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I recited an incantation and William inhaled sharply as the air was sucked from his lungs. His mouth opened and closed, struggling to breathe. I mentally counted to twenty, then ended the spell. He doubled over, gasping.
"Shit," Carlos said. "Never seen witch magic like that."
"And, on that note, we'll take our leave," Lucas said. "Good night."
He led me around William and out of the courthouse parking lot.
"We need to stay on this case," I said as Lucas lowered me onto the hotel room bed. "Now more than ever. If the Cabals keep bickering, the killer will have a heyday."
"Um-hmm."
Lucas bent to tug off my pumps. I pulled my leg back to do it myself, but he waved me away and removed them, then folded back the covers. I started unbuttoning my blouse. He nudged my hands aside and did it for me.
"Weber didn't just coincidentally create that list of potential victims," I said. "He did it for someone. He had access to the files and knew how to extract the data. If we can contact his spirit, he should be able to lead us to the killer...or point us in the right direction."
"Um-hmm." Lucas tugged off my skirt and folded it.
"I know a few good necros. We can call one in the morning."
Lucas tucked my legs under the covers. "Um-hmm."
"First thing we need to do is--"
I crashed into sleep.
I was in a forest, doing a ceremony with Lucas. Someone banged on a door, which, of course, seemed odd under the circumstances, but my brain, perhaps recognizing I was asleep, overlooked the illogic, and my dream-self yelled at the intruder to leave us alone.
Another triple knock, louder this time. The forest evaporated and I clawed up from bed. Lucas's arms went around me, gently restraining.
"Shhh," he whispered. "Go back to sleep."
Another knock. I jumped, but he ignored it.
"They'll go away," he said.
And they did. I snuggled against his bare chest. Sleep tugged at me. I surrendered and felt myself drifting under again when the bedside phone buzzed.
"Ignore it," Lucas whispered.
Five rings. Then silence. I relaxed again, stretched out--Da-da-di. Da-da-di.
"Isn't that..." I mumbled into a yawn.
"My cell phone." A sigh rippled through him. "I should have turned it off. I'll answer it and get rid of him. Perhaps I can reach--" He twisted and sighed again. "Of course not."
He slid from the bed and retrieved the cell phone from his suit coat. When his tone changed, I knew it wasn't Benicio. I propped myself up on the pillow. His gaze shunted to me, brows knitting. I mouthed, "Who is it?"
"Yes, well, your timing is...interesting," he said into the phone. "Just a moment, please." He covered the mouthpiece. "It's Jaime."
"Did you call her?"
He shook his head. "She heard what happened today and thinks she might be able to help. She's outside."
I pushed back the covers and swung out my feet. "Perfect. Not my first choice, but the sooner we can contact Weber, the better."
He opened his mouth, as if to argue, then snapped it shut, and told Jaime he'd be right there.
Waking the Dead
