Releasing a whole building of enthralled humans was a huge challenge, even with a wizard on the team. We had to include those people in the bathrooms, the storerooms, the office, even in the crannies where the techies were running the lights and sound show. Nerves fluttering like bat wings, I secluded myself in a shadowed corner. Cosmil stood behind me to provide an energy boost. I raised my hands, palms toward the crowd, and broadcast my will with a vengeance. With a pop of electricity, activity in the room instantly resumed, and the noise level swelled. If Marco had hit the Pause button, I had pushed Play. Pandora had stayed in the dressing room to distract Jo-Jo and Donita, so Saber and I walked into the humid night with Cosmil. A thousand questions pricked the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t know if I should ask even one.
“We will meet again,” Cosmil assured me as if he’d read my mind. Which he likely had. “I will send Pandora when I know you are ready.”
Ready for what? hovered on my tongue, but I knew. Ready to unite my powers with Triton’s. Humph. That’d be a cold day in every level of hell.
Cosmil chuckled. “No, it won’t.”
He turned south, away from downtown, and just as Pandora loped up to him, they both disappeared.
“Damn,” I breathed. “And I thought flying saved gas.”
The next two weeks passed at vampire speed.
Saber contacted Candy and Ray to relay that Marco and Laurel were exterminated. Ray heard a more edited version of events, I was sure. And, while I wasn’t present for either conference, I knew the VPA was closing down nests nationwide. The good news was that many vamps had the money and credit ratings to buy their own homes. The housing market boomed in some locations, and Ray reopened Hot Blooded.
When Maggie got home from Savannah, I caught her up on bits and pieces, but mostly we talked wedding plans. Oh, and I took her to see her dress. She cried happy tears for days.
I asked Saber about the apparent telepathy I’d experienced with him at the comedy club, but he acted like I’d taken another conk in the head with my surfboard. Since I didn’t hear his thoughts again, I chalked it up to an aberration brought on by stress. Yep, Dr. Phil has nothing on me.
Saber sold his condo and bought Neil’s house, closing on both the same day. Property deals must have been in the stars, because I filed the papers to claim my land from Triton’s trust and had the deed before the end of the month. I thought for sure Triton would contact me about the transfer, but he didn’t. I didn’t know whether to be ticked or hurt, but I was glad I’d buried the mermaid charm in my jewelry box drawer.
Jo-Jo called with news that The Court Jester was a go, and that pieces of the film would be shot in St. Augustine in October. He wanted me to be an extra, and I told him I’d think about it. Sure, it could be interesting, but my ghosts were more fun. One disturbing event occurred ten days after the showdown at the Riot. I received a DVD in the mail with Kevin Miller’s return address on the package. The note inside read: “Don’t need this footage for my project, and have destroyed the original. This is the sole copy to do with what you want.”
Good thing Saber was with me when I played the disk. Though I hadn’t seen them, Kevin, Leah, and Caro had been in the club the night of Jo-Jo’s show, and Kevin had set up a digital video recorder to run before he was enthralled. The camera had been aimed at the stage, and, though the picture was fuzzy, Kevin had inadvertently caught most of the confrontation between Marco and me. The DVR battery had died before the final scene played out, but seeing the video left me shivering for hours. Saber held me through the night to keep dreams at bay.
On the last Sunday of August, I decided to rip out the bushes and vines around the beach house. Saber was with Neil, watching the preseason football game he’d recorded on TiVo, but promised he’d join me later.
I took my surfboard with the idea that I’d reward myself for working, and after an hour, I’d cleared three sides of the bungalow. I also found a partial boardwalk to the beach, one with steps all but obliterated by sand. Since tramping over the dunes is a no-no, the hidden access meant the stretch of beach in front of my little shack was deserted. I had the ocean pretty much to myself, too. I didn’t need more invitation than that. I unloaded my board from the car, changed into my new coral flowered bathing suit, and hit the surf.
After one bitchin’ ride after another, I paddled out farther to rest a few minutes before I caught the last wave of the day. A splash on my left, and a dolphin leaped in a graceful arc, submerged, then swam directly at me. I tensed in case it bumped my board, but the dolphin dove under me and surfaced far on the other side. Then it swam lazily back, making clicks and whistles, and gently nudged my thigh with its beak.
Don’t recognize me anymore?
I jerked sideways so hard, I nearly fell off my board.
“Triton?”
No, Flipper.
I gave him the evil eye as he bobbed beside me. “Do not crack jokes with me. Not after what you pulled with that medallion thingie.”
It’s an amulet to be precise, and it had to be done. Marco was on the edge of being consumed by the Void.
“Then why didn’t you hit Marco with the amulet yourself? Why make me a party to killing—”
Banishing.
“Banishing then. You could’ve done it on your own.”
Triton shook his massive dolphin head. Remember what Pandora told you about uniting our powers?
“Yes, and I’m sick of hearing it.”