Chapter 15

 

 

“Stupid isn’t a strong enough word to encompass this conversation,” Aaron declared. “I thought you wanted me here to make sure you didn’t get yourselves killed. Was that the goal? Or did you just want me to take notes for your tombstones?”

I swear, every time he opened his mouth it was the verbal version of throwing a gauntlet.

Maybe inviting the god of war to our planning session wasn’t such a good idea.

“If you’d like to come up with a better plan, we’re right here waiting,” Ryder said through clenched teeth.

“I’m not here to plan.” Aaron leaned back in the secondhand office chair and adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, his eyes sharp and happy. “I’m on vacation, remember? No war for this guy.”

I tried and failed to stifle a snort.

I was pretty sure Ryder was going to hit our local nursery owner in the face. After all, Ryder had recently proved he was wound up enough that he felt fists were a viable strategy for conflict resolution. So had I, come to think of it.

Rossi spoke up. Again. “He is coming for us. That we know. He knows Ben was taken right out from under his nose. He knows his lackeys were killed. He knows it is us.

“We choose our battlefield, here, inside Ordinary where we are stronger and he is weaker. We take the book to a void magic node, which might buy us enough time to use it to break the spell on Ben. Lavius will attack as soon as he senses the book is within his reach.”

“And when will it be within his reach?” I asked.

“As soon as I break the wards that mask it from him.”

“Can you do that after you cast the spell for Ben?”

“I can’t cast the spell with the wards on the book.”

“So,” Ryder asked. “How many minutes are we talking between you breaking the wards, and completing the spell casting?”

“One.”

“And how fast can Lavius be on our doorstep?”

“Seconds.”

“Someone else needs to cast the spell,” I said. “We’ll break the wards, you’ll meet Lavius’s attack and someone else casts the spell.”

“No one else can cast this spell.” Rossi’s eyes tightened. “It is…difficult. It is in the blood that flows through his veins. And it takes an ancient, a man of my making.”

“A vampire?” Ryder asked. Behind the word was the hint that there were a lot of vampires in the town.

“The maker who turned Ben.”

Oh. Well, we only had one of those and he was right there on the other side of the table glaring at Ryder.

Goodbye plan A.

“We’ll attack him, keep him occupied while you cast the spell. What do we hit him with first?” Ryder said, quickly moving on to the salient points. I liked that in a man. A knowledge of when to get to the violent stuff.

“There are weapons at our disposal,” Rossi said. “Some we should choose not to use.”

“Like Delaney?” Bathin asked. He’d kept his mouth shut for the last half hour, so I was sort of surprised he’d chimed in now.

“No,” Myra said to the demon. “Delaney is not a weapon and not going to be used as one.” Then to Rossi: “You said the bite wasn’t something we could use to kill Lavius.”

“It isn’t.” Firm. A challenge.

Bathin sighed. “For want of a nail, a kingdom is lost, old one.”

I thought I could hear Ryder’s knuckles crack as he tightened his fist. “You have something to add?” he asked the demon.

“This is not my sad little carnival. You don’t want my opinion.”

“Then keep your mouth shut.”

Right. Growling at the demon was going to shut him up. Why hadn’t I tried that?

“But since you asked so sweetly, Mr. Bailey,” Bathin said with a beatific smile, “that bite and the tie to Lavius it planted in Delaney can absolutely kill him.”

“No,” Rossi said. “It cannot.”

“You’re afraid of shadows, ancient one,” Bathin said. “And you’ll let every person in this town fall just to keep your promise to a man long dead.”

“Be silent,” Rossi snarled, “or I will cut your tongue out before your heart.”

“Whoa.” I stood up, hands extended, as if I could separate the demon and the vampire more than the table between them already did. “There are rules we follow here, Rossi. You know that. There is no killing allowed. Not between creatures, not between humans, not at all.”

Ryder was also standing, his hands loose at his sides like he was ready to pull a gun and start pointing it at someone.

