by Liz Schulte
“Until they were found?” he asked. His dark eyes were completely unreadable as they locked with mine.
I shook my head. “No one has been found.”
He sniffed the air. “Brownies smell done.” I headed to the oven. “If they weren’t found, how do you know about the door?”
“That’s not important.” I put on oven mitts and pulled out the tray of brownie crusts. “Just trust me that I know what happened.”
“Fine. Then why do you think they were targeted for their life force and not for any of the thousands of other reasons people are kidnapped?”
This would be the tricky part to explain. I sprinkled the chunks of peanut butter cups over the brownies. “Because it’s about to happen again. Only this time the kidnapper will look significantly younger.”
Phoenix plucked at his eyebrow ring. “You can see the future now? When did that miraculous development take place?”
I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or if he meant the question. “Not exactly, but again, that’s not the important part. The part where an innocent woman is taken from a parking garage is. How do I find whoever is doing this?”
He stood up and took the mixing bowl from me. “Maggie, look at me.”
And this was the part where he’d question me about how I knew all of this, but I didn’t have a story. I pressed my lips together and attempted to keep my face neutral. I wasn’t going to tell him anything about Boone.
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Whether or not people are actually being taken has no bearing on you. Focus on the bakery and learning your capabilities. The rest will work itself out.”
That had been my exact plan when I started this venture. I didn’t want to get involved, but then Boone came into my life. We had helped a lot of people. Yes, it was inconvenient and didn’t fall into my plan … but we made a difference and that was intoxicating. Sticking my head in the sand, while easy, didn’t feel right. Helping Boone stop these crimes had given me purpose, something to fill the gaping hole in my life. I couldn’t just pretend like there was nothing I could do. “Thanks for the advice, but how would you find this woman before she takes someone else?”
He shook his head. “Start with the kids. She had to use some sort of magic and all magic leaves a signature behind. Find a witch to help you. She or he might even be able to tell you what sort of being you’re looking for and if it’s of this world.” He pulled his phone from his pocket.
I snort-laughed—not my finest moment. “I don’t believe in aliens.”
Not looking up from his phone screen, Phoenix smiled. “Not aliens, parallel worlds. Some are similar to ours and some are vastly different. But I still have to say … I think you should run, not walk, away from all this.” His eyes finally met mine. “I have to go.” He took a couple steps back.
“Hey. Thanks for listening.”
He went up in a puff of smoke.
So I needed a witch. I assumed it wouldn’t be as easy as checking the yellow pages, but there had to be a way to find someone. Witches were human so I had that going for me, but I needed one with stronger magic who already knew about the Abyss. I topped the brownies with cheesecake batter, covered their tray with aluminum foil, and popped them in the oven. Then I got on my phone and searched for local Wiccan groups. I found four fairly large ones, all with meetings coming up in the next week. Apparently it was easier than I thought to find a witch. The Chicago Cauldrons had a meeting tonight. I clicked to join the group, RSVP’d to the meeting, then had another thought. Stephanie’s shirt said Wiccan and Proud. Was it true or was it just a T-shirt? I shook my head. I couldn’t take the risk of exposing what I was to a neighbor. I’d just go to the meeting.
Time ticked away and before I knew it, all the baking was mostly complete. I placed the dough for extra cookies and desert bars into the refrigerator, just in case we needed them later, and looked around the kitchen. Everything was cleaned up, the cupcakes were still cooling, as were the cookies I was going to ice. It was still dark outside.
I slipped on my knee length black coat and went for a walk. I strolled down the street, enjoying the quiet. The neighborhood was like a different place at night. Before becoming a half-vampire, I had never realized how much the world changed after the sun set, or how, when people went to sleep, everything else came alive—or, at least, became so much more visible. The street lights gave the sidewalks an amber glow that contrasted with the endless shadows of the alleyways, where the lights couldn’t quite reach. All the buildings’ windows were dark and everyone was sleeping. Everyone but me and people in cars I could hear the distant hum of. A slight breeze tickled the trees. The city seemed both foreign and familiar.
A thump came from down the road near where Mr. Court lived. I headed that way without a second thought. The men he described during the meeting sounded enough like Valefor’s goons that I had to check it out. Maybe I’d even let them take me to Valefor herself, and get it sorted. If Phoenix was right and Valefor was a demon, she wouldn’t be a problem.
I slipped into the dark alley closest to me, trying to stay in the shadows. No one was there—at least not that I could see. Four dumpsters lined the right side of the lane, and a couple smaller trashcans filled the left. Mr. Court had the bottom apartment and knowing my luck was probably a light sleeper. I stayed flat against the wall, listening for movement. Had someone been here, they could have gone out the other side, but if this had anything to do with me, I assumed they were still there.
Another bang came from the third dumpster. I moved slowly toward it. “Come out,” I whispered, not exactly menacing but I was scared of waking Mr. Court.
There was no reply.
Stepping on the edge of the dumpster, I boosted myself up for a look. It was the only place left to hide. A shadow moved inside, away from me. “Gotcha,” I whispered. I reached, stretching my arm as far as it would go. With a yowl, something launched itself at my face. I let go, falling back to the ground, landing hard on my butt with an oomph. A black cat leaped over me and shot down the alley.
