by G A Chase
“I just want my cane back.”
Bullshit. “You may have stolen Baron Samedi’s staff, but it never really belonged to you. The voodoo loas of the dead will rise up out of Guinee to fight you if you take it back.”
He looked at her with the same smug countenance that he’d had in life. “I wouldn’t rely on the loas if I were you. Those guys have peculiar ways of settling their differences. As you’re my prisoner, there’s no point in negotiating with you. I’m only here to make sure you’re settled into your cell. Now all I need is for Sanguine to figure out that I’ve taken you.” He nodded at her like a boy who’d shown his junk and expected her to open her pants and do the same. “I laid down my cards.”
In spite of Sanguine’s continued warnings about him needing to figure things out on his own, Kendell didn’t see much point in denying the obvious. “The totem and golden guitar pick are the seventh gate between my real world and the hell dimension that Agnes created. Sanguine isn’t among the living, so the gate is how I check in with her.”
“Since I was able to use my trap to pull you through the gate, I must not be in your dimension. All that energy I released from the World Trade Center sent me flying between worlds, so I should have escaped hell, but I didn’t, did I?”
It’s not like you didn’t already know. “As you said, the time for opening gambits is over. Myles used his cane to drive a totem containing a piece of my soul through different realities. Once we knew you were chasing us, we circled back around to hell. As for the people and things we added to Agnes’s creation, that all gets too technical for me to explain. But everything you see is real, just without soul.”
* * *
Sanguine bolted out of the chair in hell’s version of Scratch and Sniff and was airborne before she got out the door. If Myles had half a brain, he’d be racing for the speakeasy behind the Scratchy Dog at that very minute. The only logical answer to Kendell going unresponsive and as stiff as a board was that Colin had intercepted her soul. I knew these stupid gates were going to be the death of us.
She flew low among the buildings, less to avoid Colin than to prevent herself from moving in time. Being emotionally distracted while in flight could too easily cause her to look in the wrong time window. Her feet hit the pavement at the front door of the club. She ran through the building and out the back door then lifted the shutters that hid the secret bar. Come on. Move it, Myles.
An eternity later, sweaty and out of breath, he appeared behind the bar. “What just happened?”
“It must have been Colin. I’ve been keeping an eye on him, but he must have figured out how to tap into our communication. The only tools in this realm capable of that type of surveillance would be in the World Trade Center. Luther Noire has some explaining to do.”
“How do we find her?” To his credit, he hadn’t blamed her for the abduction but instead had gone right to the practical considerations.
“I have no idea,” she said, “but I think it’s time I came out of hiding. If Colin is too dense to realize he’s not still in hell, Kendell will surely give it away.”
“She’s more clever than you give her credit for.”
Insulting a guy’s girlfriend after she’s just been abducted probably isn’t the smartest way of enlisting his help. “I didn’t mean she couldn’t keep a secret. She can handle herself when it comes to Colin, but if he’s got her soul without the use of your cane, he’ll know he’s still got devilish powers.”
“I’m coming to hell to help you find her.” Myles’s eyes were full of determination. He was clearly ready to risk everything just to save Kendell.
“Give me a day to figure out what he’s up to,” Sanguine said. “We can’t risk having you trapped on this side with that magic cane. That would only put everything Colin wants right where he could get it. The last time you made the trip, you barely made it home, and we’re still not sure who piloted the totem out of hell. If it was the ghost of Marie Laveau, you can’t rely on her whisking you out of hell a second time. Come barging in here like a raging bull, and we could end up with Colin breaking down the walls again.”
“Isn’t that what he just did?”
Sanguine considered the question. She couldn’t see what Colin was up to, but if he’d wanted to return to life, he probably wouldn’t have dragged Kendell through the gate. “He’s a chess player, and this was an aggressive move. If I confront him while wearing these wings, he’ll know he’s still in hell. But I don’t see another option. Annie’s body is useful for sex, but the time for emotional foreplay is over.”
“What will that do for your vision of his possible future actions? I thought he needed to come to the realization he’s still in hell on his own.”
“That’s another reason I need to see him,” she said. “We’re off script in terms of the possible futures I saw. I really thought I had his full attention by working that sex-bot.”
“I don’t think Colin is as easily led around by his cock as most men.”
I wasn’t simply having sex with him, you fool. That’s just typical male thinking. I was using sex as a way of opening the door to his emotions. But she knew it wasn’t the time to be arguing about her actions. “Apparently, he is a slave to his lusts, though.” The comment wasn’t meant to be mean-spirited, but she could see the pain she’d caused. “I didn’t mean in the Baron Malveaux way of enslaving his adversaries’ women. He craves the mental stimulation that is only possible by debating a woman. Kendell won’t be harmed.”
“I hope you’re right. If you don’t have her back to me by tomorrow night, I’m using my cane to cross into hell.”
That doesn’t give me much time, Sanguine thought. “There’s one more thing. Until we know exactly how Colin hijacked the link I shared with Kendell, we have to be cautious using these gates for communication.”
Myles looked around the speakeasy as if he expected to see Colin lurking in a shadowy corner. “You think he’s had access all along?”
