Knight's Curse (6 page)

She nodded, her forehead creased with concern. “How awful.” Her gaze wandered to the bag at the curb. “Your luggage?” She turned her back on me and waddled over to snatch up the bag like it weighed no more than a loaf of bread. As if I hadn’t just confessed the most horrendous events of my life, she said casually, “Let’s get you settled in your room, shall we? And you can tell me all about the kidnapping and any other nastiness you’ve been forced to endure, hmm?”

Like I’d willingly share anything personal with the Vyantara. What I just told her was a memorized response I had perfected in my teens. I’d taught myself to bleed the emotion out of it so that it couldn’t be used against me. Getting it all out in the open was my best defense against inquisitors looking for my weak spots.

Halfway to the stairs that led to the front door, she spun around with her right hand extended. “For goodness’s sake, where are my manners? I’m Zeppelin, but please call me Zee.”

I curled my smallish hand around her massive paw, and quickly let go. I didn’t like touching people if I could help it. Since I couldn’t wear a body glove 24/7, my daily analgesic lotion usually sufficed, but not always. Direct contact with people sometimes gave me a rash. It was a psychosomatic response. I had trust issues.

“Has Shui arrived yet?” I asked, before following her up the stairs.

“Trains can’t travel as fast as jets, dear,” she said over her shoulder. “I expect he’ll be here tomorrow. And so will your fa… Sorry. I mean so will Gavin Heinrich.”

I’d much rather Shui fly here under his own steam because he’d get here faster. But despite the wings, gargoyles were not strong flyers. They could travel short distances of up to five miles without any trouble, but anything longer was too exhausting for them. They were bottom heavy, or at least Shui was.

Once up the steps, I crossed the threshold into the massive building and, heaving in a shallow breath, I felt a surge of panic when an invisible weight squeezed my lungs. I coughed and tossed Zee a puzzled look.

She nodded. “Stay calm and give yourself a minute to acclimate. I realize how overwhelming it is to be in the presence of so much magic all at once, but it’s temporary. I promise.”

I wasn’t so sure, but my breaths soon became less labored, and I exhaled in relief. “What just happened?”

“Think of the Fatherhouse as a pressure chamber of supernatural energy.” She waved a hand at the high ceilings, then at all the filled cases and shelves artfully arranged throughout the enormous room we’d just entered. It looked like a museum. “We’re surrounded by curses and charms, not to mention a few entities encased in some of these objects. That’s a lot of power all in one place.”

“I hope you keep it well contained.” I imagined the pentup energy as a bomb ready to explode. The other Fatherhouses I’d visited hadn’t been nearly as ominous as this one, but at least six months had passed since I had stayed at the house in Switzerland. Could be that all Fatherhouses were like this one now. That was a disturbing thought.

Zee shrugged like it was no big deal. “Wards. They keep the energy in and everything else out. There’s one at every door and at each window upstairs.” Her smile made her pudgy cheeks bulge. “You have nothing to worry about, dear. Come, let me show you your room. Your, uh, Gavin says you’re an art historian.”

I scowled. “Yeah. So?”

“You’re going to love this.”

She ushered me into a freight elevator the size of a small bedroom and pushed the up button. The open walls allowed me a view of the entire downstairs as we slowly climbed toward the second floor. Steel beams braced the first level’s ceiling of what looked like the original wood used to build this place. The planks were dark, pitted, splintered and scorched. We arrived at our destination with a clang and shudder of cables and pulleys. I followed Zee out of the elevator, noting how this floor’s ceiling wasn’t as high as the one downstairs. This level was sectioned off by a hallway lined with closed doors. It felt claustrophobic compared to the wide-open space below.

Zee preceded me to a door near the end of the hall, where she used a key to open it. A skeleton key, which meant that it probably opened
all
the doors here. I made a mental note to remember that. It would save me the trouble of using my lock picks should I decide to go exploring. For now, I focused my curiosity on the room I was in.

Zee moved her three-hundred-pound-plus body aside and I stared at the enormous apartment, a king-size canopy bed taking up its center. She wasn’t kidding about the art. Original oil paintings took up nearly every inch of wall space, beginning at about four feet from the floor. It was remarkable and, like everything else here, overwhelming.

“So what do you think?” she asked, her eyes squeezed to slits within the fleshy folds of her smiling face. “Really something, huh?”

