by Karen Duvall
Just the thought of my father cavorting with demons made a ball of fear tumble like a rock in my belly.
Geraldine peered at me with laser intensity. “A member of the Fallen can turn into something like the dark angel who tricked Aydin and cursed him for eternity.”
Aydin dropped his head to stare at the floor. “I didn’t know who he was.”
Geraldine’s voice softened with sympathy when she said, “I know you didn’t.”
All three of us went quiet then. The dark angel who had fathered Geraldine’s daughter was the same one who tried bargaining for her baby. How horrible. I wondered what that angel had been like before choosing the dark side. Could all the Fallen be as awful?
I also wondered about my sister knights, if they were like me and possessed the same super-senses I had. I knew from years of stealing magical objects that a curse wasn’t always intentional and, in my case, I had a double dose with one on purpose, the other an accident of birth. How lucky could I get?
I considered what Geraldine had said about the tradition practiced by our order. “I’m not expected to, you know, mate with an angel, am I?”
Aydin coughed into his hand, and Geraldine smiled. “No, dear. You’re not.”
I felt relieved and confused at the same time. “Why not?”
“As long as you’re bonded to the gargoyle,” Geraldine said, “your impurity prevents you from taking an Arelim mate.”
“Impurity?” I asked. “If I’m supposed to be a virgin, I’m afraid I’d fail that test, too.”
“Virginity is not a prerequisite for breeding,” Geraldine said lightly. “As a matter of fact, our Arelim mates appreciate experience since they have none themselves. But we won’t get into that now. There isn’t time.”
I still had so many questions, but Aydin could answer them for me later. “About my mother,” I said to Geraldine. “How did you know her?”
“Gavin brought her to me when she was about your age.”
My heart stopped and my knees went weak. “You spoke to her?”
“I couldn’t,” she said, regret in her voice. “He wouldn’t leave her alone with me and I won’t speak in front of him or any of the Vyantara.”
“But you know that’s why he’s allowing me to be alone with you now, don’t you? He knows you and I will talk.” My flimsy lying skills would be put to the test in a big way.
She gave me a slow blink. “That’s why Aydin made sure to get involved this time. He won’t let Gavin know what really transpired between us. He’ll lie for you.”
There was a noise outside the vault entrance and electronic beeps indicated the door was being unlocked.
“Not yet!” I whispered to the mummified head that was quickly turning back into its shriveled, lifeless self. “Geraldine!”
I looked at Aydin, who immediately ghosted out.
The door swung slowly inward, and my nerves thrummed with dread. Could I hold my countenance? Or would my face accidentally let Gavin in on secrets he wasn’t meant to know?
Aydin’s translucent form approached me. What was he doing? He was getting too close! His ghostly face pressed against mine, and then he passed through my skin and into my body. I heard his mind speak inside me: I’m sorry to do this to you, Chalice, but now you must sleep.
I became light-headed. The moment Gavin appeared from around the open door, my vision darkened. My limbs turned to liquid and as Gavin rushed at me, his frown more annoyed than concerned, he couldn’t catch me before I fell face-first to the concrete floor.
eleven
I BLINKED MY EYES OPEN TO A DIMLY LIT room. When it came into focus, I recognized the wooden boxes and trunks lined up in stacks along three walls. This was the storage room inside Aydin’s house.
When I tried to sit up, I grew dizzy and nausea gurgled in my stomach. I struggled to detach my tongue from its plastered position at the roof of my mouth. My efforts made a loud enough noise to bring Aydin into the room.
Seeing me work so hard at making my mouth move, he left and came back with a glass of water. “This will help.”
I tilted it to my lips, but stopped before taking a sip. “Poisoning me?” I asked, though it sounded more like “oishoning me?”
The corners of his lips curved in an almost smile. “Sorry for having to knock you out like that, but if Gavin suspected you had learned something, bad things would happen. To you. By him.”
I tasted the water. “You’re probably right.” I downed the rest and handed him the empty glass. “What the hell did you do? Possess me?”
