Be My Banshee (Purple Door Detective Agency Book 1) (23 page)

“I think we should go outside and shoot her,” Lloyd said. “What’s the point of hiding in here? She’s just going to come in and kill us.”

“No,” Aine said. “No one leaves the castle when it is under siege.”

There was a loud rumbling from beneath them. The sound grew louder as it came closer.

“Upstairs!” Sunshine yelled.

But it was too late.

The harpy came under the building, through the floor, with a screech that shook the structure. Her eyes glanced around the room until they fell on Sunshine. She grabbed the witch by the shoulders and started digging back out through the floor.

O’Neill and Lloyd began firing. It was difficult to tell if they were hitting anything. Ruptured wood and stone had spewed up with the harpy. The waiting room was covered with it.

Aine didn’t think twice. She threw herself down the hole after them. The bullets meant nothing to her. She grabbed the harpy’s scaled leg and pulled hard. Her strength was enough that she jerked the creature backward. The harpy raked her arms with her other foot but found there was nothing there to injure.

Once the harpy was back in the office, Aine beat at her midsection with her fists, trying to make her release Sunshine. With no magic—only her inability not to die—all she could do was keep the creature immobilized.

“Shoot it!” she called out. “O’Neill, shoot the creature now.”

“You’re in the way,” he yelled back. “She’s moving too fast. I’ll shoot you too.”

The harpy freed one clawed hand from its grasp on the witch and raked it across Aine’s face. Jane gasped as she saw the damage done, but before the creature could move again, Aine had transformed into the crone.

“You cannot defeat me by changing shape,” the harpy hissed at her. “I shall have the witch’s life. There’s nothing you can do to prevent it.”

Aine already knew that the deep gouges into the Sunshine’s chest and back could be the death of her, yet she held on to the harpy with fierce strength. “You underestimate me. Your cries are those of a mewling child compared to mine.”

The death cry of the
beane sidhe
fell on the ears of those around her like a bomb going off. O’Neill finally began shooting at the creature as Aine kept the harpy at bay while it writhed, trying to escape the sound that came from her opponent.

All three shifters fell to the floor with their hands over their ears. Both cats cried out in pain as they were exposed to the unearthly sound.

Still the harpy clutched Sunshine, her claws sinking deeper into the witch’s flesh. She kept tearing at Aine, even though it was evident there was no human body to assail.

Aine knew this was all she could do. She didn’t have Sunshine’s practical magic that could form a sword or an elevator to defeat the creature. O’Neill and Lloyd kept firing their rifles, joined a moment later by Tom. The bullets bounced off the iron hide of the harpy, inflicting little, if any, damage. Their strength together could only keep the creature from taking Sunshine and departing through the floor again.

“That’s enough!”

No one was certain at first who had shouted the words. The tone and voice penetrated both the harpy’s screams and the
beane sidhe’s
wail. It even pierced the staccato of gunfire in the room.

Aine looked back and saw Mr. Bad emerging from his office. He was as she remembered from long ago when she’d been stripped of her right to rest in the quiet of the underworld. Centuries later, he hadn’t changed.

He stalked across the room, easily eight feet tall with black skin and blacker hair. His eyes were made of the night that he’d witnessed for ten thousand years trapped in the underworld created by his brother, Zeus, who sought to keep him from the earth.

One large hand reached down and easily held the harpy. “You will not take her. It is not her time. And you can no longer remain here.”

Aine pulled Sunshine close to her and signaled for O’Neill to stop shooting. She didn’t need to bother—he, Lloyd, and Tom were transfixed by the ancient god in their midst. They had stopped firing as soon as they’d seen him.  The mouse and the lion lay down before the might of the one they’d jokingly called Mr. Bad.

“I only want what’s mine,” the harpy lisped. “They took it from me. I won’t leave until I have it.”

Midnight eyes focused on the creature nearly as ancient as himself. His hand slowly stroked the metallic wings and scaled body. “You have been wronged, as have all your ancestors. You will leave this place and not return, but you will not leave alone.”

He glanced toward his office, and the egg came to him. He placed it in the harpy’s claws.

“Thank you, dark lord.” The harpy bowed her head. “Happily shall I leave this realm now and never be summoned again.”

