Rain Dance (Sunshine & Scythes Book 1)

by D. N. Erikson

  “It is not all!” Moreland’s voice cracked as he shrieked at me. I didn’t know whether to laugh or pee my pants. All told, he wouldn’t do anything without Aldric giving the go ahead. But I didn’t relish the thought of being out here at night with an angry Moreland. “Master does not like to be kept waiting.”

  Moreland’s dead, black eyes stared into mine, carrying an unspoken threat. The subtext wasn’t exactly hidden: I was to come for a late-night—or early morning, depending on your vantage point—chat with my boss. Non-optional. First thing I was doing when I woke up tomorrow, provided I survived the next couple hours, was getting a new phone.

  Too many people tracking me down. What a time to be alive.

  “Very well.” I turned to Dante. “I’ll see you later.” I grabbed my phone, the gold brick and the soul I’d harvested with help from the mayor and prepared to get out of the car.

  “Maybe,” Moreland said. “Perhaps he’s a thief, stealing Master Aldric’s gold.”

  I stifled the urge to say more than you know and instead said, “I’m not getting out of this damn car if you hurt him.”

  “Adorable. Like a kitten barring its teeth.” Moreland walked up alongside the sports car and leaned over the door again. “But a kitten should not mess with a lion, lest it wishes to get—”

  I pushed the door open as hard as I could, taking the ancient warlock out at the knees. Moreland gasped and buckled, writhing on the pavement. His goons immediately closed around the car like a pincer, but he waved them off as I stepped over him.

  I shifted all my belonging to one hand, then offered him the other. His dead eyes registered surprise, and he attempted to take me up on my offer, but then I took it back at the last minute. He crashed ass-first against the ground.

  This was too much, and he unleashed a wind spell that blasted me against the side of one of the vans. The world spun, and I groaned.

  “Always taking it a step too far, Eden.”

  “Don’t…don’t hurt him.” My vision was fuzzy as Moreland’s face loomed into view. He displayed a row of jagged yellow teeth crying out for the gentle touch of a toothbrush.

  “A deal is a deal, as they say in this language.” Then his goons hurled me into the van, tossed my stuff in behind me, and away we went to meet Master Aldric.

  Or, as I liked to call him, my asshole boss.

  15

  Much to my chagrin—and concern, since I’d never seen Aldric outside his office—we weren’t going to Black Sea Holdings’ headquarters. Instead, the van headed for a part of the island I’d never been, which, given my altercation with Moreland didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. I watched civilization disappear through the grime-streaked square windows, my heart sinking further with each bump and jolt. Maybe I’d really gone too far this time. It had the distinct ambiance of an organized crime execution, where I’d be taken to a secluded part of the jungle and then buried where no one would ever find the remains. But I also had a sneaking suspicion that Moreland had strict orders to bring me in unharmed. And no matter how pissed he was at me, his oath to his master ensured that I would arrive in one piece.

  Which gave me enough confidence to mess with him when we stepped out of the van. I grabbed my things, forever feeling like a girl on some sort of endless walk of shame since I still had to carry them in my hands. I tried to catch Moreland’s attention with a smirk, but he was busy phoning in our arrival. We had arrived at what could best be described as a secluded resort on the edge of the ocean. From the snowcapped mountains looming nearby, we were on the northeast part of the island. I didn’t come here often—mainly because the roads sucked, and skiing wasn’t really my thing.

  An elaborate wooden boardwalk with a shoulder-high handrail wound its way into the water, where a three story property stood almost suspended over the water.

  Moreland finally finished whispering into the phone and ended the call with, “We’ll bring her up right away, sir.” He finally glanced at me with an annoyed look. “Master Aldric was very busy, and you were interrupting.”

  “What, is this his bang pad or something?”

  Moreland looked horrified. “He would never bring you to such a place, should such a place exist.”

  “Hey, Moreland, what’s unfuckable and going to die alone?”

  The warlock glared at me and crossed his thin arms. “Let me guess.”

