But it wasn’t natural. What the hell was happening?
Satara scrolled through her texts and directed Cal to the parking garage of Tilda’s NYC building. Once she punched in the code, the gate lifted, and Ghost purred into the darkness, fitting herself neatly into the apartment's assigned space.
The moment Edie stepped out of the car, she could feel that there was something … different about this city. It was like something was calling to her, just out of reach—a strange, almost electrical buzzing. Similar to the feeling of Cal's presence, but busy, not soothing. She tried to shake it off but remained distracted as the others unloaded the car.
Cal was mumbling as he stashed his Bear Claw in the trunk locker, where he kept most of his weapons and a portion of the Holloway inheritance. The rest of the money was god only knew where. Edie hadn't asked and almost didn't want to know. That much money made her nervous.
"What's wrong?" Satara asked the revenant as she pulled her suitcase from the trunk.
"I don't have an open carry permit for this dumbass city," he grumbled in response, though Edie couldn't help but notice he was equipping one SOB and two shoulder holsters. His trusty Colt and two similar revolvers slid into their new concealed homes.
"But concealed carry, you have?" the shieldmaiden asked skeptically.
"Well"—he coughed—"they won't find it if it's concealed, right?"
Klein was watching with big eyes. "Maybe don't march into a nice stranger’s house armed to the nipples, yeah?"
"I'm not gonna shoot her."
"It's more than a little threatening!" Klein looked at Edie. "Does he forget he's a six-four white dude with muscles the size of your head?"
Edie shrugged. Most of the time, she forgot what Cal looked like to people who couldn’t see through his glamour. She wasn't scared of him anymore. With a sigh, she looked back at Cal. "How about you just leave them in the car for now and we'll come back if we need them?"
He bitched and moaned the whole way but pared it down to just the SOB holster before the group finished unloading and finally stepped into the garage's elevator lobby. The elevator was nice, obviously well kept, and Edie was reminded once again of just how loaded Tilda must be.
"I wonder how long she’s had an apartment here," she said to no one in particular.
“You said she was practically ancient, didn’t you? Who knows?” Klein was staring at the digital floor counter and nearly bouncing, not quite the cool-as-a-cucumber attitude Edie had come to expect from them. "I hope the caretaker’s nice.”
“You’ve always been the caretaker, Mr. Torrence,” Cal mumbled to Satara, drawing a chuckle from her.
When the elevator finally opened, their small crowd eased out, and Edie was relieved to finally have some personal space after hours of being squished in the car. The apartment hallway was spacious, with clean cream walls and handsome wood floors. She always forgot how crappy her old apartment back in Anster was until she stepped into a place like this. She felt the same way staying at Tilda's.
Apartment 11A waited for them toward the end of the hall, and Klein, with their long stride and quick pace, was the first to reach it. By the time the rest of the group caught up, the wight had already rapped on the door several times. Anxious to get settled in, it seemed.
There was a call Edie couldn't quite make out and some shuffling before the door opened. Standing before them was a woman of medium height and soft build, with amber skin, tightly wavy dark hair, and large brown eyes. Her elegant nose, dappled with light freckles, swept from her brow into a soft point. As she took the party before her in, her full, top-heavy lips spread into a grin. Something about her reminded Edie of Mercy, and it made her heart ache. She already missed her.
"Hello! You must be Matilda’s group," the woman said, greeting the two people closest to her—Klein and Satara—with hugs like they were old friends.
“Oh, hi.” Klein grinned and patted her back. “That’s us.”
“Great!” Once the woman pulled away, she gestured, still smiling, toward the others. "I’m Yuval. Come— Oh.” She stuttered for a moment, and then grimaced. “Sorry, I forgot. Tilda actually wanted me to ask you to video call her when you arrived. For security?”
Edie wasn’t surprised. Tilda was so conscientious when it came to stuff like this that she wondered if she’d been a spy in one of her past lives. It only took her a second to pull up their chat and press the Video Call button; then she handed the phone to Satara, who was standing in front of her.
