Anna Strong - Retribution Part 31

The amulet begins to glow again, but this time, for a different reason. I understand the message. My time is almost up.

Once again, instinct tells me what to do. I cup the charm in my hands. The room fades as my vision blurs. Night descends. Then, smoke.

An odor. Incense. A sound. The song of the witches.

I blink and I'm back.

The witches' song stops. They gather round me, eager to know what happened, what the journey was like.

Words don't come. It's as if the last ten minutes belonged to someone else. When I replay it in my head, there is no feeling except one- relief. That I'm back. That Burke is dead. That Sophie and I are safe.

Susan frowns. "Are you all right?"

I shake my head, not in response, but in an attempt to clear it. "I think so."

Min takes the knife gently from my hand. Until that moment, I didn't realize I was still holding it. Burke's blood stains the blade. "She's dead?"

"Yes."

By my hand. I glance down. No blood there.

I look up and see how much the three want details. Their faces shine with excitement. It was as much their journey as it was mine. They deserve to be told how their magic worked.

I can't do it. Not now. My thoughts and feelings center on only one thing-I have to tell Sophie that her sister is dead.

When I leave them, it is with thanks for their help and a promise to be back. The concern for me in their eyes is like a mantle that sits heavy on my shoulders all the way home.

CHAPTER 58.

WHEN I WALK IN THE FRONT DOOR, SOPHIE IS waiting for me. She's downstairs, sitting in the dark. Shivering. She's twisted a blanket around her body, tightly, protection against a cold she alone feels. Her eyes shine in the light that filters through the windows.

Unshed tears make them shimmer and spark, glittering jewels that reflect like mirrors the moonlight so bright it turns night into day. Her breath catches when she sees me.

I stop at the doorway.

She knows.

When I move to turn on a light, her voice, a ghostly echo, says, "Don't."

I drop my hand. "I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry," Sophie says.

"Not for killing Belinda. It had to be done. I am sorry for you."

Sophie's voice catches. "At least you're honest. But Belinda couldn't have hurt you. Not for a long time. You must have seen that."

What I saw was a malicious old woman already plotting to come after me-and Sophie.

What I see before me now is a grieving woman, mourning the loss of a sister. I wonder how she knew. I press the heels of my palms against my eyes. I've heard of twins having a psychic link. Perhaps sibling witches do, too? Did Burke come to her at the moment of her death? Did she make Sophie feel guilty because it was Sophie's spell that left her vulnerable?

It's easier to let Sophie direct her anger to me, to allow her to remember whatever good she can, than to shatter the illusion by telling her the truth. Burke was evil. If she had lived, Sophie and I both would have been targets of her revenge.

Fatigue washes over me.

"I need to sleep. Will you be all right?"

She doesn't reply.

I'll take care of her. Deveraux's voice is hushed, grateful. I know what happened, Anna. I read it in your thoughts just now. You did the right thing. Eventually, she will see it, too.

Maybe. Sophie is staring straight ahead, tears now spilling freely from her eyes. For once, I 'm glad for Deveraux. Theirs is a bizarre relationship, but she's not alone.

Not like me.

I trudge up the stairs, my heart as heavy as my legs. For the last few nights I 've slept in an unmade bed, with just a blanket wrapped around me. Now I pull a set of linens from the closet and tug, pull and smooth the sheets until the bed is made up. Tuck in blankets, fluff pillows.

I hope this simple housekeeping ch.o.r.e will relax me, remind me that my life is filled with more than monsters and killing. That it will prepare me for a good night's sleep.

But when I finally crawl between those sheets, it's not what happened today that banishes sleep from my mind.

It's what's going to happen tomorrow.

I'd almost forgotten.

Ortiz' funeral is scheduled for two o'clock.

CHAPTER 59.

I'M UP EARLY THE NEXT MORNING. I SHOWER AND dress, eschewing my usual jeans and T-shirt and choosing instead black slacks and a cotton blouse under a black blazer.

For the funeral.

Sophie is asleep in the guest room. She must have come back upstairs sometime during the night.

I make a quick run down to Mission Cafe. I order eggs Benedict and a fruit cup and a couple of cinnamon rolls and have it all packaged to go. I never keep food in the house-no need-but I know Sophie had nothing to eat yesterday. If she's hungry this morning, I want to have something ready for her.

Back at home, I place the eggs in a covered dish in a warm oven along with the cinnamon rolls and start the coffeepot. Lance calls as I'm pouring my first cup. The sound of his voice warms me. He'll be on the first flight in the morning and asks if I want to pick him up.

He's coming home early. It's an unexpected gift. I'm so grateful I can barely contain my excitement. I jot down the time and flight number.

Sophie appears in the kitchen just as I'm hanging up.

Deveraux makes the first comment. Boyfriend coming home?

His tone is smug. Obviously he listened in to my conversation with Lance on his way downstairs. It 's aggravating enough to make me want to snap back at him. But Sophie hasn't said anything, and I'm more concerned about her than irritated at Deveraux and his party tricks.

I point her to a place at the kitchen table. She drops into the chair, still without a word. I don't want to push. I busy myself setting out the food and utensils.

