Come Hell or High Water

by Michele Bardsley

  Oh. Well, that cleared things right up.

  “The prophecy?” I asked wearily. Always the prophecy.

  “We got word that the most recent victims included the last-known Family Durga women,” said Patsy. “It’s no coincidence Connor made his move on you. He knew what we did.”

  Connor didn’t turn away from my gaze. I could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, the only sign of emotion he allowed.

  “And if I’d said no?” I asked. My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. I couldn’t cry, thank God; otherwise, I might not be able to hold back tears.

  That would’ve been the end of it, the end of everything. The words ghosted through my mind, and I stared at Connor.

  More was going on here than anyone was telling me. And it seemed as though the council preferred that I stay as much in the dark as possible. At least Connor had answered my questions.

  “You need me to activate the talisman.” It had been Durga’s medallion. All the vampire magic went into it to seal Lilith in hell, but I was the conduit.

  That’s right, lass.

  I may still be mad at you.

  O’ course.

  If I thought the silence and the tension had been bad before, they were nothing compared to now. It was like someone had suddenly filled the entire room with Jell-O. It felt thick and slimy and unbreathable. (If, you know, I breathed.)

  “Your Highness.” Impatience tinged Nicor’s respectful tone. “It is imperative we take over this situation. You do not understand the danger Lilith represents.”

  “Nicor, no offense, but we’ve dealt with a few dangerous situations over the years. Trust me when I say we can handle damn near anything.”

  “I disagree.” He stepped forward and his two companions straightened. I had the distinct impression that the three of them would take Connor, and maybe even me, by force.

  Patsy must’ve thought the same thing. “Why don’t you go away and let the grown-ups talk?” She pointed at them and they all three disappeared at once.

  Wow. Patsy had learned some new tricks – like how to teleport vampires with a freaking thought and a flick of her finger. I wondered if she sent them to the prison, which was located in the basement of her mansion. There hadn’t really been a reason to build a new prison, especially since that one was state-of-the-art and parakind-proof.

  “Let’s stop messing around,” said Patsy.

  A door opened at the far end of the chamber. It was the goddess Brigid. She looked pale and haggard; even her swirling tattoos, her healing magic, looked dim. She’d probably zapped herself to the compound.

  Patsy shot me a sympathetic look. “We’re gonna take a break.”

  “Astria?” I asked with an ache in my voice.

  She nodded.

  “Connor is her friend, too.” I grabbed his manacles and shook them. “Take these off. He’s not gonna flee Broken Heart or take anyone to hell. Damn it, he’s my mate.”

  “Remove them, Faustus,” said Patsy. “Then take Phoebe and Connor to the hospital.”

  ———

  When we arrived in the hallway outside of Astria’s room, Anise, Ren, and Larsa were already there. I noticed none of them had been put into magical manacles, and I resented it.

  “I like your town,” said Larsa. “Think I’ll stay a while.”

  I smiled. Then I asked Anise, “How did the family reunion go?”

  She was crying, and Ren held her close, his own eyes red rimmed. “It’s good,” she said. “But this…” She gazed at the shut door. “This is not. Ma fleur.”

  “Stay strong,” whispered Ren. “For Astria.”

  They filed in one by one, and I made sure I was the last. Brigid leaned against the wall, her bright green eyes on mine. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But nothing I’ve done helps. Prolonged her life a little.”

  “If you tell me the gods mean for her to die, I’ll scream,” I said.

  “It’s an unfortunate gift to know when you’ll die,” she said. “I have no words for you, Phoebe.”

  I tapped the ring. “I have a wish,” I said. “Can I wish her to life? Or give her immortality?”

  “Wishes are tricky things,” she said. “Maybe she gets another two minutes or another two decades, or maybe she turns into petrified wood – which renders her immortal.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Can you get me Ruadan?”

  “Yes.” She straightened from the wall and considered me. “What are you thinking, Phoebe?”

  “That Astria has to die,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean she has to stay dead.”

