The last person I wanted dead was Atieno. “I prefer him living. Now are you going to tell me your name?”
“Wrath. I’m the wisest and the best of all Lucifer’s children. Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on so we can kill the bad guy? I promised Paldon I wouldn’t let you die. She would be here, but she and Riker have a pack issue at the moment.”
“Lucifer named you after one of the deadly sins?” For some reason, I knew what her answer was going to be, but I needed to hear it come from her mouth.
She barked out a laugh. “I am one of the seven deadly sins. Now, let's go kick some ass. It’s been a year since I’ve had any fun. All I do is spend my time changing Paldon’s twins’ diapers and training Riker's pack how to fight.” She pouted.
Her eyes lightened when she mentioned the twins. I knew she wasn’t bored helping Paldon.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what’s going on, but I need to get dressed first.”
Wrath huffed and walked out the same door Atieno had left through a few minutes ago. I wanted to go back to sleep in the hope that when I woke up, everything would be back to normal. I knew it wouldn’t, and I kind of worried Wrath might kill Atieno if I left her alone with him too long.
I reached down and put my jeans on. Quickly throwing my hair in a tie, I opened the door and jogged down the stairs. I let out a breath when I saw Atieno sitting at the table with Grandma. Wrath hadn’t tried to kill him. She did have her hip against the counter and was shooting daggers his way.
None of it mattered. The pandacorn was back. I didn’t know what came over me. I walked past everyone right to the pandacorn and sat on his lap. He wrapped his fuzzy arms around my body. Joy. Pure joy was what I felt. Every bad thing that happened over the past two days evaporated.
A memory of playing with my mom in the park filled my mind. We were in the park a few blocks down from my house. I was on the swing. I couldn’t have been older than six. Mom was at the edge of the playground, talking to someone. She looked mad. The person she was talking to was Sasha’s mom. I hadn’t known Sasha back then. What could they have been talking about?
I was ripped out of the vision.
Atieno had his arms wrapped around me. “Knock that shit off, Paxdon,” he yelled.
“Wait, no,” I reached back for Paxdon, and Atieno pulled me away. “I saw a vision of my mom talking to Sasha’s mom when I was a kid. How did you do that?”
Wrath stepped away from the counter and walked over. “He helps clear your mind. Your brain knew that memory would help you now.”
I glared at Atieno. “I didn’t see the whole thing.”
Grandma patted my hand. “You’ve been through enough. Paxdon’s powers will drain your energy. We don’t know what’s after us, and we need every resource we have.”
I nodded and took a seat at the table. I told them what Sasha’s mom had said over the phone. It was time for me to head home. I didn’t have time or energy to go back to the office. “I’m going to head home and sleep there tonight. Atieno, can you stay and protect Grandma?”
Grandma huffed on the other side of the table. “I’m fine here Paxdon is staying here tonight.”
Atieno shifted in his chair. “I need to head to council tonight for a meeting. I would really like if you could stay here with your grandma until I get back.”
I shouldn’t have expected Atieno to drop his life and focus on me. “Okay.”
“I can stay with her,” Wrath said.
Atieno watched my sister for a second. “Fine, but I’m taking you to your house.”
8
The clock on the bedside table read three a.m. I needed to clean out the apartment across from mine. Two days had passed since Sasha’s parents had called. Dr. Racket’s brother owned a funeral home, so he took over figuring out her cremation and the other parts of the funeral. I still needed to take care of the apartment.
I threw off my covers and padded from the room and down the hall. Atieno had taken to sleeping in the spare bedroom. With each day we worked together, my body became more aware of him. Last night he helped me cook dinner. When I got up to help with dishes, he poured me a glass of wine and told me to go have a seat in the living room. Instead of going to the living room, I watched as he did the dishes. I never knew something so simple could be so sexy.
