The League of Skull & Bones

by MJ Fletcher

  “Am I interrupting something?” she asked looking back and forth between us.

  “No, nothing important,” I said with a snarl.

  “Good, now if you’d kindly tell me what the hell you were thinking?” LaReina asked as she pulled a seat out from the round table and sat down.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I sent you to find Mr. Slade and recover the device he had commissioned.”

  “And we did that.”

  “Where is it?” She tapped her finger on the table.

  I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the small device, turning it over in my hands. This object could either be my salvation or death, and here I was about to hand it over to someone I didn’t fully trust.

  I stepped forward and placed the device on the table. I gave it a push and it slid across to LaRiena. She stopped it and her fingers tracing over its contours before stopping and tapping it with her index finger.

  “Does it work?” she asked.

  “I don’t know and I’m not anxious to find out.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at her.

  LaReina put the device down and regarded me with a discerning eye. “I thought you wanted the Artifact removed?”

  “I want it to stop killing me, that’s all.”

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “Right. The Artifact is damn interesting to anyone who doesn’t possess it.” I leaned back against the wall and did my best to not glance at Ronan. I was angry more with myself than him. I’d been a bitch to him and I knew it. The problem was I had no idea how the hell to fix it. This was the first time in years that I actually cared if a guy was mad at me.

  “Why didn’t you bring it directly here?” LaReina traced her fingers along the edges of the device as she spoke.

  “Not sure if you heard, but I wasn’t exactly in the best shape when I got away. Plus that crazy bitch Nyla went after my mentor.”

  “DeAndre was a loss for the entire Guild.” LaReina nodded.

  “As I’ve told you, LaReina,” Ronan finally spoke up, “Jess had been consumed by the Artifact. It is a miracle that she survived at all.”

  “Is it a miracle?” LaReina asked.

  The image of Merric helping me raced through my mind. Powerful and dangerous, he stood between me and the things I still had nightmares about.

  “It is,” I replied with a smile.

  “How did you stop from being consumed?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged and glanced out the window. I had no intentions of sharing the truth with them.

  “Very well. With the device in hand, we’ve dealt a blow to Nyla. But this proves she was up to something, so the League must act.” LaReina placed her forefinger on the device and pushed it back toward me.

  “What’s that mean?” I asked.

  “That means you are ordered to hunt down Nyla Foxglove and kill her with extreme prejudice.”

  Chapter 45

  “Finally an order I can understand.”

  “The device?” Ronan asked staring down at it on the table.

  LaReina waved her hand over it and toward me. “I think it’s best if you take possession of it for now, Jess.”

  “What?”

  “It is meant to be used on you, after all. I doubt you would trust me with it, now would you?” She smiled at me like a mouse who had avoided my trap.

  Did she know I was trying to flush out whoever was working with Nyla? Or was she playing a deeper game than I knew about? “I wouldn’t trust anyone with it.”

  “Smart girl,” she said.

  “It could fall into anyone’s hands if we let it leave the League,” Ronan protested.

  “I doubt very much that Ms. Grimm will allow that to happen. Plus, you’re her partner and you can help her keep it safe.” LaReina stood, ending the debate and stepped away from the table. “Our spies have word that Nyla is upset by her loss of the device, and her defeat, yet again, at your hands. Whatever she has planned, we need to see that she is removed quickly. Use all of our resources to find and end her.” LaReina nodded toward me, and then walked from the room.

  “This is a bad idea,” Ronan said.

  “You mean me taking the device or the fact that our boss wants us to hunt down the very woman who wants to use it on me, and kill her?”

  If LaReina was the one working with Nyla, then her letting me hold onto the device made sense. That way when we found Nyla, or she found us, she could use it on me. Two birds with one stone. I didn’t like this one bit.

  “You don’t trust LaReina, do you?” Ronan asked.

  “What gave me away?”

  “She’s our boss,” he reminded.

  “Most bosses are assholes anyway. I have a feeling she wouldn’t cry any tears if I didn’t make it back.”

  “Maybe,” he said, “maybe not.”

  I turned to face him. He was standing beside me, one hand tucked in his pants pocket that spread his suit jacket open just enough to get a peek at his impressive physique.

  “The meeting is over,” I reminded him.

  “That it is,” he replied.

  “We should talk about what happened,” I said taking a deep breath.

  “You mean when you kicked me out after kissing me?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

  “You kissed me,” I said hurriedly.

  “I’ll grant you that, but only because I didn’t think you would ever kiss me.”

  “Of course I wouldn’t,” I said too quickly.

  “Then it was a mistake.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  “It sounds like it is,” he snapped.

  “You’re jumbling everything I’m saying.”

  “Then explain it to me.”

  “I don’t do that,” I said.

  “What? Kiss people?”

  “Exactly,” I said.

  “I find that hard to believe,” he said.

  “Well I don’t, I used too, but I don’t anymore.” I crossed my arms over my chest and pulled them tight against me. I could feel the scars through the cloth of my shirt and it made me wince.