  She smiled. “I’ll get my son.”

  When I entered the room, everyone else drew away from the bed. It appeared they had said their good-byes. I was glad to see Anise had held up well, though she still leaned on her brother for support.

  I walked to Astria. She looked so pale, as though the blood had given up arterial flow. Maybe it had. I read somewhere once that everyone technically died from heart failure… no matter the initial cause of death, the heart stopping was what killed.

  And Astria’s heart would stop. Her breathing was slow and her eyes glazed over. Soon, she would fall asleep. Snow White ready for her glass coffin.

  “I appreciate that you tried,” she whispered.

  I reached down and took her hand. “The wish would be a problem. But you knew that.”

  “You must save it,” she said.

  “Astria, do you want to live?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes.”

  “I can Turn you.”

  “A vampire?” She smiled. “Like you?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Another will Turn you, Astria. But you would still be mine.”

  “What is this?” asked Anise. “What do you promise her?”

  Ruadan stepped into the room, his silvery gaze going from Astria to me. “You wanted me, Phoebe?”

  “Please leave,” I said to everyone.

  Connor stopped to kiss me. Then he whispered, “You’re amazin’. Save our girl now.”

  Everyone else left, all casting glances at us.

  “Please Turn her,” I said to Ruadan.

  “Never Turned a prophet before,” he said.

  “And she’s under the age of consent.”

  “You’re Ruadan the First,” I mocked. “Who will dispute your decisions?”

  He grinned. “True. All right, then, Phoebe, my love. I’ll Turn her.”

  Chapter 25

  Ruadan insisted that I leave. He said the process was complicated and messy, and he’d be able to concentrate better without an audience.

  Connor waited for me in the hallway. The others were there, too. “He’s Turning her,” I said.

  “So, she dies as she must,” said Anise. “But she comes back!”

  “Yep.”

  She leaned forward and kissed both my cheeks. “Magnifique, Phoebe!”

  ———

  The meeting reconvened in the council chambers, but this time without the hunters, nor with Connor enchained.

  Connor admitted that he’d hidden the talisman at Jennifer’s, a place no one could randomly find or get to without an invitation. We agreed to retrieve the gold medallion. And since dawn was approaching, the ceremony would not take place until the next evening.

  I wish we could’ve gotten it done right away, because Lilith was certainly skulking around. We’d disbanded her cult, so it was unlikely she’d be able to create a new portal in time to prevent us from doing the binding spell.

  Though she could possibly burst through the veil anyway, since its magic had been weakening.

  We arrived at Jennifer’s. Both she and Scrymgeour were happy to see us. Connor said he’d sent the dog to his sister’s place before we went to the museum. Good thing, too.

  I took a shower and crawled into the big, fluffy bed naked. I was bone-deep weary. I happily collapsed next to Connor and fell asleep.

  ———

  I had just finished my pint (à la Con
nor) when my cell phone rang.

  “You get cell reception here?” I asked, amazed. Caller ID said it was Damian.

  “The hunters and I were outside the Invisi-shield,” said Damian without preamble, “checking the weak points and reinforcing the new magic.”

  “Demonproofing it,” I said.

  “Ja. But someone got inside and… You must come see, Phoebe.”

  “Is someone watching over Jackson and Danny?” I asked.

  “Ja, Liebling. See you in a few.”

  “Lilith’s pulled another trick,” I said.

  “Let’s go, then.” Connor kissed me, and I realized I’d gotten used to his affection and his support. I knew I could count on him, which startled the hell out of me.

  “You have the talisman?”

  He patted his pocket and smiled.

  We decided to assess the damage in town and figure out the message Lilith was trying to send – other than the obvious, I-can-torment-you-anytime-I-choose memo. I wanted to pick up my weapons, which I’d stowed at my house, too. Lilith was erratic and crazy, although that didn’t seem to affect her ability to plot and torture. Something bigger was going on here, and I couldn’t help but feel we were just a small part of it.

