BROKEN BLADE (21 page)

Justin flexed a hand and laid it on the wall.

I heard him murmuring and my skin started to crawl as his magic flooded the air. Power ripped out of the very earth as he strengthened the wards. No way she was going to miss—

Oh. 
Oh…
something more subtle whispered just under
those
wards. Something quieter. Much quieter. For a split second, black dots swarmed my vision as the death ward danced in between the wards I already had wrapped around my place.

I recognized it only because he’d used it once.

It was the ward he’d used when he’d gone after the child killer—if things went bad in here, that ward would trigger. “Think it’s going to get that ugly?”

He flicked me a look. “You want to risk it?”

“No.”

His eyes practically glowed from the magic—it always made him a little crazy. “I left you an exit. Take it fast.”

I just stared at him. He knew that wouldn’t happen.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary. One word from him was all it would take to trigger that sucker.

One word…or…you know, his unexpected death.

A moment later, the door swung open and there she was, in her spooky, ancient splendor. That same smile curved her lips up. “May I enter?”

Show time
…

Leaning back, I rested my hand on the Desert Eagle. I had to research more and figure out what might kill the really, really ancient. If she was my kind, I’d go with copper. If she was a witch, iron. She almost felt like a cross between the two…maybe I should try for both.

“You know, generally in a place of business, you don’t have to ask permission,” I pointed out. “People run businesses to make money. That’s pretty much an open invite.”

The woman shrugged. It was an easy, elegant gesture that sent the pretty, jewel-laden necklace around her neck shimmering. The necklace was silver. If she had silver against her skin, I could bet silver wouldn’t do her in. Mark that one out.

“I don’t always know…or care…about modern rules,” she told me. “May I enter?”

Now that was a shocker—an old creature who didn’t get or care for modern rules, whether they were spoken or not. It told me something about her, though. She was a creature of habit,
her
habits, and she had an odd thing for courtesy, it seemed. “Yeah, you can enter. I’ve got questions for you and you’ll need to answer them before I can make a decision on this job.”

A smile flirted with the corners of her lips. “Questions…isn’t the money enough of an answer?”

“Money doesn’t answer questions.” I plucked one of the coins up, the one bearing the depiction of Alexander the Great. It was pure chance that it was the one that my fingers had found out of the mess, but seeing his face made me itch inside. So old. Had she known him?

Spinning the coin around, I showed her the image of Alexander. “Some of these coins are more than two thousand years old.”

She arched a brow. “That only increases the worth, I would think.”

“True.” I tossed the coin into the air and caught it, a restless, absent gesture. Abruptly, I tossed it at her, hurling it as fast as I could. She caught it, snake-quick and without flinching. “Any idea who is on that coin?”

She glanced down, bored. “Alexander the Great.” She threw it back at me and I caught it.
Ouch
—she had one hell of a throwing arm. Another thing to keep in mind. She was strong. Stronger than me. But who in the hell wasn’t?

“Huh.”

“Are these the questions you want to ask me?”

“Nah. I’m actually more curious about your…vase.”

Something sharpened in her eyes. Lust. Need. Longing. “Yes…let’s talk about my vase, Kit.”

“Is the picture you drew accurate?”

“Yes.” A line formed between her eyes. “It’s mine. I know it better than any other on earth ever could.”

“How long have you owned it?”

“Always.” Avid greed lit her eyes, something almost fanatical. “It’s mine…it has always been mine.”

Okay, then
.  “I’ve been researching it, but I’m not having much luck finding any information on a vase like it.”

That scary gleam left her eyes and she arched her brows. “What information do you need?”

“Oh, anything. Everything.” I lifted one of the pictures I’d printed off, skimmed the legend over, placed it back, facedown, on my desk. “Does it possess any unusual powers? Is it enchanted? Spelled?”

She rubbed her fingers against her palm, leaning back to study me with curious eyes. “It has…certain powers, yes. But they are useless to all but me.”

That was truth, my gut told me. I felt a little bit better knowing that.

