Moonlight Burns: (Urban Fantasy) (Daughters of Hecate Book 2) Page 13

“Leon Abellan,” the man croaked. “That’s all I know.”

  I released him from his magical bonds in an instant, and he slumped heavily to the ground.

  I placed my palm against his forehead and closed my eyes, letting the memory wipe wash through my palm and into his mind. It was only a gentle wave, but he wouldn’t remember anything that had happened tonight. Maybe not even what he’d done this week. I didn’t fucking care if he forgot his mother’s name, as long as our tracks were covered.

  “Lacey, help me with him.”

  She let go of Maia’s arm and helped me prop the unconscious asshole against the fence. I pointed at something at the fence line, “Maia, grab that bottle. We may as well make this look authentic.”

  Maia reluctantly brought over an empty bottle of whiskey that was sitting discarded by the fence and dropped it in the man’s lap before delivering a swift kick to his stomach.

  “That’s for grabbing me, you piece of shit,” she muttered and then turned to march away.

  “Maia!” Lacey shouted, running to catch up with her.

  “What,” she said over her shoulder. “We came here to go on that goddamn rollercoaster; we’re going on the goddamn roller coaster.”

  I groaned and flexed my fingers. I just wanted to go home and try to figure out what the hell we were supposed to do next.

  I had an idea, but it seemed insane.

  “Cyclone!” Lacey squealed. She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. “You’re not getting out of this on a popcorn technicality either, Fee. You have to do it.”

  “I’m not sure I feel up to it…”

  “Oh come on, after that you should be all fired up and ready to scream. Don’t lie to me, Ophelia Turner!”

  She had a good point. I felt like I was full of static electricity, like I could run for hours and not be winded. I’d never used my power that way before… and I liked it.

  Maia had a look of quiet determination on her face, and I wished that I knew her well enough to know what she was thinking, because she sure as shit wasn’t listening to Lacey’s excited repetition of the wonders of the Coney Island Cyclone.

  Madre de pesadillas. Mother of Nightmares. The words tumbled in my head, twisting like the roller coaster tracks above us. Leon Abellan. Was that a name? A man? A last name? A company? It could be anything.

  I just wanted to go home and try to make sense of everything.

  Lacey pulled me forward and shoved a ticket in my face.

  “Are you ready? We’re so totally sitting in the front and I can’t even stand it I’m so excited!” she shouted in my ears and I winced as the roller coaster train rocketed by. Sixty miles per hour, right?

  Fucking great.

  Chapter 14 ~ Ophelia

  “We’re going where?” Maia was staring at me with her mouth open.

  “Spaaaaaiiiiinn!” Lacey shouted gleefully. She was already packing, and three suitcases were open on my living room floor.

  “Look, I know this sounds crazy—“

  “Crazy?” Maia shouted, standing up and stomping towards the apartment door. “This is beyond crazy! This is straight up fucking insane! You want to go to fucking Spain, because of something some asshole at a theme park told you while you were torturing him!”

  Okay, so this wasn’t going exactly as I’d planned it.

  Lacey was easy to convince, but I could have told her we were going to Texas and she’d be just as thrilled. I mean, logistically, we might have a problem, what with the whole keeping her out of the sunlight thing... but I could make it work. I mean it’s not like I could leave her here.

  The roller coaster had been horrible, and I never wanted to do it ever again... but I had to admit that it did feel good to let go just a little. Using all that power on the Malleus had been electrifying, and I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I liked the feeling of holding his life in my hands. The only part that worried me was that Maia and Lacey might have seen it too.

  I’d spent the train ride home from Coney Island rolling the Malleus’ words around in my mind, and deciding what we were going to do. No, what needed to be done. And that involved dragging our asses to Spain, and tracking down whoever it was that had put a price on the heads of the Daughters of Hecate. There was no way around it.

  Unfortunately for me, Maia hadn’t quite gotten her head around that yet.

