I leaned back on my stool, tapping my chin with a finger. The tea had helped perk me up, but I knew Claire would be getting anxious soon. I should have been home by now.
“And what exactly are you scouting?”
“We’ve heard about a powerful object buried in Kansas City. That’s one of the reasons we came here in the first place. To find it. So far, no luck.”
“So, this is a regular mission you’ve been doing for months… And you haven’t found anything?”
He pursed his lips, likely taking my question as criticism. I hadn’t intended it as such, not really, but I let him think so. “Yes. Tonight, will be one of many searches we have done over the last year. All unfruitful, and all without conflict. Although you might get dirty. That’s the extent of the danger – at least judging by what we’ve experienced on our previous excursions.”
“Where did you find out about this new location?”
His eyes tightened, not directed at me for asking, but as if not pleased about the answer. “A private party who recently came to town. I’d rather keep their identity classified, for their own safety.”
“I have one question before I make my decision.” He nodded agreeably. “What were your Nephilim up to tonight?”
He blinked, caught off guard. Then he turned to Alyksandre. “You’ve all been here, correct?”
The Nephilim nodded, frowning. “Other than when I left to get Miss Penrose. Yes, we’ve remained indoors. Why?”
I studied the pair, focusing on every facial or bodily gesture. Then I sighed in relief. They hadn’t been the ones chasing the woman into the alley. It had been a long shot anyway, but it never hurt to check.
“Okay. We’re just going for a looksee. Why do you need me?”
“We don’t,” Nameless shrugged. “We’re just… exchanging information,” he said, reminding me of my request. “But you’re more than welcome to join. Maybe your… unique gifts will aid us. Maybe not. This is just an olive branch between us with very little risk of danger.”
I let out a breath. He was right. If this put me in his good graces – no pun intended – maybe it would be worth losing a little more sleep over.
“Okay. But do you have anything other than Miata’s around here?”
Nameless grinned wolfishly.
Chapter 9
I had called Claire to let her know everything was fine, but that I would be another hour or so. “It’s actually kind of perfect. Maybe this will get them off my back.”
“I don’t know, Callie,” Claire argued sleepily. “They’ve caused you nothing but problems.”
“This shouldn’t be dangerous, and it has the potential to solidify trust between us,” I said.
“Fine, but I’m coming with you,” she said in a commanding tone.
“No, you’re not. We’re almost ready to leave, now.”
“Then you will magic me there.”
I clicked my teeth closed. “Magic you… here,” I repeated, my tone letting her see how stupid her statement sounded in case her sleep-addled brain had overlooked it.
“Yes,” she said, ignoring my tone. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
I shook my head. “This is kind of between me and them. Not sure how they would take it if I brought a bodyguard.”
Her voice was much more alert than a few moments ago, and I prepared to argue for all I was worth. Claire could be vengeful. If I denied her, she would make me pay.
“Then you will promise to take me to Darling and Dear, tomorrow.”
“Claire, I can’t—” I froze, having spoken over her comment. “Wait. If I take you to Darling and Dear, you’ll get off my back about this?”
“Yes.”
I thought about it for a moment. “Fine. Deal.” She chuckled on the other line and I scowled. “You set me up! You never cared about joining me tonight. You’ve been holding on to this card for a while, now.”
“You have no idea. I’ve been waiting for the moment you would have something going down that you wouldn’t want me to join you on, but that didn’t actually sound dangerous. This is perfect. You fell right into my trap, and now I get to go shopping.”
I grumbled unhappily. “I was going to take you shopping anyway,” I admitted.
“Oh, great. Then I’ll be ready in five minutes. You can come pick me up.” It sounded like she was laughing under her breath.
“Sneaky bitch,” I muttered.
“Your choice. But I’ll raise all sorts of hell if you leave me unsupervised.”
Which reminded me of something. Even though tonight was supposed to be danger-free, I realized I would feel much safer if I grabbed a weapon just in case. I was a little tired to rely strictly on magic. “Fine. I’ll be there in five minutes. I just need to let the Nephilim know. Be ready or I’ll tie you up and leave you in my closet.”
