Ripper (The Morphid Chronicles Book 2) (28 page)

“Oh, yeah?” Brooke perked up, same as Ashby and Perry. “How so?”

Calisto inclined her head to one side. “Umm, well, I can probably help, but it will take some time. I’m a Winder.”

“Cool!” Perry said.

Brooke pressed her palm against her forehead. “Guys, you have to stop throwing stuff out there without an explanation. I’m lost.” She knew she was whining, but it was
very
annoying finding herself so plain-vanilla among these people. The least they could do was be considerate and have the courtesy to explain themselves.

“I can sort of look back in time.” Calisto explained. “It’s not time travel or anything like that. I cannot really rewind the clock. It’s more like I pick up the energy left behind by past events. The more recent, the easier they are to see.”

“So we could
see
where they went?” Brooke felt she was about to start drooling with envy. The things she could find out with a talent like this.

“No, not
we
. I can only do it for myself, no one else. And, just in case you’re wondering, I can’t change anything that happened, because I’m not really there.”

“Well, how lame is that?” Brooke said with a good dose of sarcasm.

Joao laughed. “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Calisto ignored the comment. She seemed to be the calm and collected type of girl, probably got that from her
mum
.

“You need a reference point, right?” Ashby asked. “I remember reading that somewhere.”

“That’s right,” Calisto jabbed. “I’m sure Brooke can provide that.”

“That’s news to me. Will it hurt?” Brooke made scared doe eyes. She was pleased when everyone—except Ashby—laughed.

“Not a bit,” Calisto said. “You don’t even have to be very bright.”

“So that’s how it’s gonna be?” The joke had some bite, but there was no real meanness in it. Brooke decided this bunch was all right. Ashby needed a little pep, but he was dealing with a lot, so she gave him a break. Couldn’t blame him. Not really. The poor guy. For him, this whole situation was doomed. Sam loved Greg. Nothing was coming between those two—no matter what Fate had to say.

Brooke smiled. This was going somewhere. “What next?”

“We have to go your place,” Calisto said. “That’s the last place where you saw Sam, right?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“For my skills to work, I need to be there, where it all happened.”

“How do we get back?” Brooke asked, afraid of the answer.

“Transport potions,” Perry said with a grin.

Just as she’d feared. Brooke almost gagged.

Chapter 34 - Greg

Greg pressed the button labeled M. Espina. A sudden determination had gotten into Sam back at the shelter, and she’d announced her desperate need to see Elizabeth right away.

After interrogating Nadine and Dan, they found out that—worried for Elizabeth’s safety and to keep an eye on her—Mateo had taken her with him.

“He normally gets in around 9:00 or 10:00 A.M., sweetie. Why don’t you wait for him?” Nadine had suggested.

“Um, I’d really like to see Elizabeth, see how she’s doing. Do you think Mateo would mind if we visited her?” Sam made puppy eyes.

“Oh, he wouldn’t mind one bit. His apartment is cozier than a public cafe some days.” Nadine smiled and jotted down the address for them.

With that in hand, they had left the shelter and walked—practically ran, really—eleven blocks to get to his place. It was one of those narrow buildings with steep steps in the front, the kind they always show in movies. There were ten buttons on the entrance panel, all labeled with an initial and last name.

Mateo’s voice came through the speaker. He didn’t sound too excited to have someone ringing his bell this early. But hey, Greg and Sam hadn’t slept very much either,
and
they’d done it on the floor on top of that. So Mateo could stuff himself if he didn’t like it.

Greg squeezed Sam’s hand to reassure her.

“Who is it?”

“Greg and Sam,” he answered.

There was a short pause, then an animated “come in, come in,” followed by a buzz. Greg and Sam exchanged a look and a shrug. Greg hadn’t expected to be invited in with such excitement, not considering how their relationship with Mateo had started off on the wrong foot.

They found their way to the second floor where Mateo was waiting for them, standing by his open door.

