Ollie, Ollie Hex 'n Free (15 page)

I looked at Jessica.

“I do not have to explain myself,” she said through gritted teeth. “Selene will be yours and the child and its limitless capabilities will be mine. Nothing has changed other than the method that will be used.”

“What is the new method?”

“She will be weakest when she goes into labor. I just have to get this vessel killed in her vicinity. Her resistance will be negligible.”

“And how will that give me Selene?”

“It won’t, but this will.” She handed me a vial of bright pink liquid. “She needs to drink this before she goes into labor. If that happens, once I am in the child, I can free her once and for all. Everything that binds her to the elf will dissolve and she will have eyes only for you.”

“And it will be her? If I wanted her submissive and compliant I would do it myself.”

She sighed. “She will be as difficult as ever.”

“It won’t hurt her? Because if you harm her, you will wish I killed you now.”

She rolled her eyes. “Enough. No more questions. If you wish to kill me, then do it.” She waited. “That’s what I thought. Move. I have places to go.”

My forehead was stuck to the page of the spell book when my own snore woke me. I groaned as I sat up and tried to work out the kink in my neck. “What time is it? Why’d you let me sleep?”

Leslie yawned. “I don’t know. They really need a window in here. It’s like time doesn’t exist in this room.”

“It’s after eight,” Frost said, not looking a bit sleepy.

“How is it possible you aren’t tired? Do necromancers secrete caffeine?” I took a drink of my cold coffee, hoping it would get the horrible dryness out of my mouth.

She shrugged. “Sometimes when I’m chasing a bounty I’m up for a couple days at a time, then I crash. I guess I’m used to it.” She stretched her arms after she double-checked no one was near her, despite the fact she was still wearing her gloves. “So what’s our new plan? I’m working on the spell to take Jessica’s magic, but how will we cast it without Selene’s help?”

“How many witches does it take to send a soul to hell? Sounds like a bad joke,” I said with another yawn. I stood up. I had to move or I would fall back to sleep.

“More than two,” Leslie said, shaking her head. “I honestly don’t know how we’re going to pull this off, Kat.”

“It’s possible,” I insisted. We were just tired. We weren’t seeing the answer that had to be right in front of us. There was a way. I refused to accept anything else. “Do we have all the spells pretty much tweaked for our purposes?”

They nodded.

“Okay, why don’t we take a break and get out of here? When we come back later, how much do you want to bet the problem solves itself?”

“It’s worth a try,” Leslie said. “So where are we going? The kitchen?”

I shook my head. “No, we’re leaving the castle. We need a legit change of scenery.” Leslie and I headed for the door, but Frost didn’t even stand. “You coming?”

“Where are you going?”

That was the question all right. We really weren’t “allowed” to go anywhere in the Abyss anymore and in the human world we’d be sitting ducks waiting for Jessica to attack. There was only one place no one would say a word about us being there. “The Office. We can torment Sy for a while.”

“As much fun as that sounds. I think I’ll stay and keep prepping. I don’t do crowds.”

I didn’t argue with her. What could I say? If anyone, besides someone who was already dead, touched her, they died. If I had that kind of baggage I wouldn’t do crowds either. Leslie and I made it up to the great room as Cheney and his half-sister were headed for the main door. Lily smiled and waved at us.

“I thought the two of you moved back to the human world,” she said, coming over.

“We did, but then the threat level went crazy. Go figure. Now everything is spiraling out of control.”

“As usual,” Cheney said, shaking his head. He took a deep breath. “And speaking of that, Selene is on bed rest until further notice. If you see her up and about, make her lie down.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Um, precisely how are we supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know. But we have to figure something out. According to Sy’s mother if she doesn’t rest until the birth, she’s not going to make it.”

“You mean she’ll die?” Leslie asked.

He nodded. “She cannot exert herself.”

Well, holy shit balls. We really were on our own. “I’ll do everything I can. Does she want company? We were just taking a break. I’d be happy to go hang out with her.”

“No, Sy’s with her now and I’ll be there all night. Right now she needs to relax and allow herself to rest. How are the spells coming?”

“Works in progress,” I said.

He nodded. “Well, then I bid you goodnight. I am sure we will speak more in the morning.” He kissed Lily on the cheek. “Thank you for coming by.”

“Later,” she said. “The two of you look like you could use a drink.”

“Or ten,” I said.

“Come to the club.” Lily smiled brightly. “I promise you’ll have a good time.”

Leslie shook her head. “We’re not supposed to leave the castle. The elves hate us and are on the rampage because Sebastian promised we were leaving and we haven’t—and Jessica could come after us again.”

Lily waved off the objections, stepped between us and hooked our arms in hers. “My club isn’t just elves. Everyone is welcome and everyone pretty much comes. No one will even notice you’re there. The people who hate you are obnoxious prigs. Don’t give them a second thought. You’re my guests.” She winked and dragged us toward the door. “Trust me. We’ll have fun.”

“I guess one drink couldn’t hurt.” Leslie gave me a helpless look.

“Not one bit. It’s the least I can do for Selene. She’s stuck in bed so I’ll entertain her friends. You guys are cool with jinn, right? Doesn’t matter, they’re fun. You’ll like them.”

“Um, I guess,” I said. “Did Cheney tell you to take us out of the castle?” I couldn’t quite grasp why Cheney’s half-sister suddenly wanted to hang out with us tonight. She hadn’t shown a huge amount of interest in us before now.

