“It’s not your fault,” Cody said. “You didn’t know any better. I did. But . . .”
The word trailed away, dangling a host of unsaid things. We hadn’t gone out to investigate immediately because I’d found Cody in a feral state, still moonstruck from the night before. I’d startled him. He’d yanked me down, and I’d liked it. I’d kissed him. I’d initiated a bout of savagely intense lovemaking. Afterward we’d lain together in a nest of woolen blankets and Cody had listened to me explain what had happened in the cemetery, stroking my back from the nape of my neck to the tip of my tail while lightning cracked the sky, thunder rumbled in the marrow of our bones, and the rain poured down, washing away the scent trail.
It had been one of the nicest moments I’d ever known.
“I don’t want to regret it, Cody.” There was a tremor in my voice. “I really don’t.”
“I know.” He slung an arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Come on, Daise. Time to go back.”
By the time we returned to Main Street, things had quieted. Most of the crowd had dispersed. Somewhere in the aftermath, Lurine had shifted back into human form and vanished discreetly along with them. The EMTs were tending to the injured.
Clancy Brannigan was in custody in the back of a police cruiser. The Easties had clambered down the fire escape from atop the Birchwood Grill and were getting a stern lecture from the chief. They were doing their best to look abashed, but I was pretty sure they were delighted with themselves, and I couldn’t blame them.
The Tall Man’s bones still lay in a heap in the middle of the street, moldering under gleaming steel plate.
“Daisy!” Jen was standing in a small cluster that included her sister, Lee, Casimir, Sinclair, and, unfortunately, Stacey Brooks. Jen waved me over, and I saw that Lee had retrieved the spirit lantern and had it tucked into the crook of one arm. “We kept it safe for you.”
“Thanks.” A belated wave of guilt swept over me. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten I’d set it down. “You guys were amazing tonight.”
“You totally saved my life,” Stacy said to Sinclair. She shuddered at the memory, the plush cat ears on her headband trembling.
He glanced at me. “Actually—”
“It’s okay,” I said. There was no way in hell I was going to try to explain to Stacey that I’d nearly gotten myself killed saving her stupid life with an invisible bullwhip of mental energy. Other than the members of the coven, no mundane human could have guessed what had happened there. “I’m just glad no one but Jojo . . .” A lump rose to my throat, and I couldn’t finish the thought.
“I know,” Sinclair said softly, touching the sprig of joe-pye weed drooping over his breast pocket. “She was a brave little thing.”
“She was a foulmouthed, obnoxious little shit, and I’ll miss her.” I rubbed my eyes and nodded at the seemingly empty pickle jar that Sinclair held tight in his other hand. “So what happens now?”
“I’ll take my grandfather’s spirit home and lay it to rest where his bones are buried,” Sinclair said in a grim voice. “And I’ll tell my mother and my sister that if they want me to have any part of their lives, they’ll never, ever threaten me or the people I care about again.”
“Amen, brother,” Casimir murmured.
“Is it safe?” I asked. “I mean . . . isn’t going back to Jamaica exactly what they wanted you to do?”
“Oh, I’m not staying.” Sinclair hoisted the pickle jar, contemplating it. “And after tonight, there’s no way they can make me.”
“Young Mr. Palmer here showed a considerable amount of strength tonight, Miss Daisy,” Casimir said to me. “And gained a considerable amount of power in the process.”
Interesting.
But speaking of strength and power, now that everything was under control, I was feeling the acute drain on my own reserves. Also, Bethany Cassopolis was staring at my throat, a spark of vampiric hypnosis in her gaze. Feeling my pulse quicken under her gaze, I kindled my shield with an effort. “What?”
“Nothing,” Bethany said unapologetically. “It’s just that I’m hungry. And you smell . . . interesting.” She smiled, showing the tips of her fangs. “Funny, I never noticed how cute you were.”
Gah! And yet . . . goddamn eldritch Kinsey scale. My shield flickered as I stared at my best friend’s sister’s gleaming fangs, trying not to imagine them piercing my skin.
“Okay, ew!” Jen said in a firm tone. “Beth, cut it out. If Chief Bryant’s done yelling at the Easties, I’m taking Brandon home and you’re riding with me.”
“You’re my ride,” I reminded her.
“I’ll drive you,” Lee offered.
“Will you give me a ride?” Stacey Brooks asked Sinclair in a pleading voice. “I’m too shaky to drive.”
I laughed again; and again, I couldn’t help it. At least it was only a little hysterical this time. Sinclair gave me an uncertain look. “It’s okay,” I said to him. “It’s fine. Go. Take her home.”
Before taking Lee up on his offer, I touched base with Chief Bryant. He looked as tired as I felt, the streetlights above the intersection throwing the dark pouches under his eyes into stark relief. “Daisy.”
“Sir.”
“I should have listened to you and Cody.” He smiled wryly. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“You had your reasons, sir,” I said. “I made mistakes. Big ones.”
“Not tonight. And I appreciate your enlisting the help of the eldritch.” The chief paused a moment to rub his chin. “I, um, don’t suppose you want to tell me exactly who or what that half-woman, half-giant snake creature was?”
“She’s, um, a lamia. Or the lamia.” I wasn’t entirely sure if Lurine had peers, and it had always seemed impolite to ask. “Otherwise . . . I’m sorry, but no.”
“Never mind.” He clapped one meaty hand on my shoulder. “You did a good job, Daisy. Go home and get some rest.”
“Thanks.”
It didn’t feel like well-earned praise, but I didn’t tell him about the one big mistake I’d made tonight, or about the mistake Cody and I had made the morning after the Tall Man’s remains vanished. Maybe that was a cop-out, or maybe there were some things the chief didn’t need to know. Either way, I was just too tired.
In the intersection, Cody and Ken Levitt had donned latex gloves and were carefully shifting the Tall Man’s bones onto a tarp.
Cody glanced up as I passed, his expression a complex mixture of regret and affection. He lifted one latex- covered hand to give me the little two-fingered salute we’d developed during our ghostbusting forays. “Later, partner.”
I returned the salute, pretty sure my expression echoed his. “Later.”
On the drive home, I gave my mother a quick courtesy call to let her know everything was more or less all right, which she’d already heard from Lurine. I promised more details in the morning. Lee insisted on escorting me up the stairs to my apartment. I’d left the door to the screened porch ajar so Mogwai could come and go, and the place was as cold as a meat locker now that an autumn chill had replaced the unnatural balminess. On the plus side, Mogwai was there, winding around my ankles as I closed the door and turned up the thermostat.
“Are you all right, Daisy?” Lee hovered uncertainly. “No offense, but you look like shit.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll be okay.”
He frowned. “What happened to you out there?”
“I’ll explain later.” I yawned, the kind of huge, gaping yawn that feels like your jaws might crack. Attractive, right? “Now that this is over, I need to talk to you anyway.”
“About what?”
“Using the Internet to find a guy,” I said wearily. “A mysterious lawyer.”
Lee’s eyes lit up. “On a Venn diagram, the intersection of ‘Internet’ and ‘mysterious’ is where I live.”
I blinked at him. “What?”
“Nothing,” he said gently. “We’ll talk about it later. You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure.” I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think there was anything Lee or anyone else could do about it. I’d acted without thinking and I’d learned the hard way that it was dangerous to trifle with death magic. I’d used up all my reserves and now I felt drained to the dregs, as surely as Cooper’s victims. Except at least I was still myself . . .
