Scarlet Rain Part 19

Twenty-Five.

Eva rested her forehead on the pages of the open book. The earthy scent of old leather tickled her nose, and she stifled a sneeze before groaning, "I can't believe we watched the sunrise, and it's dark again already. I'm pretty sure we've been awake for more than twenty-four hours. What time is it anyway?" She glanced up at Alek, who was studiously flipping through the pages of one of the ma.s.sive hardbacks. His eyes had dulled and his skin was matte and colorless.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I am well." He smiled weakly and turned his attention to the living room. "Perhaps Bridget knows the time."

The couch hid Bridget's body, so Eva stared at the curly blonde ponytail draped over the decorative pillows. "Bridge, what time is it?" The ponytail didn't move. "Bridget!"

She popped up from the couch like a meerkat. "You rang."

"What time is it? I feel like we've been at this forever," Eva said.

Bridget rubbed her eyes and dug her phone out from under her. "It's way past happy hour. This has my sleep schedule all messed up. Any luck?"

Alek shook his head. "So far we have found nothing useful."

"But there's still one to go through." Eva reached across the table and pulled the last of the hardbacks toward her. The flaking silver paint of the five-pointed star seemed to twinkle up at her from the cracked leather cover. "Fourth one's the charm, I guess." She plopped down in her chair and let her gaze linger on Alek. She'd seen him look like this before, when they were in Mohawk Park. Worry knotted her stomach. "Alek, you don't look so great. Are you really feeling okay?"

He took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping. "I want to be here and find something that might help us, but I think it's time I return to Tartarus. I have not been in this realm long, but I have put my body through much."

"You don't have to explain. Go get your strength back, any by the time you return I'll have figured out something that will help us."

"Are you sure you do not need me to stay?" He used the table to steady himself as he shakily walked to Eva.

"I need you to do a lot of things, but you're no use to me without any energy." She bit the corner of her lip.

"I'll make sure to address each of those needs once I am back." He smirked.

Eva pushed herself up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You better."

He kissed her softly before backing up a few paces. "I'll return to you soon." He gripped his talisman. The air around him twinkled, and a sharp gust blew through the condo.

"Bye, Alek." Eva smiled at the fading warrior and slid down into her chair. She huffed and turned to the first brittle page of the thick book, reading the t.i.tle aloud. "Spells and potions. Whoa, I actually get to do spells? There has to be something in here we can use." She scoured page after page of ancient writings, getting lost in the lyrical prose of the Oracles who'd come before her.

Bridget's phone blared, pulling Eva from the magic scrawled on each page.

"Hola," Bridget said, with a surprising amount of enthusiasm for someone who'd been snoring only minutes before. "James, slow down. I can't understand you." Eva's stomach dropped as concern wrinkled Bridget's brow. "Wait, I'm going to put you on speaker so Eva can hear." She pushed herself up off the couch and shuffled to the table. "Okay, repeat what you just said."

"The medical examiner is sending out some samples to the CDC first thing Monday. They're the big guns in charge of nasty diseases, which is what we have on our hands," he explained.

Eva's thoughts swirled while she envisioned the outcome of involving the CDC. "Even if they could identify and create a vaccine for whatever illness the Nosoi are creating, it wouldn't do any good. They'd just come up with some other horrible disease to use to wipe us out."

"And you know they'd love it too," Bridget added. "That's what the Furies were talking about, how humans will use science and fight to stay alive. Those little Nosoi b.a.s.t.a.r.ds would just fly around laughing at us. Well, if laughing is something they do."

Eva lowered her face toward the phone, as if getting closer would increase the urgency in her voice. "James, can't you talk to someone and buy us more time?"

"I've already spent hours talking to my partner, the medical examiner, even my captain. Right now I'm fighting just to stay in the know on this. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."

"But there might be something I can do." Eva frantically flipped through the book and stopped when she came across the page with a large oval encircling a short spell and a symbol of what looked like a bow and arrow. "James, I know you said you're out of options, but maybe you're not thinking about this creatively enough. Work your own kind of magic and figure something out."

"Yeah, we have faith in you." Bridget beamed. "We also need a plan B in case we totally fail."

Eva pursed her lips. "Let us know if you figure something out or hear anything else. Right now there's something I have to go do. We'll call you back." She reached across Bridget, and ended the call before sliding the book closer to her friend. "I'm doing this." She pointed to the bubble in the middle of the page.

