by Liz Schulte
Old loyalties and secrets were now in jeopardy. I’d give my life for either Olivia or Holden, but I couldn’t give anyone else’s. Had the angel been listening too? The risk was too great.
“I’ll stop tipping the boss off to your plans, but don’t underestimate his ability to suss them out all on his own. He hasn’t lived as long as he has because he takes wooden nickels from dames—even the foxy ones.” I winked at her even though she had no idea what I meant. It was better to play the fool than to start her down the path to my past. “I admit his vision is clouded when it comes to Olivia, but you, sister, ain’t her. Controlling Holden might not be as easy as you would like to think.”
She rolled her eyes, which was a very Olivia type expression. “I will take my chances. And do not bother alerting Uriel again. Even if he wants to interfere, he’ll have to get approval and by the time he has it, it will be too late. My plan is already in motion. I suggest, chol, rather than working against me, you consider joining me. I will protect you from your council and see that you have a place in the rebirth of the Abyss. It is a fair offer.”
I considered my answer. Ticking her off wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest at the moment, but none of us could afford to let her go through with whatever her plan was either—especially if it involved the Seal of Solomon. I’d just have to find another way to tell Holden what was happening without saying it in so many words. “I’m on whatever side Holden is on. You recruit him and I’m your guy.”
She nodded. “I’ll hold you to it.”
“I know you will.” Like the flash of a camera, she was there one minute and gone the next, leaving my vision spotted.
Sloppy rune work my ass. When she was in the warehouse, she couldn’t possibly see what was happening outside. The wards should protect us from that… and she couldn’t transport, unless she was faking. Whether or not she could hear, even if she couldn’t see, I couldn’t say. I didn’t account for that. That could be remedied, though not without drawing suspicion. Not that we could keep her locked in the warehouse anyway. She was free to come and go which meant we weren’t safe to verbalize our conversations ever. I pulled out my phone. Last I checked she couldn’t magically read text messages or minds. I sent Holden a message explaining what was happening in the briefest of terms.
“Angel psycho bitch. Do not trust or speak aloud. She hears everything we say. More later.”
Rather than staring at the phone, waiting for a reply, I went back to the task at hand: the Ring of Solomon. I still needed to find it before anyone else did. Not that I planned on using the cursed object. But at least if I had it, no one else could.
It wasn’t “officially” cursed, but no one who ever possessed it in history, except Solomon who was still banking on the grace of his father David, actually ever carried it without losing everything that was most dear to them. Official or not, the damn thing was cursed. However, I was shit at finding things if I couldn’t ask around. That was more Holden’s territory…or a witch’s. In fact, witches could definitely help.
I headed to the Office. It was a bounty hunter bar, which wasn’t really my crowd, but the bartender just happened to be related to a fairly powerful witch. Sy was behind the counter like always. I couldn’t believe it took me this long to realize two plus two equaled four. It wasn’t possible, elf or not, to work somewhere twenty-four hours a day every day and still manage to go other places and do other things, though that was exactly what he did.
The last person I had known who held Sy’s job was Everett Stanley, an incubus who met his final end, after about 1500 years, during The Purge, a particularly dark time in Abyss history. Obviously the Office wasn’t linked to Chicago then. It was linked to Rome because that was where it needed to be. The Office was always where it needed to be. Everett, however, couldn’t be in two places at once. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have talents that were unnatural to his race. After he took his position from the council his gifts amplified in unexpected ways. If Sy was running the Office, whether or not he knew it, he was working for the council. I needed to know if he was a company man or if he could still be trusted.
“What can I get you, Baker?”
“How about a little of your time?”
I could talk to his cousin Selene, but she’d probably have no idea what the Seal of Solomon was (elves generally didn’t care about the rest of the Abyss)—and if she told Sy what I was digging for and he told the council, all kinds of shit would hit the fan.
He frowned and eyed me suspiciously. “Now’s not a great time.” He ran a hand over his buzz cut and looked away.
I glanced around the mostly empty bar. “Yeah, you’re swamped.” He didn’t say anything. “I won’t take long.”
“Are you here on business?” he asked, his face guarded.
“Of a sort.”
He nodded slowly. “Follow me.” He went through the small storage room into the back apartment. “She didn’t know what she was doing. You guys can’t hold her responsible for bringing it back.”
“Hold up, sport. Who brought what back?”
Sy stopped. “Why are you here? I assumed it was council business.”
“Ah. Yeah, see that’s where your thinking’s off. I left the council eons ago.” Relief spread over Sy’s face and his stance visibly relaxed. “Though I wouldn’t mind discussing the owners of this here establishment with you. I’m here on my own business, but let me give you some on the level advice, especially if Selene’s involved in something.”
“You can try.” He leaned against the doorframe.
“Tell them nothing unless they ask directly and even then lie. Or at the very least make it the lightest version of the truth. Tell them whatever you have to to get them to look the other way. She’s already on their radar. Don’t push it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I was worried about that. How do you know?”
“I had a visit with a couple council members not too long ago and her name came up. Watch her back.”
