Soul Bite

by D. N. Erikson

  “Yeah?” It would be easy. Just one little bite…

  “Your fangs are out.”

  I shut my mouth quickly, nicking my lip on their razor-sharp edge. Blood flowed from the wound, tasting salty on my tongue.

  “I don’t think cats are even edible,” I said.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Nothing.” I wiped at my chin and refocused. Soon, I’d be out of time—which meant there was none to waste. “Claudette ran on an anti-corruption platform.”

  “I’m aware. I voted for her.”

  “You voted?”

  “Don’t look so surprised, E.” Sierra seemed mildly insulted.

  “Whatever. Not important.” I waved my hand, hitting the wall of the narrow house. “This Murphy thing will probably burn out. I mean, supernatural forces? Come on. The world doesn’t want to believe that. It wants a different story.”

  “Which is?”

  “Normal good and evil. Power hungry bureaucrats and sloppy oversight.”

  “That’s gonna take a lot of spin, E.”

  Khan murmured his agreement.

  “But the Feds have already done the hard work for us. They came in and torched a settlement of people with missiles and machine guns. People who rebuilt their lives after being destroyed by a terrible accident.”

  “So you think the media will bite on an excessive force angle.”

  “Video of a smoking crater plays a lot better on the news than whispered rumors of demons.”

  “Then what? The mayor gets on her soapbox, a couple people at the FBI get hung out to dry. And nothing changes.”

  “That’s where your lockpicking skills come in.” I took out the list of demonic agents. “You plant evidence at every one of these agents’ houses.”

  “You’re going to frame them.”

  “Framing them for milder crimes than the ones they’ve committed, yeah.”

  “But they won’t be dead.” Sierra dug her fingers into Khan’s neck too hard, and the cat mewed with displeasure.

  And, for some reason, he hissed at me.

  Just because.

  “But they’ll sure as hell be removed from law enforcement.”

  “Punishment!” Miesha’s head snapped up, her wild black hair spilling over her eyes. “There must be punishment for betrayal.”

  I tried to dodge the issue. “They’ll be punished. By jail.”

  “And it’s going to shatter the FBI’s credibility on the island,” Sierra added.

  “Not enough.” Miesha beat her hands against the pillows. “The demons must die.”

  “There are plenty of regular demons walking around, anyway.”

  Not the move.

  Miesha screamed and reached for the gun—her gun, really, that Kai had taken away.

  I hooked her in the face.

  She smashed off the wall, leaving a dent behind.

  “Holy shit, E. You didn’t have to hit her that hard.”

  I stared at my knuckles. “I…”

  Miesha giggled and popped back up. Sierra and I held our breaths, waiting for her next outburst.

  But she played with the pillows, apparently enamored with the bright colors.

  Good thing I wasn’t going after the sword any more. If she was required to unlock it…wrangling a herd of ornery cats would be a cakewalk by comparison.

  I glanced at Sierra. A eureka look was spreading over her face, her eyebrows lifting. “You think this could free Kai.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “If a few dozen agents are convicted, then every case the FBI has ever prosecuted here will be called into question.”

  “Hmm.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Didn’t think of that.”

  “You can’t lie to me.” Sierra shook her head. “You’d undo the good they’ve done to save one man?”

  “Probably. But we’re not saving just one man.”

  “Saving yourself too doesn’t really make it more noble.”

  “You’ll be saved, too,” I said. “Unless you think Aldric will like your smile.”

  “There’s going to be collateral damage.”

  “What are you, my conscience?” I crossed my arms and glared. “What painless ways of excising a demonic infestation and killing an obsessive vampire warlord are you hiding?”

  I tapped my foot, but my sister said nothing.

  “I’m waiting for all your fucking brilliant ideas.”

  “Jeez, chill out, E. I was just saying—”

  “We’re saving the island.” I stood sharply, causing Sierra to jump.

  My reflexes were getting quicker with each passing hour.

  She shrunk against the cabinet, slightly wary.

  “You didn’t like it when we were gonna dig up the treasure and work with the Bureau, either.”

  “I just—I don’t know. Everything we’ve done has made things worse. Every single thing.” Her big blue eyes welled up.

  I realized she wasn’t just referring to recent events, but the deep past, too: New Orleans, and all the rest of the cons.

  It was hard to argue with that.

  I said, “This time will be different.”

  In a small voice she said, “What if it’s not?”

  It hit me like a cannon ball to the gut: she was right.

  I stumbled back to the small couch and slumped down. I’d always just assumed that people would be hurt.

  That life, like gambling, was zero sum: some won while others lost. And that, if you could make the wins bigger, that was okay.

  And it was. Life was full of difficult decisions. Impossible ones, where people would be hurt, but more would benefit.

  But if you could choose an alternative that benefitted everyone, only to ignore it?

  Well…

  I said, “There’s another way.”

  Sierra looked hesitant, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.

  Or didn’t believe me.

  Her bare feet kicked against the counter as she contorted her lips.

  “Let’s hear it, stupid human.” One ornery blue eye opened, Khan shooting daggers at me from Sierra’s lap. “So that this handwringing and whining can end and I can return to my peaceful slumber.”

