by Tricia Owens
"But if he's smart, he'll remain where he is," Vale pointed out. "He knows that eventually you'll break and go to him. He has what you want."
"He sure does," I sighed. I ran a hand over my face and then nudged him with my shoulder to make him move over. I looked over the map. "The only way I think we can pry him out is if we make him feel safe. That means nowhere with people. A place in the open, so he can see that no one is waiting to jump on him."
"The desert, naturally." Vale turned from the map to face me. "Being out in the open means you'll both be vulnerable with no place to take cover."
"I won't be vulnerable. I'll have Lucky. And you."
"What will Dearborn have?"
Good question. An army of golems? Doubtful. I didn't see how he would be able to transport them out there without drawing some kind of notice. A pickup truck full of mud guys would be pretty obvious.
"Doesn't matter what he has," I declared firmly and with a fool's confidence. "We have to take him down, so we'll do it in the desert. Then afterward, we'll raid his condo and hope that his defenses have died along with him."
I could see that Vale thought the plan was pretty much us flying by the seat of our pants and he was right. But I didn't care. It was time I saw Dearborn in the flesh no matter what the circumstances had to be to make it possible.
"How do you think I should contact him?" I asked Vale. "Let it leak out in the community that I’m pissed and I want to face him? Put it on Facebook?"
He gave me a look that said he wasn't amused.
"Hell," I blurted. "I'll just call him. I've got his number."
I dialed the number on his LinkedIn profile. That right there told me he was evil.
The phone rang twice while Vale stared holes through me before someone picked up. I sucked in my breath, suddenly nervous the way I hadn't been since first seeing Vagasso at Christian's house.
"Hello, Anne."
His voice was unexpectedly high, and it nearly made me giggle nervously. I quickly clamped down on that urge. Dearborn was no laughing matter.
"Professor Dearborn," I said evenly. "Do you know why I'm calling?"
"You'd like to yell at me? Accuse me of terrible things?"
"I'm calling to tell you that I'd like to kill you. Preferably some time tonight."
Vale rolled his eyes.
Dearborn breathed heavily on the other end of the line. Either he was fat and had just climbed stairs to answer the phone or he had his hand down his pants.
"Anne, are you asking me out on a date?"
I was so wigged out I actually moved the phone away from my ear and stared at it like it had turned into a starfish. Vale growled impatiently. I put up a hand to quiet him, which I'd probably hear about later. Assuming there was a later.
"Sure, creepazoid," I said into the phone. "If that's what you want to call it. I'll even bring roses. I'll be wearing my ass-kicking boots, just FYI. So don't wear plaid or we'll clash."
Dearborn was turning into a full-fledge asthmatic on the line. "You have no idea how badly I'm looking forward to seeing you, Anne." The way he said my name made me feel like he'd just licked the palm of my hand. "I've been dreaming of you."
Gross.
"You don't even know me," I said, "so why the crush?"
"Because you're special. Oh, so special."
Rubbing my face against a guy's sweaty, hairy back wouldn't have made me shudder any harder with revulsion. "Sounds like you've got an obsession, Dearborn. Care to tell me why?"
Vale, visibly agitated, began to pace. I watched him. Mostly I watched how the denim of his jeans pulled taut over his—
"I don't want to spoil the surprise, Anne. I'll tell you everything when we meet. Will it be just you? Or will you bring friends who will need to be blown up like I blew up the Magnificent Rob and his leprechaun boytoy?"
It took all of my willpower not to chuck my phone through the front window of my shop.
"So you admit it," I gritted out. Vale stopped pacing, his expression turning dark.
"I take credit for it. There's a difference."
My fingers tightened around the phone. "And my parents?"
"Your parents… Iris…" I hated Dearborn's wistful sigh. It was the sigh of a jilted lover. "We should talk about her. But not over the phone. This is far too personal. I need to see your face."
To gloat over my reaction to hearing how he'd killed her and my dad, no doubt. Dearborn made me sick.
"You'll see my face soon enough," I promised. "It'll be the last thing you see, as a matter of fact."
