Circle of the Moon (Soulwood #4)

I tapped on the sleeping room door. “Mud? It’s over.”

The door wrenched open and Mud threw herself at me, grabbed me. Cherry was barking like a maniac, jumping all over me, racing up the hallway and back. Mud held me away. Her eyes searching me. “Are you’un all right? Are you shot? Turn around.” She shoved me around and back. And yanked me into a hug. “I was scared as a deer chased by coyotes.” She shoved me back and said, “Cherry, come. Stay.” The dog ignored her and I caught the small springer by the collar. Mud demanded, “I want me a gun.”

I was befuddled. And amazed at the young woman who, only last week, it seemed, had been my baby sister. “No gun. But staying with me put you in danger. I don’t care how sick the Nicholsons are, you’re going back.”

Nell narrowed her eyes at me. “Ain’t no way, sister mine. I ain’t going.”

“Why not?” I demanded. “Give me one good reason.”

My little sister showed teeth at me in fury. I realized I was going to have to pay for braces, but that thought shredded and vanished like a wisp of candle smoke on the wind. “Larry Aden is out on bail and he’s back home on church property. That there is the real reason Sam brung me to you’un.”





SEVENTEEN




“What were the bracelets?” Margot asked. Her dark-skinned face was slightly gray with shock.

The team was in the conference room, eating pizza provided by Soul, who just happened to drop by. Lucky that. Or not. Maybe something else, as if she had been notified. Or as if she knew things.

The Assistant Director of PsyLED was curled up like a cat, with her long skirts wrapped around her bare feet on the chair seat in the corner of the conference room, her shoes on the floor. She was all in silvers and grays today: platinum hair and dark eyes, silver earrings, and a shalwar chemise type dress, pants, and shawl in a gauzy fabric that looked cool and comfy. And not at all regulation. I sent a glance to JoJo, with her turban and shimmery skirts. Jo was more dance club than Indian, but there was a definite correlation.

Soul, like the rest of us, was working on her laptop and analyzing the video footage, trying to deal with the facts and the trauma of the attack, chatting with PsyLED DC and the National Guard and probably someone in the Department of Defense, tryign to get us backup. Her gaze kept shifting to Rick, evaluating, worried. She had said her reason for being here, was to keep an eye on her only mostly para unit. She had explained that she was here solely as an observer, but she warned us that how we handled this situation would impact future para units.

No stress there. No. Not at all.

It was a few hours before dawn and things had settled down some after the paramedics and city cops left. The emergency team—who had entered wearing double pairs of gloves and white Tyvek biohazard unis in the presence of werecat blood—had bandaged Margot’s arm and worked to stabilize Loriann before carting her to UTMC, running lights and sirens. Evidence had been collected by our team and by the FBI evidence collection team jointly, something FireWind worked out. No one had mentioned to any of them that Margot might go furry.

Soul had sent a request to the Dark Queen, Jane Yellowrock, requesting that one of her Mercy Blades come and try to keep the taint from taking. Rick claimed that Mercy Blades had the ability to keep a human from getting the were-taint. It hadn’t worked on him, however. Jane hadn’t responded. I had sent a similar request with identical results. Nothing. I wondered if Jane was suddenly out of range, in some arcane Cherokee ceremony, or on a ship at sea. No one knew and Alex wasn’t answering his cell either. Sudden radio silence wasn’t like Jane.

“The cuffs are similar to these,” T. Laine said, tapping a key on her laptop. Overhead, a series of photos of bracelets appeared, looking like something a museum might put together. “I contacted the leader of the NOLA coven, Lachish Dutillet. She’s in a null room prison for some reason, but her keepers let me talk to her. I had to tell her things that might be classified, and the witches were surely monitoring her calls, so feel free to write me up and bring charges.” Soul and FireWind both shook their heads and T. Laine went on, “She suggested it was possible to charm an amulet with a spell calculated to control a demon, once it was captured. She said there were old tales of amulets created for that purpose.”

I stuck a hand into my pocket and the evidence bags there. I hadn’t turned them in or admitted to having them. I had Loriann’s blood. I had shot Jason. I had a handful of tissues still damp with his blood. There had been enough for the crime scene techs, but I had collected my own too. For some reason I hadn’t told my team I had any of it. What could I do to a blood witch when I had his blood?

Could I feed him to Soulwood long-distance? Death was a judgment and sentence that belonged to the witch council of the United States. They governed all witches accused of capital crimes. If I drained him for the land, it would be murder. But … My land hungered. I could feel the desire like an ache in my belly, crushed down but painful and demanding.

“Loriann was still keeping secrets,” Rick said. “But at last, finally, she knows her brother has taken up with evil.” He had dressed and helped with the aftermath, but he couldn’t look at Margot. Hadn’t looked at her even once. Guilt was a nasty emotion. It changed relationships and made things that used to work no longer work.

My cell dinged with a text from Yummy, or someone using her cell, and I tapped it open. It said, Our people’s amulets have taken us to a bend of the Tennessee River. We know where Godfrey lairs. I read the text aloud and though it was nothing to go on, the entire team turned to their laptops and tablets and started tapping away. The cell dinged again. Our team will go in at half an hour before dusk to rescue our people. We will behead the daywalker who wishes to rule Ming’s lands, and stake his scions. I’ll text you the address ten minutes before we penetrate. Be ready with ambulances to come where we request.

“Ming is giving us the minimum legally required heads-up,” JoJo said. “At least we can put EMS and the local LEOs on alert. You really gotta get that chick’s real name.”

“Last time I asked, Yummy told me no. I ain’t magic.”

“That was an order,” JoJo said, her tone laughing.

“No. I kinda like ‘Yummy,’” I joked, sending my vampire friend back a K.

Too softly, the words breathy and sere, FireWind said, “You tell your superiors no with regularity, don’t you? That’s insubordination and grounds for censure or dismissal.” The team went silent and still. The words carried enough of an edge and threat to make me put down the cell and focus on the special agent in charge of the eastern seaboard. FireWind was an unknown. An unknown with power over us all, and power over our jobs. That made him scary. And … His inscrutable expression was no longer in place. It was … maybe cracked wasn’t the right word, but it was different. The banter between JoJo and me was just that. Banter. FireWind had to know that, so something else was going on here.

I considered all that had happened in the last hours. FireWind had made the decision to let the blood witch inside his unit’s headquarters. He had promised he’d fight off Jason and had failed. His team had then been attacked. The FBI liaison was possibly turned into a black wereleopard. His probie was the only team member to get off a defensive shot. The grindys had killed no one so far as we knew. Yet. But Rick might be in their sights. Ayatas and Rick had some sort of conflict going on so he probably felt guilty about maybe getting his SAC grindy-killed. Also, FireWind was going to take some heat for a failure in protocol and building security. Worse, his upline boss, Soul, was here, watching. He was visibly upset.

I looked to Soul but her chair was empty. I hadn’t seen the boss-lady leave. But that was a problem for later.

The mamas had always said to start out like you intend to proceed. I needed to address this.

JoJo started, “I was just—”

I held up a hand to stop her and said, “Would you folks give me a minute with the boss man?” The cats reacted and I thought they were about to disagree, or worse, try to protect me. I shook my head at both of them and stood, pointing to the null room. FireWind followed me in. The door shut behind us. The cold that had nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with antimagic instantly started seeping into my bones. Into Ayatas too, if his face was anything to go by.