| |
Cassie spoke to the contractor about how she wanted the house finished in the next six weeks before Thanksgiving. Not ten weeks before Christmas. She wanted the house finished so she could spend more time with Omar. She’d fallen in love with him and hated the distance between her apartment and the lake.
The contractor walked away from her and she wanted to go after him, but heard a loud, male shout. She looked around the lake and then over at Kris and Roman’s. He stood on the deck and held his hand to his chest. It looked like he couldn’t breathe. She pulled her cell phone out of a pocket and ran to the other house.
“Roman, what’s wrong? Do you need me to call 911?”
His eyes were squeezed shut and he’d clenched his teeth. Cassie walked up onto the deck and he shouted again and she could see his hand bled.
“Roman, have you cut yourself? You’re bleeding.” She walked up and put her hand on his arm. She heard a noise and turned to look at the lake. Omar and Marcus came out of the water in their usual state of undress. Marcus nearly killed himself running into a duck as he loped up the incline. They both came up and joined her around Roman.
Roman grabbed Cassie by her arms. He opened his eyes and she could read the horror in them. Blood from his hand smeared on her arm. “Roman, speak to me. What happened?”
“She’s been taken,” he whispered. He fell to his knees and shouted a loud growl.
Omar and Marcus got Roman to his feet and they all went into the house. Omar checked on Cassie. She washed the blood off her arm at the kitchen sink.
“Omar, I’m don’t want to panic. What are we to do?”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll figure something out.” He handed her a towel.
Omar turned back to Roman, who stood in the living room. He stared at his hand.
They walked toward him, but he looked away. Cassie walked around him and pulled his hand up. The merge spot looked cracked open and black. It still bled and she wrapped a towel around it and applied pressure.
“Thank you,” he said.
She patted his arm. “Tell us what happened?”
Roman turned to the others and let out a breath. “Last weekend, when Kris went to the street fair in Seattle, we had a break in the connection.” He looked at Omar who knew the story. “It took only a second, but I knew something felt wrong. I should never have let her go alone today, but she’s stubborn, I...” He crossed his arms and went silent.
“That sounds like our Kris.” Cassie went to the desk and sat down.
“Something happened. The merge is cut off and the last thing I felt from her was terror and she ran,” Roman’s voice faded.
“We’ll scry for her. Where’s her hairbrush?” Marcus asked.
“I can’t believe I let her go,” Roman whispered.
“Roman!” Marcus shouted and caused all in the room to jump. “Kris’s hairbrush, where is it?”
“Bathroom.”
Turning toward the bedroom, Marcus went in search of the brush. When he came back out, he gathered a map and the crystals and prepared to scry. He sat and pulled some of the strands of Kris’s hair out of the bristles and then wrapped it around the crystal, started to recite a spell and began the search.
Cassie glanced at the calendar on the desk. She saw the meeting at Tom’s gallery and a note below it. She stood up. “Oh my God,” she said.
Omar came over and looked over her shoulder. Cassie pointed at the name Melvin Sachville—eleven-thirty coffee. Cassie blocked out some of the letters. Meshach, appeared. “Meshach fooled her,” Cassie said.
Roman came up and looked, too. He growled deep in his chest.
“There’s a note in her book about the paintings. He found the exact way to entice her,” Omar said.
Cassie picked up her cell phone and speed-dialed Tom.
“MacAndrews Gallery,” his voice answered.
“Hey Tom, this is Cassie. Have you seen Kris today?” She tried not to sound panicked.
“Yeah, she came by a bit ago. She dropped off some stuff....well never mind about that.”
“I know about the fake ID, don’t worry. How long ago did she leave?”
“Ten, fifteen minutes maybe. Why?”
“Did you see where she went after she left?”
“She said she’d set up a meeting with a new artist at the coffee shop next door. Cassie, what’s this all about?”
Cassie closed her eyes. “We just found out the artist she went to meet is not reputable. In fact, he’s dangerous.”
“Oh Lord. Do you want me to see if she’s still over there?” Tom asked.
Cassie put her hand over the phone and looked at the men. “Do we want Tom to go over to the coffee shop and see if she’s there?”
“Yes, he could stall them,” Roman said.
“Tom, I’ll hang on. Please check and see, but be careful.” She heard him set the phone down and the line went quiet.
After several minutes, she heard the phone picked up. “Cass, she’s not in there and I found her purse in the parking lot. Her car is still parked in front of the gallery.”
