Chapter 45
Nothing happens.
Of course nothing happens. That’s the sort of night I’ve been having—
“You could’ve called, you know.”
I jolt at the sound of the Bargainer’s voice at my back.
When I turn around he’s standing there in the darkness, a paler shadow amongst the rest.
I send up a witch orb, its amber-orange glow illuminating the fairy’s form. He looks particularly other right now, with his white hair, capricious face, and eyes that seem to dance in the light.
His gaze dips to Nero, and he startles. “What’s that?”
I place a protective hand on my familiar’s head. “This is my cat.”
“That is not a cat. That’s a minor demon.”
“Forget about Nero,” I say. “Eislyn is making her move tonight. Likely right now.”
The Bargainer folds his arms, and I think that maybe he’s not going to drop the subject of my cat. His gaze flicks over me impassively.
“Did you hear me?” I finally say. “It’s happening—”
“Do you want me to kill him?” he finally says.
Him?
“Eislyn is a woman,” I say.
“I’m not talking about Eislyn. I’ll deal with her later.” There’s ice in the Bargainer’s voice.
The hand on Nero’s head grows possessive. “If you lay one finger on my cat—”
“Minor demon,” Memnon corrects. “And I’m not talking about him either. I’m talking about Memnon.”
My breath catches as I stare at the fairy. Of its own accord, my hand drifts to my heart.
“What about him?” I finally say. I’m sure my voice sounds funny.
The Bargainer gives me a pitying look. “Last I heard, young witches don’t just happen to have their hearts spontaneously stop.”
Bile rises up my throat.
How does he know that?
“I’m fine.” It’s a whisper.
The fairy shakes his head as he slowly prowls toward me. “You died by his hand.”
I really am feeling downright nauseous.
“I can make him disappear,” the Bargainer says.
His eyes dip to my hips, where my two daggers are sheathed.
“Or,” he continues, “I can let you have that honor.”
What is it with men encouraging me to murder tonight?
I scoff. “I’m not going to kill him,” I say. I stare off into the dark forest, my resolve hardening. “I’m going to save him—and hopefully the Flora Kingdom along with it.” My eyes return to the Bargainer. “But I do still need your help.”
“Cannot believe I’m doing this,” the Bargainer mutters while we tromp through the Everwoods. “Coming out of retirement to take a witch and her overgrown, furred demon to save her shitty husband. Gods, I’ve grown old—and weak. And soft.”
“Do you always complain this much?” I ask, leading him toward Last Rites Cemetery.
“When the situation warrants it, I do. And, sugar, the situation warrants it.”
It’s quiet for a moment, and I use that time to reach down my connection with Memnon. His thoughts are distant, but I feel waves of bloodcurdling wrath, and I can only assume they’re directed at Eislyn.
His turbulent magic presses right up against my end of the bond.
It has the same chaotic feel to it that usually accompanies those moments where his magic has consumed him.
I realize then that during our last encounter, his magic had not taken over for more than a split second at a time before seeming to extinguish itself.
Considering how heightened his emotions were, it should’ve overwhelmed him as it had in the past.
I cannot decide whether that’s a very good thing, or a very bad thing, but I am certain Eislyn must’ve commanded it away. And somehow, the command held, even against Memnon’s endless power.
“What happened to your soul mate?” the Bargainer asks, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Hmmm?” I say distractedly.
“I assume Memnon didn’t murder you of his own volition,” he says.
I feel my spine stiffen and my lower lip tremble a little. The horror and hopelessness of that encounter washes over me all over again.
I clear my throat. “Don’t you know these things?” I say. The Bargainer seems to have the answers to everything else in the world.
“I’m trying to make conversation here, brat,” the fairy says.
I glance over at him in the darkness and narrow my gaze. “I’m not a brat.”
“I call it like I see it,” he says.
“You’re obviously projecting.”
“Yeah.” I hear the smirk in his voice. “I think my wife would agree with you—my daughter might, too.”
“You’re a dad?” I say, raising my eyebrows. “Wow, you gave me that without forcing me to bargain away my soul?”
He gives me a look. “Gods, witch, I’m not a demon like that pet of yours.” He flicks a not-so-kind look at Nero, who nobly ignores him. “The bargain is that you now tell me what happened to Memnon to make him attack the one person he cares for above all others.”
I glower into the distance as Last Rites Cemetery comes into view.
“He was bonded against his will to Eislyn,” I say, my lips tugging down at the corners.
“And before she made her move to take over an entire kingdom, she decided to go out of her way to have Memnon kill you?” he says, not skeptically but rather like he’s taking in just how fucked-up that situation is.
I run a hand through my hair. “Eislyn and I go way back,” I explain. “Two thousand years ago she was the royal advisor for Memnon and his family. I first met her when I married Memnon—”
“When you were Roxilana?” the Bargainer asks as we pass through the wrought-iron fence that encircles the cemetery.
