“I won’t forget,” I said.
Given the physical and emotional fuckery I’d been through, I was stress-eating chocolate chips out of the bag for breakfast on Thursday when I got a text from Levi.
Imperious 1: We’re in.
I punched the air. One obstacle down and one necromancer to shock the hell out of with my death-defying reappearance, coming up. This would also be the first test of trust between Levi and me. I tossed the bag down, slightly queasy, but damn, I missed working with him on a regular basis. I pressed the phone to my chest for a moment, then fired off my reply.
Me: Let’s rock and roll.
Located on an Area 51–type tract of land that showed up as a giant blank on Google Earth, Jonah was currently incarcerated in a maximum security prison designed to contain powerful Nefesh. We’d used the House operative with Transporter magic to take us to the front gates, since Levi didn’t have the time to spare for a regular flight.
Were I him, I’d have foregone air travel entirely for Star Trek Beam and Go, but frequent use severely depleted the woman, so he generally only used her powers for short jaunts in emergency situations.
Two guards, one male, one female, both with machine guns, met us at the electric fence to verify our paperwork. They had Australian accents, fitting the red dusty landscape dotted with scrubby brush. We were in the Outback.
They were exceedingly thorough, verifying details, checking the papers themselves under some kind of anti-forgery light, and subjecting us to eyeball scans. I thanked my luck that was my only body part subjected. Once we were clear, they provided us with a jeep to drive the mile or so up to the prison proper.
A buzz of magic that I’d held at bay under my skin flattened out to an emptiness the second we passed through the gates, because the entire massive property was nulled. I couldn’t begin to imagine the constant magic power it took to sustain it on that scale.
The only radio station that I could tune in played scratchy hits of the ’60s and ’70s, which was fine by me, especially when Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock” came on. I cranked the volume, head bobbing as I sang, but had barely gotten through the first verse when Levi snapped the music off.
I held my blowing hair out of my face. “Methinks you don’t find a festive air appropriate for this occasion.”
He took one hand off the wheel to wave dismissively. “Nah, I just can’t stand Elvis.” He glanced at me briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. “How are—”
“I’m dealing. Let’s focus on today.”
His Lordship had foregone a suit to dress in all black, jeans and a T-shirt that hugged his biceps. He even wore motorcycle boots. With his hair slicked back from his face and his dark shades, he exuded this ruthless vibe that had me pressing my legs together and covertly checking him out from under half-slitted lashes.
His thigh muscle tensed as he shifted gears in much the same way as when he thrust inside me and—
“So, what music do you like?” I said, too chirpily.
He shrugged. “Whatever.”
I lowered my sunglasses to give him the full effect of my raised eyebrows. “Oh, Leviticus, had I known this about you, I’d have insisted on some clauses in this probationary trust period.”
“Yeah, your negotiation skills were pretty thin.” He broke out a tiny grin.
“A mistake I won’t make twice.”
The prison was a delightful structure made of turrets, barbed wire, and misery. The building glowed a dull silver, evidence of the nulling magic on it, and should that fail, armed guards with “fuck off and die” weapons manned checkpoints on both the ground and roof.
“Subtle. I like it.” I waved at them.
Levi pulled into one of the stalls marked for visitor parking outside yet another fence that surrounded the prison building itself.
I tapped my foot as the gates slowly swung open.
“Nervous?” Levi said.
“Excited to see that asshole’s face when he realizes I survived.” That was true, but even I had to admit that what I was proposing was somewhat insane. Ever since Rafael had told me about the Kiss of Death and his conviction that Chariot knew my identity, I’d felt like I had a target on my back. How right I’d been. They hadn’t waited until they had the amulet to attack, and that strike had left me with a low-grade stomachache that wouldn’t go away.
“We can still walk away,” Levi said.
“No, we can’t. The other interested parties have a lot more resources at their disposal. This is the one thing they don’t have. I survived Jonah’s magic before and there’s no reason to believe otherwise. This avenue is worth pursuing.” I scuffed my toe against the dirt, kicking up a tiny cloud of dust.
