Will slammed the table with his fist. “You could get her killed.”
“That’s the risk she’s willing to take … for the cause.” Verdandi shrugged.
I placed a shaky hand on Will’s fist and made eye contact. His gaze was strained, and I knew exactly what he was trying to tell me.
This is nuts, Raven.
I know, but play along for now, I tried to reply.
Verdandi cleared her throat, and I snatched my hand away.
“All right, so let’s talk to Lana,” I said.
The Norn slid out of the booth. “Meet her at the cemetery in a half-hour.” Before any of us could object, she was gone.
“Seriously, Raven?” Charlie turned to me. “This has disaster written all over it.”
“Let’s just meet with Lana and see what she has to say. It could be important.” I sat on my trembling hands again. “Verdandi says something big is coming, and I believe her. We need to be ready.”
Will snorted. “Since when are you the first to charge into battle?”
“For millennia now.” I glared at him. “I said I was turning over a new leaf. I’m tired of sitting idly. You wanted a champion, you got it.”
Charlie and Will looked at one another.
“I’m skeptical,” Charlie mumbled.
“Why?!” I shouted unintentionally.
“Because you look like a junkie, Raven!” Will retorted, and Charlie winced.
My eyes widened. I’d honestly thought I was hiding it well, but obviously I was doing a shit job.
Will lowered his voice. “You have dark circles around your eyes, you’re sweating profusely, and you can’t stop shaking. You’re having severe withdrawals, Raven. You’re not champion material right now.”
I swallowed, and my throat suddenly closed in on me and went dry. I worried I wouldn’t be able to speak. “I-I just need one drink. To get me through the day.”
Charlie shut her eyes in disappointment—the one thing I didn’t want to see.
“You need to go to rehab—” Will started.
“Hell no,” I scoffed. “I’d rather die than go to one of those facilities. No thanks!”
The room quieted and I looked down at my quaking hands on my lap. I couldn’t argue with them for long. They were right. If I kept going like this, I wouldn’t be good to anyone. I only hoped this detox would end quickly and painless. Maybe there was something in the Underground, an herb that could hasten the process.
“Let’s just go,” I murmured, “or we’ll be late meeting Lana.”
No one argued.
The cemetery was as eerily still as always when we entered. Like before, there wasn’t anywhere to look for Lana—we had to wait for her to find us. The headstones were worn out, the words engraved barely legible.
“I hate coming here.” Will shivered as he walked a little closer to me.
I chuckled. “We’ll make it quick. Find out what she has to say and leave. Easy.”
Charlie snorted. “Yeah right,” she whispered as she hopped over a grave. “Lana is in cahoots with a Norn. There’s nothing easy about that.”
A gaggle of birds flew up from behind one of the crypts, and Will and Charlie shrieked. Both of them clutched my arms, practically hiding behind me.
“Welcome,” Lana said as she came out of the crypt. What an entrance. “Thank you for taking the time to meet me.”
The two scared children on either side of me released me quickly and nodded.
“Well, we were a little concerned, Lana. What Verdandi has mentioned is a little extreme,” I replied.
Lana smiled tightly. “I know, but these are extreme times. Please, follow me” She waved us over to accompany her into the crypt.
I followed her without hesitation, while the other chickens were a bit slower.
The wrought iron gate enclosing the crypt whined loudly as we opened it and went inside. The crypt was dark compared to the outside. Torches lined the walls where the dead were buried, and I felt claustrophobic in the tight space.
“Why are we here?” I looked around the small space, and Charlie huddled near me.
Lana smirked. “This is the only place in the cemetery that is spelled so others cannot overhear. For privacy.”
From Hugin and Munin, in other words. I grinned. Smart. From the looks of things, Verdandi and Lana had been hard at work these past few weeks.
“Let’s get to the point,” Will said, looking obviously uncomfortable. “Are you really going to let Verdandi take over your body for a year? Is that what you want?”
Lana tilted her head. “William the detective, correct?” Will nodded. “Yes, I agreed to let the Norn take over my body for a year. I have seen what is to come and we need her and her visions.”
“What is coming?” Charlie whispered.
“I have seen the world aflame. Every human, supernatural, everyone … dead. An evil has been released, and if brought on this world, it will be the end of us.”
“If brought to this world? You mean it’s not here yet?” I raised a brow. The whole purpose of this was the fact something was already here that needed to be defeated.
“It will come, Raven,” Lana replied.
Will rubbed at his forehead. “I’m confused. Call me dense, but if it’s already been released but it’s not in this world, where the heck is it?”
“This is why we need the Norn,” Lana insisted. “We do not know what it is or where. Her vision was vague. We need more information.”
“Okay, I get why the Norn needs her visions, but why do you need to risk your life for that sword?” Will said more so to Lana than to me.
“In the vision, the flames could not touch the sword. They were almost afraid of it,” the medium explained. “It’s not to be taken literally but means it’s a weapon that can defeat whatever evil is coming our way.”
Will threw his hands in the air. “This all sounds ridiculous.”
“Here is the list.” Lana handed a piece of paper to Charlie. “All of the ingredients needed for the potion can be found at the Underground by an herbalist named Ross. I need everything by tonight to do the ritual with the blood moon.”
