The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
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marysuevirusTitle: The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Chapter Seventy Four: Truth, Lies, and In Between
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: so much plot. we're drowning in it. all the damn plot. some of it not even planned!
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
The very ground trembled with Isis' roar, prompting many of the people present to look around in surprise. She didn't think anyone had ever heard Isis roar before. She certainly hadn't. Power rippled around Isis in waves, so much of it that it had to hurt to touch. And she was sure no one had ever suspected the lioness of carrying so much power. She watched as Haven's eyes went wide and his attention shifted back to where Isis stood. Too late he realized his mistake.
Isis took her lion form in a single, smooth action that took as much time as it did for Haven's eyes to slide from Isis to her and then back again. Barely any time at all. Isis threw a wave of power out before her that slammed into her intended victim and knocked him off his feet. It hit Lettie and Aedan saw the girl's eyes go wide, saw her body writhe. Seconds later, a sleek lioness was pushing away from Haven's grasp. She rolled to the side and then lay there, chest heaving and limbs trembling. Even across the distance, even with darkness blanketing them, Aedan could see the spots of red that glistened on the cat's golden chest.
A blur of motion saw Damian crossing to where Lettie's body lay. He scooped her up and carried her back to the covered area, handing her into the care of the pride. Aedan noted that Minette and Micah were there, offering their help softly as a few worried voices rose over the din coming from the two entwined figures in the grass.
Haven had shifted in the commotion, so there were two giant lions rolling around the grass. They were roaring and snarling at each other, fangs bared and eyes flashing despite the lack of light. Curved claws seeking out flesh to shred. Presently, Haven had Isis pinned. His mane was thick around his face, keeping the expression he wore hidden from view. Isis seemed to be struggling to get the heavy body off her.
Aedan cleared the bench and moved to the edge of the picnic area, gun drawn but pointed at the ground. She didn't dare point it at the fighting lions. She was afraid she'd try to take a shot and hit Isis by mistake. She'd drawn the gun when he'd first made his presence known, had had it pointed in his direction before he'd even broke cover of the trees. She should have shot the fucker the last time and avoided this shit altogether.
Jean Claude stood at her side, one hand pressed gently against hers where it curled around the butt of her Glock. As if he was afraid she'd actually use it. Much as she wanted to watch Haven's head explode, she was well aware that this was Isis' fight. And there was the risk that she could hit Isis. Call the gun insurance, in case he'd brought some backup.
She watched as Isis' back feet found purchase in Haven's stomach. A good push saw him flipping over onto his back. Isis rolled with him to land on top of him. Snarls and growls rose up, filling the silent night around them. Hissing flowed out into the air from behind her, a backing chorus of disapproval from the gathered members of both the pride and the pard. She didn't have to look to know that the vampires had moved to put themselves between the fighting lions and the small group in the picnic area. For a brief moment, Aedan wondered how they'd missed Haven's approach. Then the thought was gone as a large paw topped with curved claws as big as her fingers came up and slapped against the side of Isis' head.
The lioness went tumbling to the grass, stunned and bleeding from the scratches Haven had left behind. She shook her head, pulling herself to her feet even as Haven readied himself to attack. The lion leapt, landing on the lioness' back. His weight drove her to the ground and held her there even as he opened his mouth to go for her neck. For a moment, it looked as if Haven would rip Isis' spine out. But her power swelled again, a thick cloud of it that flooded the park and left the lions in her pride panting with strain. And it left Haven clearly confused.
Isis took advantage of his momentary lapse.
She roared as she rolled him, throwing all of her weight onto his much larger body. Haven returned that roar, paws coming up to slash at her as she lunged forward. She used her body to bat one paw aside. The other paw managed to catch her shoulder, tore through fur and flesh to leave crimson tracks in its wake. Isis snarled at him, golden eyes glowing with rage. And then she slammed her injured shoulder into his body, knocking him off his feet. Haven barely had a chance to try and twist back over when she was on him, mouth latched to his throat for the moment it took to get a good hold. She wrenched her head to the side. The sound of rending flesh was loud in the sudden silence.
Blood sprayed in an arc as Isis staggered back from the body. She made it a few feet before her butt hit the ground, as if drawn there by a magnet. Her chest heaved as she panted, eyes locked on Haven's body. Slowly, the shape of the lion faded away to leave a still human form sprawled on the ground on his back. Most of his throat was gone and his skin was already far too pale to be alive. Aedan slipped away from Jean Claude and, weapon at the ready, crossed the distance toward the two figures.
Isis looked up as she neared, muzzle smeared with blood and eyes still glowing with power. Aedan resisted the urge to reach out and pat the lioness' head, instead focusing her attention on Haven. He didn't move as she approached. She couldn't see his chest rising and falling with any breaths. And she couldn't feel his power. She knelt next to him, gun still at the ready.
There was no place on his neck to check, so she had to lay a hand on his chest. His heart was silent and still. She rose to her feet, didn't put her gun up until she put some distance between herself and the corpse. She shot a look Jean Claude's way before giving her attention to Isis. "You've been holding back," she said to the lioness.
It was weird to see a big cat actually smile. But Isis did, lips pulled wide and fangs exposed. It was all teeth and should have been frightening. Especially with blood drying around her mouth. But the look was oddly reassuring.
"You okay?" she asked.
Isis took a moment to consider it, then gave what Aedan took to be a yes, just a single dip of her head in what would have been a nod. Aedan let her gaze slide to the wounds on the lioness' head and shoulder. "Those'll heal while you're shifted?"
Aedan had a moment's notice, then Isis' power swelled once again. Where a large golden lioness had sat was now the resting place of a naked woman with claw marks on her shoulder and the side of her head. Blood around her mouth. "It'll heal when I'm human just as well as if I stayed a lion. This way makes it easier to get me home without attracting too much attention."
"I guess that depends on what kind of attention you don't want to attract. Because I'm pretty sure there are people out there who will notice a naked woman just as much as they'll notice a large lion sitting in a car." The comment earned her a laugh. Damian was there to offer her a shirt and a pair of old sweats that someone had obviously scrounged. No doubt the garments were someone's back up in case of an emergency. Aedan watched Isis tug the clothes on, her attention focused on the small crowd under the covering. She could see the concern in the other woman's gaze. "Go check on her. We'll start packing up. It looks like the picnic is over."
Isis gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Aedan. This was supposed to be a fun get together to let you know we're glad you're okay. I had no idea Haven was going to crash the party."
"Its okay, Isis. It was fun to watch you hand his ass to him. I bet he thought he was going to be up against Damian again. Or me. Or possibly one of the pride. He wasn't expecting you to step in and show him why you're Regina."
"He had to learn the hard way," she said, breaking off with a hiss when Damian pressed some cloth against the side of her head. He was obviously trying to stem the flow of blood from the scratches that Haven had left there. She shot him a look but didn't try and duck away from him. "Let me go see about Lettie. When I'm sure she's okay, I'll help you pack things up."
"You will not. There are more than enough people here to pack up the picnic and get it loaded into the cars. We'll deal with it. You deal with Lettie. Make sure she's going to be okay. If not, I'll raise Haven later and pay him back for hurting her," Aedan promised. Isis gave her a look, as if trying to decide if she should take the woman's words at face value. Then she flashed a brief smile and allowed Damian to escort her to the table where the pride had clustered. Aedan watched her go before turning to find Jean Claude close. He was watching her curiously. "Problems?" she asked lightly.
"Of course not, ma mie," he replied, a slight smile pulling the corners of his mouth up. "Simply taking a moment to appreciate how absolutely surprising you are."
She lifted a brow at his statement, letting him know she thought it was odd. He didn't bother to elaborate, simply remained where he stood and waited for her to close the distance between them. When she did so, he fell into step beside her. Together, they returned to the covered picnic area to help with the packing up of supplies.
Truth be told, she was slightly upset that their little party had been so thoroughly destroyed. She'd been enjoying herself. It had been fun to watch Jason and Travis try to outdo one another. And there had been a relaxed air surrounding everyone that Aedan hadn't felt in some time. She hated to see it so completely shredded by Haven's selfish actions. "We can do this again another time, if you wish," Jean Claude said as he helped her cover and stow the uneaten salads in an empty cooler.
"That would be lovely," she replied. Then she turned to look at him. "But not until things settle down. When we have everyone and every thing dealt with. So that we don't have to worry about interruptions."
"Then you will need to turn your telephone off," he said, smiling at her. It was a reference to an earlier call from Animators, Inc. She'd chosen not to answer it, instead letting it go to voice mail. She still hadn't listened to the message that had been left. She had no doubt that it was from Bert, trying to convince her to return to work early. He'd probably said something along the lines that the business was slacking off without her presence in the office. He considered her the star attraction at the company, despite the numerous times she'd told him anything to the contrary. He was going to be disappointed because she had no intention of answering his calls or going back to work until Doctor Lillian was convinced she was one hundred percent.
"I didn't answer it," she reminded him.
"But you did look at it," he returned.
"I didn't answer it," she repeated. Jean Claude offered her a smile and turned his attention to the plates and utensils. Aedan moved on to the buns.
It didn't take them long to pack everything up and get it loaded back into the cars. Nathaniel and Rhia helped with that task, as did Jason. Once everything was stowed in the vehicles, it came time to load people up. Aedan watched as Damian urged Isis to one of the cars, physically drawing her away from the lion shaped Lettie in order to get her to climb into a car. She was obviously reluctant to go, arguing softly with the vampire as they went.
Travis and Jason were the ones who lifted a slumbering Lettie and, between them, carried her to a waiting car. Aedan was sure that Travis could have done it by himself, but he said nothing to Jason. Maybe it was simply awkward to carry the limp lioness and having a second set of hands made the carrying that much easier. Either way, they got her into the car that Isis and Damian had taken, then they took the front seat, Travis on the driver's side, and the car pulled away.
Cars filled up and pulled away, until Aedan and Jean Claude were the last two people left in the park. Someone had taken care of Haven's body while they'd packed it all up, and she could absolutely believe that the park would look pristine before the sun rose in the morning. No signs left behind that something horrific had happened there. She stood on the concrete slab a little while longer, staring out over the park, hidden in shadows and darkness, and imagined what it must look like in the daylight.
Finally, Jean Claude took her hand in his. "Come, ma mie," he said softly, as if afraid of breaking the quiet solitude of the park. "Let us go."
Aedan put her musings behind her and allowed him to escort her to the waiting limo.
~*~*~*~*~
The church looked lonely, sitting in the encroaching darkness as it was, not a single light shining through the windows of the main chapel. There was a light on at the back of the building, where the offices were located. There were no cars in the lot, which wasn't entirely unusual. It wasn't a night when the congregation would be together. But it seemed odd that there wasn't a single light on in the chapel. Zerbrowski shot a look toward Dolph, taking in the man's stony face, before unbuckling his seat belt and climbing from the car.
Dolph followed suit, hand reaching into his coat where the warrant had been put as soon as it had been set in Dolph's hand. More digging into the Solomon family had turned up some things that could be construed as bad. A judge had apparently agreed after looking at all of the information that had been compiled on Carter Solomon and his church. What had tipped the scales was the anonymous call that had come into the tip line. The caller, who had done their best to muffle and disguise their voice, had simply said that Ruth Ann Solomon had gone missing and was likely dead at the hands of her husband. Add to the call that Carter Solomon's car had been found abandoned in a lot at the airport and his private, personal accounts had been cleaned out. The whole mess smelled funny.
A van came to a halt behind Dolph's squad. When the doors opened, out spilled a team of handlers and their dogs. Dogs that had been trained to sniff for bodies. Zerbrowski really hoped that they didn't turn anything up, but the practical side of him knew it to be a vain hope.
Several more vehicles poured into the parking area before the little church. They must have made enough noise that they attracted some attention. A light came on in the chapel, then the front doors swung open and a young man stepped out into the night air. He bore a striking resemblance to Carter Solomon and Zerbrowski recognized him from the photo of the Solomon clan that Dolph had in one of his files. The oldest of the Solomon children. Matthew.
"Good evening, gentleman. Can I help you?" the young man asked, not ruffled one bit. Zerbrowski saw the look in Dolph's eye and knew they were thinking the same thing. Matthew had made that anonymous call.
"Detective Rudolph Storr. Regional Preternatural Investigation Taskforce," Dolph said, hand reaching into his coat to retrieve the warrant. "I have a warrant here to search the premises. We have reason to believe that Ruth Ann Solomon's body is buried here somewhere."
To his credit, the young man blinked and widened his eyes as if in surprise. It was a damn good act. "My mother? You suspect my mother is dead and buried here?"
"Yes, sir," Dolph nodded and started toward the church's entrance. Matthew met him halfway and took the warrant when Dolph offered it up, read it in the golden light spilling out of the interior of the church. "Do you mind if we let the dogs have a look around?"
"Of course not. Please," Matthew invited, hand motioning toward the church grounds. Dolph nodded and stepped away from the young man, motioning toward the grounds with one hand.
"One team go to the right. The other to the left. Check all of the buildings and any place it would be easy to hide a body. I want to know if any dogs alert. We're planting flags in any location a dog indicates there might be a body. When they've done a thorough sweep, we'll get some GPR here or something."
Zerbrowski looked over at Dolph. "If the dogs alert, we'd do better to call Aedan in. She can tell us if there are any dead on the property better than any ground penetrating radar could."
"She's still on leave. I called Animators before coming out there and got the run around from the secretary," Dolph told him gruffly.
Zerbrowski bit back a smile, knowing exactly how much Dolph hated being given the run around. "Did you try calling her personally?" he asked instead. Dolph shot him a look that said he absolutely hadn't tried that. Zerbrowski shook his head and tugged his cell from his pocket. "You should have just called her and asked her to come out."
