by Casey Wyatt
“Do you handle special orders?” I asked.
We were ushered off the main floor and into a smaller area. Narrow tables filled most of the room. Wire racks were loaded with plastic storage bins and miscellaneous kitchen tools. In the far corner sat an industrial mixer, large metal bowls, and a flat griddle—almost like a waffle maker without the dimples. At the moment, the room was empty.
Tien motioned for us to remove the earplugs and flicked on more lights bathing the room in a harsh fluorescent glow. “All of our custom orders are handled here.”
“By custom, do you mean non-commercial clients?” Luca asked.
“Mostly weddings, birthdays, office parties.” Tien retrieved a fat binder from one of the shelves and flipped it open. He thumbed through the pages. There were oversized cookies, chocolate-coated ones, and even bright-colored dough. But nothing with red paper.
The special cookie sat in my coat pocket. Even though I wanted to show it to Tien, until we knew more it was better to keep it under wraps. No pun intended. Without straying too far, I placed my palm on the table and opened my mind. No surprise, there were too many vibes to get a handle on any one specific moment. At least nothing felt sinister.
Tien looked up from the book and stared at me pointedly.
I withdrew my hand and gave him a small, apologetic smile. “How about the fortunes? Do you customize those as well?”
“Of course. We print them here”—he waved toward a machine draped with a plastic cover—”and then we insert them by hand and wrap them.” He closed the book and replaced it on the shelf. “Would you care to join me in my office for some tea? And you can sample some of the cookies. Mr. St. Crow mentioned that you are having a party soon. We’d be thrilled to provide favors for the illustrious Ashworth family.”
My eyebrows arched in surprise. Party? What was he talking about?
“Yes,” Luca answered, eyes broadcasting for me to play along. “We’d love some.”
Of course, another chance for me to use my magic hands. I almost whimpered when we entered Tien’s office. Cluttered didn’t begin to cover it. The man had enough crap that I wondered if he needed a hoarder’s intervention. If I had twenty years, I might be able to inspect everything.
“Pardon the mess. We are cleaning an old warehouse and I’m storing my family’s possessions here.” He beckoned us to take a seat at a round table. The only junk free oasis situated in the middle of a cardboard box sea. There was no way I could wander around freely in such a packed space.
As soon as he left to make hot water, I touched as many things as I could.
“What party, Luca? That’s only a cover story, right?” My stomach twisted when he didn’t immediately assure me that was the case.
“We can talk about it later. Please concentrate. We have a limited window of opportunity.”
I waved off Luca’s concern. “He’s boiling water. That takes time.” I expected Tien would be gone at least ten or fifteen minutes. He returned in five. I jumped into the nearest chair and attempted to act like I’d been chilling out.
“I brought some of our more popular items. And a few of our special-flavored cookies for the more adventurous palates.”
We spent the next half hour sampling cookies and sipping tea until I thought I’d go nuts. All the boxes closed in on me. I stopped paying attention to the polite conversation about the Euro, global warming, and the current state of world trade. Was there no topic that Luca couldn’t discuss intelligently?
I gazed around the room, seeking an escape when I saw it through a space between the boxes. A luminous jade jar in a glass display case barricaded by behind the cardboard blockade. From my narrow vantage point, the jar’s milky green surface appeared dull compared to the other lacquered and ornately decorated objects sharing the shelf.
I shifted in my chair, stretched, then angled my shoulder and arm over the chair’s back. When I was sure Tien’s attention remained on Luca, I extended my hand toward the vase. Creepy vibes tripped my psychic alarm system before I even touched the surface. I hesitated, unsure if I should attempt it.
“Please,” Tien admonished, “I’d rather you didn’t touch that.”
Oops. Snagged. Chagrined, I brought my arm to my side. “Sorry. It’s a lovely shade of green.”
Luca raised a brow at my lame explanation.
Tien’s stony expression told me he wasn’t buying it, but he was too polite to refute me. “It is priceless. That is an ancestral burial jar. To disturb the dead is to invite a vengeful spirit. A Jiang Shi.” He shuddered. “You do not want to wake one.”
When neither of us commented, Tien shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You are not Chinese.”
I wanted to say, Buddy, you have no idea what we’d believe in. As far as I was concerned, any angry Chinese spirit that wanted to kick my ass would have to wait its turn.
Little did I know that the Jiang Shi would skip to the head of the line.
Chapter 7
If you hang out with wolves, you will learn to howl.
“I’m so tired.” My jaw ached from yawning so much. Must have been from the inevitable sugar and caffeine crash. Don’t get me wrong, I have a sweet tooth, but I’d hit my limit between the pie, ice cream, and fortune cookies. Top it off with continuous coffee and tea consumption and I was toast.
Even Luca lolled his head against the limo’s backseat. He twined his fingers with mine. I closed my eyes, the car’s motion lulling me to sleep. Without a second thought, I rested my head on Luca’s shoulder. He enveloped me in his arms. And man, did it feel right.
The car jerked forward. Brakes squealed. The limo swerved to the left, then the right. The violent motion propelled me onto the car floor. Luca swore and reached toward me.
