Page 28 of Ride or Die (The Body Shop #5)

“Better the devil you know.” I did my best to appear contrite.

“I met my father—creator?—as I’m sure a certain little birdie told you.

” A twitch set up camp beneath his left eye.

“He wants me to usher in a new era of Alcheyvāhā. He’s got big plans for me.

” The twitch began contorting his features. “Plans that don’t involve my siblings.”

Hey.

If everyone else was using them as leverage, I might as well too.

A kernel of understanding lightened his features. “I see.”

“He wants me to become this power broker,” I lied through my teeth, feeding his worst fears to him as facts, “awarding Alcheyvāhā magic to anyone who pays his fee or meets his conditions or however he plans on charging people. But he won’t protect my siblings from the fallout.

He thinks I’ll be more powerful without them holding me back, and I must politely disagree.

I don’t want them targeted for access to me. ”

“You want to barter your siblings’ safety,” he said carefully, “in exchange for granting me access to the burial grounds.”

“I’ve spoken to Anunit. She understands the importance of family. She’s willing to bargain this one time. But only with you, and only if you swear to me you’ll keep Matty and Josie safe.”

“I’m not opposed to those terms.” The pinched lines around his eyes eased a fraction more. “I’ll even let Kierce help with security.”

Giddiness bubbled up in me that he got there before I had to nudge him.

“As much as I would love that, I can’t trust Kierce alone with my family.

Not after you showed me how quickly he can be turned against us.

For this to work, I’m going to need more certainty than that.

” I kept my eyes clear, my voice strong.

“I want Kierce released from his Viduus duties and his service to you.”

Dis Pater had the gall to laugh in my face, but his amusement was cut short as a black cloud materialized around Ankou in a darting frenzy.

“What is the meaning of this?” its smokey voice demanded of him. “Release my vassal.”

Ithas.

Ithas was here.

But if he was here, then…Lucia…

No. There was no time to dwell. I had to focus if I wanted to stay alive.

“I don’t think I will.” Dis Pater cut his eyes toward me. “Your daughter wants me to release Kierce from my service, so I’ll require a new Viduus. Ankou has been with you for centuries. He’s practically already trained. I can’t ask for a better trade than that.”

“You did this.” Ithas swarmed in my direction. “What do you hope to accomplish?”

“Dis Pater has something I want, and this was a guaranteed way to get his attention.”

Black dots thrummed like angry bees. “What does he have that I can’t give you?”

“Dis Pater will protect my siblings in exchange for exclusive access to the burial grounds.”

“I could offer that?—”

“Kierce is the protection he’s offering.”

“Kierce will never be loyal to you. He can’t be. Not so long as he’s bound to Dis Pater.”

“Yet another reason for Ankou to switch teams. That frees Kierce up to be released from service.”

The dots thinned to mist once more, swirling angrily. “You have no idea what that would do to him.”

“Make him remember he’s Berchem?” I savored their momentary shock that I knew the truth, that I wasn’t buckling under the pressure of god glass. “Make him remember what you did to Dinorah?”

In hindsight, Ankou and his divine tree had been leading up to this moment.

The fruit was never meant for the sisters who lorded over the commune of battered women seeking refuge from their abusers.

The entire fiasco had been orchestrated by Dis Pater to lure me in.

Had I not lost a loaner to the commune, I wouldn’t have discovered the Alcheyvāhā, and I wouldn’t have met Anunit.

From all accounts, they hadn’t expected her to experience a connection with me. Maybe they hadn’t meant to disturb the fallen goddess in her sanctuary of bones, but their plan worked a little too well.

Whatever their original intentions, I had surpassed and usurped them.

Both beings remained silent, staring at one another, and then the dam burst.

“What have you done?” Dis Pater snarled his upper lip. “You gave her back her memories?”

“You’re the one who extolled the virtues of god glass,” Ithas snarled back. “Clearly your methods failed if she recognizes him. I warned you, and you refused to listen. Your pet will kill you if she rouses him.”

A speck of relief coasted across Dis Pater’s features, and that couldn’t mean anything good for me.

“Kierce is no one’s pet,” I growled, every bit as feral as the goddess beside me.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, as usual.” Dis Pater zeroed in on me. “You want me to set Kierce free? To remove the block on his mind and allow him to recall his past? That’s what you want?”

There was a trap. Its jaws yawned wide before me. But I couldn’t see how to evade it. “Yes.”

“Suit yourself.” He spread his hands. “Here’s a sample of how sweet freedom will taste for him.”

Nothing happened, not as far as I could tell, and that somehow made it that much worse.

And then my borrowed phone rang.

Eyes locked on the divine entities before me, I answered with trembling hands. “Matty?”

With a wave of his hand, Dis Pater summoned a wavering barrier between us and Ithas’s mist.

The magic binding Ankou as an offering must have paralyzed him at the gesture for him to hold so still.

“Kierce is screaming. We can hear him through the walls of the crypt.” He sounded out of breath. “What happened out there? Is Ankou fucking with the bullet or—” He covered the receiver with his hand, never a good sign. “Get this door open. I don’t care how you do it. Get it open now.”

Harrow. That was Harrow in the background. I heard him casting.

That made twice he had used his magic without hesitation, and I had never been more grateful.

“Why can’t you get the door open?” I pivoted toward the building, sweat pouring down my spine, and I planted my feet to keep from running to Kierce. “Answer me. Tell me what’s happening. Mary?”

Stone scraped in my ears, and metal whined loud. An explosion rippled out to where I stood, and I was a second from breaking before Anunit pressed her paw to the top of my shoe, signaling for me to wait. For me to follow the plan. But every muscle strained toward Kierce, urging me to his side.

