by Devin Hanson
“Elaida works for Sotheby’s auction house. They have a location in Beverly Hills.”
“Sotheby’s…” I said thoughtfully. “That’s one of the big chains, right?”
“Yes, you could say that,” Ethan grinned. “Globally speaking, I think they’re the second largest.”
I put my dishes in the sink and leaned against the island. I got my phone out and found Sotheby’s website. “Fancy. Huh. Big auction coming up next week. Marie Antoinette’s jewelry collection.”
Ethan gave a low whistle. “You think Elaida’s trying to steal from the auction house?”
“I’m no thief, Ethan, but I can’t imagine that would be an easy mark. Besides, David says they’re in town to rob him, not the auction.”
“A sale that size… I bet it’s tempting. What day is the auction?”
I checked. “October tenth.”
Ethan met my eyes over the island and he quirked an eyebrow. The same day that David was leaving town.
“Well, well.” Ethan leaned back against the wall and sipped his coffee. “Still think it’s a coincidence?”
I ignored Ethan and flipped through the listing, checking out the glittery jewels in their elaborate settings. “Can’t believe someone would pay two million for this pearl,” I grumbled. “I mean, it’s pretty, but it’s also just a lump of oyster-stuff.” Something in the wording caught my eye. “Hold up, this says the jewels ‘head up’ the collection. There must be more that isn’t listed here.”
Ethan nodded thoughtfully. “The jewels are the big items that get people’s attention. It won’t take twenty minutes to sell those off, though, so there’ll be enough items present to fill out the hour.”
“Like what?”
“Who knows? Something thematic, I’d imagine. Probably other items of interest from the same time period. Marie Antoinette probably had loot from most of Europe stashed away in Versailles.”
“Somehow I doubt Sotheby’s will let a scruffy PI like me poke around in their displays,” I said sourly as I thumbed off my phone. “As interesting as this is, I suspect trying to get at Elaida through her work will be a dead end. I’m going to head out, get my errands out of the way.”
“You’re probably right.” Ethan shrugged and finished off his coffee. “I’m taking the day off, so I’ll be here. If I get bored, I might do some research and see if I can’t figure out what the rest of the auction will be.”
“Don’t stress yourself.” I walked over to Ethan’s side of the island and stretched up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “I was worried about you.”
Ethan grinned at me a little uncertainly. “Well, if I can get breakfast and kisses for being sick, I might just have to arrange it more often.”
“Don’t push your luck.” I swatted Ethan on the shoulder and snagged my jacket. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised.
It wasn’t until I was out the door and climbing onto my scooter that I remembered David’s warning. Ethan was only now recovering from sleeping under the same roof as me. There was no way I’d spend the night at his house. How was I going to explain that to Ethan?
I knocked on the steel shutter of the Sanctuary for the fourth time and wondered if I had made a mistake not calling ahead. Call me paranoid, but I didn’t feel like getting jumped by the Red House again. All I wanted to do was have a quiet talk with Lei. Was that too much to ask?
It was early in the morning still and the shops across the street were only just now opening for the day. Was Lei even up yet? I gave up knocking and sat down next to the shutter. I felt emotionally exhausted. Physically, I felt amazing, but I was having a hard time convincing myself that the day was going to go well. My track record over the last few days was pretty abysmal.
With the shops open, the foot traffic on the street was starting to pick up. A solid ninety percent of the residents in the neighborhood were Chinese immigrants or first-generation Americans and they were used to doing their daily grocery shopping on foot. Buying a large quantity of food once a week was a Western routine that the locals resisted.
I watched the people coming and going for nearly ten minutes before I realized that everyone was avoiding me. Not just eye contact, that was expected, but they were actually crossing the street to avoid walking by the piece of sidewalk I had occupied. Most were subtle about it, crossing further up the street, but every once in a while, someone would be preoccupied and not realize I was there until they were only a few yards away.
The first time a middle-aged Chinese woman stumbled to a halt and did a ninety-degree turn across the street, I thought nothing of it. Then a young nanny leading a pair of children slammed to a stop not five feet away, gawped at me for the space of a deep breath, then hurried across the street, dragging the two kids after her. I heard her admonishing the children not to look back at me.
I have to admit, that hurt. These were normal people. They had no idea that I was a halfblood demon. Unless Hu had been running around telling tales, there was nothing to make me any different from any other young woman sitting against the wall.
That I knew of. I dug my phone out and turned my camera to selfie mode, using it as a digital mirror. I looked fine. Better than fine, actually. My skin had a healthy glow to it and the bruising from thirty-six hours ago was completely gone. Even without makeup I looked beautiful, if I could be allowed that conceit.
“It is not you they fear.”
I startled and shot a glance to the side. My mother leaned against the wall a few feet away from me, dressed in an elaborate dress with layered petticoats split down the front. Her cleavage dived nearly to her navel and the bust of the dress must have been glued to her skin in order to stay on. Her hair was piled high on her head, with the jewel normally hung about her neck draped around her curls and resting high on her forehead.
