Past Life Strife (Rise of the Discordant Book 1)

by McMullen, Christina

  “I’m sure you do, but I don’t wanna hear about ‘em,” I said. “Now look, I know what you’re thinkin’. I’m a demon. I shouldn’t be throwin’ in with these Order guys, and you’re right, but Seth’s a good guy and in case you didn’t notice, he’s also your gravy train. I ain’t gonna tell you how to live your life, but I’m gonna say this. Leave the guy alone. Get the heck outta Dodge and maybe he’ll get Des to forget about you as well.”

  “Why on Earth would I want to leave him alone? Torture gives me almost as much of a high as sex.”

  Okay, I really didn’t need to know that.

  “Come on,” I said, givin’ her a wary look. “I knows even a bimbo vamp like you ain’t that dense. You do realize that there’s a Warrior who won’t have a moral issue with offing Seth if it means takin’ you out as well.”

  She looked at me with the kind of pity you reserve for a trapped rat. You know, like it kinda makes you sad, but not really, ‘cuz it’s a rat. “Are you seriously afraid of the Warrior? Not much of a demon, are you?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said, rollin’ my eyes like I never heard that before. “I’m a lesser demon, big whup. But I ain’t stupid. I know I’m alive today because Des thought I was too pathetic to kill. But ya know what? He ain’t got that kind of sympathy for you. As soon as Seth’s outta the picture, you’re toast, sweetheart.”

  “The Warrior will not kill Seth.” She said this in a way like she was trying to show she knew something I didn’t. Joke’s on her.

  “Uh yeah, he kinda would. But even so, who says he has to? You’re playing a dangerous game, chica. Seth may look weak to you, and I admit, I kinda thought he was too when I met him, but I know somethin’ you don’t. He’s a martyr soul.”

  “So what?”

  “So what?” Geez Louise this chick was dense. “Seth ain’t got self-preservation in mind. He won’t hesitate to go to extremes if he thinks he can save others, and that means doin’ somethin’ drastic and by drastic I mean killin’ himself!”

  At least that gave her pause. “You know,” she said, narrowin’ her eyes at me like squintin’ was gonna help her see my aura or some other nonsense. “For a Discordant, you sure think in Order terms.”

  “So I’ve been told.” Really, Seth had said something similar the other night. I didn’t know what to make of that.

  “Nothing is as black and white as it seems. You should know that, demon. If you truly care about Seth, you’ll help me.”

  “Help you?” I sputtered, unable to hold back the belly laugh that followed. “Okay,” I wheezed after I got some of my breath back. “I’ll bite. Why the heck would I want to help you?”

  “Because you don’t want to see Seth obliterated any more than I do. Wouldn’t you rather show him that our way is the better way?”

  “Our way?” And there I went with the laughin’ again. “You think Seth’s actually gonna submit to bein’ a slave to Chaos? He’s a frickin’ agent for the Order. Even if for some unknown reason you still did it for him, Seth ain’t no idiot. All those false promises you make ain’t gonna fool a guy who has all the knowledge.”

  She rolled her eyes and made a sound like she was exasperated. “Do you think I don’t know that? As fun as it would be, I have no plans to turn over Seth’s enslaved soul to the bureaucrats on the council. I want to turn him myself.”

  “And just how you gonna do that?” It was a valid question. I only ever heard of one way in which a soul went over to Chaos without enslavement first, and it wasn’t too popular with the powers that be. “He’d be marked as one of the Damned. The council would have him wacked if the Order didn’t do it first, leavin’ you powerless against any ol’ agent of Order.”

  “Marked? You mean, like this?” She pulled aside the strap on her top.

  I knew there was somethin’ off about this broad! Right below her collarbone was a red circle with a black star in the middle. The mark of the Damned. She didn’t feel like one of us because she weren’t one of us.

  “I wouldn’t be flashin’ that around if I was you,” I said, backin’ away. Just bein’ near her coulda been bad for my health if any of my fellow Discordant were around.

