CHAPTER 17
We got to sleep around seven thirty, and by noon, I opened my eyes, not fully rested but enough to pop out of bed. Tonya rolled over and let out a groan, squinting at me as I stretched.
“You’ve got huge boobs,” she said, pushing herself to a sitting position. “Do all dragons have them? Women, that is?” Pausing, she added, “And do you call yourselves women? Females? I never know what the proper terminology is for nonhumans. Obviously, most Fae are men or women but . . . oh hell.” She yawned widely. “Don’t mind me. I’m pre-caffeine.”
I laughed, then sat on the edge of the bed. I was wearing a loose sleep shirt that came to the tops of my thighs, but it was sheer and I hadn’t realized till now that she might be modest or embarrassed. I just didn’t think of things like that.
“I’m sorry—I hope I’m not embarrassing you. I know humans are generally more reserved than Supes, but I tend to forget.”
She shook her head and pushed back the covers, staggering to her feet. “No, it doesn’t bother me. A lot of people, it might, but not me.” She stared down at her body. She was wearing a pair of boy shorts and a T-shirt. “I usually sleep in the nude but thought that might be a touch too friendly for you. I just wish I could do something about this cellulite.” She smacked one of her thighs, then looked at me more closely. “That’s an awesome tattoo. I have several.”
I slid out of my clothes to show her the ink. “Most dragons won’t get ink. It’s just not a part of the culture. But because . . . the circumstances of my birth make me an outcaste anyway so I got this long, long ago. It reminds me of who I am, regardless of what society thinks of me. It reminds me that I am all dragon, even though I was an orphan.”
She moved closer to examine the work. “Exquisite and realistic.” Her breath tickled my skin and I jumped a little, laughing. Tonya looked up at me, then, and a shy smile stole over her face. “You’re beautiful. If I were into girls, I’d so be on you.”
That made me laugh. “I’m into . . . whoever I decide I want at the moment, but mostly I gravitate toward men.”
She nodded. “I get it. Hey, you want to use the shower first? Go ahead, if you like. I’ll go make coffee and get some breakfast going. Lunch. Whatever you call it when you get up at noon.”
“Thanks, I really need to drench myself.” The pull of the water was strong on me this morning, and I wanted nothing more than to head out to the ocean and dive deep. Maybe I could do that after we dealt with the wight. That is, if we survived the encounter. Consoling myself with that thought, I slid into the shower and lathered myself up. Tonya’s body wash smelled like rain and I noted the brand and name of it. On the way home, I’d stop and pick some up.
By the time I finished getting dressed, smoothed my hair back into a high ponytail, and put on some makeup, Tonya was back. She jumped in the shower for a quick rinse after telling me that Ralph and Chai had taken it upon themselves to make breakfast for all of us.
Following my nose, I headed out to the kitchen, where a stack of toast waited next to a pan of scrambled eggs and another filled with sausage. Filling my plate, I slid into a chair at the table next to Ralph, who was downing his third cup of coffee. Chai poured me a cup and then proceeded to rinse the pans and put them in the dishwasher.
Ralph’s hair was wet. Apparently he’d taken a shower in the second bathroom already. He was looking up something on his laptop and seemed immersed in whatever it was.
“What are you reading?” I reached over and poked him in the arm.
He gulped the last of the coffee in his mug and turned the screen toward me. “I was trying to pinpoint the amount of ghostly activity here, to see if we could figure out where the other two wights are. But there’s so many things that go on around here it’s impossible to tell.”
I stared at the chart that he’d created. He was right—ghosts, hauntings . . . they spiked all over the place. There were far more events than three extra wights could account for. Frowning, I leaned in, trying to puzzle out something that was playing in the back of my thoughts.
“You know . . . they aren’t always associated with ghosts. We might think so, because of the situation at Patrick’s house, but the truth is that wights feed off a lot of different energies—not just spirits. Fear . . . chaos. What about violent events? Brawls, murders, mayhem of any kind? Have there been any spikes in Port Townsend? High-crime areas that suddenly had an influx in criminal activity other than burglary or the sort?”
