Anubis Nights (25 page)

He promised to come by for us first thing in the morning. The moment after I bade him farewell and closed the door, Kelly was all over me.

She smiled. “This will be our first time in a real bed.”

BRAND EASTON

Brand gave up on struggling with Edward for control of his body and resigned himself to his fate. Edward closed his eyes and went to sleep, and Brand’s mind remained active for a short time. He tried one more time to move his body, and to his amazement, he managed to twitch a finger, but it took all his effort. He considered that. Priscilla and Edward were both sleeping, so maybe the spell was on autopilot, and without Priscilla’s attention and Edward’s will, it might wear off at night.

He knew it would take monumental effort because the spell was strong. So he relaxed and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

The next day, he didn’t fight at all. He simply rested, trying to sleep his way through the day, ignoring what Edward did with his body. Trying to sleep when the body was awake was nearly impossible, but resting and just going along for the ride wasn’t difficult at all.

Every now and then, he would see Esther, but she was unable to speak, and while she could move her eyes, the rest of her appeared to be paralyzed. She looked scared at first, but as time wore on, she simply looked acquiescent.

While Priscilla and Edward discussed their future, Brand rested and let his own thoughts circle around the problem, looking for a way out.

The train rolled into Council Bluffs, and Brand wanted to try to fight for control of his body, but he knew it wouldn’t work. He wanted to break free before Jonathan and Kelly arrived. After all, it would suck balls to require a rescue when he hadn’t even found Winslow. But he didn’t have the energy to escape yet.

So he bided his time.

“The train back to New York doesn’t leave until tomorrow,” Priscilla said. “I’ll buy tickets and meet you at the clothing store. You go get yourself fitted for something nice. You aren’t going to be a cowboy. You’re a gentleman.”

Edward nodded. “I can’t wait to put on real clothes.”

“Do you have money, or shall I give some to you?”

Edward searched his pockets and pulled out Brand’s keys and a wad of cash. “Well, would you look at this,” he said. “Brand was loaded.” He glanced at the keys on the chain. “Are these keys?”

“They look strange, but he’s a strange man. Use his money for clothes. I’ll see you in a bit.” She kissed him and moved off toward the ticket window.

Edward returned the keys and cash to his pocket then strode away from the station in search of a clothing store. As Edward didn’t bother looking behind him, Brand couldn’t see Esther being pulled along, but since he had the typewriter key in his pocket, he knew she was there.

When Edward entered the clothing store, Brand saw racks of clothing. A tailor helped another customer, measuring the inseam of a pair of trousers. The man turned toward Edward. “I’ll be right with you, sir. Feel free to peruse the racks.”

Edward thanked the man and began looking for clothes that appealed to him. Brand could feel some of the man’s emotions radiating through his body, and while he sympathized with the guy for having been a ghost for all those years, the son of a bitch needed to get the hell out so Brand could be himself again.

But Brand restrained himself. He knew he couldn’t fight back just yet. He didn’t want Edward to know anything was wrong. Whether the spell was weakening due to time or distance or if Brand was working his way through it due to residual magic didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Brand was getting some kind of mobility, and he’d need to use it at the right moment. He wished he could count on some help from Esther, but as Edward moved around the racks, Brand could see her floating nearby, still unmoving.

The tailor approached. “Thank you for your patience, sir.”

“That’s all right,” Edward said. “I rather like these pants,” he said holding up a pair. “I also like this shirt and this coat.”

He spread them out on a counter.

The tailor nodded. “Very nice, sir. Are these for a friend?”

“They’re for me.”

“Well, sir, I don’t think these will fit you.”

“You can make adjustments, right?”

“I can take things in and let things out a bit, but you’re going to need a much larger size.”

Edward looked down at the body he inhabited. He laughed. “I suppose you’re right.”

The tailor led him to another rack of clothes. “Anything on this rack can be tailored to fit you.”

“Thank you,” Edward said and began looking through the available shirts. He frowned. “I don’t much care for any of these.”

“I’m very sorry, sir. We don’t get many men your size in here.”

“I’ll just have to make due, I suppose,” Edward said. “It’s just for a few days.”

