Hounded

saying, » So. You’re a Druid. «
    » If you say so. What are you? «
    » I am a vessel, « she replied, and then her eyes grew round. » Or maybe you should think of me as a Vessel with a capital V. That would be more impressive, more mysterious and Scooby-Doo, you know? «
    » Okay. A vessel for what, or for whom? «
    » For a very nice lady from southern India. Her name is Laksha Kulasekaran. You should not be alarmed at all by the fact that she’s a witch. «

Chapter 19
    Gods Below, I hate witches.
    Since one of them was probably listening to me through Granuaile’s ears, however, I thought it more discreet to keep that observation to myself. But doubt would be permissible to express where outright disdain would not. I gave her my best Harrison Ford half grin o’ cynicism, worn by every character from Deckard to Han Solo to Indiana Jones, and picked up my glass. » A nice lady, huh? «
    » Very nice. « Granuaile nodded slowly, ignoring my look of disbelief.
    I took a luxurious sip from the glass and waited for her to continue, but apparently the ball was in my court. If doing things her way meant I had to ask more questions, so be it. » And how long has this nice lady had a timeshare in your noggin? «
    » Since shortly after you came back from that trip to Mendocino. «
    » What? « Even though I had just taken a sip of fire water, I suddenly felt cold.
    » You remember. You turned into a sea otter and removed a pretty golden necklace set with rubies from the hand of a skeleton that was—what?—only fifty feet below the surface and a couple of feet beneath the sand? «
    Chills and thrills at the Irish pub. » How do you know about that? «
    » How do you think? Laksha told me. «
    » Right, but how does she know? «
    » She was originally the owner of that skeleton, but that particular mortal coil failed her in 1850. Since then, and up until recently, she resided in the largest ruby of that necklace. «
    I decided to save all my questions about turning rubies into soul catchers for later. » Then what happened? «
    » Well, you can probably figure it out from there. Once you got the necklace, what did you do with it? «
    » I gave it to a witch named Radomila— «
    » Who is not as friendly as she likes to pretend and happens to live upstairs from me in a very stylish urban condo— «
    » And she promptly exorcised Laksha from the necklace— «
    » And that’s how I got a roommate in my skull! « Granuaile pushed back from the bar and clapped manically for me as if I had just finished playing Rhapsody in Blue in a third-grade talent show.
    » Well, okay, I understand now, but I think we skipped a few of the details. « I downed the rest of my whiskey, and when I put the glass down, Granuaile was there with the bottle, ready to refill it.
    » You’re going to need a double, « she said, pouring more than was probably advisable. » Nurse that for a bit while I get some work done. « Then she slid out of my vision to attend to her few remaining customers.
    I had plenty of thoughts to nurse along with the whiskey. Indian witches, in my limited experience, were capable of some really dark hoodoo, and any witch capable of jumping out of one body into a gemstone and then into another body after 160 years or so had some serious magical muscle. My main question was how I could get the witch out of Granuaile’s head safely—and who else would have to suffer to make it happen.
    The witch obviously wanted my help with something, and I could only assume that she wanted a new body to inhabit. But I didn’t have any of those currently in stock, and bodies were one of the few things you couldn’t buy (yet) on Amazon.
    Whatever this Indian witch wanted from me, I knew it would mean quite a bit of trouble, and it didn’t escape me that I owed the lot of it to Radomila, along with so many other recent woes. A confrontation with her—and, by extension, her entire coven—might soon be unavoidable. On this gloomy note, Granuaile returned.
    » Right about now I bet you’re wondering what Laksha wants, « she said lightly.
    » That thought had indeed crossed my mind. «
    » But what you should be wondering is what your favorite bartender wants. «
    » Is that so? « I grinned.
    She nodded. » It is. You see, I kind of like having Laksha in my head. She’s been teaching me all kinds of stuff. «
    » Such as? «
    » Such as, all the monsters are real—the vampires and the ghouls and even the chupacabra. «
    »