The Banshee's Desire (13 page)

Jacob Fortensky.

A soap bubble popped on the wall and for some reason, the lawyer's name came to mind.

Fortensky had suffered a heart attack on the way to jail, and though Toby wasn't going to shed any tears over the lawyer's demise, he couldn't help but reflect on the convenience of the death. There would be no trial to make him pay for his crimes. Though he'd prevented Jacqueline from killing the man, she'd still gotten satisfaction in the end, knowing that he was dead.

That had been enough for her. Right?

She wasn't in control of her powers enough to harm anyone without him knowing.

So why did he feel so uneasy? Why did he feel something was off?

He stepped out of the shower, troubled by the direction of his thoughts.

Someone pounded on his front door. Wrapping a towel around himself, Toby went to see who it was.

The wizard from out of town stood on the porch. His face was a miserable gray and sweat poured down his face as if he'd been running.

"Toby, I don't know if you remember me," the young man panted, "but I'm Finn Spark. We met last night. My family has declared a truce with you."

Nervously, Finn glanced behind him.

"A truce? Great. So what the hell do you want now?" Toby asked.

"Could I come in? We have something important to talk about."

"I doubt that."

"Look, it's about Jacqueline. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but she's after me. She's trying to kill me." Finn's eye widened and Toby could see true fear darting in them.  "She's after me right now."

"What did you do?" Toby leaned against the door jamb and crossed his arms. "Takes a lot to piss her off."

"Maybe I could come in and talk about this?"

"Maybe." Toby didn't move. "Maybe not."

"Look, she showed up at my hotel and demanded to speak to the Brotherhood. When I wouldn't do what she wanted, she went nuts and killed a hotel maid. I've never seen anything like it! She just lost control and her eyes…they were a wicked shade of green." Finn ran a shaking hand through his hair. "She tried to reap my soul because I didn't want to put her in contact with the Brotherhood. I don't want to see her get hurt and that's all they want."

Toby carefully steeled his emotions, trying hard to mask the internal war raging inside. Finn's words worried him and brought home his fear that Jacqueline was losing control. If what Finn said was true…

"Come in," he said, reluctantly.

Finn nodded, relief etched on his face.

"I didn't know what to do," he confessed as Toby shut the door behind them. "I figured you might be able to talk some sense into her."

"How did you get away?"

"I used an entrapment spell."

"Clever. But it won't hold long," Toby said. "Let me change and then we'll talk."

Finn sat down on the couch, his shoulders slumped. Toby watched a moment and then said, "I hope you don't mind if I do a little enchantment of my own. I'm placing a freeze spell on you."

Toby waved his hand, pleased when Finn's body stilled.

"Truce or not, you're still a Spark. I may have loved your sister once, but I know how the Spark men work. I'll release you once I've dressed," Toby said.

As he tugged on his pants, Toby reflected on what his next steps should be.

Jacqueline. He had to find her. At least give her the benefit of a doubt and find out the whole story.

And it might not hurt to call Gabe in for back up.

Just in case.

At first, Jacqueline wasn't aware of the physical change in her appearance.

But others were.

People gasped in horror as she passed them on the street outside the hotel, stepping wide to avoid any chance of her touching them. A few screamed and one small child started to cry.

"It's too early for Halloween!" A man shouted after her.

She turned and noticed the terror in his eyes, and unable to help herself, smiled.

Oh, but his life force looked yummy. She could see it flickering around him, teasing her banshee instincts. So simple to reach out with her powers and tug it free from the mortal coil.

No! The murdered souls of Finn Spark's victims gathered around her, just as strong and angry as the spirits she'd seen surrounding the police car that held Jacob Fortensky. No. Get Finn. We want Finn.

Jacqueline turned away from the man and continued on her journey.

"Where are we going, ladies?" she asked.

To your lover's house. That's where the murderer is hiding.

"Figures." Jacqueline's mouth twisted into a maniacal grin. "He'll try to lie to the one man who trusts me completely. Big mistake."

But was it?

What if he didn't believe her?

The thought angered her, and she wished there was some way to get to Toby's faster than her car.

Her feet lifted off the ground, and for a moment, she teetered in the air.

"I thought this was something I could only do in the astral dimension," she said. "That's what Death said."

But who could really trust Death?

Thoughts of Matilda flashed through her head, spurring on her anger. And the angrier she got the more her body lifted.

Use your anger, Jacqueline, the murdered girls urged. Use it to avenge us.

"Yes," she whispered, letting the feeling flood her, though some part of her knew it was wrong to be controlled by it.

She visualized where she wanted to go and to her amazement, found herself there in under a minute. Toby's house looked serene below her, but the murdered girls chattered in excited voices, persistent bees buzzing in her head. Jacqueline lowered to the ground, observing the area.

"Is he in there?" she asked.

Finneus is here.

Before Jacqueline could question the voices further, the front door opened and Toby stepped out. Surprise flickered in his eyes as he took in her appearance, though he said nothing. Instead, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and sighed.

"Hey, babe."

"Toby." She tried to keep her voice even. "I need to talk to Finn."

"Okay," he agreed. "But first, you need to drop your banshee look."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you peeked in the mirror, Jacqueline? You know I love you, but this isn't my favorite look for you."

