The Demon Hunters (30 page)

I think I did a pretty good job of
appearing calm as I absorbed the information, but inside I quivered
with excitement, my pulse jumping. This could be it, the reason
Maud sent Elizabeth’s journal to us. This was the connection. The
natives recognized Daven for what he was, kin to the lone surviving
member of a now extinct colony. This boy had to be a Dark Cousin.
He was identifying Dark Cousins for Vance.

Now what was I to do? Tell Gia about
Vance, what we knew of him? I listened for water running upstairs.
Royal was still in the shower.

I put the bowl away, snagged two mugs
by the handles and opened the top cabinet. “You think this boy is
the one? He somehow ended up in the States and decided to have his
people murdered? Why? And where would he get the resources to hire
an assassin?”

With a little shake of her head, she
gave me an impatient look, something I do myself. I didn’t like
seeing it on her. “We will know when we find him.”

I nested the mugs atop the
others and closed the cabinet. I faced her, leaned back against the
counter, bracing my elbows on it. “We can try. I don’t know how
difficult tracing a preteen coming into the States from Myanmar
will be.” I sighed - no, we couldn’t tell Gia, unless we could
prove Vance had the boy. She might decide to take matters into her
own hands and go after him. She could destroy what little headway
we’d made, not to mention hurting a
possibly
innocent man.

If
Vance was the European in question. Had to be. Right? “This
man. . . . What did the village people say about him?”

“
They did not know his
name. They described him as tall, pale skinned and
elderly.”

I felt my eyebrows loft almost to my
hairline. Elderly? Definitely not Vance.

I love when a morsel of new
information falls into place.

I casually took a seat at the kitchen
table. “Well, that’s one for the books. What do we do
now?”

She stood, and grasped the back of the
chair with both hands. “I do not know. Will Royal be
long?”

Drat. I wanted her gone so I could
talk to Royal. “He’s in the shower.”

“
I know. I repeat, will he
be long?”

I shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. He
just got in there.”

She looked me in the eyes. I gave her
a bright smile.

“
I will return
momentarily,” she said as she took her hands from the chair. I
stayed in my seat as she left the kitchen, the house, and walked
down the drive to her car.

“
She is one - ”Jack
began.

Rising as she opened the car door, I
held up my hand. “Shush!” Then I stepped to the counter, opened my
address book, found the number I wanted and dialed.

“
Janine?” I asked as the
party picked up their phone.

“
Yes?”

“
It’s Tiff Banks. I hope
this isn’t an inconvenient time to call?”

“
No. It’s fine. How can I
help?”

“
Do you remember when we
spoke of Hans Stadelmann? You told me you thought he’s living in
Arizona. Did you learn anything more of his
whereabouts?”

“
As a matter of fact, I
did, and I was going to call you, but it slipped my mind. He’s in
Sedona.” She paused. “He
is
involved in your case.”

I gave a casual laugh. “Janine. . . .”
I chided.

“
I know, you can’t tell
me,” she said with a chuckle.

I murmured a good-bye and let her
go.

“
Er . . . Tiff,” Jack said
in a voice which sounded more strained than usual.

Gia stood behind me on the other side
of the kitchen table.

I dropped the phone in the cradle.
Goddamn Otherworldy and their sensitive hearing. She heard me from
all the way out at the curb. I should have waited
longer.

I would not have been surprised if
flames shot out her black eyes, she was so angry. “Stadelmann was
in Myanmar, and he is elderly.”

I nodded. I couldn’t speak past the
dread lodged in my windpipe

She stepped around the table. “Where
is he?”

My nails dug into my palms. “I need
your word you won’t go ballistic and hurt him.”

“
Where is he?” she repeated
through gritted teeth.

My heart picked up a few beats as I
shook my head. “If he did take the boy from Myanmar, I’m pretty
sure he’s not the Charbroiler. You should let me and Royal handle
this.”

“
I could make you tell
me.”

“
You could try.”
Did I just say that? I must be insane.

She took another step. The counter-top
dug in the base of my spine. “Give me your word.”

She made a noise in her throat. “You
never learn, do you.”

Royal came into the kitchen just then,
his long hair in wet strands over his naked shoulders. He blurred,
and there he stood between me and Gia. I kind of flopped back
against the counter in relief.

I spoke up before he could open his
mouth. “Fancy a trip to Arizona?”

Chapter
Twenty-
Five

We demoned to the airport. We could
have gone clear to Arizona. I was getting used to demon speed and
it’s fast, but I felt ornery. I’d had enough of being taken there,
told to come here, do this, do that. Time to put my foot down. We
were flying to Sedona. Gia knew she couldn’t dissuade me short of
laying into me again, and now she no longer controlled him, Royal
might have something to say about that.

If I’d thought it would come to a
fight, I’d have backed down because I thought Gia was stronger and
definitely more vicious, and I would not want to see Royal
bloodied.

At the airport, Gia went right to
check-in and spoke to the attendant. Then she started through the
lounge, stopping for a quick word with people here and there. She
sat next to an elderly couple and leaned in close to talk to them.
They dressed casual, but wore the stamp of class. After half a
minute, they walked out of the lounge. She wended through the
passengers again and this time spoke to a tall young guy. He also
left the lounge after a minute of conversation. Rather, those three
people didn’t speak with Gia, they listened, and they
left.

We sat until the flight was called and
people boarded. Then there seemed to be some discussion up at the
desk and the attendant sent out a call for a Mr. and Mrs. Garcia,
and a Sidney Gredelson. They called for Gia minutes later. She went
to the desk, and returned to us with three tickets in her
hand.

