Dark Descent - [Nyx Fortuna 02] (12 page)

I’d asked Naomi to bring Claire by Parsi so I could question them about the murder at the pool. They stopped by my desk the next afternoon. I’d commandeered Alex’s old office and nobody had said anything. Maybe they just hadn’t noticed.

I hadn’t seen much of Claire since the rescue. Her hair had been freshly cut and styled and a stylish skirt and blouse had replaced her acolyte robes. The superior expression hadn’t changed, though.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.

“I wanted to talk to both of you,” I replied. “Did either of you see anything strange at the Y yesterday?”

“How did you know we were at the Y?” she asked defensively.

Jesus, paranoid much?
“Because I swim there, too,” I reminded her patiently. “I saw you as you were leaving.”

“I didn’t notice anything,” Naomi said. “Why?”

I hesitated. “There was a murder there, another naiad.”

“Same thing as Asp—as the others?” She’d avoided Aspen’s name, but we were both thinking of her.

“I smelled cologne,” Claire said.

“Yeah, not much help,” I said. “That’s all the lifeguard remembered, too.”

I might have sounded a trifle dismissive, because Claire glared at me. “I recognized the kind of cologne,” she said. “I suppose you know that, too.”

“What was it?”

“Blood Moon cologne,” she replied. “I dated this magician in college who used to bathe in the stuff.”

“Thanks,” I said. Blood Moon was expensive and had a heavy wet-dog undertone that only men with more money than sense of smell would choose.

Naomi nudged Claire when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m having a dinner party and you and Wren are invited,” Claire said.

“Why?”

She gave Naomi a startled look, but Naomi just smiled. “I wanted to thank you for rescuing me.”

“No thanks necessary,” I replied.

Claire’s brow furrowed, so I clarified. “Didn’t the aunties tell you? They harassed the girl I loved until I found you,” I said. “It’s not like I really had a choice.”

Her glance sharpened. “What girl? Does Wren know about her?”

“None of your business,” I said.

Claire gave a short, exasperated laugh. “Are you coming or not?”

“He’s coming,” Naomi replied for me. She gave me a stare that reminded me she was a Fate-in-training. At that moment, I didn’t like my favorite cousin very much.

“Quit being so bossy,” I told her.

“Then quit being a dick,” she said. “Claire is trying, which is more than I can say for you.”

She’d admonished me like I was a naughty schoolboy. Maybe I was acting about as maturely as one, but I trusted Claire almost less than the aunties. She’d been evasive about how she’d ended up in the underworld and was even more tight-lipped about why she’d stayed there.

“Thank you for the invitation, Claire,” I said. “Wren and I will be there.”

She gave me the first real smile I’d seen from her. “Great.”

“The aunts won’t be there, will they?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait until tonight to find out,” she said, then laughed at my expression. “No, they won’t be there. It’s just me, Talbot, and Naomi, and you and Wren. Here’s the address. And don’t be late.”

She left the room, and Naomi started to follow, but then ran back to plant a swift kiss on my cheek. “Thank you,” she said before exiting.

Claire lived in a luxury condo in Elliot Park. I’d been there before, during the early stages of my search for her.

“Nice place,” Talbot commented as the four of us entered the elevator. Naomi hit the button for the penthouse and I snickered.

“Probably paid with money from the Fates’ ill-gotten gains,” I said.

“Nyx, you promised you’d behave tonight,” Wren said woefully.

I gave her hand a squeeze. “I will.”

The smell of stir-fry came through the door as it opened. “Come in,” Claire said. “Dinner’s ready.”

Her place had signs of a decorator’s touch, adorned in a riot of primary colors. There were lit scented candles everywhere, permeating the condo with a heavy fragrance of ambergris, rose attar, and sandalwood.

We followed our host into the dining room, where dinner was already set out in covered dishes. There was a framed photo of Claire hanging above the dining room buffet. There were no other photos, not of her mother or her aunts or even her cousin Naomi. I don’t know why, but it made her seem lonely.

