Blood and Fire (30 page)

Claris’s chin trembled. “He said he never wanted to talk to me again.” She burst into tears, accompanied by gulping sobs. “We’re f-finished.”

Ari drew her into a hug. What could she do about this? Claris should never have mentioned Gabriel to Brando, but her friend was honest to a fault. And Brando had overreacted with wounded male pride. Ari suspected he was miserable this morning, too, but the damage was already done. There had to be a way out of this, a way to patch things up, but she sure couldn’t see it.

When Claris quieted and pulled away, the emotional storm had passed. She dabbed at the streaks on her face and blew her nose again. “I have to get on with my life now,” she said in a fatalistic tone.

“Exactly what does that mean? Does it include Gabriel?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He’s so cute and witty, but…”

“But?”

“It’s not the same. Brando and I had plans, future plans. Gabriel’s fun to be with, but I don’t love him. It never was serious between us. It’s always been Brando.”

“So don’t give up on him so fast. Give yourself time. Brando too. Later, you guys can talk when a little time has passed. This could be just what was needed to wake him up.”

Claris frowned. “I’m not counting on that.” She looked toward the front of the building as someone rattle the doorknob. “I guess I should open the shop.”

“Not looking like that, you don’t.” Ari grabbed the magnetic mirror off the fridge and stuck it in her friend’s face. “You have some serious repair work before you can greet customers.”

“Yikes!” Claris squealed and charged into the bathroom.

Ari waited, drumming her fingers on the table and wondering what she could do to help Claris through this. Given what Claris had said about Gabriel just being a friend, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he stopped by. As long as they weren’t serious, a little male attention was bound to raise Claris’s spirits. If it made Brando jealous, so what? In fact, it might do him some good.

When Claris stepped out of the bathroom, the ravages of her sleepless night and her earlier tears were almost gone. She produced a determined smile. “Let’s not talk about Brando. OK?”

“Fine with me. I wanted to talk with you about Dona anyway. I’ll help you open.”

They headed up front, and Ari explained her plan to leave the kitten with Andreas. They talked while they worked, setting baskets of dried herbs out on the counter and arranging a display for the day’s special: bundles of dried periwinkle.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Claris said. “Dona’s already used to the house and everybody who lives there. It sounds like Andreas and his staff like her. It’s a perfect plan.” She paused in taping the sign for the periwinkle in the window. “The part I don’t get is why it’s necessary. Why are you moving back to the apartment? I think your stay has been good for both of you. You’ve been fighting a lot less than usual.”

Ari jerked up her head. “Do you think so?” Now that she thought about it, Claris might be right. Why was that?

“I do. In spite of everything that’s been happening, you seem happier, more grounded. I think the credit goes to Andreas.”

Hmm, yes. There was that word again—grounded. Granting him that level of control wasn’t exactly comfortable, but at least she wasn’t panicked by it. A smile tugged at her lips. Maybe it was the regular sex, especially the make-up sex. Not that she was going to mention that to Claris, not right now. Or maybe it was how he woke her from her nightmares.

Ari sighed. She’d miss him all right. Dating just wasn’t the same.

The shop door rattled again, and Claris ran to unlock it this time. Ari watched her friend turn on her professional persona. The crisis was over for the moment. Ari edged toward the back door, waving good-bye when Claris looked her way. Ari would call and check on her tonight, after hours. That’s when the loneliness would set in.

She stooped to pat Hernando’s head as she passed through the greenhouse. “Take good care of her, old man. She could use a little cuddling right now.”

The Siamese blinked his cornflower blues at her, as if he understood. Insight had always been a cat thing.

* * *

Ari caught Gabriel and Andreas by surprise that evening when she suggested Gabriel should visit Claris.

As he often did when things got personal or awkward, Gabriel slipped into the lighthearted persona from his youth. “My lady’s wishes are always my command, but why the change of heart?” He spoke in the lazy drawl of a Regency gentleman.

“I think you are right to ask. I would not trust her.” Andreas glanced up from the reports he’d been studying at his office desk. “What devious plan do you have in your head, madam witch?”

“You’re both so suspicious.” She regarded them over the top of the travel magazine she’d been flipping through while waiting for Andreas to finish his work. “I think Claris could use a little cheering up.”

