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  “Sorry,” I mumbled, hoping to get inside without embarrassing myself. “I guess I didn’t hear that part.”

  Debbie came around, and they each took one arm. Lucas assured me repeatedly that Kate was fine. I could see Addie watching us through the back window—she couldn’t manifest outside the house. Her face was so clear. I could tell she was worried.

  “Is that her?” Debbie whispered, nodding that way.

  “Yes. Don’t worry. She isn’t scary, just annoying sometimes.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of another vehicle pulling into the drive. I didn’t really care who it was now that I was home.

  Lucas turned back when we got to the door. “Are you anticipating another arrival?”

  “No. Let’s just get inside.”

  Debbie stopped abruptly. “It’s Abe’s necromancer, Skye. He probably came to check on us.”

  I didn’t like that idea. I didn’t want any zombies, or necromancers, hanging out here at the house when I wasn’t home. There had to be some of Kate’s life that was normal.

  “Get rid of him,” I whispered to her. “He can yell at us about the screw up later.”

  She gnawed her lip. “Okay. What should I say?”

  Before she could speak, I heard Jasper’s voice call out as he pointed toward us. “You! What are you doing here?”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  He was pointing at Lucas. Did they know each other? How was that possible when Lucas wasn’t sure who he was?

  “Have I made your acquaintance, good sir?” he asked Jasper in a pleasant tone.

  “I knew it!” Jasper stamped his foot, and wildly waved the sword he held. “I didn’t know it was you, per se, but I felt the presence of another. I could smell your magic on the woman.”

  Seriously? Was that why he’d stared at me that way back at the tattoo shop?

  My head hurt even more.

  Debbie pushed me out of the way as Jasper came screaming at Lucas with his sword held high. “Get down!” She fell on top of me, trying desperately to get us into the house before the two men collided.

  Jasper’s sword swung at Lucas. “How did you get here? What do you want of me?” The sword came close to Lucas’s head.

  Lucas lifted an old shovel as he ducked and whirled away from him. The blade missed him by inches. “You have the wrong man, sir. I assure you that I am not whoever you imagine I am.”

  “Are you going to deny that you are Lucas Trevailier?”

  “I am afraid you have the advantage, sir, as I am uncertain of my surname at this time.” Lucas spun around again as the blade came near his ear, the shovel striking the sword. “You have the right given name, but I do not know you.”

  “Don’t bother denying who and what you are, sorcerer,” Jasper shouted back, ready for another swing at him. “I recognize you. Why have you come? Is it to destroy me?”

  “Only if you continue to force your sword at me! Stand down. Let us speak of this as men, not frothing animals.”

  Jasper laughed. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I’d stand here like a fool, and you’d kill me. That’s not going to happen.”

  Debbie finally got the back door open, and we barely slumped inside the mudroom. Addie urged us to go into the kitchen and locked the door.

  “You keep Kate safe,” I replied. “I’m not moving until we see what happens.”

  “You can’t help him,” Debbie said. “Let’s call the police.”

  “We can’t call the police.” I shook my head, not believing that I’d said it. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Jasper. The best thing we can do is call Abe. Maybe he’ll know what to do.”

  My hands were too shaky to punch in the numbers on my cell phone. Debbie grabbed it, and called Abe.

  I watched the fight outside our door with growing trepidation. Had Jasper lost his mind? Did he really know Lucas? Why would he think Lucas wanted to kill him?

  I knew I’d led him there. I hoped Abe could stop this.

  “He isn’t answering.” Debbie handed me the phone.

  “What do you mean he isn’t answering? Abe always answers his phone.”

  “I don’t know. What can we do?”

  “You can’t fight a man with a sword when you’re holding a shovel,” Addie remarked as we watched Lucas try to stay one-step ahead of Jasper.

  “You must be Skye’s mother-in-law’s ghost.” Debbie introduced herself to Addie. “I work with her. I’m not a zombie, but my husband is, and I’m working off his service to Abe.”

