Bones and Blades (Smoke and Shadows Book 3), page 23
Magnus muttered out of the corner of his mouth, “Not something to be proud of.”
“What was that?” Janko demanded loudly.
“I said that you should probably open a history book sometime. Learn a thing or two,” Magnus replied. I hid a smile as a flush crept up the ghoul’s neck.
“You and me, wolf. Someday…”
“No one likes a tease. Why someday? Make it here and now,” Magnus said, putting his hands on the armrests, looking like he was ready to spring for the ghoul’s throat.
“Menstruating Pope on a pogo stick!” I shouted into the room, shattering the tension threading to build to a bloody crescendo. All three men looked at me in bewilderment. I took advantage of their stunned silence, barreling on, “Magnus, Janko, chill out. I don’t have the energy for your dick measuring. You don’t like each other? Fine. But can you please wait to kill each other until after we deal with this Kroxius guy?” They turned simultaneous glares at me. I rolled my eyes. “Screw you. Women perfected resting bitch face before it was a thing and then weaponized it while you were still in diapers. You think a little brow furrowing is going to intimidate me? Don’t make me ask again, or I will unleash my womanly nuclear reserves all over your asses.” I received grudging nods from both men, although they swiveled to glare at each other a moment later. Fine by me.
“Fabulous. Now, what’s the plan?” I asked.
Janko spoke up. “I’ll go after Kroxius. Track him down and kill him.”
“You’re going to want our help,” I said, speaking quickly to cut off Magnus as he opened his mouth.
“Oh really? Why’s that?” Janko sneered.
“Because the lich nearly took out the Fae Embassy by himself. Well, almost. He raised a revenant zombie, but it didn’t really stick around for long.”
Janko’s head whipped towards me. “I haven’t heard of a rogue revenant wandering the streets.”
“That’s because we killed it. I mean, it was already dead, but we killed it. Again.”
“Did you burn the body?” Janko demanded.
“The fae weren’t too happy about it, but yes, they burned the corpse.”
Janko pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wait. Did you say that the lich took out the Fae Embassy? How?”
“He sent some sort of bolts of orange magic into the Embassy.”
“Death magic,” Janko breathed, turning to face Alessandro, who nodded grimly. “I’ll send a necromancer over right away. Maybe he can slow it down.”
“Slow what down?” I asked.
“Slow down the death magic poisoning your little fairy friends. Anyone who caught one of those bolts, no matter how small, is going to die. Death magic will spread like a necrotic plague through the host’s system, destroying all the heathy tissue until there’s nothing left.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, thinking of all the Fae who were infected, who were dying because I hadn’t stopped the lich’s attack in time. My chest constricted. Letitia was one of the wounded, although she had seemed fine this morning.
Magnus put a warm hand on my arm. It helped to ground me as my thoughts swirled. “What can a necromancer do? Can he remove the death magic?”
Janko shook his head. “No, but he can slow the spread, which buys us time to deal with the lich. If we can kill the necromancer who cast the spell, the death magic will fizzle out. It’s tied to his life force, or undeath force, or whatever fancy term the magic bastards call it.”
“Will killing him reverse the damage done to the fae?” I asked.
Janko shook his head. “Nope, just stop it. Which is why we gotta deal with Kroxius fast. If the death magic eats too far into the host, there won’t be anything that anyone can do even if we kill the bitch lich.” Visions of Letitia being eaten from the inside out by magical death parasites played across my inner eye, and I shuddered.
“What’s the plan?” asked Magnus, leaning forward with a deadly serious expression on his face.
I held up my arm, twisting my wrist to show off the magical tattoo with its single orange dot. “We use this to track down Kroxius as fast as possible. Before he stashes the soul jar.”
Janko let out a low whistle. “That’ll be helpful.” He shot Alessandro a look. “Anyway, I can get some support here, fanger?”
The vampire grimaced, “Unfortunately, no. Daylight and vampires don’t mix.” He waved a hand towards the shuttered windows. “Kroxius is smart and will sequester himself somewhere safe during the evening hours, negating the effectiveness of my vampires. However, if he’s foolish enough to attack after sunset, I suggest you try calling this number. I will ensure my lieutenant answers the phone. I, of course, can have nothing to do with these plans.”
The ghoul snarled and looked at us. “How about you two? Do you have any bazookas or grenade launchers or something, I dunno, useful?”
“Damn, I left my bazooka in my other purse with my matching lipstick. You know how important it is for women to accessorize,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I can call the Pack. I’m not sure how fast they can get here, but I can try,” offered Magnus.
Janko wrinkled his nose, but the wisdom in Magnus’ offer was undeniable. “Fine. Call the wolves. Let the dogs out.” He threw his head back and let out a gruff rhythmic, “Who, who, who, who, who?” He looked over at us, seeing if we appreciated his reference to the famous Baha Men single. When no one responded, Janko rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Fine. Grab your shit, Lewis and Clark, we’ve got a lich to track down.”
“If I’m anyone in this scenario, I’m Sacajawea,” I grumbled. “Leading the men to the right places and getting none of the credit.”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head. If you lich-slap the shit out of this asshole guy, I’ll give you all the credit,” Janko said with a wink, taking refuge in the familiar dark banter that most fighters I’d ever encountered engaged in.
