“When did the first unsolved murders begin?” I asked.
Teag checked his computer. “Six months ago.”
“Any pattern to where the bodies were found?” Sorren asked.
Teag shook his head. “All over the city.”
“See what you can find out about the dive team,” Sorren directed. “I have a feeling they’re connected somehow.” He was silent for a moment. “I’m hoping it’s not what I think it is. Let me see what our contacts in the Alliance can turn up. I’ll also ask if we have anyone who has abilities or powers for dealing with demons, but there’s no guarantee they can get here in time.” He shrugged. “We will have to make sure we are prepared… either way.”
He leveled a look at Teag and me. “This mysterious man watching you is not to be discounted,” he said. “And if it is Moran, he’s throwing down a gauntlet for me by threatening you.” The same ruthlessness I had seen in the vision flashed in Sorren’s eyes. “I don’t take such a challenge lightly.”
He paused. “I don’t like this,” Sorren said. “Either there’s someone with powerful – and dark – magic playing a dangerous game, or something is upsetting natural limits on supernatural power – or both. It’s just the kind of thing Moran would be hip deep in. It’s a bad business.”
“What can we do?” I asked.
Sorren gave me a stern look. “Until I know more about this, you’re to do nothing except follow up on the phone calls you’ve made, and wait for me to gather more information. Whatever’s going on is dangerous, and I have no desire to see either of you get hurt.”
“How can we make sure that the pieces we’re selling don’t suddenly go wacko?” Teag asked. “I mean, the items Debra bought for Gardenia Landing were perfectly ordinary when we sold them. What’s to stop whatever-it-is from doing that to other pieces?”
It was a good point, and it made me cringe to think about it. If we had to stop selling items until the problem was resolved, it wouldn’t be good for the bottom line.
Sorren considered the question for a moment. “The spikes in supernatural energy are fairly recent,” he said. “As far as we can tell, they began about six months ago. And from what Teag’s found, so did the deaths.”
“But we haven’t had pieces we’ve sold go crazy for six months,” I countered. “In fact, we’ve only begun hearing about problems in the past few days.”
Sorren nodded. “Bear with me. If something was altering the energy six months ago, perhaps the changes affected people near the area first, then built up its effect in inanimate objects,” he mused. “It’s only a theory – we’ll need to do some investigating – but for now, it’s my best guess.”
“How does that affect our inventory?” I asked. “I’m guessing that we need to quarantine all our sparklers until this is over, and expect our spookies to be more disruptive – maybe even dangerous. But what about pieces that don’t seem to have any supernatural energy at all?”
“I don’t have a good answer for you yet,” Sorren said. “But I will. I just need to poke around a little more.” He grinned, exposing the tips of his long eye teeth. “And if Moran’s behind everything that’s happened, I assure you, we’ll know.”
“Where do we start?” I asked.
“I’m waiting to hear from several of my contacts,” Sorren replied. “That may shed some light on things.” He looked concerned, and that gave me pause. What worries a vampire?
“You know I can’t compel you to stay safely on the sidelines until we know what we’re up against,”
Sorren said, looking at me with an expression that mingled fondness and mild exasperation. “But this is dangerous business. Please, don’t go off on your own investigating until we have a better sense of the problem.”
It was odd having someone who looked my own age show fatherly concern for my welfare, but I nodded. “I promise not to go poking around abandoned buildings without you, if that’s what you’re fishing for,” I replied with a grin. “But there shouldn’t be any harm in Teag and me putting out feelers for information to our networks, or doing some Internet sleuthing.”
“How long before you hear back from your people?” Teag asked.
“Soon, I hope,” Sorren said. “One problem with immortality is that it discourages urgency. There always seems to be enough time. I shall, however, push for answers with a mortal’s definition of ‘quick’.”
“In the meantime, we’ll pull the sparklers out of the front of the shop and keep looking for that common thread,” I said, resigned. “Sooner or later, we’ll get a break.”
Sorren glanced over to Teag. “Getting used to your magic?” he asked.
Teag sighed. “Trying to. It’s all a bit much to take in. I’m taking it slow. Just the basic knots and some weaving for now – nothing dangerous, I promise.”
Teag had discovered his own latent magic fairly recently. But Teag’s gift went beyond yarn and fabric.
Teag’s magic included ‘data weaving’, which accounted for Teag’s amazing research skills. Teag was still trying to wrap his head around both parts of his gift.
“I need to get the two of you home,” Sorren said.
“Anthony’s probably waiting outside,” Teag said. “He insisted on coming around to drive me home.” That was unusual. Teag normally enjoyed biking or walking to work, even after dark, and the constant foot traffic in the Historic District made such trips safe even late in the evening. He glanced at me. “We can drop you off at Gardenia Landing and then pick you up in the morning.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to escort Cassidy back to the inn,” Sorren said. “I may be able to glean some information just from walking the grounds.” He smiled, showing just the tips of his long eye teeth.
“I promise to be discreet.”
I had the feeling that, at least for tonight, Sorren’s investigation might involve an all-night vigil to assure my safety. Many people might not feel protected by a vampire on watch, but I felt some of the tension ease from my shoulders.
“Thanks,” I said. “Maybe you’ll be able to figure out what caused the damage to the garden. My money is on a ghost from the Harrison family, but since getting rid of the Foo dog seemed to get rid of the haunting, we never made it out there.”
“Tomorrow, expect a visit from Lucinda, a Voudon friend of mine,” Sorren said. “She’ll refresh the wardings on the office and on the safe room in the basement, and I’ll also have her stop by and renew the wardings on your houses.”
“You had wardings put on our houses?” Teag asked. A smile spread across his features. “Cool!”
Sorren chuckled. “Lucinda is quite good at the Craft,” he said. “Her protections will repel most negative energy, as well as ill intent.”
“Most?” I asked. “What doesn’t it cover?” Sorren’s smile slipped away. “The unknown,” he said. “That’s always the most dangerous part.”
Chapter Eleven
FORTUNATELY, THE NIGHT was quiet and restful and the next day, I resolved to leave the problem of the haunted objects behind and keep the day as normal as possible. Sorren had not yet contacted me with news, and I took that as an indication that he was exploring information from his own channels. I really needed a break, and decided to give myself an easy day.
I went to the martial arts studio in the morning and worked up a good sweat. Uncle Evan had surprised me ten years ago with an offer to pay for my classes, and I enthusiastically took him up on it.
Now, I knew why. Being able to defend myself had come in handy with some of our prior cases, and I was afraid it might be useful once again. I wasn’t as good as Teag – he’d won mixed martial arts championships in Brazilian and Filipino-style fighting – but I could hold my own. It was a great way to work out some of my frustrations, and I left the training hall feeling pretty chipper.