My throat tightens, and I give a curt nod. “She had a sick interest in my husband even then.”
The Bargainer waits for me to expand on the subject.
I sigh. “Among her many sins, she entombed my husband, murdered my in-laws, betrayed our nation to Rome—and she’s tried to have me killed several times.”
The Bargainer makes a small noise.
“What?” I glance over at him.
“She sounds like a bitch.”
I almost laugh. “She is.”
The fairy assesses me. “And yet, despite all her attempts, here you are,” he says.
“Here I am,” I agree.
It’s quiet for several moments. Finally, the Bargainer breaks the silence. “Do you actually have any sort of plan here, or are you working on vibes alone?”
“I love your belief in me,” I say. “You should really go into the inspirational quote business.”
“Gods, you are mouthy. I’m taking that as a no.”
The gravestones gradually give way to crypts. We weave between them, Nero prowling at my side.
“All you need to do is drop me off in the Flora Kingdom,” I say, “and I’ll figure it out from there.”
The Bargainer scoffs. “I’m not a carrier pigeon, and sugar, I hate to break it to you, but dropping you off isn’t going to end the way you think it will.” He pauses briefly. “I’m serious. Do you have a plan?”
No.
I turn to face him. “My plan was to have you steal Eislyn’s scroll to prevent her from crossing over. Since that obviously hasn’t happened—?” I give him a probing look.
“It hasn’t happened,” he confirms.
“Then the scroll is still in the Flora Kingdom. I believe Eislyn is sending Memnon there to destroy it. If we can stop him before that happens, then we can prevent her from crossing over.”
The Bargainer scrutinizes me. “And how do you plan to stop your soul mate?” he asks. “He likely has orders to hurt anyone who gets in his way.”
I draw in a shuddering breath. “I have a plan.” A half-baked, fairly unlikely plan, but one does exist.
The fairy folds his arms. “And that is …?”
“I go to the Otherworld, find where the Flora Kingdom keeps the scrolls that contain fae judgments—”
“The House of Scrolls,” the Bargainer interrupts. “That’s what it’s called.”
I take a breath. “I find the House of Scrolls,” I continue, “then I find Eislyn’s scroll before Memnon does and I hide it, or I warn the fae in the area about the coming danger—”
“Cute plan,” the Bargainer interrupts, “but that all sounds to me like more vibes—bad ones, too.”
I exhale. “Do you have something better in mind?”
“Yeah,” the fairy nods, “dropping you off at home and washing my hands clean of this situation.”
Even if I was willing to leave Memnon to his fate—
“I don’t have a house to go back to.”
The Bargainer looks over at me as I stop in front of the crypt etched with the phases of the moon.
He pauses thoughtfully and tilts his head.
“Did you really burn it down?” he asks out of nowhere.
My brows pull together as I turn to him. “How did you know—?”
“And there were demons inside?” he says, surprised. He laughs a little, like the thought amuses him, and his gaze reassesses me.
Finally, he nods. “Alright, no returning home.”
I exhale.
Facing the crypt again, I lift my hand and release my magic to force the stone door open.
It groans as it gives way, revealing the dark interior.
I step inside, Nero prowling next to me. With a woosh, the candles inside alight, illuminating the empty interior.
I sense the Bargainer enter behind me, and with another tug of my magic, I close the tomb’s door.
“Cozy,” he comments.
“The ley line is over there,” I say, pointing to the opposite end of the room.
The Bargainer doesn’t make a move toward the portal entrance.
Instead he says, “If we’re to do this my way, we have a few things we need to go over.”
I pause. “Okay,” I agree.
Next to me, Nero sits on his haunches, his tail flicking with what I’d like to think is his impatience, but honestly, it’s probably my own.
“If I show up in the Flora Kingdom unannounced and without their permission,” the Bargainer says, “I will have a kingdoms-wide crisis on my hands.”
I guess when you’re a ruler, meddling in another kingdom might be mistaken for an invasion.
Still.
I flick my gaze over him. “You don’t strike me as the sort of person who follows the rules.”
“Yes, but there’s finesse to breaking them, you uncultured simpleton.”
“Wow, you dusted that insult off from waaaay back in the closet, grandpa.”
“Says the woman married to the two-thousand-year-old sorcerer.”
I open my mouth, but no retort springs forth. “Can’t you just place an enchantment on yourself?” I eventually say.
He folds his arms and leans back against the crypt’s door. “Wow, I can’t believe I never thought of that. I’m sure there’s no way the fae have countermeasures in place to see me coming.”
“Okay, so I’ll go in alone.” That’s what I was planning on doing anyway.
The Bargainer assesses me. Finally, he pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is such a mess.”
“Does that mean you’re coming with me?”
“I’m so weak.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”