After making his selections, Edward stripped down to his boxers. He placed his coat, shirt, pants, and gun belt with the Colt on the counter.

“Oh my goodness,” the tailor said, looking at Brand’s muscles. “Do you work as a blacksmith or on the railroad?”

“I was a banker,” Edward said.

He dressed in the new clothes and let the tailor make his measurements, marking the adjustments required.

“Very good, sir. I can have these for you on Wednesday.”

“That won’t do. I’m leaving town tomorrow, and I’m taking my girlfriend to dinner tonight. Can you make the adjustments now? I’ll pay you for the rush job.”

“Sir, I have too much to get done today, so . . .”

The tailor stared at the stack of cash Edward removed from Brand’s pocket. Edward started piling bills on the counter.

Brand fumed inside. Not that he’d earned any of that money, but it was all he had. He didn’t want to see it wasted on expensive clothes. He felt clothes should be rugged and made of something that wouldn’t tear easily in a fight.

Once enough bills were stacked up, the tailor practically rubbed his hands together. “I’ll have these ready in an hour, sir.”

“I’ll wait,” Edward said.

Fifteen minutes later, Priscilla entered the store. “Perhaps you should get dressed,” she said.

“I’m waiting for my new clothes,” Edward said.

“Wear your old clothes until they’re ready. We can go window shopping.”

“I’m not putting those worker’s clothes on again. I’m just going to have the tailor dispose of them.”

Brand felt his irritation rise. He liked those clothes. They were good and strong.

More important, his key ring was in his pants pocket. That ring held one of Esther’s typewriter keys, and he didn’t want to have her left behind. What if the spell never wore off? She wouldn’t be able to pop to Jonathan and Kelly when they arrived. She would be stuck here forever. He tried to will Edward to walk over to the clothes, but subtlety didn’t work. Thinking about it meant nothing.

Brand tried to turn toward the counter, but with Edward awake, even with all his effort, he couldn’t get his body to move.

Priscilla agreed to wait. She spent some time looking through the racks of clothing. Brand spent the time trying to get Edward to move, but it was no use.

When the tailor returned with the new clothes, Edward dressed in them. Priscilla smiled her approval.

“Thank you,” Edward said to the tailor.

“You have a nice day, sir,” the tailor said.

Edward moved toward the exit. Brand threw everything he had into getting Edward to turn and go back for the keys, but Edward didn’t even notice.

“Oh, sir?” the tailor said.

Edward turned. “Yes?”

“You still have belongings in these clothes. Would you like them, or shall I donate them to the church?”

“What do I have there?” Edward asked.

The tailor carried a handful of items over, including the keychain. Esther floated behind him, and Brand tried to focus to have Edward grab the keys.

Edward looked up at Esther and saw her floating there.

“Hand them over,” Edward said.

The tailor passed them to him.

Brand wanted to sigh with relief. He saw the relief in Esther’s eyes too.

But that meant Edward saw the relief.

Edward exited the shop, holding the door for Priscilla.

As they walked away from the shop, Edward glanced back at Esther. “Brand saw me when he held the watch.”

“That’s right. Ghosts can attach themselves to objects which hold significance to them.”

“You think his ghost friend could be attached to any of these? She’s following us without moving.”

Priscilla glanced at the objects in Edward’s hand. “It’s possible. Get rid of them. We’ll see what happens.”

Edward grinned. He closed his hand, cocked back his arm, and threw the possessions as far as he could.

Esther flew fifteen feet behind the keychain and stopped when it landed. She squirmed but couldn’t move toward them.

“That answers that question,” he said.

Brand wanted to sigh. He had lost.

Without that key, Esther would be abandoned. Brand saw her as Edward walked away. Her eyes were wide, and he knew she realized her plight. He wanted to call out to her, but there was nothing he could do.

RAYNA NOBLE

Carlton J. Penick sat in the backseat with Rayna, keeping the gun pointed at her. The gun was in his right hand, and she sat on his left, so she couldn’t reach it. She wasn’t sure that was a bright idea anyway. It was too far away, and it was too big a chance to take. She noticed that he kept it low so the cab driver couldn’t see it in the rearview mirror.

