Page 76 of Deadly Deception
“You’ve done enough,” Sara answered cryptically. I thought Charlie might pass out on the spot. His skin turned ashen and his hands shook even more. Charlie backed away until he hit the edge of the couch. I figured that might be the only reason they guy remained vertical.Paid them for their loyalty my ass.
Franklin’s palm landed on the small of my back, the weight warm and comforting. His free hand was shoved into his pocket. Sara’s minions hadn’t asked Franklin to empty his pockets. The charms I’d given him earlier were still within his possession. For that matter, I was still in possession of the charms I’d deemed worthy of confiscation. Sara’s guys were amateurs if they thought I only placed Pops’s charms in my coat pockets. My clothes were casual, but there was always one feature I made sure they had—pockets. And if my pants and shirt didn’t have enough, then the vest I threw over it or the coat layered on top did. I had enough hidey-holes lining my clothing to stash two dozen charms. The problem was getting to them quickly.
“Necromancer Boone.” Sara raised an eyebrow, her gaze hard. “If there’s a problem, I assure you I can find proper motivation.” Sara inclined her head toward the guy guarding the French doors and he raised his weapon, aiming it at Franklin.
The problem with threatening to kill someone in order to get the other person to do what you want was that it was a threat with no wiggle room. It was all or nothing, and if you killed that person, then all your leverage was gone.
Sara must have seen those thoughts in my eyes because she said, “There are a lot of ways to cause someone pain.” Lips twisting into a malicious smile, Sara added, “Trust me, I’ve had time to discover all those neat little possibilities, and more to the point, I’ve found I enjoy implementing them. Now, if you’d be so kind as to bring Vanja’s soul back so I can ask him a few questions.”
Franklin shifted closer but remained silent. This was all on me. I didn’t bother looking at Henson. He’d seen me do this before and again, there was nothing he could do at this point. Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I gave it fifty-fifty odds these were truly Vanja’s ashes, and was only partly surprised when I located the connecting string and found that it was truly him.
“Vanja Simon Velchev, I call your soul to return.” Gaia, this human’s soul was horrid. It wasn’t the worst soul I’d brought back, but it was definitely in the top ten. Its foul taint rubbed against my necromancer powers, pulling on them. That was new. I’d never known a soul to take without my express permission. I grimaced and clenched my fists.
“Boone, what’s wrong?” Franklin’s worried words sliced through my head, anchoring me.
“Grab my hand and squeeze hard. Make it hurt.” I ordered Franklin. “This jackass is trying to drain me.”
“Fuck.” Franklin did as I asked and his thick fingers wrapped around mine, squeezing hard. I chased the pain and used it as a barrier, slamming it between myself and Vanja’s soul. The urn’s lid popped open, dropping to the counter and rattling before itsettled. Vanja’s ashes lifted out of the urn, swirling in the air, coalescing into something more solid, yet ever-shifting.
“Necromancer.” Vanja’s voice slithered into the deceptively cozy kitchen. I felt Vanja’s soul trying to tap into more of my power. If I wasn’t careful, he’d drain me until I passed out or worse. He fought desperately for control, just as desperately as I denied it.
“Enough!” My power pushed through the room and even the living flinched back. “I am in control, Vanja. You will do as I say, or I will decimate your soul. When I am finished, there will be nothing left and every part of you will cease to exist.” It was a threat I’d made before yet never followed through on. There was a first time for everything, and I felt like today might be that day.
“You think to control me? You are nothing.” Vanja spat. His tone was meant to humiliate. This guy obviously didn’t know who he was talking to.
“Silence,” I ordered. I could feel Vanja’s rage. He wanted to speak but couldn’t. Despite his efforts, Iwasin control. “I am a necromancer and hold dominion over the dead, and you, Vanja, are well and truly dead.”
Volcanic anger roared through the bond. Vanja had wanted to live forever and wound up getting his life cut short. Vanja’s soul was prideful. He was perhaps the most narcissistic soul I’d ever come into contact with. I could feel his disbelief, his confusion regarding why his plans hadn’t worked. Vanja would never understand why Queen Millicent hadn’t turned him. It was impossible for him to fathom she did not see his worth.
While Vanja’s soul continually battered against the shields I’d thrown up, my grasp on his soul was now secure enough for Sara to ask her questions. “Vanja Simon Velchev, you will answer the questions asked of you honestly. If you lie, I will know, and the consequences will not be pleasant.”
Vanja’s soul hit me with the equivalent of a psychicfuck you. My head pounded and by the time this was over, I’d need a shit ton of candy and more than a few pain charms. I could fall apart later. Right now, I had a job to do. “Ask your questions,” I told Sara. When silence answered me, I took a moment to truly look around. I’d been so concentrated on my battle with Vanja’s soul that I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings. The woman, Rita, who’d been sitting at the bar top was plastered against the French doors next to the guy with the weapon that was still pointed Franklin’s way, the angle off just enough for me to realize he’d changed aim and was now gunning for the swirl of ashes angrily flashing through the air. I figured Charlie was still behind me but wasn’t certain. As for Sara… She was standing again, her eyes wide. They should have been filled with apprehension. Instead, there was excitement there. A maniac kind of wonder that scared me more than Vanja’s grab for power.
“Amazing,” Sara whispered. She licked her lips with anticipation as her gaze glanced between Vanja’s resurrected ashes and me. I didn’t like the calculating look she gave me. “You truly are worth your weight in gold.” I liked those words even less. I recognized the intense scrutiny Sara gave me. She looked at me like I was her next meal ticket. That was the problem with people like Sara. There would never beenough. All Vanja’s riches wouldn’t fill the void in her soul. She’d keep searching, thinking that if she just had more, she’d be satisfied.
People like Sara Tompkins were destined for a lonely life of want, and I had no intention of becoming one of the ways she attempted to fill that void.
Vanja’s attempts to drain me combined with bringing back so many souls yesterday were quickly depleting what little reserves I had. My necromancer abilities were maxed out. If Sara didn’t get busy and start questioning Vanja soon, I’d have to let him go.I think I spoke for all of us when I say that wasn’t a swimming idea.
“Get to it, Sara,” Franklin said. Gaia bless him, he knew I was struggling. “Boone isn’t a machine. His services have been overused, and now blatantly abused. Ask your questions and get this over with.”
A mild narrowing of her eyes was the only indication Sara gave that she found Franklin’s words offensive. Right now, I couldn’t give two shits if Sara’s feelings were hurt.
Palms firmly planted on the island countertop, Sara was the only one that leaned toward Vanja’s swirling mass of ashes. I’d give her this—when Sara finally got down to questioning Vanja, she didn’t mince words. “Where did you stash your fortune?”
Vanja’s outrage sang through our bond, and he remained stubbornly silent.
“Answer,” I commanded while pushing more power into the order. My body quivered with the effort.
Sara leaned ever closer. “You had a plan. You weren’t a complete idiot, Vanja. You planned on living forever and you were going to do it in luxury. Where. Did. You. Hide. It?” Sara’s smile stretched wide, showing pristine white teeth.
Vanja’s determined reluctance faded into malicious humor. His cold laughter sent shivers down my spine. “Even if I tell you, you will never find it.”
That wasn’t a lie. Vanja truly believed that, and I said just as much. “He’s telling the truth.”
“You let me worry about that part. Tell me where it is.”
If he’d had a body, Vanja would have been grinning from ear to ear. “The bottom of the lake.”
