Chapter 7

" G ot another one."

The slight lisp brought my attention swinging from my TV to the small blue outline standing in the center of my couch. Visible only from the waist up, Johnny's appearance might have startled me if I hadn't seen stranger things. Muting the investigative crime show I was hoping could teach me some pointers, I hated that this interruption meant I was too late.

"Thanks for bringing me the news." I twisted to face him. "What can you tell me?"

"There's a weeping girl on East Victory Drive, across from the Thai place."

"How did she look?"

"Good for a drowned rat." He rubbed his nose. "Pretty eyes."

"Another drowning victim." I pulled up a map on my phone to pin the location. "Anything else?"

"She's wailing hard enough to make spooks nervous." He wet his lips. "Spirits like that…"

"…are dangerous," I agreed with him. "I'll head out there and see if I can relocate her."

Farah had the willpower to follow me to Bonaventure, but that was no guarantee this girl would too.

"Take someone with you." He wiped his hand on his pants. "She ain't right, that one."

"I will." I puffed out my cheeks. "I owe you."

"You're running up quite the tab, but I know you're good for it."

He winked and then he was gone, his hazy blue remnants streaking toward the landing.

A faint scratching noise, like nails on a chalkboard, lifted the hairs on my nape as I rose to investigate. No sooner had I swung open the door than Badb shot past me, aiming for her cat bed. She snuggled into the soft fabric with a rustle of feathers.

Without the leaf.

"What did you do with it?" I planted my fists on my hips. "You heard Moore's warning last night."

As usual, when faced with consequences of her actions, she feigned ignorance. But I was onto her tricks. She understood me as well as any person. She just chose to ignore me.

Shining black eyes gazed up at me while I glared down at her. "I know that you know I mean the leaf."

When her poker face held, mostly because I had to blink sometime, I gave up and called Harrow. "Hey."

"I might have a lead on one of the girls." I kicked off my pajamas. "Are you coming with me?"

"I'll be there in ten."

Once I had clothes on, I turned back to the crow, who continued to act innocent in her stolen bed.

"I'm heading out." I grabbed my purse and keys. "See you later."

A caw of protest brought her to her feet, giving away her game.

"Too bad you don't understand me or I might invite you along."

Before she could rush me, I slipped out and shut the door behind me with a thud.

"Sorry, girl," I yelled through the wood, "I don't speak crow."

That would show her who was boss. By the time I got home, she ought to be ready to negotiate.

With time to spare, and the cover of darkness to conceal me, I approached the burning tree. I stopped at six feet out, not wanting to risk tripping an alarm if I bumped against the ward Moore had set earlier.

"Kierce, I don't know for sure you did this, but if you did, do you think you could come back and help me figure out what to do about it?" I tipped my chin up, staring at the moon. "Badb misses you, and I…"

The rumble of Harrow's car interrupted me, and I pivoted to go.

"Frankie."

A shiver coasted down my spine as I turned back to the tree. "Kierce?"

For a full minute, I strained my ears, barely breathing, but all too soon headlights illuminated the trunk. I had no choice but to leave or risk Harrow learning a new secret. To protect Kierce, I crossed the street to the wagon.

Quickly, I cranked her so he would find me idling and assume I had always planned to drive.

Sure enough, he parked and strolled over, letting himself in with a faint smile. "You hate it."

"Midnight drives? Nah. They're relaxing. Not as good as running but there are fewer mosquitos."

"The Chevelle."

"I work in a body shop that specializes in classics, so no. I've seen worse restored to pristine condition."

"I'll have to take your word for it." He strapped in. "She needs a lot of love."

"Forget love." I rubbed the fingers on my right hand together. "She needs time and money."

Harrow made a thoughtful sound then tapped the fuzzy dice hanging from my rearview mirror until the faint grape scent permeated the air. "Where's your crow?"

Foreboding spread through my chest, twisting my heart into a corkscrew, and I omitted bits of the truth.

"Grounded." I kept my eyes from roving up the stairs. "She stole something and won't give it back."

Fingers drumming his thigh, he stared out the windshield. "Anything important?"

"No." I smoothed my expression. "It's the principle of the thing." I cut my eyes toward him. "How's Carter?"

"She's keeping down cheddar puffs, so she's on the mend."

Five minutes later, before Harrow circled back around to Kierce via Badb, we reached the location I had pinned earlier. As soon as I got the lay of the land, I knew where to look. Johnny hadn't been off much in his estimation. I parked in front of the Thai restaurant and checked with Harrow. "Are you coming?"

"It would defeat the purpose of not letting you go alone if I let you go alone."

"Smartass." I got out, and he joined me. We only had to walk a dozen yards to reach a culvert. There was no sign of a spirit, however, so I decided to check the bank. As soon as I stepped over the silver guardrail, the water below me rippled as if skating puddle flies crisscrossed its surface. "Harrow?"

"You okay?" He rested a hand on my shoulder from behind me. "Do you see her?"

Hoping this was happening for both of us, I urged him on. "Look down there."

"The water's churning." He crossed the guardrail to stand beside me. "Do you think there's a drain?"

