by Jen Kirchner
Before I could answer, he stabbed my beef with his fork and placed it on the napkin. He bundled the cloth neatly, then dropped it into my purse, situated on the floor between us.
I looked down at the cream napkin creating a bulge in my brand new purse, then back up at Cody. He looked sufficiently pleased with himself. He winked at me, as if we had just pulled off the covert operation of the century.
My sacrificial knives had better manners! I considered saying something about the makeshift doggy bag my purse had become, but I decided against it. Saying anything would have been pointless, and I couldn’t afford to cause a scene. For the remaining two courses, I ate quickly and skipped the wine, which Cody was only too happy to drink for me.
After Cody paid for dinner, we collected our coats and stepped back into the throng of photographers. The limo was waiting at the curb, and the driver held the door. I slid in next to Mikelis, dropped my purse in my lap, and breathed a sigh of relief. The night was over and without incident.
Mikelis pointed at the napkin.
“Don’t ask.”
Cody sat down across from us and the door shut. The limo moved slowly through Manhattan; deliberately so, giving the photographers time to arrive at Cody’s apartment before we did. When we pulled up to the front of the building, the crowd had tripled in size.
I turned to Mikelis. “I’m supposed to be in his apartment for forty minutes. I’ll come right down when it’s over.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Why forty minutes?”
“It’s not long enough to suggest we had sex, but it’s long enough for people to guess at what we were doing.” He looked as if he was going to retort, so I leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. Cody coughed, but we ignored it. “I’ll be fine.”
Cody led me inside the building. Walking with him was perilous, as he was pretty drunk. He wasn’t exactly stumbling; it was more like a clumsy swagger. I had a hard time keeping him from bumping into me. We walked to the elevators.
“I’ve got the penthouse at the top.”
“Yeah, you told me.”
He nodded. His eyes drifted to my mouth. “There’s a waiting list for the apartments here. Very prestri... very pesteri... petri....” I could only guess he was trying to say “prestigious,” but in his inebriated state, it was too difficult and he gave up. “You look great.”
He was so drunk he would have thought Walkie-Talkie in a dress looked great.
He said nothing else on the way up. The elevator chimed, and we stepped out onto red carpet in a spacious hallway with gold wallpaper. Two large penthouses occupied the top floor, with a short hallway separating them. Cody led me to the door on the right and fumbled with his keys. I had to help him get the door unlocked and open, but he let me in first. I stepped into a spacious entry, under an elaborate crystal chandelier, and followed the cream-tiled hallway to a living area with floor-to-ceiling windows. The sky was black and the city scene dominated the view with a million tiny lights like jewels adorning the night. I wished Mikelis was up here to enjoy it with me.
Cody excused himself to the bathroom, leaving me in the living area. I was afraid to touch anything, so I just stood at the windows admiring the view.
When Cody returned, he looked a little more in control. He stood beside me.
“I really appreciate this,” he said.
He sounded so sincere—and sober—that I was touched. Maybe his intentions were good. “No, thank you. Really. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for my family.”
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, it’s just a lot of little things. My mom’s not doing so well, and Brad’s dad is going through some changes. It’s been stressful.”
He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I thought you seemed tense.”
His hand squeezed me gently, paused, then kneaded my muscles. A red flag went off in my mind, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Maybe he was just trying to be nice. I decided I needed to give him a second chance.
And that’s when I felt his lips on my ear. “I can help you work off that stress, Kari.”
I jerked out of his grip and retreated to the other side of the room. “Back off, Cody.”
“Come on, you had a good time at dinner. Let me show you an even better time in the bedroom.”
“No.”
He smiled. “Okay, it doesn’t have to be in the bedroom.”
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” I said. “We agreed to a date, and that’s it. I’m not obligated to do anything.”
If he made a move in my direction, I was going for my bracelet and my phone. Both were easily reachable in my purse.
We stood about ten feet apart, frozen in a weird standoff. Determined, he switched tactics and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Maybe if I show you the goods you’ll change your mind.”
