Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (3 page)

Hell was not getting a new rockabilly soul to add to their
collection. Nope, nada, not gonna happen.

“Ah, Miss Granger, fancy meeting you in this part of town,”
he said.  “You don’t often venture beyond the squalor.  What brings you here? 
Decide to sell your soul for the location of your accursed father?”

I have to admit, for a moment I was tempted.  Oberon’s eyes,
I was tempted, but I held onto the rage that had fueled my every move since
seeing those marks on Jinx’s body.  Nostrils flaring, I stepped toward Forneus
and with absolute precision held a knife blade to the bulge in his Armani suit
pants.

“You will never get my soul, Forneus, but we will discuss my
father later…if I let you live,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head to the side,
careful not to make any quick movements.

“Touché,” he said.  “So then,
princess
, to what do I
owe this honor?”

Yeah, I wasn’t acting like a good little princess.  Whatever. 
I was pretty sure that I wasn’t the only faerie princess to get her hands
dirty.  In fact, Queen Mab had left a trail of corpses on the way to her
throne.  Now that was a cheery thought.

“Jinx,” I said.  I paused, watching his face for clues. 
“Jinx is in trouble, but I imagine you already knew something about that.”

His reaction wasn’t what I’d expected.  Instead of a smug
grin, he looked like he’d been poleaxed.

“What do you need?” he asked.  “I am at your service.”

Crispy hellspawn on a stick, the guy was just full of
surprises.  Either that or he was a damn good actor, which was likely considering
he was an attorney…and a demon who tricked people into selling their souls.

“What I need is for you to tell me what you did to her last
night, and how to reverse it,” I said.

“As you made it so very clear at our last encounter, you
wished that I stay away from your friend,” he said.  “I have respected that
wish.”  I twitched the blade in my hand and he rolled his eyes.  “Okay, fine, I
have respected that wish…most of the time.  But I can assure you that I have
not seen Jinx in nearly a week.  Though you should know that if I had been
following her last night, nothing ill would have befallen her.  Whatever
assumptions you have made about my intentions couldn’t be further from the
truth.”

My body stiffened and my breath hitched in my throat as his
words sunk in.  Unless Forneus was lying, he had no idea what happened to Jinx
last night.  And the implication was there that if I’d let him into my friend’s
life, she’d have been safe.

“How can I trust you?” I asked.

Forneus snorted, letting out a puff of stomach churning
brimstone.  How the hell could Jinx kiss this guy?  Whether he was telling the
truth or not, I was glad for her sake that she didn’t remember that kiss. 
Locking lips with a demon was bound to give a girl nightmares.

“You will never trust me, but if you care about your friend,
then you will let me help you,” he said.  “Tell me what has happened to Jinx
and I will scour all of Hell and earth to make this right.”

The guy made a good speech.  I just hoped he wasn’t pulling
a fast one.  But with Jinx at home covered in glowing marks and looking like
death warmed over, I didn’t have much of a choice.  I could kill him or ask for
his help.  So help me, I opted for the latter.

“It’s a long story,” I said with a sigh.

“Then perhaps you could remove your blade from one of my
most impressive assets,” he said.  “I am rather fond of this body.”

Right, wouldn’t want to diminish the guy’s sex appeal,
geesh
.

I took a step back and lowered my knife, returning the blade
to the sheath beneath my leather jacket.  I tried to cover my relief by muttering
something about his sulfuric breath, but the shaking in my hands gave away my
discomfort.  Getting inside Forneus’ defenses had been a necessity—who expects
someone with a touch phobia to move toward you?—but now that the adrenaline was
wearing off, the reality that I’d come within inches of a million mind
scrambling visions hit me like an ogre’s fist.

“At least you’re in your human body,” I said.  “It’s one of
your better looks.  Can’t say I’m a fan of the whole cloven hoof thing.”

I should really learn to keep my mouth shut.  Forneus
narrowed his eyes where a firestorm was brewing, and flame danced along his fingertips. 
Great, next he’d be sprouting horns and leathery wings.  Note to self; don’t
unnecessarily piss off the demon.  I’d seen Forneus transform into his demonic
form and it wasn’t pretty.  Like I said, I’m not a fan.

“You should learn to hold your tongue, Miss Granger,” he
said.  “My feelings for your friend do not extend to your company.  I prefer
not to upset Jinx by killing you, but there are other ways to silence that unpleasant
mouth of yours.”

