by Jim Butcher
“I know what it means.” Better than he ever would. “Why are you the one hunting him?”
His silence was answer enough.
“You hunted together, didn’t you? You found another double-soul, and you had to have him, no matter how twisted he was.”
“He wanted to kill, and there are things in this world in need of killing. We did a lot of good, before—”
Her second soul seized him in a grip of light and magic and rage. Julia regained control an instant later, but in that time, her sister’s spirit threw Terrence to the ground hard enough to kill an ordinary man. He coughed blood.
“Clean up your own mess,” she snapped.
“It’s been twenty years. You can’t save her.” Terrence spat and wiped his chin. “Once Shard learns the truth about you and your sister, he’ll know you’re a threat. Not to mention a challenge, a trophy. He won’t stop until he’s standing over your bloody corpse. Either I can help you, or you can fight him alone.”
“And you’ll make sure he learns about us, won’t you?” One way or another, he would maneuver her into the hunt again. Force her—force them—to fight the way they used to.
He jerked his chin toward the apartment. “I lost your sister. I don’t want to have to bury you, too.”
“Maybe we’ll both get lucky.” Julia backed away, watching for any twitch that could telegraph an attack, but he didn’t move. “Maybe Shard will kill you first.”
There was no trace of the harvester’s blood when she returned to her apartment, and the used equipment had all been returned to its proper place. Any medical waste was bagged for disposal at a nearby incinerator. There were advantages to having a hearth fairy as an assistant.
“Your father is a cheese-rectumed pustule of a man,” Hob said, once Julia shut the door. “May he be blown by a thousand diseased piranha.”
“Don’t call him that. My father, I mean.”
Hob adjusted his hat. “What’d he want?”
“Me.” That was a lie. It wasn’t just Julia he wanted. She had never told Hob the truth about her sister, but if Terrence had loosed a murderous hunter on her, it endangered him, too. “And the second soul I carry.”
“Well, smoke my dick. I’ve wondered, but I thought double-souls were a myth. Is it true you’ve got twice the power of that shit smear out there?”
“More than that.”
“Then why don’t you just kill the hemorrhoid-sucking ass-breather and be done with it?”
“Because of Jessica.” She sat down in the lone recliner and slowed her breathing until her second soul grew calm. “She was—is—my twin sister. Terrence adopted us from South Korea when we were fourteen months old and brought us to America. He sensed the power and potential in us both. He raised us to be hunters. Growing up, I thought our lives were normal. Moving from city to city, killing monsters and protecting humanity. We learned about demons and darkness with our letters. A is for antichrist, B is for Bhu¯ta . . .”
“C is for cock-zombie.”
“Jessica was stronger than me. Or that’s what we both believed.” Jessica’s spirit was still restless after their encounter in the parking lot. Most of the time, Jessica was unaware of what happened around them. She slept and she dreamed, but she could feel Julia’s anxiety, and violence turned those dreams to nightmares. “This is what he really wanted. This is why he searched the world for twins with strong magic. He meant to create a double-souled hunter, to trap us in one body, make us powerful enough to fight the darkest threats.”
Julia walked to the bedroom to change. “You should leave. It’s not safe here anymore.”
“Did you shove a lemon-scented dildo through your frontal lobe? I stay with you.”
There would be no changing his mind. A fairy’s sense of debt was unbreakable. “Then let’s go.”
“Where to?”
Hob wasn’t the only one who owed Julia a debt. Julia rarely left her apartment, but there were others who knew everything that happened on the streets of Detroit. “To find out if Terrence was telling the truth.”
By the time they reached Birch Street, a mile and a half from her apartment, six stray dogs had begun to follow them. They herded her and Hob to a bridge by the freeway on-ramp. The sloped concrete underneath was covered in mounds of fur and garbage, the majority of which was alive. One of the larger mounds turned to ask, “What brings you here, Doc?”
“A hunter called Shard.” She had to raise her voice to make herself heard above the rush of vehicles overhead.
