Bitten in Two

by Jennifer Rardin

  We’d come into the tannery from the north. The vat we needed was in the southeast corner. That meant a careful hike between grunge-soaked walls and ancient pools that contained everything from lime water to pomegranate juice to watered-down pigeon dung.

  What would this place have been back in the States? Maybe a succession of clear blue pools edged by lush greenery with fountains set every twenty feet or so to draw the eye on to some new pleasure. Or maybe a fish farm, its tanks heaving with healthy bass, the purity of its H2O so closely regulated that most countries would willingly run it through their taps. Here the vats crammed against each other like shackled prisoners, their contents reminding me of bottomless pits. I imagined if any of us fell in we’d drift downward forever while the chemicals ate the skin off our bones until all that was left was an eternally sinking skeleton.

  Sterling’s voice yanked me back to the job. “The kloricht are holding steady,” he said.

  “Where is the plane portal in relation to us?” Vayl asked.

  “If you’re at one o’clock, it’s at four.”

  Yousef kept up a steady, creeping motion, though I could see him shaking as he led us toward our goal. He looked over his shoulder once, to make sure we were still following. And the gleam in his eyes told the whole story. He couldn’t have been happier if I’d just cracked a dictionary over his head.

  Behind him Vayl moved with the stealth of a born predator. I would’ve complimented his skill, but the headache was knocking harder now, and if I had to say anything I might puke. I glanced back to see if Cole felt the same. Uh, considering that he was winding a long purple string of gum between his teeth and fingers like taffy, probably not.

  I nearly turned back to Vayl and said, “I can’t work under these circumstances. I need peace before a kill, man.” But then I imagined myself meditating and maybe downing a cup of chamomile tea before pulling off my next hit. And that was so ludicrous that I nearly slapped myself across the face. Pull it together. You can do this.

  And afterward, free margaritas for everyone! shouted my Inner Bimbo from her favorite barstool. Which she promptly fell off of. I glared at her.

  This is why nobody listens to you, ya lush.

  Teen Me was waving frantically from the second-story window of Granny May’s house. Now why would she be up there? That wasn’t even the room I usually stayed in. I looked around for somebody to ask, but my Librarian was sprinting down the road like she’d just heard there was a two-for-one sale at Borders. And Granny May’s bridge table? Deserted.

  I stopped. “Something’s wrong.” Hey, no vomiting! Two points for me!

  Vayl murmured to Yousef and we stopped at the edge of a small alcove formed by the side of yet another deserted building, part of the medina’s outer wall, and a third structure that the tannery seemed to be using as a warehouse. Inside this capital U was lowercase U formed by one large tub. Our tub. But all I saw was a white blur as I pulled back and ducked inside the abandoned home with Vayl, Cole, and Yousef. We huddled beside the open door, discussing our options.

  Sterling spoke into our ears. “Demons are holding steady,” he reported.

  “Why would that be?” I wondered aloud. “Why didn’t they ream us up on the roof? Why retrieve the map and then hand it back to us? What are they waiting for?”

  “They’re demons,” Cole said bitterly. “Playing games like this is their favorite pastime.”

  I didn’t reply. Vayl had been watching me like if he just held still and stared hard enough he could see right into the workings of my brain. The thought scared me less than it would have a few months before. Until he said, “Jasmine? Are you thinking that they already have the Rocenz?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered. I’d only just realized that’s where my thoughts were taking me. How had he figured it out?

  Cole said, “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Not really,” Vayl said. “In fact, it makes a great deal of sense to hand a treasure map over when you have already retrieved the loot.”

  “But we’ve been watching the place. Kyphas hasn’t been here since she got the map.”

  “No,” I said. “Because she’s had the Rocenz for a lot longer. The whole bit about getting the map? That was to fulfill her contract with us. She agreed to help us find the tool. And we’re about to. In fact, she’s leading us right to the spot where it’s been held since Roldan and his Gorgon rider took it from Sister Yalida over eighty years ago.”

