Jackson (11 page)

Audrey got to her feet. “Aunt Hannah, hang up and call 911.”

“No, it has to be you.” Hannah sounded almost hysterical. “You’re the only one I trust to take care of me, Audrey. Please, hurry.”

Audrey knew she wasn’t supposed to leave, but her godmother’s estate was the safest place in the city.
 

“All right, stay where you are and don’t do anything. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
 

Since Jackson had the truck Audrey had to call a taxi, and as it took her to the estate she considered calling him to explain why she’d left. Since he was busy hunting down a killer she decided against it. Hearing from her would only distract him, and while he’d probably be angry with her for breaking her promise she could deal with Aunt Hannah and return to the safe house before he even knew she was gone.

The cabbie dropped her outside the front gates, and Audrey smiled at the guard who opened them for her. As soon as she stepped through them, however, she felt uneasy, and every step she took toward the main house filled her with more dread. She stopped and glanced back at the gate house, and saw the guard was now standing outside and smoking a cigarette.

Aunt Hannah despised cigarette smoke, which she claimed aged anyone exposed to it, and hated smokers so much she wouldn’t hire anyone who used tobacco, even if they’d quit.

Audrey took out her cell phone and dialed Jackson’s number, which went to voice mail. “Hey, it’s me. I’m back at the estate because Aunt Hannah called and said she hurt herself.” She saw two armed men walking toward her and added quickly, “I think someone made her do that. Could you come as soon as you can? Please, Jack, hurry.”

As soon as the men reached her one took her mobile out of her hand and the other took her arm.

“Let’s go,” was all he said.

The guard escorted her into the back garden, where a handsome man in a black cloak sat on one of the trysting benches. In his gloved hands he held a single white feather, which he dropped as soon as he saw Audrey.

“Hello, Ms. Mather.” He nodded to the man, who released her and retreated into the mansion through a smashed back door. “My name is Henri Marquette.” He extended one hand. “I’ve been waiting a very long time to meet you, young lady.”

She didn’t touch him. “Where is Hannah, and what have you done to her?”

“At the moment she’s tied to the bed upstairs. She does have a broken nose, I’m afraid, but that’s all, for now.” He gestured to the empty space beside him. “Please, join me.”

Audrey sat on the bench as far away from him as she could without falling off.
 

“What’s going on here, Mr. Marquette?”

“I’ve been sitting here enjoying your garden,” he told her, and smiled at the rose hedge blooming across from them. “You have quite the green thumb, which I find rather odd for a killer.”

“I’m a paramedic, not a killer.” She noticed a small red cross embroidered on the edge of one of his gloves, and dimly recalled seeing the same symbol when she’d studied the Crusades in high school. “Are you a Templar?”

“I was, before a pregnant witch I stabbed cursed me.” He turned his head to stare at her. “Now I am enslaved to you.” As she started to rise he said, “I’m the one your magic restorative potion has been healing.”

She sat back down. “I beg your pardon––my
what
?”

“You can dispense with the act, Ms. Mather. You’ve been preparing the potion each month for the last three years.” He studied her face. “Hannah was clever to act as the courier, and she’s always taken credit for your work, of course. But from the moment I stepped into this garden, I knew the truth of it.”

“I think we’ve both been deceived, Mr. Marquette. I’ve never made a single potion.” Audrey glanced up at Hannah’s bedroom window. “But I have been running errands for my godmother for the last three years, including picking up vials of stuff for her from an herbal shop.”

“For what purpose?”

She shrugged. “She said she made beauty treatments out of it.”

“So you maintain your innocence.” He bent over and picked up the white feather, which he tucked into his pocket. “I have seen news photos of you at the scenes of the fires you’ve set to hide your murders.”

“I’m a first responder,” she reminded him. “It’s my job to be there. And you haven’t done a very good job of investigating. Check my work records. When these people were killed I was probably either out on other calls or back at central checking my rig. It takes at least two hours to do the prep and check before I go on shift. I also have a partner with me at all times, so he can vouch for me.”

Marquette said to one of the men standing guard, “Fetch my clergy aide.” He stood and looked down at Audrey. “We will go and have a talk with your godmother. Perhaps she can offer a better explanation for both of us.”