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door. “I’m leaving.”
“Wait! What about the arrangement? You’re supposed to stay for another half hour!”
Halfway down the hall, I stopped and grabbed my phone from my purse, then I walked back to where Cody was standing with his shirt open.
“Come on,” he said, swinging his hips as if he was giving me an enticing preview.
“Does this normally work on women?”
“Yeah, why?” He flashed another smile and unbuttoned his pants. His hips swung around again and he did an awkward dance maneuver. I heard the distinctive sound of his zipper. Before I could blink, his pants were down around his ankles and his black briefs were bulging. He gyrated his hips and flailed his arms, humping the air like a sad stripper who lost his pole.
I lifted up my phone, aimed, and clicked the button. A flash lit up the room and caught Cody’s nearly naked body in the stupidest pose imaginable. “Now I’m really leaving.”
I heard him shuffling behind me awkwardly, trying to pull his pants up and run at the same time.
“Kari, no! I’m sorry—please delete that picture! I’ll be a laughingstock!”
He shuffled after me as fast as he could, but I heard a distraught cry and the sound of his body slapping hard on the floor. I stopped at the door and turned around.
He was flat on his stomach with his neck craned awkwardly so he could stare up at me in fear.
“I’m keeping this picture as security,” I said. “If you try anything funny on me again, everyone will see it.” I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Before I slammed the door behind me, I stuck my head back into the penthouse. “And I’m taking your steak, too!”
TWENTY-EIGHT
My phone rang while I was waiting for the elevator. It was Luucas.
“Hey,” I said. “Are you all wrapped up with Ruairí's crazy bunker?”
He completely ignored my question. In fact, he was talking so fast I don’t think he even heard me. “Where are you?”
“Leaving Cody Springer’s apartment.”
“Where’s Mikelis?”
“In the garage. If he’s not picking up his phone, it’s because he’s underground and doesn’t have reception.”
“Scan for immortals in the vicinity!”
I stifled a strong desire to snort in his ear. “I’m not the Starship Enterprise, Luucas—my necromancer side doesn’t have an off switch. There’s no one in the area.” I didn’t even pick up Mikelis on Death Radar, but not because he wasn’t near. Mikelis generally liked staying covert. “There’s no immortal settlement in this city, or have you forgotten?”
“Put on your bracelet. Right now.”
I jabbed the elevator button a few more times, desperate to get inside and away from this inane conversation. “Why? Ruairí's dead and Mikelis is downstairs.” The elevator chimed and opened. Luucas huffed a few additional instructions, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen. My night had been a waste and I didn’t need his lectures to make it worse. All I wanted was to go downstairs and see Mikelis. Maybe we’d take a walk through Hudson River Park before headi
ng back to Rochester. That sounded romantic.
I interrupted whatever Luucas was saying. “I’m getting into the elevator, so my call may drop out. I’ll see you later.” I stepped inside and pressed the button for the basement.
“Kari, stop! Your mother is still asleep! She prophesied ‘the end is not to end’! Ruairí can make—”
The elevator doors closed and my phone dropped the call. As I descended from the thirty-fourth floor, my mind flashed back to a few days ago when I destroyed the telepathic spell and Mom went into a Seer’s Coma. That’s when Mom told us the rhyme Luucas was referring to. I put my phone back in my purse, dug out my bracelet, and put it on.
Through the telepath, I could see that Dad was still at my house, now showered and dressed and sitting on the back deck with Marcus. The sun had set and the lights weren’t on, yet through his eyes I could still see clearly.
“Hi, Dad.”
He seemed surprised to hear from me. “Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know. Is Mom okay?”
“She is still sleeping.”
The elevator slowed as if to stop. I was only halfway down the building. At the same time, Dad turned toward the deck doors. They opened, and Mom stepped out in a rumpled, blue nightgown, looking fully alert, her eyes wide and unblinking. No one spoke as she walked to the table. She fixed her eyes on Dad so intently I thought she could see me. She didn’t say a word, not even when Marcus asked if she was all right.
