by Liz Schulte
I looked at him over my glass of beer. “No, you need to talk about this seriously. I’m good.”
“I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re worried,” he said, pressing both palms flat against the bar, leaning forward. “How do you know Shezmu?”
“Well, first, I’m a Sekhmet and they do make us go to school. We learn the deities and what they’re capable of. I’ve heard plenty about him over the years.” Just not how to defeat him, which was concerning.
“Second?”
I shrugged. “He killed my dad, but I imagine you already know that.” There were no coincidences when it came to the council. They’d given me this case and threatened my family because they knew my past and thought it would be a trigger for me—that it would weaken me. It might not have been personal; they might have just wanted to distract me from figuring out the real reason I was being sent to Paris. But I was equipped to deal with this. Sekhmets weren’t ruled by our emotions. We suppressed them like all emotionally stable people did.
Sy’s mouth fell open and he shook his head. The one thing I hated more than being told what to do was sympathy. “I didn’t know. You didn’t say anything and you never talk about your family.” His mouth thinned into a straight line. “Leilah probably does know, but I didn’t. You can’t honestly think I would ever send you into anything—”
I held up a hand to stop him. I didn’t need an explanation. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course it is. You don’t have to do this. Holden and I will stand with you. We’ll force them to send someone else.”
I shook my head. I was ready for this bounty. I hadn’t just been avoiding Sy, I was preparing my case against the council, but I needed more information. If I was ever going to build a case against them, I had to start somewhere. Where better than another double-sided mission?
As I said, the council couldn’t have given a rat’s ass about the human lives Shezmu was taking—which was bizarre in and of itself. Usually he didn’t have much of an appetite for anything less than another god. Granted, he’d make exceptions for people who really ticked him off, but what could these humans have done to even get his attention?
The best I could figure, the council had another reason for wanting me there. Whether it was that they thought Shezmu would kill me and eliminate that problem for them, or, like New Orleans, this was just a small piece of a much bigger issue, I didn’t know. Granted, they could just execute me outright, but not without making enemies within their own ranks. Despite working for them, I had no doubt Sy was firmly in my corner. And there was the leader of all the jinn, Holden, who was also on the council—and also a friend of mine. With Holden, of course, came Olivia, an Angel of Death and one of the nicest people I had ever met. She also happened to be my best friend. Given all of that, killing me would make a big splash, unless it looked really accidental, like, say, I died on a mission. But it was hard to imagine I was worth all that fuss to them. So more and more I was certain there was something they wanted and Shezmu was somehow in their way. And what’s fifteen human lives when it comes down to getting what you want?
“It’s fine,” I said. “I didn’t even know him. In my society men are mostly just there for reproductive purposes.” That wasn’t entirely true. I did have a few memories of my dad, but it was hard to pin down if they were real, or manufactured over time, or just stories my grandfather told me. Whichever way, I did have an image of him in my head and as a kid I spent a lot of time building him up as a trailblazer. He was this rare Sekhmet who actually traveled and had adventures in my head. Sure, those adventures eventually resulted in his demise, but I always imagined he had a hell of a good time up to that point.
“It’s not fine,” Sy said. “No matter what you think, it’s personal and you have to feel something about it. You aren’t going alone. Right here and now you might be able to pretend that you don’t care that Shezmu took away your father, but once you are face to face with him, will you still be able to make that separation? You won’t be able to reach me or anyone else once you are down in the catacombs. You will be cut off from everyone. Feelings like this can come back at any time. They creep up on people when you least expect them. The council didn’t make any stipulations—”
“Probably because I ignored all of them last time.”
He graced me with a faint smile. “Perhaps. But more likely, they are banking on your own decisions to hold you back. Regardless, take advantage of it and go in prepared. I’ve had my own people researching the catacombs for you.”
I laughed. “You have people now?”
He handed me a folder. “Jessica is extremely good at research.”
Leave it to Sy to involve the witches. His cousin, Selene, was the queen of the fae, but she also had a pretty badass coven of human witches who had proven to be resourceful in the worst of situations. For a bunch of humans, they packed a punch that wasn’t soon forgotten.
Inside the folder, there was a map that looked hand drawn of the tunnels beneath Paris. More than just the catacombs were outlined; it spanned most of the city. Everything written on the map was in French, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t read, but there was a note attached. Mostly the note consisted of details about the history—boring—and topographical information—also boring—but there was a personal bit from Jessica.
Femi,
I found every source with a source with a source that I could on the Internet. I even posed as a cataphile to get the most information that I could. (You don’t want to know what I had to do to get that map.) Mostly the catacombs look harmless to me, but there’s a legend that pops up every now and then, though I couldn’t confirm it, about an entrance to hell buried somewhere in the catacombs. I don’t know if it’s bullshit or not, but if you’re trying to put a demon back, it might be useful. Good luck.
-Jess
It was my experience that the more disturbing the rumors were and the less the human population could confirm them, the more likely they were to be true. “So there’s a gateway to hell under Paris?” I looked up at Sy. “That’s convenient, given my mission. Bet the council didn’t already know about that.” I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for this.” I closed the file. “I better go pack. See you tonight?”
