“Who are you?” I asked, disregarding propriety and manners in an attempt to follow what the hell was going on.
The elegant woman Zikros called a succubus raised one eyebrow and stared me down. “Are all hunters so rude?”
“I don’t speak for all hunters. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.”
She couldn’t disguise her smirk as she sat and took a drag off her cigarette. “A little late for that, don’t you think?”
“Mistress,” Gyleeto’s voice barely registered as a whisper, “may I be excused?”
“Have you eaten?”
He hung his head, as if in shame. “Yes, Mistress.”
“Then, yes, you may go.”
“I dismiss my people, not you, succubus,” growled Zikros.
“And, my dearest, hot-headed, Zeke, I outrank you.” She didn’t deign to look at him. “I can, and will, dismiss who I choose, as I choose, so kindly fuck off.”
Gyleeto waited beside her, looking between the two figures.
“Go.” She shooed him away with a flick of her fingers. “Your assignment’s in my room on the desk. I expect it done by dawn.”
I glanced at my wrist out of habit, only to discover my watch had been replaced by a gemstone-encrusted bangle roughly the same size. If everything transformed when I stepped between the worlds, I hoped the transition gave me good fighting underwear, though I wasn’t in any hurry to find out.
“Yes, ma’am,” the nightmare said, hurrying off into the crowd.
“Excuse me,” Gideon said, suddenly far less confident addressing the elegant woman, “may we resume the schedule?”
“I suppose that’s why we’re here, so let’s get it over with.”
“You will not derail my objectives,” Zikros threatened, standing over her.
“Your objectives are stupid.” The woman flipped open a portfolio placed in front of her by a humanoid servant. “And, as such, I’m not letting them proceed. As I mentioned, I outrank you, and when I object to your idiot policies, which I do, they won’t be implemented.”
Zikros sputtered, but words didn’t manifest out of the sound.
“You might see the earthly realm as a hunting ground where you can glut your basest desires, but the fact of the matter is that we need them as much as they need us.”
“Still right here,” I said, trying to learn as much as possible from her double talk.
She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye but kept talking to Zikros. “Give me trouble, and I’ll remove you from the council. Permanently. Understood?”
“Okay, look, I’m sure your in-fighting is delightful and entertaining for you, but I’m losing time here,” I said. Sister Betty needed me to find an answer for healing soul ablation from a nightmare’s touch and get back, plus we needed to stop the nightmare incursion from affecting more humans.
Zikros, Lushiku, and the woman looked at me. Gideon shuffled his feet. The flush I saw across his cheekbones had to be a trick of the lighting.
“My friend’s dying because she got touched—”
“You’d have us starve, then?” Zikros demanded.
The succubus rolled her eyes. “Really, you are so dramatic, Zeke. No one’s starving. There’s plenty to feed our entire realm. It’s the Collectors we need to worry about.”
Zikros scoffed.
“Again, still here.” I stood to get attention this time.
It didn’t work.
“My realm will not be destroyed to preserve human livestock.” Zikros addressed the gathering. “Any who deny my people access to the human realm for feeding will share their fate.”
Anger and arguments swelled around us.
“And you, Miss Kelley,” Zikros whispered, leaning so close, I felt heat radiating off his red skin, “if you interfere, I’ll make sure you’re last to die.”
16
Hot-headed. Reactionary. Impulsive. Reckless.
These words have all been used to describe me at one point or another. Individually, they don’t paint a flattering picture, but they explain why I often get in trouble. They also explain how I manage to get out of fights alive, especially when shit gets weird.
And shit got weird in the ballroom.
Whether I saw or felt the vampires move to capture me is irrelevant, but somehow, I dodged the right way. They overcorrected and tackled Zikros instead. The demon-looking nightmare howled with rage as the two bloodsuckers scrambled off him. He popped up like an evil jack-in-the-box into the face of a hissing succubus who kneed him in the junk.
