Out of the three new arrivals, Dooby looked the best, so I figured he’d probably slept most of the way. He’d dumped the rock-star look today, wearing faded jeans with holes in the knees and a long-sleeved blue shirt over a black T-shirt. His hair, still died black, was up in that girly ponytail again. “Nice boots,” I told him, taking in the midcalf black boots that had crisscrossed laces all the way up the front.
“Thanks. The book is in the car.” He ran his gaze down to my legs. “Nice limbs.”
I’d forgotten I’d worn a pair of loose shorts to bed. Luckily, they came down to my knees, covering my thigh wound.
Blythe, thankfully covered now in a white terrycloth robe, crawled onto her bed and leaned against the headboard. “Beri has pretty legs, like a runner’s. Though I never see her running.”
“I get enough exercise.” Growling, I pushed Elsa over so I could dig around under the covers for longer pants. “You guys should bring the book in. The ghoul is back, still after it.”
“What ghoul?” Castor asked.
I forgot that only Blythe and Nikolos had seen it before. “It’s this seriously dumb creature who wrecked Blythe’s magic shop then hired a bunch of kids to attack Nikolos and me so he could get his hands on that book. We thought he was working for the Dweller, but that had been a stupid assumption—how could it have communicated with him? Anyway, he’s still after the book and I think he might be the one who burned down Elsa’s house. If I get my hands on him, this time I’m going to do more than punch him in the head.”
Dooby turned and hurried back to Elsa’s Ford.
“So you think word of the book is out?” Elsa asked, voice still muffled by the comforter. “That might actually work in our favor.”
I sat next to her, patted her back. “How’s that? It means we won’t be safe, no matter where we go. When we’re back at Nikolos’s, it could mean you all will be fighting off things while I’m gone.”
“But the creatures who escaped during the Dweller battle might come to us instead of us having to track them.”
That would be ideal. If I wasn’t planning to be in one of the hell dimensions for a time. “Speaking of tracking, wait until you guys meet this group of kids we found. We might not have to do any tracking at all.” Restless, I got back up and went to the tiny coffeepot next to the sink and glared at the single serving packets. This was not acceptable. “Not every hell dimension creature will be after a book.”
“They might.” Dooby staggered into the room and dropped the heavy book onto the small table in the corner. “I’ve managed to get a good fourth of it translated and it’s insane! Full of priceless information on old creatures, with spells showing how to take them down.”
“Did you figure out more about the lilin?”
“She’s using those witches.” Dooby leaned against the wall next to the window. “Nine magical beings in a half circle or even a full circle can create a barrier that nothing can get through. Your arrow isn’t enough. I thought you could follow the small entry point, but it’s going to have to be a bigger rift.”
My shoulders slumped. “Then what do we do? There are all these people following them, living in tents. I think the witches are feeding them because I saw bodyguards dropping off food. But those people are dying. Slowly, but it’s happening. I saw spirits in the woods.”
Elsa sat up, pushed her blonde hair off her face. “I’ll check with the local police to see if they have missing people.”
“They might not be local.” I filled a glass with water and took a sip. “They seem to be actually traveling with the band. I reported the girl’s body Blythe and I found yesterday morning, so maybe they’ve already found her identity.”
“Someone is missing these people.” Elsa got off the bed. “Blythe, let’s get on your computer and see what we can find.” She spotted the little giraffe figurine, picked it up and shot me a smile.
“The motel doesn’t have Wi-Fi.” Blythe shivered and pulled the covers over her legs. The open door had let in the cold.
Elsa’s mouth fell open. “How is that possible?”
I poured out the rest of the water, set down the glass then picked up my satchel. I set it on the counter by the coffeepot. “Those kids I told you about have a sort of cafe in walking distance. One of them makes fantastic coffee.”
“Then let’s go,” Dooby cut in. “I need fuel.”
I looked at the clock by the bed. It read 7:00 a.m. “They’re teens. I doubt they’re even out of bed yet and most of them go to school anyway.”
