She shook her head a little. “It’s funny how I was sent here to protect it but I don’t know a thing about it. I guess they want it that way. I am tired of being a pawn in a game that I don’t understand. It’s been that way forever, even when my brother lived—the first time. Did anyone ever care about me?”
I don’t know why, but I put my arms around her. She didn’t fight me. I hugged her briefly and stepped back. I had to find the wine. “I’ll tend to this one. I don’t dare walk him around the island, though. Can you bring Heliope here? The gate isn’t far. I don’t know when they will come, but they are coming. Let’s be there when they show up.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be back before sundown.”
She walked away, but I didn’t watch her, as much as I might have liked to. I had to intoxicate Agrios. And quickly.
I cheated on this trip across the island. I walked blindingly fast, so fast that no one except another supernaturate would detect me. To me they appeared as stock-still images while the human world looked like an oil painting that had melted in high temperatures. I counted six so far. Two harpies, a sleeping vampire—she was buried deep under the jail—and three others that I could not quite detect. They had human helpers. Those I could detect easily enough. They carried traces of the supes on them, traces transferred only through communion, regular communion. Witches! There were witches on this island. I spat on the ground before walking into the store. The shirt Thessalonike gave me from her store was too snug. It had a ridiculous open-mouthed shark on the front with the words, “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” Whatever that meant.
I walked into Fred’s Discount Liquors and didn’t see a soul. A dusty television monitor displayed my image on the screen. I supposed this was meant to discourage theft, but all it did for me was make me stand taller until I walked past the screen. That was a weakness of mine, looking at myself. Not because I was in love with my own looks. I wasn’t Narcissus. The obsession was more like I wanted to make sure I hadn’t changed yet. I’d come close to slipping to the other side after I took a human wife. Every time I saw myself these days, I thanked my lucky stars that it was not a demon’s face I saw. If that happened to me, I would fly as high as I could and then simply fall to the ground. Great falls didn’t always kill eloi, but it would be worth a try.
I opened the cooler door and saw nothing but beer. Imported, domestic, flavored and even blue. Who ever heard of blue beer? These humans and their wacky ways. No red wine there. As I searched for wine and intentionally avoided the monitors, I totally forgot that I was alone. I had money. The Order had provided me with everything I needed. Then my hackles began to creep and I knew that somewhere close to me, very close indeed, was another supernatural creature. And she was one I was familiar with. I heard her voice before I saw her.
“Ra-ma-ra,” her whisper reached my ears, and it immediately filled me with both rage and desire. Unfortunate for her. Arousal made me strong—twice as strong as I normally would be.
“It cannot be.” I swung my head around, two bottles of wine in my hand. She stood in the doorway to what I assumed was the stock room with a delicious smile on her face.
“It can be. And it can be just like old times, Ra-ma-ra.” She wore her hair short, in the modern style. Her expressive eyes and sultry voice almost mesmerized me, but she was no siren or rage. This was Nemesis. My Nemesis.
The Order had lied. She wasn’t bound on any veiled island. She was right here! She’d been here the whole time.
“No, never. It will never be like old times for us, Nemesis.”
My answer did not please her, for she took off running toward me. She screamed as she descended on me, her wings expanded, knocking over bottles of liquor, wine and beer. I felt another presence—this was a witch. Her witch. She’d stepped into the shop from the store room whispering incantations. I laughed as they fell off me like paper chains, but she did not quit. As Nemesis and I struggled with one another, throwing punches, scratching and swearing, the witch kept speaking, first in a whisper and then loudly, so loud the sound of the magic words filled my ears. I could hear nothing else. Now the enchantments were not falling off me as they should. No, they stuck to my skin like living ribbons. The enchantments wrapped around my arm and neck and began to tighten.
Finally able to best me, at least for the moment, Nemesis dragged me to the front of the store and shoved my face on the dirty screen. “Can’t stop looking at yourself, can you? Your pride has always been your downfall, Ra-ma-ra. You could have been so much more—even a god—but you could not tear yourself away from your own face and figure. So much like Narcissus.”
