Big relief-filled exhale now that that’s over with.
I set my duffle bag, filled with my guns, at the base of the couch and watched while Xander walked around his desk and sat in the creaky chair behind it. When he was settled, I said, “You mind spinning that globe for me? I’d like to take a walk through your monster theme park, maybe collect a few autographs—if I’m lucky.” I smirked, and the forced smile hurt my cheeks.
Xander glanced at me from over his monitor. “You actually want to go down there?”
“I would like to,” I said. “I can talk to that chick again, the one who sent us to the meeting with Hecate and her goons in the parking garage. Maybe she’ll know something about something.”
He pushed away from the desk and stood, his knees popping with the movement. Shuffling to his bookshelf, he spun the globe and unlocked the hidden door. “There’s a slider on each door that allows for a window, along with a communication system. Just press the button and speak.”
“You’re trusting me to do this all on my own?” I asked, blushing.
“Just don’t go into any of the cells or let anyone out. Will that be too hard?”
I shrugged. “Me no know.”
I returned to the cell where Xander and I had spoken to the vampiress about Callie’s death and meeting with her killers. I reached the door, setting my head against the steel and closing my eyes. What was the point anymore, other than revenge on a Nephil that would most likely result in my death? My wife had died, her killer free. Mel had died, her killer dead… but the one who had orchestrated it free. Did I continue this search for justice? My wife and daughter weren’t coming back. If I was meant to die, why bother endangering Xander in the process? Why not just die, end it all and be done with this shit? I would solve Hephaestus’s problem, Hecate’s problem, my problems. Xander could go back to his boring-ass life. Who was I to stand in the way of them moving on?
“Is someone out there?” a gentle voice asked from behind the metal cell.
With my head still against the siding and my eyes still closed, I felt around the wall for the slider, found it after a second of unhurried endeavor, and opened it. “Hi,” I said, pressing the communication button that allowed us to hear each other, moving my head so it rested against the thick glass.
In the small cell, a red-haired, green-eyed, freckled-face Empousa sat naked in the corner. She hugged her knees to her chest and looked up at me through a veil of fiery hair. “Joseph,” she said, remembering me from our meeting a couple days ago. “Why are you here?” Her voice quivered with sexual teasing.
I shook my head. “Your boss sucks at her job,” I said. “Lucky for her, though, I might just do it for her. What are your thoughts on suicide? I would hate to allow Hecate or Hephaestus or their Cursed the satisfaction of killing me, so suicide by Nephil isn’t an option.” My head throbbed against the cool glass, and my entire body stiffened with aching pain—reminding me of how brokenly alive I was, really hammering the idea that I didn’t much enjoy my active pulse.
“Why?” she asked, her voice nearly a whisper.
“You ever…” I hesitated, realizing I was spilling my innermost thoughts to a monster. But what the fuck, right? “You ever wish you could just start over?”
She cracked her neck and nodded.
“Yeah, I guess I do too,” I said.
“Those are different things.”
“What are?”
“Suicide and starting over. They’re not the same—not even close. Suicide is an end. It’s giving up, quitting, closing something forever. Starting over—” she shook her head, tossing her matted hair back and forth. “Starting over is just starting over. It’s a new beginning. It’s failing and learning and getting back up to try again.”
I chuckled. “You’re pretty wise, for a monster.”
“You’re pretty idiotic for one. Remember, I’m an Empousa.”
That split my mouth into a half-real smile. “Your veiled threat doesn’t scare me. These cells are lined with lead and silver, probably blessed with prayers of every kind and coated in holy water. Whatever power or access to power you possess won’t breech beyond the walls of your room. So, you’re an Empousa—a loyal follower of Hecate. She can’t discern your location any more than you can enthrall me right now.” I tapped my forehead against the glass, re-upping my pain. It kept me awake after a sleepless night.
“I know,” she said. “That’s why… why I feel safe speaking the truth. When they first detained me, I wanted to end it—just like you. But after staring at blank walls for hours on end and not suffering Hecate’s eminent control of me, my mind has cleared. I want to start over—to break the curse and live life free from my Nephil.”
In case you weren’t sure, the Empousa were a type of vampire controlled by the Nephil, Hecate. Vampires, as a whole, weren’t known for their honesty. Though this one appeared broken and timid, I didn’t trust her any more than I trusted a schoolyard bully with a shiny pair of brass knuckles. Still, why not play the game to see what I could win?
“Do you know where I can find Hecate? If you offer her location, we can stop her and break the curse. You’ll be free.”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know Circe?” I asked. “Where I can find her?”
“I don’t know.”
I licked my lips and closed
