BROKEN BLADE

by J. C. Daniels

  A mean smile slanted his lips. “I spent the past few years gathering every dark, dirty secret I could on the higher-ups, Kit. And there are a lot of them. Unless I do something that violates the charter, they can’t—and won’t—bother me now.” Then he shrugged. “There’s no reason for them to, really. They’re cold-blooded assholes, but they are efficient. They only focus on problems. I’m not a problem anymore.”

  Maybe Justin wasn’t, but I sure as hell felt like being one.

  What I was feeling must have shown on my face because he said softly, “Don’t.”

  I just stared at him. Banner had made my life hell. And now to learn this?

  “They’re too big for just a couple of us to take on right now,” Justin said quietly. “The entire system is fucked up, but once we get the poison out of it, it will work again.”

  “And how do we get the poison out of it?”

  A faint smile curled his lips. “Lots of ways to handle poison, Kit. But we’ve got bigger problems...”

  His gaze moved past me to linger on the desk, the drawings, the pictures.

  “Like Pandora’s Box.”

  * * * *

  I needed to breathe.

  I needed to move.

  I needed to think.

  But I couldn’t leave the office until I knew what was going to come of the job.

  I couldn’t know that until I talked to Pandora.

  Isidore.

  Whatever she called herself.

  After the unsettling discussion with Justin, I tucked myself away behind my desk and tried to focus back on the job. Possible job. Possible nightmare. Disaster in the making. Apparently, that was the sort of job I courted these days.

  Pandora’s box, for the love of all things holy…

  I went to start doing another search, trying not to think about Justin standing at the window and brooding, but before I could think about what to look for, a revelation came to me.

  A moment, one of those random memories that come to you out of the blue.

  I’d gone to a friend’s months ago. Right before my life had exploded and careened straight to hell. One of the Speakers Damon had been investigating had been a friend of mine…of ours, I guess. Her name was Es, and she was one of the strongest witches I knew. Stronger even than Justin, although her power was a different sort. Justin was a warrior; Es was a healer.

  Banner did serve a purpose in our world—they hunted the NH problems that managed to slip past our notice, not that it happened often. Damon had come to their attention after several Assembly members had died and Banner worried the new Alpha was about ready to make a big power play—if that had been his intent, it could have been a dangerous situation. Damon had hundreds of werecats in his clan and he was smart, sneaky as hell.

  Justin had come to me to clear Damon before they decided to execute him. It turned out that all of it had happened because of me. Damon had been killing Assembly members, all right. He’d been killing people who had spoken to my grandmother. All hail the evilest bitch in the world.

  She’d been looking for information on me and those who had seemed at all agreeable to giving any information had shortly ended up dead by Damon’s hand.

  Es had been the first one he’d spoken with—she’d told my grandmother to get fucked.

  When I’d found all of this out, I’d almost been sick.

  Pandora’s box…

  The memory tried to work free and my gut churned as I tried to avoid thinking about everything else that happened as a result of that case.

  “They wanted you simply because they believe you can show them Aneris Hall.”

  “None but our blood can find it. It’s like the fabled Fountain of Youth or Pandora’s Box.”

  “Well, those aren’t quite so fabled…”

  Not quite so fabled.

  Narrowing my eyes, I hunched over my computer. It had been months since I’d seen or spoken to Es. But she’d sounded pretty damn certain when she’d said that.

  Pandora’s Box wasn’t so fabled.

  Did that mean she knew something about the box? About the bearer?

  I typed up a message and sent it, keeping it short and sweet, hoping she’d do the same.

  My head was a mess and I felt like I was walking on the razor’s edge here. I didn’t need to have anything else thrown at me, even if it was under the guise of well-meaning concern.

  In case that didn’t pan out, I went ahead and sent Colleen a message, too, another short and sweet note.

  Do you know anything about Pandora’s Box? Legit info, not myth or legend. Thanks, K.

  That was it.

  After I’d sent the message to her, I shot Justin a look. He had his head dipped, chin resting on his chest, posture deceptively relaxed. I knew better. There was so much tension, the air felt like it was going to crack. I hoped he’d be able to level off before our lovely new friend showed up. I was counting on him to be the steady one here. Me and steady hadn’t had a passing acquaintance in months.

  I went to turn back to the computer but I hadn’t so much as thought about what to do next before Justin said, “Stop worrying, Kit.”

  I looked up at him.

  He was still in the same position, head down, eyes closed, slumped with his shoulder resting against the wall by the window.

  “What?”

  He shrugged lazily. “You’re worrying. It’s all but eating you up. You got enough to handle without worrying about me. I’m good.”

  “You don’t look good.”

  He slid me a faint smile then. “Not yet, but I will be. Just give me a few.”

  I blew a slow, careful breath. “I can do that, but you need to understand…we can’t just leave things the way they are.”

  “I know.” He nodded slowly, shifting his attention to stare back out at the dismal little square that made up my parking lot. “It’s just too big a job, too big a prospect for you and me to handle alone. And we’d have to be careful about who we trusted to help us if we take this on.”

  I processed that. Okay, I could see where he was coming from there.

