“We aren’t ‘tight,’ as you put it, Mercy. We despise each other. But that doesn’t mean he won’t make a bargain with me.”
“So if we get the baron out of there, he won’t be there to let Edwin out?” I asked.
Nico shook his head. “That’s not how it works. Even if the baron takes a body—my body—and walks on the Earth, he’s still the guardian of hell. The arbiter of the divide between death and life. If he’s already agreed to a bargain with Alice’s vampires…”
“Nightwalkers,” I said. “They call themselves nightwalkers because they can’t stand to think of themselves as the creatures they hate so much.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Such self-righteous bullshit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Either way, we have to act quickly. I can summon Annabelle’s parents—help them complete the transition into vampirism. That should give us leverage with Annabelle. We’ll make sure to leave a trail so she can trace us here.”
“She and her sister know about Casa do Diabo already,” I said. “I used her to track down Ramon when he went on one of his rampages.”
Nico chuckled. “Normally I’d be angry about that, but I think that might help.”
“So we lure her here, then convince her to let me go into hell so I can capture Edwin, somehow?”
“I also need her to engage the baron,” Nico said. “My arrangement with him is that he’ll give her my soul and she’ll deliver it to me.”
“How in the world can we trust her to do that?” I asked. “I thought you and she hated each other, even more than you hate the baron.”
“Hate is a strong word,” Nico said. “She has a good heart. She’ll feel guilty about banishing me… When she sees what I’ve become and I tell her how she can redeem me, she’ll jump at the chance.”
“One problem,” I said. “I still have no idea how to bind Edwin to the fetish.”
Nico smiled. “I have that covered, too. I don’t know exactly how to do it—but there are those at the Voodoo Academy who do. After we confront Annabelle and convince her to follow through with our plan, we’ll find a way to get you admitted to the Academy. Seek out Maman Brigitte, she’s in charge of College Samedi.”
“College Samedi? Seriously?”
“A class of students who specialize in the magic of the Ghede Loa. Since you already have the Baron’s aspect by virtue of your vampirism, I think I’ll be able to convince Maman Brigitte to sponsor you and grant you admittance. She’ll teach you the binding rite. And while there, you can use your usual charms to convince Annabelle to let you into hell.”
“What do we do with Alice?” I asked.
“We can’t just let her go free,” Nico said. “She’s here now, and as a part of my bloodline, so long as we’re both here and not in hell, I can control her. Let me worry about Alice.”
31
THINGS STARTED OFF well. Nico lured Annabelle’s parents to Casa do Diabo. Together we managed to manufacture a ward that would prevent Annabelle—based on the particular Loa’s aspect she possessed as a student of Voodoo—from entering the house.
We knew, after sending several neophyte vampires to her plantation home, that the weapon she had could easily dispatch vamps. She called her blade out of the ether—the same blade she’d use to open our portal to hell—and when she stabbed a vampire with it, the entire vampire’s form would dissipate in thin air, presumably sending the vampire to hell with no way of returning.
That made Annabelle both useful and also dangerous. It meant, technically speaking, she had the only weapon I knew of that might be able to send me to hell whether Edwin escaped or not. Sure, I could just piss her off, have her stab me while holding the fetish, and try and trap Edwin’s soul inside it—once I figured out how to do that. But then I’d be stuck there regardless. I’d have to go there with Annabelle—she’d get me in, and she’d have to get me out.
Nico didn’t know about my compulsion abilities—he just though I had a particularly effective allure. Ramon didn’t think we should tell him, either. The only reason Ramon knew, in fact, was because I’d used them to keep him under control.
Since I was Nico’s progeny, though, I figured my compulsions wouldn’t work on him. And his summoning ability would, in some ways, trump whatever I could do regardless. His abilities were likewise helpful for keeping Alice in check. Even if she did somehow manage to escape the magical prison I’d kept her in for the last year or so, Nico could call her right back again. I still hadn’t managed to figure out how Alice was immune to my compulsions. It drove me batty—yes, I know that’s a bad pun when it comes to vampires.