The Dog King of Detroit was a peculiar figure. He wasn’t human, not exactly, but Julia had never figured out just what he was. He dressed in layers of ratty coats and torn blankets. His head was a mane of matted hair and beard, which masked his sunken eyes. Layers of scars thickened his hands and fingers. Every dog here—at least forty—had tasted the Dog King’s blood, and in the process had become members of his pack. Julia didn’t understand exactly how his power worked, but he was connected to just about every stray and feral mutt in Detroit.
If he had a human name, Julia had never learned it. But she’d healed both him and his dogs many times over the years.
“Yeah, I know him. Killed a skinwalker by the river two nights ago.”
Julia flinched. There was only one skinwalker in Detroit, a harmless old Chippewa woman named Sandra Pego who’d moved here decades before. Julia had treated her twice, once after she’d had a run-in with a pair of blood-drinkers, and once for the symptoms of menopause.
“Hunters aren’t going to be able to bring this one down,” the Dog King said. “You, on the other hand . . . I can smell the power inside of you. You might have a chance.”
She closed her eyes and forced herself to relax until Jessica settled back down. “I don’t do that anymore. I heal. That’s all.”
“This fellow doesn’t leave anything for you to heal. Angels and demons, spirits and mortals, he kills ’em all. He enjoys it.”
A dog barked a block away, a deep, angry sound that cut off abruptly. The Dog King pulled an old revolver from somewhere on his person and whistled. The pack scattered, all but a handful of the largest and strongest animals. The rest disappeared into the shadows, through doorways unknown to mortals.
“You should leave, too.” She wondered briefly how Terrence had led Shard to her so quickly. He must have tracked her once she left the protections of her apartment. “I’m the one he’s after.”
“This is my kingdom.”
Hob spat. “This is a septic cave of piss, shit, and fur, you flea-fellated son of a bitch.”
“My mother was human, thank you very much. My father, well, he’s another matter.”
“I say we kick this guy’s double-souled ass so hard, he shits through his skull,” said Hob.
“You’ll have a better chance of surviving with my help.” Terrence Chapel strode toward them, gun in one hand, dagger in the other.
Julia could feel her sister slipping into the madness of battle and death. Sweat trickled down Julia’s chest, and felt like blood. “Survival isn’t everything.”
“You can’t help anyone by dying,” said the Dog King.
Julia wasn’t so sure, but she pushed that thought aside. To Terrence, she said, “You followed me. Led him to us.”
“Why prolong the inevitable? This way we control the site of battle, and you have allies to fight by your side.”
All true, but it was also true that by luring Shard here, Terrence had forced her hand, robbing her of the time she needed to come up with an alternative.
“Be ready,” whispered the Dog King, searching the shadows.
Before she could answer, Jessica’s spirit flared to life, leaping out to intercept an assault Julia hadn’t even seen coming. Shard’s second soul was a feral thing of silver light and sparks that ripped and clawed at Jessica, seeking to get through her to t
he fragile human body beyond.
Julia clamped down hard, spreading her shared power into a shield while she assessed their prey— No, dammit. Not our prey. That was Jessica’s thought, her fragmented memories fighting to the surface.
A trail of silver light and sparks connected their attacker to a mortal body standing on the edge of the road. Shard was younger than she’d expected, with a smooth face and blond ponytail and perfect teeth. Old enough to drive, but not to drink. He wore camouflage fatigues and heavy boots. His eyes stared into the darkness, empty like those of a blind man.
The Dog King’s revolver thundered, the sound amplified by the bridge. Shard’s second soul flickered around to deflect the bullet. Terrence circled, trying to catch Shard in the cross fire.
A black-and-white dog lunged, jaws snapping. Shard’s spirit arm reached through the animal’s body, yanking the life from the flesh before Julia could cry a warning.
