Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3)(39)
“Shh!” I gestured frantically and mouthed the words in there.
Jenny nodded, suddenly alert, and swept to the library to investigate. As she neared the door she faded away until she was entirely invisible. I strained to hear anything, but even the skitter of claws had stopped. I leaned closer and nearly flipped backward as Jenny’s face popped back out of the wood in front of me.
“On second thought,” she said with a playful smile, “this one is all yours.” In another moment she was gone and I was left alone in the hallway again, more bewildered than before.
I opened the door cautiously and found myself overwhelmed by a wave of emotion. A trim young man with dark, curly hair was seated on the floor by the open alcove window. He was out of his policeman’s blues, and in his lap flopped a scrappy, black-and-white sheepdog. It was licking his face mercilessly as he attempted to keep the thing still. I put my hands over my mouth and almost cried.
“Charlie?”
Charlie Barker looked abashed and quickly stood, letting his furry companion hop onto the floor. The dog’s paws clicked across the wood until he reached the carpet at my feet. He butted his head into my legs affectionately and wound around me, sniffing eagerly.
“Yes—hello, Toby. I missed you, too.” Toby had survived the incident in Gad’s Valley when his owners had not, and Charlie had not the heart to leave him. “Charlie, what on earth are you doing here? You’re a wanted man! There are posters! People talk about the Werewolf of the West End now like it’s a real thing! You’re a bona fide legend! If you had been seen . . .”
“People see what they want to see,” Charlie said, shuffling his feet. “And if they cannot see the difference between a wolf and a hound, I think perhaps they might not notice little old me. Marlowe sent a telegram. Jackaby has been keeping him abreast of new developments. He told me about the pale man—about you. There was no way I could sit in Gad’s Valley waiting for the next post to arrive telling me you were dead.”
“Charlie!” I wanted to kick him for being so rash and to kiss him for being here. There was no one I wanted closer and no one I wanted less to join me in harm’s way.
“It’s good to see you, Miss Abigail.” He smiled shyly, his deep brown eyes full of real and unapologetic relief. I gave in.
I crossed the library and wrapped myself around him. His arms were warm and strong and he smelled of cedar. Our first kiss had been a parting kiss. This one, our second, was all the more satisfying. It was like honey in hot tea.
I pulled away, breathing him in. “You shouldn’t have come,” I sighed.
“I know.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, his hand brushing my neck softly. “I was careful. I slipped in from the back streets. Apparently I am not the only legend lurking in the alleyways, though. Is it true? The pale man?”
“Yes. It’s true. He’s called Pavel. He’s a vampire, and a despicable cad. I’m all right, really, although Pavel can’t say the same. Wooden stakes and holy water might be preferable, but it turns out a sturdy brick to the face is not entirely ineffective against the dark scourge of the night. I’m a bit hazy on the details, though.”
Charlie pulled away, his eyebrows knit in concern. “What? Marlowe’s message only said that he spoke to you—something about a slip of paper . . . A brick?”
“Oh,” I said. “Oh, yes—you’re a bit behind.”
I recalled to him the details of the past few nights, and Charlie listened dutifully, nodding silently until I was done.
“. . . and that’s all of it,” I finished. “Mr. Jackaby is speaking with Finstern now. They’re in the other room. Would you like to say hello?”
He held my hand as we slid down the hallway. It was a small gesture, but it made me feel sweet and warm and not so alone.
Toby bounded through the door before us, and Jackaby stood up, surprised. “I need to seriously reexamine my perimeter defenses. Is there anyone else in my house that I’m not aware of?”
“My house,” came Jenny’s voice softly, and Owen Finstern spun his eyes suspiciously around the room.
“I’m very sorry to arrive unannounced,” Charlie said. “Under the circumstances—”
Jackaby waved him off. “No explanation needed. We can use any help we can get, to be honest. Miss Rook filled you in on the pertinent details?”
Charlie nodded.
“Then you know that our most immediate threat is Pavel’s daylight accomplice, a female foe employed by the same base and brutal benefactors who bankrolled Pavel.”
“How do we find her?”
Jackaby sighed. “Unfortunately, anyone who knows anything about the mystery murderess or her shadowy council is either missing or dead.” Jackaby scowled at the inventor. “Which you would do well to remember before you go running off to meet them.”
“Then perhaps we should focus on the people who are dead,” came Jenny’s voice from the air above the desk. “Professor Hoole was closer to this device than anyone.”
Finstern spun around on the bench. “Is everybody hearing that?” he asked.
Jackaby nodded. “Yes, and it’s impolite to interrupt while others are communing with the departed, or didn’t your research into the occult teach you that much?”