Banshee Hunt (25 page)

“Dear God you look like crap!” Caught in the wash of the van's headlights as James was she could see everything and she looked horrified. “Daniels said it was bad, but really! You're supposed to be a fighter. Did you manage to dodge a single punch?”

“There were a dozen of them!” James tried to defend himself. “And I was asleep!”

“Is that like the fishing story about the one that got away?” She planted her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Regardless, you need some medical attention and you don't need to be here anymore.”

“The banshee could send some more people.”

“Unlikely but it doesn't matter. The elders have made some decisions. The academy is warded like nobody's business and they're paying for every single gifted in the state to be warded against fascinators. It may take some time but eventually she won't have a single one of us she can manipulate. We're not going through this again.”

“Good.”

Actually it was better than good.  It was great! The elders had talked about it before, and not just as a policy for the state. He'd recommended it to them and Will had supported him. Fascinators were a threat to everyone. Fascinators who used other gifted for their own ends were more so. But until the banshee had struck they'd never actually had to face such a threat.

“Your daughter's also being moved into protective custody. Officially I think the academy's calling it compassionate leave as her mother's in the hospital. But she won't be returning until we have Harper Lee safely locked up.”

“And that'll be the protection detail now.” She pointed to a car that was just driving into the academy as they spoke. “You're to come back to the motel.”

James would have objected, but the crisis was over and if Matti was being taken away then he didn't feel the need to stay. Besides, with a little luck the banshee would be captured within a matter of hours.

“Who are they?” Yasmin's partner, someone James vaguely recognised, pointed at the pair lying on the side walk.

“The hunter's back up. They turned up a few minutes ago. I got the guy on the left with a paralysis spell. The other one didn't go down so I hit him with the dry retching one. And then I hit them both with the unconsciousness spell. Don't know what either of them are though. Ms. Thomas is in the car.”

“The smaller guy is a light bender. The other guy's a mega.” Yasmin knew. As a meta she could see exactly what their magic was. Then she turned back to James. “Nice to see you finally getting smart and using your gun.”

“I wanted to please you!”

“Huh! At least it's a start.” She managed a small sigh. “Come on, we'll get the woman.”

She led the way to the car, a rather short walk, and James followed, unexpectedly having to try rather hard not to stare at the way her hips swayed rhythmically in the moonlight. Still, he couldn't completely help himself. Maybe it was the drugs. Because he was sure he was in too much pain to feel like this without them.

“Come on you.” Yasmin quickly had the hunter out of the car and on her feet. “You're off to see the shrinks and get the banshee's poison out of your head.”

“Lies! You're going to kill me!” The hunter sounded upset and she was struggling against Yasmin. But bound as she was there wasn't a lot she could do.

“No one's going to hurt you.” Yasmin tried to calm her down.

“Bullshit! I know who he is. I figured it out.” She nodded at James.

“And who am I?” James was surprised. But he was also curious. He didn't doubt that she'd worked out who he was, but he did wonder what the banshee had been saying about him.

“You're the shit who shot Soo Chi. You tried to kill her!”

“Actually I didn't. I didn't have a gun. She shot herself. But I will happily shoot her if I get the chance. She sent you and those two after my daughter after all. There's no excuse for that.”

And that was actually true James realised. He wasn't a cold blooded killer, but no one could go after his family. Some things were too important.

“But I have no reason to harm you or your friends. You'll be cared for, warded, and free to return to your lives once you're back in your own minds. Promise.” Of course he knew she wouldn't believe him. The banshee's poison ran too deep for her to listen to that. But later, when her mind was clearing, maybe she would remember what he'd said.

“In any case, they're taking you away. I'm not going with you.” With that James sat on the edge of his car's bonnet and let Yasmin lead the hunter away. He figured she would be less trouble that way. And as he watched them heading to the van he saw that he was right. The hunter kept looking back at him, realised he wasn't following, and went quietly. Clearly she was happy he wasn't coming with her. It seemed that the latter wasn't as frightening as he was.

Meanwhile the first of the men was being loaded into the back of the van. Because he was unconscious the man had to be carried in, something that would have seemed suspicious to the neighbours if they looked out their windows. Despite that James could see that they’d both been manacled. They were taking no chances with the banshee's victims. That was for the best. He did wonder though how much cell space they had left.

