The Victorious Redemption Complete Series Boxed Set, page 70
“You mentioned Tylindale MacConaugh,” Jasmine suggested, doing her best to act innocent. “Why can’t you return to him? Can’t he help you?”
The soft smile returned to Mr. Hughes’ face. “Tylee is gone. Believe me, I’ve hunted for him for months, but everywhere I’m led to, I’m given the same response. He’s been missing for some time. No one knows where he is.”
That checks out, Jasmine thought, a little saddened to think that even Qadir may have made no progress in his mission of finding her father. Either that, or he had found him and now both of them were in hiding.
“Not only that,” Mr. Hughes continued. “But now I’ve come to find that the remaining members of the circle of peers were all dissected and turned into werewolf skat over a year ago.”
Jasmine cocked her head. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that werewolves rarely actually ate humans, but she did push back on one point. “The remaining members? They’re still out there, aren’t they?”
Mr. Hughes scoffed. “If they are, I can find no trace. There’s no one out there who knows where they are, if they are. As far as I can tell, the circle has disbanded. You were my last hope. You were the last ones to see them alive.”
Jasmine digested this latest revelation. Was she truly responsible for the disbanding of the entire circle? It hadn’t even crossed her mind since that night that she had seen no sign of them since. She assumed that she had just scared them off into submission to leave her and her friends alone.
She studied Mr. Hughes in the quiet of the diner, for the first time in a long time wondering about her father, about the circle, and about Qadir. No matter how far removed she tried to keep herself, it seemed all roads led back to him. She wondered if it had ever crossed Tylindale’s mind to undertake the ritual the circle had performed, sacrificing children in the quest for immortality. Based on what little she knew about her father, it was for this very reason he had fled in the first place, away from the darkest corners of the necromantic arts. She held a belief in her heart that he was a good man and that even if Mr. Hughes had found him, he would never sink to such depths in the hunt for knowledge and power.
“I’m really sorry I couldn’t be more helpful,” Jasmine offered. “I’m afraid that’s all I know.”
“It’s okay,” Mr. Hughes answered. “I knew it was a long shot. Still, when you’ve walked this earth as long as I have, you try the long shots. All I hope is that an answer is out there somewhere.”
Mr. Hughes rose from his chair, throwing a few crisp bills down on the table. “Jasmine Vironsis, it’s been a pleasure. I hope that you find what it is you seek.”
Jasmine grabbed his wrist. “Hold on, where are you going?”
“I’m afraid that this is where we part ways,” Mr. Hughes informed her. “I’ve got information to seek, and you’ve got a monstress to hunt. We have no further use for each other.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Jasmine guided Mr. Hughes back into his chair, ignoring the interested look from the waitress resting against the counter, blowing bubbles with gum. “We’ve got a mission to finish. You showed me where she is, and now I need your help.”
Mr. Hughes offered a kind smile. “No. You don’t. You’re one of us, Jasmine, a rare species. Even I can tell that. You’re destined to walk this world alone, immortal and undead as I am. You have no need for others, only the want, and unfortunately I have my own wants to meet.” He scraped his chair out from behind him and smiled. “Good luck.”
“Wait!” Jasmine called a little too loudly.
Mr. Hughes paused, looking over his shoulder.
“There is one more thing,” Jasmine blurted, finding a sudden soft spot in her heart for the gray man. She indicated for the waitress to come to the table before asking for her pen. She scrawled down a series of digits on a napkin and handed it to Mr. Hughes. “His name is Qadir. He may know more than I do about what you seek.”
Mr. Hughes examined the paper and gave a thankful nod.
“He may also be your path to Tylee,” Jasmine added. “Tell him you’re a friend of mine. I can’t promise anything, but it’s worth a shot.”
Mr. Hughes appeared to brighten at this. He stood taller, pocketing the napkin. “Thank you, Jasmine.” He eyed her affectionately. “As a thank you, I’ll promise you something.”
“Oh?” Jasmine asked.