Yep, it was something, all right. And I was no dummy. I might not have the talents of a skilled magic user, but I’d been around magic long enough to know what was what. These paintings had been planted here for a reason, possibly spying, or as portals for astral traveling from one point to another. As much as I appreciated art, I wasn’t too keen on sleeping with it. I doubted I’d be able to shut my eyes for more than a minute in this room. I’d constantly feel like I was being watched.

“It’s nice,” I told her, faking a smile. I didn’t feel comfortable here, but so far I didn’t feel threatened, either. As long as the Vyantara needed me, I could count on staying relatively safe. I pointed at my bag. “That must be heavy for you.”

She glanced at the soft suitcase hanging from her left hand and her Kewpie-doll lips formed an O of surprise. She giggled. “I forgot I was holding it.” She set it down on the floor and stepped to the window to gaze out at the night. It was then that I realized there hadn’t been any windows downstairs, just up here. Addressing me without making eye contact, she said, “I heard your mother was a knight from the Order of the Hatchet.”

This brought me up short. Gavin never talked to
me
about my mother, yet he’d talk about her to someone else? Whenever I tried to bring her up, he would change the subject.

“I suppose you plan on taking up your mother’s shield.” Zee gave me a piercing look, followed by a raise of her eyebrows. “That is, if you even have her shield?”

I ignored her and leaned against the bed, realizing it was so tall that I’d need a stool to climb up onto it. I had no shield, yet, but Zee didn’t have to know that. I’d find it eventually.

“To become a knight, you must serve as page and squire first. You did know that, didn’t you?”

I didn’t know that, but I crossed my arms and glared at her as if I did.

Her smile broadened, reminding me of Gavin. “Have you met any of the others yet?”

Others?
My heart tripped over itself while struggling to keep a steady beat. I tried not to show shock, but failed.

“Oh, my. I’m sorry,” she said, making a theatrical attempt at sincerity. “I just assumed you knew.”

I cleared my throat and swallowed, remembering my mother’s words:
Our people wait for you. Find them.
In Zee’s own befuddled way, she’d just confirmed what I had longed to hear. And she acted delighted that I didn’t know who or where the other knights were. If they existed, I’d find them.

She stepped away from the window and held out her arms as if to give me a hug. I backed away. “My goodness, Gavin wasn’t kidding about you being skittish.”

“I’m not skittish. Just cautious.”

Zee looked me up and down. “And skinny. Are you hungry?”

“A little,” I said, feeling a gurgle in my stomach that was as much hunger as it was nerves. “I thought I’d walk down the street a few blocks to one of the pubs for a quick bite.” But it was the Cathedral Basilica I wanted to see. I had to talk to Saint Geraldine, and I’d rather not wait until Gavin got here. I had an agenda of my own.

She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”

What the hell?
“Why not?”

“You don’t know the city and you could get lost.”

I laughed. “I don’t think so. I have a map and Larimer Square is only a few blocks from here.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” The pretty smile vanished and her dark eyes grew darker, the pupils taking over her irises. I couldn’t remember what color her eyes had been, but they were coal-black now. Even the whites were gone. What was she? Not just a housemother, obviously. But whatever she was, she was pissing me off.

I lunged for the door and it slammed shut in my face.

“Relax. You’ll like it here, Chalice. I promise. And you can wander the streets to your heart’s content, just not tonight.”

The back of my neck prickled, and it wasn’t my tattoo. “Because?”

Even her smirk was like Gavin’s. I wondered if the two were related. “Because I said so.”

Could this discussion get any more juvenile? I glared at her, then grabbed the doorknob, which turned easily in my hand. I yanked the door open and stormed out into the hall. Because I was dressed for the elements with my heavy suede jacket and Somé Gutierrez boots, I knew I could brave the night without shelter if I had to.

I raced down the hall toward the elevator, expecting someone or something to leap out from behind one of the closed doors. But nothing did. Practically falling into the room-size elevator car, I tossed a look down the hall. Zee wasn’t following me. This might be easier than I thought.

When the elevator door opened at the bottom, I jumped out before the car stopped moving. Silence. From all directions. The quiet totally freaked me out. The front door looked to be half a block away, so I took off toward it. Every step forward seemed to set me back two more. The distance increased with my pace, the door shrinking with my every move. So I ran. And the faster I ran, the farther away the door.

Only one thing left to do. I stopped and stood dead still. Where was Zee? I gazed up at the loft on the top floor. Vacant.

Spur-of-the-moment game plan. I removed the bottle of salt water from the inside pocket of my jacket and slid the Balisong from its sheath. Though my eyes stung in spite of the dim light, I could still make out the dark image crouched in the shadows, standing in my path. A green halo surrounded it, pulsing with a life force better suited for its home beyond the black veil. I was about to encounter my first Fatherhouse demon.

