“Depends on which way you look at it,” I said slowly. “My actual family name is Ciar’ Ansghar. You know, because of the Fae thing.”
“But there’s another way to look at it?”
“Yeah. There’s the family name I grew up with.” I swallowed once. “Valentine.”
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “The first victims. They were your family?”
“I grew up with them. But they weren’t family,” I said. “Ever.”
She stared at me. “So the victim … the man who said all those awful things to you. Those weren’t bluffs.”
I shook my head. “That was history,” I said firmly. “If I promise to tell you about it sometime, can we not talk about it now? You know, while we’re trying to stop the end of the world.”
Her face fell. “You were serious about that, too.”
Damn. Now I felt bad for saying it. “We have a serious problem, that’s all,” I said. “And Zee, he’s serious about killing a whole lot of people. But I’m not going to let that happen. Not while I’m still breathing.”
It wasn’t a lie, as long as I left out the incredibly short length of time I expected to continue drawing breath.
CHAPTER 41
The longer we waited, the more bodies would pile up — and the smaller our impossibly slim chance at catching Zee off guard would get. So as much as none of us wanted to, we had to strike tonight.
And Frost refused to stay behind.
“You do realize this creature can kill you with little more effort than the thought of doing so,” Ian said. We’d all gathered around the dark television, where there was a little more room and comfort than the small round tables. “And if he chooses to, none of us can stop him.”
“I don’t give a damn,” she said. “He killed my partner, and I want a shot at him. Didn’t you say all of them but the big guy are human?” She folded her arms, like she’d somehow made a point. “I can shoot people. There’s forty-some of them left, and five of you. Forty-some against six would be better.”
Donatti let out a frustrated snort. “You can’t shoot people you can’t see, lady. None of us can,” he said. “Shooting people is pretty much off the table here.”
“You know … I’ve been thinking about that.”
Everyone stared at me. Now I had to explain, and I wasn’t sure I understood it myself. “Remember I mentioned that I could see invisible people, but Taeral couldn’t? That means it’s not a Fae ability,” I said, still trying to choose my words. “But I’m not just Fae. I’m the DeathSpeaker.”
Taeral was the first to catch on. “You are seeing their souls?”
“Yeah. That’s what I think.” I looked to Donatti and Ian. “When you guys were invisible in the church, I cast a reveal spell and it made you visible. But it wasn’t quite all the way.” I paused again, thinking of how to explain it. “You were still kind of see-through until you started talking. That was when you decided I could see you and dropped the invisibility thing yourselves, right?”
Donatti’s brow went up. “I think so. What are you getting at?”
“I can do more than see and talk to the dead,” I said. “I can control them. My magic affects souls. So if I use the reveal spell on the acolytes, everyone should be able to see them. Not just me.”
“You may be right.” Taeral sounded marginally hopeful. “Shall we test it, then?”
“Excuse me.”
The small voice was Frost. I looked at her, and she drew a quick breath. “I thought you just said that you can see people’s souls. But that’s not what you really said. Right?”
“Um. Well, it kind of … is what I said, actually.”
She stared a moment longer, and then nodded as if that was exactly what she expected to hear. “I think I’ll stop asking questions now,” she said. “Tell me when it’s time to shoot bad guys, okay?”
I grinned. “I can do that.”
“At any rate.” Taeral had the strangest look on his face, and Sadie was almost laughing. “We should be sure this works, before we decide to rely on it.”
Ian leaned forward. “I nominate Donatti to be spelled.”
“Of course you do. You enjoyed watching him kick my ass way too much, you know.” Donatti heaved a breath and stood. “All right, so I just go invisible, that’s the deal?” he said. “How much is this going to hurt?”
“It shouldn’t,” I said.
“Yeah. Shouldn’t isn’t the same as won’t.” He quirked a smile and vanished.
I gestured at the empty shape of him in the air. “Nochtaan.”
