Viper Moon (39 page)

“But not in the sewers.” Abby’s eyes squinted in strain. “Promise me you’ll stay out of the sewers. And the gun, you—”

“Gun’s gone, Abby. I lost it last night. And the last thing I
want
to do is go underground again. Especially now.”

I grabbed Horus and Nirah and headed home. I went to the Archangel first.

Dacardi called as I pulled into the parking lot. “My boy keeps bugging me about the cop’s sister. Wants to go see her. What do you think I should do?”

“Let him see her. You stay away, and it should be okay.”

“Yeah. Don’t want my boy to be . . .”

“Be what? Like you? Or like me?”

“Bitch, don’t want him like either of us. Wouldn’t mind him being like your cop. Man’s got balls. Me and the pretty boy hadn’t gone with him, he’d have gone back after you alone. Bet he keeps his word. He’s gonna try to nail me uptown. Should be interesting.”

“Well, Flynn’s one thing you and I can agree on. Thanks for helping those kids. And taking in those without parents.”

“My boy wouldn’t let me do anything else, damn it. Called his mama and got her to come home. Shit and double shit!” He didn’t really sound displeased. Dacardi and his wife had managed to raise a good son, so I guess the foster kids could do worse. “You know, that Abby, that witch, she understands . . . Ah, what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“
Expediency
. She’s practical and does what needs to be done.”

“Yeah, that’s it. I like her.”

I laughed. “Okay, but don’t cross her.”

“I know better than that, bitch.”

“Any trouble about the dock explosion thing?”

“You kidding? Truckload of trouble. The suits say not to sweat it, so I don’t. I cover my ass pretty good. Lot of experience. You and me talk later.” He hung up.

Yes, Carlos Dacardi would survive, and even prosper in the coming years. And I doubted he’d stay out of my life. He hadn’t mentioned the Earth Mother. He saw her as he saw Aiakós. Wonder what he thought of her. We’d have to talk again, Dacardi and I.

The previous night’s rain had broken the heat wave, but it was still summer, so when I arrived at the Archangel I tucked Nirah under my collar and carried Horus with me. I wouldn’t leave him in the car. The door guard started to object to a cat, but Horus snarled and swiped his claws at him and he wisely let us pass.

When I entered Michael’s office, I set Horus on the floor. Michael wrapped me in his arms. I let him, but there was no passion there, at least for me, but there was understanding and a little love. Michael had risked his life for me. I don’t forget things like that.

Nirah peeked out from under my collar.

“I don’t have any caviar,” Michael said.

“It’s okay. No point in spoiling her.”

“I called Flynn,” he said. “I gave him the locations of two more arms caches I found this morning. Self-preservation. I’d rather the Bastinados not accidentally come across a load of antitank missiles.”

No wonder Flynn had suddenly become so important.

“Vic must have stolen millions from you,” I said.

Michael’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “It’ll take me years to recover it. The arms he bought didn’t take a third of what’s missing. I’m trying to find the rest, but I doubt I will. Its location probably died with Vic.”

“What did he think he was going to do? If he’d made it, if everything happened like it was supposed to, the government wouldn’t let something like that take over a city.”

“Victor was really very intelligent. A wonderful big brother. He watched over me and I loved him. Life was good when it was me, him. When Nurse Kathy rescued me, she accepted him and did a good job of raising us, considering our parentage. After mother came home that one time, Victor lost all sense of proportion and common sense. He told me once, ‘She stopped loving me when you were born.’ ”

“One thing bothers me,” I said. “He didn’t do it alone. Theron was involved, and such things generally have a functioning network of people, banks, communication. You think there are others with the missing money?”

“I don’t know—yet. Let’s speak of other things. What are you going to do now?”

“Getting chased by monsters isn’t as much fun as it used to be. I’ll hunt kids. I’ll do things a bit differently, though.”

I didn’t want him to fall to the Darkness, to his father’s world, either, and I’d do my best to prevent it.

“Flynn asked me to marry him. I said I would. With a long engagement.”