Weaponless yet again—though neither by choice nor oversight—I ducked under the table and crawled to the other side.
“What is the meaning of this nonsense?”
I jumped and knocked my head on the table before I emerged through the trailing tablecloths. First, I saw Lushiku’s hairy legs, but beyond him stood Helen, swathed in cream-colored silk slightly lighter than her hair. Fists perched on her slender hips, a shimmery pink ribbon trailed from her right, pulled taut by a snarling Fenrir.
The vampires, Lafayette and George, disappeared.
Zikros seemed to forget the translucent opal-colored stone knife the succubus held at his throat as he faced the massive, growling wolf-dog. “Lady Helen.”
“I’m waiting,” she prompted, then looked at his captor. “Violetta?”
Violetta smiled. Neither her grip on Zikros or her knife faltered. “Lady Helen. I heard you were in town. So glad you were able to join us.”
Helen crossed her arms, more of Gleipnir sliding through her fingers to give her demi-god brother, Fenrir, a little more leash. She flicked a lazy gesture at Zikros. “What’s this about?”
“A disagreement, my lady, nothing more.” Violetta pulled Zikros closer. “My colleague threatened an honored guest, and—”
“I see no guest,” Helen said with such affected boredom, I expected her to yawn.
Violetta glanced at the table, holding Zikros. “She must have, um, stepped out.”
“You lost her?” Amusement, this time from Helen.
A black, leathery hand appeared in front of my face. Lushiku helped me to my feet before drawing attention to me. “Miss Kelley is right here, Lady Violetta.”
“Great.” She pressed the knife against his throat. “Zeke wanted to apologize for being inappropriate.”
Zikros sneered in defiance and glared at me. “I don’t apologize to livestock.”
The iridescent blade drew a trickle of blood that looked black as it ran down his red throat. “You are so rude, Zeke, and I’ve had it with your impertinence.” She wiggled the blade, and he winced. “My apologies, Lady Helen, Miss Kelly. Neither Zeke’s agenda nor his behavior represent our dimension.”
“If I’d known this was going to be such a savage event, I wouldn’t have worn white.” Helen tugged Gleipnir, and Fenrir took a reluctant step backward.
“I assure you, my lady,” Violetta struggled to restrain Zikros as he fought her grip, “this isn’t the tone we wish to set. As soon as Zeke calms the fuck down, this will all be over.”
Fenrir sat at Helen’s feet, his ears flicking, eyes wide and alert.
Helen glanced down at the massive wolf with the raised fur. “If Fenrir can be controlled, I don’t understand why you cannot control Zikros. Then again,” she turned to me so slowly, it gave me chills, “Miss Kelley’s quite the polarizing figure. Especially when driving her agenda.”
I managed a smile and half-bow in her direction. “Nice to see you again, too, Helen. You look lovely.”
She scanned me with indifference and turned to Violetta. “How long before we resume business? I have other, more important, engagements to attend.”
“But this affects your world, too, Helen.” I stepped forward, restrained by Lushiku’s extended arm in front of me. “He’s trying to exploit our realm.”
Helen raised an eyebrow and laughed delicately. “Our realm, Miss Kelley?”
“Well, yes,” I said. “Earth.”
> “That is hardly ‘my’ realm.”
“But you live there. You have businesses there.”
“I spend time and conduct business in many dimensions. Earth isn’t particularly special.”
“But it should be.” Lushiku’s arm allowed me one step forward as she turned away. Fenrir lunged to his feet, teeth exposed, his growl so low, I felt it more than heard it.
“And why is that?”
Whether right or wrong, I spit out the only answer that came to mind. “Human souls populate the underworld. Without them, you’d have no kingdom to rule.”
Her thin eyebrow arched. “You think Earth’s the only realm feeding my kingdom?”
A stone dropped into my gut from somewhere inside. I had nothing else to offer.
She tugged Gleipnir and turned away. “I’ve had enough.”
“What about the nexus?”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Helen stopped and turned. “What about it?”