  Addie’s face was even clearer now. I could actually see the green hints in her brown eyes as she nodded to Debbie. “So I’ve heard. What kind of stupid bargain was that?”

  “A good one,” Debbie defended. “I have two children who need their father.”

  “Bah!” Addie blew her off. “You probably would’ve been better off without him.”

  Debbie smiled at her, couldn’t find a polite retort, and gawked at the fight.

  “How long can this go on?” Addie asked. “Lucas doesn’t even have a sword. That other man must be a complete loser. He has a sword, and can’t even get past that old shovel. He hasn’t even managed to cut Lucas. What kind of fight is this?”

  “Quiet, Addie. Go back inside with Kate,” I said.

  She complained and threatened, but she blew into the kitchen, and closed the door to the mudroom.

  “I have to help Lucas. There must be some misunderstanding. He can’t keep jumping out of the way for much longer. Jasper is going to kill him.”

  Debbie agreed. “But what can you do? You don’t have a sword.”

  I took out my Beretta. “I don’t need a sword.”

  “You couldn’t even call Abe,” she scoffed. “Let me have it. I can fire a shot over their heads. That should break it up.”

  She pushed open the back door, and took the gun in both hands.

  “Be careful—it won’t help if you kill one of them.”

  “Don’t worry. I know how to shoot a gun. I’m married to a police officer, you know. He taught me when we first got together so I could protect myself.”

  Debbie aimed the Beretta into the air above the two men who were at each other’s throats. She squeezed off a round, the sound echoing in the stillness.

  It had the desired effect. Lucas and Jasper stopped fighting, but only for a moment.

  Jasper glared at Debbie, and then jumped at least ten feet straight up.

  “How did he do that?” Debbie breathed in awe.

  “I don’t know. Maybe something they teach at necromancer school.”

  What really got me was when Lucas did the same thing. He dropped the sword to the ground before he grabbed the sword from Jasper. In one smooth movement, he used the blade to decapitate him.

  Debbie leaned down and vomited on the mudroom floor as Jasper’s head and body fell from the sky at two different locations. “Oh God! That’s awful.”

  Lucas dropped down too, on his feet, with the bloody sword still in his hand.

  I forced myself back outside. “What happened? What was that all about?”

  “I swear I do not know.” Lucas glanced at Jasper’s head. It had fallen into the brown chrysanthemums. He dropped the sword. “Did you know him, Skye? Have you any notion why he would come at me in that manner?”

  “A necromancer who worked for Abe,” I explained. “He was supposed to be helping us kill the ghoul. Abe says you can’t kill one without magic and a sword.”

  “Why was he here? Did it have something to do with you being attacked by the ghoul yesterday?”

  “I don’t know. He must’ve followed us here.” I shivered and wondered what to do next. “He said you were a sorcerer.”

  “I am aware.” He frowned. “But not surprised. You say he was a necromancer?”

  “Yes. Is there a difference?”

  “Well, yes, of course. A necromancer is involved with communication with the dead, you see.”

  I shook my head. “N
ever mind.”

  “Abe is going to have a fit!” Debbie was still wiping her mouth when she came out of the mudroom. “What should we do, Skye?”

  “There’s only one thing we can do. Let’s put him in a black bag, and take him to the mortuary. Abe will have to deal with it when we get there. Maybe if he’d answered his damn phone, he could have sorted this out before Jasper died.”

  “I am coming with you.” Lucas picked up the sword again. “I shall speak with Abe.”

  “Not a good idea,” I told him. “Debbie and I will handle it.”

  He walked to the back of the van, and threw open the door. “You cannot convince me otherwise. I am coming with you. I do not believe you are in any condition to prevent me.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. I still felt sick and lightheaded from my encounter with Mary. If Lucas felt like he should go with us, I wasn’t up to trying to stop him.

  Debbie thought it was a fabulous idea. She ran into the house to borrow a trash bag. “What? I’m not picking up his head without a bag over it. It just doesn’t seem right.”