Shaking my head, I continued down the hall. I grabbed my gun out of the safe in the living room. I left my apartment and pressed my hand against the door across the hall. Taking a couple deep breaths, I put my copy of the key into the door and twisted. The lock clicked, and I opened the door.
I stepped inside. Sasha’s vanilla perfume was the first thing that caught my attention. Her pink fuzzy blanket was bunched up on the couch. Everything looked almost the same as last week when I was there except Sasha was gone. I sat down on the couch and wrapped her blanket around my body.
On the mantel next to the TV she had frames lined up. Each one was a different picture of Becca, her, and me. Not a single picture of her mom or dad was visible. Now I knew why. Her parents were evil bastards. I sent them the information about the funeral date, and they didn’t even reply.
I got up, leaving the blanket wrapped around my shoulders, and walked down the hall to her bedroom. Unlike me, Sasha lived in a one-bedroom apartment. I slowly creaked open the door and glanced around. When I heard a sniffle, my feet stopped. I gripped my gun in my hand and walked toward the bathroom. I heard another sniffle. This one louder than the last.
Tapping the door open with my shoe, I held the gun out in front of me. I rounded the corner and stopped. I blinked a couple more times. The sniffling stopped, and the person who made the sound came charging at me. I lowered my gun and waited for the person to come at me. Instead she ran through me. A cold chill followed. The blanket did nothing to warm me up.
“Sasha?” I whispered.
“You can see me?”
Sasha sat in the middle of her bed. She wore the same clothes she had on at the Cat’s Meow. I walked over to the bed and sat next to her. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes.
“Your parents are horrible human beings.”
Sasha giggled. “Let me guess. They wouldn’t leave Paris. It’s what I would want.”
It was good to have my friend back, even if she wasn’t human.
“I have to ask. Is this a dream?” It was the only logical question.
“No, but why aren’t you freaking out? I’ve been freaked out for three days.”
“I’m the devil’s daughter,” I whispered.
Sasha burst out laughing. When I didn’t laugh with her, she stared at me. “The devil doesn’t exist.”
“Do you think ghosts exist?” I set my gun on the nightstand. “Sasha, I always wanted to tell you about my powers, but I can’t show them. I figured you would commit me to the psych ward. So much has happened this week.”
“Powers?” She huffed. “What kind of powers do you have?”
“When someone dies, I can rewatch what happens. I touch their hand and see the last twenty minutes of their life.”
She pointed at me. “Those are sucky powers.” She went to grab a pillow, and her hand went through it. “This being a ghost sucks. But let’s get back to you. Now I understand why you’re so good at your job.”
I shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy you’re here. But we need to figure out why you didn’t cross over.”
She jumped off the bed and paced in front of it. “I know I have unfinished business. Maybe the person who ran me over was actually sent to kill me.”
“No, your death is my fault.”
Sasha stopped pacing and looked at me. “Why do you think my death is your fault? I’m the one who ran across the road.”
I couldn’t look my friend in the eye. “I can also bring people back from the dead. Every time I use this power, someone close to me dies. The night you died, earlier that day, I brought my grandmother back to life.” I let out a sigh. “Atieno wouldn’t let me bring you back.” I reache
d up and wiped the tears from my cheek.
“Good. I would’ve been pissed if you brought me back and someone else died. I’m going to repeat myself. You have shitty powers. Why can’t you fly, blow things up, or travel through time?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re taking this all really well. I’m still in denial. My father is the devil. Wrath is my sister, and the sexy man sleeping in my apartment is my mate.”
We spent the next hour talking about the past few days. I kept trying to bring up Sasha’s parents, and she would change the subject. It was a subject we would need to discuss. Something was keeping her here, and it had to be something with them.
“Did you know our moms knew each other?”
Sasha stopped chewing on her fingernail and looked at me. “No.”
“Earlier today, I had a flash of a memory from when I was a kid, and I remembered them talking.”