"And you'll come all by your lonesome?"
"Just me," I said softly, though what I was feeling in that moment could have decapitated someone. "You and me. It's my turn to teach you a lesson, Professor."
Cheesy, but I really did want to give this guy a lesson in pain.
"I accept."
I glanced quickly at the map. I gave Dearborn directions to an area near Mount Charleston that looked empty enough. We'd have to go off-road to reach it.
"No," he said immediately, his voice hardening. "That's too close to the city."
He gave me another location in the opposite direction, far south of Boulder City and about twenty-five miles south of Vegas. I studied it on the map. It was right next to Nelson, one of the abandoned mining towns I'd considered when trying to understand my mom's "dark city" reference. The place where all the killings had taken place.
It figured Dearborn would be attracted to a place with such a grim history. Still, the privacy afforded by the area sounded great to me. Population of Nelson was 37. Not many eyes there to witness as Lucky and I blasted the hell out of Dearborn.
I hoped the Oddsmakers were chilling with Netflix tonight; otherwise they were going to have a field day tallying up all the offenses I planned to commit.
"Two hours," I told him, and then I hung up so I wouldn't have to hear him give me some sleazy villain's goodbye.
I sank against the counter, realizing only then that my heart was pounding. I felt sweat on my forehead and wiped it away with a grimace.
"He's a freak show," I told Vale. "I feel sorry for any student who had to sit through even ten minutes of him. I would have flunked out gladly."
"I don't care about his personality," Vale retorted. "What kind of a threat does he present?"
"He's super cocky. That could bite him in the ass. If he were a James Bond villain he'd be the type to spend ten minutes bragging about all the crimes he's committed and how clever he is while Bond escaped and drove off in a Maserati. Also, he sounds like he's got a thing for me. Or maybe he had a thing for my mom and it's carried over to me. I might be able to work that somehow."
Though the thought of trying to seduce Dearborn, even in the most tangential of ways, made me want to hurl. I didn't know how some women managed to spend their lives with sugar daddies. I was no good at faking affection, or maybe it was more accurate to say I was no good at hiding when I was disgusted.
"He thinks I'll be there alone," I went on.
"Does he?" Vale didn't look convinced. He stood at the window and looked out at the night dark street. "He won't be alone." He glanced back over his shoulder at me. "So neither will you."
"If somehow he manages to bring an army of golems, Vale, I don't want you to get involved."
"You're joking."
"I'm not. If he's got an army then I'm going supernova, and I probably won't be able to control who I fry. If I hurt you…" I was still too raw to complete the sentence. The scenario would be all my nightmares combined. "Just no, Vale. I couldn't handle that."
He stared at me. I knew he wanted to argue. I suspected he had no intention of obeying me. But at least he didn't say as much. He'd take that stress from me.
"Alright, enough of this," I said when he remained stonily silent. "I need to prep." I considered what I'd need, but really, it wasn't much.
"Oh, damn, I need to call Melanie." And say goodbye.
I'm glad I caught myself from s
aying that last part aloud. Vale was worked up enough as it was, vibrating like a live electrical wire. As he moved to my computer and studied the location Dearborn had chosen, I called Melanie and slipped back into my studio for some privacy.
"What's up, monkey?" I said cheerfully as soon as she answered.
"Aaaaaannnne!" she yelled. "Where are you? What are you doing?"
She sounded upbeat, which meant she hadn't heard about or hadn't associated the gas explosion with Zach and Rob. Good. Better that she not spaz out before I had to leave.
"Just hanging out in the shop. As promised, I'm giving you a ring to tell you I’m taking down the baddie tonight," I said lightly. "You, me, and Vale will grab pancakes when I get back. Maybe you want to invite Christian?"
"You're going to Nirvana? Oh, god, Anne, are you sure?"
"Not going to his condo. We're meeting High Noon style, out in the desert somewhere. It's a good thing, because I can let Lucky go wild. People will think it's the Fourth of July all over again." Man, I sure hoped the Oddsmakers were throwing a rager tonight.