I forced a sigh and relaxed back against the wall, determined to appear casual. “What makes you say that?”
She sniffed. “Look where you sit. They fear you by association.”
“What, the Sanctuary?”
My mother pushed off the wall and stepped back to get a view of the signage. “Is that what they’re calling themselves now?”
“What else would they call it?”
“Hmm. You really don’t know.” She frowned a little before giving her head a small shake and favoring me with a dazzling smile. “This Sanctuary is but a small satellite of a larger organization. What did you think it was?”
“It’s a place of refuge,” I scowled up at my mother. The Sanctuary was the only place I knew I could come to for a meal or a bed, no matter how bad the rest of my life got. Having my mother impugn them grated at my nerves. “They offer a place for orphans and people hard up a place to stay.”
“Really.” She lifted an eyebrow at me. “Is that what they told you?”
“That’s what they gave me,” I growled back. “I owe Lei my sanity, if not my life.”
“And how many other children did you see during the years?”
The question left me speechless and I watched my mother’s smile grow while I tried to remember. As far as I could recall, there had never been any other children besides me. “I’m sure there were others. There is a room full of bunk beds on the second floor.”
She nodded. “Believe what you like, child. But the Sanctuary is not what you think it is. If they took you in, they had an ulterior motive. Do not trust them.”
There was a rattle to my other side and the shutter slid open. Hu stepped out, blinking in the sunlight. He saw me sitting on the ground and his impassive face furrowed into a frown. “You.”
“Good morning, Hu,” I said brightly and scrambled to my feet. “I was hoping to speak with Lei.”
Wordless, Hu stepped aside and I saw Lei standing behind him, a wicket basket hung over her arm.
“Good morning, Alexandra. Who were you talking to?”
I blinked down at Lei and turned to look where my mothe
r had been standing. Emptiness, of course. “No one. Ah, you’re heading out?”
“Yes. Hu and I were going shopping, but now that you’re here, Hu can stay behind and catch up on his work.” She patted Hu’s arm, and he glowered at me before ducking back inside the door and hauling the shutter back down.
Lei held out her hand expectantly, and I offered her my arm to lean on. “Where, ah, where are we going?”
“Not too far,” she said and patted my arm. “You weren’t waiting long, I hope?”
“Just a few minutes,” I shrugged. “Look, about the other night, I am really sorry about that. I hope the…” I trailed off and looked about to check if anyone was close enough to hear. The entire street was deserted. “Um. I hope the marid didn’t hurt you.”
Lei clucked her tongue and started making her slow way down the street. “The Red House treated me with nothing but respect. Do not be ashamed, Alexandra. It is not a sin to be born of the light.”
“You know, then?”
“Of course. The Red House told me everything, including that you stood up for one of the guardians after he had beaten you nearly unconscious. No demon would do such a thing. Tovarrah was right in letting you go.”
We reached Alpine Street and merged into the light foot traffic going west. It was a relief to have people look at me blankly, with nothing other than the usual lack of interest.
“You’ve met your father, then?” Lei asked.
I swallowed. The correction that my demon blood came from my mother’s side was on the tip of my tongue, but I held it back at the last second. Something about my mother’s warning kept me from speaking openly with Lei. “He’s, ah, shown up a few times,” I said hurriedly, trying to cover my pause.
“Has he now. Well, the Red haven’t come for you, so I guess you’ve turned down his invitation.”
“Of course I did. I don’t want anything to do with him. There’s something I don’t understand—”
“What, only one thing?”
I glanced down at Lei and found her laughing up at me, her eyes twinkling. My mouth twitched in my own smile. “Yeah, all right. I’ve got a million questions. But first, you said you had information about the marid who trashed my apartment?”
Lei looked surprised. “You have learned you are half-angel, Alexandra, and the most pressing concern you have is about some vandalism?”
“Hey, it wasn’t just vandalism. They destroyed everything I own! And stole my laptop. I would really like to get that back.”
She tutted, then patted me on the arm again. “Of course. My apologies. We do get attached to our belongings. I’m afraid my information isn’t terribly useful, but it is something. There was a job offered by an anonymous client to destroy your apartment and mail any electronics to a PO box.”
I frowned, puzzling it over. “Did it specify me by name?”
“No, only by address. And you weren’t the only one targeted. Three other apartments were on the list as well.”
“I don’t suppose you have that list?”
Lei nodded and produced a folded post-it note from her purse. We paused while I unfolded it and looked at the addresses. They were scattered all over Los Angeles. I’d have to plug them into Google to find out where they were located exactly, but none were anywhere near where I lived. At the bottom, a PO box was listed. I took a photo of the post-it with my phone just in case I lost the note, then folded it away into a pocket.
“Thanks, Lei. That will help a lot. It’s not much, but it’s a place to start.”
“Of course, Alexandra. I can only imagine what the last couple of days have been like for you. I suppose my tarot reading was accurate!”
“Don’t gloat,” I grumbled as I offered her my arm again. “It’s not attractive.”
