The Returned (16 page)

“First House?” Caitlin whispered to Edward.

“I think so,” Edward said. “Rugarou?”

One looked the men over. “We're investigating—”

“A case that was closed more than six months ago,” the bearish man said. “Is the federal government reopening it?”

“Three, Five,” One said, “we're leaving.” He glanced back to Caitlin and Edward. “Allow me to accompany you back to your—”

“I wasn't talking to them,” the big man said. “They
were
invited.”

Caitlin and Edward exchanged a look.

“Stay out of this,” One said to Edward and Caitlin. “You won't get a third warning.”

“Neither will you,” the big man said.

“Good day,” One said, then stepped past the collection of First House men, Three and Five following him. That was when Edward noticed a girl, maybe in her early twenties, sporting a smile and dressed in clothes that screamed “street kid.” Her features were wolfish too but not as severe as the men's. As the number men drove off, the girl waved and gave them the finger, which is when Edward spotted the tattoo of a joker card on her forearm.

“You Edward and Caitlin?” the girl asked.

Edward nodded.

“Wraith asked me to look out for you while she was doing something. I'm Marie,” the girl said. “Everyone just calls me Joker.”

“Not everyone,” the big man said.

Joker wrapped her arms around one of his, which was almost as big around as her waist, and hugged it. “This is my big brother. We call him Little Joe.”

“Just Joe is fine,” he said.

“That's Michael, David, and Billy,” Joker said, ignoring her brother and pointing to each of the others.

“How did she know where we were?” Caitlin asked.

“She didn't,” Joker said. “But she said you'd probably be looking into things, so I put the word out, and to be honest, a couple of well-dressed white folks tend to stick out in this neighborhood.” She nodded at Caitlin. “Especially a redhead.”

“Well, thanks for stepping in,” Caitlin said.

“Ain't no thing, darling,” Joker said. “But you're not going to find anything here.”

“Actually,” Edward said, “we saw some magic—”

“That's our ward,” Joe said. “We purged and cleaned the place of darkness, then put up a ward to keep the mundane people away.”

Edward was about to ask how it was covered in soot if it had been applied after the fire, but he decided discretion was the better course.

“Not that they really needed to be told,” Joker said.

“Were you here when it happened?” Edward asked Joker, then looked at the others.

“No,” Joker said. “Thank God. Ugly mess, it was.”

“Do you know if any of the gangs involved use magic?” Edward asked. “We're looking into the—”

“The revenants,” Joker said and nodded. “I figured as much when Wraith started talking about the coroner's office.”

“You know about them?” Caitlin asked.

“Of course we do,” Joe said. “Just like the Rogue Court, we keep informed about any use of hoodoo in our protectorates, especially when it's dark like this.”

“To answer your question,” Joker said, “there are a couple with the Royal Skeleton Brigade and the Scarlet Enigmas who can toss a little hoodoo around, but no one with enough mojo to be making revs.”

“I, uh, think they might be getting help,” Edward said. “From a Hellspawned.”

Joker's smile faded. “Holy shit, seriously?”

“I can't be sure,” Edward said. “But I have a strong suspicion.”

Joe said something to Joker and the others in what sounded like French, but Edward had trouble making it all out. But he did clearly hear the word
possession
.

“That's my thinking too,” Edward said, “that whoever is doing this might be controlled by the Hellspawned.”

The group of First House rugarou looked at him.

“You speak Acadian?” Joker asked.

“French,” Edward said. “And a few others, so I didn't understand everything you said, but enough to get the gist.”

“You think you can find the person doing this?” Joe asked.

Edward looked at Caitlin.

“Maybe,” she said. “We want to try.”

“Why?” Joe asked.

“Because it's the right thing to do,” Caitlin said and pressed herself close to Edward, taking his hand in hers. “And because we personally know what it means to have the help of strangers when you need it most.”

“But we don't want to step on any toes,” Edward said. “I just don't want someone who might not be in control to be locked up somewhere by—”

“A nameless, faceless, heartless government shadow group?” Billy asked.

“I was going to say ‘people who might not care so much,' but what you said works too,” Edward said.

“You won't get anywhere talking to the RSB or SE,” Joker said.

“But we might,” Joe said.

Edward looked at the big man's smile and thought he could probably get information from a comatose boulder.

Caitlin reached into her purse and retrieved a notepad and a pen, scribbled something on it, then handed it to Joe. “This is my cell number. If you could let us know if you find anything, or if we can help, I'd consider it a personal favor.”