  “Never took you for having low self-esteem.” I made a pouty face and smirked. “Because I was going to say the last person in the apocalypse.”

  He looked ready to strangle me for walking into that one, but he managed to say through clenched yellow teeth, “You have jokes, now, dear girl, but we shall see what you think after the hour has tolled.”

  “Hey, Moreland.”

  “Don’t push it.”

  “Get a dictionary from this fucking century. Dipshit.”

  In response, I felt a minor burn in the seat of my dress. Smelling smoke, I rubbed my ass against the wooden handrail to extinguish the embers. Moreland looked extra satisfied with his little bit of wizardry.

  “Man, I have to study under your teacher. A thousand years and you can light my ass on fire.”

  “It is the only way I would touch your dirty ass, my dear girl.”

  Ooh. Point Moreland. Apparently, there was more going on in that old pale head than torturing people with black magic and owning his own galley of loyal sex slaves. The last part was just an assumption. Seemed like the type of dream he’d have.

  I followed Moreland up the boardwalk. The ocean barely moved beside us. Over the horizon, the sun was beginning to creep up. Another day and another sleepless night. I really needed some rest.

  Moreland opened the glass door and stood aside. “Master Aldric has been waiting. I would pretend like you’re hurrying.”

  “You’re not invited?”

  “I have matters to attend to. Murders are bad for business.” He waved, one finger at a time as the door shut and locked. I felt a shiver snake up my spine. A metal spiral staircase wound its way up through the heart of the house. Aldric was nowhere on the first floor, which had a modern stainless steel and light hardwood thing going on. Kind of like it had been furnished for a magazine shoot. Seemed like a waste of a nice property, but then, I was one to talk with my one couch and coffee maker existence.

  I traipsed up the stairs, wondering what this sudden abduction was all about. Wondering how I’d bullshit my way out of it. My brain wanted to shut down, but sloppiness would no longer be tolerated. This wasn’t how I operated. The near-death experience had thrown me off, but it was time to think a few steps ahead. But that was damn hard when everyone around you kept blasting away the path.

  Aldric wasn’t on the second floor, which shared the first floor’s taste in décor. There was no kitchen on this level, its spot taken by another bedroom. But that was about it for differences, so I continued my journey to the third and final level.

  This one was different—a wide room with no walls. A few steel cables ran down from the ceiling a few feet from the glass edges. They’d been covered by wooden columns down below, but up here, Aldric was going for an industrial kind of look. Or maybe he hadn’t finished the place.

  The ancient vampire stood staring at the sunrise at the east window. The blazing ball was just peeking over the mountains, its warm glow shining down on the ice. The light near the house remained a purplish-black, just starting to turn colors.

  “Cutting it a little close, don’t you think?”

  “It is always nice to see the sunrise.” Aldric pressed a remote hidden in his hand, and the shades darkened, briefly plunging the room into utter blackness. I heard another click, and a couple overhead lights flicker on, restoring light to the office.

  He’d also taken the liberty to come closer, so that we were face-to-face. I was too tired to be startled.

  “Impressive party trick,” I said.

  He looked at me and said, “You look like you’ve been having a good time.”
<
br />   I stared at the rumpled dress and said, “Not as good as you might think.”

  His hawkish emerald gaze latched on to his gold bar, his cold eyes alighting with the fires of greed. He’d know his money anywhere. That’s how he got to have so much of it: obsession. I’d have claimed it was unhealthy, but the guy had survived twenty-five centuries, so who the hell really knew?

  He didn’t say anything, but I took his hint. All out of witty banter, and not wanting to stay longer than necessary, I said, “It’s yours.”

  “Moreland explained the details. Is it true?”

  “Guy came into the Loaded Gun, trying to pay with it. Magnus said no way, handed it over to me for safekeeping.” I offered it to the ancient vampire, but he made no move to take it.

  “What did this man look like?”

  “Oh, you know, shitty description,” I said. “Besides, he was trying to buy information about me.”

  “You?”

  I was a little insulted by Aldric’s shock, but I kept it together. “Apparently, I’m a more valuable commodity than certain individuals think.”