Bridget squinted. "I can't read it, remember?"

"Oh, right. It's a protection spell. It forms some kind of impenetrable bubble around whatever needs to be kept safe."

"So what are you going to try and put a bubble around?" Bridget asked.

"Tulsa."

Bridget snorted. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Absolutely. There doesn't seem to be anything James can do to get to those samples, and we have no idea what info the CDC may already have. Plus, we need the Nosoi to stay in the city. We'll never be able to stop them if they're free to fly around wherever they want."

"All good points, but have you ever done a spell before?"

"Well, no. But I also wasn't the Oracle before."

"Another good point. Okay, let's gather up everything you'll need and you can go all Glinda the Good Witch on this stuff as soon as Alek gets back."

"I can't wait that long. I've been so focused on what's going on with us right here that I haven't stopped to think about the rest of the world. Maiden said they're drawn to me, which puts us at an advantage, and right now the Nosoi don't have a lot of power, but we don't know when that will change. I can't give them the opportunity to get ahead of us more than they have already. It's for the greater good, and I know Alek will understand." Eva read over the short list of supplies and bookmarked the page she needed.

"Fine," Bridget groaned. "This goes against my better judgment, but I can tell you're not going to change your mind. I'll get my keys."

"I appreciate it, but you're not coming. Someone has to be here to tell Alek what's going on."

"I don't let just anyone drive my car," Bridget said, tossing Eva her keys. "You're lucky you're like my sister, and I totally trust you."

Eva slipped on the jacket she'd worn to burglarize her house, and tightened the hood around her face. "I'll be sure to obey the speed limit so I don't get in a wreck."

"Or pulled over and thrown in jail."

"Don't remind me." She rested the heavy book on her hip and dropped the keys into her pocket. "And don't worry. It's all written out for me. The book says I have to find a place of circle and stone, and of iron and energy, that echoes with the wisdom of ages. Whatever that means."

"I don't know about the iron or energy or any of that, but I do know of someplace that echoes-the Center of the Universe. In high school, Vodka Bridget used to go there and tell herself how awesome she was. You are awesome! Awesome.... Awesome...." She giggled.

"See, it's working out perfectly. Nothing's going to go wrong."

Twenty-Six.

"Alek." Crone's soothing, earthy scents reached him as the great hall settled around him.

"Crone." He let out a relieved sigh. "I am glad it is you."

The creases around her eyes deepened with her smile. "And I am glad to see you well, my son." She nodded and returned her attention to the scrolls littering the wide stone table in front of her.

Alek relaxed into the intoxicating sensation creeping up his feet and surging through his body. The dull pulsing from his bruised muscles diminished. Refilled with the energy of his home, he pulled out a chair and sat across from his eldest mother. "Do you wish to know what is taking place in the Mortal Realm?"

Her eyes didn't lift from her reading. "Only if you wish to inform me."

There was comfort in her lack of prodding. "And if I do not?"

"Then we shall sit in silence. It can be very healing, letting your senses relax from the onslaught of noise present in the Mortal Realm. And you are grown. If you have something to tell me, I trust you will make yourself heard."

"I wish this was something you could teach to your sisters," he mumbled.

Crone smiled. "They would bicker over the color of rocks if they thought the fight could be won."

"Alek, I thought I sensed your presence." Mother wrapped a shawl around her slender frame as she hurried into the hall. "Have you come to inform us of your strategy to defeat the Nosoi?"

"No, Mother. I'm here to regain my strength so I am able to defeat them." His jaw muscles tightened as he bit back his annoyance.

"But what of your plan? Which tactics will you employ to a.s.sure their demise?" she asked.

"I am uncertain. The Oracle is searching the Tomes as we speak. She will find a way to end them, or at least slow them down."

"Slow them down? Maiden, Crone, and I are taking turns watching the Nosoi still jailed within this realm. They are awake for the first time in decades. It will not be long until the swarm in the Mortal Realm has absorbed enough energy to call upon those left behind. They will escape. It is time to take decisive action, not simply slow them down. I am sure Crone will agree with my sentiment."

Again Crone spoke without moving her gaze. "Alek is aware of what must be done. Other than that, I have no thoughts on the matter."

