by T. G. Ayer
I laughed at that, then slapped his bicep. “Dude, when it comes to millstones, you have no freaking clue how many I have accumulated to date.” I shook my head.
“Ow, woman. Was that unnecessary?” Drake scowled as he rubbed his arm.
I snickered. “Weakling. You’re going to have to toughen up if you want on the team.”
Drake’s eyes narrowed and he was about to give me a piece of his mind when Nerina shimmered into solidity near the door.
Drake got to his feet as the DeathTalker took a breath and looked around. The shock on her face as she spotted him made me wonder if perhaps he’d been right when he’d mentioned her reaction toward him. But she masked it quickly and gave him a polite smile.
Nerina turned her attention to me and raised a small black velvet bag. “One blank key, ready for your blood, my lady.”
I snorted. “Thanks.”
Nerina shrugged off the satchel that hung from her shoulder and set it on the coffee table.
I clapped my hands together and took a seat at my desk. “Right. Let’s get this party started.”
Drake cleared the laptop and files from the surface of the table and Nerina began to set her items on the table.
She placed a bronze disk with a hole in the center, and carved with an impressive array of symbols. She’d brought a short, dangerous-looking blade too, which saved me from having to use my blade.
Drake stood at my right, arms folded, watching in silence as Nerina held the portal key in the air.
“Wait,” I said, looking up at Nerina. “Don’t we need the moonlight?”
She shook her head. “Most of the keys are pre-blessed. We have appointments during the day all the time. Not easy to have moonlight always at hand to initiate a key during the day.”
“Good point,” I said as Nerina raised the knife and handed it over to me.
The handle of the blade was engraved with strange runes, and beside me, Drake let out a soft breath. But other than that, he remained silent as I pressed the blade into the hilt of my palm and drew a thin line of blood.
Over the last few moments, she’d faded in color, her clothing hair, and skin now a gray monotone.
How weird.
And how fascinating.
I waited in silence as Nerina whispered words in an unintelligible language summoning the moon goddess as well as the keeper of the Veil. I knew only a tiny bit about the ancient history of the veil and of how the portals keys worked courtesy of a crash course from a demoted god-turned traitorous asshole.
I held out my palm to Nerina, and she took it gently, turning my hand over and squeezing my flesh to release an impression stream of blood. She moved my hand, allowing the blood to drip along the key and settling into the grooves of the carvings.
“Give me your other hand,” Nerina said, raising her free hand and turning it palm side up.
I obeyed, and Nerina inhaled slow and deep. Then she began to chant, strange words that seemed to swirl in the air around us, that seemed to create a strange melody within my bones.
The air around us began to move, a strong breeze skimming through the room, growing stronger as Nerina chanted louder, faster.
A wind slammed through the room, strong enough to shift me slightly off-balance, and I stiffened my muscles, and focused on Nerina’s voice as the disk lifted off the desk and hovered in the air between us, spinning around faster and faster until it was almost impossible to identify the carvings.
I strained against another whipping wind, wondering what Drake would think of it all; he’d be the first to scoff at magic, but this would be impressive even to the strongest of skeptics.
Then the wind began to die, and the disk began to descend slowly, at last resting upon the table without so much as a scrape.
Nerina picked the disk up and held it between her hands, and then, with a soft smile, she held it out to me. “The key is prepared.”
I took the portal key and wrapped my fingers around it, sending up a prayer that it would guide us safely to Saleem. When I sat back, I found a small square towel being pressed into my good hand. I tossed a smile of thanks at Drake and turned back to Nerina.
I let out a breath and heard Drake echo the sound. Seems he too had been watching with bated breath. I glanced over at him and noted that he appeared calmer and more in control of his emotions. Still, I was going to interrogate him on that. Just not yet.
I got to my feet and walked around the desk to Nerina. The DeathTalker still looked pale but nevertheless appeared strong and in control. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I’ve done this enough times, though it does tend to drain one’s energy.” Then she jerked her chin at the portal key in my palm. “When are we going to enter?”
