by Krista Walsh
“Should we have tracked him down first?” Matthew asked, kneeling to peer into the cabinets under the work top.
“Whatever Cody saw was down here. I would rather gain proof of Tim’s power before I confront him with it. You are right that we should work quickly, however. I worry about what he might be doing to the hotel if left unsupervised.”
Allegra slid a meat cleaver from the knife rack and handed it to Matthew across the stainless steel table. “Keep this ready. If anything moves, use it. Do not hesitate.”
He nodded and took the knife, offering her a shaky smile. “It’s nice to know you have my back.”
She forced a smile of her own. “How can I not when it’s such an eye-catching back?” Then she stepped away from the table and scanned the ovens on the right side of the room.
Nothing was out of place that she could see, but kitchens were as much of a foreign land to her as another continent might be to other people. She had a rough understanding of each appliance’s purpose, but would have no idea if something was here that shouldn’t have been.
“This looks like a grimoire,” Matthew said, drawing Allegra’s attention to the end of the stainless steel table. A closed book sat on the surface, thin and leather-bound. She’d discounted it as a cookbook one of the staff had forgotten to put away, but Matthew’s comment encouraged her to look closer. Allegra made to pick it up, but shied away when her fingers brushed over the cover. Whatever the leather was, it didn’t feel like it had been processed by any usual means. It felt tacky. Fresh.
Her insides twisted as she hooked her fingernail under the cover to flip it open to a random page. The cramped writing was straight and steady, inked in something that had darkened to a brownish black. A sour odor wafted up from the paper. In one corner of the page, a drawing of a skull grinned up at her, while in another, an inked snake wrapped itself around a knife, its tongue darting out between its fangs.
“What’s wrong with it?” Matthew asked, his tone uncertain. “It’s making me sick to my stomach.”
“I feel it, too,” she said. “This is dark magic. The sort I have only heard about from circles where no one speaks of it too loudly.”
As a demon, she was no stranger to such underworld practices, but had never seen the purpose of getting involved with them herself. Now she wished she’d at least participated in some of her siblings’ games when they were growing up. Her sister Zoe had a knack for such magic. Three of her brothers had been killed in one of her necromancy spells, and she’d summoned their energies back from the beyond to be slaves to her whims. Allegra had hated the way their spirits floated through the house. They’d walked about as though still alive, their bodies shimmering in the light, their eyes empty. They weren’t real ghosts — succubi and incubi didn’t have the necessary remnants to leave any behind. They were simply echoes of themselves. Something less. Something unnatural.
She wondered what kind of magic this book might contain, but felt no urge to flip through and find out. Even without looking, she suspected she would find the spell that controlled the draugrs.
“You really think this is Tim’s?” Matthew asked. “Why would he leave it here of all places?”
Allegra’s fingers trembled where she rested them on the edge of the table. Matthew was right. It didn’t make sense.
“He sounded mad with all of his shouting,” she said. “Perhaps he forgot it here after using the kitchen ingredients to complete some sort of spell. Perhaps that’s the odor you picked up when you came in.” Her stomach tightened. “Or perhaps he no longer needs the book, because he cast his spell before going outside. If he summoned more draugrs, it might be that he wants to be out of reach as they go after the guests.”
“And then what? He skips town and starts a new life for himself? Why not just do that anyway? Why would he stick around long enough to drink the bar empty before lashing out? That doesn’t sound like the actions of a megalomaniac necromancer with access to undead drones.”
Allegra released a breath, hoping to relieve the pressure building up in her lungs, but they only tightened, making drawing breath even more difficult. If Tim had left this book behind intentionally, it was possible he hadn’t reached the end of his scheme. She needed to find out what was going on.
Goosebumps bubbled on her arms, and she rested her hand on Matthew’s wrist, pulling him away. “I need to look through this book. It would be wise for you not to get too close.”
He followed her suggestion and stepped back, but didn’t take his eyes off the yellowed pages. “In movies and stories about this kind of stuff, the book’s always thicker. Older. But check out the quality of the paper. It looks like something out of our era.”
Allegra thumbed the edges of the pages. “You are correct.” She shot a glance toward the door when a creak on the stairs caught her ear, but nothing moved beyond the round windows. “Keep an eye on the door. If you see anything, do not bother to tell me. Just run.”
She pulled the book closer and quickly turned to the first page, hoping Tim had been stupid enough to scribble his name in big letters on the front, but it was empty. Page by page she flipped through, finding nothing of a personal nature, just arcane observations.
“This magic is advanced,” she said. “I recognize a few basic summoning symbols, but the words appear to be in some kind of shorthand. I cannot make sense of it.”
Her frustration grew as she flipped through more pages, then washed away with an unnerving realization. On the first few pages, the words were a messy scrawl — large, looping letters as shaky as spider webs — but as the book went on, the penmanship became neater and steadier.
A curling smoke of doubt drifted through Allegra’s mind. “If this is Tim’s book, I am amazed he got as far as he has in business. It appears the writer was learning the craft as he went. Look at the evolution of this chicken scratch.”
