It Never Rhines but It Pours (3 page)

The officer here was short, balding, and had a considerable gut hanging over the top of his pants. He stood as we entered and I wondered how his pants managed to stay up with all the police paraphernalia hanging from his belt. He pulled out a large bunch of keys on a ring and opened the gate.

“Richard Parker is the first on the right,” he mumbled and went to sit back down. No Voice needed yet.

I took a deep breath before entering. The man we were going to see was dangerous. He was a witch, and I’ve already mentioned how much love they have for humans. He was also accused of murdering two teenagers in a brutal, and very gory, black magic ritual. Cecily had shown me the pictures and I hadn’t been able to eat for the rest of the day.

I saw Cecily’s hand twitching near the handle of her sword. “Not here,” I said firmly.

“I know,” she answered, but her eyes were bright with hunger. Great. My very first job for the USB and I’ve got to work with a trigger happy vampire.

Waiting was getting me nowhere except more nervous. I stepped through and came face to face with Richard Parker. Recognition hit me with a shock. “You!” I exclaimed.

“You!” he said at the same time. If anything, he looked more shocked than me.

“You know this guy?” Sarah asked from behind me.

I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Yeah. I know this guy.” I turned on Cecily. “Cecily, why weren’t there any pictures of Mr. Parker here in the case file?”

Cecily’s eyes grew wide with imperfectly faked innocence. “I didn’t think it relevant.”

I tried not to grind my teeth in frustration. “Who is he?” Sarah wanted to know.

I turned my glare back at Mr. Parker. “This is the witch who tried to have me executed on my first visit to the USB.” I searched my memory. “His ‘witch’ name is Pravus.”

Pravus had regained his calm. “Why are you here, Abominor?”

“What’s an ‘abominor’?” Sarah asked. I was kind of glad she did. I didn’t want to lose the upper hand by not knowing Latin. Oh wait, only geeks, nerds, and witches knew Latin. I was fine.

“It means ‘abomination,’” Cecily answered. “Witches like to use Latin a lot,” she explained in a how-stupid-are-they tone of voice. “They think it makes them scarier.” Her eyes did the freaky thing where they turned completely black and her fangs extended. “Do you feel scary, little witch?”

She was creeping
me
out and I was on her side. Pravus took a shaky step backwards. “Why are you here?” he asked again, a little less forcefully.

“We’re Guardians,” Sarah answered. “We are here to fix the mess you made.”

I saw realization hit him. His eyes fastened on the sword handle showing over Cecily’s shoulder. He swallowed. I felt a twinge of pity.
Oh shake it off, Piper!
I said to myself.
This is a cold-blooded killer. He deserves to die.
He knew the consequences if he got caught. He made his own choices and now he would have to live by them. Or rather, die by them.

Chapter Three:

The Wrong Man

Getting Pravus out of jail was a lot more complicated than I would have guessed. Even with magic on our side there were a ton of loose ends to tie up. First, I had to command the police officer guarding the cells to give me the keys. Before we opened the cell, I also commanded him to give me access to the police computer database. Cecily was overjoyed to find that the Kissimmee Police Department was up to date with technology and had gone completely digital. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she hummed a happy tune under her breath.

“What’s the big deal?” Sarah wanted to know. “Why is digital so cool?”

“Because,” Cecily answered without stopping her manic typing. “Instead of having to track down every piece of paper filed for Mr. Parker here, every video tape taken of him entering the building, sitting in the cell, etc, and destroying it, now all I have to do is change the computer files. And voila! Done. So far as the Kissimmee police are concerned, Richard Parker never existed.”

“Cool!” Sarah was impressed. Great. I was actively encouraging my little sister in a life of crime. What would my mother say if she knew?

“According to the computer logs,” Cecily continued, “Only six officers have had contact with Pravus. This guy here,” she pointed at the officer who was sitting quietly in the corner where I had commanded him to stay, “the lady cop at the front desk, the homicide detective, his partner, and the two cops who provided backup when they arrested him.”

“Which ones are here now?” I asked.

“Well, him and the lady at the front desk, obviously, and” she typed some more and squinted at the screen. “The homicide guys are off today, and the other two cops are out patrolling.” She hit a few more buttons and the printer beside the computer spat out a piece of paper. Cecily waved it in the air. “Home addresses and patrol routes. With any luck we should be able to clear this up today.”

I nodded. “Sarah, Cecily and I are going to get Pravus, you do your bit on this officer’s memories and then we’ll head out to the front to fix the woman.”

Sarah looked a little nervous but started doing whatever it was that she did. Cecily and I headed back to the cell with the keys. Pravus was sitting on the cot, fingers twitching and mouth moving in some sort of chant. I could feel something swirling in the air around me like an invisible tornado gathering force. Not good. “Stop!” I commanded. It seemed like a good time to use the Voice. Witches could do some freaky things with their chanting. The tornado feeling fell away.

Pravus opened his mouth. “Silence,” I commanded. “You will come with us, quietly, and not cause any trouble. You will obey everything that we tell you to do. Now.”

Cecily opened the cell and motioned him to step out. She left one hand resting on the hilt of her sword and I could tell that she was dying to get the chance to use it. Pravus walked meekly out of the cell and waited while I relocked it and then placed the keys back with the police officer.

We stopped shortly at the front desk while Sarah changed the woman’s memories and then we were out in the car pulling out of the parking lot. I drew a shaky breath. My nerves were shot. Everything had gone smoothly and I was a wreck. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this sort of work.

I was driving again. Sarah was now in the front seat and Cecily was in the back with Pravus. She stared at him with animal hunger and seemed to quiver with tension. “Now what?” I asked.

