Bitten to Death (13 page)

“You act like we’re really going to negotiate with this guy,” Dave said.

“Not at all,” Vayl replied. “But we have to be able to terminate him in such a way that everyone in the Trust can escape unscathed.”

There it was again, one of those words that reminded me that Vayl had never quite moved beyond his past. I admitted to myself that I partied a little every time I recalled that fact. Because he’d held on to a lot of the good stuff. And some of the bad. But now, watching him work, I felt something vital was missing that had been a part of his long march through history.

Vayl went on. “Because eliminating him at the Odeum would be too dangerous, we must force Samos to a different location. One that we can control. Once we have accomplished that, our mission should run smoothly.”

“And that’s where the dog comes in,” Dave put in.

“Indeed,” Vayl agreed. “We must gain possession of it well before tomorrow night’s meeting. And when I say we . . .”

“You mean Jasmine and me,” Dave finished.

Vayl nodded. “We did agree the wisest time to take Samos’s malamute would be when its master and his strongest people are at rest, leaving only his human guardians to contend with.”

“And here’s where you lose me,” Dave said. “Because I just don’t get why a guy as villainous as you say Samos is would risk his power play to get a
dog
back.”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, clasping my hands together as my mind went back to the vision I’d had of our target. The one that had led us to this assignment and this moment. “Do you remember when I told you about the time Raoul took me to hell?” I asked my brother.

His sharp nod told me the less I said about that discussion the better. Because it had involved the fact that I’d met our mother there. “I had a vision of Samos during that trip,” I said. “He was trying to make a pact with a demon called the Magistrate. But in order for it to work, he had to give up something incredibly precious to him. His dog. In the end, he refused to do it.”

“But how do you know the dog really means that much to him?”

“The Magistrate knew. And look,
I
had to give something up in order to gain that vision. Something that meant the world to me.” I stopped, mainly so I wouldn’t start bawling. Dave wouldn’t understand how much I missed my playing cards. How the whisper of the bridge, the slap of the shuffle, had worked on me like coke on a junkie. “I promise you, Samos loves that dog like our sister adores her baby girl. We get that malamute, we can play him like a drum.”

“And Disa’s fine with this plan?” he asked.

Vayl paused, as if trying to think of a tactful way to put his next few words. He shook his head. “She believes you and Jasmine will fail, in which case you will die, which is her ideal. With you two dead and me bound, she wins.”

It’s not me, Raoul!

YES, IT IS
.

Even if I thought I was capable, which I don’t, why would I be doing that?

YOU TELL ME
.

I thought about how I’d been feeling before the alarms went off. And about my overall mood lately.
Well, I suppose I have been a little . . . wound up . . . recently. I’ve got a stressful job, don’t I? And now that I don’t have cards as an outlet. Or sex. Or drinking, drugs, gambling . . . You know what? How about you just leave me the hell alone? If I
could
set stuff on fire with my mind, I should be allowed to burn down the whole damn villa if I feel like it!

Amusement in his tone now.
YOU DON’T MEAN THAT.

Why was it that everybody knew me better than I knew myself? Un-freaking-fair.

Okay, maybe not
. Inner sigh.
So what are you saying? I’ve developed some sort of mental Aim ’n’ Flame? And it just goes off arbitrarily?

NOTHING RANDOM ABOUT YOUR TINDER.

I recalled that both times the fires had started I’d been mad as hell. But apparently instead of steam coming out my ears, I’d caused flames to pop up in my least favorite stomping grounds.

What am I supposed to do?
I asked Raoul in utter frustration.

CONTROL YOURSELF.

That was easy for him to say. If he didn’t have to fight creeping evil every time he turned around, he’d probably be a saint by now. However, since he could probably fry my brain just by clearing his throat, I decided to cooperate. Self-control would be a cinch if Disa was dead, so I tried to calm myself with an imaginary montage starring both of us. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could do a little Cartoon Network scene where I blew her up with TNT, dropped her off a mountain, ran her over with a steamroller, and catapulted her into the side of Rockefeller Center, after which she would get up, stumble around groggily for a few seconds, shake it off, and
then
impale herself on my lance-sized stake? Ahh, if life was only like television.
I’d
certainly feel better. In fact, just fantasizing about it elevated my mood.

THAT’S BETTER
, said Raoul.
REMEMBER YOUR POKER FIXATION AS WELL
.

His voice had such finality to it that I felt a surge of panic.
No, wait, don’t leave yet! I’ll practice shifting the chips, I promise. But I have to know what to do about the firebug trait I’ve suddenly developed. And, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m in a major predicament with this Disa mess. Couldn’t you
—

ON THE FIRST ISSUE
—
PRACTICE. I’M OUT ON THE SECOND
.

