Giguhl held up a single talon. “Guys, I hate to add fuel to this fire, but we’ve got a more immediate issue to deal with. Lavinia knows where we’re staying.”
Zen nodded resolutely and stepped forward. “Actually, that’s not the worst of it.” We all looked at her, bracing ourselves for whatever her verdict was going to be. “Until we figure out who’s been spying on us, finding a safer place to stay will be impossible.”
Adam crossed his arms over his chest and stroked his chin. “The first thing we need to do is set up a watch. Sabina and I will take turns— obviously Sabina gets the night shifts.”
“Adam, that’s crazy. How are we going to make any progress if we’re on opposite schedules and spending all our time waiting to be attacked?”
“She has a point, Adam,” Rhea said. “We can ward the entrances and exits as a precaution.”
“I still say we need someone on watch, at least at night when the attack is more likely.”
Giguhl raised a claw. “What about me?”
I shot the demon a grateful look. He really was the perfect candidate for the job. He didn’t have my pesky day/night issues and, even though I rarely admitted it, he was probably the most powerful being of our little trio. Demons are notoriously hard to kill, and Giguhl’s mischievous personality also made him pretty wily in a fight.
“That would be a big help, Giguhl. Thanks.”
His horizontal pupils flickered in surprise. “Really?”
I frowned. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”
He tilted his head. “No, it’s just you usually argue when I volunteer for jobs.”
My conscience prickled. He was totally right. “Well, your little talk the other night helped me realize I need to start treating you like a real member of this team. So, yes, I’d like you to take point of the perimeter. Please,” I added for good measure.
Giguhl stood up with a satisfied smile on his black lips. “You won’t be sorry, Red. I’ll keep the perimeter tighter than a nun’s cooch.” With that charming metaphor, he ran off to begin securing the building. The four of us remaining watched him go for a moment before Adam cleared his throat.
“Now that that’s settled, what are we going to do about this spy situation?”
Rhea looked around. “Do you all really believe Lavinia has someone watching you?”
Zen, Adam, and I formed an arc of nodding heads. “Someone close enough to know our plans. Otherwise, how did they know when to attack last night when none of us were here?”
“And the two Garden District incidents,” Adam said, referring to the dearly departed Stryx and the Count’s vamp gang.
“Speaking of,” Zen said, “how did the patrols go tonight?”
Adam grimaced. “Nada. Not one sign of Lavinia in the French Quarter tonight. Of course, you called before we made it over this way. But I haven’t had a chance to ask Giguhl—”
Zen spoke up then. “While you two were inside checking the place out, he told me they didn’t find anything, either.”
“Any word from the spirit world?” Adam asked Zen and me.
The voodooienne and I exchanged a look. “Not as such, no,” I said finally.
Rhea’s eyes went all squinty and suspicious. “What?”
I quickly filled Rhea in on the ritual we’d planned on doing, stopping just short of the unanticipated outcome.
“So what happened?” Adam asked. His expression matched his aunt’s. They knew we were hiding something.
“Wait a second,” Rhea said. “You did warn Zen about your Chthonic powers first, right?”
My eyes shifted left. “Um.” Zen crossed her arms and tapped her toe on the ground, shooting accusing looks between Adam and me.
“No,” she said. “And neither did you, old friend.”
“What am I missing?” Adam said.
I continued to avoid everyone’s gaze, so Zen took over. “What you missed was Miss Thang over here summoning a revenant.”
“Rev— you mean a zombie? ” Adam shouted.
Rhea’s mouth dropped open. “Good gods. What were you thinking, Sabina?”
The combined force of their judgment brought my hackles up. “I made a mistake, okay? But I also cleaned up the mess.”
Zen nodded reluctantly. “It’s true. She did manage to kill it. Eventually.”
I crossed my arms and shot the mages an I-told-you-so look. But Zen wasn’t done. “It’s just a shame the owl had to die before she could get the answers she needed.”
“Owl?” Rhea said. “You mean Stryx?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. “But the ritual wasn’t a total loss. Kevin”— at their blank stares, I explained— “that’s the zombie, did manage to translate the owl’s screeches for a few seconds. Mostly it was a lot of calling for his master. But he did say a couple of strange things.”
