"You mean, if I hadn't healed my mom and turned her, Mina would have probably shown up and done it herself?" Devin asked.
Cain nodded. "I think it likely. Whether they anticipated you'd come here or not is beside the point. Coming here gave them another option if they couldn't get anything out of Debbie. Thankfully, now that we have Malinda, we've eliminated that option."
"So taking Debbie was always Plan A," I said. "We have to save her. Before Mina can convince her to talk."
Chapter thirty-five
We didn't have time to mess with Victoria—but Pauli had an idea. "Be right back, bitches!" Pauli announced before quickly teleporting off of Anabelle's shoulders. He returned a second later with Victoria's staked heart in his jaws.
He spat it out in front of Devin.
"Disgusting!" Pauli said, gagging through his words. "I want to hurl!"
Devin laughed. "Thanks, Pauli."
It didn't take Devin long. Devin grabbed the heart off the ground, and with a release of fire from his fingertips, he consumed it in his hands. Then he stumbled a bit.
I caught him. "Are you okay?"
Devin nodded. "I will be."
"You're not in any condition to go after Mina, Devin."
Devin shook his head. "My mom is in danger. I have to."
I nodded. I understood his motives. But when Hailey warned, before, that he wasn't in any condition to cast spells, much less engage in a vigorous pursuit of a powerful magician like Mina, she was right.
"Devin," I said. "You can barely walk. I know you want to do this, but you'll only slow us down."
Devin pressed his lips together and sighed. "Yeah, you're right."
"I've got him," Rutherford said. "You guys go ahead. I won't be much help anyway. I'll help Devin and Malinda get back to the asylum."
"Thank you, Rutherford," Cain said, resting Malinda on the ground. "You sure you can handle them both?"
Rutherford shrugged. "I'll do what I can."
"I can walk," Devin said. "Just not well. We'll get Malinda back safely."
I nodded and kissed Devin on the cheek. "See you soon."
"Go save my mom," Devin said.
I placed a hand on Devin's cheek. "I will."
In a flash of light, Pauli appeared at my feet. He had my clothes and my heels constricted in his body.
I chuckled. "Thanks, Pauli."
"Get dressed, you naked bitch! No one wants to see that!"
"Speak for yourself!" Devin said, giggling a little.
I smiled and, using my elemental speed, I threw on my clothes and put my nine-inch heels back on my feet.
"This way," Annabelle said, directing us through Marie Laveau's tomb. I didn't see a body in there. No clue what had happened to her, but I presumed the whole tomb was little more than a ruse, a hidden entrance to Vilokan that until now no one except Annabelle knew about.
Annabelle pressed her hand to the floor. A hatch, glowing in a green hue around the edges, appeared. She opened it, and we climbed through into a narrow crawl space. Annabelle put her hand on the ceiling above us. We all entered the tight space on our hands and knees. The hatch disappeared. Then, the floor beneath us disappeared, and it felt like we were falling until something like a slide caught us and we spiraled down it.
"Weeeee!" Pauli said, riding on Annabelle's shoulders. His voice echoed through the tunnel we were passing through at incredible speed.
We got to the bottom, which emptied into a small room.
"That was a lot better than the way up," Hailey said.
I cocked my head. "You climbed that slide going up?"
Hailey shook her head. "No, there was an elevator of some kind. But it worked on a pulley. Sucked ass pulling everyone up it."
"It's right over there," Annabelle said, gesturing toward one of two doors off the room that we dumped into. "We're going through the other one."
Annabelle pushed through the second door, and it opened into the back of her office at the Voodoo University.
Another elevator ride down from her office, and we all stormed out of the school and into the streets of Vilokan.
"Where do we start looking?" I asked.
Cain grunted. "She's not far. I can feel it... the flambeaux... I'm..."
Cain started to shift into his werewolf form, the clothes he wore ripping as his body expanded.
"Follow Cain," Annabelle said. "He'll lead us to Julie. And if she's wielding hellfire, you can be sure she's found Mina."
