Insidious Winds (2 page)

“That’s a good reason. Did they say what orphanage?”

“I forced it out of them. They dropped him off
without telling anyone his name. I don’t know what he looks like, where he is,
or even what name they gave him. He won’t even have the right birthday.”

“There’re no fingerprint records or anything?”

“He wasn’t born in the United States, but my mother
took him to an orphanage in Arizona.”

“How did she get him over the boarder?”

“I have no idea. I went to that orphanage, but it had
burned down and all the records of fostered and adopted kids were destroyed.
There were some records of children who were moved to other orphanages, but none
of them matched Scott.”

“Babies are usually immediately adopted. There’s a
big chance there was already a waiting list and Scott was adopted out before
they could even put him in a crib. If he was adopted, he might be in a loving
home.”

“I know that, but he might also be a shifter.”

“Okay. We have a week before the new semester starts.
In the morning, we’ll go find---”

“No,” he interrupted. “The council is very suspicious
of us and Darwin, so they’ll be watching us. There’s also the shadow man.
Unless we know for sure he’s in danger, I think it is best we wait until we’re
not being watched.”

*          *          *

I groaned when my phone rang. After learning that I
was a wizard, I started waking later in the morning and bought in some good
blackout curtains. The phone screen was too bright because my eyes were
adjusted to the dark, so I grabbed it and answered it without looking.

“Hello?”

“You need to watch your back.”

I checked the screen, surprised that there was a
number, although I didn’t recognize it. “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up. I
recognized Marcus’s voice.

“You know that problem I had a few months ago?”

“Yeah.” Someone was following him, but he never
called me for help, so I assumed he handled it.

“Well, the problem found me. Three of my good friends
were injured and six more are missing. Everyone who knows me is getting
attacked.”

“What about your computer?”

“Destroyed. My house blew up with me
in
it.”

“Do you need help?”

“Not just yet. I’m going to try to disappear again,
but I’ll find you if I need you. I have to go.”

“Wait, one thing first---”

“It’s in the mail. If you happen to meet---” he was
cut off as the line went dead.

Before I could set the phone down, it rang again. The
number was different. “Hello?” I said when I answered it.

“Morning, Devon. This is Cindy. Did I wake you?”

Cindy was one of the people who told me about
Quintessence before I ever got involved with John. She had hired me quite a few
times to hunt down and buy some very rare magic books. “Morning. No, I’m up. Do
you need another book?”

“Actually, I heard you got involved with the craft
yourself.”

“I seem to have lost my anonymity.”

She laughed. “Only in the paranormal community.
That’s what I’m calling about. Something supernatural is happening here and I
don’t know anyone else who would believe me let alone be able to help. My
sister’s husband was attacked… by bees. He was hospitalized with a severe
reaction to bee stings.”

“Okay, how is that supernatural?”

“Because four witnesses said there were no bees.”

“What’s her address?”

“She lives right across the street from me.”

“I’ll take the first flight out, but you need to know
I have to be somewhere on the twenty-fifth.”

“Yeah, I know; that’s when the semester starts.”

I wanted to ask her how she knew, but that wasn’t
something to talk about over the phone. “Alright. See you in a few hours.” I
hung up and got dressed. Just as I was slipping on a black t-shirt, my phone
rang again. It was Mrs. Thomas, asking about her husband. I told her that he
was innocent for the fourth time, but this was the first time I was lying.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, Henry was
making breakfast. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” he said. “You should keep your early
sleep schedule during your off time so you don’t have to readjust when you
start back at school.”

“It never used to be a problem. I could stay up all
night for stakeouts and whatnot, then take an hour nap and be just fine.” I
grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and filled it with coffee. “We have a case.”

“I heard. At least your side of it.”

“I’d say you should pack up while I book a flight,
but you didn’t bring anything.”

“I left my bags in my truck because I didn’t know for
sure where I would be staying.”

