by Liz Schulte
Femi glared. “Why?”
“Because she deserted us.”
“Then why are you helping her now?”
“I know she didn’t kill anyone.”
Femi stared up at the ceiling. “I always hated the telephone game.”
“Excuse me?”
“It means no. Tell her yourself. Just because you’re too big of a wimp to come clean doesn’t mean I have to do it for you. I’m tired of being put in the middle of your all’s drama. There are people being killed, Olivia’s life is on the line—thanks for that— and I have things to do today. You’re a freaking guardian.” She leaned forward and slapped the back of my head. “Get your act together.”
Femi walked out with swagger, waving at the bartender over her shoulder. I stood up to follow when I felt the elders calling me back. I closed my eyes for a few moments before I answered their call.
I arrived in Ezra’s office like old times, except now he was livid.
“I don’t know what game you are playing, Quintus, but I am not to be trifled with.”
I looked at him, not sure what to say. “I have to follow my conscience.”
His eyes narrowed. “I will destroy you if you dare go against me. Do you think you are the first guardian who was unhappy with the system? There were many before you and there will be many after. I will not let anyone upset the balance.”
“What scares you so much about Olivia? The fact that you can’t stop her or the fact that you can’t control her?”
“She is the enemy,” he thundered.
I shook my head. “She’s not the enemy. She is the example. I didn’t see it before, but I do now. She always follows her heart, she loves those who are unworthy of her love and makes them choose to be better people, and despite the many obstacles we have all placed in front of her, she still sees the best in all of us. She is living, breathing hope. If you kill her, you take that from everyone. I won’t allow it.”
Ezra laughed. “You can’t stop me. In time you will see I was right. She has brainwashed you.”
“Your time is coming to an end, Ezra. You’re a fool not to see it.” I transported back home before he could sputter a rebuke.
Jace wouldn’t be happy I had thrown down the gauntlet, but it had to be done. Ezra would pay.
Twenty One
The little minx always managed to get what she wanted. I never intended on telling Baker anything, yet we told him everything. I wanted to keep her safe, yet we were together out in the open from here on out. It scared the shit out of me that angels could take her away at their will and there was nothing I could do about it. We went to Danica’s office to look for clues and I sent Baker with Femi, since Olivia said she was looking for Juliet too, to check out the warehouse. I tried to keep a firm grasp on the situation, but it slipped through my fingers a little bit more each day.
Olivia laughed when we walked into Danica’s office, which looked the same as the last time I was here. “I guess all jinn aren’t neat.”
I curled my lip in disgust, making her chuckle again.
“Should I go in first?” Her eyes twinkled at me. “Tidy up a bit, make sure it’s safe for you to go in?”
I shook my head and walked into the room. I took her chair behind the desk and began, once again, to go through Danica’s piles of crap. Either she was an evil mastermind who hid important information amongst garbage or she had zero capability of filing something—God forbid she would alphabetize.
Olivia scooped a pile of papers into a stack and began thumbing through them. “What am I looking for?”
“Anything that looks like it could be an agreement with a guardian. She wouldn’t have been stupid enough to risk everything without some sort of written and bonded agreement.”
Olivia raised a curious brow. “What do you mean?”
“She knew that selling guardians to demons to be used chew toys—” Olivia’s grimace reminded me that she was sort of one of them. She might even know some of the people who died. I’d have to be more careful with my words. I cleared my throat. “She knew what she was doing was against the rules and that, if caught, she would be sent to hell, and the guardian working with her could deny everything and leave her to take all the blame alone. If it were me, I would’ve made them sign a contract with the terms of our agreement and had it bound by magic so both parties had to uphold their end of the deal.”
Olivia tilted her head as she looked through the stack more thoughtfully. “What if she wanted to double cross the guardian?”
“She could leave the wording open enough to still get away with it. She’s a jinn. Deceit comes with the territory.”
After a few silent moments, Olivia threw the current stack of paper in the trash and collected another. “I can’t believe a guardian would betray his/her people. Why? What would they have to gain?”
“If we knew that, this search would be a hell of a lot easier.”
Her face scrunched together as she held up a coffee-stained, wrinkled piece of paper between her forefinger and thumb. “What do you suppose this means?”
I took the paper from her, my fingers landing in something sticky. It was written in gibberish, but the signatures at the bottom had a faint shimmer to them. Magic. It had to be the contract we were looking for, but the scrawled names were impossible to read, and the text had little meaning to either of us. I leaned back in the chair and stared at the paper trying to find anything familiar so I could build out from there. Olivia moved around the desk and leaned in behind me, her hands resting on my shoulders so she could see. Working together had its perks.
The page read, “Nnbby hugyi uhxx ffiwunncihm iz aoulxxcuhm (ugiohnn xxynnykgchyxx vs nnbby mcahyy) qcffff vy jjlymyhnnyxx ihwy u zilnnhcabbnn ch jjylmih unn gonnouffffs ualyyuvffy ffiwunncih. Uffff wihnnuwnn ionnmcxxy iz mucxx ullugayxx nncgy qcffff vy mnnlcwnnffs jjlibbcvcnnyxx. Oh lynnolh, nnbby dchh qcffff wiffffywnn uhxx lynnolh nnbby jjiqyl iz nnbby aoulxxcuhm nni nnbby mcahyy.”
