Night Fever (A Rue Darrow Novel Book 3) (16 page)

He threw his head back and laughed. I figured it was a ploy, but I knew his anger and spite. He had already hurt Georgia with the fire, so I needed to get her out of the way so nothing would hold me back.

“Georgia, go outside and wait for me,” I ordered.

She whimpered and started for the door, but I could tell she tried to resist my order. Worry brought tears to her eyes. “Rue.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. Go.”

When she didn’t move fast enough, I started over to her to push her out the door.

“Rue,” Almonester called.

I gritted my teeth and glanced at him. He hadn’t moved from the spot behind the counter. We were just feet apart, and I began to wonder what his aim was. At any time, he could attack. That ball of fire and sparks were more show than damage. So what was he waiting for? Why the production?

“Don’t worry, Almonester. I’m not running away. We’ll settle this between us.”

“Did you get my gift?”

His question threw me. “What gift?”

“The book. I sent you a book in the mail.”

I blinked at him, still confused. “That was from work. No, wait. I received two. You’re saying you sent one? So what? I broke the spell easy.” I didn’t bother telling him there was something deeper about the book. Maybe he already knew it. Of course he did by the look in his smug expression.

“You touched it.” His grin widened.

I ran a hand over my face. My head pounded with pain, and my stomach felt like the walls were touching from emptiness. My fangs, which I had retracted when I started looking for Georgia, descended again. That meant I had to speak to Almonester around them. Wonderful.

“What difference does my touching the book have to do with anything,” I enunciated through my canines. “Spells don’t work on me for long, so if you’re getting to something specific, say it and let’s get to our fight.”

Georgia stood in the doorway, shuffling. I reached out to shove her through faster, but a golden barrier sprung up and propelled me backward. I landed on my bum and blinked up at the sudden wall of light. Shimmering with gold flecks, it stretched from the floor to the ceiling in bars like a jail cell. Georgia stood on the outside of the cell, but it was clear to me she could see it. However, she didn’t try touching it. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t because it would mean disobeying my order or because the wall frightened her. I admit it had me nervous as well.

“What is that?” I whispered and crawled on my knees toward it. The energy pulsed strong off the barrier, and when I reached out with fingertips I expected it to begin to waver as all spells did when coming into contact with me. This one didn’t budge, not even an inch. I swallowed.

“This is the start,” Almonester said.

I frowned back at him. “I thought you were so clever and strong, Almonester. You’re using cheap tricks to try to hold me here? Come on. Fight me like a goblin.”

He chuckled and gestured to the wall. “
This
is fighting like a goblin.”

A howl rent the air, and the door which had shut behind Georgia was thrust inward and ripped from its hinges. I had to roll aside to keep from being smashed by it. My faithful and wonderful Nathan stood in the doorway, a hulking werewolf ready to destroy Almonester. Nathan did look much worse for the wear, as there were spots where he must have been bitten. Yet, I also detected healing beginning. By morning, he would be right as rain.

“Nathan,” I called to him.

He bared his sharp teeth, growling at Almonester, and leaped forward. Almonester’s laughter rose above Nathan’s howl of pain and the shower of sparks and light that emitted from the golden bars. Nathan wouldn’t give up. He got to his feet after landing hard and threw himself at the bars. Again, he crashed to the ground.

“Nathan, stop. You’ll hurt yourself.”

He ignored me and kept attacking. Each time, he was propelled backward.

“Fool! Didn’t I tell you, Rue? The best way to overcome one of these instinctive beasts is with intellect. A goblin is strong, but we are much smarter. That is what’s most important. As long as he knows you’re in here, he’ll keep attacking. However, that wall won’t come down until the spell is fully cast and the decision has been made. No one can break it, not even a vampire.”

I wanted to believe he was lying, but every word rang true. “So all I need to do is kill you.”

“Not yet. Think,” he said. “Do you believe I would lock myself in here with you if I didn’t have another card?”

Fear gripped me. I licked my lips, going over various scenarios in my mind. My reasoning faculties were subpar at the moment, and the noise of Nathan’s attacks weren’t helping the matter. “Almonester, you’re a dark, evil creature.”

“Insults, Rue? I expected better.”

“That barrier seems like it’s made of pure light. I wouldn’t expect such a thing to come from you.”

He grinned. “You’re fishing. I don’t mind. You’re right. It wasn’t a goblin’s magic originally, but it’s been with us for many generations. We’ve made it our own, and as far as I know no other kind of nonhuman uses it anymore. Unethical they say. Hah! Once upon a time, no one questioned these methods. They were who we all were.”

My mouth went dry. “What is it used for?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?”

“Get on with it!”

“You’re eager to start your new life. I don’t mind that either. I’m excited by the prospects. So much control, so little time. Gold, I will have you soon.”

