The bartender must have pointed. I missed it, but Box started forward again, pushing through the throng to cross directly through the middle of the room.
I continued following in his wake, imagining myself a small innertube trailing behind a boat. The people felt exactly like a boat’s wake, closing back in after he passed with hardly a missed beat.
Rick sat surrounded by cronies. None of them were the guy I wanted, so I slipped away as soon as I finished assessing the group and worked my way back into the center of the dancing pack. I was dressed for the event, so I had a few offers, but I smiled and declined, eyes always scanning for the unkempt dark hair that I needed.
It took several hours and a couple of harmless drinks before I saw him come in. I’d arrived too early. Creepo greeted a handful of those already present, tossing his head in a friendly way to those who called out to him. Fred. I didn’t really like it as much as I liked Creepo. Fred didn’t seem to fit the brown eyes and Egyptian complexion. I immediately started to wonder if he’d changed it to try to modernize. I bet his name was something like Rachchim.
Fred knew the place well. As he slipped down toward a small seating area, a few others moved over or left entirely to make him space. Not quite what I’d pictured for a succubus, but then, he seemed careful.
I watched for another hour, trying to judge his character. His smile was easy and faltered only once, when one of the serving girls dumped his glass across the table. He didn’t yell at her, and he hurried to help wipe it up, drawing it away from the edge of the table so it wouldn’t spill over. When his next drink from her came, he took it, smile back in place.
After an hour, Fred rose and offered one hand to two different girls, leading them into the fray of the dance floor. I decided this was my best opportunity and headed to intercept. The girls worked their way around him like he was some sort of dancing pole. I slipped in as well and batted my eyes up at him.
“Hi.”
He ignored me completely.
I tried again after dancing with a nearby guy for a minute or two. “So, you’re pretty hot. Can I join you?”
I never said I was good at this sort of thing. Eighty or so years puts one at a disadvantage when it comes to modern flirtation. Both girls glared in my direction. Fred gave me a glance but nothing more, turning himself at a different angle in time with the music.
Alright. Fine. Direct method it is. I poked the blonde. “So, you like to be tied up?”
That elicited yet another glare and a slight snarl. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Well,” I began, “That’s his deal. He really likes to tie you to the bed and point his weapons at you, then he leaves you there, still tied up, when he’s done with you and just walks away.”
“What?” That got the attention of the blonde and a sideways glance from Fred.
I let him study my features while I widened my grin. “Yeah. I was lucky. I got one hand out and that helped me get free. Otherwise, I would’ve been stuck a while.”
She paled and her eyes slid to Fred’s dark expression before disappearing back into the crowd.
I had his full attention. “Aren’t you a little young to be in here?”
“Depends. Give me a few more minutes with you and I won’t be.” I grinned up at him, thoroughly enjoying the game. “Can we talk?”
Fred nodded and left the brunette, who didn’t seem to notice. I followed, not really paying attention to our direction until we broke through Rick’s side of the dance floor. I should have seen it coming.
Fred grabbed my arm and dragged me forward. “Yo, Rick, I didn’t think this was a club for kids. This one just chased off my dates.”
Rick looked up from his card game and assessed me. “I know that face, but it was a lot younger—”
“My sister,” I assured him. “Vertically challenged.”
Rick dropped his cards and rose, gesturing silently to two more guards. Great. My tailbone still ached.
“Come on,” I tried, “I’m here because I need specialized help. The kind only certain people can give.” I tried to stress my meaning, but either he didn’t want the business, or he just didn’t take me seriously. Could I blame him on that?
As the bouncers closed in, I let out my frustration in a hiss. It’s not like I could fight them off, and I didn’t really want to make a scene. I still needed this guy’s help.
“Fred. Will you come over to my place tonight?” My last-ditch effort at success.
Fred flicked the side of his nose with his finger. “You’re causing me a bit of trouble, kid. If I come over to your house, there’s going to be one more milk carton with a picture on it.”
“We’ll see about that. Just come.”
He shook his head and settled into Rick’s seat, picking up his dropped cards as if this were perfectly normal. Rick, meanwhile, personally escorted me to the door.
“If my people see you within a mile of this club again, ever, you won’t see the next sunrise, got that?”
“What’s the threat? I’m here for business.”
“No one lurks around my clientele. This is a high-class establishment and you’re interrupting my flow. No warnings, no second chances, got that?”
“I have money.” My feet kicked against the carpeting as the pair dragged me toward the exit. Box looked up when the door opened and his eyes widened. Sadly, he didn’t look like he recognized me.
The goons tossed me a good five or six feet and I tried in vain to land without breaking anything. My leg bent at the wrong angle and I rolled, gritting my teeth and trying not to cry. I had the attention of the line for a whole minute, then they turned back to their groups and I rolled myself to the far gutter. Pulling out my battered flip phone, I dialed up Jake and gave him my location.
Jake didn’t speak until I was buckled into my seat and we were moving at a good clip back through the city. He pointed toward my broken leg, voice strained. “You expect me to help you set that, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.” I looked up at him through my lashes, trying to portray my regret. “I found him.”
Jake’s eyes tightened, as did his hands on the steering well. “Great. Does he know you know?”
“Yeah.” My head dropped to the side and I turned to stare out the window. Why on earth was his ‘disappointed dad’ routine affecting me? “Jake, I need his help, or at least someone like him.”