“You cut your hair,” Wren commented.

Claire put a hand to her head and, for the first time since I’d met her, looked self-conscious. “The long hair seemed too much to deal with once I was topside.”

“But all of Hecate’s acolytes keep their hair long,” Wren said.

“I’m not an acolyte anymore,” Claire said. “And neither are you.”

Wren tensed, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “She’s still my mother.”

“And a Fate is mine,” Claire replied. “Doesn’t mean we have to act like them.”

Now it was Wren’s turn to look self-conscious. “Maybe I should cut my hair and buy some different clothes.”

“I like the way you look,” I said. I was only trying to make her feel better. She was sexy with long hair or short. I didn’t care. But Claire took it the wrong way.

“Do you always tell your women how to dress?” she snapped.

I took a bite of stir-fry and chewed slowly in an attempt to hold on to my temper. It hadn’t worked by the time I swallowed.

“First of all, Wren’s not my woman,” I said. “She’s her own woman. And I don’t give a fuck if she’s bald. She’d still be sexy as hell.” I glared at Claire and she backed down, but not before she muttered, “And you’re too stupid to see beyond that.”

“What did you say?”

Naomi intervened before the situation could deteriorate any further. “This stir-fry is delicious,” she said brightly. “It’s a wonderful thank-you dinner for Nyx.”

Claire caught the note in her voice and said, “Sorry, Nyx, I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder about controlling men.”

I opened my mouth to ask her more, but Naomi gave a tiny shake of her head. There was no sense in upsetting my favorite cousin, so I kept quiet.

Claire poured generous servings of sake with dinner, which took the edge off enough that we made it through the rest of the meal without quarreling.

“It’s good to be home.” Claire leaned back with a satisfied sigh. “I missed my place so much. And you, too, of course,” she added to Naomi.

“Then why did you stay with Hecate? Didn’t you realize the wine was enchanted?” I asked. Naomi glared at me, but I ignored her and tossed back another shot of sake.

“I stayed because I didn’t have a choice,” she said. “I drank the wine. I didn’t have anyone to help me.”

“We didn’t know where you were,” Naomi said softly.

“How did you end up in the underworld in the first place?” I persisted.

Naomi kicked me under the table. “All that matters is she’s back,” she said.

She refused to believe there was anything suspicious about Claire’s time in the underworld, but I was sure that Claire had been drinking the Hecate Kool-Aid willingly. Which meant she couldn’t be trusted.

“I need some air,” I said.

“There’s a balcony through those doors,” Naomi said, pointing to a glass slider. “I love looking at the city at night.”

“I’ll join you,” Talbot said. I grabbed the bottle of sake and headed outside.

Talbot stood there shivering while I polished off the bottle. “So what’s your beef with your cousin? Claire, I mean.”

“I don’t trust her,” I said.

“Why? Because she’s a Fate? So is Naomi and you trust her.”

“Not because she’s a Fate,” I said. “Because when we found her, she was mighty cozy with Hecate.”

“Stockholm syndrome,” he said. “And the grapes.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe she’s up to something.”

“Or maybe someone else is,” Talbot said flatly. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Getting involved with someone you don’t know anything about because you’re lonely.”

Lonely? It was an understatement. I’d put my emotions in cold storage, having been taught by my murderous aunts not to get attached.

“I know Wren saved Claire,” I said. “Saved Naomi.”

“And I’ll always be grateful,” he replied. “But that doesn’t mean I trust her.”

“Who says I trust her?”

He blinked. “I assumed…”

“You assumed that Elizabeth hadn’t taught me anything? I’m lonely, not stupid.” I had been stupid—stupid to trust Elizabeth, stupid to hope for a scrap of love—but that was all over.

He watched Naomi through the clear glass. “Look at Naomi. She’s thrilled to have Claire home.”

I watched Claire through the glass door. She and Wren were smiling at Naomi, who had her arm slung affectionately across her cousin’s shoulder.