“Well, you can’t commute between here and your place
every day and I do have an extra room. As for payment, are you interested in a
flat fee or a percentage?”

“I’m only interested in having a legitimate job and
leaving my parents and that life behind me.”

“Are your parents going to come after you?”

“If they do, they’re going to come with something to
blackmail me with. I am putting your life in danger by being here, but I figure
you of all people would have something to protect yourself with.”

“I have an alarm system and Vincent taught me some
magic that would help. It’s not enough to stop an attacker, but it’ll keep
someone from sneaking in.”

“If they come to threaten me about Scott, then I can
get some information about him.”

*          *          *

Although the plane arrived on schedule, the actual
flight was quite miserable due to unexpected and almost violent turbulence. I
overheard one of the stewardesses complaining about cell phones and I made a
mental reminder to ask Darwin if it was true that they interfered with flying.
Henry kept a very neutral expression as he read one of my mystery novels, but I
could tell he was irritated by his clenched fists and rigid muscles.

It took us until six to get to the small Oklahoma
town. The taxi dropped us off at Cindy’s house, which was one of the few houses
that weren’t falling apart. The one across from it, though ominous in some
subtle way, was also in decent condition. Cindy stepped out onto her porch as I
paid the taxi driver and grabbed my bag.

“So this is what you do?” Henry asked, eying the
house dubiously.

“No, actually. I’ve always stayed away from paranormal
cases.”

“Maybe you should have this time as well.”

“It won’t be that bad.” I studied the house.

“Glad you could make it,” Cindy said. The woman was
about five-three, petite, with dyed-lavender hair. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Henry. He’s working with me now.” Henry and
her shook hands, but I noticed him inhale deeply as his way of sniffing her
discreetly. I also noticed the envelope she held in her left hand. “How have
you been?”

“Up until a month ago, I was doing well. That’s when
weird stuff started happening.”

“Weird as in what?”

“Well, not anything too serious. Freak snow storms
overnight, things floating up into the air, every car on the street won’t
start, you’d set something down on a flat surface and it would slide just out
of reach… and the chairs stacked themselves on the dining room table a few
times.”

“Like poltergeists?”

“Yeah. And there’s something wrong with the
electricity. Then, a week ago, it started getting a lot more serious. Light
bulbs would explode, things would just catch on fire, and the stray cat
population completely disappeared.”

Henry and I glanced at each other and then at the
house. “Was your sister’s husband the only one attacked?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone have any reason to attack him?”

“No. Luther has never done anything to anyone. I’ll
take you over there and you can talk to my sister, Meg. Oh, and I got this in
the mail for you.” She handed me the unmarked envelope and I slipped it into
the inside pocket of my jacket.

We went across the street and knocked on the door.
The woman who answered looked very similar to Cindy except her hair was dark
brown. Her eyes were bloodshot, but her cheeks weren’t puffy, so I figured she
hadn’t cried in an hour or so. She gave her sister an obviously fake smile.

“Meg, this is Devon and Henry. They’re going to
investigate what happened to Luther.”

“He’s not back yet. The hospital is going to keep him
another night for observation.”

“When was the attack?” I asked.

“Last night, about eight or so. Come in.” She stepped
out of the doorway and motioned to the couch.

It was a decent little house. The front door entered
into the living room, and it was an open floor plan between the living room and
kitchen. There was a back door in the kitchen and a hallway to the left leading
to the bedrooms and bathrooms. The lack of Wiccan artifacts everywhere told me
that Meg didn’t share her sister’s interests.

“Do you want some coffee or anything?”

“No, thank you,” I said. My instincts weren’t telling
me we were in danger, but there was definitely something off about the place.
It was almost as if I should be grossed out about something, but I didn’t know
what. “Was your husband inside or outside when he was attacked?”

“He heard something outside and went out to the back
porch. Our neighbors were having a barbeque, so they saw the whole thing. They
said he swatted at something, but they didn’t hear or see any bees. And I don’t
know if there are bees where you live, but I’ll tell you, if you get a swarm of
bees, you can hear them.”