“But you’re nervous.”
“I… yeah.”
Levi fist-bumped me. “You’re not alone. We got this.”
“Totally.” I crossed my fingers behind my back that my idea didn’t backfire horribly, then steeled my shoulders and marched inside.
Chapter 18
A very solid metal door was all that stood between us and the rest of the prison. The soundproofing in this grim reception area was amazing because I heard nothing beyond the hum of the air-conditioning.
There was another delay while our identities were once more verified, but finally we were led through a maze of indistinguishable corridors and into a windowless room. Levi and I sat down at a metal table that was bolted to the concrete floor.
A door buzzed open and Jonah was led in by more armed guards. He stumbled, his face draining of all color. “You’re alive? Impossible.” He jabbed a manacled hand at Levi. “You’re using illusion magic.”
Levi arched an eyebrow. “In a prison that nulls all magic? Come on, Jonah. You know better than that. Ash is just hard to kill.”
“Much like a cockroach,” I said. “You know why we’re here?”
Jonah pushed a hand into his red hair, tufting it up messily. “I thought I’d be doing this with him.”
“Never assume.” I leaned forward and spoke in a low voice so that guards couldn’t hear us. “I escaped your death trap once so understand that anything you try and pull, I’ll survive that, too. Then I’ll come back. Mr. Montefiore,” I said, patting Levi’s arm, “is extremely powerful to have secured the prison’s consent. Fuck me over, and next time it will be you and me with no guards and no nulling. Then it’ll be my turn for magic show and tell. Got it?”
Jonah attempted to scoot back, but as his chair was bolted to the ground, didn’t get as much distance from me as he’d hoped. “Yeah.”
I actually had no clue how Levi had pulled this off. I’d asked him why Jonah had agreed, been told it was in exchange for a better lawyer on his case, and then the Transporter had shown up.
A small militia accompanied Levi, Jonah, and me back outside the prison grounds to where the necromancer’s magic once more functioned. The sun beat down unmercifully on us, heat waves rippling off the parched earth.
Even with my sunglasses on I was squinting, and sweat plastered the back of my T-shirt to my skin. It was glorious and almost enough to thaw me out.
Jonah was sweating way too much for it to be temperature-related. He looked nervously over his shoulder at the small arsenal of guns trained on him. Plus, now all the guards’ magic worked as well. One wrong flinch and he’d be a smear on the earth.
Jonah crackled his knuckles. “Avril de Leon?”
“Yes,” I said.
The largest and most menacing prison guard, with a semiautomatic slung across his chest and his skin glistening from the poison magic coating it, stepped forward. “You have three minutes.”
He clicked a button on his watch.
Jonah closed his eyes, murmuring under his breath. I caught Avril’s name, but most of it was too quiet for me to hear.
The wind stirred in this desolate land, ruffling my hair, followed by an awful stillness. I held my breath and even the tiny spiky lizard crawling past paused.
A blac
k smudgy shadow materialized and slammed into me with much the same sensation as I imagine being whapped across the face with a wet fish would feel. The Repha’im got comfortable inside me, expanding to take up space like an entitled white man. My Ash consciousness or soul, or whatever you wanted to call it, was effectively stuffed in the corner of my meat sack.
“Bon sang, qu’est-ce qui m’est arrivée?” said a delighted and saucy French-accented voice from my mouth.
I tried to speak but Avril, the Repha’im, bid me “tais-toi” in my head and did the mental equivalent of kicking me to the curb and skipping over my prone body to step into the limelight.
“Oh là là.” Avril ran a hand over my body, all manner of French and probably filthy thoughts whispering in my head as she thrust out my chest in Levi’s direction and flicked my hair back. “Are you my welcome-back present?”
Levi clamped his lips together, his shoulders shaking.
