Dreadful Ashes

by Annathesa Nikola Darksbane

  “So it seems.” Juris didn’t look relieved to have the gun off of him; he didn’t look like he cared. His eyes flickered to Garibaldi instead, dismissing me. “And keep in mind what I told you, human. Luck saved one of your men tonight,” he glanced toward Jason, “but he and others will pay the price if you don’t stay out of matters above your station.”

  To my surprise, Garibaldi looked down, averting his gaze and saying nothing as the limo roared away into the night, though Paulie stepped partway into the road and made a rude gesture at it as it departed.

  Silence lingered. Tamara trembled; I looked into her eyes and saw anxiety as well as exhaustion. I put my arm around her and tugged my mask down just enough for her to see the edge of my sympathetic smile.

  “What did he mean?” Rain’s voice timidly broke the quiet moment. He looked from Jason to his father. “He said you work for my dad?” His brow furrowed, curiosity warring with confusion…and suspicion.

  I winced, watching as Jason and Garibaldi exchanged long looks.

  As expected, his father bit the bullet first. “Jason used to work for me. That’s all.” He sighed, then squared his broad shoulders. “At first, he ran messages for me, did some other work. But after I went to Chicago a few years back—”

  “You were having him keep an eye on me.” Rain nodded as the realization hit him; I could see it in his eyes. “So, what? You paid him to be my friend, or—”

  “It’s not like that, manito,” Jason reached out, protesting, but Rain shied angrily away and slapped his hand aside.

  “So, you guys have been lying to me this whole time?” The younger boy’s upset brown eyes shifted to his father. “You said you’d stop hiding things from me. Even if they weren’t good things. Even if—” I could see the teen’s anger building, aimed at best friend and father alike.

  Then his eyes landed on the dancing pillar of smothered flame and swirling smoke behind us, and he closed his eyes and took a deep, deep breath.

  “No.” He shook his head, then raked a few wisps of hair from his face and managed, of all things, a smile. “You know? It’s all right.” He glanced at the destroyed home again. “This isn’t about me. And if you say our friendship is real…despite how it might have started…then I believe you.”

  “Nothing truer, vato.” Jason, his own eyes tired and damp, held out his arms, and they hugged. “And thanks for understanding. Didn’t need to lose you tonight, too.”

  After that, Rain and Garibaldi repeated the gesture, though it lingered even longer.

  “I’m sorry,” the old mobster began.

  Rain shook his head. “It’s fine.” He looked up, his eyes wet. “Just…let’s stop making a habit of this. Please?”

  Garibaldi nodded. “I promise.”

  Tamara tugged at my arm. “Ashes,” her voice was quiet, her dull sapphire eyes worried. “I have to get out of here. If she really called Liandra…”

  “An’ don’t forget ‘bout our little insurance policy,” Mama Flora had been so quiet I’d forgotten she was there; the little mambo grinned when I startled at her sudden presence at my side. She tapped her handbag, indicating the crown secured within. “We got t’get this somewhere safe fer th’ day. Which ain’t my house, nor your church.”

  “My place,” Garibaldi said firmly, without a moment’s hesitation. “I have wards, and watchful eyes.”

  “And guns?” I inserted.

  He gave me a flat smile. “For when and if such things are needed, yes.” He looked around at the lot of us. “It’s not any of the places they will expect you to hide,” he glanced at the handbag, “or to hide something. So it should do for tonight while we make our plans.”

  I caught his eye, confused. “But what about what Juris said? He told you to stay out of this.”

  Garibaldi raised a thick eyebrow. “And since when is that obsessed Moroi the boss of me?”

  “Then…” Rain hesitated. “Why didn’t you say anything back there? You didn’t even argue with him. Why did you let him talk down to you like that?”

  “Moroi powers,” I answered.

  “No,” Tamara countered, still holding on to my arm. “It…didn’t actually affect you that much, did it?”

  Garibaldi only smiled. “I didn’t say anything,” he shared a knowing nod with Jackie and Paulie as several of his men gathered around, “because there was no sense in letting him know what’s coming.” He handed Paulie his keys, and the husky man jogged off wearing a grin. “Better for Juris to think I’m cowed. That way he doesn't expect the severity of my response—until it’s too late.”

