Sin & Chocolate (Demigods of San Francisco Book 1)

by K. F. Breene

  Seeing that his cover was blown, he swung his legs down before he gracefully dropped, slightly bending with the impact. He rose, huge, at probably six four or five, with large hands and a solid frame. His severe expression matched his cheekbones, and his eyes were hard and dark.

  “Come on.” I finally turned, yanking Mordecai with me.

  “Who is he?” Mordecai asked, looking behind us. “Why is he following us?”

  “He’s the Demigod’s version of a joke.” I veered to the side, dragging with Mordecai’s weight. “Grab that banister.”

  His arm shook as he gripped the wood, and his other fingers clutched my shoulder. He tipped, and I staggered to catch his weight, half falling down two stairs.

  A strong hand landed on my bicep and the large man stepped in front of us, his other hand coming up to brace against Mordecai’s chest.

  We both froze.

  “This is why they like to take the patients home,” the man said before pulling my arm, moving me away from Mordecai’s side. “It is also why we have wheelchairs. And elevators.” He slid into my place, easily taking Mordecai’s weight, and started slowly down the stairs.

  My heart squished as I hurried down in front of them. The man didn’t have to do this. He was under no orders to carry my ward around. That he would help, without being asked, told me he was at least a decent guy.

  Unfortunately, it would make it harder not to like him.

  Lines creased Mordecai’s face by the time he reached the bottom, some from uncertainty, and some from fatigue.

  I bit my tongue, wanting to ask if the mountebanks had told him anything.

  “I think I can manage,” Mordecai said. Even his words sounded strained.

  “You’re being helped out by one of Demigod Kieran’s Six,” the man said. “Take the style points. They’re free.”

  “Well… They aren’t exactly free, are they, since you’re on spy duty?” I asked, not as accusatory as I’d meant it to be.

  Mordecai looked at me, troubled, but he didn’t ask for more details. That would come later, when the stranger was gone.

  “Touché,” the man said, not at all perturbed or arrogant. It was slightly infuriating that he seemed like a cool guy.

  “You’ve got a good frame,” the man said to Mordecai as we moved toward the door, slow and steady. His accent was distinctive but difficult to pinpoint—whenever he spoke, his tongue rolled and vowels rounded. “If you have enough fuel, you’ll fill out like a powerhouse.”

  “Someone else would need to supply the meat for that fuel. Alexis is a vegan,” Mordecai said.

  “A vegan?” The man gave me a sour face. “Why would you do that to yourself?”

  “It’s good for you. And saves the environment. And…” I squinted, reaching for another reason. Being poor and not having any hookups in the meat and dairy department were the only real reasons I could think of.

  “I’m just kidding,” Mordecai said with a smile, and I wondered why he was suddenly so comfortable. Did he somehow fail to understand what accepting this man’s help meant?

  “You let me know, and I’ll make you a roast that will knock your socks off,” the guy said. “You’ll feel like a million bucks.”

  I bit back a snarky comment when I noticed the teenage girl from upstairs standing near the empty front desk. Her eyes were just as large, her body just as hunched, but this time she watched me with a hungry intensity.

  I turned my gaze away, but it whipped right back when she stuck out her finger and pointed behind the empty desk.

  Ah. This was where the blond guy must’ve gotten off to.

  I sighed before elevating my voice. “You might as well come out from behind the desk. I know you’re there.”

  “How could you possibly know that?” the guy carrying Mordecai asked.

  “I cheat, that’s how. Why do you think no one wanted to play hide-and-seek with me as a kid?”

  The blond guy, his hair nearly dry but still sticking out all over the place, stood slowly from behind the desk. His gaze lingered on the large man for a moment, something passing between them, before he stalked forward.

  “Well, aren’t we a merry bunch,” I mumbled, nearly to the door now.

  “Can you hear me?” the girl asked softly.

  I sighed again, fatigue dragging at me. I really wanted to ignore her. I wasn’t in the mood for a last will and testament. But she’d helped me twice, now. I owed her.