“Fine, I’ll play nice, yada yada yada,” I said.  “You want
to know what’s wrong with Jinx, or not?”  Forneus nodded stiffly.  “She woke up
this morning covered in glowing marks that look like…well, lips.”

The demons eyes bulged, but I continued on.  Yeah, didn’t
think he’d like that part.

“Anything else unusual?” he asked, his voice tight.

“She also looks like she hasn’t slept in a week,” I said. 
“It might be that she just has a really bad hangover, she may have had
something weird to drink, but I’m not sure.  Her last memory is of walking into
Club Nexus.  Everything after that’s a blank.”

“There are many concoctions that cause amnesia and fatigue
when imbibed by a human,” he said, pacing the sidewalk while he talked.  “We
require more information.”

“Fine, I’ll take Jinx over to The Emporium,” I said with a heavy
sigh.

I’d have to go home and convince Jinx to leave the
apartment, which she wasn’t going to like, but it was the best I could do. 
Part of me had been hoping that Forneus was the culprit, which just shows how
much I didn’t want to resort to asking the rest of the supernatural community
for assistance.  I’d exhausted my resources searching for my father, and there
weren’t many people I could still turn to for answers.

“I too will establish contact with my informants,” he said. 
“Someone must have seen whom she left the club with.”

The air around the demon blurred and, just like that,
Forneus was gone.

Oh well, Plan A was a bust.  Why couldn’t it have been
Forneus who’d left the marks?  I swallowed hard, staring at the spot where the
demon had stood.  You know your life is complicated when you’d rather fight a
demon than ask your friends for help.  I groaned and turned back toward the Old
Port.  I needed to collect Jinx and try to get some answers.

Crap, plan B it was then.

I
f there was one
person who could identify Jinx’s malady and help me find the perp who did this
(assuming it wasn’t Forneus), it was Kaye.  I trudged up Water Street, Jinx
close on my heels.  She’d abandoned her usual low-cut dress for a turtleneck
sweater and skin tight jeans.  The glowing marks on her skin were hidden, but
she couldn’t seem to keep her hand from tugging at the neck of her sweater.

“Do they itch?” I asked, breaking the silence.

It was still early for a Monday morning, and the city around
us was quiet.  Jinx flashed me a sheepish look and let her hands drop to her
sides.

“No, sorry,” she said, staring at her platform shoes. 
“Guess I keep wishing that I could rub the marks off or something.  I can’t
believe this is happening to me.”

I shook my head, lips pulling into a wry grin.

“I just hope that whoever this guy was, he wasn’t too ugly,”
I said.  “You wouldn’t be the first chick to drink too much at Nexus and end up
in bed with a snot goblin.”

Jinx pulled up short, nostrils flaring, hands going to her
hips.  Now that was the girl who stared down demons without batting an eyelash.

“You think I’d bed some nasty faerie just ‘cause I had too
much to drink?” she asked.  “I have standards!”

“It could happen,” I said with a shrug.

“That, that’s…god, Ivy,” she said.  “You’re joking aren’t
you?”

I let out an affirmative snort and continued up Water
Street, no longer so worried about Jinx.  We needed to figure out what the
marks on her body meant, sure, but it was a relief to see Jinx acting like her
old self.  She tossed her hair back and quickened her stride to catch up.

“Snot funny?” I asked.

“Is there even such a thing as a snot goblin?” she asked,
eyes narrowing.

“I hope the hell not,” I said.  “I’ve seen enough monster
goo for this lifetime.”

We turned onto Wharf Street and I crossed to the opposite
sidewalk, avoiding a vodyanoy.   Slime and muck oozed from his froglike skin and
dripped onto the cobbled street.

“Make that two lifetimes,” I muttered.

“What?” Jinx asked.

“Nothing,” I said with a shrug.

One of my fae talents is second sight.  I can see through
the glamour that most supernatural creatures cloak themselves with in order to
hide amongst humans.  With Kaye’s help, we’d come up with a recipe for faerie
ointment, a concoction that allowed Jinx to see through fae glamour, but the
ingredients weren’t cheap and it didn’t allow to her see vamps and other
supernatural beasties—only faeries.  Due to the price and its limitations, Jinx
saved the ointment for night jobs and trips to Club Nexus.  Which meant all she
saw was a sweaty guy with a long, tangled beard and a skin condition.  Too bad
I couldn’t be so lucky.

