The Demon Hunter (13 page)

“They probably mean something. You're Orani.”

“Yeah, well … lot of good that's done.”

“Anything new on your mom?”

“No. My aunt and I can't find anything on that Arcana town, from Selene's photo. I mean, there was a town, but it burned to the ground in one night. Nobody knows why, and all the records were lost. There's nothing about my mom, just like there was nothing else in Fortuna. Just like there's been nothing all along.”

“What about that thing on the photo,” Oliver asked, “the thing about your mom and Selene being guardians of The Muse?”

“There's, like, a million muses in history and myths and all.” Emalie threw up her hands. “Who knows?”

Oliver could tell that talking about Emalie's mother was not helping. He decided not to pursue it.

Emalie kept staring at the ceiling. Finally, she asked, “Why can't I get in?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” she pouted. “In your head. It's like I'm locked out.”

Oliver felt a bit of guilt mixed with his relief. “I'm wearing a necklace of Bane's. It's called a hindrian enchantment. My brother was using it to keep people out of his head. I brought it to give to Dean, to help him fend off Lythia.”

“But
you're
wearing it now.” She sounded disappointed.

“Yeah.”

After a moment, Emalie huffed again. “Did you really want to drink that dead girl's blood?”

“I—no, but well, yeah. I mean, I didn't
want
to, but it's like …” Oliver wondered how to explain it. Feeling the urge to drink blood was completely natural. “It's just instinct. It would be like if you smelled a hamburger and wanted to eat it.”

Emalie bolted up in her bed and fixed him with a cold stare. “That's—gross.”

And then she burst out laughing. “Eww,” she gasped between giggles.

Oliver smiled. “It probably shouldn't be that funny to you.”

Emalie laughed harder. She slid off her bed, dropping to her knees on the floor and grabbing her sides. Oliver wondered if this was normal human girl behavior. If it was, then human girls were even more mysterious than vampire girls.

Her hair brushed his leg. He almost leaped to the ceiling.

“It's like that old cartoon,” she cried, “with the two guys on the boat, and they're so hungry, and one of them looks at the other and he turns into a hamburger, and the guy starts shaking salt on him.” She giggled, snorting.

“Ha,” Oliver tried his hardest to laugh along, yet he felt unnerved. Maybe because Emalie was being so silly about something that, in reality, wasn't. Maybe because a second ago, she'd seemed totally depressed. Or maybe because her hand now accidentally brushed against his foot. Oliver thanked the necklace once more.

Which reminded him about Bane. Oliver slid to his feet. “Want to go out?” he said.

Emalie rocked onto her knees, her laughter subsiding. “Sure.” She grabbed her vest and canvas shoulder bag.

Oliver crawled out the window and down the wall. Emalie shimmied down the rope. They walked to the bus stop and waited in the shadows.

Emalie huffed lightly. “I wouldn't have to ask ‘where to' if I could just check your head.”

“We should go to Désirée's,” Oliver said seriously, trying to brush off the comment. “If we're going to rescue Bane, we'll have to deal with this Nagual demon, and all I know about them is they're strong.”

“Wow.”

Oliver glanced nervously at Emalie. “What?”

“You just sound all, like, determined. Rescue plans and everything.”

“Well, I've got to at least try,” said Oliver.

The bus pulled up. They linked arms and leaped onto the roof. As the bus rumbled off, they both pulled their sweatshirt hoods up against the drizzle.

“I know,” Oliver continued, “that he's the same brother who's always such a jerk, but … I guess I want to help him anyway. Is that crazy?”

“No,” Emalie replied.

“Besides, I don't trust Half-Light. And maybe this thing with Bane has to do with me,” Oliver said. “I don't know how. Like maybe it's my fault or something.”

“Oliver, not everything is your fault.”

“Yeah, well. Anyway, he's my brother. Shouldn't that matter?”

“I don't know. Does it matter to vampires?”

Oliver shrugged. “I think it does to me.”

“Okay,” said Emalie. “But what about Dean?”

“Don't know yet, maybe go find him after Désirée's.”

