Girl's Guide to Voodoo Bounty Hunting Book 5: High Jinx
Eden Crowne
Copyright 2022 by Eden Crowne. All rights reserved
CHAPTER ONE
“You are in a heap of trouble, young lady.”
Judge Jelani looked sternly down at Nessa from her high perch in the courtroom.
Nessa squirmed. She certainly was.
With only a few hours’ notice, she’d been summoned to the Infernal Court on charges of malicious disregard for public safety and ignoring cloaking protocols. This was due to her unfortunate run-in with a Soul Eater. Soul Eaters are not nice people. As their name suggests, they consume souls.
It had taken a lot of magic on Nessa’s part to stop him. A swarm of tornadoes touching down in East L.A. sort of magic.
The Infernal Court was not pleased. How the Court knew it was Nessa and not some other summoner was still a mystery.
Thank God for Ravi’s warning.
Ravi Singh was an enforcement officer with the Infernal Court. Nessa called him a Witch Cop. Which he hated. He was also her friend. She’d had very few friends in her life trailing behind Deadbeat Dad from one magical scam to another.
As soon as Ravi saw the summons in the Court ledger, he’d called her. She’d immediately called her boss, Roman Barracuda. Mr. Barracuda owned Barracuda Bail Bonds in Compton.
Nessa and Pim had only recently joined the brave new world of professional bounty hunting. And not by choice. Nessa’s deadbeat dad skipped out on his Infernal bond with Barracuda. Only the debt wasn’t money. It was magic. Nineteen-year-old Nessa was left as collateral. As an Air Elemental, Nessa was a witch with rare abilities despite her youth. Barracuda decided she was just the person he needed.
She and her Familiar Pim were working off the debt as novice bounty hunters one bail jumper at a time. She never expected to be on trial herself.
The Soul Eater hadn’t been a bail bonds job. But if anyone knew how to get her out of trouble with the Infernal Court, it was Roman Barracuda.
The Court was hidden in a row of nondescript buildings in Redondo Beach. Since her boss handled both real-world and supernatural bonds, Nessa had dropped off a few bail jumpers here. She’d never been inside the actual courtroom.
The room was… intimidating. Yep, Nessa thought. That was the word for it. Gray stone floor, stone walls, stone ceiling. Black sigils covered every surface. They glowed with a harsh light. You’d think black couldn’t glow. Apparently, it can. The sigils lit up the room. No other lighting was necessary.
The judge’s desk was the curved trunk of a living tree growing in a perfect upside-down U-shape. The top of the ‘U’ formed the desk; its roots dug into the floor; its branches brushed the ceiling.
Flanking the judge’s desk were two beings around eight feet tall. They stood upright though slightly hunched forward. Each was surrounded by a flickering green haze of magic. The glow blurred their forms. All Nessa could make out were twisted horns like an antelope’s, oversized hands with long claws, and a restless forked tail. These were the Infernal Court’s version of Bailiffs.
“Cause any trouble and they’ll eat you,” Mr. Barracuda warned her.
Nessa laughed until he added, “Really.”
She, Pim, and Mr. Barracuda sat behind another living tree desk, though more of a Bonsai version. Their chairs were a tangle of roots and stone. Comfort was not a consideration of the Infernal Court.
The Judge wore black robes much like an ordinary judge in an American court. She had mocha-colored skin and her intricately braided black hair was wound in a complicated up-do. She appeared completely human which didn’t necessarily mean anything. Very few things were what they appeared inside this building.
“Ms. Vanessa Chevalier Scott,” the Judge said. “And Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant.”
Nessa snapped to attention. Pim as well. Pim was sitting on the desk so the judge could see him. The fact she could see him only further highlighted the power of this room. Because Pim was invisible.
A shipboard romance with a Gypsy witch’s winsome Calico over a century before had resulted in the unfortunate invisibility curse. Unless he was in his alternate werecat form, only Nessa and a few others could see the stocky gray British Shorthair.
The courtroom’s anti-illusion spell illuminated him like a pen and ink animation.
His long bushy tail swept back and forth in nervous agitation. Poor Pim. As her Familiar, he was on trial as well.
“You are here today on charges of public endangerment through reckless use of weather magic. Ignoring cloaking protocols and exposing your powers without due provocation. Do you understand these charges Ms. Scott and Mr. Whisker’s Rampant?”
Nessa tried to say yes. The only sound she could make was a strangled squeak. She cleared her throat. “Sorry. Um. Yes.”
Barracuda nudged her.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Her boss had given her a quick lesson in court manners on their way to Redondo Beach this morning. Despite her father’s long criminal career of magical scams, Nessa had never been in any kind of court before this morning.
Pim meowed, nodding his head.
“Your Honor,” said Roman Barracuda in his deep rumbling voice. “If I may speak?”
Mr. Barracuda was a large black man with large black hair. In addition to bailing out felons, he was a centuries-old Voodoo king. Normally he wore vintage bell bottoms with bright polyester shirts and purple-tinted granny glasses perched on his broad nose. Roman Barracuda loved the Seventies. The nineteen-seventies to be precise since he’d lived through the 1770s, the 1870s, and perhaps more before that.
Today, however, he was in a somber dark suit and thick, black-rimmed glasses.
The Judge nodded regally.
“Regarding the charge of public endangerment. As you know, Ms. Scott was battling a Soul Eater at the time. Soul Eaters are possibly the most powerful Sorcerers in the magical lexicon. This one had already murdered seven people.”
Nessa’s eyes widened. She’d thought it was only five.
“Without Ms. Scott’s intervention,” he continued, “who knows how many more souls he would have claimed. Normally we, the supernatural community, would not intervene. However, the Soul Eater had taken no precautions to cloak his actions. The murders became public knowledge. Piles of human ash were being shown on local and network television. The police did not even need DNA identification as the Soul Eater made no attempt to dispose of his victims’ personal items. This matter called for swift action. I’d say Ms. Scott is to be commended rather than sanctioned.”
“You would, would you, Mr. Barracuda?” The Judge’s hand whipped up and she twirled a pointed stick, sending out a shower of golden sparks
Nessa and Pim exchanged open-mouthed looks.
‘A wand!’ she mouthed.
He nodded furiously. Just as surprised.
Nessa had never seen an honest-to-God magic wand.
“Tornadoes, Mr. Barracuda. In Los Angeles. Observe.”
Pointing the wand at one wall of sigils, she conjured a grainy film of three funnel clouds. For a moment they surrounded a wall of flames before joining into one furious storm. The focus shifted to the foreground showing the back of a girl, her arms held out.
“Is this or is this not you, Ms. Scott?”
Nessa’s stomach dropped. Her dad had taught her when in doubt, lie. Lie like the devil himself. Could she lie in this court? The sigils on the walls pulsed with power. She had an uneasy feeling they might act as magical lie detectors. Uncharacteristically, she decided to tell the truth.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Barracuda gave her a brief nod of approval. Guess she’d done the right thing.
“Where did you procure this film, Your Honor,” Barracuda asked.
“It was submitted anonymously.”