I hoped he wasn’t armed because I was not prepared for this discussion to dissolve into a discharge of weapons.

“The demon is protected under the laws set into the very soil of this town,” Ryder said in that odd drone that happened when Mithra’s power was pushing hard on his willpower. “That we even have laws, rules, tenets to harbor a demon pisses me off. But if you break that law, Rossi, it won’t just be Delaney dishing out the consequences. It will be me, and the god of contracts through me.”

Rossi didn’t look even slightly cowed by either of our threats.

Aaron leaned forward in his seat, looking like he wished he’d brought popcorn for the show.

“Don’t add another layer of crazy to this cake,” I said to Rossi. “I’m already juggling all I can handle and I need death-of-the-demon-who-has-my-soul to be off the plate right now.”

I thought he heard me, his stance easing an infinitesimal amount, though his killing gaze never left Bathin.

“Delaney,” Bathin cooed staring right back at Rossi, stone to his fire. “Would you like to know what your father made Rossi promise him before he died? What he promised him about you?”

Rossi shot up out of his chair. I sprang forward at the same time, and so did Bathin. I leaned out in front of the demon, throwing myself between them.

And yeah, sadly, I was fast enough to do so before Rossi started around the table.

“Sit. The hell. Down,” I said.

A sliver of the murderous lust in his eyes seemed to cool. But if I didn’t know Rossi, if I hadn’t been around him since I was a kid, I would be terrified of him.

He chewed on that anger, the muscles at his strong jaw clenching, the meat of his lips stretching against the protrusion of his fangs. He wanted to kill the demon, right here over this cheap conference room table.

I didn’t blame him. The table was awful.

And so was the demon.

Instead, Rossi straightened and sat back in his chair.

I turned on Bathin, who in five minutes had caused more trouble than the literal god of war at the end of the table.

We didn’t have time to play games, didn’t have the luxury to squabble or fight or commit homicide.

 “Leave.” I told the demon. “You are not helping and I don’t have time for your shit. You serve nothing but your own desires and I do not have time to coddle self-absorbed monsters. Leave. Now.”

Bathin raised one eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to set me free on this succulent little town? Are you sure I won’t feast on all the sweet treats?”

“You do, I kill you.”

“Then you and I will be locked in death together. For eternity. Much more enjoyable than with your father. Perfectly cozy.”

“Gonna give you to the count of three,” Ryder drawled. He pulled his gun out from the side holster I had foolishly hoped he wasn’t wearing, and placed it on the table in front of him. “One.”

Bathin didn’t even bat an eye at the gun.

Myra reached into her pocket. Seriously? Had everybody brought guns to the conference room?

But she didn’t draw a gun. She withdrew a piece of chalk.

Okay…that was…weird.

Bathin instantly stilled, gaze, body, and breath focused on that slender white tube in her fingers.

She didn’t even look at him, but instead sketched something on the table top, quick sure strokes mapping a design, her dark hair tucked back behind her ears and swinging softly at the curve of her neck with each motion.

“What’s this?” Bathin asked, not even glancing at what she was drawing, but enraptured with her face. He leaned forward, fingers spread, fingertips pressed against the cool table top to hold his weight. The look on his face wasn’t fear. It was curiosity, humor.

And it was hunger.

“Do you think you have the leverage over me to complete this spell? You, a mortal woman? Do you think anyone does?”

She didn’t answer, so he just kept taunting her.

“You have been a clever little girl, haven’t you? I haven’t seen that form of rune in centuries. It didn’t work then, and the one who used it was a master spell worker who I had a vested interest in paying attention to. You could say I was mildly obsessed with him. You, though. What worth are you to me?”

“Hey,” I said, though it was actually better if Myra wasn’t something he thought was worthy. But still, he had insulted my sister, and I couldn’t let that stand.

She never once looked up, her eyes narrowed and shoulders set as she continued to draw.

