Phantom Kiss

   His voice was quick, his words little bullets of sound. I held up a hand. “Hold on. Why do you think the summoner went this way?”

   “There’s a spirit,” Matt said, his voice a deep baritone rumble, his gaze on the box into which his headphones were plugged. “Some serious supernatural activity.”

   “You’re a vampire,” Roz said. “Can’t you feel it?” There was something slightly snippy in her tone, and very snippy in her expression. She looked at my dress with disdain, as if finding the outfit unsatisfactory for the work.

   I kept my gaze level, flat. “I didn’t ask about the magic,” I said, and shifted my eyes back to Robin. “Who are you chasing?”

   “We saw someone running,” Robin said, pointing to the fence. “And trailing magic behind him. But we lost him in the trees.”

   “‘Him’?” I said. “You saw a man?”

   “Pretty sure,” Robin said, and looked at Roz and Matt for confirmation. They both shrugged.

   “It’s dark,” Roz said. “Could have been a guy; could have been a girl.”

   “Built like a guy,” Matt said. “On the tall side.” He gestured behind him. “After we lost him, we saw a white sedan hauling ass out of here, squealing tires and everything. We ran toward the fence, came over that little rise, and here you were. Did you see the car?”

   “I didn’t.” But that could have been an issue of timing. “Why are you in a cemetery after hours?”

   “We were up the street at the Malone house,” Robin said, gesturing north.

   “It’s a former bordello,” Roz said. “A very reliable supernatural hot spot. It was quiet tonight, but then our instruments went crazy. We tracked the energy over here.”

   “It’s scattered all over hell and back,” Matt said, frowning now. “Didn’t find the hot spot or the person who created it.”

   Since they didn’t mention the grave, I had to assume they hadn’t found it yet. That could also be an issue of timing.

   “How’d you get in?” I asked. “The front gate is locked.”

   Robin grinned sheepishly. “Oak tree on the corner has a huge branch that pops right over the fence. Easiest way in and out if you don’t want to hack through a lock.” He looked back at the breached portion of the fence. “If we’d known this was already here, we’d have come in this way.”

   He cocked his head at me like a scientist examining a particularly curious specimen. “You didn’t summon the ghost, did you? I didn’t think vampires can do that.”

   “I didn’t. But I’m very interested in who might have, as are my colleagues. Let’s take a walk,” I said, and directed them back to the path.

   • • •

   We reached the front of the cemetery just as my grandfather’s vehicle, a white panel van with OMBUDSMAN printed on the side, pulled up. The doors opened, and my grandfather and Catcher climbed out. Catcher had changed from party attire into casual wear, and wore one of his characteristic snarky T-shirts. This one was dark green with MY MAGIC > YOUR MAGIC across the front in bright letters.

   Ombuddy number three, shape-shifter Jeff Christopher, hopped out of the back. He had shoulder-length brown hair, currently tucked behind his ears, and a thin frame that belied the power of the enormous tiger he could shift into.

   For a moment, everyone looked at everyone else.

   “I’ll start,” I said. “Ethan of Cadogan House; Chuck, Catcher, and Jeff of the Ombudsman’s office; Annabelle of the Illinois MVD Association; and Robin, Matt, and Roz of the Chicago Paranormal Action Network.” I wasn’t sure if Annabelle was publicly out as a necromancer, so I stuck to her professional affiliation.

   “Annabelle,” my grandfather said, “it’s nice to see you again. How’s little Maddy?”

   Annabelle’s face lit with joy. “She’s good, Chuck. Thank you for asking.”

   My grandfather gave the CPAN folks a careful glance. “And what brings you to a cemetery in the middle of the night?”

   “A spirit, sir,” Robin said, and stuck out a hand. He shook with everyone while Roz watched warily and Matt, who’d pulled out a small video camera, recorded the action.

   “We’re glad to finally meet you,” Robin continued. “We’ve sent you some literature about our services, in case you have needs in that area.”

   “Of course,” my grandfather said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. They stayed flat and mildly curious, giving away nothing of what he thought of CPAN. Then he looked back at Annabelle. “What did you find?”

   “A disinterred body, minus one skull, and a lot of magic,” Annabelle said.

   “Someone disinterred a body?” Robin asked, and we ignored him.

   Catcher nodded. “You can feel it in the air. A spirit?”

   Annabelle nodded and gave the Ombuddies the rundown while Roz, Robin, and Matt watched and listened.

   “Have the wards been tripped?” Ethan asked.

   “No,” Catcher said, and the word loosened the concern that had tightened my chest.

   Those were the magical alarms set by the Order, the sorcerers’ union, which would warn us if Sorcha tried her magic here again. Even if we hadn’t believed she was the culprit here, it was good to get confirmation.

   “We think we saw the summoner,” Robin put in, hitching a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the cemetery behind him. “We chased him, but he got away.”

   “There’s a trail that tracks the fence around the back of the cemetery,” I said, glancing at my grandfather. “The fence has been cut. The summoner may have come in that way, probably left that way. There’s a scrap of fabric caught in the links,” I said, and pulled out my phone to send Catcher and Jeff the photo. “It looks like the same fabric from the grave.”