  “You worry about this…figure out whether or not we should do this thing for…Isidore,” he said.

  “You going to let me call the shots on that one?”

  “Yep.” Once more, he closed his eyes and settled back into that deceptive, lazy slump. “Your gut knows more than the two of us combined. I’ll trust what you think is best.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  I felt her coming.

  The air got heavy and tense.

  The magic crackled; Justin’s responded to the energy dancing in the air and I thought I might choke on how much power was in the air.

  It climbed higher and higher, seconds ticking away into minutes as her presence drew closer. She must be strolling along at a snail’s pace, letting us think and worry and brood, I thought.

  Something on my computer chimed and I looked over, thankful for the distraction, but it wasn’t much of one. The message from Colleen was short and sweet.

  No. Didn’t think it was anything more than a legend. If it’s real, I’d say don’t open the box.

  I grimaced and deleted the message, making sure it was gone from both my inbox and the drive.

  No response from Es yet.

  Just in case she decided to reply while Isidore was in the office, I shut the computer down and put my phone on silent. Wasn’t taking that chance.

  “We going to let her know we’re aware of what’s up?” Justin asked.

  I’d been wondering just that. Now, as I caught sight of her coming across the parking lot, I nodded slowly. “I don’t think there’s any way around it. I can’t do this, or even decide, without more info.”

  Justin flexed a hand and laid it on the wall.

  I heard him murmuring and my skin started to crawl as his magic flooded the air. Power ripped out of the very earth as he strengthened the wards. No way she was going to miss—

  Oh. Oh…something more subtl
e whispered just under those wards. Something quieter. Much quieter. For a split second, black dots swarmed my vision as the death ward danced in between the wards I already had wrapped around my place.

  I recognized it only because he’d used it once.

  It was the ward he’d used when he’d gone after the child killer—if things went bad in here, that ward would trigger. “Think it’s going to get that ugly?”

  He flicked me a look. “You want to risk it?”

  “No.”

  His eyes practically glowed from the magic—it always made him a little crazy. “I left you an exit. Take it fast.”

  I just stared at him. He knew that wouldn’t happen.

  Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary. One word from him was all it would take to trigger that sucker.

  One word…or…you know, his unexpected death.

  A moment later, the door swung open and there she was, in her spooky, ancient splendor. That same smile curved her lips up. “May I enter?”

  Show time…

  Leaning back, I rested my hand on the Desert Eagle. I had to research more and figure out what might kill the really, really ancient. If she was my kind, I’d go with copper. If she was a witch, iron. She almost felt like a cross between the two…maybe I should try for both.

  “You know, generally in a place of business, you don’t have to ask permission,” I pointed out. “People run businesses to make money. That’s pretty much an open invite.”

  The woman shrugged. It was an easy, elegant gesture that sent the pretty, jewel-laden necklace around her neck shimmering. The necklace was silver. If she had silver against her skin, I could bet silver wouldn’t do her in. Mark that one out.

  “I don’t always know…or care…about modern rules,” she told me. “May I enter?”

  Now that was a shocker—an old creature who didn’t get or care for modern rules, whether they were spoken or not. It told me something about her, though. She was a creature of habit, her habits, and she had an odd thing for courtesy, it seemed. “Yeah, you can enter. I’ve got questions for you and you’ll need to answer them before I can make a decision on this job.”

  A smile flirted with the corners of her lips. “Questions…isn’t the money enough of an answer?”

  “Money doesn’t answer questions.” I plucked one of the coins up, the one bearing the depiction of Alexander the Great. It was pure chance that it was the one that my fingers had found out of the mess, but seeing his face made me itch inside. So old. Had she known him?

  Spinning the coin around, I showed her the image of Alexander. “Some of these coins are more than two thousand years old.”

  She arched a brow. “That only increases the worth, I would think.”

  “True.” I tossed the coin into the air and caught it, a restless, absent gesture. Abruptly, I tossed it at her, hurling it as fast as I could. She caught it, snake-quick and without flinching. “Any idea who is on that coin?”

  She glanced down, bored. “Alexander the Great.” She threw it back at me and I caught it. Ouch—she had one hell of a throwing arm. Another thing to keep in mind. She was strong. Stronger than me. But who in the hell wasn’t?

  “Huh.”

  “Are these the questions you want to ask me?”

  “Nah. I’m actually more curious about your…vase.”

  Something sharpened in her eyes. Lust. Need. Longing. “Yes…let’s talk about my vase, Kit.”

  “Is the picture you drew accurate?”

  “Yes.” A line formed between her eyes. “It’s mine. I know it better than any other on earth ever could.”

  “How long have you owned it?”

  “Always.” Avid greed lit her eyes, something almost fanatical. “It’s mine…it has always been mine.”

  Okay, then. “I’ve been researching it, but I’m not having much luck finding any information on a vase like it.”

  That scary gleam left her eyes and she arched her brows. “What information do you need?”

  “Oh, anything. Everything.” I lifted one of the pictures I’d printed off, skimmed the legend over, placed it back, facedown, on my desk. “Does it possess any unusual powers? Is it enchanted? Spelled?”

