It meant a lot was on the line.
Zillah hoped to be the one that destroyed any hope Calista Embers would ever have again. She’d been thinking about it for decades, and now it was finally here.
If only she could find Emma.
As she sat on the bench, she looked out at the harbor. The water taxi was crossing over from Patriots Point and it looked like it was at capacity. Tourists and Mt Pleasant snobs filled every seat and Zillah couldn’t help but snort. She couldn’t wait for all of these people to meet their end. She’d laugh as she watched them all burn in their boat shoes and Lilly Pulitzer.
Something caught her eye on the boat as it came closer to the dock. She wasn’t sure, but if she saw what she thought she saw…
Yes. It was him.
Palmer Martin.
Interesting, Zillah thought. And by himself. Very strange.
The Martins were rarely alone. They were a cliquish clan— and huge snobs to boot. They were all lawyers and the entire family lived over in mansions lined up on Wappoo Creek. They never got involved in conflict. They didn’t want their shapeshifting abilities to be taken away, being that they were borrowed from Ezekiel. So they stuck together and rarely socialized outside of their circles.
They knew where their bread was buttered, so to speak.
Palmer Martin was a man that had always caught Zillah’s eye. He was handsome as hell; tall, muscular. Built like an Olympic swimmer, which obviously made sense. Long ago when she’d been a Belle she’d tried to get his attention, but he’d been completely disinterested in her.
Oh well. His loss.
As he walked off the dock and onto the pier of Waterfront Park, it became clear he was looking for something.
Or apparently someone.
Suddenly a strawberry blonde girl ran toward him down the pier, squealing as she skipped and leapt into Palmer’s arms. He picked her up, his smile as broad as his shoulders. They shared a passionate kiss and embrace. The people around them were staring at this beautiful couple who looked like they were reuniting after years apart.
And then Zillah realized who the girl was.
Josephine Berkshire.
Josephine, along with the rest of the Belles, had some way of hiding from Zillah’s shadow-sight. But here she was, unmistakably out in the open.
And just like that, the day was turning into something very special indeed.
Zillah followed the lovers as they walked down Vendue Range and up to East Bay. They were clutching hands and kissing each other every ten feet. It was nauseating. Zillah couldn’t believe that Palmer Martin had broken the code of his family just to be with a Belle. It was comical, at best. But mostly just pathetic.
And suddenly it became more clear how Emma must still be alive.
And clearly she was. Josephine was too bubbly and happy for someone who should be mourning. The two of them knew she was alive. And if they knew she was alive, they knew where she was hiding.
And that was exactly the information Zillah needed to finally get Ezekiel’s grand plans back on track.
If this was any other time, Zillah would just blindside them, threaten to kill one of them and have the other confess everything before killing them both. But in this case, Zillah knew it was better to be discreet. She needed to have an advantage over the Belles. And the advantage would be their inability to know how much Zillah knew. It was the only way to have leverage over them. Especially when they had Aleta Indigo on their side, who could invade her mind if she needed to, at least when Zillah was in this dimension and not in her Shadowverse, where she was untouchable.
As much pleasure as Zillah would have gotten over killing the lovebirds (and traitor, in Palmer’s case) she knew this was not the time.
What mattered now was finding Emma. And Briar. Both girls held the powers that Ezekiel needed to finish what he’d started long ago.
She meandered behind the lovers as they walked down East Bay toward the Battery. They stupidly didn’t seem to worry that anyone could be following them, which showed how weak they were compared to her.
The Belles didn’t stand a chance in this war.
It was a lengthy and lingering walk down to White Point Garden, a park that faced Charleston Harbor. Tourists were everywhere and the heat was starting to become oppressive.
Zillah had hoped they would go to the park. Lots of shadows between trees— an easy way for her to eavesdrop on a conversation. And the two clearly had plenty to talk about when they weren’t obscenely making out with each other.
Of course Palmer would be attracted to Josephine. She was simple and boring. Guys like Palmer always went for girls like that. Someone like Zillah was too much for them to handle. Men in this town wanted women who were compliant and had the personality of a flip flop. It was so predictable. Zillah would never understand it.
Sure enough, the two sat on a bench near the Fort Moultrie monument, which was perfect. A huge live oak stretched out behind them, leaving a nice long shadow where Zillah could easily place herself without bringing attention to herself to listen to what would probably be a very mundane conversation.
Zillah dipped behind the pink house on East Bay to find sun to shadowport through. She’d known the original inhabitants of this home and silently thanked them for inviting her to their home years ago, enabling her to become familiar with their grounds so she could seize this moment, decades later.
In the blink of an eye, she was close enough to Palmer and Josephine to listen to their conversation without them noticing her at all.
Josephine animated, her words coming out breathlessly.
“They told me I can’t see you,” she said, clutching Palmer’s hands. “But I couldn’t stand the thought of it. Thank you for meeting me here. Did your dad seem to notice?”
“No, he’s busy with other things. Though he does seem suspicious about Emma’s fall. Not with me, but just in general,” Palmer said.
“I know you’ve risked a lot for me,” Josephine said. “Emma would have died if you hadn’t saved her.”
