“And I believe you’ve all met Sonya, who I originally hadn’t planned on bringing along on our little quest, but I guess Isaac Newton never figured a half breed with spirit blood would dink around with one of his devices and cause a phase shift anomaly either. Trying to make two incompatible types of matter coexist in the same space? What are the odds?”
“Does that mean you know how to fix it?” Sonya asked.
“I do. And I will get that out of you, provided you cooperate. When I looked into your genealogy, it turns out you’re a perfect fit for our endeavor and you’ve got some useful skillsets to boot. So I’m going to roll with this complication and invite Sonya to join our little fellowship. Think of me as your badass Gandalf.”
“Fun,” said Lana. “I don’t have to be the only girl on the team.”
“What team?” Franks growled, probably still thinking about whether getting melted by a jellyfish slug was worth it or not.
“I’m talking about the crew I put together for a very important mission. It took a lot of effort to get you all here. I needed to recruit representatives of certain specific offices and bloodlines in order to tackle one hell of a job. It’s kinda like how I used to put together special teams for the government, only without as much red tape.”
“You’re gonna want to listen to him, Franks,” the succubus warned.
“What are you all jabbering about?” I demanded, because our Mexican standoff had somehow morphed into Stricken’s insane pitch meeting.
“Which brings us to Owen Zastava Pitt, who is contractually obligated to help me save the world because of what he said in front of Veles. Sorry, you know him as Coslow. Same pain in the ass, different millennia. Either way, you really don’t want to go back on your word to somebody like that. Trust me on this one. Along with Franks, that gives us multiple Chosen, and we only need one to survive to fulfill the mission. I love having built-in redundancies.”
“Enough!” shouted the Drekavac. “Be silent, wretched mortal. There is work to be done.”
“I agree with the evil ghost thing,” I muttered.
“Easy there, Mr. Carver. Your work is done for now. Unfortunately for you, I’m no stranger to how your all-important contracts work. I paid for the insurance. You failed to secure my property in the specified time frame. So now you owe me.”
That actually made the Drekavac look away from Sonya. “I grow tired of your words.”
“Read the fine print and then check the clock. You work for me now.”
“Lies,” the Drekavac hissed. But he lifted one hand, and a glowing scroll formed in it. He unfurled it and read, eye beams flicking back and forth. I was tempted to use this distraction to shoot him in the head, but I didn’t know if that would be enough, and I was kind of curious where Stricken was going with this.
“It can’t be.” I hadn’t thought the Drekavac could get any angrier, but I’d been wrong. The blue fire flared up. “What manner of trickery is this?”
“That’s right,” Stricken said. “I insisted on that addendum. You failed to uphold it, so you owe me.”
“These Hunters caused my delay. You must have aided them to deceive and enslave me!”
Stricken laughed. “File a complaint. The Dark Market can send its auditors to check but they’ll discover I’m in the clear. I didn’t give MHI shit. They’re capable of being shockingly meddlesome all on their own. I only stepped in here once you were out of time. Now, in order for you to atone for failing to retrieve the Ward for the rightful auction winner, i.e. me, before the deadline, which was two minutes ago, you now owe me one season of loyal servitude. I only need you for a week, tops. Your other option is your boss punishes you with a thousand years in a fiery pit. I need spectral muscle, and I know how to undo the Vatican Hunter’s little ceremony thing with the ashes so you can be at full strength in time for our mission. You don’t want to spend centuries suffering unimaginable torment. It’s a win-win.”
The Drekavac glared at Stricken. I thought that I’d seen hate on his face for Sonya, but that had been nothing compared to the contempt and loathing the wires curved into now. “You think you can trap me in your web of lies, mortal? You believe that I am some mere pawn like the pathetic monsters you enslaved before? Nay . . . The Hubertian’s rite has temporarily taken me to my final life, but it did nothing to weaken my pride.”
Stricken didn’t dare take his eyes off of Franks even for a second, but for the first time I saw just a crack in the chess master’s calm façade. His pitch wasn’t going the way he’d hoped. “Be smart, Silas. You need me more than I need you. You’re my first-round draft pick, but I’ve got a backup super monster on tap. You’re on your last legs. I’m offering you a really good deal here.”
I could hear Skippy’s helicopter closing in. Search lights were flicking through the trees. My friends were almost here. Franks looked at me and gave a small nod. I think I knew what Franks wanted. I’d shoot Stricken to try and save him. He’d probably shoot the Drekavac. The Drekavac would shoot somebody, hopefully the succubus. And between all that, Sonya would probably do something stupid with that live hand grenade . . .
I shook my head no.
Franks angry nodded yes.
The next couple seconds were going to get really interesting.
Except then Drekavac said, “This affair has insulted my honor. It would be better to be damned to an eternity of suffering than to bend my knee to a serpent like you. I will accept my punishment and suffer a thousand years, content knowing that I killed you all first.”
The monster tore