“Why not now? You love him.”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid it won’t work. He needs to think about it. Flynn’s smart, educated, has a degree in criminal justice. All I am is a farm girl and—”

“You think you’re not worthy of him?” Michael sounded both delighted and incredulous. “That he’s too good for you?”

I shrugged. “Not exactly. I think he’s going places. He has an aura of importance he didn’t have a few days ago. I’d slow him down. He needs a woman to look good and stand behind him, not some scruffy monster chaser.” Even as I spoke such noble words, I hated them. I was lying to myself. I’d do anything I could to keep Flynn.

“If that’s his choice, then he’s not as intelligent as I think.” Michael laughed.

Nirah stuck her head out from under my collar again.

“I like her.” He brushed her head with his finger.

“She likes you. You give the name
snake charmer
a whole new meaning.”

“Obviously I’m not popular with both your pets.” Michael’s voice hardened. “Your cat has pissed on a fivethousand-dollar leather couch.”

“Damn!” I whirled around. Sure enough, Horus stood beside a wet streak running down the leather. I went and grabbed him. He didn’t protest, but didn’t feel apologetic at all. What did I expect from a cat?

“Get it cleaned,” I said. “I’ll pay for it.”

Michael smiled. “No, I’ll get a new one.”

I guess five thousand dollars wouldn’t mean much to him, in spite of his losses to Victor’s scheming.

I laughed. “Michael, my friend. I do so wish you love and happiness.” I hugged him again.

Michael was still smiling when he walked me downstairs. In fact, the smile he gave his early-afternoon followers was real this time, not the fake royal beneficence he usually bestowed on them. One woman fainted.

Michael once compared himself to me, hinting that our humanity stood on the same level. We both had supernatural or, as the case may be, abnormal gifts. I realized that, other than his ability to weave a godlike spell over some people, he’d shown me little of himself. He was the son of the Darkness, a demigod who now resided in a physical form a couple of miles from the Archangel—there had to be more to him than a pretty man mesmerizing adoring crowds. I hadn’t asked about Elise, but I was sure he’d quietly buried her and would mourn her in the years to come.

 

Horus hit the ground and disappeared when we arrived at the apartment house parking lot. I trudged upstairs, wondering if I could put off what was probably some heavy-duty housekeeping.

When I opened the fridge to throw out any leftovers that growled at me, I found five thick bundles of hundred-dollar bills wrapped in plastic wrap. From Dacardi? He’d promised me money. I opened one bundle, counted out a thousand dollars, and stuffed the rest in a plastic bag. I wouldn’t take the life savings of a hotel maid barely above poverty, like Maxie Fountain’s mother. But whoever gave this didn’t have a cash flow problem.

Like Abby, I also knew the meaning of
expediency
. Nefertiti’s glass aquarium sat on the coffee table, and Nirah had forsaken her own and crawled inside. I dug in the bedding of wood shavings at one end of the aquarium, stuffed the bag of money in, and covered it up.

I’d no more than finished when a knock came at the door.

“FedEx,” a male voice called. I opened it and signed for a package with River Street as its return address.

I sat at the kitchen table and tore it open. Inside was my gun, carefully cleaned and oiled and covered in bubble wrap. A note card fell out, too.

Come and see me, Huntress,
it said
. I realize now that I saw this world through the flawed eyes of my servants. Victor’s plan would never have worked. I have banished the creatures under the streets. You may walk freely in the Barrows.

Written in a flowing cursive script, I smiled at the beauty of it. Maybe I should go, I thought. Then I jerked. What was I thinking?

I ran to the kitchen sink and dropped the card. As I did, it burst into flames. I turned on the faucet. The flames didn’t die under the steady stream of water until they’d consumed the entire thing. As it disappeared, the sound of laughter—beautiful, seductive laughter—rang in my ears. Tomorrow, I’d have to take the gun to Abby and be sure no spell lay on it. She wouldn’t like it, but I wasn’t prepared to give it up yet.

Aiakós had apparently found Vic’s network, or it had found him. He now had human servants to do his bidding, teach him the ways of this world, including how to send packages by FedEx. To use an old cliché, he’d hit the pavement running. Did he also know where Victor had hidden most of Michael’s money? I hoped not.