They jumped off the bus downtown and entered the sewers. Oliver felt Emalie's hand grip his sweatshirt lightly. He glanced back at her, but found that she had done her disappearing trick. Except with the necklace on, Oliver couldn't hear her voice.

They twisted down to the Underground Center, entering through platinum double doors. As they weaved through the milling crowds of finely dressed vampire shoppers, Oliver was jostled, and felt Emalie's hand slip away.

Where had she gone? He probably didn't need to worry about her, and yet, he pulled off the necklace and stuffed it back in his pocket.

Thanks,
said Emalie a second later.
I'm a few people back, but I see you.

Okay.
Oliver's fingers closed around the necklace, ready to put it back on, but he decided to leave it in his pocket.

They reached the first gap between the platforms. Oliver stopped and waited for Emalie to put her arms around his shoulders so he could leap down to the lower floor. Instead he felt a tap on his arm.

I think I can do this with you
.

What?

I don't know. When I'm invisible like this, I can sort of feel those forces that you feel. I think I can probably levitate with you. Go ahead
.

But what if you—

Oliver felt invisible hands shove him, and he fell off the edge of the platform, bumping into other vampires as he did so. “Watch it!” one of them yelled.

Oliver grabbed on to the forces and righted himself. He lowered to the next level, then turned back.

Right here,
said Emalie from beside him.
That was sweet
.

Nice.
Oliver couldn't believe that Emalie had just, in essence, levitated. A human—and while performing an enchantment to cloud a crowd of vampire minds to her presence.

I'm getting good, right?

How are you doing that?

I just feel it. It's, like, I pull back from the world. It gets blurry around me, like I'm outside it, and then I can just kind of swim along to wherever I want. Isn't that cool?

Um, yeah.
Yet as impressed as Oliver was by Emalie's growing powers, he couldn't shake the recent memories of her passing out.

You just have to be worried about something, don't you?

Oliver could hear her frown, but didn't answer. They'd reached the glass revolving door to Dead Désirée's Drug and Alchemy Emporium.

Oliver felt a familiar twinge of reluctance as they entered Désirée's lair. It was the usual airless quiet inside, only the light Muzak playing from the ceiling, barely audible. The shop looked as white and spotless as ever, its pale lights gleaming, its shelves neatly lined with black glass bottles and wood boxes. And yet the corners, though hard to focus on, still had that slight green tinge of grime, almost like there was some darkness hidden beneath all this light.

Oliver headed down the aisle. Ahead, the high counter was vacant. As usual, there seemed to be no other customers in the store. The air smelled of bleach. Their footsteps made no sound on the tiled floor.

Oliver wondered if now he should put the necklace back on. Maybe it could help him avoid that eerie feeling of Désirée picking through his thoughts.

He turned to Emalie, but found that she was still nowhere in sight.
What are you doing?
He thought frantically.

I'm gonna see if I can fool Désirée.…

“Of course you can't.” Oliver whirled to find Désirée standing in her spot behind the counter, smiling, her long fingers touching at the tips. Her crimson hair was tied back, her pale skin smooth, her lavender eyes peering intently from behind narrow glasses. Oliver was reminded of Lythia's eyes for a moment, especially since Désirée gave him a similar, speechless feeling.

Emalie popped back into view beside Oliver, looking embarrassedly at the floor.

“I am impressed though, Emalie.” Désirée hadn't called her by name before. Emalie shuddered slightly. “Your powers are progressing rapidly. I never doubted you'd pick up on your Orani nature quickly, but there was much debate as to how you'd fare when you began your liaisons with the dead. Many bets were placed.”

“Who debated?” Emalie asked nervously.

“Oh, you know,” Désirée purred, still smiling. “Some folks I know. Let's just say, I was the big winner. I've known you were special since the moment I first saw you.” Désirée turned back to Oliver. “And no, Oliver, your little necklace wouldn't work on me, either. After all, I'm the one who sold it to Bane. Though he did do the hard work of getting it enchanted by Selene. Still, I would never sell something that could work against me. That would be like, oh, I don't know, having a friend who was the servant of your enemy.”