“I was hunted for two hundred years,” I reminded him. “I have reason enough to be suspicious.”

“But things are better now with your aunts, right?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “The deal was I’d find Claire and they’d leave Elizabeth alone, not that they’d leave me alone.”

“Naomi would never let them hurt you,” he said.

“She’s one little Fate-in-training,” I said. “They are three very powerful witches.”

“She’d do anything for you.”

“And I’d do anything for her,” I said.

“Then cut Claire some slack,” Talbot said. “Please.”

“I’ll try,” I replied. We rejoined the party just in time. Morta and Deci stood in the entryway.

“Mom, Aunt Deci,” Claire said. “What a surprise. Where’s Aunt Nona?”

Morta gave Claire a peck on the cheek. “She’s not feeling well.”

More likely, Nona was passed out drunk. She hadn’t handled Sawyer’s death well.

“Oh, you have company,” Deci said. Something about the way she said it made me nervous. Wren? Where was Wren? If my aunts figured out who she was, all hell was going to break loose.

“Who is your friend?” Deci asked, looking at Wren, who sat frozen on the sofa.

“She’s my date,” I snapped. I sat next to Wren and grabbed her hand.

Morta inspected Wren. I watched as Morta’s face changed. She put a finger to her cheek and tapped it, theatrically. “Now, where have I seen your face before?”

“She’s a friend, Mom,” Claire said, casting Naomi a desperate glance.

Morta said, “Can someone tell me why the son of Fortuna is dallying with the daughter of our worst enemy?”

It was cold comfort that she hadn’t recognized Wren’s paternity. My attention had been focused on Morta, but then a movement caught my eye. Deci stood practically on top of us.

She held up one of Claire’s candles, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. “Claire, this is quite lovely,” she said. “And it smells divine.”

Then she dropped the candle in Wren’s lap. The hem of her dress ignited instantaneously. The flames burning greener than any naturally occurring flame. Magic.

Wren shrieked as the fire grew. It licked at her hair, which she’d worn down. Deci was transfixed by the burning girl.

“
Exstinguo
,” I said, but nothing happened. “Out! Extinguish!”

The fire went out, but I felt as if all oxygen had been removed from the room.

“Are you okay?” I asked Wren. I grabbed her and hauled her to the feet. “Let me look at you.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’ll probably need a trim, though.” She held up a handful of hair, which was singed at the ends. There didn’t seem to be any damage to Wren, but the strong smell of singed hair permeated the room.

Deci breathed it in like she was sniffing a bouquet of roses. “Wasn’t it pretty?” Someone had a mad crush on Hephaestus, the god of fire.

“Deci?” Morta said sharply. “Deci, what was pretty?”

Deci’s eyes regained their focus. “The candle, of course,” she finally replied. “I am so sorry. It just slipped out of my hand.”

“So clumsy of you,” I said.

“It was an accident,” Naomi said. “Accidents happen.”

“Seem to be happening a lot lately,” Talbot muttered.

Naomi narrowed her eyes at him and then turned to Wren. “C’mon, Wren. I’ll help you get cleaned up. I’m sure Claire has something you can borrow.”

“Go ahead and take her to my bedroom,” Claire said. “I need to talk to my mom a minute.”

While Morta and Claire conducted a low-voiced conversation in the kitchen, Deci and I had a staring contest in the living room.

Whatever Claire said to her mother convinced her to leave without causing a scene or trying to kill the dinner guests.

I was on high alert for the next few days, but there was no response from Hecate or the Fates. When Claire proposed a night out with Wren and Naomi, no guys allowed, I went along with it.

Talbot and I decided to hit the Red Dragon after work. We ordered a pitcher of beer and snagged the last available booth.

“What do you think the girls are up to tonight?” I asked.

He gave me an amused look. “Are you worried?”

“You mean about Hecate? Not after I saw Wren kill a demon in my kitchen.” I took a sip of my beer. “What is this stuff?” I asked.

“Red Dragon’s going upscale,” he said. “It’s from a microbrewery.”