Cass shook her head. “Thanks Tom. We’ll call you as soon as we know something.” She turned to the men. “He found Kris’s purse in the parking lot. She still has to be in the general area. Scry around those streets, Marcus.”
“Cassie, would you drive me over there?” Roman asked. “I want to look for her.”
“Let’s see what Marcus can scry.”
“We want to help, brother. I’ll go get us some clothes and shoes.” Omar headed for the back door, and left.
Roman and Cassie watched as Marcus picked up the crystal and let it hang over the map. He said a prayer and let it dangle in the area of Front Street in Everett. The crystal began to move back and forth on its own and after several minutes, pulled out of Marcus’s hand and landed on the map.
They all looked at where it fell. It was eight blocks away from the gallery, near a shopping district. Omar came back in and threw clothes at Marcus. Leaving the house, they piled into Cassie’s car. She broke every speed record to get to north Everett.
––––––––
Finding the street the crystal pointed at, Cassie parked the car and they all got out. Omar and Cassie split off across the street to check the east side, while Roman and Marcus searched the west. They went up alleys and looked around garbage bins, doorways, garages and behind buildings, but found nothing.
Roman and Marcus decided to head in opposite directions. Cassie almost suffered a heart attack when a cat flew out of some boxes she moved. She and Omar teamed back up and walked down an alley.
She looked down at the ground and thought she saw what seemed to be ketchup spilled, but realized it could also be blood.
“Omar, honey, look at this.” She pointed and his eyes followed her finger.
He squatted down, put his finger in the red stuff and brought it to his nose. “It’s not ketchup,” he said and stood. He turned, looked back the way they’d come and followed the red trail. Midway down, they stopped and heard what sounded like crying.
Omar moved to a couple of large dumpsters. He squeezed between them and looked behind. He glanced over his shoulder at Cassie and nodded. “Get Roman,” he said.
****
Omar moved the garbage bin away from the wall and bent over Kris. She lay on her side with her arms folded over her head. Her side looked red with blood and as far as Omar could tell, it still bled.
He squatted down and put his hand on her shoulder. “Kris, can you hear me?” he asked.
She squeaked and tried to wiggle away from his touch. She managed to sit up, faced the building and pushed away from him. Her back hit the dumpster and she looked up at it. She reached up to it and mumbled. Omar saw her eyes crossed and then heard several pairs of shoes race down the alley. He stood and put his arm up to wave. Roman saw him and pulled ahead of Cassie.
****
When he reached the garbage bin, Roman changed places with Omar and saw Kris. She was alive, but he saw her aura was gone. The light didn’t exist.
“Kris, babe?” He got down on his knees. She pulled into a ball. When he reached out, she jerked back and hit her head on the bin. “Kris, can you hear me?”
“I lost my shoe,” she whispered with fright in her voice.
He heard Omar say, “She’s still bleeding, Roman.” He looked down at her side, but couldn’t tell what bled. She watched him. “Kris, you’re bleeding, babe. What happened?”
“No, no, no, my shoe is gone,” she said. “I lost it and I don’t know where.” He reached for her and she pushed away from him. “No, no...it’s missing and I have to find it!” she yelled and hit at his hands.
They heard sirens and a police car came down the alley with lights blazing. An officer got out of the passenger side and walked toward them.
“All right, what’s going on back here?” he asked.
Roman stood up and towered over the officer. “I think my girlfriend was mugged, sir. We just found her and she’s injured.”
The cop frowned and worked his way behind the dumpster. He looked down at Kris. His partner got out and walked up beside Cassie.
“Miss, are you okay?” the officer asked Kris.
She continued to stare and mumble, but didn’t reply. The cop pushed the bin out of the way. “Jake, we need medics here. She’s either been stabbed or shot.”
The cop next to Cassie pulled his walkie-talkie off his shoulder and called his dispatcher to send medics. The other cop pulled rubber gloves out of his pocket and put them on. “Sir, is she on drugs?” He looked at Roman.
“No.” Roman frowned.
“Her pupils are rather large.”
“She’s in shock. She keeps asking about her shoe.”
“What’s her name?” the policeman asked in a softer tone.
“Kris,” Roman answered. “Kris Bennett.”
When the policeman reached for Kris and tried to get her to lie down, she fought him and begged for her shoe. This went on for a few minutes, and then he heard more sirens as emergency vehicles came from the other end of the alley. Two young men got out and grabbed some equipment. The cop moved out of the way.
When the first medic moved to Kris, Roman saw her look at the man and she started to scream. She tried to crawl around the side of another dumpster.
