Out Of The Dark (12 page)

Now that was comforting.

That's not why I'm asking
. I looked
back at the books.
The Reverend Rollins somehow made a deal to
have a Symbiont--which prolonged his life and his health. Hirokumi
was willing to sacrifice his daughter in order to obtain a
Symbiont.
So, I turned to look at Tim.
Would ceremonial
magic play into that kind of deal? Because when I saw him
today--he
felt
like a symbiont, Tim. He had all the
oogie--but then he didn't.

Tim nodded slowly as if he were thinking. "So
you're thinking there's a symbiont inside of Bonville?"

Maybe. I don't know. Or maybe it's just a
piece of one?

"I guess anything is possible in this world,
Zoë. But I'm far from the expert to talk to. I think you should try
and see things with your Wraith eyes. Go with what you know."

I started chewing on the situation. Was I
going off the mark? I didn't know, but I was aware of something
tingling inside--as if I was guessing right.
So I think maybe
learning more about Bonville's past might reveal what his
motivations are in this? How Maureen got involve?

"I think you need to know that, and what's in
that book," Tim said, and I realized he'd heard my musings.

"Zoë!"

That was Rhonda. Tim and I moved from the
botanica to the Tea Shop. Everyone had a book--Mom had the big
book. Rhonda was motioning me to where she sat. "I know how Maureen
is involved with Bonville."

I needed my board.

And as if reading my mind, my Mom got
up--still holding the book--moved to the counter over the cakes and
desserts display and picked up my dry erase board. Still without
looking up from the book she handed them to me and sat back
down.

I love you, Mom.

"I know."

For a second I thought she heard me, and then
I saw her half smile and knew she'd only anticipated my mental
response. Or had she?

I scribbled. OTHER THAN WORK FOR?

"She didn't work for Dr. Bonville. She worked
for Alice Bonville--the
ex-wife
of Dr. Bonville--at the
Livery Bar and Restaurant. That's where the "Alice" person comes
from. The restaurant is separate ownership--it was something Dr.
Bonville couldn't touch," she pointed to the journal. "Maureen says
in her diary that she and Alice were usually late at the restaurant
cleaning, taking stock, and sometimes sharing a glass of wine
upstairs. Alice confided in her one night that the restaurant was
the one thing that was hers alone. And that's the place she kept
all her secrets."

Dags looked up. "Was Allard taking things
from her in the divorce? Doesn't it work the other way
usually?"

"Yeah," Rhonda said. "Alice was an heiress.
She had the money--but apparently he signed a pre-nuptial
agreement. But, he hired a pretty crooked lawyer and was able to
find a few loopholes. Where he couldn't touch the family money, he
could and did try and take everything they'd worked together on. So
she hid most of it--and kept the restaurant by signing it over to
Maureen. But for some reason he wanted the restaurant more than
anything else--" she looked up us. "You think it has anything to do
with the Shadow People in there? Or those documents? Or--maybe he's
after the
grimoire
? Maybe it's buried in there like the
papers?"

"I doubt it," Mom said from where she sat
with the book. "According to this--" she looked up at us. "I have
the Cruorem
Grimoire
in my hands."

That shut some books. Rhonda sat up. "You're
kidding. You mean it was in Maureen's apartment?"

"Yes. The encryption used in this is
extremely elementary--I'm surprised you didn't see it
immediately."

I looked at Rhonda. She didn't look happy. My
mom can be a bit much.

Yah think?

"And?" Dags said as he nodded to the
book.

"Most of it is pretty much the ramblings of
an idiot--though albeit a pretty evil idiot."

"Are there lots of spells?"

"There are lots of grandfathered spells." Mom
held up the book and we all gathered around. There were lots of
older pages, worn and smudged, with a very scriptive handwriting as
well as diagrams and symbols. But the newer pages in the back
weren't as nicely rendered, nor were there any intricate drawings.
"As you can see--the front of the book is part of the older
Grimoire
, and the back is his new stuff."

"So is the spell he used on me for these,"
Dags held up his hands indicating the circles that were now
invisible. "In the front of the book--the grandfathered stuff?"