“I’m thinking we test it first. No point in gathering the troops and finding out it doesn’t work.”
Nerina frowned, and I knew what she was thinking. “Ok. I know Darcy said to be careful, but what other options do we have. What if this portal key doesn’t work and we run out of time to use plan B—whatever plan B is?”
Drake cleared his throat. “Hate to be the voice of reason here, but it really looks like you are jumping the gun. Saleem said not before the agreed time. I’m of the mind to think that means we will jeopardize whatever plan he has set up if we attempt to use the portal key and it sets off alarms.”
I glared at him. But he had a good point. And I was grateful he was there to talk me down. But, the fact that he’d had to was a bit of a concern. Had I really been so ready to just head into the fray because I couldn’t wait?
Had I really been ready to have risked the entire mission?
Chapter 33
I let out a soft breath and shook my head. “Okay. I concede. How about we call the pre-mission meeting, decide what we need and where we go from here? Then we gather and test the portal key. If it doesn’t work…if it doesn’t work, then we get to remove a djinn queen from her prison against her will and endure her wrath if need be.”
“What?” asked Nerina softly. Her voice was an amalgamation of concern, amusement, and disbelief.
I smiled. “We break Queen Aisha out of her Omega prison cell. She’s already refused to go with us, and given that she’d have had instant access to the realm without even giving off a hint of her movement through the veil, I thought she’d have been our passport in, and maybe even out if we had to make a big getaway.”
“But let me guess…” Drake lifted a finger, “Her majesty refused to come with us?”
“Very astute there, gargoyle. The woman is frustrating and annoying, but I kinda like her. And I didn’t want to go against her wishes. But I’m still not sure what Omega is holding over her head that she wouldn’t risk. She’s got a son ruling Mithras who is totally controlled by Omega-slash-unknown-bad-guys and Aisha refused even then to leave her prison. There’s something else we’re unaware of, and I didn’t want to push her. What if Omega destroys Mithras in retaliation, or what if they kill both Saleem and Rizwan?”
“But surely Omega needs them for a reason?” asked Drake, his forehead knitted together. “They must want Mithras really bad, and whatever the reason, they have to retain control of Rizwan and of Saleem, and ensure Aisha doesn’t return home.”
“What’s the chances that this is just a bluff?” offered Nerina.
“A bluff?” I shifted my gaze to her, squinting at the question.
“Yeah, what if Omega-slash-whoever is just bluffing. What if they are threatening her in the hopes that she toes the line because they know that she is, first and foremost, a lioness of a mother?”
I nodded slowly as I turned the idea over and over in my mind. “Could be. Then that’s the plan. Pissing off the big bad djinn queen is our plan B. Sounds excellent to me.” I rolled my eyes and then looked at Drake and then at Nerina. “Right. We need to call in the troops. I’ll send the message. Where are we meeting?”
Drake let out what sounded a lot like an evil laugh. “Let’s ask a witch? She’s got
about the best ward in all the planes of the DarkWorld. We’d be safe from anyone overhearing us. And we’ll be able to preplan right at our departure point.”
I frowned. “Now why would we use Natasha’s land as a departure point. Don’t we need dark water?”
Drake nodded slowly. “What do you think that little pond out back is? Just a pool of sparkling wine to drown demonic witches?”
I took an impatient breath, but it hit me before I could counter his argument. “She’s purified the dark water. But will that do us any good.” I looked over at Nerina who’d wiped her blade clean and was tucking the portal key into the velvet cloth pouch.
She looked up and gave a sober nod. “Dark water is only dark water because it’s the deepest body of water existent upon the ley lines. And the ley lines access the Veil in specific locations. So, no matter if it were a pool of goats’ milk, it would still work because deep-body-of-liquid plus energy-of-the-ley-lines equals open-sesame-to-the-plane-of-your-choice.”