He shifted his eyes to Nessa.
She shrugged, saying quietly, “I have no idea.”
Privately she wondered if it could be Jun Hee. Jun Hee Kim was the newest bounty hunter at Barracuda Bail Bonds. She and Jun Hee did not get along. He’d been present during her fight with the Soul Eater.
The quality of the film looked like it was shot by a cell phone. She wouldn’t put it past Jun Hee if money was somehow involved. But the angle seemed wrong. He’d been on her right during the battle, not behind her.
“You will admit, Your Honor, Ms. Scott is attempting to contain the fire summoned by the Soul Eater. She did not initiate the conflict.”
“ The Court concedes the defendant was seeking to constrain the Soul Eater.”
“And, if I may add. She prevented the fire from escaping the confines of the storm and sent the storms back with no loss of human life.”
“However, there were humans involved in the clean-up.”
The judge whirled her wand in the air. This time the film showed fire engines, ambulances, and a dozen police cars swarming into the cemetery.
She snapped the wand and a second similar scene unfolded at what Nessa recognized as the cemetery in Inglewood. She’d fought the Soul Eater there as well.
Who had taken these?
Somebody had it in for her.
“Witchy snitches get stitches,” she whispered to Pim.
He growled in agreement.
“What, Ms. Scott? Mr. Whisker’s Rampant? Do you have anything to add?”
Pim shook his head.
Nessa felt her face flush. “No, Your Honor.”
With a wave of her wand, Judge Jelani sent the screens spinning away. Mr. Barracuda stood quietly waiting for the judge’s next move.
The Judge looked at Nessa with a stern expression. “Explain to me the necessity of raising a flurry of tornadoes in the towns of Boyle Heights and Inglewood over one twenty-four-hour period.”
“Everything is in her statement,” Mr. Barracuda started to say.
Jelani held up a hand, “I wish to hear it in Ms. Scott’s own words.”
Nessa gripped the rough stone sides of the chair. Her knees had started to shake.
Hesitantly, she explained how she’d been blackmailed into fighting the Sorcerer after her three taco-loving fairies were kidnapped.
“Madame Valencia told me to stop the Soul Eater. She’s a Fire Elemental. Madame Valencia, I mean. She was, um,” Nessa nervously sought the right words. “She was speaking on behalf of the Queen of the Fire Kingdom. I think that’s the how to describe it.”
The Judge nodded. All this was in the statement Mr. Barracuda helped her write over the phone last night. They’d handed it in to the Court first thing in the morning.
“The Soul Eater,” Nessa explained, “was working with a Princess of Fire to assassinate the Queen. Fire Queen, I mean. He, the Soul Eater, was gathering human souls to boost a killing spell of some kind.”
“Why did you not come to the Infernal Court to explain this after you were threatened?” the Judge asked.
Nessa paled, stammering, “I…I... didn’t know the court could help.”
“Not always, of course. The Court concedes this can be a gray area. However, if the choice is between blatantly exposing magic to the public or helping you, I believe we would have interceded.”
Or maybe they would have just killed her. Snap. No Nessa. No problem.
She didn’t know much about the Infernal Court before being forced into the bounty hunting business. Dad deliberately chose the locations of his magical scams far from any Infernal Court presence: Ohio, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Mexico. None of these states even had a regional office.
“Don’t cross them,” was all he ever said. “Your life will never come first on the Court agenda.”
Nessa dropped her eyes and tried to look penitent. “I’m sorry, Your Honor. Madame Valencia said they would kill my fairies unless I did what she said.”
With an airy wave of her hand, Judge Jelani indicated she should go on
She described trying to capture the Soul Eater and being stopped by another Air Elemental.
“The other Elemental’s name is Roland. He and the Soul Eater were old friends. Roland wanted to help him.” Nessa pointed at the Judge’s desk. “I think I said in my statement the Soul Eater’s name is Oliver.”
Judge Jelani nodded.
“Oliver didn’t want to be helped. He escaped.” She took a shaky breath. “Um…well. Let’s see. I used a location spell to track him to the cemetery in Boyle Heights. He’d harvested two more souls before I could get to him.”
“He raised a flaming barrier,” said the Judge, looking down at the tablet computer.
“Yes, Your Honor. When I approached him. He attacked me and my Familiar.”
She had called on her Elemental Air magic to fight the spectral flames. Clearing her throat she said, quietly “I summoned three whirlwinds.”
“What?” said the Judge. “Speak up. We can’t hear you.”
“I summoned three whirlwinds,” she said loudly.
“Yes, you did.” The Judge narrowed her eyes. “As we saw in the film. This is on top of the funnel cloud you summoned the day before in Inglewood.”
Oh. Yeah. There was that. Probably no point telling Judge Jelani she was protecting an elderly woman from the Soul Eater at the time. The only reason they cared about the Sorcerer in the first place was when the murders had become news. Human life was of little concern.
The Judge frowned. “But why three? Wouldn’t one have been sufficient?”
She shook her head. “He was too strong, ma’am. I mean, Your Honor.” That certainly was the truth. “He realized I was a threat and his attacks doubled, then tripled. I thought he was going to send the flames over the city unless I stopped him.”
Her three funnel clouds had joined into one mega-storm surrounding the Soul Eater. It still hadn’t been enough.
“The storms drained his energy,” Nessa said.
Which was a lie.
She glanced at the sigils on the wall. No change. Good.
To stop him she’d called on her mother’s legacy. Her curse. Dark and dirty magic. Every time she opened the metaphysical cage holding her secret power, she risked alerting Frank to her presence. Frank, the Fallen Angel who’d bargained for her mother’s soul. Mom hadn’t known Nessa was already tucked in her womb when she sealed the bargain.
Frank did.
After her mother died in childbirth, he declared Nessa was part of the deal. Her father disagreed. He took her and ran. Nessa had been hiding from Frank ever since.
Nothing except the power of a Fallen Angel could topple the Soul Eater. Which was exactly why her fairies had been kidnapped. Word of Nessa’s ‘extra abilities’ had spread among the Fae after she outed herself during an attack on the Queen’s ball.
Nessa sent a silent prayer that the Infernal Court was still ignorant of those details. If anyone found out, her life would be over. Not that they would kill her. Oh no. They would bind her. Force Nessa to use her ultra-rare Angelic powers for them. Frank wasn’t the only supernatural being Nessa had to watch out for.
“I finally captured him with a Fudo Cord.”
Mr. Barracuda lent her a weapon of the divine Japanese Fudo spirits. Fudo are ancient protective spirits who use their magical cords to bind demons. How Mr. Barracuda got it she had no idea. Maybe someone gave it to him as collateral for a bail bond.
“Once he was secure, I tried to send the whirlwinds back. It wasn’t easy. Another presence was inside my storm. I think that was the reason they went so wild.”
Which was true.
There had been magical energy in the whirlwinds. A Hell Cat.
“The Soul Eater was taken away by a Kasha, you stated.”