  Aldric’s smooth hand ran over his well-maintained beard. His sharp face sized me up, trying to determine whether I was lying. He knew my entire history, so he knew I was a good little liar. Finally, he dropped his hand and took the golden bar.

  “I’ll have Moreland run fingerprint analysis on it.”

  “Oh, no,” I said, just about having an aneurysm when the suggestion came from his lips. “Like, a ton of people touched this.”

  His high cheekbones bunched up, and he looked at me strangely. “And?”

  “I’m saying, you’re going to have like fifty prints. No way of telling which ones are the guy’s.”

  Aldric grimaced and tapped the gold bar against his palm. “I suppose it would be a waste of time.”

  “Yeah, no need to waste Moreland’s time. He has other better leads to follow up.”

  “Have you something else for me?” Aldric stared deep into me, probing me with his vampire powers. I was immune, but could still feel the powerful desire to unburden myself. Yeah, like that was going to happen. Hey, I’m pretty sure you’re involved in this somehow, buddy. Then he’d craft a noose from my spleen and hang me from the ceiling.

  No thanks.

  But I kind of had to give him something. Dante was mine. If Aldric killed him—or tortured him, or whatever he did to people who stole his shit—before I could get the FBI steered in the right direction, Rayna was going to unleash a shitstorm on my head. Although, worst case scenario, I knew who stole the gold. But I didn’t know where Dante had it stashed.

  I said, “Well, there is one other thing.”

  Aldric placed his hand on his chin with a do tell kind of expression. The silence roared over the shaded, empty room as my mind raced for something, anything that might look like progress, but wouldn’t return to nip me in the ass.

  I settled on, “I got a name of the guy who ripped you off.”

  “Yes, Mr. Kelly.” Aldric’s look of interest faded into annoyance. “Eden, this is—”

  “Did you know he had an accomplice?”

  “We suspected it.” But I could tell from his coy response that this was news. It was also dangerously close to revealing too much. Still, I didn’t have a lot of other options. First goal: survive. Second goal: figure shit out.

  I was still on the bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs at this point.

  “I don’t know much,” I said. “But the other guy out there, he has your gold.”

  “Do you think the murderer wanted the gold?”

  I stifled the urge to say, hey, what am I, the cops and instead played it off with a shrug. “It’s a possibility.”

  Aldric said, “Your shoulder is looking worse.”

  I must have winced when I’d shrugged. Quite frankly, I was surprised I was still upright. Whatever Khan had whipped up from the dregs of Jack’s remaining supplies had been surprisingly effective. But it had been a temporary panacea. It’d been thirty hours since the wolf had clamped down on my neck. That was longer than I could’ve hoped for.

  Aldric placed put two fingers in his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. No more than fifteen seconds later, an elevator within the office dinged, a hidden panel in the floor opening to reveal a buxom assistant in a clear box. Because of course you needed an elevator in a three-story house that looked like it was hovering over the water. I mean, why not?

  His assistant wasn’t human, from the way she moved, or by how the shards of her soul carried by the wind tasted on my tongue. A shifter of some sort, but more dangerous than your typical fox, coyote or small animal. A species I hadn’t encountered.

  She gave me a predatory look as she placed a silver tray upon Aldric’s lap. Then she disappeared without a word, leaving the two of us alone to discuss my fate.

  Aldric trotted over to the sole piece of furniture in the room—a small nightstand at the center—and placed the silver tray upon it. I stared at the black pouch tied with a blue ribbon.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “A gift.”

  “A gift,” I repeated, certain I had misheard. Maybe my wound had gone septic, and I was now in the dying hallucinatory throes of my final seconds on the side of the road somewhere. That seemed infinitely more likely than Aldric bestowing mercy upon me—or rewarding me in any fashion at all.

  “Yes, I understand you might not have lived up to our original performance contract.” Aldric’s eyes didn’t blink, which was another creepy feature. It was like looking at a statue, one that didn’t breathe, but could kill you at moment. “But I have considered the fact that you will not have a chance of redeeming yourself should you prematurely expire.”