“Should you survive your attack on the Queen, I promise I will swing by your Nest and provide you with the information needed to find PJ, no matter where she may find herself. Believe me. You never know when her services will come in handy in this line of work.”
Despite herself, Jasmine smiled. Her kinship with this former stranger softened her hard edges. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
Mr. Hughes turned to leave.
“One more thing,” Jasmine asked.
Mr. Hughes chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling I’m never going to step out of this place? I’m already in my own purgatory, Jasmine. I don’t need another layer.”
Jasmine laughed at that. “You said ‘The Queen.’ What does that mean?”
Mr. Hughes considered this, the humor falling from his face at the thought of her. “That’s how I know her. That’s all I know of her. It’s the codename by which she spreads her notoriety. What her true identity is, you’ll have to find for yourself.” He gave Jasmine a pitying look. “I really do hope you pull this one off. Don’t underestimate her. This may be the toughest fight of your life.”
Without waiting for Jasmine to speak, Mr. Hughes left. Jasmine watched him through the glass until he had disappeared into the night. For a long time, she sat by herself in the diner, contemplating what she had learned, again regretting the words she and Eddy had uttered to each other, wishing life could be more exciting. It was like someone out there had heard her and unleashed Pandora’s box upon them both.
She ordered herself another coffee, taking a moment to enjoy the quiet of the diner. Her thoughts ran from Eddy to Mr. Hughes to the circle to PJ to Qadir to her father to the Queen.
Jasmine finished her drink and paid the remaining balance to the waitress. As she walked back to her SUV, she grinned, thinking how it would have been nice for Mr. Hughes to have at least given her a ride back to her car.
Eventually, she reached her SUV and returned to the Nest. She waved to Ivan and Rhonda playing card games at the bar. They were apparently getting on like a house on fire. She headed straight to bed—she wasn’t exactly tired, but knew she should charge her batteries before returning to Eddy in the hospital and beginning the next phase of her plan.
Tomorrow, Jasmine would kick the hornet’s nest. She hoped that she would manage to flatten the Queen in the process.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“You did all of that in one night?” Rhonda stared at Jasmine with wide-eyed admiration.
Jasmine hadn’t planned on bringing Rhonda into the fold when regaling Ivan with her tale, but it seemed the young girl had already made herself a part of the fabric of the Nest. It was cute to see Ivan and Rhonda together, the part-Domovoi extending paternal care toward Rhonda. When Jasmine had come down that morning to fill Ivan in, she was surprised to find Rhonda still sitting and playing cards at the table. It seemed the girl needed even less sleep than Jasmine did to survive.
Jasmine nodded. “I’ll say upfront that it’s not a typical night for me. But, yes. All of that happened in one night.” Although Jasmine had told them about the experience in the gym and her meeting with Mr. Hughes, she had held true to her promise and redacted the details of PJ, choosing instead to attribute the information they had discovered to the mystical dead man.
“Zombies and werewolves and vampires, oh my,” Rhonda chanted as she placed an ace down on the table.
Jasmine smirked. “Indeed.”
“So you must go to homeless hospital to find buzzing bee?” Ivan asked.
“The Queen,” Jasmine corrected. “It seems that way. She’s down there, in the basements somewhere, running her operation.” She stroked her chin. “I’m going to bring the pack into the fold and let Eddy know what’s going on, too. The only thing I can’t figure out is how to break and enter. If she’s as astute as she’s known to be, it’s not going to be easy to get access to her lair.”
“Someone like that keeps protected,” Ivan agreed. “You got disguise? You do Scooby-Doo?”
Jasmine laughed, imagining the ends of the old cartoons when the band of investigators would tear off the fake mask of their attacker. “Not quite. Real life doesn’t work like that.”
“The old hospital down by the steel mill?” Rhonda asked, her ears perking up. “The place always lined with homeless at six o’clock?”
Jasmine met her gaze. “That’s the one. Why?”
Rhonda shrugged. “Any building is easy to break into if you know the way. How do you think I slip in and out of my aunt’s without her knowing? There’s always a weak spot.”
“And you know this place?” Jasmine asked.
Rhonda nodded. “I do.”