Mr. Barracuda spoke up, “We have submitted evidence from Mr. Jun Hee Kim’s cell phone, Your Honor. The film shows a Japanese supernatural being. A Kasha Hell Cat. The divine being was summoned by the death curse of a Buddhist priest murdered by the Soul Eater. Not Ms. Scott.”
The Judge waved her wand.
A life-size image of the ten-foot-tall Kasha Hell Cat burst onto the wall.
Nessa and Pim flinched. He was black and white, standing on his hind legs, surrounded by spectral flames. Snarling, his lips drew back over fangs as big as daggers. Nessa was in the foreground. Another figure lay sprawled at her feet. Roland, the Air Elemental. He’d been trying to save his friend Oliver.
The Kasha launched a fireball the size of a pickup truck at them. Nessa raised her hands, summoning freezing winds to stop the fire from engulfing her and Roland.
“As you can see, Your Honor, Ms. Scott kept the fire from consuming them. She stood valiantly against the Kasha.”
Stood desperately against him was more accurate.
What did it matter? She’d failed in the end.
Tapping her wand, the Judge fast-forwarded the image to the cat soaring into the sky pulling a flaming cart. Jun Hee’s camera zoomed in on the Soul Eater struggling in vain against a dozen skeletal figures holding him down.
Judge Jelani froze the image. “Yes, Mr. Barracuda. We have taken note.”
After a minute or two of silently scrutinizing the tablet computer, the Judge said, “There is also the matter of the other charge pertaining to the incident in Beverly Hills at…” she tapped the tablet, “Valliard’s Coffee Lounge.”
Nessa’s mouth went dry. She’d made a stupid, stupid mistake. Madame Valencia had sat there gloating over the kidnapping of Nessa’s fairies. Threatening to kill them if Nessa didn’t cooperate. Nessa had lost control. Unlocked her dark power and shattered every window in the lounge.
Nessa started to speak. Mr. Barracuda put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
“Your Honor,” he said. “Miss Scott is nineteen and very much alone in the world. Madame Valencia took advantage of her youth to frighten and blackmail her. The woman backed her into a corner. Ms. Scott lost control. You are correct. It is unfortunate. As immature as this young witch is, she injured no one.”
“Yet the event was still covered in the news.”
“Yes, your Honor,” conceded Mr. Barracuda.
“Very well. I believe we have all the facts we need. Do you wish to sum up, Mr. Barracuda?”
“I do, Your Honor,” he said.
“Approach the bench.”
Mr. Barracuda patted Nessa’s back gently before stepping up to the judge.
“Miss Scott was thrust against her will into a perilous situation. She was pitted against an adversary even a team of witches would hesitate to face. She has not had the benefit of a traditional upbringing or proper magical instruction in the jurisdiction of the Infernal Court. The threat of physical harm to her fairies was the primary motivation in her actions. Frightened, threatened, and alone. I aided her as best I could though I am prohibited from interfering directly with the Fae. Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant supported her, as is his duty. Given her age, I ask for leniency.”
“Understood,” said the Judge.
Mr. Barracuda returned to stand next to Nessa.
Judge Jelani stood.
“Nullum crimen sine lege,” she recited. “There is no punishment without law. However, culpae poena par esto. Let the punishment duly fit the crime. Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant. You are guilty of aiding and abetting your witch. Your sentence is to wear the Cone of Shame for thirty days. The cone will prevent you from shifting to a werecat.”
She snapped her wand at Pim.
“Pareo! Submit.”
Pim jumped when an almost transparent cone of light appeared around his neck. He gave a strangled meow of surprise.
The Judge pointed her wand at Nessa next.
Nessa suddenly wanted to go to the bathroom really badly.
“Fiat voluntas mea,” said the Judge.
Her words echoed through the chamber as if struck from a kettle drum. “Fiat voluntas mea…fiat voluntas mea…fiat voluntas mea…”
“Let my intent come to pass!” she said in English, waving her wand in an intricate series of knots.
A circle of fiery pentagrams burst in the air like skyrockets in front of Nessa.
Frightened, Nessa jumped to her feet.
A flick of the wand sent two of the pentagrams flying out of the circle. They snapped onto Nessa’s wrists. She gasped as magic zinged through her nervous system.
The Judge spun the wand at the three remaining pentagrams. The pentagrams linked together, point to point. They sizzled in the air, sending out hot, bright sparks.
“ Pareo! Submit!” shouted the Judge.
The linked pentagrams swooped at Nessa like fighter jets. Instinctively she tried to duck out of the way. Mimicking her move, the trio of pentagrams swerved sharply, stretching out like a rope to spin around her waist.
Nessa squeaked as an electric shock ran the length of her body.
“Our verdict has been reached. Your Air Elemental Powers are to be locked.”
Nessa’s knees gave out and she collapsed onto the stone floor.
CHAPTER TWO
When Nessa came to her senses, she was stretched out on a hard wooden bench. The walls were white, not stone. Normal fluorescent lights hung overhead.
Roman Barracuda’s face appeared over hers, his brows pressed together. He laid a cold cloth on her forehead.
“What…what happened?”
“You fainted,” he said.
Pim was perched on her stomach, kneading it gently with his paws.
The Judge’s verdict and the image of the bands of light on her wrist and waist came back like a punch in the gut.
“My powers,” she sobbed.
Mr. Barracuda took her hand. “There, there, it’s not as bad as you think.”
“How could losing my powers be anything but terrible?” she sobbed, tears brimming over to drip down her cheeks.
He gave a rumbling chuckle, “You only lost them for thirty days. Not forever.”
“Thir… thirty days?”
“Yes. You fainted before the Judge could finish the sentence.”
“Where is she!” demanded a woman.
“Where’s our girl!” shouted another.
Mr. Barracuda waved over two enormous ebony-skinned women. Each was over six feet of pure muscle squeezed into black leather jumpsuits with another foot of towering red hair.
Pansie and Rose Marie La Rue knelt by Nessa. The twins were Barracuda Bail Bond’s enforcers and Mr. Barracuda’s valued partners.
They kissed Pim’s head. Like their boss, Pim’s invisibility curse did not work on them.
He gave a mournful meow, pointing with one paw to the shimmering cone around his neck.
“Not the Cone of Shame,” exclaimed Rose Marie.
“Poor baby,” said Pansie, stroking Pim’s back.
“The lock is only for thirty days,” Barracuda explained. “Judge Jelani considered your age and how you prevented the Soul Eater from taking any more victims. You got rid of him, even if your methods were unorthodox. This is the Infernal Court. They understand improvisational justice. Though the judge did suggest you stop sending funnel clouds around the city if you want to avoid appearing in her court again.”
“What about little ones?” Nessa asked. “You know, mini tornadoes?”
Barracuda cocked an eyebrow, pulling the glasses low over his nose and giving her a significant look.
“Understood,” she mumbled.
“For the time being, you have no choice, young lady.” He stood, frowning down at her. “She’s put a lock on all your Elemental powers.”
“I can still…” her voice broke. She had to swallow several times to clear the rising sense of panic threatening to choke her. “Cast spells, right?”