“The New Orleans nexus is important to you. To all of you.” I addressed the creatures in the ballroom. Even Zikros paid attention.
If only I had more to say.
“It’s not the only one,” Helen said, when I didn’t go on. “Good night.”
“Good night, Lady Helen,” Violetta said, disappointment coloring her voice.
“Are you so bored with life you’re willing to permit a massacre?” I demanded.
Helen’s eyes flashed as she glared at me despite her eerie control. “Excuse me?”
Lushiku’s arm pressed against my abdomen but didn’t yield as I leaned forward. “You’re deliberately ignoring a threat to humanity because it doesn’t interest you. You’re willing to sacrifice an entire planet—”
She laughed. Helen actually laughed. “Humans are so theatrical and dramatic. When will you and your kind learn, Miss Kelley, that you are not the top of the so-called food chain? That your existence is insignificant? That the pantheon hasn’t considered you once since you made your passion for self-destruction abundantly clear? Why bother delaying the inevitable?”
“There’s more to humanity than a self-destructive minority. Some people work for the good of others, to protect others, and to save them when they’re in danger.”
“And you see yourself as one of these people?” she asked.
“Sure.” I made eye contact with Zikros. “I fight things that snack on humans.”
“Then why are you ignoring the threat of the Collectors?”
I’d heard the name before, several times, yet knew nothing about them. “What do you mean?”
“That self-sacrificing, ‘save the world’ drive only extends to personal causes, then?” She cocked her head, a waterfall of hair cascading over the left side of her face. “Only for saving the woman you love?”
“That’s not what I—”
“You didn’t have to, my dear,” she said. “If you’re content to ignore the bigger threat to pursue the one affecting you personally, that’s your choice. But don’t plead for philanthropic assistance.”
Of course, that’s when it happened.
Helen turned her back, Fenrir leading her away. Lushiku turned to address Gideon. Violetta looked at me and opened her mouth to speak.
Zikros seized his opportunity.
In her moment of distraction, Violetta’s hold slackened enough to relieve the pressure of the blade on Zikros’s throat. He folded in half, jammed his fist in Violetta’s stomach, then slammed his head into her face.
The knife clattered to the floor.
Violetta collapsed, her air gone. Zikros and I dove for the iridescent stone knife, the beads and sequins of my dress catching as I scrambled across the carpet. I cursed and pushed harder, my fingers folding around the bone handle an instant before his. Zikros screamed for Lafayette and George, though neither appeared. I rolled as he lunged, dress sticking like Velcro to the carpet as I ducked under the table again.
My arms wrapped around the table’s center support a heartbeat before his fingers caught the hem of the dress and yanked. Threads popped, and the straps dug into my shoulders, threatening to break. Unable to pull me out completely, he crawled toward me, only to have his attack interrupted by an angry silverback gorilla pummeling his back.
I scrambled from under the table, kicking off my shoes and retreating a few steps to watch the beating, knife in hand.
Violetta knelt on all fours, her top hat askew as she retched and fought to reclaim her air.
Helen watched with feigned boredom, her slightly narrowed eyes betraying her interest.
Lushiku pounded on Zikros with animal fury, and I wondered if Zikros would survive.
“STOP!” Gideon screamed.
Everything fell silent.
The skeleton twisted his fingers nervously, but he stood with more poise than I would have expected amidst such chaos. “This is highly irregular.” His voice jangled with nerves. “Guests of the Compact should not behave in such a manner.”
Zikros roared and thrashed, and Lushiku pinned him to the ground, though it required his entire body weight and all his focus.
I crouched at Zikros’s side, careful to avoid his touch. The blade flashed as I lowered it to his throat. “You know livestock stampede and kill ranchers, right, Zeke?”
He spat, though most of it splashed right back in his face. “I will hunt you down, then your family, your friends, and feed them to my people while you watch. When you have watched me exterminate the entire human race, then, I will savor your death slowly. You—”
The knife literally cut off his words.
