Tabby came out of the bathroom. “Where do you want to go?” she asked me.
“You pick.” I pulled out the advertising stuff from the dresser drawer and handed it to her.
She took the booklet from me and flipped through it. “It’s a little bit of a drive, but how does Italian sound?”
I shrugged. I’m not sure if there was anyone on earth who would pass up lasagna. “Works for me. It’s only four-thirty.”
She smiled. I grabbed the keys. “Lucy, take care of Isaac. You’re in charge.”
“Can Doc come and play?” she asked.
Did she know how to call him? That might be a good thing to know. “Doc kind of comes and goes as he pleases. But, if he comes, I don’t see a problem with you making him entertain you.” I winked at her.
She laughed.
Tabby and I left and made sure the door locked behind us.
“She’s a good kid,” Tabby said as we were heading toward the elevator.
“Yeah, she is.” She deserved better than I could give her.
###
The restaurant was one of those places that had dim lighting and lit candles on the tables. The walls were a series of murals around Italy. I’d seen it before. Some restaurants, especially ethnic ones, liked to try to make you feel like you were actually in the country the food came from. Too bad I didn’t know a lot of these scenes. The only one I recognized was the one with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The restaurant looked expensive with all of the decor and the crisp tablecloths. I felt seriously underdressed, but no one said anything to us. They were probably used to tourists.
“What are you going to get?” I asked after a bit.
Tabby shrugged. “Probably lasagna or something. That wasn’t why I wanted to come here.”
I kind of figured that, but I didn’t have a clue what she wanted to talk about. “Okay…”
“We needed more garlic in our systems, and I wanted to explain a few things without Lucy being around.” She arranged the napkin on her lap.
“All right.” That made sense. I knew that garlic had a lot of antioxidant properties, and since Tabby was the witch stuff expert, I wasn’t going to be upset about eating a little of it.
“I know I was being a bitch earlier,” she said. “But it’s hard.”
I nodded. No sense in interrupting her. I was glad she apologized to me, but it was unnecessary. Her thing at lunch proved to me that there was more going on than just what I was around for. I was here for her, better and worse.
“You know the story of me with the Ouija board. I’ve told it to you a few times.”
“Yeah, you have.” She’d last spoke of it in Blackmoor. It felt like all of that had been a long time ago, when it was really just this past November.
“What I’ve never told you is how it felt. It hurt, Jimmy. It was bad.”
The waitress interrupted us, and we gave our drink orders.
Tabby continued after she left.
“Imagine feeling like something is trying to snatch what makes you you out of your body. Then, imagine what it feels like to feel as if your brain is being pulled out of your head through a small hole the size of a pencil lead.”
“Jesus Christ.” That was worse than how I’d heard childbirth described as squeezing something the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a lemon.
“That’s what it felt like. And then, bear in mind I was somehow able to have the fortitude with that pain to use the knowledge I had to fight the demon off. I’m thankful, to this day, it wasn’t an extremely strong one.”
“Me too.” I could see why she didn’t want to use the board. Plus, being as sensitive as she was, it left her more susceptible to all of these paranormal things. “I’ll do it by myself.”
She blinked. “Do what by yourself?”
“Use the board. That way you don’t have to risk going through that again.” It was time I grew a set and stopped dragging her into my stuff. She hadn’t signed on for this. The least I could do was make it as easy on her as possible.
“No way, Jimmy. No fucking way. Do you have any idea how easy it is for a demon to gain purchase on this realm through one of those boards?”
“It’s been done though, right?” I stopped myself from remembering what I’d seen happen in the movies. Better to think positively.
She glared at me. “Very rarely, and I still wouldn’t trust it. No, you and I will be talking to this thing, but it sure as hell won’t be at night.”
“Fine by me,” I said. Hey, if she was going to refuse to let me do it on my own, fine. But if she had nightmares over it, she better not blame me.
