“You better stop standing around then,” Nate gurgled another laugh and coughed so severely his whole body shook.
“Stop talkin’, ya fool.” Wright dug her finger into his side aggressively and started whispering under her breath.
He gasped and blinked like he’d been submerged in ice water.
“We’ll slow it down as much as we can.” She eyed Freddy and Miranda. “And you two betta get singing dat song again.”
Freddy smiled, and Miranda sang an arpeggio.
“I’m going with you.” Ria stood and turned to Josh, her eyes bloodshot and narrowed.
“Me, too.” I nodded. I couldn’t just sit here and watch him waste away any more than she could.
“First, you will tell us what happened tonight, Ms. Brooks. Why you left the college after I told you to stay within its bounds, especially,” Morales added, her eyes leering over her glasses, a note of sourness in her voice.
My body heated, and I stepped toward her, done with people telling me what to do, done with Patrons and Babylonians. “Kovac’s alive. After all your supposed searching, he’s alive and he’s been torturing my mom for the past eighteen years.” My fists curled into knots.
Morales stepped back, her eyes wide, her head shaking. “It’s not possible. Evelyn, Kovac can’t be—”
“We all heard him.” Ria came to my side. “You can interview us later. Right now, Nate’s the priority.” She squared her shoulders and set her jaw like Nate would have.
Morales continued to shake her head . “But your mother, she couldn’t be. After all this time, I would have known. The treaty. This is a trick. Essence-made mirages are common in high stress situations and—” Her mouth recited mindless sentences.
“You’re dismissed, Brooks. Get back as soon as you can to discuss this further,” Denisov said, her arms flexing over her chest, brow furrowed.
I turned and followed Ria and Josh out, one glance back at Nate before the door closed.
***
The dark hours before dawn and the steady rumble of the Jeep’s engine did little to quiet my mind’s incessant questions. My body craved sleep, but my head was a tyrant, ordering thoughts to circle unanswered.
My mom was alive. How could she be after all this time? After all that they’d probably done to her? Why had Kovac done this?
I shook my head.“How is he alive?” I whispered.
“What?” Ria leaned forward in the backseat, her eyes still bloodshot.
My body tensed, and my fingers clasped the door handle. “Nothing. I just…nothing.”
Ria didn’t sit back but fiddled with a few strands of my hair. I sighed and tried to focus on the fresh clothes Josh had grabbed out of the lost-and-found box before we left. It would have been easy for him to just get our clothes from our room, but he’d said there was no time. If it wouldn’t have killed him, I would have just asked him to run to his friend and back, but it was too far away. His body couldn’t handle that. I’d seen the effects of pushing his talent too far the first night we met.
“I know it’s my fault. I’m not denying that,” Ria said, her voice cracking. “But I was trying to take a video of Kovac when it slipped. I was trying to help.”
I turned sideways in my seat to see her clearly. Her hair was in knots, mascara ran down her cheeks, and her lower lip trembled.
“I’m sorry, Evey,” she added, not willing to look me in the eye.
A warm pressure pushed on my chest. I’m sorry wasn’t a phrase either of us said very easily. I pressed my hand over hers. “It’s going to be ok. Nate’s going to get better, I’m going to find my mom, Kovac will get his.” I gritted my teeth and then put on a smile. “And we’ll all have a Jane Austen happily-ever-after.”
“I love that movie.” Ria wiped her cheek.
I smiled lovingly. Of course she remembered the movie and not the book.
“Think your mom will believe all this when you tell her?” I asked, hoping it would take her mind off Nate for a moment. Thinking about him was the only thing keeping me from going crazy about my own mom. There was no reason it couldn’t work the other way around, especially after what Ria had said last night at the party. She wouldn’t have mentioned her mom unless she’d talked to her recently.
Josh glanced back at Ria in the mirror. “Your mom doesn’t know about—”
“Yeah right.” Ria chuckled ruefully. “She works for a casino lord, which means she travels everywhere in the world except Vegas. I talked to her yesterday.” She chewed her tongue. “She said she was sorry she didn’t make graduation, but that she’d watch the video Grandpa made…She has no idea.”