Cecily didn’t take her eyes off of Pravus, daring him to move. “I think it only appropriate that we return to the scene of the crime.”

The murders had taken place in a large open field behind a Christian school. Some of the kids called the police and said that while out “hiking in the woods” they had stumbled across the dead bodies. For “hiking” think “making out” in the woods. It was open farm land, far from any visible roads or houses, the perfect place to kiss your boyfriend or commit a gory satanic ritual.

The crime scene photos had been gruesome. The two bodies found had been flayed and dismembered. The pieces had been used to form a large pentagram with a trench circling it. Blood from the bodies had filled the trench and each head had been stuck on a spike with one facing east and the other west. There were candles and other Satanic accessories but I hadn’t wanted to look too closely at the pictures. One quick glance had given me enough to feel perfectly justified in ending this witch’s life.

It was Saturday, so we parked in the almost empty school parking lot and tramped off through the woods. Pravus was still under my command of silence and none of the rest of us really felt like talking. I was getting more and more sick to my stomach.

As we broke through the trees and into the first pasture the skies opened up and dumped down rain. In Florida, when it rains, it pours torrentially for a short time and then goes back to hot mugginess. The rain was a welcome change in temperature, but as soon as it let up the weather would be horrendous again.

Cecily had done her homework and we soon came to some police tape waving languidly in the rain. It was clear that the investigation here was done. The tape was torn and the ground had been trampled. Car tracks showed where the coroner’s van had come to collect the remains and cigarette butts and empty soda cans littered the ground.

In the middle of all this, a circle was still visible in the earth. The blood has soaked into the ground, leaving a dark colored mud behind. I seriously hoped that they had found all the body parts. I did not want to stumble on a finger or toe. This place gave me the shivers.

Cecily led Pravus to the middle of his circle. She pushed him down on his knees and drew her sword with one fluid motion. It was
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
meets
The Highlander.
Very surreal. Sarah turned her face away as Cecily prepared to swing.

“Wait!” I cried. This was happening way too fast. “Doesn’t he get some last words or something? You’re just going to kill him, now?”

Cecily looked at me, “He has broken the Charter. He must pay for his crime. Why do you want to hear him talk?”

“Because,” I said stubbornly, “that’s the way we do it here in America. Innocent until proven guilty.”

“He is guilty, Piper. He killed humans in a way that risks exposing the magic world. He has to die.”

I frowned, “It just doesn’t seem right. If he hadn’t used magic he wouldn’t have to die?”

“No,” Cecily said carefully, “he wouldn’t have to be executed by the Guardians. The humans would get to deal with him. Would you rather him get to sit in comfort on Death Row for the rest of his life?”

I sighed. This was what I had signed on for and I knew it. I just didn’t feel right about it. “I still think he should get to say something before he dies. Maybe he has a message he would like passed on to his family.
“Or maybe he will blurt out a curse to kill all of us,” Cecily argued.

“Can they do that?” Sarah asked.

Cecily shrugged, “They might be able to. Are
you
willing to risk it?”

Sarah looked at me. “It’s up to you, Piper.”

I looked at Pravus. He was kneeling in the mud, rain dripping from his hair into his face, eyes following each of us as we spoke. I made my choice.

“He should be allowed to speak before we execute him.”

Cecily made a sound of exasperation but stepped back, sword still out and ready. “Go ahead,” she griped.

“You may speak now,” I commanded.

Pravus met my gaze squarely and glared, “What would you have me say, abominor?”

I blinked, not the gratitude I had been expecting, but then I
was
getting ready to kill him. “I don’t know,” I said. “Do you have any last words?”

“What does it matter?” he spat. “You have made yourself judge, jury, and executioner. What is there left for me to say?”

I frowned, “You murdered two high school students. That’s enough right there to execute you. But you also used magic to do it. How stupid can you be? You had to know that the Guardians would come for you.”

Pravus sank back on his heels. “So you say. Think about it, abominor. I had to know that the Guardians would come for me.”

Sarah stared at him, “What are you saying?”

Cecily cut in, “You can never trust a witch. He is guilty.”

“Is he?” Sarah asked. “Because I didn’t really read the case report. How do you know he did it?”

“The police believe he did it,” Cecily snarled, “that’s enough for me. He is also the only witch in this area who is powerful enough to work a death spell alone.”

“Well?” I looked at Pravus.

“Well what?” he sneered.

“Did you do it?”

“Why do you care?” he said. “You’ve made up your minds. Just kill me and get this over with.”

“Alright then,” Cecily said and raised her sword.

“Hold on!” I cried. “We can’t just kill him if he didn’t do it!”

“Piper! He did it! We know he did it. It’s our job to execute him! Do you know what happens to Guardians who don’t do their job?”

Sarah and I turned on her, “What?” we both said.

“What happens to Guardians who don’t do their job?” I asked.

Cecily sighed, “If we don’t execute him, the Synod will send Guardians to execute
all
of us.”

“What!” Sarah shrieked. “Kill him now, then!”

“Whoa!” I stepped forward between Cecily and Pravus. She had already started her swing and stumbled at bit to keep from slicing me. “That’s not a reason to kill him.”

“Not a reason!” Sarah yelled. “Piper, he’s guilty, we have to execute him. Let’s just get this over with!”

“You just said that you hadn’t read the police report and didn’t know!” I yelled back.

“That was before
my
life was on the line!”

“That makes a difference?”

“Hell, yeah, it makes a difference!”

Pravus was observing all of this with disdain. He rolled his eyes, “You people are so professional. Are you going to kill me or not?”

“Did you do it or not?” I demanded.

“No!” he snapped back. “I didn’t do it. But that won’t stop you from taking my head. It’s too perfect for you. Revenge for what happened at the USB and a clean conscience to go with it.”