Strange Fates (Nyx Fortuna) (17 page)

He shook his head. “The fun stuff. Help yourself to whatever you’d like, but you must return it if you move out of the apartment.”

“Deal,” I said. I spotted a red-and-chrome table and chairs from the fifties and added them to my pile.

I noticed rows and rows of carved shelves, filled with old books.

“You have enough books to stock a library down here,” I commented.

“You like to read? Take what you like,” he offered.

I did like to read. I spent a lot of time alone and television, although fascinating to me from a technical standpoint, didn’t hold my interest for long.

Ambrose pointed to a small bookshelf. “Take that, too.”

We carried up the pinball machine, a box of books, and the Victorian wheel of fortune on the first trip, and made a second trip back for the table and chairs.

He looked around. “This place doesn’t look so bad now.”

“Not bad at all,” I said. In fact, it felt like home. “Want a beer?”

He took out a silk handkerchief and mopped his brow. “Yes, please,” he said. “Hauling furniture up three flights of stairs is thirsty work.”

I opened the fridge while he peered in over my shoulder. “Not much in here.”

I handed him a cold bottle.

“I’m starving,” Ambrose said. “I know a place that makes a great burger. And they deliver.” He took out his cell and placed an order, then popped the top off his beer and took a long swig.

“How long have you lived in Minneapolis?”

He gave me a mischievous glance. “Long enough.”

“You’ve gone out of your way to be nice to me. Why?”

He hesitated. “I have a personal interest.”

All my senses went on alert. “In me?”

He nodded. “I was like you once. Young and alone.”

His words held a ring of truth, but it just made me more paranoid. I cleared my throat. “I appreciate it.” I did, even if I didn’t entirely trust it.

Our burgers arrived and we sat in the kitchen to eat. Ambrose barely waited to unwrap the burger before he tore into it. His teeth ripped into the meat, and I realized he reminded me of something. In Germany, I’d spied a wolf hunting in the dead of winter. Aging and battle-scarred, the animal had stood over his kill with the same ferocious stare as Ambrose’s.

“Talbot is a sensitive boy and he doesn’t make friends easily,” he said. “I had hoped he had confided in you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “About?”

“That girl,” he said, spitting out the words, along with a chunk of burger. “Naomi. She is nothing but heartbreak for my son.”

I didn’t comment. His stare grew in intensity. “Has he said anything to you?”

I deflected the question. “Why don’t you ask him?”

His eyes narrowed. “You haven’t touched your burger.”

I bit into it and delicious hot cheese lava singed my tongue. “Cheese in the burger,” I mumbled. “Nice.”

“You’re telling me you don’t know anything about Talbot and a daughter of Fate?” Ambrose continued.

“I don’t know anything about Talbot and some girl,” I replied.

He frowned and went to the fridge for another beer. “It’s reached my attention that the Fates are looking for someone,” he said casually.

I nearly choked on my burger. “Someone?”

“Or something,” he replied. “A Tracker came into the store last week.”

I pretended a calm I didn’t feel. “A Tracker?”

“He was looking for someone. Someone very special.”

“And?” My meal sat heavy in my stomach and I had to fight the urge to throw up.

“Do you still claim you don’t know anything of Talbot?”

“I can’t tell you anything about Talbot and his love life.” He was talking about Talbot’s obvious crush on my cousin, but I wasn’t going to be blackmailed into selling out my only friend. Or my cousin.

Ambrose harrumphed a bit, but seemed to realize he wouldn’t get anywhere. His eyes weren’t unkind when he looked at me and said, “I don’t think the Tracker will be back. He seemed to believe me.”

I released a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.

“You can come to me if you are in trouble, Nyx,” he said.

“I don’t know anything about a Tracker,” I lied. I needed to handle the Gaston situation on my own. “But thanks.”

“Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?” I asked. “I thought you might have remembered something about your attack.”

“I know who attacked me,” Ambrose said casually.

“You do?” I was floored. He’d never given any indication that he knew any more than I did. “Who?”

“It is being taken care of,” he said. “I want you to stay out of it. Both you and Talbot.” His teeth gleamed long and white when he smiled.