She needed those abilities to shield herself from Frank. He had sniffers searching for witchy resonance twenty-four-seven. The protective amulets Aunt Emerald made kept her hidden. Still, accidents happened. Frank had sent astral projections that nearly found her location several times since she started work at Barracuda Bail Bonds.
Protective circles didn’t depend on Elemental Magic. At least hers didn’t. Nessa used a blend of sigils painted with a brush carved from human bone and a blood sacrifice. Her blood, unfortunately.
“Only your air abilities are constrained by the Jinx.” His voice became all business, “You and Mr. Pim can return to work today. Neither of you has been pulling your weight this week.” He frowned. “Now don’t go making a face about it. Get yourself home, Miss Scott, change into your work clothes and come to the office.”
“Nessa!” a man’s voice shouted.
She turned her head to see Ravi Singh jogging down the hall. His shiny black hair had fallen forward over his forehead as he ran. He held a canned drink in one hand. Ravi was only three years older than her. Twenty-two and just out of Pepperdine. Each of them was new to their jobs. Ravi as an investigator for the Infernal Court; Nessa as a novice Bounty Hunter.
“Hey, you’re awake. Here, drink this.”
He handed her an icy cold can of Red Bull.
With a grateful look, she popped the top and gulped down the sweet tonic.
He pushed his hair back from his face. He was wearing a trim sharkskin suit with a narrow tie and dark gray shirt. Ravi came from money and looked it.
“I was waiting outside the courtroom,” he said taking the can from her as Mr. Barracuda helped her sit up. “I saw him bring you out. Was it bad?”
Pansie put her hands on her hips, looking down at the young man. “The girl fainted. Guess you could say it was bad.”
He looked from Pansie to Nessa, “Sorry. I know. I mean…”
“Now don’t jump down the boy’s throat.” Mr. Barracuda shook a finger at the tall woman. “He was worried. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Here,” Ravi pushed the can at Nessa, “drink a little more.”
She did. Pim wriggled his head under her arm. She could see the cone glowing around his neck.
“I’m sorry, buddy. It’s my fault you have to wear the cone.”
“Wear what?” Ravi asked. Unlike her boss and the twins, Ravi couldn’t see Pim in his cat form.
“Pim has to wear the Cone of Shame for a month,” she explained.
“And you?”
She held up her wrists. The pentagrams glowed and sparked around them. “No Elemental powers for the same.”
Rave hissed out a breath. “It could have been worse.”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
Roman Barracuda stood, rubbing his eyes beneath the glasses. “I need to get back to the office. If you’re feeling up to it, I’ll give you a ride to your aunt’s.”
“Oh, I can take her, Mr. Barracuda.”
He turned a long considering look on Ravi saying at last, “Well, alright then. Much obliged.”
Rose Marie and Pansie hugged Nessa so tightly her breath whooshed out. They patted Pim on the head. Arm in arm, they followed their boss down the long hallway.
“Can you stand?” Ravi asked.
Nessa nodded, getting to her feet. Ravi put a hand under her arm, his brows knitted in concern. “Let me help you.”
After a few experimental steps, she let out a deep breath. Gravity stayed firmly in place. No vertigo or nausea. Pim rubbed against her legs, feeling her relief.
“Do you want to finish the drink?”
She nodded yes and Ravi stood with her while she drained the small can.
“Give it to me, I’ll throw it away.”
He took the can, tucking it in one pocket.
“Better now,” she said with a little smile. “Thanks.”
Men and women in suits or court robes hurried by as Nessa, Ravi, and Pim walked slowly in the direction of the Court’s back door. Ravi kept his hand under her arm even though she said she was fine.
Ravi pulled open one of the big double doors leading to the parking lot. They stepped into the heat of a bright spring morning and the path of a tall woman, wearing a black pantsuit with a long brightly colored scarf draped across her throat to fall down her back.
Ravi stepped back, almost pushing Nessa behind him. “What are you doing here?” he said to the woman.
The woman closed the space between them, placing her hands on his shoulders and pulling him forward for a kiss on both cheeks. “Beta, is that any way to greet me?”
“Mummy-ji, mom, sorry. Um, well…” he stammered, “You don't usually come to the Court. I’m surprised.”
Mom?
She was a handsome woman. Strong featured with an athletic build tall enough to stare eye-to-eye with Ravi.
He adjusted his position and Nessa again had the feeling he was pushing her behind his back. Hiding her.
Ravi’s mom gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I must give a statement in a case. Business. Nothing to do with me. And who is this?”
Her voice was accented, unlike Ravi who had a clear California inflection
Ravi’s posture stiffened. “This…um... this is my friend, Nessa Scott. Vanessa Scott,” he corrected himself.
Nessa stepped forward. “How do you do, Dr. Singh. It’s nice to meet you. Ravi has told me a little about your work.”
He’d told her a lot more. During one of their adventures, i.e. surviving yet another encounter with Voodoo Loa of the Dead Baron Samedi, he’d revealed his mom was a Nagini. A semi-divine shapeshifting snake spirit from the Hindu pantheon of gods. Ravi had inherited his mother’s abilities, though not many people but Nessa were aware of this. Giant anthropomorphic snakes are scary even to other supernaturals. Ravi’s coworkers only knew he could throw down a magic circle and toss defensive spells with the best of them.
Dr. Singh deliberately drew herself up to look down at Nessa. Since Nessa was only five feet two this was not difficult.
“You are friends with my son?” she asked laser-targeting Nessa with her large, brown, perfectly lined eyes.
Was it Nessa’s imagination or had the air turned frosty?
“We’ve worked together on some cases.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You are an investigator with the Infernal Court?”
Ravi brought up his wrist to look at the flashy designer watch he wore. “Oh, goodness, look at the time. We need to be going.”
Still holding Nessa’s arm, he tried to pull her with him down the short flight of stairs into the parking lot. Dr. Singh took a step to the side, blocking his way.
She cocked her head at Nessa waiting for an answer.
“Uh, no. I’m with Barracuda Bail Bonds. I’m a…a bond recovery agent.”
Ravi became very still.
Dr. Singh narrowed her eyes.
“Bail bonds?” she said, a sharp edge in her voice.
Better leave Deadbeat Dad and the story of her current indentured servitude to Barracuda Bail Bonds out of this. “I’m working my way through college.”
“Are you really?” said Ravi’s mom, her expression inscrutable. “What college?”
“Santa Monica City College.”
“Santa Monica…” Without breaking eye contact with Nessa, she said to Ravi. “Is this the girl Auntie Poonam saw you with the other day in Del Amo?”
Ravi flushed. “Please tell the Mumbai Auntie Mafia to mind their own business.”
Dr. Singh’s eyebrows drew together.
“Please,” he added belatedly.
“Beta, you know your father and I only have…”
Ravi took Nessa’s arm, practically jumping around his mother. “Gotta’ go. Love you. Bye.”
He pulled Ness with him, practically running to his car.
Nessa looked over her shoulder. Dr. Singh was staring after them. Nessa thought she saw the faintest outline of a cobra’s hood shimmer in the air.