“I won’t argue with you on that point, but I will remind you that these guys are not cuddly bears. They deal in the occult. They kill. They root through tombs and steal organs for their own purposes. They deal in black magic and voodoo or worse.”
“And I’ve dealt with their type for at least fifteen years.”
“Maybe not this bad.” I watched his eyes jerk from one side of the road to the other, one finger tapping against the wheel. “I’ve been researching him, and there’s not much to find, at least, not from my current sources. It’s going to cost me a pretty penny to find out what I want to know, and that might put me on their radar.”
“Don’t do it.” I insisted. “Really. I’ll take care of this. You’ve taken care of me my whole life. Jake, you’re the only grandkid that even realizes I’m still alive. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that. I’m not about to put you in danger.”
He sighed, pulling to a stop at the curb in front of my house. I hadn’t considered how fast he’d been going and my brow lowered in disapproval. “You were speeding again!”
“You’re dealing with the occult and you have a problem with me speeding?” He chuckled, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “Ah! What I wouldn’t give to take back that moment.”
“Well, I’m kinda glad you didn’t.” I patted his knee. “Thanks for the ride. Can you carry me inside and set my leg for me?”
Jake nodded and did just that. We’d been through this before many times. A day or so without movement would heal the bone as it worked backwards in time and I’d be just fine. No cast needed.
Jake set me up in the living room with a box of cereal and a big mug of water. He verified that the TV remote was within reach and added a bedpan to the mix. “What else?” His eyes roamed my supplies trying to come up with anything I might be missing.
“I’m good.” I waved him off and flipped on the scheduler.
Part of me hoped that Fred would show up, but he never did. Part of me wanted to return to the club, but I never did.
Jake and I started researching succubae, but they were an elusive group. Once, I managed to corner a guy who seemed to fit the profile, but it turned out he was just a serial killer. A close brush with death later we were back to the drawing board.
Jake tried to scrub the blood from his pants. “These were my favorite pair,” he grumbled, dawn soap working overtime on the stain.
“At least you didn’t have to throw your clothes away. I was the one dragging his body to the river.”
Jake met my gaze and the silence spoke what we both already knew. “You’re back down to eleven. You said you’d come live with me at ten. I don’t know how much more of this I can do.” He gestured to his bandaged arm and stained pants. “I’m getting too old, and you’re getting too young.”
“You’re only fifty-two, don’t pretend you’re near death,” I teased, then sobered. “Jake, a year ago I said I’d stop putting you in the middle of this. I’m sorry.”
I took a breath, toying with the first-aid kit on the kitchen table. “It’s time for Grandma Zelda to pass away.”
Jake sighed. “I don’t want you disappearing.”
“It’s better this way. Believe me.” Unwillingly, I re-lived the feel of poor Malekai’s infant body in my hands, spasming, unable to breathe as his lungs, heart, and organs failed in quick succession.
“No! We have an answer, we just have to keep working for it.” He tossed his stained pants into the sink. Despite his speech of minutes ago, he seemed ready. “We’ll find you a solution.”
My head nodded, my heart dropped, my stomach churned. “Yes, I will, and if I do, I’ll come back and let you know.”
“Z—”
I held up a hand, rising to my feet. “I bequeath everything I own to you. All of it. Let me get the will. I already filed a copy with my lawyer.”
“No.” Jake’s eyes filled with tears. They dropped in a quick chain down his cheeks and he stumbled around the end of the table to grab me as if I were planning to run away this very second. “No, grandma Z, no! I can’t lose you. You’ve been with me my whole life!”
“I’ve been a burden to you your whole life. First as the old woman who couldn’t do anything, and now as the kid who can’t take care of herself.”
“That’s not true at all,” he insisted, voice rising with each word. “Do you know that you’re the only one in the family who liked to spend time with me? Everyone else thought I was lazy, or just a stupid kid with a big imagination that always got himself in trouble. Not you though. You listened and cared, and gave me advice. When you got older, you smiled when I came into the room and still listened. At least I think you listened. I saw you turn off your hearing aide plenty of times when other people came over, but I never saw you do that with me. I don’t think you understand how much that meant to me. I—” he faltered now, lost for words.
“I love you, Jake, and I always will.” I hugged him to me, barely as tall as his waist with arms that couldn’t reach around his width. “I feel the same way about you. You’ll never know what it meant to me that you came to visit your old, senile grandma. You brought over your friends, not even ashamed when I farted or needed to be changed. That’s why I believed in you. Your heart is pure.”
He scoffed through continued tears. “Please don’t leave me.”
“It has to happen eventually. If I can keep in touch, I will, but I don’t want you to see me die. Not like that. It’s one thing to watch an old person head to the grave. It’s expected. The heart is ready for it. It’s quite another to hold a tiny infant in your arms and know there’s nothing you can do to save it.”
Something between a moan and a sob left him and he dropped onto my shoulders. I’m not quite sure how long we held each other, but eventually, I pulled away and hurried to retrieve a second copy of my will. “I know you don’t need it, but save it for your kids and your grandkids. Consider it the only legacy I could still leave.”
“It’s definitely not the only legacy.” He accepted my will and allowed himself to be pushed out of my home. I noted that it was at least an hour before the motor on his car turn over and saw the lights flash across my front window.
When he was gone, I spent the rest of the night contemplating my life.
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