  “Hold up,” I told the others.

  “What is it?” Mordecai asked, but I’d already turned.

  “Yeah,” I said to the girl. “Do you need to get something off your chest? Or would you like me to send you across the Line? I can’t bring your killer to justice or contact anyone, but I’ll listen for five minutes if you want.”

  “I can’t go beyond the Line.” She disappeared before reappearing right beside me.

  I jolted and back-pedaled, a wall of my fuck off magic dropping down between us to keep her at bay. I stopped and clutched my heart, my eyes widened. “Did you learn to teleport after death, or what, because it is surprising. That’s why people don’t like ghosts, I’ll tell you that much.”

  “Apporter,” she said, and the plant by the desk disappeared, only to reappear on the other side. The guys behind me all sucked in a surprised breath.

  Surprising, indeed.

  In life, she’d been able to teleport not just herself, but other people and objects. That was a rare and neat kind of magic. A spirit who could move objects in the living world must have been extremely powerful when alive.

  “Okay, well…” I took a deep breath, letting my heart slow down. “Don’t do that to me again, okay? Walk like normal.”

  A man in a brown suit slowed his pace as he walked across the lobby. He glanced behind him, confused, wondering if I was talking to him.

  “Not you,” I told him, waving my arm to get him to go by.

  “They killed me,” the girl said in a small voice. “They won’t let me leave.”

  “They killed you to keep you from leaving?”

  The man slowed further, his eyes searching for my conversational partner. He clutched his briefcase a little tighter.

  The girl shook her head. “They killed me, and now they won’t let me leave.”

  A wave of goosebumps washed over me.

  I stalked to the glass wall before dropping my head, letting my surroundings disappear and inducing a light trance. Almost immediately, a strange feeling of electricity shocked into my hand, a repellent force I’d never felt before. It tried to push through my body, digging into my squishy middle where I was pretty sure my soul was housed. The place Kieran could reach into and poke with his most delving stares.

  I shivered, hating to admit that, even to myself.

  “How in the bloody hell?” I whispered, putting my other palm to the glass. Electricity spread through my body.

  Ghosts could usually go wherever they wanted, but this girl literally couldn’t leave the building.

  The girl drifted toward me. “They’re punishing me for moving a trainer outside of the window.”

  “Wait…they killed you for moving a trainer outside of… Oh.” It dawned on me. “What floor were you on?”

  “The fourth floor.”

  “Right. So…yeah, if you kill someone, the powers that be typically serve you a piping-hot death sentence. That’s kind of how things work here.”

  “I couldn’t help it! They were shocking me with a cattle prod to get me to behave. I was mad. I didn’t have complete control.” She balled her fists. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  Who’d treated her like that?

  This girl had been quick to identify Kieran’s minions. I blinked rapidly, then glanced over at the two guards waiting with Mordecai.

  No, I couldn’t believe that. Kieran was a lot of things, but he’d never been cruel. Besides, her clothing suggested she’d been haunting this area for a few years, at least, given the stale style of her sweater and jea
ns. Daisy couldn’t afford the current teen fashions, but that didn’t mean she stopped pining for them. I vaguely knew what kids this age wore.

  “Were you being groomed to be in the Demigod’s squad?” I whispered.

  The girl drifted closer. “They called it his Elite. As in, I would be an Elite. But I didn’t want to be! They took me from my house. They didn’t even ask. It wasn’t fair!”

  “How long ago?”

  She picked at her button, suddenly unsure.

  I’d asked an unfair question. Spirits had a hard time monitoring the passing of time. Time simply failed to register.

  “And you’re talking about Valens?”

  “Yes.” Spite and hatred rang through that word.

  A picture was starting to form. My heart sank for Kieran’s mom. “Do you know how he is keeping you in the building? I don’t recognize this magic.”

