“It’s not a guarantee, especially not if the world is in fact at stake. This is the best place for me.”
Huh. Okay then. “All right. Abel, me, Peri...” And maybe some more backup. I lifted Nic’s phone again, met my assistant’s gaze. “You find a likely spot yet?”
“Yes, it’s maybe forty minutes—”
Good enough. “Give the info to Peri so we have it on GPS.” I dialled up the second last number to call Nic’s phone and strolled toward the back hallway.
Three rings and Maximilian picked up. “So soon, Miss Lain?”
“You mentioned being in my debt. Interested in erasing it?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Into the Valley
Nate and Mishka showed up at exactly thirty minutes after the call ended, driving a little red two door car that must’ve been hers. I had most of my gear on already and stood with Peri and Abel outside, well out of the way—the boy was likely terrified of me and it wouldn’t do any good to have him peeing on Nic’s floor. We waited at the other end of the bungalow, able to dart around the side if need be, and half hidden by a row of hedges.
Nate rose from the small car first, in black jeans and a T-shirt that looked new. Maybe she had clothes for him. Just had everything fucking set up—
Stop. Thinking. About. It.
Rage and hurt were rising and only the promise that I soon might have a way to soothe it was staying my hand. He knelt in the car, sliding the seat back, and eased out the little boy who yawned, dead limbs falling over his father’s shoulders.
And Nate was so good with him. Whispered reassuringly, pressed his hand on the boy’s back before easing the door shut with his foot. Of course he’d be good—he was just made for that sort of thing, for caring and nurturing.
Of course he wouldn’t want me. And I wasn’t jealous of the kid, no—no matter what happened with Mishka, I’d never expect him to do anything but take care of that kid. I’d never object to that—I wasn’t that terrible of a person.
But she’d kissed him. And he let her. And she’d reached for his pants.
They were in bed together.
And I’d never get that out of my head.
Nate crossed the lawn, cast a glance at me, his gaze finding me in the darkness, and then he stepped out of view into the yellow light of the house. He knew a sleeping spell, if I recalled correctly—could probably have the boy magically put out cold so he wouldn’t be too freaked.
Mishka remained in the car, glaring daggers at me. The overhead light cut harsh shadows over her face, making her look older than thirty, and the scar around her neck glowed waxy. It was healing, sure, but she’d probably always have a scar for the rest of her very, very short life.
Peri studied her sister, frowning. “Do I look that bitchy?”
I glanced between them. “No. Homicidal? Yes. But not that bitchy. I’ll stop calling you Hell Bitch, if you like.”
“Not if it means I have to stop calling you Vamp Slut.”
Once in a while, I did like the woman.
Lights cut over the dark pavement in the distance, growing larger and larger. Just as Nate stepped out of the house, the other vehicle pulled up ahead of Mish’s red two-door; it wasn’t the white limo this time but a black Nissan Armada, gleaming like it was driven right off the lot, with tinted windows. An eight-seater, so it could take all of us, but I thought the lovebirds should stick to their car so I didn’t stab them yet.
Nate frowned, paused, glanced at me, but I ignored him and strolled up with my entourage. The driver climbed out, walked around, and opened the back door as I neared.
And there was Maximilian Vasquez, sitting in the rear, that cat who ate the canary grin. “Your chariot awaits.”
Indeed it did. “Did you bring me a glass slipper?”
“Better.” He slid a large black case up and I pulled it to the end of the seat, popped the lid, and took a look inside.
He had a Rossi 12 gauge for me. In blue-black. Oh, I think I’m in love.
I’d just eased it out when rapid steps approached; I swung around, gun lifted and poised with the stock against my shoulder, and Nate froze at the end of the barrel.
He didn’t look fazed, just somewhere around horrified. “What the hell are you doing?”
I smiled sweetly. “Bringing backup. We know where we’re going, so try to keep up.”
