The Ravenous Dark, page 43
Nia guided them to the end of the wing, where the presence of magic grew stronger with each step. Bailey attempted to slow her gait as the magic nipped at her skin, but Wood's wouldn't allow it.
"What the hell?" she gasped as she spotted a distortion in the air up ahead. Her eyes ran over it as the magic intensified. It seemed to run from floor to ceiling, from one end of the hall to the other. An invisible wall.
Bailey flinched as they herded her through it. Static electricity rippled over her body momentarily before fading away. The magic in the air, however, did not. It lingered all around them.
Bailey sneezed. Twice.
"Do yourself a favor and keep an open mind when you're in there, all right?" Nia said after turning them down a hall to the right and stopping at the first door they encountered. Her hand rested on the doorknob as she held Bailey's eye. "Second chances are hard to come by, and you could really make an impact here."
Nia spoke the words softly, traces of sincerity slipping through as she held her gaze. Bailey said nothing, and Nia heaved a sigh. With a disappointed shake of her head, she opened the door for her. Bailey entered, and the door was shut swiftly behind her. She startled at the noise, eyeing the closed door with trepidation.
All her escorts remained outside.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Bailey wasn't sure and turned to inspect the room. She assumed they'd brought her to someone's private room, not a—
"Do you like it?" A voice called from nearby. "The final touches were just added the other week."
Bailey's head whipped to the left and landed on a demoness leaning against the wall. She stiffened. It was the same demoness Bailey had seen before in the courtier wing while on the job. She'd taken a sample of her blood to give to the Circe clan.
Kat smiled at her as she pushed off from the wall and walked in her direction.
Bailey took a pointed step back as she neared. Kat chuckled as she strode past her.
"Welcome to the Lunar Court's receiving hall." Kat gestured for Bailey to follow as she led her deeper into the extravagant room.
Bailey did so cautiously as she scanned the interior. There was a plethora of places for people to hide, and with the magic stifling her sinuses, she only had her eyes to rely on.
Thick, gold-plated pillars lined the length of the room while an assortment of potted palm trees and oversized earthenware statues took up the space in between them. Bailey looked ahead.
The end of the receiving hall was obscured by a near jungle-like wall of greenery that went from floor to ceiling, thriving for all to see. Bailey's nose tickled as the scent of exotic plants mixed with the room's magic.
It vaguely reminded her of the Lunarium with its lush landscape, but without a glass ceiling, the room felt more encaged.
"It used to be six separate living quarters," Kat told her, not breaking her stride as she headed for a large black, starburst dais in the middle of the room. "But the courtiers who occupied them generously agreed to relocate so the space could be used for the Lunar Court."
Bailey stopped and passed a contemplative look around the hall, trying to judge the distance and overall dimension. To her eye, it didn’t look to be the size of six living quarters.
Two perhaps, but not six. Bailey thought with a scrunched forehead.
A phantom breeze rustled the palms' leaves and other greenery in the room. Goosebumps broke out on Bailey's arms, breaking her concentration.
"If you were any farther away, I'd need to shout," Kat said, stopping and turning to face Bailey from the dais.
"Good thing no one's here to talk over then."
Kat's answering smile reminded Bailey of a shark. "Who said we're alone?"
As if on cue, a door slammed open. Bailey's attention pivoted back to where she entered. Franklin marched inside, an entourage at her heels. Bailey stuffed her hands in her pants pockets to hide how tightly they were clenched.
A sorceress decked in sapphire robes sashayed her way into the room a few feet behind Franklin. She gave Bailey a once over and then scoffed. Bailey paid the snub little mind and let her focus stay on the bigger threat. The Fawzy twins. The leopard shifters flanked a visibly shaking man, bringing up the rear.
Malinski.
He clutched a book close to his chest—the very same one they'd claimed from him the night before. Bailey frowned.
Malinski’s gaze, which had been darting around the room nervously, widened when he caught sight of Bailey. She swallowed uncomfortably. His nose was broken. Clotted blood framed the offended body part as it slanted oddly to the left. Franklin stopped an arm's length away from her, and the others followed suit.