My chest weighed me down with guilt as I met Ria’s eyes.
“What about your dad?” said Josh.
“He died about the same time Evey’s ran out. Makes us sisters in my book.”
I smiled, reminded of one of the bonds that tied us together so early in our lives. There was little that could break that now. At least that’s what I’d thought before tonight.
“Ria, I just have to say this. I don’t like Nate. I mean, I don’t like-like him. I’m sorry it came off like that,” I said very quickly, completely turned around in my seat so I was facing her.
Ria sighed and sat back. “I know. It’s ok. I was just jealous. He doesn’t like-like me either.” She chuckled without any joy reaching her eyes. “He never will, even after we save his freckled booty.”
I squirmed as an eighth grade image flashed involuntarily across my mind. Pool party. Ned Billings was into pantsing people. Nate got the worst of it.
Josh smirked to himself but turned onto a short gravel road before I could say anything else. We stopped in front of a shabby brick building. “We’re here,” he said, a weight seeming to set on his shoulders again.
I stepped out, and a desert breeze sucked me dry. Empty dirt fields surrounded the lonely building. Just above the front door, a blue and white sign in need of new paint read: “Inland Empire Veterinary.”
“She’s a vet?”
“I think.” Josh pulled out his wallet and fished out a disorganized wad of business cards. He flipped each one over so fast I thought he was shuffling a deck of playing cards. He held up a blue and white card with a dog on the front and hand-written purple script on the back. I snatched it from him as he stared at it.
“Whoa, you’re quick.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Are those hearts?” I said. It read: Thanks for the pick me up. I’ll never forget it.
The perfect, cutesy cursive built up a girl in my mind so quickly that I felt like I should slap Josh for not telling me about her.
He snatched it back and shoved it into his wallet. “Time is of the essence,” he said and walked away before I could tell if he meant it as a joke.
Gravel crunched under our feet as we made our way across the empty parking lot. Instead of going in the front door, Josh led us around back. The sunlight glinted horizontally across one of the dirt fields as the sun rose, blinding rays stretching toward us so I couldn’t see more than five feet ahead.
“Are you sure she’ll be here this early?”
Josh held up his fist to stop us just like Nate. The rigid movement seemed forced and natural at the same time.
He sniffed and began the long inhale of a sneeze. Suddenly, a cat darted out from under a cardboard box and ran between his legs. He sneezed so hard his arms flailed, and he fell back into the metal trashcans next to the door.
Ria and I stared, chins to chests, eyes wide. “Seriously?”
He grumbled and stood. “I don’t like cats,” he said defensively, dusting himself off.
The door to our left cracked open. The doorknob thudded against the inside wall, but the black, steel, security screen bolted over the door obscured who had done it.
“I thought we agreed never to see each other again,” said a confident, sultry voice.
“It’s an emergency.” Josh’s back straightened.
She was quiet for a long moment,
then the locks clicked, and the steel frame swung forward. “Well, I’m glad to see Patrons have finally let humans on their teams.” She took a step forward, her brown hair absorbing the sun’s rays that obscured her face from my view.
Ria smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”
The woman spread her arms, and Josh stalked forward carefully, before suddenly bear hugging her off the ground.
I blinked several times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I guess he got to know her after he saved her?
I shook my head and pushed down any hint of jealousy.
She giggled a melody. “It’s good to see you.” Her face tilted slightly so I could finally see all of her. Wavy walnut hair fell past her shoulders, sky blue eyes glinted in the light, and a furtive smile graced her lips. Then, a white scar traced down the middle of her face, starting at her forehead and disappearing under the neckline of her shirt.
Josh had been serious when he said they’d tried to split her in two. It looked like they’d succeeded.
I stood back, trying to discern her age. It was difficult with the scar, though the way she smiled and carried herself I hardly noticed it. Her eyes hadn’t left Josh’s.
