Page 46

Kerry

“So how much will this cost?” Mira handed over the phoenix sketch.

I told Yuri he could keep the design for his flash album, which would knock off some.

“You want the illusion ink like Harker? And it’s to cover a scar, da ? Three will cover it.”

“Three hundred? Good thing you got me a refund on that weeping reaper, Kerry.”

She pulled out a fistful of crumpled bills and laid them on the counter and looked pleased with herself. Yuri’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes skated over to mine.

Yeah. I shoulda figured as much.

I nodded, and saw he understood that I would cover the rest.

With a smile, he led us to a private room. That was probably from habit. He knew I hated anyone to see my scars. He settled Mira into position on a padded stool and showed her how to rest her arms in front of her. Rome took the chair next to her and said she could hold his hand if she wanted to.

She rolled her eyes, which made me snicker.

“Let’s see what we’re working with here.” Yuri rolled up the back of her shirt. “Oh, bad scar. I’m so sorry. Did you kill the one who did this?”

“Kerry did,” Mira said.

“Good.”

I listened with only half an ear as he got her set up and started to work.

I’d never been in this particular booth before and wanted to look at the framed photos of finished ink.

One caught my eye and I couldn’t look away in the same way you can’t look away from a burning building or a derailed train.

A battle scene, complete with chopped up bodies and dying horses, was tattooed over someone’s back.

In the center of the design, a black-haired woman sat on a pile of skulls and wiped her bloody lips on the back of her hand.

The detail was so fine, I could see the tongues lolling out of the severed heads at her feet.

“This piece is intense.” I pointed, and Yuri glanced up for a second.

“Susma Tamang. Da . She always did have a way with nightmares.” He shook his head and went back to work.

“We know that name, Kerry,” Rome said. “Mira said the alukah at Mammoth’s told you something about her.”

“Yeah. He said she’s dead,” Mira reminded us, then hissed. “That stung a bit.”

“Nearest the spine is the worst. And, da , the Council ordered Susma’s execution. Twenty or so years ago, I’d guess. She did nasty business and got what she deserved, but I always felt sad for her malyshka .”

How does Susma Tamang tie into this mess? And why—

“Her what?” Rome and I spoke at the same time.

“Baby girl. She couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old when Clemency caught up with Susma. Ha. That one should call himself Karma, not Clemency.”

“What happened to the baby?” Mira wanted to know.

“I imagine Clem took her to the Sanctuary.” Rome met my eyes again. “That’s the standard protocol, anyway.”

I looked at Mira’s back. The firebird was coming to life. A black haze covered Yuri’s hands, and darker flecks glittered every few seconds. His power was not only good for the illusion part, but also for speeding up the whole process.

That’s what happens when you can cut and stitch time and space.

“You know anything about the daughter?” I asked him. “I assume she lives at the Sanctuary.” He shrugged. “Or maybe her father reclaimed her, although I doubt that very much.”

“Why? Who was her father?” Rome asked.

“Samuel Castle.”

Oh, this just gets better and better.

“That’s the leash.” Mira looked at me, then Rome. “That’s how Hubler controls him. Or did. Reilly Argaud told you he was instructed to find a girl named Anne Tamang and put a trace on her, right?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Huh. So Hubler really did have Castle by the balls. He coulda had Argaud arrange an “accident” at any time.”

“As soon as Anne Tamang left the Sanctuary with her team, no doubt Hubler made his move and grabbed her,” Rome said.

“Of course, we’re assuming Castle knew about his daughter and cared enough about her that it would work to use her as a leash,” Mira pointed out with a frown.

“We haven’t found anything else that makes as much sense.” Feeling the tension tightening up my shoulders, I tilted my head to one side until my neck cracked, then did the same on the other side.

“How did Hubler find out Castle had a daughter?” Rome asked. “Was it common knowledge at the time, Yuri?”

“ Da . Susma and Samuel did not keep their relationship a secret, and they were very popular in certain circles. Anyone from our world could have heard about it, especially those who follow a darker path or hunt those who do.”

“I’m hunting Castle,” I pointed out in a helpful way, in case Yuri didn’t know.

“Are you going to challenge him?” he asked without looking up from his work. “If so, I might set up a few wagers. I would have made a fortune if I’d known you planned to challenge Og the other night.”

“My girl was kidnapped, courtesy of the Alchemists. Castle had a hand in it. You can spread the word I’m looking for him, and anyone who helps me get my girl back will be well rewarded.”