Blythe slid her legs off the side of the bed. “What about the woodruff spell the vampire told you about last night? If we break Sophie’s thrall, you’ll have a bigger hole in the barrier, right? You could shoot that arrow right in there.”
“We’re assuming I can shoot this thing at all.”
“I can,” Castor said. He sat sprawled in one of the small chairs by the table, his long legs reaching the door. “I used to compete at the Alligator Flag street festival.”
“That would work,” Dooby said. “If part of the circle is broken, you’ll be able to hit her.”
“Then why can’t I jump the stage with my knives?” I asked. “I know how to use those.”
“Because if she’s as strong as I think she is and she still has eight other witches and wizards backing her up, it would be best to use the arrow.” Dooby crossed his arms. “Ash worked in the past and we might have a small window of time to work. Best to go with what we know works.”
I remembered Fenris. “The little vamp said his blood might paralyze her.”
“Then we have a plan.” Castor leaned forward, elbows on his jean-clad knees. “Where can we get a bow?”
“The kids at Perk and Work can get anything,” Blythe said.
“Perk and Work?” Elsa laughed.
I eyed my brother. “You ever shoot anything, Castor?”
“Gators. Not that arrows do a lot of damage to them.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Let me rephrase that. Ever shoot a person, Castor?”
He shook his head. “No, but she’s killing people. I don’t have a problem getting rid of something evil.”
“Okay, but I want you to take me out and teach me to shoot this thing today. Just in case.”
“Deal.” He grinned.
Again it hit me. I really, really liked this brother of mine.
We descended on Rory within minutes of his arrival at Perk and Work. I was surprised to see Brock, Tea Bag and Sarah there too. “No school today?”
“Teacher work day,” Brock answered. He sat next to Tea Bag in the back where they had games set up. He gaped at the crowd I brought with me.
Sarah stared hard at Castor. “I’ve never seen boy-girl twins that looked so much alike. Didn’t even think that was possible.” She looked at Brock. “Didn’t we learn in health class that identical twins had to be the same sex?”
Dooby stepped around Castor, chuckling. “It’s best not to think about what’s logical and what’s not when it comes to these two.”
Her eyes widened when she looked at him. Then she blushed, bit her lip and stammered something completely inaudible. Poor thing looked ready to crawl through the floor and I was about to say something to put her at ease when Brock suddenly yelled.
I reached for my knife, but Brock started waving his hand in front of his face. He twisted and kicked the chair out from under Tea Bag. “Dude. What did you eat last night? It’s like something crawled up your ass and died.”
Tea Bag lay on the floor laughing before he kicked at Brock’s chair—which didn’t move at all. “Seven burritos, all with beans and cheese.”
I grinned and pointed to the table at the opposite side of the room from Tea Bag. “We’ll stay over here then.” I pointed and made introductions. “Rory, Sarah, Brock and Tea Bag. This is my brother Castor, my sister Elsa, and the Doob.”
“It’s Dooby actually.” The necromancer sauntered to the chair next to Rory, slumped into it and propped hi
s boot-clad feet on the table next to the laptop. “Honey, I will teach you the wicked ways of the world if someone will get coffee into my hands in the next five minutes.”
Elsa glowered at the necromancer. “Doob, he’s a kid. Back off.” She and Blythe set up the witch’s computer in the same place Blythe and I had worked before.
“I’m actually nineteen,” Rory murmured, then flushed when he realized how that sounded. “Not that I want him to teach me wicked ways…or wicked anythings actually.” He looked down, his cheeks the same color as his red T-shirt.
Sarah narrowed her gaze at Dooby but didn’t say anything. Sighing, I rubbed my temples. “Nobody is teaching anybody anything, other than Castor teaching me to shoot an arrow. I don’t suppose you guys would know where to find one? The arrow needs to be made of ash.”
