Among the Debris (Son of Rain #2)

by Michelle Irwin

  I told her “why Oxford.”

  I explained about the relics in the vault and why I wanted them. It was balls to the wall time. She would either support me, or I’d be back to square one. It was possible I could be worse off if she told her granddad about me, but I trusted her.

  “I knew there was another reason you were here. It was too much of a coincidence that you picked Oxford out of all of the possible places you could have gone.”

  I didn’t apologize for not being honest sooner. She’d understand why I wasn’t.

  “I suppose you expect me to help you break into my family’s vault now that you’ve shared your secret?” Although there was no malice in her voice, there was an edge that I didn’t completely understand.

  “No. I mean, I won’t say no if you want to help, but that’s not why I’m telling you. That’s not why I’ve done everything I can to fit in at the Dove. In fact, under different circumstances, I think this could have been an ideal place for me.”

  She gave me a wry smile. “What can I say? We’re ideal people.”

  I smiled at the memories I’d accumulated even in my short stay. “You are.”

  “Fine, I’ll help you. I don’t suppose you’d want me to find out if any of my fae—”

  “Definitely not,” I cut her off. “I’m not working with them, not on something this important.”

  “So what’s on those relics that has you so interested?”

  I explained about the notes—claiming I had stumbled across them in the States—about eros and pothos, about the fact that the sunbird was initially a protector, and that the phoenixes she spawned were protectors too.

  “Forces for good?” Toni sat in thought for a moment. “I can see why Granddad wouldn’t want that to get out.”

  “I don’t. Wouldn’t it help if we didn’t have to hunt every creature? Some of these others could even help us.”

  “Like the fae?” she asked with a voice full of snark.

  I ignored the comment, understanding her point but refusing to acknowledge the value in it. “Why wouldn’t it help to share that information far and wide?”

  “Two reasons: money and power.”

  Power I could understand, especially from those of us who were part of the Elite. It was a heady drug that was hard to overcome. Hiding information gave those with the knowledge the power to distribute it, or not, as they saw fit. “How does hiding this have anything to do with money?”

  “How much have you got in trust funds?”

  I bristled at the question. I wasn’t exactly mega-rich, but I certainly had enough in savings and bonds to live comfortably for a number of years, maybe even a lifetime. If I was willing to touch the blood money in my accounts at least.

  My silence implied a great deal to Toni. “Exactly my point. The elite families have made a killing in this business—pun intended. A few generations ago, towns clamored over themselves to rid their streets of the evil we hunt. Governments paid big bounties. Even now that people don’t believe in monsters, we have the hotel business. More and more headquarters are converted every day. It’s all a front, but if it disappears, so does the cash.”

  “But there’ll always be the true evil beings to hunt. The world still needs the Rain.”

  “Sure, but if there’s doubt over even one creature’s true nature, there’ll always be that question over whether or not the real evils are something that needs to be hunted. More expenses required for research and reconnaissance. By branding all others as monsters, there’s no ethical question to consider. I’m not saying it’s right—God knows it’s not—but that’s how it is right now.”

  I ground my teeth together as all the pieces fell into place. Politics and propaganda, Zarita had called it. But it was so much worse than that. Evie’s life was in danger on a daily basis and for what? A few extra dollars in their fucking bank accounts. Had her mother’s—her grandmother’s—death somehow increased my trust fund? The thought made my stomach roil and pitch like a boat thrown around by a stormy sea.

  “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Toni’s voice seemed to come at me through a darkening tunnel.

  I thought I was going to be sick, but instead my anger burned the remaining energy in my body too fast, leaving me with no reserves to fight the fatigue that three nights of boo hag visits had caused. Not even the occasional sounds the hag issued were enough to help me fight off total exhaustion for a moment longer.

  “Rest.” Toni’s hand guided my head to her shoulder, and I fell asleep leaning against her.

  THE NEXT morning, I woke lying across my bed feeling more refreshed than I had in a long time. I looked around the room, almost certain that all evidence of the events of the night before would be absent, proving it to be just another ultra-vivid dream, but they weren’t.

  At least not entirely.

  The carpet was stained with a pale blue-green paint. The movement of the boo hag was unmistakable in the areas where the paint wasn’t just resting on the surface of the carpet, but had been smeared deep into the fibers, matting them all together.

  Whatever had happened to the hag after I drifted into la-la land left little resulting mess. There was no body to speak of, nor was there any blood or the like mixed among the blue mess on the floor. The salt and sesame seeds had all been cleaned, which probably meant someone had come in with a vacuum while I’d slept.

  I must’ve been pretty out of it.

  Recalling the things I’d revealed to Toni during my weakest moments, I resolved to find out her feelings on the issue in the harsh light of day.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “BRING OUT YOUR dead,” Toni shrieked, her small voice somehow filling the entire open space of the bar area when I pushed open the door. A cheer went up among the regulars and each of them raised whatever drink was in their hands into the air in a makeshift toast.

  “I’m not dead,” I said. “At least not yet.”

  “Hey, ’e says ’e’s not dead!” Johno called from behind the bar in an accent even stranger than his usual one.