“If you’re done…” I grumbled, but a suspicion had begun in my gut. I moved closer to the barrier and laid a hand on it. If it took the last of my strength, I would break it despite what he said.

“Rue, this is the
dkei-gha-pa
.” He spoke the words as if I would hear anything other than, “this is the wah wah wah.” I had no idea what it meant. Almonester gestured with a broad flourish toward the golden bars. He was obviously proud of it. Nathan stopped pounding at the barrier and began to whine, pacing back and forth. His ears flattened, and he lowered his head. I thought at first that he recognized the name, but then I shifted my gaze to Georgia. She swung her head side-to-side, eyes wide and searching. Nathan sniffed the ground.

I stood. “What’s going on?”

“They can no longer see or sense you. You’re gone just as completely as if you had entered a new time and space.”

I zipped toward him intending to shake him until his head rattled, but I never reached the counter. Each time I tried to approach, the space between us reset. “This can’t be happening.”

“There are rules, Rue, and you must obey them.”

“Nonsense!” I tried again to get to him then back to the door. My position reset over and over. Closing my eyes, I dug my fingers into my hair and willed it all away. When I opened my eyes, everything remained the same. I reached out, thinking there might be an invisible barrier around me I could break. My fingers touched air. Defeat niggled at the edges of my psyche, but I refused to give up. At least I should learn what these rules were and what this weird spell meant. “Tell me the rules.”

“Oh, you want to play the game now?”

I ground my teeth, and one fang pierced my lower lip. Even a taste of my life source didn’t calm me.

“The
dkei-gha-pa
is a decision spell, Rue, and the decision must be made. What makes the spell unbreakable is because it is agreed to willingly by the vict—uh, the participant.”

“Victim sounds right,” I snapped.

He shrugged.

“I’ll never agree to anything you propose, so that should end your spell.” Looking toward the door, I noticed the barrier continued to glitter. I cried out, “My answer is no!”

No reaction whatsoever.

“Rules,” Almonester repeated. “You must know all the options before you can decide. So here we go.” He rubbed his hands together, too darn excited. I continued to hold my hands at my sides in readiness for a fistfight, but it seemed pointless. Almonester had no intention of throwing a single punch.

I thought back to the time I had sent him rolling across the bar floor as if I were bowling. Almonester must have been humiliated at the time with so many witnesses. Yet, he had risen, brushed himself off, and continued out the door. Back then I wondered what he would do, whether he would fire me. I didn’t know at the time what a goblin was truly capable of.

“The decision we make tonight, Rue, is for your enslavement to me. I will be your master, and you will obey every whim and wish that crosses my mind. You will not be able to resist me even for an instant. What’s more, you will never be able to speak of our arrangement to anyone.”

Chapter Nineteen

I stared at him. He thought he would make me his slave just as he had done to Orin and Pammie? He must be crazy, and I told him so. “You think a lot of yourself, Almonester, if you think I’ll give in to that demand. Not in this lifetime, buddy. I will fight you until I’m in the grave before I let myself fall into such a trap.”

As I spoke, I recalled when he had used Pammie. I didn’t know the particulars, but I was sure he had clients who enjoyed her beauty. Let’s just leave it at that. Rue Darrow would not be used in such a fashion, and I was pretty darn sure my command not to hurt humans would be suspended if even one of them paid Almonester to get me.

“You will be faced with a decision between your life as my slave and the life of the one you love the most. Now—”

I released a bark of laughter. “Say that to Nathan and see if he will refrain from ripping you apart, Almonester. Like I told you before, I’m confident in his strength.”

My brave words bounced against my own ears, but my mind spun. I thought about how much I loved Nathan, but strong memories of Ian also popped into my head. When I announced in my mind as a means of communication to Ian that I was ending it between us, it wasn’t that I didn’t love him anymore. My love for him ran deep, and even after I had been with Nathan for the time I had, I couldn’t say clearly if I loved him more than Ian. What I knew was my level of commitment to Nathan.

The other thought that ran through my head was of my son, Jake. Without question, I loved Jake more than any other person on the planet. Yet, I stood before Almonester confident no one in New Orleans knew about him. When I visited Jake, I made excuses for disappearing, and I kept the visits short. A situation such as this drove the need home that I could never be too cautious.

As I mentally reviewed the list of my loved ones, Almonester watched me as if he could read my mind. His smirk provoked me, but I still couldn’t stir from the position I held on the floor. From the time he called forth that odd enchantment, I felt the chains on me. I wasn’t so arrogant that I couldn’t tell when I was helpless.

“You’re joking, Rue,” Almonester groused. “You and I both know that wolf isn’t the one you love the most.”