He watched as they went back for the second man and carted him back as well. He was the larger man, the mega as Yasmin had called him, and James was very glad he hadn't had to fight him. Megas were physically the most dangerous of the gifted, their magic granting them immense speed and power. Apparently they were also immune to the paralysis spell. Luckily it seemed they were still vulnerable to dry retching.

A hunter to lead the way. An illusionist to deceive anyone who heard them or might otherwise see them. And a mega to break down doors and maybe knock heads if there was trouble. The banshee had not been fooling around when she'd come after Matti. And all that when she was wounded and had had only a few days to prepare. That he thought was a lesson to be learned. The banshee was not to be taken lightly.

His attention was dragged away from them as he heard the sound of tyres on gravel and turned to see the car that had arrived only a few minutes before already leaving the school. It was a bitter sweet moment. He knew his daughter was in it. So near and yet so far. And it was agony when all he wanted to do was run to her. But he knew she was being brought to safety. He couldn't see her in the car. It was dark and the wash of the car's lights blinded him, but still he waved as she was driven past, hoping that she might see him. And that if she did she didn't tell her mother.

Then he stood and watched as the car disappeared down the street, its tail lights growing ever fainter in the darkness until they finally disappeared. He desperately wanted to get in his car and give chase. But he couldn't. All he could do was sit there and watch. So that was what he did. His daughter was gone. Safe at least, but gone again. It was a difficult thing to accept. Harder still to live with.

“Time to go, you.” Yasmin arrived, startling him.

“Where?”

“To the motel and to the doctors. Or have you forgotten?”

James hadn't forgotten. He'd just been distracted for a moment. And he realised, he might as well go. If Matti wasn't here then he had no reason to be standing guard over the school. So he grabbed his keys and headed for the driver's door.

“Oh hell no! You're not driving.” Yasmin suddenly grabbed the keys out of his hand. “You're in no shape to drive.” And just in case James wasn't completely clear about what she meant, she made sure he was by pushing him back around toward the other side of the car.

“I'm fine! I've been driving for days!”

“But should you have been? I mean seriously. You're barely in any shape to even stand up!” She got him the rest of the way to the passenger door, opened it and gave him a shove.

“Now get in, and stop complaining. I won't damage your precious car. Besides, you can think of this as simply completing your viewing experience.”

“What?”

“Well you've already been staring at my butt, now you can turn your attention to my tits. I seem to recall you quite liked them!”

Chapter Nineteen

Morning did not bring peace to James. But then no morning had ever since the beating. He was too sore for that. And while for the first time in days he'd been able to stretch out on a couch in the motel room, it hadn't actually been that much more comfortable than the car. But this particular morning brought more than just pain. It brought confusion. Confusion that began with the sight of Yasmin sitting on the edge of the couch beside him dabbing his face with a wet cloth.

It wasn't the fact that his face was bleeding that confused him. His face bled from time to time. It was simply what it was. The ruptured capillaries in his nose would take time to heal. As would the cuts around his eye. The wounds had been deep, and stitches could not hold them completely.

The thing that confused him was what she was wearing. Once he'd woken up in bed with her and she'd been completely naked. That had been strange and amazing and awkward. This was more so. She looked truly stunning in the thigh length satin night slip, but it wasn't the sort of thing she should be wearing around him if she wasn't interested in him anymore. At least that was his understanding – simple as it was. But what did he know? He still didn't know how they'd originally ended up in bed together or why she was so upset about it. She didn't want to talk about it.

“What are you doing?”

“You were bleeding.”

“It happens.” It had every day so far at least, and he suspected it would continue to do so for some time to come.

“How the hell did you get yourself so badly beaten?” She sounded upset.

Did she expect him to answer that James wondered? And if so how could he answer it? She knew as much about what had happened as the rest of the city. Everyone had now seen the video – it had gone viral – and the captain had issued a statement of apology for the officers’ actions, before he had resigned. It wasn't his fault of course. He couldn’t have done anything to prevent it happening. Or the shoot out that had followed which had claimed its eighth life the previous day. But he didn't know that. And as an honourable man he had fallen on his sword.