  “You’re wearing gloves,” I reminded her from my coaching spot in the backseat. “He’s dead. He doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  Lucas and Debbie put Jasper’s body into the black bag and then added the head in the trash bag. Debbie zipped it closed, and the two of them put it into the back of the van.

  “I’ll drive.” Debbie smiled at Lucas. “And you can tell me all about yourself on the way back to Nashville.”

  Lucas gazed at me. “Are you absolutely certain you do not want to travel to the city up here?”

  “If I do, I’m afraid I’ll puke all over the seat.” I smiled at him. “I feel better lying down. Thanks anyway.”

  I must’ve dozed off on the way to the mortuary. One minute, Debbie was asking Lucas all kinds of pointed, personal questions—the next we were rolling into the city.

  The pained expression on Lucas’s face was comical. I wasn’t sure how much he’d told her, but it looked as though the interrogation was thorough.

  She probably knows as much about him as I do.

  It wasn’t the best thing to think since I’d invited him to share my house. It seemed I could add one more dimension to his personality—he was good with a sword—and had killed what Brandon had termed a powerful necromancer.

  My head hurt too much to think what that meant to me at that moment.

  Brandon was outside the back door to the mortuary, puffing away at a cigarette. “I didn’t know there was a pickup this morning.”

  “It’s out of the ordinary.” Debbie jumped down, and went to the back door.

  Lucas helped me out of the van, and then the two of us joined them.

  “Hey there.” Brandon grinned at Lucas. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  “This is Lucas. He does magic,” I introduced them. “Lucas, this is Brandon the mortician.”

  “I am very pleased to meet you, sir.” Lucas sketched a nice bow.

  Brandon’s pale blue eyes summed him up. “You’re with Skye, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “We have some bad news for Abe in the back of the van,” I explained. “Jasper is dead.”

  “The ghoul?” Brandon demanded.

  Debbie and I both glanced at Lucas.

  “Nope,” she responded. “The sorcerer.”

  “You? Holy Hannah,” Brandon responded. “Does Abe know?”

  “Not yet.” I shook my head, immediately sorry that I’d moved it. “Let’s get him inside. Debbie, try calling Abe again.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The door to the mortuary snapped open under the force of Abe’s large hand. He scanned the cold room. Jasper’s two-piece body was on the slab. His dark eyes moved to me where I sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair with Lucas and Debbie standing next to me.

  “Tell me again what happened,” he demanded in a voice of deadly calm.

  Debbie opened her mouth to begin the tale. I cut her off. “Jasper followed us to my house. He came after Lucas with a sword, and lost.”

  Abe nodded. “And this is Lucas, your magical friend, Skye?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what got into Jasper. Lucas only defended himself.”

  “He has a very good defense, apparently.” Abe took a deep breath. “It’s an inconvenient time for me to lose my necromancer. Another of my people was found dead this morning. Without magic, we have no chance of fighting Mary.”

  “I know.” I glanced at Lucas.

  “What about you?” Abe stared at him too. “Are you looking for work?”

  “No. It seems I am a sorcerer, sir, but my magic is unreliable. I do not know why your man tried to slay me. I am definitely not interested in taking his place.”

  Debbie explained. “He’s not evil. He lives with Skye now, and is helping Addie become more like a person.”

  That was exactly why I hadn’t wanted her to tell the story.

  Abe smiled as he continued staring at Lucas. “I hate to break the news to you, but it would be unlikely that you could kill my necromancer—unless there is more to you than meets the eye”

  “I admit to a few memory lapses.” Lucas bowed his head, his dark hair swinging forward. “But I know myself. I only responded with what was necessary to keep from being slain. I want no part of your ghoul hunt. I am, however, sorry for the death of your man.”

  We all stared at Jasper’s body parts for a moment. It wasn’t pleasant.

  Abe stood beside the slab. “I can’t know what was in Jasper’s mind. Perhaps there was some reason he attacked you. I fear we’ll never know what that was now, but I apologize for his mistake.”

