Kelley Armstrong - No Humans Involved

"Sorry, but my sword outranks your…" she glanced at my hand, "sock puppet."

"It's a glass shard," I said, lifting it.

Her lips twitched. "Ah." A pause and she sobered. "You're right, Jaime. You had her, and maybe I should have let you take her down, but this?" She lifted the sword. "Less messy. In more ways than one."

She lay down the weapon as May's spirit began to separate from her body.

I stared at the sword. It was at least four feet long and inscribed with symbols. As the metal glowed, I remembered stories my Nan had told me of necromancers at executions or deaths of criminals, seeing spirits bearing glowing swords, come to claim the souls. The Sword of Judgment. Not a weapon wielded by just any ghost.

"You're a-an-" I couldn't get the word out. "The job you do for the Fates. You're an… angel?"

"Maybe." She winked. "Or maybe I just swiped the sword."

She grabbed May's silent spirit by the shoulders, yanked her free and disappeared.

I stood there, staring at the spot where they'd vanished. Then I heard a thump. I glanced toward the living room, expecting to see the cat again. The noise came again, from downstairs, I was late for an appointment.

THE KILLING room was remarkably clean. I guess I should have known that. Jeremy and Karl didn't need to Change into wolves. Part of being such efficient killers was knowing how to kill efficiently.

Four bodies lay in the room, all with broken necks. The only blood came from Karl's nose. Elbowed in the melee. He gave Jeremy a few seconds to examine it, then hurried to Hope.

Once Jeremy discovered May was dead, and I was fine, it was time to consider body disposal. He knew more about crime-scene cleanup than anyone should. He'd said before that it was a necessary "skill" for the Alpha-when he sent Clayton and Elena to stop a man-killing mutt, they often had to clean up. As Alpha, though, he would only need to teach the skills. Yet watching him that day, I remembered what he'd said about having to cover his father's kills.

Whatever my mother had done to me, it paled in comparison to that.

BEFORE THEY removed the bodies, Jeremy checked on Hope too. As I waited in the hall, Eve returned with Kristof.

"Got a couple of bodies for us to look after too, I see," she said.

She waved through the doorway into the TV room, where Brendan and Murray waited, quiet, lost in their thoughts. I explained. When I finished, I headed over to Brendan.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"I-" He blinked, dazed, as if the fact of his death was only hitting him now, after he'd escaped the room where he'd died. "I guess so."

"I'll take him," Kristof said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He walked to the young man, his hand outstretched. "Brendan, isn't it?"

He shook Kristof's hand. "Y-yes, sir."

"Kristof." He put his arm around the boy's shoulders and led him from the room. "Is there anyplace you'd like to visit before we go, Brendan?"

Their voices faded as they headed up the stairs. Eve walked to Murray, who sprang off the sofa.

"There are some places I'd like to visit," he said. "See my wife one last time and-"

"You should have thought of that before you butchered six kids," Eve said. "Judgment awaits, and it's getting impatient."

"B-but I helped you guys. Ask-"

He tried to turn toward me, but Eve grabbed his arm.

"Take it up with the Fates."

As they disappeared, Jeremy stepped into the room. "Jaime? Time to go."

JEREMY HAD Karl take Hope and me to her apartment, then he returned to help Jeremy finish the cleanup. During those two hours we spent alone, Hope didn't say a word about what had happened. Instead she worked to make a big meal, as if feeding the men when they returned was mission critical.

When the men did arrive, Jeremy ate, but it seemed more out of politeness than hunger. Then we left. On the way to the car, I said, "So you could follow my trail from the house? I wasn't sure you could."

He hesitated, and I knew he was considering whether to lie, then shook his head and said, "There wasn't a trail. They must have driven you over."

"So how did you know…?" I let the sentence trail off and dug the rune sketch from my pocket. "This?"

"A magical homing device?" He smiled. "I wish it was that simple. I sensed you, as I do sometimes with the Pack. I could tell you were in trouble, came back, found that you and Hope were gone. Then I found you. Somehow."

I fingered the rune.

He shook his head. "Clay and Elena don't carry the ones I did for them, and I've never done any for the rest of the Pack. "Whatever let me find you, it's not a piece of paper."

"Well, then, you won't mind if I have it made into a necklace, right? Or, all things considered, maybe a tattoo."

He smiled and pulled me into a kiss.

THE GROUP MEMBERS REMAINED AT LARGE, but the council would convene to discuss that. What remained now was the resolution of my primary goal: freeing the children's spirits. Eve and the Fates had "interrogated" May Donovan and now understood what had happened. As for whether it was a fluke or the start of some evolutionary change in the supernatural world… that remained to be seen.

As for what had happened, Eve said only that the children's spirits had been drained by the magic, which was pretty much what we'd already suspected. If there was a more complex explanation, I wasn't getting it. Maybe Eve didn't think I'd understand, not being a spell-caster. Or maybe the Fates didn't dare go into detail, hoping that if no one in our plane understood, then it couldn't be replicated.

The explanation didn't concern me. All I wanted to know was could we undo it? Could we set the children free? The answer was yes.

Returning to the Brentwood garden wasn't easy. While I had a good reason to return-I was still in residence-I'd likely find myself taken aside for questioning the moment I appeared. I hadn't been anywhere near Angelique's body so we weren't too concerned about the police investigation. Was it safer, then, to plod through the interrogation, then slip out and release the spirits? Or should we sneak back and conduct the ritual right away?

Jeremy, Eve and Kristof debated the options. I acted as "translator," but didn't enter into the discussion. My mind was made up. I had to free those children. No one else could do it for me, and I wasn't taking the chance that I would be prevented from doing so, or even delayed.

I readied my arguments, but didn't need them. No one wanted to wait.

EVE HAD Kristof scouted the garden recruiting and organizing Tansy, Gabrielle and the other ghosts to stand guard. We mapped out all police activity and devised a route that would take us into the garden from the neighbor's yard, and keep us away from the crime scene.

Then Jeremy Changed. Even in human form, he'd be quicker to pick up approaching officers than the ghosts, but if seen on a crime scene, he'd be in trouble. A canine, on the other hand, was just a nuisance-warranting a call to the dogcatcher at most. And, if I needed a distraction, a huge black dog would be just the thing.

THE SPOT Eve had chosen for the ritual was ringed with ghosts, most of whom I'd never seen before. They said nothing, as if they feared distracting me. A smile here, a nod there, then they returned to their solemn vigil.

I walked along the path, down the gauntlet of guards. My kit was in the house, but I didn't need it. My role here was simple. I was the magnet to draw the children from wherever they were hiding.

"Are you here?" I whispered.

Silence. Something moved to my left and I looked over sharply, but it was only a breeze rippling the rose bushes.

"Hello?" I said, as loud as I dared. "I'm back. Are you still here?"

No one answered.