Soul Fire

by D. N. Erikson

  Eden Hunter, mentor. Uncharted territory for everyone.

  The jury was out on how I was faring.

  I told him to dig up everything he could find on the Phoenix Protocol—or what kind of deicide arcana might be used to topple a phoenix’s guardian. After all, I’d been under the impression they had the same immortality deal as someone like Cross: total invulnerability to wounds, sickness, fire, explosions, or any sort of attack.

  They’d bleed, but it would heal.

  And yet, Anya had been very, very dead.

  Renard answered immediately, requesting more details on the murder. I sent him the picture of the small welt on Anya’s thigh. Even if he came up empty, it felt good to do something besides wait for the inevitable. The words on the yellowed sheet still lingered in my mind.

  The entire territory will burn, should the situation grow unmanageable.

  Yeah.

  That didn’t sound good.

  Definitely called for a proactive response.

  One hour later, I was back in the kitchen, watching the cat tug at pizza crust on the limestone island at the center of the room. Khan’s mouth was too small to eat very fast, but he made up for his natural weaknesses with admirable persistence, plowing through slice after slice without much more than a water break.

  He’d missed out on fine dining down in the cellar of Jack’s Apothecary Shack. Jack had forgotten to put him in the will—which meant Cross, upon inheriting the property, hadn’t know that a cat was living on the premises—so Khan had survived in the darkness for a month, amid all the herbs, poultices, and exotic creatures.

  Somewhere in that wilderness, he’d learned to talk.

  Don’t ask me how. It was as much a mystery to me as anyone else.

  “You’ll give yourself heartburn.” The cat had devoured a quarter of his weight in dough and cheese. His little belly sagged, almost touching the countertop. The cat glared daggers at me as he tore into his fifth slice.

  “Stupid human,” Khan said between mouthfuls, “you know nothing of a cat’s anatomy.”

  I shut the box when he was mid-bite and tossed it on the empty counter behind me. Moonlight sliced through the windows ringing the sink. Khan hissed and arched his back.

  “We had a deal, human.”

  “And you’re not upholding your end.”

  The cat craned his neck to look dolefully at the remaining pizza. I leaned against the counter and spread my arms to create a blockade.

  Realizing a protest wouldn’t get him back to his feast, Khan sighed derisively and stretched out his front paws. “Yes, about the case.”

  “What do you know about it?”

  “You give me no entertainment,” Khan said. “I am alone here all day, without even a television to break the monotony.”

  “Call PETA. Just make sure you explain the backstory.”

  The cat wrinkled his white-striped nose. “Due to my lack of distractions, both in that wretched basement and this equally wretched prison—”

  “Some might also call it a house.”

  “During the unspeakable eons spent in this horrid gulag,” Khan said, his blue eyes narrowing further, “I have been afforded ample time for research. A task unworthy of my great mind, of course, but there is little that can be done.”

  “We all profoundly thank you for your sacrifices.” I could barely suppress my grin.

  “Do you wish to hear my knowledge? Or scratch me with the weakest of barbs?”

  “Do I have to choose?” I asked, finally cracking a small smile. He scowled. “Fine. Tell me about the case.”

  The cat flicked his tail across the polished limestone. Other than a coffee maker, electric kettle, bottle of whiskey, and stack of canned cat food, the kitchen was empty. I wasn’t sure where he was doing all this research, since I didn’t have a library. In fact, there wasn’t a single book on the premises.

  “I have heard of the guardian’s demise, and how the great bird has traveled to the afterlife.”

  “And how did you hear this?” I asked, raising my eyebrow in suspicion.

  “A bug I have planted in the large human’s vehicle.”

  “Kai’s?”

  “Yes, the one who needs a haircut,” Khan said, his tone condescending enough to use as an acid bath. “Must I lead you through each step with your hand held?”

  I thought for a second. “Is that what happened to my hair dryer? And my phone a month ago?”

  The cat beamed, extremely proud of himself.

