The Banshee's Desire (14 page)

As Finn started to protest her words to Toby, Jacqueline turned to Gabe.

"He's exactly the same type of man as Fortensky," she said. "You know, they guy you didn't have the guts to get rid of even though he almost left Angela for dead--the woman I know you have feelings for. And how dare you tattle on me like some spoiled brat! I did what you couldn't. Coward."

"Jacqueline," Toby's warned. "Stop."

"I can see that you guys are about to have a domestic dispute here," Finn said, sliding away from them. "I'll just get out of your way."

"You're not going anywhere." Gabe kept his eyes on Jacqueline. He lifted his hand, and as he did so, Finn was pressed against the wall of the house. "Not till we're done with you."

"Gabe, put him down," Toby ordered. "We don't want more trouble with the Spark family."

"That's right," Finn said, with a hint of desperation. "I can call off this truce at any time. You know, Gabe, my father refers to you as 'the creature'. He never speaks your name even if you are part Spark. Letting you get off scot free for killing Derek is his only gift to you and only because Derek was a waste of skin. You harm me, I guarantee it won't be the same deal. He won't hesitate to rip you apart."

"Easy son." Toby lowered his voice and put a hand on Gabe's shoulder. "Don't do anything rash. I can handle this."

Reluctantly, Gabe put Finn back down.

"Go inside," Toby instructed his son. "Get the box."

Gabe tilted his head, wary. "You sure?"

"Get it!"

Gabe nodded and went in the house, the door slamming behind him.

What box, Jacqueline wondered, but before she could question him, Toby turned to Finn.

"I think you should go before things take a bad turn," Toby said. "I'll be in touch with your father regarding today's events. He may not like me, but he'll be interested to know about the possibility of his son murdering innocent girls. It sounds like a matter that should be taken up in front of the Brotherhood's council."

"He won't believe you," Finn said, though the idea seemed to shake him up. "I'm his favorite."

"We'll see."

With a small shrug, Finn turned and began walking away.

No! You can't let him go. The voices of the murdered girls rose, so powerful and so strong, that a breeze sprang up.

"I have to," Jacqueline whispered. "I can't kill for you."

Behind her, she heard Gabe come back out on the porch. He and Toby spoke in low, hushed tones, but she didn't bother to try and make out what they were saying.

Exhaustion and shame were the only things she felt.

Now that the truth was out, she didn't know what to expect from Toby. How would he be able to still love her?

But hope sprang in her heart. He was, after all, Toby. Yes, he was a tough guy, but underneath she'd seen the teddy bear he could be. He'd take her back, he'd forgive her, and he’d--

"Jacqueline," the soft sound of her name caused her to turn around. "I’m sorry, babe. This is the only way I can help you for the time being."

In his hands, Toby held a silver box.

The Box of Souls.

Slowly, he opened it, a stricken look on his face.

"Toby, no," she whispered.

A whirl of wind surrounded her and though she struggled, Jacqueline could not escape the net of energy the box emitted. It pulled at her, sucking her into the box, until all she could see was blackness.

And in the blackness she sobbed like her heart was broken.

****

Toby held the Box of Souls, a stricken expression on his face.

What had he done?

"It's for the best," Gabe said. "You've made the right decision."

"For now," Toby said. "But I don’t intend to keep her in there forever. I'm going to help Jacqueline."

"Do you really think you can?"

"I believe in her," Toby turned to look at his son. "But you know what I'm not sure of? You."

"What do you mean?" Gabe shifted uneasily, though his face was devoid of real emotion. That alone worried at Toby.

Just who was his son really?

"I understand that life has been tough for you, and I'm sorry for that, but you don't want to be on my bad side. I’m not sure what you are up to." Toby warned. "You may be a powerful wizard, but I can still make your life hell if you cross me."

"Look, I'm not the one who killed Jacob Fortensky," Gabe started to protest, but Toby cut him off.

"I know. I also know that you don't like Jacqueline, which makes me wonder why you waited to tell me the truth about what she'd done. I can't help but think that you chose to play the odds. Why? You don't want to do that with me, Gabe. It's too big a risk."

Toby pushed past Gabe and into the house, clutching the box tightly. He went down to his basement, a place he'd enchanted long ago against the curious eyes of normal humans. It was a sanctuary of sorts, a spot where he practiced his spells. He walked over to the small bank safe he concealed his most powerful possessions in and whispered the enchanted password.

Toby hugged the Box of Souls to him before placing it inside the safe and shutting it back up.

Then he sat down at his work bench and thought about what he'd done.

Locking Jacqueline in the box was a temporary band aid to bigger problems, problems that he turned over and over in his mind as he thought about her.

How could Jacqueline lie to him? How could he trust her to ever let her out? What if she never gained control over herself?

True, he could see to some extent the justification--Fortensky had been evil personified. The world was better off without him, but that didn't mean it was Jacqueline's right to kill him.

It was still murder no matter how you looked at it.

And Matilda, her death---it had been punishment for Jacqueline's actions. He didn't know who to be more pissed at, Death or the woman he'd trusted.

And if she had been allowed to kill Finn Spark…

Such an action would have given the Brotherhood plenty of justification for coming after Jacqueline. They could officially declare her a danger, a threat to their existence. Toby wouldn't be able to protect her.

