Dangerous Creatures

by Margaret Stohl Kami Garcia

  “Shut up!” Ridley shouted.

  “Therefore sail on, and stop your comrades’ ears with sweet wax, kneaded soft, so none may hear.”

  “I’m not like that.” Tears prickled Ridley’s eyes.

  Nox looked up at her. “But Odysseus was only a man, and we all know how that ends. Just ask Homer.”

  “You don’t have to quote The Odyssey to me. I’m not going to destroy you. I’m not a monster,” Ridley said.

  Nox stared back at her, his expression unreadable.

  “No. I don’t think you are. But I am.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Some Kind of Monster

  A monster?” Ridley shrugged. She couldn’t take her eyes off Abraham Ravenwood’s face in the picture frame. “Like father, like son, I guess.” She wasn’t cutting Lennox Gates any slack. Not after he’d sprung something like this on her. No wonder I never trust anyone.

  “Don’t say that!” Nox was furious. He pulled the picture from the wall, throwing it to the ground. Shattered glass flew everywhere. “I told you. He’s not my father.”

  “Right. And because you’ve proven yourself to be so trustworthy, Nox, I’ll just take your word for that.”

  Nox walked to the window and stared out at the Manhattan skyline. “There isn’t a Caster category for what I am. I can’t just check the Siren box on some Underground passport.”

  “Why not? You’ve been as manipulative as any Siren. You’re Siren-born, no matter who your father is. And aren’t you the one behind the Power of Persuasion at Sirene?”

  “Ridley.” He was pacing.

  “Come on, Nox. Let’s at least be honest with each other now.”

  Now that we have nothing left to lose, Ridley thought. Now that I know you’re in league with Abraham Ravenwood.

  She kept going. “Aren’t you the reason Sirensong is doing so well, bringing in all the crowds, all the fans?”

  Nox shrugged. “It’s the name of the band. That should have been your first clue.”

  “How did you do it? A drink? Was it in the Nectar of the Gods?” It wasn’t unthinkable.

  He shook his head.

  “No Siren can affect that many people that strongly all at once. The ventilation system? Amplified by some kind of Cast?” She’d heard of such a thing.

  “No.”

  Ridley twisted a strand of blond hair around her finger. “Come on. It’s tricks of the trade time. Tell me how you did it.”

  Nox was silent for a long time.

  “The music,” he said finally.

  “What?”

  “It’s Sampson’s guitar. It’s actually more of a lyre. It belonged to my mother. I tweaked a few things, and there you go. Instant success.”

  Ridley shook her head. “Well, I knew it wasn’t the lyrics. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Why else would you name your club after a Siren unless you were planning on working a little mojo?”

  “Trust me. The specifics aren’t important. In fact, the less you know about me, the safer you are.”

  “And the Turkish Delight? The disappearing club? How do you explain the rest of it?” How do you explain the way you make me feel sometimes? This war that is not a war? She wanted answers.

  “Liar’s Trade.” He looked at her. “What, you think yours are the only markers I have? What do you think happens to all those lost talents, favors, and powers?”

  “Of course. The TFPs. You’re a thief. All your power is stolen.” It was so clear now. She couldn’t believe she had missed it.

  “Not all of it. You know my mother was a Siren. My father—my real father—was a Seer. Their blood runs in my veins.”

  “If you say so,” Ridley said. She couldn’t help twisting the knife. Especially when the knife was Abraham Ravenwood.

  Nox stopped pacing. He was livid. “My family is my family. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, it was hell.”

  Ridley nodded. “I’m beginning to get that.”

  “Exactly. But you know what else it was? My own damn business.”

  Ridley stepped in front of him. “Nox, calm down. What’s going on? Why won’t you tell me? One minute you’re trying to scare me, and the next you’re treating me to a New York City dream day. You’re either a complete nutbag or a huge jerk.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Either way, I’d help you if you told me what was happening. I really would.”

  “No,” Nox said. “You’re in enough trouble already. You don’t need me to drag you into any more. It seems to find you on its own, the same way it finds me.” Nox looked more nervous than Ridley had ever seen him.