She hung up, giggling.
Alyksandre approached from down the hall, seeing that I was now finished with my call. “We’re ready. If you will follow me and Kevin.”
He turned to head towards the back of the house. I very gently placed a hand on his shoulder so as not to startle him. He glanced back, shifting away from my touch out of habit. “Just the three of us?” I asked him, ignoring his knee-jerk reaction to flee from a woman’s touch.
He nodded. “It’s just a routine search. No need to waste resources. We’ve been doing this for months. At first, we brought a large group, but soon realized that not many dangers lurked in forgotten tombs.”
I nodded. That actually made me feel better. If the Nephilim had so little concern about this mission, then I probably had nothing to fear. Now, if this had been my plan, the universe would have realigned so that something went wrong. But we had God on our side this time.
Maybe everyone just left the Nephilim alone out of fear. At least I wouldn’t have to concern myself with worrying over a surprise attack. “Okay. I’ve got one change. You’re bringing a friend, so am I.”
His eyes tightened uneasily, as if not eager to share this update with his boss. “I’ll have to check with Nameless. Who did you have in mind?”
I told him. At the sudden flush to his cheeks, I patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. She’ll wear clothes this time.”
He blushed darker and turned to go speak with Nameless, who had just entered the hallway to see us off. I studied Kevin, our plus-one for the night. He was an average looking, middle-aged man. Handsome, but in a roguish way. Like he was the uncle that wasn’t typically invited to the family reunions, but who had a history of saving your dad from a few bar fights in their college days. He smiled at me. It even looked genuinely respectful.
Alyksandre came back and I saw Nameless nodding at me. “We can pick her up on the way.”
“I’ll just get her right now. Save us some time. I’d rather get to bed sooner than later. And it would look less suspicious than you guys returning to my apartment. I do have enemies, after all.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “We will be around back. How long—”
I opened a Gateway about a foot away from Kevin. He grunted, but didn’t flinch at the sudden eruption of white sparks – which I purposely used to remind everyone which side I was on. White magic was tied to Heaven, in a way I didn’t fully understand, but still used. Alyksandre looked briefly annoyed that I was already testing his authority by ignoring his commands, but regained his composure quickly.
“Please don’t do that without warning. We’re twitchy around unanticipated magic.”
I nodded in understanding. I thought I sensed Kevin smirk as I turned back to the Gateway, but maybe he was just inspecting the ring of white fire around the hole in the air. Claire stood a few feet away, clutching a pistol in either hand wearing only her panties, and no bra. She also wore my shoulder holsters. I sighed, avoiding Alyksandre’s gasp of surprise as I gave Claire a reprimanding look.
Wait. Those were my panties. The expensive pair I had just bought from La Perla.
Claire stared through the
Gateway in surprise, facing us with the pistols hanging at her sides. Kevin grunted from behind me, but when I looked at him, I caught him averting his eyes. He didn’t do it as smoothly or as quickly as Alyksandre, which was probably why he wasn’t in charge.
“Jesus,” Claire hissed, not noticing the winces from the Nephilim at her chosen curse. “I thought I had a few more minutes. Hold on a second.”
“That’s the new pair of underwear I just bought, Claire. I haven’t even taken the tag off yet.”
She glanced down innocently, swiftly ripping off the tag. “Oh? I don’t see a tag.”
“And shoulder holsters go over the clothes,” I added.
She blushed this time. “Right. I knew that. I was just trying it on for size,” she said. “Is that why it’s so scratchy in the back?” she asked, bowing her back to reach and twist at the uncomfortable strap. This had obvious effects on her breasts, and I heard Kevin groan as Claire gave us quite the show, dancing back and forth as she struggled with the leather.
“Yes. That’s why, Claire,” I said, grinning in amusement.
“Can she please put on a bra?” Alyksandre growled behind me. I glanced over to see him staring at his boots again.
