by Angie Fox
The man at the counter joined us, his arms crossed over his chest. "Rachmort's in the Setesh Wastelands. He should be back soon enough."
Rae Rae groaned. "Oh, now come on. I could have charged for that information." She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the man. "This is why you're poor."
I ignored the queen. "How soon do you expect him?"
The man thought for a moment. "I don't know." He shook off the question. "It doesn't matter. Rachmort wouldn't help you anyway. It's dangerous and stupid to go near a demon vortex."
"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine?" I still didn't know how he knew me. But it seemed late introductions were in order. I held out a hand. "Lizzie Kallinikos."
He took it. "Evan Carpenter," he said. He had a solid, sure grip. "You're Rachmort's mentee," he said stiffly. "He told me about you."
"So then you know how powerful she is," Shiloh said.
He glanced at her. "Rachmort told me Lizzie fell out of a tree."
Great. "That was during training," I clarified. It had been hard for me to grasp the whole concept of levitation. "I've come a long way. I'm much more skilled now."
He looked me up and down, as if he didn't quite believe it. "I'll bet."
"Will you help us shut down the dark vortex?" I asked. He was a necromancer. That's all we needed. And if Rachmort knew him well enough to tell stories about me, I figured I could at least let him take a look.
"Absolutely not," he shot back, not even thinking about it.
He had to understand. "We'll pay you."
His eyes narrowed. "I can't get involved with you. It's too dangerous."
"What's a little danger?" Shiloh asked, winking at him.
He didn't go for it. His eyes were cold, hard. "If I help you, something bad will happen." The man was a block of ice. "I shouldn't be anywhere near you."
This was ridiculous. I glanced at Rae Rae. "Is he good?"
The queen crossed her arms over her chest. "One of the best. But he's a cheap-ass and a pain in the butt."
Yeah, well, we needed to stop a demon. I couldn't afford to care about everybody's feelings. "All we have to do is seal the fissure," I told him. "It'll take ten minutes, tops."
Carpenter drew up to his full height. "It doesn't work that way. You can't just walk in here and expect me to jump in and join your little stunt."
"Because none of us do what we don't feel like doing," I shot back.
Did he think I chose to get pulled into this hellhole? Did he think I wanted to mess with demon powers?
But he was already running off at the mouth again. "This is why I don't take on students," he said over me. "You have no idea what the science of necromancy involves. Ten minutes my ass. Fissures are complicated." He cursed under his breath. "And don't get me started on if an outside force is holding it open. The only thing that could make that more difficult is if a relic like a phoenix or a scarab were somehow involved. And if we did manage to seal it, you'd just go about your merry way without ever thinking about the seven hundred ways the project could have gone wrong."
Exactly. "You do know your stuff," I told him. Then to Rae Rae, I added, "even if he is a pain in the ass."
Shiloh nudged me. "That's not how you get him to work with us."
No, but I knew another way. The man wanted this crystal thing and we could get it for him. I turned to my friend. "Take off your dress."
Lucky for me, sex demons aren't shy. "This had better work," she said, clearly more bothered by the loss of the dress than by stripping naked in a pawn shop.
"What the hell are you doing?" Carpenter demanded. He darted his gaze to the ceiling as she slid out of her bodice.
Rae Rae, on the other hand, looked at the dress with pure lust. "Tell me it's a size six."
"I'm thinking this is enough to buy Carpenter's toy," I said. I wasn't going to take no for an answer on this.
"You can't take my crystal," the necromancer roared, still staring at the ceiling.
Oy vey. The man was a prude.
"The shoes, too," Rae Rae purred, "and it's a deal."
"I'm not taking your rock," I said to the necromancer, "I'm buying it." He looked like he'd just swallowed a bug. "And if you want it, you can have it… After you help us."
Carpenter cursed under his breath.
Hey, it made sense. We needed a necromancer. He needed his crystal. I was betting the necromancer wasn't allowed to steal the thing, or he would have already.
I turned to Rae Rae. "You think you can get Shiloh something else to wear?"
