Hellfire

by Lisa Manifold

  “Yes?” Catallah asked.

  “Can you add onto that third wish? Not only will the owner’s magic falter, but the owner of the box cannot be within one hundred miles of Deadwood.”

  Catallah was quiet for a few moments, thinking. “Yes, I can do this. That will be all of your wishes. Is that acceptable to you?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  “I would like to take some time to craft this death box,” Catallah said.

  “Would a day work?” I asked.

  “That would be acceptable. I shall return with the box.” The air around us made a whooshing sound, and she was gone.

  “That was great, wishing for Delgado’s life to suck,” I said to Daniella. “Good thinking. I couldn’t think of anything at first.”

  “Well, he deserves it. The final death is too good for him,” Daniella said.

  “I agree,” Dee said fiercely. “Thank you for doing that.”

  “No problem. Desdemona’s right. We don’t really need anything else. But what’s the box for?” Daniella looked between me and Deirdre.

  “We’re going to let DeGroate trade us for it.”

  “How?” DeAnna asked.

  “We tell him we found it. And we’ll give it to him if he leaves Deadwood.”

  “Even if Zane goes with him?” Daniella asked.

  “No!” DeAnna said. “Zane wouldn’t go with that man!”

  “He’s been scarce around here,” I said. “I don’t want to think it either, but it could happen. I’d rather be prepared, and give him the choice.”

  “I don’t believe it,” DeAnna said. “I won’t.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I said. Even though whatever it was between us didn’t seem destined to make it, I didn’t want to think he was like his father. He couldn’t be. I could still hear him talking about his mother. No one could fake that.

  “OK, so that takes care of DeGroate and Delgado and hopefully our zombie outbreak,” Deirdre said. “That leaves Mariah Connors.”

  “That keeps getting pushed back,” I said. “And I really want to find out what we can.”

  “That’s what we’ll work on tomorrow, then,” said DeAnna. “The funeral is ready, and you’ve got everything for Deana?” That was directed at me.

  I nodded.

  Dee gasped.

  “What?” Multiple voices asked.

  “The cappuccino maker!”

  “What?” I asked. “What did I miss, here?”

  DeAnna looked at her, and then started to laugh. She laughed so hard that eventually she began to cry, and Dee joined her. Deirdre, Daniella and I watched, mystified.

  Finally, the two of them were able to calm down, both wiping their eyes.

  “We have this amazing cappuccino maker. It’s a tall copper cylinder, and it makes the best coffee ever.” Dee sighed.

  “There’s no way it made it through a house fire,” DeAnna said. “But we can find one online.”

  “Damn it all,” Dee said. “I loved that thing. That’s the thing I’ve been missing since we’ve been here.”

  “I’m sure we can find you one,” I said. As a tea drinker, I didn’t get the coffee devotion. But I understood needing that certain something in the morning.

  DeAnna hugged Dee.

  For the first time in what felt like ages, we sat, talked, and did a whole lot of nothing. We went to bed early, and while I didn’t fall asleep with a smile on my face, I had a level of contentment.

  We were pulling our lives back together. Which was the most important thing.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, I was up early. It seemed like finally making choices versus having to react to whatever was happening had energized everyone, and I was not the first one downstairs.

  We ate together, talking quietly, and by silent agreement, went over to the table where the laptops had been left the night before. We’d been working about an hour when there was a whooshing noise above us that pulled all the air in the room toward the ceiling. It felt weird.

  “There’s got to be a better way for her to show up,” Deirdre muttered.

  “Shhh,” I said.

  Catallah appeared. “I have created the box you requested, Desdemona Nightingale. It will seem to be magic, and whomever possesses it will suffer in the use of their craft. Will that suffice?”

  “That’s perfect,” I said. “It needs to entice a necromancer.”

  “One enamored of the dead?” Catallah’s nose wrinkled.

  It was one of the oddest things I’d ever seen, and it made her look less foreign. “That’s one way to put it,” I said.

