The Better Part of Darkness (21 page)

I went completely still. “The jinn.”

“Yeah. They gave me a message for you: ‘The boss says to tell you the second debt is paid.’”

Oh God. Tennin. He had taken payment for the debt. He had taken Will. I doubled over and grabbed my stomach, rage blinding my vision.

“Have to give him props,” the Revenant went on. “Your guy took a hell of a lot more than I expected. His heart was on its last few beats by the time I got here. Good thing, too, or he would’ve gone straight into the afterlife.”

Something I didn’t know. I raised my head. “If you’re not here to collect at their last breath then they go to the afterlife?”

“Soul and all. Contract null and void. We can’t inhabit a dead body without its soul. Just the way it is.” He sniffed. “If you wanna reanimate a corpse, go talk to a necromancer.”

I forced down the desperation rising in my throat. “Does that mean he’s still aware, alive?”

“Eh, sort of like in limbo.”

It was a tiny bit of hope, but I grabbed on to it for dear life. If there was a way to save Will and eject this creature, I’d find it. But right now, Emma was out there somewhere. And there were sirens in the distance. We needed to go before getting held up by the police and medics.

I stood, spurred into action, already halfway to the foyer. “C’mon. We need to find my daughter.”

“Not my problem.”

Oh, no he didn’t.

Fuck it. I swung around and shot him with my Nitro-gun.

“You haven’t seen anything yet. Get up. You take Will’s body, then you take his responsibilities.”

“Says who?”

“Says this.” I waved the gun. “And the little part of the soul-bartering contract where it says you must complete any unfinished business of the mortal’s life before going about your own.”

“You read that part?”

I walked to the front door. “Standard operating procedure. Let’s go.”

I slid into the driver’s seat of the Mustang as the Revenant fumbled with the passenger door handle. Grief swelled my chest. I slid the gear into reverse as
Will
got in, just catching the flash of blue and white as a patrol car turned down the street.

“What’s your name?” I asked, glancing in the rearview mirror as I drove off in the opposite direction. Better to separate this being as far from the real Will as I could. As it was, it was near impossible to look at him without wanting to weep.

“Rex.”

“Rex?”

He straightened Will’s shirt. “It’s short for something you could never pronounce.”

“Right. Did you or Will hear where they were taking Emma?” I knew he still held enough of Will’s last memories to answer for both of them.

“No, they didn’t say. Pretty much just beat the piss out of him while a female came in and took out your daughter.”

Swift rage flared up again, but this time I absorbed it, biting my cheek hard, and forced it into something I could handle: cold, calculating vengeance. This bitch, whoever she was, would pay for touching my kid. “Did you know her?”

“No. She was Abaddon, though.” He snorted. “No mistaking their cold, bitchy demeanor.”

The rhythmic sound of the engine became loud in the ensuing silence. I operated the Mustang on autopilot, not really seeing the cars passing by or the traffic lights, just driving with my fingers in a death grip on the steering wheel, and my heart shriveling beneath my ribs.

Rex chuckled softly, the sound so much like Will that I could almost pretend it was him sitting beside me and not this parasitic spirit.

“What?”

“That kid of yours is as tough as nails,” he said, staring out the window. “She bit the bitch and drew blood, said her mom was going to kick her ass.”

The thought of Emma having to fight made me sick inside and more fearful than I’d ever been in my life, but that she’d stood up for herself—I was proud of her. Cursing, not so much. Tears sprung to the surface. I didn’t know whether to be proud or horrified.

“They weren’t going to hurt her, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He lifted the shirt and smelled a spot that was free of blood. “I like this cologne.”

I ignored that last comment. “How would you know?”

“Abaddon bitches are brutal. If she didn’t rip your kid’s head off for biting her, that means she was ordered not to. Simple deduction.”

A tiny kernel of hope sprouted in my heart. I nodded without looking at Rex, and we drove for several minutes in silence.

Will had sold his soul because he thought he didn’t have a chance with me. I wanted to scream. Same old Will. There might have been a chance for us in the future, but it had been too soon. He was always so impatient, always so ready to turn to otherworldly means. The betrayal and guilt nestled deep in my gut like burning sulfur.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Rex said suddenly. “You can’t bring him back.”

“Oh, Rex.” I shot him a candid look. “There are always loopholes. You more than anyone should know that.”

