Chapter 21
21
I wore the same long black coat I had worn to the Circus over my sweater and black jeans. My leather coat still wasn’t quite dry in the lining, and smelled distinctly like pond. I wasn’t sure how I was going to recover it. Maybe the smell would fade with time. I wore low heeled black boots to go with the coat. It seemed silly to put so much thought into my clothing, but it also felt like the only thing I could control about the night.
Even though Sebastian had warned me against seeking out Lucas, I had still called Dawn and left a message when she didn’t answer. She knew all the power players in the city. She might know the celestial woman who had accompanied Lucas. Or maybe she had even heard whispering about the Realm Breaker.
For now though, the only people we could deal with were the vampires. As we walked through the bustling streets of the Dark District, past antique lanterns and little twinkle lights, I wondered if Lilith would be at Crimson Kisses. I hadn’t gotten to speak with her since the night we met, but she knew something about my mother. I was sure of it.
I just had to get around Ivan to learn it.
Sebastian walked quietly at my side, his suit stiff and black. With a grim expression on his chiseled features, he could have almost passed for a vampire. I noticed a few women looking his way as we passed, and knew they were probably wondering the same thing.
We reached Crimson Kisses, and my eyes lifted to the swaying sign. This was it. Either I would have to reason with an ancient vampire, or I would have to kill him.
I was truly hoping for the former, because I probably wouldn’t survive the latter.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We go inside and you try to convince him that you have no way of finding your mother.”
I watched Sebastian’s expression, but it didn’t change. He obviously didn’t believe that himself, or else he wouldn’t still be with me. And Mistral believed it too. Just because he liked me a little better now than when we met, it didn’t mean he had no reason for tricking me into his bargains initially. They both thought I could find my mother, and so did Ivan.
“And if he can’t be convinced?”
Sebastian turned his head to meet my eyes, but didn’t say anything.
It was probably for the best. Vampires could hear almost as well as werewolves.
When he finally spoke, it was to ask, “Are you ready?”
I nodded. Together, we walked inside.
The interior was the same as before, quaint tables with dripping candles to the left, and the gleaming carved bar to the right. At the late hour, the place was packed. Humans and other creatures draped themselves across the arms of vampires. I didn’t know why I had expected the place to be empty for our visit. For everyone else, tonight was like any other night. I spotted Elena behind the bar, polishing a glass with a clean rag. She met my eyes, inclining her chin.
She was rooting for me, I thought, but that didn’t mean she would be any help. And I couldn’t blame her. Only idiots got in the way of vampires.
I looked around for Lilith, but didn’t see her anywhere.
A pale skinny man in a black shirt and painfully tight black pants wove toward us through the crowd. His mousey brown hair was gelled into messy spikes, and stubble lined his jaw. I usually wasn’t one to judge appearance, but he looked like he’d been sleeping in a gutter for the past week. His skin was too waxy, and he walked like he was asleep on his feet. Too much blood loss will do that to you.
He reached us, ignoring Sebastian to look down at me. “Eva?”
I nodded.
“Right this way.”
We both made to follow him, and he abruptly stopped, looking at Sebastian. “No. Just her.”
“I do not think so,” Sebastian said tersely.
The man’s jaw went slack at a flash of fire in Sebastian’s eyes, then he shut his mouth with a click of his teeth. “I’m told only her.”
I noticed a few vampires rising from their seats, casting aside their admirers.
If I was going to face Ivan, I really didn’t want to be beaten and manhandled into it.
I looked at Sebastian.
His jaw twitched with irritation. “Do you have your card in a secure location?”
I nodded. Even though he was going to be with me, I had stuck it back in my boot just in case. As long as I didn’t cross a boundary, he would be able to come right to me.
“Just don’t get yourself killed.”
I glowered. “Comforting.” I turned to the bloodless man and gave him a nod.
His shoulders slumped with relief, and all the vampires in the place lowered back to their seats as if nothing had happened.
After a final glance at Sebastian, I followed the bloodless man through the crowd, catching Elena’s eyes once more as I walked past .
Her expression said it all. I was walking right toward death’s door. Quite literally, really.
The man opened a door that said Employees Only , then gestured for me to walk through. Once we were both inside, he led the way down a long hall with flickering fluorescent lights. Because why would they make the lighting a little less creepy? Better to fill every visitor with immense trepidation.
Eventually we reached another door, leading to a steep set of stairs.
We were going down . Wonderful.
“Care to warn a girl what’s in store for her?” I asked.