  “Redeem myself.” About all I could do was repeat his words, for I didn’t really have any of my own lined up for this scenario. I somehow corralled my tongue and avoided screaming this is a big load of bullshit. “Is this why you called me here?”

  Call was a generous word for Moreland’s shenanigans, but unleashing my unfiltered thoughts on the matter didn’t seem prudent.

  “A small reason, yes,” Aldric said. “One must keep their investments in working condition.” He gave a sweeping glance over the room, his emerald eyes skimming over the empty space. Glad I ranked on the same level as this random property on the edge of nowhere.

  “Fantastic,” I said, barely suppressing my immense irritation. “If that’s all—”

  “I don’t expend such resources on favors.” His tone was sharp. He turned and flashed a quick, mirthless smile, revealing his razor-like fangs.

  “So this comes with strings.” I stared at the black pouch, which now looked like some sort of morbid life preserver tossed in the ocean. “I already signed your new contract.”

  “And yet, you bring me vague news of accomplices.” He rolled up the sleeve of his dress shirt, in that calculated, perfectly creased way bankers and lawyers do after work. “That is disappointing, considering the time that has transpired since last night.”

  I blinked, trying to get the timeline straight in my own mind. When one stays awake for too long, their brain starts playing tricks on them. But yes, it had been a whole twenty-four hours since I’d barged into Aldric’s penthouse office with nothing more than anger and an almost total disregard for my own well-being spurring me forward. To my eye, the ensuing hours had been quite eventful: I’d discovered the mayor was a serial killer, tracked a lead to Lionhawk Ink, been threatened by Rayna, almost killed by a snake—and demons—in Dante’s inherited house, and, oh yeah, that guy, Dante, had robbed Aldric.

  But, since I’d kept most of that to myself, I guess it could be misconstrued that I’d spent my time getting drunk or trying to get laid in this little black number.

  “Explain how I can get my performance up, then,” I said, frowning when I realized it sounded like I was making some weird sexual innuendo.

  Aldric either ignored it or didn’t notice. “That is si
mple.” He walked slowly to the bag and tossed it from one hand to the other. “I will give you this.”

  “I like where this is going.”

  “And you will deliver the following things come Friday.” Aldric paused and looked me dead in the eye, to ensure I was listening. He needn’t have worried. His serious tone had my rapt attention, and I knew that I wasn’t going to like what came next. “Your seven soul quota. Your rival Reaper. And the party responsible for stealing thirteen million dollars in gold bullion from my vault.”

  I almost said damn, Dante. Thirteen million was impressive. But I kept that to myself, and instead said, “That’s kind of a full plate.”

  “You’re going to earn every dollar I’ve invested in you, Eden.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to get Moreland to track down your gold?” Not that I couldn’t—it just put me in a little bit of a bad spot. It would be easier for the FBI to fuck off and leave me alone if they had a perp in cuffs. Finding Dante murdered on the beach somewhere, or having him simply disappear from the planet wasn’t going to wrap-up their questions. And they’d keep digging.

  “Moreland has his own tasks.”

  “Fine.” I mean, what else was I going to do? Debate the finer points of his strategy? I had my marching orders, and now I’d just have to figure out a way to make everyone happy. That seemed unlikely, which meant one thing: I was going to wind up extremely unhappy with the final result.

  “Take your gift.”

  “Happy to.” I willed my leaden feet forward to the nightstand. One step away, I could catch the faintest wisp of his soul. He had it cloaked and warded out the ass, so it was just the smallest of shards. But I’d sensed it before, and this time wasn’t any different. I didn’t like what I felt. Not one damn bit.

  I grabbed the black pouch and tripped as I tried to get away.

  “Come on, now, Eden.” Aldric shook his head, emerald eyes glittering like corrupted jewels. “I don’t bite.”

  “That’s not what I’ve heard.”

  “The stories of my aggression are much exaggerated. Genghis Khan didn’t conquer the steppes by burning everything in his path. He conquered it through propaganda.”