Shadow Dancer (Kitsune series) Page 23

  “Theoretically speaking, I might at least be willing to consider it. It’s not as if you drink blood.”

  “Do you really hate vampires, or just love killing?” I asked.

  “I do the work of God.”

  “Did He tell you that?”

  Van Helsing shot me a sideways glance. “God smiles when a vampire dies.”

  He looked forward again.

  I changed the subject. “So, what’s next?”

  “The best plans are the simplest. I’ll have a talk with the Security Chief and maybe Ms. Griffin. I’ll buy you what time I can. You go invisible, or whatever it is you do, and snatch Elita’s laptop. If they find it missing before we get out of here, they’ll search the van. Wait until they’re done, then hide in the vehicle. Don’t go visible until we’re back on the highway.”

  “Gotcha.” I crossed over, using enough aura to keep me in the seat as we rolled past assorted buildings, picking up a silver Lexus escort as we went. The seatbelt still held me, but I rode higher on the seat with so much of my weight gone. Every now and then, I caught Van Helsing looking at the distended seatbelt from the corner of his eye. I bet he was trying to figure out how I could be both in the world, and not, at the same time.

  Like I’d know.

  Something was eating at me—something about Van Helsing’s simple plan. There was a hole in it somewhere. My subconscious knew it, but wasn’t sharing that information with me. Well, all I could do was stay flexible and roll with the punches. That would have to be enough to carry the day.

  We reached the main building and headed under it, into the parking garage. As we parked, I rolled out through my unopened door, letting the seatbelt pass through my body and rewind its slack. Van Helsing got out the regular way and stood there, waiting for the approaching guard to come and sign him in. Unseen, I didn’t wait, jogging with long strides toward the door to the stairs. I ghosted through the door, bounding easily up four steps at a time. Getting the laptop this way was proving too easy, no challenge at all.

  I felt a little apprehensive about the reception Jill and Drew might give me. Maybe they were happy I was gone, no longer complicating their lives. Maybe I was worrying for nothing. Maybe they’re … I stopped mid-step to stare in amazement … on the next landing?

  Setting off her blonde hair, Drew wore a cranberry, tunic sweater that hung down over the top of black leggings. Fuzzy bunny slippers completed her look. Jill maintained a bored expression on her face except for a cute little quirk at the corner of her mouth. Ragged jeans—artfully slashed to show flashes of skin—sheathed her legs. Her feet were nestled in navy Dockers. She wore a deep purple tee and an open jacket, purple cotton. And there, around her neck, was my missing locket—a gold heart shining like a piece of home.

  Without thinking about it, I crossed over, showing myself to them—and to whoever was manning the vid camera monitors. There was a camera mounted on the wall of the next landing. Mental note: don’t hang around here too long.

  Drew raised a hand and waved, then spoke over her shoulder to Jill, “See, I told you we’d find something loved and lost on this stairwell.”

  “I’ll never doubt you again.” Jill caught my gaze. “Well, aren’t you even going to say hello?”

  My usual gift for smart-ass comments failed me.

  Drew’s eyes widened. “Grace, you’ve got boobs!”

  “And wings,” Jill added. “Cool Halloween costume.”

  “Uh, yeah, look real don’t they.” Smiling wryly, I ran up the stairs for a group hug. I surreptitiously wiped a tear from my eye before it could spill, but my roughened voice betrayed my feelings, “I’ve really missed you guys.”

  “As well you should.” Drew stepped back, first to break the hug. “Using a new hair conditioner?”

  Jill took off my locket and handed it to me. “I bet you’ve missed this too.”

  Delighted, I took the necklace and put it on.

  She set her fists on her hips and shifted mood with a scorching glower. “You were on your way to see us, right?”

  I put the necklace on, delighted to have it back. “I’d have gotten to it, afterwards…”

  “After what?” Jill asked.

  “I probably shouldn’t tell you. Knowledge of my actions could be construed as aiding and abetting, or something to that effect.”

  Drew smiled. “If you’re going to beat Elita up again, you’re too late. She’s gone for the morning.”

  I showed my friends a pained expression. “She’s gone for more than that. She’s gone for good. The news will be spreading throughout the building soon. And no, I didn’t do it. But I am on my way to search her room—while I can.”