  “Why don’t you?”

  “Because, I can’t,” I shook my head. “I just can’t.”

  How was I supposed to tell him I had nightmares every night? That I still had a hard time looking at myself in a mirror after how badly my body was ravaged. The one thing I always had was my beauty, ever since I was young, and now it was gone. Without it, I didn’t know how to be myself or to get close any longer.

  I liked Ronan, but I couldn’t keep Merric and the effect he had on me from popping into my head so often. I didn’t know what the hell to do anymore.

  “You can talk to me, Jess.”

  He moved in close to me, and I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead I ran my fingers over the jagged scars that ran over my arms.

  “I know, maybe one day.” It was all I could think to say. I felt like a fool. I wanted him and I could have him right now. All I had to do was open myself up to him. Yet I couldn’t do it.

  “Jess,” he said softly and reached out, his hand brushing across my cheek.

  I turned moving into his touch and his hand slipped down along my neck, brushing near one of my scars and I flinched, stepping away. “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “No, it’s fine. At least we’ve talked some. I’ll give you the time you need. But you need to know, Jess, I’m not going to wait forever.”

  “I know,” I said and quickly changed the subject, “so where do we start looking for Nyla?”

  “When you want to hunt down someone like Nyla, you need an information broker,” he said.

  “Do you have anyone in mind?”

  “Yes, his name is Greenstreet and he works out of London.”

  “I’ve heard of him,” I said.

  “Good, let’s get going then.”

  Ronan walked from the room, and I followed after him. I shook my head and cursed myse
lf for not being able to open up to him. If I wasn’t going to open up to someone like Ronan, who could I open up to? For some reason a set of molten grey eyes kept popping into my mind.

  Chapter 46

  It was mid-day and the sun was high in the sky with no clouds in sight when we arrived in London. We moved into the section of the city used by the Old Kind. Normal humans could not detect the overlap of dimensions as they strolled the streets, only we could see them.

  The air around me shimmered with power as we crossed into Old Kind territory. The black market that worked here was well known by the Council. But there had never been a reason to shut down the people who operated it. After all it wasn’t nearly as big as the Dying Star Markets or the illicit trade done at the Diesel Factories.

  We entered the Blue Parrot Pub, and Ronan waved at the doorman who smiled and nodded. We walked across to the main bar area filled with tables and a long bar running the length of the room. But Ronan made straight for a back door, gripping the handle and pulling it open.

  The portal energy that leaked off of it was unmistakable. We crossed the threshold into what I assume was a pocket dimension and stepped into a small, but well-appointed office. An oversized oak desk dominated the room and was covered in papers and objects that each emanated power of their own.

  Behind it sat the fattest man I’d ever seen. His many body rolls were covered by a white suit that did little to contain them. Where his neck should be was three rolls of blubber that rested on his rounded shoulders. He leaned over the desk, squinting through round, green spectacles. He scribbled on one of the many papers in front of him and sighed, then placed his pen down and looked up and smiled when he saw Ronan.

  “Ronan, my lad, so glad to see you again,” he glanced my way and his eyes narrowed for a moment. “And you brought a guest.”

  “Greenstreet, meet Jessica Grimm,” Ronan said.

  “Well, the pleasure is most assuredly all mine young, Miss Grimm.” He nodded his head at me, causing his neck to crease in odd ways.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Now why are you here?” he asked Ronan with a curious raise of his brow.

  “Information,” Ronan replied.

  “Of course. Of course. I’m always happy to help the League of Skull & Bones.”

  “I’m sure you are, Greenstreet. I need a location on Nyla Foxglove.”

  Greenstreet leaned back in his chair, forcing it to creak so loudly I thought it might break under the tremendous strain. He locked his chubby fingers together and rested them on his round belly.

  “Now that is a tall order. She’s been causing quite a bit of trouble from what I understand.”

  “Yes, she has, and we need to know where she is,” Ronan said firmly.

  “Well, I would of course be willing to query my contacts. But information like this will be costly.” His mouth spread in a very large and sinister smile. “Very costly.”

  “I assumed it would.” Ronan shrugged and reached into his suit pocket. “How much?”

  “Not money, young Ronan.” He turned, smiling at me. “I want to speak with Miss Grimm alone.”

  “What? No!” Ronan’s voice rose so quickly it shocked me.

  “It’s a shame we can’t come to an agreement.” Greenstreet’s smile disappeared.

  “I’ll talk to you,” I said.

  Ronan moved closer to me and whispered, “Jess, no.”

  “This is my choice. We need to find Nyla and deal with her before she does something crazy or stupid.”

  “Greenstreet is a manipulator.” Ronan was shaking his head as if what he had to say would change my mind.

  “So is everyone I’ve met lately.”

  Ronan tilted his head, and I realized what I’d said had wounded him. I wanted to take it back, but it was already too late. He stepped away, clenching his jaw tightly.

