A Torment of Savages (The Reanimation Files Book 4) (3 page)

“Do you want me to go with you?” Kyo asked, voice still soft. “Back to the Underground…”

“No,” I said quickly. “There’s no reason to.”

“Don’t you want answers?”

“Quit pushing me, Kyo,” I snapped. “I don’t want to deal with this right now, okay? Perhaps my mother will show up and try to kill me again, that’s when I’ll deal with it. Until then, I don’t want to talk about it. There’s no point.”

“Whatever you say.”

I could hear the hurt in his voice. I sighed and forced myself to ease up on the white-knuckled grip I had on the steering wheel. “I know you’re just trying to help and I appreciate that. But I’d rather focus on other things than think about something I can’t even begin to figure out. Like you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. It’s been a few months since you told me about how you ended up in the In Between. You said you wanted me to help you find your body, but you haven’t taken any steps toward doing so. I can only help you if you give me a direction to go in.”

“I was waiting,” Kyo said with a slight shrug.

“For what?”

“You.”

“Huh?” I cast a quick, puzzled look at him.

“I was waiting for you to be in a good enough place to take this on with me because it won’t be easy. You were dealing with a lot and your mental and emotional states were pretty much rock bottom. The last thing you needed was to jump onto my case. You needed time, so I was giving you time.”

“Oh.” It had not occurred to me that Kyo was stalling because of me. But he was right, I would not have been in the best position to help him coming right off of dealing with Renton and then all the bullshit with the crossover ghosts and my newly acquired dead magic. Not to mention Garrus having part of my soul and Ethan getting a new body. Having more downtime in the past few months than I’d had in a while had definitely helped. As had the therapy with Micah.

“Well, I appreciate that,” I said. “But you don’t have to keep waiting me out. We can start looking into things. However you want to do that.”

“Quietly,” Kyo said. “This isn’t something we can go about by asking questions to see where it leads us. For over three hundred years, the dead witches have kept this hidden. If they find out we’re asking about the whereabouts of a dead warlock’s body, it won’t end well for either of us.”

“This whole thing is disturbing.”

“But not disturbing enough for you to reject a job working for a dead witch?” Kyo said teasingly.

“Hey, I needed a job and the change of pace from working for a ghost agency was refreshing. I hadn’t expected Tielle to offer me a job, but it works out well for both of us.”

“Oh?”

“Yup, I get to make money and Tielle gets help staying on top of wrongdoings in the paranormal community.”

“Isn’t that what the Paranormal Task Force is for?”

“The PTF is a huge, noticeable presence. Even their undercover work is tied up with upper management controlling things and paperwork leaving a trail. After what the city has been through with Larry, Renton, and the crossover ghosts, the last thing the Paranormal Sector wants is a lot of public coverage of crimes among paranormals. It’s reached a point where it doesn’t even have to be something major. Something small such as this dead witch we’re about to investigate distributing tainted runes could set off mass panic in the public. A lot of people will think that it could lead to a larger problem like the ones we’ve recently dealt with.”

“So fear and paranoia toward the paranormal community is high, and Tielle hired you to look into things quietly and keep the volume down to avoid unnecessary panic.”

“You’re a sharp one,” I said. “A one-woman team who reports to a small group of people will do a better job than a task force tied up in bureaucracy. To a certain extent the PTF has to be open about their investigations or they run the risk of lawsuits coming at them left and right. The government needs them to maintain a certain level of transparency so the public feels as though they’re doing good work on their behalf. So if they were the ones looking into this dead witch, you could be sure it would be on the news tonight and in the papers tomorrow.”

“Interesting,” Kyo said.

“Does it bother you that I’m working for a dead witch?”

“Not really. I’m not out to hate every dead witch walking the planet. But I do want to expose them. Regardless of the fact that they weren’t the ones who turned against us and cast us away, they kept up the mantle instead of trying to restore us. So they must be exposed. Once I have my body back.”

“Expose the dead witches and uncover a bunch of dead warlock bodies that have been having their magic siphoned for over three hundred years. Sounds easy enough.” Yeah right.

“It might be the hardest thing you’ve had to do.” Kyo’s voice was solemn, as was his expression.

