Sandy suddenly snapped her fingers. “I think I’ve figured something out. What if Essie’s behind Rose’s death? What if she enthralled Ralph and made him believe she was Rachel. That way she could take out one of the members of the Inner Court and her rival for the throne at the same time and Rose was the unintended victim.”
I cocked my head, trying to follow her reasoning. “How do you figure?”
Sandy sounded excited as she laid it out for me. “What if Essie thought, why not kill you and make it look like Rachel’s fault? Ralph was quick about giving you info on who put him up to sneaking into your bathroom, wasn’t he?”
I nodded. “Too quick. I see your point. When a vampire enthralls someone, they usually put a gag order on them to protect themselves. But he told me right off, full description, and that he thought she was a vampire.”
“Then you get the text telling you where Rachel is hiding. Not overly obvious but enough for you to put two and two together. Essie had to know that Aegis would go after Rachel if you were hurt, and he could easily win. He’s stronger than Rachel by a long shot.”
I was beginning to see where she was going with this. “And if somehow Essie’s plan didn’t work, then I would assume Rachel was after me and take care of her myself. Which would leave Essie in the clear, her rival out of the picture, and there would be one fewer member of the coven to worry about.”
Sandy reached over and laid a light hand on my arm. “Maddy…you were Mad Maudlin, one of the scariest vampire hunters in history. Essie’s bound to know that. While you were living in Seattle you weren’t such a threat, but you moved to Bedlam. If she’s out to stage a takeover, then you are a serious threat to her and her people.”
I felt a shiver race over my back. “Damn. I never thought of that, but it makes sense.”
“Are you sure about this? Rachel sounds like the most likely suspect. Plus, she has a grudge against you.” Linda’s voice was shaky.
I turned to her. “Linda, what aren’t you telling us? You know full well we’re on the right track, so why are you clamming up? What do you know about Essie?”
Linda paused and I thought she wasn’t going to answer, but then she finally crossed to her bookshelf where she withdrew a thin volume.
“Here.” She handed me the book. “Page fifty-two.”
I opened the journal to find that it was hand written rather than actual print. “It feels old.”
“It is old. It’s five hundred years old and the only way it’s managed to make it this far is because it’s been magically enchanted to stand through time.” Linda reached over to lovingly stroke the leather. “Whoever takes over as coven leader will inherit this and be responsible for its upkeep.”
I opened it to page fifty-two and glanced at the writing. In clear, concise cursive was a description of Essie, along with a careful drawing of her. I recognized her right off, even though the style of dress had changed and her hair was different.
Essie Vanderbilt: Essie Vanderbilt was born in New Orleans in 1844. She was part of the Voudou community, and studied with Marie Laveau, the Queen of Voodoo, and later with Marie’s daughter—also named Marie—who was also a practitioner. Essie was considered one of the most powerful Voudou priestesses ever, and people far and wide feared her as well as flocked to her for help with their problems. At the height of her career, when she was 33, Essie made the mistake of walking down a back alley. Where no human in the area would dare harm her, vampires didn’t have the same qualms.
A vampire named Philippe, originally over from Paris, ruled as the Vampire King of the Southern States. He had fallen for Essie and also saw her a potential business partner, decided it was time to stop taking “No” for an answer. He dragged Essie into the shadows and forced her to drink from his veins, then drained her dry. When she rose, he expected her to succumb to his will, but he had no clue how powerful Essie was. She had managed to retain some of her powers, though she would never again be accepted in her Voudou House, and she set out to destroy Philippe for what he did to her. The two waged war, dividing both the vampire community and the Otherkin community, and in the end, she threw him down, staking him in front of his court, and took his crown. When she later decided to move north, she forged an alliance with her successor and moved up in the hierarchy of the Vampire Nation, a loose alliance of regents.
She later moved to the Pacific Northwest, and supplanted Lena Verda as queen.
I silently handed the book to Sandy, who quickly skimmed the passage.
“Crap.” She set the book on the coffee table. “So, Essie would certainly know what to do with your hair, all right, if Ralph got away without you finding him. Rachel doesn’t have a magical background, does she?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Aegis certainly didn’t mention anything of the sort. So, we have Essie, a Voudou vampire who apparently enjoys her power. Given her reaction when Philippe tried to assert his authority over her, it’s clear she doesn’t play well with others.” Turning to Linda, I added, “All right. You knew Essie’s a Voudou priestess. Why on earth did you allow her to stay on the island?”
Linda stared at her feet. She began to rock back and forth, biting her lip. I had the strange feeling that we were about to enter territory that would shift everything.
“Linda, Rose was murdered. I’m a target and—apparently—so is our entire coven. If you know anything, you owe us an explanation. I know you’ve been our High Priestess for decades, but you can’t hide something that might put us all at risk.”
“I know that!” A shower of sparks sizzled around her. Linda ran heavy fire energy and it flared when she was upset.
Sandy tapped the coffee table. “So, out with it.”
“All right. I guess I can’t hide it anymore. Essie has something on me. She’s holding some information over my head and I’m terrified to cross her.” Linda looked so miserable that I wanted to reach over and give her a hug, but I refrained.
“What is it? You can tell us.”
“Apparently, I have no choice.” Sounding bitter, Linda crossed to her desk and retrieved a picture frame from a locked drawer. She returned, handing it to us. We found ourselves staring at a lovely young woman with an innocent look on her face. “This is Patricia. She’s my daughter.”
That was odd. Linda had never mentioned a daughter before, or a husband. “You’re married?”
“No, I’ve never been married. But I used to live with a man named Ryan. I got pregnant and he left. Patty is the result of that union. He was human, so she’s mixed blood. But Patty is a special-needs child…woman now. She’s developmentally disabled. She has the emotional age of about a ten-year-old, even though she’s seventy-two. She inherited my longevity, but few of my other powers. I realized early on that she would be a target for my enemies, and I have more of them than you want to think. So I took her to Kali, my best friend at the time. Kali always wanted children but couldn’t have any. She welcomed Patty in as her own and has raised her from the first month.” Her voice was wistful, and I could see both regret and relief in her eyes.
“Essie found out about Patty?”
Linda nodded. “She’s threatened to turn Patty. She also somehow convinced Kali to keep Patty prisoner in the house. I don’t know what she promised her, but my best friend has been cooperating with the vampires to keep my daughter confined, away from me. Essie has enough threads in her network to kill Patty if I make a move against her or Kali. I’d never make it down there in time.”
Heartsick, I rubbed my forehead. “Why don’t you just take out Essie?” But even as I said it, I knew the answer.
Linda shrugged. “Because she left instructions that if she’s staked by any person, Patty’s to be attacked without question. And Essie’s allies are widespread enough that there’s no chance I could save my daughter before they got to her. So you see, Maddy, I have to protect Essie in order to save Patty’s life.”