A Stitch on Time 5 (25 page)

“Just spit it out!”

“I’m going to blast the building.”

“No.” Was he going to cut his losses and sever the ley lines already?

“I’m afraid you leave me with no other choice.” He removed one hand from the lamppost. “It’s going to happen today.”

“Don’t do this.”

“Walk out of your house, come to me and I’ll spare everyone’s life.”

“What about my sister?”

“You’ll have to speak to Jacinta about her.”

“No deal.”

“You really want that much blood on your hands?”

“I’ll stop you,” I said. “You’re not going to get away with this.”

He laughed. “I can’t wait for all that dark spook energy to be unleashed into the city when it hurts the most.”

“You’re an evil bastard.” Today was Tuesday, a business day. He was going to strike when the city was well and truly buzzing with activity.

“I’m doing all of this for you.” He removed his other hand and the connection was severed. He flashed a quick smile and morphed so fast I hardly caught him joining the cables overhead and taking off down the street.

I have to stop him.
Needed to get to the city and spend all day there if that was what it took to find those girls. I also had to make sure the explosion didn’t destroy the city, or the ley lines. Burr had warned me about this. I just hadn’t counted on it happening so soon.

“What’s going on?”

I swung around to find Oren standing in the closet doorway. I swallowed the anxiety tearing me up and motioned for him to head back inside. Then followed him down the stairs and didn’t say anything until we were back in the secret catcher room. Penny wasn’t visible, but she wouldn’t be far.

“That was Mace,” I said.

“What did he want this time?”

“He’s finally lost his fucking mind,” I said. “He’s going to blow up the Spook Catcher Council Tower, and while he’s at it, he’ll release every dangerous spook he’s been storing.”

Oren’s face darkened but his clear blue eyes looked almost transparent.

“I can’t let him do this. He’s going to kill too many innocent people if I don’t stop him.”

“You’re right. We will stop this terrorist act before it happens. But Sierra, you do realize this is his final attempt at weakening your strength?”

I nodded. “It’s time I faced all of my demons.” Why else would he put me in a corner? He wanted me at the Tower for a reason. If we prevented this catastrophe from happening, I didn’t care if he took me afterwards. There was no escaping the
Obscurus
. I’d already come to terms with that.

“Let me tell you one positive piece of information I found out about the Lamia.” His face brightened. “To destroy a Lamia you have to stab her through the heart with silver and then decapitate her. Killing her this way ensures every soul she took will fade into oblivion.”

I didn’t like the sound of that since Eli and Jonathan had both been sentenced to such a horrid fate by Maya. I wasn’t going to risk Ebony ending up the same way.

“But, if you decapitate the Lamia, remove the beating heart from her chest and
then
stab it with silver, you’ll free all those souls.”

“Are you sure?”

“By doing this, you can free Ebony.” Oren stuck his free hand into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a yellowed piece of parchment. He held it out in front of me. “Before I forget, this is for you.”

I looked at him, and then at the parchment. “What is it?”

“It’s something you’ve been asking me about for a while,” he said with a grin. “A complicated spell to help you have deeper pockets.”

“Really?” Sometimes, I could swear he was able to read my mind. I reached for the paper, but he pulled it back at the last second. “What?”

“It’s a very powerful spell, and you’ll need to find the exact ingredients and make sure you only use the required amounts.” He frowned. “If you don’t, you can create a pocket patch where one isn’t supposed to be. Keep it hidden.”

I nodded and he handed it over. The sheer weight of the folded piece of paper made my fingertips burn with curiosity. “Thank you.”

“Oh, and one more thing…”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t use it yet. We can’t afford to be distracted.”

As hard as it would be to withstand the call of this spell, I would keep my word. “Agreed.”

He nodded. “Who do you want to take to the Tower with us?”

I didn’t like the idea of putting anyone but myself in danger, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could do this alone. “Lavie and Roe.”

“If Lavie goes, Sally’s going to want to come too.”

“Fine,” I said with a nod. “You tell them, and I’ll contact Roe.”

Oren headed for the secret garage door, but I called him and he peered over his shoulder.

“It’s not that I’m not grateful, but why give me this spell now?” The question sent a shiver down my spine.

“It’s the right time.” He waved the doorway into existence, walked through and it disappeared.