"Last time I tried calling her phone, it was answered by an annoyingly cheery young man who happily told me that Aedan wasn't taking any calls from the police. And then he hung up before I could even leave a message." Dolph sounded like he hadn't gotten over that call yet. Zerbrowski had to cough to suppress his laughter. Then he punched a button and waited for the other line to ring through.
"Kinkade," Aedan said, voice much stronger than the last time he'd heard it. "This better not be about a fucking murder scene, Zerbrowski, or I'm hanging up and I'm taking the battery out."
"Not a murder, Aedan," Zerbrowski assured her. He watched the way Dolph's expression shuttered, just a little bit, and knew that the man was not happy. "We're looking into a report on a missing person."
"Since when is a missing person your deal?" she asked. She sounded bored, but there was touch of curiosity in her voice.
"Since this is someone we talked to in connection with the lycanthrope killers. An anonymous call came in to our tip line saying that our potential witness was murdered. We think, if that's the case, that she's buried on her property."
There was a moment's pause. "You didn't call me to play blood hound, did you? I'm not a parlor trick, Zerbrowski."
"No. There are dogs here. They're sniffing now. If they find anything, we'd like it if you would confirm whether we're dealing with actual dead bodies or not."
Aedan was silent again. Then she sighed. "Where are you?"
"A small church out in the middle of nowhere. Pure Heart Ministries. I can send a text to your phone with the address."
"Don't bother," Aedan said, voice suddenly tense and hard. "I know where it is. I can be there in half an hour or so. Depending on traffic." She hung up before Zerbrowski could thank her. Something must have showed on his face.
"Did she tell you to go to hell?" Dolph asked.
"No. She hung up on me. I get the feeling that she wasn't happy to be disturbed," Zerbrowski said. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to look out over the grounds. He couldn't see the dogs or their handlers. But he heard it when one of the handlers called out for a flag. And he heard it when a second one did. And a third.
Jesus Christ, it was going to be a long night.
~*~
True to her word, Aedan showed up half an hour later. Not surprisingly, she wasn't alone. Surprisingly, the person with her wasn't Forrester. And, not surprisingly in the least, Dolph was not happy with there being a civilian at his scene. He shot her a look, but said nothing, when Kinkade joined them, an older gentleman following behind her. "Dolph, Zerbrowski, meet Bobby Lee. Bobby Lee, Dolph and Zerbrowski."
The man named Bobby Lee nodded his head. Something in his expression told Zerbrowski that he was not a man to mess around with.
"Where's Forrester?" Dolph asked.
"New Mexico, I would imagine," Aedan replied. She seemed to be striving for almost bored. She didn't quite make it. Zerbrowski had to wonder what had happened between the two of them, but he kept the question to himself. "What do we have?"
"So far, the dogs have alerted to twelve possible bodies," Dolph said.
Aedan frowned at that, and Zerbrowski realized that she'd arrived clouded in an air of tension. She'd come wearing her cop face, so he hadn't realized she'd been unhappy to be there. Some of her tension and displeasure slid away with her obvious surprise, but it came screaming back to life when Matthew Solomon joined them. "Marshal Kinkade, meet Matthew Solomon. Mister Solomon, this is Marshal Kinkade. She has abilities that can help us clear this mess up fairly quickly."
The two of them stared at one another for several long seconds. Zerbrowski caught the way a new tension that zinged back and forth between the two of them. For just a moment, he thought he saw similar expressions on their face. Then it was gone and Solomon put his hand out. "Marshal Kinkade. Pleasure to meet you." His words sounded forced, as if dictated by manners.
"Thank you, Mister Solomon. Likewise." She absolutely didn't mean it. He could tell. They shook hands a moment longer before Solomon let go and turned to look at the grounds behind him. Aedan did the same. And Zerbrowski saw it when everything in her posture changed.
"Holy shit! There are more than twelve bodies here, Dolph," she said. Zerbrowski watched as she closed her eyes and swallowed. Hard. Seconds ticked by in absolute silence as she simply stood there. When she finally opened her eyes, her mouth had turned down and she'd gone pale. "I count three dozen."
"Is there a cemetery of any kind on this property?" Dolph asked Matthew. The young man took a bit to answer, because he was focused on Aedan. As if he had never seen anyone do what she'd just done. Zerbrowski frowned.
"No. No cemetery. My grandfather didn't want to have the dead so close to his church. The nearest cemetery is up the road."
"Its a half a mile that way," Aedan pointed, eyes never leaving the grounds stretched out before her. "I can feel the dead there, too. Faintly. They're waiting for someone to come visit them."
"My mother used to walk down and visit the graves every Saturday," Matthew said.
"She hasn't been in a while. They're anxious. They miss her," Aedan said softly, already drifting forward. The man named Bobby Lee followed after her without saying a word.
"Someone get her a flashlight," Dolph called.
"No need," she responded, voice distant. "I can find my way."
One of the uniforms brought out a flashlight and flicked it on, showing them that Aedan was a good distance away from them. Zerbrowski wondered if the dead were calling to her or if something else was guiding her. Dolph motioned them forward. The uniform and Matthew fell into step with Dolph and himself. The four of them trailed after Aedan until she suddenly came to a stop.
She stood in one place for a while, seemingly not doing anything. But the dogs started barking wildly and one or two people loudly demanded to know what was happening. Bobby Lee had one hand inside his coat, suggesting he was carrying a weapon, and the look on his face showed eyes that were a little wider than he was probably comfortable with. "Jesus Christ, girl. How much power do you have?" he asked.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Aedan replied. Moments later, the ground rumbled around them. Flashlights flicked on all over the property, beams of light dancing wildly in the shadows for several moments. Then the rumbling stopped.
"Mother of God!" someone exclaimed. A golden beam came to rest on a young woman, hair hanging limply around her face. Then the light found another woman. And another. And another. Until there were so many that Zerbrowski lost track. The uniform's flashlight found Aedan. She stood in the center of the property, staring across the distance at a familiar face. Ruth Ann Solomon watched Aedan carefully, her clothes the same ones she'd been wearing when Zerbrowski had last seen her. They were stained with dirt. As was the woman's face.
"Mother?" Matthew asked, taking a step toward Aedan and Ruth Ann. Bobby Lee held up a hand and made him come to a stop.
"Wait a moment. Give her a second," he instructed. Matthew came to a halt and watched, as they all did, as Aedan drew a knife from a sheath on her waist and held it up. As she made a cut across her fingertip. Then she offered the bleeding finger to Ruth Ann.
"Drink," she said. Ruth Ann stared a moment before she stepped forward and wrapped her lips around Aedan's finger. Sucked at it and swallowed a few times. When Aedan pulled her finger back, Ruth Ann blinked and Zerbrowski could just see her return to them.
"Matthew? What's going on? Who are all these people and why are they here?" the woman asked when she spied her son. Then her eyes landed on Aedan and they went wide. "You! What are you doing here?"
"Tell me what happened to you, Ruth Ann," Aedan commanded softly.
"I don't take orders from you, girl," Ruth Ann returned.
"What did he do to you, Ruth Ann?" Aedan asked. Her voice was low and filled with emotion. Ruth Ann blinked at her, her mouth hanging open. "I know he abused you, Ruth Ann. He abused all of his children. Why not his wife? Tell me what he did to you. Tell the police what he did to you."
"I can't," she whispered softly. "If he finds out..."
"He won't find out, Ruth Ann. I'll make sure he never finds out. You're safe. Tell us what he did to you. Tell us what he did to all of you." This time, her words were less an order and more a plea. Soft and genuine and almost frightened.
"He forced us to do his bidding," Ruth Ann admitted. "He liked his power. He used it as he would. He forced me to fellate him. He forced me to allow him what he called his husbandly rights. He used his voice to turn his own flesh and blood into creatures I didn't even know anymore. He was obsessed with sex. He sought it with strange women he picked up in bars. He forced us all to give it to him. All of us. Except you, Katherine. He couldn't make you do anything. Because you were already tainted."
Dolph shot a questioning look Zerbrowski's way.
"Mother," Matthew said softly. There was emotion in his voice.
"I tried to stop him, Matthew. I swear I did. But every time I tried, he'd use that power of his and he'd force me to my knees and..." Ruth Ann admitted, breaking off before she could finish her sentence. "Why did my children have to suffer such abuse and you didn't? Demon spawn. Whore's offspring." The last was directed as Aedan.
"I wish I knew, Ruth Ann," she said quietly.
"I should have killed you the day he brought you into my home," Ruth Ann spat.
"You would have been better off killing him," Aedan replied, seemingly untouched by the woman's hate.
"He was my husband," Ruth Ann shot back.
"He was a monster, mother," Matthew said, pulling the woman's attention his way. "He was a monster and he twisted the rest of us into monsters. Grandfather would have wept to see how we treated one of our own kin."
Ruth Ann's eyes flashed with anger and she turned to take a step toward her son. Aedan put herself between them, dragging the woman's attention back to her. "Your grandfather would never have allowed the Devil's own spawn into his home. He would have seen to it she was returned from whence she came!"
"You have every reason to hate, Ruth Ann," Aedan told her. "So much misery. But hate him. Don't hate your children."
"He was a good man!" she snapped, eyes latched on to Aedan. "He--"
"He turned his youngest children into psychotic murderers," Aedan informed her. Ruth Ann stared.
"Paul and Grace," Zerbrowski added, bringing the woman's gaze his way. "We know Grace was attacked by a lycanthrope. That she contracted lycanthropy. We know that she ran away from home. Probably not long after it was discovered she was pregnant. Carter got her pregnant, didn't he?"
"My father claimed to be a man of God. He was a slave to his lusts. When Grace realized she was pregnant, she came undone," Matthew told them. Out of the corner of his eye, Zerbrowski could see that Ruth Ann wanted to interrupt, to argue and deny. But she held her tongue. "She was different after that. And Paul saw it. They were twins, you know. One day, they were just gone. I don't know what happened that drove them away. I don't know where they are. But Grace's problems were because of my father."
"Paul convinced her that they could wipe the taint from her soul by killing lycanthropes," Aedan told him, not looking away from Ruth Ann. "He convinced her to tell him everything she knew about lycanthropes. And then they used it against other shifters to torture and kill them. They were having sex with one another. And that's because of what he did to them, Ruth Ann. That's what he did to you and your family. He made them do that."
"Lies!" Ruth Ann snarled.
Aedan sighed. Turned to look at one of the waiting women. She pointed at a petite figure with strawberry blonde hair. "You. Come here."
The girl moved toward them, her steps shuffling just a bit, and stopped only feet from Aedan and Ruth Ann. And that was when he realized... "Oh, my God," Zerbrowski whispered. Every single woman was a zombie. Aedan had raised at least three dozen zombies without uttering a word. Without preparing a ritual. With nothing but her power.
"Tell me your name," Aedan said after feeding the girl some of her blood. Life flooded into pale green eyes and the girl looked around with a frightened expression.
"Anya," the girl said, a touch of an accent in her voice. Zerbrowski tugged his notebook out of his pocket and jotted that down.
"Tell me how you died, Anya," Aedan ordered.
"Carter strangled me after I told him I wanted to leave. He said I couldn't go," the girl admitted, confused.
"Why did you want to leave?"
"Because I was tired of the things he did to me."
"Tell me what he did to you, Anya."
"Raped me. Many times. Until I got fat with his child. And then again after the baby came. I didn't want to have his baby. I told him I wanted to leave. To go have an abortion. He grew angry and he choked me." With the last of her words, her hands lifted. Came to rest over her belly. It was a protective gesture every cop who'd dealt with domestic violence had seen.
"This is what your husband did, Ruth Ann. He fucked anything that moved. His own children. Women he picked up off the streets. You. Anyone. You don't have to protect him anymore. We know what kind of monster Carter was. Don't protect him. Because he can't kill you again."
The anger ran out of Ruth Ann's face in the blink of an eye. Her shoulders slumped and she suddenly looked much older than she was. "I didn't think he would kill me. But he overheard our conversation, Detectives," she said, her gaze sliding past Aedan to find him and Dolph where they stood. "He heard it. And he punished me for thinking about betraying him."
"He raped you, didn't he?" Aedan asked, voice soft with emotion.
Ruth Ann nodded.
"And then he strangled you. And he buried you here on the land that belonged to your father. He didn't even have the grace to bury you with your father. He would have left you here to wither into dust. Because Carter Solomon only cares about himself. You're a tool, Ruth Ann. His personal plaything."
Ruth Ann's face crumpled. Zerbrowski watched as Matthew moved past Aedan and wrapped his arms around his mother. She clung to him and wailed, crying out her sorrow and her loss. And he whispered softly to her, stroked her hair and pretended like she wasn't already dead and buried. Aedan turned to look at Dolph and Zerbrowski, her face carefully neutral. "We're going to have to take statements from all these women. I hope your phones are fully charged."
~*~
It was inching close to dawn by the time they finished up taking statements from all of the victims found buried on Solomon's property. Kinkade conducted the questioning, with Dolph's permission, and somehow managed to wrangle every last inch of information from them when it was obvious they didn't want to give it all. When she released the last zombie and returned her to her grave, she turned to look at Dolph and Zerbrowski and stumbled over her own feet. Bobby Lee was there to put a hand on her shoulder. "You need to sit and catch your breath, girl," he said, tone that of a concerned parent more than that of a bodyguard.
"I need to sleep. I'm still not back to one hundred percent and I'm going to have to deal with a cranky master vampire when I get done here," she replied.
"Its been a couple weeks since the demon summoner," Dolph said, voice sharp enough to shatter the softness of the coming morning as it gathered around them. Aedan flashed him a very unhappy look but said nothing. "I would think that the marks would have helped heal the damage up by now. " His tone of voice let everyone within hearing distance what he thought of that.