“Sure, okay.” As soon as he turned toward the main house Audrey took off in the opposite direction, running through the garden and into the back of the property. If she could make it to the west corner of the wall she could climb the oak tree there and jump down to the other side.

As the sound of shouts and thudding footsteps came closer she reached the tree and grabbed its lowest branch to boost herself up. A blur of white passed in front of her face, and Plato touched down beside her.

Jackson had claimed that the bird could understand her, so she nodded toward the men who were now closing in on the tree. “Give me a hand with them, pal?”

The barn owl uttered his hissing screech as he dove down and bit the nose of one of the men before flapping over to rake another with his talons.

Audrey used the diversion to climb higher and then stepped out until she was directly over the sidewalk outside the wall. With a deep breath she jumped.

Strong arms caught her, and she gasped as Norm set her on her feet.
 

“Oh, my God, Norm. What are you doing here?”

“My real job.” He took out a gun and pointed it at her chest. In a louder voice he said, “I have her, my lord.”

ON HIS WAY to the south end Jackson called in to Command to make a report, but before he could relate any details of the latest developments in the case the duty officer delivered some grim news.

“The High Priestess of the Seattle coven has been murdered,” Command told him. “One of her coven found her remains. She was killed in the same manner the humans in the south end were before they were burned.”

Jackson thought of Mariah’s beautiful face under her crone facade and set his jaw.
 

“Were there any witnesses?”

“One of the neighboring shopkeepers saw a limousine park outside the shop around the time of the murder.” Command’s voice turned flinty. “We ran the plate, and the car is registered to Hannah Gardener. If she murdered the Priestess–”

“She’s the killer.” Jackson made a U-turn to head over to the estate.

“The shopkeeper reported something else.” Command told him about the men who had dragged Hannah’s driver out of the car and replaced him. “Our soul scryer detected a large disturbance in the city an hour ago. She believes at least a dozen more humans were murdered.”

Jackson heard the beep for a new voice mail. “I’m going to Hannah Gardener’s estate now. I’ll report what I find after I arrive.” He ended the call and accessed his voice mail box, and felt the scald of fear as he listened to Audrey’s message. Slamming his foot down on the accelerator Jackson wove in and out of traffic, but when he got within a block of the estate he slowed and parked the truck before continuing on foot.

The smell of spent gunpowder and death greeted him as he approached the front gates, where a lone guard stood smoking. Jackson drew on his power and directed it at the cigarette in the man’s hand, making it flare into a ball of flame. As the man flung the fiery butt away and batted at his singed eyebrows Jackson plowed his fist into his jaw. The guard toppled, and he dragged the unconscious body out of sight to strip it and dress in the man’s clothes. He then went into the guard shack and opened the gates.

Keeping an unhurried pace, Jackson walked up to the guarded main house and went inside, where he immediately breathed in a trace of Audrey’s scent. The hair on the back of his neck rose as he also felt the lingering trace left behind by a Templar immortal, and followed both up the staircase to the second floor.

The only thing that gave him pause was seeing Audrey’s EMT partner, Norman Palmer, walk out of one of the bedrooms. The other man saw him at the same time and came to an abrupt halt.
 

“Now I understand why she was lusting after you,” Norm drawled as he pulled a gun and pointed it at Jackson’s heart. “You’re both heathen scum.”

Jackson stood impassively as the human fired his entire clip into his chest. His power enveloped him like a cloak, stopping and melting the bullets before they came within an inch of his flesh.
 

“Where is she?”

“Please,” Hannah Gardener screamed from inside the bedroom. “Help me.”

“Maybe in there,” Norm told him, and dropped the useless weapon as he backed away. “You should go check.”

Fire flew out of the bedroom and swirled around Jackson as he summoned it, and formed it into a cluster of compact, white-hot balls. He flicked his wrist to send two of the fiery orbs at Norm, but at the last minute redirected them so they only glanced off the sides of his head.

“Tell me what you’ve done with Audrey,” Jackson said as he advanced on the other man, “or I will melt your face off.”