“What is that?” I asked. “Myra, what are you doing?”

“No one has successfully thrown that spell on me,” Bathin continued. “You are going to be terribly disappointed in yourself when you fail. Do you think I want you—that you are something I want—that you could really send me—”

Myra finished her drawing, looked up, and met his gaze.

“How sad for you. It won’t—”

She snapped the chalk in half.

Bathin disappeared with the sharp bang of a popped balloon.

One minute he was standing there smoldering and smack-talking my sister, the next he was gone, leaving nothing but an empty seat and a hint of his aftershave behind.

Aaron gave her an admiring slow clap. “Nice.”

Myra leaned back against her chair and stared at the broken chalk in her hand for a minute. A pink blush washed up across her cheeks and down her neck. Then she straightened and pulled herself together, all business again.

She wiped her palm across the table top, erasing what she’d drawn and pocketed both pieces of chalk.

“My?” I asked, stunned. “What did you do?”

She smiled, and the smile turned into a breathy laugh. “I popped him out of here.” She snapped her fingers.

“I didn’t even…how did you know…was that magic?”

“It was. Found that little trick in an old journal Dad had in his stuff. The journal belonged to a dwarf who retired here. He didn’t like demons much.”

“Sindri,” Rossi supplied.

“That’s right.” Myra looked around the table. It was just me, Aaron, Than—who had been even quieter than Bathin—Ryder, Rossi and Myra here now. It felt so much more peaceful and friendly, now that Bathin was out of the picture.

“Now.” She turned to Aaron. “Don’t make me throw you out in a more mundane manner.”

Aaron lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I’m here because you wanted my opinion on your plan. I’ll give you my opinion, even if I think your plan is stupid. Which it is.”

“We already heard that,” Ryder said. “Suggest an alternative.”

Aaron shrugged. “I don’t get involved in the mechanics. I’m on vacation which means nothing you do will get me involved in the mechanics.”

Myra rubbed at her eyes, her hand covering her face for a moment.

“Hey,” I asked. “Did doing that magic do anything to you?” I knew all magic came with a price. I didn’t want Myra to be giving up something important when we could have just pushed Bathin out the door, or duct-taped his mouth shut and tied him to the table leg for a little peace and quiet.

“Other than make me happy to finally get him out of my sight?” she asked. “Not really. I’m a daughter of Ordinary, a Reed. I’m connected to the land via the will of the original gods who created the place. All I had to do was make sure I was grounded to the town and my place inside it. Ordinary kicked him out. I just drew the doorway and pushed it open.”

“Will it work on all demons?” Because that could be useful. I was already pulling together a plan for dealing with the possessed vamps I figured Lavius might throw at us. If we lured them to an area we had chalked up with that spell, we could get rid of them.

Myra opened her mouth, but Rossi answered.

“No it won’t work on all demons. Not in a broad stroke, as you’re thinking. It takes…the spell is counter-weighted by the demon’s own desire. He has to want something about the person who is casting it, be invested in them in some significant way. A desire to kill them, to make a deal with them, to possess them, to love them.”

Myra startled at that last thing.

I didn’t like where this was going.

“It’s not those,” she said firmly. “It worked because he knows how much I hate that he has Delaney’s soul. He wants to watch me squirm.”

Rossi studied Myra, a slightly quizzical look on his face. “One could assume so.”

Which was about as vague an agreement as I’d ever heard. I looked at Myra, trying to see what Rossi saw in her, what he suspected.

She looked satisfied, like a cat who had just finished a bucket of cream. She also looked a little flushed, her eyes glittery. All I saw was that my sister was happy. And victorious. She had enjoyed pulling that little trick. She had enjoyed tossing that smug know-it-all out on his ear.

“How long will he be gone?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Long enough for us to finish our plans. Rossi, is there some way we can use Delaney’s tie to Lavius to our advantage? If not to kill Lavius to trap him? Trick him?”

