Page 7

Kerry

Once I got to the pens, it didn’t take long to find who I was looking for. A man with long gray hair and longer, whiter beard stepped out of the gloom.

“Harker? Is that you? I thought you were dead.”

“Yeah, it’s me. Good to see you, Kas.”

“You look sehr gut !”

“I got a better offer and upgraded.” I shook my head, hardly believing I was here and doing this again. “I need some party favors for this weekend. What do you got?”

“It’s a day after the full moon! But you’re in luck. The Jungen brought in two nephs just tonight.”

Oh, thank everything Holy they weren’t sold before I got here.

“One is as lovely as a rose,” he said, “and the other is both pretty and a fighter. She’ll be entertaining.”

“Good!” I grinned because I knew he expected me to. “Wait. They ain’t spoiled, are they?”

“Don’t insult me. You know what happened to the last man who violated the merchandise.”

“Yeah, he’s still looking for his nuts.” I didn’t have to fake my grin this time.

Like I told the guys on the way here, Kasparian had some honor.

He may have been a neph who paid others to kidnap living beings that he then trafficked, but he was dead serious about the condition of ‘the merchandise’ while it was in his keeping.

If you damaged the goods, he made you pay, and his prices were steep.

Needless to say, there weren’t many repeat offenders.

He led me downstairs to the pens, which were rough wooden rooms with cots, a faucet in the wall over a drain in the floor, and a toilet.

The female pen held my two friends, who wore yellow hoods over their heads.

Gigi huddled in a corner, her hands and feet bound in iron clamps and chained together.

Mira was nearby, hogtied with duct tape and rope.

Their clothing was dirty, but not torn, and neither one was bleeding.

“The fierce one.” Kasparian pointed to Mira. “She tore through the chains like they were tissue paper.”

“Nice.” Both girls froze at my voice and I prayed they’d play along. This was the only sticky part of the plan. “You ain’t got nothing else?”

“ Nein . Only these two.”

“Too bad. Well, I’ll take them. Let’s see. Hundred for the smaller one and one fifty for the fighter?”

Kasparian pretended to think it over, but it was a fair offer and we both knew it. And neither of us were the type to haggle over a few grand. He agreed and asked how I wanted to pay. I dangled the black velvet bag in front of him.

“Diamonds? My favorite! They’re gut ones?”

“Of course. You know me. And my new boss ain’t the kind to cheat someone he wants to do business with in the future.” I wanted the act to be convincing in case I ever had to do this again.

After I passed over the ice, he asked if I needed to buy restraints.

“Got my own.” I shook my head. “Came prepared as usual.”

I took out the stack of slave bracelets and removed two from the twist tie before putting it back in my pocket. Leaning down, I slid one on Gigi’s wrist and activated it, then turned to Boots. The duct tape around her wrists was so tight, her fingers were purple.

This is gonna hurt .

I manifested a pocket knife and cut away the duct tape and rope.

She groaned in pain, but started to get to her feet.

Quickly, I dropped the knife, took one cold, swollen hand, and forced it through the second bracelet.

I powered it up, took off her hood, and grimaced a little at her black eye and bruised cheek.

Yeah, Boots is a fighter, all right.

I turned to Gigi, saw Kasparian had already released her, and gave him a nod of thanks.

“Get up,” I commanded the girls and they jumped up instantly. “Follow me, stay silent, and do nothing else without my permission.”

They were standard orders for thralls, but the words sickened me. Then I noticed Mira was walking funny and seemed to have trouble breathing.

“Hey, something’s wrong with this one. I thought you said they were in good condition.”

“One of the Junge had to take her down when she tried to escape, which is okay, but then he lost his temper.”

Oh, no. How hurt is she?

“What did he do?” I demanded.

“He wouldn’t stop kicking her once she was down.”

So she laid there, hog-tied with ribs that are probably busted, for the hour it took us to catch up.

If Chance hadn’t hit me up with calm, I woulda put Kas through the wall. He musta sensed I wasn’t happy because he held up his hands and shuffled back a few steps.

“It’s only broken ribs, Harker. Stop upstairs and get a healing on her and she’ll be fine.”

Be cool. The old Kerry Harker wouldn’t care.

“Aw, I got another thrall who can fix that. When I come back, though, you remember I was willing to take this one.”

“I’ll give you a discount next time.”

“Thanks. You know what’s fair. But I want the name of the one who kept kicking her.”

“Ah, Harker. Don’t kill him. I need him!”

