Joyce & Jim Lavene - Taxi for the Dead 02 - Dead Girl Blues (21 page)

It was no surprise that she easily accepted what I told her.

Chapter Twenty-five

That was the only reprieve I was granted.

When we reached Debbie’s cabin, Artemis showed up in a bright patch of gold sparkles. He was dramatic enough.

“I’m here to take a look at your husband, my dear.” He bent over Debbie’s hand as he kissed it. “You have my sympathies on this terrible state of affairs. I will do my best to change these circumstances for you.”

Debbie giggled and held the hand he’d kissed in her other hand as she blushed. “Thank you so much for coming so quickly. You don’t know what this means to me.”

His smile was oily, but she didn’t seem to notice as she let him tuck her hand into the crook of his arm.

I argued with myself about not going inside. I didn’t have to stay. This was Debbie’s affair and had nothing to do with me. I could go home, help Lucas in the garden. Watch TV. Anything would be better than watching Artemis at work.

But Debbie turned her head and asked me to stay. “You will, won’t you, Skye?”

How could I leave her there with the man I believed had murdered Harold? I knew he was only doing Abe’s bidding, but what if killing or using his magic on Debbie and Terry was part of his plot?

“Sure.” I looked for some sign that Artemis was uncomfortable with the idea of me being there. There was none. He was as cool as ever, even remarking that he was glad I’d be there for Debbie in case things went bad. Nothing seemed to bother him.

Terry’s howling filled the house as we stepped inside. Debbie started crying again. Artemis asked where Terry was. Debbie said she couldn’t go down there yet and asked me to take the sorcerer to the basement.

“I hope you have a better plan for helping Terry,” I said between clenched teeth.

“You have no faith in me.” Artemis nodded. “I understand, child. I am a stranger to you, but it is not of my own doing.”

“I don’t want to hear any more of your BS. Just fix Terry and get out of here.”

The basement was beginning to smell really bad. I didn’t know how Debbie thought she could keep someone down here and not clean up. I supposed she hadn’t really considered that yet. She was still living the dream that Terry would go back to being normal.

“This is a complicated procedure.” Artemis slowly walked around Terry as the transformed man tried to claw at him.

I remembered how sharp and fast those claws were. Part of me hoped Terry might kill Artemis. I knew it would be bad for Debbie—the only thing worse than your husband changing into a beast was knowing he’d killed someone.

But I couldn’t help it. I had a feeling things were going to get worse with Artemis. His death would take care of that problem.

“Okay. I’ll bite. What’s complicated about it?”

“First, this man is not one of Abe’s people. He used his magic to save him, but your friend upstairs is actually the one I’m looking for.”

“Are you going to stand there and confess that you’ve been taking advantage of Abe and stealing his people?”

“Yes.” He glanced around the empty basement. “Who is there to hear but you? And you aren’t going to give me away, are you? After all, it would be simple for me to allow Abe to see the real mark on your foot. I can smell Lucas’s magic on you. Abe can’t because I’ve blocked his senses.”

“So the cards are on the table.” I nodded as I looked for a weapon. I had the Beretta, but from what I’d seen of sorcerers and magic users, bullets meant nothing. A nice, sharp, metal stake might be better. “Why are you telling me this now?”

The answer was obvious, of course. He meant to kill me in Debbie’s basement. He’d probably make it look like Terry had done it, and then he’d be rid of me. I was the only one asking questions and making waves. Killing me would solve his problems as much as killing him would solve mine.

“I know you fear me.” He had to raise his voice for me to hear him over Terry’s snarls. He waved a hand, and Terry fell back, unconscious, to the dirty concrete floor.

“There. That’s better. As I said, I know you fear me. But there is no reason. You and I have so much in common. It’s almost humorous that you think I would harm you. I would rather cut off my own arm than hurt you.”

I didn’t believe him, though I thought it was an over the top speech to make before he killed me. I wished I had that magic Lucas was always insisting was mine. I’d make Artemis fall on the floor and not move, at least until he could be killed. The least I could have done was to record what he was saying to me so there would be some witness to my death.

