by D. N. Hoxa
Moira came back to the penthouse before eight am, and she was surprised to see me. I was trying to read my book, but my thoughts kept drifting away.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” she said, looking around the living room to make sure nobody else was there. John and Zane were playing a video game that involved a lot of shouting in John’s room, so I was all alone.
“You got up early. Where were you?” I asked as casually as I could.
“Doing girl stuff,” she said with a shrug, taking out the milk from the fridge. The way she avoided my eyes confirmed that she was lying. She chugged a whole glass of milk down in one swig. “Did the boys tell you about last night with the heirloom?”
“Not in detail,” I said, and she grinned.
“Oh, you’re going to love this.” Taking a banana from the counter, she came and sat with me and told me everything that had happened on the first job.
Chapter Eleven
Moira left the penthouse to go shopping an hour before nightfall. I didn’t know what the night had in store for me, but I was going to need all my strength, so I stayed inside until sunset before I followed her.
She was lying to me, and it made me uncomfortable. I didn’t claim to know everything that went on in her life, and it was for the better. She needed her privacy, but it all changed when she lied.
Following her scent wasn’t difficult, even though an hour had passed. I knew Moira’s scent better than my own. I hurried because I didn’t know how much time I had left before Nikola and Emanuel called. When they’d arrived at Robert Perry’s house, he hadn’t been there, so they’d stayed close to wait for him. He still hadn’t returned. Though I doubted he’d agree to cooperate, it was still the best we had.
I followed Moira’s scent three blocks away from the penthouse before it disappeared. The street was crowded, the first floors of the buildings at my sides all open—restaurants, coffee shops and fast food joints. The smell of grilled meat was overpowering, and it took me a bit longer than I liked to pick Moira’s scent back up. She’d been in a Turkish Donner shop, and she’d returned to the beginning of the street again, up the five narrow stairs into a three-story building. The front door was locked and there were no wards. I blocked the sounds from the street as best as I could and focused on the inside of the building. Most of the people who were in there were humans. And Moira.
I didn’t want to break the lock, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to ring the bell. I grabbed the handle and slammed my shoulder onto the door, just a bit. It gave easily.
The hallway stank of Moira, like she’d been here more than once. I followed her heartbeat up a set of stairs and into a narrow corridor with five doors. She was on the other side of the fifth at the end of the corridor, and she wasn’t alone. I could hear another heartbeat next to hers, and the faint smell said the person wasn’t human, either.
I forced myself to stop for a second. Was she with a guy?
Because Moira was too young to be dating. She had just turned twenty a few months ago, so she was practically a baby. Far too young.
My eyes closed as my mind raced. I hated these situations when I didn’t know what to do. Just the thought of a man laying hands on my deranged elf made the tips of my canines sharp. I wanted to kill something already. Who would dare to go close to my Moira? I would kill them before they could blink.
Stop.
I opened my eyes and forced myself to take in a deep breath. I was being ridiculous. And…was that a woman?
I must have been too distracted because I didn’t hear the footsteps or the lock turning until the door opened. Moira stared at me, eyes wide and mouth open. I looked her over just to make sure that she was okay, in case I missed something. But other than shocked, she seemed physically fine. And behind us, inside the apartment, I saw the woman in the hallway with two knives in her hands, looking at me.
No, not woman. Girl.
“I can explain,” Moira said when I walked inside, a bit closer to the girl, whose hands shook as she raised her knives at me a little higher, slowly backing away. I knew her. I’d seen her before—in the memories of the witch that the Bane had had tied up in their offices. She looked different—or maybe it was the smell? Her dark hair was no longer greasy and her clothes—Moira’s clothes on her body—were all clean.
“Put those away, Charlie,” Moira said, coming in between us.
I narrowed my brows at her. “What’s going on?”
Moira grabbed me by the arm and pushed me toward the door. “Stay here. I’ll be right back,” she said to the girl and continued to push me all the way out to the hallway. She closed the apartment door behind her and continued to walk outside of the building.
“That’s the girl I saw in the witch’s memories,” I said in wonder.
“You broke the damn door. Great,” she muttered, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Moira, what is she doing here?”
She raised her arms to the sides. “They didn’t want her, okay? They just didn’t want her.”
She lost me completely. “Who didn’t want her? Who is she?”
“She’s the youngest daughter of the witch who hired us to find her precious heirloom,” Moira said, then proceeded down the stairs until we were on the street. “They didn’t even tell us she was missing, Dam,” she whispered. “Their daughter was kidnapped, and all they cared about was the heirloom she took with her.”
I shook my head. “Are you keeping her here?”
Moira flinched. “Yeah—but it’s just until she figures out what to do. I’m just helping her.”
But she was just a kid. “How old is she?”
“She’ll be eighteen in a few days.”
Just like I suspected. “Does her family know where she is?”
Moira looked away. It was enough of an answer.
“Moira, she’s a kid. She belongs with her family.”
