by Ann Charles
“If you are referring to the Guardian, I would remind you that you are nothing more than a paid assassin in his eyes. Your loyalty is misplaced.”
“My loyalty is not up for sale.”
His smile was downright predatory. “And that is why your flame must be doused.”
I shifted again, so close to the hallway. “Tell me, how many of my kind have you slain in your time?”
“You will be the third.”
“So this isn’t your first rodeo.” It wasn’t a question. “But it will be your last.”
“Rodeo?” his dark eyes narrowed. “I am not familiar with that word. If you mean this will be my last contest, then you are mistaken. I am on the rise once again.”
The lidérc had big plans. If Dominick wasn’t orchestrating this, then he might want to take heed.
“Tell me about the other Scharfrichter you killed.” I had a feeling this smoky asshole liked to brag.
“Which?”
“Either.”
“They were far more skilled than you.”
Jeez! Was this jerk related to Prudence? “It appears their superior skill didn’t benefit them in the end.”
There was a nugget in there to remember. Agility would not win the battle with this bastard. Fortunately, that was not on the top ten list of my strengths.
His grin was pure devil. “No, but it did offer a more rewarding defeat.” In a blink, it rounded the end of my desk and closed the distance between us, seizing my arm in a painful grip. “Enough of this game.”
Before I could gasp, the lidérc twisted me around, pulling me back against Rex’s chest. His arm snaked around my throat, pressing on my windpipe. From somewhere, he pulled out a hunting knife and held the tip at my cheek.
“It is a shame to disembowel such a glorious predator.” His breath was cold on my ear, smelling of rot and a foul mustiness. “I thought after our last two meetings that you would be more of a challenge.”
I stiffened my spine as heat flowed from my core. My heartbeat steadied, my muscles feeling like they were swelling under my skin.
“Just close your eyes,” he whispered, his tongue running along my ear. “You won’t even know when I slip inside of you.”
I snorted. Who would have known that possession by a lidérc would feel the same as sex with Rex?
“Listen to you,” I taunted as waves of adrenaline flooded through my limbs. “So cocky for such an old terror. But you’ve overlooked one thing.”
His arm tightened. “What would that be, Scharfrichter?”
“You forgot to say the magic words.”
“What magic words?”
“Little pig, little pig, let me in.”
“Little pi—” he started.
I rammed my elbow back into Rex’s solar plexus. A gush of breath blew past my ear. Then I brought the stapler up hard and fast, slamming it into his forehead. His arm loosened a fraction, giving me the window I needed to drop and roll toward the hallway. When I came up, Rex was reaching for me again, but his eyes were rolling loosely in their sockets. I whipped the stapler at him and ran for the back door.
Jane stood outside of Jerry’s office, blocking my path.
“Move!” I’d go through her if she didn’t.
She held up both arms, her mouth wide in a silent scream.
I slid to a stop. “What?”
She pointed toward Jerry’s office. The door was open again. Before I had time to ponder why, I felt a shove from the side and stumbled through the doorway, almost falling. The door slammed shut behind me.
My pulse pounded in my ears. My body hummed with surges of energy rushing clear to my fingertips and toes. I couldn’t believe what had just happened out there, and I didn’t want to think about what was still waiting for me on the other side of that door.
I sniffed, wiping at my nose with the back of my wrist. That’s when I noticed the blood on my shirt.
Was it Rex’s or … A stinging pain finally registered in my pumped-up brain. I flipped my arm over and peeled up my sleeve, frowning at the oozing gash. He must have cut me with that knife at some point during our struggle. It didn’t look too deep. I spread the skin to make sure, blowing out a breath of relief. A flesh wound, but it was deep enough to leave a scar.
Grabbing a tissue from the file cabinet, I stared at Cornelius’s banana. Had he seen what happened?
I started pacing in front of Jerry’s desk. Somehow, I was going to have to face that devil, come what may, but I needed a better weapon first. I looked around the office for something to use to beat the hell out of that bastard.
