The Better Part of Darkness (2 page)

“Oh, baby.” I pulled her close, hugging her tight and smoothing back her hair, breathing in the familiar scent of Cherry Blast shampoo. She was too young to know this kind of worry and fear. But Emma was a strong kid. She’d had to fly by the seat of her pants right along with me when I became a mother at nineteen, and she’d handled
that
learning curve like a champ. And she’d been able to get through the divorce with way more strength and understanding than me.

We’d get through this. And I damned sure as hell was going to find out who was flooding the city with
ash
. The optimistic part of me wanted to believe there was another explanation for Amanda’s condition, that somehow it was just a medical issue. But I knew it was a silly hope. No medical problems I knew of turned your eyes into something out of
The Exorcist
. How in the hell had it spread so quickly?

“It’ll be all right, kiddo.” I leaned back and gazed down at her, giving her my most reassuring smile. She was the one innocent, good thing in my world. And I intended to keep it that way. “Amanda will make it, you’ll see. She’s not hurt, not bleeding; she’s just asleep and we can’t figure out why.”

I kissed her forehead, pausing there for a moment to breathe in her scent again. No one else could give me that kind of immediate peace. She grounded me, kept me always looking forward and never back. Kept me from lingering too long on all the evil things I’d witnessed over my career and in my past. I straightened and drew in a deep, cleansing breath, then looked her straight in the eye. “But we’ll fix this, I promise. Okay?”

Her mouth dropped open. One hand went to her hip. “Okay? That’s it?
Okay?
Like I’m eight years old or something?” Her chin lifted a notch, and her eyes glinted in opposition. “It’s not okay. I want to see her.”

“You know I couldn’t let you, even if I wanted to,
which
I don’t.”

“Well, I’m not leaving,” she said, “until I see her.” Attitude poured off her in maddening waves that, in any other circumstance, would’ve riled me. But the challenging stance and the belligerent cock to her head couldn’t hide her fear. She was like a wounded puppy—scared to death, too small to defend itself, yet baring its teeth anyway.

I took her shoulders and turned her around to face the way she’d come. “There’s not a thing you can do right now. Let me do my job, okay? We’ll talk tonight.”

Her chin didn’t drop, but her tone did. “Fine.”

I watched her shuffle down the hall, wanting nothing more than to run to her and give her one more hug, but I couldn’t. I had to make good on my promise. She stopped at her classroom door and glanced back at me, the uniform reminding me of the first time she wore it in third grade. So young then. So young now. Even from that distance, I saw her vulnerable look and the deep sigh that escaped her lips.

“She’s hurting,” Hank observed quietly, coming to stand beside me as Emma went inside her classroom.

“Yeah, I don’t need super senses to figure that out.” I marched away from him, down the hall in the opposite direction, needing some air before I totally lost it.

Usually on cases, I had no trouble remaining distant and methodical. Don’t get close, and you don’t lose your objectivity.
And you don’t get yourself beaten to death running down a back alley after a pissed-off ghoul before your partner gets there to back you up
. I’d learned my lesson. And I hadn’t made a mistake like that again.

I couldn’t make one now.

The unmistakable scent of autumn, of changing leaves and cool soil, rode on a leisurely breeze, helping to calm my emotions as I stepped into the courtyard where the kids often ate lunch on nice days like this.

I turned my face to the warm sunlight, letting my eyelids close. The voices on my radio drifted into the background along with the birds in the courtyard and the sound of cars on the side street beyond the high stone walls that surrounded the school grounds.

Just a moment’s peace was all I was after, but as my mind drifted all I could think about was the irony. I busted my ass every day to afford the best and safest school for Emma, to pay for everything else myself and use Will’s child support solely for her education.

Kindergarten through twelfth grade, Hope Ridge was one of the best private schools in Atlanta. And, despite all that, I couldn’t protect her from the harsh realities of life. I knew what it was like to be a victim, and I knew what it was like to love a victim, to feel helpless and lost. Crime happened anywhere and in the safest places. It was inevitable. But, still, part of me had been convinced that if I worked hard enough, somehow my child would be exempt.

