Of Blood and Monsters

by D. G. Swank

  “I have no idea, but Piper said it glowed, so that means it can do something.” He held my gaze and lowered his voice. “Maybe the seer can tell you what to do with it.”

  It wasn’t a long drive to downtown from Piper’s house. It was a Sunday afternoon in late summer, which meant downtown Asheville was buzzing with tourists. We had to park in a garage several blocks away and walk to the crystal shop the seer owned, not that I was complaining. The thought of facing a bunch of demons tonight had me on edge and walking at the brisk pace Abel set helped take the edge off my anxiety. I snuck a glance at Rhys, who was having a harder time keeping up with her shorter legs, but she wasn’t complaining either. If anything, she looked determined.

  I was busy taking in the sights. While I’d heard about the quirkiness of the liberal “hippie” town in the mountains, I’d never been. Until a few months ago, I’d hardly been anywhere, sticking to Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks. I’d always assumed my reluctance to leave the island could be chalked up to agoraphobia, but after I met Collin, I realized it was because of the curse. It made sure I never strayed too far from the main gate to hell—a centuries-old tree in the St. Elizabeth Botanical Gardens, not that I’d believed the stories my father had told me since before I could talk. Especially after my mother was murdered because of them.

  But now that Collin and I had broken the curse, I was free to go anywhere without feeling like I was about to suffocate. The curse was broken. There was nothing left to protect.

  In theory…

  Now it felt like the world was on a precarious balance.

  Abel stopped at the door to the crystal/New Age store and frowned as he grabbed the door handle and jerked hard. The door remained firmly shut.

  “It’s closed,” Rhys said, pointing to the sign hanging in the middle of the door.

  “Seer!” he shouted as he pounded on the door, his voice booming loud enough to draw the attention of people on both sides of the street. A lot of people.

  “Abel,” Rhys said, glancing around nervously. “Stop!”

  He turned on her with a vicious look. “I have to see her.”

  “And if she truly hates you, you’re not exactly endearing yourself to her,” I said with a sigh, pushing him out of the way.

  He took several backward steps toward the curb while I pressed my face to the glass and peered inside the window. While I saw rows of shelving with candles, books, crystals, and all things New Age, there was no one inside.

  I turned to him. “Maybe we should come up with a plan B.”

  “There is no plan B,” he said.

  I dug out my phone to look up the store’s number, but Abel stopped me. “I have her private number, but she’ll be more likely to answer if you call instead of me.”

  He rattled off a number and I punched it into my phone and pressed send, just as anxious as Abel to get things rolling.

  “How did you get this number?” a woman answered after several rings.

  “That’s not important,” I said cautiously, not wanting to sound too eager. “What’s important is I need to use your services.”

  “We’re closed.”

  Abel’s gaze shot up to the second-story window over the door.

  “I can see that. I’m standing in front of your shop.” I glanced up too. “You saw my cousin Piper two nights ago. I’d really like to meet with you.”

  She was quiet for several seconds, and I had to pull my phone from my ear to make sure she was still on the line.

  “You’re a curse keeper,” she finally said, her tone grave and not a little surprised.

  A chill ran down my back. “Yes,” I said breathlessly. “Will you see me?”

  She hesitated. “I’ll see you, but the demigod must wait outside.”

  I shot a glance at Abel. “I’m good with that.”

  He clearly had superhuman hearing because a dark look crossed his face.

  “I’m coming down,” the seer said before she hung up, and I was left with a scowling demigod.

  “She says she won’t see you,” I said.

  “I heard.” But he didn’t seem resigned to it. If anything, he looked more determined.

  Rhys eyed Abel warily, as though she wasn’t sure what to expect but wanted to stay out of the line of fire.

  About thirty seconds later, a woman came into view from the back. Dressed in a long, flowing pink shirt and jeans, she had mocha-colored skin and long thin braids tied in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. She was younger than I’d expected—in her early forties—but the expression on her face suggested she wasn’t going to take Abel’s crap.

  She unlocked the door and pushed it open about a foot, staring straight at Abel. “I told that fool girl noon sharp, and then she didn’t have the courtesy to call and apologize, and now Luna’s gone for the day.” She pointed her finger at him. “And no, I won’t be seein’ you, spawn of Satan.”

  That caught me by surprise. Did she know about Abel’s parentage? Piper had only learned of it last night.

  “She would have apologized,” Abel said in a tight voice. “But she’s currently being held in the Asheville police station.”

  The seer did a double take. “What on earth for?”

  “Fighting demons comes with a high body count,” Abel said. “It doesn’t help that Piper has caught the attention of a sadist.”

  His announcement made my stomach clench. Poor Piper. I’d understood his urgency before, but even more so now.

  She studied him for a moment before her face hardened. “You’re still not comin’ in.” Then she turned her attention to me, looking me up and down. “You may enter.”

  I took a step closer to Rhys and linked my arm with hers. “Rhys is coming in with me.”

  The seer waved her hand in a beckoning motion. “You may both come in.” Her gaze darted to Abel. “He may not.” Then she pushed the door open wider.

  “I have something you want,” Abel said as I ushered Rhys inside before me.

