This Side of the Grave (Page 68)

"Thank you for coming," I said, trying to sound confident. "My name is Cat. There’s something very important I need to ask you to do."

" ‘Ello, mistress," a vaguely familiar voice boomed out. "Not thought to see you again." I cocked my head at the ghost who flitted between the others to the front of the group. He had graying brown hair, a barrel belly, and he obviously hadn’t shaved any time soon before he’d died. Something about him nagged at my memory, however. Where had I seen him before . . . ?

"Winston Gallagher!" I said, recognizing the first ghost I’d met.

He cast a disappointed look at my empty hands. "No moonshine? Ah, yer a cruel one, to summon me here without a drop of nourishment."

Never let it be said that something as simple as death could cure alcoholism, I thought irreverently, remembering all the moonshine the ghost had coerced me into drinking the night we met. Then my eyes narrowed and I covered my hand in front of my crotch as I saw Winston’s gaze fasten there next.

"Don’t you even think of poltergeisting my panties again," I warned him, adding in a louder voice. "That goes for everyone else here, too."

"This is the sod?" Bones started down the porch stairs even as Winston began to edge away. "Come back here, you scurvy little – "

"Bones, don’t!" I interrupted, not wanting him to start using slurs that might offend the other living-impaireds gathered here.

He stopped, giving a last glare to Winston while mouthing, You. Me. Exorcist, before returning to my side.

I shook my head. Vampire territorialism. It had no sense of appropriate timing.

"As I said, there’s something very important I need you to do. I’m looking for a ghoul who’s trying to start a war among the undead, and he’ll have a lot of other pissed-off, vampire-hating ghouls with him."

It would be a huge task, but if Marie found Gregor through ghosts with no clue where he was in the world, then I should be able to find Apollyon a lot easier with what I knew.

"Ride the ley lines," I said, feeling like a warped version of General Patton rallying my troops. "Tell your friends and get them hunting, too. Search all the larger funeral homes that are bordered by cemeteries. Find the short ghoul with the black comb-around that goes by the name of Apollyon, and then come right back and tell me where he is."

"Not you, luv," Bones said at once. "Fabian. Have them report to Fabian, who will then relay it to you."

Good point. I trusted Marie’s power enough to believe that every ghost I personally spoke to wouldn’t betray me, but I was enlisting others who’d never met me. No need to have this plan backfire by leading Apollyon right to me instead of vice versa.

I gestured to the ghost at my side. "Wait. Report back to Fabian, my right-hand man.

He’ll stay here so you’ll be able to find him."

Fabian’s chest puffed out at my declaration, a beaming smile spreading across his face. I rested my hand over where his shoulder would be, meeting the gaze of every ghost who stared at me.

"Now go," I urged them. "Hurry."

Chapter Thirty-five

A silvery blur flitted over the othercars in the parking lot before diving into our black van. We were only a couple miles away from the Lasting Peace cemetery and funeral home in Garland, Texas. It had taken Marie Laveau twelve years of sending out ghosts to find Gregor, but Fabian received information of Apollyon’s whereabouts in six days.

In fairness, the world was a big damn place, and Mencheres had had Gregor in an old, reinforced mine tunnel in Madagascar – hell and gone from Marie’s home base of New Orleans.

I, however, had narrowed Apollyon’s location down to only one country and a type of business.

Still, they had done an amazing job. No one would disparage ghosts while I was around, that was for sure.

Fabian’s features solidified from the random hazy swirls, but his mouth was turned down in a frown.

"I think you should get more people."

"How many are there?" Bones asked him.

"At least four score," Fabian replied. "They’re having a rally in about an hour."

"Is Apollyon still there?" I pressed.

Fabian nodded. "You could capture him afterward, once the others leave." Bones exchanged a glance with me. Or Apollyon could leave with the other ghouls. Then we’d need to have the ghosts hunt him for us all over again.

"The bulk of the ghouls – do they look like visitors for the rally, or guards?" Bones asked, tapping his chin.

Fabian looked confused. "How would I tell?"

"You can tell by how many of them are armed," Vlad said, with pointed emphasis on the last word.

"Ah." Fabian’s brow smoothed. "A few of them had large weapons with bullets that crisscrossed around their torsos."

I made a mental note to familiarize Fabian with modern artillery so he’d be able to give better descriptions.

"Machine guns?" I asked, miming holding one and making a series of rapid staccato noises.

Bones’s mouth twitched, but he dipped his head so I wouldn’t see his clear amusement over my "GI Jane does Pictionary" imitation.

"Yes, those," Fabian said. "Some of the other people could have knives on them, but those were the only weapons I could see."

Vlad let out a snort. "I didn’t come this far to run now." I felt the same way. Still, I had to assume the machine guns were armed with silver bullets and at least some of the ghouls would have silver knives. Most of them might not be armed, but eight to one was still eight to one.

"Mencheres, use your power to keep any humans from getting hurt. One side of the cemetery borders a business district, and I can’t have Tate send troops to block it off because that would tip Apollyon to our presence. So keeping people out of the way is your top priority."

"As opposed to restraining Apollyon?" he asked, polite disagreement in his tone.

I met his charcoal gaze. "If you rip his head off, that looks very impressive for you, but it won’t do me much good. You guys keep telling me if I don’t smack people down hard enough when they come after me, then more will follow. Well, I’m the one Apollyon used as a scapegoat all this time, so I’m the one who has to take him down." Silence met this pronouncement. I braced for arguments, especially from Bones, so I was surprised when he coolly nodded his head.

"Don’t use your power to restrain the other ghouls, either," Bones stated. "We’ll take them in a match of strength on strength."

I looked around at the occupants of the van. In addition to Mencheres, Kira, Vlad, Spade, Denise, Ed, and Scratch, we’d picked up a few new additions in recent days. Bones’s sire, Ian, grinned at the prospect. Gorgon, Mencheres’s old friend, just shrugged, and the blond Law Guardian, Veritas, who was as old as Mencheres even though she looked like Barbie doll’s younger sister, only appeared bored by the topic. No one voiced a word of objection.