“My top ten list will almost be complete then,” I said. “But in all seriousness, it is daunting, and I do have some apprehension, but let’s see what we can do.”

Twenty minutes later we were in Harlem, and I found parking. We got out and walked toward an apartment building on a Hundred and Fifty-First Street.

“The dead witch’s name is Leena Hardwick,” I said. “She’s fifty-eight and lives alone on the sixth floor.”

“What’s the plan of action?” Kyo asked.

“See if she’s home, invite myself in, ask her a few questions.”

“You really think if she’s up to no good she’d be that accommodating?”

“Nope, but I came prepared. I have Alchemized rune powder that will immobilize her so she won’t be able to run or attack me. And I have my rune gun of course.”

“Alchemy on your side, huh?”

I shrugged. “I can’t deny the terrible role it’s played in my life, but I also can’t deny its usefulness. I’m learning not to let my experience with Renton cloud my judgment on Alchemy as a whole. He was just one spoke in the wheel. Micah has been helping me to see the positive side of Alchemy. This rune powder being one of them.”

“My how you’ve grown. This therapist must be worth her weight in gold.”

“She is,” I said. We slipped into the building as someone was leaving, which I was thankful for. Ringing her bell would have put her on the alert and given her time to escape.

We got on the musky smelling elevator and I pressed the button for the sixth floor.

“So when are you going to tell your boyfriend about me?”

Kyo’s question caught me off guard, and I turned to him with raised eyebrows. He gave me an easy smile.

“Not that I don’t mind being a dirty little secret.”

“Then why even ask,” I said, looking away. I saw him shrug from the corner of my eye.

“Just curious, since you two are supposed to be working on being more open and trusting. That’s how the therapist phrased it right?”

“Is this a joke to you?” I said, probably more forcefully than I should.

His amused expression faded. “Of course not,” he said. “Sorry.”

I heaved a sigh. “I’m…I’m going to tell him. Soon.” I knew I had to come out with it, but every time I found myself about to tell Micah about Kyo I held back. Maybe I hadn’t fully worked through my trust issues with him. I was more accepting of his position with the Rune Development Department at the PCC these days, but the fact remained that Kyo was a crossover ghost and other than the ones in Ethan’s runes, they were all supposed to be sent back. Micah worked for the person who was in charge of doing so. Tielle. We had made two more attempts to recall crossover ghosts by connecting my dead magic to the runes on Affairs of the Dead. I had drawn in about thirty more ghosts, and Tielle was of the mindset that only the ghosts within Ethan’s runes remained. If she knew about Kyo, he would have to go too. I had to trust Micah enough to know that if I told him about Kyo he wouldn’t run off and tell Tielle.

The door opened to a hallway with old, dirty carpeting that should have been replaced about a decade ago, cracked plaster walls, and a lesser version of the musky smell from the elevator. Kyo and I stepped out and I started scanning apartment numbers.

“Let’s put a pin on my personal issues, okay? I’m here to do a job and you’re here to tag along and not get in my way.”

“Yes, master. Or should I say ‘mistress.’”

I rolled my eyes at the teasing way he said mistress and led the way to apartment 6P at the end of the hallway.

“This is it,” I said. My rune gun was holstered, and the pouch that contained my vials of immobilizing rune powder was within easy reach in my bag.

I glanced at Kyo. “Somewhere on the ride up here I realized I should have made you stay in the car but here you are.” I shook my head and Kyo grinned. “Stand to the side, out of eyesight and let me handle this. Not that she would recognize you as a warlock ghost from the In Between, but a ghost sidekick isn’t part of my protocol, and I don’t need word getting back to Tielle.”

“Yes ma’am,” Kyo said before moving several feet back.

I then rang the doorbell and immediately heard the sharp buzz of it screech through the room on the other side. I waited for about half a minute, then rang again. Two more rings and several loud knocks later I was beginning to think Leena wasn’t home.

“A bust it seems,” Kyo said. He’d been leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. “Perhaps you should have called first to ensure she would be available to receive guests.” He flashed a smile.

“It might not be a bust.” I dug around my bag and pulled out a key. “Tielle provided me with a key to her apartment just in case the opportunity to search it presented itself.”