Her words filled me with rage, and I forced my eyes closed. “Witch!” I yelled like a madman. “When I get out of here, I am coming for you.” She didn’t care; my threat didn’t scare her one bit until a cop car pulled into the driveway with lights flashing and sirens blaring. She slammed my head on the counter, and I shoved my elbow into her gut. Her black wings wrapped around me like she wanted to hide me from the cop, but I tore at them with my free hand. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground. At the same time, the witch dropped her enchantments and slipped out of the back of the store. I could feel her leave, feel the magic fade and disappear. All that was left in the store was Nemesis and me. She had a bloody lip and a bruise on her face. I could have sworn it hadn’t been there a minute ago. Her wings had vanished, and she clutched her arm with a smile. All around her were hundreds of broken bottles. The floor looked like a sea of red wine.
Running through the open door was the cop, the one I’d met earlier. The one who loved Thessalonike. He saw me right away, and Nemesis called to him, “Cruise! Look out! He’s got a knife!”
“What?” I shouted. “She’s lying.” Before I could say another word, the idiot shot his primitive weapon at me. The barbs pierced my skin, and before I could say “Nemesis,” lightning shot through me. No—it was electricity.
The damn fool tased me.
I was really starting not to like this guy.
Chapter Thirteen—Cruise
Crisis Management
“On the floor, dude. You stay on the floor.” I shouted at the tall man who was now covered in glass and blood. He’d torn up Fred’s store, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Fred had left this world for the next. Lucy was crying now. I didn’t think I had ever seen her cry the entire time I had known her. “Stay where you are, Lucy. I’ve got help on the way.”
Her tears stopped immediately. “Who’s coming? Belloc?”
“Chief Belloc,” I spoke into my radio. “What’s your ETA?”
“Don’t call him. I’m fine. Look. I’m standing up now, see?” I could hardly believe it. Except for the busted lip and the bruised cheek, she didn’t have but a few scratches on her. She dusted the glass off her blue jean shorts like it was sand and wiped away the tears.
“Stay where you are, Lucy.”
“That’s not Lucy, idiot,” the man said, looking as pissed off as I felt. What the hell was wrong with the people on this island? Why was everyone losing their minds? Full moon? Too much fun at the Mullet Toss? I couldn’t figure it. Suddenly, there was a funny smell. Like wet dog but worse. Looking down at the man I had in handcuffs (somehow that happened), I sniffed. No. It wasn’t him, but he did smell different—like a cross between an orange and Christmas tinsel. Now I was losing my mind!
“Lucy, Chief Belloc is on the way.” I struggled to help Ray or whatever this guy’s name was off the floor. “Stop walking around the crime scene. In fact, go out the front door as slowly as you can.”
All of a sudden I heard this monstrous unfolding, rustling sound, and the foul smell was overpowering now. I began to turn slowly to face the danger, but I caught a glimpse in the television monitor. A black-skinned creature with feathered legs and a woman’s face was standing behind me. Lucy stood behind it, and she’d changed too. Lucy had wings! Wings like an ibis! What the hell was wrong with me?
“Run!” Ray yel
led at me. I snatched him up from the ground to get him on his feet, and I took off behind him to the door.
“Where are you going? Someone wants to meet you. Someone very special.” The creature—no, a harpy, I somehow knew that was what it was—had black fingernails and a black tongue. It didn’t mind showing me either of them. I couldn’t use my Taser; I had already deployed it on Ray. I reached for my pistol instead. The harpy waved its finger at me and quick as lightning snatched the gun from my hand. It clamped its hand over my mouth and whispered something in my ear. Sounded like, “Shifter blood in you.”
“Shut up and put him in the back of the truck. The other stupid cop will be here before you know it.” The harpy tilted its head back, its breasts fully exposed now, and let out a scream like a wildcat. I had to be hallucinating. Yeah, that was it. Lloyd had been poisoned, and I had sipped that poison too. Maybe I hadn’t drunk enough to die, just enough to destroy my brain. And to think, I thought Lucy liked me.
