|
*Warning - This is unedited, so there will be a few errors. A complete, edited book will be published when the whole story is complete :-) If you are missing chapters (or are signing up for the first time today) go to this link and enter your name into the form to receive old chapters.
Chapter Six
“Quick!” June hissed. “You need to hide!”
I looked around, frantic. “We just need a place small enough for Nim.”
“No, there’s every possibility they could see you if they had the right spells.”
Shit. Did Silas realize I was—uh, alive? Sorta alive? If he did, he’d definitely try to make me visible to him.
“You’ve got to get out of here.” June moved to the edge of her tent and peered out. Her face whitened. “They’re heading this way.”
“Create a distraction!” I said.
June nodded, racing to a small chest in the corner and pulling something tiny out of a drawer. I couldn’t see what it was, but she hurried to the side of her tent and launched the little thing into the air, sending it flying through the market. A moment later, an explosion sounded from somewhere on the other side of the underground space.
She turned to me, her expression intense. “Just a noise bomb, but it’ll draw their attention. Now you need to get out of here quickly. Head to the back of the market, there’s a secret exit through the sewers.”
Sewers? Ew.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Nim said, as if he understood my angst.
Little jerk was right. I shot June a grateful glance. “Thank you so much.”
She waved her hands in a shooing motion. “Now go!”
I nodded and turned, sprinting from the tent, Nim at my side. We stuck to the quieter, more shadowed areas at the edge of the market. I should be invisible, but even that wasn’t a sure thing anymore. June and Asher could see me, not to mention the possibility of a spell to reveal my presence to Silas’ goons.
“Up ahead!” Nim said. “I can smell it.”
“Oh, fantastic.”
Nim raced into the lead, jumping over baskets of goods and boxes piled on top of each other. I followed, drifting along in a run. We reached the sewer entrance—a weird square manhole that led down into the depths of the . The actual plumbing in the city was lower than the tunnels supernaturals used, and we needed to get down there. The lid was ajar, which allowed the stench to bellow out.
Nim slipped through the crack, and I drifted down through the metal cover, appearing next to Nim in a stinking sewer. It was nearly dark, with just the light from up above filtering down through the manhole. There were a few sections up ahead that flickered with pale electric light—maintenance lights, no doubt. A sluggish trail of water flowed through the middle of the sewer, with a pathway on the left.
Nim and I stuck to the path, and he looked back over his shoulder. “Come on, I know the way.”
“How the hell do you know your way around a sewer?”
“Rats, duh. Delicious.”
I grimaced. I’d fed him the best cat food money could buy, but he still had a racket going at the fast food place and the sewer. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
“They’re delicious! And I love a good chase.”
“Don’t tell me you eat the head.”
“Head is the best!”
“Oh man, you need to keep your private life more private.”
“You’re the one who went poking around in my business. Keep your head in your own trough.”
I ignored him and hurried along. “Are we almost to an exit? We need to get to Asher’s house.”
I didn’t want the cash bag around Nim’s neck to get stolen or worse, wet from the sewage. Asher was looking for any reason not to help me and stinky money would probably be one of them.
“Not far, come on.” He looked back at me, eyes glinting. “And be quiet. We don’t want to wake the rat king.”
“The rat king?”
“Yeah, this is rat domain. They fight us, we fight them. So when I eat them, it’s not really that unfair. They’d take me out if they could.”
What the actual fuck was going on here? I had no idea who my cat was anymore.
“Just get me out of here.”
Nim led me to an exit through a sewer drain. He scrambled up like a little gymnast, and I floated up through the ground, which was weird as hell. The sky was growing lighter as the dawn approached. We stood on an empty street in a quiet part of the city where the buildings were converted factories from the nineteenth century. It was one of the coolest parts of town.
“You said you knew where Asher lived?” I asked.
“Yeah, Sophia and I found his place. It’s not far from here.” He trotted off down the street, the little bag of money bouncing on his body as he moved.
I followed, passing by cool coffee shops that were just starting to open and quiet art galleries and stationary shops. We turned onto an even quieter street that was lined with huge trees and a massive old factory building with huge glass windows inset into the faded old brick. Magic pulsed faintly from the building, something that I probably wouldn’t have been able to sense before I was a ghost.
“This is his place, isn’t it?” I eyed the big building with its darkened windows.
“Yeah.” Nim prowled up to it. “He lives in the whole thing, but I don’t know if he uses it all. Sophia and I just saw him in this one big room on the bottom, doing his necromancy thing.” He shuddered.
“We need to find you an open window.” I scanned the building, spotting one on the second level that was close enough to a big tree. “There.”
“Got it.” Nim climbed the tree in a flash, hopping onto the window sill and looking down. “It’s his bedroom!” He hissed.
Jackpot. “I’ll meet you there.”
I drifted toward the wall, planning to just float through. I was about four feet from the brick wall when a shock hit me, sending pain singing through my muscles. I jerked backward. “Shit!”
