I was a selfish bitch, because even as a part of me was grateful that Disco had passed to the pearly gates of Heaven and not Hell, another part of me realized what was bound to occur. Disco’s debt had officially become mine. Before, when there was a chance I could somehow deliver my message—even to his spirit—I had hope.
That sliver of light was snuffed, taken away until only darkness remained.
“We’ll figure something out,” Paine said, appearing calm although his body language and jerky mannerisms screamed distress.
I knew that he was wrong.
There wasn’t anything to figure out.
Disco was gone, and no amount of necromancy or magic would bring him back. I’d read Goose’s journals and was aware that once a spirit crossed to that blissful haven in the sky, that was it. God didn’t allow dalliances with the mortal realm, not unless you were one of the angels sent to maintain an all-important balance. Besides, Heaven wasn’t like Hell, so why would anyone ever want to leave it?
The answer is they wouldn’t. Not for anyone or anything.
Dread settled in my gut, followed by finality, and eventually, acceptance.
I glanced at the people around me, noting the concern etched all over their faces. They knew what was coming as well as I did.
I owed Zagan a debt, and in four days, he would claim his due.
Chapter Ten
“Goddamn it.” I tossed the heavy tome onto the floor and raked my fingers through my hair. Trying to calm down, I took a deep, fortifying breath.
The enormous grandfather clock chimed from across the room, informing me that the afternoon was officially over. The evening was now in full swing. Twenty-four hours had passed since I’d found Goose, been rescued by Paine, and had learned that demon spawn now controlled a solid portion of the general population. Putting the number of days I had left to find a way to sever my debt to Zagan to three.
AKA seventy-two hours.
AKA four thousand, three hundred and twenty minutes.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
So far I’d learned how to conjure a demon, dismiss it and barter a deal if I was so inclined. The information was the easiest to find, which was fucking frightening in the extreme. Summoning a creature from the pits of Hell was as simple as picking up a phone book and ordering a pizza from Dominos. All you needed was the right form of payment, a mirror to allow it to pass through, and shit for fucking brains for even considering it. Of course, the severing a debt portion was absent from the pages. Couldn’t have a way out listed for a mere mortal to take advantage. Once you screwed the pooch, you took it in the ass like a good puppy—whether you liked it in the shitter or not.
Sighing, I shifted my tucked legs from beneath the coffee table covered in stacked books. Goose and Bells were doing more of the same at his home—searching for ways to sever the debt and buy me some time—but so far there was nothing. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Accepting a bargain with a demon might work, and was an option, but it was a last resort as it would only nullify one debt in lieu of another.
Besides, there was quite nothing for me to bargain with.
Glancing around Paine’s empty living room, I listened for sounds that would indicate he was anywhere close by. His place was situated just behind The Razor, in the building that had become an extension of the club. He’d renovated the entire top floor, leaving behind an enormous open area that consisted of hardwood floors, minimal but matching furniture, and a few bedrooms. Since he wasn’t a part of a family any longer, it was mostly empty space.
I pulled the pendant from beneath the plush sweater Bells had given to me and inspected it. There was no warmth, but the all-too-engaging hum of power was present. Some strange compulsion told me not to tell Goose I had it when we shared details of things that had occurred between my disappearance and now. Maybe it was because of his negative reaction so long ago, or maybe it was because right now we had enough problems without my freaking him out.
Standing, I rubbed my eyes and stretched. I allowed my mind to drift as I stuffed the pendant back under the sweater. It was difficult to believe that Paine would hand control to Peter—the next in line to lead the family—and leave everything behind after Disco’s passing.
Why had he done it? I wasn’t sure.
In between acclimating to the changes of living around vampires and brainstorming with Goose and Bells, I hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to him one on one. In fact, this was the first evening he and I were the only two people inside his apartment.
Soon, he’d leave his bedroom and come looking for me. I knew he didn’t have to sleep, but he’d left me to my research at the crack of dawn. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a feeling it was because he knew how exhausted and terrified I was and had wanted to give me time to sort some mental shit out.
My stomach growled, reminding me that the tank was empty, and I started walking toward the kitchen. There wasn’t food in the place when I’d arrived, but Paine had taken care of that. I studied the counter covered in bananas, apples, oranges and various other perishables, and tried to decide where to start. A whisper of air against my neck was the only warning I got before Paine swept past me, his long, easy strides lethally silent.
“If you keep that shit up, I’m buying you a collar with a bell,” I told him as I decided to make a peanut butter and banana sandwich. “You’re just like Disco—too fucking quiet.”
We froze as soon as the words came out, staring at each other.
Talk of Disco had been kept to a minimum, as neither of us seemed to want to go there. I wasn’t sure if he could see the anguish in my eyes as assuredly as I saw it in his, but I had a feeling he could.
“He loved that about you,” he eventually said, ending the agonizing quiet, and smiled thinly at the memory until he glimpsed the pained look on my face. I quickly shook it off and reminded myself that for Paine, Disco had been gone for a very long time. Unlike me, there was a substantial amount of healing that had taken place.