“As long as you have the right remote,” I said waving the pouch with the portal key at her.
Both Drake and Nerina laughed, the sound of their amusement fizzling as soon as they glanced at each other. Then the room fell into an awkward silence.
I was about to ask Drake what was for dinner when my stomach let out an indecently loud growl.
Drake chuckled and headed for the door. “See if you can stay alive until I get back.”
I glanced over at Nerina, who had by now stowed away everything in her satchel and looked ready to leave. I flicked off a few texts to Kai and Darcy, and one to Natasha who was the only member of the team who had received no formal invitation to the mission. To be honest, I hadn’t considered her as joining us in Mithras. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If we were already dealing with a MindMelder what other supernaturals would they have lying in wait for us? Who was to say there would not be witches or warlocks waiting for us?
I received a flurry of replies in confirmation, with Kai’s simple “See you soon,” making me wonder if she would be coming with Logan in tow.
But I quelled my ripple of expectation and focused on Nerina who was standing at the ready, her expression one that implied imminent departure.
“Sorry, I’d better get back soon. Get a few things in order before we head out to Mithras, just in case.”
“That’s a bit negative. You throwing a shadow on our mission?” I asked smiling.
Nerina rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’ll be back for the meeting.”
I held out a hand. “Wait I wanted to ask you something.” One hand on the strap of her satchel, Nerina half turned to look at me, her expression questioning. I swallowed and said, “What’s the deal with you and Drake? Is there something I should know?”
She shrugged, eyes wide and so innocent I would have easily fallen for it had I not already witnessed their strained interactions.
“Nerina, I’ve watched the two of you together. You can cut the tension with a knife. I need to be sure we’re all going into this mission prepared to have each other’s backs.”
Nerina’s expression was now sober. “I understand, but it isn’t Drake per se. It’s the gargoyles that put me on edge.”
“Ugh please don’t tell me you’re the racist?” I muttered as I walked toward her and guided her toward the kitchen.
Nerina chortled loudly and shook her head. “I’m not. That you don’t have to worry about.”
“Then would you please explain why you get antsy around him? The rest of the team will be around soon, and if I can see it then so will they. And I’m not looking forward to fielding a barrage of questions about the issues between you guys.”
Nerina let out a sigh as we entered the kitchen and I began to lay the cutlery and crockery out on the table. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but I’m not sure I’d want to confess that to Drake. To be honest, right now I’m not even sure my explanation is good enough to justify my reaction to him.”
“Yeah, it was a bit on the PTSD side, which is why I was so concerned.”
Nerina let out a soft gasp. “You thought maybe he hurt me? Oh man, I’m so sorry. I never meant to give that impression.”
Nerina shook her head and deposited her satchel on the counter behind her. She headed to the sink and washed her hands then looked inside the cupboards for glasses. “For as long as I can remember, the gargoyles have haunted me. Not in a ghosty sort of way…well in the beginning, that’s exactly what I’d thought. Over time, I guess I forced myself to stop feeling like I was being stalked, but rather to imagine him being a strange protector or guardian angel. Guess it was the stupid imaginations of an orphaned child.”
“So what happened to change that opinion? You definitely went from cautious acceptance to wary-with-a-side-of-fear at some point.” I rummaged in the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of red, then peered at the label. If it were one of Drake’s special black market Napa valley exclusives, I’d end up in trouble. And it turned out to be just that, so I set it aside and went in search of a standard cheap cab sav.
“I was attacked,” Nerina said as I searched. “Had to run for my life and ended up killing one of the attackers.”
I spun from the cupboard, a bottle of wine in each hand, and stared at Nerina. “You killed a gargoyle?”
“It really was a freak accident. She was trying to slice and dice me with her fancy knife, and I sidestepped fast—so happy to have these dancer’s feet—and she slipped.”
I placed the bottle in the middle of the table and sank into the nearest chair. Staring up at Nerina, I shook my head. “Isn’t that like taboo with DeathTalkers or something? Making people dead must be bad for your rep.”
