Chapter1 – Alexis
I woke up gasping for air.
The dreams had started after Valens’s death.
The details varied from dream to dream, but a few particulars remained the same. Each time, my soul was torn out of my body, dragged across the Line, and made to walk beside a shadowy creature into the bowels of the spirit world. Into a weightless place without substance, where time didn’t exist, my body wasn’t welcome, and my mind felt like it was swimming.
Even though I wasn’t corporeal in the dreams, it always felt like I was holding hands with my companion. Their touch lent me a comfort I couldn’t describe. It hinted at an intimacy I didn’t share with anyone, save Kieran. That strange, unwanted sense of connection was what made me fight to the surface of wakefulness, trying to get back to the guy who held my heart. The guy whose soul I was connected to in an unbreakable bond.
I would somersault, end over end, until I slammed back into my body.
When it first started, I used to wake Kieran with my thrashing. Sometimes I’d need to hold him afterward. To reassure myself that hewas real, not the shadow being.
Although I was afraid to even think it, much less tell anyone, half of me wondered if they weren’t dreams at all. They felt strangely like the few times I’d been helped within the spirit world, tearing down Valens or learning about securing a soul in its spirit box. Similar…but not the same. The differences were enough to make me question if my subconscious was creating the dreams in remembrance.
Kieran didn’t budge this time, though, and I didn’t want to wake him. I trudged down to the kitchen puffy-eyed and half-asleep, trying to shake myself out of it.
As the cold tiles shocked into my bare feet, I registered Zorn’s soul in the house, intense and bright. He was nearly at the doorway leading to the formal dining room and the sitting room beyond it.
I frowned in the dim moonlight filtering in from the windows. What was Zorn doing back here? He’d left after dinner.
I nearly stopped to wait for him, feeling him moving in my direction. But I continued on to the refrigerator instead, desperately needing something to quench my cotton mouth. I had no idea why he’d returned, and frankly, I didn’t really care. My house had become the hub of the Six and Bria, Kieran’s close-knit staff. The family atmosphere appealed to them, and I enjoyed having them around. Not in the middle of the night, per se, but whatever. Zorn was strange. You had to take the good with the bad.
I grabbed hold of the fridge handle as Daisy’s soul caught my awareness. It wasn’t where it belonged—in her bedroom upstairs. Instead, she was skulking quickly through the sitting room, maybe sneaking up on Zorn, or possibly laying some sort of trap for Mordecai to unknowingly stumble into tomorrow morning. She’d really taken to Zorn’s training, and she, unfortunately, practiced her budding craft on us. A bucket of water splashing down over me as I left my bedroom was not awesome. A knife flung at my head from some sort of spring as I flicked on the coffee pot was downright terrible. I’d had to threaten her life to get her to stop. Since I was her kind-of parent who owned the roof over her head, she had to listen to me. But poor Mordecai hadn’t been so lucky. At least his shifter magic allowed him to one-up her in their combat training. That helped even the score.
Bright light from the fridge made me squint as I grabbed out a bottle of water. A flash of movement caught my eye. A tiny scuff announced Zorn rolling across the open area and ducking behind the island. Fridge door still open, I turned to see what he was doing when he popped up. His right hand was pulled back, ready to throw.
A knife!
Before I could shout no,a blur of movement came from the side. A projectile sped at Zorn as he was letting go of the knife. A book followed almost immediately, but the trajectory was different—it cut at a diagonal, through the empty air between Zorn and me.
I jolted, ready to duck, when the book knocked the knife out of the air!
“Holy—” My eyes widened in surprise at the excellent throw—and the fact that Zorn had hurled a knife at me—as Daisy exploded into the kitchen, dressed in black and holding a long dagger.
Zorn pushed toward Daisy, black paint on his face. Apparently he had a stash of daggers on him, because he already had another one in hand. Whatever Daisy had thrown hadn’t stuck in his body anywhere. She was clearly trying to remedy that as she moved forward with her dagger and struck. But it was a shallow, weak attempt. He blocked easily and quickly countered.
“Okay, come on, you guys. I’m tired. Can’t you do this somewhere else?” I whined, shutting the fridge door.
But Daisy was already slashing at him with her other hand, having pulled a knife from the heavens knew where. She’d set him up.
He smacked his forearm against hers at the last moment to block the thrust. She slid her arm off, knife pointed down, slicing his skin.
Zorn didn’t even suck in a pained or startled breath.
I leaned heavily against the island, tired, annoyed, and, honestly, a little fascinated. I never got to see them train anymore. These days I was always busy at the cursed government building, trying to find my place in this new life with Kieran. I wanted to contribute in some way, and the only alternative was wasting my days away as a socialite. No thanks. I didn’t really even know what that was.
Zorn stepped diagonally to the side, and a drop of liquid caught the moonlight as it fell to the ground. He healed faster than normal, thanks to his blood bond with Kieran, but it wasn’t immediate. He’d better clean the floor when they were done. He jabbed his blade at Daisy’s side.
She twisted away at the last moment, the strike too close for comfort. For my comfort, anyway. While he might heal quickly, Daisy was human. She possessed no such ability. Summoned by my anxiety, the Line pulsed in the room, a slash of black within a nest of bruise-like colors, the entranceway to the spirit world. Spirit blanketed the walls, covered the floor. It spread across the windows and wove into the ghost-repellent magic encasing the house. Power filled my body, ready for use.