Ralph grinned at me. “We’ll make a detective out of you yet, Shimmer. Good thinking.” He pulled the laptop back and began tapping away, his fingers flying over the keys. If I could ever even reach a third of the speed he had on the keyboard, I’d be happy.
While he was busy with that, I turned to Chai. “And you, how are you this morning, big bro?” I grinned at him and suddenly realized that I felt comfortable. It felt good for a change to have this many people around. I might be a loner, but that was partially because I’d never had any choice in the matter. Truth was, I liked being around friends, I liked feeling the camaraderie that we seemed to have formed. And I was really going to miss Tonya when we went home.
Chai shrugged. “Good. I popped back to feed your fish this morning but almost startled some woman who was there.”
Stacy! Oh gods, what if she saw Chai? She wouldn’t know what to make of him. She might know that I was a dragon, but that didn’t mean she would know Chai was a friend of mine, or that he was relatively harmless unless you pissed him off.
“Did she see you?”
He shook his head. “I was in the kitchen when she opened the door. I managed to pop out before she ran into me. I have the feeling she thought there was someone in there, so you may hear something about it when you go home, but I don’t think she caught a glimpse of me.”
“I forgot, I asked her to check on my apartment for me.” I spread a spoonful of jam on the toast and bit into it, enjoying the buttery feel of the bread in my mouth. I was growing to like human food more and more, and it was nice to not have to go hunting all the time. I couldn’t very well do that anyway, unless I dove into the water now, seeing that I had been barred from my dragon form otherwise.
“Well, she’s there, so your fish are getting their breakfast.”
Tonya wandered in, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. “If we’re going back out to the battery, I’m not wearing my good clothes. I’ll call Degoba and see how he’s doing—” She was interrupted by the doorbell. “Damn. Will somebody fix me a plate, please?”
As Chai handed me a plate and I began to spread jam on toast for her and scoop up some scrambled eggs, Tonya returned. Behind her was Degoba, limping a little, and wearing a loose shirt over a pair of sweatpants.
I shoved the plate into Chai’s hands and jumped up, running over to him. I was about to grab him for a hug when he held out his hands. “Whoa, missy. You squeeze me and you might reopen the wound. I’m healing up quickly but I’ve still got a line of ten stitches in my side.”
“Oh hell, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think.” I settled for leaning in and pressing my lips to his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Degoba. I really didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“Girl, stop it with the guilt. It’s over. We had a bad situation and there’s nothing that any of us could have done. We got caught with our pants down and took a hard spanking.” He winked and I blushed.
“Come, sit down. Do you want something to eat?” Tonya led him over to the table where Ralph hurried to grab one of the chairs we’d carried to the living room. He moved his laptop to a tray next to the table so there was room for all of us. I went back to my breakfast, and Tonya to hers, while Chai graciously filled a plate for Degoba.
I frowned at the djinn. “What about you? Did you eat?”
He nodded. “I stopped at McDonald’s on the way back from your place.”
Tonya turned to him. “You eat fast food?”
He snorted. “I’m a djinn, not a vegetarian.”
&nb
sp; “I know but . . . okay, whatever.” She laughed.
For a while, the only sound was that of our forks clinking against the china, but finally we were sated. She pushed back her plate at the same time I pushed back mine. Degoba, on the other hand, was having seconds. Ralph was still poring through documents on the Net.
“So I did a reading last night on you.” Tonya turned to the spiritwalker. “I had to make certain the wight didn’t still have a hold on you.” She told him what the cards had said, and he nodded.
“Good thinking. Never trust blindly. But no, it lost its hold when Shimmer stabbed me. In a sense, that was the best thing you could have done, girl, because it startled me so much that it threw my body into shock and that dislodged the wight. So don’t feel so bad, please.” He gave me such a kindly grin that I finally realized that he meant it—that the incident was behind us.
“Just never again, all right? I don’t want to ever attack one of my friends again. This is the second time that’s happened.”
“When’s the first?” Tonya stared at me like I’d suddenly confessed to being a serial killer or something.