  “I’m in need of hart’s-tongue fern,” the seer said, “but I’ll wait until the slayer comes with you.”

  “She may not have that long,” Abel called out as I walked inside.

  The seer paused and seemed to consider his words.

  “I’ll consult the bones,” she said at last. Then she shut and locked the door behind us and led the way to the door at the back of the shop.

  “Did she say she’ll consult the bones?” Rhys whispered.

  “Uh…yeah.”

  I had no experience with seers, although Tsagasi had told me about their existence. Many were frauds, but others had real power to see things. When I’d asked him if my concern for David’s safety was legitimate, he’d tried to blow me off by saying everyone must die. But when I’d pressed him, he’d told me a seer would eventually cross my path and to inquire with them. They were the ones who could divine the future.

  Could he have meant Deidre?

  We followed the woman down a hall toward a staircase, where we climbed to the second floor. I hesitated when we entered a living room, but she continued on down another short hall into a dark room that was empty but for a small round table with two chairs on one side and one on the other. Two candles on the table provided the only light.

  “Sit,” she said with a graceful sweep of her hand toward the visitors’ chairs. She picked up a lighter and began to light some of the candles on the floor, arranged around the perimeter of the room.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to turn on a light?” Rhys asked in a dry tone as she watched.

  She wasn’t lighting all the candles, just enough to provide light… and mystique. I was sure part of this woman’s “magic” was illusion and suggestion.

  “Who’s Luna?” I asked.

  “My daughter.”

  “Do you need her?” I asked.

  “We shall see.”

  She started lighting candles along the back wall. “So you found her?”

  “Excuse me?” I asked, wondering if
she was talking to me.

  Bending over, she glanced up at me. “You found your cousin.”

  “How’d you know I was looking for her?”

  She snorted. “I know you weren’t the one searchin’.” She paused, and her next words were filled with worry. “The real concern is why I didn’t see you comin’ to me.”

  I shot a glance to Rhys, who remained expressionless. What did that mean? I wasn’t sure how her talent worked, but if she hadn’t seen me coming, then it seemed unlikely she’d be able to read my future. Maybe she couldn’t help me after all.

  I gave her a tight smile. “I didn’t have an appointment.”

  The woman moved to the wall to my left. “That isn’t how I’d know, child.”

  My gaze drifted to the table in front of me. In the center was a small animal skin, along with a small wooden cup. I resisted the urge to dismiss her. Sure, this seemed backward and archaic, but over the last few months, I’d learned that the most powerful things were sometimes the simplest.

  She lit a few more candles, then sat down opposite me and Rhys. Taking a deep breath, she studied both of us.

  “You’re her friend,” the seer said as her gaze landed on Rhys.

  “You must not be that good,” Rhys scoffed. “I barely know Ellie.”

  The seer gave her a look of annoyance. “Not her. The slayer. You’re the one whose friend died.”

  Rhys’s face paled.

  The seer either didn’t notice Rhys’s reaction, intent on shifting the candles on the table so they were on opposite sides of the animal skin, or she ignored it. I was going with the latter. What with all the candles and the cryptic pronouncements, she seemed fond of the drama.

  “Is that cowhide?” I asked, hoping it was fake.

  A tiny grin played on the corners of her lips. “It’s deer—a doe who had recently given birth to twins.”

  “And you killed it?” Rhys asked in horror.

  “Not me personally. I paid a hunter to do so. The recent birth of twins amplifies the power.”

  Rhys sat back in her seat as though the hide carried a deadly disease.

  The seer stopped fussing with the things on her table and looked up into my face. “My name is Deidre, and I am, in fact, a seer.”

  “But you just said you didn’t see my visit,” I said. “Is that unusual?”

  She made a face and picked up the cup. “Do you believe in seers or are you a skeptic?”

  “Shouldn’t you be able to tell?” Rhys asked dryly.

  Deidre gave her a deadly glare.

  I pushed out a sigh. Why was nearly everything in the supernatural world so adversarial? “After everything I’ve experienced the last few months, I believe there are people with supernatural gifts, but there are also people who exploit others.”

  One side of Deidre’s mouth tipped up. “Let’s see what I can see.”

  She shook her cup, then dumped out the contents in a diagonal line across the animal skin, starting toward Rhys and drawing the cup toward herself. Small animal bones and seashells spread out across the skin.

  “Oh my God!” Rhys cried out. “Are those real animal bones?”

  The seer ignored her, focusing her attention on the scattered objects with a frown. “This is curious.”

  My chest tightened. “My entire life is filled with curious. What do you see?”

  “Your future is murky; your past is as well.”

  “What do you mean my past is murky?”

  She looked up at me with a curious stare that seemed to see deep into my soul. “It means things have purposely been kept from you.”

  “I know that,” I said with more of an attitude than I’d intended. “A god has been manipulating my life for his own purposes since before I was even born. He caused my mother to miscarry multiple times until I was conceived.”

  Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, this has the feel of the hand of a god.”

  “What do you see?”

  “I see great tragedy and loss, but your past is blurred with your future, makin’ it hard to see which is which.”

  Great. “I need to know if my boyfriend will be safe.”

