“Just a ghost isn’t she? Any reason she shouldn’t be around?”
I let the words set on the air for several seconds, turning to look back at Barbie stood against the wall nearest us. Head tilted, face hard to read but at the same time almost confused as I was while she stared Scorpion down. My own feelings on the matter cut off as she slowly started towards us, hands clasped behind her back.
The girl stopped a few feet away, eyes slowly drifting over to me, smile warm, and she in her sweet voice admitted, “I probably should have done this a little different. But-”
I launched into her, a wave of cold washing through my body and stumbling right through her as I nearly fell flat on my face from the failed hug. Scorpion letting out a confused noise and Barbie barely moving as I swung around with the moment a little ruined by the wolf’s growl, “why didn’t you fucking say anything?! You’ve seen what’s been happening to me, you saw what I did because you!-”
“Mary,” Barbie interrupted in a voice that made the wolf want to drop to its knees, “it’s… I didn’t think I’d stick around like this. And I-”
“Ladies,” Scorpion interrupted through thin lips, “as much as I’ve love to pop some bubbly and serve some spaghetti for this obvious romantic reunion, Miss Mary Cherry here is covered in blood and the police are certainly about to show up trying to speak with someone about the explosion that just rocked Shockoe Bottom. Vergil will talk them off, but it’s probably best we get her presentable in case they’re hanging around when she leaves. I don’t want to go get your spares from upstairs and interrupt Catherine’s next few hours of fun, so do you have anything in your car?”
“Um, right, yeah, I do,” I mumbled softly, fumbling for my keychain and tossing it to the man. Already starting towards the elevator when I told him, “you can’t miss it, box for a bunch of papers next to the cat litter, I think… fuck, think I only have some jeans and stuff in the trunk, but that will do.”
“You know where the bathroom is, just leave everything on the floor, alright?”
I nodded, walking to the bathroom and stripping my bloodstained ensemble as I went, awkwardly balancing what I carried on one arm while stripping with my one good hand. What love I felt for my clothes outweighing the desire to keep blood off me by tossing them on even a clean bathroom floor. Left in my panties alone by the time I reached the sinks, the only things blissfully unstained by blood, and I went to work washing myself as best as I could. A hand towel retrieved from the bathroom closet, drenched in water, scrubbing it hard as I could into my flesh with my good hand.
What blood I could get off removed, the gaping hole in my hand at least just barely leaking if I could only move the thumb, I moved onto my clothes. The shirt and skirt too fucked up to wear again without a deep wash and even then…
Fuck, I didn’t want to think about that after how long I’d spent making them, but maybe Vergil would actually get them washed for me. The leather jacket at least salvageable, the lining a little stained but easily soaked and hidden once I had clothes, and my boots and eye patch even easier cleaned. Barbie stood beside me the whole time while I tried figuring out if I wanted to actually start the conversation or not.
On one hand I wanted to curl against her, kiss her, hold onto her and see if we couldn’t go back right where we were. On the other…
She’d not spoken to me for over a month, just fucking hung around watching me and occasionally saying a few words or giving a brief touch. How the fuck was I supposed to react to that? Even active as she was the last few days just served to make it feel worse, and what for?
“What the fuck is your problem?” I asked, not even looking at the girl while I snatched my shirt off the floor. Running the blood splatters under some cold water and rubbing them with a clean towel.
The girl refusing to answer a moment, looking down at the floor before in a voice almost too small to hear even with my hearing admitted, “I was gone for a while, and I didn’t know how to react to being back. That mirror Elizabeth had you touched brought me back and… well, you remember right?”
“I don’t actually is the problem,” I admitted with a small laugh, “I… I remember going to visit Elizabeth, and woke up on a couch with her telling me I’d touched something I wasn’t supposed to. Got told shadow people would be a commons sight for a few days, and then you ended up showing. Forgive me if I don’t know the exacts of what happened.”
The ghost nodded, clearing her throat — like it wasn’t an obvious show — shuffled in place while watching me work. Only as I was about to demand an answer saying, “well, I started seeing you after that. I thought it… well, you know, I was gone, and thought it wasn’t permanent, so I tried taking it slow. I mean, is that so unbelievable?”
It was, but at the same time… how the fuck was I supposed to say that?
Her spirit was laid to rest, we’d done a funeral, she’d even said she’d been gone and for what? People didn’t fucking come back from that, and while I didn’t know a ton about magic outside a little rune work I knew spirits that were at rest stayed at rest. Maybe something powerful could call them back for a short time, but I didn’t think it’d be permanent. I mean, it was Elizabeth, I could ask her-
“You can’t tell Elizabeth about us.”
I jerked my head towards her, the ghost’s eyes wide with fear as though she realized what I had, “did you just read my mind?”
“No, no, Mary, it was just on your face,” Barbie defended herself, cold hands resting on my shoulder, “look, I’m just… I didn’t want to wander off on my own, and now I’m here why ruin that? I mean, good chance she’ll just say it’s bad right?”
