by Liz Schulte
She shook her head. “No, this has been a long time coming. I need to do it or she’ll never stop.”
I smiled a little. She was so different than the angel. “Oh, she’ll stop,” I said. “Because I’m going to kill her.”
“She has to die” Phoenix said.
Olivia’s mind never went to murder first. It would go easily to sacrifice and helping, and maybe less easily into punishment, but straight killing someone without letting them redeem themselves wasn’t in her wheelhouse. That was the angel’s side of thing and without the angel here to clean up, it was my territory.
“That’s why you’ve been looking for her? To kill her.”
“Yes.” I raised a challenging eyebrow. “She had a choice and she made it. She betrayed us. I’m not letting her live. Take care of the bodies. I’ll be back.”
I felt Liv’s eyes following me as I headed for the stairs, but she was silent both in person and in my mind. If I pushed I could probably find out what she was thinking, but this wasn’t up for debate. I brought Sybil in, knowing full well who and what she was, just as she knew me—and what would happen if she betrayed me. Olivia would have to live with it.
Sybil sat on the couch in my office, her ankles and wrists zip-tied together. Laying the mirror on the table, my phone rang.
“Yes, Femi,” I answered.
“Baker’s ashes are missing,” Femi said.
“I don’t have them.” What did she expect me to do about it? Couldn’t anyone do anything on their own?
She sighed noisily. “Who knows about what Baker was? How can I find them?”
“Call Olivia. Ask her to tell Death you need to talk to the dragon.” I hung up and refocused on Sybil.
“Problems?” she asked sweetly.
I took out a knife, cut her ties, and sat down across from her.
“There was a time you would have come for me yourself, instead of sending a guard dog after me,” she said with a pout, rubbing her wrists.
“Possibly,” I said. Her wild curls sprung out in every direction and her dark eyes hardened. She appeared strong and indifferent, but I could taste her fear. It was lined with weariness and relief. “Did you ever think it would be me?”
Her lips pursed as her chin jutted out. “Feeling nostalgic? Spare me. Just get it over with.”
I waited.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Did I think what was you? Did I think you were the one who was going to kill me? Pretty much from the moment I met you, because no matter how long you play house with the angel, it’s who you are. All of this is an act. We both know it. You’re a killer and incapable of love or compassion. That’s why I liked you. You made living forever as a parasite easier somehow. So yeah, this was my plan from the start.”
That was who I was, but I had changed. Gradual as it may have been, the fact was still there. When Sybil knew me, we wouldn’t have had this conversation at all. I would have walked in and put her in front of a mirror—if I was feeling nice. Otherwise there would have been torture and a mirror until she begged for release. But today, no matter what she had done, I wasn’t looking forward to taking her life. If that wasn’t progress I didn’t know what was.
“Or did you mean did I ever think you would be the one I fell in love with? The person I would stay with.” She turned her head and pretended to study the bookshelf.
I shook my head. Back then I didn’t think in those terms. I stayed with her until it became taxing, until a better offer presented itself to me. I believed, like she did, that I couldn’t love. I never felt capable of it until I met Olivia. She was the finger than knocked down the dominos, and we were all still falling—and probably would continue to fall long after she left us. Sybil’s sadness itched annoyingly at the back of my throat, shaving away my patience.
She shrugged one shoulder and swallowed hard before looking back at me. “Maybe I did. It was a long time ago. Who can remember?”
“That’s why you attacked Olivia.”
Her hands fidgeted in her lap. “You’re going to talk me to death? Wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Oh, I get it … This is the torture part.” She sighed. “I didn’t tell anyone anything. I simply pointed out that if they wanted her dead, she was a pretty easy target. Apparently she had more fight left in her than I anticipated.” She leaned toward me. “Tell me one thing before you kill me.”
I nodded.
“If I had succeeded and she died, would we still be sitting here like this or…”
“Or what?” I frowned at her. “Would I take you back? Would you slip into her place? How do you not understand this? She isn’t replaceable to me. It isn’t just a matter of her being in your way. She is a part of me, and I can’t go back even if I wanted to. She’s the reason I’m talking to you instead of killing you right now—”
“Please feel free to kill me instead of telling me about the angel.”
I gestured to the mirror. “You want to die, there it is. If you want me to do it, you’re going to tell me what you know.”
Her trembling fingers ran along the edge of the frame. When a succubus looks in a mirror, it is possible for them to become trapped inside. Unable to look away from her own reflection, she’d sit there until she died or someone broke the mirror thereby killing her and ending her suffering. “How will you do it?”
“Fast. Broken neck. Cremation.”
She sat back on top of her hands as if she could hold them back from the mirror.
“How much were you involved in?”
“Like I said, I told them about Olivia. I might have helped get the jinn here for Mammon. But it’s Mammon, Holden. What did you expect? You can’t defeat him. You don’t even have an angel. I want to die, but I don’t want to be tortured for the next thousand years in Hell. Sorry, but your little suicide mission can only end one way.”
“What about the wendigos?”
“What about them?”
“Did you send them to the warehouse? Why?”
