Chapter 18 The Vetting
The orchids are wilting.
Celia’s eyes are closed as she rests on a recliner, a pink throw draped across her lap. Soft candlelight from crystal votives flickers, casting serpentine shadows of the plants onto the floor. I soften my steps so I won’t wake her as I scan the normally tidy orangery in the Soul Court.
Beside her favorite flowers turning brown, there’s a half-opened book lying facedown on a workbench, sketches partially done on the floor, pencils and supplies scattered all over the place.
But what worries me the most is the harp.
There’s a thin layer of dust on it. She hasn’t been playing, and it’s her favorite thing to do.
“You’re here.” Celia swings her legs off the recliner and stands, but sways on her feet.
“Whoa,” I rasp, grabbing her waist to steady her before sitting her back in her chair.
“Sorry. Vertigo.” She laughs, but the sound is forced.
“Bullshit. You’re getting worse.”
“No, you’re over-worrying—” Her eyes widen. “You’re talking. Why are you talking?”
A huge smile blooms on her face.
I blink. Shit. I didn’t even notice I was speaking.
“You’re different. Spill, Ren. Stop worrying about me and tell me what’s going on with you. I can’t believe this. You’re talking again.” Celia tries to get up, but her legs give, which she masks with another half-hearted chuckle. “Damn. Vertigo is bad today. Or I’m hungry. Probably both.”
“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” I sign.
“Oh no, you don’t. It’s been years since I last heard your voice, and you just spoke, like, three whole sentences. You’re talking to me out loud, mister.”
“If I do, will you tell me what’s really going on with you?”
“Deal. But you tell me what changed with you first.” She squints. “Or who.”
When I don’t respond, she gives me a knowing smile. “She’s changing you.”
I stare at her expectant face—eyes suddenly bright and sharp, some color back on her cheeks—then I sit next to her and huff out a sigh.
“There’s someone.”
Celia shrieks and claps.
“If you do that again, I’ll shut up.”
She mimes zipping her lips.
With my eyes pinned on the harp, I add, “She makes me want to use my voice again. I don’t know why.” I rub the ache beneath my scar. “Damn heart.”
Really? Are we still pretending this is about Blake’s heart and not a woman you obsess over and invent reasons to see her?
Fuck.
Birds chirp in the distance, and a gentle breeze sweeps in from the open door.
When my sister doesn’t reply, I face her, finding her eyes filling with tears.
“Celia.” Worry cuts through me. “What’s wrong—”
“I’m just so glad,” she whispers, tugging my hand in hers. “I was worried you’d be alone, after I…after I…”
After she’s gone.
“Nothing will happen to you, I swear.” Desperate, I grip her fingers and pull her into my arms. “Not if I can help it. I’m working on it. Now tell me. Have your symptoms gotten worse?”
She pulls back and twists her hands in her lap. “A little. More tired. Cold all the time. You know how it goes.”
I squeeze her hand. Stage two moving to stage three symptoms of heart failure. I experienced some of them myself last year before my transplant. She’s running out of time.
“Leave it to me. I have leads.” The lies spew out of my mouth. “Focus on resting. Hope.”
Someone clears his throat.
“Si Shen isn’t completely soulless after all.” A raspy chuckle slices through the air. “And he speaks.”
Grinding my molars together, I snap my gaze to the doorway where Cornelius stands, his arms crossed, his cunning eyes trained on me.
I force my features to relax and stand before thumping my chest and bowing.
“I wanted to talk to you, and Jasper said he saw you headed this way. Thought you were too busy to visit.”
Jasper the fucking snitch.
I sign, “I was chasing down a lead on the key nearby. Wanted to check on Celia.”
“Why aren’t you speaking? You were doing that fine moments ago.”
I don’t answer him.
Cornelius’s eyes narrow for a beat before softening. Then he turns his attention to Celia.
“How are you feeling, dear?”
“F-Fine. Everything’s peachy.” My sister grabs my arm. I fight the urge to place my hand over hers.
“Good. That’s what I want to hear. Although I may have some good news for you soon.”
That gets my attention.
Cornelius smirks and waves me over. “Ren, follow me. I want to talk to you.”
I nod and turn to Celia, who waves me away with a shaky smile, her gaze still trained on Cornelius.
“I’ll be back soon,” I motion.
Minutes later, Cornelius ambles by the large reflecting pool in the dark central courtyard, with nothing but moonlight illuminating the way. He’s tossing pellets to the koi fish.
“Look at them. Fighting over food like idiots.” He clicks his tongue. “Some things are destined to rely on scraps thrown at them. They gave away their power for free.”
My shoulders tighten. I stand behind him with my hands behind my back.
“The question is,” he faces me, an assessing gleam in his eyes, and asks, “do you want to rely on scraps or do you want to be the one to toss them out?”