“Oh, maybe my mom is an evil witch.” Sasha huffed. “She never mentioned knowing your mom. I know she didn’t like us hanging out. But she really didn’t like me hanging out with anyone.”
Sasha would sneak over to my house late at night. I always wondered why her parents never caught her. It was because they had never looked to see if she was missing. A picture on the dresser caught my attention. It was me and Sasha in Jamaica.
After our first year of work, we saved up and went to Sandals for a week to celebrate being done with school and surviving our new jobs. We spent the week drinking rum runners and swimming. I would never be able to do that with my best friend again.
“Don’t cry,” Sasha whispered. “Everything happens for a reason. Maybe you can talk your dad into letting me hang with him.”
“I’m not letting you go to hell.”
Sasha held up her hand. “I don’t want to go there permanently. Just hang out so we can still see each other.”
“Pandora, are you here?” I heard Atieno shout.
“Yes.” He was in the back room within seconds. Every so often, over the last few days, I would catch him using his vampire speed. Yesterday I asked to see his fangs. Who knew pointy teeth could be sexy.
Atieno stopped at the door and looked from me to Sasha. “You see her, right?”
I nodded. “We’re trying to figure out why she’s still here.”
He walked over to the bed, sat down, and pulled me into his lap. I instantly rested my head against his chest.
“First, don’t leave like that. I was worried. And second, Sasha has unfinished business,” Atieno said.
My friend pumped her fists. “I was right.”
“You guessed,” I shot back. “She hasn’t been able to leave or change.”
Atieno ran his hand along my side, leaving a trail of goose bumps. “Changing will be a challenge. Normally you’re stuck in what you died in. Her not leaving we can fix tomorrow when Georgina’s shop opens.”
“The crazy lady who thinks she’s psychic? Jared at work had mentioned her. He had said she told Lieutenant Curly he was cursed. Over the years, I had stopped in her shop to ask questions. When entering, I always got a chill down my spine. I didn’t trust her.”
“I’ll go with you. Georgina is an old psychic. The council has watched her for years. We believe she is practicing dark magic, but we haven’t found the proof.” Atieno sighed. “She is the only one I know who can help Sasha leave.”
“You know this is really hard to believe, right? An hour ago, I hoped this still might be a dream. Now Pandora’s telling me she has powers, and I’m a ghost.” Sasha reached for her phone, and her hand went through it. “I can’t surf the web or turn on the TV, but I can sit on the bed. Who decides what I can and can’t touch? When I get to my final destination, I’m going to put in a complaint.”
I would miss my friend when she was gone. Maybe if we didn’t solve her death, she would never leave.
“It doesn’t work that way,” Atieno said.
“You don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Yes, I do. You were wondering if we didn’t solve Sasha’s case, whether she would get to stay here forever.” His ability to know what I was thinking was hard to get used to. “When a ghost stays on this plane for too long, they start to become lost. She would fade even if she had you to ground her. Each day your friend is here without her answer, she fades a little. Let’s get some sleep and meet with Georgina first thing in the morning.”
“I can’t leave her alone.” I stood and walked to the dresser and grabbed the photo of my friend and me.
“Don’t worry about me. I did okay for the first three days. What’re a few more hours?” She tilted her head to the side. “You know this is all strange, right? Sixteen years, you kept a secret from me.”
“Nothing we do can change the past.” I set the picture back down. “Let me see what we can find out in the morning, and I’ll let you know.”
“And if this psychic can’t help?”
Then it would be a little bit trickier, but I would do anything to help my friend. “I’ll contact my dad and see if he has a job opening.”
“Is he nice?” She glanced down at her hands and frowned.
Atieno barked out a laugh. “Did you really ask if the devil is nice? He’s a sarcastic asshole who only does things for himself and his children.” Atieno tilted his head to the side. “Well, he might help you if it makes Pandora happy.”
“I can spend the rest of my ghost years haunting the person who moves in next.”
“I promise we will figure this out.” I hoped I didn’t just lie to my friend.