  “Would you like to see it?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  Everyone else got up from the table.

  Catallah waved her hand, and a small coffin of dark wood appeared. It looked old, older than anything you’d find in a cemetery in Deadwood. It was perfect.

  “Touch it,” Catallah said.

  I stepped close, and laid my hand on the top. The box rattled, and a glow emitted from the box.

  “I’d think something live was in there,” Dee said, leaning down to peer at it.

  “That’s the goal. Now we just have to find DeGroate,” Daniella said.

  “We need to talk to Zane,” I said.

  “Does the box suit?” Catallah asked.

  “Yes, it does. Thank you. Consider that wish fulfilled,” I said.

  “You cannot see the effect on magic, but it is there.” She looked a little anxious.

  “I trust you.”

  “Thank you, Desdemona Nightingale. And I have put things into motion that will allow for the vampire Delgado to suffer. That may take longer,” Catallah said.

  “As long as he’s perpetually annoyed, I’m good,” Deirdre said.

  Catallah smiled, showing her fangs. “He will be.”

  “Then we may consider our bargain fulfilled,” I said formally. I had no idea if this was the way, but Catallah seemed a formal kind of demon.

  “I would request that I might visit you again, should I be in this part of the world?” Catallah asked.

  “You’re welcome anytime,” I said. I didn’t look at my sisters, knowing how they felt about me inviting demons. But hell, I’d brought Beeval in, and he was a gem. I had a feeling about Catallah that I didn’t think had anything to do with my carrying her bottle around for two days.

  “I thank you, Nightingales. For my freedom, for my welcome. I go to find my love.”

  “What will you do if you don’t find him?” DeAnna asked.

  An expression crossed Catallah’s face that was so stark I had to look away.

  “I am not sure, Nightingale daughter. I am no longer welcome in my clan. I am not demon, nor djinn.”

  “You’re welcome here,” I said again.

  Catallah inclined her head.

  “Good luck,” Deirdre said.

  The air swirled, and then the demon djinn was gone.

  “Wow,” Daniella said. “Our days are just getting stranger and stranger.”

  “We are not the home for lost demons,” Deirdre said.

  “No, we’re not,” I said. “But Beeval was a great choice to invite in, and I feel like she was, too.”

  “I agree,” said Dee.

  “You do?” Deirdre turned to her. “Why?”

  “I just have a feeling,” Dee nodded.

  Deirdre sighed. “It’s hard to argue against your feelings, Dee. They’ve all been pretty accurate.”

  “I know,” said Dee, a smug look on her face.

  “All right, all right. I’ll stop. But if anything goes sideways, I get to say ‘I told you so,’” Deirdre said.

  “Deal,” I grinned at her. “Even though you’re going to lose.”

  She rolled her eyes, and we went back to work.

  After ten minutes, Daniella cleared her throat. “You need to go see Zane, Des.”

  “Why?” I asked, without looking up from my screen.

  “Because you
do. Worst case, you get some closure,” Deirdre stated.

  “Thank you, Dr. Deirdre,” I rolled my eyes.

  No one else said anything, and I risked a glance. They were all giving me side eye, looking but trying to look like they weren’t looking. Dee caught my eye, and nodded.

  This was a change. I wasn’t used to what could be called TLC from my sisters, from this household. But everyone was being very, very kind about the whole Zane situation.

  “OK, I’m going over there now. I’m going to tell him that we were still working on the ley lines thing, and we found the damn box. And I’m going to ask him to make the offer to his dad.”

  “I’ll go with you,” DeAnna said.

  “No, I can do it,” I said. “I need to.”

  But I went and made sure I didn’t look like I’d rolled out of bed. Then I squared my shoulders, and walked out the front door to Zane’s house.

  “Morning, Mrs. Kittrick,” I said to our elderly neighbor. Her cats, Tinky and Winky, were out in the garden with her, and I could swear that one of them winked at me.

  Mrs. Kittrick nodded, and then shuffled over to the fence that divided our yards. “I saw the notice about your cousin in the paper. Deana? That was her name?”