“Oh, sorry. I know I told you she would wear clothes, but she’s not housebroken yet.”
“Time is wasting, Callie,” he said through gritted teeth, not lifting his eyes.
“Oh, I don’t know. We have a few minutes…” I heard Kevin murmur, but when I looked over at him, I saw his chin jerk back down, but there was no remorse in his eyes when they met mine. He had been peeking! Instead of yelling at him, I winked.
It was good to know that not all of the Nephilim were prudes. I had a potential friend in the force. He looked thoughtful, as if wondering why I had a naked chick wearing leather straps in my apartment on standby. I let my grin turn wicked and full of sin.
He finally lowered his eyes, muttering under his breath.
Claire was already tugging on some clothes that had been draped over my couch. I saw what I had wanted to grab hanging from the mirror, but didn’t look directly at it. “Can you grab my black scarf? I’m a little chilly from all this rain.”
Claire’s head popped through the sweater, but she wore a cautious frown, forgetting to tug the sweater down the rest of the way. Or to first put on a bra. Then again, if she needed to shift, I’d rather her not destroy my new bra in addition to the matching panties – La Perla was expensive – so I didn’t reprimand her. “Your… scarf… The one with a little red on it?” she asked carefully.
I nodded, motioning her to tug her sweater down and end the free headlight show. I hoped the fact that her boobs still hung free had masked our conversation and the look on her face. The prudish Nephilim – well, not Kevin, the pervert – may have missed it.
I sensed his eyes on me, but he didn’t say anything.
Claire finished changing, tugged on her boots, and carefully folded the scarf so that the cross wasn’t visible.
The scarf I had stolen from the Templars. It blocked magic, and you could never have too much protection. Safety first.
Kevin glanced at it thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. Had he seen it for what it was? Claire was suddenly extending a hand to him, stepping between us with perky cheer. “I’m Claire. Need a cigarette after the free show?” she asked, passing the scarf to me behind her back. I tucked it into my pocket casually.
He grinned in surprise. “I’m Kevin. The Lord gave me eyes to see, but I meant no disrespect.”
Alyksandre grumbled under his breath, but didn’t directly chastise his fellow Nephilim. So maybe he was the only prude. Claire grinned, shaking his hand hard. He looked impressed at her grip.
“Polar bear,” she answered the silent question in his eyes. He grunted warily, probably second-guessing the possible consequences of his wandering eyes.
“Let’s go,” I said, letting the Gateway vanish.
Alyksandre led us outside to reveal our rides.
Claire began to clap. “Ohhh… nice. I’ve always wanted one of those between my thighs.”
Kevin’s face flushed and Alyksandre walked very stiffly down the steps.
“Virgin ears, Claire. You’re making Kevin blush.”
“I am not!” he argued, laughing.
I stared at the motorcycles before us. I’d seen one of these before and knew enough to remember it was stupidly expensive. Ducati. I didn’t care about the model. The brand was enough to let me know we were in for a wild ride.
And I would finally get to see why chicks dig motorcycles.
Chapter 10
We stood outside the caretaker’s building of a forgotten cemetery. Nothing fancy. Like something you would see in a scary movie set in a small town.
Which made me feel not one bit better.
The Ducatis we had ridden here had been fun – a giant vibrator carrying me around town at lightning speed? Check. The irony that Nephilim had given me this experience was not lost on me.
The six-figure bikes looked out of place beside such a worn-down cemetery. As we studied the small building, I got the impression that the caretaker’s building hadn’t been opened in quite some time – a hint that the business wasn’t attracting new customers.
“What in the world could have caught your attention here? Was your informant a grave-robber?” I asked, sweeping the headstones absently, wondering if any of the graves had been disturbed.
Alyksandre pursed his lips and kicked down the door to the building, ignoring me.
“And the Lord said, let the door be open. And the door was open,” I whispered to Claire.