Nerina choked on her laugh as she sat alongside me. “That’s quite true, but at that time, I wasn’t a DeathTalker. The cops think you did it?”
Nerina nodded and then, halfway through the action, she stopped and shook her head. “Yes to the cops, but there were others.”
“Let me guess…Kira was looking for you, too?”
“Yeah.” Nerina sighed and slumped in her seat looking drained. “Seems with her it never ends. I’ve enjoyed sneaking behind her back, but it’s a childish need. Kira is dangerous, but sometimes I wonder if she’s more of a danger to herself than anyone else.”
“Guess if she tries to kill you that will change your opinion,” I said with a smirk.
Just then, Drake materialized so suddenly that I let out a low squawk and Nerina giggled, sounding much younger than she appeared. She’d dropped her hood back and revealed her face now, her smile brighter and more peaceful. Her tension had eased, confirmed too by the fact that she didn’t flinch when Drake reached past her to lay out the foil containers of pasta and garlic rolls.
Nerina seemed to have forgotten the desire to leave, and the three of us spent the next thirty minutes demolishing the food. Shockingly enough, I’d forgotten all about Steph.
When she came wandering into the kitchen with that bleary-eyed look that said she’d been staring at the computer screen for far too long, I started, gaze snapping to the dregs of the meal on the table.
Steph stood beside Drake, her dismay clear as she pouted. She sniffed the air. “Can’t believe you guys ate without me.”
Drake grunted as he swallowed his mouthful and got to his feet. He rummaged inside a bag on the kitchen counter then withdrew two packages and laid them before Steph—which meant she had no choice but to sit and investigate the gifts.
“I know you don’t like Spag Bol, and I know Mel’s a fettuccine hog…”
I grinned and glanced over to see Nerina’s expression as she looked at Drake in awe and respect at his considerate thoughtfulness in making sure Steph had her share. It was easy to see that the DeathTalker was feeling bad about her reaction to him, but given what she’d described of her life to me, I didn’t blame her one bit.
And from Drake’s behavior now, he did seem to have relaxed a bit.
Ho
pefully, this meant I could relax when it came to the gargoyle-DeathTalker friction.
Chapter 34
We arrived at Natasha’s farm a few hours later, after Nerina had returned to the estate to run her errand. I’d been sent to my room while Drake had completed his last checks on the weapons.
“I wish Tara was still around to help with the weapons. She’d have the perfect ammo.”
“You trying to say what I came up with isn’t good enough?” asked Drake, sounding hurt.
I didn’t fall for it. “Sure, gargoyle. You wanna try and compete with the friggin’ Queen of the Fae, you go right ahead. I’ll watch quietly from the sidelines.”
“Wait a second. Did I hear that right? The queen of the fae makes your weapons?” asked Nerina as she shimmered in beside me.
We’d just reached the small clearing beside the pond at the back of Natasha’s property. We’d forgone the need to greet our host as we’d suspected she’d already be down there waiting for us.
Which she was.
As we closed in on the pond, Natasha turned to face us, her pale hair gleaming in the moonlight. She wore a silk kaftan, its pale silvery tones making her appear almost ghostly. She smiled and beckoned us closer, and I was surprised to find that she’d set up a table beneath a tree, providing an array of food and drink.
“I didn’t realize this was a midnight party?” I said with a smile. Seeing the white witch tended to make me happy, best friend notwithstanding.
“Well, I was kinda peckish and wasn’t open to the idea of eating alone while people watched.”
“So for selfish reasons, huh?” I asked keeping a straight face.
Natasha made a face as she glanced over at Drake, I was pleasantly surprised to note that neither of them seemed to be avoiding each other, nor did they appear to be ready to snap at each other? Still, they didn’t look as though they were about to jump each other’s bones either, Which is what I’d been wanting to see for so long. If ever there was a relationship I’d wanted to fix, it was the witch and the gargoyle.