Donatti flickered briefly, and went from completely transparent to mostly there. He looked like an artist’s sketch of a ghost brought to life. “Erm,” he said. “I can see me, but I always can. Does anyone else see me? Besides Gideon?”
“Aye, we do,” Taeral said. Ian and Sadie murmured agreement.
Frost blinked. “I can, too,” she said. “If that helps any. Since I’m human and all.”
“Good.” Donatti flashed solid again. “We’ve got target sighting covered, then,” he said. “Now we’ll need guns. Lots of guns. You turn off the invisible, and we’ll rush in guns blazing, and shoot the hell out of everything.”
“And we will be fortunate to fire a single shot, before Zee chooses to jam the weapons and render them useless,” Ian said. “I have repeatedly told you that blades are preferable to guns, thief.”
I looked at him. “You guys have a gun-jamming spell?”
“Fine,” Donatti said shortly. “We rush in, guns not blazing, and shoot the hell out of everything discreetly. And we’ll have backup blades. Is that okay with you, boss man?”
“We’ll bring as many weapons as we can carry,” I said before they could really get into it. Personally, I was going to load up on blades. I was still a lousy shot. “I think we agree that we’ll need everything we can throw at this guy. Right?”
The sentiment was unanimous.
CHAPTER 42
We took the subway to the closest possible stop and broke in through a service door to reach the next level down. After twenty-six years of hiding underground while he thought his brother was safe and his father was dead, Taeral knew the subtunnels better than anyone alive. And he knew the back way into the Hive.
All of us were armed to the teeth. Every gun we’d ever taken from Milus Dei, except the two stashed in my van, all the blades in the Castle plus Donatti’s and Ian’s personal collections. Sadie’s collar, Taeral’s lodestone, my master stone. Frost also had Mace, handcuffs, and a taser gun.
Taeral had given Frost a quarter. That confused her, until he explained it was enchanted with a temporary glamour that would make her look like someone else, so maybe Zee wouldn’t kill her instantly.
Then she was even more confused. But she accepted it and thanked him.
Once we reached the subtunnel level, Donatti passed around flashlights. I wanted to conserve the moonstone as much as possible for the fight.
“This way.” Taeral took the lead down the narrow tunnel, with Sadie just behind him. I went next with Frost, and Donatti and Ian took the back.
We hadn’t been moving for two minutes when Sadie said, “Taeral, do you think I should call and check on Eli? I’m worried about him.”
He shot her a quick frown. “You cannot call. Grygg does not have a phone.”
“I know, but I’m still worried. I should’ve told Grygg to put The Last Unicorn on for him. He loves that movie.” She moved up closer. “Maybe we should get one of those baby monitors. You know, so we can listen for him.”
Taeral made a small sound of frustration. “Are those not meant for use within a house?” he said. “We’d not be able to listen from here. And we’ve no need to. There is nothing to worry about.”
“Well, you’re magic! You could increase the range or something.”
“A’ghrael, please. Now is not the time for this discussion.”
“So you think I shouldn’t be worried about him, just because
we’re going off to battle?”
He relented with a sigh. “Of course you should worry.”
“Thank you. I will.”
Behind me, Donatti chuckled. “She sounds just like Jazz,” he said quietly. “I think you’ve got a mother on your hands.”
“Yeah, seems that way,” I said. “I just hope Taeral can handle being a father.”
“He’s doing okay. Got the ‘when in doubt, she’s right’ part down, at least.”
I smiled to myself. He had that part down long before Eli came along.
“Speaking of women,” Ian said. “While I still do not believe you should be here, Miss Frost, I must say I admire your courage. Few humans would choose to face such odds.”
Frost actually blushed a little. “Thanks,” she said. “And please, it’s Calla.”
“Calla. What a lovely name.”
Her blush deepened, and I told myself that wasn’t jealousy sparking in my gut. I barely knew her, and I’d just stopped hating her a few hours ago. I glanced back at Donatti. “Is he always this much of a ladies’ man?” I said.