"Extenuating circumstances," she replied steadily.
"Something I think we need to talk about. Just like we need to talk about what happened here. Katherine."
Zerbrowski watched as Aedan's expression tightened. Just an iota. But she shook her head at him and motioned around with one hand. "What happened here happened in the past. To someone else entirely." Her eyes went flat as she stared Dolph down. "Leave the past alone, Dolph. All it does is rip people's lives to shreds."
"Katherine," Dolph tried again. Zerbrowski watched as her calm snapped.
"My name, Detective Storr," she said slowly and carefully, making sure to put emphasis on each word. "Is Chastity Aedan Kinkade. I suggest you remember that and address me accordingly. I think Marshal Kinkade will due nicely. Now. If you'll excuse me, I need to go get some rest. You have everything you need in order to pursue your case against Carter Solomon. Zerbrowski." She turned to look at him where he stood, giving him a faint nod. "It was good to see you again. Next time, call someone else."
They watched as she crossed to her vehicle, silence following in her wake. Bobby Lee wasn't far behind her. Zerbrowski risked a glance toward Dolph, curious as to how he was reacting to the whole thing, and found that the man's gaze was latched tight on Aedan as she walked. Anger was etched into the lines at the corners of his eyes and his mouth. In the way he had his fists jammed into his pockets. He was absolutely unhappy with all of it.
Aedan had just swung the car door open when Matthew Solomon's voice cut across the painful silence. "Marshal Kinkade," he called, then paused and stared over the distance at her. "Aedan. For what its worth, I'm sorry." There was so much meaning wrapped up into that one simple statement. So much more than just an apology. The two of them stared at one another over the distance for a while.
"Yeah. Me, too."
A moment later, she and Bobby Lee had climbed into the car and were pulling out of the church's lot. And Zerbrowski was left with more questions than answers.
~*~*~*~*~
She was not surprised that Jean Claude was waiting for her when she finally made it back to the Circus. The sun was up, but he seemed disinclined to sleep at the moment. There was a faint frown on his face as she let herself into the underground lair and, for just a few seconds, she thought he was mad that she'd gone out. It took a bit for her to realize he was frowning because he was worried. She offered him a tired smile and let him pull her into his embrace. "What did Zerbrowski need?" he asked politely.
Aedan pulled back to look up at him, expression thoughtful. She should tell him, because there was more to the story than she'd given him before. But she was tired, had spent too much of herself physically and emotionally raising zombies and asking questions. She wanted sleep. "Can we talk about it later?" she asked.
"Of course, ma mie," he nodded, turning so that she was no longer wrapped in his embrace. One of his arms was still wound around her shoulder, though, and he used it to urge her forward. "Come. I will put you to bed before I seek my own rest."
"Thanks," she replied, offering him a smile of gratitude. He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple in reply. Aedan leaned on him, trying hard not to let the events of the evening grab her. If they did, she'd spend the entire night dreaming of the things that had happened in her past. She didn't need to dwell on that nightmare any longer than she already had. It was over and done with. All she needed now was her friends and family and her new future.
That thought was circling her brain when they passed the television room and heard sound from inside. She could see out of the corner of her eye that her friends, her family, were gathered together before the large screen. Isis had a chair to herself, and it didn't take much work on Aedan's part to know that was because Damian already slept. Janika had another chair, arms crossed over her chest as she gave her attention to the report. Nathaniel and Rhia had one end of the couch, while Minette, Micah, and Jason had the other. She was sandwiched between the two men, each one of them laying a hand on her arms to offer her support. Everyone was watching the television intently.
The TV was tuned to a local station, which was running a special report. "We know the police have been on the premises of the Pure Heart Ministries all night, Marsha, and even more vans from the county morgue have just gone up the road," a male reporter was saying, light from the camera shining on his face. One hand was gesturing behind him. There were barriers across the road behind him, with squad cars sitting behind them, their blue and red lights strobing across the area.
"Do we know if this has anything with the sudden disappearance of Pure Heart Ministries leader Carter Solomon?" a woman asked. Probably the aforementioned Marsha. Aedan stopped and sighed, realizing that bed was probably not happening just yet. She looked up at Jean Claude, who seemed to know what she was thinking. He offered her a faint smile of encouragement before tipping his head toward the open door. She nodded and stepped away from him, entering the room to find that everyone was staring attentively at the screen.
"The police haven't issued any official statements yet. We've been trying to confirm that the Regional Preternatural Investigative Taskforce is on scene, but haven't had any luck with that," the reporter, identified as Paul Strong by the little graphic at the bottom of the screen, told the camera. He had such an intense look on his face that Aedan couldn't help but flash back to Dolph's expression when she'd finished putting the zombies back. That memory prompted her to scoop up the remote from where it rested on the arm of the couch and hit the mute button. Her actions brought the eyes of everyone in the room her way.
"Aedan, were you out at that scene?" Minette asked, concern already taking up residence on her face.
"I was there," she confirmed. She lifted her gaze to Jean Claude a moment, then stepped away from him and moved to stand near the television. Everyone followed her actions.
"Why? Was it some sort of gruesome murder?" Minette's expression made it clear that she felt Aedan had seen enough of gruesome murder scenes for the rest of her life. It almost made Aedan smile.
"Murder, yes. Gruesome, no." She fell silent a moment, trying to figure out how best to broach the subject. It was going to be a long, long story. Aedan wasn't sure if she was up to telling it, if she had the strength to tell it. But they all deserved to know the truth.
"Was it Carter Solomon?" Isis asked. "I've seen one or two of the man's sermons. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if he was responsible for murder."
"I'll get to that. But before I do, there's a story I need to tell you." Aedan paused to take a breath, to tell herself that she could do this. To pull her courage around her. "A story that starts with Carter Solomon. Some decades in the past. He met a woman named Ruth Ann Garner and started a relationship with her."
It was a boring start, as stories went. But it was important to start at the beginning. And they needed the whole story. Not just her friends. Jean Claude did, too. They all deserved to know it. If they were going to have any kind of relationship, she had to start being honest. With them and with herself. "Ruth Ann Garner was the daughter of a man who had a small ministry. Pure Heart Ministries. It was nothing special. Just a small congregation gathering in a small church. The kind of church that would never be anything large or worldly."
"But... Pure Heart Ministries is in quite a few states," Janika said, giving Aedan a confused look.
"It is. But it wasn't always that way. Ruth Ann Garner's father had no desire to have a large congregation. He only wanted to tend to a small flock of God's children. And the church was like that for many years." She knew this story. Had heard it told to Ruth Ann's children more than once. Talking about her father, about the place of worship he had built, had brought rare smiles to her face. When she'd smiled... Aedan had thought she was a lovely woman when she'd worn that soft smile.
"How did it change?" Minette questioned.
"Ruth Ann and Carter Solomon courted and married," Aedan told them. "It was a small wedding, held for their close friends and family in the Pure Heart church. Ruth Ann's father officiated. Ruth Ann was happy. She thought she was in love and she thought she'd married a good, righteous man with whom she would have a family and grow old. And, for a time, she had her little dream. But Carter Solomon was a man driven by the need for power. And Ruth Ann was only a stepping stone for him."
"You're saying he married her for the ministry?" Rhia asked. Aedan nodded in reply.
"He convinced Ruth Ann's father that he was the best choice to take over the ministry when he was no longer capable of running it. And the day came that Ruth Ann's father was incapable of running his ministry. He happily handed it over to Carter Solomon. He died not long after and Carter Solomon could do what he pleased with his ministry."
Ruth Ann had never talked about Carter's push to grow the congregation. To make Pure Heart a large, prosperous ministry. Any time she'd mentioned that period, it had been with a mix of sorrow and resignation. Aedan hadn't understood it at the time, but she did now. She had no doubt Solomon had done something to Ruth Ann's father in order to gain control of the ministry. The way Ruth Ann spoke at those times said she was sure her husband had done something to her father. It was highly likely Ruth Ann had lived for years with the knowledge and had been unable to say anything about it. Aedan knew that any complaints Ruth Ann had voiced would have been squashed with a touch of the power that lived in Solomon's voice.
She continued on, most of the story now speculation. "He grew the ministry. Made it larger. Made it prosperous. He drew people to him like a moth to a flame. He was charismatic. Charming. People liked him. Or, rather, people thought they liked him. They didn't know that Solomon had been given his own gift. Power. To make people do as he wished. Similar to the voice tricks that vampires have." Aedan's gaze flicked to where Jean Claude stood for a moment. "Not quite the same. But close enough to serve him in making his dreams a reality. And while he was growing his ministry, he was growing his family. He and Ruth Ann had eight children. Six boys and two girls."
Minette frowned. "Sounds like a typical religious family."
"Yes. And, for all intents and purposes, they appeared to be a good and righteous religious family. Sermons every Sunday. Smiling, angelic children with blonde hair and blue eyes. But it was only a veneer. A thin surface covering that hid deep, dark, terrible secrets."
"Aedan," Jean Claude began. She could feel in him the desire to take her to task on that last statement. She merely shook her head and pushed on before he could say anything more.
"Carter Solomon did not love Ruth Ann, his plain and boring wife. He craved someone more exciting. More adventurous. More amorous. So he had affairs. Flings with women he thought could give him the things he sought. And when those affairs weren't enough, he sought intimacy with his children."
Isis snarled, eyes glowing with a sudden surge of anger. "What a fucking pig!" Her sentiment was echoed by everyone in the room.
Aedan inclined her head. "No one could stop him. Anyone who tried simply forgot because he used his gift to silence them. Used his gift to make his wife give up what he wanted from her. Used his voice to make his children acquiescent and obedient. He liked having sweet, servile people surrounding him. He disliked disorder and chaos."
The eight of them were watching her, waiting for more of the story. Most were trying to figure out what this story had to do with the murders. She saw anger and indignation and horror in many of the faces staring at her. And she saw a quiet, soft understanding in the rest. Gentle looks that were filled with pity and apology. She ignored them and pressed on.
"But chaos and disorder is what he got when he met a woman named Penny Lynn Hayes. Of course he had an affair with her. She was young and beautiful and adventurous. Everything that his wife wasn't. Everything he was looking for. And their relationship was wonderful. Until Penny got pregnant. And then ended up turned by a vampire. Carter Solomon simply couldn't stomach the idea of a vampire loving his child. Raising his child. Being anything beyond a monster. So he killed her. And he took her child. Raised that child as his own."
"This is an interesting story, Aedan, but I don't understand what it has to do with the scene you were at earlier," Isis said.
"I'm getting there, Isis. I swear. Just be patient a little longer," Aedan promised. Then she pushed on, unable to stop herself now that the dam had broken. She'd kept all of this bottled up for so long. It wouldn't remain hidden away any longer. Refused to remain locked up in the corners of her mind. She could only hope that her friends wouldn't hate her when she was done with the telling of her tale. "Penny's death gave him a rush that he couldn't get anywhere else. Sex didn't give him that kind of rush. Preaching certainly didn't. So he felt he'd found his calling in life. He was going to do away with the world's unclean. The abominations, as he called them. Vampires. Shape shifters. Anything that he deemed unholy in his eyes was subject to his madness."
For a moment, she recalled that horrible night when Asher had almost died. The wound had been ugly, had leaked blood until she'd been sure he was beyond help. She almost hadn't saved him. And, had he died, that would have been another mark against Carter Solomon.
"When he realized that his quest moved too slowly with only himself as the one attempting to rid the world of the unholy, he decided it was time to recruit people to help. He would weaponize the masses in his war again the different."
"Oh, my God! The homeless man!" Janika said softly. The thought of what the man had attempted to do saw her going pale. Isis reached out and put a hand on Janika's arm. "That explains the symbol."
"The symbol was created by Ruth Ann's father. Solomon decided it was perfect for his warped mission. So he took it and twisted it, used it as a calling card to the world. I still can't figure out how no one traced it back to the ministry. Not that it mattered. The success rate of the homeless against vampires was probably questionable."
"I want to skin the man for nearly taking Asher away from me," Janika said, each word spoken carefully. Her voice was tight with anger. And her face was hard. But the look faded, replaced with a look of confusion. "But wasn't that symbol used in the lycanthrope killings, too?"
"It was," Aedan nodded. Fell silent. They all looked at her expectantly for a few seconds.
"Carter Solomon was behind those murders? He's the reason Micah almost died?" Minette asked. No one missed the growl that echoed in her words. Aedan watched Micah reach out to lay a hand on Minette's arm.
"Yes," she began. "And no. It was his fault, but he wasn't immediately behind the murders."
"Who was?" Minette demanded.
"Two of his children," Aedan told her. "Paul and Grace."
"Paul and Grace," Minette repeated. Then she frowned. "Was Paul the one who tried to attack me that night at Jean Claude's party?"
"Yes," Aedan admitted. She drew a breath. "Solomon's power warped his children. Twisted their thoughts inside their heads. Grace ran away from home because of his actions. She was attacked by a wolf. And she was infected. When Paul found out, he took her away. And he decided that killing other lycanthropes was how he could save his sister. How they could wipe the taint from her flesh. Absolve her of her sins."
"What happened to them?" Minette asked. Her voice was so soft and quiet that Aedan knew she wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than the truth.
"Dead. Both of them."
"As interesting as this story is, Aedan, I still don't see how it has anything to do with what was on the television earlier." This from Janika, who was obviously anxious to know why Aedan was telling them this weird story. She sighed and let her gaze seek out Jean Claude. He gave her a faint smile of encouragement.
"Remember I told you that Solomon twisted his children? Used his power on them. Sexually abused them. Warped their brains until they were as messed up in the head as he was. He tried doing the same to the child he had with Penny Lynn Hayes."
