“Did you learn that during some sort of positivity training exercise?” Reid asked, his eyebrows wrinkled.
“My grandfather swore by it. Said he could pee like a racehorse while smiling like an idiot.” Cornelius shrugged. “Try it some time. You might be surprised.” He made a pained expression. “But I wouldn’t advise you do it in a public urinal at a truck stop, especially in Texas.”
Harvey smiled wide enough to see his two gold teeth. “Like this?”
“Not now, Harvey,” I said, wrinkling my nose at him. Now I’d be picturing him grinning like a lunatic every time he told me he had to go to the bathroom.
“Save it for your next meeting with Prudence in the tinkletorium,” Natalie said, scooting closer to Cooper and draping her arm along the back of his chair. “How did Prudence manage to take over your body, anyway? Is there a special name for that kind of spirit possession?”
I used my spoon to fish a lemon seed out of my glass. “I’m sure Cornelius and Doc can rattle off several big words that explain it.”
Doc pushed his chair back and carried his empty beer bottle over to the sink. “Prudence paved the way for temporary possession earlier in the day when we were at her place trying out the mirror.”
“You mean the astral projection stuff she did?” I asked, losing the seed again, dammit.
“The Tall Medium is referring to her experimentation with telepathy, remote viewing, and retrocognition.”
“See,” I said, finally snagging the seed. “Big words.”
Doc opened the refrigerator door. “She used extrasensory perception to transfer thoughts, view remote mental targets, and perceive past events in each of our heads.”
Cornelius tipped his wine glass in my direction. “Although she seemed to stay out of Violet’s head.”
“I don’t think Prudence can view Violet’s thoughts.” Doc grabbed a few beers from the fridge. “Or possess her at will, for that matter.” He held up a bottle. “Willis?”
Harvey nodded with a grunt. “So, ya think she was tryin’ each of us out?”
“Like taking a car for a test drive.” Cooper shook his head at the beer Doc held out to him. “I’m on call.”
“Exactly.” Doc set the extra beer in the center of the table and returned to his chair. “For whatever reason, Prudence chose Willis when push came to shove.”
Harvey snickered. “The ol’ gal knows my weakness for the ladies.”
“I’ve never met a ghost like her,” Cornelius said.
Aunt Zoe grabbed the bottle of wine. “Her skills are undoubtedly tied to her having been an Executioner.” She poured herself a bit more Gamay, offering some to Cornelius, who nodded and held out his glass. “Her strength and abilities are increasing along with Violet’s.” She set the bottle down and pointed at me. “Finish the story, kiddo.”
I nodded and gave them the wrapup, including the bit about Doc and me at the Sugarloaf Building. I told them how the lidérc had paced, trying time and again to get to me. I wanted them to better understand this need I had to execute the bastard once and for all. Why letting it live was a worse idea than trying to go kill it.
Silence filled the room after I finished.
“So, what’s the plan?” Natalie spoke up first.
I turned to Doc for that answer. “Well?”
He shrugged. “We’ll have to do it at night. Cornelius, Violet, and I will set up downstairs in the Sugarloaf Building. The wards Masterson has in place will protect us physically while we help Violet reach the plane where the lidérc is more vulnerable.”
“You’ll need me to get into the place,” Reid said.
Aunt Zoe scowled at him. “Or you just give them the key and stay the hell away from that devil.”
“Do you need me to keep an eye on Parker?” Cooper asked. “Follow her if she physically leaves the séance?”
Cooper’s roles during past séances had been to keep track of me, since I had a bad habit of walking off and landing hip-deep in trouble. I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of him following this time, though.
“I suppose you could be there, but you can’t cross the wards,” Doc told him. “It can use you to escape. Only Violet can actually go inside.”
“What if it won’t come for you once you’re in there?” Natalie asked me.
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“Because it knows you’re on this other plane where it’s weaker. You said it’s no dummy and was hesitant back in the courthouse. I think you need some bait, and we both know that I can run a lot faster than you.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Cooper beat me to the punch. When she scowled at him, he scowled right back. “You can be pissed at me, Nat, but that thing is too dangerous for you to be anywhere near it.”
“He’s right,” I said.
“If anyone is going to be bait,” Reid said, “it should be me.”
“Are you drunk, Martin?” Aunt Zoe asked.
“A little, but not enough to be easy yet, woman, so keep your hands to yourself.”
Aunt Zoe rolled her eyes. “What makes you think you’re ideal bait for a lidérc?”
“It used my dad to get to me, remember? It knows my weakness.”
She shook her head at him and then me. “You’re not using him as bait again, Violet Lynn.”
“I agree.”
“If I go in with you,” Harvey said, “we can have ol’ Prudy step in to help again.”
True, but … “I don’t want Prudence around for this. The lidérc will be doubly suspicious if two Executioners show up to the party, especially after we tag teamed up on it today.” I looked at each of them in turn. “I appreciate your offers to help, but if anyone else is in there with me, I won’t be able to focus on what needs to be done because I’ll be worried about protecting instead of killing.”
This time it would be just me and my mace.
“How will you kill it?” Aunt Zoe asked.
“I think I’ve figured out its weak spot,” I said and told them about the