“I’m just gonna remind him not to damage the goods like that.”

“I already did. He’s nursing his own ribs right now. He’s glücklich I didn’t do worse. Robideaux and his filthy temper!” Kas spat over his shoulder.

Robideaux. Oh, good. He’s been needing a beating for a long time.

We got walking again and, since Kas was in a talkative mood, I started to record on my phone.

“You going for the bounty?” he asked.

“The bounty?” I was so focused on getting the girls out so that I could get back to searching for Gemma that I didn’t have to act confused. “What bounty?”

“Where have you been?” He chuckled. “Everyone has been talking about it. A teuflisch prince is offering an indulgence for a miracle worker.”

“Oh, that. Come on, Kas. You know there aren’t any miracle workers anymore.”

Not for the first time, the thought crossed my mind that I knew two miracle workers. At any time, I could betray one of them and get Gemma back. And while I had no problems with that, she would never forgive me if I traded someone’s life for hers. I’d lose her—if I hadn’t already.

You could keep it a secret. She’d never have to know.

That voice was like sludge, dark and thick, and it oozed through my whole being. I fought against it because I didn’t want to be that monster anymore, but it was harder to ignore now that I walked the brink of panic every day.

The others will never accept that. Besides, it’d be impossible to keep it a secret when so many other people are involved. I’ll try the honorable way first.

“Wrong . There are.” Kas pulled my attention back to where it belonged. “And the prince wants one.”

“I don’t have time to chase a myth.”

“Harker! Think of it! An indulgence!” His eyes widened. “You could have anything ! You could be free—”

“Quiet! Don’t wake what’s inside me! You’re so interested, you find a miracle worker to hand over, if you can stomach throwing an innocent neph to the worst of the wolves.

” Like I had room to talk. I’d thought about doing just that less than a minute ago.

“I got more important things to take care of.”

“What? What could be more important to you?”

“Samuel Castle, for one.”

“ Gott im Himmel .” He stopped and faced me. “Don’t tangle with that one. How he has escaped the wrath of the Council all these years, I do not know.”

“Who would know the most about him?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “That witch Bennie in the Bronx? Zick Black? Tony Twenty-Two?”

“Isaac Black, of course,” he said.

“There’s someone else I wanna know about, too. About a year ago, a female neph at the Sanctuary’s college was turned into a zombie by a black magician and his apprentice—”

“Khaydari and his experiments!” he interrupted me. “Necromancer. Bad stuff.”

He spelled the name for me.

I’ve heard that name in relation to something else, too. What is it? Ah, I’ll figure it out later.

“You hear about everything.” I didn’t have to fake my admiration.

“Most of the teuflisch world comes through the market at one time or another. And it was sehr interessant . Most would not waste Divine blood like that.” He fidgeted with the end of his long beard. “Go see Pepper Crane. He may be able to help you.”

I’d never heard of Crane and asked for the contact information. After he gave it to me, I hesitated for a heartbeat, then put it out there as simple as I could.

“One more thing. I mixed it up with a group of humans and they took something from me. I want it back.”

“Ah, Harker, humans will screw you front and back and sideways, and all with innocent faces.” He shook his head and frowned. “Who are they?”

“This could get you into trouble.” It surprised me that I cared. “You know, there was a time I wouldn’t have given two craps if you got caught helping me. But my new boss gave me something I never thought possible and now I kinda do.”

“ Junge , you worry about the wrong things. I’m an old man who tends the pens. You are the only one from outside the market who talks to me as if I’m more than a mindless animal. To everyone else, I am the wall, ja ? But I’m curious, Harker. What did this new boss give you?”

“A conscience.”

He blinked, then roared with laughter.

I waited until he settled down before I said, “They call themselves the Alchemists.”

That sobered him up right quick, and his brown eyes sharpened on me.

“What did they take?”

“A treasure.” I had to swallow against the twisting knot in my throat. “A priceless treasure.”

“And what will you do when you find them?”

“Whatever it takes to get her back. No matter how heartless. No matter how reckless. No matter how ruthless.”

“They are cruel men with bottomless bank accounts. They are a little empire.”

“I’m gonna burn it all down. I already started. Ever hear of their blood bank in Pennsylvania?”

“That was you ?” He barked out a laugh. “What were you doing, anyway?”

“Destroying djinn. Nearly forty of ’em. All at once.”

He took a step back.

Yeah, old man. I’m that powerful.

The fear didn’t stop him from talking, or else it encouraged him to hold nothing back.