“I don’t know anything about that. All I did was help get the jinn here and tell them now was the time to kill your precious guardian. That’s it.”
“Where is he staying?”
“It changes every night, and he rarely steps outside.”
So she knew nothing. Fantastic.
“He’s waiting for the lunar eclipse. That’s when he’ll attack and take you back to Hell with him.”
I nodded and stood up. Sybil’s nervous energy zoomed up my spine as I went behind her. I placed a hand on either one of her shoulders. “It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded and placed a cold hand over mine. “I’m glad it’s you and not a stranger. I didn’t want to be alone.”
All of her emotions vanished from the room, as the crack of her neck echoed in my ears and her body sagged onto the couch. I picked her up and carried her downstairs. The bar was back to pristine condition. Olivia had restored it fully. It was a neat trick, but would it last after she was gone?
She looked up, eyes lingering on the body in my arms. Sadness flashed across her face for a split second before she looked away. I didn’t feel her usual flood of emotion. In fact I hadn’t felt much from her since she made her deal with Death. Either she was holding back or he had messed with our connection.
“What are you going to do with her?” Phoenix asked.
“You still have the gas?”
He nodded.
Olivia shook her head. “Too messy. It will draw attention. I’ll take care of it.”
“Her body won’t react the same,” I said.
“I know. Just lay her down.”
I gently laid Sybil on the floor. Olivia knelt beside her. She glanced up at me. “You want to say anything?”
My eyebrows pulled together. What the hell would I say?
She nodded, placed her arms around the succubus, then transported across the room. Sybil was gone, dispersed into a cloud of energy and lig
ht.
So the silver haired fox was Rhys and he did have the cup—like I was really going to allow them to banish me to the kitchen. I dumped the kid off with Quintus and went back. Olivia didn’t think the cup could help her, but she didn’t know everything. Sy wouldn’t have pointed me in its direction for no reason.
However, Rhys left and not by the front door. Olivia said Death called him a traveler. She didn’t appear to know what that meant, but I did. Travelers were somewhere between demigods like my people, Sekhmets, and the spiritual powerhouses (angels and demons) power-wise, but they had no alliances to anything: good or evil, our world or the next, or even our dimension. They traveled anywhere and everywhere at their will, only limited by imagination. This made the task of getting the cup nearly impossible. Who could even say where a traveler lived?
“Spying? That’s a little cliché?” Corbin whispered behind me when the talking stopped in the front room.
I massaged my shoulder. Mad or not, I should have let Olivia heal me. “If you can’t be useful, go home and mind your own business, leech.”
He smirked. “Tell me where Thomas is.”
“I. Don’t. Know.”
“Then you might as well talk to me because I’m not going anywhere.” He nudged me with his foot. “Why did Olivia’s deal piss you off? It seems like you all need her and she was next to useless before.”
I took a deep breath. “Because she’s leaving again, and this time it’s my fault. I have three friends in this world: her, Baker, and Sy. When Olivia is gone, I’ll be down to one.”
“You don’t consider the jinni your friend?”
“I guess he is, but it’s different. Holden’s not warm and friendly. He’s not someone you tell about your day. He’s the guy who kills the person who is pissing you off and doesn’t expect a thank you. That’s just who he is. It’s great to know people like that, but it’s not the same as having a friend.”
Corbin stood still as a corpse for several moments. Did he fall asleep? I was seconds from snapping my fingers in front of his face, when he spoke again. “I was sorry to hear about Baker. I didn’t know him well, but he was always decent to me and other vampires.”
I nodded and bit my lip hard enough to taste blood, as I forced my panic away from the surface. It wouldn’t do me any good. I just had to find another way. I was an expert at that. “I can’t lose Olivia too. There has to be a way to save her. Sy told me to get the nanteos cup, that it could help. But now—” I ran my hand down my ponytail. It wasn’t too late. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t fair. “I just have to get the cup. Everything will be okay.”
He suddenly looked very interested. “And do you know where it is?”
So Corbin not only knew what the cup was, but was suddenly willing to help. Though moments ago I would have said it was impossible, my trust of him decreased even further. “I’m not sure exactly.”
The corner of his mouth curled up. “I think you have a very good idea. The traveler said he had it.”
“If you already knew the answer, why’d you ask?”
This time I got a full smile. “How about we make a deal? I’ll help find and retrieve the cup from the traveler and drop the Thomas issue, if you let me have the hand of glory.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He laughed. “Is that right? Because I heard some pretty reliable information that you stole it from Baba Yaga.”
“No, a selkie stole it from her.”
“And you caught the selkie, but didn’t cough up the hand.”
“It wasn’t there.” How did he know all of this?
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I am an excellent liar.” I scowled at him.
“Look. I have all the time in the world and nothing better to do. I can make myself a terrible nuisance. Take my deal or I’ll ruin every bounty you go after until I get the hand and Thomas. Right now you have the chance to give me only one of the items and end this. I’m even letting you choose which.”
I had no clue where Thomas was, and I beyond sick of Corbin following me around. Eventually he’d probably give up and move on, but how long would that take? At least this would get him off my back. I didn’t even want the hand. “Why do you want it?”
