“You’re accumulating a lot of debt on Asher’s behalf. Is it worth it?” he finally asked.
“I have a large debt to repay.”
Mephisto’s brows raised. “Debt? Do tell.”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Give me your name. Your real name.”
“Mephisto,” he said, slowly enunciating every syllable. Dark amusement curled the edges of his lips into a smirk.
“My debts are my business,” I responded with the same slow enunciation. I’ll play your game. I flashed him a wide smile when he narrowed his dark eyes on me.
“I will say, Erin Katherine Jensen, I find your audacity both fascinating and frustrating,” he said, a hitch still in the corners of his lips.
“Are you going to do it?” I asked, becoming increasingly impatient as the conversation devolved into our typical banter.
More beats of silence passed.
“I don’t know. I’m curious as to why you’re so entrenched in a battle that is not your own. Is it the debt? I wonder how you became so indebted to Asher when I was under the impression that you friends, since you claim there’s nothing more, were having a spat that wasn’t able to be resolved.”
“There isn’t anything between me and Asher. I’m not going to tell you why I’m so invested in this. It’s my business to tell and my secrets to keep, just like yours.”
Confessing the why would give Mephisto too much information. One, he’d know I was trying to find an alternative way to get magic to negate my need to do his job. Two, I had access to Mystic Souls. I had a feeling the book was probably on his list of collectibles. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to have it, or anyone for that matter. Three, telling him would mean one more person knew about Cory’s mistake. I wanted to insulate Cory as much as I could. If River found out, I’d rather it came back on me—he already had a vendetta against me and it couldn’t get any worse.
“Are you sure the shifters can cross between the Veil?”
“I don’t know. Do you have any reason to believe they can’t?”
Mephisto had said there were many who could cross the Veil but chose not to. It could work for or against them. Magic that allowed others to cross between the worlds restricted them from seeing it, as was the case with so many on this side. Or the very magic that kept the Veil hidden didn’t work on them. I was hoping it was the latter.
“Say that they can, then what?”
“We do the binding spell and . . .” I ended with a shrug as if the other things were inconsequential. I didn’t want to have the debate about me making the shifters invincible.
The intensity of Mephisto’s face made it apparent he was already thinking about that.
“The very thing that makes shifters fierce warriors and welcome allies is their immunity to magic.”
I held my breath and started thinking of alternatives. I hadn’t considered that the shifters couldn’t cross. I had only considered that immunity to the magic would allow them to cross the Veil.
“But they would still have their weaknesses. They are still moon called and have an aversion to silver. If bound to the Veil shifters, the shifters here would have the same weaknesses,” he said slowly. Despite saying he didn’t have an investment in the outcome, it was a relief that he didn’t want to leave things worse off. He cared about consequences, although I was fairly confident he was concerned about them in relation to him.
“Will you help me?” I pressed.
He stood and paced, his face inscrutable. “I have not decided. I think I’d like to discuss this with Kai, Simeon, and Clayton.”
Can we leave Clayton out? I thought, recalling the look he gave me. I didn’t want to see that look again.
“I didn’t realize that your decisions were made by committee.” Frustration had gotten the best of me and I immediately regretted it. “I shouldn’t have said that. I apologize.”
He nodded and took a seat on the wooden table, leaving just a few inches of space between us. “The wisest thing a person can do is know his weaknesses. The most foolish is to believe he has none. I think when it comes to you, I suffer some lapses in judgment. The others have noticed.” He pulled his eyes from me and looked at the abstract canvases on the wall.
When he drew his attention back to me, there was a wanton intensity in his gaze that made it difficult to hold. “I wish I was as good at denying what’s between us as you are,” he said softly.
I wasn’t in denial; I just refused to act on it.
“I don’t have time to wait on a consult. I need a decision now.”
“If that’s your position, then the answer is no.” He stood and went to the bar. “Would you care for a drink?” he asked, taking a bottle of scotch off the shelf. From the small ice maker next to it, he dropped two cubes into the glass. After taking a sip, he raised his glass to me in another offer.
I wasn’t sure what shade of red I’d turned, but I could feel the flush of anger warming my neck and cheeks.
“You’re an ass,” I blurted.
He threw his head back in a deep throaty laughter that filled the room. “I’d like to make sure I’ve fully grasped this situation. You come here after being allowed to go through my collection to find a Xios or Conparco Shield, which I told you I didn’t have. During that time you attempted to photograph items in a secured room where, other than Kai, Simeon, and Clayton, no one has ever entered. When prevented by Clayton, you rewarded his intervention by attempting to take his magic. You ask for the favor of borrowing my magic but refuse to tell me why you are so invested in this. But by seeking counsel to make sure I’m making a decision not influenced by my obvious enchantment with you, a woman who has more gall than one person should ever possess, somehow I’m the ass.”
“Sometimes you just have to lean into your weaknesses. Give in to them.”
“What a peculiar invitation to your bed,” he said.
“How did you get that from what I said? I’m suggesting you just give me what I want. It would make my life so much easier.”