Cain moved fast. But I was just as quick. We'd have lost the rest of the group if it wasn't for the fact that we only had to go a couple blocks.
Julie was standing there, hellfire coursing from her flambeaux, as Mina faced off with her. Mina had a crucifix in her hand—not unlike the one Alice used to own. I had it back at my apartment, in the bottom of my underwear drawer. It worked for a while, it was handy for burning out vampire hearts, but it stopped working. It had run out of power, I presumed. And finding someone who could recharge it with celestial energy wasn't exactly a priority or a desire to pursue.
What Mina was channeling, though, was more than sunlight. It was like heaven and hell were crashing into each other in the streets of Vilokan.
She didn't have Debbie. Not a surprise. How in the world could an old lady, like Mina, carry a staked vampire on her own?
There wasn't much I could do with the power of heaven and hell colliding between Julie and Mina. So I ran as fast as I could, searching the area. It didn't take long. I found Debbie's body staked and curled up in a wheelbarrow that had been pushed into a narrow alley between buildings. It was the same wheelbarrow we'd used before to move Leeroy through Vilokan to the asylum.
I pulled the stake out of Debbie's chest. Her eyes widened and as she gasped for air.
"Thank you, Nicky. And I'm sorry. I truly am."
"Sorry?" I asked.
Then Debbie took off and charged Julie. When their bodies collided, Julie released the flambeaux. Debbie tumbled to the side. Mina blasted Julie with celestial magic, sending Julie crashing into the side of one of Vilokan's buildings.
"Damnit!" I shouted.
Cain charged Mina. Mina extended her hand and created a massive wall of celestial power. It spread from the ground all the way to Vilokan's firmament.
Cain's body slammed into it. Hailey, her wand extended, hurled a spell at it. It reflected back at her. She rolled out of the way, and her spell slammed into another building, blasting a considerable chunk of stone out of it.
Mina took off toward the stairway that went out of Vilokan.
I didn't have a choice. The last thing I wanted to do was stake Devin's mom again. But Mina had gotten to her. And since Mina didn't take any extra effort to come back for her, I presumed Debbie had given her what she needed.
As Debbie stood, I threw a sidekick at her chest and plunged my heel back into her heart. I shook my foot free of my shoe as Debbie collapsed on the ground.
I looked through the celestial forcefield that Mina had cast in time to see her head up the stairway.
With Julie's flambeaux extinguished, Cain shifted back into his naked human form.
Annabelle stood in front of the forcefield. "We can't get through."
Julie, looking visibly shaken after smashing into a building, stumbled toward her. They glanced at each other, said a few words, and Annabelle nodded.
Julie dove into the forcefield and released her material form.
"Julie, don't!" Hailey shouted.
It was too late. Enough hellfire to destroy a city. All contained in her body, and the flambeaux she wielded. But she was inside the forcefield. Infernal and celestial, each neutralizing the other. Until the forcefield was gone. And Julie was gone with it.
Chapter thirty-six
Julie sacrificed herself to give us a chance. Hailey, Annabelle, and I took off chasing Mina up the steps.
Mina might have been an old woman, but she moved like a spring chicken with celestial power at her disposal.
Annabelle shook her head. "I don't know. That forcefield she cast, it wasn't even all her power, and it was strong enough to balance out all the hellfire in Julie's body and an infernal object on top of it. I don't know that our wards will be enough."
"We have to try," I said, huffing as we took off up the stairs.
"I don't think we can catch her in time," Annabelle said. "You're fast, Nicky."
"Nicky can't do anything to stop her alone," Hailey said. "I have another idea."
Hailey extended her wand and cast something like a whirlwind. It caught all three of us and, Hailey directing it by pointing her wand up the stairs. It carried us fast until we caught up with Mina, who stood at the sealed entrance of Vilokan.
Hailey blasted Mina with blood magic. But in her golden robe, she absorbed it.
Mina laughed. "I have to say, I underestimated you all. Especially you, Nyx."
"You're cornered, Mina. Give it up."
"You really think this place can hold me?"
