by R. L. Naquin
Lucas’s eyes went dark and empty, and he sat motionless. Merle pulled a knife and cut Lucas free, while I stupidly stood watching with my hand wrapped around my stone. I should have done something. I should have moved faster. Hells, I should have moved.
Lucas lunged and made a grab for me. I dodged, and he dived into my recently vacated chair. When I swiveled to face him, all I saw was chair flying through the air toward me. My arms came up in time to deflect it from hitting me in my already sore head, but my forearms were going to sport some hellacious bruises.
I glanced around, frantically trying to find something to defend myself with. When I’d been attacked before, I couldn’t bear to use much force to fight back, since the person attacking me wasn’t the owner of the body I was fighting. This didn’t change with Lucas, except that he was a well-fed, young guy who worked out, rather than an elderly homeless woman with arthritis. If I applied a bit more force, Lucas’s body could take it.
I still wasn’t about to shank him, though. He was an Aegis. A good guy. And hot. So, no shanking, even if I did find a melted toothbrush with a spiky end or a piece of broken mirror.
As that last thought came to me, my gaze skimmed past Lucas’s head and spotted exactly that on the wall. A mirror, hung askew next to the window. Something had smashed it—a head? An angry fist?—and cracks radiated out in a web configuration from the initial point of impact. Several shards were missing.
Not that I needed confirmation, but there was the origin of some of our murder weapons.
Lucas came toward me, and I backed away, feeling around me for something useful. I bumped against a storage rack, grabbed the closest box and flung it at him. The box burst open, and foam packing peanuts flew everywhere, piling on the floor around us in drifts.
Worst weapon ever.
A fist came flying toward me and connected with my already swollen jaw. Stars lit up my world. It hadn’t been long since the last time someone had hit me in the same spot, and the pain danced up my face and into my eye. The contact knocked me into the rack, and I rebounded, ducking under his arm as it came toward me again. My brothers would have been horrified at how badly I was botching this fight. My jaw throbbed my heartbeat, and a ripping pain stabbed my thigh. I glanced down and found the wound in my leg had pulled open and bled everywhere. I came up behind Lucas, grabbed the chair I’d been hit with and slammed it into him, knocking him sideways off his feet. Before he could recover, I hit him again, laying him flat on his stomach, and hopped on his back to pin him down.
Packing peanuts gusted around us like a snow flurry.
“Stop!” Merle’s voice came from the opposite side of the room from where it had been. It didn’t contain the degree of panic I would have hoped for.
I scanned the room and found him near where I’d been sitting. He held Ash against him, his ring held out toward her face. “No! Let her go!” Panic sped my already racing heartbeat, and the sound of blood rushed through my ears.
“Get up. Hands in the air.” He lifted his chin at me and twitched his ring hand when I hesitated.
“All right. All right.” I rose from the soulless Aegis, arms up like I was caught in a bank robbery. I stepped over Lucas and tried to ease toward Merle. “She’s just a kid. Let her go. Please? It’s her birthday today.” I gave her a wan smile with forced cheer. “Happy birthday.”
Because she was half human and half djinn, there was the chance that he wouldn’t be able to take her soul. There was also the chance that he could. I couldn’t risk it. Even without involving the ring, he had her in his arms and could physically harm her.
She couldn’t move, but her gaze shifted to a spot behind me to let me know I was about to get jumped again. “Thanks. It’s been interesting so far.”
Rather than try to fight Lucas off, I leaned forward, hoping for a full-body attack and not just a fist in the kidneys. My luck held, and he lunged for me. In the position I was in, he propelled me straight into Merle and Ash. Had Merle been holding a knife or a gun, I wouldn’t have risked it. But the surprise of having his temporary servant throw me at him didn’t give him time to use the ring or hurt her physically.