“You weren’t entirely honest with me, young lady,” Carlton said.

Rayna didn’t respond. She didn’t think he’d kill her, but she hadn’t expected him to kill Lincoln either.

“You’re a woman out of place here,” he said.

She just looked at him.

“You don’t need to speak. Your silence is quite telling.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Oh, she does speak. Wonderful.”

“Are you going to answer me?”

“I was hoping to surprise you.”

“You’re taking me to Winslow.”

He laughed. “There goes the surprise.”

The driver pulled up in front of a building, but Rayna had no clue where in town the place was located. It was a shorter trip without the rain and extra turns, assuming they were going to the Thoth Hermes Temple. There was a mixture of cars and horse-drawn buggies on the road.

Carlton paid the cabbie’s fare and gave him an appropriate tip. He helped Rayna out of the cab, Carlton keeping the gun in his pocket, but she knew it was aimed at her. Carlton waved to the cab driver, and the driver pulled back into traffic.

Rayna started toward the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Carlton asked.

“Inside. That’s why we’re here, right?”

He laughed. “We have a few blocks to walk. I wouldn’t have a cab drop us off at the temple.”

“Paranoid much?” Rayna said.

“Just enough. That’s why I’m still breathing and your detective friend isn’t.”

“He did nothing to you!”

“On the contrary, he was getting too close.”

“And now I’m too close.”

“Big difference,” Carlton said leading her along a short street.

“How’s that?”

“Because I like you. Also, Winslow will want to meet you.”

“Why would he want to meet me?”

“Because you know the man who killed him.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll just warn you that while he does want you alive if possible, if you try to do anything to him, I will kill you.”

“He’s weak.”

“He just came back from the dead. I wouldn’t call that weak.”

“If he had any real power, he wouldn’t have sent a lackey like you to get me.”

“Oh, you silly woman. You can’t upset me.”

“Because you know your place?” Rayna asked. She knew she was pushing it, but he’d tipped his hand a bit by letting it slip that Winslow didn’t want her harmed. In addition, she’d been concentrating and had drawn on her fire. Her stomach burned and she knew she could breathe a good plume, but she would get only one shot.

“Because I stand to achieve something no other human has ever done.”

“Win Asshole of the Year three times running?”

Carlton laughed. “I may have to upgrade my crush on you from like to love. Beautiful, smart, and sassy. Would you marry me?”

“You overestimate your appeal.”

“No matter. I’d get bored with you soon enough.”

They turned down a long street. Rayna tried to find a street sign, but Carlton shoved her along, and she nearly lost her balance.

“Walk faster,” he said.

“You’re not supposed to hurt me,” Rayna said.

“I’m not supposed to kill you. There’s a difference. If you behave, you’ll see tomorrow’s sunrise. If you prove to be too much trouble, you’ll be taking a dirt nap before dawn.”

Rayna scanned the street, trying to pick out landmarks, but New York of the 1920s didn’t look like New York of her time, and as she’d never lived in the Big Apple, she knew she wouldn’t really have a clue about the geography anyway.

“As I was saying before you so rudely but amusingly interrupted me, I shall be among the chosen few.”

“You went from being unique to being one of a few?”

“We shall achieve something truly extraordinary. We few, we proud, we shall be immortal.”

“I hate to burst your bubble,” Rayna said, “but nobody is immortal. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, if you can bleed, you can be killed.”

“With the magic we’ll gain, nobody will be able to kill us.”

“Would you care to make a wager on that?”

“You won’t be alive to pay, my dear.”

“Neither will you.”

“Oh, and you think you’re the one who can take us down?”

“Not me,” she said. “But someone will. It may not be today, hell, it might not be this year, but I’ve seen the future, Mr. Penick, and you are not a part of it.”

He gave her a smile. “Not yet,” he said.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

JONATHAN SHADE

We met with the king of the Hittites the next morning. I didn’t think it wise to crack any jokes, but I also didn’t try to say the guy’s name because there was no way in hell I’d be able to pronounce it. It’s hard enough to spell.