“Not your concern.”
“It is my concern if you are going to use it to kidnap people.”
“No, no, love. That’s more your boyfriend’s territory. I have no interest in exotic dining.”
There wasn’t a single guarantee that he could give me that I would believe or accept, so there was no point arguing about it.
“How much would you like to save your friend?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know why I didn’t ask for your help, Corbin? Because I don’t need it. I have the hand and I can find the cup on my own.” Or with Holden’s help. Either way, no deal with a vampire necessary. “And the moment you get between me and a bounty, is the moment I find a way to kill you. Got it?”
“Is that your final answer?” he asked, completely unoffended.
“Yes.”
“Then I look forward to spending a lot more time with you.”
I went into the empty living room, Corbin sticking like glue. My eyes scanned the area the traveler had been in, but he hadn’t left anything behind. How was I supposed to track someone who could hop across space, time, and dimensions as easily as he could cross the street? Baker would probably know… . My eyes trailed to the shelf with his urn on it, but it was gone. I blinked a few times. Yes, it was completely gone. Olivia or Holden wouldn’t have moved it, and it had been there earlier… . The only person we didn’t know who had been inside with us was Rhys, but why would he want Baker’s ashes?
I called Holden who was less than helpful, then I tried Olivia.
“Femi,” she answered. “I’m so glad you called.”
“I’m not calling about that. I’m still mad. Holden told me to ask you to tell Death that I need to talk to the dragon.” I was betting he didn’t mean a real dragon. They were extinct and that would be entirely too awesome.
“The dragon?”
“I don’t know. That’s just what he said.”
“I’ll tell him.” She paused. “We need to talk, Femi.”
“Nothing to talk about. Not yet.” I hung up. I’d talk to her when I had a solution. She wasn’t going to die because I stabbed her. She wasn’t going to justify making a bad deal. I would have kept the angel around had I known that was an option—and then Baker wouldn’t have had to die either.
“Now what?” Corbin asked.
“We wait,” I said, sitting down on the couch.
Moments later Quintus came in with Charlie who was slowly getting used to him, though she mostly watched him out of the corner of her eye.
“That’s not the one you need to watch out for, kid. It’s that one.” I nodded toward Corbin and Quintus smiled.
“What are you two up to?”
“Baker’s ashes are missing. Any ideas why?”
“Baker was a chol,” Quintus said as if that answered everything.
“And?” I motioned with my hand.
He blinked then shook his head slightly. “Oh. Sorry. People believed for a great many years that if you consumed part of an immortal being you would also become immortal.”
“Is it true?” Corbin asked.
Quintus shrugged. “I have no idea. Up until Baker I had never met a born immortal, but then again I didn’t know he was one. So maybe I had and didn’t know it. If they’re out there, they certainly don’t advertise.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re saying someone may have taken his ashes to eat them? That’s disgusting.”
“Disgusting or not, when you’re talking immortality without strings, who wouldn’t do it?” Corbin said. “If that had been option for me, I would have done it.”
“A lot of people would,” Quintus said.
People were sick. It was no wonder immortals kept that shit to themselv
es—though it still pissed me off a little that Baker didn’t tell me. “Are travelers immortal?”
Quintus frowned. “I don’t think so.”
“That sick bastard!” Rhys was going to eat Baker’s remains? Not on my watch.
There was a knock on the door. Quintus took Charlie back to the kitchen and I answered it. A woman with long black hair and sunglasses tried to push past me. I shoved her back. “Nobody invited you in.”
Even though I couldn’t see them, I could feel her eyes move to me. Raw power radiated from her. “You have friends in high places, Sekhmet. That is the only reason I am here. If you insist on being rude, I’ll bite back.”
“You’re Dragon?” I asked.
She took off her sunglasses, revealing eyes that were a mix of pink, red, purple, and gold. “You may call me Leilah. Step aside.”
I stood back. Well holy crap. Dragons were real and wicked cool. “Why am I here?” she asked before I even shut the door.
“Did you know Baker?” I asked.
“I did,” she said evenly.
I nodded. “And I take it you’re like him?” She didn’t reply. “Why would someone steal his ashes?”
Her back straightened and her shoulders pulled back. “Show me.”
“There’s nothing to show. We had them in an urn on the shelf over there and now it’s gone.”
“The urn as well?” I gestured to the empty shelf. Her shoulders sagged as she took half a step forward. “And the ashes were still inside?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it,” she said under her breath. She smoothed her already flat hair. “We have to find him. Who has been here?”
“Well, besides the usual people—and none of them would take him—Death, a traveler, and about thirty wendigos,” Corbin chimed in.
Leilah slowly turned to him. “And you, vampire. Have you been here?” She seemed to grow as she approached him, and her shadow filled the room. Corbin did the corpse thing and stopped moving. There was a moment I thought she might eat him, but then she said, “Sit.”
He obeyed her, face still blank, and everything went back to normal.
“I gotta learn how to do that,” I said.
When she turned back to me, her glasses were back on. “He said Death and a traveler were here. Did the traveler give a name?”