I goaded him, hoping to distract him, as I slowly slipped my cell phone from my pocket. “Don’t bother making excuses. We both know I can’t die by conventional means, but I’m sure you have a magic spell up your sleeve that could do the trick, right?”

It’s hard to find the right button when you’re trying to sneak pictures from your camera. It was always difficult to capture those super cute moments with Kate. It wasn’t any easier to get a sorcerer to confess and record it.

I glanced at my phone out of the corner of my eye. He raised his hand—and Debbie called out from upstairs—a perfect distraction.

“Is everything okay down there? Do you need me?”

Artemis turned his head toward her voice, and I managed to push the button to record.

“Everything is well, dear lady,” he called back without a touch of tension in his voice. “We shall be up momentarily. Never fear.”

He looked back at me. I wondered if this would crack his smooth mask.

“You better get it over with if you want to kill me like you killed Harold. I won’t go down without a fight. And I won’t let you take over Abe’s people.

He kicked a soccer ball out of the way with his highly-polished dress shoe. “What can I say that will assure you that I have no plans to harm you, Skye? Would it help if you knew that I am your father?”

I wasn’t expecting that—and I didn’t believe it. But neither did Luke Skywalker, even though it was horribly true.

Artemis the sorcerer couldn’t be my father. I was an orphan. I didn’t have a father.

“That’s the weirdest thing anyone has ever said to me,” I told him. “If you think I’m letting my guard down because you claim to be my father, think again. I know you want me out of the way. Just get on with it and stop talking.”

He reached his hands out to me, an imploring look in his eyes. “I know you’ve been alone. You don’t even know your real name. You were taken from me and your mother when you were just a child and abandoned here in this wretched place. I have come to help you claim your birthright. You will be a powerful magic user one day. Abe and these people will mean nothing to you. As for that sorcerer you value so highly, you won’t feel the same about him once you know who you are.”

His words had a terrible ring of truth to them. Maybe it was because he knew I’d been abandoned. Maybe it was because Lucas kept telling me that I had magic I had never used.

Whatever the reason, I was more scared of the relationship he was claiming between us than any werewolf or sorcerer. I couldn’t be his daughter. I didn’t want to believe it was true.

I pulled out my Beretta, even though we both knew it wouldn’t have much impact on him. I needed something in my hands that felt safe and familiar.

Facing him with it, I said, “Get out of here. Everything you’ve admitted has been recorded on my phone. I’m taking it to Abe. He’ll hunt you down if I can’t figure out how to kill you.”

But my hand was trembling. We both knew it.

Artemis smiled slowly at me. “Take it in. Let it fill you. You and I have a future together. Stealing Abe’s magic is only the beginning. Every time he loses one of his people, I am stronger. We can rule this little kingdom he has created until we are ready to seek something larger.”

Debbie screamed upstairs. I glanced that way, and when I looked back, Artemis was gone. Terry had begun snarling and jumping around again. I ignored him and ran upstairs.

Debbie was floating toward the ceiling, her hands desperately trying to grab on to anything that could stop her from disappearing.

“What’s happening? I’m not dead.”

“No, but you’re still marked with Abe’s tattoo. Anyone with the mark is affected. Artemis just chose this as an opportune moment to get away.”

“Do something, Skye.” She kicked her legs and flailed her arms as she slowly became more transparent.

“I don’t know what to do. Lucas kept me from disappearing. Artemis kept the others from vanishing. I can’t replace your tattoo. I could call Lucas, if he’d pick up the phone.”

“What about Abe? He says he loves me. Call him. I’m sure he doesn’t want me to float into space.”

“He’d say he was going to send Artemis. He won’t help you since he caused this in the first place. You aren’t getting it.”

Debbie screamed again and clutched at the lamp on the ceiling. “Something has to keep this from happening. I can’t leave my children with Terry. Help me.”

I called my house, hoping that Lucas or Addie would pick up the phone. I knew Lucas had been teaching Addie how to use the phone again so her hands wouldn’t just slide through it. He’d also coached her so her voice would project over the device.

“Pick up,” I urged, staring up at Debbie. “Please pick up.”

“Hello. This is the Mertz residence. Please leave a message.”

We didn’t have an answering machine.