  For those wondering what their pets did all day while they were at work, the answer to the age-old question was, apparently, simple: They were illegally wire-tapping government vehicles.

  But I appreciated the initiative. It was something I’d have done in my past life as a grifter.

  “Did you hear Kai say something?” I asked.

  “No.”

  I pursed my lips together in frustration. “Okay…”

  The cat, so eager to return to his pizza only moments before, now relished the delayed reveal. What passed as a smile spread over his perpetually grouchy face. If there had been a mechanical clock in the house, you could’ve heard it tick down by the second.

  “This year would be nice,” I said.

  “But the stupid look on your face is priceless, human.”

  “For someone who dislikes me so much, you went to a lot of trouble to help me out.”

  The cat flicked his ears back in embarrassment. “Curiosity. Nothing more.”

  “Right,” I said. “So, this bug.”

  “The human named Miss Denton made a call in the large human’s vehicle when she thought no one could hear.”

  I perked up. Rayna Denton and I were on the same side—allegedly. But even calling her a frenemy seemed a rather generous label..

  “And what did Rayna have to say?” I asked, unable to conceal my excitement.

  “That she wished she had the guardian’s soul. Because she could use it to solve the case in, and I quote, under a fucking hour.”

  “How?”

  “By giving it to the one called Tamara Marquez.”

  Much to my surprise, that pizza had really paid off.

  As if on cue, there was an urgent knock at the villa’s thick oak doors. Much too aggressive to be Kai or anyone friendly to my cause.

  I flung the pizza box at Khan, almost taking the cat out at his furry knees. He deftly jumped over it and hissed.

  “If that’s Rayna coming to chew my ass out about an illegal bug,” I said, “you’re never getting pizza again.”

  “I will locate a new owner. One who offers finer cuisine.”

  “May we all be so lucky.” I walked to the entrance with trepidation and glanced out the peep hole.

  I jumped, doing a double-take.

  It wasn’t Rayna.

  It wasn’t the FBI at all, in fact.

  It was Xavier Deadwood.

  15

  Deadwood’s salt-and-pepper hair glimmered in the moonlight. The rogue DSA agent was no longer naked, and, judging by his stain-free t-shirt, no longer openly bleeding. His eyes contained a crimson, feral edge, but he seemed at no risk of turning and breaking down the door like my last uninvited werewolf visitor had.

  “I can smell you, Eden Hunter.” Xavier’s voice was pleasant and confident—a man who commanded respect.

  “How do you know my name?”

  “I checked your ID.” Right, he’d knocked me out. “And, after I regained more of my . . . wits, let’s say, I decided to drop by and pay you a chat. As promised.”

  “Then you should know that the last wolf who attacked me ended up floating in the ocean.” When there was no response, I added, “Dead.”

  “I am not here to attack you.”

  “Forgive me if I’m not convinced.”

  “I know who killed the guardian.”

  That got my attention. I reached for the door handle, but then stopped. “Was it you?”

  “Not this time,” he said, without hesita
tion.

  My blood chilled to an arctic freeze. I could sense a lie from a mile off.

  “So then who was it, huh?” I asked, backing away from the door and weighing my options.

  “If you’d just let me inside—”

  “I’m dialing the FBI, Deadwood.”

  “That would be unwise.”

  I used to like living on the edge of civilization, all alone. The peace, the quiet.

  But lately the isolation had turned into a real problem.

  I’d never been one to pull the law enforcement card, but back in the day I could carry a Glock for protection. These days, even large chef knives caused my hands to blister thanks to Lucille’s onerous trials.

  I dialed Kai, keeping one eye trained at the peephole. He answered, and I said loudly, “So you just show up at my front door, Deadwood, claiming to know the killer? The FBI can help both of us out. I’ll get them to the villa.”

  Hopefully that was enough for Kai to get the message. He didn’t respond. I kept the line open.

  “Do not test me,” Deadwood said.