Something about his answer bugged me.

“It’s not easy to carry such burdens, Sierra.” Penny appeared beside me. “But never forget that you are too powerful to truly destroy and control.”

“I think you’re wrong. I nearly died.”

“You’re a lot tougher to destroy than that,” she said with a smile. “You make your grandmother proud every day. Never forget that.”

I nodded and raced up the concrete stairs. I closed the closet, stepped out of my bedroom and into the corridor as I scrolled for the right number. He answered on the second ring and I said, “Roe, I need your help.”

Chapter Thirteen

“As soon as we get inside we have to get the spook-catcher girls out of there.” I wanted to make sure we all knew this was a rescue mission, as much as our one and only chance to safely destroy a huge building situated in the middle of Sydney before Mace did.

Each of us standing beneath the overpass—Oren, Lavie, Sally, Roe—nodded in agreement. We’d had enough time to devise and go over our plan at home.

Pedestrians moved above our heads, unaware of what we were about to do. Cars sped along the road, some heading into the city, while others went towards the motorway. But all of them risked getting caught in Mace’s destructive plans.

We’d been loitering around most of the day, watching and waiting for Mace to make an appearance. Even more importantly, we’d had to wait several hours and watch from a distance as a multitude of police officers, forensics and detectives stormed in and out of the Tower. Lunchtime had come and gone and we were now very close to the end of another business day, which meant we had to hurry. We couldn’t wait any longer. The few cops left to guard the automatic doors were busy pushing back the scattering of news crews parked across the road.

Only Gareth remained in front of the automatic doors—which was no accident.

“Are we ready?” I asked.
We’re really going to do this.
I tilted my head to glare at the Spook Catcher Council Tower one last time. Such an opposing structure of glass, steel and concrete would soon be reduced to nothing but rubble and I didn’t feel bad about it.

“I’m ready,” Lavie said with a determined nod, sending her red curls over her face.

Roe dipped his chin in agreement, but Oren shook his head.

“Not yet. Sally and I need to seal the radius circle before we go in.”

The two had already worked their way around the outskirts of the building to distribute the contents of a small burlap sack, leaving only a section wide enough for us to slip past. When I’d asked what ingredients they were using, both Sally and Oren mumbled something about salt and graveyard dirt, yet I recognized ectoplasm when I saw it.

“We might as well get this over with.” I hated leaving Papan out of the loop, but he would have tried to talk me out of it, or would insist on tagging along. He’d been through too much to face this as well. Besides, Saul knew what was going on and had insisted they attend to pack business. A note from the demon appeared in my pocket when they’d left, saying—
Don’t do anything stupid.

Roe said, “Ms. Fox is right. In under an hour, this street will be filled with people heading home.”

“Okay,” Oren said with a nod. “Let’s start by getting inside the radius so we can seal it.” He didn’t wait for us, instead motioned Sally—who’d been a lot quieter than usual—towards the building. She strolled beside him while they whispered to each other.

Roe followed behind, but I grabbed Lavie’s arm before she could do the same.

“Hey, Lav, do you know what’s going on?”

Her hazel eyes widened, doing their Disney Princess routine. “Sierra, we went through the plan enough times, so don’t worry about—”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” I lowered my hand but stepped closer to say, “Do you know what Oren and Sally are whispering about?”

Lavie shrugged. “Probably just going over the spell one more time, why?”

“I don’t know, something feels…
odd.
” The witch and the seer were acting stranger than usual. I couldn’t help but feel like they were leaving out a very important detail about this radius spell.

“You’re just jittery, that’s all.” She squeezed my arm. “Can’t say I blame you after everything that’s happened.”

Ebony’s death hung between us, but I pushed it aside. If I let grief shut me down, we’d never get this done.

“Everything’s going to work out, you’ll see.”

I met Lavie’s kind eyes and nodded.

“Lavie, Sierra, get over here!” Sally called, interrupting our awkward exchange.

“Come on.” Lavie took my hand and led me away from the overpass, leaving the normal world behind to enter into a barrier that would hopefully contain the preternatural explosion we were about to provoke.

As soon as we stepped past the small opening, I felt the world shrink away to almost suffocating.
This is it
. We were going to do this.