  I’d forgotten that we were throwing a funeral and a wake tomorrow. After all, that was tomorrow. We still had to get through today. “Yes, that was her.”

  I moved toward the fence since all signs pointed toward Mrs. Kittrick wanting to chat.

  “I’m sorry, Desdemona. This has been a tough month for you girls.”

  If I hadn’t been partially leaning on the fence, I might have fallen over. For as long as I could remember, Mrs. Kittrick had referred to us as the Nightingale… women. With that very pregnant pause before the word women. As though she wanted to call us something far less savory.

  “Yes, ma’am, it has,” I said. “Deana was a great girl.”

  Mrs. Kittrick nodded. “I’m very sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow at the church.” And with another nod, she shuffled back toward her porch.

  Holy shit. The axis of the earth must be shifting. I might have to stop gunning it in the 911 as I passed her house. I continued my walk, and when I was in front of Zane’s house, I took a deep breath, and walked up to the front door. I knocked firmly.

  Then I waited.

  Maybe he wouldn’t be here, and I could avoid this a little longer. I wasn’t being a coward, it just meant I didn’t have to put the idea of a partner who got it—got me—to bed quite as soon.

  The door swung open, and Zane filled the doorway. His hair stood up in spikes, and he had stubble across his perfect jawline. He looked as though he hadn’t been sleeping.

  “I’m sorry about the other night,” he said.

  I shrugged, keeping my expression calm. “These things happen,” I said. “I came to see you because I have some news. Are you in touch with your father?”

  His expression shifted and he very nearly hunched over. “I have been.”

  “Well, of course you have. Listen, you need to get in touch with him. We found the sarcophagus.”

  “You’re kidding,” Zane stood up, shocked.

  Uh, huh, I thought. Now you’re all into this conversation.

  “We did. And we’ll give it to him—”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked. “That may not be the wisest choice.”

  I held up a hand. “We’ll only give it to him if he leaves Deadwood.”

  “He’s going to try and take it from you,” Zane said.

  “He can try,” I grinned. The thought of a fight was a good one.

  “If he does agree, he’ll try and cheat.”

  “He can try,” I said again. Like we hadn’t come across this kind of guy before. I resisted the urge to scoff, to do a little trash talking. That wasn’t the point. I wanted the guy to come to us, hand out, wanting the sarcophagus. “Can you let him know?”

  “Yes,” he said, and there was a lot in that one word.

  “Great. Come by if you find him, and he wants to make a deal.” I turned on my heel and walked away.

  I don’t know if Zane was staring, but I hoped so. Once I heard the door close, I hurried back to our place.

  “Listen,” I burst through the door. “We need to be ready for DeGroate today. He’ll be here, and I want to force him to make a magical bargain with us.”

  “Perfect,” Daniella said. “If he breaks it, we own him.”

  “We already own him,” I said.

  “What happened with Zane?” DeAnna asked.

  I noted that my sisters stopped, wanting to hear my answer.

  “Nothing. He told me he was sorry he had to bail, and then we talked about his dad. He said his dad would try to cheat us in every way he could.”

  “Well, of course he will.” Daniella shrugged. “Big deal. We can handle that.”

  “Did he say anything else?”

  “Nope. Not a thing.”

  “Really?” Deidre said. “I’m so disappointed in him.”

  “These things happen,” I said. “Let’s get ready for Daddy Dearest. We need to leave him no way out except the way we want him to go.”

  Two hours later, there was a knock on the door.

  “Showtime,” I said.

  Dee went to the door, and Zane and Brian Earl degrade stood on the porch.

  “I told my dad about your offer,” Zane said. “Can we come in?”

  “Yes,” Daniella said.

  “I want to see the sarcophagus,” DeGroate said. His eyes were hungry.

  Perfect.

  “We’ll get to that,” I said calmly.

  “How did you find it?”

