She inhaled and shifted down onto the seat. "When this spook came knocking, I figured it was Dana, so I came back here to talk to her. But she was gone, and my haunter wasn't, so obviously it isn't her."
"Can't you contact it?" I said.
Jaime shook her head. "That's what's so weird. I can't make contact. Not only that, but it's behaving...well, it's just not following ghost-necro protocol." She looked at me. "Do you know how this works? How a spirit contacts a necro?"
"Vaguely," I said. "Most necromancers I know don't really talk about it."
"Typical. They act like it's some big trade secret. Way I figure it, my friends--the supernaturals, at least--should know how it works. Otherwise, they see me mumbling to myself and staring at blank walls, they're going to figure I've lost it. There are two main ways a spook says hi. If he knows the proper procedures, he can manifest, and I get sight and sound. If he doesn't know the tricks, then all I get is audio--the old voices-in-my-head. Any ghost should be able to do the latter. But this one can't."
"So it's throwing things instead?"
"It is now. Up until today, it's just been hanging around, like a mental stalker. I know it's there. I sense it all the time, as if someone is looking over my shoulder, and it's"--she lifted a hand to show her trembling fingers--"making me nervous. Then to start poltergeisting? That's just--well, I'm spooked, and I'll admit it."
"True poltergeist activity is rare, isn't it?" I said.
"Extremely rare. When I was younger, I did some ghost-buster work to pay the bills. Number one haunted-homeowner complaint? Poltergeists. I went out on dozens, if not hundreds of calls. I found exactly three real poltergeists. The rest of the time, it was clever kiddies looking for attention. I'd tell the people some cock-and-bull about the ghosts wanting to see the family spend more time together, and that usually fixed the problem. Real poltergeist activity, though, means a ghost has found a way to move things in our dimension, and that's a very special talent."
Lucas frowned. "So how does a ghost who can't even contact a necromancer manage to manipulate objects cross-dimensionally? I see the problem. Have you considered the possibility that this isn't a human-based entity at all?"
"Maybe a minor demon," I said. "Or a nature spirit."
"Could be, I guess," Jaime said. "But I'm a necro. I talk to the dead, like my title says. If it ain't dead, why's it bugging me? You guys are the spell-casters--the conjurers--so it should be trying to talk to you. And I'm pretty sure the message is for you, anyway. Until the bookstore, it backed off whenever you two were around."
"Because it thought you were going to convey the message," I said. "But maybe the message is to tell us to start conjuring, so it can communicate. When it realized you didn't understand, it bumped it up a level in the bookstore. So let's try some group conjuring. Among the three of us, it has to find someone it can talk to."
Jaime looked up at the ceiling. "You hear that, Casper? We're going to try making contact, so you can back off now."
After a moment of silence, I asked. "Did it stop?"
Jaime shook her head. "I think the contact problem goes both ways. I can't hear it and it can't hear me. Let me grab my kit and see if we can fix that."
As Jaime opened her suitcase, Lucas's cell phone rang.
"Yes, I'm certainly interested," he said after an exchange of greetings. "However, it may be another week or so before we can see it. Will that be a problem?" He paused. "Good. Thank you." Another pause. "No, I haven't had a chance yet and, ultimately, it is her decision, but I would very much like to see it." Pause. "Yes, I'll let you know as soon as we return to Portland."
He signed off, then pulled out his Day-Timer from his satchel and made a note as Jaime set up her implements on the floor. This time, she didn't bother asking us to leave.
"A real seance," she said as she finished. "Now all we need is sleeping bags and a pillow fight. When I was young, I was never allowed to go to sleepovers, in case the kids tried a seance. Might have given them more than they expected."
We settled onto the floor.
"I'll be casting a general summoning spell," Lucas said. "A mild one, I should say, nothing likely to conjure up anything dangerous."
"I'll do my communication spell," I said. "It's for mental communication with the living, but it might help."
"Mental communication?" Jaime said. "Witches can do that? Cool."
"Not really. It only works if the other party is expecting it and only if they're some distance away, so really, what's the point? Save a few bucks on cell phone charges? The reception is crappier than the cheapest cell provider."