His shoulders were stiff as he regarded me, not quite meeting my eyes. “I’m just doing what I’m told.”
“Have you seen a werewolf anywhere around here?”
He didn’t answer. With a sigh, I started down the stairs. We reached the bottom, and another hall with only a single doorway at the end.
It opened before us, revealing steady and warm artificial lighting. And here I had been expecting candles and lanterns, and surfaces flowing with blood.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. All I had to do was convince Ivan I couldn’t help him find my mother. Wherever we went to find Braxton, Sebastian could locate us.
The bloodless man shut the door behind me, not coming inside. I was left in a modern office lit by expensive lamps, one aimed at a dark oak desk. Behind the desk sat Ivan, leaning casually in his seat. There were two other vampires in the room with him, one a tall man with short red hair who I’d never seen before, and other the blonde woman who had chased me to the Bogs.
I wanted to wilt under the pressure of Ivan’s gaze, but I stood my ground. “Where is Braxton?”
Ivan remained perfectly still as he spoke. “Safe, for now. Where is Celeste?”
It was still weird hearing my mom being called another name. “I haven’t seen her since I was ten years old. You’re all off your rockers if you think I can find her.”
“The devil would not be interested in you if you could not.”
I shifted uncomfortably. So Sebastian was the reason they took interest in me after all. Damn devil, getting me into trouble again. “He now knows I can’t, but he already sealed a contract with me. Such things go both ways.”
“Lies.”
The vampires at his back shifted.
I spread my arms. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe he does believe I can find her, but he’s wrong. I have been looking for her most of my life.”
His brow lowered as he studied me intensely. “A devil haunts your steps, you are involved with angelics, and goblins watch you all over the city. There is something special about you, Eva Nix.”
I stifled the urge to groan. He didn’t have any special information. He really was only after me because everyone else was. He didn’t know anything about celestials, or their half-blood progeny. He just wanted the sword and was looking where everyone else seemed to be looking.
“Look, it’s not my fault everyone had the same idea and started stalking me because of it. I would think you all would have also garnered the information that I have in fact been looking for my mother for many years. I don’t know why any of you suddenly think I can find her.”
He smoothed his stubby hands across the desk. “Well, if you cannot give me what I want, then I have no reason to return your roommate. He hurt several of my people the other night.” He tilted his head. “Perhaps I should make him pay.”
I took a step toward the desk without thinking. “You harm him and the entire Willowthorne Pack will be after you.” Only, I wasn’t sure if it was true. The pack protected their own, but would they wage war with one of the major factions of vampires in the city?
Ivan smiled. “Let them come. They are no match for us.”
This wasn’t working. I had to try another tactic before they kicked me out and I never saw Braxton again. “There is one thing I can tell you. It’s not the location of my mother, but it is the only person in the city who knows how to locate her. Let me see that Braxton is alive, and I’ll tell you. ”
I tensed as Ivan stood, but he simply held up a finger to the two vampires behind him. He pointed at me, then turned to walk toward a door behind the desk. The two vampires moved my way.
I held up my hands and took a step back. “Let’s not be hasty now.”
The blonde woman sneered. “We are taking you to your werewolf, night runner.”
My heart pounded as they moved closer to me, but I forced myself to relax as they each grabbed one of my arms. They led me toward the door Ivan had gone through, then we journeyed down another long hall. I was worried we were going to go down again, but instead we found another stairway and went up. Then we went up some more.
We continued climbing in silence until we reached the roof entrance.
“You guys aren’t going to just toss me off the building, are you?”
“That was the plan for your werewolf should you try to locate him through the devil,” the female hissed, still clutching my arm. “He would be nothing more than a splatter on the sidewalk before you could reach him.”
My gut twisted as we walked out into the open air. There were apartments above Crimson Kisses. The fall would definitely be enough to kill someone.
My heart sputtered as I viewed Braxton standing on the very edge of the roof, bound and gagged. His face was bloody, but I didn’t see the injuries. He wore gray sweats and a white tank top because they had taken him out of bed. A male vampire stood on either side of him, ready to give him a quick shove should a devil appear.
It was obviously a hastily thrown together plan, but it wasn’t a bad one. Ivan needed Braxton nearby to bargain with me, but he also needed him in a place where he couldn’t easily be snatched away.
A few paces away from Braxton, Ivan spread his arms. “Here is your wolf, now tell me what you know. I will decide if it is worth his life.”
