Bitten in Two

It was the third time he’d said it, confirming his unease with our plan, which was, I’l admit, one of our most grisly. My Spirit Guide leaned against the desk in Ahmed’s office with his arms crossed, the extra creases in his uniform reflecting his agitation as a framed picture of King Mohammed VI grinned over his shoulder.

I looked up from the corpse whose forearm skin I was carving off with my bolo and was glad for once that Vayl wasn’t there to see me despite the fact that Sterling’s spel , and this particular component of it, had al been his idea.

Which was, maybe, why he’d volunteered to keep watch over the one Were Raoul hadn’t sent to the netherworld—

the female Luureken who was stil mostly an ice pop with rage fil ing lying beside the front door.

She was alone at the front now, because at Sterling’s direction we’d dragged al the dead back to the office. Then Cole and Kyphas had gone out to find the bodies of the other Luureken. Their job was to bring back pieces of at least two of them, which were also necessary for his spel .

Impossible? Maybe for anyone else. I gave them even odds.

I glanced at Raoul, whose grimace told me he was less grossed out, but more offended, than me. I said, “What is it?”

“Mutilating corpses is a crime,” Raoul informed me.

“So is trying to kil us.” I finished slicing off a patch about three inches square and threw it in the middle of the floor. The slap of dead flesh against cold tile made my teeth ache. I hit the bathroom to clean up, and by the time I came out Cole and Kyphas had returned, pale but triumphant.

Predictably, the demon was the one who presented Sterling with their prizes.

“On the floor with the other one,” he told them, pointing to where he’d be working.

Cole sank onto the chair, not even protesting when Kyphas began to rub his shoulders. He just stared at the two flaps of skin they’d retrieved as Raoul asked, “What is the purpose of this ceremony?”

I stood in the doorway, unable to let Vayl out of my sight for long, and said, “We’re raising the ghosts of the Luureken we kil ed.”

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 Brancoveanu 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