Rory nodded. “My uncles have some bows and arrows. But they’re the old-fashioned kind, not cool crossbows or anything. I’m not sure they’re ash.”
Dooby uncrossed his feet then recrossed them, leaning back and closing his eyes. He looked like a sexy, debauched pirate. “The vamp blood on the arrow will probably work if we don’t have ash.”
“They could be ash. They’re pretty old looking.”
“Old-fashioned is better anyway.” I looked around to find Phro standing in the corner. I peeled the dimensions a little and saw that Frida was only a couple of feet from her. They were staring at each other. I just shook my head, not ready to deal with their drama, and faced Rory again. “We’ll need it to blend into the concert. Can you tell us where you got the outfits? I need to get one for my brother.”
“And me and the Doob,” Elsa said.
“Somebody has to watch the you-know-what.” I wasn’t ready to share about the book yet. These kids were cool, but that book’s existence was still too important to risk anything. I had it wrapped back in its purple cloth and inside a bag I carried.
The sound of grinding beans let me know that Brock had gotten busy. I followed Dooby’s example and sat down to prop my feet up. Brock gave the first cup to Dooby. He stared so hard at the older man I thought maybe he’d rather be the one learning things from Dooby, but then Brock nudged Rory. “Is it just me or could he be Ling Tong?”
Surprise, then recognition made Rory grin. “He could. Wow.”
“Oh, you play?” Castor leaned against the wall. “And yeah, when he dyed his hair black, it freaked me out.”
Game bonding. I left them to it and just dove into the enjoyment of good coffee. I glanced over at Dooby to find him doing the same. He cradled the mug in both hands and buried his nose in the top. He groaned and the sound was so sexy it made my eyebrows go up. It also made Rory blush again. Too funny.
“Are you out of high school, Mr. Brock?” Dooby asked.
“No. And it’s just Brock.”
“When you graduate, I’ll put you through college if you’ll just come to Florida and make coffee for me every day.”
Brock’s mouth opened and closed a few times, then he turned red.
“Doob.” I crooked my finger, calling him over to me. I patted the seat next to me. He went to refresh his coffee before coming over and I briefly considered stealing his full cup. I leaned over to whisper. “Did you find a spell that will keep me asleep while I’m on this…” I didn’t know what to call it.
“Catabasis.”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“It’s Greek, means to descend into the underworld, but it can also mean your soul’s inner journey to face its shadow.”
I sat up, spilled coffee on my T-shirt. “Shadow? I can’t believe you just said shadow.”
He sipped his coffee, eyed me over the rim of the mug. “Why?”
“I fought this creature here. He didn’t speak very well, but he growled something about my shadow. The little vamp said that mine is visible to some creatures.”
“Well, I can’t see it. But the shadow is an internal thing. Catabasis is the best description for what you’re about to do. I’ve been thinking about it. When you astral project, your body isn’t corporeal and your cord is. We need to find a way to reverse that.”
“But I’m aware in my metaphysical body when I do it.”
“There has to be a way.”
“What if I just go into the portal as I am?”
“Then how would you get back out? With the exception of the Dweller battle, I’ve never heard of any other creature escaping that world—not without something huge to barter and even then, it usually doesn’t work. Remember Orpheus and Eurydice?” He stared at me, set his mug down. “You know, you could just not go. I can’t imagine Nikolos wants you to.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Did you see him again?”
I nodded and that insidious guilt from giving him that water came back to claw at my insides. “It’s awful. I’m not leaving him there. I can’t.”
“Okay then. I’m going back to the room to go through the book.”
“What if the ghoul shows up?”
“You forget. I’m a necromancer. I’m not without power of my own and I can take a ghoul. They aren’t the brightest creatures.”
Castor, Rory and I spent the middle of the day practicing with the bow and arrow. I realized fast I needed more time to learn, but I finally hit the target a few times. Luckily, Castor hit the target every time. So did Rory, but I put my foot down on Rory coming to the concert.