I held it at bay, not wanting to interfere. Zorn knew what he was doing. He wouldn’t hurt her more than she could tolerate.
Daisy brought her arms around, knocking Zorn’s hands away. Her blade passed across Zorn’s wrist. He gritted his teeth and spun, lashing out in retaliation.
She was already moving, crouching and bending, as graceful as a dancer. Her small stature didn’t hinder her from holding her own with six-foot-tall, well-built Zorn. If anything, it made her quicker. Harder to pin down.
I wondered why he didn’t just tackle her and be done with it. Mordecai certainly would have. Though Mordecai had been stabbed too many times to count. Thank heavens powerful shifters healed at lightning-fast rates.
Zorn swiped her right hand, opening up a line of red. Daisy did suck in a pained breath. Then the hilt of a throwing knife blossomed in Zorn’s side.
“Oh shi—” I backed away from the island. If knives were flying, I didn’t want to accidentally get a ricochet in the face.
Zorn’s arms moved faster. So much so that his limbs seemed to almost liquify. Two steps and he was next to her, his blade cutting the air millimeters from her arm. Next he slashed inches from her chest. She barely moved out of the way, playing defense now. Another slash and Zorn finally managed to nick her upper arm, angling the knife so it didn’t plunge down deep.
More power trickled into me. I gritted my teeth, fighting the desire to come to her aid and end this fight the easy way. Myway.
She didn’t stop, merely changed stance. Someone flung another knife, but I didn’t see where it landed.
My attention was on a moving object behind them. Getting to a better vantage point, I could see Frank sprinting across the lawn in what I could only assume was terror.
What could make a ghost run like that?
“Wait. You guys. Stop.” I hastened toward the window, nearly getting a blade between the ribs for my efforts. I had a blood bond with Kieran, too, and healed just as quickly as Zorn, but I wasn’t nearly so stoic about pain. “Stop!”
With my magic I punched their spirit boxes, the hard crust surrounding their most precious possessions: their souls.
Zorn danced back a few steps, wiping at his chest, but Daisy didn’t let it slow her down an iota. She surged after Zorn and stabbed down with her blade, getting him in the shoulder. She could’ve had his heart, but he wouldn’t have come back from that one.
“I said wait!” I slashed through her middle this time. She grunted and bent, staggering to the side. Guilt squeezed me, but I ignored it. She might not be blood-related, but she was still my kid. I hated hurting her. “Your fault,” I mumbled. I also didn’t like taking blame.
I jumped over a tight-lipped Zorn, ran around the table, and made it to the window just as Frank disappeared into the trees lining the cliff at the end of the street. Spirit lit up the world. Power pulsed around me, through me. I turned my head to see what Frank had been running from.
A creature stood on my grass, roughly a human form. Blacker than midnight, it looked like a person-shaped hole punched through the fabric of the world. It stood ten feet tall, with shoulders wider than a shovel was long. Its robust chest cinched down into too-thin hips before exploding out into two enormous thighs. The thing was absurdly disproportionate.
Positioned in front of the house, it tilted its blank face up to look at the second-story windows. It started forward, stepping like it was walking on the grass, but its form hovered a foot off the ground.
I back-pedaled, my eyes feeling as big as saucers, my heart choking me.
“What’s happening?” Daisy asked, already by my side with her knives.
The creature reached the window, and Zorn stepped in front of me, cutting off my view.
“Damn it, Zorn—” I shoved him out of the way as the creature reached out a hand. My breath stuck in my throat.
Its hand curled into a fist, gripping the web of repellent magic coating the house, then tore it away with one quick yank. “Oh crap.” The words sounded more like a wheeze. My heart felt like it was punching holes through my ribcage.
Frozen in terror and indecision, I just stood there, struck dumb.
“What’s happening?” Daisy asked again, shaking me, trying to get me to snap out of it.
I needed to snap out of it.
The creature bent, then stared through the bared window, its curtains hanging to the sides. As the resident Demigod’s main squeeze, I’d never had a problem with Peeping Toms. Kieran was not brutal like Valens, but he also wasn’t entirely rational where my safety was concerned. If I was threatened, he got crazy in a hurry. People were smart enough to realize this.
This was not a person. And if it was, it clearly wasn’t a person under Kieran’s influence.
Shivers washed down my skin as the creature stared directly at me. It didn’t have a face, so I couldn’t see any eyes, but I knewI was its focus. I actually felt it studying me, peering down into my body and analyzing my soul. I stood, frozen, teeth clamped shut with an aching jaw, entirely vulnerable.
Snap out of it!
I reached for power, yanking it from the Line. Wind from the spirit world blew my hair back as I shoved my hands forward. My magic slammed into the creature, hard and rough. I kept pushing, shoving it toward the spirit world whence I knew it came.
The creature jolted backward. Its shock vibrated through me. Its delighted surprise. It seemed…proud, somehow.
That jolt was all I got. The creature bent over and buried its fists in my grass, resisting my magical thrust.
More shivers arrested me. I didn’t know how I could decipher its feelings, and I certainly didn’t understand why it would delight in my attack. But I did know this thing was powerful as all hell to withstand me.