I shrugged. "You couldn't get through the wards at the asylum. Only during the witching hour."
"I have to admit, these wards are surprisingly resilient. I didn't think they'd hold against my magic, but they do. Still, I don't have to break the wards. It seems the magic that sustains this little world, that holds the firmament in place, isn't quite as strong."
"No!" Annabelle shouted. "You'd flood the whole city!"
"How many lives would that be?" Mina asked. "Hundreds, a thousand, maybe?"
"You wouldn't!" I shouted.
Mina shrugged. "Suffer not a witch to live. In my book, Voodoo is just another brand of the same devilish craft."
"You'd drown with the rest of us!" I screamed.
"Maybe," Mina said. "But I have enough power. I imagine I could probably survive longer than the rest of you. All I'd have to do is one spell, and I could blast the firmament open. It's your choice."
"If she gets that grimoire," Hailey said. "All of us will die anyway."
Annabelle shook her head. "But she doesn't have the grimoire yet."
"What a difficult decision," Mina said. "Save those you can today, or risk the end of all the witches and bloodsuckers tomorrow."
"Save them," I said.
"Are you sure?" Annabelle asked.
"I am," I said, nodding my head. "I'll find a way to stop her before she gets the book. If we let her flood this place, and she does survive, everyone will be damned for sure."
"You're already damned," Mina said. "But you do have a third option."
"What is that?" I asked.
"Repent," Mina said. "Of your witchery. Of your perversions. Of all your sins. I am gracious and merciful. When I unleash the angelic legions, I will see to it that they advocate for you before the throne of God."
"Is that what you told Debbie, too?" I asked.
"And she accepted my offer," Mina said. "She gave me all she could. She was so desperate for salvation."
"Debbie doesn't know where the grimoire is," I said. "She told me herself she didn't concern herself with such matters of the Order."
"But she's given me a lead," Mina said. "Perhaps, if you lead her back down the path of perdition, she'll share the same information with you. But don't think you won't burn for it when judgment day begins."
I shook my head. "You're wrong. I don't know why the Nazarene wrote that grimoire. But I've read your Bible. What you're doing is not what he was about."
Mina shrugged. "I'm not going to dispute theological matters with you. I've done my duty. I've given you your chance. Now, it's your choice."
"Let her go," I said to Annabelle. "I'll find the book before she does."
"Not the wisest choice," Mina said. "I won't give you a chance to repent a second time."
I snorted. "If I have anything to repent of, you aren't the one responsible for it. You aren't God, Mina."
Mina laughed. "You heard him, let me go, your highness."
Annabelle shook her head, stepped past Mina, and pressed her hand to the wall. The door exiting Vilokan appeared. "Don't call me your highness."
Mina laughed and walked through the door. "Nyx, I'm sure I'll seeing you soon."
"You can count on it," I said.
Holding her crucifix, a blast of golden magic enveloped Mina, and she disappeared.
Chapter thirty-seven
Debbie sat on Cain's couch, her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. She really meant to kill every witch and vampire?"
"Including me," Devin said.
Tears poured from Debbie's eyes. "What have I done? Mina promised me I'd be saved if I helped..."
"As someone who spent most of his existence seeking redemption," Cain said. "Anyone who promises to have the keys to salvation, who demands you follow their way or else, isn't following God."
"You're right," Debbie said, shaking her head. "I should have known better."
"Why don't you tell us what you told her?" I asked.
Debbie took a deep breath. "Tom never left Kansas City. Not during the time that Mina was asking about. He was so anxious, so quiet, then. I didn't know what was going on. Not until you told me, just now, about Wolfgang and what he was up to."
"You told her more than that," I said. "Mina said you gave her a clue. What was it?"
"Tom and I had a big fight over the Order, about how obsessed he'd become. He left me. It was only for a couple days."
"And you're sure he never left Kansas City?" I asked.
Debbie nodded. "I got suspicious about what he was up to. I know it was silly after thirty years of marriage. But I was worried he was having an affair. So I checked his credit card charges. A lot of charges around Lee's Summit."