“I don’t understand.” Gabriel eyed her. “I thought I was the last person you’d want to comfort her. What’s bothering her?”

“Girl stuff. Do you have to know everything just to be a sympathetic friend?”

Gabriel sighed. She could almost hear him going over the possibilities in his head.

He looked at Andreas. “Any idea what this is about?”

“Not a clue. Except I’m sure you are being suckered.”

“I have no doubt of that, but it’s not as if there’s a lot to do while we sit around waiting for somebody to attack us.” He looked back at Ari. “I would like to know what I’m getting into if I choose to go.”

She ignored him and pretended to read.

“Hmm.” Gabriel tilted his head to study her. “It must be the boyfriend. The wizard. What has the idiot done now? Oh, never mind. You’re not going to tell me.” He gave Ari a pointed look. “But why me?”

She set down the magazine. “You guys are friends, aren’t you? Sometimes it just helps to have a male perspective.”

“You didn’t feel that way a few days ago.”

“I changed my mind.”

Gabriel smiled and strolled toward the door. “Very well. I can play the consoling friend. In fact, it will be my pleasure,” he added with a sly wink.

Ari ignored the implication. She understood Claris’s real feelings now, and Gabriel had lost his power to rile her. “Have a nice time.”

Andreas chuckled at her nonchalance. “What are you up to?” he asked, the moment Gabriel was gone.

“Nothing.” When he cleared his throat, she added, “OK, Claris had a fight with Brando. A bad one. She’s really upset, and Gabriel can be charming. Besides, she told me she’s not falling for Gabriel.”

“I could have told you. So could Gabriel.”

“He did.” Ari frowned. “In fact, I guess you both did. But now I’ve heard it from Claris. I trust her to know her own feelings.”

“I am glad that is settled. We do not need imaginary problems. Now that you have set events in motion to fan Brando’s jealousy, what else do you have planned for tonight?” His smile robbed the words of censure.

“I only want to help. It’ll be all right. At least I hope so.” She stood and walked over to lean against the edge of his desk. “I’ve been waiting for you to go home, but it looks like you’ll be busy a while. I still have patrol, and I don’t want to skip because I’m checking every night for the coven. I can’t believe the High Priestess has just gone home. Is there something you wanted me to do?”

“No, I was only interested in your plans.” He nodded toward the papers in front of him. “I will be tied up here for several hours.”

“I can take a hint.” She stood. “I’ll see you at home later.”

“I do not like you patrolling alone.”

“I’ll be quick. One swing through the circuit, and I’ll head home.”

“Be careful.”

“Always.” She half-expected him to contradict her, but he was already absorbed in the documents he’d been reading.

Ari slipped out the side door, exiting into the alley. A sense of apprehension hit her immediately. Cloying, a dark energy. She turned south, then east, angling toward Goshen Park. If the witches were back, she wanted to know about it.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ari entered the park’s west gate, circled the swan fountain, and headed into the maze of forest paths. Her witch senses tingled, and she stayed alert to every movement, every sound. The magical disruption was more obvious here, away from the influence of the strident voices of humanity and the everyday Otherworld energy that teemed in the bar and club areas.

And yet, it felt no closer. It was like the entire city was enveloped in a fog of unhappy spirits.

Ari continued her sweep of the park, taking the time to check the most isolated trails. When she’d been down every path and found nothing unusual, she conceded that Goshen Park was clear. Frustrated, she turned toward the Vampire Strip, still looking for the source of the gloom dogging her steps.

Her cell phone rang.

“We have another intruder,” Gabriel announced. “She won’t give us a name, but I think it’s the Indian girl you’re looking for.”

“Intruder where? In the caves?”

“The tigers caught her sneaking into Spirit Cave. I came right over. What do you want me to do with her?”

Ari thought quickly. The PD, the club? “Take her to my office,” she finally decided. Official yet not too official.

They disconnected, and she called Ryan. “Where are you?” She heard loud voices and music in the background.

“Having a beer with friends.”

“Are you sober enough to do an interview?”

“After only two beers? Come on. What’s happening?”

