Page 3 of Deadly Deception
“Yeah, let’s do this.” There was a menacing gleam in Brendon’s eyes as he stared at the casket.
“Mr. Devonshire, you informed me there was something important you wanted to tell Cody Stevens, something you failed to relay while your stepbrother was alive. Given Cody’s untimelydeath, I thought your claim legitimate. However, I’m beginning to have second thoughts.”
“Second thoughts?” Brendon’s lips thinned as his eyes pinched. “You’ve already taken my money. Are you just some scam artist?”
If I’d been a cat, my back would be arched, tail fully fluffed, ears pinned back, and mouth set in a violent hiss.
In answer, I walked to Cody Stevens’s casket, popped open the lid, ignored the traumatic injuries his manner of death had led to, and latched onto Cody’s connecting string. All souls had them—a tether that forever chained them to what was left of their mortal coil. Finding that string, tracing it, and calling the soul back was as easy as walking for me.
“Cody Edmund Stevens, I call you back to your body.” My voice was even and certain, but Cody’s soul wasn’t. Some souls were eager to come back. Some weren’t. Cody’s was very reluctant.
Despite his reluctance, Cody’s soul couldn’t ignore my call, and he slammed back into his body with a shudder.
Cody’s mouth twisted before his eyes opened. Only one eye was capable of opening completely. The other had been damaged when the left side of his skull was crushed. The mortician had done their best, but there was only so much one could do when the injuries were that extensive.
Cody’s jaw was still intact and didn’t appear fractured. He opened his mouth, twisting his lower jaw back and forth. His spine was fractured; if Cody had still been alive and dependent upon his own body for movement, he wouldn’t have been able to sit up. My power infused his body, and when I ordered, “Please sit up,” Cody’s body could do nothing but comply.
“Holy shit,” Brendon marveled, an appropriate amount of awe coloring his words.
“That’s so gross,” Stella added. If I were being objective, I couldn’t totally disagree. Cody’s body wasn’t the most pristine. There was a reason the services had been closed casket.
“No grosser than he was when alive,” Brendon answered viciously. He’d gotten over his shock and awe quickly. “It might even be an improvement.”
I felt Cody’s soul flinch through our bond, and inwardly berated myself for my curiosity along with my pride. I’d wanted to prove a point when Brendon had accused me of being a con artist. I’d allowed his taunting words to goad me and sting my pride, all the while ignoring how wrong this situation seemed. Cody’s response told me Brendon’s words weren’t brotherly teasing. They’d hurt his soul, and that was just as much on me as the jackass who’d hired me.
I desperately wanted to release Cody’s soul but couldn’t stomach the thought of letting him go with those toxic words hanging in the air. Soon it wasn’t just words, but laughter stinging Cody’s soul.
“Oh my God. I wanted to see, but Mom wouldn’t let me.” Brendon’s laughter was malicious and taunting. “Shit, that truck got you good.”
Stella’s shoulder slap wasn’t nearly hard enough. If I pulled my arm back and aimed my fist in Brendon’s direction, he’d be laid out flat on the ground. “Brendon!” she admonished. “That’s not very nice. Cody died.”
Cody’s bruised soul turned a shade colder. Evidently, he wasn’t a fan of Stella either.
“This human reminds me of a former master,” Aurelia said. There was no need for her to whisper, considering she kept her presence hidden.
“Yeah? Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” I answered.
“What doesn’t?” Brendon asked, unaware of Aurelia’s previous statement.
Ignoring the question, I asked, “Wasn’t there something you wanted to tell your brother?”
Brendon shuddered dramatically. “Stepbrother. Man, get it right. I’m not related by blood to that loser. That’s insulting.”
Instead of defending Cody again, Stella giggled.
Brendon waved me off and said, “Naw, I didn’t want to ask anything. I just wanted to see his busted-up body for myself. One final laugh. Fuck, I’m glad he’s gone. I was so embarrassed when Mom married his dad and we had to actually share living space.”
“Definitely like a previous master.” Aurelia’s tone was without inflection, as if she were simply discussing a string of days with average weather. I wasn’t certain how Aurelia killed that particular master, only that they would have met an untimely end, just as all Aurelia’s previous masters had. Maybe this was the one she smothered with pizza, but I doubted it.
Echoing my thoughts, Aurelia said, “This one’s death would be no great loss.”
While I agreed, I didn’t feel like wasting away for the rest of my life in a tiny cell simply because this guy was a grade-A asshole. If that were the case, I’d have already been incarcerated.
No, Brendon Devonshire would survive this night. Physically. The guy’s ego was a different matter, and I planned to eviscerate it. Mr. Devonshire was a very misguided young human. Teaching had never been an ambition of mine; however, sometimes needs must, and right now this guy needed a lesson.
Holding onto his sides, as if he hadn’t laughed this hard in ages, Brendon wheezed out “That’s it. I’m done. Send him back. We’ve looked at his ugly mug long enough.”
“I hope I don’t have nightmares.” Stella’s voice trembled, her big, wide eyes staring up at Brendon. I could only assume, given their closeness, that they were an item.