"You can leave now." Franklin's voice was flat as she addressed Kat. She waved her off with a disdainful flick of her wrist. "Your services won't be required."
"Aye, aye, captain."
Kat's heels clapped together as she mockingly saluted Franklin. The owl shifter's upper lip twitched, but she managed to hold back her sneer as Kat sauntered off the dais. The demoness made sure to pass by within a range that raised everyone's hackles.
"Fucking demons," Franklin muttered. Her displeasure was on full display once the demoness was out of the room. Bailey's stance turned rigid as Franklin's cold regard swung to her. "You sure took your time getting here. First Raphael and now Ronan? Whose bed are you gunning for next, B?"
"What do you want, Franklin?"
Franklin's eyes narrowed. "I want you to finish the job you keep messing up."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bailey answered with a frown. "And I told you earlier; I'm out."
"And I told you we have Luka Krovopuskov's body," Franklin reminded her.
Bailey's lips pressed together. Not for long.
"I don't care."
Franklin scoffed. "You don't, do you? And what happens to the Vrana when I call your bluff? Everything they've worked for will come crumbling down. Are you really that selfish?"
"What do you know about their work?"
"Who doesn't, B?" Franklin taunted and stepped closer. "Let's make a deal. You do this job for me, and everything up until this point is water under the bridge. You'll work your way back up from where you started again, and—"
"No. I'm out. I'm not doing any more jobs for you," Bailey cut in.
One of the Fawzy twins snorted. Bailey guessed it was Kamara based on her smirk.
"You don't get it, do you?" Franklin chuckled darkly. "Once a Wilding, always a Wilding. Malinski."
The sorcerer made no move when Franklin addressed him. He was sickly pale and watching the scene with hollow eyes. Franklin scoffed and turned to the sorceress instead. "Mercy, relieve Malinski of the grimoire."
"With pleasure," Mercy, the sorceress in sapphire robes, purred.
"No, please!" Malinski cried, stumbling back. The Fawzy twins rounded on him before he could go more than a few steps, grabbing his arms in eerie tandem. "It's not natural! We never should have meddled in such magic. It doesn't work. You've seen for yourselves it doesn't!"
"On the contrary, the results have gotten better and better every time. The test subjects last longer and become more lucid. Soon they'll be the perfect weapon. It's all a matter of fine-tuning at this point until the next evolution of supernatural is here." Mercy lampooned Malinski with her cruel delivery, and with a few hard tugs, relieved him of the leather-bound book.
"It won't work! It won't ever work! Don't you understand? This is lunacy. Heresy! Your Goddess will abandon you. Don't do this, Mercy. My clan has paid for what happened—"
"Gamayun scum! You don't honestly believe you paid for what happened in the Cellar, do you? Three of my Circe sisters died at the hand of your brother. Your banishment was hardly sufficient recompense. Only blood can satisfy what we are owed by you and this miserable court, and the Circe clan serves a new patron." Mercy smiled in devilish delight as she hiked up her sleeve to reveal a W on her wrist.
Bailey stiffened at the sight having only ever seen it on Wildings, and seldom few at that. Her gaze darted surreptitiously to the grimoire. It was brandished with the same W. Dread filled Bailey.
Mercy's face was cherry red, and her eyes dilated as she went to Franklin's side. The very air around her crackled. It took everything in Bailey not to take a step back at the reverberations of her magic. Mercy fished out a folded piece of paper from the inside of the grimoire, before thrusting it at Franklin.
"Here." Mercy smirked vindictively at Bailey as Franklin snatched up the paper with her fingertips.
Franklin stared at Mercy, unimpressed, and held out her other hand. The air flared with heat before Mercy begrudgingly shifted her hold on the old tome and searched the inner folds of her cloak. After a moment of fumbling, Mercy extracted a thick envelope. She slapped it into Franklin's palm.
Franklin took her time thumbing through the envelope's contents.
"It's all there," Mercy snapped as the seconds ticked by. Franklin made a satisfied note in the back of her throat and pocketed the envelope. Then she held out her hand again.