“Yeah, he is,” Donatti grunted. “Jazz just loves him to death. She tells me all the time.”
Ian smiled. “Does she, now?”
“Good Christ, yes. ‘Ian is so tall and handsome and mysterious’,” he said in a distressing falsetto. “‘He can reach the top of the cabinet, and he got my best platter down for me. He washes the dishes, too. Isn’t he wonderful, Gavyn? Why can’t you be more like Ian?’”
“Are you finished?” Ian said dryly.
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“Fantastic. Because I seem to recall my wife being far fonder of you than I would prefer.”
“We’re even, then.” Grinning, Donatti leaned aside and shouted, “Hey, Taeral. Are we there yet?”
“No!” Taeral snapped. “Immortal, can you not keep him quiet for five minutes?”
“He actually can’t. Do you and Ian go to the same doctor to get those sticks implanted in your asses?”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing!” Donatti called. “Carry on, fearless leader.”
I couldn’t help laughing. Stupid and pointless as it was, I could sense the need for us to talk about anything except what we were marching toward. What Eli, with only the most basic language skills, had explained with chilling accuracy.
Blood and burning and dead.
CHAPTER 43
Everyone felt Zee’s power when we drew within sight of the Hive’s back door. Even Frost. Now we’d just have to hope he wouldn’t sense us for a few more minutes.
The entrance was an actual wooden door set into stone, like something out of a movie about dwarves. It was closed, but not locked. Taeral stopped in front of it and turned to look at the rest of us. “This is a tunnel, very similar to the one Eli described at the top of the stairs,” he said. “At the end of the tunnel, a wooden bridge crosses the canyon to the back of platform, where the Hive … used to stand.”
This was sounding more like a movie about dwarves than ever. The one where they all ran across a breaking bridge, being chased by a fire demon. Or possibly trolls. I got them mixed up sometimes.
At least one of the running people died badly. I remembered that.
“And we are all in agreement. No one uses magic until it becomes unavoidable,” Taeral said. “Correct?”
Nods and murmurs. The morale flag was really flying high now.
“Very well.” He drew a breath and pushed the door open.
My gut twisted when I got a look inside. “I’m guessing the tunnel didn’t used to look like this,” I said faintly.
Taeral’s jaw clenched. “No. It did not.”
There were blazing torches on the walls. The flickering light revealed piles of human bones and skulls stacked neatly against the tiled surface at regular intervals, as far as we could see. And they definitely weren’t plaster models or decorative accents.
Some of the bones still had blood and gristle on them.
No one spoke as we moved down the tunnel of horror. I found myself thinking of Legba and his club, with the bone balcony and the fiery Mardi Gras skull. More than that, I thought of my encounter with Kelwyyn, the previous DeathSpeaker, after we pushed the immortal Legba into the Mists of Arcadia.
Kelwyyn had given me the Word. The one that instantly destroyed souls. But he hadn’t actually told me what it was. He implanted it in my head somehow, and said I’d be able to use it against a great evil he’d sensed growing in the world.
If Zee wasn’t a great, growing evil, I couldn’t imagine anything that was. So maybe I’d be able to use the Word on him — and end this without anyone else dying.
Not yet, DeathSpeaker.
The whisper was so faint, I wasn’t sure I’d heard it. “That you, Kelwyyn?” I murmured. “If you’re telling me there’s something worse than Zee out there, please don’t.”
The evil still seeks you, DeathSpeaker. The time has not come.
“Oh, great,” I said under my breath.
Frost shot me a look. “Who are you talking to?” she said.
“Myself,” I told her. “More or less.”
I could see the far end of the tunnel now. I decided to watch ahead, in case there were any invisible acolytes around. As we neared the opening, I made out a soft sound coming from the Hive cavern, like whispering wind. It grew louder, and more … musical.
Taeral stopped at the wooden bridge. Once everyone caught up, we could hear the sound clearly.
