by Pat Esden
If it hadn’t been for the flute, I’d have grabbed her, wrapped my fingers around her neck, and squeezed until the last breath left her lungs. I planted my feet firmly and narrowed my eyes. “You know I would never abandon him. Why the hell would you want to leave him there?”
“We both know that is not what we mean. We want you to withdraw your love. We will go with you, help your mother and lover escape. In exchange, we want a free path to his heart. All that is required is your promise and three hairs from your head to seal the agreement.”
I gaped at her, fury boiling inside me. Who the hell did she think she was? “No, I’d never do that to him.”
“He claims to love you. If he truly does, then he will not trade you for us. Are you scared to take that chance?”
Of course not, I wanted to scream. I knew he loved me. She did, too. She’d been there the last time I’d spoken with Chase, that moment of anger and passion in the dark corridor of Malphic’s fortress when he’d declared his love for me in front of her.
She rolled her shoulders. “Maybe you need more enticement. If you refuse, we will open a hellmouth in the middle of Moonhill and let the demons out to feast on your family. We are certain the Devil would not complain.”
Inside, terror gripped me. But she wasn’t going to trick me with empty threats. I lightened my voice and scoffed. “You’re full of shit.”
“You do not think we have that sort of power? You think helping people cross into death or the djinn realm is all we are capable of?”
Before I could answer, she put her flute to her lips and blew.
A screech filled the elevator, the sound jackknifing higher by the second. The metal walls shuddered. Mirrors shook. I clamped my hands over my ears as the sound morphed into the yowl of wounded animals, cycloning toward glass-shattering levels.
My eyes widened as cracks branched across the mirrors. Oh my God. I couldn’t risk her destroying them. They were entries to Moonhill’s secret hallways and treasuries. I couldn’t let her see that. But I couldn’t forsake Chase either.
Beneath my feet, the floor quaked and bowed. With an echoing boom, it thrust upward in the middle, sending me flying into a wall. Pain shot through my body. I grabbed the safety railing, clinging to it for dear life, as the elevator shimmied and shuddered. Suddenly the floor sucked downward, a black hole opened at its center, and widened by the second. Blistering-hot steam and sulfur fumes hissed out from it. Holy shit. A hellmouth.
Through the haze, I glimpsed Lotli, standing firm on the other side of the hole, her flute raised upward. Her gaze caught mine. She gave another quick trill, then stopped playing.
The elevator stilled. The hole closed, the floor shifting silently back to normal. The cracks vanished from the mirrors.
Utterly drained, I stood there in the swirling fumes, paralyzed and soaked with sweat.
Lotli sheathed her flute in the folds of her waistband and smiled at me. “We will give you time to decide.” Her eyes narrowed. “Say one word about this or our offer and we will vanish—after we make the hellmouth permanent. You will seal your family’s extinction and hurry your mother’s death. And Chase, we can see him, dressed in blood and sweat, Malphic’s living weapon—or dead, his body thrown out into the desert to rot.”
She pressed an elevator button. The door swished open and she was gone, taking the last of the steam and stench with her.
CHAPTER 15
Jingle, jingle, jingle. What is the cost?
A hair from my lady’s head. And
a promise from her heart.
—Disturbing Nursery Rhymes
www.DarkCradleTime.com
In a daze of bewilderment and rising panic, I rode the elevator down to the kitchen. I had to tell Dad and Grandpa and Kate what had happened. There was no other choice. But I couldn’t do it in front of Lotli, and they were together in the widow’s walk hallway testing the cold spot right now.
The elevator door whooshed open and I stumbled out into the sunny kitchen. The aroma of homemade bread and roasting chicken filled my nose. It felt absurdly normal in the light of what I’d just experienced.
“Annie?” Laura’s voice said. “Are you all right?” She stood on the other side of the kitchen’s work counter, her barn-board weathered face reflected a dozen times in the copper pots hanging from the overhead rack. She wiped her hands on her apron and started toward me without mentioning anything about ear-shattering sounds or an earthquake coming from the elevator shaft. Clearly, Lotli had somehow managed to keep everything contained.