A rumble shook the foundation of the house. The sea crashed against the cliffs beneath us.
Kieran was awake, and the Demigod knew his territory had been breached.
I entwined my magic with air, a gift from the soul link with Kieran, and whipped the creature. I dug into its chest, grasping for a soul and not finding one. I used spirit and air to tear at the shadowy form. To rip at it. To punch a hole through it.
It shook its head, fighting my efforts. It had more power than I did, even in this strange, non-human form. Or maybe because of the non-human form?
Kieran stalked into the kitchen like a commander joining the front line, muscles rippling along his bare torso. His fuzzy slippers did not take away from his ferocity. How could they, with his infallible confidence and the malice burning brightly in his hard eyes? Power built around him, the ocean now roaring not far from the house. Storm clouds gathered overhead, laden with heavy rain, and swirling fog engulfed the street. His power rolled across the grass where the creature knelt. The windows shook in their frames and the ground continued to tremor.
I sensed a pulse of uncertainty from the creature. It appeared to be having second thoughts now that Kieran was on scene. His power trumped mine, without question. It looked up, the plane of its face level with mine, its eyeless gaze digging down into my soul again.
And then it stood, faster than thought, and zipped beyond the fabric of the veil. Just like that, it was gone, disappearing into a place I didn’t know how to follow. Not that I would have tried. For a moment, all I could do was stare.
The Line still throbbed around me. Kieran came to a stop by my side, followed by Jack, whose turn it was to stay in the spare room for the night.
A huge wolf loped into the kitchen to join us.
“Always late to the party,” Daisy muttered. Mordecai replied with a snort. If Daisy had been afraid of the threat she couldn’t see, her voice didn’t show it.
I was terrified.
“What was it?” Jack asked, gripping a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. He was a Kraken—he had to fight with non-magical weapons outside of the water.
Kieran shook his head and looked down at me. Something in his eyes set me on edge.
“I don’t know,” I said softly. I tried to explain the creature I had seen. “It tore down my repellent magic like it was nothing. It withstood my attempt to shove it back into the spirit world. I used everything I had, and it…”
“Had the power of a Demigod,” Kieran finished for me. “Given I can see ghosts, thanks to our soul link, but couldn’t see this and you could, it could only mean one thing.”
“One of those Hades bastards is paying house calls.” Daisy put her fisted hands on her hips, now gripping a knife tightly in each. She’d clearly intended to help fight. We needed to have a talk about that.
When my limbs stopped shaking.
“They can…travel through the spirit world,” I said, clearly late to the party in piecing it all together. “Someone was checking up on me.”
“That someone got a surprise, I’ll wager,” Zorn said. “He didn’t stay long.”
“I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the pulse of a Demigod’s magic. Must be the Hades Demigods’ power of invisibility.” Kieran wrapped an arm around me and directed me to a seat at the island. “Looks like they aren’t invisible to us all.”
I heard the pride in his voice, but it was misapplied. “It doesn’t matter that I can see them. I can’t do a damn thing to stop them. You saw what happened. It didn’t go anywhere until you showed up. Could it be…” I took a deep breath. “Could it be my father?”
Kieran had taken my DNA and compared it with other Hades Demigods, the only people that could sire a Spirit Walker as powerful as me. He’d found out that Magnus, a powerfully cunning Demigod who killed his kids, was my biological father. It had not been a welcome revelation, and after the battle with Valens, my identity was no longer hidden. Sooner or later, I would have daddy issues.
Kieran kneaded my shoulders, his touch welcome, and glanced at Jack, who moved to the coffee pot. “I can’t say for sure. It’s a possibility. But I have power to rival theirs,” Kieran said. “If you can see them, we can work together to combat them. Together we are impervious to their greatest asset.”
The note of pride was back, and I wished he would just cut it out. Because yeah, if we were in the same place when that thing came back, or another one came to check me out, we’d be okay, sure. But he couldn’t always be by my side, and any experienced Demigod would be smart enough to know it. Next time, they’d get me when I was by myself and vulnerable. Next time they might not leave so quickly, or be thwarted so easily.
Next time, they might not be just checking up on me.
Chapter2 – Alexis
“What are you wearing?” Bria asked the next morning as she walked toward me between the rows of cars at the back of the magical government building. Although I now came here daily, I still preferred to park at a distance and take a slow, under-the-radar approach. I’d religiously avoided this place for most of my life, at my mother’s direction, and old habits died hard.
Bria’s platinum-blonde hair fell straight down to dust her shoulders. Her ripped T-shirt featuring some sort of big hair band from yesteryear fit in perfectly with her dog-collar necklace.
I rubbed my tired eyes, then swore at myself before licking the pad of my finger and wiping it under my left eye. I wasn’t used to wearing makeup, but when I went into the belly of the beast, it was a must. Too bad I constantly forgot I had it on. Some days I looked like a raccoon before someone politely told me to visit a mirror.
After doing a self-check of my smart, conservative, beige dress, something I hoped would keep me off the worst-dressed list in the tabloids this week for the first time in two months, I smoothed my not-quite-straightened hair. I’d gotten bored halfway through taming it earlier that morning. “What? I’m business casual.”