No way would I let this thing mess with me. I was on assignment and too important for the Vyantara to lose. But by the way it was looking at me, my soul might be just the tasty morsel it sought.

The demon’s body shuddered, a zigzag of energy shooting through it like a television screen that struggled to hold its signal.

I advanced slowly and the creature’s eyes began to glow red. It was shaped like a man and about as tall as one, but its skin was a deep blackish-purple, its bald head covered in scales instead of hair. Its body was draped in some kind of furless hide. I stepped up close to it, our faces inches from each other. My nose twitched with a quick sniff. Cinnamon and whiskey, and neither came from my friend here. The creature had no scent because it wasn’t actually in the room with me. I held my breath and advanced another step, passing right through it.

Relieved, I strode forward with purpose, the door a normal distance from me now and no longer shrinking. From above me I heard, “Excellent, Chalice! You did very well for your first encounter with one of our wards.”

“Thanks,” I yelled back, but didn’t look behind me. I was too focused on getting myself outside.

“I don’t think you realize how lucky you are.”

Lucky? Like hell.

“Seriously, Chalice. If you’d tried running from it instead of confronting it head on, the Maågan would have popped through to this side and killed you on the spot.”

My stomach lurched, but only a little. She was bluffing.

I yanked open the door and stepped outside into the chill Denver night to head for the mummified saint who might just have all the answers.

ONCE I WAS A COUPLE BLOCKS AWAY FROM
the Fatherhouse, I unfolded the Denver map I’d brought with me. It looked like walking to the cathedral would be something of a hike. Fine. I had plenty of time. It was only half-past midnight so the evening was still relatively young. I rarely made it to bed before dawn anyway. And at this point, I had no idea where I was going to sleep because it damn sure wouldn’t be in that room full of ghastly paintings.

I traveled three more blocks with my contacts out, letting my gaze wander to the shadows beside buildings and around thickly shrubbed landscapes. I didn’t perceive any auras or odd gatherings of energy particles like those that surrounded the Fatherhouse. I took one last sniff of the chilly air before sliding all my filters back into place.

Zee had been testing me, which I supposed was fair since I’d tested her first. No two Vyantara members ever trusted each other and being on guard every waking minute got old. Someday I hoped to let my guard down, to really count on someone and get close to people who cared about me, who I knew would be there when I needed them. People who would protect me, like the monks had tried to do. They were gone from my life, but I’d find others to call family someday. If I did have people, like my mother had said, I would root them out from wherever they were hiding.

I turned down an alley for a shortcut when I felt a mild prickling sensation at the back of my neck. Someone was watching me. At the same moment, a man suddenly appeared in my path. And I do mean suddenly because he materialized out of nothing. He was stark naked, too. Considering how close I was to the Fatherhouse, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

He crouched as if ready to fend me off, so I didn’t disappoint him. When threatened with attack, even a defensive one, I always fight back.

I sprang at him feetfirst while reaching over my shoulder for my blade. His hands cupped my heels and he flipped me backward, forcing me to somersault in the air and land on my feet. When I stood upright, he was gone. Then he flashed into existence a few feet to my left. He disappeared once more, reappearing in the same spot he had stood the first time.

“Stop winking in and out,” I shouted and prepared to make another go at him. He hadn’t hurt me, just defended himself, so I didn’t consider him a threat. Not yet, anyway. But anyone who could vanish and reappear like that had to be dangerous. “You’re making me dizzy.”

He vanished again.

I ran a hand through my hair and spun around. “What do you want?”

There was a rustle in the leafless bushes behind me. He showed himself again, but out of the shadows instead of thin air, and this time he wore clothes.

He let me study him, an amused smile curling one corner of his full lips. He looked just a few years older than I and wasn’t terribly tall, maybe five-ten at most, black hair, medium complexion. His eyes were crescent-shaped, very Asian, but the color was too pale. I’d have to see him in better light than a street lamp, but what I saw of him so far was enough to make me want to see more.

He held out both hands, palms up. “I’m not a mugger.”

“No, you’re a flasher.” My muscles tightened in anticipation. I’d had too many supernatural surprises for one night and it was wearing on me. I wondered at the extent of this man’s powers and if he could make other things besides himself disappear. Taking a deep swallow, I composed myself and tried not to give him attitude, though I wanted him aware I had plenty of nerve. “You didn’t answer my question. Aside from exposing yourself, what do you want?”