Elves could magically transport anywhere they wanted, which made Sy better transportation than any airline. No crowded seats, no talkative neighbors, and you arrived at your destination within seconds. That was my kind of travel.
“You need to take someone with you,” he called after me.
Walking backward toward the door, I flashed him a smile. “Nah. This feels like a solo mission. See you at eight.”
The door shut behind me and I headed to the warehouse to meet Olivia.
Chapter 2
The warehouse was a mostly out-of-commission fortress we stole from the jinn and reinforced with every magical barrier we could think of. No one was getting into this baby, short of driving up with a tank, and hopefully we’d notice that. We used it back when both heaven and hell were after Olivia and Holden. It served its purpose well then, protecting us from angels and demons alike, so there was no reason to think it wouldn’t do the same now. Baker and I had taken painstaking efforts to protect the building from all sorts of prying eyes, magical or otherwise. It was the safest place I knew, and I felt sure the council couldn’t get into it.
Olivia was already inside, sitting on the couch with her legs folded beneath her. Her eyelids were closed, but I could see her eyes flicking from side to side beneath them. She held up a hand before I could speak. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and pushed herself up. “Sorry about that. I had a couple things to do.”
“Go, take care of them. I’ll wait.”
“I did. Just now. Multiple forms might be my favorite perk with this job. Sometimes they require maintenance, but mostly they free up time for family and friends.”
I followed her into the war room. “What do you mean multiple forms?”
“I’m no
longer governed by time and space. I can be anywhere and everywhere all at once. I’m still getting used to it. If I spread myself too thin, all versions of me get dizzy, but according to Death, I’ll figure it out. It’s how he managed being the only Angel of Death since the beginning of time.” She made a face. “I can’t even imagine living like that. I don’t know how he does it. Holden, the kids, and you, Maggie, and the coven have kept me sane. You all give me stable points that at least one of my forms can focus on for more than a few minutes. Unlike the souls that I usher. If that was all I did every day, I’d lose my mind.”
She could be in more than one place at a time—very interesting. I had suspected that of Sy for a while now, but couldn’t work out how it was possible. Not that this made me any clearer on how a half-elf managed to swing an angelic ability, but it was interesting. “That’s pretty badass. Is it limited to just angels?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Just curious—and jealous. But do you know what I really want? I want to be able to transport myself places. I love driving and I love my car, but for stuff like this, having to hitch a ride sucks monkey balls.”
She laughed and looked up at my murder board. Jessica wasn’t the only one who did research. So far there had been fifteen dismembered, fresh corpses found in the tunnels of the catacombs. According to my extensive background checks, none of the victims were related in any way, nor did they have any supernatural abilities or links to the Abyss. Mostly they were all under thirty-five and were cataphiles (urban explorers who illegally snuck into the catacombs). Only these cataphiles never made it back out.
That was one board. The other focused on the council. I had started profiling each member, looking for their weaknesses and habits. None of the members were to be taken lightly alone, but together they were a scary union. Leilah was a dragon, masked in human form—and the unofficial leader. Alongside her were Grafton, a basilisk (also in human form), Marcelo—who I still hadn’t figured out, other than knowing he was a scary son of bitch—Nash, who was the mothman, Ralston, a fire-breathing giant, Anessa the unicorn, and, of course, Holden. If you counted Sy, the council still had one empty seat waiting to be filled—judging by the number of chairs at the table the last time I saw them.
As a group they painted an interesting picture. Most of them were extinct races. Dragons had been hunted out of existence, mostly, by humans before the veil between our worlds was created. The part of the story we liked to leave out when telling our children about the scary humans was that the dragons did their fair share of terrorizing people. They burned down their cities, stole their treasure, and basically claimed anything they wanted as their own. Then we had the unicorns. I had a harder time excusing the humans for their demise. They were always rare, but were made even more so because they were beautiful and people wanted to possess them. Though I wasn’t entirely sure, I felt strongly that the mothman had always been a solitary entity. Who created him or why he was here, I had no idea. The giants mostly fell when they challenged the gods and lost. Basilisk lived underground, so I didn’t have a great way of knowing how many of them existed, and really, considering how unsettling the snake men were, it was better not to know.
I’d compiled and collected all the information I could on my own, without drawing attention to myself, before I brought Olivia in. She was forced to remain neutral due to her position as an AOD (Angel of Death). But like with any rule, it was just a matter of finding the right loophole. She wasn’t helping me destroy the council so much as offering me educated advice. A fine line was still a line, and it hadn’t been crossed. At least she could see my point of view and tell me if I was seeing corruption because it was there or because I wanted to see it.
“You know Holden would help with this if you wanted him to,” she said, glancing away from the murder board to my council collection. “He’s better at this stuff than I am. I tend to believe the best about people, but he’s been suspicious of them from the start. I think it’s because of a few offhand remarks Baker made, but I know he doesn’t trust them.”
