Larkspur (29 page)

Jeraine scowled.

“
What would satisfy you?”
Liban asked.

“
Probably nothing,”
Jeraine said. “The girl is in a panel in the wall.”

The woman went into the birthing room. She
walked around the men and went to the wall. She snapped her
fingers, and the hidden door opened. She leaned in. When she came
up, there were tears in her eyes. She did her best to hide them.
She closed the door and snapped her fingers. To Jeraine’s eyes, the
cabinet disappeared from sight.

“
She will be safe,” Liban
said. “What is her name?”

“
They call her Katy,”
Jeraine said.

“
Katy.” Liban gave him a
beaming smile and disappeared.

His friend, the singing gargoyle,
reappeared.

“
You made a big
impression,” the singing gargoyle said.

“
How so?” Jeraine
asked.

“
The question about
overthrowing the queen,” the singing gargoyle said. “It’s true that
fairies would not do it, but other’s might. We gargoyles are male
fairies, warriors. We will investigate. If someone is trying to
overthrow fairydom, we will get to the bottom of it. We always
have; we always will.”

“
How you feeling?” Jeraine
asked.

“
Sick.” The gargoyle
smiled at Jeraine. “Head hurts like hell and I’m woozy.”

“
Been there,
bro.”

“
Yes you have,” the
gargoyle said. “You have to get back to your seat.”

“
Why?” Jeraine
asked.

“
They’re gonna look for
you,” the gargoyle said.

Jeraine sat down and put his hands behind
his back.

“
Should I put you out?”
the gargoyle asked.

“
You’ll keep watch?”
Jeraine asked.

“
I will make sure that no
harm comes to you or any of these people, including the woman in
labor,” the gargoyle said. “You have my word. Now, go to
sleep.”

Jeraine was asleep in an instant.

Chapter Two
Hundred and Sixty-five
Weird phone call

Friday night — 10:25 p.m. MST

Denver, Colorado

“
I just got the weirdest
call,” Bumpy said into his cell phone.

“
Oh yeah?” Seth asked.
“Are you spreading the love?”

Bumpy laughed. He heard a machine whirring
in the background.

“
Where are you?” Bumpy
asked.

“
Getting my blood
filtered,” Seth said. Bumpy didn’t say anything, so Seth said,
“Where are you?”

Bumpy laughed again.

“
What’s . . .?” Seth said at the same moment
Bumpy said, “I don’t . . .”

They laughed.

“
What’s going on?” Seth
asked.

“
I got this weird phone
call,” Bumpy said.

“
You said that,” Seth
laughed.

“
Yeah,” Bumpy
said.

“
What was weird about the
call?” Seth asked.

“
It was s’posed to be my
son, you know, Jeraine?” Bumpy’s voice was vague.

“
I do know Jeraine,” Seth
laughed.

Bumpy didn’t respond.

“
Okay, you’re weirding me
out,” Seth said.

“
Weirder than having your
blood filtered?” Bumpy asked.

Seth laughed, and Bumpy chuckled.

“
Lay it out for me, step
by step. Don’t leave anything out.”

“
My phone rang,” Bumpy
said. “I’ve been working on this gang rape thing with the police
and the kids and the mothers and the community leaders — hell,
everybody breathing, practically. We’re getting up at the crack of
dawn and going to bed late. I was worn out, so I went to bed after
dinner and . . . Anyway, I was asleep.”

“
Dionne there?” Seth
asked.

“
No,” Bumpy said. “I was
with my hot, young girlfriend.”

Seth laughed.

“
Your girlfriend?”
Dionne’s voice came from the background. “What are you talking
about?”

“
Who else gonna be in my
bed?” Bumpy asked.

“
If you want to live,”
Dionne said.

Seth laughed.

“
Anyway, I’m sound
asleep,” Bumpy said. “The damned-fool cellphone rings. I pick it up
and there’s a voice on the phone.”

“
A voice?”

“
It sounded like Jeraine,”
Bumpy said. “But it wasn’t.”

