The Banshee's Desire (9 page)

But that wasn’t any of his business.

Still, he scanned her body, taking in the limp, the bandaged wrist, the sad look in her eyes matched by dark hollows beneath them. She hadn't been sleeping.

He watched Jacqueline hug Angela and whisper something that made the wounded woman smile. Together they scurried over to a back corner of the bar where the light was dim. Jacqueline looked his way and he knew without being told what she wanted.

Going behind the bar, he poured a glass of wine and brought it to their table.

"Thank you," Jacqueline said, pushing the glass towards Angela.

"Yes, thank you." Angela looked up at him and a little fire ignited in his gut. Even bruised and banged up, she was still beautiful. "My thank you is long overdue."

"Don't know what you're talking about," Gabe said, gruffly. "It's just a glass of wine."

"It's more than that and you know it." Angela touched his hand. "Thank you for saving me."

For a moment, he stared into her eyes, moved by the true emotion there.

"Like I said, it was nothing," he shrugged.

But even as his thoughts flashed back to that hellish night, Gabe felt anger prick at him. Bastard! Fortensky had no right to touch Angela, no right to even breathe the same air as her. If Jacqueline hadn't finished him off, Gabe would have done it himself.

Angela was the only reason he'd kept his mouth shut when it came to telling Toby about what Jacqueline had done.

Jacqueline gave a little gasp and then covered her mouth with her hand.

She looked at the empty space next to Gabe and then back at his face.

"Glad you're feeling better," Gabe said and hurriedly moved away. He could feel Jacqueline’s gaze burning a hole in his back though, and he had a pretty good idea about what she'd seen.

So the stories were true.

Half banshees were able to see the souls of the murdered.

As he rechanted the spell he'd been using ever since he'd killed Derek, he wondered who she had seen: Derek or Eric Huston? And why had the spell suddenly slipped? It had been powerful enough to block her from seeing anything for almost four months.

He'd have to do some more research, review his notes.

Still chanting, he'd grabbed a broom for the storage closet and began sweeping up the stale popcorn that someone had spilled in the backroom by the shuffleboard.  As he pushed the kernels along, he heard the back entrance of the bar open.

A little tingle crept along the back of his neck. Straightening slowly, he turned to see a man not much older than himself standing at the door. His gaze traveled the area slowly, taking in the mourners before it settled on Gabe.

The man smiled.

"You must be Gabe," he said.

"And you are?" Gabe's fingers twitched as he readied a defensive spell. Everything about this guy smelled of wizard. "This is a private party."

"Doesn't look like a party to me. Feels more like a wake."

"I'll ask again: who are you?"

The young man grinned revealing his perfect white teeth.

"Finneus Spark. I believe you knew my brother Derek."

"What the hell do you want?" Gabe's senses were on full alert and he wished Toby wasn't spending his time getting drunk in the office. His father had warned him the Spark family would likely retaliate over Derek's death. However, Gabe had hoped Toby would back him up in a fight.

Not that he couldn't handle Finn Spark.

The guy looked like he spent more time preening in front of a mirror than fighting.

"All I want is to talk. I have no interest in causing trouble," Finn said. "I had hoped to shake your hand if you'll let me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you killed Derek."

This was unexpected. Where was the anger? The desire for revenge?

Finn laughed at the expression on Gabe's face.

"I hated that son of a bitch brother of mine. When I heard he was dead, I cheered. I'm not here for vengeance if that's what you are worried about," Finn said. "In fact, one of the reasons I'm here is to let you know that as far as the Spark family is concerned, there are no hard feelings."

"And the other reasons?"

"There is only one." Finn leaned his head to the side, studying Gabe. "I wanted to speak with you about the half banshee I know that you and Toby are harboring. I'd like to give you a warning."

"A warning?" Gabe narrowed his eyes. "What kind of warning?"

"The Brotherhood is coming," Finn said, lowering his voice. "They want Jacqueline Huston more than ever."

"What does the Brotherhood want with her?"

"I'm not sure."

"You should probably move on then. The owner of this place doesn't care for members of the Spark family," Gabe said.

"And you?"

"I'm not a member of your family."

"The Spark blood runs through your veins."

"I haven't exactly been embraced by your kin. Derek wasn't very good at playing the part of stand-in-father either. My real family, the people who raised me, are dead." Gabe shrugged. "I have no interest in kindling any ties with the
Sparks
."

"Too bad," Finn mused. "I had hoped we might strike up a friendship. It would have pissed off my brother and I'm for anything that does that."

His eyes looked over Gabe's shoulder, lighting up with interest as he spied Jacqueline.

"Is that her? The banshee?"

"You need to leave. This is a private party."

"She's beautiful. I can see why Toby is so taken with her."

"It's time for you to go."

"I just want to speak with her. It will only take a moment," Finn started towards her.

"What part of get out do you not understand, Spark?"

Toby's deep voice caught Gabe off guard, and he realized his father had just materialized in the room. Allowing mortals to see your magic was frowned upon and Toby firmly believed in not breaking that code. Gabe figured he must have been drunk enough to forget the code, but not drunk enough to miss the buzzing energy belonging to a new wizard in his bar.

"I've got this, Toby." Gabe gritted his teeth.  "It's nothing."

"Kid, I can feel the power vibrating off this guy. He's the one I sensed a few nights ago, too." Toby crossed his arm. "What are you doing around here? I already warned you off once."

"I'm Finn Spark."