I sign, “I’ll follow your lead.”
Cornelius barks out a laugh and slaps my shoulder. “Dutiful. Always know your place. I was worried for a bit, since this mission is taking you some time. Like you said before, it shouldn’t be hard getting a key from a nurse. Which makes me wonder why you haven’t done it yet.”
My throat locks. I quickly sign, “Elias Kent has been on my tail. I need to be careful. But I’ve searched her place and have been following her. She doesn’t appear to have anything.”
“Bullshit. Unacceptable. Need I remind you what’s at stake? The Benefaction is in three weeks. The bounty begins then. I prefer you to do the job—keep it in the house.”
“I’m tracking new leads. Give me time.”
“Not fast enough.” He shakes his head. “I think I may need to help you.”
Ice crawls up my spine, but I force myself to remain still.
“I want to talk to her. This Aria. Vet her myself.”
“That’s unnecessary—”
“Not up for negotiation.” He holds up his hand.
“But Kent isn’t an enemy I want to make.
Especially since he appears to be chummy with Gabriel Caruso.
I don’t know what game he’s playing. So this is what’s going to happen.
Bring the nurse to the Benefaction. I will have a conversation with her then. ”
His words ring in my ears.
No. I won’t have Aria anywhere near this bastard.
“Or, I’ll have her brought here. Not my preferred way. Don’t like strangers around our business. Your choice.”
Images flash before my eyes. Nightmares or visions.
Jasper leering at her.
Aria lying broken, facedown in the reflecting pool, the way I found Mom years ago, lifeless.
Something shreds inside me.
“I’ll bring her to the Benefaction.”
There’s no other choice.
Cornelius huffs out a sound of satisfaction before giving me one of those fake fatherly smiles, which, to bystanders, would appear real.
But they aren’t. They remind me of Sebastian’s smiles—never reaching his eyes.
“And to give you some enticement,” Cornelius adds, “I may have good news about Celia. Once confirmed, I will tell you at the Benefaction.”
I startle. Did he find a suitable heart for her? “What good news—”
He holds up a hand again. “At the Benefaction. We’ll talk then.”
Not waiting for my response, he strides toward the north wing, barely acknowledging the Triad soldiers bowing along the way.
I grip my chest, suddenly winded.
Aria at the Benefaction.
Celia’s news at the Benefaction.
The bounty timer running out.
Soon, whatever fragile thing I’m building in the dark with Aria will be destroyed. Once she finds out the truth about me, what I do, what I’ve done…she’ll hate me.
An urgency surges through me, forcing my legs to move before my mind catches up.
I need to find her.
To see her.
I wait by my motorcycle until her bedroom window darkens.
A mist moves in from Lake Michigan, and pedestrians thin out to the occasional couple taking a midnight stroll.
Satisfied she’s in bed and most likely asleep, I take off my helmet and set it on the bike before cutting around to the side alleyway where the fire escapes are.
I slide out the gadget from Aleksei’s stash, the debugger that loops camera feeds for half a minute, and press it before I start my ascent.
Steady footwork. Quiet steps. Skills I’ve spent my life perfecting to sneak up on unsuspecting victims before I end them.
It’s all put to use now as I climb onto a second-floor ledge, then over to her balcony.
Twenty seconds until the camera flashes back on.
Quietly, I jump over the railing and unlock the window before dropping into her dark room, the blackout curtains closing behind me.
My phone buzzes in my pocket as I snap on my night-vision goggles.
Time.
No cameras in her bedroom, so I’m safe.
Her slumbering form is still on the bed. She throws her arm over her head, flashing her flower tattoo, then lets out a wispy sigh.
I think about the message she sent me this afternoon in the TellNo1 app, after I stopped by the ER to check on her, to see if she was fine after my visit last night.
ILoveDarkStories
It’s a bad idea. I don’t think we should do this.
Ghostface444
Why?
ILoveDarkStories
Who in their right mind lets a stranger into their apartment at night?
Ghostface444
But I’m not a stranger. And we’re not normal.
Stop trying to be something you’re not.
She didn’t respond, and I tried to convince myself to watch her silently. Be her invisible bodyguard.
I’ve got nothing for Cornelius. No key. No clue. Only more questions.
The flowers that left Aria looking haunted? Untraceable. Paid in cash at a shop with no surveillance.
Now the Benefaction is coming, and I have to bring Aria there. Have to know what news Cornelius has about Celia’s heart.
Everything’s coming to a head.
But before then, I want more moments with her—quiet ones as Ren during the day, playful ones as Reaper at night.
Stolen ones. Impossible ones. Before she hates me.
I want them all.
I take off my jacket and set it on top of her dresser, then I pull up a chair to her bedside.
And I sit and stare.