Singing. Dozens of male voices in layered harmony, something ancient and wordless with a somber, soothing tone. The song throbbed like a living heartbeat, filling every space with peace.
No group or choir in the world had ever sounded this perfect.
None of us spoke. We crossed the bridge in single file, unable to see the platform beyond the massive pillars that stood at the back. One of those pillars held the entrance to the shelter, where a bunch of us had hidden from Milus Dei while they burned every structure down here and captured or killed everything that moved.
I liked Frost enough now not to tell her about that.
We crept around the base of the nearest pillar, until the rest of the platform came into view. And saw why Zee hadn’t sensed us coming.
The song came from the acolytes. They were lined up in rows, their backs to us, holding postures of supplication while they serenaded their leader. The only one not with them was the jaguar priest, the one Zee had called Cadmael. He apparently had a place of honor just behind Zee.
Zee himself sat before them, on a throne carved into the shape of a tribal jaguar. The leather and chains and emo hair were gone. He wore a massive feathered headdress, held in place with a golden, jeweled crown band. No shirt, gold bangles on his wrists and upper arms, fur-trimmed arm bands with long feathers hanging down from the centers at his elbows. A wide belt of vertical strips, complete with ornamental loincloth and a full human skull in place of a buckle. Around his throat was a thick, broad necklace of interlocking shapes, etched in gold.
His massive eyes were closed, and his features were relaxed. As if the song was drowning the voices in his head.
“We could not have wished for a better opportunity,” Ian whispered. “Be swift and silent, all of you. Take as many as possible without sound.”
Everyone offered reluctant nods and palmed weapons that didn’t make noise.
And then, we ran.
CHAPTER 44
We made it all the way to around twenty feet behind the back row of acolytes before Zee noticed. And he was very, very angry. He didn’t bother casually freezing us in place, or asking why we’d want to test his patience, or even gushing about his ‘brother’ the Dehbei.
What he did was straighten fully on his throne and speak two booming, guttural words.
“Kill them.”
The acolytes promptly vanished.
I felt their soundless rush as they headed for us, and held my arms out wide, hoping the si
ngle spell would catch them all. “Nochtaan,” I called, pushing as much power into the word as I could.
One by one, the scribbled ghosts of acolytes popped into view. If they’d noticed they weren’t invisible any more, it didn’t even slow them down.
The answering gunfire echoed like thunder through the cavern.
From the corner of my eye, I saw two go down. I heard a snarling roar as Sadie went wolf. And I focused on the acolyte lunging straight at me.
The drais-ghan, the curved, spelled dagger Taeral had given me, was already in my hand. I stepped aside, avoiding the initial rush of the acolyte, and grabbed his arm as he shot past. Twisting sharply, I tackled him to the ground and cut his throat open before I could think too hard about it.
Another one landed on my back before I could get up, and plunged his dagger deep into my side.
Just like when Donatti dropped the ceiling on me, it pissed me off.
I grabbed his wrist and yanked. The blade came out with an awful sucking sound, but I ignored the pain and whirled, bringing my assailant’s arm around to shove his own dagger into his gut. There was no hesitation in me when I sliced his throat.
The cold Fae part of me was enjoying the bloodshed. But at least this time, I knew what the feeling was — and how to turn it off.
I heard a fresh gunshot and then a shout of frustration, followed by a clatter. It’d come from Frost. I assumed someone, probably Zee, had thrown out that gun-jamming spell already. She was staring down a grinning, knife-wielding acolyte with wide, horizontal stripes of blood across his face.
I ran toward her. Before I got there, she’d Maced him right in the eyes and buried a knife in his chest.
She glanced at me and pointed. “Watch out!”
There’s one behind me, isn’t there?
The thought and the knife through the shoulder came to me at the same time. But this time the assailant yanked the blade out. I spun and launched at the body that barely registered with me. Just long enough for my brain to say enemy.
City of Secrets (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 5) Page 16