“You’re giving us a tight schedule, Lana.” I snatched the paper from Charlie. We hadn’t agreed on anything.
“Then you’d better get on it,” she said.
5
We left the cemetery in a hurry and a little pissed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Lana was already starting to act like Verdandi. We could have told her to go to hell, but Charlie and I needed a reason to go to the Underground anyway and this was the perfect excuse.
“Will you two be okay going alone?” Will asked once we were out of the crypt.
I only stared at him. “Really, Will? Of course, we’re going to be okay.”
“Well, I have to get back to the station.” He looked at his wristwatch. “See you both tonight, say ten o’clock, right here?”
We nodded and went our separate ways. It was already late into the evening, and the sun was starting to set. Charlie and I walked in silence for a while, her ponytail whipping side-to-side, until she couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“What if we find Castellano tonight?” She worried her bottom lip and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“I can promise you we won’t, Charlie.”
“Why?!”
I chuckled. “Because Castellano is smart as hell. He’s not hiding in the Underground. Besides, those shacks are barely standing on their own. We follow the drugs, we find the kingpin. I guarantee it.”
She was silent for a moment. “Is that what you would do?”
I peered over at her and smirked. “I’m a junkie, remember? I wouldn’t be that clever.”
She sighed and her shoulders slouched. “Raven, we didn’t mean it like that—”
I raised a hand to stop her. “It’s okay, Charlie. I know what I am; I’m not oblivious to it. But I promise I’m trying to get clean. Just give me time and patie
nce.”
The Underground was a dump in an undesirable part of Portland shielded with magical runes and spells to keep humans away. You would think the supernatural community would want to keep it nice, but it was a shabby black market with shacks that barely stood, hidden alcoves, and tattered canopies covering the area. And a very unpleasant odor that resembled urine. We walked past stands as booth owners tried to sell us whatever knickknacks they had, but we just pushed our way through the herd until we found the herbalists. According to Lana, he was the only herbalist in the Underground.
I scrunched my nose. “Gods, the smell is horrible.”
Charlie grinned. “You get used to it.”
“You never told me how you got involved with Tony the necromancer,” I said as we made our way through the crowd. Charlie definitely had a story even though her soul was pure.
She rubbed her arms as if they were dirty and avoided my gaze. “It’s a past I’m not proud of, Raven.”
I stopped walking, pulled her to a halt, and forced her to face me. “You’re talking to someone who has nothing but shame in her past, present, and possibly future. I’m not judging, but I also won’t pry if you’re not ready to talk.”
“Move out of the way!” someone yelled as they bumped into us, and I pushed them back.
“Go around!” I shouted.
Charlie chuckled. “Thanks, Raven.” She wiped some stray tears from her cheek when her gaze went over my shoulder “Look over there!” Charlie pointed down the alleyway at a store. “Herbs and Spices,” she announced, reading the sign.
We weaved through the crowd and down the alley before reaching a little store in the dark corner. The wooden door creaked as we pushed it open and let ourselves in.
“Hello?” I called out and was greeted by a cloud of dust. Waving my hand in front of my face, I coughed, “The place is deserted.”
“It can’t be.” Charlie frowned as she went up to the counter and leaned over it. “Who would leave merchandise out in the open for anyone to take?”
She had a point. I looked around the little shop; the place was fully stocked. There was dust everywhere, though, so it hadn’t seen a customer in quite some time.
“Some of this stuff could be expired, Charlie.” I grimaced as I pulled out a bottle of an herb that used to be green … I think. The smell was rancid. “Could this be an old place that closed down and there’s another herbalist?”
“I honestly don’t know.” She shrugged. “I never even heard of an herbalist in the Underground. Everyone just goes to the apothecary.”
“Maybe that’s where Lana meant for us to go.” I was pretty sure it wasn’t. Lana was careful with her words.
“Should we ask around for Ross?” Charlie suggested.
I shook my head. That was a bad idea, especially here where it was unpredictable and the people were shady as hell.
The front door creaked open and three enormous men stepped inside. They were easily six-feet-five-inches tall, minimum, with the build of someone on steroids. I don’t believe in coincidence, so I figured we were followed or someone was watching this place. Either way, we were in for some trouble.
“The shop’s abandoned.” I stepped forward, putting myself in front of Charlie.
The buzz cut to the left looked at me and squinted his eyes. “So what are you doing here?”
“Just looking around. We’ll be on our way.” I shrugged casually and began moving toward the door.
The one in the middle raised his hand, halting our steps.
I craned my neck up and stared at him. “Excuse me?”
He crossed his massive arms over his chest. “We can’t let you go,” he boomed, “until you tell us where Ross is.”
Charlie grabbed the back of my shirt. It was all starting to make sense now. We were in the right place, just a little too late. Ross was on the run, but from whom?
“Like I said, Big Guy, we were just looking around. We don’t know any Ross. See here?” I pulled out the piece of paper Lana had given me. “We just need some herbs, man.”
I was going to murder Lana if she knew Ross was a wanted man.