“Not really.”
Not really? My heart skipped at the thought of my will taken over by another. I’d lost control. Being a slave was one thing, but losing my will brought on a whole new kind of anxiety. I felt more vulnerable than I cared to admit.
Aydin set the glass down on a box and sat on the trunk beside it. “All I did was give you a mental suggestion. It’s something old ghosts can do, too, so don’t ever dismiss them as harmless.”
“You hypnotized me.”
He tapped his nose with a forefinger. “Close enough. I left your body as soon as you started to fall.”
I touched my bruised mouth.
He grimaced. “I’m really sorry about that.”
If I had known what he’d planned to do, I would have fought him. At least I think I would have. “Just don’t do it again.”
He made a crisscrossing motion over his chest. “Promise.”
“That’s a handy ability you have. I bet it works really well during a heist, especially with witnesses.”
He nodded. “But let’s keep it between you and me, okay? Gavin has no idea the extent of what I can do, and that’s one ability I’d rather keep secret from him. He exploits me enough as it is.” He stood and ambled to the doorway, where he turned to face me. “Speaking of heists, you and I have a new assignment.”
I shook my head to clear it of leftover mind fog. “I thought what we just did was our assignment.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “This new one could play well into our plans.”
“Just what the hell are our plans? Geraldine said you’re supposed to catch me up on what’s going on.” I held out one hand and curled my fingers toward me. “Let’s have it.”
He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb, as relaxed as a thief who had just pulled a job without getting caught. He reeked of self-confidence, and I hoped some of it would rub off on me. “Since you’re such a bad liar, I’m going to hold off giving you that information. Just until we’ve had our meeting with Gavin to get the details of our new job. Okay with you?”
I nodded, but rolled my eyes to let him know I wasn’t happy about it. He was right, though. “What did you tell him?” I asked, knowing Gavin must have grilled him like crazy. “You didn’t say I asked Geraldine to translate my mother’s runes, did you?”
He crossed his arms and looked at me sideways. “I did, but don’t worry. I lied and said she confirmed his interpretation. He still believes you can’t pass through the silver veil. Then I told him the truth about Geraldine’s failure to speak with the Fallen. He was really disappointed to hear that.”
Good. I loved it when Gavin didn’t get his way.
Aydin squinted up at the ceiling, as if peering through the veil itself. “I hope you realize your father won’t be waiting for you on the other side.”
Good point. I chewed my bottom lip and winced. “I know. My mother’s note said he chose the dark side.” But Geraldine did say I would learn my fate of transformation from the tree of wisdom, and if her interpretation was correct, that tree would be my father. I felt curious to know how demonic a fallen angel could get. Considering what Geraldine’s Arelim mate had done to Aydin, it must be a lot. There was even the chance my dark-angel father hated me enough to hurt me.
“Welcome to Lying 101,” Aydin said as he began my instruction on how to improve my skill for deception. “You’re already good at half truths, and you’re brilliant at disguising yo
ur feelings, so lying shouldn’t be much of a stretch.”
“I took acting lessons to help develop my role as a thief,” I said. “So I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for me to lie outright.”
“Because the lies you need to tell Gavin are personal, and for you, a personal lie is almost impossible to tell.” He whistled through his teeth and a tiny flash of rainbow colors leapt onto his shoulder. “Ruby is going to help you.”
The tiny frog chirped and her bejeweled hide sparkled.
“How?”
“Her jewels will twinkle when she recognizes a lie.” He stroked the top of the frog’s head with his finger. “So if a lie works, she can help you know what you did to pull it off.”
We practiced with me telling impersonal lies about things that didn’t matter, and I did great. But if it had to do with anything close to me, even my favorite food or color or movie, Ruby would blink like a string of Christmas lights.
“You can do this,” Aydin told me, looking me in the eyes with a face so still he could have been a statue. “You need to practice your facial expressions. That’s where you fail every time.”
