by Kami Garcia
Nox shuddered.
Ridley in chains. In captivity. Begging for her life. Nox felt ill at the thought, especially knowing how much Silas would enjoy it. “Do what you want. I’m not partial to Sirens myself.”
“Too many memories?” Silas leered. “Because if I remember correctly, your mother had no problem granting all my wishes when she worked for my grandfather. At least, when she wasn’t busy being Abraham’s little whore.”
Nox fought back a wave of hot anger.
Steady.
Instead, he imagined taking the Charmed switchblade out of his pocket and holding it to Silas Ravenwood’s throat. How the skin would part, how the blood would rush to the surface. How the body would fall.
Nox drew a breath, leaving his eyes fixed on Silas. “Fine. Take them off my hands tomorrow night. It’ll be easier if I lock them up at the club and you come and get them.”
“Tomorrow?” Silas was caught off guard, it seemed.
Nox shrugged. “The hybrid’s unpredictable, a real pain in the ass. But he’ll be playing at the club, which means the Siren will be there, too. I’ll shut them up in the supply room in the basement.” He smiled. “À la carte and to go.”
Silas thought about it for a minute. Finally, he nodded.
“Be sure to knock the Incubus out first. We’re a lot smarter than you Casters, so you have to take precautions. If he’s learned anything about Traveling, he’ll know he can take the Siren with him.”
“Naturally.”
Silas stubbed out the cigar on the railing, next to Nox’s hand. “Tomorrow night. If they’re not there, you’ll be the one to pay for it.”
Nox tried to keep his expression unreadable. “As if I’d expect anything less.”
“Have I ever showed you my tattoo?” Silas rolled up his sleeve another few inches. Two words curved around the front of the Incubus’s bicep.
No mercy.
“My grandfather cut it into my arm himself.” Silas let his sleeve fall. He snapped his fingers and the door of the observation platform opened behind him.
After Silas was gone, Nox stayed on the roof. There was one more thing he needed to do, and he wanted to do it before he changed his mind.
He pulled a matchbook from his pocket and ran his fingers over the six letters on the cover.
Nox couldn’t see his own future, but he wasn’t sure it mattered, not anymore. His future wasn’t the one he needed to see.
He had to see hers.
Nox had seen the fire and the chains, and he’d started the biggest con of his life. He needed to know if it was going to work—if he could protect her.
No matter how she felt about him, he still had to know.
He struck the match. The smell of sulfur crept into his nostrils.
He lifted his eyes, and there, in the darkness, he saw the last days of Ridley Duchannes’ life.
For the third and final time.
And then, as the clouds rolled in, he did something else. He made a plan to change them.
The four of them sat eating hot dogs on a pile of rocks in Central Park, shrouded by trees. The sky was dark, and rain was on the way.
Only rain, if we’re lucky.
But when are we ever lucky?
Rid could still hear the traffic from Central Park South. The sound of the chaos was comforting. After what Nox had told her, Ridley didn’t feel safe anywhere, but there was only so long the others were willing to stay sandwiched between protective candles.
Hiding in crowded public spaces—Mortal spaces—was the only other idea she’d come up with.
And sticking together.
“That’s the big plan? The best you could come up with?” Floyd sounded skeptical. She shoved the rest of her hot dog into her mouth.
“Yeah.” Link glared. “Seein’ as the marines were already busy.”
“You think this could actually work?” Necro tossed her dog back into the paper. “Silas will buy it?” She was bouncing back faster than anyone had thought she could, especially considering it had only been a day since she was lying unconscious on her deathbed.
Even so, the hot dog was ambitious.
“He might.” Link sighed. “Maybe.”
Ridley couldn’t eat, either. “It’s a long shot. If you guys don’t want to do it, I understand.” She jammed her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and shivered.
“What does that mean?” Necro picked at the awkward bandage on her neck.
“It means that I wasn’t straight with Link, and I wasn’t straight with you. And I’m sorry about that.” Ridley sounded miserable. “About a lot of things.”