I was already regretting my decision. All I had to tell him was that there existed a petite female celestial who knew the angelic Lucas. It wasn’t exactly a lot to go on. “Take him away from the ledge first.”
“You are in no position to bargain further,” Ivan said coolly.
The blonde vampire squeezed my arm painfully for emphasis. I would have liked to throw her off the roof, but I couldn’t summon my anger. The real fear in Braxton’s eyes broke my heart. This was all my fault. I should have never brought him with me to Crimson Kisses.
“There is a female celestial in the city,” I explained. “Your guy who tried to kidnap me from the Circus would have seen her. He interrupted our conversation. She’s the one you need to find. She is a direct link to my mother.”
Ivan wrinkled his nose. “That is hardly useful information. ”
I tugged against the pair holding onto my arms. “Yeah, but now you have a leg up on everyone else. All you have to do is find that woman, and you win. She also knows the angelic, Lucas. You can use him to find her.”
Ivan spat onto the rooftop. “Lucas cannot be touched. Your information is worthless.” He glanced back at the two holding onto Braxton.
No . I wasn’t about to watch my best friend plummet to his death. I tried to shift partially into another realm to break my captors’ grip, but for some reason it made me dizzy and I keeled over. I staggered across the roof, somehow entirely free of them. Shocked, I looked back to see them both as surprised.
I recovered before they did and ran toward Braxton. “Sebastian!” I shrieked.
Braxton struggled as the two vampires fought to push him over. Someone grabbed the back of my shoulder—I thought it was Ivan—and I shifted again.
Suddenly I was right next to Braxton. Not thinking beyond my panic, I wrapped my arms around him and tried to pull him back from the ledge as the other two vampires fought against us.
I distantly registered the sound of the metal door slamming open, then shouts erupted over the sounds of our struggle.
The vampires trying to shove us over stopped for a moment, and I twisted my body, pushing Braxton to fall over securely onto the roof. I had a glimpse of several new arrivals, elves I thought, then I lost my balance and toppled over the edge.
I was airborne for a heartbeat. I would have liked to say that my entire life flashed before me and it was beautiful and meaningful, but all I could think was, oh shit! Then a hand wrapped around mine. Wind whipped my hair around me as I was lifted back up to the roof. Shaking, I fell into Sebastian’s protective embrace. I clung to him, panting and fighting tears as I looked back at the spectacle.
Several elves had come onto the roof. They wore normal clothing, mostly in hues of green and brown, but I could tell they were elves by their magic. It felt very green and alive. At their forefront, Elena aimed an honest to goodness bow and arrow at Ivan’s heart.
The others also held weapons, some of them with bows aimed at the other vampires.
I peeled away from Sebastian enough to see Ivan’s features contorted with rage. “How dare you.”
“You know I only took this job to find the girl.” Elena’s grin was more a feral snarl.
Braxton hobbled to his feet and hopped over to us. “What the hell is going on, Eva?” he whispered.
I pulled my arm away from Sebastian to grip Braxton’s shoulder, needing to assure myself that he was safe. “If I had any idea, I would tell you.”
“Leave now,” Elena continued, “and my king will not hear of your treatment of me. ”
Ivan spat again. “Your king would not risk war over a lowly elf.”
Elena still held her bow at the ready, though her arms must be aching by now, even if she showed no signs of it. “Perhaps not, but he would be very displeased to hear that you beat up his daughter.”
Ivan’s jaw fell open. I was pretty sure all of our jaws fell open.
“Princess Millelena?” Ivan balked.
Elena’s grin broadened. “One and the same. And if I recall correctly, your master has an alliance with my father. I’d wager she will be mighty displeased if you let that alliance go to shit.”
Ivan clenched his teeth, baring his fangs. His hunched shoulders rose and fell with frustrated huffs of breath. “Very well,” he muttered, his teeth still clenched. “We will vacate the premises until you are finished.”
He glared daggers at me as if I had somehow set him up, then he and his vampires retreated toward the metal door.
Once we were alone with the pack of elves, I pulled away from Sebastian fully.
Elena approached us, grinning. I was glad she had lowered her bow. “My apologies for misleading you. I wanted to wait until the opportune moment before blowing my cover.”
I blinked at her. “And this is the opportune moment? ”
She glanced back at her people. Her warriors . Now that I was getting a closer look, they were all well-muscled and bore the scars of battle. “The perfect moment, really.” She winked at me. “Because now you owe me a favor.”
