Sin & Spirit (Demigods of San Francisco Book 4)

by K. F. Breene

  “Rise. Protect yourself.”

  It was a man’s voice, at the edge of the playground. Something zoomed past me, rubbing against my legs. Little feet pitter-pattered.

  I jolted and felt my physical body jolting with me. I was near wakefulness. This was usually when the shadow thing would swoop in and take me into the spirit land. When I was strangely conscious yet not awake.

  A strange little chirp met my ears, then a small weight settled onto my left thigh.

  I froze as candy apples fell into the pooling chocolate. It occurred to me how fucking weird my dreams were.

  “Wake up! Something is here!” the voice repeated.

  I looked around the nightmare candy land, the apples now glowing a toxic red, looking for the source of the warning.

  The weight moved up my body, and something rough, like wet sandpaper, ran up my cheek. Again. The third time it scratched against my nose before the weight settled on my chest.

  I jolted again and fluttered my eyes open, struggling to wake up.

  Something small and furry stood on top of me, looking down at my face.

  It was the damn cat.

  It chirped, an unexpected sound. I froze. Cats didn’t chirp, did they? Was I still dreaming?

  My inactivity was apparently a green light, because the cat kneaded at the edge of my boob with its paws, taking turns pushing and releasing with each foot. A moment later, a claw dug into my skin. Pain shocked into me, and I slapped at the creature.

  It was already moving.

  It let out a small meow-purr as it bounded away, hitting the floor with an elegant plop, if such things existed, before darting into the shadows.

  My heart thudded. I sucked in startled breaths, staring wide-eyed in the direction the creature had run.

  “What is it?” Kieran asked sleepily.

  “I’ll tell you what it is. It’s a dead cat, that’s what it is.” I flung back the covers and threw my legs over the edge of the mattress. The door stood cracked open. The cat was nowhere in sight, but I doubted I was lucky enough that it had left the room. “Out,” I whispered, bending to look under the bed.

  Without warning, something darted at me, swiping. I flinched, nearly losing an eye but refusing to lose the battle. I rushed forward, reaching out for the blasted thing, but it took off, its bright body streaking across the floor and through the black crack out of the room.

  Opening that door was probably Daisy’s idea of a joke. Or maybe a challenge to see if she could pick the lock and open the door without getting caught. Well, the joke was on her—or it would be tomorrow when I punished her within an inch of her freedom.

  Speaking of Daisy, I did a quick check to make sure she wasn’t wandering around the house, looking for more mischief to make. I found her soul in her bed where it should be. Mordecai’s, too. Donovan was in the spare room, and the cat was nowhere to be found. It had probably taken off downstairs after realizing it was in mortal danger. Its soul had a smaller signature than a human’s, more of a wisp, but for some reason it seemed even wispier tonight. The spirit floating through the air in droves had clearly messed with my reading ability.

  Still annoyed, knowing I wouldn’t get back to sleep right away, I wiped my face and stepped into some jammies. If I didn’t get some water and regroup, I’d just toss and turn and bother Kieran. There was no point in both of us losing sleep and being grumpy in the morning.

  The house was quiet as I walked down the hallway and descended the stairs. The curtains and blinds had been drawn so no one could see in, and I navigated mostly by memory. I walked across the chilled floor to the front door and pulled the shade a little, just making sure all was well. The darkened street lay deserted, the few streetlights covering the ground with circles of light.

  I turned and walked down the short hallway to the kitchen. Halfway there, the cat darted out from the side and clawed at my ankles.

  “What the—” I jumped and kicked and staggered in surprise, ramming my shoulder into the opposite wall. The vile thing took off toward the back of the house. “Your days are numbered, you little dickhead,” I said through gritted teeth.

  I stared after it for a moment, half inclined to stalk it around the house, catch it, and toss it outside. But the little bugger was fast, Daisy was asleep, and a locked door really should suffice. Tomorrow, though…

  Continuing on, I nodded in determination. Tomorrow, that thing was goneskies. I didn’t care if it made me public enemy number one in the house.