Though he'd never told Jacqueline, he'd done a little digging of his own, discovering the story of Efa, the original half banshee. When he'd called Gabe earlier, his son had suggested using the Box of Souls to contain Jacqueline since it had been the only thing to stop Efa. The problem was that Toby didn't want to keep her in there for hundreds of years until she chilled out or whatever had happened to Efa's soul happen to Jacqueline's.

"Morrigan," Toby said, looking down at his spell book. "You are my only hope. I hope you're in a friendly mood today."

The thought of contacting a Celtic goddess was daunting. He wasn't sure how to begin.

Didn't matter. He would find away.

The answer to Jacqueline's rehabilitation was with Morrigan.

Toby opened the spell book and got to work. He was so focused on what he was doing that he never noticed the three wizards of the Brotherhood slip into the room.

Toby's last thought before being knocked out cold was of Jacqueline.

Gabe sat in Merlyn's Bar, sulking as he sipped on a beer.

What did his father know about anything?

Nothing. Because you've told him nothing, a little voice whispered in his head. He doesn't know how badly you want to protect him from the Brotherhood or your suspicions of Gwydion. You haven't trusted Toby enough to share that with him.

"Because my father wouldn't let me do what needs to be done," Gabe muttered out loud and sipped from his beer. "He'd be too worried about the consequence."

"Talking to yourself?"

He jumped and knocked the beer over. Angela stood in the doorway of the bar, her hair dancing in the breeze coming through the door. She gave him a tentative smile and nodded at his beer.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No big deal," he grumbled, getting up to grab a rag. As he wiped up the counter, he saw her look around the empty bar. "You looking for Jacqueline?"

"No. I'm just…well, actually, I was looking for you." Angela sat down at the bar stool he'd just vacated. "I need to talk to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're determined to avoid me, I guess."

"I'm not trying to avoid you."

Angela tapped her fingers impatiently on the bar.

"Look, Angela, if this is about the Fortensky thing, you thanked me already. It's over. Just let that night go," Gabe scrubbed at the bar furiously, angered every time the image of her hurt face flashed in his mind, and the anguish he saw in her eyes that night.

She placed a hand on top of his.

"I can't let it go. And I need you to know that I'm grateful. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you," she whispered.

He stared at her, amazed when her eyes filled with shiny tears. One dropped to her cheek and Gabe reached out to wipe it away. The action seemed to release the floodgates and Angela started crying in earnest.

Not knowing what to do, Gabe walked around the bar and held her.

Her body felt warm and soft, and though the situation was tense, he couldn't help but enjoy the sensation of her in his arms. It lit a fire in him, arousing him, making him want to do much more than just to offer comfort. Unable to help himself, Gabe ran a hand through her hair.

"I’m sorry," she sobbed. "I just…I just hurt so bad."

"Where are you hurting?" He pulled away, ready to work some healing magic. "I can help you."

"No. It's not physical. It's emotional," she said with a brittle laugh. "I can't stop being sad. I can't stop jumping at every noise."

Gabe stared at her, unsure what to do, knowing that what his instincts wanted weren't the right thing.

Screw doing the right thing, he decided.

"Angela, look at me." He tilted her head up so he could see her eyes. He caressed the bandage hiding her scar. "You will get better. You're a beautiful woman and there is someone out there who will make all your worries and fears go away."

Then he pressed his lips to hers, amazed at how soft they were, stunned by the sensation of desire that swept through him. And then something even more amazing happened.

Angela kissed him back.

"Wow," she whispered as they broke apart. "Wow. You kiss good, puppy dog."

"Um…what am I?" he asked, his eyes still half closed. "A dog?"

"Some men are," she said. "But not you."

Gabe opened his eyes wider and started to say something, but just as he did, a tingle ran up his spine, one that had nothing to do with sex or desire.

Wizards.

He sensed at least three of them nearby.

His first thoughts were of his father.

"You okay?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. I just need to…" He trailed off unable to think of an excuse to leave that wouldn't hurt her feelings.

"You need to think about what happened?" she prompted. "Right? I mean, we just had ourselves an amazing liplock, but I'm not ready to…well…you know…"

He grinned.

"Don't worry. When you're ready for me to take you to bed, it won't be happening in this bar," he said.

"Deal." Her grin slowly faded as she stood up. "But it might be awhile."

"No worries," he said. "I can wait."

But as she left, he couldn't help but marvel at the protective feeling that sprung up in him towards Angela. Gabe almost called out to her, to find some way to keep her around a little longer. He'd never really felt that way.

Was this how his father and Jacqueline felt? Was this why Toby was always quick to protect her? To believe her?

The tingle ran down his spine again and then was gone. That meant the other wizards had left the area.

He reached out with his mind, channeling his powers to check on Toby. When he'd last left him, the man had looked like he'd been hit by a truck. Gabe doubted that he was in any shape to fight off the Brotherhood.

He couldn't sense his father anywhere.

"Shit," he muttered.

That could only mean that the Brotherhood had him, and though Gabe had tried for weeks to find a way to locate the council, he'd been unsuccessful.

Alright. It was time to put some of his daydreams of revenge into action.

Time to give the Spark family a wakeup call.

****

Finn Spark was pissed.

He'd intended to slip back into his hotel room and gather his things before returning to
Atlanta
. Unfortunately, the cops were swarming the hotel when he'd shown up.

Someone had alerted them about two people arguing loudly and when they'd investigated the disturbance, they'd found a dead body--and Finn's ID lying on the dresser.