Demon Song by Cat Adams Page A

this place. She’s going downhill faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. It’s like she’s pining away, ready to join that pretty little girl of hers on the other side.”
    The guard’s absolute acceptance and knowledge of Ivy spooked me even more. “You can see the ghost?”
    “Oh, hell, yes. The women in my family are channelers from back before the War of Northern Aggression.” I honestly could say I hadn’t heard that term for the Civil War since … well, since high school. “You probably see a sparkly cloud, right?” I nodded. “I see a skinny little thing of about eight with long hair and a sad expression. Determined, though. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt her mama.” She made a motion with her chin toward the prisoner with the dreadlocks. “And I’m not inclined to stop her from trying. Nothing in the rule book says I have to stop a guardian angel from guardianing.”
    Despite the mangled language, I agreed. “She was a pretty heavy drinker, though. Could that be affecting her?”
    The guard shrugged. “Body should have detoxed in the first week. I never say never, but I haven’t seen it before.”
    “And you’ve been a guard for—?”
    “Twenty-three years now. Two federal prisons, two state, and now here. I like it here best. Not many real badasses in this place, despite what Goldilocks over there believes she is.” She gave me a small, evil smile. “She wouldn’t know a badass until after one laid her flat. Frankly, makes me smile to see that tiny little girl whup her butt.” Then she shook her head sadly. “Unfortunately, in that time I haven’t seen whatever’s wrong with your mama.”
    She shook her head and stared at Mom. I followed her gaze to take in the flaccid features and lifeless feel. She made tsking noises and let out a sigh. “This place is killing her and I don’t know there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

7

    Lieutenant Rogers, the southern guard, promised to put our cards in Mom’s cell for when Mom was “feeling better.” Then I’d dropped off Gran after promising I’d speak to the administrator of the jail, who had already gone home. There had to be something we could do to get Mom back to normal. I might find her a royal pain in the ass when she was drunk, but even that was better than how she was now.
    I was finally on my way to Birchwoods, only an hour late. I’d called Gwen and asked if she could stay. She’d agreed and hadn’t even given me one of her veiled admonishments about time management or consideration for others. That meant it was pretty serious.
    I was praying under my breath as I approached the guard station that the person handling the gate was anyone but Gerry.
    No such luck.
    He opened the door to the tiny shack and put out a hand for me to stop. I hadn’t talked to him since the whole Eirene thing. I had no doubt it was going to be awkward at best. He’d been head of security until he went berserk on me after the trial. Then he’d been demoted back to gate jockey. But maybe if we both pretended it never happened, we could eventually heal. I was at least willing to give it a try.
    I rolled down the window. The sun was low enough on the horizon that it stung. I leaned my head backward as casually as possible to stay in the shade. “Afternoon, Gerry. Dr. Talbert is expecting me.”
    There was a long enough pause that I was forced to look at his face. His lips were a tight line and I could swear I could hear him grinding his teeth. “Celia…” The way he said it made my discomfort rise.
    “Look, Gerry. You don’t have to apologize. I understand you were being manipulated. It wasn’t—”
    “Apologize?” The outrage in that one word made every nerve in my body stand at attention. “Apologize to you ?” He lowered his voice to a hiss. “You’re a damned vampire. You’re undead evil and should have a stake driven through your heart right before your head gets chopped off.” My jaw dropped just like Gran’s had at the jail.