The closet door creaked open.
My hand pressed against my chest to keep my heart from head-butting its way through my ribcage. Slowly, I turned. The trapdoor leading to the basement flipped open.
Ah, hell. Not this again.
Jane appeared out of thin air next to the closet. Her body wasn’t as clear as before out front. She pointed at me and then the hole in the floor.
“No can do, Jane.” I backed away from it. “I’m not going down there.”
She scowled, her chin lifting. She pointed at me again and then the closet floor, more forcefully this time.
“No way. I know what’s down there. Besides, how do I know you are really Jane this time? Yesterday, what I thought was you turned out to be that tricky devil instead.”
She looked down at her hands for a moment, then over at Jerry’s desk. The middle desk drawer slid open.
Rounding the desk, I stared down at a scratch pad Jerry kept in there. Words appeared on the paper as if written by an invisible hand.
Your … boyfriend … broke … my … rule.
I nodded, remembering when Doc had used his office as a temporary hotel room for a week or so during the motorcycle rally, which went against his rental contract. “Okay, but maybe the lidérc can access that memory by reading your mind.” After all, it had dug through Rex’s mind to find the first time he had seen me sitting on that bench back at college.
More words appeared: Must … hide … it … is … coming.
I glanced at the door and then back at where she stood next to the closet, still hesitant to go down through that trapdoor again.
How could I tell if she was really Jane when the lidérc was able to read minds? I needed to think of some … Oh!
I had an idea. It was risky, but worth a try. I grabbed the letter opener from Jerry’s drawer just in case. It was thin and dull, but there was a good point on the end that would certainly gouge out an eyeball.
Fudge. I needed to start carrying an armory in my purse.
“If you’re really my old friend Jane Grimes,” I said to her ghost, “why don’t you come over here and hug me?”
This would be exactly what the lidérc wanted, me welcoming its parasitic hug with open arms.
Jane tipped her head to one side and then the other, then she pointed toward the open drawer.
I looked down.
Not … a … hugger.
Relief washed over me, leaving a smile in its wake. “I’ve missed you, Jane.”
Something thumped against the office door. My grip tightened on the letter opener.
“Violet!” Cornelius called through the door. “Are you okay?” The knob turned, but the door held tight. “Why did you lock yourself in your boss’s office?”
I hadn’t. Jane must have sealed it as she had the closet in the past.
I started for the door, but Jane shifted, barring the way. She shook her head.
Hesitating, I stopped in the middle of the room, my thoughts flying. Cornelius needed to get the hell out of Calamity Jane’s. It was too risky with Rex out there somewhere.
But maybe he’d brought the mirror.
What if it wasn’t really Cornelius on the other side of that door?
Shit. There was no use pretending I wasn’t in here. He’d probably already seen me in here on one of his monitors next door.
“I’m fine, Cornelius.” But I didn’t
sound fine at all.
“Not from what I saw a few minutes ago. You need to contact the Tall Medium right now.”
He’d been watching? Oh God, where was Rex?
“Cornelius, you need to leave. Rex is still out there.”
“Your ex is passed out on the floor with a dent in his forehead.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He’s bleeding and there’s a pulse.” I heard Cornelius groan through the door. “Violet, the lidérc is here.”
“I know!” I clenched my hands together, my chest tight with fear for him. “You need to run. Go get help.”
“Send a text,” he said, his voice sounding strained. “I left my phone next door.”
I lifted my phone, pulling up the group text. “Do you know where the lidérc is?” I asked him while tapping out a message: Devil is here. Need mirror! I hit the send button.
“Yes. I can see it.”
I froze. “Jesus, Cornelius. Run!”
“Violet, it’s already inside of me.”
What!? “No!” I took a step toward the door. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“You know I never joke about toy poodles or malevolent spirits.”
Yeah, I did, but I’d forgotten about the stupid poodles. “Shit!” I covered my eyes with my hand, trying to think how I could help him.