Roe ushered Gareth away from the automatic doors. It was time for him to go.

“Hey,” he said when he reached us.

“Thanks for guarding the door and getting rid of those cops,” I said.

Gareth considered the scene, where reporters were crowded nearby and argued with the policemen. “No problem.” When he turned his attention back to me, his eyes were bright and shiny.

“I mean it, thank you for
everything
you’ve done.” If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have survived long enough to do this.

His smile was genuine, friendly. “Take care, okay?”

“We will.”

Gareth ambled past Oren and Sally, offering goodbyes as he went.

As soon as he was on the other side, the witch and the seer stepped in front of the gap with their sack open on the ground. They kneeled and Oren pulled a small athame from his pocket. He handed it to Sally, who ran the sharp blade along the length of her palm. The cut produced blood instantly and she held her hand over the bag, to join the salt and dirt. Oren did the same, and their blood mingled inside.

“Do you want some of mine?” I asked.

“No,” Oren said, a little too abruptly.

“Why not? You know I’m connected to the ley lines in this—”

“Our blood is sufficient,” Sally said. I didn’t like the way she avoided my eyes as Oren lifted the burlap sack and poured the contents along the remaining section. He and Sally placed their palms on top of the circle and chanted words I couldn’t hear.

The circle glowed red when it was sealed, and my ears popped. I gasped for breath, noticing the others did the same. I waited until the crimson shimmer faded and watched Gareth step away from the barrier.

“Let’s go.” Oren stood and helped Sally to her feet.

As I followed close behind, I recalled what the councilor Henry Sallas told me at the diner. He’d been convinced that I could get rid of the dangerous spook energy.
I hope he was right.
I wasn’t sure how long Mace had withheld these chaotic spirits—or how many there were—but this was going to be a challenge.

Lavie walked beside me, nibbling on her bottom lip as she stared ahead at her aunt. For someone who’d tried to convince me there was nothing strange about their behavior, she sure appeared worried. Had she noticed something I hadn’t about the way Oren and Sally sealed the circle? I was about to ask when the automatic doors opened.

Oren swiped away the police barrier tape and Sally stepped inside. Roe was next, but paused to push both hands against his temples.

All color drained from Roe’s face and my pulse sped up. I was dreading going inside, and his reaction reminded me how spook catchers were affected. Roe, born Rochelle Spooker, shared my talent.

Don’t quit now. This is our last chance to make things right.

Oren moved to stand beside Roe and grabbed one of his arms, while Sally did the same on the other side. My grandfather turned to look at me. “Are you ready?”

I concentrated on what he was wearing—his usual black suit—before doing the same with Sally. She wore an olive green pantsuit with a white blouse beneath. The two looked like they were about to attend a business meeting, not going to blow the building up via magical means. The man between them was dressed in navy blue slacks and a white top. Roe the Collector, Roe the Mentor, and Roe Ready for Battle were one and the same. His powder-blue cardigan reminded me of my car. My poor ruined car.

Stop it, concentrate on the important details.

Yet, mundane thoughts were helping me get my breathing under control and summon enough courage to take a single step.

“Sierra, are you ready?” Oren repeated.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right beside you,” Lavie said, tightening her hand around mine. “I’ll help you.”

I turned to smile and instead catalogued how cute and youthful she appeared in her baggy black sweatpants and sweater. The crucifix, gris-gris and Star of David tokens hanging around her neck were the same as her aunt’s.

“This building makes my skin crawl,” I heard Sally say as she and Oren continued into the building.

I gripped Lavie’s hand as we crossed the automatic doors and into hell. The heat and energy slammed into my chest, simultaneously sapping the oxygen from my lungs and crushing my skull. It brought me to my knees. Lavie’s hand was my anchor, so I dragged her down with me.

She cradled me in her arms as I struggled to contain the barrage of pain. “It’s going to be okay, Sierra,” she said, smoothing my hair.

“Take a few seconds to get control of your senses,” Sally said. She had a hand pressed against Roe’s shoulder. “I can only imagine how all of this dirty energy is affecting you and Sierra.”

“It’s never…been…this bad.” Roe was doubled over, hands on his knees as he struggled under the same magical strain.

Oren walked onward, scanning our surroundings. “Is that the wall we need to cross?” He pointed a long, skinny finger towards the reception desk.

