Pickup Styx (17 page)

“I know what you are,” I told her. “You need to come with me.”

She looked at me and then nodded at one of the men in sunglasses in front of the office. He started our way. I reached for Jessica so we could transport out, but she wasn’t beside me.
Shit.

Jessica was at the edge of the table with a dazed look. I pulled the fortuna from the crowd, and she didn’t struggle against me. Probably didn’t want to make a scene, but I needed the luck to break so the spell would be lost and Jessica would come back to her senses. As the man moved closer, I saw he was a jinni. The fortuna certainly wasn’t bringing me good luck.

“Call off your guard.” I pulled a dagger from my holding and rested it against her neck, though I had no intention of hurting her.

The jinni followed my darting glance at Jessica and grabbed her from the table, barely slowing his step. He wrapped his thick arm around her neck. Two more beefy men fell in line with him. I doubted I could fight one jinn, let alone three, without getting Jessica killed.

“I know who your father is,” I whispered to my captive half-sibling, never taking my eyes off the jinn. “If my friend is harmed, you’ll never know.”

This time the fortuna did pull away, and I let her go. She whirled around, stopping the bodyguards mid-stride with just a look. “Who are you?”

I looked into her eyes that were so like my own. “Family.”

She half smiled like she thought I was joking, but when she saw I wasn’t, it melted away. She narrowed her eyes. “Come to my office.”

I nodded. “Let my companion go.”

She looked over at Jessica, unconcerned. “The human will be fine.”

“I will not leave her with jinn. She stays with me.”

She shrugged and headed for the door, whispering something to the jinn on her way. Jessica was released, but she looked dazed and lethargic. I led her into the fortuna’s office.

The fortuna slowly went around her desk and stared at me from the other side. “Why do you think you’re related to me? I’m an only child.”

“If you didn’t think it was possible, then why call off your guards?”

“Chalk it up to curiosity.”

“I am related to you.”

She crossed her arms. “Let’s say I believe you. Why find me after all this time? What’s your angle?”

“Do you know who your father is?”

She hesitated before shaking her head.

“I think I do. As for why now, I just learned of your existence.”

She sucked in a breath. “What’s your name?”

“Let me run my test first. Then I’ll tell you anything you’d like to know.”

“What test?”

Jessica produced a crystal with a drop of my blood on it and muttered her spell into it. When it was the correct shade of purple, she offered it to the fortuna.

She looked at it with a wrinkled nose. “I’m not touching that. Do I look stupid?” She stood up. “I was intrigued but now I don’t care. Take the witch and leave.”

I held up a hand to stop her. “The crystal has my blood on it. She has activated it with a spell, and when it touches someone who is related to me, it will turn black.”

“Riiiigggghhhht.” She leaned forward, flattening both palms on the desk. “And why would you care if I’m related to you?”

“There’s a curse on my bloodline. It’s killing family I never knew I had. Call me sentimental, but I’d like to get to know my relatives before they die.”

“And how did you find me?”

“Another spell. I didn’t know who I was looking for until I saw you. You have my eyes.”

“So if I’m related to you, I’m going to die? Doesn’t really sound like a perk.”

“Not if I can help it.”

She held out her hand to Jessica. “Give me the crystal. Just know if you harm me, those jinn will never let you get out of the building alive.” Jessica placed the crystal in her palm. It turned black, and the fortuna sat down in her chair, crossing her long legs. “Start talking.”

“I am the Erlking, Cheney.”

Her mouth fell open and she shook her head incredulously. “You can’t be. You’re so young.”

“I’m older than I look.”

“My mother said I was the daughter of the Erlking, but I thought she was lying. Or at least I thought you’d be older. I do kind of have your eyes.” She looked me up and down. “So you’re my father?”

“What? No.” I frowned. “I took the throne from
our
father. I’m your brother. Now, do I have to keep thinking of you as ‘the fortuna’ or are you going to tell me your name?”

“Lily.” She flashed a smile. “Lily Matthews. Brother, huh. Never wanted a brother.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

She shrugged. “Where is our father?”

I settled in to catch her up on the highlights when what sounded like a riot erupted outside her office. Lily bolted to her feet, but I beat her to the door. I opened it to chaos. People rushed in every direction. Screams and shouts filled the air. Bodies thudded to the floor with finality.

“Let me out,” she said, pulling at me. “They’re tearing up my club.”

That was when I saw it, and it saw me. My eyes connected with the elverpige’s as it murdered its way through the room. Petite and lithe, with long flowing hair and full lips pulled back in a snarl. Deathly pale or not, it was a face I knew well and would never forget.

“We have to go.” I grabbed Lily and Jessica, transporting them out of the room and back to the castle entrance.

Lily stared at the huge doors and then winked. “So this is our home sweet home, brother?” She strode inside.

Jessica looked like she might puke. I helped her inside, where Lily was already moving on to the next room. Jessica brushed my hand off her arm. “I’m fine. Keep an eye on her. She isn’t remotely trustworthy.”

I caught up with Lily. In the brightly lit castle, she even reminded me of my sister.
My sister.
Dread filled me. How could he be so cruel as to bring Bellasiel back as an elverpige? “We need to talk,” I told Lily.

We went to the room off of the throne room. I was hesitant to take her into the private quarters yet. Sister or not, I didn’t know her at all. I explained to her what I knew about the killings and our father’s possible involvement.

“How many brothers and sisters do I have?”

I did a quick mental count of all the locations I’d seen in my head and added in the other siblings I knew about. “So far, not counting me, six.”

“But you’re the only legitimate?”

“No. I had a sister, but she died a long time ago. It is her spirit that was brought back to kill all of us.”