“Is she a miracle worker? If so, a prince of Hell offered an indulgence for her.” He shook his head. “No one will bite on the hook you’re dangling when such a lure is already in the water.”

“Gemma’s a healer.” My hands tightened into fists. “And an indulgence don’t matter if you ain’t alive to use it.”

Yuri lifted his eyes, but only held my gaze for half a second. When he spoke again, he kept his voice low and soft.

“You never showed me what you designed for yourself, Harker. Don’t tell me you intend to leave here without new ink of your own. That would be a first.”

Maybe he’d seen the monster peering out of my eyes and wanted to distract me.

Maybe he just wanted to make a few more grand tonight.

Either way, he was right. I did have an idea for a new tat.

As he worked on Mira, I opened my sketchbook and looked it over.

I’d finished it weeks ago and had been building up the courage to show it to Gemma.

An unexpected doubt made me pause.

I wasn’t sure how my angel felt about my tattoos. She didn’t seem repelled by all the ink, but that didn’t mean she liked it, either.

She’s an innocent girl with a quiet personality who crochets and sings in the freaking choir. She probably hates them.

“Do you think she minds all my tats?” I shared the worry out loud before I knew I was gonna do it.

“Who, Gemma?” Rome chuckled. “Nah. She thinks they’re sexy.”

“How do you know that?” I demanded.

“One night when we were hiking, she and the other girls stayed up giggling and talking in Tara’s tent. It was right next to mine. I tried not to listen—”

“I’ll bet you tried real hard,” Mira interrupted.

“They were loud. I couldn’t ignore it.” Rome shrugged his massive shoulders.

“What else did you hear?” I kinda wanted to know, but kinda didn’t.

“Nothing I’m comfortable sharing. I only told you that because I could see you working yourself up over it. Besides, what you said to Mira applies to you, too. You get a tat because it means something to you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

“It matters what she thinks. Her opinion is the only one I care about.”

“Rome, I know you don’t have any ink.” Mira turned her head to him. “Does that mean you don’t think it’s sexy?”

“Baby girl, that tattoo and where you’re getting it is the sexiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.”

“I don’t need to hear that!” I put my hands over my ears.

“All done.” Yuri scooted his stool back. “You can stand up and have a look.”

I wanted to examine his work, but she was fussing around to get a better view in the mirror.

“Hold still,” I griped.

“It’s my moment, Kerry Harker.”

Rolling my eyes, I waited until she was satisfied, then took a good look. None of the scar showed, and Yuri had recreated my sketch flawlessly.

“Very nice,” I complimented him.

He bowed in an old-fashioned way.

Some older nephs are like that. I guess they get their decades mixed up.

The funniest is when they get a few centuries’ worth of slang and idioms all muddled together with today’s language.

Once, my friend Hinge said, “I’ll get in the soup if I chew the fat with you any longer, bro.

I gotta bounce, like, now, or Bit will be frosted and totally get in my grill. ”

I still don’t understand half of what he was saying that night.

“ Nice ? It’s exquisite !” Mira threw up her arms and spun in a circle. “I love it!”

“You’re going to crash into something.” Rome put his hands on her hips and pulled her down onto his knee. “Yuri needs to finish you up so Kerry can have his turn.”

“Oh. Right.”

She sat still as Yuri spread petroleum jelly on her back, then covered it with a bandage. After he cleaned his gear and the table, he held out his hand and made a grabby motion with his fingers.

“Let’s see what you have planned for yourself.”

“Let us see, too,” Mira demanded.

“You can see it when it’s done,” I told her.

Glad my sketchbook had perforated pages, I tore it out and gave it to Yuri. He studied it in silence for a minute, then raised his eyes to meet mine.

“This is your lady?”

“Yeah.”

“I am sorry she was taken from you.”

“Me, too.”

“Castle works for the Alchemists.” He spoke slowly now and dropped his eyes back to the paper. “If they do have her, I fear for her.”

Power glittered on my skin, and I couldn’t talk as I fought for calm.

“We don’t think they do,” Rome said for me.

“I’ll tell you this because it’s not much of a secret anymore.

Kerry’s asking questions too loudly. A djinni named Darius carried her off while we were in battle with his master’s forces.

We think Darius is going to barter her for the seal that enslaves him and his brothers. ”

“Solomon’s seal.” Yuri nodded. “Why would Fire barter a healer for it?”

So Yuri knows that Fire is the leader of the Alchemists.

“He thinks she’s that miracle worker the demon prince wants,” Rome told him.

“It’s a long story,” Mira added.