  “A man with white eyes and really long white hair. It moves around like it’s alive, his hair. Sometimes a stick appears in his hand. It sounds like rattlesnake tails when he shakes it. He can’t see me, like you can, but he feels me. Then he turns toward me with those white eyes. He tries to capture me. So I teleport away.”

  “He comes often?” She nodded, fear crossing her face. “How long between visits?”

  “I…” She shook her head, looking helpless.

  “Right, right…” I scratched my temple. “Sorry, I keep forgetting about the time thing. Okay.” I exhaled. “Have you tried to move beyond the Line?”

  “Yes. I see it. It’s flashing. Like a beacon. But when I move toward it, I hit a wall. I can’t get through.”

  “Let’s see about that. Any last words?”

  “Make sure my parents are okay. That they know what happened.”

  “O-kay…” I was sure her parents already knew. An Apporter killing a dude and getting sentenced to death would have circulated through the news—and if she’d been stolen from her bed, no doubt her parents had been looking for her. This was all assuming the magical government hadn’t followed protocol and sent them an official statement, of course. Bottom line: I wouldn’t have to do anything for this one.

  “Ready?” I asked. She nodded and fell back into the light trance. A soft breeze rolled over me as the plane shifted. The Line materialized, just off to the side, always in a different place, but ever-present. Blues and purples spread out from a long black center, their colors like a nasty bruise, but the feeling of its call—soft, urgent, and comforting—tugged on my soul. Around me, real-life colors bled into ultraviolets and neon shades, throbbing within the power of the spiritual plane. I was standing in the spirit crossover point, while also standing in the lobby of the magical government building. For some reason I’d never bothered to think more thoroughly about, this didn’t confuse or bother me. It just was.

  That was when I saw it. A wall cut through the gloom, made up of shifting colors of reds, pinks, and yellows, stationed directly in front of the Line.

  “That’s…weird,” I said, furrowing my brow. I grabbed hold of her spirit and shoved her toward the Line, ready to let go as she neared it. Since she was willing and ready, it should grab her and reel her in. It wouldn’t take as much energy that way.

  When she was almost there, my grip on her loosened, I ran smack into that unnatural, color-shifting wall, and a strong electrical current surged, flinging me back. The effect flash-burned my body and fried my insides. I gasped and clutched at my chest, staggering backward. Tremors shook my legs and arms and my teeth chattered.

  The blond guy flung a strong arm around my shoulders, preventing me from falling, as Mordecai asked, “What happened?”

  I shrugged the blond guy off, needing to stand on my own.

  “Someone is messing with my shit, that’s what happened,” I said, facing the Line physically, even though it wasn’t a physical realm. Anger rose through me, chasing away the uncomfortable residual buzzing from shock.

  What in the holy fuck? Life was hard enough, but when a spirit finally wanted to be at peace, who would purposefully prevent that? You’d have to be the biggest turd alive.

  And I would not stand for it.

  I shoved the girl’s flickering form to the side. She didn’t need to be a part of this. I’d help her out once I burst through that manufactured wall of bullshit. Because while it was powerful, I’d only been pushed back because I’d allowed the shock get to me. I could rip it down. I knew I could.

  Then something occurred to me.

  I was in Valens’s house. And he was a territorial motherfucker. He’d clearly hired that white-haired guy to put up this strange spirit block. If I messed with it, the old guy would find out when he came around to maintain the spell, which I assumed he regularly did, based on what the girl had said. Valens would retaliate, hard and viciously.

  Maybe this was what Kieran had been talking about. Freeing his mother would mean defying his father, and his father would strike out. Since I was needed to free his mother, he wanted to hide me from the fallout.

  Aw, whadda guy.

  I rolled my eyes.

  But one thing was clear: if I tore down this wall right now, I’d paint a huge target on my back. My file said Ghost Whisperer. Plenty of people had seen me in the building. It wouldn’t take them two seconds to figure out who’d tampered with their spectral prison.

  “I can’t do this right now,” I said, backing away.

  “What?” the large guy asked. “What’s the matter?”

