Page 90 of Deadly Deception
By now, Virgil was standing too. He leaned his head back and howled with laughter. “Tell that to Betty Dixon. Good lord. You should have heard that woman scream. Who knew Betty had aset of pipes on her like that? She come runnin’ out of the loo, hands thrown in the air and her teeth hangin’ out of her mouth.”
Henry’s mouth slipped open and his eyes widened. “No.”
“Yes, sir,” Virgil said with a shit eating grin. “Old girl was more embarrassed about the teeth thing than anything else.”
Doug scoffed. “As if we all don’t have substitute parts at our age.”
And so, the night progressed. Holding onto Henry’s spirit was a simple affair. His soul was happy being back and hummed with gratitude. It felt good, and I knew I’d be sad when I had to release him. I shot off a quick text to Franklin, letting him know I’d probably get home later than I’d originally planned. I’d been paid for one hour but had no intention of holding Henry’s friends to that. As far as I was concerned, they could stay and relive old,and new, times until they either fell asleep or passed out drunkenly. I gave it fifty-fifty odds of which would happen first.
“They are different than your typical clients,” Aurelia said as she walked next to me. I didn’t need to be near the group to hold onto Henry’s soul and had decided to take a leisurely stroll through Meadowbrook Cemetery. It was about a level four on my personal scale. That meant I most likely wouldn’t come back here unless a client asked me to. However, it wasn’t horrible either.
“No. It’s refreshing.”
Aurelia didn’t comment and continued alongside me. She kept her typical two-to-three-foot distance. I wasn’t offended. I didn’t think Aurelia stayed away because she was afraid of catching my necromancercooties. I thought she simply liked her personal space.
The grass was neatly trimmed, although this late in the season it hardly needed mowing on a frequent basis. Still, Meadowbrook was a well-tended cemetery. The plastic floweredwreaths and bouquets propped up against several headstones were evidence Meadowbrook was still frequented by the living. Most of its residents were content, but there were a few who clearly were not. As with the living, the malcontent dead drew the most attention.
The silence stretched on. The air was crisp, but not cold. A long-sleeved shirt, a vest, and a lightweight jacket were all I needed to feel comfortable. Per usual, Aurelia wore a faded flannel over a dark tank top. Her jeans were torn, and her combat boots looked like they’d truly seen action. Her overly large ears held multiple piercings that gleamed in the moonlight. Glancing again in her direction, I found I missed the backpack she’d carried around with her for those few short days we’d been in the Chicago area.
“Do you miss her?” I asked more on a whim than after true consideration.
“Miss who?” Aurelia sounded genuinely perplexed.
“Little Fang.”
I’d expected a quick no. What I got was more drawn-out silence until Aurelia finally answered an oddly truthful, “I am unsure.” With a shrug, she said, “I do not understand the concept well enough to be certain.”
“Oh.” That was all I had, and couldn’t fathom another word that should go with it.
“I did check on her. I felt it my responsibility to make certain Little Fang was being cared for properly.”
Nowthatwas a bit of a surprise. “You visited Navarre?”
“It is a simple enough thing.” Aurelia said it like everyone could travel all over the world with a mere thought.
Ignoring Aurelia’s casual view on travel, I asked, “And was she? Being taken care of properly?”
“It appears so. Little Fang has grown, and she rumbles even more than when she was in my care.”
“Purrs, not rumbles,” I corrected, even though I didn’t know why. Aurelia didn’t really care about proper terminology. I should count it a win that she no longer called Little Fangthe creature. Predictably, Aurelia didn’t comment so I asked, “And what about Navarre? How is he?” I hadn’t heard much beyond the fact that Tabitha and Navarre had arrived safely and were settling in.
“I believe he is the same, but cleaner. The necromancer doesn’t smell as poorly as he did before.”
“I see. And did he know you were there?”
“I do not know. I did not try and hide myself from him, but I am unaware of his perception of me.”
“Ah.” This time, I understood. “Tabitha said it may take a while to sort through and remove all the spirits attached to him.”
“Time is a mortal construct,” Aurelia answered. She didn’t sound judgmental. To her, it was simply fact.
Considering I was as far from immortal as could be, I didn’t feel I had the right to question Aurelia’s perception.
Peace settled in again. We’d walked far enough that I could barely hear the higher-pitched laughs coming from Henry’s group. The continued joy made me smile. That smile remained even when I glanced over and found Aurelia was gone. Shaking my head, I walked to a nearby tree and leaned heavily against its trunk. My worn sneakers were damp from dew as I crossed one foot over the other and pulled out my phone. I wasn’t sure if Franklin was still awake or not, but decided to text him and see if I could find a better way to pass the time.
I’d no more pulled my phone out than its soft ringtone filled the air. My hopeful glance that it was Franklin was dashed when I saw the caller ID was unknown. I considered allowing it to go to voicemail. Chances were it was spam, but considering my profession, one never truly knew.
Hitting the accept button, I lifted the phone to my ear and said, “This is Boone.”
