I swallowed. “What about the other hounds?”
“It says he was only able to perform the spell on two. You already found that Governor Boggs wasn’t like the others. It makes sense that Conor would be the other hound.”
“Why on earth would Lord Kenan allow Boggs out of his sight if he only had two dogs like him?” I asked.
“He wanted a powerful hound in a political position near you,” Mr. Russell said. “Makes sense to me.”
“Even if doing so weakened Governor Boggs?” Mrs. Russell said.
“Yes, even then,” her husband replied. “He probably never expected Lizzie to attack the governor directly.”
“I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the plagues,” I said. “The darkness made it possible. There was no way I would have been able to kill him without it.”
Mr. Russell nodded. “And Lord Kenan couldn’t have predicted you’d miss your deadline. So, again, things ended up turning out well for you. Yes, you made a mistake. But if you hadn’t, Governor Boggs would still be alive, and he’d for sure be doing everything in his power to stop you.”
My neighbor was right. From what I could tell, the governor hadn’t once switched into a hound the whole time he’d been married to his wife. He’d kept that part of himself very quiet and perfectly under control. If the darkness plague hadn’t happened, I would never have been able to approach him as a hunter. I would have ended up in prison for attempted murder.
I turned to Abel. “You said I can’t kill Lord Kenan without killing a hound, and I can’t kill a hound without killing Lord Kenan. Does that mean what we’re doing is hopeless?”
He shook his head. “No. But it’s definitely going to be difficult. And very gruesome.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been dealing with a lot of gruesome things lately. Just tell me what needs to happen.”
“You have to remove one of the spikes from Conor’s body. And you have to use it to stake Lord Kenan in the heart. You won’t be able to snuff Conor’s flame until Lord Kenan is dead.”
“How am I supposed to get a spike off Conor? And without him killing me in the process?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. We’re going to have to figure that out. Obviously, he’ll need to be in his dog form.”
“And that’s another thing. I’ve seen him in that form before. Back in Crimson Hollow. Remember? There was nothing odd about him then.”
“It’s an elevated form,” Abel said. “It has to be triggered. You’ll only see the usual dog unless he shifts to the elevated one on purpose.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” I said. I burrowed my face in my hands before remembering they’d been touching slimy teeth earlier. Yuck. And then something occurred to me. “So, I didn’t make a mistake in bringing Lord Kenan back!”
Abel and the Russells chuckled.
“No, you didn’t,” Mrs. Russell said. “As it turns out, it was quite lucky that you did bring him back.”
“If only those stupid fire vampires were here to hear all this,” I said. “The ones who turned on their friends to join him again.”
Mr. Russell motioned to Abel. “Continue telling us what you learned.”
“Well, the rest of it is stuff you already know. But Lizzie doesn’t, so I’ll say it anyway.” He shuffled a few papers and said, “A previous owner of the amulet was able to snuff Lord Kenan’s fire. Spells were placed on him and the graveyard and church where he was imprisoned. Originally, they’d chosen a church since it weakened him, being a vampire, but as we know, that ended up backfiring on us all—seeing as how his powers were magnified there when we arrived to attack.”
“Lamentable,” Mr. Russell said. “If we could have predicted that, we would have chosen a different location.”
Mrs. Russell shook her head. “No, we would not have. We still would have put him in that church. Who knows how much stronger he would have been in a non-religious prison? Perhaps the church was still weakening him when we attacked.”
“Good point,” her husband said. “We’ll never know.”
“And that’s okay.”
“Anyway,” Abel said. “They put spells over him and his graveyard to keep him in place until someone more powerful, with all the right attributes, could come and finish him off.”
“And I was chosen to do that. Do any of you see how stupid that was? I’ve made so many mistakes.”
I could see they were about to argue with me, but I rushed to say, “Unfortunately, completing my task required bringing him back to life.”
“No, it didn’t, honey,” Mrs. Russell said. “You could have destroyed him without giving him his flame, and the amulet would have become yours.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you serious? Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”
Mr. Russell shook his head. “That’s not true, Mrs. Russell. She couldn’t have destroyed him without a spike from one of his two hounds.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“I wish I’d known all this before attacking Governor Boggs,” I said. “I would have taken one of his spiky bits and used it to kill Lord Kenan.”
“Perhaps you still can,” Mrs. Russell said. “Did they take care of the dog yet?”
I shook my head. “It won’t work. After I snuffed his flame, he went back to being a regular hound. I have a feeling I won’t be able to get the spikes to return without him being alive.”
“Sort of like a defense mechanism,” Abel said. “Makes sense.”
My brain was swirling with the new information. “Is there anything else?” I couldn’t wait to get home and mull over what we’d learned.
“Should we have you hunt down Conor and get his spike now?” Abel asked.
“No, we wait until he reaches us,” Mr. Russell said. “We can’t afford to separate our efforts right now. We’re going to prepare for him here. We’ll find things to stop the majority of his army. We’ll weaken him and Conor. And then, Lizzie will steal a spike from Conor and destroy the both of them.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I said.
