Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell) (34 page)

Right now, I was concerned about Kar Yee. I needed to make her understand, to tell her how sorry I was. So I headed to Tambuku.

On the drive into Morella, I kept an eye out for Dare’s black cars while my brain juggled its crowded contents, struggling to prioritize all my worries. Telly’s body. Dare. My mother. My serpentine form. Priya’s warnings.

Jupe. Lon.

An engagement ring.

I banged my fists on the steering wheel, screaming at nobody, nearly running off the road. I sobbed. Screamed some more. By some miracle I reined myself in enough to avoid dying in a fiery wreck.

Half an hour later, I skidded into a parking space in front of Tambuku. Our block was mostly quiet. Other businesses were open, but it was a quarter past four: not primetime for the restaurants and bars that outnumbered the other storefronts on this street. I didn’t see Kar Yee’s car, but she probably parked in the garage.

As the last trails of sunlight stretched over the sidewalk, I headed down Tambuku’s front steps. The door was locked. No surprise. We usually locked it when we weren’t open, even if someone was inside working.

“Kar Yee?” I called out. No lights. I flipped on the fishing float pendants over the bar and surveyed the room. The barstools, high-top tables, and chairs had been stacked against the wall in preparation for the paint-covered binding triangles to be redone. I called out her name again. No answer. I started to head back to the office; halfway there, I swung around to retrace my steps and lock the front door.

Someone was already opening it.

Shiny bald head. Glasses. Green halo. Expensive suit. Minion at his side.

Dare.

“Miss Bell,” he said. “So good to see you again.”

It took me several moments to find my voice. “I doubt that.”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“Bet you were. You’ve been following me a lot, lately. I’m flattered you find my comings and goings so damn fascinating.”

“You’re always fascinating, my dear. Just concerned over your safety.”

“If you’re concerned as you were about Evan’s kid, Telly, then please don’t bother.”

“Ah, well. That was unfortunate.” He slipped his hands inside his pants pockets. “Frankly, I’m surprised you aren’t thanking me. He did rob this bar, did he not?”

“I try to avoid killing kids over theft. I thought you felt the same. You had me save several Hellfire kids from being sacrificed in that ritual on Halloween. Telly not worth saving, too?”

“Actually, no. Telly was a dangerous little piece of garbage who sold something that wasn’t his to half the Earthbounds in Morella.”

“You didn’t know it was him. That’s why you sent us over to Merrimoth’s that night.”

“If Merrimoth was my only Judas, I could punish him. The elixir’s effects aren’t permanent, you see. They wear off after a week or so. But when bizarre crimes started making the news here, I knew I had a bigger problem on my hands. Which is why I sent you out to Merrimoth’s that night—so you could bind him while Lon dug around in his head. If you’d just done what I’d asked, we might’ve narrowed down the problem to Evan Johnson a lot sooner.”

“But you would’ve still killed his kid.”

“Oh, I had Evan killed, too. This morning, near Los Angeles.”

Jesus!

Dare smiled. “If you run, I always find you. Remember that, Miss Bell.”

“Is that why you’re here? So you and your thug can teach me a lesson with a bullet?”

“No bullets. I’d merely like to make a deal with you.” Dare nodded toward his minion, a middle-aged man with graying hair and the towering, boxy frame of a bodyguard. “Beryl here is an Earthbound, as you can see. But he has some minor magical talent, much like Lon. He’ll be the one sealing the deal. I’d like a magical oath from you, once we’ve agreed upon terms.”

I really didn’t like the sound of this. I needed to arm myself, and fast. If I could make it behind the bar, I could grab my caduceus staff. Maybe if I could lure them into one of the binding triangles that hadn’t been covered in red paint, I could trap them. Fat chance he would be stupid enough to just meander into a trap, but I had to think of something.

“What kind of deal?” I said, backing up a couple of steps.

Dare mumbled something to Beryl. I didn’t like them conspiring together.

“I have some information you’re going to want to see. In turn, I’d like you to pledge your allegiance to me. I’d like to . . .” He considered his words, then said, “Well, I’d like to adopt you, in a way. Be your symbolic father.”

I laughed. “Father? Why in God’s name would I want that?”