“So it shall be.” Hades looked around at the faces that dared gaze upon him. O’Neill knew no better. Aine had nothing to fear. The shifters had hidden their eyes from him.

“What are you waiting for, Aine?” he asked. “You know I have no power to heal. Take Miss Merryweather to her family. Tend her well. She must survive.”

“My lord.” Aine respectfully inclined her head to him. She took a quick glance at O’Neill, still holding his rifle, and then rose to ride the wind to the place the witch had last visited.

“Uh…excuse me,” O’Neill interrupted. “Are you a witch too?”

The trembling words amused the elder god. He smiled, despite the arrogance it took to speak to him—or perhaps it was courage. “No. I am not a witch. I leave that to Miss Merryweather. Good day to you, young sir.”

O’Neill watched him disappear through the floor with the harpy and the egg before he lost consciousness.

Chapter Twenty-five

Three weeks later, Sunshine Merryweather returned to her purple-doored home. Jane hugged her and cried when she saw her.

“Everyone’s gone—I was glad to see the cats go! But I wasn’t sure if I had enough food to last. I even thought about going to the grocery store myself, but I was waiting until the last seed was gone. I’m so glad you’re back.”

Sunshine frowned at the huge mess still waiting for her. She closed her eyes and shrugged. As she did, so did the old building. When it was over, things were back in place, including the floor, outside bricks, and the front window. “There we are. Where is everyone?”

“If you mean Aine, I haven’t seen her since she took you to Wilmington. By the way, you look wonderful. I’m so glad your family was able to heal you.”

“My Aunt Molly said I was in pretty bad shape when Aine brought me there. I’m glad they’d met before. I don’t know what would’ve happened if she’d shown up with me like that before she had a chance to explain.”

“Well, she never came back. I waited. O’Neill called a few times and came over here a few other times. He hasn’t heard anything from her either.”

The door was open to Mr. Bad’s office. Sunshine went closer to it and peered into the darkness.

“He’s gone too,” Jane explained. “After he showed his real form, he took the harpy and the egg with him and disappeared. It was like some mass exodus from the agency. I didn’t know what to say or do. That’s why I’m so glad to see you. And there’s the food situation. But I guess I mentioned that.”

“You did.” Sunshine sat in her purple office chair and kicked off her purple pumps. “Any business calls?”

“Yes. Dozens of them. Do you want me to get them before you go shopping?”

Considering the question, Sunshine absently rubbed the place where the harpy had slashed her. There was nothing to mar her smooth complexion, but she could still feel it. Her aunt had told her it was all in her mind. Sunshine knew she’d forget it after a while, but it was part of an experience that had changed her life. It would take some time.

Not only had John been killed but Mr. Bad had finally revealed himself after five years. She had no idea who he was until the day he’d saved her life—although she should’ve guessed from Aine’s questions about him.

Meeting Aine had been part of that experience. She’d hoped the
beane sidhe
would stay on as her associate. Her strength and determination had also played a part in making sure Sunshine had survived the harpy. The last thing she remembered was seeing Aine’s face before she’d held her tight and taken her to Wilmington. She really didn’t want to lose that friendship. Why would she have disappeared, even out of O’Neill’s life, after she’d come so far to find him?

The answer was obvious, of course, to everyone but Aine herself. Sunshine briefly wondered where she’d gone, but that too seemed to have an easy answer.

She glanced at Mr. Bad’s office again and questioned if he’d return. She had a million things to say to him. But he wouldn’t be as easy as Aine to find.

“Sunshine?” Jane asked, moving so she was in her face. “Are you going shopping? It’s been days since I had any cereal.”

“Sure. I’m going shopping, and then I’m going to get O’Neill. Can you keep things going for just a little longer? I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Jane nibbled at her fingernail. “Okay. Will you drop the food off first?”

* * *

Police detectives Sean O’Neill and Sharon Malto were bringing in a man who’d been wanted for the last ten years. He was accused of killing his best friend, a man he’d grown up with. They’d received a good tip on a cold case that was going to make their captain smile.

As they were dragging the man up the stairs and into the Norfolk Police Office, Sunshine Merryweather appeared next to O’Neill and tapped him on the shoulder.

