by Liz Schulte
“Who would that be?”
“What did you come here to ask?” He wiped the trickle of blood from his nose.
“Where is the pathway to the underworld?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You cannot cross it. It only works one way and that’s leaving. There’s only one way for a mouth breather to get in.”
“I didn’t ask if I could cross it. I just need to know where it comes out.”
His eyes glittered. “And what are you willing to give me in return?”
A swift kick in the junk. For once I bit my tongue and the smartass comment didn’t come out. “I’ll give you Thomas” rolled out of my mouth instead. I even shocked myself.
At first he looked confused. Then understanding smoothed his features. “You know where the fugitive is.” It wasn’t a question. New appreciation for me filled his eyes. “You are an intriguing woman. How did you find the single vampire that no other bounty hunter or vampire, including myself, has been able to locate?”
“It’s less important how and more important that I have. Tell me what I need to know and I will have no more use for him. You can have him.” My stomach twisted in knots, rebelling against the idea of making such a heartless trade, but at the same time this sort of trade was in my very nature. Corbin was the bigger benefit to our cause, to winning this war. And there was never too high a price to pay for winning.
He sighed. “Perhaps I’m cynical, but I’m gonna need proof that you actually have him or know where he is. Nothing personal. Anyone can say they have Thomas and many others have. Show him to me.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “I’m not taking you to him until you tell me what I want to know.”
He held out a hand. “Hand me your phone.”
I hesitated, but gave it to him. His fingers were a blur of motion before he handed it back. “Text me his picture wearing this.” He reached into a pile of junk on the floor and pulled up a pair of cracked sunglasses. “After you send me the picture, come back. I will give you the location of the opening and you will accompany me to Thomas.”
“And what will stop you from killing me and freeing him once we’re there?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I could kill you in a heartbeat, Sekhmet, if it suited me to do so. But right now, I would rather kill him. You will accompany me because if this is a double cross or you somehow fake the photo, I don’t want to have to come find you. I’m a busy man.”
“Deal.” I turned and strutted outside, holding my breath.
On the other side of the door and in the warm light of day, I exhaled the air in my lungs and felt my eyes sting. I didn’t owe Thomas anything. He led me into a trap. He almost got me killed. Sure he changed his mind at the end, but how many other people had he done that exact same thing to? He deserved this. He deserved what was coming to him. But even though the words were there and I knew them to be completely true, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was crossing a line.
In that moment I missed Olivia more than I ever had before. I needed someone to talk to about this. But she was a crazy angel at the moment and I couldn’t share it with Sy either. Not only did he hate Thomas, there was his jealousy thing that made him anything but impartial. My only other choices were Holden or Baker. Holden wouldn’t give a shit. There was no reason to run it by him. It would only irritate him. Baker on the other hand might care, but he also wanted Thomas dead. If Thomas weren’t such an asshole, my life would be so much easier.
I walked around the city for a while holding onto the cracked sunglasses, hoping remembering the past would ease whatever this was I was feeling. But all I really remembered was Thomas and how naïve I was back then. I learned about vampires from him and to take a closer look at the bounties I took. Abyss politics weren’t plain to see, but there was always someone pulling the strings. And if a bounty hunter wasn’t careful she could end up right in the middle of a fight that had been going on for hundreds of years. He opened my eyes to how the world really was.
Growing up, I only ever interacted with other Sekhmets. Everything I knew about other races came from books that were provided to us. Much of what I learned turned out to be, at best, misinformed and, at worst, lying propaganda to keep us home. When I left, the size of the outside world—and the sheer number of adventures waiting around every corner—almost overwhelmed me. Then being a bounty hunter sort of fell into my lap and I was all but delivered to Sy wrapped with a bow. He taught me a lot, including how to use my natural talents to find anyone anywhere. In the process we became friends.
Thomas, however, didn’t shelter me or act as my teacher. It was his actions mostly, but also his words, that made me see the world wasn’t exactly as Sy portrayed it. There were good people, sure, but there were also a lot of assholes. Vampires, not that I was a fan of them myself, were scapegoats far too often. I wasn’t about to champion the cause or anything, but call me old-fashioned, I liked to see the actual evil-doers punished. I was funny that way.
It was too easy to push the blame for every bad thing that happened in the Abyss on the one group no one liked. Once I noticed that, I could see the patterns. I knew the company names who sought bounties on vampires exclusively. And every time I dug into one of them, it would disappear and a few weeks later another would appear in its place. There was a darker underside to the Abyss that most of us weren’t aware of.
Someday I’d find the piece of the puzzle that would bring the whole charade tumbling to the ground, but not today. Today I had to help Olivia and Holden. If that meant betraying a vampire, who was for a very brief moment a friend, then that was what I had to do. Even if that vampire was Thomas. I saved his life once and he saved mine once. According to my math, we were even.
I made my way back to the warehouse stopping to eat twice along the way but even that didn’t settle the knot in my chest. Holden was studying the ley line maps, while the kid climbed on him like a jungle gym. She didn’t seem to faze him at all.
“Have you seen Olivia?” he asked. “I want to talk to her about these maps.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I shut the door. “Have you not spoken to Baker?”