“And I never want to hear you talk about using the board by yourself again. The last thing I need is for you to be possessed.”
While I had to admit that would be bad, I wasn’t exactly sure a marker could even be possessed. If it was possible, that would not be cool. “Okay. No problem. Let’s stop talking about that now and do some normal stuff.”
“Normal sounds very good.”
###
Normal turned out to be taking a walk once we got back into Tombstone. Old Town was lit up with old-style lanterns at night. The whole scene was nice. Tabby seemed a lot more carefree. The tension we added at dinner seemed to slip away.
There was part of me that was willing to ignore what Tabby said and go ahead and use the board without her. Not smart, maybe, but I wanted to avoid causing her pain as much as I could. She was scarred by it all mentally. That was a definite. Better to scar myself rather than let her add any more.
I wanted to protect her from all the nastiness. Too bad my current job involved diving into Hell and hoping it all worked out. Who knew what started out as a favor could turn into something this complicated? To think, at one time my life had been as simple as: get up, perform mass, eat lunch, do counseling, eat dinner, relax, then go to sleep. It was boring, but I was starting to realize how nice boring actually was.
Everything was evolving, including Lucy. Her new ability to pet Isaac had me nervous. I feared her body wasn’t faring well. Technically, I could call Will to check on Lucy, but things had been strained, to say the least, after Lucy’s exorcism. Still, it probably would be the right thing to do. Plus, the kid wanted her family. Maybe if the conversation was going well, I could let her listen to her dad talk.
“Are you okay?” Tabby asked. “You seem distracted.”
“Just thinking.” I didn’t know if it was a good idea or not. Last thing I needed was for Lucy to shout out to her dad that she loved him and she wanted to come home. Yeah. Try explaining that one.
“About what?” She looped her arm around mine.
“Lucy, actually. Her getting more solid has me worried.” It did, but I also didn’t want to bring the rest of it up to her. She had enough going on without me adding anything to it. But if I didn’t start talking, she’d prod me until I spilled the whole bloody thing.
“How so?”
“If she’s more solid here. That means she’s getting stronger. Wouldn’t that mean her body is giving out?” I did not want to think about Lucy dying. I couldn’t think of losing her now.
“I don’t know. Not necessarily. Why don’t you call Will?”
“You know why,” I said and paused. We were in front of this gift shop. A little vase sat in the display. It looked exactly like one Mom had had when I was growing up.
“Surely, they could appreciate the call?”
“Maybe.” I didn’t even know what to say. I mean, “How’s Lucy?” seemed kind of contrite.
“What are you looking at?” Tabby asked.
I pointed at the vase. “My mom had one just like it.”
Tabby let go of my hand and stepped closer to the window for a better look. “Maybe it’s a knock-off.”
“Or maybe Mom was here once.” Which meant that there was a possibility that she’d met Doc.
She walked back over to me. “Still, you should call.”
I sighed. She wasn’t
going to give up, I knew that. Might as well get it over with. I pulled out the phone and scrolled down to his name and dialed. After a few rings, the phone was answered.
“The number you have reached—”
I disconnected the call. I wasn’t surprised. Why would he want to get in touch with me? I’d been the last person to see his daughter before the accident, demon slaying, whatever you call it. “I got a recording. Will’s changed his number.”
“Want me to try Tor’s?” Tabby asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. I have a feeling that if they wanted to talk to us, they would have called by now.”
“Yeah.”
“So, back to the hotel?” Our evening was ruined now anyway. I guess thinking about a sick kid will do that to ya.
Tabby brushed the hair out of her face. “Might as well.”
###
Getting back to the hotel was the easy part. Finding the room trashed, however, was not what I expected.
“What the fuck?” I asked as I saw how badly the room was torn apart. I heard a pop as Doc appeared in front of me.
“What happened?” I asked him.
“A lady came in to steal stuff. She tried to take that thing you always fiddle with.”