  “Okay. What if we could get Aldric to attack the FBI? And what if we could stack the deck so the Bureau would win?”

  I could see I almost had Sierra hooked. But she said, “And what about the demons?”

  “I think Rayna and I can come to a little understanding.”

  Sierra said, “I like this plan better already.”

  I spent the next ten minutes outlining the plan.

  Even Khan declared that it was “passable.” High praise indeed.

  Confidence sluicing through my veins, I finally had the feeling that all was going to be okay.

  This week wouldn’t be mine to die.

  53

  After a quick rendezvous at the crew’s new base of operations—an abandoned hunting cabin on the edge of the Boundless Jungle—Zoe, Magnus, and Cross got on board without protest.

  Even if it had been a bad plan, letting Aldric run around unchecked much longer wasn’t an option if we wanted to survive.

  If the island wanted to survive.

  But it was an elegantly simple plan with two moving parts: One, convince Rayna to get on board.

  Two, convince Aldric that he could get his pale, cold hands on the Sword of Damocles.

  And three, left unspoken: Hope that I wouldn’t be cutting it too close to the point of no return. Because the whole thing would be going down tomorrow night.

  Hours before the Reaper’s Sorrow would be irreversible, and I would be enslaved to him forever.

  But to sell it, Aldric had to believe I was his loyal disciple. Anything less, and it’d end like my failed gambit at the villa: marched away at the end of Commander Scott’s rifle.

  I stepped outside the cabin to call Rayna.

  She picked up on the last ring. “If this is a med
ia request—”

  “It’s me.”

  “I’m not letting him walk, Hunter. He made his choice.”

  “Have you released Kai’s name to the media yet?”

  “Press conference in ten minutes. Gotta tie a big bow on this shitshow.”

  “What if I could get you something better?”

  “Hunter, even your tongue couldn’t fix this.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” I said, looking out at the dense jungle. “You haven’t heard what I have to say.”

  “You have five minutes.”

  “I only need two.”

  “Works for me.”

  I ran my tongue over my sharpening fangs. “I’m assuming you’d prefer if those demons fucked off, right?”

  “If your plan is to confirm Byron Murphy’s story, I can give you an answer right now.”

  “Not the plan,” I said. “So hold your horses.”

  “One minute, Hunter.”

  I rubbed my flat in the wet soil. Dusk was beginning to set in over the wilderness. “And how about the vampire? You guys have wanted him forever.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re trying to sell me a used car, Hunter?”

  Fine. No more warm-up pitches. “All you have to do is clear out most of the Getaway’s security.”

  “Are you insane? A hundred agents are coming from the mainland tomorrow. I won’t even be the senior agent on-site.”

  Shit. That made for an unseen complication. “Can you get them to buy into a sting?”

  “That’s a big ask.”

  “You’ve got big ambitions,” I said. “You’ll make it work.”

  “And what do we do once the Getaway’s security has been cleared away?”

  “Wait for Aldric to arrive,” I said. “Put all the demon agents on duty in the interior. They’ll be forced to fight back to maintain their cover.”

  “Won’t they all be suspicious if all of them are in the building?”

  “Sprinkle in some agents you trust,” I said. “Keep an eye on things.”

  “That’s a dangerous job.”

  “They might not all make it out,” I said.

  Even the best plans often had costs. Life was a cruel, cruel mistress.

  That didn’t sit well with Rayna, who said, “Casualties are a nonstarter, Hunter.”

  “You saw what Aldric did to the DSA,” I said. “And now he has the goddess’s soul. Imagine what’s in store for you.”

  “This is a bureaucracy, Hunter. It doesn’t move that fast.”

  “Make them understand they have three options.”

  Someone spoke to Rayna in the background, and she responded curtly. The line crackled as she set the phone down.

  A minute later, she returned and said, “The news vans are here.”

  “Option one is the vampire kills you all.”

  “Unpleasant.”

  The cabin’s door creaked, and I turned to find Sierra emerging. She shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels.

  “Option two is the corruption eats the FBI alive. Maybe they pin it on a fall guy and it all goes away in a couple weeks. Or maybe an anonymous source comes out and the FBI has to leave the island due to the scandal.”

  “That sounds like a threat.”

  “Or you can take the fight to Aldric. Ambush him, fix your demon problem, and turn the story into one about the FBI’s competence and necessity.” When Rayna said nothing, I added, “It’s all about controlling the narrative.”

  “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Don’t think too long,” I said. “This list is burning a hole in my pocket.”

  “I’m surprised someone like you could love anything at all, Hunter.”

  My breath hitched, caught off guard. “Not sure what you mean.”

  “This is about Agent Taylor. We both know it.”

  “Or maybe I like this island more than I ever knew before.”

  I ended the call before we could exchange any more banter. Rayna was pragmatic when it came to career moves. But if I annoyed her too much, she might be reminded of all the reasons we didn’t get along.

  And that would be good for no one.

  54

  Sierra and I listened to the chattering jungle for a minute, enjoying the natural tranquility.

  “Did she say yes, E?”