"And the passports?"
Mercy grumbled something too low for Bailey to hear and reached into her cloak again. She drew out a bundle of passports held together by a rubber band. "Satisfied?"
"I think we'll both be satisfied soon enough," Franklin retorted blithely as she returned her attention to Bailey. "Here. Your job." Franklin held out the folded paper to Bailey. "Deliver this to the resident banshee and see that she actually opens it."
A cold numbness blanketed Bailey as she stared at the paper. There seemed to be no breath left in her body as icy realization solidified in her gut. She knew what was hidden inside the crease of that paper.
It would be the same black spot as the papers in her room.
The same black spot the victims of the rabidus curse all sported.
Concern pressed through the soulmark bond as a sick feeling crawled up the back of her throat. Bailey licked her lips and concentrated on the tendrils of comfort reaching out to her from Ronan in response to her distress. Using it as support, she held Franklin's gaze as she shook her head.
Franklin's jaw twitched.
"It would never have come to this if you would have just minded your own business all those weeks ago. You started an awful little rebellious streak in that white-haired freak show. Ever since you gave away her invitation at Laxmi and Eris's wedding as a gift to the bride and groom, she hasn't opened a single invitation she's gotten. Not one, B." Franklin kept her voice controlled, but Bailey saw all the unfettered resentment swirling to the surface in her stormy blue eyes. "My employer isn't happy with how long it's taken to dispose of her."
Bailey's mind rushed to play catch up with Franklin's confession as her pulse thundered in her ears.
"You've been spreading the curse," she said at last. "You're the one infecting and killing people? And Stella? Why? Why go after her?"
A blood-curdling smirk lashed itself across Franklin's face. "I can't take all the credit. All the Wildings had a hand getting the necessary parts into the right hands. Even you, B."
For a stilted second, she couldn't breathe.
"Why?" Bailey choked out. "Why would you take part in something like this?"
"You would not believe the amount of cash we've made on this venture," Franklin said, her resentment fading to make space for genuine enthusiasm. "I can finally leave this hellhole, and so can a few others. Besides, why not go out with a bang? This court's already well on its way to eating itself alive. There's no sense in not capitalizing on it. Chaos is a ladder, after all."
"What does Stella have to do with any of this?" Bailey asked.
"The banshee is an unfortunate casualty. Collateral damage if you will," Franklin explained. She folded her arms and Bailey mimicked her, eyeing the cursed paper still held between her fingertips. "Mercy and the Circe clan's plans for justice happened to provide a convenient means to do my employer’s bidding as well."
Bailey speared Mercy with a contemptuous glare. "Your sisters weren't the only casualties there that night. This whole vengeance plot of yours is ridiculous."
Rage ignited on Mercy's face. Before Bailey could blink, a spell sent her flying halfway across the room. She landed on her ass hard and tumbled once, heels over head, before smacking into the dais. It took her a second to catch her breath as she righted herself.
Ronan's concern was immediate and slightly disconcerting. Bailey did her best to reassure him through the bond and shake off his lingering worry. Her focus couldn't waver now. Not when the answers they sought were right in front of her.
She pushed Ronan’s concern away and closed herself off from their bond as much as she could.
"Why Stella?" Bailey demanded to know as she regained her feet. She could—begrudgingly—accept the Circe clan's reasoning behind their grand act of vengeance. But the Wildings’ mysterious employer wanting Stella dead was something she couldn't wrap her head around.
Franklin shrugged.
"How the fuck should I know? I'm not paid to ask questions. I'm paid to carry out the jobs no one else wants. Like I said before, the curse was just a happy coincidence to kill two birds with one stone."
Anger roiled in her veins. "A happy coincidence?" She spoke through clenched teeth.
Franklin smirked. "Everything worked out pretty well, all things considered. We might not have been able to take out the banshee, but Circe's hit list has a decent dent in it now, and the curse can't be tracked back to us."
"Clearly it can," Bailey said blandly and gestured to herself.
"Enough of this. I have business to wrap up before I can leave." Franklin waved the folded paper at her.