“Hey, good morning,” he said in a pleasant tone. “Come on in.” He was wearing a pair of frayed jeans, a black shirt he was in the process of buttoning up, and no shoes.

They walked right into the living room. Sam stopped at the edge of a rectangular rug and looked around. The area was open, what people call a loft. Everything was stuffed into one room: living room, dining room, kitchen, TV area. Only the bedroom was separate. Sam’s visual search ended at the sofa where a pillow and blanket indicated someone had spent the night there. A pair of men’s boots sat at the end of the sofa.

Sam turned to face Mateo, her eyes brimming with anxiety. “Where is Elizabeth? Is she okay?”

Mateo blinked, surprised by the question. “She’s upset, but I suppose that’s natural.”

“Upset,” Sam repeated.

She seemed so afraid, so uncertain of what she had done, it made Greg even more angry at Danata. This was all that evil witch’s fault. If it wasn’t for her, they would be back in Indiana, attending high school. Living a human life, admittedly, but a normal one. Greg knew this wasn’t necessarily true. If Sam was meant to do this, if her ability was to restore broken vinculums, no amount of denial or opposition could stop it from happening. Still, he could daydream, couldn’t he?

“Is Elizabeth healed? Is she . . . of sound mind?”
Or is she still crazy?
Greg left out the last part. This was the real question. The answer that would return the peace of mind that last night’s events had stolen from Sam.

“You don’t . . . know?” Mateo didn’t finish the question.

“No, I don’t,” Sam said. “This is only the second time I’ve used my skills and, I assure you, it wasn’t anything like the first time. I’m don’t know if what I did last night . . . worked. It seemed so wrong. So wrong.”

Mateo nodded. “I see. Well, you shouldn’t worry. It might have seemed wrong, but it was certainly necessary. Elizabeth is herself, I believe.” He laughed. “I never knew her before, but I think—”

“I am,” a voice said from the side.

They all turned to find Elizabeth standing there. Her hair was wet. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and pants.

Greg’s mouth fell open. She hardly looked like the same person. Ten years had fallen off her face. Her forehead seemed to have less creases. Her brown eyes were clear and wide open. She made eye contact and even managed a small self-conscious smile.

“Not complete,” Elizabeth added. “But myself, nonetheless.”

Sam sucked in a breath, then clung to Greg, her arms coming around his waist, her face hiding against his chest. He hugged her back, and felt a wave of relief wash over her. After a short moment, she pulled away. There were no tears in her eyes, just a general sense of comfort.

She turned her back on Greg and faced Elizabeth. “I’m sorry about your Integral.”

Elizabeth lowered her gaze and looked at the floor. “I’ve known he was gone for a while now.” Her words came slowly as if her brain were trying to recall the sounds and syllables. “Some part of me felt the emptiness that his . . . that he left behind.” She exhaled, looking close to physical pain. “It’s still there, but it doesn’t weigh so heavily on me anymore. The pain is bearable.”

“You’ve done a good thing, Sam,” Mateo said, his eyes full of emotion. “I thought there was no hope for any of them, and now . . .”

Sam ignored Mateo and walked closer to Elizabeth, her steps tentative, as if she expected the woman to run away.

“You may not want to talk about this right now,” Sam said, “but I was wondering if you remember . . . who did this to you?”

Elizabeth hugged herself and shrank back. For a moment, her eyes turned to glass and she seemed to revert to that half-there individual they’d first seen last night. Then her face contorted in a mask of anger and hatred. Her eyes filled with bitter tears, tears that made Greg think of the frustration of powerlessness and the thirst for revenge.

“Danata Rothblade,” Elizabeth said. “Danata Rothblade did this to me. She murdered my husband.”

Chapter 35 - Ashby

Ashby was glad when he felt his feet on solid ground again and the violent desire to vomit passed. He let go of the amulet around his neck and looked around. They were in a small patch of grass surrounded by trees on one side and a wooden fence on the other.