“And there were actual bee stings or just a
reaction?”

“There were bee stingers all over him. His clothes
didn’t even protect him.” We followed her into the kitchen as she got herself a
mug of coffee.

“Did he argue with anyone recently?”

“No…” she said, shaking her head. Henry cleared his
throat, telling me she was lying. When we both stared at her, she looked away.
“Well, we were arguing a bit lately, but I wouldn’t do anything to Luther. And
I know he wasn’t arguing with anyone else.”

Henry glanced at Cindy and then at me. I shook my head.
I knew Cindy had the knowledge to do this, but she was Wiccan so she believed
in the three-fold law. She believed whatever she did, good or bad, would be
returned to her three times as powerful. To my understanding, all her power was
created by her religious faith, not like the magic taught at Quintessence.

“I’ll go look outside,” Henry volunteered.

I nodded and he went out the back door. “What were
you arguing about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Money.” She set the mug down and it slid across the counter.

As it started to pass me, I held out my hand to catch
it. It stopped an inch away from my hand suddenly enough for some coffee to
slosh out. I concentrated my mental power, not to find another mind but to see
the impression on the cup. I sensed Meg, but she was powerless and worried
without any motives for harm. The magic used on the cup, however, came from a
person. I sensed anger and possession, but not a serious desire to hurt anyone.

“Is…” She swallowed. “Is it a poltergeist?” she
asked.

“No. I’m fairly certain it’s a person.”

“Maybe there’s a hex bag or some---” Cindy started.

“Cindy, stop it,” Meg interrupted. “We’re Christian;
your witchcraft doesn’t work in this house.”

I resisted a rude laugh. “Cindy, Henry is taking a
while. Would you go check and see if he found anything?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Please don’t mind her,” Meg said when we were alone.
“I love her, but she can be so frustrating. Do you have a sister?”

“No,” I answered. If Vincent was right and John was
my father, it meant Regan Cross was my half-sister. I had a little sister I
never even knew about until after her death.

“Well, they can be such a pain.”

“You two must be pretty close, though. You live right
across the street from each other.”

“We know each other better than anyone, and that’s
the problem.”

A jaguar roared outside. I ran through the door and
around the side of the house to see Cindy and Henry. Cindy had a small vial of
something in her hand and Henry was standing about six feet away from her,
staring at her like she was crazy. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“Spiders,” Cindy said. Although she acted calm,
tension was pouring off her.

“Spiders are attacking you?”
Is going from bees to
spiders an upgrade
? “Do you have arachnophobia?”

“No, they don’t bother me, and they’re not attacking
me because of the salt.”

“Salt?”

“She poured a circle of salt around her when she saw
the first spiders,” Henry said. “I cannot see anything.”

“Enough of this! There are no spiders,” Meg said,
then turned and went back inside.

“I thought salt was for ghosts.” With my power, I
reached out for Darwin’s very familiar mind. The ease of connecting with a mind
had more to do with the other person’s willingness and the familiarity than
distance or their power, so I sensed him almost instantly.

Darwin welcomed my invasion as usual. “
Sup
?”

“
I have a question. What does salt have to do with
magic
?”

“
Depends. The lore of salt depends on the culture.
Most of it was generated by the fact that salt preserves meat. A lot of people
believe it keeps away evil spirits. Some say it can even keep demons out. It’s
often used by believers to make circles and line windows and doors with. Some
people even wear rock salt around their neck
.”

“
Okay, so I’m here with a witch who is
successfully holding back invisible spiders with a salt circle. Are the spiders
in her head or actually invisible
?”

“
Depends. I’m assuming someone sent them after
her. If the person who sent them believes in the power of salt, then the
spiders are probably invisible. If they don’t, then the magic is in her head
and so are the spiders. Is she afraid of them
?”