“Ah, another proposal. I’d love to, but you’re still in a state of denial over what you want.”
I didn’t dignify that statement with a response.
“Erin, they’ll be here in fifteen minutes. There might be an alternative. Something safer. It might not satisfy what clearly is a taste for danger you possess that I don’t quite understand, but an alternative plan might remedy the situation without changing the balance of this world. Something you haven’t considered. I do not do this to irritate you or make this more difficult for you.”
“That was rude of me,” I admitted.
He placed a glass of what he was drinking in front of me. I was becoming increasingly embarrassed by my outburst. It’s not that Mephisto was above pulling power plays—no one I’ve ever worked with was above that—but this wasn’t one of them.
“I’m the reason Ian’s here,” I confessed quietly, picking up the glass and taking a sip. Enough to relax me but not inhibit my ability to function in the Veil. It wasn’t the complete truth, but it was close enough.
He made a sound, took a sip, and pressed his lips into a line. His dark eyes were like flaming coals as they fixed on me.
“We can have our secrets but not lies. I’d rather you keep a secret than tell me a half truth.”
I remembered he’d said he could read me. I’d negotiated with people. I’d told my share of embellishments. And I had an expressive face, but when necessary, I could keep a stolid expression just as I’d done with him. Or at least I thought I had. What about me was giving things away? I wanted to ask but doubted I’d get an answer.
“Some of it I won’t tell you,” I said, conceding. “But we found a spell that we thought would allow us into the Veil. Cory was curious. He did the spell, but it didn’t open the Veil to him. What it did do was let Ian out. Neri, Adalia, and Asher were responsible for sending Ian back and restricting his ability to return.”
“Ah, now I see the investment. It’s no
t Asher, it’s Cory.” That information seemed to relax him, or maybe it was the drink he’d just finished.
“Kai, you got here fast,” Mephisto said without even looking back at the man standing at the door. No one needed to announce his presence with the magic bounding off him like the town crier declaring his arrival. If that was Kai subduing his magic, I wondered what he was like when he wasn’t.
“It’s a table not a chair,” Kai pointed out to Mephisto, who simply smiled.
“The others should be here soon.”
I scanned Mephisto and the room, looking for a means of contact. When I didn’t see any obvious way that Mephisto could have called them, my interest about their means of communication piqued even more.
Simeon arrived next, nodding in Mephisto’s direction, who then stood and left the room, Kai right behind him. Simeon lingered.
“How is Pearl?” he asked.
“Victoria’s Pearl?” I asked, baffled by the worry in his voice.
Nodding, he said, “Is she okay?”
Yes, Simeon, the hundred-pound apex predator is just fine. Not only does she have her predator instincts but she is also guarded now. She’s more guarded than we are.
Instead of expressing those thoughts, I smiled, forcing as much authenticity into it as I could muster. “She’s fine. Victoria has a guard for her.” I was quite impressed that I was able to keep the sarcasm and derision out of my voice.
Looking down at his feet, he hesitated before speaking. “I’d like to see her again to check on her. Just to see how she’s doing.”
“What?” I couldn’t suppress my shock. I blinked several times when I realized he was serious. As a person who communicated with animals, he had a connection that I couldn’t understand. But I really didn’t get his fondness for the snow leopard.
“I’ll contact Victoria and see if she wouldn’t mind. I don’t think she’ll have a problem. In fact, I bet she’d like it,” I offered. Then both of you weirdos can fawn over the murder kitty.
A look of appreciation spread over his face.
“I should know something in a few days.”
It wouldn’t be long before I received my occasional reminder from Victoria that I was doing a crap job at guarding her. Sending Simeon to check on her dear Pearl might appease her, especially if she knew that he could speak with the animal. But would he disclose that to her? Probably better that he didn’t. She probably wouldn’t be pleased to find out that her precious cat would eat her if there wasn’t any kibble around.
Added to the list of things I already had to do: Set up playdate with animal-whispering magical being and Pearl, the apex predator under the illusion that she’s a house cat. My life was anything but boring.
Simeon’s attention snapped from me to something to his left.
“Clayton.” He welcomed him with a nod and left.
I didn’t wait for Clayton to greet me. I doubted he would, but I was hopeful that he’d at least poke his head into the room, even if it were just to glare. That would give me an opportunity to apologize. He didn’t.
Their deliberation took longer than I expected. Fifty minutes longer than I expected. Something that should have taken fifteen minutes took over an hour and Mephisto returned alone, his face indecipherable, making the tension in me rise. Depending on others frustrated me. But depending on Simeon, Kai, and Clayton to rule in my favor was a different kind of frustration and lack of control. I couldn’t just borrow Cory’s magic to see the Veil, nor could I use it for the length of time I needed to search for a shifter.
“I’m from the Veil,” Mephisto said as a reminder that he could kill Ian without consequences. It was a tempting offer, because the more I dealt with Ian, the less I felt like his life was worth preserving. This situation felt like a test in redemption and I didn’t want to fail.
My mouth worked to form the words “do it” but nothing came out. An assassination, that was exactly what that would be. It would end the problem, but it would be a fix that couldn’t be undone. Swallowing the words of assent, I shook my head.
