Misery Happens (7 page)

It was hard, so hard, while touching Raj to ignore the fear and rage he induced. His shirt was mildly sweaty, and I swore I could smell the effect of his pheromones when I breathed. But rather than picture the bond in my mind when I pulled on it, I pictured Lucen, and I didn’t pull with a heart full of vengeance but of love.

Raj couldn’t anticipate those emotions because they didn’t register with him. When I snatched at the bond, he wasn’t ready. The pure, uncontested hit of power burst through me like a shock wave. I gasped with pain, magical nerves ablaze, and Raj faltered.

This was it. Fueled by all the magic, my hand shot out faster than should have been possible. The speed charms drawn on me be damned—I didn’t need them in this instant. My fingers closed around Misery’s hilt, and I cried out just to release some of the power.

Raj dropped me, but he was an instant too slow. As I collapsed to the heap, I drew my blade down Raj’s torso. Now was he was the one yelling.

It was odd. I’d carried the knife around with me for months, but I’d never used it. The ease with which the blade sliced through Raj’s shirt and carved a red line down his stomach shocked me—it had to be part of the magic of the salamander fire. I stared up in relief and horror as Raj clutched his upper body, his eyes wide with shock. Blood poured from between his fingers.

I felt ill all over again, and the knife slipped from my grip as Raj stumbled out of my line of sight. My lips were dry, and I was still lying motionless when I heard a crash. Then the extra burst of power running through my blood, the anger and fear Raj’s presence riled up, was gone. Poofed out of existence.

I clasped a hand over my mouth, emotions numb. It could only mean that Raj was dead at last.

Chapter Seven

I kicked a partially melted stapler across the floor in frustration. Using the magic-detecting charm Lucen had brought, I’d been over every reachable inch of this husk of a building. The only thing I’d found besides more dragon droppings was Raj’s decoy. It appeared to be some sort of curse grenade that was giving off shit-tons of magic, but it definitely wasn’t the Vessel. I was going to have to call the Gryphons’ equivalent of the bomb squad to dispose of it safely.

As for Lucen, once I’d freed him from the vault, he’d returned to the upper floors to assist in the fighting, but there hadn’t been much left. The remaining furies had either fled or were injured or dead. Alas, they weren’t the only ones. Gi was mostly unscathed, but a couple other satyrs were badly hurt. Lucen had gotten Azria on the phone, and she was on her way to help with the healing.

Miraculously, my phone hadn’t been damaged, and I got it out, debating whether to first call Tom about the Vessel problem or the emergency line about the curse grenade. Lucen stepped through the busted front wall before I decided, and I lowered my phone. “How’s it going up there?”

He pushed his sweaty hair out of his face and sighed. “I think everyone will survive. How are you doing?”

“Me?” I waved my arms in circles. “All healed up from earlier. Fine.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I turned my back to him, careful to avoid glancing at where Raj lay in a bloody heap. There was so much blood that if I concentrated, I swore I could detect its coppery tang in the air.

“Little siren?”

My phone burst to life, and “Highway to Hell” seemed more appropriate than ever. I held up a finger in Lucen’s direction as I answered. Tom had made my decision for me.

“We have it.”

I tripped over a loose floorboard in surprise. “You’re talking about what I think you’re talking about?”

“Yes. I’ll fill you in when you get here, but it’s safe for the moment.” Tom paused, and I could hear voices in the background. “We have to deal with that other issue now. You’ve claimed you’re more accurate than a lie detector. If that’s true, it might be helpful.”

Tom had to be referring to the leak. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Oh, and Raj is dead.”

A brief pause on the other end suggested I’d caught Tom by surprise with the information. “Good. This evening’s been salvageable after all.” He hung up.

Good. The word summed up exactly what I was feeling. I should have been ecstatic that we had the final Vessel, but I couldn’t summon the emotion. All I could do was
good
. It had to be exhaustion. The only thing I felt with any intensity was tired.

“What was that about?” Lucen asked as I tucked my phone away.

“The Gryphons have the Vessel.” I forced a smile because damn it—it was the least I could do when I should have been dancing with joy.

Lucen’s eyes widened then his whole body sagged with relief. “Best news I’ve heard in a while.”

“Yeah. Are you okay dealing with the mess here? Tom needs me at headquarters to deal with something else.”

Shadows darkened his face as he scanned the room. “I can handle this, but does he need you this instant?”

Headlights appeared down the street behind Lucen, and a car parked along the rubble. Azria and Raf—another satyr who acted as a medic for the domus—got out.

“It’s the leak thing, so yes.” I waved to Azria. “The Vessel isn’t safe yet.”

Lucen scowled. “Neither are you. Be careful.”