"Tried? What do you mean? How do you try to warp someone? Does that mean he failed?"
Aedan turned to look at Minette, who was trying to work it all out. "This child, a young girl who knew she didn't fit in with the rest of her family, was already an outcast when her own powers manifested. Carter Solomon looked upon them as unholy, as a taint left by her mother. He tried to purge her of them, tried to lay hands on her and 'heal' her. Tried to use his voice against her. Tried to drive the Devil out of her. Time and again. Until she was so frightened of him that she couldn't think straight."
She could see that it was starting to click with them, that they were starting to see why this story was being told. She pushed on before anyone could ask any questions, before they could destroy her resolve. "Ruth Ann made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with this child. She made sure her own children felt the same way. The girl was made to feel like she was unloved. Unwanted. Some kind of horrible creature who didn't deserve to have anyone care about her. She grew up alone, untrusting of others, afraid of her father and herself."
"Aedan," Minette breathed, disbelief and pain and sadness in that single word.
"When it became obvious that she couldn't control her powers, and he couldn't control her, he sent her away. To an expensive private school. A religious school. Which was a new kind of hell for her. And an embarrassment for him, because she still had no control over her powers. So he decided that the best course of action was to rid himself of the girl. Permanently. So he hired himself the best bounty hunter he could find. The one bounty hunter who knew how to handle the strange and unusual and bizarre."
Isis blinked at her. "You're saying your own flesh and blood sent Edward to kill you?"
"Katherine didn't know how to stop raising zombies. The harder she tried to just not do it, the worse it got. Carter Solomon finally decided that she was more trouble than she was worth. So he sent Edward to this fancy private school and told him to just... put a bullet in the brain of his own child. Fortunately for her, Edward saw what she was immediately and decided to help her instead of kill her."
"Aedan. Why didn't you tell me?" Minette sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"By the time I met you, Minette, Katherine Solomon was dead and buried. To be honest, I never felt like her anyway. It was no big loss to leave that identity in some dusty mausoleum somewhere. It was easy to become someone else, because I was already someone else. There was no reason to tell you about Katherine because she was dead. And you made it easy to forget that her father would rather see her dead than accept her for who she was. It was just easier to leave it hidden away."
"Until the murders started happening," Rhia said quietly.
"I didn't know who it was at first. I didn't even associate the symbol with Solomon or any of his offspring. It wasn't until Paul and Grace attacked a small family. The Harris family. He was a man of God. His wife was a doting mother to their young daughter. Katherine. It wasn't until they died that I suspected something. And then Paul attacked you at the party, Minette. It was his way of telling me that I wasn't allowed to create a family for myself. If I wasn't going to be part of Solomon's family, then I wouldn't be part of your family." Aedan paused and took a breath. "He tried to kill you because of me. He tried to kidnap Isis because of me. He took Micah and tortured him because of me. I almost cost you your life."
"That's why you acted weird after that night?" Minette asked.
"I knew he'd tried to kill you because you were my new family. He saw you as a hurdle to getting Katherine back. He was sure that if he destroyed you, anyone else that Katherine appeared to care about, he would be able to bring Katherine back into the fold. Make his father happy." She paused and let the emotion leak from her face. Let the blank mask settle in the emotion's place. "I made him see the error of his ways. I made sure he knew that Katherine was dead."
"You killed him for me?" Minette questioned, eyes going wide.
"I didn't kill him," Aedan returned. "I just made sure that he knew where he stood with me. And I made sure he would never hurt anyone else. Ever."
"What about Grace?" The question came from Micah, startling Aedan. He, Jason, and Nathaniel had been silent the entire time. She let her gaze slide his way, offering him a silent apology for all of the pain she'd inadvertently caused him.
"Grace took her own life. She'd started to realize that Paul was mad. She didn't want to be part of the killings anymore. She's the one who called the police that night. She grew a spine and told Paul to his face that she wasn't going to let him hurt anyone else. I suspect that's because of you, Micah. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you got through to her. She did what she could to try and help you." Aedan frowned, recalling the scene she'd walked in on. Paul had been beyond help. But Grace... Maybe Grace could have been saved. "Paul didn't like that she'd turned on him, so he stabbed her. Silver coated blade in the stomach. Richard told me he forced her to change. So that she healed. And then he questioned her. She told him that little bit, then she killed herself."
"Her head was messed up in a lot of ways. Whatever Solomon's power did to her, Paul exploited it. And all of the sexual abuse spilled over into their relationship. Whenever Paul's temper reached dangerous levels, Grace gave herself to him in order to calm him down," Micah told them. Aedan watched the looks of shock and dismay settle over everyone's faces.
"You helped her, Micah. When no one else wanted to. I want to thank you for that. No matter what went between... " Aedan broke off, unable to finish the sentence. She was never going to be able to call any of them her family. Not sibling or parent. But that didn't change the fact that they were still blood. And Micah's willingness to help someone who had kidnapped him with the intent of torture and murder made her realized that there was still good in the world. "Thank you. I wish I could have talked to her one last time. Maybe tried to undo some of Solomon's sickness."
"She was a human being, Aedan. She deserved that little bit of kindness. Even if she never showed her own sibling the same courtesy." His words dropped heavily into the room, making Aedan wish she could leave the story there and run. But it wasn't to be. She'd started this ride. She needed to finish it.
"I can't imagine what it was like to have a brother and sister turn against you," Isis whispered.
"Two brothers," Janika interjected. Aedan frowned at her. "When Edward and I rescued you from those men, we met one of your brothers. He called you a whore. He said you were father's mistake. He knew what was being done to you. He knew and he let it happen. I shot him."
"Three brothers," Aedan corrected.
"Three?" Rhia sounded like she was losing track of the whole conversation.
"The firebug. The one Edward tortured for information. That was Peter. Older than Paul and Grace. He sold me out to Solomon's cronies with the help of Gretchen. Edward said he promised her that Solomon's men would kill me and get me out of the way so she could have Jean Claude to herself."
"No offense, Aedan, but your family is seriously fucked up." Isis looked a little uneasy saying it.
"They're not my family, Isis. You are. Everyone in this room. The people here under the Circus. Those people... I'm just unlucky enough to share blood with them. But they were never truly my family."
"Aedan, your brother said something about purifying you. What did that mean?" Janika asked, confusion scrawled across her face.
"Carter Solomon used to lay hands on Katherine when she was young. Every time she slipped up and her powers brought forth another zombie. He would lay hands on her and try to purify her soul. That's what my brother no doubt called the torture those men used." She shrugged, as if it was no big deal. Janika frowned, telling her that she absolutely thought that it was a seriously big deal.
"So they tortured you to drive the necromancy out of you?" Rhia questioned, frowning as she did so. It obviously didn't sound quite right to her.
"No. They tortured me to get Jean Claude's daytime resting location from me, just like I told you in when I was in the hospital. Their job was to extract that information and provide it to Solomon so he could find the daytime sleeping place of the city's main vampire and stake him where he slept." Aedan lifted a shoulder. "Purifying me is what they'd have called killing me."
"Then its a good thing Edward killed them before they had a chance to kill you," Janika responded, not an ounce of regret in her words. Aedan shot her a look that said she still wasn't over being denied the chance to repay her captors in kind for their terrible treatment.
"What about Carter Solomon?" Minette asked. The growl was back in her voice.
"He's dead. And before you ask, I have no idea where his body is. Edward dealt with him. Not me. Even if I did, I wouldn't raise his zombie in order to let you take your anger out on him."
Isis shifted her position, arms crossing over her chest as a look of disbelief crept onto her face. "How do you know he's dead?"
"Because I watched Edward put a bullet in his head," Aedan replied. There may have been too much anger in her voice because Isis took an involuntary step back.
"Okay. Okay. So now that you've told us all that, why don't you tell us why you were out to a scene tonight," Jason suggested, doing his best to get the whole conversation back on track.
"Because RPIT got a call. An anonymous tip. Saying that Ruth Ann was dead. So they went out to investigate. Dolph's been having fun digging into Carter Solomon and his family. And I'm pretty sure he talked to Ruth Ann more than once," Aedan explained. "They took dogs with. Maybe they were expecting to find more bodies. Maybe it was just a precaution. Whatever the reason, the dogs alerted on several bodies. So Zerbrowski called me and asked me to give them a number. I was nice and went."
"How many bodies were there, Aedan?" Nathaniel's voice was soft and quiet, as if attempting to soothe the tempers of everyone in the room.
"Three dozen," Aedan admitted. "Or somewhere around that. I stopped counting at three dozen."
"Was one of them Ruth Ann?" Rhia asked.
"Yes. Dolph and Zerbrowski spoke to her. Tried to talk her into giving evidence against her husband. The conversation I had with her made me think she'd decided to do it. But Solomon overheard her talking to the police. So he raped her and strangled her. And buried her body in the dirt like she was nothing more than an annoyance. The oldest of their children was there. Matthew. I don't know how this will affect him. But Matthew seemed to be more together than the others. Maybe because he was older when Solomon started trying to warp him. Or maybe he has his own gifts that made it hard for Solomon to actually accomplish his task."
"And the other bodies?" Micah prompted.
"All young women. All initially captivated by Solomon when they first met him," Aedan told them. She sighed and shook her head. "They all had relationships with him. He got some of the pregnant. They stuck with him until the captivation wore off. Then they told him they wanted to leave. And he strangled them for it. One girl was pregnant when she told him. She said she didn't want to have his baby."
Minette rose from the couch and moved to where Aedan stood. "Oh, honey. Are you okay?"
The gentle tone of her voice, the deep concern in it, made Aedan's throat tighten with emotion. She struggled to hold back tears that suddenly wanted to fall. "I knew what to expect when I got there. I'm well versed in what Carter Solomon is capable of doing," she whispered.
"Aedan, I don't mean what happened to Ruth Ann. I want to know if you're okay. You've kept all of this locked up inside of you for a long, long time. It can't have been easy. Or healthy. Why did you keep it hidden? Why didn't you tell me?"
"What was I supposed to say, Minette? That I was the product of an illicit affair between my mother and a religious psychopath who was already married and bored with his life? Was I supposed to mention the fact that every last one of that man's offspring was fucking out of their heads with insanity? Was I supposed to tell you how warped my childhood was?"
Minette frowned at her before tugging her into her embrace. "You're such an idiot, Aedan. You never should have kept it all hidden. Did you honestly think I'd never want anything to do with you again if you told me everything?"
Aedan said nothing, simply clung all the tighter to Minette.
"I can't believe I'm friends with such an idiot," Minette teased. "You should have told me sooner. There was no reason for you to carry this burden all on your own."
"I'm sorry, Minette. I'm so sorry. I was just so scared that you'd hate me."
Minette squeezed her tighter before stepping back to give Aedan a look. "We'll talk about how stupid that sounds later. Right now, I think its best if you went to bed. You look dead on your feet. You go get ready to sleep and I'll bring you a snack. No doubt you used a crapton of power tonight and didn't bother to eat before hand."
Jean Claude stepped up and slid his arm around Aedan's shoulders. "A good idea, Minette. I will go get Aedan settled."
She let him escort her from the television room without another word, leaning once again against him. She was bone weary, both from the use of her power and the emotional turmoil of spilling her story. But, for the first time in as long as she could remember, her shoulders felt light. There was no longer a weight resting on them. It was an odd feeling. Odd, but good. Aedan thought she liked that feeling.
Too bad she was damn certain it wouldn't last very long.
Chapter Seventy Four: Truth, Lies, and In Between
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: so much plot. we're drowning in it. all the damn plot. some of it not even planned!
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
The very ground trembled with Isis' roar, prompting many of the people present to look around in surprise. She didn't think anyone had ever heard Isis roar before. She certainly hadn't. Power rippled around Isis in waves, so much of it that it had to hurt to touch. And she was sure no one had ever suspected the lioness of carrying so much power. She watched as Haven's eyes went wide and his attention shifted back to where Isis stood. Too late he realized his mistake.
Isis took her lion form in a single, smooth action that took as much time as it did for Haven's eyes to slide from Isis to her and then back again. Barely any time at all. Isis threw a wave of power out before her that slammed into her intended victim and knocked him off his feet. It hit Lettie and Aedan saw the girl's eyes go wide, saw her body writhe. Seconds later, a sleek lioness was pushing away from Haven's grasp. She rolled to the side and then lay there, chest heaving and limbs trembling. Even across the distance, even with darkness blanketing them, Aedan could see the spots of red that glistened on the cat's golden chest.
A blur of motion saw Damian crossing to where Lettie's body lay. He scooped her up and carried her back to the covered area, handing her into the care of the pride. Aedan noted that Minette and Micah were there, offering their help softly as a few worried voices rose over the din coming from the two entwined figures in the grass.
Haven had shifted in the commotion, so there were two giant lions rolling around the grass. They were roaring and snarling at each other, fangs bared and eyes flashing despite the lack of light. Curved claws seeking out flesh to shred. Presently, Haven had Isis pinned. His mane was thick around his face, keeping the expression he wore hidden from view. Isis seemed to be struggling to get the heavy body off her.
Aedan cleared the bench and moved to the edge of the picnic area, gun drawn but pointed at the ground. She didn't dare point it at the fighting lions. She was afraid she'd try to take a shot and hit Isis by mistake. She'd drawn the gun when he'd first made his presence known, had had it pointed in his direction before he'd even broke cover of the trees. She should have shot the fucker the last time and avoided this shit altogether.
Jean Claude stood at her side, one hand pressed gently against hers where it curled around the butt of her Glock. As if he was afraid she'd actually use it. Much as she wanted to watch Haven's head explode, she was well aware that this was Isis' fight. And there was the risk that she could hit Isis. Call the gun insurance, in case he'd brought some backup.
