Armageddon Rules (46 page)

BOOK: Armageddon Rules

2.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

I can’t tell you how many minutes passed until I felt Grimm’s presence in the mirror at my back. I didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Prince Mihail and his crazy mother were some of the few people who truly deserved their spots in Inferno. The thought of them out and about, watching, waiting—that I couldn’t stand.

“Marissa, I listened in on your conversation. You have a special rapport with the Adversary, and I felt it wiser to allow you to deal with him.”

“Is he telling the truth?”

“Yes, my dear. I’m afraid he is. I know in the past you’ve been reluctant to use deadly force, but in this case, I want you to shoot first, reload, and shoot again. Leave the question asking to me.” The concern in Grimm’s voice only amplified my fear. The Fairy Godfather feared nothing.

“We have to take care of Ari. Prince Mihail might come for her.” Mihail had meant to marry Ari. Then murder her.

“His mother won’t waste time on Ari or anyone else. I would comfort you, but fear will keep you alert. Alive. I have ordered Jess released from the hospital to accompany Arianna. Anywhere you go in this realm, Liam must remain with you at all times.”

The thought of half-djinn Jess roaming the streets of my city worried me almost as much as the Adversary’s threats. Jess was violent death given flesh when her bipolar medication wasn’t working—or when she wouldn’t take it, which was most of the time. Still, nothing and no one would dare come within ten feet of Ari with Jess at her side. Which meant I could spare a moment to worry for myself.

* * *

AN URGENT KNOCK on Grimm’s door roused me from my worry. Grimm himself had disappeared half an hour before, saying he needed to spend quality time divining the future. There’d be a food bank receiving donations of hasenpfeffer for days.

“Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” I recognized Mikey’s voice through the oak door.

“Oh, all right.” I rose and unlocked the door, looking up to meet his eyes. “What?”

Mikey grabbed my arm, a move that would have earned him a silver bullet two years earlier, and dragged me along. “Emergency in the kitchen. You’re in charge.” He let go and sprinted off, rounding the corner like he’d just spotted a whitetail deer, or a cheerleader.

I followed him to the kitchen, throwing open the door and marching in, ready to lay down the law.

Darkness engulfed me, absolute darkness, as the door swung shut behind me, and the sounds of shallow breathing made my heart race.

“Surprise!” a hail of voices shouted, and the lights flickered on. A shiver ran from my feet to my ears. In the center of the table sat a cake with “Happy Bar Mitzvah, Joshua” written in pink gel frosting.

“I got it on clearance at the bakery.” Mikey reached out and lit a candle on the cake, oblivious to the terror in my eyes.

The kitchen door opened, and Liam shouted, “What idiot brought a cake? Grimm, we need you.” He banged on the wall so hard, it shook the door.

I heard the patter of light feet while I clenched my teeth and tried to look away. “It’s going to be okay, M.” Ari stepped forward. “Everyone out of the building. Move, people.” She barked orders while I struggled to contain the wave of nausea that made the world spin when I opened my eyes.

Grimm flashed into the microwave door, glanced around the room, and glowered at Mikey. “What exactly do you think you are doing?”

“Stairs.” Ari cupped her hands and shouted. “Only use the stairs. Remember what happened to the elevators last time?”

“Marissa, take a deep breath. Close your eyes.” Grimm’s voice calmed me, though the panic still swirled in my stomach like a gallon of cheap rum.

Liam snuffed out the candle and threw his jacket over the cake. “It’s fine, M. Nothing to see here. We’re all going to just go for a walk down the stairs, out onto the street, and take the day off.”

In the doorway, Svetlana tossed her blond hair in a contemptuous flip. Up until that moment, I hadn’t thought I could detest her more, but that one action said, “This? From her? Again?”

That’s when the sprinklers went off.

Then every light in the building went out at once.

A bubbling noise filled my ears, like some monster from the depths reached up out of the sewers, bringing with it the stench of rotten sheep entrails. From the floors above and below, cries of terror and disgust echoed from vents.

“Deep breaths. Eyes closed.” Liam put a rough hand on my face and pulled me toward him. “Mikey didn’t know.”

Mikey didn’t know. Didn’t know that I avoided every birthday, anniversary, wedding, or funeral for exactly the same reason. They all ended in disaster. If we were unlucky, it required the hazmat squad. If we were lucky, there’d only be a couple of feet of raw sewage flooding the building.

“Grimm, you’ve got to help me with this.” I pushed away from Liam as the emergency lighting came on, flooding the Agency with dull red glow.

“Marissa, everyone has situations in which things do not go well. Little things, where the universe reminds them they have better ways to spend their fleeting days.” Grimm spoke like a schoolteacher.

“Do you remember what happened when Ari baked me cupcakes for my birthday?”

Ari tromped back into the room, wearing yellow muck boots and carrying a matching parasol. “Asps. There were no asp eggs in the batter, Grimm. None. Would you like to guess how many cupcakes had asps in them when Marissa cut into them? What does that tell you?”

“It tells me cupcakes are bad for your figure. Now, if you don’t mind—” Grimm cut off, his eyes losing focus, then snapping wide open. “Ladies, I need you to check on that realm seal immediately. There isn’t a moment to waste.”

I followed Ari to the back of the Agency, where Grimm kept portal runes ground into the concrete, having long ago given up any pretense of getting his security deposit returned. This birthday was turning out as bad as the rest.

“Proceed directly along the path to the Seal; contact me when you arrive. Do not waste time shooting goblins.” Grimm stood in the full-length mirror, waiting. He looked to Liam. “Sir, I need your assistance as soon as the ladies have departed. We have a minor invasion to deal with.”

“You got it.” Liam rubbed his hands through his hair, wringing it out.

Svetlana stepped up behind him. “If my liege goes, it is my pleasure to assist.”

The portal lit up like a rainbow and solidified, revealing a land that looked like a barren fall landscape.

Grimm waved his hand like a host. “This is your stop. Please keep your hands and feet inside the portal, or a team of surgeons will be required to reattach them. I will reopen the gate once we have inspected the realm seal and understand what is wrong.”

Ari stepped through, appearing on the trail visible through the portal. The portal rippled and shook, like it was made of cold, clear water.

“That normal?” I studied Grimm’s face.

“Not exactly. Hurry, Marissa. There’s a tremor in the fabric of magic itself coming, which might strand Ari.” Grimm concentrated, his eyebrows arched.

I dashed forward, ducking down, and stepped across. As I did, the building shook again, and it felt like my insides twisted like a pretzel. Then a grip like iron seized my hand. Ari screamed. Liam cursed, and I disappeared into darkness.

J. C. Nelson
is a software developer and ex-beekeeper residing in the Pacific Northwest with family and a few chickens. Visit the author online at authorjcnelson.com.