We all settled in, did our thing...and nothing happened.
"Hey!" Jaime yelled at the ceiling. "An hour ago you were tearing apart a bookstore trying to get my attention, and now you can't be bothered to say hello? Do you know who you're talking to? The most famous necro in the U.S. of A. Not only that, but a former Coven Leader and the son of a Cabal CEO. Three powerful supernaturals, waiting with bated breath to talk to you."
Across the room, Lucas's Day-Timer fell from the table.
"I think that means it isn't impressed," I said.
The Day-Timer cover flipped open.
"I believe that's a sign," Lucas said. "Shall I...?"
"Go stand by it and watch," I said. "We'll keep working."
Jaime did her invocation while I cast.
"Nothing," Lucas said before I could ask. "Perhaps--"
The pages started to flip.
"Seems we have a time delay from the ghost world," I said.
"It's turned to the first D page in my address book," Lucas said. "If the spirit is referring to a specific person on this page, I'm not making the connection. My supernatural contacts are coded in another section. These are all humans."
My purse slid off the chair by the door, unzipping as it fell and scattering the contents on the carpet. A moment later, my PalmPilot spun.
"A techno-savvy spook," Jaime said. "Maybe it wants to communicate by text messaging."
"Or, more likely," Lucas said, "it's not techno-savvy or, at least, can't operate an electronic organizer. I believe the message we're supposed to receive is that the correct name is located, not in my address book, but in Paige's."
"How would it know what's in there?" I said, crossing the floor to pick up my Palm.
"Perhaps it doesn't know, so much as assume. Who might you know whose last name starts with a D? Presumably a supernatural."
"That could be a dozen people, maybe more. There's--Wait, we've had other clues. The bookstore. Of all the books in one section, it only knocked down copies of Salem's Lot."
"Witches?" Lucas asked.
Jaime shook her head. "Vampires--but if the spook doesn't know its pop culture, it might think witches."
"It was also knocking down copies of Homer's Iliad," I said.
"Oh, great," Jaime said. "We move from Who Wants to be a Millionaire to 'Final Jeopardy.' Where are we going to find an egghead who's read the Iliad?"
"Uh, right here," I said. "Well, I had to. Required reading for college English."
"It was on my curriculum as well," Lucas said.
"Okay, the high school dropout reveals herself again," Jaime said. "Hey, I knew the Stephen King answer. That oughtta get me a nice parting gift. So what's the Iliad about?"
"The Trojan War," I said.
"With the horse," Jaime said. "I knew that. Any supernaturals in the story?"
"There's an enchantress, Circe--no, that's the Odyssey."
"Unless, again, the spirit is mistaken about its literary references," Lucas said. "If it believed Salem's Lot was about witches, and the sorceress was from the Iliad..."
"Let's start there, then," Jaime said. "Witches whose last names start with D. You're a witch, so the ghost might assume you know--"
"Cassandra," I said, thumping my Palm down. "Cassandra the Prophetess, from the Iliad. Cassandra DuCharme, from the interracial council."
"Let me guess
," Jaime said. "This Cassandra is a witch."
"Vampire."
"Even better." Jaime looked to the ceiling. "Is that it? Do we win?"
No response.
"If it can't hear us, it'll need some other prompt," I said. "Hold on."
I grabbed my pen and notepad from the spilled contents of my purse, tore a sheet from the pad, and wrote CASSANDRA. I laid the sheet on the table. Again, the spirit gave no response.
"Well," Jaime said. "Three possibilities. One, we're flat-out wrong. Two, the spook has simmered down because we finally got the message. Three, it's illiterate."
"If the message is Cassandra, I still don't know what that means," I said.
"Why don't you call her," Lucas said. "See whether she can shed some light on this."