She watched as Isis' back feet found purchase in Haven's stomach. A good push saw him flipping over onto his back. Isis rolled with him to land on top of him. Snarls and growls rose up, filling the silent night around them. Hissing flowed out into the air from behind her, a backing chorus of disapproval from the gathered members of both the pride and the pard. She didn't have to look to know that the vampires had moved to put themselves between the fighting lions and the small group in the picnic area. For a brief moment, Aedan wondered how they'd missed Haven's approach. Then the thought was gone as a large paw topped with curved claws as big as her fingers came up and slapped against the side of Isis' head.
The lioness went tumbling to the grass, stunned and bleeding from the scratches Haven had left behind. She shook her head, pulling herself to her feet even as Haven readied himself to attack. The lion leapt, landing on the lioness' back. His weight drove her to the ground and held her there even as he opened his mouth to go for her neck. For a moment, it looked as if Haven would rip Isis' spine out. But her power swelled again, a thick cloud of it that flooded the park and left the lions in her pride panting with strain. And it left Haven clearly confused.
Isis took advantage of his momentary lapse.
She roared as she rolled him, throwing all of her weight onto his much larger body. Haven returned that roar, paws coming up to slash at her as she lunged forward. She used her body to bat one paw aside. The other paw managed to catch her shoulder, tore through fur and flesh to leave crimson tracks in its wake. Isis snarled at him, golden eyes glowing with rage. And then she slammed her injured shoulder into his body, knocking him off his feet. Haven barely had a chance to try and twist back over when she was on him, mouth latched to his throat for the moment it took to get a good hold. She wrenched her head to the side. The sound of rending flesh was loud in the sudden silence.
Blood sprayed in an arc as Isis staggered back from the body. She made it a few feet before her butt hit the ground, as if drawn there by a magnet. Her chest heaved as she panted, eyes locked on Haven's body. Slowly, the shape of the lion faded away to leave a still human form sprawled on the ground on his back. Most of his throat was gone and his skin was already far too pale to be alive. Aedan slipped away from Jean Claude and, weapon at the ready, crossed the distance toward the two figures.
Isis looked up as she neared, muzzle smeared with blood and eyes still glowing with power. Aedan resisted the urge to reach out and pat the lioness' head, instead focusing her attention on Haven. He didn't move as she approached. She couldn't see his chest rising and falling with any breaths. And she couldn't feel his power. She knelt next to him, gun still at the ready.
There was no place on his neck to check, so she had to lay a hand on his chest. His heart was silent and still. She rose to her feet, didn't put her gun up until she put some distance between herself and the corpse. She shot a look Jean Claude's way before giving her attention to Isis. "You've been holding back," she said to the lioness.
It was weird to see a big cat actually smile. But Isis did, lips pulled wide and fangs exposed. It was all teeth and should have been frightening. Especially with blood drying around her mouth. But the look was oddly reassuring.
"You okay?" she asked.
Isis took a moment to consider it, then gave what Aedan took to be a yes, just a single dip of her head in what would have been a nod. Aedan let her gaze slide to the wounds on the lioness' head and shoulder. "Those'll heal while you're shifted?"
Aedan had a moment's notice, then Isis' power swelled once again. Where a large golden lioness had sat was now the resting place of a naked woman with claw marks on her shoulder and the side of her head. Blood around her mouth. "It'll heal when I'm human just as well as if I stayed a lion. This way makes it easier to get me home without attracting too much attention."
"I guess that depends on what kind of attention you don't want to attract. Because I'm pretty sure there are people out there who will notice a naked woman just as much as they'll notice a large lion sitting in a car." The comment earned her a laugh. Damian was there to offer her a shirt and a pair of old sweats that someone had obviously scrounged. No doubt the garments were someone's back up in case of an emergency. Aedan watched Isis tug the clothes on, her attention focused on the small crowd under the covering. She could see the concern in the other woman's gaze. "Go check on her. We'll start packing up. It looks like the picnic is over."
Isis gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Aedan. This was supposed to be a fun get together to let you know we're glad you're okay. I had no idea Haven was going to crash the party."
"Its okay, Isis. It was fun to watch you hand his ass to him. I bet he thought he was going to be up against Damian again. Or me. Or possibly one of the pride. He wasn't expecting you to step in and show him why you're Regina."
"He had to learn the hard way," she said, breaking off with a hiss when Damian pressed some cloth against the side of her head. He was obviously trying to stem the flow of blood from the scratches that Haven had left there. She shot him a look but didn't try and duck away from him. "Let me go see about Lettie. When I'm sure she's okay, I'll help you pack things up."
"You will not. There are more than enough people here to pack up the picnic and get it loaded into the cars. We'll deal with it. You deal with Lettie. Make sure she's going to be okay. If not, I'll raise Haven later and pay him back for hurting her," Aedan promised. Isis gave her a look, as if trying to decide if she should take the woman's words at face value. Then she flashed a brief smile and allowed Damian to escort her to the table where the pride had clustered. Aedan watched her go before turning to find Jean Claude close. He was watching her curiously. "Problems?" she asked lightly.
"Of course not, ma mie," he replied, a slight smile pulling the corners of his mouth up. "Simply taking a moment to appreciate how absolutely surprising you are."
She lifted a brow at his statement, letting him know she thought it was odd. He didn't bother to elaborate, simply remained where he stood and waited for her to close the distance between them. When she did so, he fell into step beside her. Together, they returned to the covered picnic area to help with the packing up of supplies.
Truth be told, she was slightly upset that their little party had been so thoroughly destroyed. She'd been enjoying herself. It had been fun to watch Jason and Travis try to outdo one another. And there had been a relaxed air surrounding everyone that Aedan hadn't felt in some time. She hated to see it so completely shredded by Haven's selfish actions. "We can do this again another time, if you wish," Jean Claude said as he helped her cover and stow the uneaten salads in an empty cooler.
"That would be lovely," she replied. Then she turned to look at him. "But not until things settle down. When we have everyone and every thing dealt with. So that we don't have to worry about interruptions."
"Then you will need to turn your telephone off," he said, smiling at her. It was a reference to an earlier call from Animators, Inc. She'd chosen not to answer it, instead letting it go to voice mail. She still hadn't listened to the message that had been left. She had no doubt that it was from Bert, trying to convince her to return to work early. He'd probably said something along the lines that the business was slacking off without her presence in the office. He considered her the star attraction at the company, despite the numerous times she'd told him anything to the contrary. He was going to be disappointed because she had no intention of answering his calls or going back to work until Doctor Lillian was convinced she was one hundred percent.
"I didn't answer it," she reminded him.
"But you did look at it," he returned.
"I didn't answer it," she repeated. Jean Claude offered her a smile and turned his attention to the plates and utensils. Aedan moved on to the buns.
It didn't take them long to pack everything up and get it loaded back into the cars. Nathaniel and Rhia helped with that task, as did Jason. Once everything was stowed in the vehicles, it came time to load people up. Aedan watched as Damian urged Isis to one of the cars, physically drawing her away from the lion shaped Lettie in order to get her to climb into a car. She was obviously reluctant to go, arguing softly with the vampire as they went.
Travis and Jason were the ones who lifted a slumbering Lettie and, between them, carried her to a waiting car. Aedan was sure that Travis could have done it by himself, but he said nothing to Jason. Maybe it was simply awkward to carry the limp lioness and having a second set of hands made the carrying that much easier. Either way, they got her into the car that Isis and Damian had taken, then they took the front seat, Travis on the driver's side, and the car pulled away.
Cars filled up and pulled away, until Aedan and Jean Claude were the last two people left in the park. Someone had taken care of Haven's body while they'd packed it all up, and she could absolutely believe that the park would look pristine before the sun rose in the morning. No signs left behind that something horrific had happened there. She stood on the concrete slab a little while longer, staring out over the park, hidden in shadows and darkness, and imagined what it must look like in the daylight.
Finally, Jean Claude took her hand in his. "Come, ma mie," he said softly, as if afraid of breaking the quiet solitude of the park. "Let us go."
Aedan put her musings behind her and allowed him to escort her to the waiting limo.
~*~*~*~*~
The church looked lonely, sitting in the encroaching darkness as it was, not a single light shining through the windows of the main chapel. There was a light on at the back of the building, where the offices were located. There were no cars in the lot, which wasn't entirely unusual. It wasn't a night when the congregation would be together. But it seemed odd that there wasn't a single light on in the chapel. Zerbrowski shot a look toward Dolph, taking in the man's stony face, before unbuckling his seat belt and climbing from the car.
Dolph followed suit, hand reaching into his coat where the warrant had been put as soon as it had been set in Dolph's hand. More digging into the Solomon family had turned up some things that could be construed as bad. A judge had apparently agreed after looking at all of the information that had been compiled on Carter Solomon and his church. What had tipped the scales was the anonymous call that had come into the tip line. The caller, who had done their best to muffle and disguise their voice, had simply said that Ruth Ann Solomon had gone missing and was likely dead at the hands of her husband. Add to the call that Carter Solomon's car had been found abandoned in a lot at the airport and his private, personal accounts had been cleaned out. The whole mess smelled funny.
A van came to a halt behind Dolph's squad. When the doors opened, out spilled a team of handlers and their dogs. Dogs that had been trained to sniff for bodies. Zerbrowski really hoped that they didn't turn anything up, but the practical side of him knew it to be a vain hope.
Several more vehicles poured into the parking area before the little church. They must have made enough noise that they attracted some attention. A light came on in the chapel, then the front doors swung open and a young man stepped out into the night air. He bore a striking resemblance to Carter Solomon and Zerbrowski recognized him from the photo of the Solomon clan that Dolph had in one of his files. The oldest of the Solomon children. Matthew.
"Good evening, gentleman. Can I help you?" the young man asked, not ruffled one bit. Zerbrowski saw the look in Dolph's eye and knew they were thinking the same thing. Matthew had made that anonymous call.
"Detective Rudolph Storr. Regional Preternatural Investigation Taskforce," Dolph said, hand reaching into his coat to retrieve the warrant. "I have a warrant here to search the premises. We have reason to believe that Ruth Ann Solomon's body is buried here somewhere."
To his credit, the young man blinked and widened his eyes as if in surprise. It was a damn good act. "My mother? You suspect my mother is dead and buried here?"
"Yes, sir," Dolph nodded and started toward the church's entrance. Matthew met him halfway and took the warrant when Dolph offered it up, read it in the golden light spilling out of the interior of the church. "Do you mind if we let the dogs have a look around?"
"Of course not. Please," Matthew invited, hand motioning toward the church grounds. Dolph nodded and stepped away from the young man, motioning toward the grounds with one hand.
"One team go to the right. The other to the left. Check all of the buildings and any place it would be easy to hide a body. I want to know if any dogs alert. We're planting flags in any location a dog indicates there might be a body. When they've done a thorough sweep, we'll get some GPR here or something."
Zerbrowski looked over at Dolph. "If the dogs alert, we'd do better to call Aedan in. She can tell us if there are any dead on the property better than any ground penetrating radar could."
"She's still on leave. I called Animators before coming out there and got the run around from the secretary," Dolph told him gruffly.
Zerbrowski bit back a smile, knowing exactly how much Dolph hated being given the run around. "Did you try calling her personally?" he asked instead. Dolph shot him a look that said he absolutely hadn't tried that. Zerbrowski shook his head and tugged his cell from his pocket. "You should have just called her and asked her to come out."
"Last time I tried calling her phone, it was answered by an annoyingly cheery young man who happily told me that Aedan wasn't taking any calls from the police. And then he hung up before I could even leave a message." Dolph sounded like he hadn't gotten over that call yet. Zerbrowski had to cough to suppress his laughter. Then he punched a button and waited for the other line to ring through.
"Kinkade," Aedan said, voice much stronger than the last time he'd heard it. "This better not be about a fucking murder scene, Zerbrowski, or I'm hanging up and I'm taking the battery out."
"Not a murder, Aedan," Zerbrowski assured her. He watched the way Dolph's expression shuttered, just a little bit, and knew that the man was not happy. "We're looking into a report on a missing person."
"Since when is a missing person your deal?" she asked. She sounded bored, but there was touch of curiosity in her voice.
"Since this is someone we talked to in connection with the lycanthrope killers. An anonymous call came in to our tip line saying that our potential witness was murdered. We think, if that's the case, that she's buried on her property."
There was a moment's pause. "You didn't call me to play blood hound, did you? I'm not a parlor trick, Zerbrowski."
"No. There are dogs here. They're sniffing now. If they find anything, we'd like it if you would confirm whether we're dealing with actual dead bodies or not."
Aedan was silent again. Then she sighed. "Where are you?"
"A small church out in the middle of nowhere. Pure Heart Ministries. I can send a text to your phone with the address."
"Don't bother," Aedan said, voice suddenly tense and hard. "I know where it is. I can be there in half an hour or so. Depending on traffic." She hung up before Zerbrowski could thank her. Something must have showed on his face.
"Did she tell you to go to hell?" Dolph asked.
"No. She hung up on me. I get the feeling that she wasn't happy to be disturbed," Zerbrowski said. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned to look out over the grounds. He couldn't see the dogs or their handlers. But he heard it when one of the handlers called out for a flag. And he heard it when a second one did. And a third.
Jesus Christ, it was going to be a long night.
~*~
True to her word, Aedan showed up half an hour later. Not surprisingly, she wasn't alone. Surprisingly, the person with her wasn't Forrester. And, not surprisingly in the least, Dolph was not happy with there being a civilian at his scene. He shot her a look, but said nothing, when Kinkade joined them, an older gentleman following behind her. "Dolph, Zerbrowski, meet Bobby Lee. Bobby Lee, Dolph and Zerbrowski."