Since I was so good at hiding my emotions, we worked on an exercise where I associated the lie with a feeling. When frightened, I faked it with anger, but I believed the anger. I refused to believe the fear. I even managed to fake out Ruby.
“That’s the answer,” he said, slapping his thighs and flashing me a grin of amazing white teeth. “Believe the lie. That’s what George Costanza said.”
I frowned. “You mean the guy from Seinfeld?” It was hard to believe Aydin watched as much television as I did.
“According to George, ‘It’s not a lie if you believe it.’”
It felt good to laugh, and he chuckled right along with me. This was the first time I’d seen him lighten up since he’d introduced me to Elmo’s Coffee Shop.
“You’re pretty when you laugh,” he said, smiling while holding my gaze with his.
My own smile slipped away and my cheeks burned. I suddenly wished my spiky hairstyle wasn’t too short to hide my face. “I’m a shrimp,” I said, using the nickname my Vyantara instructors had given me during training.
Suddenly serious, he said, “You are not. And I’ll kick the ass of whoever dares call you that.”
I pictured this Turkish warrior beating up my teachers, most of whom were nearly twice his size. He’d still win, hands down.
I sucked in a breath. I could do this. I could be a good liar. “Okay, I’m ready to face Gavin. Let’s get this over with.”
I hesitated at the front door of the Fatherhouse, wishing I had Ruby in my pocket to give me confidence. But Aydin made me leave her behind. He said it wouldn’t be safe for her, and the last thing I wanted was for an innocent creature to get hurt on my account.
He reached around me to open the door and I slapped his hand away.
“Give me a minute.” I got swept up in the memory of what had happened the last time I’d been inside. I closed my eyes, willing myself to relax, and reminded myself that I wouldn’t need Shui again until tomorrow. I had nothing to be afraid of, so the house couldn’t feed off me this time.
“Get mad,” Aydin said. “It’s how you hide your emotions.” He bent toward me until his mouth nearly touched my ear. His breath tickled and I shivered. “Get mad, and mean it. It will help.”
I pulled back my shoulders and nodded. It wouldn’t take much to make me angry. Just thinking about all the horrible curses and charms sitting on shelves, hanging on walls and filling up the glass-topped cases in the house was enough to infuriate me. Worse yet, I was the one who had stolen those things. Or a lot of them, anyway.
“You look steamed.”
I answered him through gritted teeth. “I am.”
“Good.” Aydin grasped the door handle and pushed.
I stepped over the threshold and stomped across the oak floor toward the back of the house where the conference room was. I glanced at display cases lining the walls, and the ten-foot-tall free-standing ones that divided up the room.
I knew the house was sectioned off because most curses don’t get along with each other. Also because charms, which were good magic like Ruby, made a dangerous combination when in contact with the curses. You couldn’t put them together and not expect trouble. So it really was a good thing I hadn’t brought along my pseudo-amphibian friend.
I passed a silver amulet hanging on the wall and it reminded me of the time I’d accidentally touched a cursed monkey’s paw to a charmed medallion. With both objects stuffed in one jacket pocket, I’d ridden my motorcycle past a high school and the psychic reaction between the objects had caused a fight to break out in each classroom I passed. It had taken a half-dozen blocks of spontaneous brawls exploding on the sidewalk, street corners and in front of a convenience store to make me realize something was wrong. As soon as I put the objects in separate pockets, life around me returned to normal.
I approached the open door to the conference room. Its bloodred walls were festooned with colorful tribal masks from different countries and I guessed all of them were cursed in some way. That’s the only reason they’d be inside this house in the first place.
A figure loomed in the doorway and I put on the skids before smacking into her voluminous bosom. Zee looked different from the last time I’d seen her and it appeared from her condition that Gavin hadn’t been in a forgiving mood. She wasn’t wearing a cheery smile of welcome today. Those cupie-doll lips were swollen, the bottom one split and scabbed. Her right arm had a fracture brace supported by a black canvas sling, and one ankle looked twice the size of the other.