  “He’ll be stone dead in a moment,” Graham said, stifling a laugh.

  “I can’t take him like that; it’s against regulations,” Johno said before snorting.

  Everyone else started cackling, and I looked around in confusion. What the hell were they talking about? There had to be some sort of inside joke I was missing.

  Toni glanced at my questioning expression. “Seriously? Nothing at all?” The laughter that filled the room only increased as she turned to everyone else with a shrug, and muttered, “Hopeless.”

  She shook her head at me in disbelief, dismounted her barstool, and then skipped over to me. “We were worried about you. I think a horde of stampeding elephants could have had an orgy beside your bed and you would have slept through it.”

  “I’m confused, are the elephants stampeding while they’re having the orgy or is that just the best way to get to it?” I felt like I was channeling my brother, and I didn’t even care. I was in the best mood I’d been for the longest time.

  During my earlier shower, snippets of a dream from the latter part of the night before returned to me. It hadn’t been the vivid nightscapes of the boo hag inspired fantasies, but a genuine glimpse into my subconscious. I’d been unable to recall the specifics, just the hazy feelings that it inspired within me, but that didn’t matter. It had helped me to see that somewhere between discovering what Evie had ignited within me and revealing to Toni my desire to secure the relics, I’d stopped caring about whether or not they contained any information that could help free me. I still wanted to get them, but now it was for an entirely new reason.

  Now, I wanted to get my hands on them for Evie. To know more about her, all about her.

  I wanted to prove to the rest of the world what I’d known all along. That despite what she could do, she wasn’t inherently dangerous. The sense of purpose behind the decision burned within me stronger than my anger ever had. My newfound mission felt clean
er in my system, giving me strength instead of funneling it away.

  First, I would clear Evie’s name, and then I could ensure our world was safe for her.

  Maybe then, I could even convince her to return to me.

  Drawing Toni away from the rest of the rabble, I intended to ask about the night before. “What happened after . . .”

  “After you passed out on top of me like a three-hundred pound gorilla?”

  “What is it with you and wild animals today?”

  She shrugged. “I’m just in a good mood.”

  “And that equates to wildlife and sex?”

  “Do you want to know what happened or not?”

  I indicated for her to proceed.

  “The hag kept fighting the paint and salt until the sun rose. She never had a chance to return to her skin.”

  “So, poof?”

  “Something like that.” Her voice indicated she meant it was nothing like it at all.

  “Not poof?”

  “More like Mr. Creosote.”

  “Who?”

  “You know, from Monty Py—” She cut off when she saw the lack of recognition in my eyes. “You know what, never mind. Suffice to say between the screaming and the explosion, we’ve had to smooth things over with the local PD.”

  “I must have slept like a log, huh?”

  “I don’t think a jumbo jet would have woken you.”

  I risked a glance back at the rest of the group, no doubt waiting for her to dish out the assignments. “Look, about what I told you last night.”

  “I’m not going to rat on you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “It didn’t even cross my mind that you’d report me. I just wanted to say that I’m glad I told you.”

  “Me too.” Her smile almost made her look girlish, but the wisdom in her eyes belied her years.

  “I just want to make sure you know why I want them.”

  “It’s not just about the one who got away?” There was a look in her eyes that indicated she’d guessed, but she stayed silent and waited for my explanation.

  “I think there is some merit in your way of doing things, despite the issues I have with the fae. Imagine if the whole of the Rain could call on the abilities of others to hunt the real threats?”

  “Oh, I see now!” she said with a thick sarcastic edge. “You’re an idealist.”

  “Yes and no. I’m not stupid. I know it’s not going to happen overnight. I do think that given enough time, and enough proof, there are others who might at least be willing to stop and consider it.”

  “The instant you started to share this sort of information, you’d have the hierarchy on your arse and would probably end up in some oubliette somewhere.”

  The idea horrified me. Stuck in an ancient dungeon, devoid of windows save for the grate over my head that would serve as both the only source of light and the only escape. Trapped with only my memories and regrets to keep me company. It would be hell.

  Regardless, I had to risk it to find out more—especially after my epiphany.

  “Only if they know who’s sharing it. Besides, I’m talking about something a little more covert than that.” I told her of a plan I had hatched, hiding the information within the Rain’s own databases. Hidden in plain sight, but encrypted so that only people with the right key could get into it. It was something I could use her direct, reliable access to set up while I was at the Dove, all without letting anyone know it was there yet.

  “Can you do that?”

  Lou and I had been around the Rain computers and databases long before we’d been on our first hunt. When Dad had tried to push me toward being an Assessor, I’d had extra training that had gone far and beyond what normal operatives knew. Because of all of that, I knew the systems inside out. It was the reason I’d been able to help develop the facial recognition searches and the reason I had accessed Evie’s files with relative ease. “I think it’s worth trying.”

  “I’m not sure how much I can help you out, but I’ll do what I can. Let’s get through the day, and we’ll come up with some plans tonight.”

  The day was spent doing the more menial tasks that the Rain required—both the boo hag and the black annis cases needed to be catalogued for their unusual nature.