“Let’s be honest—you won’t. But you’ll be willing to make a compromise to get your hands on what I’ve got.”

“I doubt that. Go on, though. Show me.”

Dare pointed at a briefcase Beryl held. “It’s a very important piece of documentation. Can Beryl walk it over to you? He’s unarmed. To prove we’re on the level, he’ll even walk into one of your remaining binding triangles. Feel free to bind him at any time.”

I hesitated. It felt like
I
was the one walking into a trap—not this Beryl guy.

Dare sighed dramatically. “If I wanted you dead, I could’ve shot you when I walked in the door.”

Beryl walked farther into the bar, holding up one hand in surrender.

It might shock the hell out of me, but I
could
bind him without the caduceus. And seeing how my life might be in danger, I had no qualms about electrocution.

“Say what you’re going to say.”

“No need to be snippy, Miss Bell,” Dare said, then sighed his fake sigh. “So, where to begin? Shall I start with the first time your parents tried to conduct a conception ritual and how miserably that failed? Or are you already familiar with the story of your brother?”

My heart stopped.

“Ah, not aware of Victor Duval?” Beryl came closer, stepping into the second binding triangle before me, as Dare continued to talk. “Victor was damaged goods, apparently. A little screwy in the head. Liked to dissect the neighbors’ cats.”

I flinched. This couldn’t be true. This was bullshit. I would’ve heard whisperings about this when I was still living with my parents. All the talk shows and exposés and books written about them—someone would’ve uncovered it . . . right?

“Rather handsome boy,” Dare called from the door. “Dark-headed, like you. No silver halo, though. Not at all magically gifted, which meant he was of no use to your parents.”

My gaze flicked to Beryl, who was stepping closer to the triangle right in front of me.

“Victor was eight when your folks finally gave up their dreams and drowned the poor child. I do believe that was the first time they killed.”

Shock rooted me to the floor.

“Members of their order thought it was an accident. Your mother made an impassioned speech in front of the congregation, asking them to never speak his name again, as it only caused her grief. Quite theatrical. They never claimed the body when local authorities found it. She even destroyed the paper trail proving he ever existed—birth certificate and all. The media would’ve pounced on that juicy tidbit, don’t you think?”

It couldn’t be true. Could it? Why was he telling me this?

“But your mother missed a couple of details. Would you like to see a photo of your brother when he was a boy?” Dare asked.

My stomach tightened.

Beryl stepped into the binding triangle. “That’s far enough,” I said. He halted and held his briefcase flat on one palm, clicking open the locks.

“Beryl,” Dare said, “can you please give Miss Bell what we discussed?”

That was a funny way to put it.

The briefcase popped open.

I tapped into the electrical current as Beryl reached into the briefcase. Electricity raced into me, then slowed. I tugged harder, suddenly panicked that my abilities had changed. That maybe while my Moonchild-self was strengthening, and my natural magical talents were weakening. It definitely shouldn’t be so hard to pull current.

Beryl’s eyes met mine.

Oh.

It’s hard to pull current when someone else is tugging on it.

The briefcase dropped to the floor.

Empty.

Beryl held a reedy wooden stick in his hand. He snapped his wrist and it extended like a metal pointer, several feet long. Now it was a slender cane—some sort of weird magical staff.

I yanked on the current. Hard.

Too late.

He grunted as electricity crackled through the cane and shot out the end. But it wasn’t pointed at me. Why?

My chest restricted. My muscles seized. Pain shot through me. I clutched the flesh over my heart and glanced at the floor.

I was standing in a binding triangle that was now lit up with white Heka. I stepped to the edge. The moment my toe touched the painted boundary, the air crackled. An invisible force shoved me backward. I stumbled to the opposite side of the triangle and pushed with my hands. Heka fortified with electric current zapped me.

Bound!

I was bound I was bound I was bound!

I glanced up at Beryl. He smiled. “Gotcha.”

Dare laughed. “Oh, my. If you could see the look on your face right now. You really have no idea what you are. It’s delightful. Has no one ever tried to bind you? I’m so glad to be your first. Ironic, since you were the first to bind me in this very bar. Doesn’t feel so good, does it? Being trapped like a rat. Terrible on your heart. But you’re young—you’ll survive. And I’ve got worse things planned for you.
Much
worse.”

