Sterling knelt over the skins, adding his own mix of herbs and powders. He hummed under his breath, the lightning-trapped sphere of his amulet swinging in wide circles as he moved.
Raoul asked, “How is that possible? Sterling’s no medium.”
“Nope. But then, they won’t be real ghosts, so it’s a good balance.”
He nodded. “Ah, il usory spirits?”
“The best kind. Of course, our little berserker in there wil think they’re real ghosts. And that’s al we need.” He glanced up. Muttered something I couldn’t understand.
Cole asked, “Getting a text from the saint patrol, Raoul?”
“They’re out of their comfort zone again.” His eyes glittered as he glanced at me. “It should please you to know they’ve actual y come up with their own phrase for the danger you put me in, which doubles as their order for me to return to base.”
“What is it?” Cole demanded.
“DEFCON Parks.”
“DEFCON Parks.”
I moaned. “That’s just lame.”
Raoul chuckled. “And now you’ve described half the Eldhayr.”
I cocked my head, realizing suddenly the risk Raoul had taken saving my life. Vouching for me with the bigwigs upstairs. Showing when I cal ed despite the fact that my closest relationship was with a creature who’d al but trashed his soul. “How much trouble do you get into hanging out with me?”
A sudden, rare smile. “Only enough to make it worth my while.”
I walked over to stand beside him. He stiffened a little when my shoulder brushed his, but relaxed almost immediately. “I think they’l clear you for this deal. It looks nasty from the outside, but Sterling’s got tight control of the situation. We know whatever we can find out about the Weres and the Enkyklios bal could get us a lot closer to the Rocenz. Al we’re gonna do is some creative information gathering.”
Vayl said, “And if that does not work, you should leave.
Because I wil not relent until the Luureken has told me what I need to know in order to free Jasmine.” He’d come to the doorway, his fierce expression reminding me more of Lord Brâncoveanu than my sverhamin. I felt a heavy weight settle on my chest, but before it could sink in he said, “She has suffered long enough. I wil have an end to it.” I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having Vayl in my corner until that moment, when it was al I could do not to run sobbing into his arms like some spineless airhead. I turned to Sterling. “How’s it going?”
“Give me some room,” he replied.
We shuffled into the open space behind the counter, each of us taking turns watching him work and gauging the mood of the thawing Luureken that stil sprawled in the blood of her comrades. Cole pul ed out his Beretta and stepped away from Kyphas’s ful -body lean, making her plant both feet wide to keep from stumbling. She nearly stepped on Astral, who sat quietly at Raoul’s feet like he’d found her off switch. He crouched down and ran a finger along her forehead and back between her ears, making them twitch to the side. The other hand reached down and pressed into the heel of his boot. When his thumb jerked back, the hilt of a knife came with it. He pul ed it free and stood, holding it comfortably at his side, a shining blade just long enough to pierce a Luureken’s heart.
Sterling ignored our preparations because he was stil busy with his own. He added a few more dried leaves to the pile, whispered over it, “Shades of shades, rise and speak, mouth my words.”
His amulet seemed to be moving on its own now, drawing a circle around the pile on the floor. He hesitated another second. Then he brought his left hand up to the chain, pul ed the necklace straight and stil . A bolt of shiny silver light shot from its glittering center down onto the concoction. It caught fire, burned white-hot, and then stopped, leaving nothing but ash behind.
He leaned over again, only this time he drove his fist into the pile. Sparks flew from his ring as the ash exploded into the air. It reminded me of a volcanic eruption, only in miniature. When Sterling stepped back, however, not a single speck of the material had settled on him.
“Where’d it go?” I whispered.
“Around,” he assured me.
“Uh-huh.” I looked at the ceiling doubtful y. “Nothing seems different to me.”
Sterling’s jaw worked itself long enough that I realized I’d just insulted him. I sighed. Why did I always land the bril iant, sensitive types? “I’m just asking you what the Luureken is going to see that I’m not,” I said.
“Oh.” He glanced at Vayl, who raised an eyebrow.
“Her words often take more than a single meaning,” my sverhamin explained. “Perhaps this would be a good rule for you to remember before the two of you end up destroying another building.”
I stared up at him, thinking, Oh, so he knew all along.
Yeah, Pete probably trotted out all the gory details of my solo exploits for him. And still he demanded to bring me on as his assistant. Which is kind of how I feel right now.
Back to square one, before he’d even looked at me sideways. Which isn’t fair. Maybe he feels just as confused as I do. Who’s ever going to know with a guy who signals his deepest emotions with a twitch?
Save it for later, I answered myself as I turned away from him and locked my hands behind my back. We’re working, so let’s work. And if we’re going to ignore the fact that we both decided to gloss over what should’ve been a major reunion moment, then fine. It would’ve been weird with an audience anyway. Especially considering the fact that Vayl’s first reaction to becoming uncursed was to kill the guy.
Then I felt his hands slide over mine. Cirilai had ridden up my finger. He pushed it back down, then raised my arms just enough so he could push forward, press his hips into my back. The rumble of his voice worked like a bel , ringing through my body as he said, “I am curious as wel , Sterling.
Wil the il usions only be visible to the Luureken?” Sterling’s smile seemed to acknowledge more than the question as he looked down at the original spot of his spel .
“You’l see the il usions. She’l see ghosts. And hear them, in whatever language they were in the habit of speaking. I’d rate the freak-out factor at about a nine and a half.” I felt a grin play at the corner of my lips, now that I understood. And especial y now that Vayl’s thumbs were rubbing my palms while his fingers wrapped my wrists so tight it felt like he never planned to let go.
Less than fifteen seconds later the two Luureken whose remains Cole and Kyphas had salvaged rose out of the floor. Even though Sterling had only created echoes of their spirits, I felt their rage like needles rol ing along the length of my exposed skin, an acid-green hatred that spewed on everything it touched.
How such ordinary-looking people could contain al that madness I couldn’t guess. At first glance they resembled a couple of child-sized grown-ups dressed in street clothes.
But you can’t hide real evil. The man who’d masqueraded as the snake-photo sel er’s son had come, the scar crawling along his face and down to his neck like an active disease. Joining him was the flame-eyed girl that Sterling and Kyphas had original y marked. Her scars, which had been even deeper in life than her partner’s, pulsed as if she stil had a heartbeat.