Kendell’s arrogance in believing the gates could hold Colin, combined with her acceptance of Baron Samedi’s assurances that their creation would be secure, had always mystified Sanguine. But Myles didn’t need to hear about her skepticism of Kendell’s trusting nature so soon after her abduction, so Sanguine chose her words carefully. “I just think we need to be more careful. If you and I realized this would be the next logical gate to use, so would Colin. It was less than a half-mile flight to get here. I suspect he’s a little too tied up with Kendell’s anger to break in on us now, but he’ll figure out this is where we are. We need to be sneakier with our next choice.”
She stared hard, willing him to keep quiet about any suggestion he might have. Even if Colin wasn’t trying to abduct one of them, that didn’t prevent him from listening in.
42
Colin stood in the parking lot that surrounded his condominium building. He’d been prepared for a fight. He just hadn’t expected it to be with a winged goddess and her two guardian alligators.
Sanguine’s outstretched wings quivered so quickly she looked like a hummingbird standing in midair. “Just answer me this: what was I to you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She hovered a good foot off the ground, which made her look taller than him. “Bullshit. You know full well it was me in Annie’s body. Were you just toying with me to get Kendell’s attention?”
“This isn’t about making either of you jealous.”
“Jealous? You think you’ve made me jealous? More like pissed off.”
“I can see that. I’m not interested in Kendell. I only want my cane back.” Colin was grateful that the people who walked past the parking lot were nothing more than marionettes. Had they been real, someone would be calling in a domestic dispute.
Her wings went still, and she settled to the ground. “You have to be fucking kidding me. This whole time you’ve been playing with me to get your magic wand back?”
“Can you say you’ve been a
ny better in hiding behind some poor girl?” he asked. “I’m just now getting to see the real you.”
Her alligators snuck forward on their bellies, probably in response to his harsh tone.
“I had my reasons, but nothing I ever said to you was a lie.” She spread her wings to their full width. “One look at these, and you’d have known you were still in hell.”
Now you’ve also confirmed it, and since I’m holding Kendell captive, you can’t know she’s already told me. “So what’s your point in telling me now?”
She stared at him then looked off to the left as if he’d turned and walked away. “I had to wait until you figured out your situation without me giving it away. I know it may not seem like it, but I’m here to help you.”
He laughed in derision. “By lying to me? Or do you see me as some puppy who just needs a chew toy to keep him pacified in his crate?”
“You’re the one who is manipulating me to get your cane back. And if you can imprison your little crush while you’re at it, all the better.”
He considered storming off to his loft, but she deserved better. Plus, he still needed her help. “I never really gave a damn about what Kendell thought of me. I needed her to be open enough so I could make my case for getting out of hell. I won’t lie by saying I didn’t feel anything for her, but my time with you has shown me that it was only lust held over from the baron, combined with Lincoln’s need to win. The conversations you and I have shared have been much more meaningful to me than you can know.”
“Kendell’s right. You’re very good at turning on the charm when you need to. Why should I believe anything you say? Kidnapping Kendell proves you don’t give a damn about me. You’re always only out for yourself. No one else really matters to you. I should have done away with you like I’d planned.”
So she hadn’t already obliterated him from history. A glimmer of hope lightened his heart. “Why didn’t you?”
“Changing time lines isn’t possible. All I’d have done was create an alternate universe without you in it. Not that I’m opposed to such a world, but that wouldn’t have prevented you from kidnapping my friend in the here and now.”
Untangling what she truly felt for him was like trying to find a loose loop of a knot in the hopes of pulling out an end. “So you chose to rehabilitate me?”
She sneered at him. “I prefer your idea of giving you a bone so you’ll stay in your cage. And by bone, I do not simply mean sex. We both know sooner or later you’ll lose interest in me. Then, like an ill-behaved little dog, you’ll start digging your way out again.”
“What if I promised to never bother your reality if you help me retrieve the stick I desire? You, Kendell, and Myles can go on with your average lives and never have to worry about me or this hell for as long as you live.” He watched her closely to see how she’d react. Returning to the living would mean leaving him behind. If she found an excuse to remain with him in hell, that would indicate an emotional bond deeper than she might be willing to admit.
She crossed her arms, but the combative posture in her shoulders and wings softened. “As the devil, you’ve proven not to be a man of your word. Or rather, you’ve found ways around your promises. How do I know you’d stick to the agreement?”
Nice emotional counter move. You’ve neither jumped at being free of me nor made a lame explanation that you were required to stay on as my prison guard. “My fight isn’t with the living. The loas of the dead, however, have a lot to answer for.”
“So you’d go back to being a harvester of souls in Guinee? No, thank you. I don’t want you to end up in a position to replace those poor women you held prisoner in the afterlife.”
“Then stay with me in this life.” The words escaped his mouth before he knew it.
* * *
Sanguine had trouble preventing her wings from betraying her emotions. Whether she felt anger or desire, the appendages were like angelic lie detectors. They quivered as she tried to keep them folded behind her back. “Whatever future we might have can’t even be discussed until you free Kendell.”