“Wooh!” Joao exclaimed. “That’s what I call first class travel.” He checked his clothes as if he expected them to be out of place. “Well, except for that nasty brew.” He made a face of disgust that matched his sister’s.

Ashby didn’t miss taking a potion to be able to transport, even if it made the ride smoother. That “nasty brew” needed some serious improvements.

“Tell me about it,” Brooke gave Perry a nasty glare. “The first time, this one here made me swallow it without even introducing himself. I do believe this potion was nastier than the first, though.” She wrinkled her nose.

“Maybe Portos’s potions are as ancient as he is,” Calisto suggested.

With Joao’s help, Perry had found Portos’s magical supplies and had stolen three vials to transport everyone.

“Why can’t we have an amulet like Ashby?” Brooke complained.

“It takes time to prepare an amulet,” Perry said. “It can’t be just any old trinket. There are only certain metals and jewels that are allowed, and complicated spells have to be applied.”

“Well, I want one,” Brooke said.

Perry peeked around a tree. “You might like it less than the potion.”

“I doubt it.” Brooke looked around for the first time. “Hey, we’re in Mr. Gray’s yard.”

Ashby looked over Perry’s shoulder. “Shh, Mirante said they might be watching your house.”

Calisto, Joao and Brooke got behind him and peeked at the back of Brooke’s house.

“Wow, looks like nothing happened,” Brooke said. “So glad they repaired it. I hope they also took care of my parents RAM. Random Access Memory for those not so techie.”

Ashby turned back. “Keep your voice down. We’re trying to be inconspicuous.”

“Everything looks normal to me,” Brooke said. “No one knows you guys kidnapped me, right? Why don’t I just go inside and signal you from my window if it’s okay to come in? You can just transport in there, can’t you? Perry said the potion will stay in our system for a couple of days. I’ll go around and come from the other side.”

“I’ll walk with you as far as I can,” Perry said. “I’ll make sure I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary.”

They disappeared around the fence and headed away from Brooke’s house.

After a few minutes, Perry came back by himself. “I didn’t sense anything magical. Veridan and Regent Danata wouldn’t waste their time here.”

“She’s not the Regent, so don’t call her that,” Calisto said.

The comment pricked Ashby’s pride, and he chastised himself. It was a stupid reaction. His mother was a liar, a usurper, she had no right to anything but rancor from him. She had no heart, so he should keep nothing for her in his.

“That girl is something,” Perry said.

“Brooke? You like her?” Joao asked incredulously. “She’s okay for a human, but c’mon!”

“He doesn’t have very discriminating standards,” Ashby said, his eyes fixed on Brooke’s window.

Perry pushed him from behind. Ashby staggered into the tree in front of him. When he regained his balance, he turned. “Hey, what’s your problem?”

“No need to be so catty, Ashby.” Perry looked angry, an emotion that seldom crossed his features, much less over a girl. “She’s trying to help find your Companion. Show a little gratitude.”

Ashby fiddled with the cuff of his shirt, then began to roll it up to his elbow. He’d left his jacket behind. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, that’s our signal.” Calisto pointed toward Brooke’s window, where the light was turning on and off.

Quickly, they got into position around Perry.

“So glad we don’t have to drink anymore of that nasty stuff.” Joao winkled his nose.

Perry put a hand out in the middle of the circle they had formed. Each wrapped a hand around Perry’s arm.

Ashby’s stomach turned upside down and the ground disappeared from under his feet. His entire body felt like it was being squeezed through a narrow straw. When everything snapped back into place, they were in a room with purple walls and magenta Japanese lamps hanging from the ceiling.

Brooke was standing on top of her bed. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing a pair of painted on, black jeans and a revealing top with silver, sequin flowers across the chest. She had pinned her hair up and freshened up her make-up. She was looking down at Perry with a smug smile on her face.