“I’m trying. What did you need?”
“Funny thing, I actually need Selene’s help. I need to find something and I don’t have a lot of—”
He shook his head before I could even finish. “I appreciate the heads up, but she’s up to her highlights in trouble right now. She can’t take on any more. Even if she could, I know enough about what you guys are doing to keep my cousin far away from you. No offense.”
I took a deep breath. “How much do you think you know?”
“Enough. Selene already has the elves and dark magic to contend with. She has no business in a fight between Heaven and Hell. Neither does Femi for that matter. They aren’t like Holden, Olivia, or you. Their lives have an end in sight.”
I nodded. “I see where you’re coming from, but she owes us. I’ve helped her, Holden and Olivia have helped her—and now we need to call in a favor. I swear she only needs to cast a spell. That’s all I need. I just need to locate something.”
“When do you need it?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Give her a few days then I’ll talk to her.”
“Fine.” A few days from now might be too late, but it was better than nothing. “If you ever need to run something by someone, call me. I remember what it was like when I lived and breathed council business—and while you’re watching your cousin’s back, watch your own too. Things aren’t always what they seem on the surface.”
Sy nodded, but still looked cautious. I couldn’t blame him. It was a lonely job. No one was supposed to know about the council, so you had to keep your mouth shut. Every friendship made or relationship started was with the knowledge that someday either you would leave them because the council would demand it or they would die and leave you. Honestly, I had no idea how Sy was managing to balance a family, friends, and the job without the council intervening.
****
Back at the warehouse there was a sight to see. Holden had the kid cuddled up against him as he read Shakespeare to h
er. Had he seen his text? I couldn’t verbally warn him or ask. If he had received it, he was playing it cool as fucking ice, sitting on the couch reading like he had nothing better to do. In fact, if I didn’t think he’d break my phone, I’d record the cozy scene. Femi, and Olivia when she came back, would never believe this. Hell, I barely believed it and I was witnessing it.
“What?” he snapped, looking over at me. “Don’t you have something better to do?”
Didn’t we all have something better to do, like trying to get the love of his life back before the angel destroyed our entire world? But if he wasn’t worried, neither was I. “Nothing comes to mind.”
He scowled. “Why don’t you check on Maggie? Haven’t heard anything from her room in a while.”
Guilt squashed my amusement like an ant on a railroad track. Maggie’s cell was quiet and dark. I cracked the lid to the coffin. She lay inside, eyes open—eyes the color of blood. She blinked and took a couple breaths, moving her mouth all around before she spoke like she had to get used to her tongue and lips again. “Baker,” she finally said.
“I’m here, baby. How are you feelin’?”
She winced. “Why are you shouting?”
I hadn’t shouted. I spoke at a normal conversational level. “Is that better?” I whispered.
She nodded. “How did I get here?”
“You don’t remember?”
She shook her head, those red eyes closing briefly. “There was a vampire. He was going to make me strong enough to help you.”
“Oh Mags, we didn’t want that for you. Any of us.” That son of a bitch. As soon as I could get my hands on him…
She frowned. “Yes, I know. You wanted me to be normal.” She said the word like it tasted of rotten grapes dipped in vinegar.
“There’s nothing wrong with being normal. Most everyone here who has ever been human before wishes they could be again.” Her face closed off from me. Just shut down and went stony, so much Holden it was eerie. What was done was done, however. No use fighting about it now. “Are you ready to get up?”
She pushed herself up and scooted back. I offered her a hand to help her from the coffin, but she ignored it and hopped nimbly down to the floor, barely making a sound. A smile eased onto her face. “I feel great.”
I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t. Hell, I didn’t even know what she was, let alone what her limitations were. The angel said something about a half-vampire, but what in the hell did that even mean? You couldn’t be a half-vampire. It was like being a half-jinni. It wasn’t possible to traditional ways of thinking. You either were or you weren’t. Maggie had none of my worries. She studied the back of her hands, then her eyes darted around the room and different things, invisible to me, caught her eye. “Maggie, we really need to talk.”
“Where is he?” she asked.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she was talking about. She wanted the vampire. “Secure.”
She finally looked at me. “I want to see him.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I wasn’t asking your permission.” She started for the door.
“Maggie, stop.”
She paused midstride, but didn’t give me a chance to speak. “No, Baker. You stop. You seem to have some mistaken notion that you’re somehow in charge of my life or well-being, but I have news for you. Letting myself be bitten wasn’t a desperate attempt to keep a boyfriend. It was about making sure I was strong enough to take care of myself now that this other world was opened up to me. I have no interest in living the rest of my life scared as hell or dependent on you. If you don’t want me around, fine, I’ll leave, but I’m taking Thomas with me.”
Well she was completely off the track. She’d totally misread me. “I didn’t want you dependent on me or anyone, baby, but this wasn’t the answer. I don’t even know what you are now. You might be stronger in some ways, but trust me, there’ll be weaknesses too. You have to know your limitations before someone introduces them to you. Let me help you.”