  “Are you really that stupid?” she asked, laughin’ at me as she adjusted her top to cover the mark. “Seth’s soul protects me. Not just from the Order, but the Discordant as well. Consider yourself privileged, demon. I’ve managed to live more than a century without anyone knowing what I did to get where I am. When I turn Seth, that protection will come full circle. Chaos would not be able to kill us, nor would the Order. For that matter, Seth’s own misplaced loyalty would have no ill effect on us.”

  Well, I had to give her credit. For a narcissistic dimwit, she had all of her loopholes tied up tight. “Seems like you got everything wrapped up all tidy,” I said. “I can’t see why’s you need me for.”

  “Seth trusts you and for some reason, he even seems to like you,” she said, tryin’ to get a rise outta me with her little jabs. “Help me to convince him that my way is better than oblivion.”

  Ah yeah, of course. See, here’s the pickle she was in. She had no way of makin’ Seth do what she wanted. If she exerted her power over him, Seth’s soul goes straight to Chaos. To become one of the Damned, Seth would have to want the powers of the Discordant for himself. Fat chance of that ever happenin’.

  “Why?” I asked. “Why should I help you?”

  “Because you care about Seth,” she said, again, makin’ it sound distasteful. Like I was the one doin’ somethin’ deplorable by bein’ on friendly terms with the guy. “You don’t want to see his soul destroyed for no good reason.”

  Okay, she kinda had me there, but I didn’t wanna see Seth become no lapdog neither. “I’ll think about it,” I lied. The sun was already comin’ up and I was more than a little disappointed that I’d wasted most of the night with this chick instead of findin’ Betty. I turned and started walkin’ back to town.

  “I’d do more than think about it,” Amara warned. “I’m sure the council will be very interested in hearing about all of the Discordant that you personally had a hand in killing.”

  And there it was. I figured she had to have somethin’ she could use as blackmail. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I muttered and kept on walkin’.

  See, the problem was, she was right about one thing. I didn’t wanna see nothin bad happen to Seth. I didn’t even care that caring was not somethin’ demons were known for. Seth was a good guy and I was proud to call him my friend. But none of that mattered. Amara could go to the council and give ‘em every speck of dirt she’s got on me for all the good it would do. Seth wasn’t gonna take her offer and there was nothin’ she could do about it. Even if he got smacked over the head and did, there was no way Des was gonna let that happen neither.

  Still though, knowin’ what Amara really was had me in a pickle. Part of me wanted to tell him. After all, he had a right to know just how loco she really was, not that it helped. But ya see, the problem with tellin’ Seth was that I’d have to tell Des and the more folks who found out meant the higher the odds was that word would get back to the council. Even if they couldn’t do nothin’ to her, she’d be on their radar and I ain’t even gonna place odds on how fast she’d make good on her promise to rat me out. As soon as the council finds out how many pixies I helped the girls whack, it’d be bye-bye Bogie time.

  No, the best thing I could do was keep my yap shut and hope the old psychic was onto somethin’ with Des bein’ the chosen one or whatever. I mighta been goin’ soft, but I wasn’t suicidal just yet.

  Chapter 11

  A Disturbance

  “Tempered blade,” I whispered and started to reach into my pocket, but hesitated. “Cancel that. Imbued blade.” I reached in again and pulled out my silver dagger, which glowed with a faint violet light. Three vampires stood in the alley, blocking the path of a girl who had been foolish enough to wander out of the bar drunk and alone. I aimed for the one in the middle, hoping my gamble wo
uld pay off. It did. The poisoned tip of the dagger hit its mark and all three vamps exploded into a cloud of ash. I made a mental note to tell Betty about the helpful modifications that the lab made to her potion and went to check on the girl.

  “What the heck was on that thing?”

  I let out a sigh of relief when I realized that the drunken girl was just Louise using a glamour. Actually, I was rather surprised that Louise was able to weave glamour strong enough to fool me, but I kept that to myself.

  “Betty’s wolf potion, but we added an infusion of garlic and hazelnut,” I answered, scooping up a small handful of ash to send to the lab for analysis.

  “Hazelnut?”

  “For the pixies,” I explained. “We’re working on a universal poison that packs a punch, but won’t be overkill.”