The man named Bobby Lee nodded his head. Something in his expression told Zerbrowski that he was not a man to mess around with.
"Where's Forrester?" Dolph asked.
"New Mexico, I would imagine," Aedan replied. She seemed to be striving for almost bored. She didn't quite make it. Zerbrowski had to wonder what had happened between the two of them, but he kept the question to himself. "What do we have?"
"So far, the dogs have alerted to twelve possible bodies," Dolph said.
Aedan frowned at that, and Zerbrowski realized that she'd arrived clouded in an air of tension. She'd come wearing her cop face, so he hadn't realized she'd been unhappy to be there. Some of her tension and displeasure slid away with her obvious surprise, but it came screaming back to life when Matthew Solomon joined them. "Marshal Kinkade, meet Matthew Solomon. Mister Solomon, this is Marshal Kinkade. She has abilities that can help us clear this mess up fairly quickly."
The two of them stared at one another for several long seconds. Zerbrowski caught the way a new tension that zinged back and forth between the two of them. For just a moment, he thought he saw similar expressions on their face. Then it was gone and Solomon put his hand out. "Marshal Kinkade. Pleasure to meet you." His words sounded forced, as if dictated by manners.
"Thank you, Mister Solomon. Likewise." She absolutely didn't mean it. He could tell. They shook hands a moment longer before Solomon let go and turned to look at the grounds behind him. Aedan did the same. And Zerbrowski saw it when everything in her posture changed.
"Holy shit! There are more than twelve bodies here, Dolph," she said. Zerbrowski watched as she closed her eyes and swallowed. Hard. Seconds ticked by in absolute silence as she simply stood there. When she finally opened her eyes, her mouth had turned down and she'd gone pale. "I count three dozen."
"Is there a cemetery of any kind on this property?" Dolph asked Matthew. The young man took a bit to answer, because he was focused on Aedan. As if he had never seen anyone do what she'd just done. Zerbrowski frowned.
"No. No cemetery. My grandfather didn't want to have the dead so close to his church. The nearest cemetery is up the road."
"Its a half a mile that way," Aedan pointed, eyes never leaving the grounds stretched out before her. "I can feel the dead there, too. Faintly. They're waiting for someone to come visit them."
"My mother used to walk down and visit the graves every Saturday," Matthew said.
"She hasn't been in a while. They're anxious. They miss her," Aedan said softly, already drifting forward. The man named Bobby Lee followed after her without saying a word.
"Someone get her a flashlight," Dolph called.
"No need," she responded, voice distant. "I can find my way."
One of the uniforms brought out a flashlight and flicked it on, showing them that Aedan was a good distance away from them. Zerbrowski wondered if the dead were calling to her or if something else was guiding her. Dolph motioned them forward. The uniform and Matthew fell into step with Dolph and himself. The four of them trailed after Aedan until she suddenly came to a stop.
She stood in one place for a while, seemingly not doing anything. But the dogs started barking wildly and one or two people loudly demanded to know what was happening. Bobby Lee had one hand inside his coat, suggesting he was carrying a weapon, and the look on his face showed eyes that were a little wider than he was probably comfortable with. "Jesus Christ, girl. How much power do you have?" he asked.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Aedan replied. Moments later, the ground rumbled around them. Flashlights flicked on all over the property, beams of light dancing wildly in the shadows for several moments. Then the rumbling stopped.
"Mother of God!" someone exclaimed. A golden beam came to rest on a young woman, hair hanging limply around her face. Then the light found another woman. And another. And another. Until there were so many that Zerbrowski lost track. The uniform's flashlight found Aedan. She stood in the center of the property, staring across the distance at a familiar face. Ruth Ann Solomon watched Aedan carefully, her clothes the same ones she'd been wearing when Zerbrowski had last seen her. They were stained with dirt. As was the woman's face.
"Mother?" Matthew asked, taking a step toward Aedan and Ruth Ann. Bobby Lee held up a hand and made him come to a stop.
"Wait a moment. Give her a second," he instructed. Matthew came to a halt and watched, as they all did, as Aedan drew a knife from a sheath on her waist and held it up. As she made a cut across her fingertip. Then she offered the bleeding finger to Ruth Ann.
"Drink," she said. Ruth Ann stared a moment before she stepped forward and wrapped her lips around Aedan's finger. Sucked at it and swallowed a few times. When Aedan pulled her finger back, Ruth Ann blinked and Zerbrowski could just see her return to them.
"Matthew? What's going on? Who are all these people and why are they here?" the woman asked when she spied her son. Then her eyes landed on Aedan and they went wide. "You! What are you doing here?"
"Tell me what happened to you, Ruth Ann," Aedan commanded softly.
"I don't take orders from you, girl," Ruth Ann returned.
"What did he do to you, Ruth Ann?" Aedan asked. Her voice was low and filled with emotion. Ruth Ann blinked at her, her mouth hanging open. "I know he abused you, Ruth Ann. He abused all of his children. Why not his wife? Tell me what he did to you. Tell the police what he did to you."
"I can't," she whispered softly. "If he finds out..."
"He won't find out, Ruth Ann. I'll make sure he never finds out. You're safe. Tell us what he did to you. Tell us what he did to all of you." This time, her words were less an order and more a plea. Soft and genuine and almost frightened.
"He forced us to do his bidding," Ruth Ann admitted. "He liked his power. He used it as he would. He forced me to fellate him. He forced me to allow him what he called his husbandly rights. He used his voice to turn his own flesh and blood into creatures I didn't even know anymore. He was obsessed with sex. He sought it with strange women he picked up in bars. He forced us all to give it to him. All of us. Except you, Katherine. He couldn't make you do anything. Because you were already tainted."
Dolph shot a questioning look Zerbrowski's way.
"Mother," Matthew said softly. There was emotion in his voice.
"I tried to stop him, Matthew. I swear I did. But every time I tried, he'd use that power of his and he'd force me to my knees and..." Ruth Ann admitted, breaking off before she could finish her sentence. "Why did my children have to suffer such abuse and you didn't? Demon spawn. Whore's offspring." The last was directed as Aedan.
"I wish I knew, Ruth Ann," she said quietly.
"I should have killed you the day he brought you into my home," Ruth Ann spat.
"You would have been better off killing him," Aedan replied, seemingly untouched by the woman's hate.
"He was my husband," Ruth Ann shot back.
"He was a monster, mother," Matthew said, pulling the woman's attention his way. "He was a monster and he twisted the rest of us into monsters. Grandfather would have wept to see how we treated one of our own kin."
Ruth Ann's eyes flashed with anger and she turned to take a step toward her son. Aedan put herself between them, dragging the woman's attention back to her. "Your grandfather would never have allowed the Devil's own spawn into his home. He would have seen to it she was returned from whence she came!"
"You have every reason to hate, Ruth Ann," Aedan told her. "So much misery. But hate him. Don't hate your children."
"He was a good man!" she snapped, eyes latched on to Aedan. "He--"
"He turned his youngest children into psychotic murderers," Aedan informed her. Ruth Ann stared.
"Paul and Grace," Zerbrowski added, bringing the woman's gaze his way. "We know Grace was attacked by a lycanthrope. That she contracted lycanthropy. We know that she ran away from home. Probably not long after it was discovered she was pregnant. Carter got her pregnant, didn't he?"
"My father claimed to be a man of God. He was a slave to his lusts. When Grace realized she was pregnant, she came undone," Matthew told them. Out of the corner of his eye, Zerbrowski could see that Ruth Ann wanted to interrupt, to argue and deny. But she held her tongue. "She was different after that. And Paul saw it. They were twins, you know. One day, they were just gone. I don't know what happened that drove them away. I don't know where they are. But Grace's problems were because of my father."
"Paul convinced her that they could wipe the taint from her soul by killing lycanthropes," Aedan told him, not looking away from Ruth Ann. "He convinced her to tell him everything she knew about lycanthropes. And then they used it against other shifters to torture and kill them. They were having sex with one another. And that's because of what he did to them, Ruth Ann. That's what he did to you and your family. He made them do that."
"Lies!" Ruth Ann snarled.
Aedan sighed. Turned to look at one of the waiting women. She pointed at a petite figure with strawberry blonde hair. "You. Come here."
The girl moved toward them, her steps shuffling just a bit, and stopped only feet from Aedan and Ruth Ann. And that was when he realized... "Oh, my God," Zerbrowski whispered. Every single woman was a zombie. Aedan had raised at least three dozen zombies without uttering a word. Without preparing a ritual. With nothing but her power.
"Tell me your name," Aedan said after feeding the girl some of her blood. Life flooded into pale green eyes and the girl looked around with a frightened expression.
"Anya," the girl said, a touch of an accent in her voice. Zerbrowski tugged his notebook out of his pocket and jotted that down.
"Tell me how you died, Anya," Aedan ordered.
"Carter strangled me after I told him I wanted to leave. He said I couldn't go," the girl admitted, confused.
"Why did you want to leave?"
"Because I was tired of the things he did to me."
"Tell me what he did to you, Anya."
"Raped me. Many times. Until I got fat with his child. And then again after the baby came. I didn't want to have his baby. I told him I wanted to leave. To go have an abortion. He grew angry and he choked me." With the last of her words, her hands lifted. Came to rest over her belly. It was a protective gesture every cop who'd dealt with domestic violence had seen.
"This is what your husband did, Ruth Ann. He fucked anything that moved. His own children. Women he picked up off the streets. You. Anyone. You don't have to protect him anymore. We know what kind of monster Carter was. Don't protect him. Because he can't kill you again."
The anger ran out of Ruth Ann's face in the blink of an eye. Her shoulders slumped and she suddenly looked much older than she was. "I didn't think he would kill me. But he overheard our conversation, Detectives," she said, her gaze sliding past Aedan to find him and Dolph where they stood. "He heard it. And he punished me for thinking about betraying him."
"He raped you, didn't he?" Aedan asked, voice soft with emotion.
Ruth Ann nodded.
"And then he strangled you. And he buried you here on the land that belonged to your father. He didn't even have the grace to bury you with your father. He would have left you here to wither into dust. Because Carter Solomon only cares about himself. You're a tool, Ruth Ann. His personal plaything."
Ruth Ann's face crumpled. Zerbrowski watched as Matthew moved past Aedan and wrapped his arms around his mother. She clung to him and wailed, crying out her sorrow and her loss. And he whispered softly to her, stroked her hair and pretended like she wasn't already dead and buried. Aedan turned to look at Dolph and Zerbrowski, her face carefully neutral. "We're going to have to take statements from all these women. I hope your phones are fully charged."
~*~
It was inching close to dawn by the time they finished up taking statements from all of the victims found buried on Solomon's property. Kinkade conducted the questioning, with Dolph's permission, and somehow managed to wrangle every last inch of information from them when it was obvious they didn't want to give it all. When she released the last zombie and returned her to her grave, she turned to look at Dolph and Zerbrowski and stumbled over her own feet. Bobby Lee was there to put a hand on her shoulder. "You need to sit and catch your breath, girl," he said, tone that of a concerned parent more than that of a bodyguard.
"I need to sleep. I'm still not back to one hundred percent and I'm going to have to deal with a cranky master vampire when I get done here," she replied.
"Its been a couple weeks since the demon summoner," Dolph said, voice sharp enough to shatter the softness of the coming morning as it gathered around them. Aedan flashed him a very unhappy look but said nothing. "I would think that the marks would have helped heal the damage up by now. " His tone of voice let everyone within hearing distance what he thought of that.
"Extenuating circumstances," she replied steadily.
"Something I think we need to talk about. Just like we need to talk about what happened here. Katherine."
Zerbrowski watched as Aedan's expression tightened. Just an iota. But she shook her head at him and motioned around with one hand. "What happened here happened in the past. To someone else entirely." Her eyes went flat as she stared Dolph down. "Leave the past alone, Dolph. All it does is rip people's lives to shreds."
"Katherine," Dolph tried again. Zerbrowski watched as her calm snapped.
"My name, Detective Storr," she said slowly and carefully, making sure to put emphasis on each word. "Is Chastity Aedan Kinkade. I suggest you remember that and address me accordingly. I think Marshal Kinkade will due nicely. Now. If you'll excuse me, I need to go get some rest. You have everything you need in order to pursue your case against Carter Solomon. Zerbrowski." She turned to look at him where he stood, giving him a faint nod. "It was good to see you again. Next time, call someone else."
They watched as she crossed to her vehicle, silence following in her wake. Bobby Lee wasn't far behind her. Zerbrowski risked a glance toward Dolph, curious as to how he was reacting to the whole thing, and found that the man's gaze was latched tight on Aedan as she walked. Anger was etched into the lines at the corners of his eyes and his mouth. In the way he had his fists jammed into his pockets. He was absolutely unhappy with all of it.
Aedan had just swung the car door open when Matthew Solomon's voice cut across the painful silence. "Marshal Kinkade," he called, then paused and stared over the distance at her. "Aedan. For what its worth, I'm sorry." There was so much meaning wrapped up into that one simple statement. So much more than just an apology. The two of them stared at one another over the distance for a while.
"Yeah. Me, too."
A moment later, she and Bobby Lee had climbed into the car and were pulling out of the church's lot. And Zerbrowski was left with more questions than answers.
~*~*~*~*~
She was not surprised that Jean Claude was waiting for her when she finally made it back to the Circus. The sun was up, but he seemed disinclined to sleep at the moment. There was a faint frown on his face as she let herself into the underground lair and, for just a few seconds, she thought he was mad that she'd gone out. It took a bit for her to realize he was frowning because he was worried. She offered him a tired smile and let him pull her into his embrace. "What did Zerbrowski need?" he asked politely.
