“It’s important.”
“I can see it is to you.” He walked the circle again, tail licking the air. “But what’s in it for me?”
“I…” He’d always helped before, as if he’d enjoyed being involved whenever Lilith had called him, but this new, soulless Rafe was so very different. I had nothing to offer, besides… a favor. Favors for favors was how the rest of the Dark Ones did things. They always wanted something, and an incubus’s needs were no mystery. “A trade.”
“A trade?” His eyebrow arched. He’d circled all the way around and returned to face me. “What kind of trade?” The answer was already in his sly eyes; he just wanted me to say it.
The one thing I’d come close to giving him while weak. The same thing my brother thought I already had. “A kiss.”
It sounded simple, but a kiss in his expert hands was a weapon. “From you?”
“Who else?” I snapped, tasting nerves on my tongue. “It’s a fair trade for Lilith’s whereabouts.”
His lips parted, and his gaze wandered, scorching where it skimmed over my body, seeing through the clothes I’d buckled up so tightly. Finally, a spark brightened his soulless eyes. “I want more than a kiss. You owe me that. I lost my soul for you.”
“That wasn’t my fault. You should never have taken me outside. A kiss is all you get. Nothing more. Or I will find Lilith myself. It will take longer, but I know she’s here somewhere…”
“Hm… a kiss…” He tasted the promise, running the tip of his tongue across his bottom lip. “From the darkly sweet Miss Lynher Aris.” He snapped his teeth together and hissed in, expanding his chest, breathing me in. His wings pulsed outward an inch and closed again. He wanted more. He always had. It was a part of who and what he was. A kiss after all these years would be a victory in his mind. But in mine, it was just a kiss and a small price to pay to find Lilith for the sake of a cargo of children.
“Very well,” he agreed. “But the kiss happens at a time and place of my choosing.”
“Fine. Where’s Lilith?”
* * *
Lilith’s room looked the same as when I’d visited at dusk. Upturned furniture, tossed sheets, open dresser drawers, contents strewn across the floor. The VG hadn’t left a single item untouched. This time, however, I had an advantage standing beside me.
Rafe wandered ahead, wings clasped behind him and tail lashing, and stopped in the middle of the room to scan the scene, hip cocked. “And vampires think they’re the superior race. They never look beyond what their eyes tell them.”
Technically, vampires came from the same genetic line as demons—they’d even had wings once. According to legend, the queen had chewed hers off in defiance of their god, and her soldiers had copied her like the good little puppets they were. Vampires needed blood to survive and demons fed on emotion, but the same creation god, Alohim, had birthed the two races, and at their core, they shared similar needs and vices.
Rafe headed to the dresser and righted its large oval mirror. A jagged crack had split the glass in two. He waved his hand over it, wiping the crack away and making the mirror whole again. Then he spread his fingers on the glass, and an almost invisible ripple washed over him, stirring his hair and wings, and then passed over me, righting the room around us and spilling green velvet drapes among lush jungle plants. The switch in surroundings unbalanced me. I reached for a tree that hadn’t been there moments before.
Rafe saw me stagger and smiled, his teeth sharp.
“Ah, Lynher Aris,” Lilith said. “Raphael and I wondered where you’d gotten to, darling.”
I turned to find the source of her voice but found only shiny, rustling plants. The room looked and felt like the outside, only hotter, but we were still in the station. I was still protected, I reminded myself.
“You were already looking for me?” I asked, searching for her outline among the foliage.
“I sent Raphael to find you. We still have the arrival of the train to discuss, do we not?” Her voice bounced back, originating from multiple places.
Then I hadn’t needed to bargain with Rafe to find her. Rafe circled me, flashing a knowing grin. I’d bargained away a kiss for no reason. I glowered back. This new Rafe was an asshole.
Lilith melted from the green undergrowth, her demon skin sloughing off its almost invisible camouflage. She stood just a few feet in front of me and looked down from her impressive height, her demon mind working behind sharp eyes.
“Ghost’s death has caused some problems,” I said.