“It won’t be,” Mrs. Russell said. “But my husband is correct. We have too much to do to prepare for Lord Kenan’s approach. There isn’t room for excursions to him now, not when we don’t even know what to expect. For now, the plan should be to draw them to Utah, to our turf, where we have familiar surroundings and loyal supporters. It’ll just be easier then to get to Conor’s spikes.”
I nodded, feeling relieved. I really didn’t want to go covert again. At least, not until I felt more prepared. Not until I had my supporters organized.
“If Abel is finished, I’m ready to head home if you all are,” I said.
The other three nodded, Abel confirmed that he didn’t have anything else, and we headed out, taking our notes.
There was a lot to be done before Lord Kenan came. I couldn’t wait to dig in. I also couldn’t wait to dig in to some ice cream from Cold Stone. Yes, that was next on my agenda. I’d definitely earned it.
36
Returning to earth went much the same as getting to the Russells’ dimension. Abel and I followed the Russells to the spot where we’d left the snout, and I watched in fascination as Mrs. Russell tapped the top of the nose five times. The maw opened, and soon, a gaping tunnel about fifteen feet tall appeared.
Entering the mouth was difficult, and Mrs. Russell and I both required help from Abel. Mr. Russell didn’t look too happy about being unable to help his own wife. Abel played it cool, though, and didn’t do or say anything to make Mr. Russell feel worse.
Abel climbed up onto the tongue, then turned and pulled me up, taking care not to dangle me over any of the teeth.
I reached over and grabbed one of the spiky teeth and scooted past Abel, doing my best not to brush against him and knock him off balance. I headed far back into the mouth, trying not to think of what would happen if the beast gagged.
Abel then helped Mrs. Russell up. Mr. Russell came next, not needing help
, and the four of us headed back to earth and the Russells’ house.
Abel and I excused ourselves as soon as we were in more familiar territory. We both desperately needed showers and more rest.
I let Abel shower first, knowing he’d be much faster than me. He was out in three minutes. I’d never met a guy who showered so quickly—most took longer showers than I did, which was odd, seeing as how they didn’t have nearly as much hair and didn’t shave their legs. But whatever.
Once I was in the hot water, I found I didn’t want to stay long either. As soon as I was clean again, I hopped out, dried, dressed, and pulled my hair into my usual high ponytail with a braid.
And then Abel and I set out to find a ghost who could take me to Koven. It only took five minutes this time, totally surprising me.
The trip itself was nearly pointless, though. I asked my question—which tools would work with the amulet to stop Lord Kenan?—and the ghost who answered simply told me to talk to my friend who guarded over all magical items. I would have done that first if I hadn’t thought Koven would help me somehow.
Either way, the moment I stepped out of Koven, I sent Nicole a text, asking if she was still awake. She called me immediately.
“What’s up?”
“A ghost in Koven told me to talk to you.”
“What about?”
I explained to her what I needed, and she promised she’d check Shonlin and get back to me.
And then we waited. Sometimes it took Nicole only a couple of minutes, and other times, it was hours.
Before we’d walked back to my house, Nicole called.
“There are lots of tools and devices that work with your amulet,” she said, “But almost all of them are out with owners and would require a lot of work to borrow or get back.”
Drat. “Okay. Well, what is available?”
“Thousands of spheres. They have to be activated individually by the amulet. And we’ll want every single one of them.”
“Thousands? How big are we talking?”
“About the size of a large marble.”
That was better than thousands of spheres that were the size of basketballs. That would be difficult to manage. “Can you get them down here?”
“Of course,” Nicole said. “How much longer do you have until Lord Kenan arrives?” She gasped before I could answer her. “And the plagues! You stopped them today!”
“Yeah, and good thing, too. That last one would have been the icing on the cake. But you know what?” I said, letting Abel and myself into my house. “Getting cursed with those plagues ended up working out well for us.”
I put my cell on speaker phone, and Abel and I relayed what we’d learned about Lord Kenan. Nicole was appropriately surprised and shocked.
“His plan backfired due to you making a mistake with a deadline? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all week.”
“Seriously.” I smiled at Abel, relaxing into the couch. “So, I couldn’t have defeated the hounds without bringing Lord Kenan back, and I can’t destroy him without the hounds.”
“Or without their spiky thing,” Nicole said. “I’m curious to see what the hounds look like in their elevated form.”
“You won’t get the chance,” I said. “I’m going to make sure of it. The only way I’ll get Conor to shift into a hound in the first place, let alone his ‘elevated’ form, is if he feels like I’m challenging him. And that’s not going to happen until they’re here, battling us. And there’s no way I’m letting you anywhere near us during that time.”
“I’m going to have to be there to help with the spheres,” she said. “You’ll definitely need these things.”
I sighed. “True. But I’m still going to do my best to keep you safe.”
“Oh, of course. I’m with you on that. I think you and Austin automatically assume that just because of the dangerous things I did where demons were concerned in the past, I’m on a mission to get myself killed. Nothing could be further from the truth. This baby is very important to me.”