  Special mention was made of the effect of the use of the paint on the boo hag’s skin, although considering the mess of blue it had left in my apartment, it probably wouldn’t be the first choice for the next operative going up against one. I debated not adding the details in, feeling that even the worst monster shouldn’t face such torment in their final hours, but I was certain the Assessors who finalized the information in the database would question any inconsistencies or apparent missing information. The scene photos would clearly show the paint.

  By the end of the day, I had a stiff neck from sitting at the computer for so long—something I hadn’t done since I was last at Bayview. When I stood, I took a moment to stretch out all of my sore, aching muscles. Coming up behind me as I stretched, Toni jumped into the seat I had recently vacated.

  “So, I think I might have come up with a plan.”

  So far her plans had gone a little astray, although it could be argued that her attack on the black annis hardly constituted a plan. “Okay, shoot.”

  “I can get you fairly close to Granddad’s vault.”

  “You know where it is?”

  She huffed and rolled her eyes. “No, I have no clue where my family’s vault, the one that I’m telling you I can get you near, actually is.”

  “Wow, your sarcasm gun is set to stun today, isn’t it?”

  For a second, she just stared at me, but then her lips parted and she laughed. “You sure have a way with words.”

  Deciding to ignore her laughter—maybe even her presence in general—I rolled my head and stretched my aching neck again. I closed my eyes and rotated my shoulders, before bringing my arms across my chest to stretch my back.

  “Anyway, like I said, I have a plan.”

  I opened one eye to watch her as I repeated the movements again. “And that is?”

  “We should date.”

  My other eye sprung open, and I stopped mid-stretch. With my head tilted at an odd-angle and my jaw hanging open, I must have been quite a sight.

  “What? Why? Why would we do that?” My voice spluttered and stopped.

  She roared with laughter. “You should see your face right now. Is the idea of dating me that repulsive?”

  I tried to straighten out my expression, mostly because I didn’t want to offend her. Neither did I want to date her though. I thought I had made it crystal clear that my heart was thousands of miles away with Evie, regardless of whether it was my choice or not.

  “No. I just . . . Well, what’s it got to do with your Granddad’s vault?”

  “Until last year, I would go for dinner at Granddad’s every Sunday. He’d dismiss all the staff from his private quarters, and we’d just have a quiet family dinner together.”

  “Why’d it stop last year?”

  “After . . . the attack. I just couldn’t face him anymore. Honestly, I felt like a disappointment. It took me a long time to come to terms with my choices after that day, and I still find it hard to meet my Granddad’s eyes when I know that I rely so heavily on the enemy now.”

  “But you’d face him for me?”

  “For you? No. For the betterment of the Rain? Absolutely. If you’re right about what those relics reveal, and if you really can get the information out, it might be the start of something new.”

  “I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself. I might be wrong, or I could fail spectacularly.”

  “I know, but I think it’s worth the try and if anyone can do it, it’ll be you. You have the most to lose if it fails.”

  I turned away from the intensity of her stare. “I’ve already lost everything important.”

  She placed her hand on my shoulder in comfort. “Exactly.”

  Offering her as much of a smil
e as I could muster with the weight of my losses dragging down the corners of my mouth, I said, “I’m not sure I understand entirely though. How does dinner translate into access to the vault?”

  “Dinner will get you as close as you will ever get with as few guards as there will ever be.”

  “And what’s it got to do with us dating?”

  “If I call him up now and say I want to have dinner with him again, he’ll wonder why, especially if I tell him I’ll be bringing a guest.”

  I nodded my understanding. “Unless said guest is someone you’d want to introduce to him for other reasons.”

  “Exactly. It’s the perfect cover. We just have to play the lovesick couple for a few hours, get some booze into him, and then you can make your move.”

  “He’ll know you helped me though.”

  “Once you’re gone, I’ll play the heartbroken girl and pretend that you used me for your own nefarious purposes. Granddad will lap it up.”

  “Painting me as the villain in the process?”

  Her mouth twisted in a sad smile as she shrugged one shoulder. “If you follow this path, you’ll be the villain regardless. At least this way one of us can keep fighting the good fight while you go undercover to work on translating the relics.”

  I thought through the consequences for her and for myself. Was it was really the best course? Even as the doubt crossed my mind, I shut it down. I needed to know more. Regardless of whether it was to free my heart or to help Evie, the relics would potentially hold the answers I needed. I had to do what I could to get my hands on them.

  “We can try to think of a different plan if you like?” she asked. “Or you could just stay here at the Dove. No one else knows, so there’s no one to think less of you if you don’t go through with it. Everyone’s starting to warm to you and it’s so hard to find good help.” It was clear in her eyes that her offer was earnest.

  “You don’t know how tempting that offer is.” If I had been somewhere like the Dove after my retraining—somewhere with a culture that matched my own desire to do good without being forced to harm the innocent others—I probably would have found my feet much easier. But then, I might never have had the precious time in Detroit with Evie. The thought cemented my already concrete plans. “But I’m not really sure I have a choice. I have to do this.”