  “Not seeing how I really lose in that scenario.” I glanced back at the kitchen. Khan had abandoned his half-eaten slice of pizza and fled to some shadowy corner of the unfurnished villa.

  Good to know I had backup.

  “If you’d just open the door, then perhaps we could do business—”

  “Just give me a damn reason,” I said, voice low. “I got a shotgun pointed right at your goddamn silver head.”

  Deadwood took a step back, buying my bluff. He didn’t know I couldn’t wield weapons. Few people did. “I can help you.”

  I crossed my arms, even though he couldn’t see me behind the thick oak door. “What makes you think you know the killer, anyway?”

  “Because he’s the same person who killed me.” Xavier lifted his plain t-shirt, revealing a long, angry-looking scar. Edgar’s post-mortem incisions had been crudely stitched up with a needle and thread. With the skin mended back together, I could also see where my Reaper’s Switch had cut into his flesh.

  “Sorry, buddy, I know that goddess beat your brains in with a rock.” Despite my bold words, I noticed my hand was shaking. Having reanimated corpses show up on your front steps will do that.

  Deadwood laughed drily. “It’s exactly as people say.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Nothing gets by you.”

  “On second thought,” I said, channeling energy through the lantern sigil on my wrist, “maybe I won’t shoot you. Maybe I’ll just turn you into ash.”

  A ball of light sprung from my fingertips and began to glow, lighting up the entire foyer.

  Xavier ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair like he was weighing his options. “We can work together.”

  “Get the fuck off my porch.”

  The werewolf growled. “I will get that fucking bitch’s soul.”

  And here we were—the real reason he had arrive.

  “Too bad the phoenix took that with him to the afterlife.”

  “I could smell its scent on you. Lingering.” He unleashed a bitter, howling laugh. “If I only I had been less disoriented. Realized it down in that fucking embalming room.”

  “Guess you dropped the ball, there.” I remembered coming back from the dead.

  Disorienting seemed a mild word for it.

  He smiled, showing a row of straight, white teeth. “I can get you what you desire most.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “A ticket off this rock.” He started to reach into his pocket.

  I said, “Don’t even try it, buddy.”

  “Relax.” He took out a single white sheet of paper and held it up to the peephole. Then he slipped it beneath the heavy oak doors. Then, Deadwood retreated, still wearing a knowing smile. “Give the FBI my regards.”

  I didn’t exhale until he disappeared down the marble stairs.

  Relieved, I picked up the note. I read it twice and shivered.

  A long silence stretched over the villa, the harmless ball of light still glowing at my fingertips.

  Finally, the phone crackled. I’d forgotten Kai was still on the line.

  Hands shaking, I pressed it to my ear. “Eden? Eden? Say something, damnit. I’m on my way. Just say something.”

  I said the first thing that came to mind. “Can you please come over?” For once, I didn’t care if I sounded needy or scared.

  “I’ll be there in ten.”

  My heartbeat declined into a more manageable thud as I stared out at the empty beach.

  Kai was coming.

  Everything would be okay.

  Then I looked at the piece of paper bearing my sister’s name again and vomited in the corner of the empty foyer.

  16

  It’s amazing how two little words can knock the wind right out of your sails.

  But seeing my sister’s name—Sierra Miller, since she still used her given surname—alone on that blank paper was hard to misinterpret.

  Give Xavier Deadwood the soul—or else.

  “Thanks for the backup,” I called to an absentee Khan as I headed into the kitchen. Then again, if I’d adopted him for protection, I really would have been a stupid human. His breaking a half-dozen laws to bug Kai’s vehicle was about all the assistance I could count on.

  From the living room, the cat grumbled a half-baked excuse about disliking strange visitors.

  Him and me both.

  I crumpled up the note and hurled it into the sink before grabbing one of the untouched slices of pizza. The cold pepperoni felt rubbery on my tongue.

  Then I grabbed the Jim Beam off the counter. I was three deep before I heard the knock at the door.