“I will.” I stretched to kiss his cheek, and he brought me into a deeper embrace. Wrapping my arms around him, I tried to relax and failed. Much as I wished I could sink into him and claim the comfort he was offering, my mind raced. I needed to keep moving in spite of my exhaustion.

Lucen must have been able to tell what I was thinking. “Go, but we need to talk later.”

I wondered about what, but didn’t hang around to ask. My blood compelled me forward as though I would lose momentum if I paused, and I couldn’t afford that. The night’s checklist was two-thirds completed. Raj was dead. The Vessel was obtained. All I had left to do was find the leak.

Well, that and then figure out how to use the Vessels to close the Pit, but that was on the checklist for tomorrow. As intent on accomplishing tasks as I was, even I realized there was only so much that could be done before I collapsed.

* * * * *

When I’d left Gryphon headquarters two hours ago, it was mostly dead. When I returned, it was bustling. Many of the Gryphons who’d been sent out to search for the Vessel or assist with the blockades were returning. Somehow, amidst the chaos, Tom found me immediately.

“Where is it? Is it safe?” I accosted him with questions before he could get a word in. “Have you started the investigation yet?”

Tom yawned and motioned for me to follow him into his office. “It’s locked up and under heavy protection. And no, I was waiting for the Brotherhood’s members to all return before I started asking questions. I don’t want to give away our hand yet.”

“Give away what hand?” I moved aside a couple books and sat on Tom’s desk. It took less effort than clearing a chair.

Tom ripped open an unmarked manila envelope that was sitting by his computer. “There are ways to get around lie detectors. But if no one knows we’re going to question them, then no one has a chance to try to counteract this.” From the package, he took out a vial filled with blue liquid.

“Is that some kind of lie-detecting charm?” Polygraphs were useless on preds and magi, so the Gryphons had developed magical means of encouraging truth telling.

“Basically.” Tom handed it to me to inspect. “It’s no more foolproof than a standard polygraph, but it helps. I had someone in the Boston lab make it while we were searching for the Vessel. Then I remembered your claim. Between this and you, I figure catching the leak should be simple.”

“You should know better than to believe anything around here is ever simple.”

Tom’s smile was grim but not without humor. “It’s all relative. Compared to closing the Pit, this had better be.”

“Stop it. Your optimism is giving me a rash.”

“Is it feeding off others’ misery that makes you so negative?” Tom took the vial from me and stuck it in a pocket. “We just scored an important victory. Step one in closing the Pit. It’s not time to throw a party, but perhaps we can afford a bit of optimism.”

I crossed my arms and slid off the desk. “Last I knew, you were accusing me of not taking the situation seriously enough. Also, last I knew, the Pit is still open and we don’t know
how
to close it or if we have all the pieces. I don’t see what there is to be cheery about if I’m being serious.”

“That’s true, but one thing I’ve learned since joining the Gryphons is that it’s important to celebrate the little victories, otherwise you become overwhelmed.” Tom pressed a couple buttons on his phone, and mine vibrated with the arrival of his text. “Let’s go accomplish another one.”

He headed past me, and I followed him out of the office. I could taste the anger simmering under his calm, optimistic surface. Tom was furious that his precious fraternity could have a leak, and I understood that. He felt betrayed by someone in it, much like I felt betrayed by everyone in it. I hoped victory in this would be more satisfying for him than killing Raj had been for me.

I shivered, uncomfortably aware of what I’d just thought. Not liking the implications, I pushed the memory of Raj from my head and focused on the task ahead.

“So how are we going to—?” An icy lime fear shot through me. The jolt of energy that came with it was such an intense emotion that it made the sensation a bit like sucking on a frozen margarita. But frozen margaritas sounded good. This, I could tell from experience, was not.

I grasped the conference room door, attempting to locate the general direction of the emotion’s source.
Le Confrérie de l’Aile
members were decked out in charms that dampened their emotions, making it harder for preds to prey on them. But from dealing with Tom, I knew the charms were only so successful with strong feelings. “We don’t need this meeting. I’ve found your leak.”

Tom had seen me in action enough that he didn’t question how I knew. Well, not much. “You can’t be positive what you’re sensing is from a fraternity member, can you?”

“No, but someone is panicking with the intention to run minutes after you request a meeting with the Brotherhood? It can’t be a coincidence.”

Tom’s blue eyes darted between me and the vial he’d taken out of his pocket. “No one should know what this meeting is about. But all right, check it out. If you’re wrong, I have this and everyone assembled.”

I didn’t wait around for any additional instructions. Someone with the intent to flee wasn’t going to do me any favors and leave a note about where they went. I barreled through the hall and burst into the stairwell, almost skidding down the steps in my haste.