“Hm.” Her lips twisted. “He wasn’t Ghost, just another puppet.” She lifted her chin. “But you already knew that, didn’t you, Lynher dear?”
“I planned to explain but didn’t have time before you ate his heart. How did you get past the station’s defenses?”
She wasn’t impressed, and like Rafe’s hungry glare, hers roamed over me, sizing me up as a possible meal. “Do you know where the real Ghost is?” she asked.
I breathed in, tasting dampness and heat. Rafe had taken up residence against a palm tree, pretending to examine his nails while he listened and watched. His tail lay limp on the ground, motionless but for the occasional flick at its point. Between him and Lilith was a dangerous place to be.
“I do.”
Lilith noted my wandering gaze and gestured dismissively at Rafe. “Leave us, habibi.”
Rafe didn’t move, he stared at Lilith, his wings and tail still.
“Raphael.” Lilith faced him. “This does not concern you. Engila.”
His tail lashed, he curtly bowed his head, and then he vanished, leaving Lilith staring at the dissipating sparks. “I thought he’d be easier to control without his soul, but…” She smiled and curled her fingers into her palm. “… he was always a challenge. Let us focus on our mutual problem—Overseer Ghost and those defenses.”
“Wait…” She’d wanted to remove Rafe’s soul before the accident? Everything he did he did for Lilith. He lived and breathed for her. If she’d told him to take me outside the station, he would have done it. She’d known the reception waiting for me beyond the white line. It was a death sentence for any human. Had she tried to kill me? “Did you order Rafe to take me outside the station?”
“It was the safest place for you. The vampires, in their frenzy, might have hurt you, my darling Lynher, and where would we be without our wonderful hostess?”
Where, indeed, because I didn’t have a successor. “You do remember I’m human?”
“Oh, I forget sometimes.” She laughed her high, tinkling laughter, sounding patronizing and dismissive all at once. “There was no harm done. You’re here, aren’t you? And with barely a scratch on you.”
No harm done to me, but Rafe was forever changed. Either she’d planned that, or she’d planned for me not to return. She smiled and blinked, perfectly innocent of any wrongdoing, but she’d also gorged herself on a vampire general’s heart less than a day ago. She’d gladly consume mine too if it suited her.
“Tell me all about the real Ghost,” she said, her smile hiding the order.
I didn’t have to follow anyone’s orders, save those of the station, and certainly not those of a demon whose motives were questionable. “You’ve had your vengeance. You killed the vampire who killed your succubus—”
“Her name was Sonel.”
A name. Jack had asked me about the succubus’s name, and I still didn’t know why. There were too many loose threads, too many missing teeth in these great cogs. Control was slipping through my fingers. If I offered Lilith more power, she’d twist it and make my needs work for her. Kensey had warned me. I shouldn’t ask her to help again. I shouldn’t even be in her room. I had to figure this out myself. “Ghost leaves tonight, and most of the VG will go with him. The matter is resolved.”
“Perhaps, but I rather enjoyed dancing with the vampire general, and now I wonder if I might enjoy dancing with the real Ghost before he leaves. You can help with that.”
And tear his heart out of his chest.
<
br /> She could kill Jack.
His death would be a huge blow to the VG, but the risk was too great. If her actions came back on me or the station… But was the death of a vampire of his standing worth the risk? “If I tell you where he will be… you can’t kill him. You can’t, Lilith. The vampireguard will not stand for it. This station is too important. Just… distract him.”
“Distract him… hm? What naughty thing are you planning? Oh, don’t worry, I won’t stop you. But I could kill the overseer, just a little bit…” She touched a leathery leaf and drew it between her fingers, collecting the moisture. Then she lifted the glistening drops to her soft, black lips. “It’s been so long since anything has dared challenge me. I just… I must see this creature. I must… taste him.”
“Fine, but taste him somewhere private. Somewhere away from the station. I’ll send him to you, but it can’t come back on me.” I could maneuver Jack. He wanted something from me, and if all I had to do was point him in the right direction and push, I could do that, and see him away from the high-value cargo.
