Banshee Hunt (31 page)

Once more silence returned to the room as she tried to take in what he'd told her. But it took time. Even having been through what she had and having seen what she had, it wasn't easy to just accept that the world wasn't the simple, straight forward place it had always been. Magic was the stuff of fairy tales and dragons and all those childish dreams that you grew out of. It couldn't be like that. Not really. He remembered it hitting him just as hard when he'd found out.

“And you knew?” Suspicion suddenly flared in her voice.

“No! I had no idea at all. Not until the day you sold Matti, and he came and bragged about what he'd done. What he'd made you do. That was when all hell broke loose. That was the day I thought I killed him.”

“So she …?”

“She was a bit wrong. I was mostly lying. I beat him to a pulp. And I did think I'd killed him. He's got a busted shoulder and walks with a limp. His face isn't that pretty either anymore. But as for the brain damage and incontinence, I just threw that in to scare her. And I didn't set him on fire either. Just scared him a bit.”

“And the men? You didn't …?”

“Oh no, I did. They were always going to live. I was a cop back then. But most of them were never going to have children. They were child sex traffickers. They had Matti. They were going to sell her to people who would do unspeakable things to our daughter. I thought that they might have already done so. And there were other children too. That was never going to happen.” He had no trouble admitting that. He felt no shame in it. Whether it was legal or not, it had always felt like the right thing to do.

“So you did that? What you said?”

“Yes. Eight pieces of filth are now spending the rest of their days in prison singing falsetto. Some of them lost a leg or two as well. I won't say I was a cop that night. I didn't obey the law. But it was a genuine gun fight not a massacre. I was just faster on the draw.”

“And Francis?”

“Locked away for the rest of his life in a different sort of prison. He could bend minds with just a few words. So no normal prison could hold him. Not even a supermax. But the magical have their own prisons. He's had his magic blocked. So he's safe as long as they keep him locked away. And they're never going to let him out. But I didn't burn him alive. I covered him with spelled water that he thought was petrol and threw matches at him. It was the only way I could be sure he didn't have his magic back. If he had I would have been attacked by an army. But he didn't which was how I knew he wasn't guilty. He wasn't hurt. But he did scream a lot and the warden's made a complaint about me.”

“Good.”

“That the warden's complained about me?” James was surprised by that.

“That he screamed.”

“You're okay with that?” James was even more surprised by that. If there was one thing Sheryl had always been it was a great believer in the law.

“If he did that. If he made me do what I did. Then yes.” She said it simply and without any hint of doubt in her voice.

“Good. Because there's one more thing we have to talk about.”

“Let me guess. That this is all some sort of great secret. That I can never tell anyone about it because the witches will turn me into a frog. The Asian bitch mentioned that. She said they were afraid of people like her. That they were scared of what she and her family could do.”

“Yes, she's dangerous. And her family's declared war on the Illuminati. But the Illuminati want this kept secret for a very different reason. They're not really in to power. They don't want to rule the world. They just want to live normal lives. And most important of all the gifted don't want to find themselves burnt at the stake. Once was enough.”

“But they won't harm you. Not like the bitch claimed they would. They don't need to. There's a thousand other ways to hide things, and the easiest way is simply to discredit someone. After all, this is magic we're talking about. Fairy tales and myths. It's not real. Therefore anyone who thinks it's real is out of their tree.”

“So no. They don't want you to talk. But you don't want to talk either. You have a far more important reason to keep silent. The most important reason there can ever be for either of us. Much more important than anything they could threaten either of us with.” James had her attention at least.

“Go on.”

“Magic travels in families. My parents have gifts. They're minor. My father can shape things with his thoughts. My mother has a green thumb. I have a fraction of it. Not really even a gift at all. I didn't even know I had one until that night. Francis though was the most powerful fascinator seen in decades. And he destroyed everyone's life. But the only thing that matters now is that Matti has the gift too.”

“Matti?” Suddenly Sheryl pushed the sheets aside and sat bolt upright in the bed. “Is she …?”

“No. Not like Francis. There are lots of different gifts. And hers is in the animus. In health and the body. And though her magic is only just beginning to grow, she shows great promise. The academy that she goes to; it's a specialist school for those with magic. They're teaching her how to use her gift and also how to hide it. I have hopes that one day when she's grown up she'll become a doctor perhaps with the gift of healing. She could have a great future. But that can never happen if the secret gets out.”

“If it does and she's exposed, everything changes for her. There'll be prejudice and bigotry. And though I hope that at least here in America there won’t be a return to witch burnings, we would likely see riots, fear and violence. At least in the short term. But those like Matti with gifts will become objects of fear to many. Some will want to use them. Some will want to stick them in cages and study them. To many she'll be seen as a freak. Her life will be ruined.”

“We can never let that happen.”

“And you can never reveal half a secret. The moment this is partly out there, the rest will follow. People will dig and dig until everything is out there. They'll find a few of the gifted. From them they'll learn about the academy. And from there they'll find the students. Our daughter will be exposed.”

