Bitten in Two

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.

“I’m going to fuck somebody up,” she said to her partner, her voice high as a child’s as they paused by Ahmed’s desk.

“We’re dead, Cleahd,” said the man. “You don’t get more fucked up than this.” It was supposed to be a joke, but neither of them laughed. They just stared at each other with eyes the color of burning logs that kept getting brighter, and hotter, until I began to be amazed one of them didn’t burst out screaming.

Final y Cleahd shoved the knuckles of her first two fingers against her lips and said, “Wrul , one of us is stil alive. Don’t you feel it? She’s waiting.’” Sterling caressed the ring on his pinkie and whispered, mouthing the words Wrul spoke moments later.

“We have to talk to her,” he said. “Come on.” Ignoring us as if we were just a set of drums Ahmed had decided to use as doorstops until he had time to price us, they drifted into the hal and toward the surviving Luureken, who was just beginning to sit up. They sat across from her, staring into her confused face as they tucked their knees under their chins and wrapped their arms around them like schoolgirls preparing to play a good game.

At nearly the same time the third il usion walked through the front door. It was the leader’s rider, looking so real that I reached for Grief before my brain reminded my hand that Sterling was just that good.

The first two berserkers looked at the new arrival and whispered his name, “Nedo,” worshipful y. Then they waited for him to speak, like it was his job to ask the questions they wanted answered. Weird how the rules of life fol ow into the afterlife, and then even into the magical faking of it.

I glanced at Sterling. He’d closed his eyes. I thought I heard him chanting as Nedo leaned over the wild-eyed survivor, grinning with huge enjoyment when she yelped and crab walked straight back into a bin ful of maracas, knocking it over and spil ing them with a clash that official y made Ahmed’s the loudest scene I’d ever lingered at after the kil ings were over. I hoped the neighbors wore earplugs to bed.

Nedo glared at the single surviving Luureken like he was insulted she hadn’t been decapitated as he inquired,

“The Enkyklios bal . Tel us we didn’t die for an empty bauble.”

Cleahd shrieked, “Tel us we didn’t die in vain!” Wrul crawled up beside the survivor’s shoulder and breathed in her ear. “We died for a fucking marble, Eishel.