“That seems… reasonable.”
“Are we settled?”
“Agreed.”
Good. I turned and headed toward where I assumed the door was behind all this undergrowth. Sweat had soaked down my back and glued my hair to my face. I needed fresh air and space and a moment to catch my breath. This night would be a long one, and it had only just begun.
“Oh, and Miss Aris… About those defenses, did Gerome never mention a loophole?”
My steps slowed, and I paused to glance behind me but saw only leaves and vines. “He did not.”
“It’s all about intent, dear,” her voice sailed out from behind the sweating vegetation. “If the intent is not lethal, then the station might… look the other way. Else nobody would have any fun inside these walls.”
“But you ate his heart. How is that not lethal?”
“Practice…” she replied, like that settled things, and then added, “regarding my Raphael and his affliction. There are books in your library, books about phantoms…”
“There are…”
“I suggest you check them for a solution. If you desire to help him, that is.” Her words hissed into silence, leaving me alone.
She’d possibly ordered Rafe to kill me and now she was helping me restore him? She hadn’t planned on him losing his soul; it was me she’d planned on losing. I’d restore Rafe all right, but not for her. I’d do it because I owed Rafe.
* * *
I pulled the relevant books from my library shelves and piled them high on my desk, frowning at each one. I knew every book. I’d lived with them, grown up around them. I’d learned to read among their pages. They were personal… and it bothered me that Lilith knew of their existence.
Like Gerome had told me, chasing down answers to impossible questions would drive me insane. Instead of asking why, I skimmed a few pages of the largest tome, looking for references to the taking of souls and any recourses. The more I read, the more I knew I had to restore Rafe to the way he’d been before, even if he didn’t want it. He didn’t know what he wanted. Without a soul, he didn’t know how to care. I had to put that right.
The library door swung open, and in walked Jack. His cane clipped the wooden boards, emphasizing the stiffness in his right leg. He wore a dashing combination of high-waisted black pants, a black velvet patterned vest, black boots, and a black tailcoat. The red thread stitching it all together, proclaimed him as a vampire. A twinge of disappointment tightened my chest. Somewhere, deep down, I’d hoped he wasn’t a blood-sucking leech. As he approached, I recalled the images I’d seen in books about the war. The pyres of burning bodies. The earth painted with human blood. Mounds of discarded jewelry—all that was left of humans. This man was the worst kind of monster.
He stopped at my desk and regarded the chair as though considering sitting, but he must have thought better of it, because he skimmed the books I had open in front of me instead, then finally he looked up, meeting my gaze. I’d already guarded my heart and mastered my mask. He saw only Lynher Aris, hostess extraordinaire.
I hadn’t locked the door, so he could technically wander in, but that didn’t make it right. His kind believed they could go anywhere, through any door, take anything, steal and kill and feast on the innocent. And he had the balls to stand in my station, in this sanctuary, and look down on me.
He swallowed, throat bobbing. “You were never supposed to discover the truth.” He sounded apologetic. Gods, he was good at this act. “It would have been safer that way.”
“Safer for who?”
He didn’t seem to like my question, because he just stared, trying to make me feel small. At least his charm hadn’t kicked in—yet.
“Lynher—”
“Miss Aris.”
“There is much you don’t understand.” Again, he sounded apologetic. It was how he tricked people and lured them into his web. Poor Jack. Just passing through Jack. Nothing to see here Jack. “I would explain, but I don’t have much time, and I don’t think you’d—
“Let me ask you something, Jack,” I plowed on, my tone making him straighten, “Are you Ghost?”
His cheek flickered. “Yes.”
“And everything that’s said about Ghost, is it true?”
“I can’t know everything—”
“You know what I’m asking, Just Jack, so don’t play the fool. It no longer works on me.”
His dark eyes narrowed. The look should have been sharp, but his smile softened it. “In all this time, nobody has revealed the real me, but you did in less than forty-eight hours. Some say you know magecraft, Miss Aris. I’m beginning to ag—”
“Answer the question, please.”