Why?

NOT MY FIELD OF EXPERTISE
. I wished we had video to go along with the words in my head. Because I was sure it would’ve confirmed the deceit I heard in his voice. It wasn’t that he couldn’t help. He simply wouldn’t. Which was when I realized my Spirit Guide didn’t approve of my
sverhamin
. I wasn’t overly surprised. On paper they seemed to fall on opposite philosophic poles. But we were all working toward the same goal here. Which made me feel like Raoul was being somewhat narrow-minded. I wondered if it was a personal deal, or if he was acting on orders from Above.

Either way, we were SOL. Judging by the stubborn set of Vayl’s jaw, he wouldn’t have accepted outside help on this anyway. He spoke to Dave since I obviously had nothing useful to say. “I wonder if perhaps Disa is still smarting from the humiliation I brought down on her when she was still human. She hates to lose. Perhaps she has found a way to exact her revenge upon me after all these years.”

“I could drop a boulder on her head,” I murmured.

“Excuse me?” said Vayl.

I looked at my watch. “Wow, three a.m. Where has the time gone? Are we squared away on the dognapping?”

Dave nodded. “Just what I was going to ask. I understand our cover. But not how we’re supposed to get this mutt’s attention.”

“Bergman has provided us with the tools we need,” said Vayl. He turned to me. “Jasmine?”

Since I’d packed the goodies, it came to me to run into the bedroom and unearth the plain silver aerosol cans that contained Bergman’s invention. Barely resisting the urge to cover my brother in doggy-sniff mist, I tossed him one can and gave the other to Vayl. As I resumed my seat I said, “When I told Bergman we needed to take temporary custody of a large canine, he sent me these. He said to treat them like bug spray.”

“You mean, they’re a repellent?” asked Dave.

“Just the opposite. As soon as he gets a whiff of us, he’ll want to be friends for life. He’ll go anywhere with us, no problem. By the way, the dog’s name is Ziel.”

“What’re we going to smell like to him?” Dave asked. “Steak?”

“That’s what I asked. No, Bergman says he won’t think we’re dinner. It’s more a let’s-play kind of scent. Like we’re just a couple of other malamutes.”

“Is this a prototype?”

“Nope. He invented it about five years ago. Tried and true.”

“So we are set,” Vayl pronounced. “You two will use Bergman’s spray to aid in your mission tomorrow. Samos is staying at a hotel called the Olympia. David already has the address because he is going to place cameras outside the entrances at his earliest convenience.” He rubbed his hands together like he was about to dig into a big old piece of apple pie. But I knew better. He just didn’t know what else to do with them. Which was when I realized what had been missing from the overall picture.

“What happened to your cane?” I asked.

He opened his empty hands, stared at them as if he’d just seen them for the first time today. When his eyes rose to meet mine, they were nearly black with fury. “I cannot remember. But I can imagine.”

“Disa,” we both said at the same time. We looked at Dave.

“Exactly what happened in that meeting?” I demanded. “Describe everything. Any detail could make the difference.”

“What are you saying?” asked Dave. “What’s the cane got to do with the meeting?”

“Maybe nothing,” I told him, shooting Vayl a comforting look. “Maybe you just left it under your chair when it was time to go.”

“But I have never forgotten it,” Vayl said, rubbing the heel of his hand across his forehead. “It has been my constant companion for over two hundred years.”

I nodded. “Which means it’s become a part of you. Objects like that can be dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. So”—I turned back to my brother—“details.”

Dave scratched his cheeks, the sandpaper scrape of his nails against the new growth of his beard the only sound in the room. “We went to Disa’s private quarters. There’s a stone balcony built off her bedroom with a wall that curves out and a stairway that leads to the ground floor. That’s where the talk happened. There weren’t many chairs, so most of us stood. In fact, I think the only people who sat were Vayl and Disa.”

“Who else was there?”

“Sibley and Marcon. Those two gigantic guards were there too.”

“What happened when you came onto the balcony?”

“Sibley handed us copies of the contract. I remember being surprised she’d found it so easily after all that bullshit about not even knowing we were coming.” Dave glanced at Vayl. “What did you think about that?”

My boss had gone stiff and wary, as if he suspected an imminent ambush. “I . . .” His hand went to his forehead, triggering an overall tightening of his facial muscles that aged him by at least a decade. “Something distracted me almost from the moment the meeting began. I found it hard to concentrate. I kept looking at the guards, thinking they were being rude speaking so loudly during an important meeting. But they were not talking at all.”

“Did you have your cane when you stepped onto Disa’s balcony?” I asked.

He nodded. “Of that I am sure.”

“What else?” I directed the question to Dave.