Paddling Upstream During a Hurricane
I USED OUR HOTEL ROOM PHONE TO CALL CASSANDRA. THIS was moderately indiscreet, and normally I'd have been more cautious, but the truth was, phoning from the hotel was the best way to ensure she'd answer. Cassandra was a call-screener, and not one who just ignored calls from strangers. She almost always let her machine pick up, then phoned back at her leisure. The only way to persuade her to answer was to pique her curiosity. A call from a Miami hotel just might do that.
Cassandra answered on the second ring.
"It's Paige," I said.
The line went silent and I could fairly hear Cassandra's annoyance buzzing down it. Short of "accidentally" pulling out the phone cord, though, there was little she could do. Well, she could hang up, but that would be crass, and Cassandra would never be crass.
"What is the problem, Paige?" she asked, voice dripping icicles.
"I had a question--"
"Oh, of course you do. Why else would you call? Just to chat, say hello? Hardly. Very presumptuous of you, Paige, to come asking for favors after what you've done to me with Elena."
"I haven't done--"
"I don't know what you've been telling her about me but, let me assure you, I will set her straight. I understand you feel threatened in your friendship with her, but--"
"Cassandra," I said sharply. "I haven't said anything to Elena about you. Why would I? If she's not taking your calls, then I'd suggest you ask her why not. Or better yet, ask yourself."
"What's that supposed to--"
"It has nothing to do with me, that's all I'm saying. Believe me, I have better things to do than sabotage your friendships. No one else's world revolves around you, Cassandra."
"Did you call me to insult me, Paige?"
"No, I called to see how you're doing."
"Very funny."
"No, I'm serious. I'm in the midst of a murder investigation and your name came up--"
"Oh, and you suspect me, do you? How...thoughtful."
"No, I don't suspect you," I said through gritted teeth. Sometimes, carrying on a conversation with Cassandra was like paddling upstream during a hurricane. "The victims had all their blood and I'm sure you wouldn't waste a free meal. I'm calling because your name came up, so I was concerned. Has everything been okay there?"
"Are you saying I'm in danger? How long did you know this before you deigned to call?"
"About two minutes."
A pause, as her brain whirred to think up some way to turn my concern into a slight.
"What's going on there?" she asked.
"A murder investigation, like I said. There have been several deaths--"
"And you haven't notified the council?"
I counted to three. Across the room, Lucas pointed to the minibar. I rolled my eyes.
"It's not council business," I said. "It's Cabal--"
"Well, then, it can't concern me, can it? Cabals will have nothing to do with vampires. So obviously I'm neither a suspect nor a potential victim."
"Guess not," I said. "Must be a mistake. I'll see you at the next council--"
"Don't blow me off like that, Paige. If my name came up in this investigation, I want to know more about it. What's happening?"
I squeezed my eyes shut. I'd tweaked her curiosity and now she wouldn't let me off the phone without a full explanation. I didn't have time for that.
"Like you said, it must be a mistake--" I began.
"I didn't say that."
"Sorry for bothering you. If I hear anything else, I'll let you know. Thanks. Bye."
I dropped the phone into the cradle and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Jesus," Jaime said. "She sounds like a piece of work."
"Next time we have to make contact, I'll trade you," I said. "Your spook for my vamp."
"Think I'll stick with the spook. So it seems maybe my haunting isn't related to the case after all. This spirit saw me with you last week, you know Cassandra, and it wants to relay a message to her. Although, from what I heard, I can't imagine anyone wanting to talk to her."
"She's not that bad," I said. "We just don't get along."
"Maybe, but she is a vampire. Gotta be a whole passel of spooks in the next world because of her, just biding theirtime waiting for her to show up. Maybe that's the message: When you die, we're gonna kill you...or something like that. Course, they'll be waiting a long, long time."
"Not for Cassandra," I said. "She's an old one. Probably less than fifty years left on her quasi-immortality warranty."
"That doesn't matter, though, right? If anyone's waiting for her on the other side, they'll be disappointed, since vamps don't go there."
Both Lucas and I looked up. "They don't?"
"Hoo-ha, look at that. The necro knows something the whiz kids don't. Vamps are dead already, remember? So where do the dead go when they die? There's a stumper. All I know is there are no dead vampires in the ghost world. My opinion? This is their afterlife. When their time card runs out, poof, they're gone. And that's your undead lesson for today. Now it's time to get back to work. Or should I grab take-out first? We missed lunch and it's almost dinnertime."
