The Curse Servant (The Dark Choir Book 2) (39 page)

“How sick is she?” he asked.

“Pretty sick.”

His eyes were wide, and he tucked in his bottom jaw the way he did when he was worried or in trouble.

“Did she throw up?”

It pained me to hear that. Ah, the mind of a child where throwing up was the worst possible thing that could happen to you.

“A couple times, yeah.”

“Did she get medicine?”

“Eddie, it’s not something medicine can help. But we’ve got a special doctor coming in tomorrow morning who’s going to make her better. Okay?”

He nodded, though his expression seemed unconvinced.

I looked up at the spiral stairs for either Edgar or Wren to make an appearance. They had asked me to keep Eddie distracted while they cleaned up Elle’s room. I could still hear scuffling upstairs, so I took a seat next to Eddie. I noticed his game wasn’t even on.

“Not playing your game?”

He shook his head solemnly.

“Did you have fun at your friend’s house?”

He shrugged.

This was going well.

After a series of deep sighs from his little chest, I tickled the back of his neck. When that didn’t work, I flicked his ear until he smiled. That was my opening. I went for the ribs with both hands, and he doubled over giggling, kicking back at me. One of his feet landed on my knee, and I pulled my legs up behind me.

By the time Wren appeared at the top of the stairs, the two of us were practically upside down on the couch looking back at her. I straightened up and tried to recover my dignity.

Wren stepped slowly down the stairs and put her hand on the back of Eddie’s head.

“Okay, big guy. Want to see her?”

She led the two of us back upstairs, through the living room, and into the hallway. Edgar emerged from Elle’s bedroom, tossing a cleaning rag over his shoulder. He gave Eddie a nod, and the boy stepped into his sister’s doorway.

His expression never changed. His eyes never moved. He just stood there, arms at his side.

A thin voice called from inside the bedroom. “Hey, jerkface.”

“Hey,” Eddie whispered.

“Where you been?”

“Jack’s.”

“He let you play on his trampoline?”

Eddie nodded.

“Good.”

“Are you going to get better?”

Elle didn’t answer.

I held a breath as Eddie entered the bedroom. I stepped behind him, peering in around the door to watch. Elle lay under her comforter. Her face was pale and drawn. I spotted a wooden wafer hanging on a length of yarn around her neck. Probably a health charm.

She reached out from under her blanket for Eddie, who stepped slowly to his sister.

“You will,” Eddie mumbled. “Dorian’s fixing it.”

I stepped away from the door. I didn’t want Elle to spot me. The last thing Eddie needed at that moment was for the thing inside of her to get stirred up. Plus, I wasn’t fixing anything. I made a phone call, and that’s about all I did. This thing was beyond my capacity, and I hated that the Swains seemed to think I was some kind of hero.

Edgar watched me from the front of the hall. I gave him a cock of my head.

“Nice charm, there.”

He grinned and shrugged.

I prodded, “Enochian?”

“With a little neodruid. Wren helped.”

“I’m glad you’re not in Baltimore. You two would put me out of business.”

Edgar kept an eye on the kids while I moved back into the front of their loft. I found Wren in the kitchen, holding out a glass of what I assumed was pink lemonade. I took it and sucked back a long sip.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The people he was staying with had a family emergency. He didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“We almost made it. One more day and this could have been all over.”

Wren guided me to a chair. “Edgar told me about this woman you’re flying in. I’m not crazy happy about this.”

I nodded slowly. “Neither am I. But she’s the best we can find. And I mean, she’s the best anyone can find.”

Wren looked me in the eyes. “She’s a murderer.”

“In the sense that a soldier in a war can be called a murderer.”

“She’s not a soldier. She’s a thug.”

I held up my hands. “Still, there’s a war between her people and the Presidium. They disappear people all the time. She’s just returning force with what force was given.”

“And now we’re caught in the crossfire.”

“Looks that way,” I grumbled.

Wren put a hand on my arm. “Dorian? Are you really okay with cursing this Carmody guy?”

“You have to ask?”

“If the Presidium finds out about it, chances are you’ll get disappeared too.”

“But Elle would be okay. That’s all that matters. She’s family.”

Wren stepped around the back of my chair before throwing both arms around my shoulders.

“So are you.” As she pulled away, I caught her wiping a single tear from her cheek. “So, you want to do it in your ritual space, Edgar says?”

“That’s right. The less Gillette moves the better.”

“I don’t want Eddie involved.”

“Agreed. Is there no one else he can stay with?”

She shook her head. “We’re running out of friends. And with all this, I don’t feel like leaving him with a stranger.”

I took a step back and snapped my fingers. “Yeah. That’s right.”

“What?”

“I might have a solution.”

I hopped out onto their balcony and pulled my phone to make a call.

“Hello?”

“Ches? It’s Dorian.”

“Hey.”

I pulled in a breath. “Listen, you told me you wanted to help me out with Elle?”

Her voice rose a register. “Yes, definitely!”