The pawn broker touched a fingertip to her chin. "You got any matching underwear?" she asked.
"Sorry," Shiloh said, bending over to slip out of the dress.
"Not even a thong?" Rae Rae pressed.
"Absolutely not," she said, straightening, buck naked as she kicked the dress at Rae Rae.
The pawn broker merely grinned. "Damn girl, I like your style." She reached for the dress, handling it like a holy relic as she cradled it over her arm. "Give me a minute."
"I sure hope she's getting you something," I said to Shiloh as Rae Rae ducked behind the counter and went behind a dingy curtain that led to the back room.
Shiloh shrugged. "Carpenter's more worried about it than me," she said, pointing to our necromancer. His broad shoulders were tense. He swallowed hard, a lump traveling down his thick neck. The man couldn't take his eyes off the ceiling.
"What are you? A virgin?" she asked.
The muscles in his neck corded with tension. "That's none of your business," he gritted out.
Shiloh looked at me. "Virgin," she concluded.
"Hey," I said, trying to make him feel better. "This is a good thing. You wouldn't have gotten your crystal any other way."
"I shouldn't be doing this," he muttered, refusing to look at the bright side. "I shouldn't even consider it. Why does everything have to be so difficult?"
Why indeed?
Rae Rae came back wearing Shiloh's dress. It was a wonder the drag queen could breathe. The latex stretched over her hips and muscled thighs. It was a size or three too small and I swear it was about ready to split at the chest, even if Rae Rae didn't have boobs. "Gorgeous," I said.
The pawn broker batted her lashes, every bit the lady. For now, anyway. "Thank you." She tossed a white sack at Shiloh. "Here you go, sweetie."
"Ugh." The she-demon held it up. It appeared as if the pawn broker had cut head and armholes into an old sack.
"It's better than nothing," I said, as Shiloh reluctantly tugged it over her head.
"Now for the merchandise," Rae Rae crooned, stepping behind the counter.
Carpenter was still staring at the ceiling. "You can look now," I told him as we joined the pawn broker.
Rae Rae hitched up a hairy, muscled leg and slipped a key out of her garter belt.
"Jesus—" the necromancer muttered.
Okay, maybe he looked too soon. "Sorry," I told him.
Rae Rae opened up the dingy glass case and pulled out the plain black crystal. It was the size of my palm and I could feel the power as I reached for it.
"Stop," she said, opening a drawer behind her and pulling out a green velvet bag emblazoned with runes. She eased the stone inside without touching it. "Now you can have it."
Carpenter practically drooled as I slipped it into my demon slayer utility belt.
"At least now we know he can lust," Shiloh said, earning a scowl from him.
"Thanks, Rae Rae," I said, as the broker walked us to the door.
"One more thing," she said, drawing closer to me. "I gotta tell you. Woman to woman." She stared me down. "You smell like you've been cozying up to a demon."
"Right," I said, hoping Carpenter didn't hear. "It's nothing. I took on some of my dad's power to get me down here."
Rae Rae straightened, her nose wrinkling. She didn't counter me directly, but I heard the words she spoke to herself as we departed. "Something's not right with that man."
Chapter T
wenty-Three
Yes, I had daddy issues, but I wasn't going to discuss them with Rae Rae the pawnbroker. She'd made out like a bandit. No wonder she enjoyed seeing me.
At least we'd gotten what we came for, in a manner of speaking. I glanced at the necromancer, walking a step ahead of me.
Our new companion was tense, stoic, and he didn't even hold open the door as we left the shop and set out onto the streets of purgatory.
"So your name is Evan," I began, hoping to strike up some sort of conversation with the man who was about to help me lock down one of the most powerful demons I'd ever known.
He barely spared me a glance. "Call me Carpenter."
I shared a what-the-frig look with Shiloh and she shrugged. At least Carpenter ignored her, too.
"He reminds me of a client I had once," she said, tugging at her sack of a dress.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, feeling sorry for her. The material looked rough. It had to be uncomfortable. "What happened?"