An acrid taste slid over her tongue. What if Allegra’s first deduction had been correct and Tim’s ability to escape her allure hadn’t been caused by any countermagic, but by her own distraction and uncertainty? What if his threats toward her had been nothing more than wild ravings, and she’d allowed her fear to give them power?
“What do you think it means?” Matthew asked. He glanced toward her to show he was listening, then scanned the room and returned his attention to the door.
“That Tim is not our problem. He is a criminal who was finally pushed over the edge, but he is not the leader of the draugrs.” She flipped to the end of the book, where the ink was brighter than on the earlier pages. She pressed her finger against the paper, and it stuck to her as she pulled free. The words had not yet dried. A fever rose from her core and she pushed the book away. “And I suspect the real owner of this book has not been gone long.”
Needing to confirm her suspicions, Allegra strode toward Lee’s office. Matthew hesitated, then trailed behind her.
On the wall beside the office, the small cupboard was open, the padlock hanging loose. As Allegra peered into it, the sourness of bile climbed her throat. Two shelves were packed with jars. Not unusual in a kitchen. Some of them even looked like they were supposed to be there, full of dried goods, like powders. But others contained fluids with objects floating inside. One of them held an eyeball.
“Oh, God,” Matthew said, and covered his mouth with the back of his hand. “Is that what I think it is?”
Allegra spun on her heel and faced Lee’s office. The truth floated in front of her, but she still wanted confirmation. Proof that what she suspected was correct.
Brushing her fingers against Matthew’s hand to find some comfort in his warmth, she stepped into the office and switched on the light. In the far back corner of the room was the small bar fridge. She walked toward it and stopped, her arm frozen as she ordered it to reach for the door.
She thought of the afternoons she had spent here with Lee and Cody, listening to hotel stories. She thought of how quick Lee had been to fill her in on the hotel’s curse, how he
had stepped in to save her life when she had been about to look over her shoulder at the draugr stalking her.
She thought of the day she’d come down here to find Lee cooking — the aroma that had made her mouth water as he fried up his dinner and coated it with that thick red marinade.
It couldn’t be possible.
So why couldn’t she open the fridge?
“Allegra?” Matthew called.
The sound of his voice pushed her forward. She had to make sure and then she had to get him out of here. It wasn’t safe.
She jerked the door open, backing away with a cry.
Inside were a dozen jars full of dark red fluid. Myoglobin.
“We need to go,” she said.
She kicked the door closed, hurried out of the office, and grabbed Matthew’s arm, tugging him toward the swinging doors.
“What is it?” he asked, hastening his step to match hers. “What did you find?”
“The necromancer is Lee,” she said. “The cook. He’s —”
The kitchen doors swung open and a dark shadow appeared in front of them. Allegra stumbled to a halt and pushed Matthew behind her.
Lee stood between the doors, not flinching as they swung shut against his back. His white apron was smeared with red and his hands were covered in what looked like blood but didn’t smell like it.
He tilted his head and smiled at her. “What’s wrong, my dear? What has the nasty, mean cook gone and done now?”
21
Allegra stared at Lee.
Her survival instinct had widened her awareness to scan the room — searching for an exit, a weapon, somewhere Matthew could hide — but physically, she stood frozen.
She opened herself up to Lee’s energy to look for any trace that he wasn’t exactly what he appeared to be: an old man with a menial job who told stories to the staff and whistled while he worked.
But she detected nothing. He gave off no vibes, no energy.
Her blood ran cold. All humans emitted some form of energy, even if it was just a buzz on the skin that informed the world they were alive. All that surrounded Lee was negative space.
Just as she’d suspected, a key piece of evidence had been before her the entire time, and she had missed it. Only it wasn’t a what, but a who.
A jolt of revelation exploded like fireworks as she remembered Cody’s words the day he’d brought her down to the kitchen. He’d told her that Lee had worked at the Garden Hotel for over a decade, but that he didn’t know much about him. How could a man have worked in one position for so long and told so many stories but not have shared anything about his own history?
“You’re not real,” she said aloud.
Lee smiled at her, the expression of a doting father. No different than the way he’d looked at her on the day they’d met.
“How is that possible?” he asked. He stretched his arms wide. “You see me. You hear me. I know you smell me from the less-than-subtle way you wrinkle your nose whenever you come close. Your friend here can see me and hear me.” He nodded toward Matthew. “How is it possible that I don’t exist?”
She shook her head and stepped forward, putting herself between Lee and Matthew. She wished now she’d forced Matthew to remain in her room, but regrets wouldn’t keep them alive. She had to make herself the bigger threat, keep Lee’s focus on her.
“You exist, but not as you are. You’ve shielded yourself and adopted the look of a man. You’ve even implanted memories into people’s minds to make them believe you’ve worked here longer than you have. But you’re new.”
She took in the bald head, the white beard, the gray eyes, the pale cheeks. He’d created an image of himself and forgotten the color. His clothing and the harsh lights of the kitchen had hidden the truth, but this man had no substance. He was no more than a reflection projected into the world.
Lee chuckled. “I thought I’d been so detailed, but it looks like I overlooked a few things. Good thing no one else noticed.”