  “Need help?” Drew asked. “I always wanted to dabble in a life of crime.”

  Jill scowled at her. “No, you didn’t.”

  “I do now.” Drew looked at me. “How about it? Need a lookout or something?”

  I shook my head no. “I can handle it.” I looked at Jill. “But there’s something you can do for me, unless you think it will get you in trouble.”

  Jill’s gaze grew hard and piercing. “Name it.”

  “A certain laptop might magically appear on your desk. You might have to go into its files—just so you know who lost it. And, bypassing active security features, if you came across any information on ISIS, I’d be eternally grateful.”

  Jill’s expression clouded. She looked away. “I don’t know. That would be handling stolen property. If I were caught hacking, my security rating might be jeopardized.”

  “You remember Tukka?” I felt fresh tears gathering. The world blurred.

  “That monster of a dog of yours?” Her brow furrowed at the change of subject. “Sure. What about him?”

  “ISIS killed him. They said my friends and family would follow unless I put myself in their hands by Halloween. I don’t have time to play around, and I don’t want one of you being next. I can’t live with anyone else getting hurt because of me. Help me stop them for good, please…”

  Jill stared at me, shocked to find herself on a hit list. Her lips parted. “My Gawd! They killed your dog? Those bastards! Of course we’ll help.”

  Drew chimed in, pushing her sliding glasses back in place, “Damned straight! You go get the thing. We’ll wait for you back at the suite.”

  “Thanks.” I crossed over, and leaped over their heads, passing through the door behind them, entering the girl’s hall. I ran past the security cameras, knowing they couldn’t see into the ghost realm. In moments, I reached the suite where Elita had lived. I passed through the wall, straight into her darkened room. The blackout curtains were drawn and edged with grayish daylight, even after I crossed over. The books scattered about on my last visit were in place on a shelf. And the black throw rug with the red pentagram and the crystal candle holders with their black candle stubs were missing, probably under the bed, or in the closet.

  I went straight to the desk and turned on a small brass lamp. I unplugged the laptop. Clutching it to my chest, I turned to leave.

  Ms. Griffin was there, in the gloomy pocket by the door. She stepped closer, a crimson smile of welcome on her face. A charcoal long coat gaped, revealing a burgundy business suit with gold buttons. Her hair coiled artfully on top of her head, glittering with jeweled butterfly pins holding it together. Dangling on a thin chain from her shoulder was a small, gray leather purse. She looked more like someone heading to theater than a think tank administrator.

  A finger of crystal, wrapped in copper wire, hung from her hand. Light played across the stone’s clean planes as she swung it to and fro. “I am so happy to see you.” Her lips parted, showing perfect white teeth. “This really is the best place for you.” She approached silently on spiked heels.

  I didn’t know why, but I felt uneasy.

  She stopped a foot away, reaching out with her free hand. Her touch on my arm was light, turning me sideways so she could see my back and the delicate butterfly wings growing there. Her brows arch
ed and her lips came together as if she were kissing the air. “Oh, my…! This is new. We’re going to have to update your charts, maybe take a few tissue samples.”

  “Uh, later.” I turned to face her again. “I’ve got a few things to take care of first.” I started around her, toward the door.

  “Like stealing that laptop?” She grabbed my arm to stop me.

  “I’m only borrowing it. Trust me, you’re not going to hear a word of complaint from Elita, I promise you.”

  “Why is that, I wonder?” Her grip tightened.

  I stared into her eyes. They were darker than I remembered. I took a deep whiff. Her scent was totally wrong; not something small like trying a new deodorant or toothpaste. Her natural scent, the chemistry of her sweat was entirely new, that of a totally different person.

  I smiled in a friendly fashion, trying to hide the knowledge that had just come to me: this was an impostor, a witch in administrator’s clothing. “First thing in the morning… I’ve really got to go.”

  Her eyes went utterly black, pits to some lightless hell. Her smile became a snarl. “What did you do to my daughter?” Her face melted into another, Dana Blaire. The bitch who’d killed Tukka. I had a score to settle. “Elita’s your kid? No wonder she was so messed up.”