Terrified screams sounded from the driver. He shrieked again, then went quiet.
“Shit.” Luca lunged toward the divider’s control panel.
He didn’t make it. The roof of the car peeled off with a squeal worse than nails on a chalkboard. An unseen force pushed the roof onto him. He disappeared under a mass of tangled metal and glass.
Before I could help him, I found myself airborne. “Luca!”
The car got smaller the higher I flew. Something had gripped me by the shoulders. I dug my fingers into whatever it was. Bone-crushing pressure forced me to stop my attack. The brands burned and I grabbed again. The creature howled in pain and released me.
Tree branches cracked under my weight. I slammed into a thatch of brush, the dense weave cushioning me. Thank you tree for breaking my fall and not my back. In the distance, there was a horrible crunch—twisting metal and shattering glass.
Oh. God. Luca. Please be alive. He couldn’t be dead. Panic sped my heart even faster than its current jackrabbit pace.
Ignoring the pain in my hands and shins, I tore through foliage and undergrowth with wild abandon. When I reached the road, it took a moment for my brain to process the sight. A blackened whirlwind tossed the limo around like a toy. The vehicle’s back end, where we had been sitting, had been folded over like a demented taco.
The driver’s mangled corpse was heaped by the side of the road. Poor man. Remorse kicked me in the gut. His life was over because of me.
Focus. Grieve later. I sucked in a short, sharp breath and snuck closer, sticking to the shadows. The sun had set while I had snoozed in the backseat. The nearby streetlamps barely cast enough light to make out what was striking the car. The assault stopped and the black mass shifted and I lost sight of it.
More thumps shook the ground. Bits of metal and plastic littered the pavement, crunching under my feet. Nearby, there was a sickening squelch followed by crunching. I nearly tossed my cookies. Whatever the monster was, it was snacking on the driver’s corpse. Anger burned through me. How dare it defile the dead?
“Hey!”
The creature’s head whipped around. Flecks of blood and gore coated its mouth. It sniffed, vapor from its nostrils fogging the air. Vaguely humanoid, it stood on two lanky legs, yet its proportions were off: the neck willowy, hands misshapen, and its skull covered with stringy black hair that fell down its back in a greasy cascade. Its mouth widened into a smile, displaying long, sharp incisors accompanied by smaller, shark-like canines. The better to eat me with.
Then I noticed the eyes. Pallid, white globes filled sunken sockets. Corpselike and majorly creepy, I couldn’t stand to look at them for more than a moment.
Too late, I realized I’d never felt the tug. This thing was corporeal. Not a ghost. Not a renegade soul, but a monster in the here and now, ready to turn me into dog chow. I fumbled in my coat pockets. I don’t know why. All I had was my cell phone. Like an oblivious idiot, I hadn’t brought the stun gun.
Note to self: If I survive, I will be armed at all times.
The monster chuffed. It unhinged its lower jaw like a python, giving me a ringside view of row upon row of serrated teeth. A thick forked tongue the size of an eel flicked, testing the air. I watched in frozen horror, feet glued to the ground.
RUN! Luca’s voice screamed in my mind.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I hauled ass and ran. Relief and fear coursed through me at the same time. Luca lived! And a nasty snake monster wanted to eat me.
A streetlamp slashed across the road, cutting off my escape. Live electrical wires snapped and sizzled, writhing like snakes. I changed direction. Metal wreckage landed behind me. The limo.
“Come on, Luca! Quite messing around.” I hoped to God he would free himself soon. The monster was smart. It was toying with me. For what purpose, I had no idea. I circled around looking for an escape route. I needed a better plan because running around like a scared chicken wasn’t working.
Deep, throaty laughter came from behind me. It slithered over the car’s twisted hulk, its body changed into half-man, half-vapor. It cocked its head to the side as if listening. Maybe it was blind.
I stood still as a statue and inhaled shallow breaths.
“Why not run more? I like it…” the voice trailed off, English heavily accented as if it spoke another native language.
“What do you want?”
The monster’s head snapped in my direction. Yup, it had to be blind, using sound to track me. My eyes darted side-to-side. There was an opening between the car and the street lamp. If I could lure it between them—
“I love how you mortals run. The blood beats faster in your weak hearts, making you more delicious. Even now, you scheme to escape me.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” I feinted to the left, away from the opening. I dodged right as soon as it lunged toward me. I slipped through. Teeth clacked, barely missing my heels.
“Very clever, little girl.”
Electrical voltage popped through the charged air. We were at an impasse.
“You are not scared of me.” An angry shriek filled the air. “I don’t like that! Blood always tastes better when there is fear.”
God, this thing loved to talk. Not that I was fooled by its gift for gab. It wanted me to speak so it could find me easier. I had no way to fight back and if I made too much noise it would be on me in a minute. Sweat dripped into my eyes. I didn’t dare move to wipe it away.
The situation sucked. What would Luca tell me? Pull my head out of my ass.
It’s about time, you stupid girl! Tamzin’s yellow eyes appeared in my vision.