In that moment of chaos and grief, Jessica came fully awake. She lashed out at Shard and Terrence both, knocking them to the ground. It was like standing in the middle of a lightning storm, energy crackling out blindly.
Terrence dropped his weapons and pulled a charm made of knotted silver chain from his jacket. Keeping one arm over his face to protect himself, he hurled the charm at Shard. Shard’s second soul curled inward like paper blackened by flame. “This is your chance, Julia! Finish it now!”
Even after more than a decade apart, that commanding tone triggered instinctive fear and obedience. She seized her sister’s soul, shaped it into a weapon, and lunged. . . .
Her souls pierced Shard’s. Just as had happened with Jessica years ago, she fell into Shard’s memories. She saw his life, saw everything that had shaped him.
Shard screamed and stumbled back.
“Julia!” Terrence moved closer, but Shard was flailing too wildly, like spiritual power lines whipping about in a storm.
She blinked to clear the tears from her eyes. “You bastard.”
Cars honked and screeched to a halt as the bridge began to crumble from Shard’s onslaught. Chunks of concrete slammed onto the road. Steel warped and twisted.
Hob tugged her arm. He and the Dog King pulled her toward a hole in the earth, a hole that hadn’t been there moments before, and then they were falling into the darkness.
Julia had killed her sister half a lifetime ago. Despite everything Julia had done since, Jessica remained trapped in that moment, unable to leave the pain and betrayal behind, reliving her death again and again.
Through Jessica’s eyes, Julia saw herself at age fourteen, crying as she drove the knife into Jessica’s stomach. She felt the punch of impact, the explosion of breath from her lungs. She heard herself sobbing “I’m sorry,” over and over.
Even with a blade in her gut, Jessica was a dangerous fighter. She punched Julia in the eye, nose, and throat within the span of a single heartbeat. Julia yanked the knife free, making her sister scream in pain. Jessica warded off the next strike with her left palm and kicked Julia hard enough to crack ribs. Julia fell back, and Jessica produced a gun from a holster strapped to her back. One hand clutched her bleeding gut, while the other lined up a killing shot.
Their father had spent years building Jessica into a warrior. Julia’s training had been focused on healing and on manipulating the soul.
Jessica’s body was dying. Julia seized her sister’s soul and pulled.
In that moment, she and her twin became one. She saw the truth in Jessica’s memories. How their father had tormented Jessica for every mistake. How he punished her for any trace of mercy or compassion. He forged her into a murderer, rewarded her for every kill, encouraged her to take pleasure in suffering and death.
He’d wanted Jessica to become a monster. He’d come to Julia, his voice hoarse as he described how her sister had tortured innocent people, how she’d fallen to the darkness. How it was Julia’s responsibility to put an end to her sister’s crimes.
He’d known Julia would have to use soul magic. Just as he’d known two souls that once shared the same womb could share a body again. Everything he’d done was to lead them to this moment, to create a double-souled hunter, exponentially stronger than either had been before. Becoming another weapon in his arsenal.
They emerged into a junkyard, a maze of crushed automobiles fenced in by ten-foot chain link and barbed wire. Dogs pressed past her, tails between their legs as they sought comfort and safety from their king.
“We should be safe for the moment.” The Dog King sounded exhausted.
“Great,” snapped Hob. “We get a few more minutes of life before that double-ended dildo of death kills us all.”
“If Shard could have followed us through the Dog King’s tunnels, he’d be here already.” Julia collapsed on the ground, her back to the hard, crumpled steel of an old truck. “We’re miles away. We have time to plan.”
A long-haired mutt put his head in her lap and whined. She stroked the dog’s fur, instinctively calling on Jessica to reach inside and heal the animal’s broken leg.
The power wouldn’t come.
Jessica . . . Her sister’s energy was a knot of pain and confusion, snarled with Shard’s attack and the memory of her own death. Julia tried to calm herself, to spread that calm through them both, but her own thoughts were too chaotic.
“You hesitated.” Terrence’s power charged the air like static, making her want to vomit. “You had him.”