Aedan pulled back to look up at him, expression thoughtful. She should tell him, because there was more to the story than she'd given him before. But she was tired, had spent too much of herself physically and emotionally raising zombies and asking questions. She wanted sleep. "Can we talk about it later?" she asked.
"Of course, ma mie," he nodded, turning so that she was no longer wrapped in his embrace. One of his arms was still wound around her shoulder, though, and he used it to urge her forward. "Come. I will put you to bed before I seek my own rest."
"Thanks," she replied, offering him a smile of gratitude. He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple in reply. Aedan leaned on him, trying hard not to let the events of the evening grab her. If they did, she'd spend the entire night dreaming of the things that had happened in her past. She didn't need to dwell on that nightmare any longer than she already had. It was over and done with. All she needed now was her friends and family and her new future.
That thought was circling her brain when they passed the television room and heard sound from inside. She could see out of the corner of her eye that her friends, her family, were gathered together before the large screen. Isis had a chair to herself, and it didn't take much work on Aedan's part to know that was because Damian already slept. Janika had another chair, arms crossed over her chest as she gave her attention to the report. Nathaniel and Rhia had one end of the couch, while Minette, Micah, and Jason had the other. She was sandwiched between the two men, each one of them laying a hand on her arms to offer her support. Everyone was watching the television intently.
The TV was tuned to a local station, which was running a special report. "We know the police have been on the premises of the Pure Heart Ministries all night, Marsha, and even more vans from the county morgue have just gone up the road," a male reporter was saying, light from the camera shining on his face. One hand was gesturing behind him. There were barriers across the road behind him, with squad cars sitting behind them, their blue and red lights strobing across the area.
"Do we know if this has anything with the sudden disappearance of Pure Heart Ministries leader Carter Solomon?" a woman asked. Probably the aforementioned Marsha. Aedan stopped and sighed, realizing that bed was probably not happening just yet. She looked up at Jean Claude, who seemed to know what she was thinking. He offered her a faint smile of encouragement before tipping his head toward the open door. She nodded and stepped away from him, entering the room to find that everyone was staring attentively at the screen.
"The police haven't issued any official statements yet. We've been trying to confirm that the Regional Preternatural Investigative Taskforce is on scene, but haven't had any luck with that," the reporter, identified as Paul Strong by the little graphic at the bottom of the screen, told the camera. He had such an intense look on his face that Aedan couldn't help but flash back to Dolph's expression when she'd finished putting the zombies back. That memory prompted her to scoop up the remote from where it rested on the arm of the couch and hit the mute button. Her actions brought the eyes of everyone in the room her way.
"Aedan, were you out at that scene?" Minette asked, concern already taking up residence on her face.
"I was there," she confirmed. She lifted her gaze to Jean Claude a moment, then stepped away from him and moved to stand near the television. Everyone followed her actions.
"Why? Was it some sort of gruesome murder?" Minette's expression made it clear that she felt Aedan had seen enough of gruesome murder scenes for the rest of her life. It almost made Aedan smile.
"Murder, yes. Gruesome, no." She fell silent a moment, trying to figure out how best to broach the subject. It was going to be a long, long story. Aedan wasn't sure if she was up to telling it, if she had the strength to tell it. But they all deserved to know the truth.
"Was it Carter Solomon?" Isis asked. "I've seen one or two of the man's sermons. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if he was responsible for murder."
"I'll get to that. But before I do, there's a story I need to tell you." Aedan paused to take a breath, to tell herself that she could do this. To pull her courage around her. "A story that starts with Carter Solomon. Some decades in the past. He met a woman named Ruth Ann Garner and started a relationship with her."
It was a boring start, as stories went. But it was important to start at the beginning. And they needed the whole story. Not just her friends. Jean Claude did, too. They all deserved to know it. If they were going to have any kind of relationship, she had to start being honest. With them and with herself. "Ruth Ann Garner was the daughter of a man who had a small ministry. Pure Heart Ministries. It was nothing special. Just a small congregation gathering in a small church. The kind of church that would never be anything large or worldly."
"But... Pure Heart Ministries is in quite a few states," Janika said, giving Aedan a confused look.
"It is. But it wasn't always that way. Ruth Ann Garner's father had no desire to have a large congregation. He only wanted to tend to a small flock of God's children. And the church was like that for many years." She knew this story. Had heard it told to Ruth Ann's children more than once. Talking about her father, about the place of worship he had built, had brought rare smiles to her face. When she'd smiled... Aedan had thought she was a lovely woman when she'd worn that soft smile.
"How did it change?" Minette questioned.
"Ruth Ann and Carter Solomon courted and married," Aedan told them. "It was a small wedding, held for their close friends and family in the Pure Heart church. Ruth Ann's father officiated. Ruth Ann was happy. She thought she was in love and she thought she'd married a good, righteous man with whom she would have a family and grow old. And, for a time, she had her little dream. But Carter Solomon was a man driven by the need for power. And Ruth Ann was only a stepping stone for him."
"You're saying he married her for the ministry?" Rhia asked. Aedan nodded in reply.
"He convinced Ruth Ann's father that he was the best choice to take over the ministry when he was no longer capable of running it. And the day came that Ruth Ann's father was incapable of running his ministry. He happily handed it over to Carter Solomon. He died not long after and Carter Solomon could do what he pleased with his ministry."
Ruth Ann had never talked about Carter's push to grow the congregation. To make Pure Heart a large, prosperous ministry. Any time she'd mentioned that period, it had been with a mix of sorrow and resignation. Aedan hadn't understood it at the time, but she did now. She had no doubt Solomon had done something to Ruth Ann's father in order to gain control of the ministry. The way Ruth Ann spoke at those times said she was sure her husband had done something to her father. It was highly likely Ruth Ann had lived for years with the knowledge and had been unable to say anything about it. Aedan knew that any complaints Ruth Ann had voiced would have been squashed with a touch of the power that lived in Solomon's voice.
She continued on, most of the story now speculation. "He grew the ministry. Made it larger. Made it prosperous. He drew people to him like a moth to a flame. He was charismatic. Charming. People liked him. Or, rather, people thought they liked him. They didn't know that Solomon had been given his own gift. Power. To make people do as he wished. Similar to the voice tricks that vampires have." Aedan's gaze flicked to where Jean Claude stood for a moment. "Not quite the same. But close enough to serve him in making his dreams a reality. And while he was growing his ministry, he was growing his family. He and Ruth Ann had eight children. Six boys and two girls."
Minette frowned. "Sounds like a typical religious family."
"Yes. And, for all intents and purposes, they appeared to be a good and righteous religious family. Sermons every Sunday. Smiling, angelic children with blonde hair and blue eyes. But it was only a veneer. A thin surface covering that hid deep, dark, terrible secrets."
"Aedan," Jean Claude began. She could feel in him the desire to take her to task on that last statement. She merely shook her head and pushed on before he could say anything more.
"Carter Solomon did not love Ruth Ann, his plain and boring wife. He craved someone more exciting. More adventurous. More amorous. So he had affairs. Flings with women he thought could give him the things he sought. And when those affairs weren't enough, he sought intimacy with his children."
Isis snarled, eyes glowing with a sudden surge of anger. "What a fucking pig!" Her sentiment was echoed by everyone in the room.
Aedan inclined her head. "No one could stop him. Anyone who tried simply forgot because he used his gift to silence them. Used his gift to make his wife give up what he wanted from her. Used his voice to make his children acquiescent and obedient. He liked having sweet, servile people surrounding him. He disliked disorder and chaos."
The eight of them were watching her, waiting for more of the story. Most were trying to figure out what this story had to do with the murders. She saw anger and indignation and horror in many of the faces staring at her. And she saw a quiet, soft understanding in the rest. Gentle looks that were filled with pity and apology. She ignored them and pressed on.
"But chaos and disorder is what he got when he met a woman named Penny Lynn Hayes. Of course he had an affair with her. She was young and beautiful and adventurous. Everything that his wife wasn't. Everything he was looking for. And their relationship was wonderful. Until Penny got pregnant. And then ended up turned by a vampire. Carter Solomon simply couldn't stomach the idea of a vampire loving his child. Raising his child. Being anything beyond a monster. So he killed her. And he took her child. Raised that child as his own."
"This is an interesting story, Aedan, but I don't understand what it has to do with the scene you were at earlier," Isis said.
"I'm getting there, Isis. I swear. Just be patient a little longer," Aedan promised. Then she pushed on, unable to stop herself now that the dam had broken. She'd kept all of this bottled up for so long. It wouldn't remain hidden away any longer. Refused to remain locked up in the corners of her mind. She could only hope that her friends wouldn't hate her when she was done with the telling of her tale. "Penny's death gave him a rush that he couldn't get anywhere else. Sex didn't give him that kind of rush. Preaching certainly didn't. So he felt he'd found his calling in life. He was going to do away with the world's unclean. The abominations, as he called them. Vampires. Shape shifters. Anything that he deemed unholy in his eyes was subject to his madness."
For a moment, she recalled that horrible night when Asher had almost died. The wound had been ugly, had leaked blood until she'd been sure he was beyond help. She almost hadn't saved him. And, had he died, that would have been another mark against Carter Solomon.
"When he realized that his quest moved too slowly with only himself as the one attempting to rid the world of the unholy, he decided it was time to recruit people to help. He would weaponize the masses in his war again the different."
"Oh, my God! The homeless man!" Janika said softly. The thought of what the man had attempted to do saw her going pale. Isis reached out and put a hand on Janika's arm. "That explains the symbol."
"The symbol was created by Ruth Ann's father. Solomon decided it was perfect for his warped mission. So he took it and twisted it, used it as a calling card to the world. I still can't figure out how no one traced it back to the ministry. Not that it mattered. The success rate of the homeless against vampires was probably questionable."
"I want to skin the man for nearly taking Asher away from me," Janika said, each word spoken carefully. Her voice was tight with anger. And her face was hard. But the look faded, replaced with a look of confusion. "But wasn't that symbol used in the lycanthrope killings, too?"
"It was," Aedan nodded. Fell silent. They all looked at her expectantly for a few seconds.
"Carter Solomon was behind those murders? He's the reason Micah almost died?" Minette asked. No one missed the growl that echoed in her words. Aedan watched Micah reach out to lay a hand on Minette's arm.
"Yes," she began. "And no. It was his fault, but he wasn't immediately behind the murders."
"Who was?" Minette demanded.
"Two of his children," Aedan told her. "Paul and Grace."
"Paul and Grace," Minette repeated. Then she frowned. "Was Paul the one who tried to attack me that night at Jean Claude's party?"
"Yes," Aedan admitted. She drew a breath. "Solomon's power warped his children. Twisted their thoughts inside their heads. Grace ran away from home because of his actions. She was attacked by a wolf. And she was infected. When Paul found out, he took her away. And he decided that killing other lycanthropes was how he could save his sister. How they could wipe the taint from her flesh. Absolve her of her sins."
"What happened to them?" Minette asked. Her voice was so soft and quiet that Aedan knew she wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than the truth.
"Dead. Both of them."
"As interesting as this story is, Aedan, I still don't see how it has anything to do with what was on the television earlier." This from Janika, who was obviously anxious to know why Aedan was telling them this weird story. She sighed and let her gaze seek out Jean Claude. He gave her a faint smile of encouragement.
"Remember I told you that Solomon twisted his children? Used his power on them. Sexually abused them. Warped their brains until they were as messed up in the head as he was. He tried doing the same to the child he had with Penny Lynn Hayes."
"Tried? What do you mean? How do you try to warp someone? Does that mean he failed?"
Aedan turned to look at Minette, who was trying to work it all out. "This child, a young girl who knew she didn't fit in with the rest of her family, was already an outcast when her own powers manifested. Carter Solomon looked upon them as unholy, as a taint left by her mother. He tried to purge her of them, tried to lay hands on her and 'heal' her. Tried to use his voice against her. Tried to drive the Devil out of her. Time and again. Until she was so frightened of him that she couldn't think straight."
She could see that it was starting to click with them, that they were starting to see why this story was being told. She pushed on before anyone could ask any questions, before they could destroy her resolve. "Ruth Ann made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with this child. She made sure her own children felt the same way. The girl was made to feel like she was unloved. Unwanted. Some kind of horrible creature who didn't deserve to have anyone care about her. She grew up alone, untrusting of others, afraid of her father and herself."
"Aedan," Minette breathed, disbelief and pain and sadness in that single word.
"When it became obvious that she couldn't control her powers, and he couldn't control her, he sent her away. To an expensive private school. A religious school. Which was a new kind of hell for her. And an embarrassment for him, because she still had no control over her powers. So he decided that the best course of action was to rid himself of the girl. Permanently. So he hired himself the best bounty hunter he could find. The one bounty hunter who knew how to handle the strange and unusual and bizarre."
Isis blinked at her. "You're saying your own flesh and blood sent Edward to kill you?"
"Katherine didn't know how to stop raising zombies. The harder she tried to just not do it, the worse it got. Carter Solomon finally decided that she was more trouble than she was worth. So he sent Edward to this fancy private school and told him to just... put a bullet in the brain of his own child. Fortunately for her, Edward saw what she was immediately and decided to help her instead of kill her."
"Aedan. Why didn't you tell me?" Minette sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"By the time I met you, Minette, Katherine Solomon was dead and buried. To be honest, I never felt like her anyway. It was no big loss to leave that identity in some dusty mausoleum somewhere. It was easy to become someone else, because I was already someone else. There was no reason to tell you about Katherine because she was dead. And you made it easy to forget that her father would rather see her dead than accept her for who she was. It was just easier to leave it hidden away."
"Until the murders started happening," Rhia said quietly.