"I'm Mr. I Don't Give a Shit. What the hell do you want?"

"I just delivered a truce to Gabe. I wanted him to know that the Spark family is not interested in pursuing revenge over Derek's death," Finn said, his cool composure broken by Toby's bluster.

"Great. You've delivered the message."

"I also wanted to speak with Jacqueline Huston."

Toby glanced at Jacqueline who'd stood and was staring at them.

"No."

"I mean her no harm. I'm just curious about her."

"Curious?" Toby grunted. "Like your brother, huh? Curious enough to try and use her for yourself?"

"I'm not Derek."

"Good for you. Apparently, you're as dumb as he was though. You can't follow simple directions." Toby's voice rose. "Get the hell out of my bar!"

The tone brought Jacqueline over, a worried expression on her face.

"Toby, what's wrong?" she asked, putting her hand on his arm. "You okay?"

"I’m out of whiskey. I'm not okay."

Finn's smile oozed charm as he flashed it at Jacqueline.

"We'll get you more, babe," she said, ignoring him. "Come with me."

"Not till this guy leaves," Toby said.

Jacqueline looked at Finn and frowned. 

"My name is Finn. I believe I've gotten off on the wrong foot with Mr. Williams." Finn stuck out his hand. "It's my pleasure to finally meet you."

Jacqueline stared at his hand a second before turning her attention to his face. Gabe thought he saw just the tiniest shade of green creeping into her eyes as she studied Finn.

"I saw you at the hospital the other day. You were at the nurse's station. I don't know what your intentions are, but I take it you've been snooping in
Galesburg
Falls
for a few days if Toby knew you were here," she said, softly. "But you really should go. Death waits for you if you stay here."

The smile on Finn's face faded.

"I can sense the magic in you and I'm sure you know what I am," Jacqueline continued. "But more than that, I can see a dark outline around you, the mark of Death. It isn't wise to linger here when there are two powerful wizards just waiting to unleash their magic in your direction."

"And you, my pretty banshee?" Finn asked. "What kind of power are you waiting to unleash?"

Her smile gave Gabe the shivers.

"You don't want to test me," Jacqueline said. "It wouldn't be in the best interest of your health."

Toby swayed on his feet then. Gabe wasn't sure how much of the conversation he'd been able to keep up with, but his drunken state of mind was just the distraction they needed. He grabbed Toby and slipped an arm around his shoulder.

"C'mon, Toby. Finn is leaving," Gabe said.

"Damn right he is," Toby muttered.  "Damn
Sparks
. Haven't they caused enough trouble over the years?"

"Spark? You're a Spark?" Jacqueline asked Finn.

"Yes and I'd love to speak with you about a few things that might be important to you in the coming weeks. Toby's life could very well depend on it. The Brotherhood is planning to take serious action against him. I can help." Finn produced a card out of thin air. He handed it to her. "That's where I'm staying. Feel free to call me any time."

With a nod, Finn Spark strode out of the bar.

Jacqueline stared down at the card.

"Do you think he's right, Gabe? Is Toby in danger?" she asked. "From who?"

Gabe shrugged as he supported Toby.

"The Brotherhood, maybe?" he suggested.

"Screw those guys," Toby said. "Nothing brotherly about them. And what were you saying? You saw him at the hospital? Did that Spark asshole hurt my mother?"

"No, honey, it was nothing like that," Jacqueline soothed.

"Yeah? Then what was it like? What aren't you telling me?"

"Shhh…let's get you back to the office," she soothed.

Jacqueline tucked the card in her pants pocket. Slipping an arm around Toby, she helped support him through the bar and into his office. He fell on the couch in the corner and began to snore.

"Poor baby," she whispered, stroking his hair.

"Are you going to call Finn?" Gabe asked.

"It's a risk I may have to take. He said the Brotherhood was going to take action," she said, looking down at Toby.

"Did you really see the mark of Death on Finn?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I just hope that I'm not the one who's supposed to cause it to come true."

Gabe said nothing, but his mind filled with all kinds of dark thoughts.

There were heavy decisions coming.

And coming soon.

Silent, Jacqueline watched Toby sleep off the booze.

Damn, but she was worried about him.

She'd never seen him this messed up before. He'd always been the tough guy, the one that was there for her.  It frightened her a little, made her realize how much she'd come to depend on him to be her rock.

Now it was her turn to be his rock.

It gave her a little jolt to realize she wanted more than anything to be there for him, how badly she wanted to help him. The thought of watching over Toby, even though he was just in a drunken daze, made her feel stronger.

It also eased the guilt.

She closed her eyes.

Don't think about it. Don't think about the spirits you're seeing now or that Derek Spark's ghost was just standing next to Gabe. Don't think about the way Death just ripped Matilda's soul away. Don't think about how you did nothing to stop it.

But how could she have stopped it? She'd had no inkling of Death's plan. In fact, she didn't think that Death had really known what the outcome of their meeting would be. The bitch had killed Matilda on a whim. To teach a lesson. To send a warning for what she'd done to Jacob Fortensky.

Oh, god. If Toby ever found out about that…

If he knew that Matilda's death had been because of what Jacqueline had done…

He would never forgive her. He would never understand. And the anger--no one had to tell Jacqueline about that. Toby would rise up against her, maybe even try to kill her. And then what? Would she be forced to use her powers to stop him? Or did she just stand there and take it? What if---

Stop!

Jacqueline chided herself. Toby would never kill her. He loved her and she could never hurt him, could never steal his soul.