I nodded, thinking aloud. “But Sonja does. Which is why she and I are about to become bosom buddies. She was the one who gave me the information you’re holding in your hand while I was in the future.”
He stilled in his cleaning efforts. “I wasn’t aware Sonja was interested in black magic.”
I wanted another sip of coffee, but I answered before I partook. “I’m sure there are a lot of things you don’t know about Sonja.”
Goose left the stained towels on the floor and took his seat across from me again. “Are you aware of the price that must be paid to bring a being back to life? I’m not talking about reanimating a zombie, or recalling one from the dead only to banish them back to where they came from.”
“A life of equal offering to the being that is being recalled from death.” At his stunned look, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I did my studying like a good girl when I was recovering at Disco’s. I’m not as stupid as I once was.”
“Then you know the life has to be equally as strong as the entity you return to life. If you’re going to reincarnate a fallen angel, that’s going to require more than an animal sacrifice. You’re going to have to kill someone in order to do it.”
Nodding, I kept my eyes on my coffee. “I’m aware.”
“Jesus, Rhiannon!” Goose rose again, knocking the table as he did with his leg. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this from you! You would actually consider killing someone? It doesn’t bother you to end a life?”
A loaded question, one I’d asked myself several times. Could I kill someone else in order to revive Marigold? Would I have the willpower to take the life of someone else to bring her back to life? At first, I thought the answer was no, but after a night spent with Disco, I remembered that not all lives are created equal.
The world I returned to, while admittedly better than the one in the future, was one still filled with murderers, child rapists and serial killers. With those who would kill their own families in their sleep, kidnap, rape and strangle the innocent. No matter how much time passed, there was always someone out there who didn’t deserve to draw air, didn’t deserve to enjoy what qualified as a demented, fucked-up life.
“I don’t expect you to understand, and I’m not asking you to help with that. I just need all the information you can gather on Marigold Vesta. I need to figure out where she’s resting, how to get there, and I need to know as soon as possible. My clock started ticking the minute I got back.”
“I’m not sure if I can do this.” When I glanced at Goose, he looked almost green. “I can’t kill someone.”
I placed my cup on the table and looked him in the eye. “You won’t be. As soon as I have the information I need, I’ll do this on my own. I’m not asking you to stain your hands. I’m just asking you for some information. That’s it.”
“It’s the same thing though, isn’t it? The minute I give you what you need, you’ll find someone, take them to Marigold’s grave, and you’ll bring her back using their life as an offering.”
I didn’t turn from him, knowing he needed to hear it, accept it, or walk away. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers for.”
The phone rang again. Goose stomped to the phone, yanked it off the receiver, and thrust it against his ear. “Hello?”
“You haven’t left yet?” This time, it was Paine I could hear through the line.
“Obviously not,” Goose snapped.
The surge in Goose’s temper exasperated Paine’s. “What’s keeping you?”
“Things like caffeine, a shower and a change of clothes, for starters.”
I heard Paine sigh through the phone. “Just call us when you find something, all right?”
“As soon as I find something, you’ll be the first to know.”