I kept my mouth full so I didn’t have to answer. His voice had dripped acid. There was definitely history there. Ambrose sounded like he would make whoever had attacked him pay.

“I heard the Fates were having problems. That someone tried to poison Deci.”

“Interesting.” His face went blank.

“What have you heard?”

He hesitated. “Nothing concrete,” he finally said. “They want information about you, of course. But there seems to have been a shift of power recently. Their powers are waning as another’s gains ascendancy.”

“Why should I care?” I asked. I wasn’t particularly attached to my aunts, but the notion that there was a faceless, nameless sorcerer or witch waiting in the wings to snatch their power didn’t set right with me somehow.

“I had thought you were fond of Naomi,” he replied. “Despite your unfortunate history with the Fates.”

Ambrose noticed more than I had given him credit for. I was fond of my cousin, even though it made my plans for revenge more complicated.

I gave him a sharp look, but he only smiled blandly.

“What could cause such a shift?” I asked.

He hesitated. “I’ve been hearing some disturbing rumors. There is talk that the Wyrd line is dying out.”

“But what about Naomi? And she mentioned a cousin Claire.”

“They’re young. And I believe that someone may be launching an attack against the Fates.”

“To what end? And what kind of power?”

“You’re not going to like it,” he said.

“Tell me,” I said through gritted teeth.

“They took a book.”

I swore. “What kind of book?”

“The Book of Fates,” he replied. “It’s Deci’s responsibility to keep the book and it’s missing. Every House has a book, but that one has information about a particular prophecy.”

“What’s the prophecy about?”

“In a nutshell, you.” He took a swig of his beer.

“Me? What does it say?” I tried and failed to act like I had no idea what he was talking about.

“A male from the Wyrd line will bring down the Fates,” he finally said. He cleared his throat. “‘He, born of Fortune, shall let loose the barking dogs as the Fates fall and Hecate shall rise.’”

Ambrose knew who I really was and hadn’t used the information. I might as well cop to it. “Is that why the Fates want me dead?” I’d always thought they were out to get me because my mother had outwitted them and stolen time for me, but maybe there was more to it.

“Maybe,” Ambrose replied. “There are certainly others who are betting the prophecy is true. But from what I can tell, they aren’t so keen on keeping you breathing, either.”

“So there are two sides, both magic, waging war? And everybody wants me dead because of this prophecy?”

“That pretty much sums it up,” he said.

“And you? Which side are you on?” I asked.

“I’m Switzerland,” he replied. “Not on either side.”

“Why? Because I saved your life?”

He nodded. “That, and because I think the prophecy is wrong. Prophecies are tricky things. The question is, what do you intend to do about it?”

I met his eyes. “Whatever it takes.”

After he left, I dug out the book I’d been reading. I stayed up for another hour, but it wasn’t looking good for poor Chance. I reluctantly shut the book and turned out the light. I dreamed of bloody wizard duels.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Working at Parsi Enterprises all week and then Eternity Road on the weekends left me with little free time, but I finally got a Sunday off. It was a tantalizingly warm spring day. The weather couldn’t be counted on to stay that way, though, and I had no intention of spending my only day off inside.

I also wanted to investigate the lake.

The water looked smooth and serene, but I could see dark shapes below. It reminded me of the water hag in the pool. Had Willow sent her?

“I got your little present,” I called to a listening wave. There was no answer and I started to turn away when Willow appeared.

“Come closer, Nyx,” she said.

“When does the lake thaw, Willow?”

“It is thawed now,” she said.

“Only for water nymphs,” I said. “When will the water be warm enough for me?”

“That would be foolish, even for the son of Fortuna,” she warned.

I sat at the water’s edge and she flopped beside me and dangled her feet into the water.

She saw me staring at her legs and gave me an icy stare. “Not all water nymphs have tails.” She snaked a hand through my open jacket and unbuttoned a button on my shirt. Her cold touch should have repulsed me, but my body responded.

I captured her hand before it went into the danger zone. “Stop it.”

“I am merely checking to see if you have a heart,” she replied.

“I have a heart and it belongs to someone else.”

“What does that mean?” she scoffed.