  “’Was?’ She swung me around and rammed me into the wall next to the door. Her hand went to my throat, pressing tightly, as her face drained of blood. “What have you done to her?”

  I reached for the folds of space, feeling a familiar tingle along my skin. But stopped short of crossing over. Taking the laptop into the ghost realm might wipe the hard drive. I couldn’t risk it. I laid my hand over hers, raising my eyebrows.

  Apparently, she realized I couldn’t answer while being choked, so she whipped her hand away. But I didn’t let go. My hand rode her wrist, flashing inside her guard. Taking a new tangent on her face, I let her hand go in order to catch her chin with my palm. I rocked her head sharply back. She staggered backwards. I leaped for the door. As it opened, I called to her, wanting to stun her with the truth long enough to get out. “I didn’t kill her, it was Anthony.”

  She screamed like a soul in hell, her heart ripped out.

  I kept moving while I could.

  THIRTY-THREE

  I wrenched the door open and slipped through to the foyer between rooms. I tried slamming the door, but Blaire blocked it with her body. Reaching through with one arm, she clawed at me, but I jerked the next door open and lurched into the hall. I could have kept running, but this was a chance to deter pursuit.

  She caught the closing door, holding it open.

  Before she could follow, I kicked with all my strength. The door exploded against her face. I heard a muffled curse and a thump as she went down hard.

  I raced down the hall clutching the laptop to my chest. I passed a security cam on the way to my old suite, and hurried in. Bursting into my room, I found Jill and Drew waiting at the computer. I closed the door to the room and locked it. Heart pounding, I felt like a seal on top of thin ice, waiting for a killer whale to pass.

  Jill started to say something.

  I held a finger to my lips for silence. When a minute expired without a violent attack on the door, I allowed myself to relax just a bit. I ran across the room, thrusting the laptop into Jill’s hands. She opened it and got to work. We breathed down her neck, peering over her shoulder.

  “Uh, guys, if you don’t mind, how about a little space to work, huh?”

  I straightened. “Oh, sorry, it’s just that the fate of the world may very well depend on this.”

  Drew stayed poised over Jill’s shoulder. “Then I don’t want to miss a thing.”

  Jill looked at her, eyes slitting. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

  I grabbed Drew and dragged her over to my bed. We flopped on the bed, bouncing.

  “Hey,” she said, “where’s your locket. You were just wearing it.”

  I felt my chest. The locket was gone. I growled in aggravation, remembering Blaire clawing at me outside Elita’s room. That had to be where I’d lost the locket. I needed to go back; witches can curse people through personal possessions. The witches had messed with me in dreams, but not in the ghost world. But with the locket to channel an attack, that could change. I thought about calling Cassie, but I had no time to waste. I bounced off the bed. “Wait here,” I told Drew. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “I’ll go with you,” she said.

  And get dragged into this witch war? “No!” I softened my voice and forced a smile. “That is, I’ll only be a minute, so don’t bother.” I pulled space around me, sliding past its colors and most of its gravity. With feet barely touching down, and the tingle fading, I leaped for the far wall. The room, in all its spectral shades of gray, blurred past. I hit the wall, hoarding my aura so my body ghosted through.

  Leaving the blur of the wall, I shot across the open hall to the door of the opposite suite. I bled enough aura to rebound and to stay in the hallway, planting my feet in the carpeting. I looked down both ends. The hall was empty. I doubted mother-witch still lurked in Elita’s suite. The only question was: had she taken my gold-heart locket with her?

  I went to find out, but after a dozen steps, I gasped for breath as a massive, spiteful fist clenched around my lungs, grinding them together with bruising force. The hallway went murky, as if a mist of copier toner were blotting out my sight. The gray-clouds in my head shifted to orange as agony collapsed me to my knees. Bleeding aura, my fingers clawed the carpet, making it solid, as someone whined piteously.

  So annoying … wait, that’s me.

  I made myself stop.

  Then I was standing, a marionette drawn to her feet by the force of unseen strings. My vision cleared and the hallway was back, sliding by as one foot followed the other. But I wasn’t heading toward Elita’s room; a steel cord anchored in my chest dragged me toward the TV lounge and the elevators, right past my suite where Jill and Drew waited. I tried to resist, throwing myself at the wall beside me. Nothing. My feet never wavered. I was a prisoner in my body, going along for the ride.

