
I thought back to Jace, to that moment when Penn took over and saved me from allowing my demon to run amok.
I knew that—in that moment—I never would have been able to rein her in again.
And the part of me that craved vengeance applauded Riana for managing to cast a curse in her dying moments.
I called Philip’s office and scheduled an appointment for nine am the next morning. Feeling drained from the day, I decided to head home early. I waved to the others and headed home.
* * *
Penn had dinner ready to go when I got home. I stretched out on the sofa with Murdoch and Jangles while she bustled around in the kitchen. Usually, I sat with her, talking, but right now I needed to decompress. Penn understood, just like I could sense when she needed the same.
“Jangles, what do I do?” I asked, scratching under her chin. “I don’t know what the hell to think about Konstantine. I’m so used to having no family that…what if I find out things I really don’t want to know? Sometimes it’s easier to stay in the dark.”
As Penn called me to dinner, I told her that I was going to see Philip tomorrow. “I want to find out more about Riana. What kind of curses could she have used…things like that.”
“Would you like me to go with you? I might be able to ask more pointed questions about magic that you might not think of,” Penn asked.
“Sure,” I said. “That’s a good idea.”
Penn ladled out a bowl of tomato soup for me, handing me the platter with several grilled cheese sandwiches on it. I accepted a sandwich, then sprinkle Parmesan over my soup.
“So, what about this guy you met?” I asked. “Did you have time to call him today?”
“No, not yet,” Penn said. “We’ll see. What about you though? I haven’t seen you go out on a date in months. Haven’t you met anybody that you’re remotely interested in?”
I thought about it as the warmth of the soup trickled down my throat.
The truth was, I was afraid I couldn’t trust myself.
I had dated occasionally, but each time it felt like there was something roiling beneath the surface.
And when I had sex, I felt like I couldn’t let myself lose control.
If I did, would something horrible happen?
It was easier to take care of my own needs rather than fear harming another.
I’d never told Penn about my fears, even though we were best friends. Now, I turned to her.
“Here’s the truth. I’ve never told you this before, because I didn’t want you worrying about me. I might talk to Seton about it, now that I’m more comfortable with him. Or, maybe, Devon, given he’s half demon himself.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m afraid I’ll lose control if I have sex with a human, or even a shifter. While a shifter might be able to handle my strength, no human could. And what if the arousal sends me over the edge? What if my demon comes out and I can’t control her?” I stared at my soup, feeling vaguely embarrassed.
But Penn was Fae — at least, half Fae, and she wasn’t embarrassed about sex, or about nudity, or about any number of things.
“What about when you masturbate? Do you feel like you’re going to lose control then?”
I cleared my throat, shrugging. “Not entirely, though now and then I think I’ve been close.
While I am very sexually aware of my body, I have the ability to sublimate my desire.
Maybe I’m just suppressing it, and maybe it’s building up, but I can’t shake the feeling that I could be a danger to a lover. ”
“You really should ask Seton. This is one question that I can’t help you with. I am glad to know that you’ve actually thought about the subject. That you aren’t writing off any possibility.” She handed me another sandwich.
“I’m not even sure if I want a partner. Well, I wouldn’t mind having a lover , but I’m not sure I’m geared toward romance. I enjoy my time with my friends, and I love living with you, but I don’t have to change myself. I don’t have to compromise, for the most part.”
Penn laughed. “You had to compromise when I wanted to place pink doilies around the house. That was one argument I didn’t expect to win.”
“What can I say? You didn’t bring a gazillion knickknacks into the house, and I can handle a few doilies.
It makes you happy, so it makes me happy.
” I grinned at her, then turned back to my soup.
But she had spurred off my thoughts. I really did need to talk to Seton or Devon about my situation, if only to calm my fears.
“Well, if you’re not looking for a relationship, and neither am I, we’re going to be just fine here together,” Penn said. “Come on, let’s go watch some stupid movie on TV.”
We cleared the table and then wandered into the living room, curling up with the cats.
Mr. Crumbles catcalled us from his cage, but as we turned on the TV and sank into an episode of Survive This , a competition show aimed at testing people in unusual circumstances, the evening fell away as the last glimmers of sunlight slowly vanished into the dusk.