But no, I cannot shapeshift into a bat. Nico swore he could do it—he even managed to get that tidbit into Stoker’s novel—but he hadn’t done it himself in at least a couple centuries.
Apparently shifting into bat form came with a nasty side effect. He’d stay blind as a bat, literally, for several months after the shift, albeit with an even more acute sense of hearing. Eventually his sight would return, but it was enough of an inconvenience that he avoided doing it at all costs.
With Annabelle’s parents effectively “claimed,” it was just a matter of time before Annabelle—and probably her pesky sister—would track us down. What we didn’t anticipate was that she’d bring another friend with her, a vodouisant with teleportation abilities. Nico knew who he was—his name was Pauli, and he and Annabelle had been joined at the hip ever since they’d arrived. And there was something else off about him, too. Something possessing him… something dark and insidious.
When he showed up in our home—our wards didn’t keep him out—he quickly seized Ramon and bit him. Yes, the fucker bit Ramon. What kind of creature bites vampires? It was a development, in fact, that seemingly took Nico off guard. But Pauli was clearly there to locate Annabelle’s parents. Nico could keep them enthralled, prevent them from leaving, and hopefully prevent Pauli from interfering with our plans for Annabelle.
With a weapon that could vanquish me to hell and a familiar inhabiting her who could wield all sorts of power, Nico suggested we attempt a tranquilizer. He had an arsenal of weapons in his room. I never had much use for them. For some reason Nico had put on a black robe, maybe so he could hide more effectively in the dark? But he was also carrying a scythe—Grim Reaper style.
“What’s with the get-up?” I asked.
Nico winked. “Dramatic effect. Trust me, I’ve been thinking about this moment for centuries. Here, I have a robe for you, too.”
I rolled my eyes as I took the robe and put it on. I looked like some kind of occultist, which I suppose wasn’t inaccurate. Truth be told, I kind of liked robes like this. I relished the mystique of it all.
Nico and I found Annabelle lurking in the courtyard. Nico took aim with his tranquilizer gun and nailed her with a dart before she realized what hit her. She collapsed, and we took her to Nico’s old mausoleum, the one formerly owned by Ramon’s dead brother. An enclosed space. A place where we could confront her. Ramon met up with us, still reeling from the bite.
“You alright?” I asked. Ramon’s wound wasn’t healing, not like normal vampire bites do. Vampires have darker blood than humans, almost black. Some of it dripped down his neck and onto his shoulder.
“I’ll be fine,” Ramon said.
“When she comes to,” Nico said, “Ramon should greet her first since they’ve already been acquainted. Mercy, you and I will hide in the shadows and surprise her when the time is right.”
Annabelle started to stir—she was seemingly talking to herself, trying to sort out what had happened to her. In truth, she was probably conversing with the familiar in her head. Had to be really awkward sharing a body with another soul. I didn’t envy her in the least.
It was dark. Annabelle reached out and tried to get a feel for her surroundings. She pressed her hands against one of the crypts. It was the one that belonged to Ramon’s brother.
“Alberto De Leonne,” Annabelle whispered as she tra
ced the letters engraved on the crypt.
“He isn’t there, mon amie,” Ramon said.
Annabelle jerked around, startled by his voice, and gasped. “Ramon? I thought…”
“You thought you’d staked me, mademoiselle? Oui, oui, so you did.”
“I don’t understand… your grave, I checked it before. It looked undisturbed.”
“Désolé de décevoir, mademoiselle,” Ramon said. “I barely spent a night in that grave after you staked my heart.”
“Someone raised you again?”
Ramon raised a hand to her cheek. “Of course I had a plan for that, mademoiselle. It was my intention that you should stake me from the beginning.”
Annabelle tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean it was your plan? Why would you want me to stake you?”
“L’intelligence, mon amie! His Highness required a test of your… abilities. Yours and hers.”