“He broke the bench. Fuck. How powerful is he?” Matty panted harder. “The slab. It got wedged behind the door. Don’t know if he used magic or what.” He grunted out more swears then fell silent as he got inside the crypt. I could tell by the volume, the echo. “What do we do?”

Agonized roars poured out of Kierce, and a crackling warned he was charging his lightning.

“He’s holding his head in his hands and screaming.” Matty cursed under his breath. “I’m going to try?—”

Scuffles broke out, more voices rushed in, and Matty yelped once as Badb screeched into the phone.

“We’ve got to get out of here.” Carter had taken possession of the phone. “He’s smashing his face into the stone and begging for it to stop. I don’t know what it is, but he’s digging his fingers into his scalp like he’s going to rip his head open to get it out.”

Memories.

They were tearing him apart, destroying his mind. There would be nothing left of Kierce—or Berchem—if Dis Pater didn’t reinstate the god glass to hold the worst at bay. Dis Pater had ruined him. Kierce was a torrent of mania without his master holding back the tide.

“Restrain him,” I croaked, my heart guttering like a candle on the verge of extinguishing.

“Containment is the best I can promise.”

The call ended, and before I could slide the phone back in my pocket, Dis Pater was there.

“That is the cost of freedom,” he said merrily. “Still sure you want that for him?”

“You fucking bastard.” I curled my hands into fists. “You did this.”

“He’s ancient, mouthy girl. I spared him by erasing his memories every century or so except for the most pertinent details.

Now he’s remembering everything. Things he’s done.

People he’s killed. Lives he’s ruined.” He leaned down until his hot breath hit my ear.

“He’s remembering who he is, how he got here, and who you are.

Well, parts of who you were . Can you imagine his horror?

Learning he’s fallen in love with an experiment whose main components were stolen from his mate? His one true love?”

My phone rang again, jarring me from his spite.

Sweat coated my palm when I answered, and I held my breath when I asked, “How is he?”

“Carter and Harrow have him pinned down,” Josie said, taking her turn with updates.

“I bound his wrists and ankles with vines, but he’s too strong to hold for long.

If we let him go, he’s going to keep going until he knocks himself out.

His head is…” She swallowed hard. “He nearly cracked his skull like an egg.”

This wasn’t my choice. I had no right to make it for him. He ought to decide for himself, but he would kill himself if I didn’t stop him. Worse, he might end up like Ithas in the myth where he died every night only to be healed by morning in time for his torment to start all over again.

There was no right answer. There was only a humane one. And he might never forgive me for it.

Eyes sliding shut, I hated myself for taking the easy way out. “Put the god glass back.”

“Oh.” Dis Pater acted surprised. “You don’t want me to free him?”

“I don’t want him to suffer.”

“Yes or no, mouthy girl.”

“No.” I ground my teeth, anger carving tracks through my heart into my soul. Because part of me, and it wasn’t a small part, was glad Kierce would remain Kierce. “Shove those monsters back under his bed.”

“Done.” He tapped the phone still clutched in my hand. “Verify it if you want.”

Pulse thundering in my ears, I dialed Matty’s number and waited for someone to answer. “Update.”

“He’s gone quiet.” Josie still had the phone. “I think he might be unconscious. From the head wounds.”

“Call if he wakes up again or if he gets worse.”

I ended the call before she could say anything to sway me.

“Lift the kill order,” I countered Dis Pater. “He can’t protect my family if he’s trying to murder me every five minutes.”

Smug reassurance wreathed his face, the look of a man who had won. “And should I need his services?”

“Summon him.” I choked on the words. “But Kierce stays with us.”

Assuming he could stand to look at me when this was said and done.

“I will free Kierce of any orders that could result in harm to you or yours, but I will hold on to his reins.”

Bitterness flooded my mouth, but I swallowed it down. “All right.”

“And, in exchange, you will grant me—and only me—unlimited access to the burial grounds.”

“That was not the agreement,” Ithas burst through the barrier. “I created her.”

“With the tools I gave you. Your experiments would have failed without Dinorah.” He thrust out his arm, and lightning pierced the whirl of black.

Wisps crackled and popped, a few falling like embers, but Ithas hadn’t fully manifested, and there was nothing for Dis Pater to strike, really.

“I refuse to fall prey to time and allow it to erode me. I won’t wait any longer.

I tire of your infernal tinkering. I claim this girl as my payment and declare our bargain done. ”

With a rumbling shriek of protest, Ithas vanished into nothing, leaving a stunned Ankou behind.

An emotion that struggled hard to become pity swamped me. “What will you do with him?”

Thanks to my failed bargain for Kierce’s freedom, I had booted Ankou from the Viduus job.

“No idea.” He flicked his wrist, and Ankou disappeared. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

There was no time for second thoughts. No time for regrets. I had to maintain my focus.

“I’m sure you’ll want to go straight to the burial grounds, but I need to gather my family and bring them home.

It’s on the way, so it won’t put you out.

” I forced my gaze up to his. “That will give me a good trial run to see if you’ve truly lifted the kill order too.

Once I get home and secure my family, I’ll contact you.

Then you and I will go to the burial ground where I met Anunit, and I’ll grant you the access you want. ”

“How do I know you won’t spend the time from here to Thunderbolt plotting against me?”

“The same way I’ll know if you’ve taken the opportunity to embed orders in Kierce that will jump up and bite me on the ass at the worst possible time.

That’s where trust in this new partnership comes into play for both of us.

Plus, I’m not leaving my wagon. I love that car, and I need it to get around back home. ”

“Trust is off the table, but your family isn’t. Yet. Betray me, and they will be punished.”

“Punish them, and it’ll be the last thing you do. There are worse fates than death.”

And I had one all lined up for him.