“You couldn’t just order PBR, like usual?”

He laughed.

I changed the subject. “Do you think Naomi knows that Wren’s her sister?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I can’t picture Naomi keeping it a secret if she did know.”

“We have to tell her eventually, you know,” I replied.

“I know,” he said. “I think we can use a couple of shots before taking on that Herculean task.”

When he got up to go to the bar, I glanced over at the entrance, out of habit more than any fear I was about to be ambushed.

Willow walked into the Red Dragon in the middle of happy hour. I’d never seen a naiad in a dive bar before. Something must be wrong.

She wore what could loosely be called a dress, with her favorite necklace of river rock. She was barefoot and her hair was still damp and curled about her face. It made her look impossibly young and innocent.

I felt a twinge of guilt, but then I noticed her dress was hanging on with difficulty. I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Some guy walked up to her and said something and she laughed, which sent the bodice of her dress sliding even lower, until it clung precariously to her breasts.

I felt another twinge, this time in my balls, as desire replaced guilt.

She scanned the bar until she found me. Every male in the place watched her walk over to me.

“Nyx,” she said. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Was it possible that I had feelings for Willow? That was a complication I didn’t need. Besides, I was sleeping with Wren. And I still loved Elizabeth, despite the fact that she’d made it clear she never wanted to see me again.

Maybe Talbot was right. Maybe drinking was part of my self-destructive behavior, but my complicated love life wasn’t getting any less complicated.

I waved the cocktail server over. “Another.”

When she brought it over, I tossed it back. “Let’s get out of here,” I said.

“What?” Willow asked.

“I assume that you didn’t bother with the mortal disguise because you were looking for a quickie. We’ll talk about it on the way back to your place.”

I paid our tab, which was more than expected, and said good-bye to Talbot, who frowned but kept his mouth shut.

Willow kept her eyes on her feet. Whatever she wanted to tell me, she didn’t think I was going to be happy about it.

“I am going to be wed,” she said when we were a few blocks from the lake.

It was the last thing I’d expected to hear. Naiad marriage rituals were peculiar. A thought struck me. Was I the intended bridegroom? The thought made me shudder, which, unfortunately, she noticed.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said. “You don’t know him.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s a businessman,” she said.

“Why are you getting married?” I asked. “What about…?” My voice trailed off. I couldn’t ask her about us, not when I was involved with Wren.

“Nyx, you are my friend,” she said. “And besides, I thought there was someone new in your life.”

“Wren and I are— We aren’t…” I sputtered, but she waved away my half-assed explanation.

“Is he a decent guy? Will he treat you right?” I was conflicted by her news.

She shrugged. “I have no idea.”

I stopped. “Then why are you marrying him?”

“It was arranged,” she said vaguely.

I was getting over my initial shock. Maybe her marriage would uncomplicate things for me, but Willow didn’t seem particularly joyous about the engagement, which, in my limited experience, was a little odd.

“Is he from the House of Poseidon?”

“No,” she said.

“Mortal?” The thought astounded me. Naiads were happy to dally with mortals, but when it came to commitment, they stuck to their own.

“No,” she said again.” Then, “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Is that what you came to tell me?”

“Yes,” she said. “And now I have.”

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

She hesitated. “Please be careful, son of Fortuna.”

“Of what?”

“Your heart,” she said. “Tell me about this Wren. Does she love you?”

“No,” I said. I didn’t trust Wren, but I lusted after her.

“Do you love her?”

It felt awkward to talk about my relationship with Wren to Willow, so I just shook my head.

“I am sorry to have to tell you that we can no longer consort,” she said. “My fiancé is aware of our relationship and expects sexual fidelity.”

“Who is this guy?” Willow was talking like it was a business deal, not a love match. I didn’t expect a happily ever after for everybody, but I’d more at ease if there was even a trace of affection in her voice.

She hesitated. “Sean Danvers,” she said.

Despite the fact that I’d spotted him at a bachelor party the other night, his was the last name I had expected to hear.