“My short attention span?” I asked, thankful the sadness I felt wasn’t present in my voice.
He nodded and moved closer, closing the distance step by step. Then we were toe to toe, chest to chest. I lifted my head as my chin tilted back, so we maintained eye contact.
“Gabriel wanted me to take care of you.” He brought his hands up, circling his fingers around my arms. “He told me that on more than one occasion.”
“You knew, didn’t you?” I tried not to let my resentment show. “How he was going to die?”
Paine’s brow furrowed, twin arches of lush brown coming together, and for a moment I saw the invisible weight resting on his shoulders, the horrible burden he always carried. His liquid black irises dulled, making the pupils indistinguishable, and I immediately lowered my gaze guiltily.
“You don’t have to answer that,” I blurted before he could respond. “It doesn’t matter.”
When I attempted to walk past him, he grasped my elbow in a light grip. “You hate me for it. Don’t you?”
Even as I responded, I wasn’t sure if it was the truth or a lie used to pacify him and ease his conscience. “I don’t hate you. What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“No?” He tugged my arm, waiting for me to meet his level stare. “So when I saw Gabriel leaving that night—clothed as he was in the very vision I’d glimpsed of his death—it wasn’t my fault for allowing him to walk out the door? Don’t you wonder about that? What might have been had I broken my rules for a change? Because I do. I think about it every single day.”
“Then why didn’t you?” I couldn’t stop the question, unable to help myself. It was something I had to know and was determined to understand.
Paine’s intense, unnerving stare was becoming almost more than I could bear. He seemed to be considering something, mulling it over. Suddenly, he took my hand and started leading
me from the kitchen.
“Come with me.”
He guided me past the center island, until we were walking down the long hallway where the rooms were. He continued until we came to a door on the left. He didn’t let go as he opened the door, revealed a staircase, and we started making our way to the roof. After we stepped through the exit that would lead us outside, he strode to the long brick ledge surrounding the top of the building. A breathtaking view of the street just below The Razor greeted us, the streetlights coming on as the sun relinquished her authority and the night came to life.
“The year I was changed was a difficult one.” Paine stared ahead as he spoke, peering into the night. Lush waves of dark brown hair obscured his face from view. “I quickly learned that no matter what I touched, I could witness how it would die. It was agonizing and nearly drove me mad. The memories, if allowed to build, can consume you. The cost of control was isolation, which can become overwhelming to anyone. For a time, I wasn’t sure if I could stand it. Until one day when I decided to forsake fate.”
His thumb brushed over the back of my hand—once, twice—before he continued.
“I came across a puppy a long time ago. He was filthy, tick infested and starving. When I touched him, I knew that one day he’d be hit by a car. There were no flashes of future tragedies or happenstances, only happiness. He provided me with companionship, and I provided him with a home. It worked beautifully until the day fate was set to strike, and I was unable to stand idly by and allow it.” He turned away from the view ahead, bringing us face to face. “The day I saved Lex, a domino effect was started. Every single person he came into contact with suffered some kind of accident or mishap, and the trend continued for months. As time passed, it became clear that he was altering things—no matter how small—and the result was a shift in what should have been.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but had to ask. “What happened?”
“One day during the summer, Lex fell into one of the oil wells. I imagine he swam for as long as he was able, but eventually he succumbed to the heat and exhaustion. One of the workers found him and hauled him out.” Paine released my hand, lifted his arms, and rested his palms on my shoulders. “He suffered horribly. Had he died the day he was intended to, he would have gone quickly. Instead, he treaded oil in unbearable heat for God knows how long.”
“And you didn’t see it?” I was genuinely confused. “You couldn’t see how he died and stop it?”
Dark eyes narrowed and plush lips thinned. “No. I can only see the manner in which a person dies once. After that, I can’t see anything.”
“But—”
“He wasn’t meant to live,” Paine interrupted in an uncompromising tone. “My interference meant when he finally passed, he did so cruelly.”
“You can’t believe he died a miserable death because you interfered.”
“There’s no way to know for sure,” he conceded, but pressed on before I could question him further. “But there’s also no way of knowing I’m wrong, either. Death comes to all of us. It’s not my place to dictate the when or where.”
Whatever I might have said next was interrupted when a shout came from Paine’s apartment. We turned just as a vampire I didn’t recognize burst through the door to the roof, his expression one of alarm.
“You’re needed downstairs. Now.”
“What’s the matter?” Paine released me and started walking in the direction of the vampire, who glanced at me before he answered.
“Some of the guests brought their pets. It’s getting nasty.”
Paine cursed and hustled to the door. He and the vampire who summoned him traveled much too fast for me to keep up, but I remained behind them when I heard the horrific, ear-piercing sounds coming from the building just next door. The closer I got, the louder the noises became. I distinguished horrific, stomach-churning howls. Paine’s apartment was connected to The Razor on the second floor, where a narrow, covered corridor was erected between the brick structures.
The sea of vampires had already parted by the time I ran across the metal stairwell and stopped far above the crowd. Paine and the vampire who had retrieved him were rushing into the fray, but I wasn’t watching them. I was too distracted by the werewolves locked in a heated clash in the center of the dance floor.