  Someone had left the kitchen curtains open, letting in a little light. Frank stood out in the middle of the street, still as the ghost he was. He faced away from the ocean, as though watching for intruders. Which was odd, because usually he stood on the grass.

  Does he see something?

  “What is it going to take to get you to follow me?”

  My heart ratcheted up to an alarming speed. I froze. Felt my eyes widen. Turned around slowly.

  Nothing stood in the entryway.

  My gulp was loud in the quiet kitchen. I hurried to the door and looked out, my rampaging heart now in my throat.

  A dark, quiet house greeted me. Nothing was here.

  But I had heard a voice!

  “Is my sanity slipping?” I whispered into the hush.

  “I’ve never in my life”—I whipped around—“seen someone so clueless”—I darted to the edge of the island—“in the face of danger as you”—and stared down at the cat.

  Its mouth hadn’t moved. But it was standing there, staring up at me as though it had just spoken. As though it was now waiting for me to take action.

  “I’m still dreaming,” I said with a slack mouth.

  “The back of the house,” the voice came again, and damned if it didn’t sound like it was coming from that cat. The logical explanation was that Bria had thought it a hilarious joke to put a spirit in there, but the cat was very much living, and no human soul was hunkering in its furry little body.

  “I’m going crazy,” I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away.

  “No, you’re going stupid. Hurry!”

  “You’re a cat. I’m dreaming, I must be.”

  It bristled, hissing, then pounced and wrapped itself around my ankle. Its sharp little teeth and claws bit into my flesh.

  I let out a high-pitched squeal and shook my leg, trying to get it off. Trying to wake up.

  It jumped back like it was on a pogo stick. “Focus! We don’t have time for you to be this clueless. Hurry! She’s at the back of the house, and soon they’ll be all over. I don’t have time to explain. Suffice to say, you still have my pocket watch, it’s in your Demigod’s silly little safe, which can easily be broken into, and we’ll need to have a few words about why you have an office filled with cats when you clearly don’t like the bloody things. But we’ll worry about that later! Hurry. I’m not about to see my newest pupil end up…like almost all of the Spirit Walkers before you.”

  Disbelief bled through me. I could hear spirits in their cadavers, but…

  “That cat is alive. You can’t shove spirits into living things.”

  “I am not inhabiting this cat. I am possessing this cat. There is a very big difference.”

  “How much of that cat’s personality are you controlling?” I asked as I followed it.

  “Get a hold of yourself,” it called back, loping in front of me.

  I slowed, reality finally seeping in.

  “How can you be in here when I coated this whole house with magic-repelling spirit?” I asked.

  “By being in this cat. My perfect god, you are slow. It would be awe-inspiring if it weren’t so sad. It’s a real shame what they let women get away with just because they’re pretty.”

  I opened my mouth for another question when a soul bleeped onto my radar. Warning crept through me, sending a shock of cold down my spine. The soul moved slowly, like it was creeping, sticking to just outside of the house.

  I hurried forward, all my senses on high alert. Near t
he laundry room, I slowed down.

  “Finally,” the cat said, and leapt onto the dryer, closest to the window. “She’s out here.”

  “How do you know?” I asked suspiciously, eyeing the drawn shades.

  The cat’s head swiveled around and it stared at me condescendingly. The spirit had picked the perfect animal to be an asshole in, that was for sure. Two peas in a pod.

  “You’re a Spirit Walker, right,” I said softly, batting it off the dryer. I still didn’t trust him, especially since he hadn’t bothered telling me he would be assuming this other form for the time being. “Can I possess animals?”

  “When you come back as a spirit? Most likely. Shall I kill you and see if you can figure it out?”

  The soul slinked just a little closer. Through the window, I could see a shapely form dressed in dark clothes—a woman’s body. She paused by the door and reached into a utility belt. I didn’t need the Spirit Walker to tell me she planned on breaking in.

