Ghost of Glasgow: Immortal Stonekeeper Case Files #2 (2023) Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Stranger Danger

Read chapter 5 of Ghost of Glasgow: Immortal Stonekeeper Case Files #2 (2023) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Jonathan found himself staring blankly at a white wall, ignoring the peculiar gazes of the even more strange-looking hospital occupants. A small part of him wanted to simply speed up and go for a run to clear his head, to somehow find an answer to his predicament. But taking laps around the country wouldn’t exactly help his situation now, and he didn’t want to fall back into his old habit of running away from problems. He put his hand on the room window, feeling its cold surface do nothing to soothe his worry. Demonic symbols surrounded the solitary hospital bed. Talismans pulsated as dark magic flowed from them into the veins of the woman. Her face was serene, almost as if she were merely sleeping. Well, except for the two huge holes in her head that were closing way too slowly. The faint reflection of a young man came up on the window. “If it’s any comfort, she’ll live,” Angus, in his now eighteen-year-old body, muttered in Jonathan’s ear. “But her body needs time to heal. Whatever struck her, it wasn’t meant to be fatal.” “ Not fatal?” Jonathan turned to the changeling. “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure a silver bullet to a vampire’s head was meant to kill.” “There was protection magic around the bullet wound, Warner. If it were an ordinary silver bullet, Carpenter would’ve been in oblivion before her body hit the floor.” Jonathan pursed his lips wordlessly. He wasn’t in the mood to argue with a fae about the semantics of magic. All he wanted was to stop this psycho-hunter from hurting those he cared about. “Look, I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Angus began. “But—” “A serial murderer,” Jonathan answered flatly. “Someone or something is hunting us down for some reason.” Angus folded his arms. “So I’ve heard. Cornelia’s death was particularly upsetting to me. The last Dryad on Earth… gone just like that. Did you wrong somebody?” “What?” Jonathan took a step back in shock. “I don’t think so?” “Well, there is one thing suspiciously in common between Lucy and Cornelia. Both of them are related to you.” Jonathan paused for a moment, thinking hard. Thin as it may seem, that correlation had its merits. The sniper he had almost caught could clearly wield some sort of magic, too. Either that or it wasn’t even a living entity to begin with, considering how its body seemed to be untraceable. But still, something did not add up. “That’s… not true,” Jonathan began slowly. “Ever heard of the ‘Ghost of Glasgow’? Before Cornelia died, she was branded with its symbol. That serial murderer was already operating seven hundred years ago, and I was only born thirty-five years ago. How can those murders be related to me?” “The Ghost Of Glasgow…” It was Angus’ turn to muse. “I’ve heard of it, but I never really knew the details. I believe the spate of murders started taking place during the thirteen hundreds when I had barely just hatched. I was pretty much the equivalent of a teenager, so I wasn’t affected. By the time I was fully mature and ready to swap souls, the Ghost of Glasgow had already faded into urban legend.” Jonathan leaned against the wall, tapping his head lightly against it. “But… I have a contact if you’re interested,” Angus stated flatly, breaking the all-too-brief silence. “You might find her ‘name’ familiar. Baba Yaga .” “ The Baba Yaga?” Jonathan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “As in that infamous Slavic witch who eats children? How many creatures in folklore are actually real?” “More than you’d want to know. Anyway, Baba Yaga is the only one who survived an attack from the Ghost Of Glasgow.” Angus snapped his fingers, conjuring a business card. “Here’s her address. This card is charmed to reveal her location at all times. It was her way of showing her trust in me when she gave this to me, so I do hope you’d take this as a sign of trust from me to you as well.” Jonathan received it hesitantly. “Look, Angus, about Cornelia…” “Shit happens. Just make sure you wipe. I’m not blaming you,” Angus said in an unchar