We came to a corner market, one of those tiny little groceries that specialized in ethnic foods. Lei handed me a shopping basket from a stack by the door and started walking down the cramped aisles and putting the occasional item into my basket. I didn’t recognize one item out of five on the shelves, but the air was laden with scents that I associated with Chinese cuisine. Lemongrass, ginger, cinnamon, onion, vinegar, mustard, garlic, soy sauce, and anise were among the recognizable ones, but there were dozens more that I couldn’t put a name to.
There were quite a few other shoppers, but between the murmur of conversations and the background hum of circulating fans, someone would have to be leaning over my shoulder to eavesdrop. “About my, ah, heritage…” I paused, trying to marshal my thoughts. Where could I even begin? What did I really want to know the most? David had answered some of the more basic questions, but it seemed like for every aspect I had an answer to, it only opened up six more avenues of confusion. “My… father said my soul was half-light, but my body was all human. What does that mean?”
Lei nodded. “A good question. When your mother became pregnant with you, the man she mated with was possessed. It may or may not have been the man you believed to be your father. It is more than just a physical merging of biological material that makes a child, Alexandra, a new soul is created, a composite of the parents.”
“I didn’t know that.”
She sniffed. “Western medicine has no use for a soul. Your lack of education does not surprise me in the least.”
Okay. She had a point. “How does accepting his offer change my physical body to light?”
“Did he tell you that?” Lei didn’t turn around to see my nod but continued anyway. “You should be wary of accepting what he tells you at face value. Demons are nothing if not manipulative liars. Accepting the offer of your sire would discard the human half of your soul but would do nothing to change your physical being. Only death would free you from that.”
“I don’t understand.”
Lei turned around to deposit an enormous leek into my basket. “Demons have no physical bodies, Alexandra. The powerful ones can manifest a solid form, but it is temporary only. They are truly denizens of the spirit world.”
I followed Lei around as she shopped, digesting what I had learned and trying to form another coherent question. There was just too much that I didn’t understand, and the conflicting information I was getting didn’t help. How much of what my mother had told me was true? How much of what Lei knew was factual? Had David twisted any of the information he had given me?
And what of my encounter with the Red? The Red House killed Nephilim. Tovarrah had come running, expecting to find I had killed or wounded Savit. That meant what my mother had told me was at least partially true. Whatever the mechanics of it were, accepting my mother’s offer would make me strong enough to kill a trained marid with my bare hands.
We finished shopping before I was able to come up with another question. There was plenty I wanted to ask about, but all of it involved being a succubus. While I was lying about my demon blood coming from my father, I couldn’t bring those up without revealing the lie. Lei transferred her purchases into her wicker basket and took up my arm again. Out in the bright sun and fresh air, it was hard take everything seriously.
“You have been quiet. All out of questions?”
I rolled my shoulders helplessly. “There is too much I don’t understand to narrow it down to words.”
Lei nodded. “It is a lot to take in.”
“You don’t seem surprised by all this,” I said a little sourly. Why was I the only one freaking out about being half-demon?
“You are young, and this is all new to you,” Lei said. She smiled, but there was a note of condescension in her voice that irritated me. “I have lived a long time, and you are certainly not the first I’ve seen of mixed blood.”
“What will happen to me?” I asked, finally getting to the root of my worry.
Lei shook her head. “That is entirely up to you, Alexandra. You’re still human, so you have a choice. That’s what it means to be human.”
That wasn’t comforting at all. “Okay, what will happen if I accept the offer? The Red—”
&nb
sp; “The Red House will come for you,” Lei shrugged. “They find all the Nephilim eventually, even the smart ones that learn to hide.”
“And if I refuse my father?”
“As long as you have the strength to withhold yourself, nothing will change.” Lei patted my arm, trying to be encouraging. “I have never heard of anyone resisting the temptation for very long, but maybe you will be the first.”
Yeah. Fantastic. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“You’re welcome.”
Chapter Fourteen
I left Lei at the Sanctuary and climbed back onto my scooter. I wanted to investigate the other addresses Lei had given me, but I had to do some research first before going to knock on doors. Most of the morning was gone, and I hadn’t even thought about Elaida.
And while I was on the subject of Elaida, I really should meet with David and tell him what I had discovered. I sat on my bike outside the Sanctuary and called the front desk of David’s hotel.
“Hi, my name is Alexandra Ascher. I was told to call the desk to get ahold of David Caradoc.”
“Certainly. One moment, ma’am.” There was a pause while I was put on hold and elevator music came through patchily for a minute. Then, “Hello, Ms. Ascher?”
“I’m here.”
“Excellent. Mr. Caradoc said to inform you his usual line is restored.”
That sounded like a direct quote from David. “Okay, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Nope, that was all.”
I cut the call and pulled up David’s number from history. Now that I thought about it, it would have been easy enough for David to have his phone carrier brick his old device and get a new one with the same number.
After a few rings, David picked up.
“Caradoc.”
“Hi, David, it’s Alex.”
His voice softened. “Alexandra! It is good to hear from you. All is well?”