"No idea." I watched for a while longer. "I haven't paid much attention to the culvert system."

Uncertain if this was paranormal or normal activity, I leaned over the concrete lip.

Milky-white hands shot from the water, clutched me around the throat, and dragged me in with a murky splash. The clamp of those icy fingers prevented me from calling out for help, but Harrow had been right beside me. He would come for me. I just had to stay alive that long.

"Necromancer," a silky female voice ripe with youth and brimming with hatred filled my ears.

Vision swimming with black dots, I clawed at her fingers, trying to pry them off me, but she was stronger. Giving up on my neck, I kicked and punched her, hoping she would loosen her hold, but the creature had locked on to me in a death grip.

Debris kept me from seeing more than an inch in front of my face, but I knew the culvert wasn't deep. I shouldn't have been sinking this long. I should have touched down by now and been able to kick off the silty bottom toward the surface. That I hadn't—and couldn't—meant her magic had entrapped me.

Bubbles slid past my lips, tickling my eyelashes, and darkness teased the edges of my mind.

No Harrow. No hope of freeing myself. No reason to even try.

That last bit must have been the asphyxiation talking.

I had two reasons. Two people who meant everything to me. Who would never give up on me, so I refused to give up on myself.

Gurgling and thrashing, I fought harder than ever, my lungs burning with the need for oxygen.

For one shining moment, I thought I had done it, but that was probably also the asphyxiation talking.

As my lids drifted lower, the creature pressed her nose to mine, ensuring I saw her porcelain features as she smiled with black teeth stained with algae.

"Frankie."

Certain I was hearing things, I traced the curves of his name with my lips. Kierce?

Bright light seared the backs of my eyes, the waking dead rumbling through my head, and icy heat swam up my arms into my heart.

Strong hands hooked under my arms and hauled me up and up and up until the world tipped over.

"Frankie. Frankie? Frankie. "

"Death is for quitters."

"Mary Frances Talbot."

"…punch you in the…"

"She's already unconscious. How is punching her going to help?"

"It won't, but it will make me feel better. Idiot. Traipsing off in the middle of the night alone."

"I was with her. She wasn't alone."

"Fat lot of good that did her."

The argument swayed over my head like live oak branches before a thunderstorm.

"Watch out…for…lightning," I mumbled helpfully, which set off a coughing fit that ended with me puking up half of the culvert. I did not want to think about what, aside from runoff and river water, was in there before it ended up in my mouth.

"Lightning?" Josie. That had to be Josie. "There's not a cloud in the sky."

"That didn't stop it from striking that tree."

"No." I mashed my fingers against Matty's lips until I felt teeth. "Our…secret."

"Mmmph-hmmph." He grasped my wrist, yanked it down, then spat over his shoulder four or five times. "I'll never feel clean again."

"You're fine." Josie swam into view. "Hey, Mary, how are you doing?"

"There are condom wrappers under that bush," Matty ranted, "this whole area smells like piss, and you don't want to know what I saw floating in the water. Spoiler alert—it was not a candy bar."

He grunted when Josie sank an elbow into his gut, but he wasn't wrong that I had ingested horrors.

"Focus."

Flesh met flesh in a deafening crack, and my heart galloped as fresh adrenaline shot me upright.

"Thanks." Matty solidified from the blackness, rubbing his cheek. "I needed that, Mary."

"Don't fight." I startled when another set of hands steadied me. "Harrow?"

Crouched behind me, putting my body between him and my siblings, Harrow braced my shoulders.

"I dove in right after it took you," Harrow rumbled, "but I couldn't see a damn thing."

"You opened your eyes in that?" Matty sounded ready to hurl. "Um, I mean, thank you for your service."

"We need to get her home." Josie talked over him. "She needs a shower and sleep."

"I'm calling Aretha." Harrow adjusted me in his arms to reach for his phone. "I want Frankie examined."

Head lolling from my shoulder onto his, I allowed the gears in my head to turn. "The med-witch?"

"Hey." Harrow nodded to me before shifting his focus to his phone. "Got time for a house call?"

The weight of everyone's stares fell on him, except for mine, which chased a moth's evasive maneuvers as it fled from a hungry bat. I didn't intend to watch the show, but my eyes weren't really taking orders. I waited, knowing Josie would ask the questions I wanted to and then some.

"We'll pay for Aretha's time." Josie smoothed her warm fingers across my brow. "Just send us the bill."

"Already made the transfer," Harrow said, distracted as he swiped his thumb across his screen.

"We'll get the next one," Matty pressed, his fingers tight on mine.

"Are you okay with me carrying you to the wagon?" He ignored my siblings' protests to address me. "We can lay you down in the back. That way you don't bump your head. We need to be sure you don't have a head injury."

"Yeah." Slumping onto him, I murmured, "Okay."

"That was too easy." Matty tightened his grip. "Maybe the med-witch was a good idea."

As he rose with me, Harrow asked, "Are you implying Frankie needs a head injury to see reason?"

"Yes," my traitorous siblings chorused, but the darkness washed me away before I could reply.