Josh released her from his thick arms, but she held on to his hand.
“Eve, Ria, this is Meg.”
My whole body got hot now. My hands started to sweat, and I wiped them on my jeans as my lips forced a smile.
“Whoa, look at the energy comin’ off you. Either you’re ready to kill me or kiss me.” Meg stared at me, her head cocked to the side playfully.
I stammered, my face blank.
She smiled. “Come ‘ere.” She spread her arms again and embraced me in a hug similar to the bear hug Josh had just given her.
Josh looked at me quizzically, likely seeing my out-of-control essence as plainly as Meg could. I forced air into my lungs and focused my emotions into a single point in my vision. It worked for half a moment.
Meg’s essence was red like Josh’s and similar in brightness to Ria’s, but when I tilted my head I thought I saw a glimpse of darkness run across one side of her face.
When I blinked, the sight was gone, and all I was left with was her smile.
“So, friend, what’s the emergency?” Miss Sunshine turned to Josh and led us inside. Florescent lights hung from the ceiling, and white cabinets lined the walls. In the center of the room, a stainless steel table sat waiting for a patient. An opening at the far end looked like it led to an office, waiting room, and what must have been a room full of kennels filled to the brim from all the barking and meowing coming from within.
As if on command to exit their ark, over thirty different animals rounded the corner and ran toward us. Dogs and cats and chickens and mice and lizards. Barks and hisses and clucks filled the room as they swarmed our feet in greeting. A brown and white beagle even jumped up into Ria’s arms.
“Ah, he’s so cute,” Ria crooned.
“He’s yours if you want him,” Meg said pointedly. “They all come from abusive homes, but they’re more loving than anything you’ll find out in the world.” She watched Ria light up and rock the dog back and forth. “Amazing how animals don’t stop loving even when they’re not loved, isn’t it?”
I glanced at Ria. She held the dog with wide, teary eyes. The beagle rested its head on her shoulder.
It was all over now.
Josh’s whole body convulsed in a sneeze that launched him back three feet.
“Oh, I forgot.” Meg bit her lip and snapped a finger. As if by some psychic command, all the cats went back to the other room.
I raised my eyebrows. “You could give Dr. Doolittle a run for his money.”
“If only.” Meg grinned.
“Our friend was hit by some kind of concentrated dark essence.” Josh stepped around a pit bull snuggled up with a chicken. “It’s different than a cut from a spiritual weapon, though. Almost like tar.”
She nodded, her tongue rolling over her teeth. “They’ve finally got it right.” She paused. “When and where?”
“Upper arm and shoulder about two and a half hours ago.” I stepped closer to the stainless steel table. Goose bumps ran up my arms.
“You really don’t have much time then.” She turned to the cabinets lining the wall. Tiny wood drawers with labels were stacked meticulously along the countertop. She hummed to herself serenely, throwing pinches of herbs and other ingredients into a bag. Ria slipped my phone out of my pocket with one hand and cradled the dog in the other, pressing buttons next to its head.
“Do all Babylonians know how to do this?” I came up to the side of the counter as she opened and closed drawers without even needing to look. “Make antidotes?”
Josh turned to me with wide, warning eyes, but Meg didn’t seem to take offense. “No, my mother taught me. She was like a Patron healer.”
“What do the Babylonians call them?” Ria said, still watching her every move, my phone pointed discreetly at the counter.
“Reapers.” Meg smiled to hide a subtle grimace. “They’re not like grim reapers or anything. It’s just something they call themselves.”
She glanced back at Josh as she poured the contents of the bag into a stone bowl.
My eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was something she was hiding. Something Josh wasn’t telling me about her. What if she was making something to poison Nate even more?
“And you know what it is they threw at him? Concentrated dark essence?” I continued.
She crushed the ingredients with a well-worn mortar and pestle. “It’s dark essence made corporeal.”
“I think we should just let her—” Josh stepped between us, shaking his head, his eyes pleading with me to stop.