Roman grabbed onto her waist and held on as tight as he could. Kris turned and started to hit him. The medic radioed into his headquarters, and spoke to someone about sedating her.
Omar came in to help Roman, and held her arms. The medic got an okay to give her sedation and came toward them with a syringe.
“Sir, please try to hold her still,” he told Roman.
When Kris saw the syringe, she screamed louder. “No, no, no, don't do that! No, don’t hurt me.”
The medic managed to rub alcohol on her arm and give the shot. Within seconds, Kris started to calm, but cried and continued to mumble.
Roman let her go and let the medics move in. Omar sat back against the bin. The medic pulled her sweater up and looked at the wound.
The police started to ask Roman for information. He gave them what answers he could. The medic said it looked as though she’d been shot, but the bullet went through her, probably back to front. They got her on a stretcher and started to wheel her to the van.
Omar, I’m going with them. Go back to the house and get the elixir. It’s in the cabinet next to the stove, Roman thought.
“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Omar said aloud.
“Do you want us to get her purse from Tom?” Cassie asked.
“See if you can find her shoe on your way back to the car,” Roman said. “It seems important. We’ll get her purse later.”
Roman waited outside the emergency room. He paced with his arms crossed. He’d seen the room where the medics took Kris when they arrived and watched the door like a hawk. People in the mandatory aqua-colored clothes came and went from the room with supplies and equipment. Roman snapped his neck every time the door opened.
A nurse came up to him and said the doctor would meet with him shortly. As she turned, Roman touched her arm. “How is she?”
The nurse smiled. “The doctor will be with you in a few minutes, sir.” And she moved away.
Roman put his hands through his hair and tried to stifle a growl. He looked at the others that watched him and saw them turn away. He paced again. Looking down a hallway, he saw Omar, Marcus and Cassie come through the main doors to the ER.
“Any news, brother?” Omar asked.
“No, the doctor will be out in a few minutes.”
Omar leaned toward him and said, “The elixir is in Cassie’s purse.”
Roman looked at Cassie.
“Did you see her aura?” she asked.
Roman nodded. “Yes, when I held her, I got a sense of a very strong binding spell, but...”
“I got that feeling, but they may have taken it too deep. They buried everything, not just the magick’s, but also her life force. Roman, is it possible they wrenched her soul out of her?” Omar asked.
“Yes, it would explain her lack of an aura. I’ve tried to figure out the meaning of her shoe.”
“Speaking of”—Omar motioned to Cassie, who pulled the shoe out of her bag—“it was by the parking lot next to the gallery.”
Roman took it from Cassie and shook his head.
The door to the exam room opened and an older man with white hair, stepped into the hallway.
“Mr. Lake?” the man asked.
Roman lifted his hand to get the man’s attention. They shook hands and the doctor frowned.
“I’m Dr. Johnson. Miss Bennett is resting, but she’s not giving much information. It looks as though she was shot from behind. The bullet exited through the front of her stomach. As far as we can tell right now, it didn’t hit any major organs, which is a good thing. However, without running some tests, we can’t be one hundred percent certain. It might have nicked something on its way through. We’d like to do a CT scan with some dye to see if anything looks like it’s leaking, particularly her bowel. The techs will take her up to radiology for this test in a few minutes. Do you know if she ate anything in the last few hours?”
“She had breakfast this morning, around nine o’clock,” Roman answered.
“Good, we can do the test now.” The doctor nodded to a nurse who stood in the doorway. “My other concern right now is her mental condition. I understand she was mugged and this could cause shock. She’s not in the here and now. We’ve called in a psychologist to do an evaluation and we’re going to keep her overnight for observation. Once the psychologist has examined her, we’ll have a better idea what should be done. If things settle down though, and the scan comes out all right, I would think Miss Bennett could go home in the morning.” The doctor waited to see if Roman had any questions.
“Can I see her and stay with her, doctor?” Roman asked.
“Of course. She is asleep now and after the scan she’ll be moved up to the floor. I’ll have the nurse let you know the room number.” The doctor smiled. “She should recover just fine, Mr. Lake.”
“Thank you, sir.” Roman tried to be relieved.
The doctor turned and moved away. Roman looked back at the other three. “Gentleman, we might try to break the spell this evening, but doing it here could be difficult. We need to wait until we get Kris home. I’ll use the elixir to keep her calm and try to reach her,” Roman told them. “Stay here until we settle in the room. Omar, I don’t want you in any further trouble with the administration.”
“Brother, some things are more important to me than the lake,” Omar said.