  As I watched, the ocean blue of his eyes transformed into a crushing tide. “If they want to be my enemies, to hurt those closest to me, then they'll end up where all of my enemies end up.”

  Florida? The sarcastic response died on the way up my throat, and I swallowed it.

  “Now, come on,” Garibaldi gestured, and everyone fell into motion. “Time to leave.”

  We all piled into his various SUVs and other vehicles; I helped Tamara into the extended cab of a big truck, and she grinned at me. But before I could follow her, the man himself grabbed my arm.

  “Ashley,” Garibaldi said firmly. “A moment.”

  A little nervously, I stepped a few feet away with him.

  “I’m counting on your help with this,” he said flatly, trapping my eyes with his—for once, they were flat and merciless. “You drew me into this.” The breath I wasn’t taking caught in my throat. “Be ready to help me finish it.”

  He didn’t ask, and I didn’t consider saying no.

  o o o

  I’d only seen the kitchen of Garibaldi’s house before, and past it the home wasn’t quite what I expected, all sterile and precise. Sure, everything looked like it had its proper place—not counting the brief glance into Rain’s room, anyway—but Garibaldi's house was a home, all comfortable and obviously lived in, and well-loved. To my surprise, it was one of the more modest houses in the neighborhood too, with just enough room for a cozy kitchen and living room, and three upstairs bedrooms, one unused.

  “You can stay with Tamara in the extra bedroom, if you like,” Rain mused thoughtfully toward the end of the quick tour. “We can board over the windows, or use extra curtains or something? Dezi may be sticking with us for now, but I doubt Dad will want her staying in my room overnight. And sometimes Uncle Paulie or Uncle Jackie crash on the couches in the living room…”

  “Not necessary,” I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure your dad already has plans in mind, and all I need is a storage closet somewhere anyway.”

  “A…closet?” Dezi looked my way with a raised eyebrow.

  “Sunlight bad.” I made a mushroom cloud gesture with my hands. “Poof goes the vampire.”

  She shook her head. “Still getting used to all of this. Sometimes it makes my head spin.”

  I tried to give the young woman a reassuring smile and failed once again because of the damned mask. “You’ll get there.”

  “She’s right, chava,” Jason added. “I mean, we all did. Just takes time. Some more than others, but that’s okay.” He ruffled Rain’s hair.

  The younger changeling batted his hand away. “So, there’s one question that’s been bothering me since…earlier.” Jason looked immediately wary. “How are you my bodyguard? I’m a better fighter than you.”

  Jason raised a finger as if to dispute the claim, then shook his head. “I am a master of threat assessment. I’m a runner, not a fighter.” he wiggled his eyebrows at Dezi as if the description were an accolade, and to my surprise, this time she blushed a little. “Always better to avoid trouble than to have to get out of it…really good if you’re awesome at both though. Like me.”

  Rain just shook his head.

  “But there’s more to it than just my amazing utility,” the older shifter’s voice was serious. “Like the fact that I’m also your best friend.”

  They hugged again under the amused eye of Dezi, and I left the th
ree changelings to their bonding. Back downstairs, Tamara caught my arm and pulled me aside for a surprise.

  “So, I wanted to tell you this earlier, but there wasn’t much chance,” it wasn’t that late yet, but the Moroi already looked so tired. Worn out, really.

  “What is it?” Something in her tone made me feel like I wasn’t going to like whatever she was about to reveal.

  “Mama Flora and I talked while you were gone,” she took a breath, “and I’m going in to work tomorrow. While you’re asleep.”

  I’d been right; I didn’t like it. “Wait. No way. If you do, I can’t—”

  “Ashley.” She took my hands, gazed into my eyes. “I…don’t know what’s coming over the next few days.” Her eyes were soft, sad. “It looks like my family might get involved, on top of everything else. You…” She tightened her grip, as if afraid to let go. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But you can’t protect me from everything.”