After a couple minutes I folded the paper and put it in my pocket. “We can work on this later. Keep looking.”
An hour passed. Olivia’s cell phone rang. I listened to her end of the conversation, but there wasn’t much to it. When she hung up, she looked over. “We’re needed at the warehouse.”
Baker and Femi were waiting outside the building for us, arguing. As we approached Baker said to Femi, “Can you turn into a cat?”
Femi rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
“Really?”
“No, dumbass.” She slapped the side of his head and took a couple steps toward Olivia and me as we approached. “Next time, I’m not getting stuck with him. Does he ever stop talking?”
I laughed and Olivia’s eyes twinkled.
“Horsefeathers!” Baker said from behind her. “I haven’t met a sekhmet.”
“He’s never quiet,” I confirmed.
“So what did you find?” Olivia gave Baker a sympathetic smile.
“I have no idea. Follow me.” He waved his hand over his shoulder as he went through the door.
My eyes scanned the building as we walked in. I kept Olivia behind me and motioned for Femi to take the rear. Last time I walked into this warehouse I was shot three times in the chest. The entire building was designed to keep guardians from escaping so leading Olivia inside wasn’t my ideal scenario. If there was trouble she couldn’t transport out. Baker went past the cells on either side of the large, open room and trotted deeper into the building.
“What’s upstairs?” I asked them.
“Nothing. A few rooms that look unused,” Femi answered.
Baker came to a stop in front of a set of double doors that did not belong in this building. They were made of a gleaming copper without a hint of tarnish that had four engraved panels (two on each door), a thin border of symbols along each edge, and no obvious handle. Above the doors, situated dead in the center of them, the shape of a shield was carved and designed with an intricate pattern. The four of us stared. Olivia was the first to
approach, her hand reaching out. When she was within a couple inches a loud click echoed through the building. She curled her fingers back into her palm and dropped her arm back to her side. She looked at me with wide, clear eyes.
“How didja do that?” Baker moved closer and inspected the now cracked entry. “I tried everything.”
“I didn’t—” She shook her head. “What does all of this mean? What is this place?”
“We hoped you’d know,” Femi told her. “The symbols are similar to those in the cells, but none of them are the same.” She pulled her phone out and flipped through photos from the cells where they’d kept Olivia.
Olivia frowned looking from the screen to the door. “Why would I know?”
“Because you’re a guardian,” Baker said as he poked at the door.
Olivia snorted. “Thought you said I was angel.”
Femi snapped her head up and looked at Liv. “What was that?”
Olivia rolled her eyes and shook her head at Femi.
Baker shrugged. “You know what I mean. You’re one of them.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m with a jinni, a Sekhemt, and whatever you are. I don’t think they’re going to be throwing me any parades.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t understand her problem with what she was, it suited her, but she didn’t like it. I wondered if her being here with me had less to do with wanting to solve the traitor mystery and more to do with her proving to herself that she wasn’t supposed to be a guardian. I pushed at her mind hoping to slip in and find my answers until she shot me a dirty look and her annoyance washed over me. What was she hiding in that head of hers? How was she able to keep me locked out so well, all the time? Even when we weren’t together last year, she had slipped... Now, she never did.
“Well, we aren’t going to learn anything out here.” She went for the door.
I grabbed her wrist, stopping her before she touched the copper. “You can’t go in there.”
“Do you know what this is?” she asked me.
“I know it’s designed to hurt people like you.”
“How do you know that?” She didn’t pull her arm away; instead her fingers wove between mine.
“Everything here is designed to injure, trap, or render guardians helpless, and they work on angels too. Why would they have a set of doors that did anything that would help you?”
She nodded and kept staring at the door.
“Did you get pictures?” I asked Femi.
“Yeah.”
“Stay out here with Olivia. Baker and I will go in.”
Her fingers tightened around mine. “You said it’s dangerous.”
“I’ll be back. I promise.”
Her brows furrowed, but she released me, eyes locked to the door. “You better,” she said under her breath.
I nodded to Baker to open the door all the way. He inspected the door, taking his sweet time, and then nudged it with his boot. “Come on, Baker. I’m all jitters and fucking jollies here. Get a move on.”
“You could open it yourself,” he muttered, but pushed it open wide. The room on the other side was pitch black. I couldn’t tell how large it was or if there was even a floor. All the light from the hall was absorbed by the darkness. What was this place? I looked at Baker, but his eyes were wide and he took a step back.
“We’re out of my depth, boss,” he said as his flashlight failed to penetrate the darkness.
I grabbed the flashlight and tossed it in the room. I heard it clatter against the floor. “At least there’s a floor.”
“Don’t do it,” Olivia said from behind us. Her voice was strained and she fought against Femi who was trying to hold her back. Holden, don’t.
I’ll be fine—
No, you don’t understand. I don’t understand, but don’t go. None of us can go in there.
“You feel something, don’t you?”