"How are you getting out there?"
Damn. I hadn't thought of that. "I'll, uh, steal another car."
"No! You are not mi hermano Vin Diesel. I'm driving you, Anne. Don't even try to argue with me because then I'll just follow you in my car and that'll be weird and awkward."
"Melanie, you are not going with me."
"Why? Is it dangerous?"
"Of course it'll be dangerous!"
"And that's why I'm going! Sheez, Anne, it's like you want to be all alone and die in a blaze of glory!"
That startled me enough to really take a look at myself. Did I have some kind of death wish? A martyr complex? Sure, I regularly held pity parties for myself and they were well attended, but was I depressed? Enough to want to die like Melanie said, in a blaze of glory?
"I'm trying to protect you, you stupid monkey," I said slowly and clearly. "This isn't your fight."
"You are my fight, Anne, so I'm coming with." As I opened my mouth to scream with frustration, Melanie added, "I promise I'll stay in the car. I won't get in your way. I just need to be there. Holy guacamole, the thought of you out there all by yourself…it makes my eyes hurt! Your parents would hate me if I let you do that. I'd-I'd hate myself, Anne. For the rest of my life!"
Melanie, five feet tall and full of Mexican spice, had beaten me down.
"I hate you," I said to her.
She gave me a loud kiss through the phone. "Yay! Give me ten."
Cursing, I put my phone away and returned to the shop. Vale smirked at me. "You sure are a badass."
I glared at him. "You've never known wrath until you've experienced a monkey's wrath."
His smirk deepened. "So then I guess I'll ask Melanie if I can tag along. She'll need someone to keep her company while you're saving the world."
"Remember what I said about knowing evil? I'm looking at it right now."
Annoyed, but not as much as I probably should be now that I had two tag-alongs, I walked the aisles of Moonlight, looking without knowing what I was looking for. Nothing jumped out at me so I went to the counter. I pulled out the jewelry trays containing everything from rings to money clips and keychains.
I grabbed some things and shoved them into the pocket of my jeans, just in case.
Melanie's blue Prius pulled up a few minutes later. When Vale and I went out to the sidewalk, she launched herself at me. Vale helped me not fall into the gutter as I staggered beneath her weight.
"Melly, I'm not dead yet," I sighed, prying her off me.
"Don't say that!" She must have been sleeping when I called. Her blue dyed hair stuck up in funny curls in the back of her head. "You'll jinx yourself!"
"If it was that easy to kill someone we wouldn't need magick," I retorted and climbed into the passenger seat. Vale, I noticed, didn't bother asking if he could come along; he wordlessly took the backseat behind Melanie. I made a mental note to talk to him about his entitlement issues.
Since I didn't have an exact address to plug into Melanie's GPS, I gave her verbal directions to get her started on I-15. "We're going into the boonies, but that's a good thing."
"Unless you need an ambulance!" Melanie chewed on one fingernail. "I should have packed medicine and bandages. Oh, god, now I'm going to be stressing out the entire time!"
"You were going to be stressing out anyway." I didn't bother telling her to relax. It was a foreign word to monkey shifters.
It took us less than forty minutes, some freeway changes, and passing a solar farm that Melanie went bonkers over to finally reach Nelson Cutoff Road, which wound into darkness to the east toward the Colorado River.
"It's spooky out here," Melanie said as her head swiveled to take in the moonlit deserts and mountains. Spiky cholla cacti cast aggressive-looking shadows, contributing to a sense of hostility and alienation.
"Spooky is good," I tried to convince her. "It keeps away witnesses."
"What if this is a trap?"
"How do you set up a trap in the desert? Besides, this place is an advantage to me. Lucky does better in wide open spaces." Not like in the weird black curtained living room of the Oddsmakers.
We made a turn east. I felt the tension rising in the car like we were all holding our breaths in anticipation of a missile heading our way. When a handful of rickety buildings appeared down in the curve of the road ahead, I was sweating even though the A/C was on.