I glanced at Sebastian, but he simply shook his head. He didn’t know anything about this either. I knew the elves had a princess, but everyone thought she remained hidden away in Emerald Heights. No one knew how old she was, or what she looked like.
“Don’t look so worried,” Elena laughed. “We elves would never slump to the level of vampires and devils. I only ask that you come to Emerald Heights to meet with my father.” Her green eyes flicked over to Braxton, then back to me. “Once you have recovered, of course. Until then, I don’t imagine Ivan will be bothering you again.”
Several of the elves turned as someone came to stand in the doorway behind them.
Lilith stepped out into the moonlight. She wore another black dress, this one silky and skintight. “Apologies, but I simply had to see what sent Ivan and his cronies running out into the street.” Her eyes found me. “I’m glad to see you well, Eva.”
This was all too incredibly weird, but one problem at a time. I looked at Elena. “I’m happy to meet with your father, but if he wants to collect the bounty on my mother, I’m really not much help in that department.”
Her warm smile made me trust her despite her having lied about who she was. “Just come and talk to him. I promise you won’t be harmed in our realm.”
“Well, considering you just saved my ass, I’ll be there.”
Elena smirked. “I will leave word at the gates. Come at your leisure.” She turned away, gesturing for her men to follow.
Soon enough, the three of us were alone with Lilith, but her attention was solely on Sebastian. “You shouldn’t have let her come here. She could have been killed.”
He put a possessive hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from her. “I would not have let that happen.”
Braxton stopped fiddling with the ropes binding him to glare at Sebastian. “Dude, you almost let her fall off the roof.”
“But I did not,” Sebastian said simply. He looked at Lilith. “And I could not risk being involved in Ivan’s demise. You understand.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose.” She turned her attention back to me. “You’re probably wondering why your devil sent you to speak with me to begin with.”
“I’m wondering a whole lot of things,” I admitted.
“Well I can’t help you with all of them,” she laughed. “But I can at least explain who I am. Your mother and I were close friends for a very long time. I actually met you, when you were young. Though it seems you don’t remember me.”
I inhaled sharply, then let it out. She didn’t know about my memories being stolen, or else she wouldn’t have wondered about me remembering her. “Let me guess. You have no idea where she is.”
“I do not. I had only just heard about the bounty, and that her daughter had been found by the angelics. When I realized who you were, I tried to get you out before Ivan could see you. I knew he was intent on winning the game, and he would use you to do it.”
“Were you punished for helping us?” Braxton cut in. He’d given me enough details to let me know just how much she had helped the night we were chased.
She laughed again, the rich, throaty sound sending a tingle of vampiric power down my spine. “Ivan doesn’t have the balls to punish me. I’m old enough to crush his mind like a beetle. I answer only to our shared master.” She looked at Sebastian again. “I do not fully understand your part in everything, but let that be a warning to you as well. Do not let Eva come to harm.”
“I didn’t let her fall off the roof,” he sighed dramatically.
Lilith narrowed her eyes. “I suppose that counts for something.” She looked at me again. “I’m sorry I could not be of more help to you. I do not know what your mother was running from, nor who seeks her now.”
Faster than my eyes could follow, she produced a dagger from out of nowhere and sliced it across Braxton’s bindings. He froze for a moment, jaw hanging open, then he quickly recovered and removed the rest of the ropes, muttering, “Thanks. ”
“Good dog.” She flashed another grin. “And bad devil.” She looked at me. “I will be watching you with interest, Eva Nix .” She turned and sauntered away.
I was glad she hadn’t used my real name. She was probably one of the very few people who actually knew it, other than Braxton. As far as I was concerned, the girl who once bore that name was dead and gone.
Finally free of his bindings, Braxton leaned close to me. “Okay, now that we’re relatively alone, what the hell was that? How did you escape those two, then how did you suddenly appear right in front of me?”
I blinked at him. “I—” Had I really moved that quickly? “I have no idea.”
Sebastian put his hand on my shoulder again. “Let’s get you home.”
I was starting to feel numb and far away enough that I was probably going into mild shock. I didn’t know how to answer Braxton‘s question, but it probably wasn’t the most important question of the night. “Yeah, home. Good idea.”
My bed sounded nice, though I wasn’t really sure I’d ever feel safe there again. But morning would come soon enough, and I hadn’t forgotten my other bargain. I had agreed to report Sebastian’s movements to Mistral. And I had agreed to speak only the truth.
Only, that bargain was starting to seem a little more complicated than before.