The mention of Amanda’s name over the radio interrupted my thoughts. They were taking her to Grady Memorial Hospital. All her vital signs were normal except her heartbeat. She didn’t appear to be worsening.

Ash
had hit the market so fast, just in the last few weeks, that we still didn’t know what we were dealing with. Chemically engineered? An airborne agent? An ingested substance from Elysia or Charbydon? There were so many mysterious things brought into the country with the influx of our new
neighbors
. I scrubbed my face with both hands, feeling overwhelmed. Protecting citizens was hard enough, and lately, as we mingled more and more with the off-worlders, it felt as though we were patrolling blind.

At least I had Hank.

And he knew way more than he let on. I turned and headed back into the building, steeling my resolve. He’d spill his alien guts one way or another.

The soles of my black boots echoed in the empty space as I marched down the hall. Ahead, Hank was speaking to the school superintendent and Principal Anton. He pacified their fears. I could see it in their faces, the way they breathed relief and the gratitude they showed as they shook his hand.

Hank turned to me as I approached. I didn’t halt my stride, just grabbed his thick bicep and propelled him down the hall with me.

“Whoa, I know you like to manhandle me and all, but this should probably wait until we’re alone.”

“Shut up, Hank.”

I shoved open the front door, stepping out into the bright sunshine only to run into a large group of reporters. Perfect.

“Is it true the victim is Cassius Mott’s daughter?”

“Is she like all the others? Is it
ash
?”

“Do you have any leads on what the drug is exactly?”

“Will you bring in a medium to help with the investigation?”

“Hey, aren’t you that cop who died a few months back?”

Sometimes, I hated reporters. Especially the ones with memories like elephants.

“C’mon! Back off!” Hank flung out his arms, trying to shield me.

We pushed and elbowed our way to the car parked out front. I slipped behind the wheel and waited for Hank to get in. Once his door was shut, I drove around the corner and down one block where I stopped the car at the curb to question him.

“Okay, spill.”

He drew one leg in and propped his arm on the window ledge, obviously in tune with my meaning. “I was going to tell you before the whole Amanda thing … I talked to the ER doc from Grady. Some of the tests came back from the first rash of vics. It’s definitely an off-world substance. Most likely in powder form since they found some residue in the nostrils and lungs of the two who didn’t make it. The effects are almost instantaneous. The few who have woken up from the coma are dying. Once it leaves their system, their bodies begin to shut down.” He sighed deeply, shaking his head and staring out the front windshield. “They’re doing more tests. So far, no other cities have reported any cases, and security has been increased at all the off-world gates.”

“So it started here in Atlanta. It came through our gate.”

Figured. Many of the new crimes and problems stemmed from trafficking in off-world items. Spellmongers from Elysia and Charbydon had become a big problem, selling all kinds of illegal concoctions and substances. Soul bartering, a gigantic no-no, still occurred in dark alleys and private residences. And none of it would change unless we all suddenly became happy and content with ourselves and our lives. Fat chance of that. Any way to get a leg up, illegal or otherwise, was here to stay.

“We need to figure out where it’s coming from. If it’s leaking into other schools …” My voice broke. “You’re a siren,” I said, refocusing. “Nothing about this seems familiar, like anything you’ve come across before?” I was grasping at straws. We’d had an entire off-world team on this for the last week and no one seemed to know anything.

“The condition on the eyes. The guys at the station have considered it, but don’t seem to think it’s related. Could be a long shot …” Hank cleared his throat and I caught a split-second squirm. I turned in the seat, more curious than ever. He spared me a dry glance and then looked straight ahead. “The condition happens naturally when some Elysians get, you know, excited.”

“Excited about wha— Oh. Oh!
That
kind of excited. Really?”