The heating grate popped up and Horus appeared. He had a single twitching mouse by the tail. A scratching noise came from behind him and a small, furred animal came skittering out of the duct.

“Who’s this, Horus?” Horus ignored me and carried the mouse to the aquarium for Nirah. At the sound of my voice, the little creature raced my way, locked onto my jeans, clawed its way up, and tried to bury itself in my shirt. I cupped it in my hand and held it close to my heart. It settled against me, twitching a little, but no longer frantic.

Its little head peeked out from my hand. A ferret? Covered with mink-soft, buff-colored fur with a dark tan ring around its neck, it seemed like one, but I had no way to be sure. When it squirmed, it became obviously male.

“So who are you?” I asked.

A name popped into my mind:
Tau
. Then came the image of a lion. “You’d better grow a lot if you’re going to fit that name,” I told him. He chattered again and scrambled up to my shoulder. I found a can of tuna and fed Tau and Horus. I’d go to the pet emporium tomorrow. Ah, caviar. Now that I had some money, I could treat them occasionally. For Tau, we’d start with a ferret diet and go from there.

I relaxed for the rest of the day. Flynn came in later and we walked up the street to the deli for supper. He held my hand. How wonderful to be comfortable doing ordinary things, speaking of ordinary things with him. I could deal with ordinary for a while.

“You’re not mad because I want my PI license back so I can go to work?” I asked.

“Cass, I won’t order your life. Just promise me you’ll keep me in the loop and stay out of the sewers.”

“Promise? Big, heavy word.”

I sighed and snuggled against him. I could feel his heartbeat, strong and real. This was the thing I’d given up when I came to Duivel. That security that sometimes comes with love. I did not need to be on guard with Flynn, and I never wanted him to leave.

“Okay, Flynn. I won’t promise not to go into the Barrows if someone really needs me, but I swear I won’t take any unnecessary chances. Is that okay? You understand, don’t you? You’re a cop. You want to be a cop. You’re on the line every day.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear from you. I can’t change you, though. I wouldn’t want to. My mother, Selene—you’re all strong women.”

“How did Selene take the news? About you being her father?”

“Ungraciously, but she’s talking to me again.”

 

Making love that night was a softer, gentler passion that slowly built, relaxed, then soared again. He fell right to sleep, but I understood. His day had been long. He now walked a different path. A powerful enemy now resided in the Barrows and he couldn’t completely articulate that danger to his fellow officers.

Something woke me during the night.

Flynn still lay sleeping beside me. Tau had left the bed I’d made for him in a box and come to sleep in my hair. I lay quietly for a while and listened. All I heard was Tau’s tiny breaths and Flynn’s deeper ones. Horus and Nirah were in the living room, and no danger would come unchallenged from that direction.

I rose, went to the window, and stared in the direction of the Barrows. Lights glowed against the sky in a place where only night ruled since I’d come to Duivel.

The Mother might be pleased he’s here, but I think it’s dangerous. No one asks my opinion, though. I’m only the Huntress.

When I went back to the bed and tossed the covers aside, I saw it. The dark stain. In the bathroom I confirmed. The Mother had given me my retirement notice. For the first time since I was eighteen, I’d need birth control pills. Or did I? I’d ask Flynn, but . . . yes, it was time. A new Huntress would have to deal with Aiakós the Darkness. Regrets? None. I’d done the best I could. Sadness? A little. Closing a door hurts, even if another opens.

I went back into the bedroom to wake Flynn, to tell him how much I loved him. Today, and all the tomorrows.

 

 

Sister Eunice tossed me over her head, slammed me on my back, and planted her highly polished size twelve combat boot on my stomach.

I gasped for breath. She pushed harder. Acute agony spread while the malicious bitch mashed my guts around my spine. An evil grin split her rugged face. “Got you now, you nasty little, scar-faced whore.”

Sister Eunice is five eleven and weighs two forty. She has the body of a weight lifter and the attitude of a pit bull. I’m five eight, and I barely make one thirty. I’m strong—exceptionally strong—but it would take serious steroids to make me her physical equal.