“We need to talk—”
My expression went deadly, finger sliding over the trigger. I could put a fucking hole in his chest. Probably. If it was loaded. And it might not be but I kinda hoped it was. “There is absolutely nothing to say so don’t even start with me. Get in the car and follow. The night’s bleeding and sunrise is on its way.” I popped the gun back into the gray foam snuggly, closed the lid, and slipped in next to Maximilian, while Abel and Peri climbed in as well—Abel taking the extra seat behind us, Peri in the passenger seat by the driver in front of me.
Nate watched me a beat longer when I jerked the door shut, and then returned to Mishka’s waiting car.
“I presume you have an excellent reason for not killing them yet.” Maximilian raised a brow, gestured for his driver to start driving.
I hadn’t dropped the case—it still sat comfortably in my lap, long enough that it touched his knee. I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to give it up yet, like a lethal security blanket. “We’re going to cause some trouble and they might be useful in my deck.”
“Your trouble is poker?”
Honey, you have no idea. I settled back and tried to get comfortable as ahead of me Peri pulled out her cell phone and gave the driver GPS coordinates.
Granted, it was probably an utterly stupid idea to bring Maximilian Vasquez. I didn’t know him. Like at all. Less than I knew Judas and Brutus in the car following us, which was saying a lot. But I needed one more person to tip the scales and at the very least, I knew he was a businessman. He was motivated by power and money. I could work with that.
Of course, I also felt like I was juggling chainsaws at the moment and any one of them could fall down and cut off my arm.
At least I look good in red. Happy thoughts.
I browsed on Nic’s phone during the drive, getting an eyeful of the valley from an overhead shot. Everything I read said that it was just an empty valley strangely black, with nothing growing there. And many people had been there to look it over, investigate the hot spots all over the world, and found fuck all.
It wasn’t like I expected a big castle there anyway, though. No, these guys with their phantom trolleys and—from what Peri told me—making sunny parks appear out of nowhere in the middle of a rainy day, played with dimensions. Wasn’t much different from Nate, who could remove people from timelines. So he would be needed here.
Access to the Court had to be there somewhere. It was just a matter of finding—or making—a doorway within the next few hours and getting through. Easy-peasy, really.
Right.
No one spoke during the ride, though I probably could’ve fallen into easy conversation with Maximilian as it wasn’t like he had anything else to do; my coat was zipped up to my throat so no cleavage to eye. My arms remained locked on the shotgun case as we rode so there would be no possessive grabbing my knee or anything.
Periodically my gaze caught the side mirrors of the steady red car behind us. I couldn’t make out whether they were talking or not with the glare of lights on the windshield. It was probably better that I didn’t have to try to read lips or speculate what was said.
The SUV cut around Macamigon, edging it but not quite dipping down toward the busy city. We passed suburbs and sound walls, spots of trees and fields that hadn’t been built over yet, and a train whipping by with graffiti on its cars. Knots grew worse in my stomach because while I was pretty good at thinking on my feet, I had a fucking huge amount of variables here, and even when I tried to shove him out, Lachlan’s voice played over and over in my head, during the whole drive.
You are a stupid, childish girl
attempting to fuck with forces you don’t understand and death is not the worst option we can offer you.
I suppressed a shiver. Well, let’s see if we can’t scare up a few other options, motherfuckers.
The landscape changed, buildings lessening, road narrowing, fewer and fewer cars until there was just the pair of us on the road, two sets of headlights cutting across the black. The driver made a right at a cut-off I didn’t recognize and we turned onto a road that petered off into dirt and gravel. Though it was night and no lights fell from overhead, I glanced out the window and saw it.
Deadness.
No grass. No trees. The ground dipped down and we were in a blackout zone, earth scorched like a great fire rode through and nothing would grow again. When the next shiver touched me, I thrust it back. There were bigger things than being afraid, and I had a mission. If anyone was shocked that I might want to save the world, they didn’t know me very well.