“Whoever took it, do they know that?”

A coy smile curved her lips. “That…I cannot say. It’s possible they think it possesses its own…magic. If that’s what they think, they are wrong.”

“Hmmm.” No answer there. Mentally, I shrugged. “What powers does it have when
you
come into the picture? Death? Destruction? The plague?”

Something flashed in her eyes and she leaned forward. “Come on, Kit…don’t play games. Ask what you really want to know.”

Okay. Might as well go for broke. “What happened when you opened the box, Pandora?”

She started to laugh.

I’ve read books where people were described as having a ‘bell-like’ laugh. Isidore’s… Pandora’s… whoever she was, her laugh came pretty close. But it didn’t put me in the mind of anything light or happy.

No, it made me think of something sinister.

For whom the bell tolls
…

Yeah, it was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

As her laugh faded away, she propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her chin on her upraised fist, studying me with amusement in her eyes. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you, Kit?”

“Not clever enough…I haven’t figured out the answer to that question yet.” Behind the shield of my desk, I curled my hand around the grip of the leaf-blade Damon had given me and waited.

“If you had to name the evils of the world, what would you say they are?”

Jude’s face flashed through my mind and I tightened my grip on the blade. I wasn’t going to break down. Not here. Not in front of her. I couldn’t. But if I had to name an evil, I’d name him.

Instead of giving voice to that, I shrugged. “I don’t buy into the myth as it’s written. Death, sickness…man is going to get sick and die. In this life, at least. I don’t buy that you opened the box and suddenly man lost his immortality.”

“Hmmm. Again, clever girl.” She leaned forward now, her eyes practically glowing. “But how does that answer my question?”

“If I answer yours, are you going to answer
mine
?”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I’ll be more inclined.”

More inclined
. I held her gaze. “I’m not working this job blind. If you want me to take it, you’ll have to give me more information.” Then I shifted my attention away from her, staring at the pages littering my desk. “The evils of the world…greed is one, I guess. It’s not a bad thing to like money, but if you love it above all else, it leads to bad things. Addiction…en—”

“You’re not being honest,” she chided. Lacing her fingers together, she cocked her head to the side and smiled at me. “Kit, you can read a lie on a person as easily as you can read a book. And you’ve already…noticed a similarity between us. Don’t tell me you haven’t. If
you
can read a lie, what makes you think I can’t?”

“I’m not lying.” I looked at her, clenching my jaw. “Those are evil things.”

“Evil, maybe…but that’s not what you think of when you first think of evil.” Then she settled back in the chair, her smile taking on a catlike satisfaction. “It might make it a little more interesting if I tell you the legend was tampered with…and it’s far older than what people think. Even the oldest scholar doesn’t understand how old the myth of the vase is.”

My breath seemed to lodge in my throat. “And what about the evils you let out? Ever thought about putting them back in?”

Pandora shrugged. “You would have to know more about those evils before the answer would make sense. Death…sickness…just what did I loose when I opened the box?”

And the words she spoke next made the oxygen inside my lungs seem to dwindle down into nothing.

* * * *

I was still trying to process it as she left.

No matter what happened, I needed to find the vase. Once I did that, I’d figure out the next step.

“That were is back out there,” Justin said, his voice calm, like we hadn’t just had a monster walk out of the office.

“I know.” I swallowed and focused on the coins she’d given me the other day. I’d wanted to throw them at her. But I hadn’t.

“Any idea what he wants?”

“No.” Slumping in my seat, I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, although my throat was really, really tight. It was almost impossible, sucking air in now. “Bigger problems at the moment, right?”

“Yep.” His voice was closer and I cracked open an eye, watched as he came over and settled in the chair across from me. His green eyes were unreadable and his magic was a steady, soothing presence.

No matter what I chose to do, he was going to back me up. And if I made the wrong choice and ended up dead, so would he. It wasn’t a comforting thought.

“You’re taking the job, aren’t you?” He leaned back in the chair and pulled out his tattered deck of cards. Our gazes met as he shuffled them and I watched him flip one into the air.