Eden Crowne
Copyright 2022 by Eden Crowne. All rights reserved
CHAPTER ONE
“You are in a heap of trouble, young lady.”
Judge Jelani looked sternly down at Nessa from her high perch in the courtroom.
Nessa squirmed. She certainly was.
With only a few hours’ notice, she’d been summoned to the Infernal Court on charges of malicious disregard for public safety and ignoring cloaking protocols. This was due to her unfortunate run-in with a Soul Eater. Soul Eaters are not nice people. As their name suggests, they consume souls.
It had taken a lot of magic on Nessa’s part to stop him. A swarm of tornadoes touching down in East L.A. sort of magic.
The Infernal Court was not pleased. How the Court knew it was Nessa and not some other summoner was still a mystery.
Thank God for Ravi’s warning.
Ravi Singh was an enforcement officer with the Infernal Court. Nessa called him a Witch Cop. Which he hated. He was also her friend. She’d had very few friends in her life trailing behind Deadbeat Dad from one magical scam to another.
As soon as Ravi saw the summons in the Court ledger, he’d called her. She’d immediately called her boss, Roman Barracuda. Mr. Barracuda owned Barracuda Bail Bonds in Compton.
Nessa and Pim had only recently joined the brave new world of professional bounty hunting. And not by choice. Nessa’s deadbeat dad skipped out on his Infernal bond with Barracuda. Only the debt wasn’t money. It was magic. Nineteen-year-old Nessa was left as collateral. As an Air Elemental, Nessa was a witch with rare abilities despite her youth. Barracuda decided she was just the person he needed.
She and her Familiar Pim were working off the debt as novice bounty hunters one bail jumper at a time. She never expected to be on trial herself.
The Soul Eater hadn’t been a bail bonds job. But if anyone knew how to get her out of trouble with the Infernal Court, it was Roman Barracuda.
The Court was hidden in a row of nondescript buildings in Redondo Beach. Since her boss handled both real-world and supernatural bonds, Nessa had dropped off a few bail jumpers here. She’d never been inside the actual courtroom.
The room was… intimidating. Yep, Nessa thought. That was the word for it. Gray stone floor, stone walls, stone ceiling. Black sigils covered every surface. They glowed with a harsh light. You’d think black couldn’t glow. Apparently, it can. The sigils lit up the room. No other lighting was necessary.
The judge’s desk was the curved trunk of a living tree growing in a perfect upside-down U-shape. The top of the ‘U’ formed the desk; its roots dug into the floor; its branches brushed the ceiling.
Flanking the judge’s desk were two beings around eight feet tall. They stood upright though slightly hunched forward. Each was surrounded by a flickering green haze of magic. The glow blurred their forms. All Nessa could make out were twisted horns like an antelope’s, oversized hands with long claws, and a restless forked tail. These were the Infernal Court’s version of Bailiffs.
“Cause any trouble and they’ll eat you,” Mr. Barracuda warned her.
Nessa laughed until he added, “Really.”
She, Pim, and Mr. Barracuda sat behind another living tree desk, though more of a Bonsai version. Their chairs were a tangle of roots and stone. Comfort was not a consideration of the Infernal Court.
The Judge wore black robes much like an ordinary judge in an American court. She had mocha-colored skin and her intricately braided black hair was wound in a complicated up-do. She appeared completely human which didn’t necessarily mean anything. Very few things were what they appeared inside this building.
“Ms. Vanessa Chevalier Scott,” the Judge said. “And Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant.”
Nessa snapped to attention. Pim as well. Pim was sitting on the desk so the judge could see him. The fact she could see him only further highlighted the power of this room. Because Pim was invisible.
A shipboard romance with a Gypsy witch’s winsome Calico over a century before had resulted in the unfortunate invisibility curse. Unless he was in his alternate werecat form, only Nessa and a few others could see the stocky gray British Shorthair.
The courtroom’s anti-illusion spell illuminated him like a pen and ink animation.
His long bushy tail swept back and forth in nervous agitation. Poor Pim. As her Familiar, he was on trial as well.
“You are here today on charges of public endangerment through reckless use of weather magic. Ignoring cloaking protocols and exposing your powers without due provocation. Do you understand these charges Ms. Scott and Mr. Whisker’s Rampant?”
Nessa tried to say yes. The only sound she could make was a strangled squeak. She cleared her throat. “Sorry. Um. Yes.”
Barracuda nudged her.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Her boss had given her a quick lesson in court manners on their way to Redondo Beach this morning. Despite her father’s long criminal career of magical scams, Nessa had never been in any kind of court before this morning.
Pim meowed, nodding his head.
“Your Honor,” said Roman Barracuda in his deep rumbling voice. “If I may speak?”
Mr. Barracuda was a large black man with large black hair. In addition to bailing out felons, he was a centuries-old Voodoo king. Normally he wore vintage bell bottoms with bright polyester shirts and purple-tinted granny glasses perched on his broad nose. Roman Barracuda loved the Seventies. The nineteen-seventies to be precise since he’d lived through the 1770s, the 1870s, and perhaps more before that.
Today, however, he was in a somber dark suit and thick, black-rimmed glasses.
The Judge nodded regally.
“Regarding the charge of public endangerment. As you know, Ms. Scott was battling a Soul Eater at the time. Soul Eaters are possibly the most powerful Sorcerers in the magical lexicon. This one had already murdered seven people.”
Nessa’s eyes widened. She’d thought it was only five.
“Without Ms. Scott’s intervention,” he continued, “who knows how many more souls he would have claimed. Normally we, the supernatural community, would not intervene. However, the Soul Eater had taken no precautions to cloak his actions. The murders became public knowledge. Piles of human ash were being shown on local and network television. The police did not even need DNA identification as the Soul Eater made no attempt to dispose of his victims’ personal items. This matter called for swift action. I’d say Ms. Scott is to be commended rather than sanctioned.”
“You would, would you, Mr. Barracuda?” The Judge’s hand whipped up and she twirled a pointed stick, sending out a shower of golden sparks
Nessa and Pim exchanged open-mouthed looks.
‘A wand!’ she mouthed.
He nodded furiously. Just as surprised.
Nessa had never seen an honest-to-God magic wand.
“Tornadoes, Mr. Barracuda. In Los Angeles. Observe.”
Pointing the wand at one wall of sigils, she conjured a grainy film of three funnel clouds. For a moment they surrounded a wall of flames before joining into one furious storm. The focus shifted to the foreground showing the back of a girl, her arms held out.
“Is this or is this not you, Ms. Scott?”
Nessa’s stomach dropped. Her dad had taught her when in doubt, lie. Lie like the devil himself. Could she lie in this court? The sigils on the walls pulsed with power. She had an uneasy feeling they might act as magical lie detectors. Uncharacteristically, she decided to tell the truth.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Barracuda gave her a brief nod of approval. Guess she’d done the right thing.
“Where did you procure this film, Your Honor,” Barracuda asked.
“It was submitted anonymously.”
He shifted his eyes to Nessa.