“But you agree that a future together is possible.”
She hoped the white feathers were able to hide the blush that she felt in her wings. “Not so long as you continue to steal women’s souls. You don’t even have that cane, and you’re already building your harem. How could I ever trust you?”
“Kendell isn’t my slave. I’ve outgrown that segment of my existence. You must be able to see that. Have I ever tried to dominate you?”
I’d like to see you try. “You get more satisfaction in manipulating people than overpowering them, but I wouldn’t put torture past you if you thought it would get you what you wanted. Let me see Kendell. I need to know she’s unharmed. Until then, you can go whack off in your condo at your success at holding her prisoner.” She flapped her wings as if preparing to leave.
“You know I wouldn’t harm her, but I can’t tell you where she is.”
“Then we’re at an impasse. I’m not helping you unless I get to talk with her, and we’re not discussing any potential relationship so long as you keep playing the devil. I don’t think we have anything left to discuss.” She wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“So you’d just leave your friend?”
She wasn’t completely sure if he meant himself or Kendell. “I will always fight for my friends, but as a businessman, you’d be the first to tell me that when negotiations are at a stalemate, the two sides need time to reconsider their positions. So far, you’ve made a lot of arguments, but you haven’t offered a path forward.”
“Talk with Myles. Present my case. All I want is the cane, and in return, I promise not to reenter the reality you left. As for us, I’ll agree not to pressure you until I’ve earned your trust again.”
His ability to so easily put his emotions for her aside only further enraged her and magnified her feeling of being used. She flapped so hard at the perceived insult that she ended up airborne. “I can’t be around you right now.”
Her wings flew her upriver without her giving the direction much thought. Flying gave her peace, even if she again had to resist the temptation to escape into an alternate time line. Nothing she did in the past would have prevented Kendell from being abducted in the present. Colin had conned Sanguine into letting down her guard, and that was something she could never forgive in a man.
But far worse than being played was the knowledge that he was right about her having to talk to Myles, and the sooner, the better. Myles might be a man of his word, but even so, she wouldn’t blame him for fudging the twenty-four hours he’d promised her.
A flock of pelicans took turns diving into the river. She still had her animal militia at her service. It can’t hurt. She directed the birds to patrol the river and look for anything unusual.
But putting her crew to work wasn’t the same as freeing Kendell. Where could he possibly be keeping her? The World Trade Center is off-limits. None of the embassies would allow him to stash a prisoner, and I’ve been keeping an eye on him. How did he do it?
Anger renewed its hold on her emotions. That’s why you were toying with me. You wanted to distract me from your game. Every morning when I left your loft, I turned my back on you. Stupid!
She spread her wings and glided over the familiar swamps. As creator of hell, her grandmother wouldn’t be of any help, but Sanguine desperately wished she still had the old woman to confide in. I’m being a foolish, emotional little girl, just like he planned. That ends now.
She turned away from the comfort of dreaming about her past and flapped her wings toward the Quarter. She and Myles needed to come up with a plan. Hopefully, Kendell was right, and Myles was more cunning than Sanguine had thought.
* * *
Myles hadn’t left his post at the fifth gate to hell from the moment Sanguine had flown off. The last gate Colin would suspect us using would be the one we discussed, knowing he was watching. Hopefully, Sanguine had the same thought. Ev
ery minute was an eternal agony. More than once, he’d wandered around the courtyard, resisting the urge to run home and grab his cane. Even if Colin did figure out that Myles could use the cane to enter or leave hell through the gate system, that asshole would not be able to exploit that knowledge if he were dead.
“Stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”
The sound of Sanguine’s voice made him rush back to the bar. “What have you found out?”
“He has her, but I don’t know where. He promises me she’s safe. I believe him.”
“What does he want?” Myles doubted there was anything he wouldn’t give to have Kendell safely home.
“Your cane. He says he’ll stay out of our lives—and by that I mean our world—if we give him the stick. I’ve already told him the loas wouldn’t go for it.”
Damn that netherworld. “If it were just about me, I’d let him have the thing. I never wanted it anyway, but giving it to him is one hell of a risk. Do you have any thoughts on finding Kendell?”
“No. And he won’t let me talk to her. I suspect he knows I’d be able to locate her if I could establish a connection.”
Kendell would tell him not to do something stupid, but he wasn’t sure there was an option. “I can’t sit here doing nothing.”
“Agreed. I need your help in figuring out what to do next. That’s why I’m back here instead of flying over the city, searching for her.”
He knew they were in trouble when Sanguine admitted needing his help. “What are his weaknesses?” he asked.
Sanguine blushed. It was possibly the first time Myles had ever seen her do that. “I think he has feelings for me, though I don’t know whether they’re real or just another form of manipulation. Either way, he’ll come running if I say so.”
On the one hand, Myles felt horrible for endorsing Colin’s pursuit of Sanguine as a way to distract him from Kendell. On the other, he was relieved that Colin wasn’t trying to win Kendell over—he was just using her as a negotiating chip. “Do I dare ask how you feel about him?”