She snorted. “No. Cheney’s too wound up in everything he can’t control to think of arranging entertainment for anyone. Honestly, looking at the two of you, it must be catching.”

I frowned. Of course we were “wound up.” How could we be anything else?

“Look, I know I can’t help you with my ability. It will only make things worse. I’m more useful in the power plays. But according to Cheney and Sy, Selene needs to relax. How is she supposed to do that when everyone in the castle is ready to burst out of their skins? So that’s my personally assigned mission. One by one, I will get all of you to relax and burn off some energy. Starting with the two of you.”

“And what happens when Jessica attacks your club to get to us?” Leslie asked.

“Pssh. Been there, done that. First, all publicity is good publicity, right? Second, she will have about ten jinn to get past before she can get to you. By that time, I will have transported us back to the castle.”

We stopped at the castle gates.

“You’re not really going to turn back after you’ve come this far, are you? Come on. Laziness could be a virtue.”

I laughed. “You had me at alcohol. Take me to your bartender.”

“Leslie?”

Leslie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “We still have work to do, so not too late, okay?”

Seconds later, we were in Lily’s office inside the club. The large room, filled with tables (poker, craps, roulette, and even a few I didn’t recognize), was bursting at the seams. Lily had a point about no one noticing us. It was so crowded it would be hard to notice anyone.

“Don’t you have fire codes?” I asked.

Lily gave me a confused look, but shook her head. “There are two bars, but I suggest you stick to the one in back. If you want to place any bets, I would be happy to extend you a line of credit. You’ll have your own personal escort this evening whose sole mission will be to make sure you’re having fun. If you need anything, just ask.” She waved and disappeared into the crowd.

I spotted the bar. “Good thing Frost didn’t come,” I yelled to Leslie.

She nodded toward the bar. “Should we attempt it?”

“Absolutely.” I took her hand and we squeezed and pushed our way through. Suddenly a wide pair of shoulders clad in a dark gray suit was the only thing I could see in front of me. Around him, the room parted like Moses and the Red Sea. I glanced back at Leslie and there was another huge man in a suit behind us. “Our escorts, I presume.”

She followed my gaze and her eyes widened. She leaned forward. “Do you think we can keep them?”

I grinned. “I think they’re a loaner.”

Finally we came to a stop. “Move,” a deep voice rumbled and four seats vacated like magic. Leslie and I were put in the middle seats and the two suited men took the outside, nodding to a bartender who was with us in a flash. It totally paid to know people.

“Vodka cranberry,” I said.

“Margarita on the rocks,” Leslie said, turning around on her stool to survey the room. “It’s madness in here. Is it always like this?” she asked the man next to her.

He barely shifted his gaze. “Pretty much.” His fingers brushed the back of her hand and all of her muscles relaxed and she stared up at him dreamily.

“I like you. You have pretty eyes. How do you feel about cheese dip?” she asked breathlessly.

I laughed and looked back at my goon. “Don’t even think about touching me. I’ve met a jinni before. I’m wise to your tricks.”

“Is that so?” he asked.

“Yep.” I took a sip of my drink.

“You know, we aren’t all the same.”

“Well, you’re burly and grumpy.”

He nodded, an amused look in his eyes.

“And Holden was both of those things too. So far two for two.”

He picked up his whiskey. “You know Holden?”

“I’ve met him. I probably know Olivia better—and she is way nicer.”

His face blanched and he sat his glass down without taking a drink. “You’ve met the angel.”

“You don’t need to sound so surprised. I know people.”

He chuckled. “Those two aren’t people. They’re…” He shook his head and straightened his tie.

“Oh my dog, you are totally fan-girling over them. That’s so cute. Holden would totally abuse you for it. What’s your name?”

“Why?” He gave me a stern look.

“So I can tell him.” I rolled my eyes. “No, so I don’t have to call you ‘hey you’ all night.”

“Presley,” he said. “You really know Holden and Olivia?”

“It’s more of a passing acquaintance. It’s not like we have a weekly game night or anything. But I bet that would be fun. Do you think Holden plays games…you know, other than with people’s feelings?”

Presley’s thick eyebrows drew together in a single flat line. “I don’t ‘fan girl,’” he growled.

“Besides the point.”

“And what’s the point exactly?”

“No touching me.” I nodded my head to the right. “I’m not going to end up like her.”

“But we have orders to make sure the two of you have fun tonight.”

Presley was cute if you got past his brutishness. His eyebrows were thick and heavy over his eyes, his nose was masculine, and he had at least two days growth on his beard. Not entirely my type. “Then entertain me.”

A slow smiled crept over his face. “Without touching you?”

“Do your best.” I batted my eyelashes.

A wicked grin spread over his face as he leaned toward me, his mouth nearly touching my ear.

I was jostled from behind before the jinni could say anything interesting, however, and my drink sloshed onto the bar.

Presley growled and jumped into the fight that apparently broke out behind us. I motioned to the bartender for a new drink and watched poor Leslie fawning over her jinni. Maybe I should have let Presley touch me.

“Miss me?” a dark voice, all gravel and promise, whispered in my ear.

I knew exactly who it was. I had heard it in my thoughts and felt his lips in my imagination many times since Halloween. One very confusing evening with this man dressed as Jack the Ripper months ago and he was forever imprinted on my brain. I didn’t even know his real name. “Jack,” I said, turning around. “Took you long enough to find me.”

He flashed a sharkish smile. “What makes you think I haven’t known where you are the entire time?”