  Sterling spoke up. “What are you saying, Chill?”

  I replied, “You guys know about the canals?”

  Cole had been quietly translating all this time. Now Yousef tugged on my sleeve, shaking his head in confusion. I said, “Thousands of years ago demons could travel to our realm a lot easier than they can now. Part of the reason was because the Great Taker had built all these canals between his world and ours. And no, they’re nothing like those placid little rivers you see every time Denmark advertises for tourists. Anyway, small teams usually made up of a couple of fighter types and a Seer or holy man eventually sealed the majority of them. Except the ones that were well disguised.” I paused, to wave my hands around the tannery.

  “But the map,” Cole protested. “The dove!”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Probably taken from the dead hands of just such a crew. I don’t think the holy mark was meant to show where they’d completed their work. I think it was their guide, leading them to the place where they needed to make that seal real. I’ll even go further. I think Sister Yalida was a member of that crew. And the story about her possessing the Rocenz was just part of a bigger tale, one in which she probably used the tool to find the canal that she and her comrades needed to lock. But they were killed in the process. Then their murderer, Roldan, hid the Rocenz in that very canal.”

  “Why?” Vayl asked.

  “You said the Gorgon eats his death. I’m guessing the Rocenz can somehow separate the two of them again. Maybe the same way it can split me and Brude. If that happened, wouldn’t they both die?”

  Vayl stared at me thoughtfully. “I cannot be certain without researching the matter, but yes, I would think so.”

  “Why keep the map, then?” Cole asked. “Why not destroy it?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe the Rocenz’s other powers are just too tempting to give up.”

  “What about the writing on the map?” Sterling asked doubtfully.

  “Temptation again,” I replied. “It’s hell’s stock-in-trade, and here we are, risking our souls to get the Rocenz for ourselves.”

  Vayl sent a piercing look out the door, scanning the tannery as if sight alone could force it to reveal how much of my theory tracked true. He said, “Much of what you say makes sense. The tannery legend, that it adjoins the land of the dead, could have its basis in fact. And then, there is the smell.”

  “Exactly,” I agreed.

  Through Cole, Yousef said, “I do not understand.”

  I explained, “The canals run below places that hide the odor of hell. Where the people who live or work around the site die earlier than usual for explainable reasons, so that the life-sucking characteristics of the canals aren’t ever pinpointed.”

  Yousef began to talk rapidly and grabbed at his own arm. Cole translated. “Then, when the boiling began in all the vats during my grandfather’s time, and the vat outside this house began to burn people to the bone, was that substance shooting into the air hellfire?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Demons ride it straight from their world to ours in petrified bone ships they call Rin-Chaen. If we looked around the tannery long enough, we’d probably find theirs. It explains why none of us have seen the plane portal we assumed they came through and left guards beside—because they didn’t use one. Of course they had to close the canal behind them, because they were called here, and that’s part of the deal. But if we opened the canal, it’s a different story.”

  Yousef’s skin had begun to look a little gray where it met his beard. “What happens then?” he
asked.

  I counted off the possibilities on my fingers. “All kinds of hell dwellers could escape without finding themselves beholden to anyone. We could be looking at a potential invasion from hell. Or, we might succeed in our mission and retrieve the Rocenz. In which case the other half of the demon’s contract is met.”

  Yousef was nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet now. “What does that—I have no idea what that means!”

  Vayl had barely blinked during my explanation. Now his unwavering gaze broke and he moved it to Yousef. “We promised the demon the chance to snatch souls in exchange for her cooperation, four specific ones. She has promised to harm no one in the Trust. But that does not mean the kloricht standing with her, or perhaps crouching on the other side of that lid, have our best interests at heart. His eyes cut to Cole. “And you are no longer in the Trust, which makes you doubly vulnerable.”

  I snapped, “Cole! Say you want to be back in the Trust.”