  After checking to make sure it was Kai, I threw open the trifecta of locks and let him inside. The broad-shouldered agent’s hand rested on his service weapon as he entered. His eyes scanned the foyer for threats.

  “Anyone else here?”

  I shook my head, no.

  “Are you okay, Eden?”

  His slate-gray eyes overflowed with unspoken concern. It felt better having him nearby. Ever since Aldric’s damn wolf assassin had almost killed me two months back, sleeping had been unpleasant. Not that I’d ever been a fitful sleeper.

  At least not since coming back to life.

  “Never better,” I said, offering him the whiskey. He declined, finally letting his hand drop away from his service pistol.

  “Sure that’s the best idea?”

  “One of my best in a while.” My bare feet rubbed against the cool floor as I shuffled back into the kitchen.

  With a quick hand, the agent slipped the bottle from my fingers and shoved it in an empty cupboard.

  “I was having a good time before you showed up.” I made a pouty face, feeling buzzed.

  “Didn’t take Deadwood for a good date.”

  “Oooh, snappy one-liners. I like it.”

  Kai quickly returned to his old self. “Do you have that woman’s soul, Eden?”

  Guess word spread fast at the FBI. He had no doubt shared everything I’d told him with Rayna, too.

  We were all in on this together.

  Hooray.

  I nodded, looking slightly guilty. “But I swear, Pebbles asked me to do it.”

  “Pebbles?” Kai’s strong jaw twisted in confusion.

  “You know, the big bird. Fiery wings. Born again more times than an Evangelical.” Kai still looked perplexed, albeit less so. “His soul tastes like a smooth, cool stone. Like a pebble in the rain.”

  Still nothing.

  I muttered never mind to myself.

  “Why didn’t you tell us everything?”

  “Must’ve slipped my mind.” I shrugged. Maybe I had trust issues. The FBI had tried to book me for murder, after all. Speaking of which. “The cat heard something interesting in your car.”

  “My car?” Kai raised his eyebrow. In the other room, I heard Khan hurl muted insults at me.

  “Yeah, h
e might’ve bugged it. Probably want to get that checked out. Anyhoo,” I said, waving my hand in the air like that wasn’t a problem, “Rayna was a little bummed she couldn’t just take the soul herself. Turns out she knows a woman named Tamara Marquez.”

  “Never heard of her.” Kai leaned against the limestone counter. “What’s she do?”

  “If you take her a soul, she can tell you what that person did during their last day alive.”

  “Sounds useful.”

  That was an understatement. “So, do you know her?”

  “Name rings a bell. One of those files you come across in the archives that are ninety-five percent redacted.”

  “Any chance you could find out what’s underneath all that black ink?” I asked hopefully.

  “If Rayna knows this woman, she’s the one to ask.”

  Damn. Exactly what I didn’t want to do.

  “How many bugs are in my car, anyway?”

  “Ask the cat,” I said, shrugging to absolve myself of responsibility.

  “Too many for you to find, stupid human,” Khan called from the couch, sounding like he’d just awoken from a nap. “Your feeble minds will be hopelessly overmatched trying to locate my device.”

  “Device means one,” Kai said.

  The cat grumbled something about how interrogations upset his sensitive constitution and made him mistake-prone.

  “What did Deadwood want?” Kai asked.

  “You were on the line.”

  “I couldn’t hear the entire conversation.”

  I briefly recapped the highlights: threatening my sister, knowing I had Anya’s soul, about using it to get free of this place.

  Kai said, “So he thinks it’s his ticket out of here?”

  I shrugged and said, “Guy was a few marbles short of a full set, if you catch my drift.”

  Kai’s phone rang before he could answer. He excused himself and spoke outside on the porch for about five minutes before coming back inside.

  “Who was that?” I asked.

  “Hendricks got a fingerprint hit on that syringe.” Kai brushed a strand of hair away from his eye. “Multiple matches.”

  “Multiple?” I asked.

  “You want the list?”

  He wasn’t being sarcastic. It was a real offer.