  She gave me a sympathetic look. “No one is safe.”

  “I need to know if the gods will kill him.” My voice broke. “I need to know what to do to protect him.”

  “I can’t see that, my child.”

  Tears stung my eyes. “I need to know.”

  “Give me your hand.” She reached out her hand, palm up, and I slowly gave her mine. She turned it over, and her index finger traced the lines. “This is the path you were destined to lead, one that cannot be changed or altered. In your case, it’s clearer than the bones.”

  “What does it show?”

  She gave me a sad smile. “It shows much of what I’ve already seen, only it gives a clearer timeline.” She pointed to the line that ran along the side of my palm by my thumb. “This is your life line and it shows the tragedies of your life.” She pointed closer to the start of the line. “This marks a tragedy when you were quite young—around seven or so.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “My mother’s murder.”

  She nodded then studied my hand again. “Here are two deaths, very close together and recent.”

  “My father and my stepmother. But do you see another soon?”

  She traced the scar on my palm, the diagonal slash Collin had made during the ceremony he’d tricked me into helping him with—the one that had permanently opened the main gate to hell. The slash went through my life line directly below the marks of my parents’ deaths.

  “If there was something here, it’s now gone,” she said.

  My anger at Collin sprang back to life, but I’d spent weeks pissed at Collin and he’d since realized he’d majorly screwed up. Being angry with him wouldn’t do me any good, as David had pointed out more than once—it only made me bitter and stole what little happiness I’d found in this dangerous and exhausting world.

  “I’m sorry,” the seer said, sounding like she meant it. “I can’t find the answer you seek. Some things aren’t meant to be known.”

  “What if Piper hides him in a world?” Rhys asked. “She placed the ward at the opening to the world she created for Tommy’s ghost. Why can’t we do the same for David? That way you’ll know he’s safe while you’re fighting the demons.”

  I hadn’t considered the implications of Piper’s ability. Only been incredulous that she possessed it. Rhys’s confidence in the plan was contagious.

  But my excitement was deflated by another realization. “He’ll never go along with it.”

  “He stayed out of the warehouse last night,” Rhys protested.

  “That was a special circumstance,” I said. “The demon possessed a power to make him lose his mind to lust. I convinced him it was safer to stay outside.”

  “Then find a way to convince him to stay away this time. Surely you can come up with something.”

  How could I possibly convince David to sit out on a battle this potentially big? Then it struck me that the answer might just be sitting next to me. “You. You’re the answer.”

  She shook her head. “Me? How?”

  “Even though Collin and Jack came back with the Guardians’ spelled weapons, you don’t know how to use them. You’ll be in danger.” I was beginning to believe this might work. “But David has a sword and he very much wants a purpose—a way to be useful, a real one. He can protect you.”

  She opened her mouth as though she was about to protest, then stopped, sinking back into her chair. The look on her face suggested that she was considering my suggestion. “If I agree to this plan, does it make me a coward?”

  “God, no,” I said, reaching over and grabbing her forearm. “Collin and I use the duality of our marks to share power. I can be killed and injured, but he can heal me. I nearly died twice and he saved me both times. As far as I know there’s no doing that for you or David.” Then a new worry hit me. “What about P
iper?”

  She frowned. “Abel saved her after the first time she fought the demons. I’m not exactly sure what he did, but her shirt and leather jacket had been ripped to shreds and she was covered in blood, yet there wasn’t a wound on her.” Rhys paused. “Given the state of her clothes, I’m positive the blood was hers, yet she seemed completely fine.”

  I nodded, not surprised. “You and David have no fail-safes like Piper, Collin, and I do. If we’re fighting demons, I’d rather make certain you and David are safe.”

  “And Jack,” Rhys said with worry in her eyes.

  “And Jack.” Although I was certain he wouldn’t agree to any such plan. I got the impression he planned to be front and center—and that maybe we should let him.

  “The priest will insist on fighting,” Deidre said, making me realize we’d just spilled a lot of information about our world.

  “Do your bones tell you that?” Rhys asked, her upper lip curled.

  “No, but I’ve met him and know he’ll never leave the slayer’s side.”

  “Because he’s in love with her?” I asked. Motivation was everything and I needed to know his, but Rhys sucked in a breath at my question.

  “That’s one reason,” Deidre said. “But the other is that he sees it as his purpose. He may lack your power, but he was born to slay demons and he won’t shy away from that.”

  Rhys tilted her head, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “When did you meet Jack? Does Piper know?”

  Deidre gave her a long look. “He came to see me a couple of weeks ago.”

  “I thought he was in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago,” Rhys said.

  Deidre shrugged.

  I studied Rhys for a second, wondering if it was a simple mistake or if Jack had intentionally deceived her. I turned back to Deidre. “Can we trust the priest?”

  “Of course we can trust him!” Rhys protested.

  The seer gave me a wicked smile, her eyes glittering with mischief. “You have the same goals and purpose.”

  “That doesn’t exactly answer my question, now does it?” I prodded.

  She continued to give me her Cheshire Cat grin.

  She wasn’t volunteering anything more and I’d have to accept her answer for now, as much as I hated to leave it at that. “Can you tell us anything else?”