Necro looked at her. Floyd didn’t.
Link stayed silent.
In the distance, two taxi drivers cussed each other out. Horns blared, and cars roared past.
“You want to know what I think?” Necro asked.
Rid wasn’t sure.
“You, Ridley Duchannes, are a giant bitch. A full-blown Yoko Ono.” Necro said the words slowly. Then she looked at Floyd, who shrugged.
Ridley stiffened. “And?”
“And I think John Ono Lennon was one of the greatest musicians in the history of the known universe.” Necro smiled.
Ridley was caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Every band needs a Yoko. And Silas Ravenwood can suck it. Nobody messes with my band. Right, Floyd?”
Floyd wadded up her hot dog wrapper. “The girl has a point.”
Necro held up her fist. “Pound it, sister. Silas Ravenwood is going down.”
Floyd held up hers.
Then Link. “Don’t leave a guy hangin’.”
Ridley didn’t.
“Now,” said Necro, rubbing her blue faux-hawk. “Think you can do anything with this hair? I’m feeling like tonight calls for a Brooklyn Blowout.”
“No time. We have to meet Nox back at the apartment.” Ridley slid down from the rock, her short kilt snagging on the way.
“Tell me he’s bringing us a pizza,” Necro said, sliding down after her. “Anything but hot dogs.”
“Even better,” Ridley said as Link and Floyd climbed down from the rock. “He’s bringing us the blueprints to Sirene.”
CHAPTER 34
Symphony of Destruction
This is a hellhole,” Ridley muttered from her seat on the dank basement floor.
“You think?” Link sat next to her, staring up at the ceiling, where some kind of plumbing leaked through the planks and plaster.
Not just a hellhole. A prison, she thought. You could almost hear the rats scurrying behind the kegs.
How did I end up in a dirty basement in the bottom of a nightclub in Brooklyn? Afraid for my future? Hiding from Silas Ravenwood?
They waited in silence. There wasn’t much left to talk about at a time like this.
Twenty-four hours of planning didn’t make tonight any better. The band had still ridden to the club in tense silence. The moldy basement beneath Sirene was still dank and deserted. Nox was still pacing in his office as if it was opening night.
It wasn’t.
There were no Casters crowding in. No DayGlo Sirenes selling Nectar of the Gods. No bartenders, no band.
Not on this level of the club, which had been locked off from the rest of the world, just as Nox had promised Silas it would be.
This storage room made the Underground look like the Happiest Place on Earth.
Ridley could feel the bass beat begin pounding through the walls. Nox had his house DJ covering for them. Every sound made her jump.
“Music’s come up,” Link said, listening.
“Yep.” Won’t be long now, she thought.
“We should be out there.” He sounded wistful.
“Not tonight, we shouldn’t.”
“Guess not.”
Rid smiled at him. “You had a good run, Shrinky Dink.”
“Yeah. Sirensong.” He said the name like he was filing it away in his graveyard of failed bands.
Who Shot Lincoln. The Holy Rollers. Meatstik. Sirensong.
Rid picked at a pink glitter nail. “It wasn’t all Nox, you know. Not all of it.”
Link didn’t take the bait. “Sure. It was also his mom’s Siren lyre.”
“Link.”
“Guess there’s no way to find out now.” Link sighed and looked at her. “It doesn’t matter, Rid. We gotta get outta here and get safe.” Get you out of here and get you safe. That was what he was thinking. Ridley knew Link well enough to know that, no matter how mad he might be at her.
She had always been his first priority. Taking care of her. Doing the right thing by her. Caring about her. She didn’t know why it had taken her so long to believe it.
Guess there’s no way to find out now.
She resisted the urge to reach out to him, if only to lay her hand on his arm. It was strange, having to remember not to touch him.
I did this.
I did this to myself.
“Ow—” A yelp from Link broke the silence, and he shook his hand like he wanted to shake it right off. “Is your ring burnin’ up?”
She held hers up, wincing. The glowing red light cast shadows on the wall around them. “Like crazy.”