Everyone gave her a look.

“And yes,” Caitlin said, “I'm well aware what that means.”

Joe took the paper, nodded, then gave his number to Caitlin. “You'll do the same?”

“Of course,” she said.

“Thank you again,” Edward said and offered his hand.

“My pleasure,” Joker said, stepping in front of Joe and taking Edward's hand. “Wraith was right—you two are pretty cool.”

Edward and Caitlin walked back to their car.

“So that's what a rugarou looks like,” Edward said.

“Joker and Joe weren't wolves,” Caitlin said, “though the others might be.”

Edward nodded. “From what Wraith said, it sounds like the legends focused on wolves, but many cultures had all kinds of shape-shifters.”

“Joker said Joe was her brother,” Caitlin said. “Do you think she meant that literally?”

“No idea,” Edward said. “I missed the day my genetics professor went over shape-shifters.”

Caitlin stuck out her tongue.

Edward smiled and opened his door to get in the car. As he did, he noticed a girl a few houses down. She was standing on a narrow porch watching them intently. She was young, maybe fourteen, her dark hair in long cornrows and her dark eyes far too keen and weary to belong to a teenager. They reminded him of Wraith's eyes.

“I'm not sure what would be worse,” Caitlin said as Edward slid in behind the wheel and started the car. “Being a kid living so close to a tragedy like that or being the parent of one.”

“I hope neither of us ever has to find out,” he said as he pulled away.

W
raith stepped out of the universal junction point and into a narrow alley in the French Quarter.

“What the—” a surprised voice said.

Wraith spun around and saw two rough-looking men going over the contents of an obviously stolen purse staring at her. She lifted her hand and pointed it at one, but before she could get a shot off, one of the two charged her and knocked her back against the wall. Her head bounced off brick, and the world spun for a moment.

“Where the hell did you come from?” the man asked, then punched her in the stomach.

The blow knocked the wind out of her, and she doubled over, gasping for air.

“You got down the wrong alley, chere,” the other man said and punched her in the face.

She fell to the ground and drew in a full, deep breath of air that reeked of urine and sewage. The first man drew back to kick her, but she rolled away, bringing her hand up when she came back around.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” she shouted and sent blast after blast at her attackers.

Her aim was horrible, but the alley was narrow, and she'd let loose a lot of blasts. The two men were tossed backward amid a cloud of pulverized brick, smacking the wall as they tumbled.

She got to her feet, using the wall to brace her unsteady legs.

The two muggers groaned and tried to get to their feet.

Wraith wiped her mouth and saw blood on her hand. She took a deep breath and cleared the cobwebs from her head, then she drew in power and stepped to the two kindly gentlemen.

“Ass! Holes!” she said and kicked at one, packing some kinetic force behind it. She'd aimed for his literal ass, but her aim was off too, and she caught him in the balls.

The man lifted from the ground nearly a foot, then fell back into a crumpled heap, gasping for breath, his hands over his groin.

“No, please,” the other man said, one hand covering his family jewels, the other up in a placating motion.

“I still owe you,” Wraith said and punched him, her arm propelled with more force than a heavyweight boxer and her fist wrapped in super-dense bosons. There was a snapping sound as the bastard's jaw broke, and he fell back, unconscious. She glanced at the other, but he was still crying in a fetal ball, cradling his nuts.

Wraith stumbled back, collected the purse and what she presumed were its discarded items, then staggered to the locked gate. A simple equation popped it, and she stepped out onto the sidewalk. A few blocks later, she found a cop, handed him the purse, and told him where he could find the two who'd taken it. The cop looked like he was going to protest when she turned to leave, but he didn't. Another couple of blocks later, and amid a growing crowd of tourists and partiers, she leaned against the wall and collected herself. When her head stopped spinning, she took out her phone and checked on Edward's location with the tracking program. It was at the hotel, which was a relief. Hopefully he and Caitlin had a less exciting afternoon than her. Even so, she was going to have to thank Joker for keeping her eye on them while she was out of pocket.

“W
hat the hell happened?” Caitlin said the moment she saw Wraith.

She, Edward, and Henry were sitting in a booth of the hotel bar. Wraith walked over and slid in next to Caitlin.

“You should see the other two,” Wraith said, then picked up Caitlin's beer to take a drink.

“Two?” Caitlin said, taking the beer from Wraith and handing her a glass of water.

