by Jaye Wells
“Circle up!” I coldcocked the Reverend in the face with the butt of his own gun. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in a heap. Behind him, the junkies slunk away like rats deserting a sinking ship.
I adjusted Giguhl on my shoulder and moved in at the same time Damascus appeared in the doorway. His gaze hit mine like a punch. My hand itched to challenge the son of a bitch. But my instinct to fight was overridden by the stronger desire to ensure the safety of the beings I cared about. “Hold on, everyone!”
Just as Damascus ran toward our small group, the vortex rose and we disappeared. His voice followed us into the void. “This isn’t over!”
He was right about that much, but his comeuppance would have to wait until Cadence was stable. Dammit.
* * *
When we got back to Zen’s shop, we materialized in her sitting room. The voodooienne was elsewhere, so I sent Giguhl off to find her. Meanwhile, Adam carried Cadence’s weight to the sofa. She was in and out of consciousness. I preferred her passed out because consciousness brought with it angry sobs that wracked her whole body.
While Brooks knelt next to Cadence and covered her with a blanket, I pulled Adam aside.
He blew out a long breath. “Gods, she’s in bad shape.”
“No shit,” I said. “Let’s hope Zen’s got the patience to get her through the detox.”
He frowned at me. “She’s a mage. It shouldn’t take as long to get the junk out of her system.”
I sighed. “It won’t take long, but it’s more extreme than what humans go through because of the speed.”
As if on cue, Cadence started retching. Brooks yelped and leapt back. Thinking quickly, I grabbed a nearby trash can and swooped it under her face just in time for the projectile vomiting to begin. The mixture was a pungent slurry of puke and black bile.
It was at that moment that Zen and Giguhl ran into the room. “What the hell?” the voodoo priestess demanded.
“Her body’s ridding itself of the drugs,” I said, trying to avoid the splash zone.
Giguhl cringed back. “It smells like Satan’s taint!”
Zen disappeared into the kitchen off the salon and soon the sound of running water reached us over the noise of Cadence’s heaves.
Brooks whimpered and moved restlessly from foot to foot, clearly not sure how to help. Over her shoulder Zen said, “Brooks, go get the ginger root from my workroom.”
The Changeling hesitated. But Zen shot Giguhl a look that communicated it was his job to get the faery out of the way. “C’mon,” the demon cat said. “I’ll help you.”
Reluctantly, the faery picked up the cat and the pair exited. I moved closer now that the area around the couch had cleared out. “Ginger root isn’t going to help with this nausea.”
The priestess rubbed Cadence’s back and nodded absently. “Yeah, I don’t have any in the workroom anyway.”
“Then why—” I stopped myself, realizing she’d just been trying to get rid of the audience. “Actually, why don’t Adam and I go see if we can help them, too?”
Zen shot me a grateful look. “Thanks, Sabina.”
With one last look at Cadence’s pale, sweat-covered face, I grabbed Adam’s arm and pushed him out the door. Zen might have thought I was just trying to give Cadence some privacy, but honestly, I was having some trouble being in the room. The smell alone was bad enough, but worse was seeing Cadence so weak and pitiful. It’s not that I didn’t feel bad for her, but being around that kind of vulnerability always made me edgy.
* * *
OCTOBER 31—Halloween
On Halloween afternoon, the news ran a story about how the old Breaux mansion on Lee Circle mysteriously burned to the ground overnight. When the anchors began speculating about the cause, I turned off the TV and went to join Giguhl on the couch. He was back in his demon form since we were in Zen’s private living quarters. So when he looked at me, his black lips and goat-pupil eyes flashed a worried expression.
“Was it him?” He nodded to the door.
I nodded but didn’t say anything. Adam had left just before sunrise claiming he needed some time alone. He’d returned a couple hours earlier without a word and resumed his vigil by Cadence’s side.