“It means I’m in love with someone else.”

I knew she was strong, but she gripped my hands so fiercely that I winced. “The mortal? You think she will make you happy?”

“She does make me happy,” I said.

“Wanting something to be true doesn’t make it so,” Willow replied. Her eyes held equal parts sadness and longing.

I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in. I wanted just one taste of her lips. They’d taste cold and sharp. Her expression told me to come closer. There was less than a breath between us when I remembered Elizabeth and gained the strength to pull back.

“Don’t try your tricks with me,” I muttered.

“Tricks? I used no tricks.” She seemed bewildered, but nymphs were good at pretending emotions they didn’t feel, to lure men to their doom.

“But I wanted to kiss you.”

Willow gave a disgusted little snort. “Men,” she said. “Blaming others for their own desires.”

“You mean you didn’t…?”

She met my eyes. “I didn’t have to,” she said.

“I’ve got to go,” I said abruptly. I’d almost kissed her, had wanted to desperately, and couldn’t even blame it on magic. There was an angry splash as Willow left me.

I waited until there wasn’t anyone around and then stripped down.

I dove in and swam down as far as I could. I thought my lungs would burst. Nothing. I had gone back  to the surface, gulping blessed air, when a slight movement caught my eye, but before I could investigate, a naiad appeared, then another. They moved so quickly. I was surrounded.

I tried to swim away, but Willow caught me easily. “Shush, son of Fortuna,” she said. “You are in my domain now.”

That name on her lips startled me for a moment. It had been so long since I’d heard it, except as a curse on my aunts’ lips.

“What do you want?” I asked her, but it was pretty clear. The rest of her pack eyed me with hungry gleams in their eyes. A water hag past her prime wrapped a scaly finger around her seaweed hair and twirled it flirtatiously. She smiled, which revealed teeth like razors.

Naiads were merciless, not anything like the shy water nymphs portrayed in legend. Whoever had spread that particular mythological rumor had obviously never met a naiad. They had one weakness, if you didn’t count the fact that they liked to suck the marrow out of their victims, preferably male ones.

“Can’t we talk about this? There must be something you want.”

She shrugged. “I have everything of yours that I want. Or I will shortly.” She bent to suck the breath from my lips.

“Wait!” I gurgled. “I’ll grant you a boon.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Swear it!”

“I swear that I, Nyx Fortuna, grant—” I looked inquiringly at her to make sure I was using the proper words.

She nodded.

“—grant Willow the Naiad a boon of her choosing,” I paused for breath. I wouldn’t put it past her to demand my soul just for the fun of it. “Such boon shall not require the loss of life or freedom of Nyx Fortuna or those he holds dear,” I added.

She moved closer and whispered, “What you seek lies beneath, but be very sure you are willing to pay the price before you venture again into my domain. Next time, I won’t be so kind.”

She wrapped her arms around me and dove into the black depths. I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I was on the shore, sputtering and coughing.

I rolled over and vomited a stream of water. I gasped and filled my lungs with air. I’d had a lucky escape. That wasn’t going to stop me, however, from going back down to the dark depths. But next time, I’d be better prepared.

I drove home, feet freezing in my beat-up Docs, and contemplated my next move.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A week later, I hadn’t gotten up the nerve to go back to the lake. Instead, Talbot and I were hanging out at my apartment, watching the tiny secondhand TV.

“Your dad was asking about Naomi the other day.”

He stopped, hand on the remote. “What did you tell him?” he asked softly, but his eyes shone silver. He was pissed.

“Nothing.”

The look on his face convinced me I needed to say something. If the relationship continued, he was going to get something broken. His nose or his heart. Or maybe both, if his dad was right.

“Talbot…” My voice trailed off. What would I do if someone told me to stop seeing Elizabeth? The thought made me suck in my breath.

“Yes?” He gave me an inquiring look, but there was a hint of bravado beneath it.

“Be careful, okay?” I finally replied.

“Love is blind, Nyx,” Talbot said. “And sometimes deaf and dumb as well.”

What I really wanted to tell him was, to quote a sad country song, “Love’s a bitch.”

Talbot talked incessantly about my cousin while I rolled my eyes.