Bailey sneered. "I'm not delivering that to my friend."
"You know, I had a feeling you would say that," Franklin revealed, completely unfazed by the golden hue that had taken over Bailey's irises. She tucked the paper nonchalantly in her back pocket. "That's why plan B is already in motion. Stella's finally going to get the invitation she wants—thanks for that tip, by the way."
A cold shiver drew up Bailey's spine, as Franklin winked at her and carried on cheerfully.
"Who knows? Maybe the Circe clan will finally get what they want, and their divine quest for the 'next evolution of supernatural' will come to fruition tonight. Big things are happening, B. I wish I could stick around to see how it all plays out with Stella and Irina, but I've really got to bounce."
"What are you talking about?" Bailey gaze darted over the faces of the group, looking for the hint of a clue.
Franklin's smirk developed into a wide smile. "It's been nice knowing you, Bailey Hart. You could have made serious waves here if you'd just loosened up on all those pesky little morals of yours."
Bailey took a menacing step forward, hands drawing down to fists at her side. "What have you done?"
"Nothing that I wasn't heavily compensated for," Franklin assured her before turning her regard to Mercy. "Do what you want with the sorcerer. Our business here is done. If you want to extend your delivery services with the Wildings, you'll need to take up the matter with the new head, Woods."
Mercy looked like something foul entered her mouth. "Kill him," Mercy spat. "He's of no use to us anymore now that we have the book."
With a parting sneer, Mercy left. Franklin rolled her eyes at the dramatic exit but gave a nod of approval to the twins.
"After you take care of him, make sure you take care of her," Franklin commanded, her chin jerking in Bailey's direction. "We don't need any loose ends running their mouths." Franklin grinned at Bailey. "No offense, B."
Franklin followed swiftly in Mercy's wake, leaving Bailey to stare at her retreating figure in disbelief.
"Wait, wait a minute! I can pay you—"
A sickening crack cut off Malinski's plea. His body hit the floor with a thud that resonated all the way to Bailey's bones. The Fawzy twins turned to Bailey in unison.
As one, all three tensed.
"Don't think for a second that I'll go down half as easy as him," Bailey growled.
"It wouldn't be nearly as fun if you did." Kamara stalked forward.
Bailey circled back and to the side, aiming for the wall of greenery. There was no hope of her charging past the twins to the obvious exit. She only hoped there was something more beyond the foliage. If not, she would be putting her rusty tree-climbing skills to use and scaling the greenery.
But she hoped like hell there was more behind it. Including another exit.
"It's nothing personal,” Kamara continued. “You're just a job."
"Forgive me if I disagree."
Kane began his approach. "I want to play with her a bit first," he told his sister in a gruff voice.
Kamara shot her brother an annoyed look and pushed back the hair in her face. "We don't have time, Kane."
"There's always time," he grunted. His eyes never left Bailey as he stripped out of his shirt and then began on his pants.
Kamara stopped. Her annoyance turned to something more aggressive. "We're on a schedule, Kane. We don't have time for this."
"You're not the boss here, Kamara, so stop acting like it."
Kamara's dark skin turned red. "Fine," she spat. "Take care of her by yourself then. I'll meet you in the Styx for the drop-off after—don't be late."
As the twins bickered, Bailey edged farther toward the wall of greenery. The hair on Bailey's neck rose. Her eyes locked with Kamara's.
The leopard shifter said nothing but passed her a dark look and scoffed. Then she too left.
"Don't take too long," Kamara shot over her shoulder at her brother.
Kane smirked and stepped out of his pants and shoes. He eyed Bailey with a special kind of malice that left her throat dry. She opened the soulmark bond—or at least tried to.
Send the ravens. Send them, send them, send them, she thought urgently.
"Not going to shift?" Kane inquired, taking a step in her direction. Bailey pressed her lips into a flat line. She needed opposable thumbs if she wanted to climb. "And here I thought you were a fighter."
"You don't know a thing about me," Bailey snarled. Kane continued his approach. "I'm not dying here today."