“I agree, Roman,” Marcus added. “I’ve learned Kris is too good a friend and to let her be treated this way, is not acceptable.”
“Thank you. I know Kris will appreciate your support,” Roman said.
A half hour later, a nurse came out and told them the CT scan was finished and they took Kris to the floor. She gave them the room number. They took the elevator up and reached the nurses’ station, just as Kris rolled by on a gurney into the room.
Roman again paced the floor outside the room, when the nurse asked him to wait. They wanted to get her settled.
When they were able to enter the room, they found Kris half-asleep in the bed. The hospital staff bandaged up the wound and wrapped her hand. She’d needed a blood transfusion since she’d lost so much.
Roman went to her slowly. She watched him as he approached. “Kris, can you hear me?” he asked.
“They took my shoe,” she whispered.
“Yes, but we found the other one.” Cassie stepped forward and pulled the shoe out of her bag.
Kris didn’t look at it, but continued to stare at Roman. Cassie gave the shoe to him. He held it up. She glanced at it and looked back at him.
She held up her hand with the injured merge spot. “They took my shoe,” she said with more force.
Roman felt his brows come together and it hit him what she tried to get across. He turned to the others. “She isn’t talking about her shoe, guys.” He looked at her and reached out to touch her face.
“I’m nothing without it, where did they put it?” she asked.
“Marcus, close the door and pull the drapes. Let me know if someone heads this way, okay?” Roman asked. He turned to Cassie and held out his hand. “The elixir, please.”
She took out the bottle and gave it to him with an eye dropper. He set the dropper aside and poured a little into a cup diluted with water. If someone came in it would look as though Kris were getting a drink and he might just get away with it. Kris didn’t take her eyes off him.
“Drink this, babe.” He put the cup near her hand.
She glanced at the glass and looked at him. “Shoe?” she whispered.
“We’re working on it. I promise.”
She drank some of the mixture and licked her lips.
Roman smiled. “She’s in there.”
They heard a knock and Marcus moved the curtain back. Two men in suits walked in. They were detectives and wanted to ask Kris some questions about her mugging. She wouldn’t look away from Roman and didn’t respond to questions.
The officers, when they realized she wasn’t well enough to answer, asked the others for information.
The four of them told the truth within bounds and the detective who seemed like the senior partner, asked if they could stop at the house in a few days when Kris felt stronger.
“Of course,” Roman replied.
The detectives left and then the psychologist came in and asked everyone to leave.
“Why don’t you guys head out? Stay at the house, Cassie. I’ll call in the morning when we can leave.”
“I’m going to see if the Oracle has any insight into retrieving souls,” Omar said.
“Ask her if there are any spells that might cause further damage, ones to stay away from. I’m worried we could make the situation worse,” Roman said.
Omar nodded, turned, and putting his arm around Cassie, the three headed for the elevator.
Roman found a chair, sat next to the door and waited for the psychologist. It took a half hour before she opened the door, frowning as she walked up to him.
“Mr. Lake?”
“Yes.” He stood.
“I’m Sue Ellen Taber. You are Miss Bennett’s fiancé?” she asked.
“Yes, did she tell you that?”
“No, the nurse in the emergency room told me. I’m very concerned with her state of mind. She must have suffered a terrible trauma,” she said.
“Did she speak to you at all?”
“Not really, but she’s become fixated on her shoe, which is a sign of denial. I think she’ll come around in a few days, but you may want to find a counselor to help her through. She must have been very frightened,” she finished.
Roman knew what she said was bullshit. If they didn’t find her soul she might never come around. “Do you know anyone in North Seattle that you’d recommend?”
“I’ll leave some names at the nurse’s station.” She shook his hand and walked away.
Roman went back into the room. Kris watched him come toward the bed. Turning on her side, she held up her hand again.
She reached out to him and he put a hand in her hair.
They both wore bandages around their merge spot, but he took her hand and held onto it. She fell asleep and he began to put the drops of straight elixir into her mouth.
****
Sometime after midnight, two figures appeared in Kris’s room. He saw that Roman held her hand with his head down on the bed and couldn’t tell if he slept or prayed.
“Damn that Lakeman,” the female figure hissed.
“Yes, it’s created a complication,” Meshach commented.
“We won’t be able to touch her tonight. When they return to the lake, we’ll have to wait until she’s alone. We don’t have much time.”
“Will they be able to break the bind?” he asked.
“That is hard to tell Meshach. I will have her body. She is mine.” The woman faded.
The man stared at Kris and saw her eyes open. She squinted at him. He then left this plane.