“To get your attention.” He approached me slowly and I backed up a step. “Did it work?”

“What do you think?”

“That you’ll listen to what I have to tell you. It’s important.”

I scrutinized his sincerity, unsure if I wanted to trust a man with the balls to go naked in public, pun intended. “Just because
you
think it’s important doesn’t mean
I
think so. What the hell are you?”

He clasped his hands behind his back. “Why don’t you take out your contacts, Chalice, to get a better look.”

He knew my name, and he obviously knew who I was. Though the notion unnerved me, it was a relief not having to pretend I was someone else for a change. I stared at him, half expecting him to vanish again, but apparently this ability had something to do with his clothes, or lack of them.

He motioned at my face. “I mean it. Take a look.”

So I did. His aura didn’t glow green like other Vyantara members. In fact, he didn’t glow at all. Alarmed, I backed away even farther. “You’re not alive.”

“I’m very much alive.” He smiled and when he did, a silvery luminescence surrounded his body. It was a color I’d never seen on a human aura before. “See?”

I squinted at him. “You can control your aura?”

He nodded and thrust out his hand. “The name’s Aydin Berkant.”

I ignored his offer of a handshake. “Tell me how you do that.” This aura thing was too strange. Forget strange, it was impossible. Not to mention the disappearing part.

“Pleased to meet you, too,” he said, dropping his hand but not his smile.

I popped the contacts back in to get a normal view of him. He looked like just a regular guy in a denim jacket and faded blue jeans. The jacket hung open to reveal a white T-shirt that had some kind of saying on it, but all I could make out was the word
world.
I felt tempted to look closer and read the whole thing when the image of his naked body flashed through my mind. Oh, hell. My face turned hot enough to singe my hair.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. “Okay, talk.”

“We have a few things in common, you and I. Special abilities. The Vyantara.” He jerked his head toward the street. “I’m on your side, you know. Want to get a coffee? I know a great place that caters to people like us. You’ll like it.”

People like us?
That was cryptic, not to mention unsettling. “I don’t know you.”

“Not yet.” He winked. “But you will. Come on. I don’t bite.”

I frowned and thought that over. Vampires didn’t have auras, either.

“I know what you’re thinking.” He grinned, showing straight white teeth. “I’m not a vampire.”

“So you read minds, too?”

“No, but I’m pretty good at reading faces. And you’re terrible at hiding your thoughts.” He offered me his arm. “Coming?”

So I didn’t trust him. What else was new? If he was Vyantara, then going with him would prove me a good little slave, which might earn me points after the stunt I just pulled with Zee. And if he
wasn’t
Vyantara, that was even better. He claimed to be on my side and I could sure use an ally. Too bad tonight’s agenda didn’t include a coffee date with a stranger who could vanish at the drop of a hat and take with him every stitch of clothing.

“Sorry, no can do. I have an errand to run,” I told him.

His smile disappeared and a look of concern crossed his face. “Need some help?”

I shook my head. This guy was a kook. A handsome kook, but still a kook.

“The city is dangerous for a woman alone. Especially at night.”

I flicked open my knife. “I can take care of myself.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m sure you can.” He studied me hard, squinting as if trying to see through my skin to the real me underneath.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” I said, rolling my eyes as I closed my knife to slip it back into its sheath. “Look, Mr….”

“Aydin. Aydin Berkant.”

“I’m in a hurry, Aydin, so if you don’t mind—”

“You’re looking for information,” he said, his expression shrewd.

I blinked. “How the hell would you know what I’m looking for?”

“Because I know who you are, remember? I know a lot of things, and I’m happy to share them with you. Like I said, I’m on your side.” He headed off down the alley. “I’m in the mood for coffee, something with caramel in it.”

Watching him walk away, I began having second thoughts.

“By the way, there are lots of ghosts in the city at night,” he said over his shoulder. “Spirits. Dead things. I’m not a fan, but if you are, knock yourself out. I can always tell you this important information some other time.”

I was hoping to get what I needed from Saint Geraldine, but considering the hour and that I wasn’t even sure I could hack my way inside the church, I knew I should settle for whatever Aydin could give me. For now. I sensed honesty behind his light-colored eyes, and he had something I wasn’t used to seeing in a man. Charm. Yes, that was it. He was charming.

“Just one cup, and I take it black. None of that foo-foo latte shit,” I said, the frown etched deep into my forehead. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake.

He turned around to grin at me. “Excellent choice.”