“He’s in with Maggie. Why? What did you find?”
“Olivia is—” The door to Maggie’s cell slammed opened, echoing throughout the building, and she stormed out way too fast for a human, her eyes glowing red. Holden evaporated, the kid tumbled to the couch blinking and looking around, and then he reappeared blocking the front door, looking unimpressed.
“You can’t leave,” he said.
“I don’t care who you are. You can’t make me stay here,” she said, still charging forward.
He didn’t budge. She veered right, went to the door closest to her, and ripped it off, throwing it into the cell. Holy crap, Maggie had turned into the Hulk. Only she wasn’t green and her clothes weren’t torn, but she’d seriously just ripped a steel door off its hinges like it was nothing. Holden gave Baker a look that clearly said take care of this or I will.
Baker tried to talk to her, but she was beyond words as she went for the next door. Holden glanced at the kid when she whimpered. She was now huddled into the corner of the couch with her eyes squeezed shut. I headed for her and Holden disappeared again. An instant later he knocked Maggie out cold. “Cheese and rice, boss! Did ya have to hit her?” Baker scooped her up and scowled at him.
“Secure her, Baker. If she gets out again, I will do worse than punch her.”
“But she’s—”
“The very distant relation of my little brother. That doesn’t make her family. We have enough to worry about without new vampire temper tantrums.” He returned to me and the kid. “Femi, check if the other vampire felt that or if the connection was broken.”
“But we really need to talk to you.” I crossed my legs, no intention of looking at Thomas’s stupid face ever again.
“Later. Check the vampire first.”
“Baker can.” I dug in.
He
glowered at me. “Now.” The front door opened again and Phoenix ambled in. “How long does it take to get some chicken nuggets?” Holden snapped.
Phoenix tossed him the bag. “Apparently this long. Your girlfriend asked me to get all fifteen jinn together tonight. I had to work that first. Sorry your lunch order came second.”
The vein in Holden’s forehead popped out and his eyes blazed. Now probably wasn’t the time to tell him he couldn’t tell me what to do. I stood up and slowly went toward Thomas’s cell, grabbing Phoenix on my way before Holden took out his anger on him. “We need to check on the vampire.” Then I added under my breath, “Before Holden snaps.”
Phoenix stopped me before opening the door. “Why exactly are we keeping a vampire here?”
“Long story. Just be intimidating.” I looked at his indie grunge band appearance and pale complexion and had my doubts that was even possible for him. “Have you ever thought about washing your hair?” I raised an eyebrow, but he just stared at me. I shrugged and opened the door. Thomas paced inside his cell.
His eyes tried to meet mine, but I successfully avoided them. “How ya feeling, Tom?” I asked. “Anything hurt.”
“Why?” His fingers jerked on his right hand.
“Just curious.” I flashed a grin, still looking just to the right of him.
He took a step toward me, but Phoenix knocked him back. “We’ll tell you when to move.”
“What about our deal, Femi?” he asked.
I wanted to turn and leave or cover my ears, but I pressed on. “Did you feel anything about three minutes ago? A sharp pain, anything?”
“What about our deal?” he demanded.
“There is no fucking deal,” Phoenix said. “Answer her questions.”
Thomas didn’t respond. His eyes drilled into me. “Sit down,” I told him.
He didn’t move or speak.
I finally met his gaze and went over to him. I poked my finger along his cheek where Holden hit Maggie. He didn’t even wince, but his eyes dilated and darkened. The air disappeared from my lungs. “I don’t see any injuries.”
“What about our deal, Femi.” His bright blue eyes locked with mine, pleading.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I choked out. I held out the cracked sunglasses with a trembling hand. “Put these on.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to. Don’t make me have Phoenix force you.”
The edge of Thomas’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “I’ve never known you not to fight your own battles.” But he put on the sunglasses all the same.
I snapped a picture of him and left the room as fast as I could.
“What was that all about?” Phoenix asked outside.
“What are you talking about?”
“You and the vampire.”
“None of your business. Just do as you’re told.”
I left him standing in the hallway and ran square into Baker.
“Where’s the fire, kitten?” he asked, catching my arm. I pulled out of his grasp. Seriously, there was too much testosterone in this place. I made a silent vow to find more women to be friends with.
“I need some air—” I had the picture. I had everything I needed to find the location. I just had to do it before I talked myself out of it.
Baker pulled out his cell phone, which made me want to scream, but then he nodded for me to do the same so I did. He sent me a text message.
“The angel can hear everything we say. I don’t think Holden knows yet. We need to talk to him.”
I thought about it for a moment and glanced at Thomas’s cell. He could wait a little while longer. I nodded and followed Baker back to Holden.
The kid had to go.
I picked her up. She was safe this time, but we were worse than a fucking circus here. “Phoenix,” I called, mostly because he was standing in the hallway doing nothing.
He came over. “What?”
“You said you gathered jinn for Olivia. Is she with them now?”
“Yeah. She told me to leave.”
“Where?”
“The club.”
This was the last fucking thing I needed. I handed him the kid, and looked in the girl’s panicking eyes. “Go with him.”