"I didn't know who it was at first. I didn't even associate the symbol with Solomon or any of his offspring. It wasn't until Paul and Grace attacked a small family. The Harris family. He was a man of God. His wife was a doting mother to their young daughter. Katherine. It wasn't until they died that I suspected something. And then Paul attacked you at the party, Minette. It was his way of telling me that I wasn't allowed to create a family for myself. If I wasn't going to be part of Solomon's family, then I wouldn't be part of your family." Aedan paused and took a breath. "He tried to kill you because of me. He tried to kidnap Isis because of me. He took Micah and tortured him because of me. I almost cost you your life."
"That's why you acted weird after that night?" Minette asked.
"I knew he'd tried to kill you because you were my new family. He saw you as a hurdle to getting Katherine back. He was sure that if he destroyed you, anyone else that Katherine appeared to care about, he would be able to bring Katherine back into the fold. Make his father happy." She paused and let the emotion leak from her face. Let the blank mask settle in the emotion's place. "I made him see the error of his ways. I made sure he knew that Katherine was dead."
"You killed him for me?" Minette questioned, eyes going wide.
"I didn't kill him," Aedan returned. "I just made sure that he knew where he stood with me. And I made sure he would never hurt anyone else. Ever."
"What about Grace?" The question came from Micah, startling Aedan. He, Jason, and Nathaniel had been silent the entire time. She let her gaze slide his way, offering him a silent apology for all of the pain she'd inadvertently caused him.
"Grace took her own life. She'd started to realize that Paul was mad. She didn't want to be part of the killings anymore. She's the one who called the police that night. She grew a spine and told Paul to his face that she wasn't going to let him hurt anyone else. I suspect that's because of you, Micah. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you got through to her. She did what she could to try and help you." Aedan frowned, recalling the scene she'd walked in on. Paul had been beyond help. But Grace... Maybe Grace could have been saved. "Paul didn't like that she'd turned on him, so he stabbed her. Silver coated blade in the stomach. Richard told me he forced her to change. So that she healed. And then he questioned her. She told him that little bit, then she killed herself."
"Her head was messed up in a lot of ways. Whatever Solomon's power did to her, Paul exploited it. And all of the sexual abuse spilled over into their relationship. Whenever Paul's temper reached dangerous levels, Grace gave herself to him in order to calm him down," Micah told them. Aedan watched the looks of shock and dismay settle over everyone's faces.
"You helped her, Micah. When no one else wanted to. I want to thank you for that. No matter what went between... " Aedan broke off, unable to finish the sentence. She was never going to be able to call any of them her family. Not sibling or parent. But that didn't change the fact that they were still blood. And Micah's willingness to help someone who had kidnapped him with the intent of torture and murder made her realized that there was still good in the world. "Thank you. I wish I could have talked to her one last time. Maybe tried to undo some of Solomon's sickness."
"She was a human being, Aedan. She deserved that little bit of kindness. Even if she never showed her own sibling the same courtesy." His words dropped heavily into the room, making Aedan wish she could leave the story there and run. But it wasn't to be. She'd started this ride. She needed to finish it.
"I can't imagine what it was like to have a brother and sister turn against you," Isis whispered.
"Two brothers," Janika interjected. Aedan frowned at her. "When Edward and I rescued you from those men, we met one of your brothers. He called you a whore. He said you were father's mistake. He knew what was being done to you. He knew and he let it happen. I shot him."
"Three brothers," Aedan corrected.
"Three?" Rhia sounded like she was losing track of the whole conversation.
"The firebug. The one Edward tortured for information. That was Peter. Older than Paul and Grace. He sold me out to Solomon's cronies with the help of Gretchen. Edward said he promised her that Solomon's men would kill me and get me out of the way so she could have Jean Claude to herself."
"No offense, Aedan, but your family is seriously fucked up." Isis looked a little uneasy saying it.
"They're not my family, Isis. You are. Everyone in this room. The people here under the Circus. Those people... I'm just unlucky enough to share blood with them. But they were never truly my family."
"Aedan, your brother said something about purifying you. What did that mean?" Janika asked, confusion scrawled across her face.
"Carter Solomon used to lay hands on Katherine when she was young. Every time she slipped up and her powers brought forth another zombie. He would lay hands on her and try to purify her soul. That's what my brother no doubt called the torture those men used." She shrugged, as if it was no big deal. Janika frowned, telling her that she absolutely thought that it was a seriously big deal.
"So they tortured you to drive the necromancy out of you?" Rhia questioned, frowning as she did so. It obviously didn't sound quite right to her.
"No. They tortured me to get Jean Claude's daytime resting location from me, just like I told you in when I was in the hospital. Their job was to extract that information and provide it to Solomon so he could find the daytime sleeping place of the city's main vampire and stake him where he slept." Aedan lifted a shoulder. "Purifying me is what they'd have called killing me."
"Then its a good thing Edward killed them before they had a chance to kill you," Janika responded, not an ounce of regret in her words. Aedan shot her a look that said she still wasn't over being denied the chance to repay her captors in kind for their terrible treatment.
"What about Carter Solomon?" Minette asked. The growl was back in her voice.
"He's dead. And before you ask, I have no idea where his body is. Edward dealt with him. Not me. Even if I did, I wouldn't raise his zombie in order to let you take your anger out on him."
Isis shifted her position, arms crossing over her chest as a look of disbelief crept onto her face. "How do you know he's dead?"
"Because I watched Edward put a bullet in his head," Aedan replied. There may have been too much anger in her voice because Isis took an involuntary step back.
"Okay. Okay. So now that you've told us all that, why don't you tell us why you were out to a scene tonight," Jason suggested, doing his best to get the whole conversation back on track.
"Because RPIT got a call. An anonymous tip. Saying that Ruth Ann was dead. So they went out to investigate. Dolph's been having fun digging into Carter Solomon and his family. And I'm pretty sure he talked to Ruth Ann more than once," Aedan explained. "They took dogs with. Maybe they were expecting to find more bodies. Maybe it was just a precaution. Whatever the reason, the dogs alerted on several bodies. So Zerbrowski called me and asked me to give them a number. I was nice and went."
"How many bodies were there, Aedan?" Nathaniel's voice was soft and quiet, as if attempting to soothe the tempers of everyone in the room.
"Three dozen," Aedan admitted. "Or somewhere around that. I stopped counting at three dozen."
"Was one of them Ruth Ann?" Rhia asked.
"Yes. Dolph and Zerbrowski spoke to her. Tried to talk her into giving evidence against her husband. The conversation I had with her made me think she'd decided to do it. But Solomon overheard her talking to the police. So he raped her and strangled her. And buried her body in the dirt like she was nothing more than an annoyance. The oldest of their children was there. Matthew. I don't know how this will affect him. But Matthew seemed to be more together than the others. Maybe because he was older when Solomon started trying to warp him. Or maybe he has his own gifts that made it hard for Solomon to actually accomplish his task."
"And the other bodies?" Micah prompted.
"All young women. All initially captivated by Solomon when they first met him," Aedan told them. She sighed and shook her head. "They all had relationships with him. He got some of the pregnant. They stuck with him until the captivation wore off. Then they told him they wanted to leave. And he strangled them for it. One girl was pregnant when she told him. She said she didn't want to have his baby."
Minette rose from the couch and moved to where Aedan stood. "Oh, honey. Are you okay?"
The gentle tone of her voice, the deep concern in it, made Aedan's throat tighten with emotion. She struggled to hold back tears that suddenly wanted to fall. "I knew what to expect when I got there. I'm well versed in what Carter Solomon is capable of doing," she whispered.
"Aedan, I don't mean what happened to Ruth Ann. I want to know if you're okay. You've kept all of this locked up inside of you for a long, long time. It can't have been easy. Or healthy. Why did you keep it hidden? Why didn't you tell me?"
"What was I supposed to say, Minette? That I was the product of an illicit affair between my mother and a religious psychopath who was already married and bored with his life? Was I supposed to mention the fact that every last one of that man's offspring was fucking out of their heads with insanity? Was I supposed to tell you how warped my childhood was?"
Minette frowned at her before tugging her into her embrace. "You're such an idiot, Aedan. You never should have kept it all hidden. Did you honestly think I'd never want anything to do with you again if you told me everything?"
Aedan said nothing, simply clung all the tighter to Minette.
"I can't believe I'm friends with such an idiot," Minette teased. "You should have told me sooner. There was no reason for you to carry this burden all on your own."
"I'm sorry, Minette. I'm so sorry. I was just so scared that you'd hate me."
Minette squeezed her tighter before stepping back to give Aedan a look. "We'll talk about how stupid that sounds later. Right now, I think its best if you went to bed. You look dead on your feet. You go get ready to sleep and I'll bring you a snack. No doubt you used a crapton of power tonight and didn't bother to eat before hand."
Jean Claude stepped up and slid his arm around Aedan's shoulders. "A good idea, Minette. I will go get Aedan settled."
She let him escort her from the television room without another word, leaning once again against him. She was bone weary, both from the use of her power and the emotional turmoil of spilling her story. But, for the first time in as long as she could remember, her shoulders felt light. There was no longer a weight resting on them. It was an odd feeling. Odd, but good. Aedan thought she liked that feeling.
Too bad she was damn certain it wouldn't last very long.
Tags:
- author: ladydeathfaerie,
- character: aedan kinkade,
- character: isis moonrip,
- character: janika odon,
- character: jason schuyler,
- character: jean claude,
- character: micah callahan,
- character: minette poulson,
- character: nathaniel graison,
- character: rhiannon fitzpatrick,
- character: rudolph storr,
- character: zerbrowski,
- universe: anita blake
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-03 11:14 pm (UTC)Isis kicking ass, man...that was SO great! Never underestimate the power of a woman, especially one that shifts. ;)
Poor Ruth Ann. I feel sorry for her, and yet don't, if that makes sense. Aedan raising the zombie girls (man that sounds like a band name if I ever heard one) without so much as a twitch (sort of) was just...wicked cool. Like Isis, it's like she was coming into her power or revealing a bit more of it full on. LOVE it.
The reveal of Aedan's past was great as well. Proof that blood does not a family make.
This is such a complex and engaging read, bb. I know you think I'm biased (and maybe I am...a little ;) ), but seriously! To have constructed such intricate plots without throwing red herrings out right and left...well, for that and many other reasons, I am more than a little impressed with your writing ability, this story, etc.
And yes, I very much still hate you. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2018-09-03 11:48 pm (UTC)as its getting close to the end of the story, i felt it was time that Isis got to be Regina in more than just name. i realized that i hadn't really had her doing much that was very alpha like, in the context of the story. so this seemed like a good way to show that she is very much Regina and it isn't just because there's no one else to do the job.
you know, i do actually feel sorry for Ruth Ann. completely. it had to be hard to realize that the man you gave your heart to, that you gave children to, was nothing more than a user and an abuser and a fucking all around creep. i have no doubt that her mother and father had a relationship that was enviable. and i believe she really wanted that with Carter. so she just... shut herself off as much as she could. was that fair to Aedan? no. not particularly. but do you blame her? one day, her husband walks in with a baby in his arms and says "BTW, this is my child. her mom is dead and she needs a family. guess what? you're her mom now!" Ruth Ann was very much a victim, as much as any other woman Solomon laid hands on.
Aedan's back story just kind of... poured out. i've been working and working toward it for some time now, and i think she was ready to be done with it. to get rid of it. to just... not let it control her anymore. once she started, it all just fell out.
i don't know about complex. and i don't know about engaging. but i have tried so hard to make it a coherent piece, to keep it interesting and... sort of unique? i want characters that feel real. their reactions, their speech, their everything. i want it all to feel as if it could be taken out of print and still be realistic. this will surprise you, but the plots do not feel intricate to me. its just this big mess in my head that kind of spills over and out onto the page.
thanks for reading, honey. and thanks for commenting. i'm seriously glad you're enjoying it.
Pinned Ya Again
Date: 2018-10-25 08:10 pm (UTC)Only, you know, with more blood. lol Go Isis! *roars*
I have to admit, I was a bit shocked by the sheer number of victims that Aedan raised. Like, I figured there would be a lot of them, but wow. I did not expect quite that many. Dolph & Zerbrowski are gonna have their hands full for quite a while, which is probably a good thing - at least in Dolph's case. I got a feeling there's still unfinished business between him and Aedan.
I greatly enjoyed Aedan's story. And I'm so glad that she finally came out with it. I'm sure it's a weight off of her shoulders.
Now we just gotta get her to make up with Edward. *sigh*
Wonderful chapter, hon. I'm with Cat on this one - you've got a lot going on in this story and it's all done so deftly. I'm really enjoying watching it all play out and come together. Well done! *smooches*
Re: Pinned Ya Again
Date: 2018-10-26 12:55 am (UTC)i'm sure Aedan was shocked (at least a little bit) by the number of bodies that they found. i mean, she knew what Solomon was capable of. but to actually see it like that... and, yeah. Dolph and Zerbrowski will have their hands full for a while.
Aedan's story, the whole plot involving Edward and Carter Solomon and the brothers and all of that, has been living in my head for so damn long now. its weird to just drop it all on everyone that way, instead of having it come out in bits and pieces. i'm sure the telling of it is a relief for her because she's been eating it all for so long, just swallowing it all down. she was honestly afraid of how everyone would react to knowing that she was even remotely related to these people.
yeah. we gotta work on that.
i'm glad you enjoyed, sweetie. would you hate me if i told you that, half the time, i feel like i'm just floundering around and am as astonished that it all just... works?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-26 01:36 pm (UTC)Actually, it did come out in bits and pieces (at least for the readers). I don't think its weird for Aedan to give them the whole story like that. It made sense. She was finally ready to let it out and move on.
No, I wouldn't hate you at all.