  I could take her down right now, easily. It was a living human, the soul was throbbing right there, and I had lots of experience. Hell, I could yank out the soul, stuff it back in, and make her tell me who’d sent her. But why in the hell would anyone break into this house?

  “Yes. I can see the wheels are turning. Talk me through it,” the cat said.

  “Kieran is inexperienced for a Demigod,” I whispered, “but he is still a Demigod, and he took down Valens. He’s not to be underestimated. Then there’s me. I’m also inexperienced. Everyone knows that. But I can still rip out souls. Nancy would’ve confirmed my magic by now. And if not, the way I helped Kieran take down Valens probably unnerved a lot of people.”

  The lock jiggled on the door. I paused, my heart hammering. Everything in me quailed as I thought like a single woman with two kids and no weapons, feeling vulnerable and helpless.

  Only I wasn’t that woman anymore. I didn’t just see ghosts—I was a weapon. A weapon with a brain.

  “Kieran often has at least one member of the Six around, and all the cars are here tonight. Only a fool would break into this house…”

  I let the thought drift away as that feeling from earlier commanded my attention. Someone was manipulating spirit.

  I stepped in front of the back door, bracing myself for whatever awaited me on the other side. It wasn’t a Demigod—thanks to Kieran, I could sense power, and this woman was barely a level five. I doubted she had a power that I couldn’t combat with my own.

  The lock clicked.

  I waited, holding my breath, ready to stab with my magic.

  The handle didn’t move. Instead, the soul drifted away, moving slowly and silently across the grass and into the trees in my backyard. She crouched there, clearly waiting.

  I dropped my hands slowly and felt my brow furrow.

  Waiting for what?

  A throb of spirit pulsed around me, disturbing the stagnancy. A distant yelling drifted through the quiet house. It sounded like Frank.

  I remembered him in the middle of the street, watching.

  I remembered what types of things he ran from.

  My heart sank and I felt the blood leach from my face.

  “My, my. I’ve changed my mind, you do learn fast. You’ve got the broad strokes down of feeling the spirit in the air, you just need to learn the nuances, like where and who it is coming from.”

  “The who is a Demigod,” I said with a suddenly dry mouth, turning slowly. “The where is in front of my house, and from the sound of it, my guardian spirit just took off running.”

  “Sure, if you want to make light of your training and pull a Sherlock Holmes, no problem.”

  Little ripples of spirit drifted around me now, and a weight pushed on my chest. Dread. The Demigod hadn’t come alone this time. He’d brought friends.

  I re-locked the door then pulled a rubber door stopper from a drawer and wedged it in the bottom. It did okay with strong breezes, so hopefully it would do something against a shoulder.

  Just in case, I had to get the kids hidden or out of the house.

  “Kieran!” I shouted, running for the stairs. Souls popped up on my radar like firecrackers, hurrying down the street toward the house. Another huge pulse of spirit pummeled me like currents in the ocean, and I ripped at the cords to draw the curtains from around the door. The huge shadow form from the other night stood before me, back to the house, waving a great hand at the street as if to wave someone on.

  “Kieran!” I shouted again.

  “There are intruders in our yard,” Daisy said, pounding down the stairs. She wore tight black clothes bulging with various weapons strapped to her person. “They emerged from the trees down the way. They must’ve been hiding there.”

  “Astute kid,” the cat said. “What’s her magic? I can’t feel it.”

  “Doesn’t have any,” I said, hurrying to the kitchen to look out the window.

  I caught a glance at what—or rather whom—the shadow man had been waving at. Someone walked down the middle of the street with straight shoulders, head held high, and sword handles sticking up from his or her back. The light showering down from the streetlights slid over the person’s body without highlighting any features, almost like the light diffused into a black cloud. The moonlight, though, shone on waxy white skin and pale hair, the human embodiment of a ghost.

  “What?” Daisy asked, breathing fast and standing behind me. She couldn’t hear the cat talking. Before I could shrug it off, she said, “Oh shit.”

  A small army marched behind the man, and if they weren’t stopped, they’d cut us off from the rest of our crew.

