Zero Sum (26 page)

Above me, Jules leaned against the banister. “And what have I told you about such tales?”

“That they all be whitewashed bollocks.”
 

“Correct.”

I recovered Jules’ discarded footwear and followed her up the stairs. “So how does the real story go?”

Jules smiled. “Looks like I’ll be givin’ ya one more lesson then.” Swiping the keycard, she opened the door to Madam Fremont’s suite.
 

“And what lesson would that be?” Rei asked from her perch on the couch.

Chapter 11

BITCH, IF YOU WOULDN’T MIND

“What are ya doin’ in our room?” Jules stammered.

Rei was stretched out across the couch wearing nothing but a tank top and track shorts. She had a can of carrot juice in one hand and a TV remote in the other. Her porcelain skin shone in the moonlight. Behind her, the balcony’s French doors sat wide open. The red curtains fluttered. A cold breeze played through her hair.

Rei cocked her head and frowned. “Our room?”

“Yes, Rei Acerba, as in where we plan ta sleep, and where I won’t stand ta have ya lurkin’.”

“Lurking?” Rei twirled the remote control on the tip of her index finger. “Far from it. I am loafing.” Leaning back on a pillow, she gave us both a predatory smile.

Jules wrapped her hands around her waist. She tried to look stern, but all the shivering wasn’t helping. “Don’t ya bare yer fangs at me. And ya do need ta be leavin’. Out the window witya.”

Rei glared at her. “I will not. This is my television. Find your own diversion.”
 

Jules smirked. “I’m not interested in your television.”

Her eyes dancing between us, Rei frowned. “Both of you are sweating.” She caught sight of the pair of heels dangling from my fingers. “Was your dinner as hard to catch as mine?”

“You killed someone?” I stammered.

Rei shrugged. “I am a bloodthirsty beast, am I not?”

“Seriously, Rei. Did you kill someone?”

“My most incessant dunderhead, ‘someone’ implies the singular.” Her grin shifted towards the creepy. “Perchance, this evening I started with a young lad, as fresh as a mountain spring. Perchance, he sated me for a time, but then I grew bored. Perchance, I traipsed over to the nearby nursery.” Rei ran a hand through her lush black hair. “Delicious, the little ones. The Turned call them popcorned shrimps, did you know this? But one must go through so many of them to get one’s fill…and all the extra peeling is quite a nuisance.”

Jules’ aura cracked across the room like a thunderbolt.

“Easy now, Druid,” Rei cooed. “I did not hog them all.”

“Get out!” she screamed.

Rei enjoyed another sip of her carrot juice. “Why don’t you make me, you kurva whore.”

“Gladly,” Jules replied. Her hand shifted to her waist. The surge of mana was growing. Her hair was rising up on end. Her eyes were surging green. She looked like a wild thing. I took a step away from her.
 

“I’ve so missed your temper.” Rei set down her beverage. Her eyes had gone cold and grey. “I’d worried you might have misplaced it.”

“Ladies, I would ask that you remain civil.” Nudging me aside, Madam Fremont hobbled into her suite. “This evening has gone on long enough.” Madam Fremont collapsed onto a lounger with a huff. Silent as always, Ayaan shifted over to her side. Settled, Madam Fremont looked up at Rei. “And who might you be, shadow dancer?”

To my surprise, Rei had shot straight up into attention.
 

“Madam, my name is Rei Acerba Bathory, daughter of Theodus Nadasdy Bathory, granddaughter of—“

Fremont gave Rei a dismissive wave. “No need to give me your pedigree back to Bator. Name and clan will suffice. Now explain this lapse in protocol.” Fremont spoke in a measured tone, but she was turning her cane against the marble. The sound of a fingernail on chalkboard scratched across the suite.
 

“Madam,” Rei said bowing deeply, “I apologize for breaching your domain. I was unaware that a member of the Council—”
 

Fremont’s wrapped her cane against the white marble. “You were unaware because I wished it. Now stop dallying, creature. Answer my query. What drew you into my abode?”

Rei looked perplexed. “The Kentuckian’s excrement. It is quite pungent and easy to—“

“No, damn it,” Madam Fremont barked. “What is your reason for being in my blasted room?”

Rei’s eyes narrowed. “My purpose is to ensure the safety of my compatriots. I have made an oath.”

Fremont shattered another piece of the hotel’s marble with her cane.
 

I jumped straight into the air.

Rei didn’t budge.

