Chapter 17 Riven #2
Kyzen takes the place I was in and Vulius’s sniffling subsides significantly. “Today, our Binder was drugged. The powder that was found near where she was taken, Riven claims it’s yours. Where were you two hours ago?”
“I…it wasn’t me. I haven’t left my tower in, I don’t know how long now. Days, maybe.”
“Then you made it for someone.”
“I don’t even know what it is.”
“It’s your special sleep-paralysis powder.”
“Sleep-paralysis? And you tasted it?” Amick asks.
“I’m immune.”
I don’t go into further detail.
It’s none of their business.
Just mine and my songs in my head.
Vullie’s eyes widen scrumptiously, and I smile right back.
“Don’t you dare lie. If you want to live past today, you’ll be honest.”
“I recall making it recently, but I don’t know for who. You know I eat the heart of a Memogia after dealings with one-off clients.”
I wave my hand at the taurnshit. “Yes, I’m aware you eat that vile plant. Amick, under that third floorboard over there, he hides a journal he keeps his records in prior to altering his memories.”
“How did you—”
I call my chaos forward and stitch his lips together. They aren’t truly stitched, but they’ll feel real and keep him quiet for the time being.
“Riven, you visit him a lot.” Amick scowls over his shoulder at me. I shrug with a mischievous grin on my face.
I am a frequent customer.
Never know when you need to blow something up or poison someone.
“Kyzen, your assistance,” Amick rummages through drawers, looking for something, and I take myself shopping while they do whatever they’re doing.
Muffled shrills fall from poor Vullie’s sealed lips as Creed snatches him up by his collar and holds on to him like he might run.
He wouldn’t. We should be more worried about him tossing some funky mixture at us that has us morphing into critters or some shit.
“Ahh, Vulius, dear pal, what’s this pretty purple vial? I haven’t seen this one.”
He shakes like a leaf as he turns his head to me. He attempts to mumble, and I laugh.
“Sorry, forgot you couldn’t talk.”
He takes a deep breath as I remove the stitches. “Extra strength love tonic. Its base is purple angel orchids. It helps enhance a deeper connection between you and your lover. Not my usual brew, but I have some clientele that’s struggling in…certain areas of their relationship.”
Creed sneers at him like he’s afraid he’s about to love bomb him.
Freaky. I like it.
I’ll just slip that into my pocket.
My humming picks up as I continue to skip around his room, plundering my little heart out. I’m going to be devastated if I have to kill him. It would be very difficult to find a Plentiful as talented as he is.
I’ll have to introduce him to my…
My thought drifts off as my eyes swirl uncontrollably.
“There was a psycho without his burden,
And Angel was her name-O.
A-N-G-E-L
A-N-G-E-L
A-N-G-E-L
And Angel was her name-O.”
Glass shatters in my hand and I scrunch my nose at the gods-awful billow that drifts from the vial I broke.
“For the Valories, what was that?” Everyone in the room coughs from that ghastly stench.
“Secretions of a dying oxid. You pour it around your crops to keep them from eating the food. It simultaneously helps the plants grow tenfold.”
See, he’s a genius.
Too bad the other Plentifuls think his methods are a little too unethical.
“I’ve got what we need. Let’s go,” Amick announces and I spin around, clapping my hands.
“Do I need to kill my good friend?” I send him an apologetic smile when he gasps.
“No. Not today anyway.”
“Oh yay.” I bound over to where Creed shoves Vullie away and I wrap him in a hug. “I’ll see you next week for my usual.”
He nods frantically and I match his excitement.
I race up the stairs to catch up with my brothers, who’ve already made it out of the chime tower.
“So what did you find?” I ask, then gasp when I see him looking over the book of clients. “Did you steal that?”
He stares at me. “Were you not paying attention the entire time? Kyzen was speeding up time while I copied his book. The last individual he sold the sleep-paralysis powder to was Emmett Darvos. That’s one of the Chancellor’s Attendants.”
Aww, that sucks. I always said I wouldn’t kill any of the Attendants.
I despise the fact one of the Chancellors knows about my buddy.
“Which Chancellor?” Kyzen asks.
“All of them. He’s one of the ones who’ve unfortunately been tasked as theirs.”
“So you think he was put up to this?” Creed asks.
“Yes. Why else would he target Thayla or Yemi? He’s had zero contact with them as far as I know.”
“Then let’s—”
Creed quits talking as his eyes blaze white and his power swarms me. I shiver from the deadly embrace.
No sooner does it come than he sucks it back in and hits his knees.
“No!”
My vision doubles and I slap my hand against my chest. I can’t fucking breathe through the turmoil, and I stagger back. Kyzen and Amick react much of the same, but I can’t hear anything over Creed’s bellowing.
What the fuck is…
“Her soul is screaming out,
My heart can feel her shout.
If someone touched my angel’s wings,
I’ll make their bones our rings.”