She came to a stop in front of me, cocked a hip, and gave me a flat stare. “What did Daisy have to say?”
Daisy had found her stride in fashion thanks to Kieran, who’d given her free rein to shop with his unbelievably deep pockets. I shrugged. “She’s a teenager. What does she know about dressing like a twenty-something career woman?”
Bria’s eyebrows slowly lifted.
I sighed. “Fine. She said I looked frumpy, and I needed to lead the fashion world with a unique sense of style rather than follow the herd of sheeple. Especially when that herd makes me look like an old maid.”
“And she is right on all counts.”
In frustration, I waved my hand up and down in front of her. “Why would I take your advice? You look crazy.”
“That’s because I am crazy. My style matches my personality. People know exactly who I am, and how few fucks I give. That works for me. You need to give in and realize that if you ever want to be spoken of favorably in those stupid gossip magazines that follow you and Kieran around, you need to find your own style. And you need to flaunt it with confidence. You looked better in your poor girl’s clothes than you do in that expensive clusterfuck you’re wearing. If you keep dressing like this”—she waved her hand in front of me—“you’ll be miserable because you’re trying to impress people who don’t want to be impressed.”
I slouched in defeat, because I didn’t want to bother finding my own style. I didn’t care about makeup and hair and clothes. Sure, I enjoyed shopping and dressing up to go out, but the last thing I wanted to do each morning was waste an hour primping. I said as much.
Bria rolled her eyes before jerking her head for us to get walking. “Then hire someone to do all that. The great thing about being shacked up with a Demigod—maybe the only great thing…” She gave me a look. Even though she’d admitted Kieran was a good guy and a great leader, she’d never quite forgiven me for falling in love with a Demigod. They were notoriously possessive, and so powerful they could be inescapable, something Valens had taken to an extreme with Kieran’s mother. “…is that now you can outsource. If being his lady means you have to look the part—and, unfortunately, it does, just like he needs to look the part of a Demigod—hire someone to take care of it. Drink your coffee and eat a croissant while someone picks out your clothes, does your hair, and paints your face. Make this new life work for you how you want. Make his bankroll your bitch. Honey, you deserve it.”
I waved it away. When you grew up assured you’d be poor your whole life, you kept wishes and daydreams to broad strokes. A bigger house, a dashing suitor, and water that stayed hot long enough for a shower. This seemed frivolous and wasteful, and even though I did like gifts and handouts, I didn’t like the idea of asking for help on such a superficial level.
The things we learned about ourselves…
We emerged from the rows of cars and stepped onto the walkway leading to the front entrance. Even from here, there was a stunning view of the sparkling ocean beyond the building.
“What the hell was Zorn doing creeping around the house last night?” I asked. Given that Bria was sexually involved with the stoic djinn, she was as likely to know as anyone. I certainly hadn’t thought to ask Zorn himself after the whole shadow-creature episode.
“Oh, that. He’d made a threat on your life to Daisy, without telling her when or where he would strike. Her job was to keep you safe. He was pleased with her response, though he’ll probably give you a lecture about being more aware of your surroundings. He shouldn’t have gotten that throw off.”
I rolled my eyes as we reached the large glass doors. “If I hadn’t known who he was, he wouldn’t have. I knew he was there. Friends don’t punch friends in the spirit box unless there’s a good reason. Like when a shadowy Demigod creature shows up on your front lawn.”
I pulled open one of the heavy glass doors and stepped aside so she could go through, then followed her. A large lobby spread out in front of us with a reception desk off to the left. The blue-skinned woman sitting there glanced up, then did a double take when her gaze landed on me. Several other people started staring, too, as they passed through the lobby.
My face heated. I barely stopped myself from fidgeting self-consciously as we veered off to the large staircase against the far right wall. What Daisy and Bria had said about my outfit took over my thoughts. Sure enough, someone paused, turned, and raised her phone, taking a pic. I pretended not to notice as we reached the stairs.
“Good,” Bria said, not sparing anyone else a glance. “He figured that since you didn’t call him out…”
“It was the middle of the night. I was tired.” I bent my head, letting my hair fall in front of it as another person lifted their phone, tracking us as we ascended the stairs. “I wasn’t in the mood to care what he was doing. Until he threw the knife at me, that is.”
“Lift your chin,” she murmured. “Don’t let them see how uncomfortable you are. That’ll only make them bolder.”
I gritted my teeth and followed her advice.
“That’s what I told him,” she continued. “He thinks everyone is as suspicious as he is. It’s annoying. Anyway—”
“I probably should’ve checked to make sure both kids were in bed when I first woke up. I didn’t notice Daisy skulking around the house until after I felt Zorn’s soul.”
“Don’t tell him that. You’ll get a lecture. Anyway, check it out. I have a friend that owes me several dozen favors. This chick was always getting herself in near-death experiences. It was a real fun time getting her out of them until she took a cushy job with a Demigod’s inner circle. Sabin’s a lesser Demigod without a pot to piss in. No one is threatening him. Anyway, she has a friend that knows a guy whose uncle does security for Demigod Zander. Turns out, they kept some of the last Soul Stealer’s stuff. You know, just in case they want to call him back someday. They haven’t, of course—they’re too terrified. With a well-placed bribe, I was able to get this.”