Maybe he'd cooperated, done his job, and then left her alone.
"He was a disaster," she said, lips quirking ever so slightly. "I married him."
We traced our way back toward the narrow alley that led to the brothel district and out to the barren wastelands beyond.
We still hadn't heard from Shiloh's husband, wherever he may be.
Shiloh caught up with Carpenter, or at least she tried. He always managed to stay one step ahead. "So you've been down here awhile?" she asked, clearly fishing.
He wove among the gray, shattered inhabitants as if he'd been doing it all his life. "Long enough."
We passed closed shops with rusted locks. Sirens blared in the distance.
Shiloh pressed forward. Small, but tenacious. "Do you know my husband, Damien McBride? He's a demon slayer." She dodged a shard of glass on the sidewalk. Poor girl had given up her shoes and gotten a ratty pair of flip-flops in exchange. "I haven't heard from him." She didn't quite manage to keep the worry out of her voice.
That got the necromancer's attention. He slowed. "So you're the half demon married to the slayer." He said it as a statement rather than a question, as if he already knew.
"He asked and I said yes," she told him. She didn't push back or get defensive. That had to be hard. I admired her poise. Information was more important than pride at this point.
He shook his head, whether at the idea of their marriage or at the situation, I had no idea. "I haven't seen Damien since I ran into him and Rachmort a week and a half ago." He watched Shiloh with a certain amount of mistrust. "They were keeping a low profile. It seems a demon had managed to break through a seal and set up a dark vortex."
"You knew?" I demanded. "Why didn't you say so back in the shop?"
He looked at me like I'd sprouted two heads. "In front of Rae Rae? Not a chance." He turned to Shiloh. "I have every reason to believe your husband is safe. I just don't know where he is."
She visibly relaxed at that.
"I always tell the truth," he added.
Like I believed that.
We reached the narrow passageway between districts and Carpenter entered first.
"Tell me how I know you," I said.
"Rachmort talks about you," he said, keeping his eyes forward as he walked, "and he showed me every damned one of your wedding pictures."
"That's sweet," Shiloh chirped.
He shot her a glare. "He made me sit through all two hundred and forty-seven of them before he'd give me a formula I needed. Did you really have to put your dog in a bow tie?"
It occurred to me that he wasn't a man who came upon things easily. Perhaps it had something to do with his sunny disposition. "Look," I said, "what have you got against me, anyway?" It would be nice to be on good terms with another necromancer besides Rachmort.
Evan stopped cold. "I know certain things," he said cryptically. "Like you're on the brink of a disaster and any outside influence can set it off."
"Meaning you?" I asked.
"Meaning anything." He frowned.
I understood his trepidation. "Yes, the dark vortex is scary." We all knew that. "But if we don't shut it down, we'll face a lot worse."
He clenched his jaw. "There's more to it than that." He turned away from me and began walking again. "I wish I knew what."
Things were always more complicated than they seemed. He had to let it stop bugging him or he was going to drive himself nuts. "Once you help me with this…" He'd see. I'd seal in the Earl. "Then you can go along your merry way and you never have to speak to me again."
"If only I were that lucky," he said to himself.
Yeah. We both knew I'd track him down again if I needed him.
Still, Carpenter had me interested in learning more. He was reading some kind of signs. Although somehow I didn't think he'd be eager to discuss the inner workings of his gifts with me. "You think you're so smart," I said, more amused than anything.
He turned around and stopped so abruptly that I nearly ran into his chest. "I know I am." He drew back. "I just wish I knew about you two."
He turned and started walking again. Shiloh rolled her eyes as he departed. "Is it possible to kick his ass and accept his help at the same time?"
"We'll let him help us," I said, loud enough for him to hear. But I couldn't help but murmur, "Then maybe later, we'll kick his ass."
***
The red-light district had grown livelier now that it was later on in the day. Red vapor poured from open windows and the clubs blared music. And while Shiloh and I both received a few catcalls, nobody bothered Carpenter. That in itself told me something.