I was going to kill him. We’d agreed he should ask the questions in case I was in no condition to once Jonah had bonded Avril to me or in case she responded better to a man. Seems I’d made the right call. Still.
I squashed the dagger starting to manifest in my palm.
“Two minutes, forty seconds,” the head guard said.
“Avril, ma chère.” Levi kissed her hand. “Je suis enchanté à vous rencontrer.”
Fine. Avril and I both swooned at how a simple statement turned into word porn in Levi’s low gravelly voice, but we were on the clock here. I muscled my way back into control and stepped on his foot.
Levi smirked, not quite ducking his head in time for me to miss it. “I have some questions about the Kiss of Death. Did it really work as advertised?” he said.
Avril covered my mouth with my hand. “You know about that? Ah well. I certainly hoped so. Unfortunately, life got rather dangerous for me and I was unable to use it before my demise.”
“Do you know what happened to the amulet after you died?” Levi said. “Did it go to another member of your… religious organization?” We had no proof that Avril had been part of Chariot, though it was a reasonable assumption. “Can you give us any names of the Ten?”
“You’ve unearthed all my secrets, haven’t you?” She trailed her fingers down Levi’s arm. “Smart and handsome.”
“Fucking hell,” I snapped in my voice. “Answer the damn question already. Where is it?”
“Hmph.” She sniffed and fell silent. In fact, I felt walls slam up, dividing the two of us.
“Hello?” I pointed at Jonah. “Make her do something.”
He scuttled back a couple of steps. “You pissed off a French woman. This is beyond my control.”
“If we may have a moment of privacy?” Levi said. He pointed to a spot several feet away but still in sight and firing range.
“Two minutes,” the guard said.
Levi took my elbow and led me away. Speaking in flawless French, he cajoled and flirted. I didn’t actually understand what he was saying, but I could read tone of voice and body language, and Levi was pulling out all his famed charm.
The performance may have been for Avril, but I was literally standing right there. It was my body he caressed with casual touches, and how come he’d never bothered using the charm offensive on me?
Scowling, I stepped back, which amused him.
“One minute.”
Avril finally deigned to reply.
Levi said something in response and then switched to English. “Ash? How bad do you want this answer?”
“Oh, I’m cool with whatever,” I said sarcastically. “The joy of having this French Mata Hari inside me is reward enough.”
“Yeah, but she—”
“Thirty seconds,” the guard called out.
“Levi,” I snapped. “Get the damn location.”
He nodded and, cradling my face in his, kissed me.
I froze in surprise, but Avril launched into action, kissing him back like a woman starved for affection. I guess if I’d been dead a while, I’d have done the same.
The rational part of my brain insisted that this kiss was fairly chaste by Levi’s standards and to let Avril have it for the sake of the mission. That resolve lasted .025 seconds before my libido mentally elbowed Avril in the head. I grabbed Levi by the belt loops, and pulled him flush against me. He met my eyes and the tiniest grin quirked up his lips before he dipped me into a hot reckless kiss, our tongues tangling, that made my toes curl.
The floodgates didn’t simply open, they crumbled under the tidal wave of desire, sorrow, and pent-up emotion that exploded between us.
I bit down on his lip and Levi’s eyes darkened. He growled against my mouth, turning the kiss punishing.
“Time!”
Levi broke the kiss with a dazed expression. I clung to him, his shirt bunched up in my fists.
Jonah slow-clapped. “Good show.”
My cheeks blazed and I pried my fingers off Levi, resisting the urge to run them over my swollen lips. This was bad. I mean, it had been good. Very good. Except, it clouded my judgment on how to proceed where Levi was concerned. Which was bad.
The guards looked unimpressed by the entire episode. Bless them.
“Fair is fair.” Avril told us the name of a French town where her family had an estate. While she didn’t know if the property still belonged to them, she gave directions to the exact spot where the amulet was buried. She’d hidden it before her death, refusing to give any of the Ten the satisfaction of having it. What a team player. Then she rattled off something else in French that was too fast for me to understand.