“She’s gone with my master,” Norm said, and smiled broadly as he removed a dagger from his belt. “He’s going to turn that little bitch into a proper Templar servant. Once he fucks her, she’ll be ours for all eternity.”

Jackson’s temper spiked, and the orbs grew larger. “Where did he take her?”

The medic glanced back at the wall burning behind him before he smiled at Jackson. “Thanks. That will save me some work.”

Jackson easily dodged the dagger Norm threw at him, but it gave the human time to flee to the back stairs and vanish. Hannah’s screams grew louder, and with a curse Jackson extinguished the orbs and entered the bedroom to see Audrey’s godmother surrounded by flames consuming her bed.

“Please,” she begged, and shrieked as the fire licked at her feet. “Don’t let me die like this.”

Jackson lifted his hands and drew the flames to him, absorbing them until charred linens and scorched walls were all that was left.

“Thank you,” Hannah said, and coughed before she gave him a pleading look. “Please, would you untie me? I have to see what he did to my nose, and then–“

“Where did the Templar take Audrey?” he demanded.

“To some sanctuary,” she snapped. “I don’t know where it is. Release me.”

Jackson left her there and returned to the gate house, where he shook the guard he had knocked out until the human regained consciousness.
 

“Where is your master’s sanctuary?”

“Go to hell,” the guard said, and then his eyes widened as Jackson summoned a ball of fire to hover over his hand. “It’s outside the city.” He told him the address, and then added, “You’ll never get in there.”

Jackson drove his fist into the man’s jaw again and dropped his limp form before running for his truck.

AUDREY DIDN’T TRY to resist or run as the Templar helped her out of the car and took her arm. She used the time to quickly study her surroundings, which were luxurious, and the potential avenues of escape, which appeared to be zero.

“It’s quite secure here, my child,” Marquette told her as he marched her into the house. “If you do try to escape, my men have orders to shoot to you.”

“Wouldn’t that be like cutting open the golden goose?” Audrey couldn’t help asking. “Kill me, and there’s no more potion, right?”

“They won’t shoot to kill. They’ll simply shatter your kneecaps.” He took her into what appeared to be a well-stocked personal library and gestured at a pair of empty chairs by the fireplace. “We have a great deal to discuss. Please, take a seat.”

Audrey perched on one of the chairs and watched Marquette remove his cloak.
 

“How did you get my godmother involved in this mess?”

He gave her a surprised look. “I didn’t. She contacted me and offered the treatment. Since nothing can harm me, I tried it, and found the first ease I’ve had since that Irish witch cursed me.” He walked over and offered her the white feather he had picked up in the garden. “The Almighty sent this to me as a sign, but I refused to see at first. After dealing with Hannah I should have known you were as special and innocent as He did.”

Audrey took the feather and tucked it in her pocket. “Aunt Hannah didn’t kill those people.”

“Did you never wonder why your godmother. who is now in her fifties, looks younger than you?” He walked over to a cart and poured two glasses of an amber liquor, and brought them over to the fireplace. “She has been using a transference spell to steal the youth and life from helpless humans, mostly children.” He offered her one of the glasses. “After she’s finished draining them she burns their homes, probably to destroy the charms and disguise the ashen remains.”

Audrey took the glass and drank a big gulp of the bourbon, swallowing hard against the burn in her throat.
 

“She wouldn’t do anything so horrible.”

“Your loyalty, while admirable, is wasted on Hannah Gardener––and I would much rather talk about you.” He sat down and regarded her steadily. “You’re a powerful healer, Audrey. You’ve had to have used your gift to help the sick and injured you transport. Without even knowing it, you’ve done the same for me.”
 

“Am I supposed to feel obligated?” she countered. “Because if I had known what Aunt Hannah was doing, I would have stopped her.”

“Would you have?” He leaned forward, his expression tight, and told her about the day he had been cursed. “Can you even imagine what it is like to face ceaseless, agonizing pain every moment you draw breath? To be a warrior trapped inside a crippled, useless body?”

Audrey set aside her glass. “Probably as bad as a pregnant woman being stabbed to death by a maniac with a sword.”