“Yes. Ghost is everything you’ve heard… and more.” He held my gaze, unblinking. A silver shimmer in his eyes gave away his vampire nature. It had been there all along, but he’d kept it hidden. He didn’t bother to hide it now. His stillness was vampire too. His breathing and pulse had thrown me, but he used the human act as camouflage, and it had served him well, until now. Now he had nowhere to hide. Lilith had killed his puppet. He was exposed. Did that bother him? Did he feel vulnerable? I hoped so, because he was in my station, among my people, and I would not allow him to hurt anyone under my protection.
“The situation is delicate.” He grasped his cane, placing his hands atop its engraved handle. The act shored him up, straightening his shoulders and lifting his chin.
“For you, perhaps.” I closed the book I’d been reading and stood. “Your general, the vampire standing in for you, he mentioned there would be a train stopping to refuel at five hundred hours, just before dawn. He’s no longer with us, but I’m assuming the train is still arriving?”
“It is.” The pulse in his neck fluttered, so perfect was his act. “Felipe was—”
“And will you be leaving on it, sir?” I didn’t care what Felipe was, just that he was dead and there was one less vampire in the world.
“I will be, yes.”
“Well then, please do enjoy the station’s hospitality in your final hours.” My tone was kind, but he saw the ice in my eyes. He didn’t move.
“Lynher—”
“Miss Aris.” I wanted to yell at him to leave, to get out of my sanctuary, to go far, far away so I wouldn’t have to see his charming face again or listen to his soft words, knowing the creature he truly was. Instead, I smiled and waited for his pretend awkwardness to sharpen into intent.
Breathing in, he broke the stare, finding a spot over my shoulder to focus on, then turned away. Even then, some stupid human part of me wanted to call him back, as though I’d done him some disservice by turning him away too soon. Gods, I’d never met a creature so adept at hiding its nature.
“Sir?”
“Yes.” He turned, obscenely hopeful, like I might call him back.
“Why did you ask if your general had gotten the demon’s name before he killed her?”
“
Because he didn’t care enough to know it… and now I suppose he never will.” He limped out the door, leaving his cryptic words hanging in the silence, as though I could pick them apart and fathom their meaning. The sooner five a.m. came around, the better. I was ready to be forever done with Just Jack.
Chapter 11
Night
The clock over the Grand Hall struck midnight. The train of guests came and went. I went through the motions, doing all the things expected of me with one eye on the clock’s moving hands. At 04:50, I snuck away from the fray and onto the platform. Dawn approached. It made the air tight and the sky warmer.
The sun would rise around 5:40 a.m., signaling day. The high-value cargo was due at 5:00 a.m. I had to secure the cargo and get to Kensey, unseen, before the sun rose behind the surrounding abandoned buildings.
I watched the sky from the platform, breathing in and tasting the same dust that always spiced the shifting air. The tracks snaked into the dark, beyond the reach of the station’s lamps. Somewhere down those tracks, children clung to each other, rocking with the carriages as the train’s wheels screamed. Taken from their homes or picked wild from the streets, they’d be afraid, in shock, cold, and tired. My face would likely be the first they’d seen since being shut in the carriages like cattle. Gods, it was cruel, but that was vampires. Perhaps the resistance might one day stop it, but I doubted it. Dreaming such fancies was where Kensey excelled.
“Ma’am…” Etienne approached, bringing with him a breath of warmth and station-scented air, like cinnamon and citrus. He’d let his hair flop loose instead of slicking it back. It suited him better, although now he constantly had to sweep it back.
He looked down the long platform. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, Etienne. Just your job. Keep everything running smoothly while I… until dawn.”
“Yes, ma’am. I… I wanted to thank you… for everything.”
I nodded and glanced over his head and through the glass doors at the huge clock on the distant wall. The large hand clunked closer to twelve. “All right…” Quickly, I unbuttoned my coat and started the long walk toward the end of the platform. “Good night, Etienne.”
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