I almost asked, “What thing?” Then, I remembered the Order’s iPad. “Did she get it?”
“Nope. Lucy scared the bejeezus out of her.”
I finally spied it on the floor near my side of the bed. It was facedown.
“And where’s Lucy?” I asked him.
“Too tired. She has to rest before she can show herself again. What she did took a lot out of her.”
I really hoped it hadn’t taken too much. I didn’t have a great understanding of Lucy’s well being anyway, but her not even being able to show herself wasn’t a good sign. I needed more information, and the Order didn’t seem to want to give it.
“Isaac?” Tabby looked around the room. “Shit.”
I dropped the iPad on the bed and ran out of the room. “Isaac!”
I dashed around the floor. No cat. So, I headed down to the front desk. Maybe they’d seen him. “Anyone see a cat?”
The front desk looked like it belonged in an Italian villa—well the wallpaper that covered it did at least. There were these painted white marble columns outlined in gold leaf. The hotel was trying to be fancier than it really was. The girl behind the desk had a stony expression on her face. “Animal control has already been called, sir.”
Oh, hell no. We weren’t going there. “It better fucking be canceled. Your staff broke into my fucking room! Where’s the damn cat!”
The girl stared at me like I was lying. I slammed my fist down on the counter. “I want my cat. I want to see the manager, and you’ll be lucky if I don’t sue your asses.”
The girl behind her hopped to it and opened the door to what I guess was the copier room. Isaac was snarling and hissing. I pointed at the girl who now wasn’t so smug. “Cancel that goddamn call!”
She grabbed the phone and dialed. A man in a suit came out of another back room.
“Are you the manager?” I asked. He looked like a sniveling little weasel.
“Yes, sir. If you’ll please take it down a notch.”
“You can shove your notch up your ass. I suggest you look at the security footage in the hallway near my room.” I wanted to drop kick the asshole.
“Hold on.” He walked back into his office. After a minute, he came back. “Sir, I apologize. It doesn’t look like anything is missing.”
With no help from them. It was a good thing I wasn’t able to shoot fire from my eyes; I’d have burnt the whole building down by now. Guess that’s why the super heroes always are torn people. Me, I’d probably make a better super-villain. “No, but my iPad was found on the floor, and if it’s broken, I’ll expect a replacement.”
“You’d have to take that up in court, sir.”
I leaned forward on the desk. If I had to, I’d scale the damn thing. Didn’t this guy realize that my fuse was almost gone? “Any idea how it will look for your hotel if I tell people how pet-friendly you really are? How you almost got my cat euthanized because some worker tried to rob my room?”
“Sir, it’s standard procedure to call animal control. Especially when our staff reports being attacked.”
Yeah, attacked because she tried to rob me. Fuck him. “I suggest you start paying attention to what is actually happening instead of playing solitaire on your fucking computer all day. And if Isaac is hurt, I’m holding this hotel responsible.”
His mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish. “That won’t be necessary, sir. Would you like him checked out by a vet?”
“Yes, dammit. That’s the least you could do.” If there was something wrong with Isaac, I might just let Tabby kill him.
They let me go behind the desk. As soon as Isaac saw me, he calmed down. “Let’s get out of here, bud.”
I unlooped the rope from around the leg of the copier and took the rope off his neck. He jumped into my arms and pressed himself against me so hard. Poor thing. He was shivering.
“How long until the vet gets here?” I asked the girl.
“About a half hour. I’ll send him up to your room as soon as he arrives.”
I grunted and took Isaac back to Tabby. Isaac was so quiet during the elevator ride, it was starting to look like he was going to need a therapist. Well, that was probably overkill, but whatever.
“Where have you been?” Tabby asked when I opened the door to our hotel room.
“Saving Isaac from idiots. The thief let him out—though I guess he tore her up pretty good. They called animal control on him.” I waited for that little bit of information to hit.