“
How do you know it wasn’t
Jer?” Seth asked.

“
I don’t know,” Bumpy
said. “It just wasn’t. The voice said that he was at Jacob’s house.
Jill was in labor, and some men were holding them hostage. He
thought they’d been gassed.”

“
Gassed?” Seth
asked.

“
Yeah,” Bumpy said. “He
said he just woke up and his hands were tied behind his back. Jill
was in labor, but the men were going to steal the
babies.”

Seth didn’t respond.

“
You’re not saying
anything,” Bumpy said.

“
I’m thinking,” Seth said.
“He said, ‘Jacob’s house’?”

“
Right,” Bumpy said. “I’ve
never heard anyone call it anything other than the Castle. Plus,
doesn’t Delphie own that thing?”

“
Yes,” Seth said.
“Technically, it’s Delphie’s house.”

“
See what I mean?” Bumpy
asked.

“
Do you think someone was
monitoring the call?” Seth asked.

“
No,” Bumpy said. “Just a
sec.”

Seth heard Bumpy move through the house.

“
You think our boy’s in
trouble?” Bumpy asked in the background. He turned back to the
phone. “I’m asking Dionne.”

“
I do,” Dionne said. “Our
boy’s in trouble.”

“
You know anything about
this, O’Malley?” Bumpy asked.

“
I talked to Jake a couple
hours ago,” Seth said. “We walked through a dilemma he was
having.”

“
Which was?” Bumpy
asked.

“
It’s going to sound
stupid,” Seth said.

“
Stupid I can do,” Bumpy
said. “But my boy . . . He’s just starting his life
again, and Tanesha’s by his side, and I see all these boys caught
up in this rape crap, and . . . I’m going to help
him, whatever it takes.”

“
Of course,” Seth
said.

“
So what’s your
stupid-sounding thing?” Bumpy said.

“
You ever hear the story
of the kingdom of Marle?” Seth asked.

“
Actually, I have,” Bumpy
said. “It’s a children’s book. We have it.”

“
You do?” Seth
asked.

“
It was in a stack of old
children’s books someone gave us when we were first starting out,”
Bumpy said. “Some of them are old spirituals; that book is hand
drawn . . . ”

“
Can you ask Dionne to go
get it?” Seth asked.

“
Sure.” Bumpy started
walking again. Seth heard water running in the background. “Dionne
wants to know if it’s crucial.”

“
It’s at the very center
of what’s going on,” Seth said.

Bumpy and Dionne talked back and forth.

“
How are you feeling?”
Bumpy asked.

“
Pissed off,” Seth said.
“I can’t believe I still have to do this.”

“
I bet,” Bumpy said. “How
are the other men?”

“
Same shape,” Seth said.
“Saint Jude really screwed us.”

“
Hmm,” Bumpy said. “How’s
Ava?”

“
Oh Lord,” Seth said.
“Gorgeous, strong, devastated about her father.”

“
I bet,” Bumpy
said.

“
How’s the case going?”
Seth asked.

“
Hard, sad,” Bumpy said.
“Most of the boys had the tape. Their mothers are distraught. The
police haven’t figured out what to do with them. Those stuffed
shirts from the government are specific about what they want to
happen. It’s just a mess. Okay, Dionne’s back. I have the
book.”

“
Jake’s in the Isle of Man
trying to reverse the curse set upon the Marles by the Celts,” Seth
said.

“
You mean the book is
factual?” Bumpy asked.

“
Sort of,” Seth said. “You
don’t happen to have the last ten pages, do you?”

“
Sure,” Bumpy said.
“What’s this got to do with my boy?”

“
I’d guess he went to be
with Tanesha,” Seth said. “Jill must be in labor. Something
happened and he’s trying to get our help.”

“
Why the funny voice?”
Bumpy asked.

“
I’d guess the fairies
intervened,” Seth said.

“
The fairies?” Bumpy’s
voice betrayed his disbelief.

“
The queen of Marle is
Fand, the fairy queen,” Seth said.