Just then, Lucy smiled at me. Maybe she was hearing my thoughts right now. What in the world was happening? Her smile faded. No longer amused, she hit me over the head with a bottle. I felt something split and then passed out.
When I woke up, the harpy was gone. It was just Lucy and me sitting in the barroom. I was tied to a chair, and all the lights in the Pirateer were off. I would have thought everything was normal if the jukebox had been blaring Bad Moon Rising like it normally did at least ten times a night. But nope. I was tied to the rickety bamboo chair, and a few candles on the bar gave the only light in the room. “Ow, what did you hit me for, Lucy? I thought we were friends!”
The woman turned around, and she wasn’t Lucy. No, this woman was taller than Lucy—and taller than me, for that matter. She was what I’d heard described as willowy, tall and thin with just enough curves to make her feminine. She was runway model beautiful, with shiny dark hair and even shinier eyes. Before she spoke I knew she was intelligent. Smarter than me. And I was tied to a chair. Did I mention that?
“What am I doing here? I am Officer Cruise Castille, and I am placing you under arrest. Untie me right now.”
She did not smile but merely appraised me as if she were trying to determine if I was brave or just plain dumb. I’d settle for dumb. The sooner I could get away from her, the better. She gave off a creepy vibe.
“Where is Lucy? And Ray?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
“I am Roxana, the wife of Alexander the Great. Does that shock you?” She leaned on her elbows and cupped her chin in her hands. She had a seductive voice and penetrating eyes.
“And I’m the King of England. Now, what do you want?”
“It would do me no good to tell you what I want. You could not give it to me even if you lived a thousand lifetimes.”
My head was pounding, and I wasn’t feeling generous. “Well, then why am I here?”
“Good question, Officer Castille. You are here as bait.”
“Bait for what? Like shark bait?”
“What I intend to catch does sometimes swim in the water. You know her as Thessalonike, the girl who owns a souvenir shop, but she’s so much more. I wonder, would you be willing to set your belief system aside for a few minutes? Are you too closed-minded to see the truth I am about to show you?” She pulled a knife out and laid it on the bar.
“And what’s that for?”
“That is for a test, Castille. Castille—you must have some Spanish blood in there somewhere. Do you know if you do?”
“You dragged me here to talk to me about my genealogy?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I see you aren’t going to make this fun at all, so here goes. Thessalonike is a siren. She is the sister of my husband, Alexander. I need her blood to resurrect him and open the Sirens Gate. The gate will make my greatest wish come true. You know what I wish more than anything?”
“I am going to say your biggest wish is to rule the world.” I quietly worked at the ropes that secured me to the chair.
“Well, yes and no. I could care less about the world, but Alexander is destined to rule. No matter what lifetime he incarnates. He is the King of the Civilized World. And I am his queen.”
“Sounds like you have it all worked out. What do you need me for?”
“I need her blood. It is his blood. Isn’t that something? I love this whole DNA thing. I need her to come rescue you. So here’s what I am going to do. I am going to send her a body part of yours and see if I can get her attention. She’s got that crazy angel with her, but then you’ve met him. So what do you think? Do they have something going on together or what?”
“Body part? Hold on, lady. I’m an officer of the law. Do you know what will happen to you if you hurt me? They will put you under the jail.”
“No, can’t do that. There’s already somebody under the jail. She’s sleeping, and if I were you, I wouldn’t wake her up. You would be just her type.”
My head swam, and I couldn’t stand the crazy sound of her laugh. The feeling that I was in some sort of nightmare grew and grew. “Wake up, Cruise. Time to get up,” I whispered to myself.
“Yes, wake up, Cruise. Let’s all wake up.” She showed me the knife. She stood an inch from my face and stared at me. Her dark brown eyes seemed animalistic. She sniffed me.
“Supernatural blood, and you don’t even know it. That’s rich. Did she never tell you? What a friend she is! Well, now I don’t feel so bad about cutting you; it’s just going to grow back. Since you’re a newbie at this, I will cut something small. What about your…finger?”