  “So we’re back to monsters again?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

  “You don’t know what it’s like. I’m Darker than you.” He shook his head. His voice was low and trembling. “When I think about what they wanted me to do to you…”

  “Stop it,” Ridley said. “You’re a lot of things, Nox, but a monster isn’t one of them. Trust me. I’ve seen my share.”

  “Like Abraham Ravenwood?” Nox asked. His tone was even darker now.

  “I won’t argue that one.”

  “He stole my father’s Sight and used it for his own Dark purposes. Until one day, my father saw his own death at my mother’s hand.”

  The man you hope is your father, Ridley thought.

  “He couldn’t handle it. He threw himself off a cliff in Barbados to keep the only woman he’d ever loved from having to live with that guilt.”

  “Nox.” She didn’t know what to say. He was every bit as broken as she was, just as she had suspected.

  Maybe even more.

  “I was raised by my grandparents, just like you. Abraham drove my mother to madness, and he made sure that my life was as pathetic as his twisted little Incubus science experiments.”

  Ridley knew all too well what Nox was saying. “No one has a run-in with Abraham Ravenwood without walking away with a scar.”

  Nox nodded. “Maybe that’s why I hate the sight of your hybrid Incubus boyfriend so much. I hate anything that reminds me of Abraham, or his labs.”

  Ridley reached for Nox’s hand. She couldn’t help it. He looked like a little boy, incapable of being consoled. “Not to state the obvious, but Abraham’s dead. I should know. I was there.”

  Nox remained glum. “So I’ve heard. Gardening shears, right?”

  Ridley nodded. “He took a pair through the heart. He’s as dead as a doornail.” She squeezed his hand. “What is it that you’re not telling me, Nox?”

  “I’ve been trying to tell you.” He looked away. “The complicated side of the story.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Little Siren,” Nox said, “I’d give anything in the world to have met you some other way.”

  “I know.” She held his hand even more tightly.

  He looked at her sadly. “And I would give more than that to change the nightmares that I see coming in your future.”

  Ridley’s heart beat faster. “What?”

  “You have to remember. Just because I saw it doesn’t mean there’s no hope.” He touched her cheek, suddenly tender.

  She pulled away from him. “Nox, what did you see?”

  “I saw our future. Mine, and yours.”

  “And?” She didn’t know if she wanted to hear anything more, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking.

  “And I’m saying there’s still got to be hope for both of us. And for this.” He leaned forward, as if he meant to kiss her.

  She held her breath, but it never happened.

  Because the Ripping sound came first.

  Then came the inevitable crash that followed when furniture met size thirteen Doc Martens.

  Wesley Lincoln, one-quarter Incubus and three-quarters heart, stepped out of the wall between the bedroom and the living room. He straightened a painting and pulled his foot out of a wastebasket, but aside from that, even Ridley had to admit his Traveling skills had seriously improved.

  H
is fighting skills, even more so.

  Link didn’t waste any time. He barreled right into Nox and pinned him against the wall.

  “I didn’t see that one coming,” Nox said, trying to shove him away.

  Link wouldn’t budge. “Tell me it’s him and not you, Rid,” he shouted, without taking his eyes off Nox.

  Ridley grabbed Link’s arm. “Stop it. What are you doing here?”

  “Apparently, trying to kick my ass,” Nox said.

  Link turned to look at her. “Someone deserves a beatdown, and I’m really hopin’ it’s him, because I’ve been waitin’ to pound him since the day we got here.”

  “Don’t hold back.” Nox closed his eyes. “Go ahead. Take your best shot.”

  Ridley tried to pull Link away. “Are you out of your mind?” She yanked as hard as she could, but Link still didn’t budge. “I’m sorry about what happened. I don’t know what I was thinking, but you can’t just come barging in here and threaten me—or him—like that.”

  “Actually, he can. And if he won’t, I will.” Floyd stepped into the center of the room, and her hands morphed into brass knuckles. “Illusionist-style. No Mortal rules. And none of that complicated conscience crap.”

  She held up her fists.

  Nox looked confused. “Take it easy, Fight Club. I’m not going to hurt either one of you.”