“I can feel the pull. Please shut the door.”
I nodded to Baker. He shouldered it closed.
“I’m going to be sick.” Olivia covered her mouth and raced toward the front of the building. Dizziness hit me like a baseball bat.
We found her outside kneeling on the ground, her head pressed into her knees.
“Liv?” I shifted her hair from her face squatting down in front of her.
Those blue-green pools of earnestness looked up at me. “When I transport I feel a pressure all over my body that builds from the inside out until I disperse and end up where I want to go. It felt like that, but painful, like being scattered against my will.”
I helped Olivia stand. “Why couldn’t we go in?”
“It would’ve killed you, both of you.”
Baker slung his arm over her shoulders. “Glad you were here, angel.”
Olivia chuckled unsteadily. “Baker, I think I judged you a little too fast.”
“I grow on people.” He flashed her a lopsided grin that made me want to punch him.
I shook off the jealousy. Baker wasn’t a threat. I did know that, but I didn’t like his hands on her all the same. Before I could pull her away, she came to me. A warm sensation spread through me.
You’re ridiculous. A smile tugged at her lips as she leaned into me, drained.
You felt that? I ran my fingers down the soft waves of her hair.
More than that, I understand. I wanted to hit Femi when you charmed her.
I laughed out loud. Both Femi and Baker stared at us. Had enough for today?
She nodded.
“I swear they talk when they’re not talking,” Baker said to Femi who made a noise of agreement.
We split up again. Femi and I headed for Juliet’s apartment, and Olivia and Baker went back to mine. I expected more of a fight from Olivia about being sent home, but she gave in easily. Perhaps it was because I asked Femi to come along with me. I didn’t tell Olivia where we were headed. She would insist on going. But the exhaustion was clear on her face and in her slacked shoulders—she needed to rest. Whatever was behind that door drained her energy, and she didn’t even step foot in the room. The deeper we dug the more clear it was we were all out of our depths. I had the sneaking suspicion that whatever was going on involved more than selling guardians. We needed to find Juliet before the mastermind orchestrating everything realized we were on his/her trail.
Juliet’s apartment didn’t have much. It didn’t look like she’d been back there since the night at the warehouse. Femi produced something that looked like a journal from the vent in her floor.
“How did you know that was there?”
“I didn’t. It’s called investigating.”
I laughed. “Can I see it?”
She started to hand it to me then stopped. “I get the feeling that if I show this to you, whatever you learn will make its way to Olivia and neither of us want that.”
She had a point, a very astute point. “It’s probably for the best you keep it.”
“I thought so.” She slipped the journal into her bag. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about. You can decide if and how you want to approach it with Olivia.”
I raised an eyebrow and hoped she wasn’t going to confess her undying love for me. I didn’t often stick around to see the lasting results after I charm a girl.
“I saw Quintus today.”
“Oh.” Not what I expected, but not much better either.
“He had news. The guardians are going to put Olivia on trial.”
“Yeah, she mentioned that.”
“Did she also say they’re going to kill her?”
Now she had my attention.
“They’re blaming her for everyone Juliet took and for being with you. He said not to let her go near them.”
“But why?”
“He told them about her past. About the two of you.”
I let out a breath. “They think I’m behind the murders and she’s been helping me. How did I miss that she’s the perfect scapegoat?”
“He wanted m
e to tell her, but I told him no—that he had to do it himself.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because if he doesn’t man up enough to tell her, I thought you should know. Also, I think if we tell Olivia that she’s not to go around the guardians, that’s the first place she’ll head.”
“Agreed. I’ll do my best to keep her away, but I have yet to be able to control a damn thing she does.”
“I think you’d be surprised how much she listens to you. It takes a while to sink in sometimes. I speak from experience.”
“She doesn’t listen to you either?”
“No. People always accuse me of not listening to them, but I hear what they say.” She slapped me on the back. “Let’s get out of here.”
Twenty Two
As soon as we got back to the apartment I collapsed on the couch, feeling like I’d run three back-to-back marathons through mud. I leaned my head back and shut my eyes. Thoughts about our day fluttered around my mind, but I was too tired to catch any of them. I wanted to let sleep steal me away, but I couldn’t—not until Holden got home safe. I forced my eyes open and lifted my head. Baker’s eyes met mine. Baker looked like a boxer. His reddish brown hair was cut in a crew cut, and his eyes looked like they were carved from steel. Everything about him was tough and streetwise. Seeing him it was hard to imagine him as sweet, but that’s what he was.
“What exactly is a shifter?” I asked, needing something other than worry to keep me awake.
“What do you mean, angel?”
I struggled to keep from frowning. I still wasn’t sure that’s what I was, and every time he called me it something in me bristled. “Were you always able to—” I gestured, unable able to come up with the right word.
“Mimic what I see? Yeah. Shifters are born, not made.”
“So your parents were shifters too?”
“At least one of them had to be,” he said and trotted over to the kitchen area. After pulling open the empty refrigerator, he sighed and checked the cabinets. “Does he not eat?” Baker grumbled, making me laugh.
“Holden doesn’t believe in having possessions that could weigh him down.”