My stomach churned. I let my gaze slip by Almonester to a spot just over his shoulder. The air stirred, and the force of it whipped the plastic-covered clothing back and forth on their hangers. A vortex started as small as a dime and grew. Dread built in me until every nerve-ending pulsed with tension. What I suspected couldn’t be true.

Not possible.

“The funny thing about thinking you erased yourself from my memory, Rue, is that I could watch you.”

I hadn’t visited Jake in the time since I returned from the past.

“For years.”

My heart sank.

“Yes, for two hundred years I waited.”

“I didn’t exist two hundred years ago.”

“No, but I had the memory of intending to enslave those two fae and being denied it. I had the memory of a certain vampire interfering with my plans. So, I waited until the right time. During your inquiries in the past, you gave your name. Rue Darrow is very distinct.”

I covered my mouth in shock. He was right. I couldn’t fathom the vastness of the world I lived in. No human could, and I was fresh to this paranormal side. How could I combat it?

“Rue!” Almonester’s bark ripped me from my thoughts, and I screamed and charged at him. Just as I feared, the vortex opened to my Jake. My precious baby boy hung suspended in some way, his eyes shut. He was so still, I thought he was dead, and I screamed again when I couldn’t get to him. Almonester raised his hand, and the vision of Jake clouded. “Calm down. He’s not dead.”

His words meant nothing to me. I hissed and jumped at him again and again, as crazed as Nathan had been earlier. “I don’t believe you,” I said in a tone gone raspy. “It’s an illusion.”

“Then why are you so angry?”

He waved his arm again and spoke some words. The cloud lifted, and Jake’s body came through the vortex into the laundry as clear as day. He floated near me, and I strained to reach him. My fingertips just brushed his arm, and I felt the warmth, smelled his sweet, familiar scent. My rage skyrocketed. For a while, I could neither think nor speak.

After some time, Almonester pulled Jake away from me, and my heart shattered. I sank to my knees, feeling wetness on my face. Drops of blood stained the floor.

“There’s no doubt about who you love the most,” Almonester said.

“You’re pure evil,” I whispered. “The first moment I get, I will kill you.”

“No, you won’t.” He chuckled. “You’ll protect me from others and do my bidding.”

The prospect sounded disgusting.

He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Here’s how it works. You will agree to be my slave, or I will send your son away. You will never see him again. He will not remember you, and he may or may not be safe where he goes. Alternatively, if you serve me, this spell will guarantee your son’s safety. Harm will never come to him no matter what magic is used or even an accident of life. Not until his appointed time to leave this plane of existence. Conversely, if you choose to serve me and betray the laws of the spell, it will backfire and immediately kill your son.”

“S-sounds like a load of crap to me,” I said, but my confidence waned.

“If you believe that, then give it a try. Make the decision to deny me.” He pointed to the vortex. “Take a good last look at your son and memorize his face. The spell isn’t breakable, Rue, and the decision has to be made.”

All of it sounded like a twisted lie, but the fact remained that I couldn’t get past the golden bars. If I had more time, and I was allowed to feed, maybe I would be able to figure out a way to break the spell. I refused to believe any spell was unbreakable. Maybe that was me thinking too much of myself, but I chose to see it as enduring hope. I needed time, and Almonester wasn’t offering any.

For now, I would accept the enslavement, and then speak with Bill about it. He would know or the library would have materials to teach me how to break the spell. Then I would take Jake away. My mistake had been in leaving his side and thinking he would be safer with us separated. No, I had a new plan, and I was determined to make it work.

“All right, Almonester, I accept your offer.” I choked trying to speak what came next. “I’ll be—y-your s-slave.”
For now
, I shouted in my mind.

He whooped and danced with glee. The jig was so unlike him I gaped. The golden light stole my attention from Almonester’s reaction as it expanded to a blinding brightness. Power exploded in the room almost as if it stretched the fabric of the walls. Then it contracted and shot a thousand of points of light through my body. No, not light, I realized. Chains—black chains.

The golden hue winked out, and it seemed as if my world went darker. Perhaps it was the temporary effect of staring into light too long, and it would wear off. I squinted through the haze in Almonester’s direction, and gradually my vision returned to normal. Almonester stood before me just as evil, and I hated him just as much as before.

Glancing over my shoulder, I noted the bars gone, but we were no longer in the laundry. Somehow, Almonester had transported us to a deserted spot. Yet, I knew we were still in New Orleans. Jazz played in the distance, and I believed I heard a wolf’s howl.

“Why are we here?” I demanded.

“Because I have a job for you, and I don’t want anyone knowing about it. Not until you’ve completed it. Then I suppose everyone will know.”

“Do it yourself, troll.” I said it just to test whether I could insult him. Seemed I could. So far, I hadn’t seen any evidence that I was compelled to obey.