  I had been considering other issues, too, mainly the fact that Jennifer, as a full demon, didn’t have the advantages of her half-breed brother. No real conscience or soul. And yet she was trying to be good. She loved Connor, too. I wanted to help her.

  Before we left for Broken Heart, I made one last phone call.

  ———

  Only Damian and Nicor met us at the edge of town. Pith and Berith had been inside when whatever happened… happened. They’d already been inside once, assessing the situation.

  “Patsy’s house,” said Damian.

  Nicor took hold of the werewolf, and Connor wrapped his arms around me… then, pop.

  When we appeared in a darkened room, I lurched sideways. Connor steadied me until the dizziness passed. Damian prowled around the area, his gaze trying to penetrate the gloom. It was rather a thick darkness even for us vampires and werewolves.

  A light speared the blackness and we turned toward the source. Nicor. He looked at us, his eyebrows winging upward as he wielded a flashlight.

  I think I was getting too used to the paranormal world. A flashlight seemed really mundane.

  “Wait,” said Connor. “What was that?”

  “Why is it so damned cold?” I asked. It was like walking into a freezer.

  Nicor’s light bounced around, hitting walls with their wolf-inspired art, then the marble fire-place, and one of the formal couches. We were definitely in the main living room of the Silverstone mansion.

  The beam danced back and then stopped.

  Holy. Shit.

  “Is that…” I trailed off as I watched Damian stride forward, Nicor’s flashlight steadily revealing what couldn’t be true.

  “It’s Patsy, all right.” He put his hand against one blue-tinged cheek. “And she’s made of ice.”

  Patsy shone bluish white, as though she’d been carved from a glacier. She stood in the main living room, facing the double doors, arms raised as if she were about to use one of her powers. Whatever she’d been about to do, it either didn’t happen or didn’t work.

  “Everyone else in town is like this?” I asked.

  Damian nodded.

  Connor walked around frozen Patsy and prodded her back. “How did Lilith manage this?” he muttered. He glanced at me. “Only the person who cast the spell can undo it.”

  Or a wish could undo it.

  “It’s a lot of magic. How did she – “ His eyes went wide. “The Invisi-shield. Clever bitch.”

  I followed his line of thinking. “She used the shield to distribute the spell.”

  He nodded. “In theory.”

  “Theory is all we’ve got at this point.” I looked at Patsy, and felt bad we couldn’t help her. “There’s nothing we can do here. Let’s go to the compound and make some sort of plan.”

  “Why didn’t she kill them?” asked Damian. “Then it’s done.”

  “It’s gotta be because she can’t. Not enough power, or maybe Patsy’s just too strong to off,” I said. “I need to get my weapons. Then we’ll meet back at the Consortium headquarters.”

  “I’ll take you, lass.”

  I closed my eyes and my stomach twisted, and then the world spun.

  It seemed like forever. Or maybe it was just a nanosecond.

  Connor said, “We’re here.”

  I opened my eyes and clutched his hands until I felt steady enough. At least no miasma of darkness coated my house.

  The porch light was on, but the rest of the house was dark. After all I’d been through, you’d think going into my own home wouldn’t have given me the willies. Apprehension shivered through me, and I felt Connor’s arm draw around my shoulder.

  “I’ll meet you at the Consortium headquarters.”

  “I dinnae want to leave you.”

  “I know.” I kissed him. “Please, Connor. Just a few minutes to myself. Then we’ll go kick Lilith’s ass.”

  “Twenty minutes,” he said. “If you’re not at the compound then, I’m comin’ back for you.”

  “Deal.”

  He kissed me again, and I waited until he’d popped out of sight before I hurried into the house.

  “Hey,” I said as I flipped on the living room light. “You here?”

  “Yeah.”

  I turned and saw the woman enter from the kitchen. She was dressed in tight black pants and pink boots, which matched her pink jacket. Her inky black hair was cut short, spiked on top, and her light gray eyes were the most unusual I’d ever seen. Diamond gaze – that was what she’d called it once.