According to Kieran, the last Spirit Walker had been an assassin—someone who’d used his ability in service to the former pope. Demigod Zander had caught him and killed him, apparently a much more common fate in modern times than the Spirit Walkers of legend, who crossed battle fields with their magic and decided wars. Did I really want an assassin to train me, assuming he’d actually do it? I could theoretically force him to do my will, sure, but I didn’t like controlling spirits, and I suspected it would be harder to control a fellow Spirit Walker.
She glanced around as we reached the top of the staircase before pulling a black velvet bag out of her pocket. Holding it close to her body, somewhat between us, she extracted a badly worn gold pocket watch with a winder on top. Little cranks and wheels decorated the cover, the design dulled with time. A tarnished chain pooled on her palm with at least three links that had been soldered together at one point or another. It was clear the watch had been heavily used.
“It still works,” she said, flipping the cover open to reveal the watch face with a second hand ticking away and a peepshow of gears turning in the middle. “Old trusty. He never had to worry about a battery failing him. He could slip into the spirit world, and when he came back out, he could count on the watch telling him how long he’d been there. Or, if it had stopped ticking, he could monitor time that way, too.”
“So you definitely think I can leave my body behind and walk the spirit world without dying?” I asked quietly. We’d spent the last few months searching for information about my magic but hadn’t turned up much. Those who knew about it either existed before electronic records or didn’t want to share. Probably both, given the secret assassin nature of the last Spirit Walker.
Whom Bria wanted me to call back from the Line.
“No, I’m not sure.” She tried to pass the pocket watch, but I yanked my hands away. I didn’t want the “tap-tap no backs” rule to apply here. I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with this. “It’s still mostly a working theory.”
“Super,” I said sarcastically.
“The watch is promising, though. The Demigods of Hades all have assistants to tell them how long they’ve been wandering in the spirit world. So I’ve heard, anyway. A body can only live so long when the soul is not present.”
“But if they don’t know the time until they get back, what good is a watch?”
“No idea.”
“And how am I supposed to avoid staying away too long when time doesn’t exist in the spirit plane?”
“Not a clue.”
I blew out a breath, nodding hello to Mia as I passed the little alcove decorated with a large metal tree crawling up the wall and spreading across the ceiling. She was a ghost with a powerful telekinetic ability and a strong sense of loyalty. She’d helped us take down Valens, and although many of the other ghosts who’d assisted us had drifted across the Line, she’d returned to the little alcove that had become her home. She wanted to stay on hand in case I needed her again. It was a sweet sentiment that made me feel a little guilty. Sure, trouble seemed to follow me around lately, but I really wasn’t worth hanging around for. Not when she had to do it as a spirit no one else could see or hear.
I elbowed Bria’s hand, and the pocket watch, away. “When did you get that, anyway?” I asked her.
“Not that long ago. As soon as I realized what you were, I started trying to figure out how to get something of the old Soul Stealer’s. I don’t plan ahead often, but when I do…”
I waited for her to continue as we turned a corner into a dimly lit hallway in the middle of the building. The offices here were for low-level support staff who’d barely graduated from magical training and had just enough clout for their own office.
I grinned to myself as we neared my little mole hole. Kieran had said that if I took a “proper job” in the government, I’d get a “proper” office, which would probably be large and bright and luxurious with a great view—Kieran liked to pamper me in any way he could. But I didn’t want to take my place beside him in the government. At least, I didn’t think I did. Right now I was mostly concerned with helping people by setting up various charities. As a former poor person, I figured that was a good way to give back—by using someone else’s money. Mama didn’t raise no fool. This tiny hideout was hidden away from prying eyes, and I liked it just fine. The only thing I’d really found to do so far was charity work.
Bria didn’t finish her thought, if there was an end to it. She still held out the pocket watch as if eager to be rid of it.
I fit the key into the lock of a plain white door with two tarnished silver number threes nailed to the middle. Joy, who was comically ill-suited for her name, trudged past me with half-shut eyes and a protruding lower lip, her empty coffee mug in hand. I didn’t know what she did here, but I did know she hated it.
“Good morning,” I said as I turned the key.
“Hmph,” Joy replied, not sparing me a glance.
The tumbler didn’t click over.
I hesitated. “It’s unlocked.”
Bria pushed in closer. “Are you sure you locked it when you left last time?”
“Yes. I always lock it. I don’t want anyone snooping.”
Bria bent and swiped a small knife out of an ankle holster. “Anyone who snoops for a profession won’t be bothered by that lock. Someone probably picked it. The question is, are they still in there?” She hefted her knife. If they were, they’d clearly get a slice of steel for their efforts.
“Don’t cut any gossip columnists. I have it bad enough where they are concerned.” I let spirit infiltrate the room beyond the closed door, expecting to feel my protective magic on the other side.
My blood turned to ice.
My repellent magic wasn’t there. Someone had ripped it away.
I froze, relaying what I sensed.
“Is the room empty?” she asked in a whisper. She didn’t shove in front of me and take control, an extremely telling non-action. Generally she liked danger. But if the intruder was a Demigod, we were in over our heads. She wasn’t the only one hesitating.