I held his gaze without moving.
“It’s fine.” Meg set her hand on his shoulder gently.
My blood pressure surged again with jealousy and suspicion.
I took a deep breath and looked away. Why was this upsetting me so much?
“Essence like that is made from a sacrifice, but not in the ‘oh, you saved me’ sense,” she said, the line on her face practically disappearing. “They make someone who’s possessed or in a demonic cult slit their own throat. Blood taken that way has always had some pretty powerful qualities, but the Babylonians have been trying to take that and purify it for ages.”
“Are you almost done there, Meg? We kind of have to—” Josh interrupted.
She set down the pestle with a delicate thud and smiled. “Now, now, don’t be rude, Josh. Patrons obviously aren’t teaching the essentials anymore.”
“It’s our first year,” said Ria quickly, putting my phone in her back pocket.
Meg’s smile continued to reach up into her sky blue eyes. “All humans have both types of essence—light and dark—though sometimes we’re predisposed to one or the other. It’s one of the things angels use to preselect humans to become Patrons or Babylonians.” She held up both her hands like a pair of scales. “Light essence has all that good stuff the Bible talks about—hope, faith, love. Dark essence is the opposite. The two always exist together, but Babylonians have been trying to drain out the light for a while now and synthesize a concentrated dose of dark essence, or at least something not so powerful that it’d kill them just by touching it.”
A puff of disbelief escaped me. “What? Why wouldn’t they be able to touch it?” I said, continuing to watch her as she spoke to me without looking me in the eye.
“We might be predisposed to light or dark, but it’s what we do that ultimately influences what our essence looks like. Besides, without one, you can’t have the other.” She held up her invisible scales again. “You can ask God why when you see him.” She smiled, turned back to the pewter bowl, and dumped the ground contents into a plastic bag.
“You sure know a lot about it.”
She shrugged. “Everybody knows, and try as they might, Babylonians can’t survive on dark essence alone. If someone is drained of or absorbs all of one type of essenc
e—dark or light—they die. Human bodies are too weak, and the amount of angel essence you get isn’t powerful enough to keep your body alive when your soul’s gone.” She paused. “I think it’s good though. It reminds them they can choose to turn back to God. We are not what we’re capable of, but what we choose. Isn’t that right, Spaulding?” She turned to Josh. “I still can’t believe that name. Still like basketball?”
Josh gritted his teeth good-naturedly. “It’s just a name.”
I tilted my head and stared with narrowed, unbelieving eyes. Choose to turn back—? Is that what she really thought? That these things that kidnapped my mom, killed my grandpa, hurt one of my best friends for some God-forsaken reason could just say “I’m sorry” and be forgiven? No, there were some things you just couldn’t come back from.
Meg sealed the bag and rolled it into a tight cylinder. A stitch in my side told me trust should be out of the question. I begged my subconscious for something more than that, but it didn’t come.
“I still don’t understand how you know how to make that antidote,” I said plainly.
Meg smiled pleasantly. “I watched my mom make it all the time. It’s what they used to keep people from dying during all their experiments. Even if they’ve perfected it so it only hurts Patrons and not them, I’m guessing the basic formula is still there. I’m just increasing the dose to make your friend’s have a little more kick. Just pour it into some water, mix, and tell him to drink up. If he’s survived this long from direct contact, with this he should be fine.”
“He’s a Guardian. He’s strong,” said Ria proudly, reaching out for the bag. Her dog’s brown fur almost matched her hair perfectly.
“That explains it then.” Meg smiled, still holding the bag in her hand.
Josh stretched out his hand to take the bag. “Thanks again.”
Meg didn’t move. “I’m sorry, Josh, but this is for her.” She nodded to me. “My oath to you would not be repaid with this.”
“I’ll see it as repaid.” Josh gritted his teeth.
“You know that’s not how it works. Evelyn Brooks is the one with ties to the Guardian. My price is an oath with her.”
Iron Inheritance Page 21
