Wherever She Goes (Psychic Seasons, ReGina Welling [novels to improve english TXT] 📗

Chapter 14

For a dimly lit neighborhood type bar, Bottles was surprisingly clean and well kept. Two competition-sized pool tables took up space in the quieter back section of the building while the front area held booths and a handful of four-tops that filled up fast on live karaoke night.

This was where Tyler found Zack and to his surprise, it was where he also found Julius.

Man and ghost were embroiled in a heated discussion over a set of notes sitting on the table. Tyler watched with interest as Zack saw him coming and surreptitiously slid some of those notes off the table and out of sight.

“It won’t work. We had a perfectly good plan, why have you changed it?” Julius nodded to Tyler and continued to insist on an answer.

“Of course it will, I’ve done my research on Ellis, this is exactly the type of thing a cheap con man like him will fall for. He won’t be able to resist.”

“And how much research have you done on Billy the Earthwalker?”

Zack’s features twisted as he snorted in derision, “Earthwalker.”

Pointing to himself, Julius said, “Ghost,” the Captain Obvious was implied.

Sliding into the booth next to Julius and pulling the notebook over for a quick glance, Tyler jumped into the conversation, “He’s right, Zack. If it was just Logan we were dealing with, your approach would be foolproof. Billy’s more than a complication and until we have a better idea what motivates him, there’s no way to predict his end game.”

“Ellis showed up at her place last night and now I’m not good with using my sister as bait. Sorry if that throws a crimp in Caspar’s plan but it’s not going to happen.”

Julius puffed up and prepared to square off against Zack who, it appeared, had no intention of giving so much as an inch. Tyler had just prepared himself to play referee when Finn and Reid walked in together.

Having had the longest association with the group of women involved, Tyler knew perfectly well they would do whatever they thought was necessary whether anyone liked it or not. But, he understood Zack wanting to protect Gustavia since he felt the same way about Julie.

Finn slid in next to Zack while Reid snagged a chair from an empty nearby table and made himself comfortable at the end of the booth. After the greetings were dispensed with, Tyler flashed a pointed look at Zack then turned to Julius, “I’d like to hear your plan.”

First, Julius went over the information about how he had let Billy into the world while Tyler made notes on a newly acquired tablet device. Then, he asked Tyler to give a brief summary of events to date.

As Tyler spoke, Zack’s expression darkened. He’d been kept out of the loop for months now and on top of that, every single one of them had suppressed evidence that might have led him to Logan’s capture long before.

When it was over, he lurched to his feet and slammed his hand on the table for emphasis, “I could arrest every single one of you on obstruction charges. What did you think you were playing at?”

Struggling to keep an amused smile off his face and maintain a mild, even tone in the face of Zack’s mood, Finn simply asked, “And would you have believed us if we had told you everything?”

“Probably not,” Zack continued to bluster, “but I had a right to know when it was my sister in danger.”

“Sit down, young man.” Julius’ command brooked no refusal. “You all have a common enemy, let that be enough to bind you. Time is short and my energy is limited so if you don’t mind, let’s get on with it and you can save your recriminations for later.”

Still glowering, Zack relented and took his seat.

“The way I see it,” Reid finally spoke, “is that Billy wants to live again and the way to do that is to gain complete control over Logan’s body. To do so, he must either blacken or weaken Logan’s soul so he has complete control or kill it entirely but he is unsure if the latter would kill the body as well.” He looked to Julius for a nod of confirmation.

“Let’s say I drank the Kool-Aid and I believe all this…” Zack couldn’t come up with a suitable word to describe the theory so he just circled a finger at his temple, “why is he still gunning for my sister and Julie? Stupid to keep going after them than to hole up somewhere and do his dirty work in private.”

It was a good question.

“Galmadriel thinks Billy uses Logan’s anger as his anchor to the body. What happened last night says his control is nowhere near as complete as we thought. Logan managed to slip it long enough to beg for forgiveness. Billy will need to pull off something big to make up for that and her guess is that he won’t wait long.”

“I’d feel sorry for the man if it wasn’t my woman he was after,” Finn nearly growled the words.

“Right then, what does Galmadriel suggest? Something to do with the second set of notes Zack’s hiding?”

“It’s not going to happen. She wants to use Julie and Gustavia as bait,” Zack insisted.

Julius shot Zack a raised eyebrow. “No, Julie and Gustavia will not be bait, they will be the trap. Here’s how it will play out…”

_,.-'~'-.,_

While Julius was laying it out for the men, Estelle gathered the four women together to prepare them for a planning session with Galmadriel.

“Whatever you do, don’t argue with her.” Amethyst advised. She’d been in the room with the angel when Julius had tried it and still remembered the feeling of being choked by energy.

Kat had no intention of arguing. As fear ran through her like water, she doubted she would be able to squeak out a single word in the presence of an angel. Her grandmother, the same one who laid out the cards and talked to the dead, had also prayed over