  “Let’s find out.” I led the way back into the cabin.

  Zoe sat on Magnus’s lap in a rocking chair before the lit fireplace. Miesha was in the corner—thankfully sleeping.

  And Cross was laid up on the cot, looking a little pale and thin, but otherwise alive. He winked at me as I walked in.

  I caught Sierra’s reaction. Steam almost vaporized the diamond studs in her ears.

  I walked to the old, rusted radio by the washbasin and adjusted the knobs. The long antennae picked up the broadcast loud and clear.

  Rayna’s familiar voice floated through the air, and I imagined her standing there, blonde wave perfectly arranged, in a tailored pantsuit rented especially for the occasion, reciting words she’d practiced for hours beforehand.

  Like a little demo reel for her next gig—Regional Director of a bigger city, or maybe even a track toward heading the entire enterprise.

  “Turn it up.” Cross’s British voice was hoarse. “Some of us can’t move any closer.”

  I turned the volume knob.

  Rayna’s well-tuned intro quickly gave way into an ad-libbed mess.

  But I smiled, because a mess meant she was veering from the company line.

  “…I want to announce, before you all, that we have identified all potentially compromised agents in light of Mr. Murphy’s recent article. Unfortunately, he cast a rather wide net, and caught a few too many dolphins.”

  A tuna fishing metaphor. Not quite what I’d have gone for, but it kind of worked.

  “Everyone at the Bureau is committed to fighting corruption and eliminating any instance of impropriety. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that over one hundred agents from the mainland will be arriving tomorrow to perform a top to bottom internal audit. I’m confident they will find a pristine operation.”

  Maybe if they actually bothered to look for the monsters swept under the rug. My original optimism was beginning to fade, along with my patience.

  If Rayna was going to hop on board with the plan, we’d need more than political posturing and meaningless word salad.

  “Also, starting today, we plan to launch a full investigation into the raid at the Forgotten Quarter compound. We have reason to believe that the agent apprehended for these crimes might have been falsely accused, with evidence fabricated against him to make it seem as if the correct suspect had been apprehended. I have reason to believe that the suspect is still at large. And he or she is liable to kill again, should they not be caught.”

  Well, well. We were getting somewhere. Not quite jumping in feet first, but that couldn’t be expected from an ambitious company woman like Rayna.

  Renegades tended to get mothballed or booted in the government machine.

  Rayna ended with a kicker of her own. “Finally, we will also be working with local law enforcement to perform a full-scale audit of their activities to ensure that the citizens of Atheas are safe. Thank you.”

  I had to smile at that.

  She’d just ensured the FBI’s survival: if everyone was corrupt, then it was a problem with the island. If the local PD had their hands dirtier—and, to be honest, even with three or four dozen demons running around in the FBI, that was likely—then the FBI would look like the good guys by mere comparison.

  “Have to hand it to that woman,” Zoe said, standing slowly, red hair resembling liquid flame from the fire’s glow, “she knows exactly what strings to pull to get her way.”

  “Self-preservation and ambition are a potent alchemical combination.” I turned the radio off.

  I looked around at the group, drinking it in one last time.

  After tomorrow, e
verything would be different.

  Where the dice fell would be the gap between triumph and tragedy.

  55

  I slept surprisingly well on the floor of the old hunting cabin, given the circumstances. No last minute nerves, no racing thoughts.

  Maybe it was a cooling side effect of becoming a vampire.

  Or maybe it was just acceptance. If you play your best hand and lose, what do you have to worry about, after all?

  Sometimes you don’t win.

  Even if the gamble is for your life, the odds are the odds.

  You just do the best to tilt them in your favor.

  By the afternoon, the sun—even through the trees—burned my skin, so I passed the time inside, mostly in silence, with occasional rehashes of the plan.

  Mostly for my benefit. Their only job was for backup purposes: combing Mount Danube for places where the treasure might be buried.

  I wanted them as far from the Getaway and the bullets as possible. Even Zoe and Magnus, neither of whom I was overly fond of. Not to mention Miesha.

  The clock ticked over to seven, and Cross, who had nothing to do besides watch the clock, said, “It’s showtime, Eden.”

  The others nodded.

  We didn’t part ways with hugs or even a good luck. Part of that was unspoken confidence.

  The other part?

  Looking at them made me hungry. Maybe it had been a mistake waiting until the clock ticked down.

  But I was going all-in.

  So I just nodded back. Zoe handed me the treasure map, and I was out the creaky door.

  The darkness wrapped around me like a favorite hoodie. This was where I belonged now.

  Sierra rushed after me. “E!”

  I stopped and waited for her to catch up. We stared up at the winter stars for a while.

  Finally, Sierra asked, “How are you going to kill Aldric without the sword?”

  “I’ll think of something.”

  That was the one detail I hadn’t worked out yet. A force of FBI agents with silver bullets might do the trick.

  If they could actually hit the vampire.

  I had my doubts about that.

  “If you need any help—”

  “Just keep them safe.” I jerked my thumb back at the rustic cabin. “At a safe distance outside the headquarters. I’ll be fine.”