“Wow. Our family is kind of fucked up, huh? Why was she killing everyone in the club?”

I nodded. “An elverpige will kill anything or anyone who stands in its way.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I don’t want to lose any more of my family today.”

“You don’t know me at all. I hardly qualify as ‘family,’ and let’s face it, I don’t know you either. Why should I trust you?”

I smiled. “I got you away from the elverpige.”

“She might just be after you. You might have taken me only because you think I can give you enough luck to hide from her.”

“All of that is possible—not true, but possible.”

“Why do you want to save me?”

“If I save you, I might be able to get to know you, provided that you want anything to do with us after this. I’m running low on family and wouldn’t mind having a little more.”

She nodded, staring at her hands. “You know, ironic as it is, I’ve never actually had good luck. Sure, I feed on other people’s luck, but personally my life has been one disaster after another.” She looked up at me. “Finding out I’m the daughter of an Erlking might just turn that around. You know, provided it doesn’t kill me first.”

Her comment triggered several thoughts, but the notion that she was going to start blackmailing me was the highest on the list.

“Can I ask you something?”

I raised my eyebrows and waited with the lowest expectations. “If you found me this easily, why didn’t our dad?”

Not what I’d expected at all. I rubbed my hand over my forehead. “Father doesn’t believe in blending the races.”

She snorted. “Sure doesn’t practice what he preaches.”

“Apparently not.”

“But you’re okay with it? The blending thing.”

I smiled. “I’m married to a half-elf.” Technically that wasn’t quite true anymore because Selene had broken the bond between us, but I figured I shouldn’t confuse Lily further. Besides, as soon as Selene got back, we’d be married once again, and we’d work every damn day to get the happily ever after we deserved.

“I’ve heard that. People aren’t too happy with you.”

“They’ll get over it.”

“I’d love to meet her,” she said. Her foot started tapping as she looked around the room. “So what’s your plan to keep us alive?”

“I can’t say I have one yet. This is the first time I’ve been ahead of the elverpige. I have to figure out who’s controlling her or she’ll never stop. You should be okay inside the castle. We’re warded against most magic. She’ll have a hard time getting in.”

“That’s it? You expect me to just hide in the castle? I have a business to run. I need something a little more concrete.”

“You mean you have people to cheat.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Call it what you like. I make a living.”

I sighed. “You shouldn’t have to be here very long.”

“How long?”

“It will all be over by tomorrow.” At least I needed it to be over by tomorrow.

“How can you be so sure?”

“The elverpige is right down the road. Ready or not, I will defeat it or die trying.”

Lily stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “Well, let’s see if one night in a castle turns me into a princess.”

Lily had retired to one of the guest rooms, and I was back in my office with the coven and Sebastian.

“Okay, so we all know that in Greek mythology Charon uses the pole like an oar to take souls to the Underworld, but from what we could find, that isn’t precisely accurate,” Leslie said, pacing and speaking with her hands.

“The pole is more than just an oar. I’m paraphrasing here, but”—her eyes and her finger scanned over an old journal Edith had provided—“the pole allows the veil between worlds to be opened.” She looked at us for a response, but no one said anything.

“Yeah, it didn’t mean much to me either until I read more about the veils between worlds. They aren’t meant to be opened and closed. That’s why there’s purgatory between the living world and Hell. The veil there is weak and many demons have escaped into purgatory.”

My stomach tightened as I thought of Selene there alone.

“The pole could be used here to let anything in. But what really worries me is that the veil between the living and the undead world and between the Abyss and the human world are both tight and, for lack of a better word, brittle. If the pole is used here, I’m not sure the veil will heal.”

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked.

“Once it’s opened, it could stay open. Do you know why they requested the Pole of Charon?”

I shook my head.

“That should concern you,” she said seriously. “I don’t know how much damage this could do, but it may be a lot. Like more than you could manage.”

“I’m willing to bet the spirits want it to bring themselves back to the Abyss. After that, who knows what they will do with it? Without the veil, our world crumbles,” Sebastian said.

I rubbed my hands together and stood. The dead who came through the veil wouldn’t be ghosts, but they wouldn’t be living either. I didn’t know what they would be. And the veil separating us from the human world? If that came down, it would be chaos and war. Countless people would die. “What are you suggesting?”

“Maybe. . .” Sebastian swallowed and looked uncomfortable. “Maybe the best way to prevent disaster is to not let her come back.”

I blinked. I couldn’t believe he’d even proposed such an idea. The coven looked at him as if he’d said he was thinking about wearing women’s underwear. I understood his logic, but Sebastian was asking me to give up my heart, my soul, because of the mere chance of disaster. “I can’t let her go.”

“I know,” he said softly. “But . . .” He shook his head. “I know. . .I don’t want to leave her either.” He straightened his shoulders and resumed his military stance. “Then we need to prepare for the consequences of her succeeding.”

“I can’t believe you even suggested not letting Selene back as an option. What the hell is your problem?” Jessica said.

“Whatever happens, we will deal with it. Selene isn’t staying there.” Katrina jabbed a finger into his chest.

Leslie held up her hands. “Sebastian is right. We need to be prepared or who knows what will happen? I don’t want Selene to be gone any more than the rest of you do, but I’m also not quite ready for the world to end.”

“It’s not really up to us though, is it? If she gets the pole and makes it back, we can’t stop her from returning. There is no way to get word to her about the consequences,” Sebastian said. “Well, unless Frost agrees.”

I glared at Sebastian. I couldn’t believe he was still considering it. It troubled me even more that he almost seemed to have a plan.

Sy sat still, his eyes following the conversation, but he didn’t say anything.