  “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m definitely not getting on a plane. How the hell would we even get through security? I mean, I have a passport, but... I don’t have the money and what are we going to do when we get there? Just ask around until we find this Leon person?” Maia was pacing now, and I knew she was trying to decide whether she should stay, or run the hell away.

  “Maia, if you run, the Malleus will keep hunting you, and next time, I might not be there to help you,” I said with a sigh.

  I rubbed my hands over my face and leaned back in my chair. In the living room, Lacey sang to herself and threw clothes from her curtained room area into the suitcases.

  “I can hide from them because I know how. My apartment is covered in protection spells. Years of layering and learning. Things you don’t know how to do.”

  “I’ll go back to Seattle! I’ll go far away, they won’t find me,” Maia was frantic now, desperate to find something that seemed like a better idea. I shook my head.

  “It doesn’t matter where you go. They’ll find you. You heard that guy, they get their info and their targets from overseas... do you think it’s a coincidence that your mother died in a fire?” Maia blinked at me, I was hitting close to the bone now. “I’d be willing you bet you a whole paycheck that the Malleus, and whoever this Leon Abellan asshole is, were behind it. Do you want to avenge your mother? Others like us?”

  Maia nodded slowly.

  “The only way we can do that is by following this trail... we have to cut off the source of this bullshit, and the only way we can do that is together. You, me, and Lacey.”

  Maia looked into the living room at Lacey, who was agonizing over which broad brimmed hat she’d be taking with her. “What’s her deal anyway?” Maia asked quietly.

  I shrugged. “Lacey is my best friend. She knows everything, which is also why I can’t exactly leave her behind.”

  “You know what I mean, Ophelia. Why is she here, she’s not like... us... so what is she?”

  I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. My fingers steepled under my chin. Maia definitely wasn’t ready for that news, and I wasn’t about to sit here and out Lacey for being Laudan. It would be her story to tell, and this wasn’t really the time. Plus, then I’d have to explain Eli, and Spiral... and I wasn’t prepared to do that either.

  “Lacey’s not like us, but she’s definitely not normal. This isn’t the right time...” Not that it would ever be the right time, but this was definitely the wrong time. It was late... or early... and Lacey would need to go to bed soon, and I needed to call in ‘sick’ for work.

  “Not the right time? What the hell does that mean? I need to know what’s going on, and I need to know now!”

  Typical teenager, always me, me, me... now, now, now. She’d have to learn some patience. Starting right now.

  “Look. You can stay here, and help me plan this, or you can leave and just hope that you can stay hidden long enough to clean up this mess. You might live long enough for the Malleus to figure out that their source of income is dead. More than likely, you’ll end up a charred corpse with a charcoal line on a concrete wall to mark your passing.” I paused, letting Maia soak in what I’d said. My words were harsh, but they were supposed to be. She was alone, and in way over her head. She had to know that.

  “You’re an asshole,” she said, her voice shaking just a little.

  “I totally am,” I replied with a smile. “But I’m also telling the truth. You can run if you want. You can go to Houston, Veracruz, Vancouver or Montreal. It doesn’t matter. They’ll find you.” I lightened my tone just a little. “You can’t use
your powers yet. You’re vulnerable, and they know it, and they’ll use it to their advantage.”

  “Teach me,” she blurted out the words, and then looked as though she instantly regretted saying them. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at her carefully.

  “Come with us and I’ll teach you.” Maia looked at me skeptically, and I drew a cross over my heart and held up my hand. “I promise. I didn’t have anyone to teach me, so I had to figure all of this shit out for myself. I’m not perfect, but I’ve been around long enough to teach you how to keep yourself from getting killed.”

  “It’s true, Maia, she’s mega old... like oh my godddd...” Lacey shouted from the living room. I narrowed my eyes in her direction, but Lacey just kept on talking. “You’ll get super old too, Maia. You get like, nine lives or something like that... just like a cat—“

  Maia turned her skeptical gaze to me, “Seriously, nine lives? Isn’t that a little...”