Wraith looked from the water to Caitlin and back, then pressed the cold glass to her cheek. “They surprised me. They were in the alley I stepped into. Surprised them too, I think.” She laughed a little. “Come to think of it, they really did get the worst of it.”

“Let me have a look,” Caitlin said and moved to examine her.

“Appreciate it,” Wraith said. “But I'll be fine. I've had worse.”

“Humor me,” Caitlin said.

Wraith let out a sigh, set the glass down, then turned to Caitlin.

“It's going to leave one hell of a bruise,” Caitlin said after a moment, then touched Wraith's temple, just below her hairline. “Probably here too.” She pulled out a key chain and used a small light on it to check Wraith's pupils. “It doesn't look like you've got a concussion, but I'd feel better if you went to a hospital. Is your vision okay?”

“Yes,” Wraith said. “I see all four of you just fine.”

Caitlin narrowed her eyes.

“I'm fine,” Wraith said.

“Can I, uh, get you anything?” the bartender, whom Wraith hadn't even seen walk over, said.

“Vodka on the rocks,” Wraith said. “Triple.”

The bartender opened his mouth.

“She meant to say ‘Coke,' ” Caitlin said.

“Spoilsport,” Wraith said.

“Okay,” Edward said. “Now that George Foreman over there is—”

“What's the grill guy have to do with—?”

“He was a boxer,” Caitlin said to Wraith.

“Oh,” she said. “You're a funny one, Doc.”

“You sure you're all right?” Henry asked.

“Geez,” Wraith said. “Now I've got three moms?” She looked at each of them. “They got in a couple of lucky shots, but I'm fine. If I wasn't, I'd tell you. Honestly, it's kind of surprising something like this hasn't happened before. I need to be more careful about where I step into.”

“I'm glad you see that,” Caitlin said.

“One Coke,” the bartender said and set the glass down. “Anything else?”

Wraith began sucking down the sugary, caffeinated glass of caramel-colored perfection.

“We're good, thanks,” Edward said.

“Refill?” Wraith asked after polishing off the last of the soda.

The bartender took her glass and walked away.

Everyone looked at her.

“What?” she asked. “I'm thirsty, it's hot out there, and I've been working.” The bartender returned quickly, set her refilled glass down, then walked away. Wraith took a sip, then looked at Caitlin and Edward. “Did you get anything useful from Mama Toups?”

“Not really,” Caitlin said and filled everyone in on their conversation.

“Do you think she knows something but isn't telling?” Wraith asked.

“They do keep their secrets here,” Henry said.

Edward shrugged. “I get the feeling she's as interested in stopping this as we are. We weren't asking for secrets of the trade—we were asking for tips of who could do it. From what she said, no one in the larger community could pull this off.”

“But you said they were being influenced by something else,” Henry said.

“And they'd show signs of that,” Edward said. “Small stuff at first: short temper, prone to violence, things like that. In time, the change would be so severe you couldn't help but notice.”

“Unless they were short-tempered and prone to violence beforehand,” Wraith said.

“I don't think someone like that would be welcome,” Edward said. “And if they were, Mama Toups would probably have told us about them right away, if she and the others hadn't already confronted the person.”

“So no obvious suspects,” Henry said.

“Not really,” Caitlin said, then turned to Wraith. “We did meet your friend though, and her family.”

“What?” Wraith asked and wanted to kick herself. She never should've gone out of contact like that. “She was supposed to call me if anything happened.”

“Nothing really did,” Caitlin said. “We just went to the original crime scene.”

“That's a rough neighborhood,” Henry said.

“Turns out,” Edward said, “sticking out worked to our advantage.”

“What happened?” Wraith asked.

“One and some of his lackeys showed up,” Caitlin said. “But before he could pull anything, Joker and her brother showed up with some friends.”

“Her brother?” Wraith asked.

“Joker?” Henry asked.

“Rugarou street kid I met,” Wraith asked.

“You make friends quick.”

Wraith smiled and batted her eyes. “I'm very charming.”

“The point is,” Edward said, “it was a dead end. I thought maybe I could find some traces of magic or something there, but the First House had cleansed the place and warded it.”

“Joe—Joker's brother—was going to ask around about any of the gangs involved,” Caitlin said. “See if anyone can use magic.”

“This is all still a lot to take in,” Henry said.

“Did either of you get anything?” Edward asked Henry and Wraith.