“Her family doesn’t give a shit about her!” she suddenly shouted, then looked around to see if someone had heard. Everyone had. “Look, she lost her brother a few years ago, and then she acted out, okay? She refused to go to school, got into trouble, beat people up, and they practically disowned her.” She came closer to me, her silver eyes wide and full of fear. “Dam, I’m not going to send her back to them.”
“And you think that’s your choice?” Because it wasn’t and she knew it.
“It’s her choice—and she already made it.” Moira grabbed her hips and looked up at me like that, like she was waiting on the verdict of her life.
“What’s the plan?” I asked her.
“There is no plan. When we found her at the witch’s house, she gave us that heirloom but made it very clear that she wasn’t going back to her family. I tried to stop her, and you know what happened?” Moira smiled. “She almost killed me, Dam. She’s crazy good with those knives, and she can do magic! She’s a psychic, Level Three, and she’s really fast.” She said it like that was most exciting thing she’d ever heard.
“Do the boys know?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Moira? Since when are we keeping secrets?”
She shrugged. “Because I’m not going to let her go back there.”
“And you thought I’d make you take her?” I wouldn’t have if she’d explained it to me.
“Will you?”
I looked at the apartment building for a second. “What does she want?”
“She just wants to be away from them, that’s all.”
“So why did you bring her here?” This was a human neighborhood. There were no wards, no way to protect her if her family did decide they wanted her, after all.
“I didn’t know where else to take her. I rented the apartment just until she could figure out what to do when she turns eighteen,” Moira said. “I’ll stay with her as much as I can, to make sure she’s okay until then.”
“You can’t keep coming here like this, Moira.”
�
�Sure I can. It’s not that far from home.”
“You should bring her home. It’s safer that way.” For the both of them. Moira was a better fighter than most people I’d met, but there were dangerous people out there. Dangerous people who could hurt them both out here in the open when neither I nor the boys were around.
“Are you…are you serious?” she whispered, her big eyes gleaming.
It made me a bit uncomfortable. “I’m only saying it because she’s a psychic. She could be useful—that’s all.”
Suddenly, Moira had her arms around my neck and she hugged me tightly. “Thank you, Dam!” she shouted in my ear.
I laughed. “You don’t have to thank me.” It was her home as much as it was mine.
“I know how it looks, but I promise she won’t cause any trouble,” she said in a rush. “And I know I’m barely twenty myself, but I can keep her safe. I can help her, I promise.”
It was impossible to keep from smiling when she looked like that, like a little girl all over again. It was strange that I missed her when she was standing right there.
“I have no doubt about that, deranged elf. You are your father’s daughter.” And David would have been proud of her, too. She smiled bigger than I’d seen her in a long time.
“Do you want to meet her? She was just scared earlier, that’s all,” she said, just when the phone in my pocket vibrated. I pulled it out to read the text from Emanuel. They were with Robert Perry and on their way to the tombs.
“I have work to do. I’ll meet her later at home,” I told Moira and kissed her forehead. “Be careful.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine. Take care of the girl. We’ll talk later.”
She gave me another hug and ran back to the apartment building. I watched after her, wondering if I’d made the right call. Things could get complicated quick in our lives, but the truth was, we no longer worked for the Guild.
Yes, it was the right decision. The Bane was in need of a magic wielder, and as long as the girl was fully aware of what their job was, they’d be just fine.
I called Sinea’s number as I walked back to the penthouse to get my car.
“Yeah?” she answered, and I got that feeling again, like my chest was alive for a fraction of a second.
“We’ve got a necromancer. I’m coming to pick you up,” I said in a rush. I had no right to be as excited about it as I was, but she didn’t need to know that.
“You know what, just meet me in Corbin City. I’m coming on my own,” Sinea said.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. Just…I’ll just meet you there.” She was nervous—I could hear it in her voice.
“Okay, little thief. See you soon.”
When I got to my car, I drove it to her apartment building first, before I continued to Corbin City.
Chapter Twelve
Sin Montero
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” I said, when I parked the car about ten feet away from Damian’s. We were in Corbin City, on the narrow street that would lead us to the stone wall tombs—and I wasn’t alone. Malin was sitting in the passenger seat with me.
And Damian and Nikola weren’t alone, either. Emanuel was with them this time.
“It’s my mess, Sin. I can’t just sit around in my apartment and let you put yourself in danger for me,” Mal said. “Who is that?”
“Emanuel,” I said with a sigh. “Mal, it’s only been two days. You said it yourself—you have to give your magic time to adjust.”
“But I already used it, remember? Just hours after I got my Talent back, and I’m still here,” she said. “It didn’t kill me. That soul is here because of me—and I am going to be the one to take it back.”
“Damian already has a necromancer,” I reminded her—though I couldn’t see the guy yet. Maybe he was waiting in the car? Shit. When Damian called, I should have just pretended it was Lucas calling me for a hunt. By then, Malin already had a bag with a dozen vials with all kinds of powders and leaves in them, and she was ready to go. Like a fool I told her it was Damian and she made it very sure that she was going with even before I hung up the phone. Even Jamie wanted to come, but thank God she had to go to work. Good thing she loaned us her car because neither I nor Malin had cars of our own. I didn’t want to tell Damian about it because I thought he would try stop me.