Ash twisted free, and I slammed Merle against the wall. Lucas grabbed my left arm to pull me off Merle at the same time I grabbed Merle’s left wrist with my right hand. Lucas was a great deal stronger than me, even when he wasn’t magically juiced up. I had only seconds to make a huge decision.
It was the last thing I wanted to do. But I had no choice. I didn’t have time for another plan, and I couldn’t risk losing this battle.
I squeezed Merle’s wrist as tight as I could to get a good grip, pulled his arm toward me, then slammed his hand against the concrete block wall as hard as I possibly could.
Merle cried out, and I heard a small crack. I did it again, then a third time.
The soul stone shattered. Chips flew in every direction, then fell to the floor in a cascade of shining black shards.
A silvery mist flowed out and past me toward Lucas. The moment his soul returned to him, he let go of my arm and shoulder. Ash stumbled to her feet from where she’d been knocked to the floor. Merle moaned, his eyes wide in horror, then sank to the floor, sobbing.
All around us, liquid silver swirled through the air. I had no idea how many souls had been waiting in that stone, but they were all loose now. If I didn’t catch them, Art would kill me.
Actually, Art was already going to kill me for smashing the soul stone.
I grabbed my own stone and held it out from my body, concentrating on the nearest soul. I pulled, and the soul floated toward me, spiraled, then curled into my stone to disappear.
Smiling, I reached out toward the next one. It shivered, then darted out the window through the glass.
“No! Wait!” I ran to the window, but it was gone. What’s more, each of the other souls zipped away through the window, too. I watched, helpless, as they each paused outside, then took a different direction from the others and dashed away.
My voice was a breathy whisper. “Oh, Art is going to be furious.”
Ash moved to my side. “What happened?”
“I had to think fast. I let the souls out. I thought... I thought I could catch them in time.” I glanced at my scarab. Silver light danced across its surface. “All I caught was one. The rest went back where they came from.”
“That’s bad?”
I nodded. “That’s bad.” I let out a long sigh. “Well. Nothing I can do about it right now.” I turned to face Merle. “You ready to go?”
At that moment, Truman ran in with his team behind him. “We’re here! Is everyone all right?”
I frowned, looking from Ash to Truman. “How did you guys find us? I don’t even know where we are.”
Ash grinned and held up her wrist sporting a shining new djinn stone. “I used magic!” She dropped her arm. “You said you’d be home by midnight. I was worried. You’re in the abandoned building behind the café, on the third floor, by the way. Nobody would have found you without magic.” She beamed with pride. “Once I had an address, I called Truman to let him know.”
Truman nodded. “I told her to wait for us.” He stepped toward Merle. “We’ll take it from here.”
I shook my head and held my hand up. “Wait. Give me a minute.”
Truman stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back. “Go ahead.”
I kneeled on the floor in front of Merle. He sat staring out the window, glassy-eyed. I touched his knee. “Hey. You in there?”
He dragged his gaze from the window to me. “I’m always in here.”
“Don’t you think it’s time to go? Aren’t you tired?”
He stared at me without answering.
I held up my stone. “Don’t you want to be with your wife?”
He let out a tired sigh and slowly
nodded. “I’m exhausted.”
I patted his leg. “Just let go, Merle. Everything’s going to be fine.”
I held out the stone and gave a soft pull. I didn’t normally take souls that were still in the body. That was a reaper’s job. But this was a soul in a body that had died. Having it hide inside a body wasn’t much different from when they hid in a cemetery or a hair salon. They were all overdue, escaped souls to a chaser.
When I felt the soul catch, I pulled a bit harder, reeling it in like a catfish, careful not to let it break free. The silvery liquid of Merle’s soul slipped through his lips and slid into my stone with the other soul. The shots of light on the surface of the stone doubled with the addition of a second resident.
I sat back on my heels and let out a breath. Merle’s eyes had closed without my needing to help, and his chin rested on his chest.
Lucas reached down and helped me to my feet. “Will you tell me later what happened?”
