This Wicked Game

TWENTY-TWO

Claire told him all about the house on Dauphine, the travel itineraries, the pictures of the Guild firstborns, the letters, and the panther blood. Then she told him about the old photograph and the dream she’d had with the insight potion, the little girl she could only assume was Elisabeta staring balefully into the camera, as if she was watching her own death in its lens.

Eddie was silent for a good minute before he spoke. “These letters . . . Do you have them with you?”

Claire shook her head. “I left them at home.”

It had never occurred to her that Eddie would be so normal, let alone that he would be able to help them decode the letters.

He nodded, deep in thought. “You planning on telling the Guild what you’re up to?”

“We haven’t decided,” Xander said.

“We figured it would be best to get as much information as we can first. It’ll be harder for them to blow us off if we already know everything,” Claire added.

“I can’t say that I disagree,” Eddie said. He was opening his mouth to say something else when a raspy, demanding voice sounded from the front of the house.

“Eddie? Is it time for my pills?”

It was Miss Thelma, calling to Eddie from the front porch.

Eddie glanced down at the old watch that encircled his left wrist. “Excuse me a minute.”

Claire watched Eddie leave the room, waiting until she heard the screen door slam to turn to Xander.

“I think we should ask him to help us.”

“Who? Eddie?” Xander asked.

“Think about it,” she said. “He was part of the Guild so he knows how things work, but he’s just as frustrated as we are with it.”

Xander raised his eyebrows. “‘We?’”

Claire sighed. “Yes, ‘we.’ Just because I don’t believe in voodoo doesn’t mean I don’t care about stopping someone like Max. Call it whatever you want, but Eddie’s right; the Guild could put a stop to it when they hear about someone like Max, and they don’t. I may not be a fan of the Guild, but if they’re going to be around, they’d be better off listening to people like Eddie and Allegra when it comes to dealing with crazies like Max.”

“Okay, but what would we need Eddie to do, exactly?”

“I think we should ask him what to do next. Maybe we need a fresh perspective. Someone who’s not so close to it all. And who knows? His background on Max could come in handy, too.” She remembered something. “Speaking of which, you haven’t asked him about your mom.”

Xander’s eyes darkened. “I’m getting to it.”

“All right, then, Aunt Thelma,” Eddie was saying. “You just sit there with your tea. I’ll be out to check on you when the young people leave.”

The screen door slammed again. Eddie’s footsteps grew louder as he came nearer to the kitchen.

Claire looked into Xander’s eyes. “So?”

He only hesitated a minute. “Okay.”

“Sorry about that,” Eddie said, re-entering the kitchen and taking his seat. “Aunt Thelma likes to pretend she doesn’t remember anything, but she keeps me on my toes. Now where were we?”

“I just had one more question. About Max.” Claire heard the strain in the too-casual tone of Xander’s voice. “Was he . . . involved with anyone while he was here? Anyone from the Guild?”

“What? Romantically?” Eddie shook his head. “Not a chance. Max was too busy trying to save Elisabeta. He didn’t have time for tomcatting. In fact, I’d say he was as straight as a monk. Except for that black magic thing.”

The relief was visible on Xander’s face.

Eddie looked puzzled by the question but let it go. “Anything else I can do for you two?”

Claire glanced at Xander, wanting to make sure he hadn’t changed his mind about Eddie, before she spoke again.

“Actually, we were kind of hoping you would be willing to help us figure this all out.”

Eddie’s nod was slow. “I was kind of hoping you’d ask.”

“Did you have the right address for Crazy Eddie?” Sasha asked as soon as they sat down at their usual table.

It took Claire a minute to reconcile the image that automatically came to mind when someone said “Crazy Eddie” with the reasoned, intelligent person she and Xander had met in Treme.

“No,” Claire said. “But he’d only moved a few blocks.”

“So you found him?”

Claire nodded.

“What was he like?” Sasha asked.

“Not what we expected,” Xander said.

Allegra looked confused. “What do you mean? The guy’s a legend.”

“He’s . . . normal,” Claire said.

“Normal?”

Claire shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Then why was he kicked out of the Guild?” Sasha asked.

“He wasn’t kicked out,” Claire said. “He left.”

“Why would he do that?” Allegra asked. “Why would anyone?”

“Because of Maximilian.”

“Wait . . .” Allegra looked confused. “What does Max have to do with Crazy Eddie leaving the Guild?”

Claire and Xander filled them in. Claire was glad to set the record straight about Eddie after the Guild’s hatchet job on his character. Sasha and Allegra would find out the truth soon anyway, but in some strange way, Claire felt like she owed it to Eddie to come to his defense.

“So Maximilian’s back to get revenge on the Guild,” Sasha said quietly. “It’s kind of sad, when you think about it. About his daughter.”

“I know what you’re saying,” Xander said. “But it’s hard to be sad for the guy when he’s breaking into our houses and planning to hex us all.”

“You know what I mean. Elisabeta was his daughter. Are you saying you wouldn’t use the craft to save someone you love? Even if the Guild forbade it?”

Xander’s eyes slid to Claire. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

“So Crazy Eddie—” Allegra started.

“I don’t think we should call him that anymore,” Claire interrupted. “He’s not crazy.”

Allegra sighed. “Whatever. The point is, he agreed with me. Even back then, he thought the Guild should be doing more with their power.”

Claire nodded. “Yep.”

“Did he have any idea what Max might be up to? What he might do to get back at the Guild?”

“We didn’t get that far,” Xander said. “But you can ask him yourself.”

Sasha frowned. “What do you mean? How would we do that?”

“Easy.” Xander turned to the window, tapping on it until Eddie, standing outside the Cup, turned to him with a nod. Xander waved him in. “Like that.”

Sasha and Allegra watched dumbfounded through the window as Eddie made his way into the Cup. He cut an imposing figure as he maneuvered his way through the crowd to their table.

Xander and Claire stood up.

“Eddie” —Xander gestured to the two girls— “Sasha Drummond and Allegra St. Martin. Allegra and Sasha, meet Eddie Clement.”