“I did not ask for your purpose of being, creature. I asked why your filthy posterior was soiling my sofa.”

Rei frowned. “My posterior is immaculate.”

Fremont’s knuckles went white. If her feathers hadn’t already been ruffled, that did it. “Daughter of Bator, You have breached my threshold without clear cause. You have desecrated my domain. Now you attempt to mock me?”

Rei rolled her big blue eyes. “Madam, I only wished to protect—”

“Lies. You could have safeguarded these souls from the stoop. You will explain why you required entrance into my quarters, and you will do it now.”

Rei bit her lip. “The reason is of no consequence.”

“You dare instruct me on what is consequential?” Fremont slid her fingers down the length of her gnarled cane and tilted the tip of her cane toward Rei. “Perhaps you require further education in decorum.”

“Yer inside Madam Fremont’s bloody threshold,” Jules said with a sigh. “Ya best tell her what she wishes.” I’d only learned the basics of thresholds. They used a building’s foundation as their anchor, and provided their residents with home field advantage. Madam Fremont was packin’ some pretty big guns to begin with. That show of strength in the lobby had been no joke.

“I did not know that a councilwoman resided here. I did not know because you did not tell me.” It didn’t seem to be a good setup for a Bathory win…and that’s kinda what worried me. Shity odds got Rei all hot and bothered.

“I did tell ya ta get the fock outa here, didn’t I?” Jules argued.

“I’ll have my answer, creature,” Madam Fremont said. She flicked her finger and called out, “Claudico!” Rei went to move her feet, but found them glued to the floor. With another thrust of her cane, Fremont sent a blue stream of flame across the marble. The fire encircled Rei’s feet and then soared up to the ceiling. Fremont’s flames burned cold, like the inside of a blast freezer.

I shouted at her to stop. Setting people ablaze was my freakin’ job.

“Stay out of this, Dieter,” Rei replied in a calm voice. “I shall depart if she desires, but I owe this decrepit witch nothing more.” Despite the toasting Fremont was delivering, Rei managed to cross her arms and scowl. “If you are quite done, I would like to get back to my diversions.”

Fremont rocked forward. “Still feeling fresh…can I double it, then?”

Rei raised a smoldering eyebrow. “I do not know this. Can you?”

Aw heck, this was getting out of hand. “Or we could stop setting people on fire, sit down, and discuss this over a nice pot of tea. I’ll order up some chamomile—“

“Nonsense,” Rei growled. “I am a child of the Vita Paciscor. I shall not share libations with this scum.” She turned to scowl at Fremont. “I am not undead, you Nekyia filth. Your craft is useless against me.”

“You think I am Nekyia?” Madam Fremont chuckled. “Little broodling, I was just evaluating your pedigree.”

“Excuse me?” Rei growled.
 

Arching her fingers, Madam Fremont twisted the blue flames black. A wave of spasms jarred Rei’s thighs, and she let out a tiny gasp. My own head spun. I sensed a surge of energy, but I couldn’t feel any mana flowing. Grabbing my shoulder, Jules took a step backwards.

“What the hell is that?” I asked.

“Your druid knows,” Madam Fremont said. She spoke as though she were discussing the color schemes for a wedding.

“Desicco,” Jules replied. She looked shocked. “But I thought the Vita Paciscor…”

I lost the rest of Jules’ words in Rei’s bloodcurdling scream. Flakes of her flesh were peeling off like paint. It was like her entire body was coming apart at the seams. I thought she might tumble, but a tensing of her muscles bought her a few more seconds on her feet…and Rei’s mouth was closed. She was standing in silence meeting Fremont glare for glare. The screaming was coming from inside my head. The weft burned like a fire.

Rei’s thoughts and emotions struck me like anvils. Surprise. Shock. Confusion. Fear. It felt like my very soul was being yanked out. Rei’s thoughts opened to me next. I listened to rumors she had heard. That this one was held to be a Nekyia. That this one was a bane on her kind. But this was no Nekyia’s spell. This spell did not twist death. Rei had miscalculated, and miscalculated badly…

Madam Fremont leaned back in her chair. “What do you think, creature, shall I double it?”

Without waiting for an answer, Fremont swept her hand high into the air. Rei did her best impression of a roach on Raid. Her body contorted into a knot. Her fingers bent and flexed. Every last muscle clenched down harder and harder…and the old lady didn’t display an ounce of sympathy. It was as though Rei was unworthy of any care. My instincts told me what that could mean, and the thought of what might come next sent me into a panic.