I held up my hands to keep her at a distance. “I’m fine. I just—I hate elevators.” She was like family, but she wasn’t family. Definitely not the first person I should discuss things with. “Mostly I’m just crazy busy,” I added, sidestepping toward the hallway door.
“I imagine so. Can I help with anything?”
My brain staggered, my thoughts jumbling until I couldn’t think of a thing to say. I shook myself free. What was I doing? Sure, I was terrified. Sure, I was confused. Anyone would be. But, damn it, I needed to pull myself together. Focus. First things first. That’s what Chase would tell me to do.
I pushed my shoulders back and took a steadying breath. No matter what ended up happening with Lotli, I still needed to get the poison ring and this still was the best time to do that. “Actually, you can help me,” I said to Laura. “Would you mind putting some salt into baggies for me? About a half cup in each bag. A dozen should be enough.”
She smiled. “No problem. I can do that in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
“Thank you. I’ll be back to get them.”
I fled the kitchen before she could ask where I was going. But my worries and fears dogged me. Why had we ever let Lotli into our lives?
A sinking feeling settled into my stomach. Mother. Chase.
I hurried through the front foyer and past the dining room. When I reached the library, my ear caught the muffled sound of the Professor and Zachary discussing something. But they didn’t hear me. And in no time at all, I was down the west wing hallway and in Kate’s office.
As I’d hoped, no one was there, except for an assortment of cats. A pair of Siamese and a couple of others swished their tails and followed me into the office bathroom.
Across from the toilet a full-length mirror took up most of the wall. For a moment, my mind went back to the mirrors in the elevator. The shaking and crackling sounds. It was just freaking luck that they hadn’t revealed their secrets to Lotli. That would have made things even worse, if that was possible.
I breathed on the mirror, fogging up the glass, then gathered my nerve and stepped forward. Grandpa had entered my DNA into the Moonhill’s security system, so technically there wasn’t any reason for it not to work.
Walking through the mirror was like walking through a wall of super-cooled, burbling Jell-O. Next thing I knew, I was on the other side, and standing in what resembled a torchlit hallway in a medieval castle, except a massive Easter Island–type statue glared at me from the far wall and the torches were glowing crystals.
Something short and furry ghosted past my ankle. But this time I didn’t jump.
“Good kitty,” I said as Houdini made another circle around my legs. In truth, I was glad for the company, though I couldn’t begin to imagine how he’d gotten through the DNA scan.
I glanced down the hallway. So far everything appeared the same as the last time.
In passing, Grandpa had joked about how he’d enshrined the poison ring in the display case that used to hold the Lamp of Methuselah. There was a certain ironic justice to that, since Culus originally stowed himself in the ring in order to gain access to Moonhill and steal the lamp. It was also lucky for me, since I’d seen the case where the lamp was stored.
I started down the hallway, keeping an eye on the bees carved into the walls. They marked the way to the treasury I wanted. When I came to where an enormous Aztec calendar stone interrupted the bees for a few yards, I stopped long en
ough to brush my fingers across the ferocious face chiseled into its center. My dad was responsible for the stone being here, but deep inside I couldn’t help wondering if it really belonged back in its homeland. It was a national treasure and—
“What the hell is that?” I said to Houdini, bending closer to the stone.
I rubbed my eyes and took another look. Above the face was the likeness of a pyramid, its peak decorated with an irregular hexagon of dots.
My mouth dropped open. Oh my God. Not just any hexagon. It was the constellation Ophiuchus, just like the painting at the yacht club, like Newt’s tattoo. I’d never even heard of the constellation before and now it was everywhere. That wasn’t exactly comforting.
I studied the face again. Something about it bothered me, too, maybe its feathered headdress or eyes. Or maybe it was the hands chiseled into the stone on either side of it, hands that clutched bloody hearts.