  “Cliché? Probably. I don’t question shit like that.” Suki jumped into my lap and settled herself down. It was past her bedtime, and it was definitely way past mine. I needed to text David and let him know that he’d be on his own at Haven tomorrow... and then I needed to figure out how to ask for some vacation time.

  Maia moved away from the apartment door and came over to my chair, she leaned close, looking at my face carefully. “So... how old are you anyway?”

  “Ohhh my god, Maia, you’re not supposed to ask people that!” Lacey scolded, giggling wildly to herself. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to smile.

  “Three hundred and thirty-something...”

  “Pfffff... Thirty-something,” scoffed Lacey. I was going to give her a piece of my mind later; that was for damn sure.

  “Holy shit,” Maia breathed. “I thought you were, like, twenty-three or something. Y’know... way older than me.”

  I chuckled, it was so easy to forget how much difference a few years could make when you were eighteen. Five years was a lifetime when you had your whole set of lives in front of you.

  “Yeah, well, when you’re three hundred and thirty something and you feel twenty-one, we’ll talk about it again, okay?”

  Maia smiled weakly and sat down on the couch. “I guess I’m coming with you. I’m not staying here to cat sit, and I’m sure as hell not going back to Seattle... or Vancouver,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

  “Good. I’ll take care of everything, we’ll go get our tickets tomorrow, and you just have to help me make sure that Little Miss Loubutin doesn’t bring nine suitcases. We have to travel light. In and out, and back in the Big Apple before anyone notices we’re gone.”

  Maia nodded. “And you’ll train me... you’ll teach me to use whatever it is that’s running around inside me? I felt it when you were torturing that Malleus asshole... like something in my veins wanted to tear itself out of my body.”

  I nodded. “I’ll teach you how to control your power... and we might have to have a talk about finding you a familiar of your own.” I scratched Suki’s ears and she yawned and stretched dramatically.

  Maia’s eyes widened. “I have to get a cat?”

  Well, maybe not a cat, it could be bird like a crow, or an owl... maybe a dog. Or a toad.” I smiled as Maia made a face. “Your familiar will choose you... when you’re ready.”

  “How long have you had Suki?”

  I smiled, she was curious now. “Suki found me a long time ago. I can’t even remember how long it’s been. But I don’t own her, she stays because she wants to. And because I feed her tuna all the time, right?” Suki purred and rolled over in my lap and I rubbed her belly gently.

  “Feeeee - can you look up the weather in Santiago? What should I bring! Are we going to be going out? Can we go clubbing? I feel like I haven’t been dancing in foreverrrr.” Lacey’s whine was equal parts annoying and endearing, and I smiled as Maia rolled her eyes.

  “It’s going to be hot, Lace. So, long sleeves, big hats and long skirts for you,” I said.

  “Are you fucking kidding meeeeee. That’s so unfair!”

  This was going to be a long fucking trip.

  With the day off work, and Maia and Lacey sleeping the day away back at my apartment, I was able to book direct flights out of JFK into A Coruña without distraction. It was almost too easy... the flights were surprisingly cheap, and I was able to pay with cash, which was even better. Lacey still had her credit cards, but I was trying to wean her off them. I sometimes took for granted that living life below the radar was a difficult transition, and Lacey loved to shop, which didn’t make anything any easier.

  The flight from JFK left after dark, and our connecting flight landed after dark. We could spend the layover inside Madrid’s airport with Lacey wrapped up in blankets and a big hat, and the train ride from A Coruña to Santiago de Compostela was only thirty minutes.

  We would have four days in Santiago to track down this Leon Abellan person, and cut the head off the snake that had hunted me my entire life.

  We were flying out in three days, Lacey needed to tell Bishop, and I needed to tell David... and Eli. Knowing him, he probably wouldn’t care, and I knew he’d come by and check on Suki while we were away.

  Haven might be another story. I’d tried to schedule the trip over a weekend while the café was closed, but he might still pitch a fit. I was the only employee he trusted to close after a long week, and open after the weekend, which made things a little difficult, but he’d just have to suck it up and work a shift or two in my absence.