“Of physical people,” I said, “but I couldn’t feel the soul of that Demigod last night, so I’m not sure. Should we get Kieran? I can’t take on anything above a level five on my own.”
She blew out a breath. “There’s a reason the Demigod snuck into Kieran’s territory in the middle of the night. And a reason he took off after Kieran got up. He wanted to check you out, risk-free. Demigods aren’t stupid. They like to get an idea of the risk before they engage. If it’s the same one as last night, he won’t want to hang around in the government building. Kieran might only have a small team blood-tied with him, but he’s got a loyal army on premises. No Demigod would want to mess with that. I doubt anyone is in there. And if they are, they’ll bugger off as soon as you show your face. You know, given you can see them and raise the alarm.”
“You sure?”
“Nope. But I surely hope so.”
I ran my lip through my teeth, deciding. I really didn’t want to bother Kieran. He had a mountain of work at all times, dozens of people vying for his attention, and I was already seen as his mostly ridiculous luggage. Or so the tabloids said. I didn’t want to add to that and paint myself as hysterical for no reason.
And if there was a reason? Why, then I could just run and raise the alarm, like Bria had said.
Steeling my courage, I turned the handle, pushed the door open, and stepped back as though a viper waited just inside.
Darkness layered with spirit greeted me, illuminating the contents of the windowless room. I could see my desk hugging the right wall, as if afraid of my chair pushed up against it. A desk light was perched on the side, right below a hanging light that, oddly enough, had been placed in the corner. Filing cabinets leaned forward on the slightly uneven ground, strange in an office, away from the far wall, which I knew held a picture of a white cat, sitting on the sand in front of an azure ocean-scape, a weird picture left over from the last resident. A plant loomed in the corner, thankfully fake, or it would be dead. No one waited in the small space, living or dead.
“Clear,” I said into the slightly musty funk. Not for the first time, it struck me that the last resident had probably stowed a cat or two in here.
Bria pushed in beside me, reaching for the light switch and flicking it on. The mustard-yellow walls seemed to match the smell. The room was as empty as the spirit had shown.
“Which Demigod do you think it was?” I asked. “Kieran didn’t answer when I asked last night. Do you think it’s my father? Do you think he’s figured out I’m his?”
“I don’t even think Henry knows,” Bria answered.
Henry was the member of the Six I knew least. He was always out in the field, as the guys called it. As a Reflector, he could push people’s magic back onto them, which wasn’t very helpful with many types of magic, like if someone was a shifter. Stronger magics, like mine, could work around it.
His value wasn’t in his magic, however. He was a highly intelligent charmer, able to get information most people couldn’t, and had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Whatever he learned went into that big brain of his, which helped him deduce and decode highly classified and extremely useful information. Or so the guys constantly said in something close to awe.
I pulled out the drawers in my desk, checking to see if anything was missing. Unfortunately, the cat pens and little kitten postcards were still there, the desk not properly cleaned out after the last resident’s departure, like the office itself. I really should’ve seen to it, but I wasn’t going to be here long.
“The thing is…” Bria stood against the only bare part of wall in the whole office, where a window showing blue skies and palm trees had been inexpertly painted. “Three of the four Demigods of Hades are males. One is so old he doesn’t count. He’s politically retired and basically just waiting to die. One is married, but everyone knows Demigod Aaron screws everything that’s willing. He’s the sire of the last Soul Stealer.”
I paused. “I thought the last one worked for the pope? And wasn’t he middle-aged when he died? Which was fifty years or so ago.”
“He did, and yeah, that’s right. Why is that confused look on your face?”
“Well…” I straightened up. “Why would a Demigod’s son work for the pope, who is non-magical and believes in the Catholic God instead of the legendary magical gods of myth? And I thought Demigod Aaron was mortal. Why does he look so young if his middle-aged son died fifty years ago?”
“Oh, I see.” She nodded. “You’re living with your head in the sand, as normal.”
I frowned at her and moved to the filing cabinet. Only half of one drawer was mine, and I’d had to displace info on cat shelters to clear it out. I didn’t want to know what was in the rest of the cabinets.
“Aaron didn’t know about him until after Demigod Zander killed him and traced his lineage. DNA testing—it’s informative. Anyway, unlike you, that dude didn’t evade the magical testing machine, which led to routine training. The pope, who has as many spies as a Demigod, heard about the kid first, brought him onto the payroll, erased his previous records, and probably brainwashed him somehow. He took the guy’s training in a different direction, and voila,he had an incredibly efficient, high-level assassin.”
“But how did the pope get him training? Obviously not through the Hades Demigods if they didn’t know about him.”
“That’s the million-dollar question. I don’t know. He clearly knew the right sort of people, unlike Kieran. And in answer to your question, Demigod Aaron is mortal, which you should know means he still lives for, like, five hundred years or whatever. That dude is still in his prime baby-making years, which leads me to why he might have paid you a visit. He might think you’re his. He’s got a history of illegitimate children, after all.”
“Illegitimate children? How about he’s got a history of walking away from his responsibilities and should be castrated.”