  “We followed your lead,” Deirdre said. “Zane found the zombie at the mine site, and then your comments about ley lines, combined with a little research, and we were able to find it.”

  “I don’t believe you,” DeGroate said flatly.

  “Believe what you want. We have ways of finding the information we seek,” Daniella said.

  DeGroate crossed his arms. “My son tells me that you are seeking to make a bargain. A trade, as it were.”

  “We are,” I said. “We will give you this sarcophagus—”

  “Have you opened it?”

  I rolled my eyes. “We don’t open things when we’re not sure what is in there.”

  It was DeGroate’s turn to roll his eyes. He was sure he knew what was in there. What he didn’t realize was that we’d saved his ass. Catallah would have had him for lunch before he could have gotten a wish out or said a word to establish himself as her master.

  That’s even assuming the ley lines would have given the bottle up for him. As much as the ley lines didn’t like having the bottle there, they would not have liked this guy.

  “Let me see it,” he said again.

  “Dad,” Zane said.

  “Be quiet, boy,” DeGroate said. “You’ve done your part. Now let me do mine.”

  What the hell was Zane’s part? I glared at him, unable to help myself. He met my eyes and looked away.

  Damn it.

  “You will need to made a bargain with us that is sealed by magic,” I said.

  “Do not dictate to me, girl,” DeGroate said.

  How in the hell had no one kicked this guy’s teeth in? Then I remembered that most necromancers were solitary sorts, and didn’t interact with people much. Which meant that he probably had no idea how he sounded.

  That didn’t mean I liked him any better.

  “Since I have what you want, I think I’m in a good position to bargain as I wish.” I gave him eyeball for eyeball.

  No one moved.

  Then DeGroate sighed. “What are you offering?”

  “We’ll give you the box, and you leave Deadwood. Take any of your zombies with you, or leave us the location of any you have with you still, and we’ll put them to rest.”

  “And you will give me the box and let me leave?” His eyebrows went up.

  Z
ane stood off to the side of his father, arms crossed, not looking at any of us.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have any idea what’s in the sarcophagus?”

  “We do,” Deirdre said. “But even if it’s true, we don’t have need of such a thing.”

  DeGroate snorted, not bothering to hide his disdain for such an idea.

  I saw Dee frown at him. I hoped she would not say anything. This was going exactly the way I wanted.

  “Then why is it you’re forcing me to bargain with you?” DeGroate was pissed.

  I hid a smile. “Because we would like you to leave Deadwood.”

  DeGroate pulled himself up. “That may not be what I wish to do.”

  I shrugged. “That is certainly your choice. However, I will not allow you to have the box unless you agree, via magical bargain, that you will be leaving immediately.”

  “I could take the sarcophagus.” DeGroate’s eyes narrowed as he regarded me.

  “You could try,” I said softly. I didn’t say another word. I waited. Part of me wanted him to do something, make a move. A fight would be the perfect thing right now.

  “I will make your bargain,” DeGroate said. His voice was full of suppressed anger.

  “You will swear,” I said.

  “I will,” he replied.

  I held out my hand, and Brian Earl DeGroate took mine.

  “You will leave Deadwood immediately. In exchange for your word to do so, you will receive the sarcophagus that we found. Do you agree?” I asked.

  “I agree,” he said.

  The magic held our hands together for a moment, and then dissipated.

  “It’s done. DeAnna, would you bring out the sarcophagus?”

  DeAnna nodded, and went into the kitchen to bring it out from behind the island.

  DeGroate’s eyes widened, and I saw him realize that it had been in his grasp the entire time. His eyes flew to me, full of anger and the desire to lash out, but one look at me, and my sisters behind me, and he mastered himself.

  Good thing. He didn’t know how badly I wanted to pick a fight. But this was Zane’s father, no matter what he did or said. Nothing would change that.

  Zane still wasn’t meeting my eyes, or anyone else’s.

  DeAnna held the box out to DeGroate, who took it with barely restrained greed. Whatever else he’d been feeling, he was beyond it now, with his sarcophagus in hand.