Hearing Ramon refer to Nico as “His Highness” made me want to roll my eyes. Of course, he was doing all this for a dramatic effect. I elbowed Nico—I wanted to know when it was time for us to make our appearance. He grabbed my shoulder and held me back. Not yet, apparently.
“Yours and hers?” Annabelle asked. “Mine and my sister’s? Who would want to test…”
“Not your sister, mon amie! Or, should I say, mes amis!”
I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from laughing. I had no clue how much French Annabelle knew—but most people who lived in these parts picked up bits and pieces. He’d basically revealed that he knew she wasn’t alone. That Annabelle was possessed by another.
It seemed like Annabelle picked up on the clue. “You refer to me as though I’m more than one… as friends?”
“C’est vrai! It is true that you are more than one. The power you call upon is not your own.”
“You still didn’t answer my question. Who sent you?”
“His Highness has been known by many names… his life spans centuries. He knows the past and also the future. He planned all of this, mademoiselle, before your birth. And in his grace, he granted me this last opportunity.”
Annabelle squinted. “Opportunity for what?”
“For revenge!” Ramon shouted as he lunged toward Annabelle.
For fuck’s sake, Ramon—this wasn’t the plan. I don’t know if it was his craving, or the fact that he held a grudge against her for staking him before. Or, perhaps whatever it was that had bitten him moments before clouded his judgment. But Ramon seized Annabelle from behind and reared back his head, exposing his fangs.
Annabelle shouted, “Beli!” As she spoke, her blade formed in her hand out of the ether. Only this time it appeared not as a conventional blade, but more closely resembled a stake.
I tried to jump out to help him—but again, Nico grabbed my arm and prevented me from intervening. I tried to move again, but Nico used his ability, his summoning, to bind me close to him and seal my lips. I wanted to beat the shit out of him and Annabelle, but I couldn’t move a muscle.
By the time Nico released me, it was too late. Annabelle slammed her stake, her magical blade, into Ramon’s back and through his heart. And Ramon disappeared in front of my eyes. He was gone. Just like that. Gone. And I couldn’t bring him back. Not this time.
32
NICO SILENCED ME again. I was really starting to resent him. Sure, I owed him my existence. But this was bullshit. The girl had just vanquished Ramon into hell—along with his body—and I was supposed to just stand here in silence? Not like I had a choice.
“Bravo!” Nico said, clapping his hands as he stepped out of the shadows into a dim light produced by a single bulb mounted into the mausoleum ceiling. I’d questioned why he installed a light in here before, when we first had this place wired up with a security system. We can see well enough in the dark. He’d said he required it for later plans. This must’ve been why.
Seeing Nico appear—as I stepped into the light behind him—Annabelle clearly wasn’t impressed. “The Grim Reaper and his apprentice, I presume? You can’t be serious.”
Nico bellowed a raucous laugh. “But it’s fitting, Mulledy, don’t you think?”
“Who are you, and how do you know me?”
Nico snapped his fingers, and torches mounted in all the mausoleum walls burst into flames. Another one of Nico’s many abilities was fire magic? It was news to me.
“Think hard, Mulledy,” Nico said, peering at Annabelle through the hood of his robe. “From your perspective, it wasn’t that long ago. From mine, I’ve waited centuries for this very moment.”
Annabelle was clueless. “Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want with me. But you’ve got my parents in there.”
“All part of a plan I’ve been orchestrating for some time, but I can assure you, your parents are well. They have a craving, of a sort. Something you’re sure to find distasteful. But I should say, once the aspect within them awakened upon my return, their memories and minds were healed. It’s remarkable, really.”
“You’re Baron Samedi?” Annabelle asked, a stroke of terror falling across her face.
“Ha!” Nico said. “He wishes. Your parents are simply leverage to ensure your compliance. You owe me a favor, Mulledy.”
“A favor? A favor for what? I don’t even know you.”
“But you do,” Nico said as he drew back his hood.
Annabelle gasped. “Nico… I… I can’t believe it’s really you. How did you…”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for nearly a thousand years.”
Annabelle scrunched her brow. “What are you saying?”