“Wow. Yeah, sure, I’d be down to help with that. I’ve never liked that jackass. He hit on me once. That was a big nope. He’s a pig and looks like a little troll with a fat gut. On the other hand, he’s a Demigod, and powering up children isn’t always a bad thing. Some of his…dropped responsibilities have gone on to do great things, even if they did end up with daddy issues. Regardless, he must know by now that he and Magnus were at the same San Francisco summit twenty-five or so years ago. The timing is close enough to raise eyebrows. I mean, obviously, right? That’s where Magnus must’ve met your mom. She was on record as working that summit.”
I turned away from the file cabinet slowly. “What’s this now? My mom is on record?”
Bria gave me a flat stare. “You work in the government building and you haven’t snooped into your mom’s past?” After a silent pause, she shook her head. “You are, quite possibly, the least curious person I have ever met in my whole life.”
It hadn’t even occurred to me. I had no idea why, other than I couldn’t imagine her with a life other than the one I had lived with her. “What was her magic? She never actually told me.”
“Level—”
A knock at the open door cut Bria off. Red stood in the doorway, all six feet, two inches of her. Her flaming red hair fanned out from her head and a splash of freckles covered her nose and cheeks.
She was one of Kieran’s assistants, although she did less assisting and more scaring people away from his office. The joke was that she was Medusa’s heir, only she didn’t turn people to stone, she made them wet themselves before buggering off. I didn’t know anything about her magic, but she did a damn fine job of shooing away all the drooling pretty ladies who wanted to take my place in Kieran’s bed.
“Miss Price, the Demigod requests your presence,” she said, more formal than normal.
“Oh shoot.” I plucked out the nearest file—a prop to sell my utter busyness. I knew Kieran’s game. This was another attempt to convince me to govern with him. I preferred my anonymity and the few small projects I’d kickstarted. “I have a charity meeting in…like…nowish.” Which was true enough. “That’s the only reason I’m here. At the government building, I mean.”
“That explains the strange dress, yes,” Red said, and I couldn’t help a glance down at myself. It was plain, but I didn’t think it was strange… “The charity for medical aid to help the magical needy was rubber-stamped by the Demigod himself this morning.” She stared at me for a silent beat. “That means he approved it.”
“Yikes. Someone came down with a case of the assholes this morning,” Bria muttered, walking over to look out the fake window.
“With his name on the project, all the red tape you had undoubtedly hoped would take up a lot of your time will be torn away,” Red said. “Which means you have plenty of newfound time to see him. Now.”
My heart swelled at Kieran’s unblinking support of my endeavors. I’d thought all magical people living in the magical zones got medical, but it turned out a lot of Demigods didn’t notice the weaker or struggling magical people in their territory, thinking of them little better than Chesters. Valens had supported the “only the strong will survive” system. Not Kieran. He was using his position to help those in need. It made me proud to be on his team.
It also annoyed the crap out of me, because the timing wasn’t ideal. He could’ve had a note sent to me before I picked out this—clearly ill-chosen—dress. But if he’d sent a note, I wouldn’t have come. Instead, he’d rubber-stamped the charity. I could still refuse his summons, sure, but given what he’d done to help me (and others), I would feel like a jerk walking away. Which he knew.
As if hearing my thoughts, Bria nodded. “He’s good.”
Red stretched her lips wide to show her teeth, a comical and slightly horrible rendition of a smile. “I have something for you to change into. If you’ll come with me?”
“But wait…” I looked around wildly for a reason I couldn’t possibly go.
I knew the guy wanted to share his leadership with me, which was super cute and rare for a Demigod, but really, I was a poor girl at heart. What the hell did I know about business or leading a territory? I had to have a couple of teenagers help me lead my life.
All of which I’d tried to tell him before he dragged me into the last meeting. That had been a shitshow. Something about the laundry system in the building. I hadn’t even known there wasa laundry system in the government building, let alone why. Then they’d started talking about quadrants, another thing I didn’t know anything about, and I was done. I’d excused myself to the bathroom and run off.
The tabloid picture of me sprinting across the parking lot, holding my red pumps, had not been my finest moment.
“I’d like to do the paperwork,” I hedged, dancing my fingers across files that weren’t mine. “Also, I might need to do something in the way of a charity for homeless animals, because the lack of shelters in this city is discouraging, even in the non-magical zone.”
“The paperwork is in progress and…” Red hesitated. She was very rarely thrown for a loop, but I could get to anybody. I took it as a point of pride. “I’m sure you can circle back to the homeless animal issue, though we don’t have many furry stray pets in the magical area.”
“But…” I tapped a file folder. “We don’t?”
“No. Various magical creatures hunt stray pets for sport. It keeps our streets stray-free. If you knew anything about your home—the magical area, I mean—you’d know that.”
“A case of the assholes with a hint of dickface,” Bria said, running a finger across my desk.
I grimaced at Red. That was…gross.
“Now, if you’ll come with me?” Red turned sideways, gesturing for me to get moving. She wasn’t a lady with a lot of patience.
Bria crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t offer me any help.
“Any excuse you could possibly come up with has a rebuttal, Miss Price, I guarantee it,” Red said. “Please, save us both the trouble and come with me. Demigod Kieran and his guest are waiting for you. I have a dress I think you’ll really like.”
“Should I keep the car running for when you escape?” Bria asked. She was joking, so I didn’t give her the affirmative on the tip of my tongue.
“Demigod Kieran would like you to come, too,” Red told Bria.