“What is it?” My cat hadn’t gone in yet and was peering down at me from the ledge.
“Barrier.” I reached out and poked it, and the shock went straight up my arm. I winced and shook my hand.
“You never learn, do you?” Nim said.
“Shut it,” I snapped, studying the barrier. Okay, maybe he was right that I didn’t need to poke it a second time, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I scowled at the brick wall, still unable to see the physical barrier. But maybe that was the magic I’d felt that had wafted off this place?
Had to be. Probably some high level ward.
“I can wake Asher up for you,” Nim said.
“No, not yet. He’ll just kick you out and shut the window. I need to get right up in his face so he can’t turn me away.” Frustration seethed inside my chest.
Of-freaking-course a necromancer would have wards on his house to repel ghosts. He wouldn’t want us bugging him all the time. But how the hell was I going to—
“Behind you!” Nim’s voice jerked me out of my thoughts, and I whirled.
Horror exploded inside me at the sight of the plasma monster that was bearing down on me. It had the same jelly-like substance covering a skeletal form that the other monster had possessed, along with pits for eyes and serrated teeth in its bigass mouth. Bone chilling cold stole through my body, making me shiver violently.
Soul sucker.
Just like from the bar.
Holy crap, I was screwed.
The creature surged toward me. I couldn’t run from it—it’d catch me, no question. Fear bubbled up in my chest, sending a strange tingling sensation through my veins. It sparked along my nerve endings, a totally foreign sensation.
There was no thinking, only action.
I whirled around and hurled myself through the barrier. The tingling in my veins blasted outward as I passed through the magical shield that protected the house. Going through the ward hurt like hell. I nearly screamed. It felt like the ward was tearing the flesh from my bones even though I didn’t have any. I plowed through, terror driving me and some kind of magic protecting me.
The pain faded as soon as I made it through the ward. I was so close to the outer wall of his house that my nose was nearly pressed to the bricks. A sizzling sounded from behind me, and I whirled.
The soul sucker was lodged right in the barrier, frozen in place by the ward that had trapped him like a bug in a spider’s web. I was so close to him that I could see the dark smoke swirling around in the pits of his eyes. Every inch of my ghostly body vibrated with fear. If I’d had a heartbeat, it would have been racing.
The soul sucker hissed and struggled, trying to reach me, but it was frozen.
“If you made it through the ward, he might too.” Worry filled Nim’s voice. My cat had climbed halfway down the tree to check on me.
I had no freaking idea how I’d managed that, besides the fact that it felt like my whole body was sparking with magic. It pulsed through me even now, some kind of crazy charge that I couldn’t explain.
As the fear grew, so did the magic. It swelled inside me until I felt like a balloon that was about to pop. Every inch of me sparked with magic. With power. It would fill me up until I exploded.
“You look weird,” Nim said. “Sparkly.”
Instinct made me throw my hand out toward the soul sucker. I forced the magic away from myself, hurling it toward the monster. It blasted from my palm, a white electric light that slammed into the bastard. The creature shuddered.
What the hell was that? I stared at my hand as it shook. Magic? I didn’t do magic.
The power that had sparked within me faded a bit, but there was enough left that I tried again, hurling another blast of electric energy at the soul sucker. This time, the creature froze solid, the electric current seeming to bind up everything in his body. My magic had weakened him enough that he couldn’t fight the ward. He was stuck, totally immobilized.
“Weird,” Nim said from his spot on the tree.
Weird but also awesome. I had freaking magic!
“I’m okay.” I needed to stay it out loud, even to myself.
The soul sucker wasn’t dead, but it was definitely down for the count.
I grinned. Asher had saved me last time. This time, I’d saved myself. Hell yeah.
Yep. Badass extraordinaire, magical artifact thief who slung magic. That shit was going on my resume!
I’d have to tell Asher about the soul sucker that was stuck in his ward like a fly in his drink, but I’d wait until the opportune moment.
I looked at Nim, “Meet me inside.” Then I turned from the soul sucker and drifted through the brick wall, entering some kind of workshop that was filled with shelving and tables. All sorts of weird shit filled the shelves, from colorful vials of potion to weird metal tools and crystals and books.
Nim appeared on the other side of the room, coming down some stairs. “Follow me.”
He led me to a wide hallway and a set of free-floating stairs, then into a massive bedroom. Asher lay sprawled on the bed, asleep.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and damn was that a good look for him. He was ripped, with a lean kind of strength and muscles that looked hard as a rock even when he was relaxed. His messy dark hair fell over one eye, making him look even more rakish.
“Not such an asshole when he’s asleep,” Nim muttered.
“No indeed.” My gaze roamed over him. Too bad he was such a dick.
How should I do this? Should I just wake him up?
A loud yapping sounded from behind me, and I jumped. Asher launched himself out of bed, muscles tensed. He was all lethal grace, and his dark eyes fell on me. Irritation flashed.
A tiny chihuahua skittered in front of me, yapping up a storm.
Nim charged him, backing the little dog into a corner.