  I needed no further proof that the witch had my missing locket. I was spell-bound and being reeled in. Where Blaire wanted me wasn’t a place I wanted to go, but I played along, hurrying my step a little as though I’d given in. The cord buried in my heart slackened just a bit. It didn’t stop me from crossing over to the human world. If I can draw security’s attention, they’ll come running to dog pile me, keeping me pinned here.

  I let the witch have control of my body, with the exception of my right arm. I bent it, letting my hand reach for the cell phone I wore. I hoped it still worked after the ghost-walking I’d been doing. It ought to; Cassie had known what I was when she gave it to me.

  I passed a second security camera, and fluttered my wings, trying to draw attention. Yo, fairy here, walking down the hall... I hoped whoever manned the monitors wasn’t asleep at the desk.

  I reached the elevator and stopped. My left hand swung up to press the call button. My right hand was busy, opening the phone, speed dialing Cassie. I put the phone to my ear, listening. On the second ring, she picked up.

  Another will insinuated itself, trying to stop me.

  I indulged my anger, letting it spill out of my chest and engulf my face, a wreath of cold flames. My flames interfered with the summoning spell, giving me freedom I hastened to use. “Mom!”

  Cassie’s voice spilled into my ear, “Grace, are you all right?”

  Blaire’s fury coursed along the mystic cord that connected us. My heart turned to stone, then liquefied to lava. I could swear I felt its magma basting my ribs to nothing, draining, pooling in my guts.

  My lips felt like lead weights, but I couldn’t let myself be stopped. “Help … me…”

  “I’m coming, baby. Whatever you do, hang onto that phone.”

  The elevator doors dinged open. Security charged out, the two leading guards carrying fire extinguishers which they
fired off. My stomach went frosty white. The cold flames I wore were unaffected, being unnatural in the first place. The extinguishers thudded to the carpet as they were dropped.

  “What the hell…!” I shouted.

  Men hit me like a black-suited tsunami, slamming me to the carpet, crumpling my wings under me. The phone in my hand went flying. Several tasers fired into my body. I was glad that I’d trained with Hammer to endure just such abuse. The pain spiraled down the mystic link to my captor. I felt the witch weakening, the root-like tendrils of the mystic link writhing around my breast bone. I thought for a moment the cord might tear loose, but the thing gripped me harder as the witch steadied.

  The men piled on top of me. Their weight bore down, crushed out my breath. The cold flames around my torso and face died to a fitful glow. Then the men rolled off as a voice thundered over us all. A voice I knew. Fenn!

  “What the hell are you doing? Get off her!”

  “Stand back,” one of the men-in-black held out a taser that crackled with voltage. “We have the situation in hand.”

  Fenn growled. “In hand, my ass! She’s the one we need to protect.”

  Hammer appeared on scene, his voice hard as his name, “Anthony Chan disagrees with you. Grace ran amok over at the slayers school. He saw her kill Elita with a crossbow.”

  “Anthony’s the one who shot her!” I yelled. “Of course he’d try to put the blame on me.”

  Hands cuffed behind my back, I was hauled to my feet, a guard on each arm. Hammer came over and coldly studied my face, weird costume, and wings. He canted his head. “As long as I’ve know you, you’ve behaved totally random, doing whatever flittered into that little head of yours. Elita’s guards have reported in to me, so I know the other side of the story. If it comes down to believability, well, Anthony Chan’s a top student at the slayer’s academy, with extensive weapon training. He’s not likely to have accidentally killed someone he’s romantically involved with.”

  I’d have argued more, but the mystic cord burned me, growing taut, pulling my flesh with what felt like a red-hot meat hook. I screamed like a lost soul—or maybe Elita’s ghost—and jerked violently. The hands that held me were unyielding. Rather than struggle or argue uselessly, I crossed over, and didn’t even feel the tingle, or the discomfort of fluctuating gravity, as the still-locked cuffs fell from my hands. The auras zapped me, propelling me from one security guard to another like a runaway pinball. Shock after shock buffeted me. Everything fused in a blur of motion, then I whipped clear, falling through the floor, too scatterbrained to keep it solid under me.