Julia didn’t bother to turn around. “I thought you’d found another double-soul, but it was worse than that. You didn’t find Shard. You made him. Just like you did me.”
“What choice did I have? If you’d stayed with me, I never would’ve needed Shard.”
“His name was Anthony.” How could she calm Jessica when all she wanted was to burn this man to ash? “His brother was Darren. I saw what you did to him, just like I saw what you did to Jessica. How long did you search after I left before you found Anthony and his brother? You spent years fanning his bloodlust and hatred. You pushed him deeper and deeper into the darkness, and when he fell, you brought Darren to murder his brother.”
Hob turned on Terrence. “I oughta fuck yer teeth with a rusty cheese grater.”
“Only it didn’t go as you’d hoped, did it?” Julia continued. “Darren wasn’t as strong. Or else you hadn’t prepared him well enough. I watched him try to control Anthony’s corrupted soul. I watched him fail.”
He didn’t deny it. “Anthony and me, we hunted a hundred threats, saved thousands of lives. Don’t blame me if Darren wasn’t strong enough to—”
“You told me Jessica was beyond redemption. I believed you. Right until the moment I killed her. I saw her then. I saw what you’d twisted her into, but I also saw the part that remembered joy, the part that hated what she’d become and wanted so desperately to be free. I took that hope away from her.”
“None of that matters now,” he said. “Shard isn’t like you or your sister. You bloodied him pretty good back there. He’ll be more determined than ever to track you down. And if he kills you, he kills what’s left of Jessie, too.”
The Dog King licked his lips. “He has a point.”
“Aye,” said Hob. “Butt-munching dick cancer that he is.”
“You don’t know what that fight with Shard did to her.” Julia blinked hard, trying to separate herself from her sister’s turmoil as Jessica screamed and cursed, unable to move beyond her own murder. “It’s the only reason I haven’t killed you.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Jessie.” Terrence grinned crookedly.
“Don’t call her that.” She folded her arms and let a hint of her power light the air between them. “It’s time for you to leave.”
“You think you can stop him without me?”
“I won’t let you hurt her again.” She pushed herself to her feet and stepped toward
him.
He scowled but didn’t argue. Within moments, he had disappeared into the shadows.
It was too easy. “He thinks he’s won.”
The Dog King cocked his head to one side. “How so?”
“Because he expects me to fight, with or without him. That’s all he wants. He believes I’ll do anything to protect Jessica, and that means he can still use me as a weapon. All he has to do is steer his prey toward me. Threaten my friends and my sister. And once he knows he can control me again, he’ll never stop.”
“What a grade-A, purebred ass-weasel,” said Hob. “So what’s the plan?”
She turned to the Dog King. “Take your pack and go. You’ve already lost too many.”
He didn’t move. “All due respect, but kings don’t take orders.”
“Kings don’t abandon their subjects, either.” She looked pointedly at the injured dog by her feet.
“That’s why we fight,” he said. “To protect them.”
She crouched and tried again to heal the dog’s leg. This time, with Terrence no longer looming over them, she was able to mend the broken bone. “Please.”
He sighed, then enveloped her in a firm, musty-smelling hug. “Nothing I say is gonna change your mind, is it?”
“No.” She waited for him to go, then turned to Hob. “You should leave, too.”
“And you should go fuck a cactus. Now where are we going?”
“Home.”
“Some shit can’t be healed.” Hob sat on the edge of her counter, scarfing down a bowl of leftover chili. He had needed almost no time at all to prepare her apartment for what was to come. “I don’t know about your sister, but some souls aren’t wounded or misunderstood. Some souls are just fucking evil.”
Julia looked around at the sedatives and anesthetics Hob had laid out along the counter, each one in a drawn, uncapped syringe. None of them worked instantly, and there was a good chance Shard would kill her before she got close enough to administer them, but it was the only option that gave her any hope of escaping her father’s trap.
