Ashes to Ashes-Blood Ties 3 (17 page)

At the bottom of the stairs was a laundry room with no door, and a single apartment marked B. I was about to knock on the door when it opened.

There was a weird second when my brain registered that it wasn't Cyrus standing there. My first thought was,
It's the wrong apartment
. My second was,
Oh shit
. Dahlia seemed to be having the same thought process. Hers ended just a bit before mine. Her reflexes were better.

She grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the wall.

Chapter Nine: In the Flesh

I had no time to react. Dahlia's face hovered centimeters from mine, and her hand at my throat tightened. The tips of her nails dug into my skin.

"What are you doing here?" She slammed my head into the wall. I felt the plaster crumble beneath my skull.

I pulled my feet up and kicked her, kangaroo style, so hard she bounced off the opposite wall. "I was invited, bitch!"

"Lucky you." She held up her hands and formed a flaming blue ball of energy. I lifted my arms to shield my face. Before she could release her spell, the door beside me flew open.

"Dahlia!" Cyrus strode into the hallway, a towel slung around his hips. I don't know if it was a reflex left over from her days as Cyrus's obedient pet, or if she was as overwhelmed as I was by his presence, but Dahlia condensed the murderous energy between her palms. When she opened her hands, it was gone.

"What the hell is she doing here?" she demanded, planting her fists on her wide hips in a bizarre imitation of an exasperated housewife. The gesture seemed all the weirder owing to her vampire face, which she made no move to cover.

In the tone Cyrus had used to placate me many, many times, he asked, "Why so jealous now? You know the history between us. She's an acquaintance, nothing more." I made a point of ignoring his remark. I'd seen him wheedle Dahlia this way before, and it nauseated me. Not to mention the fact that I found myself slightly bothered by the label

"acquaintance."

We'd been enemies. We'd been lovers. We'd been friends. Sometimes all at once. I loved Nathan, but a part of me wouldn't, would probably never, give up loving Cyrus. Dahlia wasn't stupid. She knew this. It was why she glared at me, though her expression softened a bit. Her animosity gave me a frightening glimpse into the truth of Cyrus's feelings for me.

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Besides," he continued, "I've made it very clear to you that I'm not interested in having you around too often, haven't I?"

Her angry gaze jerked from me to him. "If I hadn't promised your father I wouldn't kill you, I would kill you."

I chuckled at her poorly worded threat. It was a mistake. She shoved Cyrus away and stalked toward me. "Do you have something to say to me?'" Shaking my head, I smiled. "No, I don't."

She turned back to Cyrus. "You better pray I don't tell your daddy I saw her here."

"My 'daddy' doesn't give a damn about me," Cyrus said with a shrug. "Tell him whatever you want. Just don't bother coming around here again, if you do." Her manner changed immediately. "Sweetie, you know I'm just playing. Where's your sense of humor?"

"In my other pants, apparently." He kissed her forehead and gave her a shove toward the stairs. "See you next week?"

She glowered at me as she answered, "We'll see." Then she swept up the stairs, and the sound of the slamming door signaled her departure.

Cyrus turned to me with absolutely no humor in his expression. "You're early."

"I didn't realize she'd still be here." I followed him into his apartment. The bathroom was immediately to my right as we stepped through the door. I could see the shower, a bleak white stall, with the water still running.

"We lost track of time." Cyrus walked over—well, took a few steps, the bathroom was so tiny—and turned it off. With absolutely no pretense of modesty he dropped his towel and reached for the jeans slung over the towel rack.

I turned my back. "Whoa, a little warning would be nice."

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," he reminded me smugly. "Well, except for this damn soft stomach I'm getting."

I heard the smack of a hand against wet skin and rolled my eyes. "I always thought you could use a little meat on your bones. Your hips were always so sharp when… " I let the sentence die. We both knew the when, and it made at least one of us profoundly uncomfortable. I wandered on into the apartment. A sofa bed, unfolded and in disarray from his tryst with Dahlia, took up most of the room. On the far wall were counters, cupboards, a sink, a stove, and a lime-green refrigerator that had probably existed long before my birth. A small bookcase held a few volumes, including a Bible. I looked over my shoulder to make sure he was still in the bathroom before I picked it up. True to my luck, he came out the second I touched the cover.