“
Dionne, can you look up
Fand the fairy queen?” Bumpy asked. “It’s for this.”

“
Jake is trying to save
Fand the fairy queen,” Seth said. “Jeraine probably asked the
fairies to call you for help, knowing you’d call me. But the
fairies made the call because they want help.”

“
So we have to figure out
how to help my son,” Bumpy said. “Do we have to help the
fairies?”

“
If we don’t, we won’t be
able to save Jeraine,” Seth said. “And you know, if Jer’s there,
Tanesha, Sandy, their friends, Sandy’s
kids . . .”

“
They’re in danger too,”
Bumpy said. “So what do we do?”

“
Can you read me the rest
of the book?” Seth asked.

“
I’ll get Dionne to do
it,” Bumpy said. “She’s better at it, and I have to
pee.”

Seth heard Bumpy talking in the
background.

“
Here she is,” Bumpy
said.

“
Seth?” Dionne asked. “Is
my son okay?”

“
I think he needs our
help,” Seth said.

“
And this will
help?”

“
I sure hope so,” Seth
said.

“
I heard my husband tell
you we got these books when we started his practice,” Dionne said.
“These books are from Yvonne’s Aunt Ne Ne. They’re worth a small
fortune, that’s why we have some of them at home. Ne Ne gave them
to Yvonne when she married Rodney. Yvonne could have bought a house
by selling them, but you know Yvie, she wanted us to have them. She
doesn’t trust anything she didn’t earn with her own
hands.”

“
Rodney’s at the job
site,” Seth said. “Tanesha would have gone to get Yvonne. She must
be with Jeraine.”

“
Then we’ll use Aunt Ne
Ne’s books to save her,” Dionne said. “Where would you like me to
start?”

“
Near the back,” Seth
said. “When the Celts attack.”

“
Ok,” Dionne said. “The
queen of Marle raised the veil and . . .”

~~~~~~~~

Friday night — 10:45 p.m. MST

Denver, Colorado

“
What are you doing?” the
man in wool slacks asked the young man who was standing in the
middle of the medical office waiting room.

The young man glanced at the man in wool
slacks, and then went back to staring at Yvonne.

“
That’s the hottest woman
I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” the young man said.
“Ever.”

“
You’ve been staring at
her for fifteen minutes,” the man in wool slacks said.

“
Ain’t nothin’ else to
do,” the young man said.

“
You could help in there,”
the man in wool slacks said.

“
Help do what?” the young
man asked. “Ain’t nothing going on.”

The young man hadn’t stopped staring at
Yvonne. The man in wool slacks looked at the young man and then at
the woman sitting on the ground.

“
You think I
could . . .” The young man looked at the man in wool
slacks. “She makes me hot; every time I look away, I want her even
more.”

“
You’re asking my
permission to rape this woman while she’s unconscious?” the man in
wool slacks asked. He spat at the young man. “You disgust
me.”

“
Yeah, but you didn’t say
no.” The young man pointed at the man in wool slacks. “You thought
the same damned thing.”

The man in wool slacks punched the young man
in the face. The young man stumbled back. Regaining his footing,
the young man rushed the man in wool slacks.

“
She’s mine,” the young
man said. “I saw her first.”

The man in wool slacks fell back against the
wall before kneeing the young man in the groin. The men traded
punches.

“
What the hell are you
doing?” Rubén asked.

“
He wants to rape that
woman,” the man in wool slacks said.

“
Get rid of him,” Rubén
said. “We have come too far to get sidetracked now.”

Before the young man could react, the man in
wool slacks pulled out a silenced handgun and shot the young man in
the forehead. Blood splattered the wall behind him and sprayed the
teenagers sitting below. The man in wool slacks spat on the young
man.

“
I said get rid of him!”
Rubén said.

The man in wool slacks scowled at Rubén. He
picked up the young man’s feet and dragged him out into the
hallway. He had to step over the blood smear on the floor to get
back into the waiting room. He was checking the bottom of his shoes
when he caught a glimpse of Yvonne. He stared at her.