Tracing the emotion’s source was an awful lot like using my bond with Raj to seek him out. But whereas that had felt unnatural and new, picking out emotions was second nature to me. I’d been doing it for ten years whether I wanted to or not.

Headquarters’ current state made it easy too. Most of the people here were tired. If they felt anything besides that, it was the same generic anxiety that permeated the city. In some cases, the anxiety was mixed with a mild annoyance at having to work an extra shift.

Almost to the ground floor, my feet thudded against the concrete steps. Only when I hit the landing did I discover my error—the emotion’s taste was getting weaker again. Damn it. The person I was searching for hadn’t gotten this far yet.

My magical buzz and determination were all that kept me moving. My muscles whined at me as I forced my legs up the previous flight, and my lungs weren’t much more pleased. Sweat broke out on my neck. It occurred to me that after everything I’d been through tonight, I probably didn’t smell so sweet.

Oh well. I shoved the stairwell door open and ran right into someone on the other side. He visibly shook off the impact, and I swore in surprise.

Apologizing, I assessed the obstacle in my way. The other Gryphon was a member of
Le Confrérie
, an Indian man who’d introduced himself as Kevin, though I was ninety-nine percent certain that wasn’t his real name. I was also ninety-nine percent certain that he wasn’t the source of the panic I was sensing.

“Sorry,” I muttered again, this time to atone for my language since I’d never heard the man swear. “Did you see any other members of the Brotherhood go that way?” I motioned down the hall.

“Just Theo’s down there. He said he had to gather things to bring to Tom.”

Theo. Of course. I could have slapped myself for not figuring it out.

Theo was on my short list of possible suspects because he was one of the eleven Gryphons who had been given access to all the leaked information. Plus, Theo was the fraternity’s charm-making expert. He spent more time in the labs than anywhere else. Tom hadn’t been dumb enough to ask a
Le Confrérie
member to make his truth serum, but if Theo had seen a Boston Gryphon working on it and had asked why…

“See you upstairs,” I called to Kevin as I willed my feet to move.

Unfortunately, surprise was not entirely on my side. Theo couldn’t sense me coming, but he was quite capable of hearing my pounding feet approach and putting the facts together. Not being an idiot, he didn’t wait around to confirm his suspicion.

He must not have bothered to change out of his uniform before running because a streak of black and gold disappeared around a line of cubicles. He was heading toward the lab area, a bad choice but not one I’d begrudge him since I was chasing.

Although Theo knew the lab section better than I did, I had three advantages. One, I carried nothing and he had a pack of belongings on his back. Two, the adrenaline boost his fear provided him was nothing compared to the magical hit it gave me. And three, while we were both charmed out the ass for additional speed—ironically from glyphs drawn by him—I had bonus magic that the satyrs had given me.

I caught up to him as he rounded the next corner. My fingers brushed his sleeve, and as he turned, his hand closed around some curse he undoubtedly intended to aim my way. The only weapon I carried was my knife, and that wouldn’t be much help. Luckily, looking at me to aim meant Theo wasn’t looking where he was going. He banged his shoulder into a doorframe.

He faltered from the impact, giving me the additional second I needed. I tackled him, knocking the curse out of his grip and forcing him to the linoleum. Theo was no slouch in hand-to-hand combat, and we struggled on the floor, neither gaining the upper hand but both of us definitely earning plenty of bruises.

Finally, I swiped the curse container from his reach. Theo slammed an arm into my stomach, but his angle diminished the blow’s force. I grunted with pain, but my fingers grasped the trigger on the curse container and pulled.

The magical spray hit him in the chest. Instantly, his body went limp and his eyes closed. Body aching and my lip bleeding from where he’d decked me, I climbed out from beneath him. Theo’s breaths came long and steady, suggesting the curse was some kind of sleeping charm.

Lovely. I was the one busting my ass, and it was the traitor who got to nap.

* * * * *

Half an hour later Theo’s hands were bound and Tom dosed him with the counter-curse. He darted awake, swiveling around in his chair and taking in his handcuffs and the interrogation room’s beige walls. Resignation weighed down his face, and fear was no longer his predominant emotion. It was sweet, vanilla sadness. Odd.

In my experience, two emotions tended to prevail in people who were discovered to be lying or deceiving. Anger was the main one, probably at either the person who called them out on their lies or at themselves for getting caught. Running beneath that was almost always a salty-flavored embarrassment. Sadness was new to me.

Theo’s gaze moved from Tom to Ingrid and settled on me. Again, where I’d have expected anger aimed at me for capturing him, I picked up on a mild fear instead.