“We might not find the answer today, but I promise we will keep looking until we do. I’ve heard of people helping ghosts move on in the past. We just need to figure out where to start,” Atieno said. “The case of the warlock also needs to be solved before another person shows up dead.”
“Let’s say my saving Grandma wasn’t the only reason you were killed. What are the possibilities your parents would want you dead?” I held up my hand to stop Sasha from talking. “I’m not saying they did, but your parents are coldhearted.”
Sasha placed her head in her hands and let out a sigh. “My parents would be the first place we should start. I don’t know why they would want me dead. Hell, I haven’t talked to them in three years. When dad realized I wouldn’t work for the firm, they both cut ties.”
My heart broke for my friend. Grandma was my one constant. She kept me grounded, even though I hadn’t come over as much as I used to. She was the one person I turned to when I needed advice. I didn’t even have to call before I came. It was like she had a sixth sense. She knew when I was on my way and would have tea and cookies ready for me when I arrived.
I walked over and attempted to give my friend a hug. “I’ll have someone look deeper into your parents. Atieno and I’ll go visit Georgina and figure out what she can do to help us.” My hand went through her body, and I stepped back. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“No problem.”
Atieno tugged at my hand, and we left Sasha’s apartment with many unanswered questions.
9
Frustration overwhelmed me as I looked at my desk. I shoved the new photos aside. Last night, demons had attacked another shifter. When his friends found him, he was barely alive, and he hadn’t woken up. He might be our first break in the case in a week. Georgina, the psychic, was still missing. The morning after finding Sasha as a ghost, Atieno and I went to Georgina’s shop only to find a Closed sign. Ariel, the shop owner next door, said Georgina had a family emergency, and she didn’t know when she would be back.
“He’ll be awake soon,” Mike said as he sat in the chair in front of my desk. I had officially accepted the job as lieutenant on Friday last week. The chief of police had been in my office every day since then asking how close we were to solving the case. Paxdon was still with Grandma, but nobody had shown up again to attack her.
The police department hummed with energy. The area outside my office was filled with detectives working each angle of the case.
The media had taken the story and caused panic in the city. The bars had seen a decline in tourists over the weekend, and they were demanding the police department find the killer. Luckily, the last attack hadn’t made the news.
Atieno had gone to the shifter’s house and was waiting for him to wake up. Mike and I came back to the department to look over the case files again. We could only find evidence of the strange symbol at the second scene.
“Take a look at this.” Mike said as he pushed a book across my desk. He pointed to a picture in the middle of the book. It was a tall man with a black cape and hood. The warlock wore the same mask as the person in my vision. Under the picture, the name Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, and Synth Zorander, destructor, labeled the figures.
I flipped to the next page and skimmed the information. Hecate and Synth tried to take over the universe. They found the Sword of Eternity and tried to kill Fate. The only way to end a god’s life was with the Sword of Eternity. They were stopped before anyone was killed. The gods decided to exile them but not together.
“Why does this sword even exist?”
Mike leaned back in his chair. “From what I’ve been told, it’s under better protection now. They don’t want to destroy the sword. It might be needed one day.” He pointed to the page again. “I think Synth escaped exile. I think he showed up at Curly’s house after Curly died and took his essence. When I arrived at the scene, Curly felt off. I couldn’t sense his animal.”
“He was dead.”
“It was more than that. I think Synth took a part of him. He’s going to keep doing this until he has his powers back. Going after you and your grandma would’ve given him great strength, but his creatures aren’t strong enough yet.”
“Why the family of humans?”
Mike pulled the book back and flipped closer to the end. “The gods sent him to another plane to live there for the rest of eternity. Each plane has a link back to this one. A small ripple in the plane.” Mike grabbed the case file and flipped to the Richersons’ murders. “This is where the ripple was. The symbol he drew closed the ripple.”
Fated Mates of the Underworld, Books 1-3 Page 20