  When he gave me a look his mom must’ve seen every time she demanded obedience from him and he ran right into the street instead, I suddenly felt like I had a lot in common with her. He said, “No.”

  “Why not!”

  “A Trust is like a family, which I have. And yours is headed by Vayl, who I don’t like.” He turned to my sverhamin, adding, “No offense.”

  “None taken,” Vayl replied smoothly.

  Cole went on. “So don’t think by yelling at me you’re going to make me cave. I’ll find my own way. And I’ll be in charge the whole time.”

  “Yeah!” I fumed. “Until some mucus-dripping ball-ripper ganks your soul and feeds it to the family for dinner. Then guess who’ll be in control!”

  Cole crossed his arms and refused to talk anymore. Which was fine, because if he had I probably would’ve punched him.

  Typically, Vayl had moved beyond our petty bickering and decided scouting was in order. Which meant during our argument he’d been inching toward the corner of the building. Now he leaned around to take a long, hard look. When he got back he didn’t seem any happier.

  “What did you see?” I whispered.

  “It is just an innocent-looking circle of concrete covering a vat standing no higher than your knees,” he said.

  “Are you telling me my theory’s crap?” I asked hopefully.

  He shook his head. “We must get in closer. The sign, if it is present, could be on the other side.”

  My stomach rolled. He meant hellsign, which could work as a lock to seal nearly any portal. Because it was painted with the blood of an infant.

  Without even looking back to check that we were following, Vayl led us into the open. This time I came second, with Cole at my shoulder and Yousef bringing up the rear. I watched the shadows for signs of movement, the windows for the surge of bodies that signaled ambush. Every muscle in my back clenched, waiting for a bullet, or more likely an arrow, to split my spine.

  Would you pull yourself together? You’re out of range, rabbit. Granny May looked up irritably from a hand she and Amelia Earhart were clearly winning. And even if you weren’t, you’d still have to do this. So pull your head out of your ass before you let one of these fine boys down!

  I nodded, just like I’d really heard her, and kept moving, pretending the dye pools to my left were just buckets of dirty water. We moved completely into the alcove this time, not touching the smooth-walled tank as we spread out, taking turns watching for Kyphas’s charge and scanning the vat for graffiti. The top was unmarked, but grimy enough to support a healthy layer of moss. Instead I saw it had become a graveyard for the skeletons of small creatures that had made the unfortunate decision to rest on it temporarily or use it as a transbuilding highway.

  Yousef said something to Cole, speaking so quickly now that he had to ask him to repeat himself. “What’d he say?” I asked.

  “He wants to know if he can stand guard. Preferably from the car.”

  Staring at the tiny bleached skulls, I could hardly blame him.

  Vayl said, “Tell him to go back around the corner of the building and to call out if he sees anything moving.”

  As soon as Cole started translating Yousef began to shake his hand gratefully. He waved goodbye to us and ran out of sight. Back to his house if he had any sense.

  Vayl said, “You must tell me how you and Yousef came to meet sometime, Jasmine.” Mild. Slightly amused. Except for the gold flecks in his dark green eyes that told me just what he planned to do to the tanner if he stepped over the line.

  “Don’t slam his face into anything,” I warned him. “He’ll just start stalking you too and then we’ll never—shit. I found it.”

  Silence as we stared at the lip of the lid, where the fresh outline of a raven had been drawn with its beak buried in the entrails of a screaming child. The blood Kyphas’s summoner had used wasn’t even dry enough yet to flake.

  “Fuck.” I don’t know if I reached for Vayl’s hand, or he grabbed for mine, but our fingers interlaced like we each felt the need for rescue.

  “Exactly,” Vayl said with such feeling that his voice seemed to rumble inside my chest.

  Sterling’s voice sang into the silence, lifting our shoulders, bringing our eyes to the sky like we could really see him looking down on us as he said, “If you break that seal, I can throw down a net that will only let the Rocenz through.”