Almonester let the insult pass. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a book that looked suspiciously like the one I had received in the mail.

“Is that…?”

“It is.” He grinned. “The book I sent you. Take it.”

I did and sensed something I couldn’t put my finger on, just as before. “What is this, Almonester?”

“A very powerful and useful item I acquired at great expense. There was a binding spell on it I couldn’t break, but you got rid of that easy.”

“Then it’s useless.”

“No, it’s not. The enchantments inside aren’t given power until they’re spoken aloud. In that way, a vampire can’t destroy them. In fact, you can use them. One in particular interests me, and you’re going to use it to get me what I want.”

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Is it a spell to bring you gold?”

He pointed his chin to the book. “Open it.”

Somehow I didn’t consider not opening it, but moved to do as he asked without reservation. He told me the page number, and I flipped through until I found the one. The language meant nothing to me until I came across a particular word. Then memories flooded my mind.

“No, no, no. Please, Almonester, not this,” I whispered.

He folded one hand over the other as if he washed them or rubbed on lotion. “I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it. Soon, Rue. Soon I’ll have everything I dreamed of. You said you trust that wolf. I trust you’re strong enough to handle the job I’m giving you. I now have a vampire at my disposal, and you don’t have to worry. I’ll have a vast store of information I can share to keep you defeating my enemies. After this one of course.”

“
This
one,” I repeated, knowing he was insane. “Do you understand how powerful he is, Almonester? I can’t beat him.”

“I believe in you.”

“I don’t want—”

He cut me off. “Go. Perform the spell now.”

If I wondered if I could resist him, I had my answer. The second the words left his lips, I was on the move, the book clutched in my hand. I moved at top speed, unable to even slow down and drag the matter out as I thought about it. Within moments, I arrived outside the paranormal library.

Wait, what was I worried about? Bill had rigged the library in a way that no patron could harm another patron who was on the premises. If anyone did have ill intentions, they were repelled and unable to enter. I grinned and took a step forward. To my despair, the barrier didn’t rise. I continued to walk up to the door, and the dilapidated façade transformed into the functioning library I knew. The entrance gave at the touch of my hand on the knob. Had I broken the spell? I didn’t think so as I hadn’t felt resistance or give. Was it the fact that only Bill and Lily were inside and no other patrons? The two of them weren’t visitors after all.

When I walked into the library, I don’t know what I expected. Suspicion, maybe, a zap of energy shot at my chest. What I got was Lily floating over to me with her friendly smile and her sweet disposition.

“Rue, I didn’t expect you tonight. Oh dear, it looks like you’ve been having a rough time.” She dipped closer to me, her feet not touching the ground. Most of the time when I visited, she went to solid form. Somehow Bill kept her well-stocked with human energy so she didn’t fade from view when she didn’t choose to.

Bill walked in from the kitchen carrying a plate of tacos, but for once he wasn’t focusing on them. His gaze was on me, and he watched me with very curious eyes. “Rue, tell me what’s happened.”

I raised a hand to my head and pushed the damp hair from my forehead. A quick touch of the book revealed it was tucked into my waistband where I had shoved it just before I entered the library. I would fail, so there was nothing to be concerned over. Besides, Bill could read my mind and often invaded the space without a by your leave.

“Hey, Bill, Lily,” I said. “I’m just here to…” My voice trailed off. In my head, I wanted to ask Bill about a way to break the spell. “I’m here because…”

Not only could I not ask the question about the spell, I couldn’t reveal my true reason for coming. Yet, I could think it. I waited, straining internally for Bill to read it in my mind. He just kept looking at me. Why? Couldn’t he see? I willed him to see.

Bill gestured for Lily to float aside, and he stood in front of me. I was never so aware of his power. This was Death after all. Bill had told me before that he hadn’t lost his powers even though he quit his job as a grim reaper. These beings could snatch the soul of a person with a flick of their little finger. Sure, their orders—again from what I had been told by another grim reaper—were that they left the undead alone. Bill had shown a willingness to flout the rules by quitting.

He touched my chin with two fingers and turned my head to the left and to the right. “That’s interesting.”

I tried clearing my throat but felt a lump in it the size of the state. “If you’re done violating my personal space, Bill, could you back up a bit?”

“Why is it I can’t read all of your mind tonight? There’s a big block right there.” He reached up to point a finger, but the tip never impacted with my skin. “I could push, but it might hurt you. Did someone glamour you? Do you need healing, Rue? I’m not a healer, but one of the books could help.”

A book. Healing. My desire flamed into a fire. I ached to tell him, and my heart hurt more because of his concern. He was my friend.

Lily wrung her hands together. “Oh, dear. I’ll find you something. I’ve gone over the books in this library many times. Of course, I haven’t scratched the surface with all that’s here, but we’ll see.”