“Really. Look,” he said, frowning, “it doesn’t happen with sirens, but I’ve seen it with others. It’s like an effect of euphoria, happens when they perform certain ritual dances or prayers, or they … you know …”

“Got it.” I held up both hands, putting an immediate halt to any mention of sex. Definitely not something I wanted to discuss with a drop-dead gorgeous siren with all the grace and power of a lion. That was a personal boundary I promised myself long ago I’d never cross. If I did, it would be way too easy to start wanting something I couldn’t—and shouldn’t—have. Hank was not only my partner, but one of my best friends. Not something I wanted to mess with. “Have you seen this recently?” I asked, wishing I’d rolled down my window for some air.

“I’m never gonna hear the end of this, am I?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead he said on an irritated breath, “In Underground.”

“What place in Underground?” I pressed.

“Helios Alley. The Bath House.”

No surprise. Helios Alley catered to off-worlders, Elysians to be exact. Restaurants, clubs, shops, you name it. Two streets over was Solomon Street—Charbydon territory. And the street in between was Mercy Street, a mix of everything—magic shops, psychics, anything supernatural and you’d find it there, legal or not.

If we’d learn anything about
ash,
it’d be in Underground.

My first reaction was to laugh, which I did, but then I saw he wasn’t exactly laughing with me. “Are you serious? The Bath House? I didn’t take you for a nudist.”

His eyes rolled. “It’s not a nudist club. It’s a public bath house, like the Romans used to have. Didn’t you study history in school?”

“Yeah, and the Romans had all kinds of nasty sex orgies in the baths.” I sighed dramatically, shaking my head. “It all starts with a massage …”

A spectacular groan came out of Hank’s mouth, which expanded his chest and made his white shirt stretch nicely across the broad expanse. Hell, seeing him lounging around naked in some bath would probably be worth the trip downtown. Hank had one of the best bodies I’d ever seen. But then he was a siren—his species had a knack for attraction and seduction.

“I swear, Charlie,” he grumbled, turning in the seat to face me with an evil glint in his blue eyes, “if we weren’t friends, I’d take off this damned modifier, make you strip naked, and skip all the way down to the station house.”

That sobered me up because I knew he had the ability. And because I knew Hank had his limits. “Okay, point taken. So, why The Bath House?”

“Females,” he answered without pause. “I’m single. I have a life, unlike
someone
in this car.”

“Yeah, well, you can be single without going to extremes. Women throw themselves at you all the time. You don’t need to hang out at a nud—er, bath house.”

“I do if I’m looking for one of my kind. You think it’s easy, getting hit on all the time and not being the tiniest bit interested? The only female sirens in At lanta are ones who have mates, or work in the private sector, or occasionally hang out at the baths because it reminds them of home.”

“Poor you.” I put the car in gear. “Try being a single mother, who carries three lethal firearms and can take down a runner at fifty yards. Trust me; it doesn’t make a date feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

I pulled into traffic and then made a U-turn at the light to head back to the station. “I have to make babysitting arrangements for tonight.” Hank blinked, confused, so I enlightened him with a smile before turning my attention back to the road. “We’re going to The Bath House. Looks like you finally got yourself a hot date.”

His lips dipped down, leaving a dimple in his left cheek. “Joy,” he said, as disgruntled as a teenager being told to clean their room. “Please, please, please, Charlie, don’t do anything stupid.”

Hank wouldn’t care about causing a scene. That’s why we made a good team. When it was necessary, neither one of us backed down, no matter what, no matter where. I switched lanes and passed a taxi, a thought suddenly occurring. “What? You like someone there or something?”

He rubbed his hands down his face and muttered, “Oh, Jesus H. Christ.”

Hah!
A broad grin stretched across my face. “You do!” My laughter filled the car. “You have a crush on someone at The Bath House,” I sang. “Hey, doesn’t that mean you’re shy if you have a crush? Hank’s shy! Oh, my God …” I laughed for at least a good half mile. He cursed under his breath and slid down into the seat. Last time I had a date, with an officer from the ninth precinct, Hank had had a major field day. “Payback is a bitch, my friend.”