My social experience was kind of embarrassing. Especially when it came to guys. I’d had crushes on a couple of my instructors during training, but it was nothing more than infatuation. They were older and I looked up to them, sort of like hero worship, and when I think back on who those people were I want to kick myself. Both were Vyantara with one-track minds and they’d left skid marks after running all over me. I had let things get too far with one in particular, but I was just a kid and he took advantage of that. If I ever run into him again, I swear I’ll use my Balisong.

Meeting Aydin was the first time I’d ever made a new acquaintance without Gavin being involved. This was a new experience for me, and I liked it. A lot.

“Where are we going?” I asked Aydin, following a few paces behind while marveling at how well his jeans fit. I also liked how he smelled; sandalwood mixed with something spicy, an edgy scent that made my nose tingle. We headed away from LoDo and toward a residential area with some enormous houses that had to be at least a century old. “I thought you were taking me out for coffee.”

He glanced at me over his shoulder. “I am.”

“Is it far?”

“We’re almost there.”

I continued walking behind him, watching his easy strides and the slight swagger that radiated self-confidence. “How do you do that? Disappear, I mean.”

“It’s an acquired skill.”

I guessed that. “Where do you go when you vanish?”

“Nowhere.” He tossed me another quick look and I saw amusement in his eyes. He slapped his side. “It would be a lot easier to talk to you if you’d walk beside me.”

I quickened my steps to catch up, but even though I left a good couple feet between us, I had to fight the magnetic pull that seemed to emanate from him. What was it? Did he feel it, too?

“That’s better.” He thrust his hands in his pockets. “I don’t go anywhere. I’m still here, you just can’t see me. Or I should say regular people can’t see me, but
you
could without your contacts.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you can see ghosts. And in essence, that’s pretty much what I become.” He smoothed a hand over his jacket and looked down at his jeans. “Which is why I can’t wear clothes when I make myself invisible. There’d be no solid mass for them to hang on.”

I stopped walking. “You become a ghost?”

He turned and walked backward so that he could face me as he talked. “It’s complicated. I lose my solid mass and become transparent. All those energy particles you see that form a ghost are essentially what I become when I, uh, vanish.” Looking sheepish, he added, “I’m sorry if I shocked you by showing up naked. I had to show you I was different to get your attention.”

Oh, he’d gotten my attention all right. The hot blood rushing to my face was evidence of that. He faced forward again and I hurried to stay even with him. “How do you know these things about me, about what I can see? Who told you about my eyes?” I wondered if he knew about my other senses, too.

He shrugged. “Lots of flapping gums in the Fatherhouse.”

“And you live with those people?” That was disconcerting.

“They don’t know I’m listening.”

Considering his ability to vanish at will, that made sense. “So you’re a thief, like me.”

“Bingo.”

I felt a little thrill at hearing that. He was like me. Not exactly like me, but the closest I’d ever come to finding another person remotely similar to myself. The so-called friends Gavin arranged for me to pull jobs with were nothing special. It was always me who took the most risks because I could see, hear and smell better than anyone else.

“Here we are,” Aydin said, leading me down a driveway to a dark two-story house with a columned porch. But he didn’t walk up the path to the front door. He went on around to the side and headed for a staircase leading down to what I assumed was a basement.

I stopped on the top step, a sense of caution preventing me from following him. “There’s no coffee shop down there.”

He stared up at me. “Yeah, there is.”

“Where’s the sign? The lights? The parking lot filled with cars? I don’t hear any people talking or coffee mugs clinking.” I’d begun to think this might be a trap. Even if it were, I imagined it couldn’t be much worse than something Gavin might come up with. Or Zee, with her ridiculous portal paintings. I felt eager to get inside and find out.

I followed him down the steps and through the door.

Still no sign, no lights, no noise. “Aydin, come on. What’s going on?”

“I’m taking you for coffee at my favorite coffee shop. What do you think?”

It was obviously an
underground
coffee shop because the basement walls funneled into a tunnel of dirt and rock. Bare bulbs hung from the ceiling, and the farther we ventured in, the lighter it became. Finally I saw a rusty, old tin sign that said Elmo’s.

So maybe Aydin really was on the level, and this was a real coffee shop, but it would definitely go out of business if Elmo didn’t work on getting some exposure. Did he even advertise? And who wanted to have coffee inside a dirt tunnel? The door to the entrance was made of wood, the hardware on it rusted and very old-fashioned. Maybe it was some new restaurant trend. I’d heard of a place in Southern California where meals were served in pitch darkness. The appeal had something to do with it being a journey of the senses. Sounded scary to me. I liked to see what I was eating.