“Take her somewhere no one will find her. If someone does find you or you get into trouble call Quintus. I assume I don’t need to tell you what happens if something happens to her.”
“The guardian?” His lips curled. “How the hell do I do that?”
“Pray.”
He laughed, but sobered quickly. “You aren’t serious are you?”
“I don’t have time for this. Take her.”
“Where?”
“Damn it. What about this don’t you understand? I don’t want to know where you go with her. Just take her somewhere that isn’t here and keep her safe.”
Baker and Femi came back into the room as Phoenix was leaving with the girl who cried and tried to struggle out of his arms.
“You trust ‘im?” Baker’s eyes lingered after Phoenix, a frown creasing his face.
“She’ll be fine.” I shouldn’t have brought her back here to begin with, but I couldn’t leave her. “What did you guys want to talk to me about?”
Baker flopped down on the couch, and picked up one of the pieces of paper we’d found with the maps. “I just wanted to tell you I think we should back the angel’s play. Whatever it is.”
I frowned at him. He was worse than a damn woman about making up his mind. He didn’t look up as he wrote something on the paper. “That’s it?”
I looked at Femi. She shook her head then bobbed her chin toward Baker. “Yep. Sure is, boss.”
Baker handed me his note. I read the words once then twice. So she was eavesdropping. “Why are you wasting my fucking time with this?” I asked, then wrote, “She’s freeing the jinn now. Going to try to stop her. Find the opening to the Underworld and see what you can dig up on the Seal.”
Baker and Femi nodded and I left. I needed to warn Sybil to watch her back. If Olivia was listening then she knew she was involved too. I texted her on my way to the warehouse, but she didn’t reply, which wasn’t unusual.
Xavier’s was filled with the chatter of a small crowd. I scanned the rooms, but didn’t see Olivia. Taking the stairs two at a time, I found her in the office.
“You kept me waiting,” she said as a greeting.
“You didn’t tell me we were doing this. I thought you wanted to wait to free them.”
“The time line had to be moved up.”
I sat down across from her. “Why is that?”
She stared at me, but didn’t respond.
I leaned forward. “Here’s the deal. I’m not going to make any more threats. We both know I’m not leaving. The games aren’t getting either of us anywhere. Tell me what you’ve planned. I’ll help you, but I need to know what’s up.”
She considered my words. “You swear to the fact that you will help even if you find some of my methods … distasteful.”
I nodded, knowing I’d betray her in a heartbeat.
“Events are being expedited because I have nearly all the means to complete my mission.”
“Which is?”
“To seal off Hell from the rest of the world, forever.” Her spine straightened and she held her chin at a proud angle. “We can remove their last worldly minions and prevent all demons from ever being able to come above. The world will be as He intended.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to fight Lucifer?”
She frowned. “Of course not. I have no desire to take his place. I will end his presence here once and for all.”
I couldn’t say exactly where this would fall on the scale, but it would undoubtedly upset the balance between good and evil. “What if temptation is necessary? What if humans need the bad in order to recognize the good? You could be doing them more harm.”
“That is what Heaven would have us believe. But I have been a human now. I understan
d better how they work. It is not the case. There is good here. It’s the temptation that ruins them.”
I laughed. “You’ve been Olivia. Do you really think she represents everyone?” I raised an eyebrow. “Trust me. She doesn’t count. Temptation was currency for years, but the truth is I didn’t have to do much to turn them. The evil lives inside all of them. People are just as capable of being bad as they are good. Even without Lucifer here, that doesn’t mean choices will get any better.”
She folded her hands over her lap. “One cannot blame you for being cynical. You were touched early by evil and it has darkened your heart. I am afraid that will never go away.”
I met her stare directly. “And yet you need me to make your plan work. What does that say to you?”
“That evil has spread too far already. We are wasting time.”
“What does freeing fifteen more accomplish?”
“I never said I was freeing them.” She stood and beckoned for me to do the same. “Follow me.”
“What are you doing then?”
“Making you stronger,” she answered just before we entered the room. A few jinn sat around tables, talking and drinking. Others stood against the walls, stationed like bodyguards. None of them seemed to notice me. . She nodded to the chair in the center of the room. “Sit there.”
I hesitated. What the hell was she going to do?
“You gave me your word you would help. This is what I need from you.”
I sat in the chair and waited. She got the jinn who were relaxing to stand and form a circle around me, telling them she was going to return their souls from purgatory as she had the others. She motioned to the rest of the onlookers. They eagerly lined up and waited for their freedom, too. She squeezed them in tighter and tighter around me until she could reach me and each one of them.
“No matter what happens, don’t break the circle or I cannot free you,” she told them, then released a blinding light. I couldn’t see anything, not even the people standing four feet away though I knew they were there. Her thin fingers clasp on my shoulder and my whole body convulsed beneath her. My muscles clenched and a ripple formed beneath my skin and traveled to my feet then back up again. My bones felt like they were snapping, the air was shoved from my lungs, and what sounded like rapids on a river roared in my ears. My back arched out of the chair, then she released me. I gasped for air, but before I could catch my breath she did it again and again until I lost count.