A soft chuckle came from behind me.
Chapter 6
I scrambled to my feet and whipped around.
A woman stood behind me, face angled toward the ground. She wore skintight black leather pants and a loose black sweater. A chill ran through me as she slowly lifted her chin and her glowing red eyes met mine. “You stood me up,” she said. “I hate that.”
Fear mixed with a strange sort of awe. She was beautiful in a terrifying way. There was no kindness in her features. Her cheekbones were sharp, her lips full and cruel, and those eyes made my skin crawl. Even my hunger didn’t roar to life, though she was most definitely evil. Instead it hid inside, frightened into submission or still too full from earlier. “Sorry,” I said.
A smile, possibly a snarl, lifted her lip. “It’s too late for apologies.”
I inched toward the street, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I take it you’re Valefor.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out, her huge cartoon princess–like eyes fluttering. “You are either very strong or very stupid. Have you figured out which yet?” She took slow steps, matching mine, as I backed away.
It took everything I had not to shush her. I still had to live here. The least she could do was keep the volume of her threats down. “I don’t know who you are or what you want, but trust me when I say that you don’t want to come any closer.” I held my hands out in what would be a passive and peaceful gesture in another person. For me, however, it was just to make grabbing her easier if she rushed me.
Her eyes crackled and burned like embers. “You came into my lair. You killed my lover. You damaged my business and now you dare to threaten me?” Her voice was the dangerous sort of soft.
I backed away faster, not at all convinced my hunger could save me if she attacked—especially since it seemed to be missing in action. “I think you might have the wrong person.”
“I guess we’ll find out when
I read your entrails. Tell me how a human managed what you did?”
Well, that sounded terrible. “Um, remind me, what did I do?”
“You killed four of my guests without a fight and without leaving so much as a mark upon their host bodies. Are you a witch?”
Ah. That. Four bodies? Sounded like me. No wonder I passed out that night. Obviously one wasn’t the correct number. “Something like that.” She didn’t know what I was. Why would she? Half vampires weren’t supposed to exist. But she knew what I could do. Maybe that was why she hadn’t come after me herself. I could use that. I tried to arrange my face in the most threatening way possible. “How about this? I’m going to give you the chance to walk away and leave me alone before I do to you what I did to them. Or worse.”
“You will pay for your insolence.” She took hold of my jacket, but I twisted, pulling my arms free, letting her take the garment which turned to ash, moments later.
Okay, threats, not a good idea. “If you kill me, Holden won’t like it.”
She laughed, a humorless sound. “You think I do not know everything there is to know about your pathetic life? I know who your connections are. I don’t care.” She swung at my midsection, barely missing. “You attacked me. Justice is on my side. You took what was mine. You could be related to Satan himself and I would still feast on your blood. I will have my revenge.”
I was almost to the street, just a few more feet and I could run. “Who exactly did I kill?”
“Do not pretend,” she growled, taking a swipe at me, slicing through my shirt. “The jinni brought you and while I made my deal with him, you took advantage. His soul was mine. They were all mine.”
Phoenix, that lying son of—
Her hand slashed at me again, but this time I wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way. Her fingers were like talons slicing across my stomach, scorching hot to the touch. I grabbed her wrist, trying to pull the darkness from her, but touching her was like sticking my hand into a boiler. She reached with her other hand and took me by the throat, lifting me off the ground.
Unbearable heat flooded over me. My blood bubbled beneath my skin and boiling my internal organs, or at least that’s what it felt like. A scream lodged in my throat just beneath where her hand was burning into my skin. I had to get away or I was going to die.
I put everything I had into swinging my arms up, breaking her grip. My legs wouldn’t hold me and I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Valefor’s head tilted to the side as she watched me instead of trying to grab me again. I scrambled to my feet then stumbled into the street while she was still watching every move I made with too much interest. I glanced behind me to make sure she wasn’t following—
A crushing hit me from the side. For a moment I was weightless as I flew up into the air in almost slow motion. But just as fast the moment stopped and I landed hard on the pavement, the bone in my leg snapping. My head hit the ground and everything went blurry. Brakes squealed somewhere in the distance. If that was Valefor, I was dead or at least I would very soon wish I was.
“Who’s out there?” Mr. Court’s voice came from a window facing the alley.
Oh no. I forced my eyes open. I couldn’t stop now. I pushed past the pain that was lessening by the moment as I healed, a little slower than normal. Valefor’s red eyes burned from the alleyway, but the demon didn’t step out. Instead she stood on the cusp of the shadows, watching me as I dragged myself across the pavement further away from Mr. Court’s window. If she wanted me she’d have to come out here and get me. Then she pressed her finger, which was covered in my blood, to her lips, dragged her tongue up the length of it. Those burning eyes fluttered closed for a moment before she disappeared.
I was in so much trouble.
“I don’t think you should move. I’ll call an ambulance.” A cabdriver came around his car. “I didn’t see you. You just came out of nowhere, but it looks bad. Just don’t move.”
“Who’s there?” Mr. Court’s voice demanded from the alley again. “I’m callin’ the cops.”