Tilda answered almost right away, looking flawless as usual, and smiled when she saw the group. “Is everything all right?” she asked quickly. “Did you arrive safely?”
“We’re here,” Satara confirmed, turning the camera so that it was facing Yuval.
The wight gasped when she saw her. Her accented voice was strident through the phone speakers as she cried out, “My love, look at you!”
Yuval seemed equally happy to see her, waving with both hands. “Matilda, hi! So these are your friends!”
“That’s right, darling.”
"I'm sorry.” Yuval gestured with open hands, still grinning, toward the others. "I don't usually shriek. Please, come in! Let me help you carry stuff."
"She means it," Tilda said with a laugh. "The thought of a guest lifting a finger will weigh on her more than the suitcases will."
"Well, I want to be a good host!”
Klein snorted as they slipped inside. "Can’t relate. My wight nature dictates I should curse you if you enter my barrow."
After quick goodbyes, Tilda hung up, and Edie retrieved her phone, pocketing it. She walked into the apartment after Satara, with Marius and Cal behind, each of them slipping out of their shoes—even Cal, much to his discomfort. Thankfully, he was wearing socks today.
It was clean and bright in the small entryway, with a wall of pictures—most of Yuval’s family vacations, it looked like—immediately to their right. The smell of some richly spiced food wafted through the air, mingling with the soothing scent of vanilla.
"I'm Yuval. Again. Sorry about that." Their hostess laughed as she extended her hand to Edie, then shook everyone's hand in turn, exchanging names. "Make yourselves at home. I would usually have come down to help with your bags, but … you know, security." She waved them further into the house.
The group followed her into a spacious, naturally lit living room that looked like it had just been peeled off the cover of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Modern white furniture was punctuated with orange and dark blue accents, and personal items were expertly placed and tucked to make the space feel less like a soulless hotel suite and more like a friend's apartment—which, to them, it was.
There seemed to be more of Yuval’s influence than Tilda’s, however. On the far window hung a colorful hamsa suncatcher with a Star of David in the center; elegantly printed blessings and affirmations were framed in various places around the room. Looking through an archway, Edie could see a laptop and an easel set up in the dining area, looking out onto the city.
Yuval led them through the house, briefly checking on whatever was cooking in the kitchen before showing them the bedrooms. "There are four to choose from," she said as she opened the curtains of the master. "Tilda said that would be enough, since some of you don’t sleep."
"Two of us don’t, but that’s it.” Edie looked back at her two undead companions. Klein was taking in their surroundings with an approving eye while Cal lingered in the hallway uncertainly.
Yuval smiled at both of them in turn, her hands on her hips. "Well, you're free to take the extra room if you want, regardless. Rest is still important, right?"
Cal mumbled a thanks. Probably still grumpy about having to take his boots off, and that he'd have to go outside in the snow if he wanted to smoke, Edie thought. And definitely unsure of how to respond to hospitality.
After the humans had chosen their bedrooms and left their bags, Yuval led them back out into the living area. As they walked, Klein mu
sed, “I’ll probably find somewhere else to hang my hat. Not that this place isn’t great. But the deal was you’d bring me to New York, and that’s all taken care of.”
Yuval looked at them with concern and said, "Oh, I’m sure you don’t need to run off right away, with the blizzard and everything. And you’re always welcome to stay with me and my girlfriend, Miri, any of you. We live around the block.”
"Is that so?” Klein smiled, apparently already warming up to her. “It’s an intriguing offer. I don't wanna get stuck hanging out with these losers all day.” They winked playfully at the group.
"It's probably safer if you stay somewhere else, anyway," Marius said as they settled into the living room. Their hostess brought a pitcher of what looked like pomegranate juice. "Both you and Yuval. If someone comes for us, you won't be stuck in the middle."
"I can take care of myself if worse comes to worst," Yuval said, setting six glasses on the table. She didn't elaborate—at least, not verbally. With a flick of her wrist, the juice jumped out of the pitcher in a long, thick rope, whipping its tail like a claret snake. She splayed her fingers, and the rope separated into six parts, flowing weightlessly into the cups. Each pillar of liquid rippled before settling.