Nothing came at us from behind the buildings, though, and as Melanie drove slowly past an old water tank on stilts, a half a dozen rusting vintage vehicles, and what looked to be a quaint gift shop, I think we all accepted that if an attack came, it wouldn't happen while we were still in the car. That made sense to me. Dearborn wanted to explain himself to me and get all slobbery again.
"Pull over," Vale directed quietly.
Melanie jerked the car over beside a mound of rusted junk which upon closer inspection proved to be an old Studebaker. Wildflowers sprouted from cracks between the windshield and the hood.
"I'll be around," Vale said and then he jumped out quickly, preventing me from yelling at him for not keeping Melanie company like he'd said he would.
But honestly, I wasn't surprised. Vale had been after the golem-maker for two decades. He was as curious as I about Dearborn and his creations.
I motioned for Melanie to continue driving down the road. When I glanced in the sideview mirror, I saw a dark form lift into the air and disappear overhead.
We left the little "town" of Nelson and headed onto a narrowing road. Dearborn hadn't specified where to meet him, but he and I both knew that I'd sense the location when I came to it.
Sure enough, not three minutes and a few hills later, I told Melanie to stop the car. She looked around wildly but I hadn't seen Dearborn nor evidence that he was near. I just had a feeling that this was it.
I turned to her. "Drive back to Nelson. Wait there for me. Do not, under any circumstances, come looking for me or try to help. You'll only make things worse for me."
"I understand." Thank god for a best friend who didn't jump to the wrong conclusions. She pulled me into a quick, crushing hug. "Be careful, Anne. Please!"
"No worries, Melly." I gave her a wink and then exited the car.
I heard her make a three-point turn and head back up the road. Soon, it was just me on the one-way road, surrounded by hills of cacti. Ahead of me, about another three miles, lay Eldorado Canyon and the Colorado River. I hoped I wouldn't have to walk that far to find Dearborn. I wasn't much of a fan of moonlit strolls in rattlesnake country.
I began walking, senses attuned for movement. The skies were clear. Vale was nowhere in sight, but I hadn't expected him to be. He was probably a master at creeping around without anyone noticing.
I topped a rise in the road and there beneath me stood Felix Dearborn.
Chapter 11
He was dressed all in black, and he was taller than I expected. Taller than Vale. Unlike Vale,
Dearborn had the beginnings of a hefty gut. The moonlight accentuated the oblong shape of his head and made the Texas-shaped birthmark on his forehead appear to glow. I took a quick look around but didn't see anyone else nor any signs of golems.
"Anne," Dearborn breathed as I drew to a stop twenty feet from him. He curled and uncurled his meaty hands but I didn't sense any tension from him. He wasn't envisioning wrapping his hands around my throat. Not yet.
"Dearborn," I greeted. "I've decided I'm going to give you a choice: you can cooperate with me or I'll toast you like a marshmallow. Fair enough?"
He smiled. He had a weirdly small mouth. It made me question how he managed to cram enough food into his body to contribute to that big belly.
"You're in such a hurry, Anne," he cooed. "I thought we were here to get to know each other. I know so much about you…don't you want to know about me?"
Thankfully he didn't pout, otherwise I would have kicked him in the balls. I crossed my arms instead.
"Fine. Tell me where the necromancy artifact is. What does it look like?"
He shook his head, looking disappointed. To our left, somewhere in the hills, a snake shook its rattler in a quiet, rain-like susurration.
"Don't you want to know how I lured your mother and father to their deaths?"
Lucky churned and roiled behind my breastbone, begging to be released, but I knew Dearborn's game. He was looking for reaction. He'd have to wait.
"So you're saying the gargoyle golem you made was a trick?" I asked. "To what, put them on that road at a certain time—"
Dearborn balled his hands into fists. "I could have killed them at any time. I don't need a time or a place, Anne. I have the power to snuff out life like that." He snapped his chubby fingers. "No, the funny part is that all along, though they thought they were chasing me, I was chasing them. Well, her. Iris."
Another sigh of my mother's name. Dearborn definitely harbored some kind of weird fixation with her.
"Why chase them?" I demanded, though I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.