Of course. The spirit land. I opened my senses. In the distance, only a few feet away, the barrier between worlds shimmered. If the monster was real, maybe it couldn’t follow me into the gray realm.
“Ha! I found you!” The car moved upward, hovering over my head.
I jumped. The wreck landed behind me. Sparks flew as it slid across the road in my wake.
Never had I been so happy to feel the coolness of the other side slide over my skin. The physics of the shadow world muted the sound of the angered monster’s cries. Deprived of its prize, it wailed and carried on.
“I don’t know why I bother to save you. Sometimes, I think you’re a half-wit,” Tamzin said, her tone implying that the sometimes was generous. She probably thought I was a moron all the time.
“Nice to see you, too, your mighty owlness.”
“Comments like that only prove my point.”
“Can that thing follow me here? And do you know what that is?”
“Possibly.”
The monster sniffed the spot where I’d last been. “Which is it?” The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
“Both.”
The barrier separating us wavered. Tamzin’s feathers ruffled.
“That’s bad, isn’t it?” I turned and ran. A breeze smoothed over my skin, rippling my hair. I froze, not daring to breathe.
Wind doesn’t exist in the gray land. When I looked past the barrier, the beast was gone. My heart jumped into my throat. As much as I’d like to believe that it had given up and left, I knew my life wasn’t that good.
“Tamzin,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth. “It’s here.”
“Then you’d better start running.” Her snowy wings unfurled like two graceful sails, then she took flight.
Damn. Why couldn’t I fly? I pivoted around. There was no sign of the creature, but I knew it was there, lurking. And I needed to find cover and get off the open road.
I headed for the nearest patch of forest. I was almost there. Too bad it caught me.
To say I screamed like a girl would have been an insult to girls everywhere. No, I howled like a bitch when the monster’s teeth dug into the meat of my thigh.
Every survival instinct programmed into the most primal part of my brain kicked into overdrive. I drove my fingers into its eye sockets. Cold goopy liquid burst into my palms and ran down my wrists. It released me, clawing at where its eyes had been.
I lurched backward. Pain seared into my leg, but adrenaline overrode it.
An agonized shriek nipped at my heels. “Bitch! You can’t hide from me.”
What the fuck was this thing? Twigs cracked under my feet. Low-hanging tree branches slapped me in the face. I needed a better plan. One that didn’t involve being eaten because I wasn’t thinking straight.
Tamzin floated overhead, a silent spectator. Why couldn’t she be bigger so I could hitch a ride? She was probably rooting for the monster to eat me.
Trees splintered and crashed behind me, solid trunks snapping like matchsticks. Desperate not to be crushed, I zigged and zagged, avoiding running in a straight line as best I could in the forest.
It was a great plan until the woods ended. An open plain was the last thing I wanted to see. I turned to go back and was hit in the face with a wet blob. It stank of rot and decay. With frantic motion, I rushed to swipe the obnoxious substance off my face. When that failed to work, I removed my coat and used the inside to clean my rapidly numbing flesh.
The monster’s self-satisfied laugh echoed around me. The numbness spread to down my neck. Soon my arms hung useless by my sides. Seconds later, the ground rushed up to meet me. The stars winked in and out above me, the view obscured by the shaking tree canopy.
A serpent-like shape hovered over me. Slitted snake eyes glowed red, holding me with their seductive gaze. Doubts whispered in my ears. Evil, malicious, and eerily accurate.
Luca didn’t help you. He left you to die, it said. You are not well matched to the task.
I am unworthy of the family legacy.
Yes, the voice assured me.
I should give up. It would be so eas
y to let. . .
. . . someone else take the burden. You won’t feel any pain, it promised.
Yes. That’s what I really wanted. I never asked for the job. I didn’t want the money or the responsibility. Despair choked me. The blackness of eternal servitude erased all hope. I didn’t want to be a slave. Better to die.
The voice spoke in my ear. Closer this time and not in my head. “Yield to me.”
“Radiance, NO!” Julian yelled.
The desperation in his voice rang every alarm bell. Why was he here? When I opened my eyes, he hovered above me, his expression a mixture of fear and concern. “Fight. Do not believe its lies.”
“You have no power, ghost.” The oily voice slithered around me. “She wants to die.”
Psychic coils squeezed my mind, while lethargy soaked my thoughts. Snug pressure constricted my chest, suggesting it had physically restrained me as well.
“Radiance, you can’t die,” Julian insisted. “Get off of her.”
The serpent hissed. “Silence. There is nothing you can do to stop me from crushing her.”
“Grace is next in line,” Julian said, firm and clear before vanishing.
I screamed. The fog over my mind shattered into a million pieces. The brands sizzled. No longer paralyzed, I flattened my blazing palms against its body. Power like I’d never experienced before channeled through me. Before I could stop it, the creature’s twisted and vengeful thoughts slid into my brain.
The vise-like compression released me. It jerked under my grip, foul flesh decaying from my touch. A bubble of energy popped between us, breaking my hold. The snake streaked away, leaving behind one word—Jiang Shi. I learned something else, too. It was a male and it feared someone or something. And it wasn’t me.