She watches me with dull eyes. She does pick up the fork, finally, but instead of eating, moves the food around her plate in small, unenthusiastic circles. After a minute, she pushes the plate away. "I guess I'm not very hungry."

I offer her a cup of coffee. She shakes her head. "You don't have tea, do you?"

Regretfully, I shake my head. "No. Sorry. I could run to the store, though."

She releases a sigh. "No. Don't bother. Water?"

I get a bottle from the refrigerator and hand it to her. She takes a tiny sip. "Thanks."

We lapse into silence. I don't want to bring up the subject, but there are still questions that have to be answered. Culebra and Frey are no longer in danger, but the women who were victimized by Burke and her miracle cream are.

"Sophie, what is going to happen to the women who used your cream? Will they get well on their own? Do the police need to track them down?"

She lifts her chin. "If they were given a strong enough formula, they'll go through a terrible withdrawal. They may even have the impulse to drink blood, so the police should be aware. With or without help, the women will revert back to their former selves within a month or so of their last application. If all of the cream was destroyed in the fire, there should be nothing more to worry about."

There's a hint of antagonism is her voice. Dark anger that I acted precipitously in going after her sister. She thinks the fire ended the threat.

But I know there are truckloads of the stuff out there somewhere. I saw them. Did Williams give the information to the police? So much has happened in the last few days, I don't know.

May as well broach the second subject. "Have you changed your mind about helping the-" I fumble for the right words. My first choice, the vampires your sister created, tortured and bled, seems too strong right now. She's grieving the sister, not the monster.

"The girls you told me about last night?"

Saved. "Yes."

"Of course I want to help them. Why would you think I'd changed my mind about that?" She pushes her chair back. "If you can give me a change of clothes, I'd like to get going."

I stand up with her and follow her up the stairs. She wants to get away from me as quickly as she can.

I suppose I can't blame her.

I give Sophie a pair of jeans and a sweater, a hairbrush and a toothbrush. She showers and is ready to go to Rose's in half an hour.

The ride to Rose's is quiet. Even Deveraux has lapsed into silence. Rose is thrilled when she meets Sophie and hears her plan. The girls, who think Sophie is their own age, go along happily, especially when Sophie tells them about the mansion that will be their home and how beautiful Denver is. One call to Jeff, and he says he'll have the jet waiting for them at the airport. THE GIRLS HURRY ON BOARD THE JET, PROTECTED BY billowing gowns that cover them from neck to ankle and wide-brimmed hats. They chatter their good-byes to me as they go, excited to begin a new life, hopeful in a way most of them have never been before.

Sophie stands beside me on the tarmac after they are safely inside.

"I'll keep you informed about the girls," she says. "They'll be fine with us. They'll be protected."

I wish I could think of something to say to close the chasm between us. I don't regret killing Burke. I'd do it again. I regret not being able to ease Sophie's pain.

She'll come around. For the first time, Deveraux reaches out.

No. She won't.

I lost a brother. I know. Nothing eases that pain.

CHAPTER 60.

I'VE SEEN IT BEFORE IN MEDIA ACCOUNTS BUT NEVER experienced the real thing. The funeral of a decorated police officer. Ortiz' funeral.

I arrive at the cemetery after the mile-long procession of police vehicles and limousines have already disgorged the mourners. Ortiz '

empty coffin is on the grave site, draped in an American flag. A color guard is off to one side.

I stand in the back of the crowd, scanning for the presence of other vampires, on alert for Williams. I expect he'll be sitting with Brooke.

He has great resources within the supernatural community. Resources that would have come to his aid yesterday and helped him heal.

Knowing how he felt about Ortiz, I can't imagine he would not have moved heaven and earth to see his friend laid to rest. And yet I detect no other vampires-not even Williams. Is he cloaking himself from me?

I work my way through the crowd, but don't push myself to the very front. After what happened yesterday, keeping him in sight while not exposing myself seems prudent. I don't expect he'd try to retaliate here, but he may have someone else do it for him. It may be the reason he's cloaking his thoughts.

When I reach a place where I can see the seated mourners, I get a shock. Brooke and her sister are together under a covered awning.

Alone. Williams is not with them.

The two sisters lean in toward each other, hands entwined. They are dressed in black, slacks, sweaters. Brooke is listening to the police chaplain as he reads from an open Bible. She has the weary, glazed look of one in shock.

I recognize the expression. It's one of the reasons I hate funerals. No matter how long it's been, I'm transported right back to the one funeral I'll never be able to forget. The sharp anguish of losing a brother has not diminished with time. The pain still gnaws at my gut.

There's an older woman seated to the right of Brooke. She has an arm over the back of Brooke's chair, sits erect, stares straight ahead.

If she's listening to the police chaplain, she gives no indication of it. She appears more angry than sad. Restless. Every few minutes, her eyes scan the crowd, pausing on a face here and there, moving on. Who is she looking for?

She finds me. There's no ambiguity in her reaction when she sees me. It 's nothing overt. She doesn't jump up or point or yell in my direction.

She simply grows very still and stares.

As soon as our eyes meet, I know why. I recognize her. From a night nine months ago when I was invited to a party at Avery 's. We were never formally introduced, but I saw her in Avery's living room. She was there with her husband.