She shrugged, saying quietly, “I have no idea.”
Privately she wondered if it could be Jun Hee. Jun Hee Kim was the newest bounty hunter at Barracuda Bail Bonds. She and Jun Hee did not get along. He’d been present during her fight with the Soul Eater.
The quality of the film looked like it was shot by a cell phone. She wouldn’t put it past Jun Hee if money was somehow involved. But the angle seemed wrong. He’d been on her right during the battle, not behind her.
“You will admit, Your Honor, Ms. Scott is attempting to contain the fire summoned by the Soul Eater. She did not initiate the conflict.”
“ The Court concedes the defendant was seeking to constrain the Soul Eater.”
“And, if I may add. She prevented the fire from escaping the confines of the storm and sent the storms back with no loss of human life.”
“However, there were humans involved in the clean-up.”
The judge whirled her wand in the air. This time the film showed fire engines, ambulances, and a dozen police cars swarming into the cemetery.
She snapped the wand and a second similar scene unfolded at what Nessa recognized as the cemetery in Inglewood. She’d fought the Soul Eater there as well.
Who had taken these?
Somebody had it in for her.
“Witchy snitches get stitches,” she whispered to Pim.
He growled in agreement.
“What, Ms. Scott? Mr. Whisker’s Rampant? Do you have anything to add?”
Pim shook his head.
Nessa felt her face flush. “No, Your Honor.”
With a wave of her wand, Judge Jelani sent the screens spinning away. Mr. Barracuda stood quietly waiting for the judge’s next move.
The Judge looked at Nessa with a stern expression. “Explain to me the necessity of raising a flurry of tornadoes in the towns of Boyle Heights and Inglewood over one twenty-four-hour period.”
“Everything is in her statement,” Mr. Barracuda started to say.
Jelani held up a hand, “I wish to hear it in Ms. Scott’s own words.”
Nessa gripped the rough stone sides of the chair. Her knees had started to shake.
Hesitantly, she explained how she’d been blackmailed into fighting the Sorcerer after her three taco-loving fairies were kidnapped.
“Madame Valencia told me to stop the Soul Eater. She’s a Fire Elemental. Madame Valencia, I mean. She was, um,” Nessa nervously sought the right words. “She was speaking on behalf of the Queen of the Fire Kingdom. I think that’s the how to describe it.”
The Judge nodded. All this was in the statement Mr. Barracuda helped her write over the phone last night. They’d handed it in to the Court first thing in the morning.
“The Soul Eater,” Nessa explained, “was working with a Princess of Fire to assassinate the Queen. Fire Queen, I mean. He, the Soul Eater, was gathering human souls to boost a killing spell of some kind.”
“Why did you not come to the Infernal Court to explain this after you were threatened?” the Judge asked.
Nessa paled, stammering, “I…I... didn’t know the court could help.”
“Not always, of course. The Court concedes this can be a gray area. However, if the choice is between blatantly exposing magic to the public or helping you, I believe we would have interceded.”
Or maybe they would have just killed her. Snap. No Nessa. No problem.
She didn’t know much about the Infernal Court before being forced into the bounty hunting business. Dad deliberately chose the locations of his magical scams far from any Infernal Court presence: Ohio, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Mexico. None of these states even had a regional office.
“Don’t cross them,” was all he ever said. “Your life will never come first on the Court agenda.”
Nessa dropped her eyes and tried to look penitent. “I’m sorry, Your Honor. Madame Valencia said they would kill my fairies unless I did what she said.”
With an airy wave of her hand, Judge Jelani indicated she should go on
She described trying to capture the Soul Eater and being stopped by another Air Elemental.
“The other Elemental’s name is Roland. He and the Soul Eater were old friends. Roland wanted to help him.” Nessa pointed at the Judge’s desk. “I think I said in my statement the Soul Eater’s name is Oliver.”
Judge Jelani nodded.
“Oliver didn’t want to be helped. He escaped.” She took a shaky breath. “Um…well. Let’s see. I used a location spell to track him to the cemetery in Boyle Heights. He’d harvested two more souls before I could get to him.”
“He raised a flaming barrier,” said the Judge, looking down at the tablet computer.
“Yes, Your Honor. When I approached him. He attacked me and my Familiar.”
She had called on her Elemental Air magic to fight the spectral flames. Clearing her throat she said, quietly “I summoned three whirlwinds.”
“What?” said the Judge. “Speak up. We can’t hear you.”
“I summoned three whirlwinds,” she said loudly.
“Yes, you did.” The Judge narrowed her eyes. “As we saw in the film. This is on top of the funnel cloud you summoned the day before in Inglewood.”
Oh. Yeah. There was that. Probably no point telling Judge Jelani she was protecting an elderly woman from the Soul Eater at the time. The only reason they cared about the Sorcerer in the first place was when the murders had become news. Human life was of little concern.
The Judge frowned. “But why three? Wouldn’t one have been sufficient?”
She shook her head. “He was too strong, ma’am. I mean, Your Honor.” That certainly was the truth. “He realized I was a threat and his attacks doubled, then tripled. I thought he was going to send the flames over the city unless I stopped him.”
Her three funnel clouds had joined into one mega-storm surrounding the Soul Eater. It still hadn’t been enough.
“The storms drained his energy,” Nessa said.
Which was a lie.
She glanced at the sigils on the wall. No change. Good.
To stop him she’d called on her mother’s legacy. Her curse. Dark and dirty magic. Every time she opened the metaphysical cage holding her secret power, she risked alerting Frank to her presence. Frank, the Fallen Angel who’d bargained for her mother’s soul. Mom hadn’t known Nessa was already tucked in her womb when she sealed the bargain.
Frank did.
After her mother died in childbirth, he declared Nessa was part of the deal. Her father disagreed. He took her and ran. Nessa had been hiding from Frank ever since.
Nothing except the power of a Fallen Angel could topple the Soul Eater. Which was exactly why her fairies had been kidnapped. Word of Nessa’s ‘extra abilities’ had spread among the Fae after she outed herself during an attack on the Queen’s ball.
Nessa sent a silent prayer that the Infernal Court was still ignorant of those details. If anyone found out, her life would be over. Not that they would kill her. Oh no. They would bind her. Force Nessa to use her ultra-rare Angelic powers for them. Frank wasn’t the only supernatural being Nessa had to watch out for.
“I finally captured him with a Fudo Cord.”
Mr. Barracuda lent her a weapon of the divine Japanese Fudo spirits. Fudo are ancient protective spirits who use their magical cords to bind demons. How Mr. Barracuda got it she had no idea. Maybe someone gave it to him as collateral for a bail bond.
“Once he was secure, I tried to send the whirlwinds back. It wasn’t easy. Another presence was inside my storm. I think that was the reason they went so wild.”
Which was true.
There had been magical energy in the whirlwinds. A Hell Cat.
“The Soul Eater was taken away by a Kasha, you stated.”