  “And you don’t want me to,” I stated.

  She frowned. “It’s…not that. It’s more that…you’re right.” Her frown deepened. “I need food, Ashes. Or I’m not going to make it to the end of this.”

  I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t manage to disagree.

  “The amount of feeding I’ve been doing isn’t going to push me across the finish line,” she continued, looking down, looking anywhere but at me. “I need…more.”

  I wanted to ask her what she meant, but I didn’t want to make her say it, either.

  “I’ll be stayin’ t’watch over ya’ll too,” Mama Flora announced from the nearby doorway. “He gave me th’ nice room upstairs and everythin’.” I was almost surprised Garibaldi hadn’t given the forceful little mambo his room. “Got in touch with that wizard of yours, too; he’ll take this here crown off our hands t’morrow, an’ put it where it’s safest. Till then,” she grinned and held up an e-reader, “I get plenty of time t’catch up on my romances.” She wiggled her silvery gray eyebrows suggestively. “This one was just gettin’ to the good part.”

  I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t like it, but I don’t have a choice, do I?”

  In response, Tamara leaned in, tugged down my mask just a little and planted a kiss at the corner of my hidden frown, turning it slowly to a smile.

  “But seriously, no, you don’t,” the Moroi clarified.

  I sighed again. Loudly, for their benefit.

  “Ashley.” Behind me, Garibaldi quietly cleared his throat, nodding an apology for interrupting, at the same time as he demanded my attention. “A moment, please?”

  I gave Tamara a quick, mask-muffled kiss in return before following the made man of the house back to the kitchen where it seemed he was once again holding court.

  “Is this where you always do business?” I wheezed a little with the words and borrowed a wad of paper napkins to stuff into the hole in my side.

  He just watched as I provided myself with imitation medical care, nonplussed, but not disturbed, either. “I found out who he is, you know.”

  I grunted and finished fucking with the leaking puncture wound. “Juris? So did I. Kinda.”

  Garibaldi raised an eyebrow. “It seems we should have gotten together before things…spiraled this far out of control. But from what I understand, it’s been a bit hectic.”

  “You could say that.” The image of Fright hitting me with the Vulcan’s torch flashed through my mind. “What did you find out?”

  “That he’s a rather successful young Moroi with quite a few business ties: New York, Chicago, and especially abroad. Not much reason for him to come out here…except for his name.” Garibaldi caught my eyes and held them with his own. “Juris Blagojevic.”

  I felt the familiar pangs of guilt pull my strings again. I stared at the table for a moment. “Yeah.” I’d been honest with Juris; I hadn’t meant to kill either of his half-siblings, but that didn’t alter the grim reality: their blood stained my dead hands either way. What I’d wanted hadn’t mattered then, and it still didn’t now. “He obviously cared about Silvia and Petra. And you saw him with Davora in the car; it proves everything in Aine’s pictures. He’s taking over where they left off.” I tapped my fingertips on the kitchen table, wondering from which fight all the blood under the nails had come from. “That, and revenge.”

  Garibaldi nodded. “Seems obvious now, doesn't it? The thing is, revenge is a two-way street. One hard to traverse…” His fist clenched and unclenched, possibly the most obvious sign of anger I’d ever seen from him. “…If you’re dead.”

  I hesitated. “Are you sure? I mean, what about his warning—”

  “We’ve taken them down before,” Garibaldi cut in. “This time, we will be more thorough.” The note of ice in his voice slowly faded. “So, as I said, be ready.”

  Aine’s words and warnings lingered in my mind. “What makes you want to go to war now? I know I convinced you before, but…” I paused, sorting my thoughts. Across the table, he waited patiently, his scarred hands folded neatly on the table. “I’m worried. Especially after tonight. And I wonder if I did the right thing. I don’t want other people paying for my mistakes. I’ve…gotten rather tired of seeing it.”

  “Welcome to being a person of action,” the former mobster stated. The words weren’t unkind, but they were worn and unforgiving. “There’s no crying over spilt milk, as they say.”

  I snorted.

