We made our way to the main room of the shrine. Sanchez gave the all clear and put away her gun. By then, I’d found a light switch on the wall. Throwing it flushed the space with light from huge orange paper lanterns that clustered all across the ceiling. Empty of furniture or any kind of pew, the place looked like a dojo more than anything else.
I looked for the freeze-dried remains of the ninja I’d killed with my shadow blade, but they’d been swept up by the miko’s people. The smell of lemon Pledge was stronger. The floors had a just-polished look. The front double doors had been open, inviting the elements in, but were now closed. The place had a “well cared for, waiting to be used feel.” Even though she’d been a villain, there were lines the miko hadn’t crossed—she could play house with a demon in the mansion, but not defile this space. Her Shinto background I guess.
Tukka was happy to go curl up inside the front double doors. Anyone coming in would wake him, assuming they could squeeze in, past a two-ton animal the size of a rhino.
“Not much here,” Cassie observed.
I gestured upward. “There’s a big upper room. “We’ll probably wind up sleeping there.” I feigned a huge yawn and I headed for the stairwell that lead upstairs. “Some sleep would be great right now. I’m running on empty.”
Cassie said, “Good idea, honey. Go on. I’ll wake you when we get some food going.”
“Don’t bother,” I said. “I need the sleep more.”
Sanchez and Cassie put their heads together, making plans. Onyx was with the rest of the shadow men. That just left Fenn. I heard his soft steps behind me, following me from the room.
I entered the stairwell and started upstairs. He fell in beside me, smelling musky and woodsy. The blood on his shirt had a metallic iron tang I could almost taste. Taking my arm, he stopping me mid-step, pinning me with amber eyes. “Making your move, huh?”
I raised my eyebrows in a show of surprise, as if he hadn’t guessed exactly right.
“I know you,” Fenn said. “It’s eating you alive that the demon has Shaun. No matter which of us it might be, you’d go back. It’s who you are, what you do.”
“What if I am?”
“It’s what the demon is waiting for. Once inside that cage, whatever that spell is he’s feeding will hold you too. Then he’ll have two hostages, not just one.”
“I’ll figure something out, or I’ll get lucky. Sometimes luck is more important than anything else.”
He pushed me against the wall, leaning in so his face was close, his warm breath mingling with mine. Shaun usually tripped my trigger, but Fenn’s nearness—his aura of barely suppressed aggression—sent a nervous flutter through my stomach. His voice muted to just a scrap of sound, “Grace, if you’re going to do this, at least have a plan. Barring that, a strategy.”
“I’m not good at strategies.”
He pulled back a little and fingered the hole in his shirt where I’d stabbed him. “I’m not so sure about that.”
I yelled at him, “I said I was sorry. How long are you going to hold that over my head? Did I jump down your throat back when you first came back to life, draining me dry of aura, ripped me out of the ghost world? I was midair at the time, remember? Popping back into gravity could have splattered me on the sidewalk. It would have if I’d been higher.” Suddenly realizing I was stabbing his chest with two fingers, I stopped, crossing my arms under my breasts.
Things got deathly quiet. I couldn’t quite look him in the face.
That pissed me off, so I forced my eyes to meet his.
The bastard was grinning at me. One of those high-voltage killer smiles guys use when they know they’re wrong so they dazzle you with virile male intensity.
He was leaning in again, his scent stronger, doing strange things to my insides. His lips were close. “I love a girl with attitude.”
The word love shafted through me like a crossbow bolt. “Fenn, I—I—”
He silenced me with a kiss. Tender at first, a brush of moth wings, then more clinging, warm and honey sweet. My back pressed the wall, then his arms were around me, holding me against him. I felt myself heating up, turning pink as his rampant maleness pressed against my upper thigh.
Golden eyes opened in the shadows of my mind as Taliesina popped in for a little voyeurism.
I tried to push Fenn away. When he saw that I was serious, he let me go.