  Fear made it hard to swallow. There were too many of them, especially since they were led by a Demigod of Hades in shadow form. There would be no soul for me to grab and yank.

  Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Donovan appeared first, followed by Mordecai in wolf form.

  “You and your brother need to hide, do you hear me?” I said, rounding on Daisy. I turned and clamped a hand on her shoulder. “You need to hide. We don’t have enough people to protect you. You have the money you got from Kieran. If something should happen to us, you take that and get out of here, okay? Don’t tell anyone who you are. Take it and go.”

  Mordecai whined softly, and I was reminded of the last time he and I had been ambushed. Only this time, the cavalry wouldn’t run in and save us at the last minute. This time, we were grossly outnumbered and would stay that way.

  18

  Kieran

  Kieran stood at the window in the guest room, staring down at the street below. He had already awoken by the time Alexis called his name, responding to the panic coursing through the soul link. He’d lain there for a moment, unable to believe what he sensed was true, unable to believe the Demigod from before would disrespect him a second time.

  Last time, the Demigod of Hades had come to suss out Alexis and her power, but this time he was threatening Kieran’s family. And he didn’t have the balls to do it in person. Hiding behind his shadow form, he’d collected a little army and marched into Kieran’s territory in the middle of the night.

  Kieran sucked his teeth, letting the fire build in his center. He could understand why one of the other Demigods might want to attack him politically, before his views and positions were known. Or why Valens’s allies might want revenge. Hell, he could even understand why greed might drive someone to take advantage of a young Demigod newly in charge of an influential and prosperous territory.

  But there was a way things were done, even among thieves and cowards. This was not it.

  This was a declaration of war.

  The tides rolled and boiled. The air whipped around the street, responding to Kieran’s inner turmoil. Fog rolled in, settling low. He’d cut off their sight, confident his people knew how to work in a state of near blindness. They’d trained for it.

  Footsteps thundered up the stairs. Daisy ran past him, followed by Mordecai in wolf form. The boy put on the brakes, nearly making Lexi fall over hi
m.

  “What are you… Oh.” Lexi, out of breath, hurried across the room with the cat at her feet. “There’s one person out back, waiting in the trees. She unlocked the laundry room door and then retreated. She’s obviously waiting for us to be drawn out the front. I can’t fathom what she wants—could it be that pocket watch?”

  “It’s you,” Kieran said, the fire boiling within him. His power swelled around the room. “They want you, Alexis. They want to weaponize you, like the last Spirit Walker.”

  “Sure, fine, but when did they think they would grab me? I’m obviously going to be out there with you.”

  Kieran laughed, the riddle too easy to solve. “Clearly the coward on that street thinks I will try to hide you away to protect you. He thinks I wouldn’t dare risk you in a skirmish like this.”

  “A skirmish?” Alexis turned to face him, her eyes filled with fear. “Kieran, they must have three dozen magical people down there. And a Demigod that no one but me can see.” She huffed. “Yes, I know you can see him, but what are you going to do, claw his ankles?”

  “What?” Kieran’s attention strayed from the intruders for a moment.

  “Sorry, not you. I’ll explain later.”

  He let it go. He didn’t have the time. His guys and Bria were almost ready, and the enemy forces were almost in position.

  “They have less than three dozen troops unqualified to handle me, my Six, and Bria, even with that excuse for a Demigod. Aaron sent one of his best after me, and defeating his assassin was child’s play. If this is Aaron, he won’t risk more prized staffers so soon. If it isn’t Aaron, the Demigod will have heard about Aaron’s guy, and will also shy away from the risk. I bet it is Aaron, though. Magnus would never be so stupid as to assume I’d pit you against my father only to hide you now. He’d never be so bold as to challenge me like this. Lydia is much too subtle. She’s known for her cunning and nuance. No, Aaron’s making a play for the prize. You. And after he realizes you aren’t his daughter, he’ll want you in his bed. He’ll torture your sanity away, then shape you into a bed-sharing weapon.” Kieran ground his teeth, pain and disgust stoking his rage.