All That Falls (28 page)

Lysander clasped her hand and drew her close as they went inside.

The security guy on the platform nodded at Lysander and said, “You got a haircut. Looks good.”

Lysander passed the counter without responding. “Thanks,” Cerise said for him.

They boarded the elevator and ascended to the penthouse. Lysander tried the door, but found it locked and frowned.

“Isn’t it always locked?” she asked, surprised that Merrick wouldn’t keep it that way.

“I don’t know. I usually land on the balcony. That door’s often left unlocked.”

“For you, sure. This many floors up, who else is going to use it?”

She rapped on the door. After a couple of minutes, Merrick
opened it. His wet hair curled over his collar and his dark eyes assessed the pair of them.

“Hall door?”

“My wing’s healing. No thanks to you,” Lysander said, shouldering past Merrick to gain entry. As he still held her hand, Cerise joined him.

“Glad it worked out,” Merrick said mildly. He glanced at their intertwined fingers.

“Apparently as a reward for saving his life, I have to keep him,” she said, nodding at Merrick’s bemused expression. “Sort of the way if you rescue a stray kitten from a tree, you become a cat owner. Of course with cats there is the alternative of the Humane Society. You don’t happen to have a number for Archangel Control, do you?”

Merrick smirked. Lysander rolled his eyes, but gave her hand a squeeze before he let it go and went into the kitchen. A moment later, he announced, “You’re out of oranges.”

“Yeah, been busy with a syndicate war. You remember where the roof is, right?” Merrick said.

“Doesn’t matter if I do. The trees are empty by now. You’ve got a bat infestation.”

Merrick’s brows shot up. “Since when?”

“I noticed them last night. There were almost no oranges left.”

Merrick rubbed a thumb over his lower lip. “So that’s what Richard was talking about.”

“Richard,” Lysander said thoughtfully. “He went to the roof?”

“Not as far as I know.”

Lysander cocked his head, glancing up at the ceiling. “If Richard’s sixth sense was attuned to the presence of those bats, there must be a reason. There’s nowhere on the roof for them to roost, so they migrated there from another location. Did they discover the fruit by chance? Or were they drawn to those trees for another reason?”

“Got a theory?”

“I touch those trees. Didn’t you tell me some time ago that in the past Tamberi Jacobi raised demons in bat-infested caves?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Maybe the bats from those caves, tainted by black magic, became sensitive to supernatural energy. Bats are an animal form that supernatural creatures have taken in the past. Vampires,” Lysander said.

“Those weren’t vampire bats. If they’d been attracted to blood, they would’ve attacked Alissa and Cerise. Muse blood is magical and potent,” Merrick said.

Lysander nodded. “I still wonder why they chose your fruit trees. There must be berries and other fruit in the woods closer to their caves.”

“True,” Merrick said.

“Perhaps something drew them or drove them from their cave toward this area. Do you know which caves Jacobi used to perform human sacrifices to raise demons? Perhaps we should look at them.”

Merrick leaned against the back of the couch. “Tamberi had a grimoire, but it was confiscated and destroyed. I thought without the book, she wouldn’t be able to raise any more demons.”

“A copy?” Cerise said.

“Only a real witch should have been able to effectively copy the spells,” Lysander said. “Maybe she’s ventala and part witch. Or maybe someone else is active. We know that Reziel has been in contact with people in this area.”

Alissa emerged from the bedroom in a cloud of spicy vanilla-scented perfume and a pale gold dress and matching sandals. She approached them, trailing a hand over the furniture as she advanced.

Her vision’s faded again,
Cerise thought.
Sometimes it’s good enough for her to read. Others she must barely be able to see. What causes that?

Alissa clasped Lysander’s forearms and squeezed. “I’m so glad you’re all right.” She turned to Cerise and gave her a tight hug.

“Thank you,” Alissa whispered. “Thanks for helping him.”

She’s changed. She doesn’t hold anything back now, doesn’t guard her emotions. Being with Merrick really has set her free.

“You’re welcome,” Cerise murmured, emotions banging around in her throat.

Jersey stood just inside the door, unspeaking.

“Before we get further into things, this is my friend Jersey. She’s had a rough night,” Cerise said. “Troy Rella tried to kill her, but he’s the one who ended up dead. She needs some stitches.”

Jersey stared down at her bandaged wrist.

