by Jayne Faith
“You didn’t think I’d leave you by your lonesome, did you, sugar?” His lips moved at my ear, and even though he barely mouthed them loud enough for me to hear his words, I could tell he was smiling. “I had a hunch you would try to find a way to go after the killer.”
“But how did you know where I—”
His hand pressed over my mouth, silencing me just before a Supernatural Crimes cruiser rolled slowly past.
I grasped his wrist and pulled it away.
“My monitor,” I said urgently, my teeth starting to chatter. “Damien thought he froze it, but maybe it didn’t work. If they figure out I was at yet another suspicious scene, I’m screwed.”
“If they were tracking you by the device, they’d already be on top of us.”
“Then why did they show up at Deb’s while I was there?” I squinted through the thick hedge. Was that the sound of another car approaching?
“Neighbor probably called it in,” he said. “That’s why I came. Supernatural Crimes sends me alerts on my phone. When I realized it was Deb’s house, I headed straight here.”
I peered at him, trying to read his face, but it was too dark. How would Johnny have recognized Deb’s address? Surely he’d never been to her house before. They only knew each other through me, and it was barely more than a casual acquaintance. And his explanation didn’t account for how he found me crouched behind a minivan blocks away from Deb’s house.
“I like you as a blond,” he said, again with the smile in his voice.
I snorted a laugh and shifted so I could pull Deb’s bag of salt from my pants pocket. I loosened the drawstring and poured some into my hand.
“Eh, I don’t think it suits me,” I said, sprinkling the salt over my head and whispering the words Damien had told me would reverse the obfuscation spell. I used my fingers to comb the grains through my hair.
A warm shiver of dissolving magic passed over my scalp. I lifted a strand and held it up close to my eyes. Satisfied that my hair had returned to its natural color, I brushed off my hands and stuffed the tiny sack back into my jeans.
We both went still as another car passed—an SUV this time.
After a few minutes Johnny pulled his phone out and checked something.
“I think we can make our move,” he said.
We crawled out from behind the hedge, and I shivered as I stood next to him in the deep shadows between two houses. My adrenaline had long ago subsided, and my body dragged with the beginnings of magical exhaustion, which I hadn’t noticed in my efforts to escape Supernatural Crimes and another possible showdown with Detective Barnes.
“I parked two streets over,” he said. He took off his jacket and threw it over my shoulders.
Taking my hand, he led me through the quiet neighborhood to his Mustang. Once I was settled in the passenger seat, I texted Deb and Damien to let them know I was okay and headed back home.
The ride was quiet as I sank into my thoughts, replaying what had happened. Atriul. That’s what he’d said his name was. He’d insisted he wasn’t a killer. I had no concrete reason to believe him, but I felt an uncanny certainty that he was telling the truth.
Back at home, Deb and Damien came to the door along with Loki, greeting me with anxious expectant looks. Damien’s expression shifted to surprise when he caught sight of Johnny behind me.
“I’m fine,” I said. Deb grasped both my hands and pulled me into the middle of the living room, looking me up and down as if not quite convinced I was unharmed. She eyed her pink t-shirt, which exposed an inch or two of my midriff. The shirt was singed on the shoulder where Atriul’s magic had nicked me and torn in a couple of other places. “I’m sorry about your shirt. And I had to make a quick exit and leave your car there.”
I went to the sofa, sinking gratefully onto the soft seat, and started giving them an account of what happened.
“Wait,” Johnny interrupted. “You didn’t tell me you actually confronted the guy.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t really have a chance to tell stories while we were hiding from Supernatural Crimes in the bushes.”
His jaw muscles flexed as if he wanted to argue, but he let me continue.
“Does the name Atriul mean anything to any of you?” I asked. “That’s what he said his name was. And he was pretty insistent about not being a witch-killer.”
“I’ll look into the name,” Damien said. His blue eyes unfocused as if he’d already begun his research in his head.
“Of course he wouldn’t confess,” Johnny said. “People who commit crimes rarely do.”
My gaze slipped off to the side as I mentally replayed my exchange with Atriul again.
“He said he didn’t care about witches,” I said quietly. “He said he was there for me.”
When no one responded after a moment, I brought my focus back to the room to gauge their reactions. Damien’s eyes were still thoughtful. Lines of concern etched across Deb’s forehead. Johnny looked kind of pissed, his brows drawn low and his expressive mouth pinched.
“You don’t believe him, do you?” Johnny asked with thinly disguised incredulity.
“I don’t know. But I’m not ruling out the possibility that he’s telling the truth.”
He glanced down at his phone in his hand. “I need to take off, but I should do another scan first.”
I nodded, and he rose and went out to his car to get his scanner.
Deb scooted closer to me. “What’s eating him?” she whispered.
I lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “He didn’t want me to go out looking for the killer in the first place. Maybe he’s just irritated that I did it anyway.”
“Maybe,” she said.
Johnny came back inside holding his tablet, and I got up and led him into the kitchen. I would tell Damien and Deb the results but didn’t want an audience for the scan. Johnny’s face was unreadable as he held up the device and aimed it at me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“It’s eaten more of my soul, hasn’t it?” I said flatly, ignoring his question.