“No. I’m fine. I’m sorry. This is completely my fault. I’m okay.” I straightened my leg as soon as he turned back to his cab, so the broken bones would heal, then stood up. “See. Nothing to worry about.”
He looked at me with huge eyes. “But there’s blood.” He waved a hand. “And your neck…”
I felt my neck, it still felt ashy and hurt like hell. “Costume,” I blurted out. “I’m in theatre. Sorry for the scare. I really am okay.” I stepped back onto the sidewalk and strode away, feeling his eyes following me as I went until finally he got back into his car and left.
The next time I saw Phoenix, I was going to force him to tell me the truth—and then I would strangle him. His lies almost got me killed.
Thankfully the darkness was starting to break, which meant the demon was gone, at least until tonight. No demon who wanted to keep living went out in the day time. Their sun allergies were so severe that the moon was almost too bright for them. In fact, the approaching dawn was probably the only thing that saved me and Mr. Court. Had she more time, I had no doubt Valefor would have followed me into the street.
I went back to the bakery, hands and legs trembling from my brush with death. It was almost time for Emery to arrive, and I still needed to ice the cupcakes—but I had to change my clothes first. There was no time to freak out like I wanted to. My shirt was covered in blood and ripped to shreds. My jeans were filthy, a little bloody, and now torn. I looked like someone had put me through a paper shredder. But worse than that, I hurt. I hurt like I used to when I was human and got it into my head that I needed to get in shape. Every muscle in my body burned and protested every movement I made.
I eased my phone out of my pocket with a groan and called Izzy. It took a couple tries before her groggy voice answered.
“Hey, Iz. Can you do me a favor?”
“Where are you?” She punctuated the question with a yawn.
“At the bakery. I had a minor accident. Could you bring me a change of clothes?”
“Sure. I’ll drop them by on my way to work. I’m going back to sleep now.”
By the time she went to work, it would be the middle of my rush. “Actually, could you do it now? I know it’s early, but I really need them. I can’t work at the counter the way I am.”
“Are you serious? Ugh.” She said several other choice words. “Fine.” She hung up and I looked in the mirror.
My reflection was a lot of things, but pretty wasn’t one of them. The taxi driver probably thought he had killed me. Had I been normal, he would have. My face had traces of dirt and smears of blood from where my head had hit the pavement. There was a chunk of hair missing just above my ear. Apparently skin healed, but hair didn’t grow back. Good to know. I looked like I had mange. The coup de grâce was an ashy black handprint on my throat that didn’t seem to want to heal. I watched it for a few moments, mentally panicking that I would have to spend the rest of my life wearing scarves. I had never figured out how to tie a scarf and they felt like they were choking me. I looked again my heart beating faster. Wait. I leaned in closer to the mirror and lightly touched it, sucking in a breath between my teeth. Maybe it was healing, but it was slow. I watched it for a few moments longer. It wasn’t permanent.
I placed my hand over my neck and took several deep breaths. I was going to be okay. I had all day to figure out either how to kill Valefor or how to get rid of her. I definitely didn’t want to fight her again, that was for sure. What I really needed was a shower and a plan.
There was a knock on the alley door. It was barely five in the morning. Given how my life was going, there was probably an eclipse and it was Valefor who would promptly shoot me in the head then go have some delicious waffles. I cracked the door open, keeping my body mostly behind it.
Stephanie from the candle shop across the street stood on the other side. “That was some accident,” she said, trying to push the door open, but I held it firm.
&nbs
p; I stared at her, no lie coming to me. She couldn’t see me like this. Obviously she’d witnessed the accident. How was I supposed to explain any of this, especially to a human? “Now’s not a good time.”
Stephanie dropped her hands from the door. “I get that. It’s hard to find a good time, but I think there is something you really need to know about Megan and I.”
My head was throbbing. I just needed to be left alone while I healed. “Can we talk later?”
She gave me a sympathetic look. “Just one question, it’s been on my and Megan’s mind since you moved in. How do you go out in the daylight.”
My mouth fell open.
“You sort of want to let me in now, don’t you?”
I snapped my mouth shut and cleared my throat though it hurt like the dickens to do so. “Why wouldn’t I be able to go out in the daylight?”
She smiled. “We know you’re a vampire, silly. But you’re not like any other vampire either of us has ever met. We kept trying to get you to talk to us, but you’re good at avoiding interaction. I totally get it though. It’s not like you can say ‘Hey neighbor, I’m a creature the night,’ right? But I guess you aren’t a creature of the night because you go right out in the sunlight. We actually thought we might be wrong, but then you were hit by a car and walked away. After the accident, I figured there was no point keeping up the pretense. Plus, you’re missing a contact.”
I abandoned the door completely and looked in the mirror. Both of my eyes looked perfectly normal—meaning my contacts were still in—but now Stephanie was inside.
She tossed me a T-shirt that said, “Dogs because people suck.” “Tell me about yourself. The real story this time. Or better yet, come over and tell Megan too. She’ll be annoyed if she misses out. You can take a shower. You look like you could use it. You’ve been a total mystery to us. Why would a vampire open a bakery?”