  “Ash,” I said.

  The soul shifter.

  Chapter 26

  I changed into more suitable clothes – black jeans, black tank, and my ankle boots. I loaded up my Glock, got extra rounds tucked into my pockets, and hid my knives in my boots and the specially cut jeans.

  “It’s not a fucking trout,” Ash said as she watched me strap on the Glock’s holster. “You can’t just fillet a soul.”

  “Unless it’s halved for you.” I sent her a significant look.

  She shrugged.

  Ash was the only one of her kind, a creature that could capture supernatural souls and their forms (you know, the ones who’d once owned the souls), and sorta eat them. She could access a soul’s powers by “becoming” the soul itself. It was a painful process, nearly as painful as absorbing the souls.

  Ash was dangerous, especially since she had to take a soul every ninety days or die. It was one of the reasons her kind had been hunted to extinction. It was amazing she was even around, because she scared the hell out of nearly everyone.

  Including me. But we’d become friends – well, as much as Ash allowed friendship. She often came to the diner during her infrequent visits to town. I got the feeling she was lonely, though I would never accuse her of it.

  “Libby told me you can’t even access it because you didn’t take the form, too.”

  “She would’ve never forgiven me if I’d sucked her husband into my well of souls.”

  I stopped fussing with my Glock. “Will my idea work?”

  “I usually imbibe souls whole. You know, like sushi.”

  “Nice visual.” With all my weaponry in place, I took the time to rebraid my hair. “What about the ones you don’t want?”

  “If the ninety days are up, it doesn’t matter.” She grimaced. “I’ve got a few I don’t even access. Too skeevy.”

  “I can’t imagine how horrible that must be.”

  She shrugged. “I was born a soul shifter. I can’t change that.”

  “Still sucks.”

  She tossed me a careless grin. “I like you, Phoebe.”

  “You don’t like anyone. And you don’t do favors.”

  One eyebrow lifted insolently. “You’ve been talkin
g to Libby. She likes to think I’m a heartless hard-ass.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Yeah,” she admitted. Then she grinned again. “But at least I’m not soulless.”

  ———

  Without Connor and his insta-’port, I had to drive Sally to the compound. I went to the Consortium headquarters and parked in front of the big white building. I went around the side, to the stairs that led to the underground facility.

  Accessing the door meant smearing blood over the lock, and the spell – which would allow only Broken Heart citizens to enter – snicked open. Connor came out of a door down the long hallway, a conference room, if I remembered correctly. He hugged me.

  “I’m not even late!”

  “I know,” he said into my hair. “But it still feels like years.”

  Connor loved me.

  It was as simple, and as complicated, as that.

  He led me to the door that he’d exited and I followed, lost in thoughts and feelings that threatened to overwhelm me. I needed to keep a clear head.

  We entered the room and I stopped.

  Oh, my God.

  “Damian and Nicor collected them,” said Connor quietly. “They wanted to make sure the children stayed safe.”

  It was like a museum display: Broken Heart Children Rendered in Arctic Ice.

  Patsy’s son Wilson in motion, hand out as though dribbling a basketball.

  Tamara and Durriken, fingers touching as they gazed at each other.

  Patsy and Gabriel’s triplets tucked into their cribs, crystalline in sleep.

  Glory, face looking up, eyes wide, tears forever glittering on gelid cheeks.

  I drifted into the room, horrified. Terrible beauty. I’d heard that once, I think from Eva. I thought it was an odd description, but now I understood. Here was terrible beauty.

  I sat down heavily in a chair that had been pushed against the wall. “Holy crap.”

  Danny could’ve been here, I realized. He could’ve been an icy statue along with the rest. I wondered if Broken Heart would ever be safe. I thought about Ella, about her being snatched off the street and taped to a table so a crazy woman could sacrifice her.

  Nowhere was safe, I reminded myself. Who better to protect the children of Broken Heart than the wolves, the vampires, the fairies, the dragons? The police didn’t have anything on us. We were a lot scarier.