"Oh, juice powers," Klein said as they picked up their glass. “That’d be useful for a bartender.”
"Ha." With a good-natured smirk, Yuval flicked her fingers in Klein's direction. Seemingly from thin air, clear droplets sprayed outward and hit the vampire with a gentle splatter.
Water powers. Edie sat forward attentively, reminded of Fisk's claimed mastery over the element. Yuval's seemed more genuine. "Okay, now I see what you mean. How is it for, you know, protection?"
"I do well, if pressed! I've dealt with one or two creeps in my day, believe me." She coaxed a tiny globe of juice from her cup and slurped it up. "Thankfully, it's always proved completely nonlethal. People usually stop trying to fight you once they're wrinkly and dehydrated. One sec."
She left briefly to get whatever she was cooking, so Edie checked her phone.
[Mercy Cedeno]: Text me once you make it there safely !! And tell me when there's a good time to video call. Love u <3
Edie smiled and texted back.
[Edith Holloway]: We're here and in one piece. I'll text you again later tonight. I love you!!!
As soon as Edie shoved her phone back in her pocket, Yuval came back with a skillet of what looked like eggs in tomato sauce, garnished with fresh herbs and chunks of feta. It smelled amazing, and Edie could feel her mouth start to water. She had been too nervous to eat any of the snacks she'd packed for the trip.
"I wasn't sure which of you, uh, ate, either," Yuval said, placing the skillet down on a ceramic trivet in the center of the coffee table. "I hope this is okay."
"Is that shakshouka?" Satara asked, brightening and inching closer.
Yuval smiled over her shoulder as she went to get more stuff from the kitchen, speaking as she went. "Yep! And I don't usually cook this much at once, so I hope it turned out all right."
Marius jumped up to help in the kitchen, and the pair of them quickly brought out a stack of small plates, silverware, a dish of bread, and a small bowl of green sauce.
“Careful,” Yuval said of the green sauce, addressing Edie specifically. “It’s very spicy!”
"You're not a vættr, are you?" Edie asked as everyone began filling their plates. “That’s probably a stupid question, but the only hydromancers I’ve met so far are vættir.”
"Nope, I'm human. It's just..." Yuval shrugged. "A gift. I never studied it; it just came.”
"Juice powers," Klein said again, nodding sagely.
Their hostess looked between Klein and Cal, her tone suddenly less certain than it had been. "You two will … be able to sort everything out, right? When it comes to, you know. Eating? Tilda said I wouldn’t have to worry, but—”
“It’s fine,” Cal grunted, arms crossed uncomfortably. “I don’t need anything.”
“And I probably won’t have to feed for a while,” Klein added.
"Can't you just call it eating, for Christ’s sake?"
"Sure," they said, "but it's not as cool."
The food settled surprisingly well considering Edie’s nervous stomach, and now that she’d had something to eat, she felt a bit more focused. “How did you and Tilda meet, anyway?” she asked between bites of bread.
“Oh.” Yuval wiped her hands on a napkin, smiling brightly once more. “We met around six years ago. Tilda obviously spends most of her time in New England, but—well, you know, she’s got a few places here and overseas. She usually has someone taking care of each one when she’s not there.”
Cal snorted and said, “She must be cutting down. One too many chateaus and she might not have enough money to build a rocket.”
Edie elbowed him, and Yuval glanced uncertainly in his direction before continuing. “The last caretaker of this place was renting the apartment out without Tilda’s knowledge and pocketing the money. Rental prices around here are insanely high anyway, but he was raising it for attuned folks and extorting people once they arrived, and it was a huge mess. She obviously fired him on the spot.
“We actually ran into each other by chance just after, at a friend’s party. We got to talking, and when she found out I was studying to go into the hospitality industry, she asked me right away if I was interested in helping her.” Yuval smiled brightly. “She paid off all my student debt and hired me right away. It was like a dream come true.”
