Claimed by the Immortal

like it did to Pritchett’s brother-in-law? Everyone would think it’s a heart attack.”

“Then maybe having witnesses isn’t protecting me at all.”

Chloe shook her head. “Then what is? If you had some idea, I’d feel better. Maybe the point is having witnesses who would know what’s happening. Like me. Like Jude and Damien. People on the street wouldn’t know, would they?”

Caro had to admit Chloe might be right. But the need to act in at least some way was beginning to overwhelm her. Sitting here all afternoon speculating about what might have caused all this was apt to drive her to distraction.

“I’m going to need a straightjacket,” she muttered. “I can’t stand being constantly cooped up this way.”

“I don’t blame you. But that doesn’t mean you need to take this on alone. What could you learn out there anyway?”

“What people are talking about in the vicinity of the buildings that are scheduled for demolition.”

“Nice idea, if folks will talk. You think they want to talk to a cop?”

“Not in some of those neighborhoods,” Caro admitted. “But I won’t be going as a cop.”

“Then what? A social worker? Get real. You cops don’t realize how obvious you are to people even in street clothes. Especially in places they don’t like cops.”

“Give me the addresses, Chloe.”

“No. I happen to like this job and I want to keep it.” With that Chloe pointedly turned off her computer.

“You’re gonna make me mad,” Caro warned her.

“You can’t arrest me for that. Garner told us what they were talking about anyway. Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to find out if there’s some voodoo queen out there in the locales? Some weird kind of church maybe.”

“Voodoo isn’t weird,” Caro said. “It’s an established religion, unlike some. Why did you pick that in particular?”

Chloe shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. Too many movies, maybe. But one thing I know for sure—we ought to be searching for something very different from a traditional religion. Something that could and would call down a curse.”

Caro gave in. Chloe was making sense, and her desire for action was getting in her way. Didn’t she want to be a detective? Yes. And what did detectives do most of the time? It sure wasn’t cops and robbers. It was research and questioning. Questioning in those neighborhoods would meet a lot of resistance. That meant she needed to skip the action and do the mental legwork.

She sighed. “Can we at least get out of here for a walk?”

Chloe chewed her lip. “Well, if you promise it’s just a walk, and not very far, I’ll admit I could use some sunshine, too. But it’s cold out there.”

“I spend a lot of time on the streets. I don’t mind. Just bundle yourself up. Say just for a walk around the block.”

“This isn’t one of the best parts of town,” Chloe reminded her.

Caro patted her belt holster. “How often do you have an armed escort?”

At that Chloe giggled and bounced off to find something warm to wear.

Not that a gun would do much against the threat they were worried about, Caro thought. But God, she needed some sunshine. Living like a bat might suit vampires, but not her. Checking her pocket, she felt the talisman again and closed her eyes. She could still sense the invisible bubble it seemed to wrap around her, and she wondered if it would extend to Chloe, as well.

While she waited, she reached out, trying to sense even more. Little by little she picked up on things. The vampires and Terri sleeping in the next rooms. The wards Jude had put around this place. In fact, the more she concentrated on the wards, the more they became visible until they nearly glowed.

Oh, wow! She could see those invisible marks of chrism, and some of the things Chloe had spread around, as if they were lit from within. Inevitably, she pulled the talisman out and looked at it. It, too, seemed to glow, though differently. Not bright and white like Jude’s chrism, but more of a lavender. A different kind of power?

Trying to reach out even farther, she found herself blocked by the wards, as if they created an impenetrable shield she couldn’t see beyond. That was interesting, she thought. Now she wondered what might happen out on the streets where there were no wards. What she might see and sense apart from the auras she had for so long tried to ignore. What if she could read those auras? What if she could sense other things about people, as well?

All of a sudden a desire to know her own inherent powers burst to full life within her.

She definitely had to get out for a walk.

“What’s going on?” Chloe asked.

Startled out of her concentration, Caro took a moment to connect. “What do you mean?”

“You looked funny. And I felt something.”

“I was just trying to...” She hesitated, wondering how much she should say. It wasn’t as if she’d talked with Chloe about this much before. On the other hand, she figured that nothing happened in or around Messenger Investigations that Chloe didn’t know something about.

“I was just testing my senses. My grandmother said I had some kind of power, but I’ve never really used it. Damien’s been encouraging me.”

“Oh, girl,” Chloe said cheerfully, “do we have stuff to talk about now. Come on!”

They emerged onto the street to find some snow had fallen since sunrise, just enough to make the world sparkle and look fresh under a blindingly brilliant sky.

“Gawd,” Chloe said, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her purse, “there really is a daytime world!”

Caro had to laugh. “Come on, you must get out during the day sometimes.”

“I do,” Chloe admitted with a grin. “But when things really heat up, I generally go home at dawn and come back around sunset, and in between I’m usually asleep or trying to wake up. Sometimes I don’t get out of the office at all for days on end.” She shrugged, stuck her hands in her coat pocket and started walking. Caro strode beside her. “Most of the time I don’t mind. It’s exciting. But every so often I snipe a little about it.”

“I can’t imagine never seeing the sun again.”

“Neither can I, honestly, although Terri seems to be adapting pretty well to Jude’s hours. I don’t hear her complaining anyway.” She glanced at Caro. “What about Damien?”

“What about Damien?”

“I can see that vampire has a big case of the hots for you, and you don’t seem exactly unhappy about it. If you really can’t live without the sun, maybe you’d better be careful.”

Caro tried to shrug it off. “It’s just a passing thing.”

“Maybe.” Chloe surprised her by letting the subject drop. “So what’s this about having powers? I’ve been trying to develop some of my own, but I haven’t been having a whole lot of luck. Mostly I can do a few protective spells that seem to work. Are we talking about spells here or something bigger?”

“Something else. I don’t know if you could call it bigger. My grandmother told me I had inherent powers, but I never really wanted to listen to her about it.”

“So you became a hardheaded realist, namely a cop.”

“I guess so.”

They reached a corner and turned to circumnavigate the block. Even though this wasn’t the best part of town, there were plenty of people out and about. Only a few of them made Caro’s hand itch to touch her service pistol.

“So Damien’s helping?” Chloe asked. “Because Jude said he used to be some kind of mage.”

“He’s trying, I guess. Trying to get me to focus on things I sense by other than usual means. It’s working a little bit. For example, today I could actually see all the wards in Jude’s office. Even the chrism seemed to glow.”

“Oh, man, that would be so cool. Anything else?”

“I couldn’t see beyond the wards. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get out here. To see what else I could sense.”

“Then I should shut up and let you sense. Just promise to tell me what you pick up.”