  “We?”

  “Betty, me, and my man Arkady. He heads up Lab Q.”

  Louise crossed her arms and huffed. “So you’ll work with Betty and Donna, but all you do is insult me. Why is that?”

  “Insults are a two way street, Louise.” I kept my voice even, but I really didn’t have time for a petty power play. There were still several Discordant that needed to be dealt with and I wanted the streets clear before the bar closed so I could keep an eye on Bogie. The night before, I spotted him talking to Amara. When I asked him why, he clammed up, which did not bode well for his continued freedom. Or existence, for that matter. “You don’t like me because you feel threatened by me.”

  “Threatened?” She looked offended. “Why should I be threatened by you? My coven has been helping you, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “Exactly, Louise. Your coven, not you. All you’ve done is act like the small town sheriff who doesn’t want the FBI coming in and taking over the investigation. Only in our case, I’m the actual agent sent by Order to do what you and the other two have been doing for years. I’m not trying to step on any toes. I’m just trying to do my job.”

  “And I’m just trying to do mine.”

  “Look,” I said, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “I don’t expect you to like me. It’s an alpha thing and I’m okay with that. Just try not to let it cloud your judgment, okay?”

  “An alpha thing?” She rolled her eyes. “Are you sure it isn’t a Seth thing?”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to explain that one.”

  “I really wish I could,” she muttered and cocked her head to the side, regarding me with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. “You just seem… I don’t know. Protective is one thing, but you’re acting like you’re trying to come between us.”

  Ah. We were finally getting to the root of the matter. “That, my dear, is simply jealousy,” I chuckled. “You are mistaking our soul familiarity with romantic entanglement. Whatever relationship you and Seth do or do not have is your own business, but I assure you, I have no designs of that nature on him.”

  “None? Desmond, I’m not blind. The way you look at him, most women would sell their soul to have a man look at them the same way.”

  “Again, Louise, that is soul familiarity,” I countered, wanting this conversation to be over. Of course I cared about Seth. In some ways, it was a love, but an unconditional love one might have for family. “You have nothing to fear,” I assured her. “My heart remains loyal to the love I lost along with my life.”

  “Oh come on,” she huffed and rolled her eyes at me. “How long ago was that? You’re trying to tell me that you haven’t had a single relationship since you died?”

  “Three hundred years and no, I have not,” I answered, keeping my anger in check, even if just barely. That this was not an unusual reaction to my devotion did not make it any less infuriating. “Somewhere, her soul lives on, oblivious to me and all that has come to pass, but until the day I am cycled, I will not forget. Whether or not you or anyone else finds this odd or unnatural is of no consequence to me. Nothing will change that. No one will replace the love I’ve lost, Louise. Not even a familiar soul. You got that?”

  Louise nodded, but then frowned. After a moment, her eyes went wide and she looked up at me as if she had just had a revelation. “Oh my! What if…?” she began, but cut herself off with a deflated sigh.

  “What if what?” I asked, genuinely curious when it was obvious she wasn’t going to continue on her own.

  “Never mind,” she muttered. “I just figured… Look, Desmond, I’m…I guess… I’m sorry,” she said, faltering as if the words were foreign to her. Knowing what I did of her, they likely were. “I’m just worried about Seth,” she said at last. “He’s too selfless at times and after having that vision about the angel…” She shuddered.

  “I’m sorry as well,” I said quietly, finding the words just as foreign on my tongue. “How…” I had to tread carefully. My next question was one that could easily be construed as offensive. “How literal are your visions… usually?”

  “All over the place,” she admitted, blushing slightly. “And they don’t always come to pass. That’s not to say…I mean… That’s not unusual! It happens to everyone with the sight,” she added in an effort to save face. “But as much as I want to believe this one was a fever dream brought on by too many Cheetos and M&Ms, I have a bad feeling that it was the real deal. I mean, it had all the signs.”

  “Like?” As a skeptic, I was genuinely curious to know what ‘signs’ lent credibility to a psychic vision.