They were completely nude, their bodies twice the size they would be as men, covered in thick, coarse-looking fur. The ragged gashes along their torsos and shoulders wept freely, streams of blood splattering as they continued to slash at each other with clawed hands and fanged snouts. As I gawked in disbelief, I noticed four vampires standing nearby holding thick chains attached to the collars of the beasts.
Holy shit.
The vampires forming a circle around the enraged creatures were laughing at the sight, as if the warring beasts were a twisted form of entertainment. Several remained lounged in their seats, their human Happy Meals seated at their heels. When I glanced to the right, I saw Victoria in a large, antique chair. The red velvet cushions padding her ass and back were a stark contrast to her fair skin and dark hair.
Paine strode around the edge of the circle and approached her directly, heedless of the vampire guards surrounding her chair. The commotion taking place was too loud to make out what he said, but his narrowed eyes and the clipped motions of his mouth told me all I needed to know. He wasn’t happy about what was going down at his club and, at the moment, I wanted to know what the fuck that was.
Victoria rose from her seat and moved closer to Paine, until they nearly touched. When her hand came up, and she started to place it against his chest, Paine took a swift step back as if her touch was toxic. Her eyes narrowed, her lips pressed together, and she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers.
The vampires behind her surrounded Paine, and I started hauling ass in his direction. Taking the stairs two at a time, I said a silent prayer that I didn’t fall down and break my neck. The path was clear when I hit the floor, and I ran across the distance, heart pounding. The pendant heated, the hum against my skin spreading from my chest to my limbs.
Before I made it to Paine—and just as I was within distance to reach out and touch him—an arm wrapped around my waist and hoisted me from the ground. I was stunned when the pendant became white hot on my skin, causing me to hiss at the unexpected burn. The person who’d grabbed me shuddered violently and let go. The pendant went cool as I spun, got a visual and took aim, and brought my right leg up and around, going directly for the bastard’s chin. The moment my rubber sole made a solid connection, his head snapped around. I watched, amazed, as he flew back several feet.
The action taking place in the center of the dance floor didn’t stop, but it was essentially forgotten when the attention in the room turned to me. Paine started to move in my direction when he was swarmed by the vampires in Victoria’s accompaniment.
“You again.” Victoria strode past all of them, and I stayed as I was—arms loose at my sides—but my feet remained in a perfect position to protect myself or dodge a blow if necessary, my right leg angled slightly behind the left, my balance centered.
“Don’t tell me,” I drawled, shrugging. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
She smiled without humor. “I’ve been told that you think the things you say are amusing. It’s good to know that Ethan wasn’t lying.”
“Lying?”
Her grin became genuine. “You’re not funny.”
“That all depends on your sense of humor.” I glanced at Paine. His dark eyes were those of a predator, taking in everything, and the message they were sending me was crystal clear.
Shut the fuck up, Rhiannon.
Victoria walked around me, her high fuck-me heels clicking with each step. She froze after she’d made a full circle. I noticed the sounds of the fighting had stopped, though the furious snarls remained. It was impossible to turn to see why. There was
no way I was placing my back to the deranged demon bitch who was sizing me up.
She snapped her fingers again, and one of the vampires standing in front of Paine stepped forward. “I want a better view,” she said, her gaze remaining on me. “And place another seat beside mine.”
The vampire moved to do her bidding, and she motioned behind her, indicating I should plop my ass into the cheap metal chair the vamp had snagged and placed beside hers.
“Come. Take a seat.”
As I started to look at Paine, she moved into my line of sight. “Don’t look to him for assistance. He can’t help you.” When I met her stare, I could see she was pushing me, hoping I’d cross the line so she could flex her muscles. “Do as I say.”
Unable to do anything else, I did what I knew Paine silently instructed and kept my mouth shut. The chair was hard against my back, the legs shorter than those of her ornate throne. It forced me to look up at her, putting me in a physical place of submission. My pride resented the implication, but my mind overcame emotion, keeping me silent when all I could think about was standing up, folding the chair back into its original position, and kissing Vicky girl upside the cranium with it.
From my vantage point, I could see that the werewolves were being kept apart, tethered by the chains that were in the hands of vampires standing on either side of the beasts. The wounds in their chests were slowly closing, but their fur was matted with varying shades of blood—ranging from fresh, deep red, to dark, rusty brown. What I’d thought was one link in the collar was actually two, allowing the vampires to control the wolf-men more efficiently using a ratio of two to one.
“Hideous creatures, aren’t they?” Victoria said and clucked her tongue. The vampires holding the chains moved closer, allowing the interlocking circles of metal to go slack, and the werewolves started slashing at each other once more.
I wanted to turn around and see if Paine still stood just behind me, surrounded and unable to move. Knowing better, I focused instead on his presence, the comfort that arose from his touch, the safety I felt in his company, and almost gave myself away when I felt an all new, yet heartbreakingly familiar sensation suffuse my body and mind.