Luckily, the two Nephilim had slipped inside the building to keep us safe from cobwebs, and were too busy inspecting the building’s interior to notice my comment.
“Why did you want your scarf if this isn’t dangerous?” Claire whispered.
“Always be prepared,” I whispered back. “And since you were leaving the apartment, I wanted to know it was in safe hands. Not return home to find out that Nameless – the Angel formerly known as Angel – sent one of his goons to scoop up the scarf.”
Claire looked suddenly worried, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “You think he would have?” she asked, frowning slightly at the building, and the Nephilim inside, as if suddenly doubting their intentions.
I shrugged. “I have no idea who to trust. I find it odd that Nameless has had such a change of heart.”
“And a change of name,” Claire offered suggestively.
I nodded. “Maybe he’s telling the truth about realizing he’d been a dick to me. Or… my suspicion is warranted.”
“Do you always think like that? That someone is trying to screw you?”
I smiled at her choice of words. She returned it with a level look. “It’s better than being caught off guard by trusting too far,” I admitted.
“Well, I’ll just have to watch your back. To be your conscience. Just… don’t keep things from me,” she said meaningfully.
I smiled at her. “You’ve always been my conscience, Claire. Always.”
“Damn right. I’ll keep you safe from yourself, since you seem intent to put your neck in the noose every time I’m not looking.”
“Clear!” Alyksandre called from the gloom. I rolled my eyes and joined him inside.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness fairly quickly since there wasn’t much by the way of streetlights outside the abandoned cemetery. I saw Alyksandre kneeling near the back wall. The building didn’t look as disheveled as I had expected. Not often used, but as if someone at least came by once a month to shuffle a few papers, clean the floor, and check the voicemail on the desk. I saw nothing that looked dangerous, and nothing that emanated waves of nefarious magic, so it looked like this was yet another fruitless lead.
Then Alyksandre flung back a rug and hefted. The floor opened up to reveal a trapdoor.
I blinked. “Your informant just happened to know about a hidden trapdoor in an ol
d caretaker’s building in a forgotten cemetery?” I asked suspiciously.
“The informant seemed… very concerned. Persuasive.”
I began to have a very bad feeling about this whole thing as Alyksandre slipped through the trapdoor. I pulled out my scarf, tied it around my face – careful to keep it folded so the red cross didn’t show on it – and breathed deeply, testing the draw of air. No point in suffocating to death.
Maybe I should have made Claire grab one, too. But I didn’t know if it would have any negative effects on a shifter. I’d have to look into that. At least the scarf would double as a bandana against the dusty, crumbling remains of dead bodies in this forgotten catacomb.
I hadn’t heard Alyksandre call back up to us – which would have at least told me it was only a small storage nook or something. The fact that only silence remained meant he had found a space big enough for us to explore, or he was still descending. I heard a knocking sound, and Kevin grimaced, turning to me. “Ladies first?” he asked.
“Scared?” Claire teased him, dropping down into the hole before he could respond. Kevin shook his head in amusement.
“I’m not scared,” he clarified, noticing my attention.
“Be a good boy and watch the door. We’ll be back shortly. I’d rather not have someone lock us down there,” I told him. The look on his face told me he hadn’t considered that risk.
Then I slipped down into the hole, my feet latching onto a built-in ladder. Kevin watched me descend, looking suddenly uneasy at the thought that he might be attacked. Not scared, but as if suddenly reconsidering Alyksandre’s plan to only have the four of us.
And the question…
What had Alyksandre found down the hole?
“Watch over them, please,” Kevin said, not sounding happy about his role, but realizing the importance of it.
I nodded. “I always do.”
The earth swallowed me up step by step.
Chapter 11
My feet finally reached the base of the ladder. Alyksandre had used a glow stick to mark the end of the descent, so we didn’t stumble in the darkness. Claire stood a few paces away from the base of the ladder, staring out at the large dark cavern beyond. Alyksandre was staring up at the ladder, frowning.
Feathers and Fire Series Box Set 2 Page 5