by Tee, Marian
She forced herself to meet his gaze with its empty eye sockets, which she knew she'd eventually get used to, just like how she had become used to Elsa's not-exactly-calming appearance.
"So, um..." Zari was about to give the dead boy the same talk she gave all the other ghosts about the need for advance warning when she recalled his earlier words. "Martin..." She pushed herself up to a sitting position, and Martin did the same thing. "That smell you mentioned..." She sniffed the air, just to be sure it was still the same scent she had noticed, and it was.
Something fruity, but also somewhat smoky...
"So you also smell it?" Martin asked.
"Do you know what it is?"
"I grew up around it," the boy told her. "My mom's a weak one."
Zari tried making sense of the boy's words. "Do you mean she's sick?"
Martin shook his head. "No, no, not that. I mean, my mom's a weak one. It's like a religion..."
A religion?
His mother had a religion that made her a...
Oh.
"A Wiccan," Zari realized out loud.
The boy nodded eagerly. "Yes! My mother's a Wiccan, and she uses this plant all the time. She calls 'em the devil's apples."
The Warden in the Bad Place
Chapter Six
MIDDLEMARCH SHOOK HIS head disapprovingly when the revolving doors started spinning at six in the morning. Only one person could be crazy enough to come this early to work, and just as expected, a diminutive blonde soon came walking inside the lobby.
"You really need to get a life, kid."
"Last time I checked," Zari quipped, "I'm still alive." She could still feel Middlemarch glowering at her as she headed for the French doors and tried not to sigh. She got it, really. Even she knew eighty-hour work weeks weren't sustainable, and she'd be more than happy to take an extended leave of absence once her Master returned.
But until then...
Zari dumped her trench coat on the library table and marched towards the shelves. B for Botany, Zari thought as she started browsing for titles. In moments, she had about twenty pounds worth of leatherbound textbooks in her arms and had given herself a good bicep workout by the time she got back to her table.
She flipped the first book open as soon as she was seated, skipped all the way to D, and her eyes widened. The devil's apples, according to the 17th century witch whose lessons she was now reading, were apparently another name for mandrakes, and contrary to what J.K. Rowling wanted everyone to believe, they were definitely not the kind of plant anyone would want growing in their Vegepods.
Mandrakes, like human bodies, may be male or female. And also just like mortal flesh, mandrakes may be turned into cocoons from which demons gradually build their strength until they are able to break into the human realm.
The witch wrote a lot more after that, but only one word jumped out at her—-
Demon.
Zari nearly muttered out an expletive. She should've known, should've seen this coming miles away. Of course a demon had to be involved, and she had a feeling that things were just going to get worse from here if she didn't do something—-
Beep.
The customized ring alert had Zari's lips tightening, and she momentarily pushed aside all thoughts of missing demons and dead bodies and started tapping all over her trench coat until she found which pocket had her phone. She had assigned that ringtone to the Board, and Zari's brows shot up when she clicked the message open.
Your immediate presence is requested in the Dialogue Room.
Those rumors that Micah told her about must've been worse than Zari thought. It was unheard of for a Board member to speak directly to a trapper, and especially one like her who had only been with AGNEX for a little over a year.
On her way down to B3, a shuffling sound had Zari absently looking over her shoulder—-
Shit!
She almost tumbled down the rest of the steps.
What the hell was Elsa doing out here, haunting the stairwell of her workplace?
Zari had her answer a moment later, with the ghost suddenly shooting towards her, and the hairs behind her neck stood up as Elsa's icy cold breath fanned her ear.
"Bad place, Zari," Elsa whispered in a singsong voice. "Bad place."
THE DIALOGUE ROOM WAS what trappers privately called the greatest misnomer in history, since dialogue rarely took place within its cold, damp walls. In reality, it was a dungeon-like chamber where trappers were "questioned" about their alleged violations and, if proven guilty, tortured accordingly.
Even though the agency's rulebook clearly stated that all she would get was a warning on her first invitation, Zari still had her guard up when she entered the chamber and saw the robed warden seated on the head of the table.
He appeared to be anywhere between his seventies and infinity, had cold, beady eyes, and a gauntness that was made all the more noticeable by the green veins running all over his too-pale skin.
"Sit down, Ms. Baltimore."
She did as asked and took her seat at the foot of the table. "Thank you, warden."
"I assume you know why you have been invited to present yourself?"
"My superior has spoken to me about the Board's understandable concerns." Zari picked her words with care. "And I have, as suggested, applied for one of the paid cases—-"
"Then why is it," the warden asked, "were you still seen last night at the crime scene of your previous assignment?"
It was the one question that Zari hadn't been expecting, and she launched into an apology without hesitation. "I am very sorry, warden." Appeal to emotion was always a great time-stalling tactic, and Zari silently thanked her mentor for all those hours they had spent working on her poker face and making sure she was capable of lying to save her life (literally). "Micah did say I was to prioritize paid cases to show my loyalty to the agency." Pointless recounting was the next second best strategy, and by the end of it, Zari had found herself a plausible excuse.