I knew it! Zillah thought. Emma’s alive.
“It’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” Palmer said. He softly tucked Josephine’s long hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her. “And there’s absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Josie. You’re the love of my life.”
Zillah wanted to make a vomiting noise, but she resisted.
Josephine smiled. “I am?”
“Of course,” Palmer replied. “You’re my purpose. A man searches his whole life for one. I’m just glad I finally found mine.”
They kissed again and Zillah rolled her eyes. She was getting impatient. Maybe she would have to kill them.
They finally pulled away from each other.
“I’m sorry I can’t stay long,” Josephine said. “I’m supposed to be at the house. They’ve all gone to Angel Oak to pick up Emma and introduce her to Briar.”
HA. Finally! Zillah had the information she needed. But just in case, she waited to hear anything else that could be useful later.
“What’s Briar like?” Palmer asked.
“She’s tougher than Emma,” Josephine remarked. “Which is to be expected. Briar has had a completely different life than any of us. I think Virginia has a huge amount of guilt about that.”
“It’s what had to be done,” Palmer said. “One day I’m sure Briar will understand that.”
Okay, this was boring. Zillah had what she needed.
She was off to Angel Oak.
As she quickly walked away from her hiding spot and back toward her secret sun spot in the pink house’s garden, her iPhone buzzed.
Of course it was Ezekiel.
WELL?
Zillah quickly answered him back.
EMMA IS ALIVE. ON ANGEL OAK. MEETING BRIAR. AM GETTING EMMA NOW.
The next text was a bigger surprise to her.
NO. BRING ME BRIAR.
Zillah was confused. The plan was always to snatch Emma. Briar was really
inconsequential at this point. They only needed one of them.
BRIAR? I THOUGHT THE PLAN WAS EMMA.
His next text was very clear.
STOP QUESTIONING ME. BRIAR. NOW.
Zillah stuffed her phone back into her pocket and sighed. Ezekiel Walker was the worst kind of boss. But he was all she had for now. So she would do his bidding. All that mattered was his plans intersected with hers.
Take down the Belles… no matter what.
Once that was out of the way, Ezekiel could be dealt with in due course.
Chapter 17
I came to with a start.
I was lying on a polished hardwood floor in what appeared to be some sort of library— the kind a rich person has in their mansion where everything is mahogany. There were book shelves everywhere and a large bay window in front of me that looked out onto a garden.
The suddenness of whatever just happened to me hit me hard and I immediately threw up all over the floor and myself.
Lovely.
“Someone can’t handle their shadowporting,” a voice sneered.
I turned my head to see who the declaration belonged to.
I saw a girl with hair so blonde it was white.
It was the girl from my dream, where I saw myself jump off the bridge. She looked like a sorority girl, but I had just seen her basically gut Virginia’s driver Walter with a long hunting knife that she still held in her hand now.
“What the hell?” I sputtered. “Where am I? Why… why did you kill Walter?”
“Because I could,” she said, her smile making my skin crawl. “It bought me more time. They probably won’t realize you’re gone for at least a few more minutes. And then they’ll discover their lumpy driver bleeding out on their precious Range Rover, and will pretend to care, but really be more worried about how this impacts them and their plans— and their car warranty. I love it.”
The sorority girl was a psychopath. Fantastic.
I was so out of it that it was hard to harness any rage. The room was still spinning a bit and I thought I was going to throw up again.
“Enough, Zillah.”
Now the voice of a man. I couldn’t see him yet, I was currently too weak to even turn my body to face the direction he seemed to be coming from, but I knew it was a man. His voice was cavernous, like it came from the bottom of a barrel. It held authority in it, the kind you hear from presidents and four star generals.
I heard him press what sounded like the button on an intercom.
“Marta, can you please come to my study and clean up what I’m afraid is a horrible mess. A guest of ours has gotten a little sick. I’d also like a room to be made up for her so she can rest. I’m so sorry about this, I hate to ask you to deal with such a thing, but I appreciate it all the same. Yes. Yes, that would be fine. Thank you.”
The intercom turned off.
“Rest?” Zillah snapped. “I thought you were going to kill her, not be her AirBnB host. What the hell, Ezekiel?”
“Shut up,” Ezekiel boomed. “Why on earth would I kill her? I’m here to help her. And she can help me. But that’s none of your business. You’ve done your task. Now go.”
Zillah looked completely stunned. It was nice to see, even though I was still terrified that my murder was being openly discussed in front of me.
“And where am I supposed to go?” Zillah asked. “They’re going to come after me with everything they have. You’re supposed to protect me.”
Ezekiel glared at her. I could tell he had no love for her and that somehow he was beholden to her, for whatever reason.
“You’ll be fine. Hide at Bronwyn if you must. Or I suppose you can go visit our friends in New Orleans. Either way, it’s not my problem at the moment. You can quite literally go anywhere in the world. So do that. Be anywhere but here.”
Zillah pouted like a petulant child, made a “Humph” sound, and promptly vanished.
By then, poor Marta the maid had arrived in the study. She took a look at me, her eyes wide.
Ezekiel’s personality completely transformed in an instant and he was now a kindly employer, apologetic about the situation in front of the poor woman.
