W e made it back to the front parking lot without being stopped. By the time we climbed back into Sam’s SUV, military vehicles were squealing to a stop in front of the ER. Six soldiers poured out of the first as the second and third vehicle roared up behind them.
Sam frowned at her rearview mirror, and I glanced back over my shoulder as we pulled away from the hospital.
“That could’ve gone better,” Foster muttered.
“It could have gone a lot worse,” Aideen said. “What if we hadn’t been there? What if Damian and Sam hadn’t been there?”
“More soldiers would’ve died,” Frank said. “It could’ve been worse, but it was still a cluster fuck.”
The smooth asphalt turned into the rapid bumps of the cobblestones, only to return to asphalt as we crossed over Main Street.
“I could use a drink,” Sam said, glancing at the Trailhead Brewery as we passed. “I could really use a drink.”
“You and me both,” Frank said.
Main Street wasn’t as busy as it would’ve normally been on a regular weeknight, but frankly, I was surprised to see anyone out and about. I guess some folks wouldn’t leave their town, no matter what was happening. And I could respect that. Crazy as it might be.
I glanced down the other side of Main Street, catching sight of the Conservatory and an antique shop before we rounded the bend and the Missouri River stretched out in front of us.
“That’s hard to miss,” Sam said.
I leaned over so I could see past her head out the front window, and I cursed. The bony masts of Graybeard’s ship stretched into the evening sky like some horrible Halloween float given life. We slowed at a stop sign before Sam gunned it and steered us toward a small roundabout and the empty parking lot beside it.
Trees flanked us to the north as we stepped out of the black SUV. From there, I could see the skeletons scampering across the sails. The strange flesh in the upturned skull of the harbinger was a bizarre sight before the grounded barge on the riverfront. A floating u-shaped dock led the way out to the old shipwreck. Graybeard lowered a plank of what looked like femurs and shin bones interlaced with thick sinew. The skeletons that surged across the deck wore no flesh. Some wore old and tattered uniforms, while others wore nothing but ancient leather shorts.
The staccato rhythm that the skeletons used to communicate echoed through the night air like a discordant symphony.
“It does send a message,” I said.
Sam didn’t look up from her phone. Her fingers blazed across the keyboard on the screen, before she blew out a breath. “Vik already heard about Graybeard,” she said. “He’s on his way with Zola. Wants to meet with us.”
“Wants to meet with us in a good way?” Frank asked. “Or in a ‘we should probably head for Rivercene’ way?”
“I guess we’ll see,” Sam said, flashing him a humorless smile.
I whispered a curse and pulled out my phone, expecting to see a message from Zola, and hoping she wouldn’t be pissed. It was a message, and if anything, she sounded as if she was in good spirits.
I read the message back. “I heard Vik’s ass pucker from across the room when he learned about Graybeard.”
Some of the tension left Sam’s posture. “At least it doesn’t sound like he’s pissed.”
“Vik’s always been a gentleman,” Frank said. “How many times has he let you down? I mean really? Once? Maybe twice?”
“Still a better record than me,” I said, leading the way onto the wooden dock. My hand slid along the black metal railing. I glanced down at the water and jumped. “Christ. That’ll keep people away.”
Foster glided to the railing and hurried along it beside me. “Oh, he’s got sailors in the water. Smart. They’re more attuned to vibrations than anything else would be.”
“I imagine that’s so they can sense the water witches coming,” Aideen said.
“They certainly sensed you lot,” a voice boomed from the Bone Sails’ deck. “Reckon if they can hear the most dangerous necromancer in two states, they’ll be able to see the water witches coming.”
Nixie stepped up beside Graybeard and rested her arms on the railing. “And it doesn’t hurt that I helped him test that theory,” she said with a small smile. “The crew makes a hell of an early warning system. Although some of them aren’t too happy about it.”
“Aye, some of them find the water a bit too chilly.”
I supposed it made sense, in a strange way. The crew of the Bone Sails were used sailing on an ocean of fire. If they could feel temperatures well enough, the Missouri River would be icy by comparison.
Graybeard started toward the plank, and Nixie followed. They both made it look easy, walking across those rounded bones, but I’d been on the spongy deck of that ship before. I remembered how it gave and flexed, making it even harder to stand on than a regular boat. Except maybe a bass boat on choppy water. I laughed as a random memory surfaced.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Sam asked.
“I was just remembering the canoe trip Dad took us on.”
Sam groaned.
“What happened?” Frank asked.
“Sam kept trying to stand up,” I said. “Every time she did, she dumped Dad in the river. Funniest damn thing I’d ever seen.”
“Dad didn’t think so,” Sam said. “If I remember, it wasn’t long before he stuck me in your canoe.”
“That was tragic,” I said. “It was a shame how you fell out in those rapids.”
“Fell out?” Sam said, narrowing her eyes. “You had Jasper push me out.”
I grinned.
“Lass,” Graybeard said, “just spend some time on me ship. You’ll have sea legs as sturdy as one of the Green Men.”
“And maybe as sexy as the Green Men,” Foster said.
Sam’s scowl could’ve stripped the bark from the tree. “Watch it, bug.”
Graybeard laughed and crossed his bony arms, the parrot dancing back and forth on his shoulder. “So, you already discovered half the plan for yourself. I have my crew stationed in the waters, and some deep in the mud.”
“Alexandra will be deploying some of the witches here,” Nixie said. “Down close to the old railroad bridge, and more near your coliseum.”
“Our what?” Frank asked.
“Riverport,” I said. “The amphitheater? Whatever they’re calling it these days. Seems like they change the name every week.”
“The queen isn’t a complete fool,” Nixie said. “Don’t let the soldiers drop their guard. Or we could lose far more.”
I crossed my arms and leaned on the railing between Nixie and Graybeard. “There’s something we need to tell you. Something that happened at the hospital.” I relayed the story of the soldiers gone mad; those who didn’t survive regardless of the healings, and those who didn’t survive because their own men gunned them down. “I saw Morrigan carry them from that place. Just a shadow, but I’m sure it was her.”
Nixie’s frown grew deeper as I finished the story.
“There are some things that were far easier when I was just a dead pirate,” Graybeard muttered. The parrot’s eyes flashed yellow. “I believe the vampires have arrived.”
I raised my eyes to the parking lot and watched as one of the Pit’s black SUVs parked beside Sam’s.
“This will probably either go really well,” Sam said, “or really bad.”
“Happy thoughts, sis,” I said. “Happy thoughts.”