He almost lost his grip on the struggling killer. “Hey. Can’t you just walk up like everyone else? I’m busy. Maybe later.”

“Is she back again?” Malto demanded in an irritated tone. “I think she gave me the flu. You know, you’re gonna get a reputation if you go out with a new girlfriend every other week.”

“We need to take a road trip,” Sunshine said, her eyes focused on O’Neill. “There’s someone who needs to see you.”

“Aine? Did you find her?”

“Another one?” Malto said. “Forget it. You’ve already gone past having a reputation.”

“I know where she is. She won’t come back unless we go get her.”

The happy expression on O’Neill’s face disappeared. “I’m not dragging her back here if she doesn’t want to be my
beane sidhe
anymore. I was getting through life just fine without her singing my death song every five minutes and changing back and forth on what she looks like. Besides, I’ve got work to do.”

“This will only take a few minutes,” Sunshine assured him. “I’m sure Detective Malto would be glad to do the paperwork on this perp for you.”

“What are you talking about?” Malto questioned. “I’m not doing the paperwork so Romeo here can go find some other lovesick female to hang out with.”

“I won’t make you go, O’Neill,” Sunshine said. “If you say no and mean it, I’m out of here. But you’ll regret it the rest of whatever life you have.”

He stared into her flashing eyes. “I know. I’ve known since that first night in my apartment.”

“Okay. That’s enough for me. I don’t want to know any more.” Malto grabbed the killer by the scruff of his neck. “Come on, you. I’d rather do the paperwork than have to hear about O’Neill’s weird love life.”

Sunshine smiled and thanked Detective Malto. “How are you feeling? I hope you got over the flu without any other complications.”

“Yeah. I feel okay. I’ve had a few strange dreams about flying, and I keep smelling sage. But otherwise, I’m good. Get out of here, O’Neill. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He went with Sunshine toward the side of the building until they found a quiet spot near a dumpster. She put her hand on his shoulder.

“Before we go, my car hasn’t been released from impound,” she told him. “How much longer is that going to take?”

“Considering that I can’t tell anyone what really happened and Irene Godfrey’s death remains unsolved, I’d say three to six months.”

“Anything you can do to speed it up?”

“This isn’t a parking ticket, Sunshine. It takes what it takes.”

“Just checking. Okay. Let’s go.”

A few minutes later, O’Neill found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. Parts of a once great castle, now abandoned and falling to rubble, towered near him. The ruins were set on a hill overlooking a large body of water. The stones were covered in emerald green moss and tiny, purple flowers. Trees and shrubs grew up between the stones and lichen that covered almost everything else.

He checked his cell phone—no signal. Sunshine was gone. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing there except for a single imperative—bring his
beane sidhe
back where she belonged. “All I have to do is figure out how to find her.” But he didn’t have to worry about searching for her. It only took a moment for Aine to feel his presence.

“Castle O’Neill, I guess.” He shrugged and glanced around himself. “Is that the ocean over there?”

“Shane’s Castle,” she corrected. “Built in 1345 by a member of the O’Neill family. The name was changed in 1722 by Shane McBrien O’Neill. The loch is Loch Neagh. Your ancestor, Hugh O’Neill, left here in 1730 aboard a ship bound for America. But this was his home.”

“Amazing! His eyes stayed on her.

“But you did not come for a history lesson. What are you doing here?” She also glanced around. “Did Sunshine bring you to this place?”

“Yes. And I’m not sure how I’m going to get back—I didn’t bring my passport. I guess I’ll appeal to the U.S. Embassy and tell them I was mugged or something. Better that than flying anywhere with her again. That witch is crazy.”

He smiled as he spoke to her, his gaze resting lightly on her face, happy to see her.

“I understand how you came, but I do not understand why you are here, O’Neill.”

“You can’t stay here.” He swallowed hard and then launched into the rest of it. “I need you with me, right? How else am I going to learn the secrets of the
beane sidhe
and have someone warn me when I’m about to die? How will I get to the underworld?”

She looked away from him toward the distant shore. “With your work, I would be singing to warn you of death every day. I fear I am not up to the task. Go home. Be fortunate in your life. I shall be at your side when you die.”