“He wants to move between the two worlds for a reason. Maybe for a person. If he’s killed, then you leave mourners, people ready to avenge him. Just because we don’t see him as a person worthy of avenging doesn’t mean others won’t. There needs to be an alternative, but for now, I need to stop Ian using the shifters.”
“Okay.”
“You’ll help?”
Mephisto nodded. “What happens now?” he asked, taking a seat in the chair next to me, allowing him to view the garden.
“I need to pack up and prepare to go to the Veil. Tomorrow, I’ll go. If I’m successful, then we just worry about sending Ian back.”
“I’m going to another auction. I’ll pull some strings to get you an invitation as my guest. Perhaps they will have a Xios or something just as useful.”
Mephisto not only dealt with the darker aspects of the city, he tended to wrap them up in great packaging complete with a pretty bow. You weren’t a thief but a retrieval specialist. There wasn’t such thing as a threat but simply opening dialogue for negotiation. I was curious about his “auctions,” the ones that only a person like him could get invited to. I hadn’t earned such an invitation, probably because I couldn’t afford it.
“When is it?”
“In two days.”
“Thank you. I’d love to go.” Feeling mildly unburdened, I looked at the options that had opened up. Mephisto presented another option—a less desirable option, but an option nonetheless. It was the nuclear option and would only be used after I’d tried everything, including negotiating the royals’ removal. Considering it still left a dank taste.
Mephisto was quiet as he led me to the door. “Your visit to Dante’s Forest didn’t yield the desired outcome. Ian has terrorized the shifters and made them accomplices in his goal to take over the throne. I’m surprised he is still alive.” Mephisto frowned. “People treasure their powers and magic, but I’m shocked that there isn’t a shifter willing to give up that part of them to stop him—to protect their pack.”
There was. Asher. But it wasn’t my information to tell.
No, Mephisto, you aren’t the first to come up with that option.
CHAPTER 17
I lumbered to the door to answer the pounding. Eyes half closed, I looked at the time on the microwave: Two-freaking-thirteen in the morning. Blinking several times, I tried to clear my vision before looking through the peephole. Asher.
“You have to be fucking kidding me,” I growled under my breath.
“You know I can hear you, right?”
“Good, then you know exactly how irritated I am.” I yanked open the door. “What do you want?”
It was the most casual I’d ever seen him. His black v-neck t-shirt stretched over the sinewy muscles of his chest. Exposed arms displayed impressive biceps. Loose-fitting jeans hung off his narrow waist. He looked just as good in a t-shirt and jeans as he did in an expensive tailored suit. It annoyed me that I noticed and it annoyed me even more that he knew how good he looked as well.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he admitted softly.
“For most people, pills, liquor, sex, or exercise works,” I snarked back. “Try those. Thank you for joining my TED talk.” I started easing the door closed, but he placed his hand on the jamb to stop me.
He offered me a lazy smile but it lacked the Asher brand of allure. “My body metabolizes pills and liquor too fast for either to be any use. If you’re offering sex, that would cover me for exercise, too. Unfortunately, I have to decline your offer.”
I scoffed. “Goodnight, Asher.”
“Erin, please, can I talk to you?” His tone was low and reticent. His entreaty gave me pause. If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume he was timid and unsure, two things that he definitely wasn’t.
Stepping aside, I let him in. He ran his fingers through a tuft of loose waves, his eyes drifting to the floor. He slid them from there to look at me. “Your text said yo
u’re going into the Veil tomorrow.”
“It’s two o’clock in the morning. It’s today. I told you to be on standby so when I return we can do the spell. The sooner the better.”
“I know. Is it safe?”
“As safe as it can be going into a foreign land to find a shapeshifter and ask them to return with me. Easy peasy. Preferably I’d like an Alpha—so, I might get arrogant-ed to death.” I flashed a grin but it didn’t ease the tension in his face. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”
“If something happens, I’ll feel responsible because you’re doing it for me.”
“No worries. The only thing I’m in danger of is finding an Alpha who thinks way too highly of themselves.”
“Erin. I saw your face at Neri and Adalia’s home. I smelled the sorrow and fear and I smell it now.”
“First, gross. Stop doing that. Smelling people is undoubtedly the grossest thing you and the vampires do. So, just stop it. Second, how do you think this is going to end? Someone is going to have to do something that’s not safe in order to stop Ian. No one who helps is going to have it easy, whether in the search or the execution.”
“I’ve been thinking about it since you told me your plan. Debating whether I’d let you.”
I barked out a sharp laugh that surely would have ended in a snort if I hadn’t cut it off after seeing the serious expression on his face.
“Do you want to rephrase that?” I sat on the sofa and crossed my arms over my chest.
He considered my request as laughter played over the sharp lines of his features. Crossing his arms to match mine, he said, “No, I’m good.”
I blew out an exasperated breath. “I’m not part of your pack. You don’t let me do something. If there were another option, I’d take it. But this is where we are now. And I hope it works.”
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