That’s when I noticed we had an audience. Onyx was at the foot of the stairs, staring up at us, his face determined, but not angry. He compelled my gaze with dead, bottomless eyes. He said, “You know I’m going to want equal time, right?”
Turning to face him, Fenn pushed me away, the coyote in him surfacing as his amber eyes went aspen gold and his hands morphed into claws. “I thought you were on a job, making yourself useful.”
Onyx met the glower with one of his own. “I like your job better.”
Fenn’s voice went dark and gritty, “Personally, I think it’s more than you can handle. Why don’t you go play with your shadow?”
Onyx swung his cold stare back to me. “Is that what you want?”
“What I want is to save Shaun from the demon. I don’t have time for these macho games.”
“The house is full of contagion,” Onyx said. “Apart from Shaun and the demon, nothing alive is in there. I can’t let you go in.”
“You can’t stop me.”
Onyx said, “Your mom can, if I tell her.”
“You won’t,” I said.
“I won’t?”
“No.” I smiled coldly at him, sure of my instincts. “You want to win over the others. A cheap victory, letting Shaun get killed; that wouldn’t satisfy you. It would bring you down in my eyes, giving Fenn an edge. You’d hate that.”
He smiled grimly. “You know me better than I thought.”
“Too well,” Fenn muttered, as he faced me again. “But he’s right; you’re not going—unless you convenience me you have a real chance to do this.”
“I have more than a chance. I’ve actually come up with a plan.”
Fenn seemed skeptical. I looked at him and Onyx. “And I’m going to need both of you to pull this off.”
Before I could continue, Onyx held up a hand. “First, I think you need to hear about those photos Sanchez shot of the writing in the cage.”
I moved down the stairwell, Fenn a step behind. “Go on,” I said.
“She e-mailed her pictures to the PRT, and they’ve got a preliminary breakdown on the writing. A lot of it is the miko’s old barrier and containment spell, under new management, but there are additions, scary stuff actually—for you humans.”
I stopped in front of Onyx. Fenn crowded up beside me.
Onyx’s head cocked toward the sanctuary door. “From what I just heard out there, the demon’s possession of the miko, anchored by those blood crystals, makes him a carrier of this disease. Normally, inhabiting a corpse should increase the rate of decay, but the cage’s containment spell is slowing that down considerably. The spell circle is a treatment for the plague, though not a cure. The demon wants more freedom, but doesn’t want to kill off all of his subjects. Who would he rule over then? And he doesn’t want to rot away and be forced to return to the ghost realm. That’s where the additions to the original spell come in.”
“Cut to the chase,” I told him. “What exactly is the demon doing?”
Onyx said, “Looks like he’s getting ready to expand the spell so it covers a good chunk of the Mid-West.”
Fenn shook his head, “He hasn’t the energy to do that.”
“Not yet,” Onyx said, “but say the demon auto-pilots Shaun over to the Metroplex area, spreading the plague. The demon might be able use the massive death toll to power the magic. Its expansion would rein in the contagion, giving him a stable kingdom to rule—unless he lets too many die.”
My voice went breathless with shock, “Millions would die.”
“Eventually billions,” Fenn said. “Even if the demon could pro
tect the U.S. and maybe a chunk of Mexico, the contagion would spread via airlines, and if foreign powers decide this is a biological attack, burning out the source of the disease might seem like a necessary evil. Nukes could fly. Even after the demon goes down, the virus will remain a serious threat.”
“One problem at a time,” I said. “Let’s concentrate on getting Shaun out of the demon’s clutches.”
Onyx’s cold smile was hard and tight. “Or we have to kill him, for the sake of the world.”
THIRTY-TWO
ROMPERE DI MISURA: “breaking the measure,” retreating from within the measure to outside.
“If that will keep the world safe, count me in,” Fenn said.
I glared at him.
“What?” his voice echoed coldly in the stairwell where the scent of wood polish was strong. “It’s the world.”
I glared. “So taking out a rival is just icing on the cake, huh?”
Fenn shrugged. “I didn’t bring it up, but we have a duty to the world. And I didn’t see you hesitate—much—to stick a knife in me when a lot less was at stake.”