She explained. “Gabriel thinks it’s Dyani, but she’s not talking to him. They should be at my office in a few minutes. I’d also like to bring in Hawkson. We’ve questioned this woman before without any luck. Maybe she’d talk to a shaman of her tribe.”

Ryan sighed. “You know how much I hate to involve civilians. But I guess it’s worth a try.” He gave a reluctant laugh. “I might as well agree, since you’ll do it anyway. I’m leaving now.”

Ari immediately rang Hawkson, but an automated voice picked up on the third ring. Letting everything go to phone mail appeared to be his regular habit. She left a detailed message, hoping he would check his phone mail soon. If anything could spike his interest, questioning a potential source of the stone’s location should do it.

By the time Ari was off the phone, she’d reached the Magic Hall and the modern Cultural Center that held her office. Gabriel walked in with Dyani while Ari was still making coffee. Ryan was right behind them.

“Well, Dyani, this is unexpected. I thought you’d left Riverdale,” Ari said while they were getting settled at the conference table. Gabriel pointed the sullen young woman to a chair on the far side of the table. If Dyani tried to bolt, she’d have to vault the table or run over one of them to reach the door.

Dyani’s nut-brown features set in a mulish look. “You can’t forbid me to be in town.”

“No, we can’t, but you knew the vampire caves were off limits. That’s trespassing,” Ryan said. “It’s illegal, which makes it my business.”

“Why were you in there?” Ari asked.

“Why do you think?”

“This isn’t a guessing game.” Ari’s face hardened. “Just answer the question.”

“I don’t think I have to. Maybe I should talk with an attorney before—”

“Good idea,” Ryan said, interrupting. “When we’re finished, you’re free to talk to anyone you want. At the moment, you’re not under arrest. We’re just having an informal chat.”

“Then I assume I’m free to leave.” Dyani stood, then paused at the sound of a knock on the office door. Before anyone could answer it, the door opened, and Hawkson’s large frame filled the entrance.

“You called me.” His gaze went to Ari but shifted immediately to the Native American woman.

Ari rose to her feet. “This is Dyani. We had intended to talk with her about Blackhawk’s bloodstone, but she says she wants to leave. Perhaps she would change her mind for a shaman.” Ari noticed Dyani’s ill-concealed reaction to the word
shaman
, so she stopped and let the word hang.

Hawkson’s gaze never wavered from Dyani’s face. “It would be good to talk. Will you stay?”

She looked uncertain, as if trapped somewhere between an engrained respect for the shaman and her own self-interests. Finally she nodded, and everyone sat down.

Ari started the conversation, filling Hawkson in. “Dyani was found near Spirit Cave tonight. Although she’s denied knowing the bloodstone’s exact location, I think she was there looking for it.” Ari looked at Dyani. “You know something you haven’t told us.”

The young woman pressed her lips together, shaking her head.

Hawkson frowned, his intense gaze causing Dyani to flush. He said something in their native tongue, and her color deepened.

She looked up at him. “You really are a shaman?”

“Yes. The spirits have blessed me in that way. In other ways, they have not. I have a special interest in the bloodstone. My family is inflicted with an illness that only the bloodstone can cure. If you help us, you could save many lives.”

“I don’t know why everyone thinks I know where it is.” Her voice lacked conviction, and Hawkson didn’t say anything for a full minute. When he did, it was as if he had not heard her denial.

“The bloodstone has great meaning, my child. It is sacred to our people. Anyone defiling it would be subject to the wrath of the spirits that inhabit it. No shaman could lift such a curse.”

Ari held her breath, afraid to break the spell Hawkson was weaving. She watched Dyani’s face pale. The young woman was afraid. That only confirmed she was hiding something.

Dyani unfolded her tightly clutched hands and reached into a pocket of the light windbreaker she wore. She pulled out a folded paper, laid it on the table, and pushed it toward Hawkson. “Read this. Then you’ll know everything I do.”

Itching to grab it, Ari quelled her impatience.

Hawkson unfolded the paper, smoothed it on the table, and skimmed the beginning sentences. He looked up. “This is Blackhawk’s letter.” The disappointment in his voice mirrored Ari’s feelings. “I’ve seen this. I have a copy.”