“Nothing that wouldn’t kill her. And that,” Rossi said, giving me both barrels of his attention, “is what I promised your father. That I would protect you and not willingly allow your death by any hand.”

“Oh,” I said, because that was all I could come up with. If I could still feel emotions, I was pretty sure I’d be touched and overwhelmed. “Thank you.”

“So we stick with the original plan?” Ryder asked. He’d retrieved his gun from the table and secured it in his holster.

“The original plan is wholly uninspired,” Aaron grumbled.

“It is clean and concise,” Rossi said.

“Tonight at moonrise we summon Lavius by breaking the ward on the book and casting the spell on Ben?” I asked.

“At the Party Putt Putt,” Rossi said.

“The mini golf course?” It was such a weird request. That little indoor mini-golf course and party space was, well, well-used was the most polite term I could come up with. It had been in Ordinary for years, and hadn’t had an upgrade since opening day. “Why there?”

Old Rossi looked a little exasperated, but Myra was nodding.

“Because,” Rossi said, “The magic void which will hamper his ability to access the power stored in the Rauðskinna is deep beneath the sand trap.” Rossi said that like he was explaining that the sun rose, the moon set, and evil vampires always had a backup plan.

“Right,” I said. “Of course it is. Than, will you be there?”

Death had been silent through most of the conversation, watching us with that calm attentive manner. He didn’t get worked up over the dramatics of the living, which I supposed made sense. He did seem interested in this particular scuffle with Lavius, and had readily agreed to be a part of this meeting.

He sipped his hot cocoa, which I knew was so delicious, it could make angels trade their wings in for whips. The cup looked delicate in his long fingered hands.

Than looked, well, not at ease, but like he was getting the hang of both the being mortal and vacationing thing. He seemed well-rested and comfortable in his Hawaiian shirt that featured pink flamingos melted à la Salvador Dali surrounded by bubbles so numerous and small, the remaining shirt looked like it was covered in googly eyes.

His shirt was staring at me.

Creepy with a tropical flair.

“Do you want me to be at the Party Putt Putt?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“You understand better than any that my power is at rest, Reed Daughter. Vampires linger in the gray places outside of Death’s reach. It has always been so.”

“I don’t want you to kill anyone.” Well, I did, but I understood he wouldn’t. Not without having to leave Ordinary and stay away for a year.

“I just…when we kill Lavius, which is the only acceptable outcome of this plan, I don’t want any surprises. I want him to be dead-dead. Declared dead by Death. All the way dead and not to rise again like some kind of nightmare in a striped shirt and fedora.”

“Did you marathon Friday the 13th movies again?” Myra asked.

“No.”

Yes.

“But I want zero Freddy Krueger action going on. I’d like a promise from you. From your power. Anything that dies tonight stays dead.”

“I see.” Than stood. “You will have no such promise from me for my promises are already given.” And then he walked out of the room, without looking back, without a single additional word.

“That was…what just happened?” I asked.

“I think…” Myra frowned. “I think you hurt his feelings.”

“Me? How? I wasn’t saying he was bad at his job. I just wanted him there. Even on vacation, he’s got a better handle on death than any of us at this table. I don’t think him standing on the side and declaring the time of death breaks the rules. Does it?” I threw a look at Ryder.

“No. He wouldn’t have to access his stored power to know if someone was dead. He’s got good eyes for that.”

 Aaron huffed. “Please. He told you he doesn’t want to be a part of your little fist fight, Delaney. This isn’t important to him. Vacation is important to him and you’re ruining it. Now you made death sulk before your big showdown. Smooth, Chief.”

“It’s fine,” Myra said. “Than doesn’t have to be there. It will be fine. We know how to kill Lavius, right?” She looked expectantly at Rossi.

“Oh, yes,” he said, low enough it made me shiver. “We do.”

Okay, even though I was worried (fleetingly) about disappointing Death, I knew the granddaddy badass vampire was on our side.

And that was good enough for me.