Eden's Pawn: Shadow Games Book 1

by C. B. Miller

  “I know exactly who she is. One of Eden’s handmaidens.” Alex said. She got out of bed and smoothed down her clothes and hair, never once taking her eyes off of Sunshine.

  An adorably sweet full-bodied laugh came from Sunshine as she smiled and extended her hand to Alex. The sound didn’t fit her black leather pants and halter top.

  “Handmaiden. I like that. Interesting but it’s been a long time since I was a maiden my dear. But that term works.” Sunshine said and winked at her with an exaggerated pause. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to meet you in the flesh, Alex Cunningham of the Black Oryx, 3rd adept of Taerigo.”

  I raised my eyebrow at Alex, clueless what the adept part meant and curious how Sunshine knew so much about Alex.

  There was a good two second awkward gap while Alex looked like she expected a scorpion’s tail to lash out from Sunshine’s back and sting her before they shook hands. Sunshine made a comment under her breath that I couldn’t make out and Alex giggled.

  To be fair, I don’t think it was an unrealistic possibility either.

  “Pet is going to love being called a handmaiden.” Sunshine mused to herself.

  “I highly doubt that.” I laughed. “Well, m’lady, follow us to your challenge.”

  We descended into the basement as we explained the situation to Sunshine. We entered Megan’s room and Robert didn’t look up as he dabbed her forehead with a damp cloth. She was sleeping peacefully, and next to her bed was a pill bottle.

  Alex interposed herself between Megan and Sunshine, holding up a hand. “What exactly are you going to do here Sunshine? Kaedin hasn’t given us any of the details of this plan other than you have some options that don’t involve turning her into one of you.” There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

  Alex had room to doubt me and Sunshine. Eden’s power was well known and respected in the Chicago supernatural community. Her lieutenants were viewed by many as pretenders and hanger ons. It was fair for Alex to doubt there was something else a vampire might be able to do in this situation

  Which is what I was counting on when I contacted Sunshine.

  “Well, my dear I am going to kill those little spider creatures by making her body inhospitable to their kind.” Sunshine was looking past Alex hungerly.

  “Exactly how are you going to do that?” Alex demanded.

  “I believe demonstrations are the best way to learn. Other than hands on experience that is.” She turned her hungry eyes to me and winked. She waved everyone back, “Please move aside so I can do my work. Or I can just leave if you would rather her suffer. I can go either way.” Her tone was bland, like this was a boring chore and not a life or death situation.

  Alex stepped aside and Sunshine sauntered over to Robert, motioning for him to remove the sheets covering her. She leaned over Megan with her hands glued to her sides, her face passionless while she looked over every inch of Megan’s resting form. The Aezzai young had grown large enough to strain Megan’s skin and were fewer in number. Their cannabalistic birthing process had already started.

  Robert’s two day estimate had been generous, and we might have gotten lucky.

  After a minute, Sunshine kneeled next to Robert and started to run her hands through Megan’s hair gently soothing her, and the struggling Aezzai young slowed.

  “If you are squeamish at all, this would be the time to leave.”

  Sunshine kept kneading her fingers lightly across Megan’s scalp as Robert got up and left the room. He ignored us as he left the room.

  Alex took a step back and halted as she realized that I wasn’t following. She moved to the side behind me the far wall and leaned up against it, out of the way and with a clear view of all of us..

  Robert closed the door behind him quietly, and we watched Sunshine murmuring softly as she continued to lightly rub her fingers through Megan’s hair.. She was whispering something sounded vaguely like a broken nursery rhyme in another language, and with each repetition the Aezzai young slowed more and more until they finally grew still.

  Her hands worked in slow, tight circles down Megan’s body. Her flesh gained a hard, leathery appearance as it tightened underneath Sunshine’s touch, and with each pass she massaged around one of the Aezzai young. One by one, they were slowly contained within pockets of hardened flesh, like gigantic, jaundiced boils waiting to burst. Thirty-four lemon-size tumors bulged across Megan’s withered body when Sunshine finished and stood.