A slow anger built in Allegra’s core, warming her as it spread down to her toes and into her fingertips. She restrained her instincts, but the strength of them pressed against her lungs. The heat crept into her face and lined the edges of her eyes. She curled her hands into fists to dig her nails into her palms, anything to maintain her self-control. But despite her efforts, she felt herself slipping.
“You were controlling the draugrs all this time,” she said. “You sent them after me. So then why did you protect me from them the day we met? Why not let them kill me?”
He smiled. “They’d only fed the day before. I didn’t want to bring in more police or more questions. It’s better to wait until the panic dies down.” His smile faded. “Now I see I should have let him have his way. If I had, Cody would still be alive and we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now. But how could I know you would cause so much trouble?”
Her throat tightened, but she pushed through. “You killed Cody.”
Lee’s smile finally drooped into a pained grimace. “Broke my heart to watch that kid go down. But he got in my way. I was an idiot and left the door to my bar fridge open, so he saw my jars. They didn’t mean anything to him, but when you told me he’d seen something down here and was going to tell you about it, I knew you would guess. I made the mistake of telling you too much and I couldn’t take the chance.”
Allegra’s breath lodged in her chest and pressed against her esophagus until the muscles spasmed. Tears pricked at her eyes. She should have made Cody tell her what he’d seen. She should never have left him alone. She should have made Lee go after the fleeing draugr — it had just been a trick to get her out of the way.
Guilt twisted her insides, and her legs wobbled beneath her.
“I don’t understand,” Matthew said, and Allegra cringed at the sound of his voice. She didn’t want Lee to remember he was there. “Why are you hoarding the draugrs’ feeds? Is that how you’re controlling them?”
Lee’s smile returned. “That’s my dinner, sir, not theirs. Why should I do my own hunting when I have others who are more than happy to do it for me and share the catch?”
Confusion enveloped Allegra’s mind in a fog. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut to block out the bright lights of the kitchen and go someplace quiet to think, but she was trapped in a wide room of stainless steel and whirring refrigerators.
Why would Lee have to feed on the same sustenance as the draugrs? Unless…
“You’re one of them,” she said, numb with her epiphany. The twinkle in Lee’s eyes told her she was right. “How?”
Lee took off his ball cap and rubbed his bloodstained hands over the top of his head to clear the gathering sweat. Now that Allegra saw through the illusion, she knew there was no sweat. It was just the reflection of the lights and a gesture he must have learned from watching someone else.
“It’s a fun little story,” he said, “though I don’t understand some of it myself. See, when Tim killed Penny, he did it in a blind rage. He’d hated her his entire life, no matter that she was the one to raise him and feed him and keep a roof over his head. He whacked the frying pan over her head as though she meant no more to him than a garden snake. The energy created me. That was twelve years ago.”
Allegra leaned her hip against the table to support herself, and Matthew shifted behind her, resting his hand on her waist. She wished she could get him out. If Lee moved away from the door, they could edge their way toward it, but he remained stubbornly in place.
Lee frowned and scrunched his cap between his hands. “For ten years, I haunted this place on my own. I fed on guests and became Tim’s worst nightmare. I wasn’t conscious of being here. At the beginning I was just a mindless spirit feeding and gaining strength, much like many of my siblings are now. As the years went on, I came more into myself. I pursued my victims by choice, not by chance, and I became aware of the hotel moving around me. Then two months ago, there was a shift in the energy.” He raised his hands palms-up and stared into them. �
�I realized I was becoming corporeal. With each new feed, I could interact more with the world around me, until one day I popped into existence. Just like that.”
Two months.
In a heartbeat, Allegra’s fear grew into a deeper horror, as though a rush of cold water had been dumped on her head to pool in the pit of her stomach.
Two months ago had been when her dreams began — the darkness rising over the city, chasing her down, daring her to fight back. With Daphne and Gabe, she’d done what she could to help send it back into the chasm, but clearly it hadn’t been enough.
Because now she was standing face to face with what she thought was her nightmare, only to realize it was a symptom of something much bigger. The draugrs were only the effect. The true threat remained elusive, the feeling of an impending storm in the air.
Lee grinned and slid his cap back on his head. “After I got my human body,” he said, “it took me a week to realize I could keep getting stronger. If I created more of my kind, we could form an army that would consume everyone in the hotel. Eventually, we could move into the rest of the city.”
“Why?” Allegra demanded. Lee’s casual mention of mass murder was enough to jar her out of her shock. The ice in her belly melted into rage.
Lee shrugged. “Isn’t that what all species want? Growth. Sustainability. My brother tasted you, Allegra. I know you’re not human. Considering the way you flaunt your perfection around here, I’d guess you were some kind of succubus demon, am I right?” Dumbly, Allegra nodded. “Then you must know what it’s like.”
“I know there is no way you can survive on your current path. You’ve left too many bodies for the police to discover. They have begun to learn what you are. Soon enough, they will come for you. Your failure has already begun, from the moment I destroyed the link with Penny’s corpse.”
Lee scratched his beard. “I hadn’t calculated on that move, if I’m being truthful. When I mentioned Penny to you, I honestly didn’t think you’d bother to look. I figured you’d cut and run when you had the chance.”