He shrugged. “Pretty straightforward stuff until the end. They went over the details while the guards and I made sure everybody behaved.”

“But in the end Disa didn’t toe the line. In fact, she drew an entirely new one.” I tried, really I did, but I couldn’t keep the accusation out of my tone. Dave faced it squarely, as he’d been trained to, though the toll must’ve made his shoulders creak, considering the load he was already carrying. “I’m sorry,” I said immediately. “Your job is just to watch Vayl’s back. And you did exactly that. She didn’t stab him. She trapped him. There’s no way you could’ve prevented that.”

“Maybe if I’d have known what to look for,” Dave said with a regretful shrug. “But after the contract discussion was over, all she did was lean sideways, pick this two-handled cup off the floor, and say, ‘With this blood I bind you for the next half century.’ Then she poured the contents over his hand.”

As Vayl studied his pale, empty fingers, I said, “Wait a second. You didn’t mention a cup before. Was it big?”

What’s the difference?
said Dave’s gesture. “It stood about twelve inches high. Gold. Reminded me of the Ryder Cup trophy with the golfer hacked off the top.”

“That’s a pretty showy item to have missed when you first came onto the balcony,” I said. “Neither of you noticed it at all?” The men shook their heads. “And, Vayl? You just sat there and let her pour blood all over your digits? No avoidance? No protest?”

“At the time I felt she had the right.” He shook his head. “It is as we have realized. The power of this place. It worms its way into your pores, and before you realize it, you are behaving as if everything the
Deyrar
says and does is correct and natural.” He clenched his fists. “So she bound me. That still does not explain what happened to my cane. Or why she needs it.”

“Did you have it when she poured the blood over your hand?” I asked.

“Yes. I remember thinking that I needed to clean it off of the wood before it stained. So I went into her bathroom and washed my hand. But before I got to the cane, I decided to leave it. In her bathroom.”

“Why?” I asked.

He put his fingers to his temples. “I had the oddest feeling I should give her a gift since we had become bound. I tried to resist the urge. Part of me understood the best course of action would be to find you and get out, despite the fact that it would end our mission. But my hand began to burn with such heat I had to hold it under the cold-water tap. After I had stood there for another minute, I decided to leave the cane after all. So I did. And I promptly forgot it.”

Dave sat forward. “Let’s go get it. I haven’t kicked ass in so long, the steel toes of my boots are getting rusty.” When Vayl hesitated he pressed. “You know Disa can’t be up to any good with it.”

“I agree,” I said. “You and I both understand what trouble people can get into when they lose something they value as much as you do that cane. She might try to control you through it.”

“Or she may use it as a
pwen
,” Vayl countered.

Crap, he might have hit the mark there
.

“What’s a
pwen
?” asked Dave.

“An object used in self-defense,” I explained. “Considering what Disa’s done to Vayl, and what she might be planning, she could be thinking he’d be tempted to move against her. Especially since he’s already shown an ability to resist the Trust in the past. In that case, she’d have stolen the cane to use as a shield against Vayl’s powers if he becomes violent. Since he’s had it so long, it’s absorbed a lot of his energies, so it’s the ideal item for the job.”

“But she’s already manipulated him,” Dave argued. “He couldn’t even remember leaving it in her possession. Now that she has it, I’m betting she’s using it to tighten the screws.” The stare he sent Vayl was more bitter than day-old coffee. “It’s just like the ohm. Only it’s not stuck inside his neck.”

I put my hand on my brother’s knee. “The Wizard’s dead, Dave. You won.”

He shrugged. Gave me his
whatever
look.

I studied him as he turned back to argue with Vayl. Spoiling for a fight, Dave gave it his best shot while my boss debated for the wait-and-see side. As they talked, I tried to open another eye. It wasn’t easy. I’d been alone for eight months before partnering with Vayl. You tend to develop cataracts working that way. Makes the killing easier. Dams the nightmares. But eventually you go blind. Vayl had taught me new ways of working, unique avenues of thinking. It didn’t mean I’d gotten tons better at stepping out of my own head. But for Dave’s sake, I tried.

What would it be like to be at another person’s mercy? Trapped by a power more adept and much more willing to do evil than you? Especially when you were accustomed to leading a force of elite troops trained to operate independently and tasked with only the most nut-cracking assignments the military could dredge up?

That’s a vulnerable situation to be in. With your soul straining to fly while some badass necromancer binds it with magic and bone.
And then my spine straightened, the answer I needed flying up from the seat of my pants to encase it in iron. That was Dave’s real problem. He’d been like a hostage. A prisoner of war. All the crap he’d heaped on top of that original victimization he could probably deal with if only he got his head past the conviction that he should have fought in a situation when he couldn’t possibly have done anything different.