  “Can you find a new necromancer?” Debbie asked.

  “That is possible,” Abe agreed. “But it will take some time to select the right person, and then wait for his or her arrival. In the meantime, you are all targets. I know Mary said she’s coming for me. I hope that’s true. I would rather face her than see any more of my people die.”

  It hurt to think about it, but I knew I didn’t have any choice. I was going to have to try to convince Lucas to help us. I knew he’d been clear on not wanting to be part of it, but we needed him. He might be our only shot to end this with Mary.

  Facing the ghoul with her disgusting breath in my face had made me believe I could be a victim in the not too distant future. The way her eyes had looked into mine still made my skin crawl. She’d been threatening Abe, but there was an awareness of me that I didn’t like.

  “Brandon, take care of Jasper,” Abe said.

  I was feeling a little better by this time, despite everything. I stood on my own, and walked to the door. Debbie came with me.

  “We have Jasper’s sword,” I told Abe. “Do you want it back?”

  “It belonged to him. To the victor go the spoils. Perhaps Lucas would like to have it.”

  * * *

  Debbie still had to drive us home. I wasn’t sure of my skills at the wheel, and Lucas had no idea how to drive. She dropped us off at the house again—this time with no sword-wielding necromancer confronting us.

  “Just call me when you’re ready. I’ll bring the van over,” she promised. “It was nice to meet you, Lucas.”

  Neither one of us made a move to go inside after she was gone. I stared at the trees and the sky behind them as I thought about everything that had happened. The zombie life, driving the Taxi for the Dead, had sounded very uncomplicated. And it had been, until Lucas, and the ghoul, had entered the picture.

  Maybe some of what I was feeling transmitted itself to him.

  Lucas took my hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I really have no idea why that man came after me. Despite what your master thinks, if I have ever killed another man in such a way, I have no memory of it.”

  I looked into his clear, green eyes. “I believe you. I don’t think you remember who you were before this. But we have to consider that because you don’t know, you could be anyone.”


  “So now you think I could be a killer sorcerer for hire.”

  “No. Not exactly. But maybe you could help with the ghoul.”

  “I cannot work for Abe. I am sorry. I would be more than happy to go out with you in case you need assistance.” He smiled. “I can’t promise to know what to do if we find a ghoul. But I can be there, and perish with you.”

  I laughed at his pessimism. “You knew what to do with Jasper today. Maybe if you see a ghoul, your magic for that will kick in too.”

  “I would be honored to fight at your side—not because Abe pays me—because our lives are entwined.”

  “That sounds good to me. Thank you.” I kissed him. Shaking his hand to seal the deal seemed—awkward. We were beyond that, right?

  “Your lips are like wine, Skye. I could gladly drown in them.”

  I laughed, unused to his flowery prose. “And your eyes are like emeralds, sir. Shall we go forth into the house?”

  “You mock me, my lady.”

  “Only good naturedly, sir.” I curtsied slightly, and almost fell.

  He caught me, and brought me up close to him. “Yes. I believe you call it joking. Let us go into the house, lady. Your brain is sorely addled this day.”

  Addie and Kate were eager to hear what had happened. I explained in the shortest, easiest terms I could think of, and then I went upstairs to take a shower. I hoped not to hear anything from Abe the rest of the day while I recovered.

  But it was no use. Showering, dressing—all I could see was the ghoul’s baleful yellow eyes staring into mine.

  I knew Mary would come for me unless I found and killed her first. I was on her radar after Lee and I had attacked her at the apartment building. There was no doubt in my mind that she would find me. She seemed to have an extra sense at finding Abe’s zombies.

  About an hour later, Lucas came up to check on me. “Lady Debbie called and said someone should make sure you did not go into a coma after your head injury.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen. I have a very hard head.”

  He sat on the bed beside me while I finished drying my hair. “Were you ill that your hair was shorn so?”