I’d dealt with a few spirits from the demon family tree before: Revenants, and their evil cousins, Wraiths. But I was far from an expert. The one thing I did know: nothing was permanent except death, and even that could be overcome. I was a perfect example of that.

“Yeah,” he said, sounding unconvinced. “Good luck with that.”

I shot him a cynical smile and then focused on the road.

“Where are we going?”

“You know how to use a gun?”

“No.”

I tossed him my Nitro-gun. I had a backup in the waistband of the jeans. “Well, you better figure it out because we’re going to Abaddon headquarters.”

I dialed Hank’s number repeatedly and still got no answer while Rex studied every inch of Will’s face in the visor mirror, making muttered comments here and there, but overall pleased with his new appearance. When he lifted the waistbands of Will’s khakis and boxers and took a look at the equipment, I’d had enough and swatted him hard on the arm.

“Ow!” He rubbed the spot. “You didn’t have to hit me.”

“Just shut up and sit still.”

My thumbs tapped on the steering wheel, my whole body revved and ready to blow. CPP headquarters was housed in a mid-sized glass office building in Five Points, not far from the deli where Hank had picked me up earlier.

When this was all over I was going to sleep for at least a week. In the last two days I’d been beaten, shot at, possibly seen enough naked men to last a lifetime, been beaten again, and torn two of Bryn’s outfits. And now my worst fears had come to pass. My family was in jeopardy. My insane ex-husband had sold his body and soul. And my little girl was gone.

As I drove the car into the underground parking deck below the office building, my heart rate kicked into overdrive. The guard at the gate stopped us, but flashing my badge was all it took to get us in.

Once parked, Rex and I headed to the elevator. Our steps echoed loudly in the vast concrete emptiness. The extra ammo rubbed against my ankle bone, but it only fueled my focus and rage, which I considered good things at the moment.

In the elevator, we were treated to an orchestral version of Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.”
Yeah,
I thought,
it’s going to be another long-ass night, indeed.

“She’s going to be fine, you know,” Rex assured me, his shoulder brushing against mine.

“Shut up and don’t talk about her.” I stepped forward as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

Gun drawn, I marched straight down the hallway, passing large glass-fronted rooms on either side where day workers folded flyers and answered phones. Farther down, the glass ended and a few office doors lined the hallway. At the end, a light spilled underneath one of the doors. Someone was working after hours.

Who needed to use the knob when kicking the damn door felt so much better?

Releasing my frustration, and without halting my stride, I kicked out. The door flew back on its hinges and knocked a hole in the drywall behind it. My gun pointed chest level, straight ahead, I continued into the room without missing a beat.

Otorius jumped up from his leather chair, pants down and penis bouncing. The horror on his face deepened to a scarlet red as he fumbled to cover himself. A human female’s head appeared, turning to look curiously over the top of the polished desk as Otorius cursed in Charbydon and grabbed the waistband of his boxers and pants.

“Put your hands up,” I commanded. God, I was going to be evil, but I couldn’t help myself. Much like the jinn, when I saw an opportunity, I took it.

His hands stilled.

“Put your hands up …
now
.”

My innuendo was clear. Promising revenge in his coal-black eyes, he dropped his boxers and pants and then lifted his arms. I slid my gaze to the package dangling semi-limp and pink between his legs, and let out a disappointed sigh. “Not very impressive.” I’d always wondered about the sex of off-worlders. But his was pretty much the same as an average human male’s, except Otorius wasn’t circumcised, which made sense.

The female, an intern by the look and age of her, slowly slid her purse off the desk and held it to her chest like a shield. She wore a preppy pink button-down shirt, tight jeans, and her brown hair pulled back with a barrette. “Um, I guess I should be going now.” She edged around the desk; face pale, eyes wide, and so freaking young it made me wince.

“Sorry, sweetheart, you’re not going anywhere. Rex?”

“Yeah,” he said from just beyond my right shoulder.

“Find something to tie her with and then put her in a closet in one of the main rooms. Don’t worry,” I told her, “someone will find you in the morning.”

Her lips trembled, and she started to cry as Rex took her arm. I didn’t feel bad at all. In fact, I was helping her to figure out the important things in life, and sucking Abaddon dick wasn’t one of them. She could thank me later.