“Listen to me, Violet.” He sounded very tired and winded, gasping for breath. “I can only hold onto it for a little longer. Then it will be free to come for you again, so you need to be somewhere safe when I let it out.”
How in the hell was he holding onto it? I didn’t think humans had a chance against a lidérc.
“Tell the Tall Medium to bring the mirror and be ready for a hostile entity that will drain him of energy within minutes.” I heard him wheeze a couple of times. “Can you crawl out the window in there?”
“Yes,” I lied, lowering my hand, and typed a second message. If Cornelius didn’t have his phone, then I knew where to have Doc meet me, but he’d need Cooper to get there. I read over my message quickly, making sure my autocorrect didn’t screw this one up: It has Cornelius. Going into Hellhole. Meet me under courthouse.
I hit send and made sure the message was delivered before pocketing the cell phone.
“Get out of there, Violet,” Cornelius said, his voice barely more than a whisper now. “It’s too strong.”
Without another word to Cornelius, I shoved open the office window, wincing at the blast of cold air. Then I raced over to the closet and crawled down through the trapdoor.
The closet door immediately closed behind me, and then the trapdoor flipped shut, too.
Son of a bitch! I was stuck in the dark with the damned Hellhole again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
There was no candle waiting on the cobblestone floor to light my way this time. It was just me and the darkness.
“Shit,” I said aloud, gulping down musty air. “I really need to get a job playing with puppies and kittens for a living.”
Why didn’t I think to grab the flashlight from Jerry’s … My cell phone! It had a flashlight.
I fumbled in the darkness, almost dropping my phone as I pulled it from my pocket before squeezing it in my fingers. I turned on the flashlight, shining the beam around the room.
The light glanced off someone standing over by the Hellhole.
I squeaked in surprise, and then moved the beam back to the figure. “Damn it, Jane. You just about scared the ovaries right out of me.”
Jane waved me over.
As I rushed toward her, I noticed that the iron grate was open again. I stood next to the hole and chewed on my lower lip, tasting the dust I was stirring up in the air. Hadn’t the whole freak show yesterday happened on a different plane due to the séance? If so, how did the grate get opened on this plane?
I pointed at it. “Did you do this?”
She nodded.
Okay, that made more sense—except that she was a ghost. Albeit a strong ghost, which was sort of like Prudence, but Jane was a lot nicer.
Easing closer to the edge of the Hellhole, I shined my light down into it. The musty, curdled milk smell was still there, and so was the carbide lamp.
Crap on a cracker. Here I was again, staring down into the mouth of Hell. Or maybe it was more of an ear hole than mouth. Remembering that red-armed creature reaching out through the wall last night, I changed my mind—it was more like Hell’s asshole.
I heard a dull thump behind me. I shined my light back at the steps leading up to the trapdoor. Dust swirled near the top stair.
Apparently the lidérc wasn’t fooled by my open-window smokescreen.
I turned back to Jane. “You keeping that bastard out?”
She nodded.
“How long can you hold it back?”
She held her index finger and thumb about an inch apart.
So, we didn’t have much time. “Okay. Now what?”
She pointed at me and then the Hellhole.
I hesitated. “That’s a bad idea. There’s something down there that’s big and red that would like to tear me into pieces—or maybe even eat me—and I’m not wearing the right underwear for that today.”
She grinned.
It was good to know some ghosts still had a sense of humor. Prudence was certainly lacking in that department.
“I sure wish I had my mace with me,” I muttered, peering back into the hole. Or at least the dang letter opener that I’d left back on Jerry’s desk.
Something bumped against my boot. I looked down and saw the steel bar that acted as the closer for the grate cover lying there. Jane must have nudged it my way.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” This was turning into a nightmare déjà vu. I scooped up the bar. “Okay, Jane, I’ll go down in the hole, but you’re coming with me.”
She pointed at me and then the hole and then herself.