  She yawned while she stretched her arms up and jumped around a few times. Turning around, she gave us a bored looked.

  “That was the easy part. What about I’m about to next isn’t difficult but I felt like you might want to know that it’ll be disgusting.”

  “Worse than that?” Alex pointed at Megan.

  “That’s my assumption. It’s not like what I’m about to do has been done before. At least to my knowledge. Also, I’ll need you to trust the process and not freak out. You have five seconds before I start again.” Sunshine spun on her heel and lifted her hand up, fingers spread wide and slowly began to tick each one off. She looked over her should at both of us when she finished, and we hadn’t moved an inch and shrugged.

  “Here we go then.”

  Megan stopped breathing.

  Sunshine waggled a finger at us, “Trust the process.”

  I didn’t know what to do. On one hand if Megan dies, then technically Sunshine failed and she would owe me the dekgrat. That wasn’t the best outcome for Megan or the wizards upstairs that pledged to do everything in their power to keep her alive either. Then again, we all knew this was risky, I just hope they understand that this was never a guaranteed solution.

  The indecision on Alex’s face mirrored my own as three-inch long claws extended from each of Sunshine’s fingers. She placed one hand on Megan’s shoulder and wrapped the other around the dying wizard’s left wrist. She pulled the arm taught and closed her eyes. The flesh on Megan’s arm rippled in waves around the three baseball sized boils, and arm slowly pulled away from the shoulder with a ripping noise.

  Alex gasped and I held her back, my arm across her chest as Sunshine held up the dismembered limb in one hand. A solid patch of healthy pale skin covered Megan’s shoulder where her arm had once been connected and I didn’t see a single drip or trickle of blood anywhere. Sunshine jabbed a single claw into one of the boils, and a high-pitched wail of pain pieced our ears. Curling her finger, she lifted the squirming Aezzai young impaled on her talon free from Megan’s arm and crushed it. Two more of the sacks remained on Megan’s arm, and the Aezzai young started to writhe at the death wail. Black and yellow ichor seeped from the wound in Megan’s arm and dripped between Sunshine’s fingers before she casually discarded the Aezzai corpse. With cold efficiency she repeated the process, lancing each of the fleshing pockets, crushing the Aezzai young, and dropping their lifeless bodies onto the floor.

  “We might need a garbage can.” Sunshine impassively said as she tenderly laid Megan’s arm on the nightstand. She turned around and studied Megan with a faintly amused look on her face. When neither of us moved, she cocked her head at us and exaggerated a shrug, “Or not. Up to you.”

  She moved to Megan’s left leg, and I averted my eyes as she tore off Megan’s leg and repeated the process. I lost track of time as she methodologically removed Megan’s limbs and destroyed the Aezzai young out infesting them. A chorus of staccato death rattles filled the room and I looked up to see Sunshine moving superhumanly fast to extract and destroy each of the creatures as they pushed their way out of Megan’s torso. Their dying wails ended nearly as quick as they began, and in less than three seconds, every last one of the Aezzai were lifeless on the floor.

  Megan slowly took in a shallow breath.

  Sunshine snapped her fingers at me and pointed at the nightstand where Megan’s arms and legs rested. “Bring me those. Quickly now, I don’t have much time.” A line of weariness crossed Sunshine’s forehead, and I rushed to the nightstand, turning to hand her the closest
limb.

  She snatched the arm from me and placed it against Megan’s shoulder. Sunshine’s face tightened and her eyes narrowed as she worked the arm against Megan’s shoulder joint. A few heartbeats later Sunshine muttered something and snapped her fingers against. I snatched up a leg, and less than a minute later Megan was whole again

  Megan’s breathing gradually grew stronger and lost its phlegmy quality. Sunshine dusted off her hands and stood over Megan, visually examining her body as Alex and I watched in silence.

  “That is the first of two dekgrats you owe me now, Kaedin.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The Aezzai’s lifeless bodies soon decomposed into ephemeral smoke, and in discussion with Sunshine, we discovered that their very being was incompatible with our reality. It’s why they ravenously consumed magical beings and required them for breeding.