I forced myself to look away from the calendar stone. I was letting myself get distracted. I’d come here to get the ring and that’s what I needed to do.
With renewed resolve, I began jogging down the shadowy hallway. I approached the spot where Chase had taken my hand and first told me that he was half genie. My dream was to have him back home, sane, and in my arms again. But the truth was, even if he wasn’t sane or mine, I couldn’t leave him in the realm—any more than Dad or I could forget Mother. And the only safe way to rescue them was with Lotli and her flute-magic. If I said a word, that wouldn’t happen. In fact, even worse things would happen than I’d previously feared.
My mind flailed. What had seemed so obvious was now impossible to decide. I slowed and picked up Houdini. Holding him against my chest, I veered down a narrow passage. Rolled-up carpets and packing crates littered the floor. Hundreds of skulls with symbols painted on them leered out from niches in the walls. Their vacant eyes watched as I passed. Their dark mouths seemed to chant a single question: “What do you have to fear? What do you have to fear, if he loves you?”
Houdini dug his claws into my shirt and stared up at my face as if he agreed.
Sweat dampened my sides. I had nothing to fear. All Lotli wanted was for me to give her a chance to win his heart. The second all of us were back safely in our world, I’d tell the truth. Chase loved me. It would be okay. Going along with her would put an end to the threat of her unleashing demons and the denizens of hell on my family.
I picked up my pace, striding away from the skulls. Ahead loomed the archway carved with warding symbols that marked the entry to the treasury. I set Houdini down and strode under it and into the small, circular room with a high-arched ceiling. On the far side of the room another entryway gaped. Twin mirrors hung on either side of it. Brightly lit display cases with black stone bases sat everywhere. One case contained a beagle-size scorpion with glistening eyes. Another held a glowing orange crystal. Everything looked exactly as I remembered, except the globe-like case in the center of the room now held a poison ring instead of the terra-cotta Lamp of Methuselah.
I jogged to the case, took off the necklace that held my signet ring, and pressed the ring’s carved stone against a dime-size indentation on the case’s base. The glass case unfurled, like a time-lapsed video of an opening tulip. I snatched the poison ring and tucked it into my bra. It would be safe and secure there. I’d never even have to take it out when I changed to go to the realm. When I returned, I’d simply sneak the poison ring back into the case—that was, if luck was with us and I didn’t need it.
I wiped my hands down my pants legs and took a breath. Then I headed for the twin mirrors. I didn’t dare go back the way I came. Kate might be in her office by now. But I didn’t know where either of these mirrors would take me.
Houdini dashed to the left-hand mirror and began rubbing his face against it. All right, I hadn’t caught on to a lot of things he’d tried to point out before. But I’d learned my lesson.
Still, worry fluttered in my stomach. How could he know what was beyond it? Plus, it could be just something he wanted, like a pit full of rats or cockroaches.
Cringing at that possibility, I picked him up and fogged the mirror. “I hope like hell you aren’t screwing with me,” I said, stepping into the glass.
I came out into the secret hallway across from Moonhill’s armory where all the antique weapons and costumes were stored. Perfect.
Houdini struggled against my grip, but I held him tight and made for an obsidian-framed mirror only a short distance away. I’d been through it several times before.
As I expected, that mirror took me into Moonhill’s ultra-modern and closet-like arsenal. Above my head, giant ghillie suits and netting hung, illuminated by blindly bright security lights. Racks of guns and boxes of ammunition covered every wall, binoculars, game cameras, bullet-proof vests. Camouflage rifles with huge scopes, weird, lethal-looking thingamabobs.
I set Houdini on the floor and beelined for the secret door on the far end. On the other side of it was Tibbs’s windowless office in the garage. Perfect once more, since Tibbs was no doubt off setting up new security measures along Moonhill’s borders or up on the widow’s walk working on the drones’ flight patterns.
I pushed my hand against the door. Without a sound, it swung open. Houdini streaked out, his tail brushing my legs as he zinged past. I followed him and stopped midstride.