Alissa strode forward and put an arm around Jersey’s shoulders, her voice melodic and soothing. “It happens that Merrick has a surgeon on retainer. She’s very good. The stitches won’t hurt, and you’ll hardly have a scar.” Alissa looked in Merrick’s direction. “Where should she stay? In the apartment two doors down from Lysander’s?”

“That’s Ox’s place now. What do you say, Ox?” Merrick asked. “Mind staying on four for a while?”

“Yeah, no problem. I wasn’t planning to move my stuff for a few more weeks anyway,” Ox lied. “You want me to take her down there? Get her settled in and call the doc?”

Merrick nodded.

“All right,” Ox said, holding the door open.

“Jersey,” Merrick said.

She looked at him.

“I probably don’t need to tell you that Rella got what he deserved.”

“Most people won’t think so. I left the scene. I’ll be in trouble for sure,” she said softly. “But I couldn’t just let him kill me, could I?”

“Course not,” Ox said.

Jersey glanced at Cerise and murmured, “I still think I’ll be in trouble eventually.”

“No, you won’t,” Merrick and Cerise said at the same time.

Ox put one of his big paws between Jersey’s thin shoulder blades. “You’re covered. You don’t have to worry about it anymore.” He ushered her toward the hall.

Jersey turned back. “Cerise, don’t forget about Hayden.”

“I won’t. Get some rest. I’ll come tell you as soon as I hear from him.” Cerise turned to Merrick. “Her brother went to see Tamberi Jacobi. With the Varden cell towers out of commission and the Etherlin on lockdown, we haven’t heard from him. Could you make some calls? Find out if he’s still in her territory?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“See,” Ox said, guiding Jersey out. “The boss will take care of everything. Now I gotta admit I’m a fan. And I’ll tell you who’s nuts for your music is my little sister. Maybe after the doc patches you up and you get some rest, you can sign a couple of autographs…”

Alissa’s worried expression softened. “She’ll be all right with him. Wounded women and children are Ox’s specialty.”

“Then Jersey’s perfect since she’s a little of both,” Cerise said.

Merrick poured himself a drink, and Cerise noticed the tightness around his mouth. Alissa crossed to Merrick. “What’s wrong?”

“That kid looks pretty torn up. Rella was on my list. I wish I’d gotten to him sooner.”

Alissa’s expression turned grave. “If that’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I didn’t speak up when I could have, and I asked you to leave him alone.”

“You didn’t know he’d turn killer,” Merrick said.

“Yeah, Liss, don’t blame yourself. Troy probably started to unravel because he thought Lysander and I were closing in on him. I threatened him and set him on edge.”

Lysander rolled his eyes. “The blame for Rella’s actions belongs to him. From what I gather he liked to prey on young girls. That a tiny teen girl turned the tables on him is poetic. What’s more, the demon who keeps his soul for a pet in hell will torment him with that fact. So much the better.”

Lysander cracked his knuckles. “Assuming her character is good, when the shock wears off, the girl will do well enough.”

“She’s not an archangel,” Cerise said.

“Clearly,” Lysander replied.

“And because she’s not,” Cerise continued impatiently, “she might not take to killing demons’ minions like a duck to water. She’s just human, which is why the rest of the
humans
in the room are concerned about the effect tonight might have on her.”

“Will worry or regret change anything?” Lysander asked casually, making Cerise glare at him.

“Lysander’s right,” Alissa said and gave Merrick’s arm a squeeze. “Let’s move forward.” She walked to the couch and sat, waving a hand to the other seats. “Why don’t you guys sit down and fill us in.”

Cerise rolled the small suitcase over and took a seat across from the couch. As she started to relate what they’d discovered, she bent and unzipped the bag. She pulled out the Montblanc pen and set it down with some CDs she’d grabbed from the house.

“These are Richard’s,” Cerise said. “I couldn’t find the manuscript he wanted. There were dozens of boxes in the closet and we didn’t have time to sit around while I went through them.”

“Of course not,” Alissa said.

Lysander raided the refrigerator before joining them in the living room.

“Anyone hungry?” he asked. They all shook their heads, and Lysander sat, putting a tray of bread, cheese, and fruit on the table. Cerise stared at the gallon of milk that he set in front of him. Apparently he planned to drink it all.

Cerise blinked, not wanting to get distracted by him. She unzipped the suitcase’s inner pouch and emptied its contents.