  Sunshine mended the wounds left behind by her removal of Aezzai infestation, which took the better part of an hour. Robert paced the entire time, and Gregory stress cooked. It all smelled and looked amazing but neither Alex, or myself, had an appetite after witnessing Sunshine work. Sunshine made a point to sample Gregory’s cooking and praised his cullenary skills. She stayed long enough for Alex and me to grow impatient, now that darkness had fallen and our window to find Elizabeth grew smaller with each passing moment. She thanked our hosts, and left in blur without saying another word to either of us.

  “We’re really doing this then?”

  “Have I steered you wrong yet?”

  “The night is still young,” Alex grumbled.

  I pulled away from the curb and “Barbie Girl” started playing on full blast from the backseat. Alex reached behind me and pulled my backpack into her lap while the pop song blared. She pulled out a brand new cellphone. On its lockscreen was a picture of me, sleeping hard enough I was drooling slightly. A call was in progress from “Your Plastic Love”. I nodded to Alex, and she put the call on speaker.

  “Hi Sunshine,” I droned.

  “Hmm, I’m bad at this aren’t I?” Sunshine replied drying.

  Alex and I exchanged bewildered looks before I turned my attention back to the road.

  “Hey, I’m driving right now, and I don’t have hands free configured. Maybe I can call you back later.”

  “Oh, I know. I watched you drive off. I just wanted to make sure you new about your new phone. You know since you managed to lose yours.”

  “Thank you. If that is it then….”

  “Almost. I didn’t want to discuss every piece of our business in front of, well you know. Them. But, how are things going?”

  “Things are just fine.”

  “Good, good. What’cha doing?”

  “My job?”

  “Ok. Just checking in. Wanted to make sure, you weren’t off side-questing or anything. Maybe entertaining relationships?”

  “No, I’m pretty committed to the cause.”

  “Ok, bye then.”

  The line went dead.

  Alex busted up laughing and I shot a quick look as she put the phone back in my bag. “Are you dating – her?” She broke into another fit of laughter at the look of horror that crossed my face at her suggestion.

  “Hell to the no,” I exclaimed.

  “Uh huh. Seems like she’s definitely interested.” She elbowed me in the ribs, “And she’s hot.”

  “Also undead, more than a little bit crazy, and my boss’s right hand.”

  “Ok. I can respect that. I wouldn’t want to sleep my way to the top either.”

  “Did it ever dawn on you that I wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in her?”

  “Oh, crap. You’re not, um gay are you? Damn I didn’t mean to be offensive.”

  “Again. Offensive again. And no, I’m not gay. I don’t date coworkers and this line of work isn’t exactly stable, so I don’t get involved. Period.”

  Her earlier question about who my employer wasn’t phrased the best way. I was my own man, even if I had a lot of debts to pay off. We all owe someone it seems. Still, how she asked ‘who’s I was’ bugged me. One day I’ll let it go fully.

  “Everyone has needs,” she said in a mocking seductive tone.

  I made a rude gesture with my hand.

  She busted out laughing once more, and I this time I joined in. Sure, it was at my expense, but it had been a long time since anyone had asked me anything about myself that wasn’t centered around how they could use me. And that sentiment went back way further than my arrangement with Eden.

  “So, about that song?”

  “I’m man enough to admit I think it’s catchy. The German version is hilarious.”

  “You have got to be kidding me?”

  “Nope, just wait till I can download my playlists again.”

  We spent the rest of the drive talking about music and concerts. It was the most mudane conversation I’d had in months. There wasn’t some sort of hidden meaning, veiled competition, or mental exercise involved. Just a conversation and for the twenty minutes it took to reach the Black Mamba, I was able to forget the horrors I’d witnessed on a near daily basis over the last six months.

  I pulled into the parking lot and let out a heavy breath, “This brings back some good memories.” I tensed up and cursed at my slip up. Alex peered at me questioningly, and I shook my head slightly before getting out of the car. I’d definitely gotten a little too comfortable with her. She’s a mage with her own agenda, and I needed to remember that.