“Addie, I know it’s you. This is Skye. Don’t hang up. Get Lucas. Tell him to come to Debbie’s house right away. She’s disappearing. Artemis won’t help her.”

“
Beep
.”

“Seriously,” I argued with the gravelly voice. “Tell him, Addie. And quit pretending you’re an answering machine.”

There was no response. The line went dead. I had to hope she would give Lucas my message. But what was I going to do with Debbie?

As far as I knew, Lucas couldn’t appear and disappear at will like Artemis. He hadn’t mastered that skill, if he ever had it in the first place. That meant he had to get in the old pickup and drive here. That could take twenty minutes to half an hour. And that was saying he got my message. Addie wasn’t very good with messages even when she was alive.

“Skye, my hand is going through the ceiling tile. I’m not going to last much longer. You’ve tried calling Lucas. Try calling Abe. I know he can save me.”

For her sake, I called Abe’s cell phone. “Debbie is disappearing. We need help right away.”

“I’ll send Artemis immediately,” he reacted.

“He won’t come. He confessed to killing Harold to steal your magic. He put this curse on your zombies. He made this happen to Debbie so he could get away before I could shoot him.”

In his usual cool manner, Abe chuckled. “Forgive me. Shooting a sorcerer with the power that Artemis has would be next to nothing. I’m sure you misunderstood. I’ll put in a call to him right now. Don’t lose Debbie.

He was gone, and I was still left with no way to help Debbie and uncertain that help would come in time.

Terry was howling in the basement. I could hear him throwing himself against the walls. Tools and other items close to him became projectiles that flew across the room. Was it my imagination, or did he seem louder and more upset than he had before? Maybe he understood that something bad was happening even though he was trapped in his animal brain.

I heard a loud popping sound that was quickly followed by his galloping footsteps on the stairs. He’d escaped from the ropes. No doubt they would need chains to hold him.

I didn’t want to hurt him, but I knew he was going to hurt other people if I let him go. There wasn’t anything I could do for Debbie, but I could stop Terry.

He came through the wood door, splintering it with his body. He snarled at me as I pulled the Beretta on him, and I took a step back.

Debbie was crying, her tears dropping down from the ceiling. Half of her body was through the tiles, the other half barely visible.

Was nothing going to go right today? I felt stupid and powerless in the situation.

The unexpected happened as Terry made a leap for Debbie, ignoring me completely. I tried to make him leave her alone by throwing pillows and other household items at him. He barely acknowledged they’d hit him.

He finally got his mouth on Debbie’s dangling foot, and wrapped his claws around it to hold it steady. Debbie looked like she was screaming, but no sound came from her. I watched as Terry hung on to her, and she slowly began to fall to the floor.

At the same time, a change was coming over Terry. He was becoming less hairy and deformed. His legs grew straight and more like human legs. He was naked but had lost all aspects of the beast by the time they were both on the carpet.

Debbie was slightly more visible. She wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her head against his chest. “Terry. What happened? I had this terrible dream. You were a monster.”

Terry was a muscular, good-looking man. His handsome face was turned to hers. “I am a monster, Debbie. I don’t know why I’m changing back right now, but I know it won’t last. I have to get out of here. You have to let me go before I hurt one of you.”

“No,” she cried as she held him to her. “You saved me. You’re not a monster. Abe can fix you. Just stay here with me. I won’t let you go. Maybe if we hold on to each other like this, you’ll be human again.”

“It won’t work. I want to stay and see my kids grow up more than anything. I want to be with you.” He kissed her. “I don’t know why I’ve changed right now, except that I wanted so badly to help you. But I know it can’t last. I can feel it inside me.”

It was the most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever seen. I was crying when I saw Lucas walk through the front door. I ran to him and told him what had happened.

“He’s probably drawing the curse from her temporarily as she’s absorbing the magic from him.” Lucas shook his head. “He’s right, Skye. It won’t last. It’s only because of their love that it happened at all.”

Terry stared at Lucas as though he recognized him for what he was. “Hurry. I can’t hold on much longer.”

Lucas went to Debbie, closed his eyes, and muttered the same words he’d used to bring me back. Her foot with Abe’s tattoo on it turned green, as mine had. She became more solid.