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Authors: Raven Hart
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think that your texts might shed any light on such phenomena?”
“I’ll search for any reference that might be helpful, while I’m researching…the other thing.”
“Yes,” I said as I stoked the fire by prodding a glowing ember with the iron poker. The sparks that shot upward into the chimney reminded me of the ball of fire I’d seen when Jack returned to his body. “‘The other thing’ indeed. Is there any reason to believe that Connie knows any more about her destiny than that she is a Mayan goddess?”
“No, and I don’t know how she could. The sources on the Internet only go so far, and I don’t believe she would find anything useful in even the best libraries. It might occur to her to travel to New Orleans to talk to some of the best voodoo practitioners, but…” Melaphia shrugged but was too modest to continue her thought. She might have pointed out that no other mambo on this continent came close to her own skills. And none had access to the sacred books passed down from Maman Lalee herself.
“Good,” I said. “Keep on searching the texts for anything you can find on the Slayer.”
“And how to kill her.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“Perhaps Jack is right and it won’t come to that,” I said.
“I can only imagine how he reacted when you told him,” she said. “You did tell him, didn’t you?”
“That he would one day have to kill her for both our sakes? Yes. He’s in denial right now, and I’ve decided not to force the issue until we know more.”
“I guess I have my work cut out for me then,” she said, and rose to leave.
“One more thing. I spoke to Seth Walker briefly last night.”
“I heard he was back in town. Werewolf business?”
“Yes. And he said something strange. He’s been having premonitions about serious events coming our way.”
“What kind of serious events?” Melaphia frowned.
“He said he didn’t know specifics. But, as you know, his werewolf instincts are sharper than any of ours when it comes to phenomena in the natural world, so what he senses is worth listening to, no matter how vague.”
“Maybe I should talk to him further about it.” Melaphia gave me a sly smile despite the seriousness of the issue. She was as fond of Seth as all women seemed to be and would no doubt welcome an excuse to seek out his counsel.
As Melaphia joined the others for dinner, I returned downstairs and turned on my computer. The phone rang as the PC powered up, the caller ID indicating that Tobey was calling from the West Coast.
When I answered, he said, “William! It’s great to hear your voice. I was just calling to see if Melaphia had gotten any word from you and Renee yet.”
I thanked Tobey for his concern and gave him a brief recap of what had happened while I was in England, but not about Jack’s own adventure to the underworld. He expressed joy at hearing of Renee’s good health and genuine sorrow at the loss of Eleanor.
As I listened, I realized I needed to warn him about the Slayer. To keep it to myself would be unfair to the other master vampires.
“Try to go easy on yourself about Eleanor, William. It sounds as if you did what you had to do. We all make mistakes from time to time when matters of the heart are involved. I’ve made more than my share myself.”
“I appreciate the understanding, my friend, but let us speak no more about that for the present. I need you to come east again with Iban and Travis. I need to share some additional information that I can’t get into on the phone.”
There was a pause. “Sounds urgent,” Tobey said.
“Very.”
“I’ll talk to my people and reschedule some things. Iban and I will charter a jet and leave as soon as the sun sets. We’ll be there tomorrow night. I’ll put out feelers to try to find Travis, but you know how nomadic he is.”
Travis Rubio, descended from ancient Mayan Indians, roamed throughout the Southwest as well as Central and South America. His value in
“I’ll search for any reference that might be helpful, while I’m researching…the other thing.”
“Yes,” I said as I stoked the fire by prodding a glowing ember with the iron poker. The sparks that shot upward into the chimney reminded me of the ball of fire I’d seen when Jack returned to his body. “‘The other thing’ indeed. Is there any reason to believe that Connie knows any more about her destiny than that she is a Mayan goddess?”
“No, and I don’t know how she could. The sources on the Internet only go so far, and I don’t believe she would find anything useful in even the best libraries. It might occur to her to travel to New Orleans to talk to some of the best voodoo practitioners, but…” Melaphia shrugged but was too modest to continue her thought. She might have pointed out that no other mambo on this continent came close to her own skills. And none had access to the sacred books passed down from Maman Lalee herself.
“Good,” I said. “Keep on searching the texts for anything you can find on the Slayer.”
“And how to kill her.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“Perhaps Jack is right and it won’t come to that,” I said.
“I can only imagine how he reacted when you told him,” she said. “You did tell him, didn’t you?”
“That he would one day have to kill her for both our sakes? Yes. He’s in denial right now, and I’ve decided not to force the issue until we know more.”
“I guess I have my work cut out for me then,” she said, and rose to leave.
“One more thing. I spoke to Seth Walker briefly last night.”
“I heard he was back in town. Werewolf business?”
“Yes. And he said something strange. He’s been having premonitions about serious events coming our way.”
“What kind of serious events?” Melaphia frowned.
“He said he didn’t know specifics. But, as you know, his werewolf instincts are sharper than any of ours when it comes to phenomena in the natural world, so what he senses is worth listening to, no matter how vague.”
“Maybe I should talk to him further about it.” Melaphia gave me a sly smile despite the seriousness of the issue. She was as fond of Seth as all women seemed to be and would no doubt welcome an excuse to seek out his counsel.
As Melaphia joined the others for dinner, I returned downstairs and turned on my computer. The phone rang as the PC powered up, the caller ID indicating that Tobey was calling from the West Coast.
When I answered, he said, “William! It’s great to hear your voice. I was just calling to see if Melaphia had gotten any word from you and Renee yet.”
I thanked Tobey for his concern and gave him a brief recap of what had happened while I was in England, but not about Jack’s own adventure to the underworld. He expressed joy at hearing of Renee’s good health and genuine sorrow at the loss of Eleanor.
As I listened, I realized I needed to warn him about the Slayer. To keep it to myself would be unfair to the other master vampires.
“Try to go easy on yourself about Eleanor, William. It sounds as if you did what you had to do. We all make mistakes from time to time when matters of the heart are involved. I’ve made more than my share myself.”
“I appreciate the understanding, my friend, but let us speak no more about that for the present. I need you to come east again with Iban and Travis. I need to share some additional information that I can’t get into on the phone.”
There was a pause. “Sounds urgent,” Tobey said.
“Very.”
“I’ll talk to my people and reschedule some things. Iban and I will charter a jet and leave as soon as the sun sets. We’ll be there tomorrow night. I’ll put out feelers to try to find Travis, but you know how nomadic he is.”
Travis Rubio, descended from ancient Mayan Indians, roamed throughout the Southwest as well as Central and South America. His value in
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