His dark eyes softened into intent worry and focused on me. “Another couple of percent.”
“Well, shit.”
“No solutions yet from your friend?”
I raked my fingers through my hair, and a few grains of salt rained softly onto the floor. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk to her. I got distracted by the murder.”
“I’d get in touch.” He started fitting the tablet into a protective rubber sleeve.
I propped my hands low on my hips, watching him. “Why does it tick you off so much that I might believe the guy—Atriul?”
Johnny’s face briefly tightened before he could smooth his expression. He gave an exasperated sigh. “You just keep taking these risks, one after the other, doing things that put you in serious danger.”
“None of them are going to kill me, though.” I gave a short, humorless laugh. “The reaper isn’t going to let me die by someone else’s hand.”
“You don’t know that for sure. But in the meantime you’re acting like you’re indestructible.”
“I’m acting like I don’t want my friends to die,” I shot back. Irritation prickled through me, but I didn’t really have enough energy to get riled up, which only annoyed me more.
With a swift movement, Johnny stepped into my space and slid his hand up the side of my neck until the tips of his fingers tangled into my hair. The pressure of his palm along my jaw tipped my face up, and our eyes locked for a moment before he covered my mouth with his. The kiss was warm and lingering, and I let myself sink into it.
He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “I just wish you’d stop taking chances. Just do what I say, would you?” he said with a low laugh.
I couldn’t help a smile. “Good luck with that.”
“I gotta go.” He drew away from me reluctantly. “Call your witch friend.”
“I will.” I followed him to the door.
He
turned and planted another kiss on my lips. “And call me if anything else happens.”
“Bye, Johnny,” Deb called from the sofa.
He waved at her and Damien and left.
“I need to remove my spell from your ankle monitor,” Damien said, suppressing a yawn.
I sat down on the sofa and put my foot up on the table.
“Do you mind staying here with us tonight?” I asked. It wasn’t for my own benefit. I wanted as much protection as possible for Deb.
“I was planning on it,” he said, his voice already distracted as he began to focus.
I pulled out my phone and quietly started typing a text to Deb. She was sitting on the leather chair only a couple of feet away, but I didn’t want to mess up Damien’s concentration.
I’m starting to think Johnny is pissed because I won’t let him push me around.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her tap a response. From what you’ve told me, he doesn’t tend to spend much time on any one woman. This is probably all new for him. What did the scan say?
I suppressed a little sigh. Could you call Jennifer for me? If she has anything at all, we probably need to try it.
Deb glanced at me and nodded, her lips forming a thin line, and then went into my bedroom and shut the door. A moment later, I heard the low murmur of her voice.
Loki hopped up onto the sofa and curled up with his rump pressing against my thigh. I absently petted his back and watched Damien. Just as my mind began to drift back to my encounter with Atriul again, a dark tingle deep in my brain told me a minor demon was nearby.
In the blink of an eye, Loki went from heavy-lidded dozing to head up and ears perked. A feline howl and a clatter from the back of the house told me the gargoyle that often roosted in my yard had probably just learned of the visitor, too. Loki jumped down and trotted into the kitchen. I itched to follow him, but Damien wasn’t done yet.
Trying not to squirm, I silently willed him to magic faster so I could go investigate, but he was still deep in a trance. In spite of Loki’s yips at the window and the gargoyle’s yowls outside, the demon stayed. Pulling within, I focused on the point of connection between me and the demon and followed it to the pulsing center at the other end—the creature’s consciousness. Forcing past the stomach-turning sensation that accompanied this mental proximity to a demon’s mind, I gently pushed inside.
Linking my own mind with that of a Rip spawn was like entering a tight underground cavern filled with cobwebs and the touch of creeping unseen creatures. Everything inside me strained to run the other way, and every time I emerged I seemed to carry a thicker film of demon-darkness that settled in my brain and around my heart. It seemed to act as a mental lubricant, making it easier each time to link my mind with a demon’s. It wasn’t something I cared to dwell on.
I knew right away it wasn’t my demon, but it seemed to expect me and willingly presented the image of Atriul. My breath caught in my throat. He was standing outside somewhere. It was dark, but I could see hills in the background. The image lurched and swung around, showing city lights filling the valley below and stretching into the distance. It turned again with a nauseating swing. The demon was looking back at Atriul, and I recognized the spot where he stood. It was Tablerock, a small mesa in the foothills that provided a spectacular view of the city, with glimpses of the Boise River winding through the trees.
The demon replayed its flight from Tablerock to my yard. It perched in a bough that hung over my fence and angled its head down, giving me a view of the ground. A bundle dropped to the ground below.
The demon had brought something from Atriul.
Damien took a deep breath, snapping my focus back into my living room. He pushed up to his feet.
“Okay, I think I’ve put it back the way I found it,” he said.
I stood and squeezed his forearm. “You’re a miracle worker. I’m going to go check on that racket in the back yard.”
“Be careful,” he said and followed a few steps behind.
I opened the door, and Loki bounded out ahead of me to antagonize the gargoyle. The shy creature turned to stone, quickly putting an end to my dog’s attempt to play with her.