I’d told them about the secret passage. “Yes,” I whispered.

He headed towards it. Roe straightened and Sally wrapped an arm around him.

“Can you get up?” Lavie asked, gently tugging on my hand.

I nodded and when she got to her feet, dragged me up. The onslaught of energy made my hair stand on end and every nerve ending felt as if it were about to explode. A warm trickle slid from my nostrils, but I ignored it to concentrate on keeping my steps in line with Lavie’s. I thought my head was going to split and spill my brains out onto the floor, but I pushed on. I wiped away the continuous flow of blood with my sleeve and focused on getting one foot in front of the other until we reached our destination.

“Now what?” Oren asked, glaring at the wall.

“Follow me,” I said, stepping past him but not letting go of my friend. Between Lavie and the reception desk, I reached the wall and pushed my hand through. “Stay close.”

Lavie and I were the first to step into the cascading water wall. Air gushed over me but I didn’t falter, and in seconds we’d crossed over. My body ached, but the constant barrage of heated energy wasn’t as bad as it had been in the foyer. Yet what I found made me freeze. I’d known we would end up inside the basement because Lee had warned me, but hadn’t imagined
this
.

“Oh my Goddess and all the Saints,” Sally said. I peered over my shoulder just as she made the sign of the cross and held Roe to her side.

“What in the hell is this place?” Lavie’s eyes were wider than I’d ever seen them.

Oren stepped up next to me. “I can’t believe anyone would be so irresponsible as to allow this much stained energy to flow beneath our city.” His eyes flashed pink, and he looked pissed.

I guess you don’t need to be a catcher to see this many spooks spilling into our patch.

Mace was a bigger psychopath than I thought.

“What has he done?” Roe seemed to be regaining composure as fast as I was.

The energy accumulation beneath the Tower made my skin vibrate with a horrid pulse, shaking me to the core. At least the barrage of sickness was gone. I could stand, think straight, and concentrate on the mess of spook activity trapped within this concrete structure.

Oren pressed a palm against the sturdy brick wall. “We won’t be getting out this way.”

“It’s okay,” Roe said, pointing across the room. “I know where the exit is, but getting there is going to be a challenge.”

He wasn’t kidding. This room was dark, the only illumination coming from several fluorescent lights strategically placed on the ceiling. It was cavernous and filled with spirit-splitting chairs I thought were destroyed the last time I’d seen them. These ones contained girls—some I recognized, but most I didn’t—and they were all strapped in tight. One of the chairs was empty, and I wondered if that had been Lee’s. The chairs took blood and injected clear liquid into their bodies. Yet there weren’t enough catchers milling around as there were bodies.

The wall to our right opened up into another patch—a jagged, round tear leading into a corridor with spooks moving to and fro. Most drifted in, hovered near the motionless bodies while bouncing off the girls’ spirits to use them as conduits. These were the darkest spooks—human and nonhuman entities catchers had been capturing for years. And they’d coalesced inside this room like it was their home.

This is insane.

“What can we do to help the catchers?” Oren asked.

Roe stepped forward, already unspooling rolls of bandages from his bulging pockets. His nose was bleeding but he didn’t seem to notice. “I’ll take care of the girls.”

I watched him go. With bandages in hand, Roe stood over the closest girl and started the process of disconnecting the IV lines and metal helmets. A silvery blob headed his way, but before it could reach him, I’d already pulled the revolver from its holster and aimed the laser dot to shoot a round of salt bullets. The silvery shape exploded into tiny fragments, which were sucked back into the adjoining patch.

“How the hell did you move so fast?” Lavie asked, with a grin on her face.

I shrugged. Tainted spook energy might affect me, but my reflexes were a lot sharper and both my aim and shooting had improved drastically. Papan was a good teacher. A tap on my shoulder made me turn.

Sally said, “A lot of these entities are more than spooks, I can feel a demonic influence.”

“She’s right,” Lavie added, sliding her wicked axe from the backpack strapped to her shoulders. “We can take care of the demonic-touched.”

The two women exchanged determined glances before running across the room and disappearing into the shadows. The sound of screeching, slicing and dicing echoed around us, but I couldn’t see a thing.

Oren touched my arm. “My job is to stay close to you.”