  “Well, the whole thing was shrouded in mist. The less details about when and where the event will happen usually means that the likelihood of the events coming to pass are not tied to a specific path. If, say, I had seen Seth leaving work and it was dark out, I’d know that the vision was meant to take place on a Tuesday. Seth could change this by leaving early or calling in sick, or even leaving the building by a different door. All I saw was Seth removing the mask from an angel, and that terrifies me.”

  Surprisingly, there was a logic that I could understand in her explanation. “I don’t think even Seth would willingly face an angel,” I assured her, but even as I spoke, I had to question my own conviction. I hadn’t met many martyr souls, but I imagine the term was not without a certain degree of merit. The look that Louise gave me told me that she wasn’t sure either. “Okay, well…” I let out a sigh. “Look, have you ever encountered an angel before?”

  “Uh-uh, but Madame Myrna lost her best friend to an angel before she moved here. I don’t ever want to see what she described.”

  “Understandable,” I said. “I have seen what they are capable of and you are justified in your revulsion. But you should understand, it’s not as if an angel could just waltz into Blackbird without setting off everyone’s alarms. A presence that powerful would shift the mood of the entire population. We would have plenty of warning. Look, I’ll put a blindfold on Seth and lock him in the Five Penny’s storage closet if that’s what it takes.” This at least got a small giggle out of her. “In the meantime, we’ll keep looking for a way to find the missing piece of Seth’s soul.”

  “Is that something you can just, you know, see?” she asked.

  “No. Unfortunately, that is a Guardian’s ability and as you’ve noticed, Blackbird is strikingly devoid of that piece of our puzzle.”

  “But, Madame Myrna said that if anyone could find Seth’s soul, it would be you,” she countered. “There must be something you can do. I mean, that’s obviously the whole reason why you’re here.”

  “I’m here because of the increase in Discordant activity,” I reminded her, hoping I didn’t just shatter our tentative truce along with her ego.

  “Okay, sure,” she said, dismissing me with a wince that belied her indifference. “But think about it. Whoever it is, they have to be local. That narrows down the field quite a bit. Isn’t there some way you can… I don’t know, see who might be connected?”

  “That seems a bit simplistic…” I started, but stopped because actually, she may have been right, even if she didn’t know why. Because of my transgressions, I was not all
owed to travel far from my assigned territory. If Myrna was correct, and I was to be the one to save Seth’s soul, then Louise was also correct, and the person who held the missing piece might very well be here in Blackbird or nearby. “It’s a start. Louise, you’ve given me something to go on. Thank you.”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure. No problem.” She seemed taken aback by my gratitude. Not without reason, I suppose. My initial assessment might have been too harsh. I decided, as I had with the other witches, that I would reserve judgment on Louise for the moment.

  Still, even if her assessment was correct, that left me with nearly fifty thousand people, not including the student population. On top of that, I still had to keep them safe from the influx of Discordant. For that matter, we still didn’t know what was drawing so many Discordant to the area. Somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if we were to discover the answer, it would just lead to a whole new mess of problems.

  *

  Seth was already awake and eating breakfast when I finally dragged my bones back to the apartment.

  “Has Bogie come back yet?” I asked, noticing that Seth was eating cold cereal.

  He gave me a strange look. “Bogie never went out last night.”

  “He didn’t?” I found this hard to believe. “Are you sure?”

  “He closed the bar and came directly up here. We watched television for a while and then we talked. I let him have my room when I got up.” Seth frowned. “The way he grumbled before, I would have thought he’d take full advantage once you removed the binding spell, but he tried to play it off like he was tired. I think something’s spooked him, but he’s not volunteering any information on what or why.”

  That was interesting. When I confronted Bogie the night before, he was definitely on edge, but I had assumed it was because he had been caught talking to Amara. I hadn’t told Seth about that yet. I wasn’t sure if I should. I hated to admit it, but so far, Seth’s assessment of Bogie had been correct. He’d never been a terribly destructive demon, just more of a nuisance that I banished because I had bigger fish to fry back in LA. Still, he was a Discordant and I wasn’t exactly ready to welcome him with open arms onto our side, no matter how balanced Seth felt his soul was.