"And are you loyal to AGNEX, Ms. Baltimore?"
"Absolutely, warden," Zari averred without blinking. "The only reason I've been working on pro bono cases is because I'm afraid to be a disappointment to the agency...and to myself. And with Warehouse 57 being my first big case..." She swallowed hard and made her voice tremble a little. "I simply wanted to be sure I had left no stone unturned."
"The grave has been emptied, trapper," the warden snapped. "Or are you saying there are more bodies to be found?"
Before Zari could decide between admitting the truth and uttering another lie, the building alarms suddenly went off, and both Zari and the warden were instantly on their feet. The red light flashing over and over could only mean AGNEX was under threat, but who the heck would be stupid enough to attack the agency in broad day—-
"TROUBLE AT L1," a slightly panicky voice declared over the PA system. "ALL TRAPPERS RESPOND. Threat identified as Alexandru Gheorgiu..."
Zari didn't hear the rest.
Didn't give a damn as the warden yelled for her to stop.
She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, heart beating madly, just running and running while optically peeing like someone whose eye bladders had given up on her.
A couple of trappers tried blocking her way when she made it to the lobby, but she didn't even stop for a single second, just pulled her gun out and trained it on them. "Just fucking try," Zari snarled, "and I swear to God I'll shoot you."
No additional warning was needed, everyone smart enough to jump out of her way, and finally, finally, she was out of the building—-
Oh God.
She started trembling violently.
Oh God.
And a broken sob escaped her.
"Master."
The Master Who Bullies Her
Chapter Seven
COLORS. OR RATHER JUST one color, actually. That was what a soul seer's vision would always be rooted in. One color, just a single shade that could be any of the hundreds known to man or even one th
at Pantone had yet to discover.
One color.
It was always like that...except for the time Zari wrapped her fingers around a bloodstained rock, and a vision like no other had consumed her.
Instead of seeing in colors, she saw nothing.
A vision drowning in darkness, just one endless void where color didn't exist, and the only sign of life had been the painfully familiar timbre of her Master's low, velvety voice.
NEVER.
And that had been it.
One word, just one word, and Zari would've fallen to the ground if not for Mihail catching her in his arms. "What is it, Lady Zari?"
She tried to speak but found it impossible. She was too angry, too frustrated, too consumed with the need to see her Master so she could yell at his broodingly beautiful face.
Seriously, Master?
SERIOUSLY?
He finally found a chance to send them a message, probably risked his life nearly bleeding to death, and instead of showing them how to rescue him, her Master had instead given them one damn word.
Not a sentence or a phrase, not even two words, but one.
Just one word that couldn't save his life, one word that no one else would understand—-
Except for her.
Because that one word was to answer the question she had asked one stormy, drunken night.
Will you hate me, Master...if being strong means that you might have to die for me?
The Man Who
Went to Hell and Back
Chapter Eight
FOR THE PAST THOUSAND-plus days, Alexandru Gheorgiu had been imprisoned in a place where the skies weren't blue, and the air that stung his skin made the rays of the sun seem like beams of ice.
Having lived for centuries before his captivity, Alexandru had thought he knew everything there was about pain. A hunter of rogue vampires and demons, he was used to risking his life with every mission he took, and he had never been the type to shy away from death.
But just a day in Hell...
And it was enough to change everything.
Hell was the mother of pain, and only when you were living in its womb did one truly taste pain and understand its essence.
One day in Hell would teach you a lot, and Alexandru had been there for four long fucking years.
SNEAKING INTO HELL was one thing. Escaping it was another. But harder than both was choosing to stay, and as fate would have it, that had been Alexandru's curse.
He had to stay in Hell even when the sound of his pet's tears lashed at him night after night.
Fate had damned him, and he still had to stay in Hell even when a window of opportunity showed itself to him, and all he could do was throw a Hail Mary into it in the shape of a demon corpse.
Just his fucking fate, to never leave Hell until he no longer recognized himself.
IT WAS A LONG CLIMB back to the mortal world. No human would've survived such an ordeal, and by the time Alexandru had clawed his way out of the earth, he had been so fucking starving that he had latched on to the first living thing. A black bear tackled to the ground, his fangs piercing its neck, and the creature was drained of its blood in moments.
Only after that did he have the energy to push himself up, and as he followed the sound of rushing water, Alexandru reached out tiredly through the blood bond he shared with the ruler of the vampire race.
Brother. I'm back.
Alexandru. Mihail's voice was gruff with emotion, and the swiftness with which the Marquis of Sangre responded was a balm to Alexandru's weary soul.
You are safe?
Yes. Alexandru finally made it to the creek, and he sank down on his knees, scooping water with his hands to finally assuage the parched state of his throat.