Around two o’clock, I went back to Perk and Work to find Elsa and Blythe back on the computers.
Elsa pointed at the wall where a few more costumes had been hung. “We’re all set. We just need to get earplugs.” She looked closely at me, stood and crossed the room to put her hands on my cheeks and meet my eyes. “You aren’t okay. I can tell. Go back to the room and sleep. Blythe and I will get the earplugs and I’ll take everyone out to dinner after. We’ll be back in time to get you and get to the concert.”
“We have to leave by seven or we won’t get there in time.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get there. We found six missing people we think might have been victims of these concerts, so it’s time to put a stop to it now. And I’m smuggling in my guns in case this whole arrow thing doesn’t work.”
I grinned at her. “Did I tell you I’m glad you’re here?”
“No.” She kissed my cheek. “But I knew it already anyway. Now go sleep.”
There’s something about entering a motel room alone that makes the heart feel thick. Yeah, I had Phro, but she didn’t really count as company most of the time. Pulling the heavy curtains closed, I gave her a tight smile. I needed to sleep, but I also needed to check on Nikolos. Worry for him burned like fire in my gut at all times now and I couldn’t help but fear that the longer we took, the worse he was going to be. The guilt over bathing him with that stupid Lethe water wouldn’t ease.
I put on my sweats and one of his T-shirts, and sat on the edge of the bed holding the little packet of marjoram. If I left it, I could sleep. If I didn’t, I could see Nikolos again.
I looked at Phro. “Not one word.”
Hell, it wasn’t a choice. I tossed the marjoram and crawled under the covers. Groaning because of my still-sore rib, I turned onto my back and thought about another motel room when Nikolos’s body had lain heavily on mine. I wished we’d been able to really make love, in a real bed like the one in his home. We hadn’t had enough time together. And this last time…a sob caught in my throat. I hated thinking about it.
“I miss you,” I whispered into the darkened room. I pulled our ankhs out from under my T-shirt, clasped them in my palm and hoped I’d get to see him one last time. I honestly had a bad feeling about this concert tonight.
This time, I shouldn’t have tried so hard.
When I opened my eyes, I was in the dirt-and-stone pit and Nikolos was chained to the wall. I ran across the room and ducked down to look into his face because his body was slumped—he sort of dangled from the chains by his wrists. He wasn’t awake, so I wrapped my hands around
the chains and pulled. Either I didn’t have my extra strength in this world, or those were spelled into the wall, because they didn’t budge.
“Hey, can you hear me?” I touched his face, then snatched my hand back when he growled.
Red eyes looked at me as if I were the one jailing him. He snarled and pulled on his chains. I backed away from him, my heart shredding over the red streaks on his body. He was no longer thin and he looked…bigger. Thick muscles roped his arms, shoulders and thighs. He stopped making noise and stood, breathing hard, staring at me.
“Do you know who I am?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer. Snarls came out of his mouth and he tried to run at me, but the chains held him away. He pulled against them, straining so hard veins popped out in his neck and blood began to run in streams down his arms.
“Stop. Please stop.” I stayed out of reach, but stretched my arms to touch his face. For a second or two, he watched me, even nuzzled my hand, then the snarls and growls started again. Without warning, he lifted his leg and kicked me. Hard. In the stomach. I stumbled backward and kept going until my spine hit the wall.
Was his humanity gone then? For good? The wave of grief that washed over me, so heavy and thick, made me drop to my knees. I clenched my hands in the dirt floor, trying to anchor myself to the world like I did at home, but here it didn’t work. Heat seeped into my fingers and I stood up, my gaze falling on the gate.
The open gate.
Nikolos was chained to a wall, so whoever had him was apparently not worried about him escaping. I walked to the gate and winced when the metal creaked as I pushed it further open. The narrow corridor was so dark—it was either night in this world or we were far underground.
Blood of an Ancient: A Beri O'Dell Book, Book 2 Page 15