  I turned to the girl. “Valens has locked you in. I don’t know if I can do anything about it. I have two kids to look after. If I jeopardize myself, I’ll be jeopardizing them. But you have my word on this—before I die, I’ll send you across that Line, okay? And hell, maybe I’ll just follow you over. Hopefully it kills my body and doesn’t leave Valens with anything to punish. Win-win.”

  “We gotta go,” the blond guy said urgently, grabbing my arm and tugging.

  I didn’t resist, but I got one last look at the girl’s baleful eyes before being pulled through the door. There wasn’t anything more I could do for her right now, anyway. She’d just have to wait.

  “What’s the problem?” I asked as I was being marshaled to the car.

  “You know what the problem is,” the blond guy said, hustling me up the stairs in front of Mordecai and the big guy, “and it isn’t something you need to discuss out loud in a magical zone. Demigod Valens has eyes and ears everywhere. He can’t know about you. Not your power, not what you can do, not any role you may play in helping Kieran’s mother—nothing. You gotta keep a low profile.”

  “I was keeping a low profile. A very low profile. I had absolutely no problems from magical people at all, especially not powerful ones. That is, until your boss crashed into my life and started lighting bonfires.”

  “I realize that, but here we are. So tone it down, okay?”

  I gritted my teeth but bit back a response as the big guy helped Mordecai into the car.

  I had every intention of “toning it down,” but my mind started whirling.

  Demigod Valens had someone on staff who could trap spirits in the land of the living. He used it as punishment. For the girl, he’d trapped her spirit directly, but for Kieran’s mom, he’d trapped the spirit of the skin. I’d never heard of any of this before, but it was clearly possible. Step one was analyzing that wall and figuring out how it had been done. The magical user might not have the same power profile as I did, but he was setting up shop in my house, so I ought to be able to figure out the setup. Step two…

  No—what was I thinking? I couldn’t go to step two. I didn’t want to get tied to Kieran, and I certainly didn’t want to go up against Valens. History told us that people didn’t live through that. Hell, he kept people confined after he killed them.

  I shook my head and got into the car, ignoring Mordecai’s questioning gaze.

  The best thing to do would be to forget all of this. To walk away.

  I just needed to return to the way
things had always been. Easy.

  35

  Kieran

  Kieran looked up from the biggest shock he’d had all day and picked up his vibrating phone. “Yeah?”

  “She can figure it out,” Donovan said. “She can figure out what is trapping your mother.”

  Kieran sat forward and leaned on the desk, his elbows pressing into Alexis’s open file. Fatigue drained away instantly. He waited for more.

  “It seems Valens is trapping spirits in the government building, and who knows where else,” Donovan continued. “He put up a wall of some sort. She tried to get a spirit through, but it physically knocked her back. Damn near put her on her butt.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “She doesn’t seem to know, but you should’ve seen her face. It pissed her off good and proper. She didn’t like someone cutting her off from the spirit world. She might not like that facet of her magic, but she’s righteous about it. She’s protective of it.”

  Hope surged within Kieran as a smile worked his lips. His Alexis didn’t like to be told no, she didn’t like to be ruled, and yet she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He knew all of those things as well as he knew how to breathe.

  “She started talking about forcing down that wall and sending the spirit through,” Donovan said, his voice dropping. “I had to get her out of there in case someone heard her. She’s wild, sir.”

  “I like wild.”

  She was also highly intelligent and extremely magical. She wasn’t using even a tenth of her ability.

  The problem was, how could he get training for her without alerting everyone to what she’d been hiding all this time? Her father could be one of three people. One of those three would kill her outright if she were his. He wouldn’t care about creating a lineage—as an immortal, he had no need for heirs. He’d be more concerned that she might rise up to tear her parent down. Like Kieran was about to do. History was filled with such cases. Less so now that the magical world was out in the open and organized, but immortals had long memories.

  The other two… Kieran wasn’t sure. They were both mortal and had a defined line of succession already in place. Alexis would put a wrench in their plans, but would she be a wrench worth dealing with?