“You had your chance. And don’t call me ‘baby.’ You have no right, not anymore.” She flung open the door and it smashed into the wall. Heightened hearing and strength. And a grudge. Fantastic.
Baker ditched me again. One text message and he ran off talking to himself about something called the Seal of Solomon. No explanation. Nothing. So annoying.
It wasn’t hard to find Corbin; it was the middle of the day after all. He probably wouldn’t appreciate a visitor during sunlight hours, but we really didn’t have time to be polite.
His house looked like crap—and considering my own dump that was saying something. Windows were broken, the walls seemed crooked on the foundation, even the door was wonky. I shook my head. Vampires.
I knocked on the crooked front door and waited a solid two seconds before trying the handle. Unlocked. Practically an invitation. I pushed the door open with my hip and swung it wide before sticking my head in. “Hello,” I called.
The inside looked even worse than the outside. Furniture was broken and scattered. A long crack traveled down the center of the floor. It was like the house had suffered its own personal earthquake. A flicker of movement caught my eye in the triangle of dark hallway that I could see. “Corbin?”
“Don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you. Either come in, shut that blasted door, and allow us to become better acquainted, or leave. My tolerance for uninvited guests is waning.”
“I’m a friend of Sy’s.”
“Congratulations,” he said dryly. “The offer stands.”
When a vampire talked about wanting to get better acquainted it meant they wanted a taste of your life force. Not ideal, but I did want to talk to him. “How about this? I come in and if you can touch me before I put you down, you can have a taste.”
There was a flicker of white teeth as he smiled in the darkness. “If I have to take it by force, there is no incentive to stop.”
“If you try, I’ll be forced to kill you and that would defeat my whole purpose in coming here.”
He sighed. “And what purpose is that?”
“To talk to you.”
“I thought we were talking. In fact, you’re rather boring me.”
I flashed him a grin. I had the perfect cure for boredom. “Do you accept my counter?”
“Why not?” His pale hands stretched slightly into the light as he cracked his knuckles. “I could use a snack.”
“Oh, sweetie, it’s cute that you actually think you can win. There isn’t a chance in hell you’re going to catch me.” I stepped inside and closed the door. The light from the heavily curtained window still brightened the living room to a point that would be uncomfortable for the vampire, yet he didn’t hesitate. I felt the air move as he took off toward me, but he wasn’t my first vampire. I spun at the same time, simultaneously grabbing my vampire cuffs from the back of my pants, and kicking hard exactly where he should have been— but nothing was there. A hand splayed over my stomach and jerked me back. I flung my head backward, hitting him hard enough his nose made an audible crack. I slapped the cuff onto the hand around my waist, then dropped down and out of his loosened hold. I kept a hold on the unoccupied end to the cuff as I moved behind him, pulling his arm up and back with me.
“Surrender,” I said.
The bastard laughed and turned. “Surrender? We’ve just started to dance.” He took his free hand and snapped the metal cuff like it was a toothpick, his fingers sizzling. “Never been a fan of jewelry.”
We circled each other, sizing the other one up. From the look of him, I wasn’t his first fight today, but he didn’t look like he had any intention of giving up. Cuffs were obviously useless. I could pull a knife, but I didn’t want to up the stakes quite that much. He moved fast when he attacked. Really fucking fast. I barely dodged when he lunged. The heel of his hand connected just over my kidney. I threw a bone-crushing elbow that smashed into his face with another cracking sound as pain shot thr
ough my back.
Focusing some minor healing energy on myself, I put a little distance between us again. “As much as I would like to kick the ever-loving shit out of you, there are really other things I need to do today. How about we postpone this and you answer my questions?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He raised a dark eyebrow that boldly contrasted with his nearly white hair. “What’s in it for me?”
“I won’t be forced to stake your ass? How’s that for incentive?”
“You should probably aim a little higher than my ass, love.” He winked. “Besides, the threat would be more compelling if I thought you could actually do it.”
I kicked him square in the chest, purposely digging my silver heel in just above his heart, drawing blood. He staggered back and I hit him with a left hook. “Don’t forget you asked for this. All I wanted to do was talk,” I grumbled as I swept his feet out from under him with another quick kick. I could kill him. I could kill any vampire.
He landed with a thump, but his fingers curled around my bare arm and pulled me against himself hard and tight. “Checkmate,” he said and I felt the too compelling tug beneath my skin that made me want to melt into him.
I reached down and grabbed his crotch, making extra sure he felt my sharpened finger nails ready to slice off his sensitive bits. “One more pull and live the rest of your days as a eunuch.”
“I take it you’re Femi.”
“You’ve heard of me.” I dug in my nails a little further.
He released my arm and I released him. We both stood. “Paolo mentioned you once or twice.” He licked his lips. “He didn’t exaggerate. You do taste unique. But alas I believe I owe you a debt, even if you did come here uninvited.”
What sort of debt could Corbin possibly owe me?
“Don’t hurt yourself thinking so hard. We have a friend in common. You helped her in the past, and I have an interest in her well-being, so I am willing to overlook your breach of etiquette.”