I flicked my eyes to Jinx as we passed the drippy vodyanoy. 
She was biting her lip and fidgeting with the neck of her sweater.  In other
words, she was totally freaking out.

“Do you really think Kaye can help?” she asked.

We’d come to a stop in front of a wood and brick façade
decorated in blue, purple, and gold.  Madam Kaye’s Magic Emporium may look like
a total tourist trap where suckers spend their hard earned money on useless
charms and gaudy kitsch, but it was also the home of Harborsmouth’s most
powerful witch.

Kaye O’Shay is a tough old bird with a gift for magic and a
penchant for mischief.  She also used to run with the local Hunters’ Guild, which
gave her ties to the secret society and access to their arcane records.  If
there was one person in town likely to have the knowledge we needed, it was
Kaye.

Too bad she considered Jinx to be a flaky liability.  Jinx
was a human with a knack for racking up injuries and Kaye, grudgingly, was good
at patching people up.  It didn’t take long for the two to get on each other’s
nerves.  But in our own way, Kaye and I had become wary friends over the years
and where I went Jinx followed.  If the old witch had a problem with it, that
was just too bad.

I winced inwardly and shook my head.  I had a reputation for
being stubborn, and where Jinx was concerned I could be as bull-headed as a minotaur,
but I knew I’d back down if push came to shove.  Thing is, not only was Kaye
one of the most powerful witches on the eastern seaboard, but I also owed her
big time.  When the
each uisge
invaded Harborsmouth, Kaye had helped to
turn the tide against the bloodthirsty creatures and she’d been saving my butt,
one way or another, ever since.

Instead of voicing my concerns, I nodded and flashed Jinx
what I hoped was an encouraging smile.

“Sure thing,” I said.

I reached for the door, but paused in mid-motion at the
snick,
snick
of claws on the bricks above my head.  My fingers itched to draw my
blades, but I stifled the urge and turned a smile to the massive stone face
peering down at me.

“Hey, Humphrey,” I said.  “How’s it hangin’?”

The gargoyle chuckled, making his dog-like ears twitch.

“Dude, I will never get used to that,” Jinx said, shaking
her head.

“Get used to what?” I asked.  “Laughing statues or my poor
attempt at gargoyle humor?”

“Humphrey’s laugh is definitely way creepy, but I was
actually referring to the way he seems to teleport around,” she said.  “Without
faerie ointment, I can’t see him move.  So one minute he’s up on that rainspout
and then, poof, he’s hanging over the door.  It gives me the heebie freakin’
jeebies.”

Jinx’s comments made Humphrey chuckle all the more.  It
sounded like someone tossed rocks into a coffee grinder.

“Is Kaye inside?” I asked, hooking a thumb toward the door. 
Humphrey nodded, spread his bat wings, and flew back up to his perch.  “I’ll
take that as a yes.  Ready?”

“I was born ready,” Jinx said.

She tossed her hair and strode confidently forward.  Too bad
the effect was ruined by her tripping and falling headfirst into the shop.  No
one ever accused her of being graceful.  I just hoped she wasn’t hurt.  I was
pretty sure that asking Kaye to patch Jinx up wouldn’t put the witch in the
best of moods, and take it from me—it’s never a good idea to ask the favor of a
pissed off witch.

A black cat was the only one to witness our ridiculous
entrance, though I didn’t kid myself for a second that Kaye couldn’t see
through the eyes of her familiar.  Heck, for all I knew the thing could be one
of Sir Torn’s spies.  But I turned my back on the cat and crouched down beside
Jinx.

“You okay?” I asked.

Jinx fell all the time, no big deal.  Thing was, she didn’t
look okay.  If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she’d been without sleep
for a week.  The dark circles that ringed her eyes were joining together,
making her look like a bugbear bandit.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, pulling herself up and dusting off
her hands and knees.  “I’m fine.”

“Good, let’s get this over with,” I said.

I picked my way through the winding maze of the occult shop,
stopping only when Jinx tripped or knocked something over.  If I didn’t know
better, I’d say Kaye was using her magic to make this difficult, but I didn’t
think she’d waste her powers on Jinx.  Then again, the witch was known for her
love of pranks and practical jokes.  I shook my head, unlocked the hatch in the
oddments counter, and continued down a hallway to an unmarked door at the back
of the building, Jinx close at my heels.