That was the problem with magic. One of many. Not only did it make people do unimaginable things, but when the nightmare was revealed but the truth behind it remained hidden, more people's lives were ruined. So his ex-wife was now in an institution because she couldn't understand what she had done to their daughter, and the captain had resigned because he believed that he was in some way responsible for what had happened. The truth could have at least helped them. But they could never be told it. There were reasons why James didn't like the Illuminati and what they stood for and that was one of the biggest of them.

Still, they did try to keep the gifted under control. And sometimes they even did their best to help the victims. The story on the news about the police officers being dosed with LSD was an example of the Illuminati trying to do that he suspected. Or maybe it was just a way of explaining things to the public so that they didn't guess the truth. He could never really be sure of why they did what they did.

But sometimes their deceptions were useful.

According to the radio Soo Chi Harper Lee – her name and image were out there as a means of limiting what she could do – had been trying to build a black market casino with some help from a corrupt official. Brucknell was now on the run too, no doubt tipped off by the Illuminati so he couldn't reveal anything they weren't ready to explain. If it served their purposes for him to be free and running, they would make sure that happened. They would probably even help him make a clean getaway. That way he couldn't talk.

The story went that her plans had fallen apart because she'd literally lost them in the church fire, dropping them in the confusion. James, an ICE agent had picked up the USB drive, discovered what was on it, and then like any good citizen brought them to his senator. Unfortunately he'd given them to the senator's aide who was part of the conspiracy. Brucknell had warned Soo Chi, the deal had been buried, and she had wanted a little revenge and to know how badly she'd been compromised. So she'd dosed a dozen officers with some form of Chinese drug like LSD, and after that the rest had followed because she was more or less a crazy bitch who wanted to know if he'd made any copies of what was on the USB drive. Unfortunately a fluorescent light had exploded and everything had gone wrong.

It was a good story. It explained everything if no one looked too closely. In time he suspected the fake evidence would start arriving. Faked lab results to prove that the officers had been drugged. An electrician's report that the electrics in the station were old and faulty. Probably some witnesses who had seen the banshee in the church. Of course it's most powerful evidence was that no one suspected the involvement of magic. But it couldn't bring the dead back to life. And while it just might save the police officers from lengthy prison sentences, it wouldn't save them completely. They would lose their jobs and they would quite likely do some time.

“Is there any news?” James changed the subject.

“They found the vet clinic. But she got away. Not cleanly though. From the x-rays it appears she got shot twice. Once in the thigh and once in the gut. The vets repaired everything they could, and she's on a pile of antibiotics and other drugs, but it's going to be a long, slow recovery and she can hardly move. She also lost a lot of blood and the vets didn't have any suitable plasma to replace it with. She'll be weak and she'll need to rest. In fact she should probably be in a hospital. Like you!”

“Good.” James had no sympathy for the banshee. But more than that he knew that he had the advantage. He had to press it. And looking at the clock on the wall he knew he was already behind schedule. A long way behind. It was nearly lunch time.

“I have to get moving.”

“You're in no shape to go anywhere.”

“I've been doing okay until now. And my quarry is getting further away as I sleep. I simply don't have time.” With that he rolled over, stifled a groan as best he could, and tried to sit up. But with Yasmin sitting there on the edge of the couch he only got half way up before he had to stop. Eventually though she stood up, clearly realising he wasn't going to be held back and he made it to his feet in turn.

“At least have some breakfast before you go.” She pointed in the general direction of the kitchenette and the toaster. “And a wash.” She wrinkled up her nose. “You smell.”

It felt like a failure to James to even think about what she was suggesting. But she was right. He'd eaten nothing but muesli bars for the past few days, and his bathing had been confined to what he could do in the toilet block of a small park not far from the academy. Warm water, soap and some real food would be welcome. Just changing his clothes would be a blessing.

“Okay. But I don't have long.” He grabbed his bag and limped quickly toward the bathroom and the shower.

Ten minutes later he felt if not like a new man, than at least a fresher one. Most of the blood had washed off him and most of the smell too. Stale blood stank. Meanwhile fresh drugs were again in his system, hopefully doing him some good. And from what he could see in the mirror most of the wounds under their gauze bandages were healing. The doctor had done a good job stitching him up. On the other hand all the bruising had finally started coming out and there wasn't much of him left that was still skin coloured. Most of him was now various shades of black and blue with a few patches of sickly looking yellow thrown in here and there. But he felt stronger. The sleep and the shower had helped with that.