“I know it is,” I said, feeling somewhat ashamed by how closely she’d come to the truth. Of course I knew she wasn’t “on a mission” to get herself killed, but nothing had ever stopped her from doing something necessary and dangerous in the past.
“Okay, I’d better go,” Nicole said. “It’s going to take a while to gather the spheres.”
“Shouldn’t you do that when you get here? Make flying less inconvenient? You could gather them here, using your sphere.”
“Good point. Yes, I’ll do that.”
“Before you hang up, how are the hounds doing?”
She gave a happy sigh. “So incredibly well. I can’t believe how quickly most of them are picking up on English again. Not only that, but most of them have a knack for other languages. We’re making sure they’re getting tutored in every subject. They’re incredibly smart.”
“I don’t doubt it, not after how long they’ve existed.”
I could tell from Nicole’s voice how pleased she was with her tenants, and I was yet again grateful she’d been okay with taking them on. This time, I was happy for her sake, though. This was obviously bringing her a lot of satisfaction and happiness. And that made me happy.
We ended the call, and I relaxed on the couch next to Abel.
“Now what?” Abel asked.
I buried my face against his arm. “I need people who are loyal to me, right?”
“Definitely.”
“Before we attacked Lord Kenan in Holland, someone practically pledged his allegiance to me. He vowed he’d do anything I ever needed after what I did for him and his family.”
Abel had frozen by my side. “Absolutely not, Lizzie. I can’t believe you’re even considering asking him for help.”
“Not just asking him for help . . . but traveling there and meeting with him.” I sat up, turning to face Abel. “I know Hamza was speaking the truth after I saved his family. He really will help me with anything I need.
“Plus, last time I talked to Jack, he said he might need my help to convince the other ifrits that they need to stand against Lord Kenan. That he and the five who’d come here might not be successful convincing them on their own.” I put my hand on Abel’s arm. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get as many ifrits on my side as possible. They can’t be swayed by Lord Kenan, regardless of what he does.”
Abel scowled at me. “I really don’t like the idea of you being in Iraq again, Lizzie.”
“Of course you don’t. And I don’t like it either. But Hamza really did swear his loyalty to me, and I could knock out two birds with one stone by visiting him and the ifrits.”
He growled, leaning his head back against my couch.
“I have a lot more control over the amulet now than I did the last time I was there. You’ll of course be with me, and I’ll command ghosts to protect and help us. It won’t be an awful situation, I promise.”
He growled again, covering his eyes with his arm and elbow. “Fine. But only because you’re obviously right about the ifrits.”
I smiled and settled back into the couch, cuddling against him. “You’re awesome.”
“Mm-hmm.”
37
After making sure Mindy didn’t need anything, we booked the next flight to Turkey and then on to Iraq. Luckily, the flight didn’t leave until the next morning, permitting us to get several hours of sleep. And holy cow, did we need it. I wouldn’t ever feel like I’d gotten caught up after how much sleep I’d missed recently.
On our way to the airport, I gave Eleanora a call. I hadn’t talked to her in a while and needed to check in. Plus, she’d know how we could get a hold of Hamza.
“Lizzie, you ended the plagues,” she said.
I’d been getting that a lot lately—both in texts and over the phone from friends. “Yes, thank goodness. How are you doing?”
“Fine, just fine. Working behind the scenes to do as Abel has been doing—getting powerful people to leave the area, j
ust in case. I’m honestly not sure if it’s helping or hindering. Some of them, the moment they find out why we want them gone, become more interested in staying and seeing what Lord Kenan has to offer.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip. “That’s a really good point.” I closed my eyes. “What should we do about it?”
“Nothing, for the time being. Getting a few to leave is better than having all coerced.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“So, what can I do for you?”
“I need you to get in contact with Hamza. Let him know we’re heading to Iraq and would like him to pick us up at the airport again. We have something to discuss with him.”
Eleanora fell silent. “Are you sure that’s wise? He did kidnap you, after all.”
“I know, I know. But he also swore loyalty to me. And he was honest about it.”
“Are you positive you read him correctly?”
“No, I guess not. I mean, I’ve seen him lie before and knew he was lying . . . but that doesn’t mean I’d always read him correctly.”
“Precisely.” Eleanora sighed. “I’ll go ahead and contact him, then threaten to dismember him and feed his children to Paul if he doesn’t listen to you and keep you safe this time. And I mean really safe.”
I chuckled. Paul was Eleanora’s little yappy dog.
We ended the call just as Abel pulled into long-term parking at the airport. Soon, we found ourselves on our first plane, heading toward Chicago.
Our flights were uneventful. I didn’t expect anything to happen on them, of course. The number of hounds in the world had been seriously reduced, and none of those who existed now would come chasing after me. They were too devoted to Lord Kenan to leave him. Or too dependent on him . . . Apart from Omar and Alexander, of course.
Hamza met us at the airport, as Eleanora had promised he would in a voicemail.
“Our mutual friend says you desire to discuss something with me,” he said as we pulled away from the curb.
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