I nodded, not really able to argue with the idea she was wrong about the probable reaction. Elizabeth had been worried enough already about me, who wasn’t to say she’d blow this out of proportion? I mean, as angry as I was-
“I’m angry at you,” I realized with a dull humor, a small laugh escaping me that turned into a full force one, “I’m angry at you, and you’re dead.” No reaction from her, just a curious tilt of her head, “you’re different.”
“I did get sent to Heaven and dragged back.”
“How’s the pearly gates?”
“Well, disappointed you called me back what you did, Frank Sinatra and 2Pac were about to do their reunion tour,” the girl said with a sarcastic boredom, rolling her eyes before she complained, “I don’t remember the specifics, Mary. I was going away, then I was coming back, don’t remember the between. Look on the bright side at least, tall dark and handsome confirmed you’re not hallucinating, right?”
I nodded, not really having a reason to doubt her and all the same feeling the wolf on edge. Something sour on the back of my throat even as I shook my head, trying to figure out why something sounded so wrong about that as I told her, “this isn’t right. You’re not…”
Barbie reached a hand out, resting the freezing grip on my own and making whatever I was about to say slip even as she comforted, “how about we talk about this later? I just… I didn’t want you to risk anything, you know?”
“I’m going to have a busy day, but yeah we’ll talk about it later,” I said, the words dryer than I probably meant them to be, “just… you know what happened, why are you doing this now? Just… fucking Wolf Gods, what’s wrong with you?”
“I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
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She was so small, the voice so fucking pathetic, what apprehension the wolf felt melted just a moment and wanted to curl against her. Not the pure bliss she’d inspired before, not a fucking mental effect from her nature, something wrong about it, but…
I let out a groan, slowly crouching on the floor with my head between my knees as I relented, “later. Please, just… later, alright? I have a lot going on, but this needs addressing too, and-”
She stepped forward, icy fingers tilting my chin to look up to her like a knight for her princess and the wolf only growled a moment when she lowered her head to me. Briefly anticipating a kiss before her expression changed and the woman stepped back, my lips held slightly parted only a moment before mind caught up to body and I was back on my feet. Heart screaming in my ears, wolf desiring to curl around her.
The bathroom door opened and she was gone from my view in the blink of an eye, left alone in the bathroom for only a second before Scorpion walked in. No hesitation or shyness as he held out my clothes and asked, “girl left?”
“I guess,” I muttered, blinking a few times before taking the clothes and quickly changing.
My “about to get into a fight” gear, It was the jeans and short sleeve black t-shirt I’d worn most of the time after leaving the purists. Relatively plain, a bit masculine for my personal taste, but overly practical and easy to slip off in an emergency. The lack of long sleeves not a big issue with my jacket clean enough to wear and able to hide my tattoos.
Something I was more than used to wearing, but couldn’t help but keep looking over in the mirror as Scorpion asked me, “how long will it be before that hand wound’s healed?”
Good question, and I looked over the unbleeding hole in my palm as I confessed, “probably an hour or two? Maybe closer to tonight? It’s not an exact science, but the more systems and structure that needs healing the longer it takes. It was just a stab it’d be a few minutes at most, but… well, bones are missing and splintered, can’t move the fingers, it’s got a lot to rebuild and fix.”
Scorpion grunted, taking a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket and tossing them my way which I looked at with only a little hesitation. Realizing his unsaid point as I struggled to slip the glove over my wounded hand; Scorpion moving to help me put the other on his good hand while he looked at the clothes on the sink and said, “I’m used to getting blood out of clothes, comes with having fucked Catherine a few times, I’ll get the clothes good as new for you.”
“I got drenched, you don’t need to waste your time,” I said, all the same hoping he’d insist as the pit in my chest grew at the idea of losing those clothes.
Scorpion thankfully shrugged, taking up my skirt and blouse as he explained, “the blouse has french seams on the inside, and the skirt is flat felled, store bought doesn’t do that unless it’s expensive as all Hell and you butchered the right arm’s gusset so I know it’s something you made yourself.”
I snorted a little at that, shaking my head while I double checked my auburn hair was free of any red not naturally there, “you know a lot about sewing for a former mercenary.”
“You pick up a lot when you work gigs like that. Clothes, etiquette, language, all those small skills and details that let you blend in or notice things. It’s how I know your client’s never made their own bullets before this job,” the man smirked with a little too much pride as I looked over at him for that, twirling his hand through the air as he admitted, “I took a closer look at those bullets than you did while walking to the car. They’re amateur obviously, but they’re not just that. They’re bad. Managed to pop the tip off one with my pocket knife, someone fucked up the mold, and to top that off it was over charged with powder. Already a bit suspicious, but decided to look a little closer and get this: all the casings were new. Never fired, just so badly loaded they looked like they had been. Someone bought them up empty off the floor and did everything themselves.”
I stopped at that, mind turning as I let the words sink in and really thought about how bad a move that was. Mouth opening and closing a few times before asking, “how are you that fucking dumb?”
“What I was thinking,” Scorpion grunted in agreement, tossing me the case as I looked over it for a long moment. Reading the brand under the bottom and frowning even as he told me, “pay also has to be great or those mercenaries particularly amateur that no one double checked the client’s work. Bullets that badly made in a magazine fed pistol? You’d be lucky to not lose a finger, or at least not break your wrist.”