With a wave of his hand, a full length mirror materialized next to her. She stared in it, startled by what she saw there. The skeletal face, the flashing green eyes, the way her short, blonde hair had lengthened and grayed--now she knew why the people outside the hotel had run from her.

She held up a hand, flexing the fingers that ended with sharp talon-like nails.

Where had they come from?

"Holy crap," she said, shuddering as the mirror disappeared.

"Interesting choice of words. I don't think we'll be seeing your Banshee style of dress on the runways of
Paris
next season." Toby moved closer to her. "Any chance I could see you--the real you?"

"Maybe this is the real me."

"No. You're a human. Not a banshee. You have the power to make the choice."

Make the right choice, Jacqueline. The girls swarmed around her, impatient and frustrated though Toby couldn't see them. Make the choice to rid the world of Finn.

"First, let me talk to Finn."

"Sure. Just change back to your human self."

"Toby, I don't have time to argue with you."

"Then don't. Change back."

"I need to have my guard up. He's evil. I found a dead hotel maid in his room."

"That doesn't mean you should be the one to provide justice." Toby frowned. "You're a reaper who takes souls that have passed on to the other side. That's your job. Not to take souls from the living."

"Please, Toby. Just let me talk to him."

"What were you doing at his hotel room anyway?"

Impatience had her stomping her foot and she glared at him. "If you must know, I was there to find out a way to get in touch with the Brotherhood. I was trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" Toby laughed softly. "I can handle myself. And if it's the Brotherhood you want, you should have just asked. I hold a seat on their council."

"What?" But it made sense. He was the head of his wizard family--the only survivor that she knew of. "Then why haven't we been contacting them? We could find out what they really want with me, could end all this worry."

"Jacqueline, I know what they want. They want to lock you in a cage and only let you out when you are useful."

"I'm too powerful."

"Too powerful for one or two wizards," Toby agreed. "But for a whole council who is prepared to meet you? I doubt it."

"Fine. But I want Finn. He should be punished."

"Yes. But not by you."

Toby crossed to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She trembled and felt some of the anger slip away as she looked into those deep blue eyes that begged her to come to her senses. He ran a hand along her sunken cheek, the touch of it soft and warm.

"Jacqueline, you've got to let this go. Finn is not your responsibility. You were able to stop yourself from killing Jacob Fortensky. You can do it again."

She looked away, hoping he didn't see the guilt in her face.

"She did kill Fortensky." Gabe stood on the porch, having come out unnoticed by them. He shook his head, a hint of sadness on his face. "I can't say I blame her though. If she hadn't, I would have."

Jacqueline shot him a baleful look that didn't go unnoticed by Toby.

He turned his head and looked at her closely. Lifting her chin, Toby inspected her eyes as if he could see all her deeds shining in them. As he did so, Gabe spoke again.

"She yanked his soul free when you weren't looking. Makes you wonder about Matilda, doesn't it?"

Toby stiffened and Jacqueline shook her head, frantic.

"No. No, Toby. I didn't do anything to her. Death did. She appeared to me and killed Matilda as punishment." Jacqueline clutched at Toby's arms before he would have turned away.  "Please. You know I wouldn't harm her."

"Punishment for what? Go on. Say it!" Toby's voice filled with ice and anger as she hesitated. "I want to hear you say what happened to Fortensky."

Her shoulders slumped and she could feel the talon on her fingers disappearing as anger was replaced with shame.

"I killed him," she whispered.

"So you lied to me."

"I couldn't tell you the truth, couldn't face your disappointment." She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "I can't get control over myself."

A small part of her thought he might be moved by her tears, that he might wrap his strong arms around her and pull her close.

Instead, he stood like a stone.

See, he's no better than Finn. Put your tears away and finish off Finn. We need you more than Toby does.

The energy of the murdered girls gathered around Jacqueline, tugging and pulling at her, appealing to the avenging nature that lay in her system. Their moans taunted, the visions of what Finn had done to each girl, the horror of their deaths filled Jacqueline's ears, building on the grief in her heart.

"No!" She shouted and thrust out her arms as if to push the energy away. "Get out of my head!"

There was silence. She knew the girls hadn't gone far. Their energy still felt close.

"Toby," she whispered, staring at the ground. "Can you forgive me?"

"Why didn't you tell me about seeing the spirits? We could have been working together on finding a way to change that?" Toby asked.

"Because I was afraid."

Before he could answer, Finn Spark stepped out onto the porch. He smiled as Jacqueline looked up. She tried to beat back the small rise of angry heat she felt at the sight of him.

"I see things are under control here," Finn said. "Good work, Toby. You obviously have a way with her."

"Shut your mouth, Spark." Toby still looked at Jacqueline. "Let's talk about your way with women. You weren't truthful about what happened in that hotel room, were you?"

"You can't believe anything she says," Finn said. "She's lied to you several times it seems. I had nothing to do with the death of those other girls."

"Other girls?" Toby turned his head slowly to look at Finn. "What other girls? You mentioned only a hotel maid."

"He's talking about the girls he's killed the last few years, the ones who have been following him around waiting to bump into someone like me who can help them get vengeance," Jacqueline said. "He strangles them, but before he lets them die, he uses a spell to take their sexual energy. It fuels him like a tonic, but what he doesn't realize, is that each time he does that, he binds their spirit to this world. He's taken a piece of them so that they can't go on. Which is why I have a gaggle of super pissed off dead chicks following me around right now."