“I think I have to,” I said. I thought about all the legends behind the box…vase. Yeah. Vase. It was hers. It had always been hers—
that
was one thing I was certain about. It was meant to be hers. Whether she should have opened it—if that was what happened—I don’t know, but it was hers and it needed to stay that way. Something told me that thing came with power and objects of power were best left alone. If she wasn’t the one in possession of it, that just added up to bad things in my book.

“After what she just told us.” He nodded slowly and then asked, “Why?”

I rose, my hand still curled around the grip of my new sword. Apparently, it had become my security blanket. I laid it down across the surface of my desk and moved to the wall holding my weapons. I started to pull down the ones I needed, tucking them away, threading the garrote into my collar, another into my belt, knives into their various places in my vest, along my waist and two in each boot.

“Because it’s hers. Not matter how many times I spin this, it always comes back to that. It’s a relic, and something tells me it’s got power in it—even if it’s power only she can manipulate, they go together. Objects of power don’t belong in the hands of those who don’t understand that power.” I knew that all too well. I’d ended up with a few of those objects of power and they still creeped me out. Crouching in front of the trunk, I opened it and studied the contents inside. There was a strap holding a pair of fingerless gloves in place. I grabbed them and pulled them on. They were black and heavy as hell, thanks to a webbing of silver and iron mesh between sturdy layers of cotton and leather. If I got into a knock-down-drag-out, I’d do more damage with those than with my bare fists. “Even if the vase only responds to her, if it has power, then it needs to be with the person best suited to care for it, not just some thieves who made off with it.”

“What if she’s not
meant
to have it—maybe
that
is why it was stolen.”

“Already thought of that.” I rose and looked back at him. “And if I get a bad vibe at any time, I’ll reevaluate. Right now, we focus on finding it. Then we cross the next bridge when we come to it.” I didn’t want to ask, but I better do it now. “That is, assuming you’re still
with
me on this.”

The scowl on his face almost made me smile. “Like I’m going to let you do it alone.”

Chapter Sixteen

The following morning, I was supposed to meet with Es. She’d emailed me back late yesterday—her reply had consisted of four simple words.

Come see me, Kitasa
.

That was it.

Well, I’d wanted short and simple. Be careful what you wish for.

Seems like I’d spent most of yesterday spinning my wheels—technically, I could call it
research
although I hadn’t learned anything. Justin had gone off to do his witchy shit, although he hadn’t unearthed anything, either. If he had, he would have called me.

Now I had to drive across half of Florida. Wasting my time. I felt like there was a clock ticking away in my ear. I was getting ready to go when Justin called.

“I’ve got a consult.”

“Yeah?” I checked the mirror and had to fight the urge to reach for a pair of scissors. I needed to get my bangs out of my face and most of my hair was just about down to my collar. “I’ve got one, too.”

“Who and where?”

“Es. Her place.” I put the phone on the counter. “Go to speaker.”

His voice filled the bathroom around me as I reached for a comb and combed my hair into sections. “Who are you meeting with?”

“A couple of witch historians. I want more info on Pandora, or whoever she claims to be. They won’t meet me at your place. I won’t meet them at their place. We found some neutral ground a few miles from the Lair, of all places. Meet’s at ten.”

“Historians?”

“Yeah.” I heard him sigh, heard the frustration in his voice as he said, “We got to start somewhere, right? Why the meeting with Es?”

“Something she said once. I think she might know something about the vase. Or I could be off on a wild goose chase.”

“It’s a start, especially seeing as how the bitch didn’t give us any idea where to start.” He paused and then asked, “You think it’s true? That shit she said?”

My gut twisted a little. “I don’t know. I need to go. Don’t want to keep Es waiting. Let me know how your meet goes.”

“Will do.”

The line went dead and I finished braiding my hair. Two short braids framed my face, baring the tattoos. If it wasn’t for those, and the look in my eyes, I probably would have looked about twelve years old. As it was, I might have passed for twenty.