  Link glared. “No, you’re not. The hurt is only goin’ to go one way around here. Admit what you did, and maybe we can figure this out.”

  “What exactly am I admitting?” Nox asked.

  Link hesitated, looking from Nox to Ridley. “Necro’s bad. She may not ever come back.”

  “What?” Ridley felt her stomach begin to twist. “It’s that bad?”

  Link’s face darkened. “Sampson said it was a Siren who messed her up.”

  “Link,” Ridley began, shaking her head.

  “Don’t tell me it was you, Rid. Tell me he put you up to it.” Link’s eyes were wild and red. “Don’t tell me he used that house marker on you and had you hurt someone.”

  Nox and Floyd looked at him. Even Ridley looked surprised by the mention of her Suffer debt.

  She shook her head. “Nox? He didn’t put me up to anything.” She touched Link’s arm.

  “Really, Rid.” Link sounded desperate now. “Because I know you, right? You’d never actually hurt someone. You just wouldn’t.”

  Ridley didn’t know exactly what Link was talking about, but she was pretty sure it was about more than Necro being hurt.

  “Listen to me, Link. I didn’t do anything. Not to Necro or anyone else.”

  Floyd’s expression hardened.

  Link looked so relieved that Ridley thought he was going to hug her. “Good.” His voice wavered. “I believed in you. I stuck up for you.”

  “You did?”

  “I knew, deep down, all you were was a whole lotta big talk. You never mean to hurt anyone. You’re just one a those sea urchin kind a people. You’ve got spikes, all right, but that’s just because you’re scared a sharks. On the inside, you’re all soft.”

  “Or at least, a great home for tiny fish,” Floyd added, irritated. “Can we cut the heart-to-heart and get on with the beatdown part already?”

  Instead, Link looked from Nox to Ridley again. “If you didn’t do it, and he didn’t make you do it, then who did? Because Necro’s runnin’ outta time and if we don’t do somethin’, we’ll need a Necromancer to talk to her next.”

  “It wasn’t us,” Nox said. The word echoed between them.

  Us.

  Link looked from Nox to Ridley. “Is that right?”

  Slowly, Ridley nodded. “You know neither one of us would do anything to hurt Necro.” Or you, Link.

  Link shook his head, but he looked like he’d rather be shaking everything in the room. And maybe throwing it all, Ridley thought.

  “Really? You wouldn’t hurt her? ’Cause there’s a gash on her neck, and it’s bleedin’ black blood,” Link snapped. “You saw it. If neither one of you did it, why is she headed to the Otherworld?”

  “If Necro’s sick because of a cut on her neck, then it’s my fault.” Nox spoke softly, but they all heard him.

  Link growled. “What are you talking about?”

  “It happened when she was working for me.” Nox looked devastated.

  “She cut her neck playing the keyboard?” Ridley asked.

  Nox shook his head. “That’s not the only thing she does for me. She’s also my Necromancer. I never should have dragged her into this, but I need her.”

  “For what?” Link asked.

  “She’s the best Necromancer I know, and she has the strongest connection to the Ravenwoods I’ve ever seen.” Now it was Nox who couldn’t bring himself to look at Rid.

  “The Ravenwoods,” Ridley repeated, feeling ill. “Of course. Abraham.”

  This time it was Link’s turn to look sick. “Abraham? My Abraham?”

  Nox nodded, his head in his hands. “I had to do something for them, and I needed Necro so I could talk to Abraham Ravenwood about it.”

  “You’re his spy? Abraham Ravenwood’s errand boy? The man who ruined your family and killed your parents? You’re working for him?” Ridley was in disbelief. Nox was even more messed up than she’d realized.

  Nox didn’t answer.

  Ridley spat out the words. “And Necro knew?”

  “No,” Nox said, looking up. “She has no idea. She just wakes up, without a memory of it.”

  Link crossed his arms tightly. “What exactly did ole Grandpa Abraham want you to do?”

  Nox glared at him. “It’s not important now,” Nox said. “I didn’t do it.”

  Ridley looked incredulous. “How do we know that?”