“I could not see it…” Rei croaked. Her back arched up as she spoke. Fremont had emptied her lungs of air.

“Yes?” Easing off on the spell, Fremont leaned forward. “What could you not see, shadow dancer?”

Still writhing, Rei forced her spasming jaw into order. Her flesh was red and raw. Her lips bled onto the carpet.
 

“Audrey,” she whispered.
 

“Who is this Audrey?” Fremont demanded. “An accomplice?” She turned to Ayaan. “Check the rooms!”

Taking in a breath, Rei shook her head.
 

“No, you twit. Audrey Hepburn. There is a marathon, and it could not be enjoyed from your pathetic stoop.”

Madam Fremont’s aura roared. She raised both of her hands high into the air. Rei shook from the force of it. Fremont’s magic had already sandblasted Rei’s skin to oblivion, and blue-tinged blood spat out onto the carpet. It was like Fremont was wringing Rei out like a towel. I didn’t need a calculator to figure out what would happen—and I didn’t give a fuck what kind of spell this was. All I cared about was shutting it down.
 

I felt Jules tugging at me, but I was past listening. With Rei about to get roasted, I was kinda on a tight schedule. I reached out my hand and focused on Fremont’s cast. I didn’t want to overcomplicate things. I only focused on finding a handhold. My Sight guided me past the strange flames. They felt like nothing more than a mirage, a distracter Fremont had thrown up to steal away one’s focus. Finding my way around the blacked-out edges, I reached for the real bugger dipping into Rei’s Ki. It was dragging something out of her like a straw. I snatched at the conduit. Fremont fought me, but breaking up a spell is always easier than holding one together…a wave of strange energy crashed into me as the conduit broke. It felt hot and sticky, not like mana at all. But it wasn’t kinetic energy, either. It was unlike anything I’d ever tangled with before. Unsure if it would hurt me, I formed an extraction field at my feet. I didn’t want that crap touching my Ki. The field forced it straight into the floorboards. I fell back on my butt as the old plumbing below us bent and creaked. Lights dimmed and popped. Plaster fell from the ceiling. Gasping, I struggled to my feet. I nearly fell back over, but Jules rushed to steady me. She said something, but it sounded garbled. Despite not letting it touch me, every circuit in my head felt fried. A heavy thump confirmed the surging bulk of energy had found the bedrock. The force of the impact shook the entire building. The light bulbs that had survived flickered back on as it left us. I stood with my feet spread wide. The sweet taste of cherry Jell-O lingered in my mouth.

“Explain yourself,” Madam Fremont demanded.
 

I tensed. That extraction had taken only a second, but it felt like I’d run a marathon. If Madam Fremont struck at me with that spell, I doubted I would have time enough to counter. And while Rei was now free of the spell, there was nothing keeping Fremont from re-casting it.

“Easy now,” Jules whispered. “Ya should be using yer brain more than yer muscle. Think about her offer of xenia, Dieter.”

I brightened. I’d forgotten about the offer Fremont made in the lobby. Everyone in this screwy little word took oaths seriously. I assumed Fremont was no different. “She can’t harm Rei.”

Jules nodded.

I turned to Fremont. “Rei attends Elliot. She’s also a member of our party. You extended her an offer of xenia.”

“Irrelevant,” Madam Fremont replied. “She is not a mage.”

Jules crossed her arms and frowned. “No. Me pupil be right. Downstairs ya promised ta make sure that ‘the party’ from Elliot got all the xenia they deserved. Rei be a member of our party.” Jules went to nudge her glasses. They weren’t there, but her enthusiasm remained undiminished. “Ya wouldn’t be backin’ down now, would ya?”

Ayaan placed her hand on Fremont’s shoulder. She shook her head slightly.
 

Madam Fremont’s jaw tightened. “Very well, I shall recognize your claim…but if a guest deceives her host, an oath of xenia can be withdrawn. Ayaan, check the television.”

Aw, crap.

Plucking the remote from the couch, Ayaan flipped on the TV.
 

The room filled with song.

Chunks of dead skin were sloughing off Rei like monster dandruff. It made the glare she gave me all the more terrifying. I tried very hard not to laugh.

“Creature, what manner of insanity inspired you to slip into a retired councilor’s suite to watch My Fair Lady?”
 

Rei leaned back against the couch. She gave an easy shrug. “I most enjoy the part when she learns to speak properly.” A few skin chips crumbled off her chin.