jinn 03 - vestige (23 page)

We couldn’t split up. Rhys would want to talk to me and Femi had to find the ashes while I distracted him. “Quintus will guard Charlie with his life.”

Femi nodded. “You’re probably right that Holden wouldn’t hurt her anyway. Chuckles took to her pretty hard and fast.”

I exhaled and answered. “Hello?”

“Who is this?” asked a man who didn’t sound one bit like Rhys.

“Tell Rhys Olivia wants to make a deal.” I hung up and looked back at Femi. “Now we wait.”

Femi prowled around the room, and I didn’t feel much better. It was impossible to stand still. Everything was coming to a head and for the first time Holden and I weren’t going to be at each other’s side. Even when I went to the council alone, I knew he would have been there had I wanted him to be—and he still managed to find his own way. This time we agreed to operate separately. It felt like a mistake.

“If Holden is gearing up for the big battle, why are you here?” Femi asked, almost reading my thoughts. “I know I asked for your help, but we could have waited to do this.”

“If,” I said for her benefit, “I become a reaper, we’re going to have to do everything apart. Also once Holden defeats Mammon, Death is going to come for me.”

Her ponytail swished as she walked. “So we don’t have a lot of time.”

The truth was we didn’t have any time. “Femi, you know I don’t expect this to work.”

She pursed her lips.

I took her by the shoulders. “Listen to me. If I become a reaper, it isn’t your fault. Getting rid of the angel was the right thing to do. You put the girl’s life ahead of mine and that’s what I would have wanted you to do.”

She shook her head. “No. Baker told me that the knife would only hurt the angel. That’s the only reason I did it. Had I known…”

“Had you known, you would have done the same thing. You know I’m right.”

Femi didn’t reply, just looked away, giving me the proud profile of an Egyptian goddess.

“When I found Juliet dead, part of me died with her. Holden got me through that time, but the piece of my heart that she occupied was gone forever. Juliet was more than a friend. She was like a sister. I never believed that anyone could take her place or fill that void—and then I ran into this crazy, intimidating bounty hunter who was beautiful inside and out. You got me out of my head, Femi. You reminded me that there was still more life to live if I only allowed myself to look for it. One of the luckiest days of my life was the day I met you.”

“You people have to stop saying goodbye to me,” she said. “Because it’s not good enough. I don’t want your words. I want you and Baker and everyone else to stay and be like we were.”

I laughed. “Well, it’s too bad if you don’t want my words because you’re going to get them and listen to them anyway. Death said something to me. I wanted him to swear I wouldn’t change and he wouldn’t because that’s what life it. Change. Nothing ever stays the same and we shouldn’t want it to. Think how boring that would be. It was change that brought us together. It was change that made us friends—and now we’re changing again. But there is one thing that will never change. I will always be your friend, Femi. It doesn’t matter if I’m a guardian, an angel, or a reaper. Do you know why?”

She still wouldn’t look at me, but she shook her head. “Because that part of my heart that died with Juliet was born again when I met you.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m holding you to this.”

“Good.” I hugged her and a throat cleared behind us.

“I thought we established that it’s too late for you,” Rhys said.

I turned to him. “We both know that’s not entirely true.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do we now? Well, I guess it all depends on how much Death wants you, but I have the feeling his heart is rather set. . . . ”

I gave him an impatient look. “You wouldn’t have planted the seed that you could stop this, if you didn’t have a way. You have entirely too much hubris for that.”

He winked at me. “You’re willing to double cross Death and I’m the one with hubris? My, my, you are feeling ambitious today. Especially when you consider that just hours ago you barely had the energy to stand.” He moved a couple steps closer. “But why do you think I would risk displeasing the Angel of Death himself?”

“Intuition,” I said. “I have the feeling there is nothing you would enjoy more than moving what he wants most out of his reach.”

He arched a single eyebrow. “No one is friendly with Death, my dear.” He folded his arms behind his back. “Perhaps, I did dangle a carrot in hopes of stealing you away.”

“You want something from us. You might as well confess what, or she’ll force it out of you,” Femi said.

“It may disappoint you to hear, but you are exactly where I need you to be.”

“You sent the wendigos.”

He nodded.

Femi went for her knife, but I caught her arm. “Where are Baker’s ashes?” she asked.

“They’re safe, for now.”

“I knew either you or Death sent the wendigos, but I wasn’t sure which. You wanted me to take the deal. Why?” I asked, refocusing him away from Baker.

He inspected me, not fooled. “And you did it, despite my generous offer. Now Death trusts you implicitly. Even when faced with another option you still chose him. You are once again in a position to be of use.”

“Use for what?” Femi asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“You have in your control something I have spent years chasing.”

I stared at the handsome, elegant older man. He wanted Holden, but why?

“Baker found the two of you, but I’m willing to bet he had no idea what he’d stumbled upon.”

Femi and I stared at him. “Holden doesn’t want to be on the council.”

He chuckled. “Everyone wants something. My son isn’t that hard to predict. If he consents to join us, I will guarantee that Baker will be safe and Death won’t stand in the way of the two of you.”

“But what do you want him for?” Femi asked. “He can’t make people immortal. He doesn’t like…well, pretty much anyone. He doesn’t have any amazing insight on life.” She narrowed her eyes. Though I wouldn’t have put it in quite that manner, Femi did have a point about Holden.