Now, though, I wasn’t so sure. He could see Malin in the passenger seat, and he didn’t even look surprised.
But he did look delicious. He had a white shirt under his black leather jacket, and it definitely worked in his favor.
“I don’t care. I have to make this right, Sin. Let’s just go,” Malin said, pulling me out of my trance, and got out of the car.
“C’mon, Kit. Showtime,” I said with a sigh and waited for Kit to climb out of the car before I closed the door.
Before we reached the others, Nikola walked up to us, his eyes on Malin, a smile on his face. “Ms. Arnon, so good to see you,” he told her, and took her hand in his. “Are you feeling better? You look a lot better tonight.”
Malin pressed her lips together. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you.”
Damian raised a brow at me, color sparkling in his eyes even though it was very dark. “You should have stayed behind, Ms. Arnon,” he said without ever looking at Malin. “We already have a necromancer.”
“I’m fine,” Mal said. “And I wanted to be here.”
“Where is the necromancer?” I asked. He wasn’t in the car, not that I could see.
Damian came closer to me. Instantly my stomach tied up in knots, even though he was still at least three feet away.
“He’s in the trunk,” he said with a flinch.
I narrowed my brows. “Why is he in the trunk?”
“Because we put him there,” Emanuel said, his eyes moving from Malin’s face to mine quickly, as if he still hadn’t decided she wasn’t a danger. Mal just stared at him, arms wrapped around herself, while Nikola still analyzed her. “He wasn’t going to come willingly. What else were we supposed to do?”
“So you kidnapped him?”
“You need to send the soul back, don’t you?” said Emanuel with a shrug.
“He works for the Guild,” Damian said, almost under his breath.
“You’re kidding.” A Guild Necromancer and they kidnapped him?
“Just let me handle him, okay? It’ll be fine. He’ll get the job done,” Emanuel said. It seemed he’d run all out of patience.
I looked at Damian, but he shrugged. “Unless you want to let your friend do the honors herself, we don’t have much of a choice.”
“I can do it,” Malin said.
“No, you can’t.” And even if she could, I wouldn’t let her, not when I knew the ritual could kill her. “What’s gonna happen after? How do we know he won’t turn us in?”
“We don’t,” Damian said, but he wasn’t all that bothered. “Like I said, we don’t have another choice, and we’re already running out of time. Emanuel?”
Emanuel moved to the trunk of the black BMW parked in front of Damian’s new car. I moved in front of Malin to block her view.
“What are you doing?” she whispered behind me.
“You heard him. He works for the Guild,” I said, and Emanuel opened the trunk. This was going to suck so badly.
A man sat up, duct tape over his mouth, arms tied behind his back. His hair was all over the place, and his white shirt was all bloody in the front.
Emanuel grinned. “Duct tape,” he said to Damian.
“He’s going to attack us as soon as you free him,” I reminded them. Why the hell had they thought this would be a good idea? Maybe I should have just let Mal try the ritual herself. Damn it.
The man was trying to say, moving his head from side to side. Emanuel reached for the duct-tape over his mouth, when…
“Robbie?”
Mal was suddenly next to me, looking at the man in the trunk like he was
an alien. And the man saw her. He stopped moving and trying to speak instantly. Well, fuck.
“You…you know that guy?” I asked, but Malin was already running to the trunk. I tried to run behind her, but it was no use. She was already there, pulling the duct tape off the man’s mouth.
“Oh my goddess, are you okay?” she asked the man, who looked positively shocked to see her, his blue eyes roaming over her face like he couldn’t believe she was real.
“Mal?” he finally whispered.
“Hold on, I’ll help you,” Mal said and pushed him to the side so she could reach behind him. Emanuel looked at Damian, and Damian looked at me. All I could do was shake my head. What the hell could I say?
Eventually, Mal untied the necromancer and helped him out of the trunk while we just stared at them. Then, Damian unsheathed his sword. The necromancer took a step back, but he didn’t look afraid. He looked curious.
“There’s no need for that,” Malin said, eyeing Damian’s sword.
“Mr. Perry, we apologize for the way we had to bring you here,” he said, never looking away from the necromancer. “We need help with a soul summoning spell, and you’re going to help us.”
“Who are you people?” the man said, looking all of us over—until he saw Emanuel and flinched. Now that he didn’t have duct tape on his face, I could see dried blood around his nose and chin, possibly from when Emanuel had knocked him out.
“They’re my friends,” Malin said, widening her eyes at me, then nodding at Damian, as if she thought I could make him disappear. “Look, can we have a moment? We need to talk.” She grabbed the necromancer by the arm and made for Jamie’s car.
“Mal, no,” I said, stepping in front of her. She wasn’t going anywhere alone with that guy. For all we knew, he was going to spell her—and us—as soon as he was far away, then call the Guild.
“Just a minute, Sin. I know him,” she said, widening her brown eyes at me again.