“I might have this figured out, but I need your help.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Mostly I need you to babysit.”

Long pause. “You’re kidding.”

“Really not.”

“You want me to babysit Elle?”

“Her brother. Their parents and I are about to bring her to Baltimore, and none of us want him to be exposed to this.”

“Back up a bit. What are you going to do? I mean, how are you going to fix Elle?”

“Long story. I’ll fill you in when it’s done. In the meantime we really, really need someone to watch Eddie for the next, oh, eighteen hours.”

“Eighteen… Dorian, I said I wanted to help―”

“Awesome. They’re in Frederick, by the way. It’s about an hour west.”

She shuffled her phone with a lot of ruffling. “You realize I have class in the morning, right? Can you bring Eddie here to Baltimore?”

I hadn’t thought of that, but as I gave it a second’s consideration I realized that I didn’t want either Eddie or Ches in the same city as Gillette. There was just too much that could go wrong, especially with Carmody on the warpath.

“It’s basically a hundred times safer out here in Frederick.” Her silence didn’t give me lots of encouragement. “Ches? This is end game. Last thing we have to do. It’s all over after this.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“What do you mean?”

Her voice dropped a little. “Why are you brooming me out of Baltimore?”

“Am I that obvious?”

She muttered, “I told you I’m a pro at sniffing out bullshit.”

“Okay, truth is I don’t want you in Baltimore. I basically have two practitioners at war with each other, and I’m choosing sides. I don’t want you in the trenches.”

“Well, thank you for leveling with me. And the answer is yes. I’ll help.”

Muscles I didn’t know were tensed released across my back. “You’re a life-saver.”

“I’ll pack some things and get there as soon as I can. What’s the address?”

I gave Ches some basic directions and stepped back inside. Wren sat at the table next to Eddie. I gave the boy a smile. “How’re you doing, buddy?”

“I’m okay.”

“You are, aren’t you?”

Wren asked, “Well? What’s going on?”

“I called Ches. She’ll watch Eddie here overnight.”

Wren closed her eyes and nodded with a sigh. “Okay.”

“We should pack some things.”

“Edgar’s already on it.”

“That much faith in me?”

Wren smirked. “What’s family for?” She stood up and ruffled my hair. “Well, you’re not like a brother or anything. More like the asshole cousin who keeps calling in the middle of the night for bail money.”

“I’ll take it.”

She disappeared into the back, leaving me with Eddie.

He stared at me for a while before asking, “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Who, Ches?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s right. You met her once.”

“She’s the spy?”

“Barista. She just makes coffee. Also, she’s a psychologist, so don’t try to pull anything over on her, or she’ll tell your Mom.”

The Swains put together a bag for Elle, and Edgar finally reappeared lugging it in tow.

“You set?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I guess so. Ches is coming?”

“You okay with that?”

“She’s cool. Glad she’s talking to you again.”

“Listen, there’s something that you might need to know about.”

“What now?”

“You remember Julian Bright?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s just been publically stoned for a relationship with a minor. He’s resigned his office, and probably won’t be able to work in politics again.”

Edgar winced. “Fuck.”

“Right?”

“That sucks, but what does that have to do with us?”

“Carmody.”

“What about him?”

“Who do you think leaked the story to the news?”

Edgar squinted and jutted out his jaw. “He’s swinging back at you?”

“Preemptive. A warning shot.”

“Think he’s got something on us?”

“I’d be prepared for it. Until the curse takes hold, however it takes hold, he’s going to be a threat.”

Edgar stared at the floor, then paced a tight circle. “Okay. We’ll be ready for him.”

I found myself wandering down to the store, watching Carroll Street for Ches. At the hour mark, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I figured Ches had gotten lost and was nudging me for directions.

I was wrong.

It was a text from Carmody, a single word.
RECONSIDER?

Before I could even ignore the comment and shove the phone back into my pocket, it buzzed one more time. This time Carmody had sent me a photo. It was just a single photo.

It was the act of a desperate man, but it succeeded in knocking the wind out of me.

y knees weakened, and I grabbed the door frame to keep from hitting the floor. The phone shook in my hand. No, it was my hand that was shaking.

I stuffed the phone into my pocket to keep from dropping it, but managed to get my legs again. I paced. Keeping my feet moving helped to keep the vertigo of cascading thoughts from physically knocking me over. My brain spun with calculation, deduction, contemplation. My heart raced. I balled up fists. Before I could turn another corner to pace, I kicked at an old coat rack, sending it teetering across the shop floor.

Edgar poked his head down the stairs at me, but I held up a hand with enough force to warn him off. He disappeared back upstairs, and I managed to snap out of my cycle of anger and alarm. I had no idea how to deal with this latest salvo from Carmody. None.

Tires crunched up the alley beside the store, and I bolted for the door. I spotted the back end of Ches’s crappy, old blue Chrysler sliding between buildings, and released a long slow breath between my teeth. I trotted around the corner and found her stepping out of her car. She turned and gave me a bashful grin.