Selena was lounging on the corner of Tibbs’s desk. Lounging wasn’t exactly the right word. She was dressed in cargo pants and a black cami top, and I suspected she’d just stretched out when she spotted me in an attempt to hide something behind her back. Tibbs sat in the desk chair. Even with his cap pulled down over his eyes, he couldn’t hide the flush creeping up across his face and tipping his ears.
Selena grinned at me, looking more than a little sheepish. “Should we ask what you were doing?”
“Should I ask you?” I said teasingly.
She giggled, her grin transforming into a wicked smile as she sat up, revealing an array of vials, granules, and one of Grandfather’s drones. “Tibbs and I are working on some extra-special security ideas.”
There were other things on the desk as well: a couple of modern handguns, grenades, and a gorgeous antique pistol with an etched handle and multiple brass barrels. Truthfully, I suspected whatever they were doing was something Grandfather would be delighted with, not upset. But Selena helping with the drones was another story. The drones would put an end to her sneaking off the estate at night. Even with Newt out of the picture, it didn’t seem like she’d totally give up partying.
I caught Tibbs’s gaze and his flush deepened. Okay. There was something else going on here. Something he was particularly uncomfortable about. I bit my tongue to keep from smirking. Tibbs’s interest in Selena wasn’t exactly a secret. Had I walked in on him making his move on her? I totally approved. Still, weren’t they a little busy for that right now?
“I thought you were making some stuff for us to take to the realm—ointments, sprays?” I said.
“I was, and we did. You’ll see later.” Selena frowned. “But, seriously, is there something you need our help with?”
A knot tightened in my chest. Lotli. I could tell them. They could keep a secret. Heck, Chase was Tibbs’s best friend. Chase. But it made so much more sense to trust that he loved me. Keep this simple. Between just Lotli and me. If I was going to tell anyone, it should be Dad. He was the one going to the realm with me.
I stilled my body—hands, legs, face—forcing myself to keep outwardly calm, like I was at an auction about to bid and didn’t want anyone to know. “Thanks,” I said, “but I already dealt with it. I was down in the armory, returning part of the disguise Kate picked out for me.” I grimaced and continued my lie. “It was this huge leather corset thing.”
Selena laughed. “Kate probably meant to keep it for herself.”
“Yeah, probably,” I said.
“You’re going as a warrior?” Tibbs asked, clearly surprised.
“No. Well, kind of. Kat
e thought all of us should wear hooded eunuch robes with warrior outfits underneath. Two disguises in one.” That wasn’t a lie, except the basic women-warrior tunics for Lotli and me were anything but showy.
“Sounds smart.” He picked up the antique pistol, turning it over in his hand. His gaze met mine. “This one’s black powder. One of a set of two dueling pistols. It can take almost any kind of shot, lead, pieces of glass, pebbles—even something like cherry pits.”
His less than subtle suggestion set off a dangerous giddiness inside me and made my fingers itch to take the gun. According to myths—and Chase—the only way to kill a full-blooded genie was to hit them super hard with a fruit pit. I tucked my hands in my pockets and repeated the warning Chase had given me when I’d made a similar suggestion. “Unfortunately, human inventions don’t work in the realm. When they do, they’re unpredictable, more dangerous than useful.”
Tibbs nudged the gun farther away as if trying to distance himself from the idea. “Sorry. I didn’t know that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
He glanced at Selena. She looked back at him, her expression unreadable. For a long moment an awkward silence filled the office.
Finally, I cleared my throat. “I should let you guys get back to work.”
“You can stay. We weren’t doing anything special, really,” Selena said.
I waved her off. “Thanks, but I’ve got to find Dad.”
Wondering what the two of them had really been up to, I hurried out of the office and through the garage. But I didn’t head for the house to find Dad. I took the path that went to the family graveyard instead.
Houdini zinged ahead, vanishing into thickets and bounding out again. Under my sneakers, the damp ground squelched. Still, it didn’t take long to hike up to the fancy iron gate that barred the graveyard’s entry.