A shiver ran up my spine. “I don’t like this, Dad.”
“Nor do I.”
I grabbed my phone again, selected the contact list, and tapped Luucas’s entry. The phone paused, struggling to receive a signal. As the elevator car stopped on the sixteenth floor, it finally connected. The doors slid open and I caught the tail end of a conversation outside.
“—and take Veronica’s key.”
I looked up. A short, red-haired man stood outside the elevator, so close we could touch. He was facing away to yell at a tall, black man locking an apartment door halfway down the hall. Fuzzy, gray symbols hovered around them, blocking their signals from Death Radar.
“Leave it,” the red-haired man snarled.
When the black man turned, I recognized him instantly by the scar running down his face: he was the voodoo master who had attacked Luucas behind the grocery store. I ducked to the side of the elevator in an attempt to hide, but I knew he had seen me.
“Dad, I’m in trouble...”
The red-haired immortal just outside the elevator was oblivious. “What are you staring at, idiot? Hurry up.”
The elevator had been waiting so long the doors started to close. A thin, pale hand slapped the side of the door, causing it to spring back open. He stepped in front of the elevator. Our eyes met. Short. Red hair. Lumpy nose. Beady eyes, like a weasel. The gray runes around him winked out. A jolt ran through me as his name flashed in my head:
Ruairí O’Bryne.
He lunged forward and grabbed for me. I screamed and swung my purse at him, but I missed completely. Luckily, Dad reacted faster than either of us. A dense, black cloud exploded around me and a tangle of black runes burned the air. I heard a deafening pop and Ruairí flew backward through the hall. The doors banged together and the elevator car plummeted down the shaft. I was thrown into the air, then fell to the floor, scattering the contents of my purse. Mikelis pinged the channel hard. He must have picked up Ruairí on Death Radar when Dad cast his spell. My heart pounded and my hands shook, but I was relieved to be on my way down to him.
As soon as I had climbed to my feet, the elevator jolted to a stop, throwing me back down to the floor. The building’s fire alarm screamed and the lights inside the elevator went out. A loud, metallic groan echoed above.
Ruairí’s excited voice called out to me in sing-song, barely above the din. “Kaaaaaaariiiiiiiii… don’t fight me, honey.”
I heard a rhythmic clanging sound, like heavy shoes on metal rungs. Ruairí was in the elevator shaft.
My muscles stiffened and I dug my nails into the thin carpet. Blood pounded in my ears. “Dad?”
“I need to see the ceiling. Quickly.”
I groped around for my phone, searching blindly through the discarded contents of my purse. The clanging sounds outside were nearing and Ruairí was still calling for me.
“I’m coming for you…”
“Hurry, Eliana.”
“I’m trying!”
I found it in a corner under Cody’s steak. I unlocked it, rolled onto my back, and shone it upward. The light was weak for such a large space, but I was able to see a simple metal grid with recessed lighting. If the elevator had an emergency exit, I couldn’t see it. At the same time, I realized the sound of movement outside had stopped. Had Ruairí gone?
Just as the thought raced through my mind, something heavy pounded against the ceiling, shaking the metal cab. I screamed. Ruairí’s laughter sounded maniacal. And close.
“If you come in here, my dad’s going to kick your ass!”
“Yes, I heard about your lucky bracelet.”
“Eliana, hold on to something.”
I reached up with one hand and grabbed the railing tightly. A few necromancer symbols flashed overhead and the air became hot. The elevator dropped in a free fall, throwing me into the air.
Ruairí let out a startled shout. The elevator stopped again and flew up, sending me back to the floor. Something large slammed against the top of the elevator cab again, slowing our ascent for just a moment before it rolled off the side, knocked around between the cab and the shaft wall, and was gone.
A new energy swelled and smashed against the cab, shoving it so hard I hit my head on the railing.
“Was that you, Dad?”