"Near my club?" I asked.
"Yes," Debbie said. "I was just looking, you know, to see if he was maybe spending money at expensive restaurants. The kinds of things someone might spend money on if he was seeing someone. But there was nothing like that. But he did make a large cash withdrawal."
"Nothing you could trace," I said.
"So, of course, it only made me more suspicious. But then Tom came home, apologizing. He swore nothing was going on. He told me he was drinking again and didn't want me to see the charges at the bar."
"My dad was an alcoholic," Devin said.
"I didn't know that," I said. "I'm sorry to hear it."
"But when I was doing his laundry," Debbie said, "he had a business card in his pocket. It was the strangest thing. It was from a funeral director."
"Alice?" I asked.
Debbie shook her head. "It was a man's name. I don't remember it. I threw it away. When I asked Tom about it, he just said he wanted to make sure we had our affairs in order, you know, for when we died. But why in the world would we have a funeral in Lee's Summit? We don't know anyone there, not really."
"And you didn't question him about it more?" Devin asked. "You've told me before that the Order used a lot of cemeteries and such to bury staked vampires in. Why didn't you suspect that?"
"I did later," Debbie sighed. "But my mind didn't go there at the time. I was just so happy he was home again, that he was himself again. I didn't question it."
"And that's everything you told Mina?" Cain asked.
Debbie nodded. "That's it. I swear."
"It's brilliant," I said. "If he did what I'm thinking."
"What are you thinking?" Cain asked.
"I'm betting he bribed a funeral director to bury the book with someone. Probably no one of note. Likely just a random person."
"Why would any funeral director do something like that?" Devin asked.
I shrugged. "Money talks. He could have found anyone in an obituary, made up a story about how the book meant a lot to the deceased. It's not unheard of for dead people to be buried with objects that they prized in life."
"How many funeral homes are there in Lee's Summit?" Devin asked. "There can't be more than a few.
"
I nodded. "You're right. You're sure the funeral home was in Lee's Summit, Debbie?"
Debbie nodded. "I'm certain of it. That was what seemed so strange to me about it."
"And you told Mina that?" I asked.
"I mentioned that I'd found the card. I don't remember, for sure, if I mentioned Lee's Summit. I might have."
"We have to assume you did," I said. "And if a seemingly sweet old lady shows up to ask a funeral director about such a strange request, I can't imagine that it would be hard for her to get the information she's seeking."
Debbie looked at me. "No offense, of course. But an old woman would probably have more luck convincing a funeral director to talk than a transgender woman."
"No offense taken," I said. "I know how people can be. But we have to try."
"They might talk to me," Devin said. "If I say that Tom was my dad, that he took a book from me and had it buried with someone. A funeral director would surely empathize with a boy who just lost his dad and is trying to tie up loose ends."
"That's smart," Cain said. "I would come with you, but my patients need me."
"If we're not successful," I said, "I think we might need all of you. Perhaps the vodouisants can figure out a way to defeat angels. If it comes to that."
"We'll work on it," Cain said. "If anyone can find an answer, especially since Annabelle and Hailey have the other grimoire, it's them."
"We should get going," I said. "We might not have much time, and Mina already has a head start."
"I agree," Devin said. "You ready, mom?"
Debbie shook her head. "I'm staying here, son. I still have a long way to go. My cravings are still overpowering."
"I think that's a wise decision," Cain said. "When Julie died, Leroy's curse was broken. He'll be staying here, too. I think it will be good for both of you to be here, to support each other as you adapt to your new lives."
Debbie nodded and looked at Devin. "I love you, son. I'm sorry for everything. I promise, when I get out of here, I'll be a better mother. I want to be a part of your life."
Devin took a deep breath, a single tear cascaded down his cheek. "I love you, mom. That sounds wonderful. But take care of yourself, okay? And, you know, call me when I can."
Bat Shift Crazy: An Ex-Shifter turned Vampire Hunter Urban Fantasy (The Legend of Nyx Book 2) Page 19