He turned around and opened the front door. Three beefy Earthbounds in suits shuffled into the bar. He said to them, “Beryl will mark you.”

The binding triangle was big enough to enclose a table—maybe five feet at the base, and another five to the tip of the vertex. I retreated, moving as far away from Dare and his men as I could go. Got zapped again. Yelped in pain.

“Oh, Miss Bell. The mighty Moonchild may possess every knack that ever existed—”

What?

“—but all the Æthyric myths agree that she has two weaknesses. First, her powers aren’t as strong during the day. And second, she is susceptible as any common demon to a standard binding.”

A whimper got caught in my throat. This couldn’t be happening. He was lying again. I blindly reached out and touched the boundary, crying out in pain when I felt the binding react. “I’m not a demon!”

“But you’re not human, either, are you?”

When I was able to crack my eyes open, I saw Dare’s henchmen gathered around Beryl, who was removing a flat metal tin from his suit pocket. He screwed the top off. Something dark sat inside. Dark red. He pushed his thumb into it, like he was readying himself to offer fingerprints, and then swiped the substance across each of the men’s foreheads.

I’d seen this once before, in the Hellfire caves. When Merrimoth threw Lon into the fighting ring with a summoned Æthyric demon. His forehead had been marked.

A mark that allowed the wearer to step inside a binding without breaking it.

The three big men looked up at me with menace behind their eyes.

Shit.

Dare’s voice floated behind them. “Word is spreading. You are the most coveted creature between the two planes. Your mother may be making claims about you. But she isn’t here. I am. And last I checked, you were my employee. My property. Mine to command, whether you like to think so, or not. Nobody quits until I say they do.”

He stepped to the side and leaned against the bar, stuffing his hands in his suit pockets. “I’ve got a wonderfully inventive portable demon cage in a van out back. You’ll be coming home with me tonight.”

“Fuck you.”

“However, I want you to know that I’m a man of my word,” he said, rubbing his hand over his head. “I won’t welch on our bargain—I’ll tell you what I know about your dead brother. But first, let me show you what happens to people who defy me.”

The three marked men approached the binding.

My hackles rose. Brain went blank. Panic sifted through my limbs, turning them to jelly.

Had to use the moon power. No choice. But when I tried to reach for it, the binding reflected it. Pain shot through my chest. I howled.

Trapped.

Bound.

Not a damn thing I could do.

The first man tested his foot against the binding. He smiled and stepped into the triangle with me. As he did, I tried again for the moon power, hoping the binding was weakened enough for me to snag it. No such luck.

His fist felt like iron against my cheek. The pain was sharp and excruciating.

They were on me so fast. Three giant men in such a small space. I tried to defend myself for half a second, but it was no use. One grabbed my hair, then violently wrenched my arms behind my back. The last one punched me in the face. The pain was unreal. Bones cracked. Blood flowed. They were going to bash my face in—maybe they already had. My shoulder popped, and my arm went numb.

Someone jabbed me in the stomach. All the air left my lungs. Blood choked the back of my throat. My arms were released, and the pain in my shoulder rocketed through me. My knees buckled, and I dropped to the floor.

But they didn’t stop.

They kicked me in my chest. Ribs cracked.

They kicked me in my back until pain radiated up and down my spine.

Someone stomped on my foot. My ankle cracked and broke. I barely felt it. I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

I wasn’t afraid to die. I was almost glad it was coming. This would all be over. I would start again, some where else. Another plane. Somewhere my mother couldn’t touch me. Somewhere Dare couldn’t touch me.

My cheek lay against Tambuku’s wooden floor. I was curled on my side. I could still see out of one eye. I stared into the spotlight until I imagined it was a tunnel of white, ready to suck me in and whisk me away.

Dare’s voice broke through my reverie. “Enough. You’re going to kill her.”

Please, just do it.
I wanted to say it out loud, but one side of my jaw was definitely broken.

I looked up at Dare with my one good eye. He was smiling down at me. Beryl stood by his side. The men who’d beat me were breathing heavy. One shook out his fingers. His knuckles were bloody.