Bria’s smile dripped off her face. “Ah, crap, really? What did I do to deserve this?”
I laughed at Bria, my tension easing a little. Kieran would know better than to bring Bria into a professional meeting—she couldn’t be trusted to stay civil, especially when dumb or redundant questions were asked—which meant I had some hope of lasting the whole thing.
“Come on.” Red nodded, and we glumly followed her to Kieran’s huge office upstairs, the one he’d taken over after Valens’s things were moved out. A bathroom was tucked away in the corner, and on the door hung a gorgeous cream silk dress that looked much too fine for the likes of me. Even the new likes of me, with the Demigod’s mark and the upgraded social status. I’d probably stain it before I even left the office. “Why don’t you hop into that and we’ll head out. Bria—”
“Nah.” Bria waved Red away, standing near the door. “I’m good.”
“This is a meeting with two Demigods. Don’t make me hook a leash to that collar and drag you to the dressing room.”
Bria laughed, delighted. “You’re tall, you’re strong, hell, you’re even mean, but there is no way you are going to drag me anywhere, let alone dress me up like a show pony. I go like this, or I don’t go. Pretty simple.”
“Demigod Kieran might fire you.”
“He’s more than welcome to. It won’t get rid of me, and he knows it.”
“And what if I kick you around this office and dress the bloody mess that results?”
“Dress yourself however you want. And if that bloody mess you’re talking about doesn’t stay in the world of the living, I’ll knock your spirit back into it, dress you up like a circus clown to go with your hair, and let you dance around the office. How’d that be?”
I rolled my eyes at their standoff, flitted into the bathroom, and quickly donned the fabulous dress. I had no doubt Kieran had picked this out. He loved simple elegance—he said it allowed my natural beauty to shine.
Heat pricked the back of my eyes as I checked my plain face in the mirror—I probably should’ve put on a little more makeup this morning. I only had a light dusting. And my hair was already wild. Freaking beauty standards—I didn’t know how to fit in, let alone compete, with the elegant elite. They all seemed so suave and manicured. I didn’t know how they did it.
Outsourcing.
I gritted my teeth and let myself out of the bathroom. Kieran made sure I didn’t want for anything, but still, a beauty team was a little much.
Bria had not changed by the time I got out. Red’s flat expression said she would like to force the issue but valued her job too highly to have a throw-down with another member of Kieran’s staff.
“Ready,” I said.
Red stared at Bria a little longer before walking over to Kieran’s large desk. She picked up two long, nearly flat black boxes and brought them to a little table at the back of the room. With the largest box in hand, she turned to scowl at me. Only when I crossed the room to stand in front of her did she lift the cover, revealing the largest, most beautiful gemstone necklace I’d ever seen. Two draped layers of sapphires and diamonds, set off with little black opals. Light sparkled across it like the sun across the water.
“Dating a Demigod is usually the worst idea imaginable, but sometimes it does have perks,” Bria said quietly, looking on.
“Now that I can agree with,” Red murmured.
I turned so Red could fasten the necklace around my neck. The weight took my breath away.
“This is too much,” I struggled to say.
Red held up a mirror so I could get a look. Now I wished I’d had a few more fucks to give this morning, because a little more effort on my face and hair was needed to live up to the expectation of a necklace this fine.
“It represents our combined magic in the soul connection, doesn’t it?” I said softly, the heat prickling my eyes earlier now overflowing into a tear.
Bria whistled, coming to look. “It must. He’s one of the more romantic Demigods I’ve seen. He probably got it from his mother. Lord knows he didn’t get it from Valens. That’s a beauty.”
Red handed off the mirror to Bria so she could pick up the smaller package. A bracelet to match the necklace.
“He thought this would set off the look,” Red said, fastening it to my wrist.
I blew out a breath and fanned my face to dry the tears. “I’ve never owned— I never, in a million years, thought I could ever own anything like this. That I would dress like this. That I would be standing here, with someone helping me put on thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry—”
“Hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Bria cut in.
“This is a big dream. The biggest dream. And I didn’t even have to marry a turd and sacrifice my happiness for this. I didn’t have to gold-dig. I fell in love naturally—”
“Debatable.”
“—and still ended up in a fairytale.”
Red and Bria both chuckled, and Red dropped the mirror.
“What?” I asked, wiping another tear away.
Red shook her head and headed to the bathroom, probably to take the mirror back.
“Time to get your head on straight, Alexis,” Bria said. “This isn’t a fairytale. This is the lull before the storm. We need to finish up your training so that by the time Kieran is thrown into the snake pit of Demigods, you’re able to get his back. He loves you, true, and these gifts are undoubtedly from his heart, but he’s also strapping you with armor. This necklace and dress will show what he’s worth. What you’re worth. A Demigod’s wealth is an extension of their power, and they buy expensive things so everyone knows they can. Kieran lives a life of prestige, sure, but his kind are constantly at war. Constantly. You’d best wrap your head around that sooner rather than later. This is a great moment, and definitely savor it, but you need to remember you’re not safe anywhere. This necklace ultimately won’t help that. Don’t let it distract you from what will happen next.”
I swallowed. “What’s happening next?”
“You’re meeting a stranger Demigod that will undoubtedly be sizing you up. Time to play your part.”
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