Mr. Barracuda spoke up, “We have submitted evidence from Mr. Jun Hee Kim’s cell phone, Your Honor. The film shows a Japanese supernatural being. A Kasha Hell Cat. The divine being was summoned by the death curse of a Buddhist priest murdered by the Soul Eater. Not Ms. Scott.”
The Judge waved her wand.
A life-size image of the ten-foot-tall Kasha Hell Cat burst onto the wall.
Nessa and Pim flinched. He was black and white, standing on his hind legs, surrounded by spectral flames. Snarling, his lips drew back over fangs as big as daggers. Nessa was in the foreground. Another figure lay sprawled at her feet. Roland, the Air Elemental. He’d been trying to save his friend Oliver.
The Kasha launched a fireball the size of a pickup truck at them. Nessa raised her hands, summoning freezing winds to stop the fire from engulfing her and Roland.
“As you can see, Your Honor, Ms. Scott kept the fire from consuming them. She stood valiantly against the Kasha.”
Stood desperately against him was more accurate.
What did it matter? She’d failed in the end.
Tapping her wand, the Judge fast-forwarded the image to the cat soaring into the sky pulling a flaming cart. Jun Hee’s camera zoomed in on the Soul Eater struggling in vain against a dozen skeletal figures holding him down.
Judge Jelani froze the image. “Yes, Mr. Barracuda. We have taken note.”
After a minute or two of silently scrutinizing the tablet computer, the Judge said, “There is also the matter of the other charge pertaining to the incident in Beverly Hills at…” she tapped the tablet, “Valliard’s Coffee Lounge.”
Nessa’s mouth went dry. She’d made a stupid, stupid mistake. Madame Valencia had sat there gloating over the kidnapping of Nessa’s fairies. Threatening to kill them if Nessa didn’t cooperate. Nessa had lost control. Unlocked her dark power and shattered every window in the lounge.
Nessa started to speak. Mr. Barracuda put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
“Your Honor,” he said. “Miss Scott is nineteen and very much alone in the world. Madame Valencia took advantage of her youth to frighten and blackmail her. The woman backed her into a corner. Ms. Scott lost control. You are correct. It is unfortunate. As immature as this young witch is, she injured no one.”
“Yet the event was still covered in the news.”
“Yes, your Honor,” conceded Mr. Barracuda.
“Very well. I believe we have all the facts we need. Do you wish to sum up, Mr. Barracuda?”
“I do, Your Honor,” he said.
“Approach the bench.”
Mr. Barracuda patted Nessa’s back gently before stepping up to the judge.
“Miss Scott was thrust against her will into a perilous situation. She was pitted against an adversary even a team of witches would hesitate to face. She has not had the benefit of a traditional upbringing or proper magical instruction in the jurisdiction of the Infernal Court. The threat of physical harm to her fairies was the primary motivation in her actions. Frightened, threatened, and alone. I aided her as best I could though I am prohibited from interfering directly with the Fae. Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant supported her, as is his duty. Given her age, I ask for leniency.”
“Understood,” said the Judge.
Mr. Barracuda returned to stand next to Nessa.
Judge Jelani stood.
“Nullum crimen sine lege,” she recited. “There is no punishment without law. However, culpae poena par esto. Let the punishment duly fit the crime. Mr. Pim’s Cup Whisker’s Rampant. You are guilty of aiding and abetting your witch. Your sentence is to wear the Cone of Shame for thirty days. The cone will prevent you from shifting to a werecat.”
She snapped her wand at Pim.
“Pareo! Submit.”
Pim jumped when an almost transparent cone of light appeared around his neck. He gave a strangled meow of surprise.
The Judge pointed her wand at Nessa next.
Nessa suddenly wanted to go to the bathroom really badly.
“Fiat voluntas mea,” said the Judge.
Her words echoed through the chamber as if struck from a kettle drum. “Fiat voluntas mea…fiat voluntas mea…fiat voluntas mea…”
“Let my intent come to pass!” she said in English, waving her wand in an intricate series of knots.
A circle of fiery pentagrams burst in the air like skyrockets in front of Nessa.
Frightened, Nessa jumped to her feet.
A flick of the wand sent two of the pentagrams flying out of the circle. They snapped onto Nessa’s wrists. She gasped as magic zinged through her nervous system.
The Judge spun the wand at the three remaining pentagrams. The pentagrams linked together, point to point. They sizzled in the air, sending out hot, bright sparks.
“ Pareo! Submit!” shouted the Judge.
The linked pentagrams swooped at Nessa like fighter jets. Instinctively she tried to duck out of the way. Mimicking her move, the trio of pentagrams swerved sharply, stretching out like a rope to spin around her waist.
Nessa squeaked as an electric shock ran the length of her body.
“Our verdict has been reached. Your Air Elemental Powers are to be locked.”
Nessa’s knees gave out and she collapsed onto the stone floor.
CHAPTER TWO
When Nessa came to her senses, she was stretched out on a hard wooden bench. The walls were white, not stone. Normal fluorescent lights hung overhead.
Roman Barracuda’s face appeared over hers, his brows pressed together. He laid a cold cloth on her forehead.
“What…what happened?”
“You fainted,” he said.
Pim was perched on her stomach, kneading it gently with his paws.
The Judge’s verdict and the image of the bands of light on her wrist and waist came back like a punch in the gut.
“My powers,” she sobbed.
Mr. Barracuda took her hand. “There, there, it’s not as bad as you think.”
“How could losing my powers be anything but terrible?” she sobbed, tears brimming over to drip down her cheeks.
He gave a rumbling chuckle, “You only lost them for thirty days. Not forever.”
“Thir… thirty days?”
“Yes. You fainted before the Judge could finish the sentence.”
“Where is she!” demanded a woman.
“Where’s our girl!” shouted another.
Mr. Barracuda waved over two enormous ebony-skinned women. Each was over six feet of pure muscle squeezed into black leather jumpsuits with another foot of towering red hair.
Pansie and Rose Marie La Rue knelt by Nessa. The twins were Barracuda Bail Bond’s enforcers and Mr. Barracuda’s valued partners.
They kissed Pim’s head. Like their boss, Pim’s invisibility curse did not work on them.
He gave a mournful meow, pointing with one paw to the shimmering cone around his neck.
“Not the Cone of Shame,” exclaimed Rose Marie.
“Poor baby,” said Pansie, stroking Pim’s back.
“The lock is only for thirty days,” Barracuda explained. “Judge Jelani considered your age and how you prevented the Soul Eater from taking any more victims. You got rid of him, even if your methods were unorthodox. This is the Infernal Court. They understand improvisational justice. Though the judge did suggest you stop sending funnel clouds around the city if you want to avoid appearing in her court again.”
“What about little ones?” Nessa asked. “You know, mini tornadoes?”
Barracuda cocked an eyebrow, pulling the glasses low over his nose and giving her a significant look.
“Understood,” she mumbled.
“For the time being, you have no choice, young lady.” He stood, frowning down at her. “She’s put a lock on all your Elemental powers.”
“I can still…” her voice broke. She had to swallow several times to clear the rising sense of panic threatening to choke her. “Cast spells, right?”