I glowered for a different reason now. “How long are you going to hang that over my head?”
“Yeah, that’s really mean.” Onyx sent me a seductive smile, his eyes pools of endless night. “You can kill me anytime you like.”
I rolled my eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
Fenn said, “I just might.”
Onyx ignored him, focusing on me. “You said you had a plan?”
“It depends on something a slayer once told me about kitsune being a little bit like vampires.”
Onyx looked intrigued. “How exactly?”
“This doesn’t sound promising,” Fenn added.
I stabbed him with a stare. “Draining my life force to cheat the Grim Reaper counts as the same thing.”
“Well, it gives us something in common,” Fenn said. “I take it you want to boost your power against the demon by topping off your life force before the rescue mission gets under way?”
“That’s what I was thinking. The energy Cassie fed me after I brought you back helped a lot, but it’s not enough for what I’ll be up against.”
Lines appeared between Onyx’s eyebrows as they scrunched closer. He frowned a little, miming sadness. “Unfortunately, the dimension that formed my kind views life entirely differently than most other places. I don’t have blood or what you call life force. I can’t help you.”
Fenn’s voice turned sour, “I suppose that’s where I come in?”
I reached out and touched his sleeve, enjoying the hardness of the underlying muscles. I went for more of an off-hand tone since I wasn’t good with sultry, “Since I’ve never initiated the process, it might take some time to figure out. Body to body contact would probably be required.”
He suddenly looked very interested. “Yeah?”
“Kissing would probably be involved as well,” I said.
“Well,” he said, “it is for the sake of the world.”
“I don’t think much of this plan,” Onyx said. “Are you sure your world deserves saving?”
“You get the hard part,” I told Onyx. “Since the demon can’t kill or possess you, you get to run interference while I snatch Shaun.”
“Sounds workable to me,” Onyx said. “I can’t hurt the demon spirit, but the host body might be vulnerable. How do you plan to get us inside the cage?”
I thought of the brand the demon had left on my arm. “He’ll probably sense me coming. In fact, I think he’ll like that. I don’t think he’ll try keeping me out. When he opens the barrier for me, you’ll come in too.”
Fenn’s eyes were a soft shade of gold as he took my arm. “C’mon, let’s do this.” He swung me around and guided me back up the stairs, stopping us both a couple steps up as he called over his shoulder. “Uh-uh, we don’t need you for this part of the plan.”
Onyx said, “I just thought I’d—”
“This is going to be very personal, and probably a little embarrassing,” I said. “Being watched will just add more pressure.” And it’s icky, besides. I felt my face warming with a flush just talking about a make-out session.
Fenn rumbled deep in his chest, almost growling, “And it’s pervy.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I don’t like you saying it.” But Onyx stopped as we went up to the second floor. His footsteps no longer echoed behind us, though I felt his icy stare needling my back until I was out of sight.
Guys, what can you do with them?
Gold eyes opened in the back shadows of my mind. Taliesina was back. She said, I guess we’re about to find out, huh?
Oh, no, I hurled my thoughts at her, there’s no ‘we’ about it. You bailed on me when I needed you. You chose Daddy over me and Mom. You can just stay gone, you … you… peeping Taliesina!
Don’t be that way, Taliesina said. There’s a whole big picture you know nothing about.
We reached the upstairs apartment, entering behind the screen of some stacked boxes in one corner. Apparently, there was a second door I’d missed in my earlier visit. Fenn released my arm, taking my hand in his as he drew me sideways, skirting the stacks.
I reached into memory for a quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Out, damn'd spot! Out, I say!—One; two: why, then 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky.
Taliesina asked, What’s hell got to do with it? And isn’t hell always murky, the absence of Light and all that?
Fenn and I were in the loft apartment, moving along the shuttered windows.
I got firm with her, Get the hell out of my head, Bitch.