“Shit!”

James turned to see Yasmin standing there in the doorway, her face filled with horror. She hadn't been prepared for the full glory of his injuries. He couldn't exactly blame her for that.

“Don't worry, it actually feels worse than it looks!” James tried to pass it off with a small joke, though quite frankly it didn't even sound funny to him. It didn't feel funny either.

“You need a hospital.”

“I need to get on the road,” James corrected her. He sat down on the toilet and started dressing. He'd seen enough of his naked flesh for one day. Probably for a lifetime. Yasmin just stood there and watched him in silence, too appalled to either say anything or leave.

Once he was dressed and his bag filled with the blood soaked rags that had once been his clothes, James gently pushed his way past her. There was one thing he realised he needed before he could get on his way, and he could smell it so clearly just then. Coffee. No doubt Yasmin had come to tell him that breakfast was ready – he could see the toast in its rack and the little pottles of dairy spread and jam already set out on the tiny table – but what he wanted most was the coffee.

James sat down at the tiny little table with the mug in his hand and helped himself to a couple of slices of toast as well. And for a moment he felt almost like his old self again.

“You should know that Alysson Thomas has made a complaint about you. She says you assaulted her.” Yasmin sat down opposite him.

“Of course she has.” That didn't surprise him. Actually it almost made James smile – until he discovered that it hurt to smile. “She's still under the banshee's spell and she thinks a complaint may slow me down and keep me from hunting her mistress. She thinks like a hunter.”

“But for the record I did punch her very hard in the gut, driving the air from her lungs when she attacked me. I was in no shape for a fight, and it allowed me to put the manacles on her.” Still, that made four or perhaps five complaints in the last two weeks, one of which was from the warden, and he was going to have to answer some questions. Especially when the elders also had the German's report on his antisocial nature to consider. But it would all have to wait for later.

“No. Sexual assault. She says you groped her.”

“I groped her?” James was caught by surprise by that, though he knew he shouldn't be. It was still just a way of slowing him down. A more effective one for a woman to use against a man.

“Do I look like I'm in any shape to grope someone?” James would have thought that would have been obvious. “I mean you're dressed like that and I haven't groped you have I?”

“Not today.” Yasmin managed a small look of surprise. And then a cheeky smile unexpectedly found her face. “So far.”

“Well you can tell the boss this. If I had the strength it wouldn't be the huntress I'd be groping.”

“Oh!” She pretended to be surprised. But it wasn't very convincing. “Are you intending to?” She almost looked hopeful.

That caught Thomas by surprise. He hadn't expected the question – least of all just then. In fact ever since their one night together, she'd avoided talking to him about it and he'd begun to assume that she simply wanted to forget what had happened and move on. But maybe not. Maybe she hadn't moved on so much as taken time to think about it. Having done so perhaps she’d decided it hadn't been that bad after all? And despite it being the wrong time and place for it, he had to ask.

“Are you … no longer regretting what happened … between us?”

“It had its good points.” She coloured a little and looked away. “You?”

“Me?! How could I ever regret that? I never have and never will. Not for me. I just didn't want to disappoint you. Or hurt you.”

“You didn't.” She turned back to face him. “So it was good then?”

“Good?” James was surprised that she could even think that it might not have been. What he remembered of it had been unbelievable. “It was fantastic.”

“It was.” She smiled, and then blushed like a school girl.

It was in that moment that James knew they were heading into deep water. Strange waters. Nice ones but scary ones too. Because while the sex was great, she wanted more. And that was where he knew things could go very wrong. It was as the old saw would have it. Sex was the price women paid for marriage and marriage the price men paid for sex. She had come to him dressed like that because she wanted sex, but only as part of something more meaningful.

“Yasmin. I don't know what's going on with you – or with us assuming there is an us. I don't know what you want from me, and I don't even know what I can give. My life is a total ruin and according to the German I'm more screwed up than a ward full of committed mental patients. But when you come to me dressed like that you have to know what runs through my head. It's all I can do to keep my hands to myself. I'm only a man after all. It's not that that's the issue. It's the other stuff.”