I nodded and turned my attention to the OGREs. “Go ahead, Truman. You guys can take him, now.”
Ash gave a shiver. “What do we do now?”
I licked my lips. “Now we get something to drink. And maybe some toast.”
* * *
Since the souls had been released, I didn’t have to get the now-broken ring back to Art as quickly. Part of me wanted to stay as long as possible. Facing Art wasn’t a chore I looked forward to. But I was a grown-up and had Ash to think about, so we didn’t stay too much longer.
Since we wouldn’t need the food truck or its supplies any longer, we drove it around the long way—I was never setting foot in that alley again—and parked it in front of Homer’s. I was pleased to see Bonnie and Verne looking relatively unharmed with only a few small scrapes on them.
For four hours, Ash and I made sandwiches and handed them through the window to the people hanging out there. We kept going until we were out of bread, cheese, meat and fruit. The butter, jams, peanut butter and anything else we had left over we packed up and donated to Homer’s kitchen.
I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends.
Neil had been overjoyed that we’d excavated the dead body out of the truck, cleaned it up and brought it back in far better condition than it had been when he’d loaned it to us. He’d fixed my old truck, changed the oil and filters, recharged the air conditioner—a miraculous thing I didn’t know could be done—and even put four brand-new tires on it. “Least I can do for you. Sorry you had a dead body in there. Should have known a squirrel couldn’t make that much stink.”
We’d thanked him for making my truck like new and rode around for an hour, enjoying how much easier it was to get around. But we had one more place to be before it was time to head out of town.
Zack’s funeral was small, mostly attended by members of the Food Truck Posse. Aaron had him buried under a tree at the top of a hill in a cemetery so old that some of the tombstones were too worn by the elements to read.
I gave Aaron a hug afterward. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get to him in time.”
Aaron wiped away a tear and stood straighter. “You did your best. Thank you for stopping Merle before he killed the rest of us.”
Lisa moved in next to him, placed her hand in his and leaned into him. “We’ll be all right now.” She looked up at him and gave him a soft smile. “We plan to sell one of our trucks and combine the businesses.”
“Bacon muffins?” The small smile tugging at my lips felt inappropriate for the setting, but the love I saw between Aaron and Lisa warmed the sadness in my heart.
Aaron kissed the top of her head. “Something like that.”
I was so glad Lisa had stopped fighting her feelings for him. Love was the best salve to put on a heart broken by loss. The coming months wouldn’t be easy for Aaron. Lisa would help him through it.
Ash and I hugged everyone goodbye, promising to stop by and visit next time we came through town.
As I turned to go, Lucas grabbed my hand and stopped me. “I didn’t properly thank you for saving my life.” His voice was husky, and his eyelids were lowered.
“I don’t think I saved you.” I stepped into his embrace, feeling everyone’s eyes on us. “I think all I did was keep myself from getting killed by you.”
“Well, thank you for not letting me kill you, then.”
“You’re wel—”
He cut me off with his lips on mine. His arm slipped around my waist and drew me closer to him, our bodies pressed against each other as they had been that night in the alley.
My breath caught, and I returned the kiss, snaking my hand over the hard muscles of his chest, then up to wind my fingers in his hair. My skin felt hot, and sparks of electricity spread through me. I wondered absently if he would see flames in my eyes if I opened them.
His tongue slipped between my lips to tangle with my own, then pulled back and finished the kiss, leaving me breathless and unable to think coherently. He let go and took a step back. “Make sure you come visit when you’re in town again.”
“Uh-huh.” My legs felt wobbly, and my lips tingled. “I’ll put in a good word for you at headquarters.”
Lucas turned on his heel and sauntered away without looking back.
Ash chuckled and took my arm. “Come on. Let’s get you in the truck before your legs buckle and you embarrass yourself.”
We made our way down the grassy incline where my truck waited. Not some bulky truck painted like an offensive caricature of my heritage. My truck. Rusty. Old. Bequeathed to me by a dead mothman. And running like it was brand-new.