“It was Mikelis. He will deal with Ruairí while you escape.” That didn’t make me feel better, knowing Mikelis may very well be outmatched. Dad apparently knew what I was thinking, because he added, “He is better prepared to face Ruairí than you are.”
I was still worried, but there was nothing I could do. I had to get out of this metal cage. The elevator cruised upward again.
“I don’t know how to get out, Dad.”
I felt his unease. “The elevator has lost its counterweight. I am holding the cab up. Once I release that spell to cast a new one, the elevator car will only stay for two minutes before falling.”
I swept whatever I could into my purse, then slung the bag over my shoulder. I ditched my heels and my stockings. “Okay. I’m ready.”
I shrunk into a corner and watched Dad peel back the top of the car. A horrible wrenching sound filled my ears. Glass shattered and sparks flew from severed wires. Dim, yellow light leaked into the box. I could see that I was at the top of the shaft and the emergency ladder on the wall was within reach.
I scrambled onto the railing. The torn metal at the top of the car was sharp and cut my hands, but I barely noticed. I hauled myself up. A black, empty fall separated me from the ladder. My base need for survival took over. I reached out for the ladder and pulled myself across, shredding my dress and scraping my legs in the process.
I climbed up to a metal platform at the top of the shaft and looked back just as the elevator car dropped. Cool air rushed past me as the sound of the elevator scraping against the walls of the shaft filled my ears. Metal and plastic shards clogged the air, pelting the walls and my skin. I pinged the channel, though there was no way to adequately warn Mikelis what was coming. Hopefully he was nowhere near the elevator shaft. I didn’t know where he was. Only Ruairí showed up on Death Radar, running in what seemed like aimless circles. I could only assume he had met Mikelis in the building and was locked in combat. But where was Scar?
The building shuddered when the elevator hit the ground. The roar of the impact reached me shortly after, along with more debris that shot up from the wreckage. Scorched air blasted through the shaft, nearly tossing me off of the ladder. I threw myself prostrate on the narrow, metal landing and gripped th
e edge.
After a moment, the debris had died down and the air had settled enough for me to stand. The exit door was on the opposite side of the shaft, easily accessible by a narrow, suspended platform with a flimsy railing on one side. All I needed to do was run across and down thirty-four flights of stairs, and then I’d be safe. Well, safer than I was in an elevator shaft.
“Hurry, Eliana!”
The narrow, metal platform wobbled beneath me as I ran across. I ripped open the door to the stairwell—
—and came face to face with Ruairí, who was vaulting up the stairs. His clothes were torn and caked in dirt. Murder blazed in his eyes. Black blood had dribbled from a gash on his cheek and dried into a thick crust. I tried throwing the door shut, but he crashed into it hard, knocking me back. My foot slipped on the edge of the platform and I pitched over the side into the open shaft. I screamed. Dad was in the middle of a spell, presumably against Ruairí, and had to change tactics to stop my fall.
The cloud of necromantic smoke swirling around me hardened, sweeping me back onto the platform and shoving me into Ruairí. He crashed into the railing and bent it back as he sailed over the side. His hand clamped down on my wrist, nearly pulling me over with him. I banged down on the platform, halfway off, holding on for dear life.
The platform shuddered. Ruairí grabbed the edge with his free hand, alleviating the bulk of his weight, but I still felt as if my arm were coming out of its socket. His fingers dug into my wrist and pressed the metal bracelet into my flesh. My mind blanked and I reacted, taking control of Ruairí’s body. He twitched and shouted something indiscernible. A dim, green aura engulfed us both and a thousand needles assaulted my mind. Pain coursed through me. My limbs throbbed. The longer I maintained control, the more painful the sensation became. I was forced to release him.
I struggled to my knees and tried pulling my arm back, but Ruairí swung his body, jerking down hard. I screamed and fell forward, almost sending us both out into the emptiness. Desperate to get free, I twisted and wrenched in his grip. His fingers loosened slightly, shifting the bracelet. For a moment, I thought it was working, and I renewed my spastic flailing. Dad’s hands worked again, furiously casting a new spell.