  She rubbed her fingers against her palm, leaning back to study me with curious eyes. “It has…certain powers, yes. But they are useless to all but me.”

  That was truth, my gut told me. I felt a little bit better knowing that.

  “Whoever took it, do they know that?”

  A coy smile curved her lips. “That…I cannot say. It’s possible they think it possesses its own…magic. If that’s what they think, they are wrong.”

  “Hmmm.” No answer there. Mentally, I shrugged. “What powers does it have when you come into the picture? Death? Destruction? The plague?”

  Something flashed in her eyes and she leaned forward. “Come on, Kit…don’t play games. Ask what you really want to know.”

  Okay. Might as well go for broke. “What happened when you opened the box, Pandora?”

  She started to laugh.

  I’ve read books where people were described as having a ‘bell-like’ laugh. Isidore’s… Pandora’s… whoever she was, her laugh came pretty close. But it didn’t put me in the mind of anything light or happy.

  No, it made me think of something sinister.

  For whom the bell tolls…

  Yeah, it was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

  As her laugh faded away, she propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her chin on her upraised fist, studying me with amusement in her eyes. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you, Kit?”

  “Not clever enough…I haven’t figured out the answer to that question yet.” Behind the shield of my desk, I curled my hand around the grip of the leaf-blade Damon had given me and waited.

  “If you had to name the evils of the world, what would you say they are?”

  Jude’s face flashed through my mind and I tightened my grip on the blade. I wasn’t going to break down. Not here. Not in front of her. I couldn’t. But if I had to name an evil, I’d name him.

  Instead of giving voice to that, I shrugged. “I don’t buy into the myth as it’s written. Death, sickness…man is going to get sick and die. In this life, at least. I don’t buy that you opened the box and suddenly man lost his immortality.”

  “Hmmm. Again, clever girl.” She leaned forward now, her eyes practically glowing. “But how does that answer my question?”

  “If I answer yours, are you going to answer mine?”

  A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I’ll be more inclined.”

  More inclined. I held her gaze. “I’m not working this job blind. If you want me to take it, you’ll have to give me more information.” Then I shifted my attention away from her, staring at the pages littering my desk. “The evils of the world…greed is one, I guess. It’s not a bad thing to like money, but if you love it above all else, it leads to bad things. Addiction…en—”

  “You’re not being honest,” she chided. Lacing her fingers together, she cocked her head to the side and smiled at me. “Kit, you can read a lie on a person as easily as you can read a book. And you’ve already…noticed a similarity between us. Don’t tell me you haven’t. If you can read a lie, what makes you think I can’t?”

  “I’m not lying.” I looked at her, clenching my jaw. “Those are evil things.”

  “Evil, maybe…but that’s not what you think of when you first think of evil.” Then she settled back in the chair, her smile taking on a catlike satisfaction. “It might make it a little more interesting if I tell you the legend was tampered with…and it’s far older than what people think. Even the oldest scholar doesn’t understand how old the myth of the vase is.”

  My breath seemed to lodge in my throat. “And what about the evils you let out? Ever thought about putting them back in?”

  Pandora shrugged. “You would have to know more about those evils before the answer would make sense. Death…
sickness…just what did I loose when I opened the box?”

  And the words she spoke next made the oxygen inside my lungs seem to dwindle down into nothing.

  * * * *

  I was still trying to process it as she left.

  No matter what happened, I needed to find the vase. Once I did that, I’d figure out the next step.

  “That were is back out there,” Justin said, his voice calm, like we hadn’t just had a monster walk out of the office.

  “I know.” I swallowed and focused on the coins she’d given me the other day. I’d wanted to throw them at her. But I hadn’t.

  “Any idea what he wants?”

  “No.” Slumping in my seat, I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, although my throat was really, really tight. It was almost impossible, sucking air in now. “Bigger problems at the moment, right?”

  “Yep.” His voice was closer and I cracked open an eye, watched as he came over and settled in the chair across from me. His green eyes were unreadable and his magic was a steady, soothing presence.

  No matter what I chose to do, he was going to back me up. And if I made the wrong choice and ended up dead, so would he. It wasn’t a comforting thought.

  “You’re taking the job, aren’t you?” He leaned back in the chair and pulled out his tattered deck of cards. Our gazes met as he shuffled them and I watched him flip one into the air.

  “I think I have to,” I said. I thought about all the legends behind the box…vase. Yeah. Vase. It was hers. It had always been hers—that was one thing I was certain about. It was meant to be hers. Whether she should have opened it—if that was what happened—I don’t know, but it was hers and it needed to stay that way. Something told me that thing came with power and objects of power were best left alone. If she wasn’t the one in possession of it, that just added up to bad things in my book.

  “After what she just told us.” He nodded slowly and then asked, “Why?”

  I rose, my hand still curled around the grip of my new sword. Apparently, it had become my security blanket. I laid it down across the surface of my desk and moved to the wall holding my weapons. I started to pull down the ones I needed, tucking them away, threading the garrote into my collar, another into my belt, knives into their various places in my vest, along my waist and two in each boot.