“What’s all that?” Alissa asked.

“Some of it was hidden inside a couch cushion at Ileana’s and the rest Troy had on him.”

Merrick lifted the pill bottle. “Klonopin?”

“Griffin and Hayden were in a bad wreck when they were teenagers. Afterward, Griffin had seizures. Not the full-blown kind where you fall on the ground and shake, but the kind where he’d stare into space and not realize what was going on around him.”

“Any idea why Rella had the pills?”

“No. I thought maybe he wanted to use them on Jersey to add to the suicide scene he was staging. I figured he was keeping them handy in his pocket until he needed them,” Cerise said.

Merrick uncapped the bottle, rattled the pills and sniffed them. “Pungent.”

“Let me see,” Lysander said, taking the bottle. He waved it under his nose. “Smells like a plant extract.” Lysander closed his eyes to concentrate and then nodded. “Not demonic despite its name. It’s devil’s trumpet.”

“Jimsonweed?” Merrick asked, then sniffed the bottle again and nodded, smiling faintly. “When I was in juvie as a kid, we
used to have to pick up trash in the fields as part of the work furlough. Jimsonweed grows about five feet tall and the seeds are a hallucinogen. Every time we got a new guard that didn’t recognize the plant, at least one or two kids had to be taken to the hospital for tripping on it.”

Cerise took the bottle and inhaled. “I don’t smell anything.”

“The odor’s pretty faint.”

“Why should the bottle smell of anything?” Cerise poured the pills into her hand. They were stamped in the usual way. Clearly pharmaceutical grade, they’d been manufactured and dispensed through a pharmacy. She dumped them back into the bottle and closed it. Had Griffin stashed drugs in the pill bottle? Or had someone else adulterated his meds? Troy? If so, why? To make Griffin more dependent on the people managing his career?

“Here’s the flash drive that was around Troy’s neck,” Cerise said. “I plugged it in to one of Alissa’s laptops at the house, but as expected, it’s encrypted.” She slid the drive across to Merrick. “Lysander thought you might be able to get into it.” Merrick took it without comment. Alissa picked up the bird sketch, bringing it close to her face for examination. Merrick’s nostrils flared and his hand shot out, pulling the paper away from her.

Alissa looked up through loose blonde waves and raised her brows in question.

Merrick glanced at the sketch, folded it, and passed it to Lysander. “When you wash your hands, sweetheart, add a few drops of bleach to the soap.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“What was on that sketch?” she asked, rising.

“Demon ash.”

Alissa frowned, but said nothing as she went to the kitchen.

“You can hardly expect to keep her out of things when she’s living here,” Lysander said, breaking off a hunk of bread and spreading some goat cheese on it.

“Try and keep up, Lyse,” Merrick said mildly. “We already discussed the fact that demon-hunting’s best left to the professionals.”

“Even so, she’s in this. You married her.”

“Doctors marry lawyers. Lawyers don’t moonlight in the operating room, and doctors don’t try cases. Alissa’s working to inspire a breakthrough that could make taking the salt out of ocean water feasible. I couldn’t help a scientist with that and neither could you. Like us, she’s got rare skills. I leave her to her work, and she leaves me to mine.”

Finishing off the milk, Lysander said mildly, “Scientists are unlikely to attack the penthouse.”

“Neither are demons if we take the fight to them.”

Alissa returned to her seat. She leaned back, resting her shoulders against Merrick’s arm, which was stretched out on the back of the couch. She folded her hands on her lap.

They’re certainly cozy, presenting a united front.

“So Merrick, you’ll see what you can discover about Ileana Rella’s current whereabouts?” Lysander asked.

Merrick nodded.

“I’m going to put Cerise through some training exercises. Afterward, we’ll rest if she needs it, then we’ll see if we can locate Tamberi Jacobi. That female ventala seems to be at the center of the demon-raising activities and needs to be dealt with,” Lysander said, breaking off more bread.

“You think it’s a good idea to parade a muse and her magical blood through the Varden when Tamberi’s bent on vengeance? Why don’t you search alone and leave Alissa’s friend here?”

Lysander chewed and swallowed. “Cerise stays with me. My claim to her trumps all others, including Alissa’s.”

“Which one of you was in the tree again?” Merrick asked.

“Exactly,” Cerise said dryly. “The arrangement seems a bit off, doesn’t it?”