“If she’s paying you to take care of this place, why turn it into a … what was it?” Marius asked softly.
“Airbnb,” answered Satara.
“Oh!” Yuval jerked her thumb toward the door. “The building is actually a co-op, so we have to pay a pretty high maintenance fee every month. It covers that plus a little extra for my expenses. What Tilda pays me covers my own rent and stuff.”
Cal wrinkled his nose. “Then where the hell does that leave her?”
“Well, I always offer the cut she’s entitled to, but she always turns it down.” Yuval peered at him. “You joked about her cutting down, but … she hardly ever visits, she doesn’t really turn a profit—I don’t think she really considers this place hers anymore.”
“And what about you?” Klein asked, swirling their glass.
“Well, I set prices and book in a way that will cover our expenses, but….” She smiled. “I went into hospitality for a reason. I want to make people comfortable. My dad always had extra room for friends, or even strangers. Even when we were barely making ends meet. If I know someone’s struggling or in transition, I’ll put ’em up, and it’s not a big deal. And,” she added, “if I someday change my mind about hospitality or it somehow falls through, hey, I have a rent-free Manhattan apartment to live in. Even if it’s a little big for me and Miri and the occasional visiting sister."
"Wow." Edie couldn't imagine wanting to take care of hotel guests, but then, she could barely take care of herself some days. Leave it to Tilda to have a bunch of friends just as generous as she was.
The conversation flowed, so to speak, as they continued to make small talk. Yuval was good at bringing her guests into the conversation, so much so that she even got a few smiles out of Marius when describing her vacation to Iran—where, Edie learned along with the rest of them, his maternal grandmother had been born—and a chuckle or two from Cal.
Eventually, Yuval broached the topic of their stay itself. “So, why are y’all in NYC on such short notice?”
“The fabulous weather, o’ course,” Cal said, nodding at the snowdrifts outside the window.
“Tilda said that it was something about the Reach.” Yuval’s thick brows drew. "I didn't know there was a Reach."
Edie wasn't keen to give too much information, but considering Yuval was risking not only her livelihood but her life to help them out, she deserved to know what was going on. "There wasn't—not a proper one. We're trying to fix that."
; "Giving people not welcome in the Aurora safe harbor from the Gloaming is our top priority," Satara added, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's been getting exponentially more difficult since the Rising Aurora in Anster have retreated."
"The Rising Aurora retreated?" Yuval gaped. "Oh my…”
"They’re licking their wounds," Marius mumbled, moving food around on his tiny plate. "We revealed that their Radiant was being blackmailed by the Gloaming somehow."
Edie couldn’t help but notice that he failed to mention the Radiant had also been his father. She glanced sideways at him but said nothing.
"I don't like them—the Aurora." Yuval frowned. "I was still unattuned when the last Radiant was in charge, but people have told me she was okay. She let people be, kept the Gloaming in their stalemate, and didn’t let them harass anyone. The new one is awful. He's a religious fanatic, and he only cares when the Gloaming threatens the Aurora's temples, no one else's."
Marius looked up. "Radiant Oddfreyr?"
"That's him. His obsession with serving the Aurora has actually made the Gloaming problem even worse. I don't trust him at all."
Marius blinked a second too long, then bowed his head. "I don't either."
Yuval sighed, looking around uncertainly. "I don't know much about the Reach, but they're neutral, right? I'm honestly not sure neutrality will do us any favors at the moment. Especially with the way things are going here..."
"We've kind of been talking about that." Edie glanced at Klein, then the others. "We haven't worked any specifics out yet; we're still kind of treading water. But think of it more like ... an alternative faction than Switzerland."
"New Gloaming, new Reach. And not Dick Holloway's new Reach, either." Cal bounced his leg, fingering what was probably a pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket. In a grumble, he added, "Hopefully."
Satara looked at Yuval earnestly. "What did you mean when you said 'especially the way things are going here’?"
Unholy Spirit (The Necromancer's Daughter Book 3) Page 4