  “More precisely…” He tapped his hands on the table. “Once we open Pandora’s Box, we must deal with the consequences. And then deal with the consequences of those actions, and so on, ad infinitum.” He caught my eyes and smiled, just a little. “These are the ripples that make our lives. There is no going back, believe me.” For a moment, his steely blue eyes grew distant, but he shook it off. “We both did what we thought was right. And now…well, let’s just say that I have learned that giving in to demands such as the ones Juris made tonight gives you very little security in the long run. Once you start giving in, there will always be more demands, more threats.”

  “No negotiation with terrorists, huh?”

  “I’d be lying if I said that there was no vengeance in my actions.” He looked thoughtful; I was a little surprised at the admission. “Jason’s parents were…not good people, not in my judgment. I’ll never understand why he stayed with them, instead of—” Garibaldi cut off and shook his head. “But hurting someone I care about, someone under my protection, these are things that cannot go unpunished.”

  “And?” It looked like there was more he wanted to say.

  “And if I can manage to secure proof this time, we can finally destroy this…infestation that they have thrust upon the city. As well as protecting my people from any backlash.”

  “Because the Moroi will destroy those responsible for the alliance on their side,” I nodded, and a realization struck me. “Instead of being angry at us. It’ll clear Tam’s name, too.”

  He nodded. “Not my primary concern, but I would like that as well. She doesn't deserve what they’ve done to her.”

  With my hopes of pinning crimes on Liandra withering away, it might be my best remaining chance to help Tamara. “Whatever you need, I’m in.”

  “I know,” he replied.

  I eyed him as he finished his hot mug of chamomile tea. “Can I ask you something?”

  Garibaldi raised an eyebrow over his #1 dad mug.

  “How did you end up getting out of the mafia? Intact, I mean?”

  He rose with a chuckle, taking his mug with him. “Good night, Ashley.”

  I bid Tamara good night and settled in for the day, curling up on one of the lower shelves in the upper hallway’s cleaning closet, despite Rain’s protests. Jason came by and thanked me for “keeping his hot head out of trouble and attached to his shoulders,” but I waved him away and closed the closet door.

  Dawn came soon enough; I didn’t mind so much, not today.

  I felt like I needed the rest.

  That fact mad
e it all the harder to react when I felt someone moving nearby; a stubborn sense of urgency pulled at me, just like before. I heard sounds, perhaps raised voices, but they were so very far away. I could feel the heat of hearts and bodies, but did it matter?

  Then something touched me, pushing at me roughly, urgently, the sounds even louder than before.

  A rumble rose in my chest, a roar building as, with a monumental effort of will, I woke myself, straining, claws itching at the insides of my fingers—

  To see Garibaldi standing over me, Rain and Jason hovering not far behind.

  “Your phone is off,” he said quietly. As I tried to put together what words meant, he held up his phone instead, moving it closer to my face as my daytime-addled eyes struggled to focus. “You’ll want to see this. And when you’re done, I want to know how she got my number.”

  Hey, undead asshole. If you don’t get your shit out here soon, I’m dead. Courtesy of your shitty spawn.

  -Aine

  17

  Blood will have blood

  Halfway across town, Aine’s clock was ticking down to zero, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

  I wanted to, but I just couldn’t. Not while the sun was up.

  Even inside the shelter of Garibaldi’s home, the lingering daylight rendered my body heavy, like an iron statue, and left my thoughts foggy and hard to grasp. My blood pumped sluggishly, as if defying me, every intermittent beat another pang of pain in my damaged heart.

  Not for the first time, I really wished I could just go back to sleep.

  The instant dusk fell, I burst from Garibaldi’s back door, streaking through the shadows toward the last known location of Aine’s unresponsive phone.

  By the time I arrived, the small construction site was already a bloodbath, with carnage even more extensive than the graveyard’s had been. Hidden among the pits, pallets of pipes, stacks of cement, and sleeping machinery were a trail of Sanguinarian bodies, all brutalized and broken, often in too many pieces to count. The vampires had died whether trying to run or fight whether singly or in small groups of two or three. It hadn’t mattered.