“We’re also dealing with someone who isn’t afraid about getting found out though, which just gave us too many more suspects,” I pointed out, the man looking a little confused there before I told him, “you were thinking the same thing as me. You buy new casings there’s a lot less room for denial, can’t get them second hand, there’s a payment trail. I mean, come the fuck on, if someone suspected you did it then it’d be easy to figure out just on those alone. If you’re risking that much you either have no idea what you’re doing or-”
“Or you’re not really concerned with the idea of getting caught, which means you’re more likely to throw all the money you got towards this,” Scorpion finished the thought for me, fingers drumming on the sink for a moment, “plenty of people who fit that bill, but not sure how many would hold the grudge or still be around for it.”
“Get me a few ideas?”
Scorpion closed his eyes, tongue clicking for several seconds before he started, “Rivierre family comes to mind, old money werewolves and used to have a strong presence here a few decades back. Misha would have good reason to want The Lady dead I’m sure. I don’t think he ever inherited anything though, but Peter moved across country a few years back, Marianne was from a good family too but she’s a Purist now.”
“Chaser, er, Marianne also moved a lot of her old funds recently to help Gevaudan, not sure she would be exactly risking mercenaries while down here with a kid,” I pointed out, the urge to say my kid barely held back.
“Well, few more that could afford it, just don’t pop out to me the same,” the man admitted with a small grunt as he started rambling them off, “The Ordysian and The Moor went missing a couple decades back, either of them could have afforded it if they still had half their resources. Hell, Ordysian was their money guy, screwed The Lady pretty hard though already; didn’t tell her about Madoff before she lost a lot of her proxy businesses from all that falling apart. Franks family was old money hunters, last daughter they had out here got killed by a werewolf few years back, husband and kid went missing, but they’d know how to load a bullet. Madisons were old money werewolves, but don’t think they got much anymore, Arthur became a priest and donated his share, the daughter, what’s her name, she-”
“Father Arthur?” I interrupted the man, tilting his head in acknowledgment, “I was supposed to talk to him, Samuel said he’d do it.”
Scorpion nodded a moment, seeming to let it sit for a moment before admitting, “yeah, think they knew each other back in the day now you mention it, before Samuel went Purist even. He’d probably have a good idea about that sort of thing. Old man have any theories on what was going on?”
I nodded, about to try and throw my own idea out there when someone else spoke. Nearly jumping out of my skin as Sigyn asked, “isn’t it kinda obvious?”
Having apparently joined us in the bathroom at some point without me noticing, still leaning against the open door eating her pork, the girl looked between us with an expression that said she seemed to think it was obvious. Quickly finishing her mouthful before shrugging, “like, I mean, Percy told me some of what happened with y’all yesterday, and you told me some too. If it’s the same people between this, isn’t it kinda obvious?”
Scorpion and I looked at each other a moment, shrugged in time, and looked back at the girl as I told her, “you’re gonna need to explain.”
“Well, the bullets were loaded like hunters do, right?” Sigyn asked, frowning as though she weren’t even sure if that was right, “and well, when y’all went to see the hunter there was a vampire there, right?”
“Yeah, but the vampire was tied up,” I pointed out, not sure how that was relevant, “I mean, the killers worked her up into a frenzy, but she wasn’t really that big a threat, there was no reason to-” and I stopped myself, laughing a moment as it finally sat in, “Percy would have died if he were on his own. Hell, two or three half-ones would have probably died on their own, especially if they weren’t ready to fight a vampire. They’d just think she was some normal girl and-”
“Probably have died, Percy kept stressing that one,” Sigyn finished for me, actually looking a little nervous at that thought, “and well… um, well, yeah. I doubt the vampire would stick around for a witness statement, so-”
“Looks like a torturous murder for flavored blood followed by a vampire going feral on a bunch of hunters,” I realized, heart sinking into my chest as I muttered, “and this would have looked like hunters killing one of the most prominent supernatural groups in the city.”
Even Scorpion’s eyes went a little wide and face pale at that realization, the issue setting in for all of us in a silent wall. Only Sigyn looking like she didn’t properly appreciate the full lengths of what that would mean.
Peace was tentative with The Lady and hunters, she gave them the names of troublemakers, fed information, kept them in check. Even if you didn’t work with The Lady you didn’t attack people she didn’t want dead. I took a risk going into a hunter bar now and then, but that was on me going in with obvious werewolf tattoos, no hunter was going to plant a bomb in my car or shoot me in the head while eating in a restaurant. Andrew, Tara, Knives, Basil, they barely did more than a little reporting for The Lady, helped on small favors, they never even had to worry about being in danger.
If supernaturals started wanting to get revenge on hunters and hunters thought The Lady wasn’t turning over supernaturals attacking them?
“Our guy’s trying to start a war,” I said the quiet part out loud, the thought sour on my tongue as I shifted in place, “Sigyn, I’m dropping you off at home, gotta talk to Elizabeth next anyway. If someone’s going after Vergil I can’t imagine the resident witch isn’t in a little bit of trouble.”