  “I’ll be outside if you need me.” Ronan turned to the large man. “Don’t pull anything, Greenstreet.” His eyes shifted back and forth between us both nervously.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, my boy.”

  Ronan gave a last look over his shoulder before opening the door and stepping out. The door swung closed behind him, and I sensed the vacuum of power embrace it as it shut.

  I moved from where I was standing and slid into a seat across from Greenstreet. I crossed my legs and leaned back casually. I was tired of playing defense in this new world of twists and turns, and half-truths. I was going to face whatever he wanted head on.

  “What do you want?” I asked bluntly.

  “Merely information, my dear, you are after all a very interesting commodity. I take it you know that by now.” He reached his thick hand across the oak desk and lifted a small Engineer orb from the top and rolled it in his pudgy hand.

  “Do you know what this is?”

  “It looks like a Forget Me Not,” I said with an edge to my voice. If he thought he could use something like a mind control device on me, he was going to be in for a shock.

  “Nothing so Neanderthal, my dear, it is an Impossible Engineer device called the Amazing Orb of Truth.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Exactly what the name implies,” he said.

  He placed it back on the desk and pressed the top of it with his large thumb. A small clicking sound was followed by a burst of glittering light that illuminated the desk. It shimmered and glowed in a spectrum of colors like a rainbow after a rain shower. It finally settled on a pleasant forest green that sparkled like fireflys floating about the room.

  “Nice trick,” I said.

  “No trick, this little orb is one of my more valuable items. It helps me determine when someone is being honest with the information they provide me. As long as anyone in the room speaks the truth, the lights will remain green. If you lie, they will change colors.”

  “Like I said nice trick, so let’s get on with it.”

  “Anxious aren’t you? Why is that?”

  “I can’t seem to go a day without someone wanting to get their hands on me or more specifically something I possess.” I lifted my arm and twisted my wrist back and forth, showing off my sleeve covered forearm.

  “May I see it?” His eyes were glued to my arm.

  “First I want information,” I said.

  He chuckled and turned his attention back on me. “My dear, I am not giving up my information for merely a look at the Artifact.”

  “Then what?”

  “I want to know about your situation?”

  “What situation?”

  “You’re traveling with one of the top members of the League of Skull & Bones. I take it you’ve become a member?” His eyes glinted as he spoke.

  I realized then what it was that Greenstreet was after. He was man who traded in black market information, and here I was one of the most intriguing bits of information he had come across in a while, and he wanted to suck everything he could out of me.

  “I have,” I said.

  The green lights floating around the room remained green, and he smiled.

  “Lovely, then your grandmother is attempting to remain as head of the Council?” His eyes narrowed and he chewed at his lower lip.

  “My grandmother keeps her choices to herself as do I.”

  “A diplomatic answer. You’re learning quickly, Miss Grimm. But since your grandmother has had you join the League, I think that answers the question nicely.”

  “Why do you care?” I asked.

  “I don’t, but there are a great many who play the game of power, and information is king when you are playing for such high stakes.”

  The green lights shook and changed from green to a slight shade of red. I smiled and Greenstreet winked at me.

  “You’re lying,” I said.

  “Perhaps I do have a vested interest in events.”

  The small flecks of light shifted back to green as he spoke the truth. At least now I knew it was working on both of us and, if I got the information I wanted, I would kno
w he was telling the truth.

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, my dear, it is. Now what about—”

  I raised my hand, cutting him off before he could finish. “That’s not the way I work. You got information, and now it’s my turn.”

  “A tit for tat then, very good I’ll enjoy this.” He laughed, clapping his chubby hands together.

  “Nyla, where is she?”

  “I don’t know her location, but I do know where you can find two of her top followers. I doubt they would stray very far from her worshipfulness. They were spotted in The Burning Expanse just last evening.”

  “That’s a large dimension. Where exactly?”

  “Tut, tut, my turn, dear.”

  “Fine, ask your question.”

  “I’ve heard about Nyla wanting to find you and your rather special situation.” He leaned in, his eyes opening wider and his thick fingers trembling slightly. “I’ve heard she even paid someone to create a device to remove it from you.”

  “So,” I said.

  “Is it true?”

  My hand nearly slipped down over my pocket to check and make sure I still had the device he was asking about. But I caught myself in time and remained still. I didn’t need to give away that I had it on me.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Where is it?” The words tumbled out of his mouth.

  “Not your turn, its mine.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, dear. Please ask away.”

  “Where exactly in the Burning Expanse are her people located?”

  “The Gravity Well Pub and from what my little ears heard. They weren’t in any condition to leave, so they are most likely still there.”

  “Thank you, that’s all I need.” I leaned forward in my chair with smile.

  “I can of course provide you with the exact location. You wouldn’t want to spend more time than necessary searching there. It would go badly for you if your Artifact became too much to contain.”

  I shuddered at his words, the image of Merric standing over me running through my mind. My body tingled at the thought of him and his power.

  “Something wrong, dear?” Greenstreet watched me like a hawk who spies a mouse.