  I’d known he was the best. But to wield that kind of power? Even with all his stores available to him he’d still probably have to sleep for a week afterward.

  Vayl might’ve been impressed too, but he never hesitated. “Do it,” he said.

  Cole looked down at the sword in his hand. Took some time to adjust his grip and, maybe, his attitude. Because his voice sounded different, more businesslike, when he asked, “So how do we break the lock?”

  I said, “We hit the raven with our blades. Not like we mean to plow through rock, but like we’re trying to kill an actual bird. The fact that we’re attacking with Raoul’s weapons should be enough to split it, but we may have to strike it several times before it gives, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And when it starts to go? Have the sense to get back.”

  “No problem.”

  I looked up, barely able to see the roof of our lookout building from ground zero. “Sterling? Have you got us covered?”

  “Three cooks about to spoil the broth,” he confirmed. “All of you bust it back behind a wall as soon as the lid splits. I’m going to light the place up.”

  I felt Vayl’s powers like icy fingers tickling the back of my neck and knew our warlock wouldn’t be the only other throwing sparks tonight. “You’re beautiful when you’re about to kick ass,” I told him.

  His dimple appeared briefly and then dashed away. “I think that was my line.”

  “Naw, ’cause I’m the sexy one.” I pointed back and forth between us. “Beautiful, sexy. Sexy, beautiful. We need to get this straight now, you know, so after we get blown to bits they’ll know how to tell the difference between us.”

  “It will still be no problem,” said Vayl. “Your bits will be jumping up and down, madly demanding revenge. While mine will be wafting through the air like a misguided balloon.”

  “See,” I said. “Even your bits are beautiful. They waft.”

  “Jumping up and down is definitely sexy,” Vayl assured me. “Would you like to do it two or three times right now before we get down to business?”

  Sterling and Cole groaned at the same time. “Ewww!”

  And then we couldn’t think of a single new delaying tactic. So Vayl unsheathed his sword while Cole and I raised ours.

  We took turns swinging, the metal of our blades clanging against the wings of the raven like hammers against an anvil. No way could the demons not hear us. We’d have to hurry. A rumbling from somewhere so far below us it felt like the other side of the earth made us look down and reset our stances.

  “Again,” Vayl said.

  We swung. The bird took three more
slices to its wings. I whispered, “Vayl, it’s giving! Armor yourself!”

  He said, “If I could, we would all be encased in ice by now. But I have lost the abilities I gained after 1770.” Including the one he’d taken from a Chinese vampire during our mission to Corpus Christi that had given him the power to shield himself and others in a blanket of ice.

  I took a moment to glance at him, amazed that his expression was as relaxed as if he was waiting for his evening paper to be delivered. Wow. I would’ve been bitching so loud the complaint departments in every company on the continent could’ve heard me. He hadn’t even thought to mention that his curse had permanent side effects.

  I gritted my teeth and got back to work, more determined than ever to beat the bastards who’d set us up so neatly.

  Cole delivered a blow that cut the raven’s head at the neck. The lid cracked in a dozen places as the ground beneath our feet shifted, hard, to the left. Both of us stumbled backward.

  “I can see red between the cracks!” Sterling told us. “Is it getting warm down there?”

  I wiped the sweat off my face. “Feels like a furnace.”

  “It’s going faster than I expected. Take cover!”

  Vayl hustled us back toward Yousef’s hiding place. He wasn’t there. We made it just in time for the lid to fail. The sound of it shattering worked like a bugle call for Kyphas’s crew.

  “Demons on the move!” Sterling said. “Coming at you from multiple directions. I suggest you keep a wall at your backs. Or better yet, run!”

  “To where?” Vayl asked.

  “I’ll cast a Hand on the roof of that building,” Sterling said. “Stand inside the palm and only one of them can attack you at a time.”

  “Done.”

  We charged through the doorway, but as soon as we were inside Vayl paused, causing a major traffic jam. He spun around. “Jasmine, you must stay behind.”