His mouth moved, finishing the sentence before surprise washed over him and the blood ran out of him.
“You killed him.” Violetta bent over me, sounding pained as she held her stomach.
“I’m a hunter. He threatened my family. My world. And me.” I handed her back her knife and stood. “No matter what you did, he wouldn’t have changed. It was in his eyes.”
She nodded and took the blade. “I’d have done the same.”
I looked at her. “How do I save the people who are dying from this?”
“I’ll dispatch healers to those who have been touched.”
A rock lifted off my heart. “They’ll survive? Return to normal, soul restored and all?”
She smiled the way adults smile at worried children. “Yes, they’ll be fully restored. It’s typically an accidental affliction, and when reported, reversed as quickly as possible.”
I thanked her and provided the information they’d need to reach Riley, Sister Betty, and scribbled a quick note of introduction and instruction. “There’s at least one more we haven’t found yet.”
“Once you find them, we’ll heal them as well.” She beckoned a humanoid runner, gave instructions in a language I couldn’t identify along with the note.
“Now what?” I asked.
Violetta shrugged and gestured to Gideon. “We recess for body removal and a quick cleaning, then get back to work.
“Another day at the office?”
“Something like that,” she said with a smile.
“Do you, Hunter, consent to represent the humans in this Compact unless death prevents you from doing so?”
Staring into Gideon’s dark eye sockets reminded me of Madame Sabine’s tarot card. I suppressed a shiver and turned to Lushiku. “Isn’t there a better representative for the human world than me?”
Low conversation rippled through the room. Creatures turned to at each other. Some with waving eyestalks looked at many creatures at once. Tentacles, teeth, fur, wings, and scales stood out against elegant evening wear, yet everywhere I looked, I saw disapproval, doubt, and fear.
Lushiku’s eyes flashed amber, and he bowed to Gideon. “If I may speak to the Compact.”
With a graceful nod and a sweep of his tuxedoed arm, the skeleton master of ceremonies yielded the floor.
“Gathered members of the Compact,” Lushiku’s deep voice boomed through the speakers, “I represent
the Hidden Earth clans of the Indo-African region.” I repeated the name to myself to try to remember. “The Hunter is here not by designation of the humans, nor by members of the Compact.” Another scattering of whispers. “To their ways, and many of ours, this isn’t considered fair representation, but the events that brought her to us make her the representation humans need.”
A few claps from the back. Though I strained to see into the shadows, I couldn’t make out where they came from.
“This Hunter pursued a threat to her people through a foreign city, defended the vulnerable, and seeks to save those affected by unsanctioned feedings by nightmares.”
“She’ll kill us if she stays,” cried a voice from somewhere in the middle of the room.
Noises and murmurs of assent followed.
“She killed Zikros. What else will she do, if given a chance?” Another voice from the back corner of the room.
Lushiku waited for the whispers to stop. “Zikros threatened her tribe, her world, and her person. How would you react?” Applause peppered the low hum of conversation. “The human realm is vulnerable to almost every other realm, and where the barrier becomes too thin to ignore, the humans need hunters to protect them against rogue elements.”
“Why should we?” asked an angry growl of a voice.
“Like any ecosystem, when one realm fails, we all fail.” Violetta managed to sound indifferent, even bored, though her words spawned cries of alarm. One creature sobbed dramatically.
Lushiku waited, but only for a moment before raising his voice to reclaim his audience’s attention. “Additionally, the former representative of the nightmare council betrayed the agreements established by this very Compact and overpowered his superior who tried to control him, thus subjecting the realm to censure under the rules of failed, attempted coup until such time as stability can be re-established and proven.”
Violetta sat up straight, rigid in her chair as she stared up at Lushiku, her lips tightening into a knot. A flush of color darkened her pale chest, neck, and flamed at the tips of her ears. As I watched the muscles in her jaw twitch, I had no doubt she’d have words with Lushiku after this speech.
A Touch Too Much Page 13