  * * *

  “Holiday? You’re asking me for holiday time? You called in sick at 3am yesterday and now you want holiday time?” David said slowly.

  “I’ve been here for five years, and I’ve never taken a sick day or a holiday… are you really pulling this drama queen shit on me right now? I don’t have to come back, y’know.” I wasn’t putting up with this bullshit today. David knew better than to be petty with me, but I knew he was angling for something else.

  “I mean, you’re asking me to cover three shifts, Ophelia, maybe more. Not to mention that it’s really short notice. I’ve never had to grant anyone holiday leave before… I mean, if you were a manager… that would make things way easier. I could even pay you for your vacation time.”

  There is was. Ulterior motive.

  “That’s a nice offer, David, really, but I don’t need the carrot of paid vacation. Really. I’ve had five years to save up for this.”

  “What are you going to Europe for anyway? Visiting family?”

  “Something like that,” I said with a smile. I still hadn’t really decided what my explanation would be for going overseas on what seemed like a whim, but it was the easiest option for now.

  “So… can I tell Candace that you’re going to take this nametag home? I feel like I’ve been staring at it forever.”

  David obviously wasn’t going to let this go.

  I let out a dramatic sigh and rolled my eyes. “Look, I’ll make you a deal. Let me go on this vacation, without pay, and I’ll think about wearing that stupid nametag.”

  “Are you serious?” David’s eyes were wide; he obviously wasn’t expecting me to actually agree to it. I’d been dodging that apron and nametag combo for the last year.

  “I’m serious that I’ll think about it… don’t make me change my mind! I’m leaving on Friday night, so I’ll make sure that everything it set up and ready for you to open on Monday morning. And I won’t have my cell with me, so don’t even try to call me and whine about anything.”

  “I don’t whine about stuff,” he huffed.

  “You most definitely do. Should I call Candace and double check with her? I’m sure she’ll remember better than I can…”

  “No, no, we’re square. But you’ll be back in a week, right?” David looked mildly panicked, but I knew everything would be fine; he was just a little high-strung these days.

  “You got it,” I said with a smile as I walked out of his office and back to my place behind t
he counter. David didn’t need to know that I wasn’t precisely sure when I’d be back. Or if I’d be back.

  Sure, our return tickets were booked, but whether we were able to make it out of Santiago de Compostela in one piece or not was anyone’s guess.

  I had no idea what we might be coming up against, or if we’d even find anything. It might be worse to find nothing at all. A name wasn’t much to go on, and the chance that we were walking willingly into a trap was starting to really bug me.

  It had occurred to me this morning that everything that Malleus had told me might be bullshit, and that I was marching all three of us into a trap that we might not be able to talk (or magic) our way out of.

  It was all well and good to be positive, but I’ve never been what you’d call a ray of fucking sunshine. Pessimism had served me well over the years; I’d spent a lot of time cultivating a ‘vaguely disappointed, but not surprised’ mantra. If you’re prepared for the worst, when it happens, you won’t lose your shit. Lacey was the positive one, I’d let her be excited for all three of us, she definitely had enough to go around.

  Maia was harder to read; she was young, so very young by Hecate’s standards… she was just starting her lifetimes and had so much ahead of her. I only hoped she would be able to live those lives differently than I had. Maybe if we were able to strangle this Leon Alleban snake, she’d be able to live in the open like a normal teenager… well… almost normal.

  As normal as she could? Ugh.

  We’d cross that bridge when we came to it. For now, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was dragging around not just one liability… but two. Lacey was still coming to terms with her Laudan powers, and until she knew what she was capable of, I had to watch out for her. I should really remember to talk to Eli about that before we left.

  I also had to figure out what, and how, to teach Maia how to use her own magic. It had only manifested twice… once when she was panicked, and the second time with a lot of concentration and a familiar in her lap. We’d have to work on that shit.