Ann Aguirre - Hell Fire

It took every ounce of my strength to step into the tub. For a moment, I clung to the tiled wall, feeling shaky and nauseated. If I had any sense, I wouldn’t push myself; I’d been tested as never before. But then, if I had any sense, we probably would’ve left Kilmer as soon as the mauled dog ran into the road.

I washed up in stages, sometimes pausing to rest in between. Cursing my long hair, I managed to lather and rinse it. Good thing I had some leave-in conditioner with me. I didn’t think I was up to rinsing a second time.

My knees nearly buckled as I came out of the shower. Blindly I felt for the towel Chance had brought me a few days before. I’d hung it on a hook to dry, and happily, it was still there. Shivering, I wrapped myself in it. Brushing my teeth helped steady me too. There was nothing like waking up with the taste of revisited breakfast in your mouth. Once I finished in the bathroom, I traveled back down the hall toward my room, holding on to the wall.

The bedroom was empty when I got back. I guessed Shannon had gone to hang with the guys. I layered in getting dressed: panties, black peasant skirt, red camisole with built-in bra, and black sweater. I’d never be a fashion plate, but I liked being able to strip down if I got too warm. Dizzy from the movement, I sat down on the edge of the mattress and touched my mother’s necklace.

That reminded me.

“Call your mother,” I called to Chance.

“Already did,” he answered. “She’s fine.”

One worry put to bed, at least. I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I checked my cell phone. When I unearthed it, I had voice mail waiting. I dialed, input my code, and listened:

Corine, it’s Booke. Call me when you get a chance. I have some news.

A computer told me I had another message, and then I heard Chuch’s voice:

Wanted to make sure you’re okay, prima. That cop called here asking about you. Now he’s gone lookin’, and I haven’t heard from either of you. Call me back, or Eva will have my ass.

Before we went out and lost service again, I needed to get in touch. I started with Booke. Doing the time conversion, I realized it would be evening there, not that I’d wake him, no matter what time I called. I wasn’t sure he ever slept.

He answered on the first ring, a sure sign he’d been waiting for my call. “Corine?”

“Yep,” I said. “What’s up?”

“I think I’ve figured out why your cell phone only worked in the library.”

Hm. I didn’t have the heart to tell him we’d been banned from the library, and events had outpaced his research. I tried to sound encouraging. “Really? Why?”

His rich, educated voice warmed with the interest he felt toward his subject matter. “Protective sigils are etched into the top of the building; very interesting ones too, from a rare Hermetic tradition, harking back to the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, but also incorporating writings from the Rosicrucian—”

“Good work.” I felt bad about interrupting, but he would give me onerous detail if I let him. “That’s a pretty strange find for a small town in Georgia,” I added.

“To say the least,” he agreed. “It looks to me like there used to be a steeple in the center as well. Is there any possibility the library once served as a church?”

I considered. “It’s down near the old courthouse, so I’m going to say yes. Land records would probably tell us for sure.”

If we hadn’t been banned from the library.

“At any rate, that building was blessed and protected at some point.”

Which didn’t save poor old John McGee. We should probably remember that before putting too much faith in our own wards.

“Anything else I should know?”

“I’m still working on discovering what spell would suck a town into a black hole and create an equivalent dark spot in the ether,” he told me.

I wished him luck with that, thanked him, and rang off. I needed to call Chuch and let him know I was still breathing. That didn’t take long. He seemed glad to hear from me, and warned me that things in Texas were still hot as a nest of scorpions. Montoya had guys looking for me and Chance, he said, and it would be smart of us to stay out of sight.

That trouble felt distant at the moment, so I told him to give Eva my love, and then made my last call. Senor Alvarez reported that the store was doing well, he was taking good care of my plants, and I shouldn’t worry about things at home. I wished that had relieved me, but I wanted to book a flight right then. I didn’t want Alvarez starting to feel comfortable in my pawnshop or in the life I’d built. I wanted to get back to it.

But I couldn’t until I finished things here.

Before leaving the bedroom, I plaited my long hair into a single French braid running down my back and secured it with a nylon band. I found the others waiting for me in the parlor. To a soul, they bore the same concerned expression. Even Butch lifted his head from where he was napping and gave me a worried glance.

“I’m okay,” I said. “Just a bit shaky. I’m sure a home-cooked meal at Miss Minnie’s will work wonders.”

None of them looked convinced, but they didn’t argue. Instead I packed up Butch’s food and water dishes, along with some kibble. Depending on what Miss Minnie put in the soup, it might not be good for the dog. Not that he’d mind. Dogs tended not to care about their health when food was at stake.

“We’re not late?” I asked as we climbed into the SUV.

“Nah.” Jesse shook his head. “We have time. We’re supposed to be there at six?”

Chance nodded. “It’s half past five now.”

I was interested in asking her a number of questions, things only a longtime resident of Kilmer would know. A smart woman like Miss Minnie would have missed nothing over the years; I just had to get her to tell me what she knew.

The ride passed mostly in silence. When we got to town, I gave Jesse directions, and we pulled up outside Miss Minnie’s house at ten to six. Her house didn’t seem to have changed at all—a snug little bungalow painted white with cheerful red shutters.

Chance took my arm as I slid out of the vehicle, a little overprotective but nice. If I wanted more physical contact from him, I couldn’t complain about the way it manifested, could I? Shannon and Jesse followed us up the four stairs to her door, where I knocked.

Miss Minnie answered promptly. As I’d seen outside the library, she was still willow slim, her hair snow-white, and her face wrinkled. She was clad in a button-down dress patterned with a floral print, and her eyes brightened when she saw all of us.

“My goodness,” she said. “It’s so good to have young people in the house again. I hope y’all like corn bread.”

Jesse nodded, Shannon looked ambivalent, and Chance said nothing. Mmm. I remembered her corn bread.

“Thanks. It’s really good to see you.” I gave her a hug because she looked frail and old and she didn’t have her own grandchildren to do it. Sadly, I was probably the closest thing she had to family.

“You too, Corine.” She stepped back to usher us into the small living room.

“I hope you don’t mind. We also brought our dog.”

Almost as if in response, Butch bobbed up from the depth of my handbag and gave Miss Minnie a polite kiss on the back of her hand. She responded with a laugh of pure delight. “Why, he’s the sweetest critter I’ve seen in twenty years.”

Butch preened beneath her attentions and then yapped at me. I was starting to recognize the tone of his barks. This one meant he wanted to get down and make sure the place was safe. I bent and let him get to work; his little nose angled down.

I made the introductions and left it to Chance and Jesse to flatter her within an inch of her life. They didn’t disappoint. Chance complimented the décor and Jesse applied his down-home drawl to tell her that something in her kitchen smelled better than the supper his mama used to make. She blushed and dithered, so it took her a minute to realize she already knew Shannon.