“How?” Jasmine pressed, curiosity growing.
Rhonda smirked. “I know this city. I’ve crawled into places for fun.”
Jasmine sat beside her. “Into homeless shelters?”
Rhonda shrugged again. “I was curious. My own house is such a shit hole. I wanted to see how the other side lived. Turns out it’s considerably cleaner and better than my place, though the smell is just as bad. Line after line of white cots covered in stained sheets. You’d think people would be up into the middle of the night, snorting coke or injecting heroin, but when lights out hits in that place, it goes deathly still. It’s creepy…and a little bit fun.”
Jasmine thought back to her own experience in a homeless shelter, the first night of her awakening. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience. Jasmine had come to grips with her sensitivity to others’ fears as she also learned that her sleep schedule would never be the same and that pepper was the secret ingredient to food sensation. That had been the night she’d met Eddy, when the poor man was dragged outside by two goons trying to shake him down for Crim.
“How did you get inside?” Jasmine asked, wondering how a young girl like Rhonda could slip through the Queen’s net.
“Easy, really,” Rhonda answered. “It’s a pretty old building that used to heat itself through a coal furnace. There’s a chute on the side that is never locked. You get dirty on the way in, but it comes off easy enough. I might even have cleaned most of it out now.”
“Modern-day chimney sweep,” Ivan offered.
Jasmine grinned. “Hey, you think you can accompany me to the hospital?”
Rhonda’s ears perked up. She looked at Ivan for confirmation, and he nodded.
“Sounds great!” She spun on her chair and jumped to her feet. “Will be nice to get out of this place for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, the company is great, and the video games are rocking, but I kinda miss wandering the city.”
Jasmine laughed at her excitement. “Beautiful. Let’s get on the road.”
They waved goodbye to Ivan and went out to Jasmine’s SUV.
The sky was overcast when they arrived at the hospital, and a modest wind waved the leaves in the decorative trees placed around the exterior. Jasmine stared skyward. “Looks like a storm’s approaching.”
“Is that a metaphor?” Rhonda stood beside her with her hands in her pockets.
Jasmine smirked. “You’re brighter than your aunt gives you credit for.”
“I know.” Rhonda grinned.
A buzzing sounded in Jasmine’s pocket. Her initial response was to look around for the grotesque white creatures swarming toward her, but after a beat, she realized it was her phone ringing.
She checked the number on her screen and sighed. “Your aunt.”
“What does she want?” Rhonda asked.
Jasmine chuckled. “Probably wants to know where you are.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Rhonda questioned.
Jasmine considered this. “Do you want me to?”
Rhonda’s response was immediate. “No.”
“Well, there you go,” Jasmine said. She answered the phone. “Hello, Sandra.”
The response was a hysterical wail that made Jasmine hold the phone away from her ear.
Rhonda rolled her eyes. “She’s always so dramatic,” she whispered softly so that the woman wouldn’t hear her.
“I’m on to you!” Sandra cried when she reached the end of her hysterics. “I’m coming for you, Jasmine. I’ve hunted down every Jasmine in the book, cross-referenced your name, and done my own research. I’ll find you, and I’ll make you rue the day you stole my niece.”
“Sandra, calm down,” Jasmine tried to soothe her.
“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” Sandra screeched. “You’ve stolen my only source of income. You’ve taken my ticket to a better life. Bring that bitch back before I come and find you and throttle you where you stand.”
Jasmine couldn’t help but note the slur in Sandra’s words. She felt a little sorry for the woman. Her entire world revolved around a scam with two kids she’d inherited. The pity for Sandra fell away when Jasmine looked at Rhonda and saw the fear in her eyes. The young girl unconsciously rubbed her arms, and Jasmine wondered if she was this hysterical toward Jasmine, what must Sandra be like when she went off like this around the kids. Was she doing the right thing in protecting Rhonda, or was she making things worse?