Everyone looked at me expectantly. I sighed, knowing what I was about to say would make them question my sanity. “He said ‘big box’ and,” I paused, “‘cat piss.’ ”
Adam’s head tilted and his eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“No idea. But I’d just asked where Maisie was when he said it. After the box and the cat thing, he said ‘Master come’ and ‘Kane.’ ” I shrugged. “Maybe they’re clues.”
“So basically other than knowing you can summon zombies, which is kind of awesome by the way,” Adam said, shooting me an admiring glance, “all we have to go on is a picture of Maisie and vague references to boxes and cat urine?”
Rhea sighed heavily. “This is not good at all. The Council anticipated far more progress by now,” she said. “I’m wondering if we should consult with Orpheus.”
“What?” Adam said. “No. What if he tells us to pull out of the city to regroup? We can’t leave Maisie here.”
“Orpheus wouldn’t do that to Maisie. Most likely he’d want to send in reinforcements.”
I frowned. “But I thought warm bodies were in short supply.”
“I’ve been having some success with my recruiting efforts. Just before I came here I convinced several Chicago-area mages to join the cause. Maybe we can persuade Orpheus to bring the war to Lavinia before she can succeed in her plans with the Caste.”
“No,” I said. “We’re close. I can feel it. As much as I hate what happened to Brooks, Adam was right. Lavinia is trying to unsettle us. That tells me she’s worried we’ll figure out her scheme. Plus, we’re not totally dead in the water. We still need to talk to Brooks.”
Rhea opened her mouth to continue, but a loud squeak got our attention. On the second floor, Georgia leaned out of the window she’d forced open.
“Brooks is awake.”
21
Rhea and Zen entered first, leaving Adam and me to linger in the doorway of the crowded room. Apparently, Giguhl had heard Mac’s call, too, because he already sat by Brooks’s hip.
“Hey, guys!” the faery called from the bed, his voice surprisingly chipper. Hard to tell how genuine the reaction was, given his appearance.
Mac and Georgia obviously waited a few minutes to call us up. The tattered, blood-smeared dress he’d had on earlier was gone. His new wig, a simple black bob, and large Jackie O sunglasses accessorized a pink housecoat. Only the lower portion of his face was visible around the huge shades. The pink gloss shining on his lips accentuated his unblemished complexion.
Zen and Rhea approached the bed, leaning in to consult with the fae. Giguhl rose to give them a moment and approached us. I whispered to him and Adam, “I’m surprised they put him back in drag.”
Giguhl responded in an equally quiet tone. “After the violence he endured, he probably feels safer behind the costume. More able to dissociate from the reality of it.”
I didn’t even try to act surprised at such an insight coming from the demon. Mostly because I suspected he was right.
I certainly wasn’t a stranger to hiding behind a facade to deal with things. Ironic, though that Brooks’s reaction to feeling vulnerable was to sink further into a persona many considered weak. While my own reaction was to deny any vulnerability whatsoever. Regardless of our differing methods, my heart went out to him. Yet another reason to find out what the hell had happened so I could make Lavinia and her goons pay.
I excused myself from Adam and Giguhl and went to talk to Brooks. “Hey,” I said, approaching the bed.
His head angled toward me, but I couldn’t see his eyes through the dark lenses. “How are you feeling?”
“Never better, honey.” He flashed his pearly whites, but tension shadowed the smile.
Mac stepped up. She turned her back to me and addressed everyone else. “He was just about to tell us what happened.”
“She,” the drag queen corrected. A knife’s edge of tension made his tone higher than usual
Several tense looks zinged among the rest of us. Zen recovered first and patted Brooks’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re ready? It can wait.”
“Actually, I feel amazing. If someone ”— he jerked his head toward Mac— “hadn’t threatened me, I’d already be out of this bed.”
“You’re gonna stay put, and that’s that,” the were said, crossing her arms. Brooks looked around for an ally in his bid to rise but found none. Instead of arguing further, he lay back against the pillows with a huffy breath.
“Fine,” he said. “The truth is I don’t remember much.”
Giguhl patted his arm. “Just tell us what you do remember. Start with what happened right after we left.”
“Mac called about ten minutes later and told me she was calling off the show. I was worried because she wouldn’t give me any details, but her voice sounded real strained and angry.” He looked up at Mac. “What happened?”