“You want me to go first?”
She gave me a thumbs-up.
I shined my light down into the Hellhole. My legs had turned to stone. My feet were lead weights. Holy roly poly, I really didn’t want to run the gauntlet again.
Another thump came from the trapdoor, this time harder and louder. Was that Cornelius? Was he able to get free of the lidérc? Or was the Hungarian bastard using him like it had my ex? Or was Rex awake and the lidérc had hitched a ride with him again?
Not wanting to wait to find out the answer to those questions firsthand, I made my way down the iron rungs into the dark, shining my cell phone flashlight toward the tunnel entrance as I neared the bottom. No red monster waited for me there. By the time my feet touched bottom, my arm ached where I’d been cut by the knife. A quick check on it showed it was still oozing at the center of the wound.
When I looked up, Jane stood next to me. I jumped back in surprise. “For Pete’s sake, Jane, you need to warn a girl before you pull that magic act.”
I heard a screech overhead and then a clang. Ducking, I shielded my head and peeked up at the top of the hole. The iron grate was closed. Dirt and pieces of rust trickled down from overhead.
I coughed and held up the bar in front of Jane. “It’s not locked, though,” I whispered.
She shook her head and then touched the ward next to the tunnel, or at least tried to touch it. I focused my light on the carving. She turned to me and then touched it again.
“What about it?”
She pointed toward the dark tunnel and then back at the grate over head, shaking her head.
“You think this symbol is a ward to keep whatever is in there …” I shined my flashlight toward the tunnel—“from making it up to the surface?”
She nodded.
I took a closer look at the ward. It wasn’t as elaborate as the one in the Sugarloaf Building—the one I had a picture of on my phone. I pulled up the photo, comparing the two and then showing my phone to Jane. “This was used to keep the lidérc caged.” I touched the one carved into the wall next to the tunnel opening.
“And this one keeps whatever is waiting in the dark from escaping.”
Another thump sounded from overhead, louder.
Jane waved her hand in front of my face, then she aimed her finger at the tunnel and then touched her watch.
Hey, wait! She had her favorite watch on again. How did she do that? I’d found it in her office after her memorial service. She’d been cremated without it, I thought.
She waved both of her hands frantically in front of me this time.
“I know, I know. I’m working up to it.”
Straightening my shoulders, I took a deep breath like I was about to dive off the deep end. I could do this. There was nothing in there lurking and waiting for me, but there was something coming for me from above.
With a final nod, I dove into the darkness, running through the rock-lined throat. My gaze darted all around as I kept an eye out for that red son of a bitch. From what I could tell with my bouncing phone light, everything was the same as before, including the corbel arches. I thought about taking a picture of one to show Doc, but I didn’t want to stop.
As I neared the fork in the path, I shined the light down into the other tunnel, gearing up for something to come rushing out at me. There was nothing there, though. I glanced behind me to see if Jane was following—or if the lidérc was—and stumbled on the uneven ground. I reeled for a moment and slammed my injured arm into the jagged rock wall. Pain shot up to my shoulder, but I shoved off the rocks and ran faster.
My side ached by the time I caught my first glimpse of light coming in through the hole at the other end, although it was more dim than before. I huffed like a locomotive leaving the station. Sweat coated me from head to toe. Prudence would undoubtedly shame me about my lack of athletic prowess if she could see me.
As I neared the opening, I tried to listen for something else hiding in the tunnel with me over my own pounding heart and gasps for oxygen. I half-expected a hand or claws to reach out and snag me, but I made it to the other hole without mishap.
The opening was narrower than it had been when I was here on the other plane. Crates mostly blocked the hole with slices of light shining through the slats. I pushed the crates aside and hoisted myself up and squeezed through, my hips scraping on the rough edges of concrete as I wiggled out into the courthouse basement. My palms took the brunt of my sliding partway down the concrete wall. My hands were scraped and burning when I made it to my feet again, but I was still alive. At least for now.