On the one hand I totally got it. The things going down in that house were downright evil. It couldn’t have been easy to see the woman he once wanted to spend his life with being used by vampires looking for a fix. But on the other hand—well, I’m not proud of the other hand. That hand was wondering if seeing her in that situation had woken up some latent feelings for his former love. The kind that made him commit wildly romantic gestures.
He’s never burned down a crack den for me, I thought.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Giguhl said.
I paused. I knew I hadn’t said anything out loud. “What?”
“I can tell your brain is going places it best not go. That Mancy loves you more than anything in this world. Don’t let jealousy make you do some stupid thing.”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Sure you are.”
“Thanks, G.”
He nudged me with his shoulder. “Sabina, we’re all idiots when it comes to love. Trust me, if one of Valva’s exes showed up, you would see me do some epically ridiculous shit. And if that happened, I would also hope you could smack me around a little and remind me to get a grip.”
I pressed my lips together. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Um, hello? I’m wise as shit. You should totally listen to me all the time.”
I shot him a look.
He frowned. “Most of the time, anyway.”
I nodded. “Sometimes you do drop some epic truths on my ass.”
“Damn straight.”
I sighed. “Okay, so I won’t go all psycho girlfriend here, but I still feel like shit.”
“Understandable,” my best friend said. “But you shouldn’t take that out on Adam. You should take it out on Damascus White.”
I smiled, appreciating him trying to point out the positives. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I’m afraid that honor will fall to Nyx since she appointed him.” I’d called her the minute we’d gotten Cadence stable. She’d insisted I stay out of it to keep the peace among the races. Since he worked for her, it was up to her to deliver punishment.
“Maybe she’ll let us help torture him a little,” he said, still sounding hopeful.
I sighed. “A girl can dream. It’s been a long time since I got to kick some serious ass.”
What I didn’t say was that part of me was relieved not to have to deal with Damascus. For once it was nice to let someone else deal with a clusterfuck. I still wanted Damascus to pay for what he’d done to Cadence and gods only knew how many other innocent people, but I trusted Nyx to deliver swift and potent retribution.
My cell phone rang and the screen told me it was Queen Maeve calling. I groaned out loud. I considered ignoring it, but I’d basically threatened her to give me an answer on the were issue before Samhain or I’d crack some metaphorical skulls. “Hey, Maeve.”
She made a squeaky noise to indicate her displeasure over my informal address. “Sabina,” she said in a sour tone, “I have Michael Romulus conferenced in.”
“Sabina,” the werewolf said in his deep voice.
“Does the fact that you’re both calling mean you’ve reached an agreement?”
“Yes,” Maeve said. Michael made an assenting tone to support her answer.
My shoulders lowered from beneath my ears. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I longed for good news. “That’s great.”
“There’s just one little addendum,” Michael continued in a more hesitant tone. “We’ll need your approval to move forward with it.”
My high hopes began to plummet. “What is it?”
“I will only sign the treaty if there’s a section added forbidding mating between fae and weres in my territory,” Maeve stated in an imperious tone.
&nb
sp; My mouth fell open. “Maeve, that flies in the face of all the progress we’ve made in tearing down those old walls.”
“As it happens, I agree with her,” Michael cut in. “Our race has struggled too long to keep our population strong and pure to begin diluting it with weak fae blood.”
Maeve made an annoyed sound and added, “And my court has maintained its purity for millennia. It would be a shame to taint it with such primitive genes.”
I sighed. “And if I refuse to allow the addendum?”
“Then I will refuse to allow the migration of any and all were packs into my lands.”
My shoulders fell. As much as I wanted to promote a more accepting attitude among the Dark Races for mixed-bloods, it took a long time to change thinking on such ingrained attitudes. “I’m not happy with this at all. Changing the rules again so soon might encourage rebellion, especially among the younger members of your races.” I sighed and bit the bullet. “But if this is the only way to reach a peaceful conclusion to negotiations, I’ll allow it.”
“Really?” Maeve said, her tone shocked.
“You didn’t think I’d agree?”
“Not really.” She sounded deflated, as if this addendum had been a ploy to make me refuse the agreement.