“I was charmed by a sorcerer, a vampire no less, and he forced me to attack Alex. I almost staked him.” I stopped, suddenly realizing that Degoba had been in pretty much the same position I had. “Oh man, that hits home, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, well, we’ll just figure out a way to keep that from happening again when we go after it next.” Degoba motioned to the last piece of toast. “Anybody mind if I take that?”
“No, eat hearty. But you’re not going anywhere. We’re heading out today to fight it because it’s weaker in daylight, and you aren’t coming with us. Not in your condition.” Tonya gave him a stern look.
Degoba let out a sigh. “You’re right on that. I want to go, but I’m not stupid and I know my limitations. I could come but stay in the car. You’re going to want me there.”
“Not necessarily. Somebody refill me with coffee, please. Hey, look at this.” Ralph shoved away his plate and turned the screen so it was facing the rest of us.
I was nearest the coffeepot, so I poured the last of it into his cup. “I think you’d better make some more for our Energizer bunny here, Tonya. What did you find, Ralph?”
As Tonya headed over to the sink to rinse out the pot, the doorbell rang again and she went to answer it. Meanwhile, Ralph pointed to a map of the town, with three circles superimposed over the top. One was right over the battery. Another was over Patrick’s house. Another was in the south area of town.
“These are the areas where the most violence has happened over the past five months—” He stopped as Tonya returned, with Paris Veraday behind her.
“Afternoon, folks.” She stopped when she saw Degoba, then gave a little shrug. “I wanted to let you know that Toby came in and we did a rush job on the labs. The skeleton? Buckland bones. Probably Lacy but there’s no real way of knowing that. Not at this point. But they definitely belong to the Buckland family. He’s going to claim her and give her a proper burial.”
That made me incredibly happy, and it must have shown on my face because Paris broke out into a warm smile. “Finding her family really mattered to you, didn’t it?” She sounded like she understood.
I nodded. “Yeah, it did. Even if you don’t know for sure it’s Lacy, we’re fairly certain of it, and at least one of her kin laid claim to her and will remember that she belonged to his blood.”
She held my gaze for a moment, then nodded and stood up. “Mr. Strand is free to go in and start work on rebuilding his bed-and-breakfast, but he can’t open till the damage has been fixed and the inspector signs off on it.” She paused then, looking like she wanted to say something else. I wasn’t the only one who noticed it.
Tonya set a cup of coffee in front of Paris. “What is it?”
Paris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know there are entities in that house. I felt them when I was there. I felt them around the skeleton. I know what happened—officially—at the battery. I also know there’s something in that place because the last time I was there, it scared the hell out of me. I can’t speak as a cop . . . ignore my badge for now . . . but if you’re trying to take care of whatever it is, please be careful. Whatever is going on in this town, it’s dangerous.”
I looked at Ralph, then at Tonya and Chai. It was better for everybody if none of this ever chanced creeping into government hands of any sort. And while I trusted Paris, there was always the chance she’d feel obligated to report it and we’d be in trouble.
“We simply can’t verify that. I hope you understand—we can’t talk about it. I’m not about to say you’re wrong, though.”
I really didn’t know if I should be the one taking over the official spiel; Ralph had been with Alex a lot longer. But Ralph was far better with a keyboard than he was with verbal communication. It occurred to me that we needed to clarify the matter on who spoke for the company, once Alex was awake to make a decision.
Paris considered what I said, then nodded and stood up and put her hat back on, adjusting it over her hair. “I understand. If you need me—unofficially—call me here.”
She handed me a business card. It was her personal one, with her cell number on it. Apparently, Paris was more than just a cop—she also made and sold quilts. As we showed her to the door, I tucked her card in my pocket.
When she was gone, I looked back at the others. “So, let’s get this over with. Degoba, is there anything else you can tell us about the wight? Any other facts you might remember?”
Degoba leaned back and closed his eyes. “Tonya, can you regress me? It might help me uncover anything that got buried when I attacked Shimmer. Everything after she stabbed me is a blur.”