I barked a laugh. “This is Muerte?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Asher’s voice was rough with sleep and anger, and a little shiver went through me. Hot.
Ugh. Don’t be an idiot.
“First, we need to discuss him.” I pointed to the tiny dog. “That is Muerte?”
“Yeah.” It was clear Asher didn’t get what I was going for.
“I figured he’d be a badass Rottweiler or something. Not a tiny teacup dog you could put in a stroller.”
I almost thought that the corner of his mouth cocked up in a smile, but it was gone so fast that I’d probably imagined it. Irritation radiated from him like an aura, but confidence dripped from his voice. “I have nothing to prove.”
No, he didn’t. “So, you’re not going to acknowledge the stroller point?”
“Do I look like I’d put a dog in a stroller?”
My gaze roved over the tightly corded muscles of his chest and stomach to the dark promise in his eyes. What those eyes promised—whether it was pleasure or pain--I couldn’t say. But I think I would take either. Yeah, this guy screamed bad boy who knew how to show a girl a good time. And not the kind of good time that involved dog strollers headed to the farmers market.
I took one more appreciative look before moving my gaze to his chiseled jaw. Yeah, that was safer territory.
“How’d you get in here?” he demanded. “This place is warded like Fort Knox.”
“Not well enough.” I shrugged. “Plus, I’m a badass.”
He gave me a look that suggested he didn’t believe that. “How?”
“I walked through.”
“You walked through?” He gave me an incredulous look. “That ward should have torn you apart.”
Shit.
“Well, it wasn’t fun.” I eyed Nim, who was still cornering Muerte. The little dog had his teeth pulled back and looked like he could throw down as well as my cat.
“But still, you shouldn’t have been able to do it.” He eyed me suspiciously, then strolled over, every movement laced with deadly grace. He circled me like I was prey, his gaze moving up and down my body.
I shivered.
He ran a finger down my shoulder, and an arc of pleasure shot through me. I jerked away, whirling to face him. I had hours left to live. I couldn’t be distracted by eye candy.
“There’s something special about you.” Suspicion and interest flickered in his gaze.
“Which is why you should help me come back to life.” I brought home my earlier argument.
He gave me a look that suggested this again? “Jesus, desperate much?”
“Of course I’m desperate! I’m dead!” I pointed to Nim. “He’s got fifty grand in that pouch he’s wearing.”
Asher looked shocked for a moment, like he didn’t really think I could come up with the money but that was quickly masked into a scowl. “That’s not what we agreed on.”
“I’ll pee on all your stuff,” Nim said.
I looked at Asher. “Trust me, that cat has good aim.”
Asher gave Nimsy a deadly glare. “You’re threatening me?”
I stepped closer to the necromancer.
“Yeah. Definitely.” I smirked and cocked one hip for good measure. “I can get through your wards. Which means I’ll haunt the shit out of you until you agree to help me.”
“You’re only on this plane for a couple more days, max. I think I can take it.” He looked nonplussed.
“Can you really? Because I can make your life miserable.” I shrugged. “And don’t forget that I have some crazy special ward magic. Maybe I’ll find a way to stay on this plane forever. Then I could really haunt the shit out of you. And Nim will pee everywhere, all the time.”
“Yeah,” Nim added. “If she does croak, I’ll make it my life’s work to go on a pee parade through here. After I claw Muerte’s eyes out.” Nimsy gave the chihuahua an epic glare.
Asher grimaced and Muerte barked. “Fuck you homie! I’ll rip your tail off.” The chihuahua shouted in a- no joke- Mexican accent.
Jesus! The dog talked too.
Asher grinned.
“And I’d hate for your dog to join the circus.” I nodded toward the talking chihuahua. “I know just the place. I bet he’d love it.”
This negotiation was going south. I was going to have to think of something quick if he didn’t agree.
Asher just glared at me. Thinking. Not talking.
“So take the fifty grand, make me human again, and we can go on our merry way.”
Asher eyed me up and down, irritation flashing in his eyes. But there was something else there, as well. Interest? Attraction?
Nah. I wished. A little. But he was a dick. We’d finish this and split. That was best.
“Fine,” Asher snapped. “We’ll make it quick, then we’re done.”
Relief poured through me.
“Perfect.” I grinned widely at him. “Oh, and one other little thing. There’s a soul sucker stuck in your ward.”
He cursed. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
“It’s part of my charm.”
I waited for him to pull on a shirt while Muerte and Nim came to an uneasy truce. It involved some hissing and growling, but they chilled out once Asher took the money from Nim. He stashed it in another room, then returned to me. “Show me where that soul sucker is.”
I led him down the stairs and out onto the yard. We took the door since he obviously needed silly things like that. But when we reached the area where the soul sucker should have been trapped, it was empty.
“He’s gone.” A tingle of fear raced through me.
Asher met my gaze. “That means he’ll come back for you.”
Shit.
***
Leia will send out chapter seven next week! If you aren't already on her newsletter, sign up here to make sure you get it!
|