It was quiet for a moment.
Ridley stole a sideways look at Link. “I would have, too, you know.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Woulda what?”
“Taken your place. With Abraham, I mean. Back there, what you said. How you would have let him take you instead of me.”
Link stared at the wall in front of him intently. “Yeah?”
Ridley shrugged. “I just wanted you to know.”
He turned to her. “Rid—”
But the banging at the door startled them, and Ridley pulled herself to her feet, Link scrambling up after her. “Nox?”
“It’s me,” the familiar voice said from the other side.
Link unlocked the door. “Took you long enough.”
“Sorry,” Nox said. “I had to organize a few things. A few thousand things. Floyd and Necro are ready to go. I have them at each end of the stage, waiting for my signal.”
Ridley looked at Nox. “Necro. Is she—”
“Fine. Stronger than you think. Believe me.” In some ways, Nox knew her better than any of them, Ridley realized.
Link looked relieved.
Nox took in the dismal room. “How do you kids like it down here? Pretty luxurious, right?”
“We couldn’t have waited in your office?” Ridley asked.
“I said I was holding you down here,” Nox said. “That was the plan. This has to seem legit. Silas has eyes on the club. He’s not exactly a trusting guy.”
“So what’s next?” Ridley asked, shivering. She knew the plan, but knowing it didn’t make her feel any better about it.
Nox pulled a little crimson matchbook from his pocket and held it in the air between his fingers. Ridley recognized it immediately. The word SIRENE was printed across the cover.
Nox took her hand with his free one, and Rid could almost feel Link watching them. “You’re sure you want to go through with this, Little Siren?”
“If you’re sure it’s the only way,” she answered.
He nodded. “It’s the only way I can think of.”
Link’s eyes were fixed on the matches. “Is that for what I think it is? Or are you plannin’ to take up smokin’?”
“It’s time,” Nox said.
“So just a small fire, right? A diversion?” Rid started to get nervous.
“Not that small,” Nox said. “Maybe a little bigger than I let on.”
“Nox.” Ridley pulled her hand away.
“Okay, maybe not small at all.” Nox shrugged. “Don’t worry. I’ve shown everything to Necro and Floyd. The Illusionist can handle it. They’ll get everyone out of the club before they even know what’s going on. And, hopefully, before it blows.”
“Hold on, dude.” Suddenly, Link was paying attention. “You’re gonna burn your own club down?”
“The only way Silas Ravenwood will leave you both alone is if he thinks you’re dead, and it has to be convincing. Something he can see—or at least his men can see—with their own eyes. They’ll see Sirene when she burns.” Nox waved the matches. “Get it?”
“Wait. Seriously.” Ridley put a hand on his arm. “You’d burn down Sirene for me?”
“Why not?” Nox shrugged, looking at her. “I built it for you.”
For a second, no one said a word.
Then Link gave Nox a hard look. “How about you keep that crap to yourself, pretty boy? Otherwise, the wrong Supernatural might go up in flames.”
Nox ignored him.
Ridley looked away. “No.”
“Ridley. Please. Let me do the right thing, for once in my life.”
“I said no.” She shook her head. “Call it off. There has to be a better way.”
Link looked at her. “The guy has a point. As much as I don’t like it, we don’t have a whole lotta choices right now, Rid.”
“Exactly.” Nox sighed. “They come for you. The place goes up in flames. We carry out the bodies.”
“Our bodies.” Ridley was still having trouble wrapping her mind around it.
He nodded. “Eventually, Abraham will figure it out when you don’t show up on the other side. But by then, you’ll have a head start on him. You’ll just have to lay low.”
“Like, witness protection low.” Link nodded. “We’ll figure something out.”
Nox lowered his voice. “You saw the blueprints. You can’t go out the front door, or Silas’ men will see you. There’s only one way out from down here.” Nox pointed down the hallway. “The service door is at the end of that hall. Go out that way.”
“Won’t Silas have men at that door, too?” Rid asked.