Oliver grimaced. He felt the peculiar sensation that his head was an open book for Désirée to leaf through at her leisure.

“And where is your zombie friend?”

“He's busy,” said Oliver simply.

“Oh, I see.” Désirée grinned. “His Master's in town. And you don't like her. I can see why. So … I gather you met Selene. Couldn't save her, though.” Désirée clucked her tongue against her teeth. “Pity.”

“But,” Oliver protested, “I didn't even know she was the Oracle that predicted my destiny. And I didn't know she needed saving. What was I supposed to do?”

“It's a good point,” Désirée agreed. “Mess with Half-Light, and you might end up like your brother … though I assume that's why you're here. You want to save him?”

Oliver nodded. “We need to free him from a Nagual demon.”

Désirée raised an eyebrow. “How daring. You'll have to go into the melded world of the jaguar and Bane to do it. The Nagual has bonded them, and lies within.”

“You mean travel into Bane's head?” Oliver asked.

“The jaguar's and Bane's.” Désirée turned to Emalie. “Much as you did before, when you were unraveling the mystery of your zombie friend's death.”

“I can do that,” said Emalie.

“Why of course you can. But I'm not sure you're ready for what you'll find in there.”

“Like what?” Oliver asked.

Désirée winked. “Surprises.” She spun and slipped into the shelves behind the counter. “For the Nagual, you'll need something specific.”

Oliver turned and offered Emalie a shrug. But she was looking ahead, at the wall. He followed her gaze to that diamond-shaped mirror with the jade border. Oliver had seen Désirée gazing into it during past visits. From down here on the floor, they could only see the bright ceiling lights reflected in it. Except the lights seemed to be moving. It reminded Oliver of moonlight on water.

“Doesn't it look familiar to you?” Emalie whispered. “From—”

“The museum.” Oliver remembered now. The statue in Fortuna, of what had seemed to be Emalie's mom, only with the name Phoebe. That statue had been holding a diamond-shaped mirror. Phoebe's mirror had a handle, and it didn't have a jade border, as it was part of a statue carved from white stone, but the angles of the diamond did look similar. And the round beveled edge of the border seemed similar, too.

“What's up with that?” Emalie asked.

Oliver wondered. He supposed he could just ask.

“I wouldn't.” Désirée reappeared, her smile thinner, the faintest edge in her voice. “You can ask about anything you want on
that
side of the counter. What's on
this
side of the counter is my business.”

“Sorry,” Oliver mumbled.

“Why that's certainly all right, Oliver,” Désirée replied, her voice instantly mild. “Now then …”

Her hands appeared from below the counter, and Oliver was surprised to see her place not a tiny bottle on the counter, but two swordlike weapons, each three feet long. They were made of wood, beginning with rounded handles. The main body was flattened and fat, with a square top. Along both edges, razor-sharp rectangles of obsidian glass protruded like teeth. The wood was painted with jaguar spots.

“These are Macuahuitl blades,” said Désirée. “Lovely, aren't they?”

Oliver regarded them uncertainly. “We haven't had much experience with swords.”

“You'd be surprised how quickly you learn when a Nagual is attacking you,” Désirée responded. “But don't worry. These blades are imbued with the eternal jaguar spirit. When you are inside Bane and the jaguar's mind, you will find the jaguar's spirit guiding your hand. It should be fun.”

“Great,” mumbled Oliver.

“Now,” Désirée continued, “the more important question would be how to carry these around.” Désirée produced two small figurines: tiny jaguars made of a reddish basalt rock. The blades dissolved into smoke and seemed to be sucked into the statues.

“These will travel with you into Bane's head,” she said, handing over the small statues. “When you need them, crush the figurines.”

Oliver and Emalie each took one.

“That will be thirty-two myna,” said Désirée pleasantly.

Oliver dug into his pocket and placed the square coins on the counter. When he looked up, Désirée was gone.

“She just vanished,” Emalie murmured uncertainly.

“You'll need one more thing,” Désirée called from somewhere behind them. Oliver and Emalie turned. “Over here.”