I had to live here. I was hurt, yes, but I’d fucking pick myself up and keep going. I liked this life I’d built. I liked this person I was. I liked having food and freedom and whether it was greenhouse gasses or destruction or the rainforest or a motherfucking Biblical apocalypse, I was saving this goddamn world because I refused to live in a shitty existence where I would have trouble hunting healthy food and there was no fashion week in Milan.
Those in the car tensed as we drove on and Maximilian leaned forward, his shoulders hunched, gaze meeting the driver’s in the mirror. “Pull over.”
The driver glanced up. “Sir?”
“Pull over!”
The SUV jerked to the shoulder and Maximilian was popping open his seatbelt, leaning across the seat toward me, outstretched hand locking on my shoulder. I shifted, turned, reached for the door handle but the fucking thing was locked and I couldn’t get it loose. I thrust the weapon case between us, eyes wide, biting back a yelp as his hands bit into my shoulders.
His eyes were nearly black, blazing. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I sure as hell wasn’t going to date him after that. I jerked my hands back and whacked him with the gun case, knocking him away. I saw a flash of metal and Peri had a gun lifted, pointed in his direction; the driver had one pointed at her, and Abel had one pointed at the driver.
Jesus, it was a stupid goddamn standoff from an action movie.
I swallowed dryly, met Maximilian’s gaze. “You like power? You like money? Well, you won’t keep it if the apocalypse happens and hell swallows the world up so sit the fuck down and let me deal.”
His hands tightened and I suspected that if I didn’t have that case between us, I’d be getting even more uncomfortable.
“You’re a vampire and can’t sense a fucking thing about this place.”
“And here we go to the race-baiting portion of the evening—”
The door behind me swung open suddenly and I tumbled out ungracefully, falling onto the gravel. Maximilian reached after me before I was hauled up and back again, Nate’s hands on my arms. I jerked from his grasp, the shotgun case falling to my side with my fingers clasping the handle, my free hand coming out to point at him. “Hands off. You do not get to act like a protective boyfrie—”
But he was tramping after me even though I backed up, and car doors slammed in the distance. I scrambled back, through a ditch, the case coming up between us again like somehow it might make him stop. When he ceased walking on the other side of the ditch with me, I paused warily and glanced over his shoulder. Vasquez stood by the car, Peri still with a gun on him though he didn’t seem fazed. Mishka had risen from the red car, non-bloody peasant skirt swirling around her legs in the headlights while gravel dust danced.
I eyed Nate again.
“Do you have a fucking clue who he is?”
I straightened my spine. “He contracts me to kill people now and then.”
Nate raked his hands back through his hair, apparently frustrated by my little white lie. “They have been trying to get their claws into North America for years. This isn’t a coven that keeps to itself—they have a hand in every industry, in human affairs, demon affairs—”
“So like Amazon but with more necromancy.”
“Try to grasp for just one goddamn second that this isn’t some joke for you to snark about. They are part mafia, part mega-corporation. Weapons dealers. Lobbyists. Killers. They will do worse than hurt you if you hop in bed with—”
“Your concern is touching. Really. But I’ve news for you, lover boy—I’m not just in bed with them, but I’m staying over for breakfast the next morning, and they’ve already got their claws in nice and deep. It’s been six years and they set up shop. Now I need an extra ally here—”
“You have allies.” In the silence that hung there in the two feet between us, I knew he meant him.
And my blood went cold. “I have me. I have always only had me. I need more power, another ace in my favour, or I am not coming out of this situation alive, so I called in Maximilian. You want to pussy out? Fine. Go live happily ever after. I have shit to do.”
He reached for me as I stomped past him and I whacked his hand away with the case. It was almost as handy as the shotgun within it.
I approached the SUV where Maximilian stood looking unruffled, hands clasped behind his back and chin lifted. I slung the case on the hood of the vehicle. “You want to bail, bail. Otherwise I’m giving you the same talk I gave him: I have shit to do so either help me or stay out of my—”
He moved swiftly, smoothly, twisting in an instant until he had my back against the SUV, hand on either side of me, staring down. My heart kicked way up and lodged itself in my throat. Maximilian leaned in until his aftershave washed over me, all spice and nothing sweet.