“Yeah,” Nox said, “but they won’t be standing very close, if that’s where the fire starts.”
“You’re not saying—” Ridley couldn’t bring herself to finish.
“The fire starts here.” Nox nodded. “You’re going to have to get out through the fire. It’s the only way.”
“Hello.” Link waved. “Hybrid Incubus in the room. We’re not goin’ out the door. I’ll Rip us both out. I’ve gotten a lot better lately.”
“You can’t,” Nox said. “Silas isn’t stupid. He’s already got that one covered. The club is Bound—on top of my own Binding, he’s done his own. Can’t you feel it? No one can Travel in or out. No Rip letter could get through that now. You have to use the doors, like a Mortal.”
Ridley panicked. “But you said I die in a fire.” She stared back at him, her heart pounding in her chest. “This is what you warned me about. Tonight.”
Nox nodded. “You die in a fire. That’s one possibility. But not this one. I never saw anything like this. I never saw a future where we were the ones starting the fire.”
“How do you know?” Ridley felt desperate.
“I saw wooden stairs. I saw a fire. I saw the sky. Not a basement below the club itself.”
She shook her head. “What if it’s the same thing?”
“It’s not. Not if we’re in control of the whole thing.”
“Are you sure?” She could tell from the look on his face that he wasn’t.
“Ninety-nine percent. This isn’t one of the futures I saw for you. This isn’t one of your paths.”
Ridley was silent for a moment.
What other choice do I have?
“I’d rather die in a fire than end up as part of Silas Ravenwood’s harem,” she said finally.
Link grabbed her hand. “Yeah, well, you aren’t gonna do either. Not on my watch.”
“Our watch,” said Nox.
“Back up.” Link frowned. “If I can’t Rip, how are we gonna get outta this place? I’m pretty badass, but I’m not fireproof.”
“I am,” Sampson said from where he stood just outside the door. Ridley had no idea how long he’d been there watching them.
Link raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
The Darkborn gave Link a hard stare. “Of course not, you idiot. But I can control it.” Sampson ducked his head under the doorframe and came inside. “Ever heard of the butterfly effect? They say if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, it can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world.”
“I sorta failed bio in summer school, so you might wanna hit the high points.”
Sampson continued. “When your cousin screwed up the Order of Things, that’s what she did. She changed the nature of the supernatural world, right down to the source.”
“The Dark Fire,” Ridley said in a low voice.
Sampson’s gray eyes met hers, and he smiled. “Why do you think they call us Darkborns?”
“It’s true. Sampson’s kind draw their strength from the Dark Fire,” Nox said. “So Mortal fire? Not such a big deal.”
“Yeah? What about Mortal smoke inhalation?” Link was suspicious.
“There’s fire, and then there’s fire. Let’s just say it bends to my will,” the Darkborn said, looking at Ridley. “The way guys bend to yours.”
“I thought you didn’t care what happens to Mortals?” Ridley looked at Sampson suspiciously. “I thought you didn’t get involved with Caster business?”
He shrugged. “There’s an exception to every rule. I’d hate to break up the band.”
Link stared at Sirensong’s lead guitarist with his mouth hanging open. “You’re the Magneto of Supernaturals. Holy crap.” Magneto was the one comic book character Link revered above all others. It was the highest compliment he could’ve paid Sampson.
“I’d go with Metallica,” Sampson said. “But I’ll take it.”
Link whistled to himself. “You bet your Dark balls a fire it’s a compliment.”
“So that’s it.” Nox held up the matchbook. “It’s time to take the future into our own hands. We light the fire. We set the Wheel of Fate in motion.”
Link grinned. “I’m startin’ to get what you’re sayin’. The Wheel can’t roll over us if we’re the ones pushin’ it.”
Nox handed Link the matches. “You’re not as stupid as you look. For a messed-up Incubus with Mortal limitations.”
“I get that a lot.”
Nox turned to Ridley. “You ready?”
She tossed her head. “I was born ready.” It was the second time she had tried to bluff him.