I think she put us on the
standby list, and made the attendant give her the names of
first-class passengers. Then she found three of those passengers
and
persuaded
them
to leave. And we got their first-class seats.

Flying first class was a whole new
experience for me. I doubt first class on a Boeing M80 compares
with one of the larger planes, the ones which fly International,
but it still outranks economy class. The seats are bigger, comfier,
with foot-rests, and plenty of space between passengers. The TV
screen is bigger too, but I didn’t turn mine on. The flight
attendants were there if you so much as looked their
way.

I looked out the window at the clouds
during the flight, thinking. What we found in the Emerson Building
seemed to point the finger of guilt at Vance, and now we had
Stadelmann added to the mixture. Were they in cahoots? Gia thought
the mysterious boy from Myanmar was identifying Dark Cousins, so
surely he had to be one, or Gelpha. Why did he want his people
dead? I supposed the why didn’t matter, as long as we found and
stopped him.

We arrived in Flagstaff at
three-thirty and caught a cab for the thirty-minute drive to
Sedona. Again, I insisted. Although the back seat could take all
three of us, Gia sat up front with the driver. I saw the reflection
of her eyes in the rearview mirror and felt the weight of her cold,
hostile gaze.

Sedona is a nice little
town. Surrounded by red rock monoliths and impressive canyons, it’s
often called Red Rock Country, a draw to archaeologists and
historians and fast becoming a center for
spiritual and metaphysical
practitioners. As we headed for Hans Stadelmann’s home near
Oak Creek Canyon to the north of the city, road-side signs told me
Sedona also has world-class hotels, resorts and
restaurants.

Royal looked cool and
comfortable in his blue silk shirt, but I could feel the warmth
from his body spanning the gap between us. My eyes on the passing
scenery, I thought about his special demon heat. Whoever first
called a guy
hot
could have been looking at Royal, because he’s hot in more
ways than one.

He took my hand and smiled at me, and
I gave him a silly grin.

I thought Stadelmann would
live in assisted living or some type of community for the elderly.
I did not expect the big artsy-looking adobe house in the middle of
an acre of xenoscaped land. Rocks of all sizes marked out a winding
gravel driveway to the house and a circular parking area in front.
I hoped he still lived there. Did Stadelmann take the boy from
Nagka?
Was
the boy
a Dark Cousin or Gelpha who wanted his people dead? So many
questions needing answers. Would the old man cooperate?

“
Ouch,” Royal said softly
in my ear. I held his hand like the grip of death.

“
Sorry,” I murmured, easing
up on the pressure. “I guess I’m anxious.”

Gia asked the cabbie to wait and damn
the cost, but I supposed she could afford it. The chirruping of
crickets almost deafened me and they bounced out of our way as we
walked the crazy-paving path to the sandstone wall surrounding the
house. They leaped from under our feet, their colorful wings making
them look like butterflies.

An arched entrance led us to an inner
courtyard paved in slabs of honey-colored sandstone. Groups of cast
iron garden furniture, powder coated white, sat in little clumps in
one corner of the patio, near the central fountain and over by a
big gas grill. Some of the potted cacti dotted around were taller
than the chairs. A breeze nudged at a big iron cowbell suspended
from one of the oak beams which spanned the patio. The front door
sat back in a shadowed alcove, protected from the sun.

Gia strode to the door, rang the bell
and followed with a rap of her knuckles. Footsteps pattered on tile
from inside the house. A woman dressed like a nurse opened the
door. She wore a white knee-length coat with a watch pinned to the
lapel and the same sturdy, comfortable, surgical-style tennis shoes
I prefer. Her head went up in surprise when she saw us.

Gia stepped in close and
put a
geis
on her
before she could say one word.

I have to admit, something like that
could come in handy, if you didn’t have a conscience. Gia could,
would, make the woman forget she ever saw us. The Dark Cousin
didn’t want to waste time with the nurse. Get in there, talk to the
guy, get out, and nobody any the wiser.

Easier, sure, but I didn’t like what
she did. She bent a person to her will, took away their volition,
took a piece of their memory; hence, took a piece of their life.
That’s the way I saw it. And that the nurse would never know what
Gia did to her made no difference. It was wrong.

So I was not in a good mood as we
followed the nurse through the house. And I was worried Gia would
go off on the old guy and we would not be able to stop
her.

We went along a cool, narrow,
high-ceilinged passageway. The creamy tan walls had a roughed-over
effect which contrasted well with the smooth tile floor. Through an
arched entrance on the right, I saw a living room painted in desert
colors, a highly polished oak floor with Native American style
throw rugs, and minimalistic furnishing. On the left, another arch
led into a kitchen cum dining area with shining countertops and
stainless-steel appliances. But the place didn’t have the feel of
being lived in. It looked like a spotless show house, ready for
prospective buyers, with everything in its place. I expected
souvenirs from Stadelmann’s travels, and wondered if he moved there
recently, and fell ill before he could unpack his personal bits and
pieces.

I also anticipated medical equipment
in his bedroom, but there was none. Hospice sees you on your way,
they don’t try to keep you here.

The nurse waited outside the
door.

Blinds filtered the harsh
light of the Arizona sun, creating horizontal white lines on the
cream walls. The faint but unmistakable odors of antiseptic body
wash and urine fought for dominance with neither winning.
So old, lying in his sterile bed in his sterile
room, his skin yellow tinged and loose on his bones, his hair
fine white wisps over his scalp, his tall bony body outlined
beneath a single sheet. His face looked all beaky nose and hollows.
We crept in and he rolled his head to see us. His reaction, the
sudden blaze in his old eyes, took me aback.