"Yes. But you're not going to like it." She
pursed her lips as she looked at him. "He made you a component of
the Shadow Door."

Everyone stopped and looked at her.

The what?

Rhonda licked her lips. "The what?"

Mom held up the book so everyone could see a
full page image of a person being sucked through a portal in the
air. I shivered. Tim pointed at the book. "That's just wrong."

"A Shadow Door is a man-made doorway into the
Abysmal plane. Sometimes they're created by Coyote Flame."

"That's neutral magic," Rhonda said. "That's
not right--not even in the ceremonial world. You don't learn that
stuff and then write it down for other people to use--you have to
go through years of discipline and training to ever learn that
level of magic. I mean, if I understand what I'm seeing, this spell
actually pulls or pushes someone physically into the Abysmal plane.
What in the hell would you use that for?"

"Well, to enter another plane, or to make
someone disappear. Great way to get rid of someone so the
authorities never find them."

Everyone grew quiet. Finally I erased my
board and scribbled. WHAT HAPPENS TO SOUL WHEN BODY IS SUCKED?

I held it up. Dags grinned. I looked at the
board, scowled and added IN to the last word.

Jemmy finally spoke up. "That's a good
question, there Zoë. No matter how bad you asked it. My opinion on
that would be their souls would remain in the Abysmal after the
body dies."

"But remain as what?" Rhonda asked, looking
at Jemmy.

The elderly woman had a very sad look on her
face as she slowly shook her head. "Shadow Folk."

<><><>

Apparently--and I don't pretend to understand
any of it--from what everyone read out of Maureen's journals--Alice
Bonville confided in Maureen about having stolen a box from her old
house, believing it contained her grandmother's china--something
she hadn't wanted the bastard to have. The box sat in her basement
for several weeks unopened.

But then he arrived one night on her
doorstep, demanding the box back. She'd had to call the police to
have him bodily removed. She put a restraining order out on him.
She'd called Maureen that night and the two of them went through
the box.

It wasn't full of grandma's china.

More like a box full of gitchie-goomies from
hell. Candles, parchment, black ink with a foul smell (Rhonda
figured it was blood) as well as the book and a folder full of the
papers found in the loft of the restaurant. Maureen described
finding jars of things with odd labels and smells, a bag of incense
sticks and a manila folder.

The folder was what freaked both of the
ladies out--inside of the folder were four glossy pictures of four
different people. Maureen recognized two of them--both working at
the restaurant. Alice recognized the other two as having worked at
the hospital.

Rhonda looked up at Dags who was leaned back
on the sofa. I was in my usual perch in the pompasan. My arm and
thigh were aching and I really just wanted to curl up and sleep.
"Your name is listed as one of the photos."

Dags nodded. "Well, if Bonville is Fafner,
then it stands to reason that he probably has pictures of each of
the Guardians. Four pictures. It also explains why Maureen took a
keen interest in me and what I was doing when I wasn't at the
restaurant."

"You think she knew what all the stuff was
for?" Rhonda said.

Mom spoke up. "No, but I'm sure Alice knew."
She didn't have one of the journals in her lap but instead had the
Big Book of Everything. "The Cruorem are mentioned in this book as
being one of the largest and most powerful ceremonial cults in the
New World--and it was believed they were responsible for the
disappearance of over eight hundred people in that time. They are
also associated with the appearance of Shadow Folk."

"You're kidding," Rhonda ditched the journal,
leaving it where she'd been on the floor and moved to mom in her
wicker chair. "I didn't see that in this book."

"You didn't look under Rumors and Really
Scary Tales section."

Rhonda smirked. "Yes'm." She looked down at
the book. "Wow…it says here that the Cruorem were
untouchable--especially when it came to the law of the land. Many
occult groups--including one of the larger influential Wiccan
covens in England--tried to stop them."

Dags said, "I take it they failed?"

Rhonda looked at him. "They vanished."

I swallowed and eye-balled Dags.
And you
joined these assholes? You let them mark you?