“Holden has many qualities that would recommend him to the council, not the least of which is that he’s my son.”

“Then why did Baker hate you and refuse to come back? I hear he was against whatever your plan is. Why?” Femi pressed, walking the perimeter of the room, inspecting the walls and running her fingers over the cracks.

He glared at her. “You’d have to ask him.”

“Tell me where he is and I’ll happily do just that.” She strode over to stand in front of him.

“You mean after he is reborn and comes of age? I’m afraid he won’t remember a thing about his former lives until then. And who’s to say you’ll be able to collect enough of his ashes that he even can be reborn? It could be a hopeless cause.”

Femi hit him with a right hook and walked away, shaking out her hands.

“Look, you know why we’re here,” I tried. “Give us Baker’s ashes and I’ll talk to Holden about joining the council. That’s the best I can do.”

“You have nothing to bargain with. I have the upper hand. Holden will come to me all on his own when you are gone. Why would I make a deal with you?”

“You tell me. You’re the one who came to talk. Obviously you want something.”

He wiggled his jaw back and forth. “I do, in fact, want one thing…a piece of Death.”

“Excuse me?”

“A hat, a hair, a piece of clothing. Whatever you can get. You bring me a piece of Death and I will give you your friend’s ashes.”

I didn’t know anything about magic or spells, other than what I’d heard Selene talk about, but I was pretty sure something like that could lead to all sorts of problems.

“I don’t think we’re making deals,” Femi said, lighting a match and pulling out the Hand of Glory. “You see, you didn’t transport here. You couldn’t. I looked at those runes on the door. They cover pretty much every base I’ve heard of and even some I haven’t. Yet, you just appeared in here. How much would you like to bet that I can find the door to your little hide out and when I do, we’ll have the ashes and the cup.”

She lit the wicks on each finger. The flames didn’t flicker as she waved the hand around, moving from the top to the bottom of the wall. Rhys tried to move forward, but was stuck. There was an audible click as Femi swiped a northwest portion of the wall. “What do we have here?” Femi asked with a grin.

Together we pushed on the wall until it silently slid back, revealing another round room, only this one was full. There was a bed, a desk, and stacks and stacks of books and artifacts.

“I don’t even know what half of this stuff does,” Femi said.

“Stay focused. Let’s find what we came for.”

Something banged on the door and then it opened hard, smashing into the wall. Maggie stumbled through, blood staining the sides of her mouth. Corbin followed right behind her.

“Holden took Charlie. Quintus is hurt. It’s bad,” she said, breathing heavily. “I think he’s dying.”

Two separate gut reactions ripped through me. Half of me knew I had to get to Holden before he was beyond my reach. The other part reminded me this was Holden’s fight and I needed to help Charlie and Quintus.

“Go,” Femi said. “Get her back. I’ll take care of Quintus. ”

I ran outside, mind racing. Questions streamed through my mind making it impossible to focus on anything. I pushed them all aside and put everything I had into finding Holden. My connection to him was dark and walled off in my mind, but he couldn’t hide from me forever. Then again, he didn’t need to hide from me forever. Just long enough to kill Charlie.

“Where is he?” Rhys asked, falling in step with me. “You have to find him now. He cannot wield the Seal. That sort of power will consume and destroy him. Tell me where he is.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, stopping altogether. I pressed my fingers against my temples hard and squatted down, resting my forehead against my knees. I had to be able to reach him. I poked, probed, and slammed myself against the connection we shared, but I got nothing back from him. He had always been better at manipulating it than I was.

“We don’t have time for this,” Rhys said, roughly taking my shoulder. “Where is he?”

I smacked his hand away, irritation and anger boiling up inside of me. How was I supposed to focus with this asshole nagging me? The dark spot in my mind that was Holden glowed like an ember now, but as soon as I refocused on it, it went dark. “Gah!”

I straightened back up. Angry. He needed me to be angry, but I wasn’t like Holden. I didn’t have wells of concealed rage just waiting to be tapped. “I can’t find him.” I blinked and looked at Rhys. I had failed. Our connection had failed. “I have no idea where he is.”

Rhys didn’t look nearly as distraught as I felt by the news. “Then find the child.”

I shook my head. “She’s a void. I don’t know if I can.” But I tried anyway. As an angel I could have done it easy-peasy. As a guardian though, if she wasn’t asking for my help, it was a lot harder to pinpoint one human soul in need amongst all the others. Quintus could have done it, but he had thousands of years of practice on me.

“Ask Death,” Rhys demanded when it was clear I couldn’t do it. “He knows where everyone is.”

“He won’t get involved.”

“Are you completely useless?” Rhys shouted. “Make him.”

That was when I felt it, the pull of someone sending a prayer for my help—only it wasn’t from anyone I would have expected. Phoenix’s heartfelt plea for help tugged at me.

“I know where he is,” I said.

The girl didn’t fuss or struggle. She held my hand as we walked toward the club. It was the best place to do what had to be done. The building was soundproof and had no windows, and it was where Mammon had disrespected me.

Charlie smiled up with me, revealing a new gap in her teeth that had resulted in a tooth fairy visit. As she skipped along beside me, I felt a twinge of weakness.

She was the seal, nothing more, I reminded myself.

Phoenix was waiting at the club on the front step, his eyes darting around. He pressed his long greasy hair back from his face when he saw us coming. “Where’s Olivia?” he asked again.