Unsympathetic Magic - Laura Resnick [149]
Instead of looking like the mouth of a particularly turbulent hell, the sky overhead was now starting to look like just a healthy summer storm. Fat grayish-black clouds moved slowly across the vault of heaven, outlined at infrequent intervals by soft flashes of lightning.
Max inhaled deeply, paused for a moment, then said to me, “The flow of life energy here has returned to its normal pattern. All is well again.”
“That’s good news, Max. I’ve had enough of the dead coming back to life. They’ve got a right to rest in peace.” I said to him and Biko, “Tell me how you found Lopez.”
“We were looking for you,” said Biko. “We thought the dark ritual room seemed like the sort of place you might be held prisoner. Or sacrificed. We weren’t really thinking of anything as, uh, epic as what Dr. Livingston did tonight. Anyhow, we went down there, and that’s when we found him, and . . . Oh, man.” Biko shook his head. “I swear I screamed like a girl. For one thing, at first, we thought he was dead, because Dr. Livingston’s poison was paralyzing him. And the setting . . . He was lying next to Mambo Celeste’s corpse and not far away from Napoleon’s head. Grisly.”
“He’s a brave man,” said Max. “Upon being rescued, his only thought was of you—of trying to learn your fate. None of us had any idea where you were, you see.”
“But how did you cure him? How did you know what poison Catherine would use?”
“We didn’t. But realizing that Dr. Livingston’s talents for murder, mayhem, and victimization covered a broad territory, we brought a substantial supply of mystical solutions with us, not knowing what sort of problems we would face.”
“You saw the salt,” Biko said to me. Then to Max, “Boy, are we lucky that worked! And that those zombies didn’t turn on us when they were awakened.”
“An awakened zombie, though quite unpredictable, is most likely to turn on the person who enslaved it,” said Max. “Not some passerby who’s just trying to escape a cataclysmic event.”
“Good to know,” said Biko. “Though I hope I never to need the information again.”
“Me, too.” Realizing one of our group hadn’t been mentioned, I asked, “You left Nelli at home?”
“Yes,” said Max. “The storm frightened her terribly, and she’s been vulnerable to possession during the course of this investigation. So I thought it best to leave her to guard the fort tonight.”
“Oh.” I suddenly realized what their story of the night’s events meant. “Wait! Lopez still doesn’t know I’m all right!”
“We should hasten to the foundation,” Max said, quickening his pace. “He will be most eager to see you.”
We were approaching the front doors of the building when Lopez came out, moving fast. Puma was running behind him, warning him of the possibility of a relapse. Then they both saw me. Puma stopped speaking and gave a big smile. I saw Jeff bringing up the rear.
Lopez looked stunned for a moment, then so relieved his whole face looked younger. He crossed the distance between us, seized me in his arms, and held me tightly, not saying a word.
I returned his embrace, clinging to him, trying to sink inside of him. I inhaled deeply and realized he smelled rather pungent. I made a little snuffling noise and blinked.
“It’s the antidote they gave me.” His voice was husky. “It smells weird.”
His kiss was long and deep, and then he covered my whole face in kisses before hugging me again. “God, I was scared.”
“Me, too. She told me she had poisoned you. She told me you’d be dead.”
“Where is she? I need to arrest her.” He pulled away and looked at me. “And why are you in your costume?”
“I don’t even remember,” I said.
“Whoa.” He noticed the bruises and love bites around my neck. “Did I do that?” He kissed my neck gently and whispered, “Sorry.” He kissed my mouth again, then said, “Now I’ve got to go arrest Catherine Livingston.”
I pointed up to the watchtower. “She died in . . . a lightning strike. I got away.”
“She’s dead?” When I nodded, he gazed up at the tower with a disappointed frown. “Damn. Just when I finally had plenty for an arrest. She murdered Mambo