“Well, sure, I’d like to catch up with her, but I can wait on that. I was thinking that teaming up with them sounded reasonable.”
“I told you, hunters don’t team up except with people they trust,” Gloria said.
“But now both teams have people that trust each other. I trust Marta and I’m pretty sure she trusts me. As such, we should be able to operate together. Look, I don’t know just what happened when your father died, but if it’s something you can set aside for the moment—”
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Gail snarled.
“I understand and I’ll support whatever you decide. I wasn’t there and I can’t judge the seriousness, but your father died and if the Morenos caused it, then I’m with you completely. I’m just asking that you consider it.”
I laid the card on the engine console and kept my eyes on the street as I drove us through the campus of the University of Alabama. It was late on a school night and the streets had the quiet of a small town after midnight. Gail hadn’t told me where to go so I was just driving, waiting for her decision.
I had stopped at a traffic light across from an Applebee’s when realized that I wanted pie. I clicked the blinker and turned into the parking lot. Backing into a parking space at the rear of the lot where the overhead lights didn’t reach, I killed the engine and turned to Gail.
She held Marta’s card in her hand.
Chapter 16 – Planning Session
I texted Marta and in a minute she replied that they would meet us. I texted her our location and we got out. We locked up the van and made our way to a booth in the rear of the Applebee’s. I slid in against the window and Gail sat beside me. The waitress brought water and we each order pie off the menu. I went for apple and Gail chose a peach cobbler. Gail added a double shot of bourbon to hers and I raised the order to two. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but there were a few university students, drinking coffee and studying. It reminded me that I hadn’t contacted Dr. Seacat about missing his final.
It was twenty minutes later; our pie was just a few crumbs left on our plates when Marta came through the front door. I couldn’t help the grin I knew was spreading across my face, but I didn’t wave like a moron.
Marta spotted us and smiled broadly as she walked toward our booth. She reached us about the time I saw the front doors part and her brother entered the restaurant. Marta slid all the way in until she was directly across from me. She had loosened her hair since we saw them earlier and it hung in waves across her shoulders. In the Army, she’d kept it tied up except when we were alone, but now she’d gone with the ombre pattern of dark hair that flowed into a soft red just below her ears. On her, the look was fantastic.
“I’m glad you called amoroso.” Marta shrugged a big leather purse off her shoulder and it fell heavily to the seat beside her. She unzipped her leather jacket and made a show of tossing her hair back from her face.
“Me too, inamorata, did you and Javier see any sign of the specter?” I asked.
“No, we waited outside the professor’s house until you called. I guess you drove it off for tonight.”
Javier reached the booth and slid in beside Marta. “How did you chase it off?”
I turned my head slightly to see how Gail would respond. She sipped her bourbon before speaking. “An old Romani spell, it burns away a spirit’s ectoplasm so they can’t manifest until they recover.”
“Burned the crap out of it,” I added with a chuckle. “I thought we were going to bring the house down.”
“Nice,” Marta said. “Care to share the spell?”
“What do you have to trade?” Gail asked.
I was a bit surprised by her reply. I’d assumed she’d be happy to share anything that helped another hunter, but then Javier spoke up. “Well, how about a spell that will locate undead?”
I looked from Javier to Gail. She seemed to be considering his offer. After a few moments, she shook her head. “Not good enough. I have a talisman that does the same thing. What else have you got?”
Javier pursed his lips for a moment and then nodded. “How about a thorn?”
Gail’s eyes narrowed. “You have a thorn?”
“Well, not personally, but I know where we can get one,” Javier said.
“Yeah, right. Almost all thorns are faked,” Gail said.
“Not this one,” Javier countered.
“What’s a thorn?” I asked, tired of not being in the loop.
“It’s one of the thorns, as in the crown of thorns,” Marta said.
“No shit?” I asked.
“That’s the story,” Gail added. “They’re more of hunter legend than anything else. The thorns were separated shortly after the crucifixion and scattered among the faithful. It’s said that stabbing anything evil with one of the thorns will bring instant death.”
“Yes, they’re incredibly powerful but rare and worth far more than your spell. What do you have to sweeten the pot?” Javier asked.
“Not so fast, why should I believe you can get an actual thorn. Why haven’t you gotten it for yourself?”
“He’s never found anything precious enough to trade for it,” Marta said.
“And it actually came from the crown of thorns?” I asked. I’d been experiencing a lot of incredible firsts since Gail had stormed back into my life, but a thorn from the crucifixion. That was more than incredible.
“That’s the story,” Javier said.
Our server came by and took the Morenos’ orders so I had to wait to hear more of their story.
When we were alone again, Gail said, “I can’t see swapping a bird in the hand for one that may or may not be in the bush.”
Javier looked askance. “We’re good for