Once we were alone, Otorius spat out, “I can’t wait to watch you die,
brougá.
”

“Oh, enough with the
brougá
already. Move around the desk.”

I stepped back. Had I not been pissed beyond belief, seeing him shuffling around the desk with his pants around his ankles, his hairy white legs a stark contrast to his black slacks and shiny dress shoes, would’ve been laughable. But as it was, I was ready to kill him.

Leaning my hip on a nearby accent table, I held his fuming stare for a moment. “I’m going to be very clear on what I’m about to say.” I spoke slowly and with enough conviction that he nodded. “Tell me where my daughter is, and your penis stays intact.”

Simple and effective.

Pale dots appeared on his face, slowly replacing the red until he was covered in an ashen pallor. “I don’t know where she is.”

“Do you know what this is, Otorius?” I asked, motioning toward the gun. “It’s a Nitro-gun. It
freezes
things. Freezes them so badly, they can shatter into a million … little … pieces.”

Rex groaned behind me, and I glanced over to see him moving his hand protectively in front of his—Will’s—crotch. “Damn, that’s brutal. God,” he groaned again, “it hurts just thinking about it. And I thought Abaddon bitches were cruel.”

I gave him a droll look and then turned my attention back to Otorius. “Well?”

“Goddammit, Madigan, I don’t know where your fucking daughter is!” he barked, panic making his voice tremble. His hands dropped a fraction. He wanted nothing more than to cover himself, to protect himself. In an act of defiance and desperate instinct, he did it anyway.

And I fired.

Rex and Otorius screamed at the same time. The beam shot out and froze both of Otorius’s hands. He leapt around the room, screaming in pain, unable to separate one hand from the other and nearly tripping over his trapped ankles.

Adrenaline pumping through me, I moved forward and grabbed him, shoving him face-first onto the desk, his arms over his head, hands still linked, and his bald ass pointing skyward. I stood at his hip and grabbed his neck, holding him down as hard as I could and fighting myself to remain in control. “Tell me!” I shouted. “Tell me where she is right now, or I finish the job!”

“I don’t know!” He sobbed and blubbered against the desk. “I don’t know! I don’t know!”

“Charlie, I think he’s telling the truth,” Will’s voice reached beyond the firestorm in my head. No. That wasn’t Will. It was the swindling, hustler body thief. Rex.

“Shut up,” I snarled, blinking tears back because I knew he was right. Otorius didn’t know where my daughter was.

“Where’s the
ash
lab?” I asked instead.

“I don’t know, I swear. I only know that the
Sangurne N’ashu
needs heat and moisture to grow. A hothouse maybe. It takes seven years for one flower to bloom, so it’d have to be an established place. That’s all I know.” I eased my grip on his neck. “You can’t stop him, Charlie. You’re in way over your head, and he’s waited too long for this.”

“For what?” I squeezed harder and he laughed.

“He’d hurt me far worse than you ever could.”

Otorius’s hands finally unlocked, but one was so burnt with frostbite, it had turned completely black. The other hand, which had been under the first, came out in much better shape.

He’d lose the hand.

But it was no more than he deserved. I hauled him off the desk and shoved him at Rex, whose look of horror at seeing a semi-naked male bearing down upon him was actually pretty damn amusing. He caught Otorius, holding the Abaddon representative at arm’s length and shooting me an incredulous scowl. “What the hell do you want me to do with him?”

I sat on the edge of the desk, tired. “I don’t care. Tie him up and put him in the closet with what’s-her-face.”

“Her
name
is Darlene, and she’s from Michigan,” Rex said frankly. “What about his pants? I’m not pulling them up and he can’t do it with his hands.”

“Then leave them,” I shot back. “Just get him out of my sight.”

Rex rolled his eyes at me and then slowly led Otorius from the room. I’d just made one hell of an enemy, I thought, looking after them.

Emma. Where are you?

The fist squeezing my heart was so great, I set the gun on the desk and then sank down to the floor, hugging my knees and gasping for breath at the same moment tears flooded down my face. I couldn’t control it any longer.

I’d lost her. My little girl.

My hands delved into my hair and I squeezed hard, pulling on the roots as I rocked back and forth. Pressure and heat built in my face and chest. I screamed, a frustrated sound torn from my very soul. My body shuddered as my wail turned to racking sobs.