My anger disappeared and amusement took its place. “Good morning, Zee,” I said, sounding more happy than I should have. I was still upset with her for keeping the news of Shui’s derailed train a secret from me. The woman flat-out didn’t like me, and the feeling was mutual. “Been working out? Or just worked over?”
She attempted a snarl, but winced instead, using her good hand to touch her ruined mouth. I hoped this meant she couldn’t talk. Her mouth would only get her into more trouble.
Gavin came around from behind her to give her a withering look. She backed away and hobbled to one of the heavy wooden chairs positioned around the table.
He turned his attention on me. “I trust you fully recovered from your fainting spell?”
I nodded, mentally groping for that thread of anger that would support my deceit. I found it easily, my rage at this man filling me to the brim. “I didn’t faint.”
His brows arched almost to his hairline. “Then what was it that happened last night?”
“I don’t know.” I moved past him to take a chair far from Zee. “Lack of oxygen inside an air-locked tomb, maybe?”
He seemed to think that over, then dismissed it. “What about the candles?”
Candles? I must have looked confused because he closed his eyes and sighed. “You insisted on having candles in the tomb. I assumed the candlelight helped?”
I’d forgotten all about that because I hadn’t used them. I hadn’t needed to. I swallowed in an effort to moisten my dry throat. “I didn’t need them. There wasn’t enough air inside the tomb to keep them lit, anyway.”
He frowned and glanced at Aydin. “Sit down.”
The Turk took the chair next to Zee, putting him clearly on the side of the enemy. Good move. It fed my anger, which was also good. I felt ready for anything now.
Gavin remained standing. “I’m going to summon one of the Fallen. I’m bringing Chalice’s father to the mortal plane.”
But I wasn’t ready for that.
“The plan is to make him tell me where I can find the other Hatchet knights. But I also have a potential buyer for his services.”
Aydin held his stony countenance, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. “What kind of services?”
Gavin chuckled. “You of all people should know the answer to that, Aydin. A power like yours would fetch
a handsome price, and a fallen angel is just the source for such a gift.”
“It won’t be given freely,” Aydin reminded him, raising his chin to emphasize his point. “And the Fallen have no use for your money.”
“I’m aware of that. But money isn’t the only currency needed to strike a bargain.” From Gavin’s severe tone, the subject of payment was now closed. He targeted me next. “I assume Geraldine told you your father’s name?”
Molding my face with a scowl, I worked on covering up my surprise with anger. I hesitated to give him my father’s name, but Gavin and I wanted the same thing this time. We both wanted to find my father, but for different reasons. I had questions, like why he chose to become a fallen angel instead of changing into a human. And he certainly wasn’t off the hook for abandoning my pregnant mother, then abandoning me. “His name is Barachiel.”
“Why so angry, Chalice?” Gavin asked, lowering his chin and widening his eyes to scrutinize me. “I thought you were looking forward to this meeting.”
“Her foul temper is my fault,” Aydin said, spearing me with a cold stare that pierced my heart. Did he mean it, or was it only for Gavin’s benefit? “I’ve been strict with her, sir. She’s eager to go out alone, but I won’t allow it.”
Gavin nodded. “Work on the two of you getting along, will you? I need you both to cooperate on this assignment.” He paced behind Zee’s chair and stared down at her with distaste. “To accomplish this summoning, I need an item that’s owned by a man named Quin Dee. It’s not a coincidence that he moved to Denver from London last month to accept a lucrative job offer.”
An offer I was sure the Vyantara had something to do with. “And you want us to steal this item?” I asked.
He nodded. “It’s an obsidian Aztec artifact used for scrying. It once belonged to Quin’s ancestor, John Dee.”
Aydin looked pensive. “John Dee. Ah, yes, the sixteenth-century mathematician and philosopher. I met him once.” He stared at me so coldly I wanted to shrink beneath the table. Damn, he was convincing. “Dee’s power to communicate with angels was legendary and he’d owned several valuable artifacts the Vyantara wanted. I stole his shrew stone for the British Fatherhouse.”