For how long?
All immediate threats have been dealt with. Alexandru undressed himself before washing the dirt off his body.
Thank fuck.
Alexandru inhaled deeply.
My pet...
The blood bond he shared with his pet told him she was safe, but that wasn't enough.
Where is she?
Because it had been the same for him.
Because like her, it had hurt him to be apart.
He could live without the sun, live without the whole world, but his Zari he could never do without.
Just his pet, and nothing else.
Her, he missed.
Every. Goddamn. Moment.
The Pet Is
Where She Belongs
Chapter Nine
ALEXANDRU DIDN'T MOVE a muscle even as his pet came to a clumsy halt just a few feet before him, the sight of her unearthing desires that, for the sake of his sanity, he had to bury at the deepest part of him.
An eternity. That was how it had felt, to be apart from this girl whose soul she shared with him, and who had his heart in her keeping.
Every second spent without her had been a fucking eternity, every second spent in hunger for the sight, sound, and scent of her - the feel of her, dammit. He had fucking starved for her, and now that she was finally here, finally within fucking reach...
Around them, the heart of the city continued to beat: the honking horns and the mad rush of people, the myriad of smells and noises that coalesced into a coarse attack on the senses. Most others would have found such an assault impossible to ignore, but for Alexandru...none of it even existed.
Only this girl with her long silvery hair and big gray eyes...
Only his pet mattered.
Only her.
Zari.
The mere thought of her name spiraled into a visceral need to touch her - kiss her, fuck her, thrust his cock home into the moist, lovely warmth of her pussy. He needed to really feel the familiar silkiness of her skin under his fingers to know that this was real, that this was no longer one of the millions of fantasies he had clung to when he was burning in Hell...
He needed her, and yet—-
Alexandru didn't lift a single finger to touch her.
Instead, he forced himself to remain still, centuries' worth of self-control coming to his rescue.
Four years might have been an eternity for him, and in those years he might have heard her crying endlessly, but even so...
The part of him that had never believed he deserved someone like Zari—-
The part that believed she should find someone better—-
That part of him demanded he wait.
Her choice to continue to be with him.
It always had to be her choice, which was why Alexandru found himself sucking his breath in and preparing himself for her rejection as her big, gray eyes slowly lifted up to meet his.
Her gaze was both bright and dazed, a cloudy, teary shade of gray that seemed to devour every inch of him as if she were unable to believe he was real.
Master.
This time, she whispered it through the blood bond they shared, and the sound of it was precious. So fucking precious to finally hear it and know...
She still chose him.
HELLO, PET.
A smile wobbled to Zari's lips as the velvety timbre of Alexandru's voice wrapped around her like tendrils of seduction. Four years, she thought dizzily. After practically disappearing without a trace for four long years...
She wanted to say so many things, but she was suddenly incapable of uttering a single word. Emotions burst out of nowhere, and sobs threatened to rush out of her throat. Just like that, all she could do was stare at him, just taking it all in...
Immaculate. Pristine. Perfect. That was how Alexandru Gheorgiu had always been, not just to her, but to the rest of the world. Dangerously beautiful, treacherously graceful, and so intensely sexual that she had gotten used to seeing even the most sophisticated women lose their cool and literally pant at the sight of him.
And yet now...
Some things were the same, but other things had changed.
He had obviously taken a bath sometime in the past hour, with his silky ebony locks glistening under the
autumn sun. And after that, he had just as obviously borrowed (stolen?) someone else's clothes: the white shirt was a loose fit and the pants several inches too short, while his feet...were bare.
Definitely far from his usually polished appearance, and even though he remained so heartbreakingly handsome that women kept glancing over their shoulders to steal looks at him...
Her eyes started stinging anew.
It hurt to see him less than perfect, hurt so much to see him even the slightest bit less than his usual imposing and invincible self because it only meant all those years he was gone...
Where did you go, Master, she wished she could ask. Who did this to you? Why did you choose to suffer alone?
The damage that recent years had wrought on her Master was excruciating to see.
Wherever it was he had spent the last four years, whatever he had been doing...
It wasn't that he looked weak now.
If anything, he appeared tougher, so much more lethal than Zari could ever remember seeing him.
But his eyes...
So much suffering in those eyes—-
Are you crying for me, pet?
The sudden sound of her Master's purr in her mind had her shoulders shaking hard.
Miss me that much?
She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears kept flowing. She struggled to get herself under control, but when her tears only kept rushing down her cheeks...oh, dammit. Why bother kidding herself? She would never be alright until she could feel for herself...
This wasn't a dream.
He was real.
And he was still hers.
Zari felt her Master's gaze burn as she took one clumsy step forward, and her heart started banging harder and harder against her chest with every shaky step she took. She could barely breathe by the time she was close enough to feel the silken heat of his presence, and her fingers started trembling as she slowly reached up.