"You have contact calls to make," I said. "My only contacts are council members, who know next to nothing about Cabal business. So I'll get dinner. What does everyone want?"
"What I want is for you to take a break," Lucas said. "You've been--"
"I'm fine."
"When I saw you dashing through the bookstore, Paige, you looked pale enough to be Jaime's ghost. And, as well as you might think you're hiding it, don't think I've failed to notice that you wince every time you sit or stand. As for dinner--" He lifted his cell phone. "Room service. Wonderful invention. Go lie down. Please."
"But I--"
"Paige..."
"The files on Joey and Matthew," I said. "We still haven't read them--"
He handed me the files. "Read them in bed, then."
I hesitated, then took the files and left them to their phone calls.
I fell asleep reading the files and didn't awake until after nine. Lucas, having suspected I'd drift off, had ordered me a sandwich and salad earlier. He'd also removed my clothing, probably assuming I was down for the night. When I got up, I thought of redressing, but it seemed a waste of effort, so I just pulled on my kimono. Decent enough. It wasn't like I hadn't seen Jaime in less.
Jaime had reserved the adjoining room, and was in it finishing her calls, but when I awoke, she came over to fill me in. Both she and Lucas had canvased their contacts and found no one who'd heard so much as the vaguest rumor about a supernatural living in Ohio who'd recently had contact or trouble with the Cabals. Even Raoul hadn't been able to help. Lucas was disappointed, but not surprised. When you lived so far off the Cabal grid, it was unlikely you'd have any opportunity to clash with them.
Knowing the Cincinnati connection might be a false lead, Lucas and Jaime had broadened their questions to include any supernatural targeted by the Cabals in the past two years. That led to a list of twenty names, plus half a dozen promises to call back with more information. Of those names, though, neither of us could see any whose beef against the Cabals was great enough to launch a murderous rampage. The most co
mmon complaints were being refused Cabal employment, or being harassed because they refused Cabal employment. No one would ever kill teenagers over something like that. We hoped that when the other contacts called back with their lists, we'd see more likely possibilities.
"And until then?" I said. "I didn't see much in the crime-scene files, but we should probably go through them together. Let me grab--"
Lucas put a restraining hand on my knee. "Tomorrow. We've done enough today, and I believe we've earned ourselves an hour or two of respite."
"We could order in a movie," Jaime said.
I said nothing, but Lucas caught my underenthused look. He pushed to his feet, crossed the room, and tugged the scroll tube from his suitcase. When he glanced over at me, I grinned.
I turned to Jaime. "Would you mind if we skipped the movie? My brain's still whirring, and I really need a more active distraction. Lucas and I have this spell we've been dying to practice."
"Spell-casting practice?" she said. "Sounds like work to me."
I grinned. "Never, especially not when it's a new spell. You can never have too many spells."
She laughed. "You kids are such keeners. You're so cute. So what does your new spell do?"
"Lowers a target's core body temperature five or six degrees, inducing moderate hypothermia."
Jaime looked from Lucas to me. "Uh-huh. Okay, I gotta ask: What the hell do you guys need a spell like that for?"
"We both have a limited range of lethal spells."
"And...that's a bad thing?"
"It can be. Don't worry. We're both very responsible spell-casters. We'd never misuse our power. Oh, hey, if you don't mind sticking around though, we could use a target."
"Target?"
"Well, we can't know for sure whether the spell works without a target."
Jaime stood. "I hear my television calling. You kids have fun."
"We will."
Lucas waited for Jaime to leave, then plunked down beside me.
"Alone at last," he murmured.
I snatched the scroll from him, unwound and read it. "So how are we doing this? Straight-up spell-casting? Or fun and games?"
"Do you need to ask? The decision, though, should really be yours. If you're too tired, or too sore--"
"Oh, I feel fine." I grinned. "Fine enough, anyway. Strip spell-casting okay?"