I crossed the small cement slab of a patio and then the swath of grass. A glance up told me what my senses already knew, that the demon still perched above. Perhaps waiting to see what I’d do so it could report back to Atriul? Or maybe he was in the demon’s mind, watching in real time.
I squatted and reached for the pale bundle, picked it up, and turned it over in my hands.
It was the net I’d used on him. He must have returned to Deb’s house for it.
Something crinkled in the middle. I unfurled it to find a folded piece of paper.
Chapter 10
EVEN IN THE semi-dark, I recognized a sheet from the fat pad of paper that Deb kept on her kitchen counter. Cream background adorned with a frame of intertwining vines and delicate little flowers. The handwriting looked hurried.
I didn’t kill anyone, and I mean you no harm. Meet me tomorrow night at midnight. Come alone and unarmed—I’ll have eyes on you. I can help you, but if you attack me again, you’re on your own.
Attack him again? He’d tried to slice me in half with a chunk of blood magic. I’d only been defending myself.
I read the note again. What help was he offering, exactly? My heart jumped to the possibility that he knew something about my brother Evan’s location, but I knew that was unlikely. Maybe Atriul recognized the reaper soul I carried, and as I’d hoped, he could tell me how to keep it from killing me. Or perhaps, as he’d claimed multiple times, he wasn’t the witch killer. Maybe he knew who it was.
I folded the piece of paper and tucked it into the seat pocket of my jeans. The demon still perched above. I moved back a couple of steps, tipped my gaze up until I found it, and gave it a single nod.
Inside, I shoved the net into a cabinet in the kitchen. If Damien saw it, he’d ask questions, and I was a shitty liar. If I told him about the note, there was no way he’d let me go alone to meet Atriul. And I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way. Despite Johnny’s distrust of Atriul’s claims and the fact that he’d tried to zap me with maroon magic at Deb’s, a part of me believed he wasn’t responsible for Amanda’s death. Or maybe I just wanted to think he was one of the good guys—or at least not one of the really bad guys—because . . . why? We had something in common? Because I hoped he was the key to saving my life? Regardless of the answer, I knew I had to meet up with him.
I tried to relax my face into a neutral expression before continuing to the living room. I found Damien bent over his notebook.
“It took off, huh?” he asked distractedly.
“Uh, yeah. I didn’t think it was worth trying to kill it,” I said.
There was something about minor demons I’d noticed since I’d gained enough necromancy skill to probe into their minds—something I didn’t particularly want to acknowledge. But there was no denying it. Minor demons weren’t all alike. Some seemed craftier than others, more interested in living among humans than just causing trouble.
Deb straightened when she saw me.
“Jennifer said she and Lynnette have been working up a couple of spells,” she said. “But with no way to test them, and not having any experience with how magic affects a double soul situation, let alone what it might trigger, they’re hesitant to have you try them. For all they know it could accelerate the process. They’ve been distracted lately, obviously, but Jen said she intended to re-focus her efforts. I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”
I nodded, trying not to let my disappointment show.
“I’ve set several wards around the house. I tried some different things, but based on what Deb told me, they may not work with the killer,” Damien said.
His face was pale and drawn, and I realized he was magically tapped out after the work he’d done on my ankle monitor, the charm he’d made, the enhancement to the net I’d launched at Atriul, and
the wards he’d put up.
I gestured at my dog. “Loki might be our best bet at an alarm system tonight,” I said. He thumped his tail at the sound of his name.
It was nearing midnight, and all of us had work the next morning. Damien crashed with a blanket and pillow on the sofa, and Deb and I settled in my bed.
I fell asleep easily but some unknown time later opened my eyes. I wasn’t sure if a sound had awakened me or something in my dream. With a glance at Deb’s slumbering form, I sat up and swung my feet to the floor. I paused, holding my breath and listening.
After several silent seconds passed, I stood. I might as well check the house since I was awake. I made it a few steps out of my bedroom when a sharp ping in my mind signaled a presence. I froze mid-step and then whirled and sped back to my room to snatch my whip from the top of the dresser.
The pulse of the reaper’s awareness in the center of my forehead kicked up along with my own heartbeat. My right eye shifted to necro-vision but revealed nothing of interest in my dark living room.
“Damien?” I whispered.
Loki came to stand beside me, his eyes two dull points of orange. A soft growl rumbled low in his throat. He took a few steps toward the kitchen and growled louder.
My awareness pinged again, and this time I recognized the dark presence but not the usual Rip spawn. It was something large. Sharp-minded.
I hurried toward the kitchen, unfurling my whip as I went. I almost reached for earth magic but instead pulled at my newly discovered maroon power, and the sickening sensation of its dark magic filled me in a nauseous rush. It tingled down my arm and into the whip, which sent little reverberations back at me.
Maybe I should have been more afraid, but since I’d died, demons wouldn’t come near enough to harm me. Even the arch-demons kept their distance. I snapped the deadbolt back, opened the back door, and stepped down to the freezing-cold patio in my bare feet. I pulled the door closed so Loki couldn’t follow me out.