"Snooping through my private things, exactly how I remembered you." He took the Bible from me and tossed it back on the shelf.

"I never pegged you for the religious type." I started to sit on the bed and thought better of it, considering who'd just left.

Cyrus gave me a withering glance, as if to say,
Oh, grow up
. He folded the mattress and replaced the cushions while I waited. "Maybe you've misjudged me. Again."

"I prefer to think you constantly surprise me." I shrugged. "I didn't mean anything by it." He sighed heavily as he tossed two throw pillows onto the couch. "
She
wanted me to read it."

Of course
. Cyrus's lost love, the other human hostage of the Fangs. "Oh."

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"Don't we feel the tiniest bit insensitive now?" He flashed me a smile that was clearly meant to cover his lingering touchiness about the girl he'd called Mouse. Changing the subject held the promise of alleviating this awkwardness. And I handled Cyrus a lot better when I was being a hard-ass and not a friend. "What was Dahlia here for?"

"Sex." He dropped onto the couch and leaned against the cushions. "So I hope you weren't looking for some. My mortal body is exhausted. And sore."

"I don't need to hear it." I held up my hand. "I know she had a major hard-on for you before, but she was trying to become a vampire. Why would she want you now? You're just a grocery store clerk."

"Yes, make a joke, Carrie. You were always so funny." His inflection implied the word was used meant ironically.

I held up my hands in mock defenselessness. "Hey, you were the one who was supposed to be getting information. And I'm sorry, you can't possibly be buying it with sex. She's a vampire now. She could have anyone she wants."

"I
was
getting information. What little she'll give me," he grumbled. "I used to be one of the most powerful of our kind, now I'm just…" He let the statement die with a groan of disgust.

I sat down next to him. "Well, what
do
you know?"

"Apparently, Jacob is still working toward his demented goal of godhood. And he has an ally." Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Anything you haven't heard before?" I shook my head. "He's working with the Oracle. That we knew. She's been speaking through Bella."

How much should I tell Cyrus about the situation? Too much of his former nature had returned. Was it possible he played both sides?

As if he could read my mind, he leaned forward and put a hand on my knee. I jumped at the contact, and expected to see a smug grin spread across his face, but he remained deadly serious. "Carrie, do you think I want my father to succeed in this?"

"I don't know. Two months ago you were… broken down or something. Now it's like you're back to normal. But that's bad. I remember how you were." I closed my eyes.
I will
not cry in front of him. I will not let him know how much what he did to me still hurts
.

"I'm not that person anymore." He touched my cheek, and when I opened my eyes, I saw his shone with tears. "I can't be. I know you think what happened between Mouse and me was all just the result of living in fear for our lives, but I can't believe that. If I did, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning. I loved her. I have to believe she loved me, because she told me. I never hid who I was from her, and she still loved me. I can't go back to being that monster. If I did, I would be letting her down." I wiped at my eyes, not wanting to shed tears for him. It would seem weak, and a part of me feared he would laugh as if I'd fallen for an elaborate prank.

"Of course, I've had to do certain distasteful things to survive…" He trailed off. "But never mind about that."

I bristled at the quick way he'd changed the subject. But since he was on our side, I assumed I could trust him. "All we know is that the Oracle is heading to Boston. We don't know how to find the Soul Eater or how to fight either of them." He nodded. "Dahlia said she was contacted by one of his men. They want her to do some

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

spell to ferret out a weapon the Oracle prophesied."

"A weapon?"

"Apparently it's something she said centuries ago. There's some sort of weapon, and whatever side controls it will have the loyalty of every earthly vampire. 'A sword forged of the flesh of all vampires, bathed in the blood of the traitors.' If the Oracle is free, I'm sure he's worried that she remembers, and is simply trying to beat her to it. Or stay close to her to con her out of it." Cyrus inclined his head. "Actually, it is something my father has been working on for some time. Very complicated stuff."