“Have your people write up the documents and we’ll sign them at next month’s session. I just hope this won’t come back to bite both of you in the ass.” After that, I got off the phone fast before I ranted at both of them and rescinded my approval. Sometimes dealing with dark race leaders was more frustrating than corralling Giguhl’s kids.
Just then, Adam opened the door from inside the workroom. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, but he didn’t look as hopeless as he had earlier. “She’s awake.”
We all stood and I went to Adam. I gave him a hug, and the minute his arms came around me and I sniffed his sandalwood scent, I knew I’d been an idiot. This man was mine and I was his. “How are you?”
“I’ve been less shitty, but I’ll live.”
“Can we go see her?” Brooks said from the doorway. I guess he’d heard us talking from down the hall.
Adam nodded. “She was asking for you.”
Brooks didn’t need any further prompting. He practically ran across the room. Giguhl followed closely behind. Adam and I followed more slowly. When I crossed the threshold, I couldn’t see around Giguhl’s massive shoulders. Zen’s voice rose above the crowd, reminding everyone to take it easy because Cadence had been through a lot. A quieter female voice responded to Brooks in whispers.
I pushed past Giguhl and pulled up next to Brooks. Cadence broke off and looked up at me. Her eyes were wide and I could tell she was nervous. But she looked fifty times better than she had when we pulled her out of that house. Her hair was long and brown with gold highlights. Her eyes were a bright, clear blue and her complexion was getting some glow back. The only sign of her ordeal were the large bandages on her wrists and throat.
As much as I hated to admit it, I totally saw what attracted Adam to her. She had a classic, unthreatening beauty that a lot of men went for. But I also saw the shadows in her eyes. The ones that hinted at deep pain in her life. Of hard lessons and a lack of love. I recognized those shadows because I had them, too.
I glanced back at Adam. Maybe he was attracted to troubled women, I realized with a jolt. But I pushed that thought aside. Everyone has shadows. It’s just, well, some of us have a harder time of disguising them. Turning back to the girl in the bed, I tried to smile.
“Hi,” Cadence said.
I waved lamely. “Hey.”
“You’re Sabina, right?” Her eyes flicked behind me, toward where Adam stood close to my back.
I nodded and swallowed. Why was I nervous? “I’m glad you’re all right,” I mumbled for lack of anything brilliant to say.
The corner of her mouth lifted like I’d made a joke. “Thank you.” The gratitude was offered so easily and genuinely that I couldn’t continue to hold on to the negative feelings toward her I’d been trying to cling to. “Adam’s told me all about you. I’m”—she heaved a shaky sigh—“I’m glad he’s happy. You’ve been good for him.”
I frowned. It never occurred to me that they’d be talking about me in the room all that time. I shot my Mancy a smile. “He’s been good for me, too.” I turned back to Cadence. “And I’m glad you’re all right. You had all of us worried.”
Her gaze hit the floor. “I know you won’t believe me, but I wasn’t using. At least, not before the Rev took me.”
“What happened that night?” Brooks said, his voice careful.
She swallowed hard. “Damascus had been after me to meet him for a date. But when I got there, the Reverend was waiting instead. He tried to get me to go with him, but when I refused he—” She cut off and shuddered. Brooks patted her hand. “He shot me full of smack.”
She paused, as if trying to collect her thoughts. “Next thing I remember is waking up in that house. They kept me so drugged I didn’t even know how many days had passed before you guys arrived.” She began to shake uncontrollably. “Thank the gods you found me. I was so—” She shook her head and started crying.
My heart sank for her. I had no idea how she’d recover from the wounds she’d suffered in that hellhole. But looking around the room, I thought maybe Cadence had more friends than she realized.
A throat cleared behind me. I turned to see Erron in the doorway. He wore huge, dark sunglasses that hinted at a bender the night before. “You’re still alive!” I teased, referring to the prediction his bassist had made about his heart stopping.
“So far, so good.” A line formed between his brows. “Weird, though, because Rocco is usually dead on with his predictions.”