She needed those abilities to shield herself from Frank. He had sniffers searching for witchy resonance twenty-four-seven. The protective amulets Aunt Emerald made kept her hidden. Still, accidents happened. Frank had sent astral projections that nearly found her location several times since she started work at Barracuda Bail Bonds.
Protective circles didn’t depend on Elemental Magic. At least hers didn’t. Nessa used a blend of sigils painted with a brush carved from human bone and a blood sacrifice. Her blood, unfortunately.
“Only your air abilities are constrained by the Jinx.” His voice became all business, “You and Mr. Pim can return to work today. Neither of you has been pulling your weight this week.” He frowned. “Now don’t go making a face about it. Get yourself home, Miss Scott, change into your work clothes and come to the office.”
“Nessa!” a man’s voice shouted.
She turned her head to see Ravi Singh jogging down the hall. His shiny black hair had fallen forward over his forehead as he ran. He held a canned drink in one hand. Ravi was only three years older than her. Twenty-two and just out of Pepperdine. Each of them was new to their jobs. Ravi as an investigator for the Infernal Court; Nessa as a novice Bounty Hunter.
“Hey, you’re awake. Here, drink this.”
He handed her an icy cold can of Red Bull.
With a grateful look, she popped the top and gulped down the sweet tonic.
He pushed his hair back from his face. He was wearing a trim sharkskin suit with a narrow tie and dark gray shirt. Ravi came from money and looked it.
“I was waiting outside the courtroom,” he said taking the can from her as Mr. Barracuda helped her sit up. “I saw him bring you out. Was it bad?”
Pansie put her hands on her hips, looking down at the young man. “The girl fainted. Guess you could say it was bad.”
He looked from Pansie to Nessa, “Sorry. I know. I mean…”
“Now don’t jump down the boy’s throat.” Mr. Barracuda shook a finger at the tall woman. “He was worried. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Here,” Ravi pushed the can at Nessa, “drink a little more.”
She did. Pim wriggled his head under her arm. She could see the cone glowing around his neck.
“I’m sorry, buddy. It’s my fault you have to wear the cone.”
“Wear what?” Ravi asked. Unlike her boss and the twins, Ravi couldn’t see Pim in his cat form.
“Pim has to wear the Cone of Shame for a month,” she explained.
“And you?”
She held up her wrists. The pentagrams glowed and sparked around them. “No Elemental powers for the same.”
Rave hissed out a breath. “It could have been worse.”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
Roman Barracuda stood, rubbing his eyes beneath the glasses. “I need to get back to the office. If you’re feeling up to it, I’ll give you a ride to your aunt’s.”
“Oh, I can take her, Mr. Barracuda.”
He turned a long considering look on Ravi saying at last, “Well, alright then. Much obliged.”
Rose Marie and Pansie hugged Nessa so tightly her breath whooshed out. They patted Pim on the head. Arm in arm, they followed their boss down the long hallway.
“Can you stand?” Ravi asked.
Nessa nodded, getting to her feet. Ravi put a hand under her arm, his brows knitted in concern. “Let me help you.”
After a few experimental steps, she let out a deep breath. Gravity stayed firmly in place. No vertigo or nausea. Pim rubbed against her legs, feeling her relief.
“Do you want to finish the drink?”
She nodded yes and Ravi stood with her while she drained the small can.
“Give it to me, I’ll throw it away.”
He took the can, tucking it in one pocket.
“Better now,” she said with a little smile. “Thanks.”
Men and women in suits or court robes hurried by as Nessa, Ravi, and Pim walked slowly in the direction of the Court’s back door. Ravi kept his hand under her arm even though she said she was fine.
Ravi pulled open one of the big double doors leading to the parking lot. They stepped into the heat of a bright spring morning and the path of a tall woman, wearing a black pantsuit with a long brightly colored scarf draped across her throat to fall down her back.
Ravi stepped back, almost pushing Nessa behind him. “What are you doing here?” he said to the woman.
The woman closed the space between them, placing her hands on his shoulders and pulling him forward for a kiss on both cheeks. “Beta, is that any way to greet me?”
“Mummy-ji, mom, sorry. Um, well…” he stammered, “You don't usually come to the Court. I’m surprised.”
Mom?
She was a handsome woman. Strong featured with an athletic build tall enough to stare eye-to-eye with Ravi.
He adjusted his position and Nessa again had the feeling he was pushing her behind his back. Hiding her.
Ravi’s mom gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I must give a statement in a case. Business. Nothing to do with me. And who is this?”
Her voice was accented, unlike Ravi who had a clear California inflection
Ravi’s posture stiffened. “This…um... this is my friend, Nessa Scott. Vanessa Scott,” he corrected himself.
Nessa stepped forward. “How do you do, Dr. Singh. It’s nice to meet you. Ravi has told me a little about your work.”
He’d told her a lot more. During one of their adventures, i.e. surviving yet another encounter with Voodoo Loa of the Dead Baron Samedi, he’d revealed his mom was a Nagini. A semi-divine shapeshifting snake spirit from the Hindu pantheon of gods. Ravi had inherited his mother’s abilities, though not many people but Nessa were aware of this. Giant anthropomorphic snakes are scary even to other supernaturals. Ravi’s coworkers only knew he could throw down a magic circle and toss defensive spells with the best of them.
Dr. Singh deliberately drew herself up to look down at Nessa. Since Nessa was only five feet two this was not difficult.
“You are friends with my son?” she asked laser-targeting Nessa with her large, brown, perfectly lined eyes.
Was it Nessa’s imagination or had the air turned frosty?
“We’ve worked together on some cases.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You are an investigator with the Infernal Court?”
Ravi brought up his wrist to look at the flashy designer watch he wore. “Oh, goodness, look at the time. We need to be going.”
Still holding Nessa’s arm, he tried to pull her with him down the short flight of stairs into the parking lot. Dr. Singh took a step to the side, blocking his way.
She cocked her head at Nessa waiting for an answer.
“Uh, no. I’m with Barracuda Bail Bonds. I’m a…a bond recovery agent.”
Ravi became very still.
Dr. Singh narrowed her eyes.
“Bail bonds?” she said, a sharp edge in her voice.
Better leave Deadbeat Dad and the story of her current indentured servitude to Barracuda Bail Bonds out of this. “I’m working my way through college.”
“Are you really?” said Ravi’s mom, her expression inscrutable. “What college?”
“Santa Monica City College.”
“Santa Monica…” Without breaking eye contact with Nessa, she said to Ravi. “Is this the girl Auntie Poonam saw you with the other day in Del Amo?”
Ravi flushed. “Please tell the Mumbai Auntie Mafia to mind their own business.”
Dr. Singh’s eyebrows drew together.
“Please,” he added belatedly.
“Beta, you know your father and I only have…”
Ravi took Nessa’s arm, practically jumping around his mother. “Gotta’ go. Love you. Bye.”
He pulled Ness with him, practically running to his car.
Nessa looked over her shoulder. Dr. Singh was staring after them. Nessa thought she saw the faintest outline of a cobra’s hood shimmer in the air.