  Alex hurried to join me, matching me step for step as we walked up to the entrance to the Black Mamba. It was still early on a Saturday night, but already there was a small line forming to get in. I wrapped my arm around Alex and walked right past the line up to the bouncers, ignoring the dirty glares and gasps.

  “Those are vampires, and they must be enforcers. We should just turn back.” Alex whispered through gritted teeth. She slowed and tugged at my arm, trying to get me to turn around. I tightened my hold and pulled her along with.

  A piece of my heart melted as the first bouncer stood up and blocked us. “The line is back there.” Amari held up her hand and cocked her head as she looked both of us up and down. She was a six-foot tall ebony goddess that could bench three-hundred and fifty pounds and run under a four and half second forty-yard dash. And that was before the Council turned her into a vampire to protect the owner of the Black Mamba.

  Alex tensed next to me, and I smiled up at Amari.

  “Hey, is Helen in tonight? I wasn’t sure if she still worked Saturdays or not.”

  “She – wait.” Amari impassive demeanor shifted as she wrapped me in a bear hug and lifted me off my feet. She twirled me around a few times before setting me down, and I sucked in air once she let go of me.

  “Sorry, still getting used to things,” she said. “It’s been a long time! I thought you would have visited much earlier. You look good!”

  A few spots down in the line, a man made a snide comment and Amari’s head whipped up. She pointed at him and motioned for him to leave the line. The other bouncer, a dusky skinned man I didn’t recognize swiftly got up and escorted the man out of the line.

  “I would have dropped by earlier but well, you understand how it is. I hope the change hasn’t been too awkward for everyone. I hate to be brisk, but we’re kind of here on business.”

  Amari looked at Alex and she snorted.

  “Seriously, it’s business. We’re looking for someone. She’s a wight from out of town.”

  Amari’s expression turned business-like as she stared holes into me. She straightened her back and loomed over me. “I know you aren’t trying to say we haven’t been doing our job right?”

  I suppressed the jolt of fear that ran through me as flashbacks of my mom staring me down popped in my head.

  “You know me better than that. C’mon. To be honest, she’s a bad ass and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some way of passing off as a mortal.”

  “Hmm, mm.” Amari pursed her lips together a
nd the left side of her mouth turned down as she looked out over the crowd.

  “Ok, only because we go way back, but we aren’t here most nights any longer. Too much is going on. This is the first shift I’ve worked here in two months.”

  Anger boiled up from within and my smile turned into a snarl unconsciously. She held up her hands in front of her chest and backed up.

  “She’s still protected man. We’re only here when she is now, and people still stay away.”

  Alex tilted her head and raised her eyebrows, but stayed silent as I let out a deep breath. That was a relief, and at least that meant that Helen was here tonight. That also meant that MacKenzie wasn’t going to be here, and that she would be meeting up with Elizabeth either.

  “Thanks Amari. I appreciate your honesty. I should let you get back to work. I should pop in and say hi still.”

  “Of course. It was good seeing you, everyone here misses you guys. Small formality, but I assume she’s with you? Like with – with?”

  Alex giggled, “Oh we’re not together if you know what I mean. He’s got someone else on the side.” She winked at Amari, and they both laughed.

  “What in the living hell? She’s with me, we’re working tonight.” I objected.

  “Sure, sure Kaedin. Just play it smart, playa.”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  We hugged again, exchanging farewells. Several people behind us objected as she opened the door and let us through into the packed club.

  The Black Mamba had gone through some changes since I let set foot inside. A state of the art sound system had been installed along with a new stage at the back of the building. The expanded bar moved to the right wall and left the rest of the floor open for tables and dancing. The owner must have added a kitchen as well. Wait staff wove through the crowd and the scent of Irish food filled the air.

  I led Alex to the bar and managed to snag a pair of seats. The bartender, an athletic woman wearing jeans and a shirt sporting the bar’s logo, turned around to serve the customer next to us, and did a double-take at me. The drinks slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.