Huh. Her daughter can see weird soul shit, and now her mom looks a bit different than we’d expect. So yeah.
Nicole slowly turned her head. “So much screaming. You killed them all, I hope?”
Brownstone grunted. “Yeah, we killed them all. Some of them may take a while to die, though.”
“Good. Why? Are you here for what they sought?” Nicole stared at him, her expression weary.
Shay stared at the woman, surprised she wasn’t already insane given the obvious level of torture she’d sustained. It was an impressive display of strength of will.
“I’m here because a girl needs her mother.” Brownstone pulled out a knife. “I helped your daughter out the other day.” He sliced one of the ropes. “Because she helped me with my dog. The Harriken tried to take her, and I made them pay for that. Things escalated from there.” He made short work of the other ropes and the metal they had her wrapped in. Magical suppression, maybe? “And so now a lot more Harriken are dead. Things just got...complicated.”
Complicated didn’t begin to capture the insanity of the situation.
“Is Alison safe?” Nicole weakly pushed herself into a sitting position. “My husband sold me out, and I know he was targeting her too.” She sighed and took a deep breath. “I hoped that his twisted mind might at least show some mercy toward his own daughter.”
“Alison’s safe. We’ve got her stashed somewhere the Harriken can’t find her.” Brownstone rubbed his chin. “And I had a discussion with Walt about proper respect for his wife and child. It ended with a broken jaw, and a warning from me that he’d better get the fuck out of town or he would be dead.”
Not enough, Brownstone. Not fucking enough. That fucking father needs a little torture himself, or at least a bullet in his head. Selling your own wife out to be tortured?
Nicole nodded slowly, a pleased look on her face. “He loved me once, I think, but still… What he’s done is unforgiveable. Please promise me you’ll kill him should you get the chance?”
“I gave him my warning. Especially after seeing this shit,” he nodded at her. “If I see him again, he’s dead.”
Shay smiled, glad that everyone was on the same page.
“You have no idea how that quiets my soul.” Nicole groaned. Her damaged hand glowed for a second, and the fingers moved back into their proper position. Several of her wounds sealed themselves.
Shay was beginning to think a few things had been kept from Alison.
“I don’t get it,” she said. “What’s worth all this bullshit? Can you see souls like your daughter? Did they want to use you as a lie detector or something?”
Brownstone shrugged. “Does it fucking matter? We can do the Q and A later. This place is on fire, remember? Let’s just get her the hell out of here.”
Nicole stared at James, not saying a word. He shifted under her gaze, uncomfortable. She coughed some blood into her hand.
“Shit.” The bounty hunter reached into his pocket and pulled out the healing potion. “This is magic. It’ll help you.” He held it out. “Best potions witch in Los Angeles made it.”
Nicole wrapped her hand around his and closed his fingers. “Was this potion made for you?”
“Yeah, whatever. You can pay me back later. You’re not gonna make it otherwise.”
“You don’t understand. It won’t work. If anything, it’ll probably make things worse.”
Brownstone winced.
Shay looked between the two. She knew a little about healing potions and knew they couldn’t be generic for all types of beings, but one made for humans tended to work on most humans.
Brownstone scrubbed a hand over his face, desperation in his eyes.
“What’s your name?” Nicole asked quietly.
“James Brownstone.”
She smiled at him, looking him in his eyes. “Thank you, James Brownstone, for all that you have done to aid my daughter. I can die now, secure in the knowledge that she’s safe, but there is something you should know.”
Shay called over her shoulder, “Like my friend said, the house is on fire.”
Nicole smiled sadly. “I’ll be dead soon anyway. You need to understand what I’m going to tell you.”
Brownstone shook his head. “What the fuck is going on?” He looked at Shay before turning back to Nicole.
Shay almost snorted. It’ll be pretty embarrassing if we end up dying from smoke inhalation after killing our way in.
“My legacy is a wish,” Nicole said softly. “I ran from my family responsibilities and duties on Oriceran, but it did not change the truth that those in my line are bequeathed a wish.”
“A wish?” Shay turned around, surprised. “You mean...like an actual I wish I were rich kind of wish?” She didn’t even know that kind of magic was real.
Brownstone glanced at Shay, and back at Nicole.
“Something like that. Magic is more powerful and wild than you humans understand.” The dark-skinned Drow leaned forward, her long white hair covering her face.
“I wanted to come here and live a simpler life, so I used my magic to disguise myself, took a human husband, and bore a half-human child. But with the truth of Oriceran coming out and my heritage becoming more obvious with the flow of magic each year, my husband figured out the truth. That was fine, since I’d always wanted to tell him anyway, but then I made my true mistake.”
“Your true mistake?” Brownstone asked.
Nicole nodded. “I told him everything, including that I had a wish and was saving it for our daughter. Foolish me, I thought he’d understand.” She inhaled slowly. “I can give the wish to another, but it has to be done willingly. I refused Walt’s request. I knew he would not use it well, but I never suspected he’d partner with such scum to betray me.”
She held on to the edge of the table. “They tortured me to try and force me to give them the wish, but I’m two hundred and twelve years old, and I am a princess of