I leaned forward, squashing my hopeful eagerness. "Do you remember what it was?"

"He didn't tell me." Cyrus rubbed his forehead. "Jacob gave me tasks and I obeyed. I never questioned."

I covered my face with my palms. "So, there's a weapon out there. And who will get it first is anyone's guess."

"It's an almost one hundred percent certainty that our side won't get it," he pointed out.

"Since the Movement clearly isn't looking for it."

"Our side?" It seemed so strange that he'd attached himself to a cause that wasn't entirely self-serving.

He sent me another withering look. "The side that is not my father's. Anyone with half a brain should be on it, by now."

"Nathan and I will research this sword. Hopefully, we'll get a break before Max and Bella find the Oracle." The prospect of reading well into the daylight hours made me suddenly sleepy.

Cyrus tapped his lips thoughtfully with his forefinger. "I wonder if it is some kind of riddle. You said Bella has heard the Oracle's thoughts? What if that's indicative of some kind of power Bella has?"

"She
is
a werewolf. They specialize in magic." I rolled my eyes. "You know, the kind of magic spelled with a
k
at the end."

"The kind your boyfriend peddles in his shop," Cyrus pointed out. "The kind that pays your rent."

"Touché. I'll give Max a heads-up." Nathan's cell phone tucked in my back pocket, began to sound a classical melody. "Yikes, that will be him. I have to go."

"Max?" Understanding caused a scowl to cross Cyrus's face. "Oh, the other him." I ignored the ringing, though I knew I would play a game of twenty thousand questions when I got home. "Listen, don't give Dahlia the brush-off right away, if you can stand her for a bit longer. Any information you get would help us out."

"Oh, I think I can stand her."

"God, not only are you human, you're a fourteen-year-old boy." I shook my head. "Listen, find out what you can about Dahlia, but be safe."

"Do you honestly believe she'll harm me?" He laughed. "She was obsessed with me."

"Yeah, and she asked me to kill you. Besides, you have no idea where she's been. I haven't really looked into whether STDs can be transmitted from vampires to humans, but best play it safe for now." I didn't know what the appropriate goodbye gesture would be, so I held out my arm for an awkward handshake.

When he pulled away, he looked anywhere but at me. "I'll try to find out where Jacob is. I'm sure Dahlia must know. She's on his payroll."

Create PDF
files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (
http://www.novapdf.com
)

"That would great. Thanks." I turned to go, and I'd reached the door when his voice stopped me.

"Thank you for not giving up on me, Carrie."

I glanced back and gave him a tremulous smile. "I don't know if I ever could." When I reached the street I ran the short distance home, invigorated by new hope and relief that something finally seemed to be going right.

Bella had slept for the rest of the night and all day, though she'd made valiant attempts to stay awake the few times she rose to get a drink or use the bathroom. Finally, just before sunset, Max had been forced to wake her.

She'd grumbled and shuffled around, getting ready, but hadn't gotten sick again, and as far as Max was concerned, that was all that mattered.

"I had the flu just before I was sired," he said, trying to sound sympathetic as they zoomed down the freeway. "It sucked."

She only nodded. "I do not have the flu. Are you sure you are driving the speed limit?"
Definitely not
. "No one ever gets pulled over in Pennsylvania ," he assured her.

"I would not know. I have never broken the law here before," she chided, leaning forward to fiddle with the dials on the radio. "Can we listen to something that is not so violent sounding?"

Max frowned. He'd had the classic rock station on since they'd crossed the Ohio border, but the signal had begun to fade. Still, he didn't want to end up listening to some latenight, lonely-hearts-sappy-dedication hour, either. "I wouldn't call Tom Petty violent sounding, but if you can find something else, go for it Just no chick music."

"Chick music?" Amusement colored her voice, and when he took his eyes from the road for a second he saw a smile bend her mouth.

"Yeah, chick music. Alanis Morisette, Fionna Apple," he shuddered. "Tori Amos." Bella laughed and turned her attention back to the radio.