“The one thing we can never, ever do is reveal magic to the world. Not out of fear that someone will stop us. Not because we'll be called crackpots. But because we can never let Matti be harmed. This is the secret that we will take to our graves. Do you understand?”

Sheryl stared at him for a long time after that. Her blue eyes studied him. Trying to see all the way into his brain. Her mind was no doubt running through a thousand different options as she tried to work out if what he was saying could possibly be true. Eventually though she must have realised that he was right. No matter what she could never risk their daughter's well being.

“I understand.”

“Good.” James did his best to smile reassuringly at her.

“Now you really do need to get some sleep. You're safe. Matti's safe. That's really all that matters. And while you have a thousand or more questions to ask, I can't answer them. I'm not even supposed to have told you what I have.”

“But in a few days when everything's settled down, I'll take you to see the German. He's a therapist who deals with this sort of thing. He'll be able to tell you much more, no doubt while he's giving me a hard time. He says I'm antisocial. Can you believe that?” James smiled to show it was an attempt at a joke, however poor.

“But he'll help you to deal with the guilt that's been eating you alive and how to relate to a daughter with a very special gift that she's never been able to tell you about either.”

“I think you need to hold on to that. To realise that as terrible and crazy as this night's been, it's actually going to lead to a better time ahead. A better time for Matti too now that she's finally able to tell you what's really going on in her life.”

With that James got up and turned to leave the room only to discover a familiar figure standing in the doorway. “Will?” He was surprised to see him there. A little worried too as he wondered what the cowboy had heard. Or rather how much.

“James, it’s time for you to go home.”

“But –.”

“Uh uh! No buts. In the last few weeks by my reckoning you've been shot at, blown up, falsely arrested, beaten to a pulp and attacked by a girl with a big puppy. You've disobeyed a slew of direct orders, turned the department upside down and earned at least half a dozen complaints. You may even have got us in to a war. Do you have any idea at all how that impacts on my life? How much paperwork I have to fill out because of you? The reports and the meetings I have to attend?”

“No, this case is over and you are going home and I do not expect to see you back in the office for at least three days. Is that perfectly clear?”

James mumbled something at Will, not completely sure if he was in trouble or not. It sounded almost as if he was being given leave. And the cowboy didn't seem particularly upset by what he'd told Sheryl.

“Good. Keys.” Will held out his hand apparently expecting James to put his keys in them.

“Ahh –?”

“You're in no shape to drive. Yasmin will drive you home and someone else will deliver that old bomb of yours to your place later.” Will continued to hold out his hand and eventually James handed him his car keys, realising that he didn't seem to have a choice.

“Thank you.” Will accepted the keys and quickly stuffed them away in a pocket. Then he turned to Sheryl, who was lying there in her bed looking more than a little confused.

“Ma'am your ex-husband may be a little concussed at this stage, and I wouldn't believe a lot that comes out of his mouth at the moment. I wouldn't believe it normally either. But one thing you can be absolutely sure of – you have nothing to worry about. We'll clean this mess up. In the morning things will be back as they were. And you and your daughter are completely safe.”

“Also there's no such thing as witches and wizards.” He waved his hand theatrically and immediately a huge pile of wild flowers popped into existence above her and fell down to cover her bed. “That's just James being fanciful. He really is sleep deprived and has obviously taken a few too many blows to the head.”

“I mean who would believe something so ridiculous as magic?” He waved his hand once more and a giant pink teddy bear appeared in the air to fall on Sheryl. She grabbed at it with both hands, disbelief plastered all over her face.

With that he tipped his hat to her as if he was in some sort of western, and started pushing James out of the room while Sheryl lay there staring with her mouth wide open and clutching a giant pink teddy bear. He even pulled the broken door shut behind them.

“Now you, home and bed. And when you come back we can start talking about partners!”

“A partner?! But I've been good!” James protested.

“Good?” Will raised a quizzical eyebrow. “You call this good?” He glanced pointedly around the hallway. “This is a disaster! And with the mess in Hong Kong you've managed to uncover, the elders want you under more control. Just in case.”

“But you'll like her. She's an actual huntress. Experienced in animal control. Young but willing to learn. And she thought the interview she had with you went well. Bit rough in places. Unregistered too, which means she has to do some community service for us. And some of your questions caught her by surprise. But I think she'll make a great addition to the team.”

“Alysson Thomas?”

“Yes, that's her. I'm glad you recommended her – though next time office hours might be more appropriate for phoning in.”

“Um?” James wasn't quite sure what was happening. Was she even out from under the banshee's control yet? It hadn't even been a couple of days. It had barely been one. And he couldn't imagine why she would want to join them.

“No. No arguments. No “ums”, “ahhs” or “maybes”. You're going home to rest.” Will gave him a push in the direction of Yasmin who was standing there in the hallway. “Senica, he does not come back in the office for at least three days. Tie him down to a bed if you have to, but that's an order.”