“No! Come on, lady! Queen, um, Roxana! Please don’t cut me. I need that finger. I am sure I can call her on the phone. Nobody needs to have their body parts removed.” A harpy, probably the same one from earlier, came into the room. The evil thing clapped its hands and stuck its tongue out at me.
“Fine, we will try it your way, but I’m not ruling out dismemberment. I am giving you this one chance.” Waving her knife around, Roxana pushed the phone toward me and as quick as lightning untied me. “Now call her and don’t do anything stupid.”
“Got it.” I dialed with shaking fingers. Nik was right. She’d been right the whole time. It was complicated. And she was right about another thing too. I wouldn’t understand.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
I wanted to cry when she picked up. Instead, I took a deep breath and said, “Hey, Nik. This is Cruise. Listen, I am down here at the Pirateer with a few of your friends, and they want to cut off my finger. Something about Alexander the Great, the gate and the queen. Can you come here?”
The queen interjected, “No, not here. Tell her to meet us at the gate. We must all be together to open it.”
“Oh, never mind. The queen says that she wants you to meet us at the gate. That we must all be together to open it. Do you know what that means?”
Nik’s voice was calm. It would have been eerie except for all the bizarre things I’d seen today. “Cruise, listen very carefully. Don’t be a hero. Do what you are told, okay? Just forget all those action movies. This isn’t the time. I will meet you at the gate. We will all be there. But please, stay alive. Don’t make her mad, Cruise. Okay?” Before I could answer, Roxana hung up the phone.
“Good job. And she is correct. You don’t want to make me angry, boy. Now we wait for nightfall and then leave for the gate. I wonder what mischief we can get into before then.”
The harpy winked at me, but Lucy looked tired and angry. She sulked at me, but I had no idea why. I was the one being held prisoner here. Not her. None of them spoke, and I didn’t say anything else either. Better to keep my mouth shut, although I had my cell phone in my pocket. What were the chances I could get it and call the chief?
Roxana walked to a booth and curled up with a package of silk. The harpy, seeing I was more interested in Lucy, and that no blood would be spilled, transformed into a rather plain woman. She stuck out her tongue at me and stood over the jukebox, just flipping through the recor
ds. Lucy stood beside me. “Now you know it all. You know why I was glad it wasn’t you. I had to do it, but I didn’t want to. I told her that, but she didn’t listen to me.”
“I see. So you thought you’d kill Lloyd instead.”
“I don’t love you, Cruise. Never have. You were a means to an end. I want Ramara, but I lost him. I want him back. I need her dead and out of the way. Then I can claim what is mine.”
“You talking about Nik? I happen to care about her. Like I used to care about you.”
She looked away for a moment. “That’s nice to know. It’s been a long time since anyone cared about me. Of course I might actually believe you if your life wasn’t in my hands at the moment.”
“Whatever. You tried to kill me, Lucy. I think that might be considered a friendship killer.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of,” she said with a smile, her sultry voice in my ear. “If I wanted you dead, you would be dead.”
Before I could answer, my phone rang in my pocket. Every “woman” in the bar was on me then, digging in my pants. It wasn’t exciting at all. “Who is it?” Roxana asked.
“It’s someone named Belloc,” the harpy said, squinting at my phone.
“That’s his boss. Answer it.”
The harpy, Desiree was the name I heard Lucy call her, said in a bubbly voice, “Hey, this is Desiree. Lucy wants to talk to you.”
“Yeah, we have him. He’s at the bar. Mmm hmmm. Yes. Okay, we’ll see you there.”
“This just gets better and better,” I moaned. Now my boss was involved with these crazies?
“Hey, your head is bleeding. I can doctor that.”
“No thanks, Lucy. I would rather bleed to death.”
“Fine by me. Just do me a favor. Bleed slowly because we need you alive when we take you to the gate.”
Blue Water (The Nike Chronicles Book 1) Page 9
