“There was a store sign on the ground, pretty well cracked.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe one of the wraiths knocked it down? They were moving all over the place. They kind of”—I hunched my shoulders over—“lurched around when they moved?”
“And where did they go?” Phelps asked.
“Uptown, toward the CBD.” We let the Central Business District keep the acronym, even though there wasn’t much business there these days.
“And the girl?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know about her, either. I told her to get up and run, and she did. I didn’t see the direction. I was watching the wraiths.”
Phelps nodded, glanced at Liam. “And when did you pop into this fight?”
“After it was over.”
“You looking for a bounty?”
“Always,” Liam said coolly. “But it wasn’t to be this time.”
“You could have chased them,” Thomas said. “Why are you still here?”
“Because right now I want information more than I want bounties.”
“Information about?”
“Why two wraiths attacked a human together.”
“They didn’t.” Thomas’s tone was flat. “That’s not something that happens.”
Liam lifted his hands. “Like Claire said, I’m just telling you what I saw. You can watch the tape yourself. Matter of fact, I’d appreciate a copy of it when you’re done.”
Just the mention of the tape made my stomach twist with anticipation. I thought I knew what Liam was doing—acting just the way a bounty hunter might act in this scenario—but the request still rankled.
Phelps nodded. “You know there’s a procedure for that. Put in the request with the Commandant.”
“Sure,” Liam said. “In triplicate, undoubtedly.”
Phelps made a vague sound of agreement. “Bureaucracy.”
“Bureaucracy,” Liam agreed.
Apparently satisfied with the information he’d gotten, Phelps touched the recorder, which turned red as it disengaged; then he pocketed it. “That should be all for now, but stay around in case we have more questions.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
He looked at Liam. “You’ll be around, too?”
“Here and there. I can be found.”
Phelps nodded. “Then we’ll finish up outside so we can get our report in. Y’all have a safe night.” He paused at the door, glanced back. “Oh, and happy War Night.”
“Nous vivons,” Liam and I said together.
? ? ?
It wasn’t until the bell signaled the door’s closure that I took a full breath. I put my elbows on the counter, put my head in my hands, cursed. This wasn’t exactly how I’d thought War Night would go. I hadn’t had nearly enough Drink.
“You’re a pretty good liar.”
I slid my gaze to Liam, didn’t especially enjoy the smirk on his face. “I’ve had practice.”
“So I see.”
I stood up straight again, tried to compose myself. “God, what a mess.”
“It is,” he agreed. “And right now we need to move so you get to those tapes before Containment does. Our window to minimize the damage is closing.”
I nodded. “Okay. Where do we do that?”
“Devil’s Isle.”
I stared at him. Sensitives didn’t go into Devil’s Isle if they ever wanted to come out again. “What do you mean, ‘Devil’s Isle’?”
“That’s where my mechanic lives. He’s the only man I know who can do it.”
“My life’s goal is to stay out of Devil’s Isle. I’m not going to just walk in there under my own volition.”
“If you want to take care of the video, you do it in Devil’s Isle.”
“You can’t do it on your own?”
“No, because the mechanic is only our first stop.” He moved a step closer so that I had to look up at him.
“I promise you, Claire—tonight, you’ll enter Devil’s Isle of your own free will, and you’ll walk right back out again. But if you want to keep it that way, if you want to keep your free will intact, then you need to learn to regulate your magic.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Becoming a wraith isn’t inevitable, Claire. You aren’t the only Sensitive in New Orleans. Hell, you probably aren’t the only Sensitive in the Quarter.”
I stared at him. “There are more of us? Sensitives who aren’t in Devil’s Isle? How many?”
“Enough. And, like them, you’ve got to learn to normalize your magic, to keep the infection at bay. That can be done, with diligence.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.