  “Because if I had, you’d both be dead.”

  The room fell silent.

  Link spoke up first. “You’re a real hero, and I bet it’s an interestin’ story, but we don’t have time for your crap. Not now. Necro’s dyin’. Your boy Sampson is some kind a Darkborn mojo detector, and he said a Siren did this to her, and that person is the only one who can save her.”

  Nox sounded grim. “I didn’t cut her, but it’s my knife. It belonged to my mother. I lent it to Necro because I was worried that she couldn’t protect herself, given her gifts.”

  Floyd looked like she wanted to beat Nox to death. “You mean when she’s working for you? Here’s a thought—what about if you protected her?”

  Nox ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not that easy.”

  “But talking to the dead is?” Floyd snapped.

  Ridley was horrified. “No. You’re right. It’s better if she looks out for herself. Since according to you, she has no idea what’s going on.”

  “Necro entered into a contract with me. The only thing she asked was that I wipe anything from her mind. I used an Oblivio Cast.”

  “Why would she do that?” Floyd asked.

  “She was scared. Her powers were getting in the way of everything else in her life. When I met her, she could barely get out of bed or play her music. She didn’t want to live like that anymore, but Necromancers are valuable to the wrong kind of people. She knew if she started playing out in the open again, someone would find her eventually. So she came to me for protection.” Nox sounded resigned.

  “You’ve done a bang-up job so far,” Link said.

  Nox ignored him. “The knife is Charmed. It was designed to subdue out-of-control spirits from the Otherworld. I didn’t know it could hurt a living Caster, aside from the blade itself.”

  “Maybe you should’ve looked into that before you gave it to her,” Floyd snarled

  “I saw her cut herself,” Nox said. “I didn’t know she would get sick from it. You have to believe me. I’d never hurt Necro. She’s the closest thing I have to a friend.”

  Had, Ridley thought. Unless we can help her. She held up her hand. “Wait, you saw her cut herself? And you didn’t do anything?”

  Nox sighed. “She d
idn’t do it herself, not strictly speaking.”

  “Then who did it?”

  “Abraham Ravenwood.”

  “Of course he did.” Link punched his fist through the wall, sending a spray of plaster dust into the air around him. “ ’Cause things weren’t bad enough already.”

  He grabbed Nox by the collar of his shirt, and Floyd by the hand. “It’s time to make this right. Grab on to someone, Ridley.”

  Link didn’t have to say the obvious. It wasn’t Ridley’s hand he was holding now.

  CHAPTER 31

  Flash of the Blade

  It didn’t take long for Nox to strip the Charm from Necro’s blade. Once he did, all they could do was wait and see if the wound would heal. Even Sampson stopped making his grim predictions about Necro’s fate.

  Still, nobody knew what would happen now.

  The waiting part was the hardest.

  Ridley stared at a poster of Sid Vicious. She moved down the wall to Johnny Rotten, then Social Distortion. X. Black Flag. Dead Kennedys. She didn’t know much about punk rock, but she was guessing she was looking at the hall of fame.

  “The Necros? It’s a band?” She lingered over another ancient punk poster. “Is that where she got her name?”

  Floyd nodded. “Nec’s from Toledo, Ohio. So was the band. I think she felt like it was meant to be.” She smiled. “Kind of like Link Floyd.”

  “You start that again, Supertramp. I dare you.” Rid glared.

  Link cut them off. “Speakin’ a Necro, how much longer you think we gotta wait?” He sounded worried. He’d been like that ever since Nox had undone the Cast.

  “The real question is, how many places can a person stick a safety pin?” Rid shook her head, touching the Social D poster. Then next to it, Dead Kennedys. Every single face she could see looked like they should be in Necro’s family, or at least her band. Half of them were even more pierced than she was.

  Floyd looked at Rid. “Nec loves Dead Kennedys. She says they’re her tribe.”

  Ridley raised an eyebrow. “Necro has a tribe?”

  “Sure she does. She has us,” Floyd said.

  “You guys must be pretty close. I mean, to let her take over the walls like that.” Ridley fingered the edge of the X poster.