“Shit.” She reached forward as Isaac jumped into her arms. “What the fuck was their problem? I swear, if he isn’t okay—”
“They are sending over a vet to check him out.” I was doing my best not to give her the full brunt of my anger. I still wanted to drop kick the manager. If I amped her up anymore, she would actually do it. But I had to admit, the stress relief of the act would do me good, and probably help Tabby as well.
“My poor baby,” Tabby said to the cat.
I left her to Isaac, went back over to the bed, picked up the iPad, and turned it on. The screen looked okay. After a minute, it loaded up. I knew better than to just count on that, so I went to a few websites and checked my email. Everything loaded the way it had before. I shut it down and put it on the table.
“Are they calling the police?” Tabby asked.
“Who fucking knows?”
“Want to change hotels?” She looked concerned, but she seemed more focused on me than Isaac.
Changing wasn’t an option. “This is the only ‘pet-friendly’ hotel in Tombstone.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” Though, I had a bad feeling that weasely fuck would black-ball us at any hotel around Tombstone. We just had to come up with another alternative.
“So much for a normal evening,” Tabby said. She walked over to the little stand between the beds, picked up the phone, and punched a button. “Yes, this is Tabatha Settle in room fourteen-o-eight. Have the police been notified?”
She paused. “Uh huh. Yes, we won’t touch anything else… All right. Thank you.”
I watched her hang up the phone.
“So?” I asked.
“Cops coming. Vet coming. We are supposed to stop poking.”
I sat down in the chair near the table. “What a fucking night.”
“Tell me about it.”
###
The cops took our statements. Tabby and I went through everything, including what we bought that day. Not a thing was missing. I hated to think about what Lucy did that scared the thief and left her in such bad shape. Isaac I could imagine. Too bad Doc had once again disappeared or I’d ask him.
The vet had come and gone. Isaac was okay, but stressed. The vet suggested extra treats and plenty of water, anything to make Isaa
c feel loved. I had to force myself not to roll my eyes. The cat was spoiled enough as it was. This was only going to make it worse, but already Tabby was giving him extra pats.
“Guess we should ward the room again, huh?” I asked. I mean, it couldn’t hurt. But it was starting to seem like the wards only worked on things connected to the supernatural. Otherwise, how would the robber have been able to come in? Unless Vespa had done something to the wards before. I didn’t want to even consider that.
“Probably. I have to wonder if Vespa had anything to do with this.”
Nice to know we were on the same wavelength. “Good question. I just hope Lucy’s okay.”
“I’m okay,” she said. I still couldn’t see her, but at least she could still communicate with us. That made me feel a little bit better.
“Is Doc with you?” Tabby asked.
“No, you are, silly. I’m here.”
Well, that was a relief. I didn’t want to think she was in between worlds or something. Still, her not being able to show herself scared the crap out of me. It had been bad enough before when Lucy was getting more solid. I just wanted to know what it all meant.
I picked up the iPad and turned it on. I searched a few social media sites for Will, but it was like he dropped off the face of the earth. Then, I wrote up an email asking the Order if they could check on things. I loosely explained what was going on with Lucy’s soul. For now, that was the best I could do.
###
Needless to say, getting sleep that night wasn’t easy. I woke up at any small sound, including whenever the air conditioner would kick on and off. Even though Tabby had warded the room again, I still didn’t feel safe. What good was a ward when it couldn’t keep all the bad people out? I hoped to hell it really was just a thief and not something to do with Vespa.
I was tired of the whole thing. I wanted to find out what we needed, deal with Vespa’s problem, and go home to sleep in my own bed.
Tabby, somehow, slept like a log. Maybe part of it was knowing that Isaac was okay. I was just glad he wasn’t hurt.
Of course, part of my uneasiness could have stemmed from knowing that we were going to use the board. Tabby’s experience, now that I knew the full story, left me feeling anxious about it. If I knew of some other way to get this information, I’d have used it—even if it did mean trying to hypnotize the demon.