Kyo raised an eyebrow. “Should I bother to ask how Tielle got a copy of the key to this woman’s apartment?”

I shrugged. “She has her methods; I didn’t question it.”

“Yet couldn’t offer a key to the building.”

“That would be pushing it, I think.” I looked around, making sure the hallway was still empty, then quickly unlocked the door. I eased out my rune gun and a vial of immobilizing powder, then carefully opened the door and peered in. I neither saw nor heard anyone, so I opened the door wider and stepped inside. Kyo came in behind me and softly closed the door.

“I didn’t say you could come in,” I said irritably.

“You also didn’t say I couldn’t not come in.”

“What…Oh, whatever.” I rolled my eyes.

Leena’s apartment was tiny and she probably paid too much rent for it. The door opened into a small entryway with a coat closet, then led to a living room big enough for one person to live comfortably, or two people if they didn’t mind being cozy every moment of the day. There was a two-seater sofa, one worn-looking armchair, a coffee table that sat on top of a rug, and a television mounted to the wall. There were a couple floor lamps and shelves with knick-knacks and photographs. There were also a few nature-esque decorations like sprigs of cotton in a glass jar, and a pile of smooth rocks sitting decoratively in the middle of the coffee table. It was on the sparse side of the usual way dead witches liked to decorate their spaces.

To the right of the living room was a kitchen big enough to hold the basics, and on the other side of the living room was a short hallway with a couple doors. Bathroom and linen closet I assumed. At the end of the hall was the bedroom.

The apartment was neither spick-and-span nor a total mess. It just looked as though Leena hadn’t gotten around to tidying up in a few days. Making all those tainted runes probably didn’t leave much time to clean her apartment. I did a careful search of all the rooms while instructing Kyo to wait by the door. When I came back over to him, I confirmed that the apartment was empty.

“Now what? We ransack and pillage?”

“Are you sure you didn’t come from the times of the Vikings or something?” I said as I fished out a pair of latex gloves from my bag. I put them on then wiggled my fingers at Kyo. “Now I search and see if I can uncover any evidence to use against Leena. She can’t be prosecuted under suspicion only.”

“You truly are a top-notch detective,” Kyo said. “I shall assist you.”

“Fine, but try not to make it look like there was anyone here.” I didn’t need to give him gloves because even though he was tangible, he wouldn’t leave fingerprints behind. Kyo nodded, then indicated that he would start with the bedroom. He headed off down the hallway, and I began with the coat closet. From personal knowledge I knew loose floorboards inside closets were good hiding places, so I felt around Leena’s dusty closet floor but didn’t undercover any hidey-holes. I took the time to search the pockets of all her coats, but only came away with a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. For a split second I was tempted to keep it, then I remembered that I was gainfully employed and didn’t need to resort to stealing. I put it back and moved on from the coat closet.

The kitchen was smaller than the living room and would take less time to search, so I headed there next. I opened all the cupboards, looked inside bowls, pots and Tupperware, even sifted through the plastic container she’d filled with flour to see if there was anything hidden inside it. So far, nothing. I checked under the sink, on top of and behind the fridge, and inside the oven, but found nothing that would help me prove that Leena was creating tainted runes.

As I was heading out of the kitchen, I stumbled, and when I looked down, I saw that one of the floorboards under the stove was slightly raised. I frowned as my gaze followed where the floorboard disappeared under the stove. Closets weren’t the only place for hidey-holes. Leena’s entire apartment had hardwood floors. She could have numerous hiding spots if she wanted.

Wouldn’t hurt to check under the stove. It took some maneuvering because the space was so tight, but I was able to move the stove out of the way then peer down at the dust-caked floorboards beneath it. Here it was more noticeable that the boards were loose. I started to grow excited but tried not to get ahead of myself. Loose floorboards under the stove didn’t mean I was about to find tainted runes. I might just find a mouse family or a cluster of roaches.

I crouched down and carefully began to pry up the floorboards. I only needed to move one before I saw that there actually was something to find here, and it wasn’t vermin. I spotted a box. After I had pried up a few more boards, I found myself looking down at four old, dusty shoeboxes.