“You left me in Guinee. You brought me there without my consent. You asked me to save you. Then you left me there.”
“I tried to get back…”
“How do you measure time when you are in a realm outside time itself? It felt like a lifetime that I battled with the baron. For a long time I held him in check, but I grew tired, and he was resilient. He just wouldn’t stop. He kept coming. I just couldn’t do it anymore… I accepted his bargain.”
“You made a bargain with Baron Samedi?”
“Do you judge me? I would have before, but what would you have done? I kept thinking you were out there, trying to find me. Trying to get me back. I trusted that you weren’t such a bitch that you’d suck me into another realm to save your ass, then leave me there forever. But I should have known better. You were always a bitch.”
Tears started welling up in Annabelle’s eyes. Poor baby. “I’m sorry, Nico,” she cried. “I tried, I really tried.”
“You didn’t try hard enough!” Nico shouted as he sped behind Annabelle, grabbed her around the waist, and yanked at her hair, exposing her neck.
“Nico, please!”
“Are you going to drive that stake through my heart, too? Are you going to send me back to hell… again?”
“I won’t… I can’t…”
I could hear Nico’s breath. He was holding himself back. He had a plan, and killing Annabelle now wasn’t it. “For centuries I wanted nothing more than to hurt you, to bite you, to taste your blood. What would it taste like, the blood of two souls mixed into one?” Nico released Annabelle, tossing her on the ground at my feet.
She looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. It was like, as her eyes met mine, she was searching for empathy. It was disgusting. I slapped my heeled foot down on the side of her head as she screamed in pain.
Nico’s laughter echoed throughout the mausoleum. “Give in to her power, Annabelle. Kiss the sole that crushes you. She is my apprentice, but your goddess. You are nothing compared to her.”
I pushed my foot against her head a bit harder. She writhed in pain.
“With just a little pressure, she could kill you. How does it feel to be at the mercy of someone else… hoping, praying for mercy?” Nico chuckled. “How ironic, for that is her name. Annabelle, meet Mercy. But don’t let her name fool you. She is merciless. And you just staked her boyfriend. You sent Ramon to
hell. I couldn’t blame her if she did the same to you.”
“Please,” Annabelle cried. “Don’t do this…”
“Beg for mercy!” Nico shouted.
Annabelle cringed. “Mercy, please!”
I released my foot from her head then, and just as she moved I kicked her square in the mouth, forcing the sole of my shoe to her lips. “Kiss it,” I commanded.
And she kissed it. Not like she had a choice.
“Doesn’t it feel good to know your place, bitch?” Nico asked. “To finally realize you’re nothing compared to me, nothing compared to even my progeny?”
“I’m sorry, Nico…”
“Stand up. This was for my… amusement. And as much as I’d like to ruin you, I’m going to do what you never did. I’m going to give you another chance. A chance to atone for your sins.”
Annabelle looked at me again, curiously. Maybe she’d sensed my compulsion. She didn’t strike me as the sort who would submit so easily, not by her own will.
I pressed my lips together. What did she think she saw in me?
“You find her… alluring, don’t you?” Nico asked.
“She is beautiful,” Annabelle said. At least she was right about one thing—I was fucking gorgeous and I knew it. It was a privilege for this worm to kiss my shoe.
“No mortal I’ve met can resist her charms. It’s what makes her so brutal, so dangerous. It’s what I love about her. But we’re not here to talk about Mercy.”
“Then what do you want with me, Nico? If you aren’t going to get your revenge, what do you need?”
Nico sighed as he began to pace. “I’ve been testing you, Annabelle. The vampires I’ve been sending to your plantation—all young acolytes, all hungry, but foolish. I’ve been watching how easily you eliminated them. Ramon begged me for a chance to do the same.
I warned him against it, but he insisted. So the way I saw it, he’d either eliminate you, in which case it would show you were too weak to fulfill the purpose I require, or he’d serve as another test. A stronger, more experienced vampire… a formidable foe. But you handled him quite quickly.”
Gates of Eden: Starter Library Page 88