"Good, because I need no more opinions. This does not fall on you." He turned to face Mother. "Any of you. It's my task, and I will succeed without being interrogated each time I return."

"Alek," Mother began.

"No more, Mother." He pounded the table with his fist. "I only want to know you'll respect what I have said."

"As warrior of this realm, I will always respect your word." Her brow wrinkled and she stared at him more intently. "What I have to say is not about the Mortal Realm."

Crone set down her pages and stared at Alek. "It is your talisman."

He glanced down at the cracked crystal resting against his chest. It glowed brilliant amber in the dim cavern.

"What kind of power is this?" Mother asked. "It is one I have never seen before."

"It's Eva. She is the only one who can affect it in this way. I must go to her." He pinched the crystal between his thumb and forefinger and, without the help of the Furies, disappeared from Tartarus.

"Think creatively." James dropped his forehead into his hands and stared down at his desk. Almost everyone had gone home for the night, which was perfect for the young detective. Now he didn't have to worry about bored, nosy cops-or worse, his partner. "There has to be a way I can get into Pierce's office and to those samples." He studied the stacks of files and various papers neatly placed in labeled trays, and let his gaze wander the pile of magazines he'd swiped from the bathroom. An old issue of Wired Magazine poked out from the stack, and James silently read the exposed text. "How George Lucas changed movies forever."

"Definitely not something I would know. I haven't been to a movie in ages." Schilling's tw.a.n.g rolled around in his memory as the beginnings of a plan emerged. "That's it. That's how I can get in." He dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and texted Pierce.

What's Veronica's number? he typed, and sent the question before glancing up at the clock and adding, Sorry it's so late.

Pierce responded almost immediately with Veronica's number and the words "GOOD LUCK" in all caps.

James composed a short message inquiring about the movie Schilling said Veronica invited him to, and clicked send before he had the chance to talk himself out of his ingenious, although not-very-well-thought-out plan. Minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly while he stared at the screen, waiting for her to reply. "She's probably asleep or out. This was a stupid idea." He sighed and dropped his phone onto his desk. It vibrated loudly against the wooden surface. He scooped it up and rushed to read her response.

Glad you want to come! Movie is on Sunday. I'm downtown with friends. Want to come out for a drink?

"Maybe this isn't so stupid after all." He smiled to himself and typed a reply asking where to meet up.

"Now how's that for thinking creatively?" With a somewhat-thought-out plan for how to gain access to Pierce's office, James gathered his things and headed for his car.

Twenty-Seven.

James turned the stereo up and drove the short distance to where Veronica and her friends were waiting at Vintage 1740. James had only been in the cozy wine bar twice before. Both times on awkward first dates that led nowhere. Hopefully, on this trip, he'd be able to suss out a way into Veronica's workplace without creating too much suspicion. He maneuvered his car into the narrow strip of the last parking s.p.a.ce in front of the bar, and punched out a quick update to Bridget.

Coming in from the brightly lit street, his eyes adjusted to the romantic glow emanating from the wine bottle fixtures.

"Detective James. Please, sit." Veronica motioned to the empty seat next to her at the bar.

His leg grazed hers as he slid onto the stool, arousing the bundle of nerves he'd managed to keep under control until now. "Please, call me James. Just James."

The golden light pouring from the backlit bar display deepened her skin tone to an even richer shade of caramel. "Okay, just James. I am glad you came. The notice I gave was so short."

"I'm glad I came too." He looked around, expecting to see at least one person he needed to introduce himself to. "Where are your friends?"

"I have a confession." She averted her eyes and traced the rim of her nearly empty gla.s.s. "I knew they were leaving, but I wanted you to meet me, so I told a small lie and said they were still here. I didn't want you to be scared of being alone with me."

"Me, scared of you? That doesn't sound like me. Not at all. Nope. Not. At. All." He tugged at his rigid shirt collar and smiled awkwardly. "I think intimidated is the word you're looking for."

Wrinkles formed on the bridge of her nose as she laughed. "Are you going to get a drink? We are at this beautiful bar filled with wines, and you are without a gla.s.s."

"Wish I could, but I can't. Have to stay sharp. A detective's job is never done," he chuckled stiffly.

"And I'm sure you are an amazing detective," she purred, and locked her gaze with his.

"Yes. I, uh."

She delicately placed her palm on his thigh and slid it up and down his leg.