Tonya glanced at the clock. “Yeah, but we shouldn’t wait too long. Dusk comes early this time of year. Get yourself comfortable and I’ll go get my pendulum.”
Degoba crossed to the sofa and cautiously stretched out, propping himself up with pillows. He gingerly fingered his side where the bandage was and then, taking a shallow breath, let it out slowly. Tonya returned with a long crystal attached to a silver chain. As she settled next to Degoba, sitting on an ottoman, he began to breathe slowly and rhythmically.
Tonya held out the pendulum in front of his eyes and began to swing it slowly back and forth. Degoba followed it with his gaze, back and forth as she whispered to him.
“Follow the pendulum with your eyes. Let it guide you back in time. Follow it into the depths of your subconscious, deep into your memories. Let it lead you into the recesses of your mind where you have hidden your thoughts and impressions. Take three deep breaths and let them out slowly.”
Degoba obeyed, and with each breath, he seemed to fade a little from the room.
Tonya waited for a moment, then continued. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to search for whatever you can find about the forest wight. Reach out to your memories—and look for anything you may have forgotten.”
Degoba let out one more breath and a pale mist seemed to surround him, feathery tendrils gently waving like reeds in the wind. Tonya waited for another moment, then spoke again.
“Can you remember the forest wight and what it felt like inside your mind?”
“Yes.” Degoba shifted slightly, as if he was uncomfortable.
“I want you to examine the experience—from an observational level. I want you to look at every detail and tell us anything that you think you may have overlooked. Is there anything you notice that may help us?”
Another moment, and Degoba jerked a little. “I can see . . . I can see where he’s hiding. I can see where his lair is.”
Tonya pounced on that. “Where? Where does the creature make his home?”
“The battery—on the bottom floor, deep in the room farthest back on the left side. He’s created a secret access panel to an underground lair in the rammed earth that surrounds the structure. That’s where you c
an find him in physical form.” Jerking suddenly, Degoba sat up, eyes flying open. “He almost felt me—I could feel him out there, watching and waiting. If I had poked around any farther, he might have made the connection. I think there’s still some sort of link between us and while this didn’t activate it, I’m not sure what might.”
We looked at each other.
“The question is,” I said, “if you can still sense him, can he deliberately seek you out?”
“We can’t take the chance that he’ll know we’re coming. Is there something we can do?” Ralph asked.
Degoba nodded. “Yeah. There is. Knock me out with a sedative that will dull my mind. On the down side, you won’t be able to call me if you need help. But it should keep him from being able to get a firm grip on me again. If he senses you around the battery, he may try to take a peek in my brain to find out what’s going on. Even from here, I could cause some major havoc. But if I’m sedated and fuzzy-headed, he shouldn’t be able to do much through me.”
“What will work? I don’t have any sleeping pills.” Tonya frowned. “I don’t think any of my herbals will work either. I do have some pot—you want to smoke some of that?”
I grinned. Humans liked their marijuana and it was quite legal in Washington State. But Degoba shook his head.
“No, marijuana won’t actually knock me unconscious. I have pain pills and they can fuzz me up pretty good but they don’t make me sleep. I know!” He snapped his fingers. “Do you have Sleepy-Cold?”
“What’s that?” I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the pharmaceuticals humans used. Most of them reacted quite differently on Fae or other Supes. And most of them wouldn’t do a thing to me. Hell, it took a jackhammer to even get me tipsy—dragon liquor was a hell of a lot more potent, and even when I was in human form, my resistance was strong to anything except the harder alcohols.
“It’s a liquid cold reliever. A decongestant that’s primarily alcohol, but it’s also a sleep aid. Can cause one heck of a hangover, and yes, it does fog up the brain. I have a bottle in the bathroom. I’ll get it.” Tonya vanished down the hall and returned with a bottle containing a neon green liquid. She opened it and the pungent smell made me wince. Oh, that had alcohol in it, all right, but other things, too. I had no idea what they were, but I could smell them clear enough. It reminded me of a thick, doctored cherry syrup.