Keep your enemies close wasn’t a bad rule of thumb, and it was just like the jinni to play that angle. He originally resisted joining the council, but then decided the same thing I did. They had too much power. If not watched, they could bring an end to the world as we knew it. His solution was different than mine, though. While I wanted the council disbanded, he joined them so he’d at least have a say in what happened next. But not everyone was invited to the table. I certainly hadn’t been—but even if I was, joining wasn’t for me. This was what I was good at, putting together the pieces of the puzzle that would eventually lead to true freedom for all of us.
“Not yet,” I said. “When I’m ready to line them up like ducks and pick them off one by one, I’ll bring both him and Sy in. For right now, they’re better off with plausible deniability in case I’m caught.” Worry flashed over Olivia’s face. “I swear I’m being careful, though. It’s just hard to learn anything about most of these people because there’s no one to talk to about them without drawing attention to myself. I’ve been mostly relying on books, and the information in those isn’t always accurate.”
She nodded. “I did some discreet inquiries about Shezmu. No one knows much about why he’s here or if he even really is. Death said he hadn’t noticed him, but I have no idea what that even means. Why wouldn’t he notice him? If I didn’t pick up the souls, he had to have done it. Surely he has seen something, but who can tell with Death?”
I shook my head. “Actually, Shezmu devours them. No souls left. So Death probably doesn’t know anything. But humans are usually his meal of choice. He has a more divine palate.”
“Oh. Well, then I don’t know. I can’t add much to what you already know. As far as the guardians have heard, he hasn’t been seen or documented. They only know about the bodies and that it appears to be his work. The local human authority has more patrols covering the entrances to the catacombs to prevent people from going down. I still don’t have any good theories as to why the council would choose this as one of their special projects. Or what they hope to gain from it. Do you have any idea?”
I handed her Jessica’s research. Getting into the catacombs wouldn’t be a problem for me, even with added patrols. Humans typically couldn’t see me. It was part of the veil between our worlds. My real issue was the hundred-plus miles of tunnels he could be hiding in. It could take weeks to find him, or whoever else was behind these crimes, even with Jessica’s map. It was a lot of ground to cover. I also wasn’t certain how I’d carry enough food to last me for a couple days, let alone a couple weeks underground. I had a very high metabolism and required a lot of sustenance. “Sy had the coven do some research. They found a persistent rumor that there is an entrance to hell down there. Maybe it’s crap. But maybe that’s the ulterior motive. Shezmu isn’t really a demon. He’s a deity associated with the underworld. But if the rumor is true and there’s an entrance to the underworld, he might be acting as a gatekeeper right now. Which could be what the council wants—the gatekeeper removed.”
Olivia’s eyebrows pulled down over her blue-green eyes. “Why? The tunnel should be guarded as much to keep people from going in as to keep things from getting out. What benefit would it be to the council to open that up?”
“That’s what I have to figure out. But looking at the members of the council, I’d say there’s a fair chance there’s someone they want to let out. Who knows what sort of lesson they have in mind for the Abyss or how they’re hoping to skew the public’s perception next? We know Leilah recruited Holden to fill the neutral position, right?” Olivia nodded. “Well, look at the others. They aren’t exactly neutral. My guess is the council aims toward balance in theory, but right now, the good side is lacking at least one member—depending on whether or not Sy gets a vote. That’s plenty of room for corruption.”
Olivia sighed. “Just having positions filled doesn’t make them good either. The guardians council was plen
ty corrupt, and they were all supposed to be good. Whatever this is about, I don’t think they voted on it.”
I crossed my arms and sat on the edge of the desk. “Has Holden mentioned anything?”
Her face softened just hearing his name. Ugh. They were still so disgustingly in love. “We don’t talk about work, either of us. He thinks I won’t be able to stay out of it, but truth be told, he’s more worried that I will make him want to get involved. Either way, it’s best if we focus our time together on us and not outside problems.”
I smiled. It wasn’t helpful at all, but it sounded just like them. I couldn’t actually blame Sy for wanting what they had. Who wouldn’t want to find their soul mate? And it wasn’t like Olivia and Holden had an easy road. They’d gone through their share of bad times. “I’m going tonight. Sy is transporting me to Paris at eight, which will make it three a.m. their time. It should be easy enough to slip inside and start piecing this puzzle together.”
Olivia hugged me. “I don’t like you doing this alone.”
I shrugged. “Then come with me. Sy already thinks I need a partner. Who better than someone like you? It’ll be like old times. Femi and Olivia, the ass-kicking mission.” I could do worse than having an AOD as a partner. And she’d definitely be able to defeat Shezmu, which wasn’t something I could do. My best bet was going to be to talk him into leaving of his own free will.
“I wish I could,” she said. “Somehow I think that might be crossing the neutrality line. Also, Holden would have an embolism. Maybe Sy could go with you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t trust that the council isn’t keeping tabs on him. They always seem pretty well informed about what happens in the Office—and I don’t think he’s telling them. I think they’re still vetting him for membership—at least, that’s the impression I got from the meeting I was at. Actually, I’m surprised Holden made it in so easily.”