“Marta, it seems Miss Briar has a nasty bug. If you could clean this up and help her get herself together, I would be most grateful,” he said. His eyes were on me now.
His face was smiling, but his eyes… there was nothing behind them. Whatever this man had been through to make him this way had completely stolen the light from his soul. I knew he was not someone to be trusted.
Yet I was curiously drawn to him. And as soon as Zillah was gone, I wasn’t as afraid anymore.
Marta quietly helped me stand up. I found my balance and apologized for the mess. She shook her head and immediately started cleaning it up. Another woman came in with towels and wet wipes.
Ezekiel stared at me as I cleaned my face off.
“What happened to me?” I asked him. “Am I still in Charleston?”
Ezekiel smiled. “Yes. Zillah can teleport through sunlight and shadows. It’s complicated, but that’s how she brought you to me. We’re on East Bay, so you’re not far from home.”
“She murdered…” I gulped. “She killed someone. Unnecessarily.”
“Yes, she does that,” Ezekiel said, as if we were talking about littering and not cold blooded killing. “She’s a damaged soul. You don’t need to worry about her though. She was just doing what I asked her to do. I was so desperate to meet the famous Briar Givhans.”
I side-eyed him hard. This was the man Virginia had talked about. Ezekiel Walker.
He wants your power, she had said.
“And you’re Ezekiel Walker,” I replied.
“I am,” he said, motioning for me to sit down. “Would you like a change of clothes? Marta can provide that. Maybe a shower? Are you hungry?”
“No, thanks,” I said, flatly. “Why did you bring me here?”
He smiled. He had a very sexy smile, admittedly. Ezekiel was tall and incredibly handsome. He was well groomed and looked like a pile of money in human form. There wasn’t a single thing he was wearing that didn’t scream luxury. I couldn’t tell how old he was, but my closest guess was that he was closer to Virginia’s age than to mine.
“I brought you here, to offer you an opportunity,” he said. “We have a common foe. You’ve met Virginia Embers, yes?”
“Of course I have,” I said. “She’s not my foe.”
He looked at me with mock surprise. “But isn’t she the woman who abandoned you to a foster home? The woman who left you to rot away with the dregs of society’s spawn? I would assume you wouldn’t be a huge fan of a woman who would do that.”
“We’re hardly the dregs of society,” I snapped. “The kids can’t help that they’re there. It’s the adults that failed them.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Just like Virginia failed you. She gave your sister the world and left you to scrounge and fight for survival.”
He was closer to me now. “That must stick in your craw at least a little bit, yes?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I said, but even I was unconvinced.
It did seem like I had been tossed aside.
“Let me guess,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “She said it was to ‘protect you.’ But from what exactly? Has she ever said?”
“From you actually,” I said. “And the girl I just watched slice the driver’s throat.”
“From me?” he said, pointing to himself innocently. “That’s ridiculous. But I understand it. She wants to have your powers all to herself so she can continue to be the Grand Dame of Charleston with her Belles. Her little snobby rich girl society. But that’s not you, Briar. That could never be you.”
I was confused. I didn’t know what to think.
He was giving voice to all the doubts in my head.
“If anything, I can be your ally,” he said. “We can do great things, Briar. I need a new sidekick, a co-conspirator of sorts. I’m tired of
Zillah and her antics. I’m surrounded by so many selfish, evil people, hungry for power and vengeance. There’s nothing wrong with either of course, but the lust for it can be a person’s downfall.”
He walked over to the bay window overlooking his garden.
“Would you like to go for a walk with me?” he asked, opening the French doors next to the window. “It’s a most beautiful day. I just had my holly bushes redone. Would you like to see them?”
Without knowing why, I nodded. I wanted to hear more.
Vengeance was something that piqued my interest.
We walked on the crushed oyster shell path through possibly the most beautiful garden I’d ever seen. It was clear that Ezekiel took a lot of pride in it.
“We could defeat Virginia together,” he said. “You could get the last word with her. She’d never expect it you know. She doesn’t think you’re smart enough to see through her. But I know you are. It’s why I picked you to do this and not the other Belles. You’re the one I need, Briar.”
He knew how to push my buttons. I knew I was being manipulated, yet I was eating up his every word. My entire life I’d longed for acceptance, for someone to have pride in me; to be special. And out of all the amazing girls I’d met, he thought I was the most special of them all.
It was hard to not fall for it.
And wasn’t he right?
Virginia had yet to truly prove herself as my ally. How did I know she wasn’t using me for her own nefarious purposes? She’d shown up in my home and basically kidnapped me. She said it was about protection, but why had she left me emotionally naked and alone all these years? What had been the purpose in that?
Ezekiel could tell I was cracking. He continued.
“You just need to be trained,” he said. “Trained on how to harness your power and use it adeptly. Your talents are limitless, Briar. So many people would kill to be like us. There are pathetic people every day trying to pay me off for even a taste of our abilities. It’s gotten very old. I’m ready to be done with placating the mediocre. It’s just become so mundane. Charleston has become so… boring.”
Southern Charmed (Hell's Belles Trilogy Book 2) Page 8