I walked over to Jonah and jabbed him in the chest. “Send her away now.”
“I like it here,” Avril pouted.
“Not up for debate,” I said.
Jonah did more muttering under his breath, along with some complicated and hopefully necromantic hand movements.
Avril laughed.
“I can’t get her out.” Jonah looked flummoxed.
“Excuse me?” Levi’s voice had a dangerous edge.
Jonah’s gestures grew more and more flustered as he tried again. And again. Eyes wide, he looked at me, and then crowded up against the head guard. “This sometimes happens with a very strong-willed soul.”
“This body is not optimal, but it’s better than being dead.” Avril gave a very Gallic shrug with my shoulder. “I can work with it.”
“You’ve had your allotted time. The prisoner must return to his cell,” the head guard ordered.
“No!” I lunged for Jonah. Approximately seventy-two thousand red dots appeared on my body. I froze and put my hands up.
Two of the guards seized Jonah and the entire militia escorted him back inside the prison fence.
Jonah glanced back over his shoulder with a contrite expression. “Sorry.”
And then there were three.
Avril was moving my various body parts around like she was taking them for a test drive while I suffered a crisis of conscience. I’d expected Jonah to send Avril back to Sheol. I could get her out of me—Jezebel, after all—but I destroyed Repha’im. It hadn’t been a moral quandary when I’d done it to Gunter inside of Levi’s ex, Mayan, because he’d already committed arson and attempted murder and he was doing his damnedest to add me to his body count.
It was different with this woman. She’d probably done unspeakable things when she’d been alive and part of Chariot, but I was only familiar with the woman sharing my body who was guilty of nothing more than being a flirt. Souls in Sheol still existed on some level. The finality of this act made it cold-blooded murder.
Levi had been on his phone arranging for his Transporter to come back, no doubt certain I could handle this. Of course I could, what choice did I have? My body was prime real estate and this squatter had to be turfed, but my magic didn’t rise as fast as usual.
I snagged Avril’s smudgy self in my red forked branches with a curious sense of detachment, almost outside my own awareness. Imagined or real, I�
�d swear her shock echoed through my bones, and in my head I heard her pleading for her life.
The worst thing about this was the absolute clarity. I wasn’t lost to a magic high, and when those white clusters bloomed, so too did an icy certainty that I had somehow irrevocably stepped onto a path from which there was no redemption.
The operative with transport magic brought us to Levi’s office. After we’d thanked her for her assistance and she left, I asked Levi the most pressing question.
“What did Avril say to you in French after we got the location?”
“She gave me the name of a member of the Ten back in her day who may still be alive. Misha Ivanov.”
“Misha is a short form of Mikhail.” I did a quick calculation. “Avril died sixty years ago so even if Misha had been only twenty, he’d be in his mid-eighties today. A good wind could have him shuffling off this mortal coil. Time is of the essence in following this up.” I got all of four steps closer to the door, before turning around. “How’d you secure the prison’s permission to take Jonah into magic range?”
How badly did he owe someone for this? I gnawed on my thumbnail. Would paying up land Levi in trouble?
“That was all you.” Levi grabbed two bottles of water from his small fridge.
I caught the one that he tossed me. “I didn’t do shit.”
“The Queen called me about a supply of Blank right after another frustrating conversation where my request had been shut down. She said she’d take care of our entry for you in thanks for helping her daughter.” He uncapped the bottle and chugged half of it back. “You left out a few details about the Bookworm when you asked me for the drug.”
“Selective fact-telling is kind of my jam.” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “You and I weren’t in a great place at the time. I shouldn’t have withheld that from you, though.”
Levi leaned against his desk and regarded me. “You got really quiet back there. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
“Ash.”
He was going to harp on me until I shared all my feelings about Avril’s death. Sighing, I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. “It was monumentally horrible.”
Revenge & Rapture: A Snarky Urban Fantasy Detective Series (The Jezebel Files Book 4) Page 18