Big Guy snatched the paper from my hand and read the list. He looked at it, then at me, then at the list again before he ripped the paper in two and crumpled it in his hands.
“Do you play me for a fool?” he roared as he grabbed my neck and squeezed. He pushed me back, knocking down merchandise as we went, until he lifted me in the air and slammed me down on the counter.
“Raven!” Charlie cried out.
My head hit the register and the drawer opened, making his buddies laugh. It was not my finest hour.
“Everyone knows Herbs and Spices has been deserted for months,” he growled in my ear, his hand still firmly wrapped around my neck. I clawed at it. I couldn’t breathe. “No one should be in here unless you plan to meet someone. Say, Ross himself?”
“Let her go!” Charlie yelled, but the other two idiots weren’t paying her any mind.
To anyone else, Charlie looked harmless, but she swiftly took off her glasses and pocketed them in her cardigan. She huffed and puffed and finally shrieked. Had there been any windows in the store, they would have shattered. Her scream bounced off the wood panels and most likely seeped out into the alleyways of the Underground. Big Guy released me almost immediately to cover his ears, and I sucked in a gulp of air. Not wasting any time, I climbed off the counter and punched him in the gut. As he hunched over and grabbed his stomach, I hooked my arm around his neck and snapped it. He crumpled to the ground, and Charlie stopped her banshee wail.
The other two guys were crouched down, their hands covering their bleeding ears.
“All right, so what do we have here?” I strode toward them. “You two goons want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Goons. I repeated the word in my head, and it was like a lightbulb turned on. “Oh no … of course.”
“What’s going on, Raven?” Charlie came to my side as the two guys wiped the blood off their faces and onto their pants.
“You mean to tell me you’re Castellano’s men?” I muttered. It was too good to be true. It was as if they’d fallen into the palm of our hands. There had to be a catch.
Buzz Cut’s gaze whipped to me. “What do you know about The Boss?” The silent one began to crack his knuckles. Two against one? That was a fair fight. “See, I knew you looked familiar.” Buzz Cut stepped closer. Before he could get his hands on me, I pulled daggers from my boots and cut him at the Achilles heels.
“Stay down,” I said before going to the other one, the quiet one. I raised my daggered hands to fight, and he did the same. “Me and you need to talk, Quiet Wonder. And if I don’t get the answers I want, one of these daggers is slicing your buddy’s femoral artery.”
He grunted and I guess that was a no. He went for my middle and I wasn’t fast enough, mostly because I wasn’t expecting this reaction. He rammed his shoulder into my stomach, sucking the air right out of me as he pushed me backward. I punched his back multiple times until my own back hit the wood panel wall. He slammed me against it and I slumped down, clutching the daggers for dear life.
I found my footing and stood. This time, he wasn’t going to catch me off guard. I let him come forward as I prepared. He didn’t see the first swing of the dagger—right, left, right, left. The whoosh of the steel slicing through the air was the only sound as I danced around him. He tried to block me, but it was no use. He stumbled back and tripped on a pile of merchandise on the floor, and I awkwardly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, making sure to maintain my grip on my dagger. Using my free hand, I placed the other dagger at his throat.
“I gave you an option, but you denied me. Too bad.” I sliced his throat, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. “Buzz Cut!” I shouted to the last man. He was on his knees before Charlie, his ankles bleeding out. He’d be fine; it was just painful and he wouldn’t be able to walk.
“I’m not giving you shit!” he yelled. He leaned on
his fists, no longer able to hold himself up. “I’d rather—”
“You’d rather what?” I walked up behind him. “You’d rather die? Not too long ago, your buddy over there was gonna try to choke information out of me. I think it’s only fair I do the same.”
“I don’t know anything,” he whispered.
I tsked and wagged a finger. “See, that’s where I think you’re wrong. I have tons of questions I think you can help me answer. First, let’s start with the easy one. Who is this Ross fellow?”
Buzz Cut lifted his head. “You really don’t know?”
“Obviously.” I rolled my eyes. “Now spill.”
“Ross Milton is the creator of Venom.”
Charlie gasped and her eyes widened to the point her brows nearly reached her hairline. I would have dropped my daggers if I wasn’t careful. That was something I definitely wasn’t expecting. Did Verdandi know? This was the big break we needed. She wanted to find Castellano more than any of us. Now if only we could find Ross.
“What happened to Ross? Why the disappearing act? Isn’t business booming?”
He remained quiet, so I took one of my daggers and lifted his chin, the tip of it hitting his Adam’s apple. He gulped.
“Answer me,” I demanded.
“When he saw what it was doing to supernaturals, how it was killing them, he wanted to stop production, but The Boss wouldn’t let him. Ross ran off.”
Charlie came beside me. “What are you guys? You’re obviously supernaturals if you’re in the Underground,” she said.
“Ogres,” he said as he tried to look at his fallen kin.
“And Castellano knows what you are?” If the scum did know, it changed everything. A human who knew about supernaturals was a dangerous thing.
“Yeah, he knows.”
“Dammit,” I muttered. This wasn’t good. “Do you know where he’s hiding?”
“The Boss?”
I nodded.
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