“Ladies first,” Henry said.

Wraith told them about meeting Ellie and her trip to the base. “I think I've got a way in,” she said. “I don't know if the charm will work, but it should.”

“You're saying there's a ward around the whole base?” Edward asked.

Wraith nodded. “A good one too, but like I said, I think I've got it cracked.”

“No way are you breaking into a military base,” Caitlin said. “It's too dangerous.”

“I don't care,” Wraith said. “I have to find out who they are and why they're doing what they're doing.”

“Caitlin is right,” Edward said. “It's too risky. If you get caught—”

“I'll break out again,” Wraith said.

“Again?” Henry asked.

Wraith nodded and took another drink. “When I was working on the charm, I had a memory come back to me. They had me and tried to do to me what they did to Ellie.”

No one said anything.

“I appreciate your concern,” Wraith said and stirred the ice in her glass. “I know it's risky, but it's something I have to do. We have no idea how many people they've done that to, or why.” She nodded at Edward. “Who's to say they won't grab you one day after work? Or haven't already and you just don't remember?”

Edward and Caitlin shared a look, and Wraith knew they were thinking about Fiona.

“Don't get me wrong,” Wraith said. “If they did ever grab you, I'd find you and get you out, but—”

“We can't talk you out of it, can we?” Caitlin asked.

Wraith shook her head.

“Will you at least promise us you'll be very careful?” Caitlin said.

“I promise,” Wraith said and smiled.

“Well,” Henry said, “I did find something.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Have a thing for dramatic reveals?” Wraith asked.

“I looked through the old files,” Henry said, ignoring Wraith. “Taking into account all I've learned today.” He shook his head. “Turns out all three gangs have been on the receiving end of a vengeful attack by a recently departed. The first, second, and last victims were the Midnight Boys, the third and fifth were the Royal Skeleton Brigade, the fourth and sixth were the Scarlet Enigmas.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Wraith said. “Why would a gang target themselves?”

“They wouldn't,” Edward said.

“Could they have made a mistake?” Caitlin asked. “Intended the spell for one person but messed up or missed and hit their own?”

“That's some seriously messed-up friendly fire,” Wraith said.

“Indeed,” Henry said.

Edward shook his head. “That doesn't feel right either. This isn't just bringing someone back. This is bringing them back then sending them to slaughter their former friends.”

“More like their family,” Wraith said.

“Exactly my point,” Edward said. “Assuming anything of the person remained, you'd have to overcome their loyalty to the victims.”

“The attacks are a statement,” Caitlin said. “Sending one of their own after them, it says you can't trust anyone.”

“The old stories make zombies out to be mindless servants,” Henry said. “I don't know how much of the person who was is still there when they return.”

“Are there any stories of people fighting against it?” Wraith asked.

Henry nodded. “Sure. Even some where the zombie kills the sorcerer that bound them to get free.”

“So maybe not so mindless?” Caitlin asked.

Henry shrugged. “There aren't many with that outcome. There's a reason that zombies are creatures of horror. But even so, they're just stories and legends. There's no telling how much truth there is to it.”

Wraith laughed.

“Did I say something funny?” Henry asked.

“It's just that in my experience, stories and legend tend to be born from actual events,” Wraith said. “They might get exaggerated over time, or the truth might be obscured because people couldn't explain it, but it still happened.”

“I'm still kind of new to this,” Henry said.

Wraith saw Caitlin and Edward share a look. It didn't even occur to her that they were probably in a very similar situation when Fiona had been taken.

“So we're back where we started,” Henry said.

“No,” Edward said. “Based on what you said, I think we can rule the gangs out of the suspect pool.”

“So what next?” Henry asked.

“For you?” Wraith said. “My vote is nothing.”

“Excuse me?” Henry said.

“No offense,” Wraith said. “It's just you're kind of in over your head. It seems like you've done all you can. There's no need to keep yourself on the number men's radar if you don't need to be.”

“I'm with Wraith,” Caitlin said.

“Me too,” Edward agreed.

“So I'm just supposed to walk away?” Henry asked. “After everything I've seen, everything I've learned, you expect me to go back to my life as if nothing happened?”

“Hell no,” Wraith said. “Who could do that?”

“But your involvement with this is over,” Edward said. “I can't in good conscience let you put yourself at risk anymore, or Hannah. You've helped all you can.”

“Time to hand off to a specialist,” Henry said. “That's what you're saying.”