Jasmine sighed. “Sandra, I’ve already told you, I don’t—”
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter,” Sandra interrupted. “You don’t know what fire you’re playing with. You don’t know how far I will go. The things I’ve done. You’ve got a fight on your hands, and you’ve stepped into the ring with a titan.” She paused and belched thickly. “Once I get my hands on you, you’ll wish you’d never stepped into our borough, you hear?”
“I hear,” Jasmine acknowledged. “Anything else?”
What followed was an incoherent jumble of syllables, and Jasmine again had to hold the phone away from her ear. Rhonda looked down at her feet, shrinking under the barrage of verbal assaults.
Eventually, Sandra ran out of steam. “Is that all?” Jasmine asked again.
Sandra’s yelling turned to a cold, calculated threat. “I will find you. I will zero in on you and take back what is mine. Whatever it takes, I will fucking hunt you down, Jasmine.”
“Okay,” Jasmine replied. “Best of luck with that.”
She hung up, then, not knowing what else to do. For a long moment, she stared at her phone, Rhonda silent beside her.
“I’m sorry,” Rhonda offered softly.
Jasmine frowned. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one covering for you. She’s the one off her rocker, shouting down the phone.”
“But it’s because of me,” Rhonda stated. “I’m the problem. If I was back there…”
Jasmine leaned down until she was at eye level with Rhonda. She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, surprised to find Rhonda flinching at her touch. Jasmine’s brow creased as she considered her next words, not knowing how else to say what she was about to say. “Does she hurt you?”
Rhonda didn’t need to reply for Jasmine to know the answer. The young girl sawed at her nose with the back of her arm, then unbuttoned the cuff of her oversized plaid shirt. She slowly rolled up the sleeves to reveal the yellow bruises that covered her biceps. She turned, lifting up the back of her shirt to show the marks on her lower and middle back.
“I’m the one who’s sorry now,” Jasmine offered.
Rhonda pulled her clothes back into place, hiding the evidence. “It’s not your fault.”
“No,” Jasmine agreed. “It’s not. But I can still be sorry. No kid should have to endure that treatment from family. No kid should have to hide the evidence of the monsters who attacked them. I want you to know that it’s not fair, and it’s not your fault. And while I’m with you, I will do all I can to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, you hear?”
Rhonda didn’t reply with words, but her actions spoke volumes. The wind was knocked from Jasmine’s lungs as the girl ran to her, squeezing around her waist and burying her face in her chest. Jasmine cupped her head and stroked her back, holding Rhonda while she sobbed silent tears into her shirt.
Nurses passed, glancing their way, but Jasmine didn’t care. If she could do one thing in this moment, it was to make the poor girl feel safe.
“You’re a good person,” Jasmine declared, looking down at the top of Rhonda’s head. “You don’t deserve what’s happened. You have the chance to determine your destiny and choose your future, unguided and uninfluenced by her. It’s all in your hands.”
Rhonda peeled away, using her thumb to wipe the remainder of her tears away. “Thank you, Jasmine.”
Jasmine offered a warm smile. “Of course. What you’ve had to live through, with your parents, with Tommy, with your aunt, just understand that it’s not normal. Good people are out there in the world, and it’s the good people that make life worth living. You’re a good person. You know that, right?”
Rhonda shrugged, looking down at her feet. “I don’t feel like it sometimes.”
“No one does all the time.” Jasmine chuckled. “But it’s in the small moments we get to choose who we are and what we’re all about. As long as you choose good, life gets a little better.”
“Thank you,” Rhonda repeated.
Jasmine looked up toward the hospital, finding the window she believed to be Eddy’s. She stared back down at the girl, sensing the need to change the conversation before she got too uncomfortable. “Now, how about I introduce you to a pack of werewolves?”
Rhonda looked up at her with shining eyes. “That’s who we’re going to meet?”
Jasmine laughed. “Come on. They’re going to love you.”
They entered the hospital and rode up the elevator to Eddy’s floor. When the doors slid open, they were greeted with a loud murmur of feverish chatter. Curious, Jasmine guided Rhonda toward the noise, finding the waiting room filled with members of the Ghost Throat pack, as well as the disheveled and disgruntled reception clerk.