We made it back out to the field by early evening and it creeped me out that I could see the line in the sand from several miles away. Silver light streaked from it, glittering in the cool desert air. It reached straight out from the plain, pale wasteland, reaching toward the Earth above.
"It appears exactly as I saw it." Carpenter spoke for the first time since we'd entered the desert. "But it feels stronger."
I didn't have any basis for comparison. To me, it looked and felt the same as it had this afternoon, complete with a handful of one-horned grunting friends wandering around nearby. I dodged one of them as I kept up with our necromancer. "We were sucked down here by that dark vortex."
"Impossible," he said, slowing as we drew nearer.
Maybe he wasn't as smart as he thought. "The dark vortex goes both ways," I reminded him.
"Not for demon slayers," he said simply.
I didn't like the sound of that. But I couldn't determine if he had special knowledge, or if he was just a close-minded jerk. "So how do you operate?" I asked, breaking down and asking. I needed to know if I should take him seriously or not. "What kind of signs do you get?"
He seemed reluctant to answer. "Visions," he said, as if the word itself were repulsive.
Rachmort had never mentioned anything like that to me and he was a necromancer.
"So what visions did you get about this place?" I asked. I could use all the warning I could get.
"That's none of your concern." Carpenter pulled a pair of black gloves out of his pocket and pulled them on, as if the conversation were over. He shot Shiloh a disdainful look. "You," he said to her, "step back, but don't go too far. I need you out of the way."
The guy really needed to take it easy. "You don't have many friends, do you?" I asked, as Shiloh did what he'd ordered.
He tested the fingertips of his gloves. "I can't afford close ties."
Well, didn't we luck out on that one? "Fine. We'll do the job and that's it." I couldn't force a partnership, and frankly, I didn't want to be around him any more than I had to.
Carpenter approached the line in the sand as he would a beast about to strike. He crouched down on his heels in front of it, running fingers along the top of the rise near the place where the crystal protruded from the rock. His touch hovered over the scarab relic embedded in the center.
He held his hand out. "Give me the black crystal."
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Nice try. "Do you need it for this job?"
He sighed and sat back on his haunches. "No."
"Then do your job first," I told him.
He focused on the relic again. "Forgive me if I'd like to have payment before I start messing with this seal."
He ran his hands over the barrier I'd created, testing it.
I'd secured it well. Except for the part where the Earl had gotten around it.
We just needed to eliminate my dad's relic and make the barrier whole again.
"Just be sure to do what I tell you to do," Carpenter murmured, focused on the seal in front of him. "We only get one shot." He studied the relic, as if it were about to jump up and bite him. "As soon as we start messing with it, the Earl will know we're here."
"You do realize I'm on your side," I said.
He leaned close. "Listen, sugar," he said, betraying a slight Southern accent, "no one's on my side." He reached into his pocket and drew out a brown leather bag. "Stick close," he added as he sprinkled a fine powder in a circle all around us and the rise in the desert. Somehow, he managed to avoid our horned friends, and by the time he finished, I saw that they had wandered away.
I doubted it was coincidence. Carpenter had sealed us in.
"How do you remove the relic?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "We don't. At least not without a dozen more necromancers and probably more slayers than exist. But we can lock him away. In truth, you're going to bury the Earl again. This time, for good. He won't be able to get another relic past this one. I'm going to help." He drew a small red fragment out of his pocket. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a painted fragment of a skull. "I'm going to place this on the relic in order to draw and center our powers." He held it up between his fingers. "Once this goes on, the Earl knows we're here. You apply a barrier, the same as you did to lock the Earl away. I'll enhance your powers and concentrate them so he can't break through again."
"Got it," I said, just a touch worried. If it were Rachmort, I'd have asked for advice. With this guy? It was harder. But I didn't want to screw up. "Listen," I began, not too crazy about explaining it. "I've never sealed a demon down without having my back against the wall." Every single time, I'd been under duress, nearly out of my mind. "I don't know exactly how I've done it before. Only that it happened."