Giguhl came to join us by the door. He and Erron high-fived. “Isn’t your show tonight?”
“I just came from the sound check. Brooks called to say you found your friend, so I wanted to stop in.”
I nodded and turned to motion toward Cadence. Before I could say anything, though, Erron froze. I looked from him toward where Cadence lay in the bed. Her tear-stained face was a mask of shock, too.
“Um…?” I said.
Erron jerked out of stillness with a gasp and his hand went to his chest. “Ow.”
“Dude, are you okay?” Giguhl whispered.
At that point, Brooks, Zen, and Adam had all clued in that something was going down. While Zen rushed to Erron to check on him, I kept my eyes on Cadence. She didn’t look worried about Erron’s health. Instead, she tilted her head and met his gaze across the room. The clouds behind her eyes cleared and a small, mysterious smile tilted up the corner of her mouth. “Oh,” she whispered, “it’s you.”
Erron pushed Zen and Giguhl away with a muttered, “I’m fine.” He took a couple of steps toward Cadence, his hand still on his heart. “Do I know you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m Cadence.”
“Erron,” he said dumbly.
That’s when I realized what was going on. Erron’s bandmate hadn’t seen the singer’s death. He’d seen that Erron was going to meet a special someone who made his heart stop.
Cadence held out her hand, as if it were the most natural and normal thing in the world to reach for a man you’d only just met. While the rest of us looked on, flabbergasted, Erron walked directly toward her, took her hands in his, and leaned over to kiss them. “I think—” he began, and cut off.
Cadence smiled, the expression making her look younger. “Don’t think,” she said. “Sit.”
With a look I can only describe as shell-shocked, Erron Zorn, lead singer of The Foreskins, Recreant mage, and all-around bad boy dropped onto the bed and gazed at Cadence McShane like she was his own personal goddess.
The room fell awkwardly silent for a few beats before Zen took control. “All right, everyone. Let’s give her a chance to rest.”
Giguhl, Brooks, and Adam filed out as instructed, each looking more confused than the last. I turned to go just as
Erron started to stand.
“No,” Cadence said, “you’re staying.”
Zen covered her smile with a hand and came to guide me out the door. Just before the panel closed, I saw a look of such uncomplicated connection pass between them that my eyes got a little misty.
When I turned away from the door, I found the hallway empty. I passed the living area and saw Brooks, Zen, and Giguhl chatting away and making a meal. “Where’s Adam?” I asked.
Giguhl shrugged. “Said he needed some fresh air.”
I paused and glanced toward the stairs. Adam had been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours. First, having to see Cadence in that drug den and then helping her through the horrible detox. And after all that, witnessing her and Erron Zorn fall under each other’s spell like that.
Talk about an ass-kick of a night.
I found him leaning against a lamppost just in front of the store on Bourbon Street. The crowd was thick as the annual Halloween parades crawled through the French Quarter. Beads and candy flew through the air, and every sense was assaulted by color and light and music and screams and the scent of spilled beer and the turned-soil-and-blood scent of humanity. Normally, I would have enjoyed the sensory overload, but that night it felt…too much.
On one side of Adam was a man in a werewolf costume; a woman in faery wings stood on the other. I nudged Tinkerbell aside and put my arms around Adam. “You okay?” I whispered.
His arms came around me, and instead of answering, he kissed me with a passion that robbed me of breath and left me dizzy. When he finally pulled away, he was smiling. I blew out a breath. “What was that for?”
He put his forehead against mine. “I was just remembering the first time I saw you.”
I laughed. “In that bar in Los Angeles.”
He nodded. “I fell in love with you at that moment.”
I shook my head at him. “While you watched me kill that guy?”
He kissed me again, too quickly for my liking. “No. The second you strutted in looking for a fight. I thought, ‘There she is.’ And you know what?”
“What?” I whispered.
“I was right. The minute I saw you, there was never a chance I’d ever settle for another woman.” He glanced back toward Zen’s building. “If I had to guess, that’s exactly what Erron just felt in there.”