He looked at me. "So like you've never done
anything bone-headed in your life?"

Uh. Well. Hrm. I wasn't gonna pursue that
one. I know when to pick my battles. Or so I fooled myself into
thinking I did. But what I wanted at that moment was to call the
hospital and see how Daniel was doing. I'd tried to get mom to do
it earlier but she said Cooper had called and said there was no
change.

But Daniel was in the same hospital that this
wacko practiced in--and what if said wacko figured out who I was?
And what if he did some mean ho-jo to my man?

Well--I'd kick his ass that's what.

Zoë...

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on
end. I thought I heard my name.

Come here Zoë...

I sat up. There it was again. And I knew on
some weird level that it wasn't anyone in here.

"...somewhere in the past fifty years or so
the Cruorem lost their power," Rhonda was saying as she read over
mom's shoulder. "It is believed that within the family line several
known believers were born and protested that the family "business"
of cursing and running amok was a bad idea. When Nora Wynne took
over as the head of the family she obliterated the group in one
night--and over twenty core members vanished. She was deemed a hero
by the locals and went on to settle in North Georgia and became an
entrepreneur."

I have the answers...

Shit! That was
my
voice! Sort of--it
had a distinct male timbre to it.

"So how does Alice Bonville fare into this?
Why do you think she knew about it?" Dags said.

I promise not to bite...

And abruptly I felt a sensual gnawing along
my neck. And much to my unhappy thoughts, it made me bothered in
all the wrong places.

Mom sighed. "Because Alice is Nora Wynne's
daughter. Alice is the inheritor of the Cruorem."

Rhonda's jaw dropped. "So--if Alice is the
head of the Cruorem--what the hell is Allard doing?"

"My assumption is that Alice was following in
her mom's footsteps--by putting the whole magical thing behind her.
And it was her husband that dredged it all up. From the reaction
that Maureen talks about," Mom shook her head. "I'd say either
Alice did know what Allard was up to or she was turning a blind
eye, until the reality was right in front of her."

I looked at the windows. The wind was blowing
and I didn't have to be outside to know it was cold out there.

--even though you like it.

That did it. I knew
who
it was--and I
was both terrified as well as a little curious to see for myself.
But there was only one other being in the world that had my voice
besides me.

"Nona--" Rhonda said. "This could be bad. Do
you think Allard used this door to get rid of Maureen and Alice to
get to the
grimoire
?"

Mom nodded.

"Oh….damn. I'm not feeling so good. You think
he knows we have that book now?" Dags sat up.

They're all wrong--but I can give you the
answers--you want to protect your little cop, don't you?

I moved out of the Botannica. I somehow knew
the voice--my voice--was outside. And I also knew I needed my coat.
I grabbed it out of the closet in the kitchen and slipped it
on.

"Where are you going, Zoë?" my mom called
out.

I walked back into the Botannica and pointed
outside and mouthed, "Need air."

"Need air?" Rhonda frowned at me and I
noticed Tim was looking at the windows. "It's freezing out
there."

I waved at them and stepped outside.

Frigid wind slapped me in the face and I was
somewhat happy that I had my hair down--though that was up and
whipping about. The front of mom's house is a classic porch that
wraps around the house, and she'd decorated it like every other
southern woman in Georgia would decorate it--she'd put white wicker
chairs to the right of the door and a table between the two.

In the shadows outside I could see him,
sitting in one of those chairs, rocking slowly back and forth, his
long coat splayed over the arm rests.

Trench Coat, TC, aka, The Archer, smiled at
me, and a cold icy shiver raced down my back. "Hello, Zoë. Miss
me?"

*****

CHAPTER NINE

The cold outside was nothing compared to the
paralyzing fear that abruptly gripped every inch of my body. It was
different--thinking of him when he wasn't around. And maybe in a
small way, romanticizing his almost--
almost
--knight in
shinning armor emergence that helped me defeat the Symbiont in
Rollins.

Romantic? A small part of myself--you know,
that little mother look-a-like that sits on your shoulder with the
wings--growled at me. You
cannot
be serious.