I glanced up the hill at the group and spotted Lucas talking to Grace. “That was a slick move he pulled, walking away like that.”
Ash nodded. “It really was.”
“Wish I’d thought of it.” I started the engine, and we headed toward headquarters to see how pissed Art was going to be.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I sat in a stiff-backed chair in Art’s office. A fire burned in the fireplace, sending shadows to flit across the heavy woodwork, stacks of leather books and Art’s scowling face.
“Seventeen,” he said, leaning across his desk at me. “That’s how many souls you let loose with your carelessness.”
I stared at the toe of my boot, not wanting to look directly at Art’s crazy, bloodshot eyes. “It wasn’t carelessness, Art. I told you. It was the only thing I could do to keep everyone else alive.”
He shook his head and held out his hand. “Well. Give me the remains.”
I dug in my pocket for the plastic bag full of shards and bent metal, then handed it to him. “I had to think fast. I’m sorry.”
He held it up in the orange light and looked, his face a little green. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I can’t believe you did this.” He set the bag on the desk and turned his attention to Ash. “And you couldn’t stop her, but you want to be her partner.”
Ash, sitting in an equally stiff chair and looking pale, swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
I saw a satisfied flicker in his eyes at being addressed that way. Art had gone from middle management to head of the entire government virtually overnight. Respect was sometimes hard for him to get.
He stood and walked around the desk, then folded his arms across his chest and leaned against it in front of me. “Kam, this is really serious.”
I picked at a hangnail on my thumb. “I know.”
“I can’t have a freelance chaser let out seventeen souls and smash a soul stone. Those things are expensive. And you’ve created so much work to collect the souls. Work I have to pay for.”
I was getting fired. The one good job I’d had—the only thing I was actually good at—and I was about to get fired. I lowered my eyes and tried not to let him see the tears gathering in my eyes. I’d let him down. I’d botched it.
“I need you to hand over your stone.” He held out his hand, palm up.
I moved my gaze to his face. I wanted to argue, but he was right. My heart shattered with disappointment and regret. I nodded, pulling it free from my shirt and unclasping the chain. “Here.” Twin jets of silver raced across its surface, Merle and Pete shooting off fireworks together inside. I stroked the scarab I’d spent so much to have designed and dropped it in Art’s waiting palm.
“Oh, stop looking so morose,” he said. “I can’t fire you. You owe me too much money.”
I perked up a little, as did Ash. “So, what’s going to happen?”
Art placed my stone into a small wooden box. “Well, first, I’ll need to vacate the souls in there. Then I’m going to have your stone reprogrammed, and you’ll both spend time in training.”
“I’ve been through chaser training.”
“Yes. And now you’ll go through reaper training, too. No more running off on your own. You’ll be the first reaper-chaser we’ve ever had, and you’ll be full-time. The first of many, as a matter of fact. This reaper-chaser division never made sense to me. No more freelancing for any of you. That’s why you need more training. You need to know—and keep—company rules. And this one—” he nodded at Ash “—can be your apprentice until I decide to give her a stone of her own.”
Ash sucked in an excited breath but otherwise stayed quiet. I agreed with her. I couldn’t believe our good luck.
But keeping my mouth shut was a skill I hadn’t learned yet. I was too excited to take a cue from Ash. “So, wait. My punishment is that I’m now going to have full-time work, regular paychecks and benefits?”
“Well, you did save a lot of people.” He tried to make his voice gruff, but he failed. “I can’t overlook that part.”
I smiled. Relief washed over me, and I felt like dancing. “Thank you.”
“Well, don’t thank me yet.” For the first time since we came into the room, Art picked up his pen and clicked it a few times. “There’s one more thing.” Whatever it was, he didn’t look happy, and he didn’t look like he expected me to be happy. “While you do have Ash as a companion, she’s not yet qualified to be your partner.”