Taliesina fell silent, eyes widening to golden orbs. It was the first time I’d ever insulted her. I felt a little bit bad about it, but she had a lot more coming. I explained it to her. It’s supposed to be you and me against the world—and you betray me, only to come back like nothing happened. Go away. I don’t need a friend like that.
Her mental voice acquired an earnest resonation; I know what you’re trying to do. I can help you.
Up until you stab me in the back again. I mean it. Go away, and stay away.
I realized Fenn had stopped us in front of the one window where the shutters were open. In the morning light, he studied my face carefully.
“What?” I asked.
“You seem really distracted.”
I smiled at him. “So why don’t you distract me instead?”
A slow smile conquered his face. His molten gold eyes sizzled as he pulled me against him. He lifted me off my feet and set me in the window, then eased between my legs, up to the wall. One of his strong hands moved along my face. The inside of his thumb and part of his palm caressed my skin. Then his curled hand slipped behind my neck, pulling my face toward his. I closed my eyes and nervously wet my lips.
And still Taliesina’s golden eyes hung inside my head like blazing moons. I snarled at her. I need my personal space. I can’t do this if you’re going to watch.
She sighed in disappointment and winked out.
Fenn said, “We’ve synchronized wavelengths before, when you’ve jumpstarted my dead body. Just try to feel my energy and call it to you.”
And then I felt his lips: soft, firm, but not too firm. They teased, a moth’s brush of wings, then lingered, warming, searching for a response. I tried to tell myself that I was doing this for Shaun, but I found myself enjoying the experience. Our lips broke apart as we breathed, then came back together. In one of those reconnections, both our lips were parted, and his tongue slipped in, taunting mine.
Going on instinct, I cleared my mind, dissolving thought, letting the warmth between us build. My arms went around his neck as I pressed against him. His arms wrapped me in an iron cage. His hands slid along my back, circling, arousing feelings I thought were held for Shaun alone.
Then something weird happened. Seeing a new glow through my eyelids, I opened them. Fenn’s aura was visible though I wasn’t in the ghost realm. A shimmer of saffron yellow danced over
his skin, edging his body. There were swimming motes of amber and green mixed in, defining the movement of tides around him.
Surprised, my lips went lax against his.
He pulled back, his hands sliding to my ribs. His voice was whispery, questioning, “Grace?”
I pulled his lips close, as if for a final kiss, stopping just short. Through my open mouth, I inhaled his aura, savoring a fierce, electric burn that was honey sweet. Like siphoned gas through a hose, his aura came on its own, riding inertia. The flow brought a shiver to my body and bursts of pleasure. My breath caught in my throat, but nothing else, as I fed in a way I’d never known.
Damn! I hope sex is at least this good.
The rush of power brought a feeling of invincibility that I thought I ought not to wholly rely on.
Fenn sagged into me. His face rested between my breasts. His hands touched my butt. “Uh, Fenn, I think that’s far enough.” He wasn’t answering. He wasn’t moving at all. “Fenn?” I held him with one arm and used my free hand to check the pulse in his throat. It was steady. He was still breathing. Pushing him away, I tried to ease him to the floor, but he collapsed too quickly. He thumped to the floor and sprawled without his usual grace. I pushed myself off of the window sill, dropping to the floor beside him.
My palm settled over his heart. “Thank you.”
A voice drifted out from the stacked boxes, “You ready to go now?”
“Onyx?”
A shadow squeezed out from between two of them, widening, taking on human tone and texture. “Yeah.”
“How long were you there?”
“Long enough. Too long, actually.”
I decided to upbraid him later for invading my privacy. Right now I needed him. Shaun needed him. We didn’t have time for an argument. The CDC and PRT would be arriving at any time, taking over the site, running our lives for the foreseeable future. It was now or never. I pointed to the window. “Out. We don’t want Cassie or Sanchez to see us go.”
He walked over, all fluid grace and power. From the subtle shift of his walk as he neared, I read his angry intent.
“No,” I said, “you may not kick Fenn when he’s down. Are you trying to get on my bad side again?”
Tears and Shadow (kitsune series) Page 24