Silence ticked on and then his lips curved in a wolfish grin. “You’re quite attractive when you’re barking orders.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Stick around and I’ll be downright beautiful.”
He stood there a beat longer, probably just to prove he could, and I thought long and hard about kneeing him in the balls before Nate threw a fireball at him, but then he backed off at last. Jesus if one more fucking guy got alpha with me, I’d kill the lot of them. I should probably find a way to just clone Ellie and populate the world with him instead.
I turned back to the shotgun case waiting for me on the hood and popped it open, addressing Peri without looking at her. “How close?”
“Quite, actually.” And she didn’t drop the gun from Vasquez. “If the warlocks are sensing power, there must be something near.”
“You sensing anything?” I lifted the Rossi, checked and found it was loaded, and slipped the loaded stock band over the butt.
“No, but then I seem to be limited to my home dimension.”
Shit. I was hoping she’d be a little more useful. I slung the Rossi onto my back and unzipped my coat so I could easily access the gun waiting in a holster there. “Okay, let’s go on foot.”
The driver waited behind and the others started walking; Peri fell in to step with me, Maximilian just behind, the lovebirds next, and Abel bringing up the rear. Eventually even the glow of the headlights behind us faded and my sharp night vision barely picked out the dips in the ground and rough outline of the road which quickly petered off. Hills rose on either side, black like the sky above, and even in daylight I knew we’d find it all scorched.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because I have a motherfucking shotgun on my back and a loaded Desert Eagle that could put a hole in God Himself.
“Stop,” Maximilian called and I did, turning to see him gazing around, squinting. “It’s here.”
Okay, I’d bite. “What is?”
“It’s strongest here.” His hands reached out, fingers splayed, feeling at the empty air as he walked left and then right. “If you’re looking for a doorway, it’s somewhere around in this space.”
Vague but it was something. I glanced over the magic
users. “And who is our resident dimension tearer?”
They all basically shot me looks that could kill, which was pretty much par for the course for the evening.
I moved my gaze to Nate next. “Seriously? You’re telling me you can’t?”
“Spells are like keys, doorway dimensions like locks,” he said.
And I picked locks for a living—this so didn’t matter to me. “Would your brother have known?”
He cut a wary look my way. “Probably.”
Easy solution, then. I dialled Nic’s number and she picked up after one ring. “I need Ellie to recall Sean’s memories and tell me what kind of spell they need to open a dimensional lock.”
“I don’t think—”
Dammit, I don’t pay you to think. “I don’t give a damn—”
“We’ll try the skeleton key version,” Nate cut over me, catching my gaze angrily. “Don’t hurt the boy.”
Whatever. Apparently they did develop a bromance, then. “Fine. Talk it out amongst yourselves.” And try not to kill anyone. I returned my attention to Nic. “Looks like El’s off the hook for now, unless we run into trouble.
“Is everything okay?”
“Peachy, besides the fact that everyone wants to kill me.”
“I don’t want to kill you,” Peri piped up. “This time.”
“Truly the apocalypse is nigh,” I said. “We’re at the place. We might not have reception if Harry Potter and company get the doors open and we pop over, so I figured I’d check in.”
“We’re fine,” she said, though I hadn’t really asked, voice going tight and wary. “He’s sleeping.”
I swallowed a thick lump in my throat. “Oh.”
“He seems like a sweet kid. I mean, he’s asleep, but Ellie said—”
“Don’t want to hear about it.” And I thrust the phone at Peri because if we were all gonna die, they should at least have a few words. I just didn’t want to hear any of them, so I took a few steps away from the group, maybe not entirely happy to have them at my back but at least assured a couple of them would probably stop anyone from shooting me.
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