“Kroxius is a powerful sorcerer. I fear becoming a lich will have increased his power exponentially. This is a grave matter you’re facing,” Alessandro warned, stone faced.
“And he’s being dead serious,” Magnus said, keeping his expression blank. Alessandro glared, and Janko guffawed. I smiled at the gallows humor. Something about looking Death in the eye and laughing gave me courage.
I pushed to my feet. “I’ve got nothing else on my calendar today. Besides, I owe this Kroxius for what he did to the Fae. Trust me, I’m dying to repay the debt.”
Janko snapped his fingers back and forth in a sassy manner. He pitched his voice higher in a horrendous impression of a valley girl, “You go, girl!”
I ignored him, looking at Magnus instead. “You don’t have to come. I don’t think your orders encompass this and you didn’t sign up for fighting a lich today.”
Magnus shook his head slightly, a ghost of a smile curving his lips. “Let’s go show this Kroxius that liches get stitches.”
Janko’s dark chuckle sent shivers down my spine as our tiny strike team set out to assassinate an undead, zombie-raising sorcerer.
Chapter 36
In case you were wondering, magical compasses aren’t made to navigate in a car, especially in the confusing urban sprawl of New Orleans. I’d have to tell Manannan to upgrade his sigil services to align with modern technology. By the time we escaped the concrete confines of downtown and I told Magnus to pull the car over, it was late afternoon.
I looked out of the car window at the empty stretch of bayou in front of us.
“Bug spray,” I muttered to myself. “You forgot the damn bug spray. Idiot.”
“What was that?” Janko said, extricating himself from the backseat of the car.
I raised my voice. “Nothing. Magnus, you’d better call Damon again and make sure he has these coordinates. I know he said he had to solidify defenses before coming out, but it’s going to take a while to get here, and we don’t know how long Kroxius is staying put.”
Magnus nodded and stepped away; phone already pressed to his ear. I turned to Janko, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Tell me about you,” I said, speaking over the incessant drone of insects emanating from the swampland.
“Whaddaya mean?” He scratched idly at an armpit while keeping half an eye on Magnus.
“Fighting style, things I should watch out for. I don’t know how ghouls operate. Do you Hulk out and lose your shit? What do you bring to this party, other than a freaky diet?” I asked.
Janko’s smile was unpleasant when he turned to face me fully. “Don’t you worry about me. I won’t eat you or your little boy toy over there. At least, not today. I’ve got this shit covered. You stay in the car like a good little girl. I’ll take care of the lich. Then I’ll let you buy me a drink to celebrate. Who knows? If you’re lucky, I might even let you do more.” He winked lasciviously at me.
I rolled my eyes, ignoring the ominous flash from his gold tooth in the afternoon sun. Janko strode off into the bayou without waiting for Magnus or me.
“Wait!” I called after the ghoul.
“I got this. Trust me,” Janko shouted over his shoulder.
“I don’t, that’s the problem,” I muttered, dashing towards the car and fumbling for the trunk’s release button. I grabbed my sword from the bag. Luckily, I’d already strapped on my knives. I slammed the trunk before hurrying after the ghoul. Magnus turned at the sound. I pointed a finger into the bayou. I knew Magnus could track me by scent once he finished his call, but I wasn’t so sure I could find the ghoul in the swampy murk of the bayou if I let him get too far ahead. Magnus nodded shortly in understanding.
I sloshed and clattered after the ghoul. My knee pulsed only slightly as I slipped on the uneven footing. Every time I slid, a twinge in my ankle let me know it wasn’t happy with me for the swampland excursion. However, it felt better than it had the day before. Honestly, it was far better than what I deserved. The rest and the rum had done me good. I ran a tentative hand over my rib cage, pressing lightly. A slight ache greeted my probing instead of the flashes of agony from two days ago. By the feel of them, they were well on the way to healing, too.
I tried to move quietly through the wetlands, but cities were more my style. Between slapping at the swarm of bugs plaguing my every step, the splashing in the fetid water, and the unintentional cursing, I would not win any swamp-ninja awards.
I was distracted by swatting away mosquitoes the size of moths when an arm appeared out of nowhere and jerked me off my feet. I landed on my tailbone. Hard. Before I could get enough air to verbalize the curse on my lips, Janko’s meaty hand slapped over my mouth.
“Shh,” he whispered in my ear, his stale breath washing over me. “Look over there.” He pointed a stubby finger past my head.
A small, ramshackle hut almost sinking into the bayou on a small island in front of us. Overgrowth partially obstructed it, which is why I’d missed it. A shallow span of water surrounded the raised island like a child had dug a moat around the place before getting distracted by something shiny. I wriggled angrily in Janko’s hold, trying to decide if it was worth it to bite the ghoul’s hand, when a flash of orange light flared between the hut’s warped wooden slats.
“Kroxius?” I whispered as the ghoul peeled his fingers away from my face.
“In the flesh. Or bone. Depends on how much magic he’s harvested,” Janko confirmed, breath tickling my ear.
“Right. You stay here and keep watch. I’ll go back and get Magnus. We can keep a lookout until the Pack arrives and then decide how to take him down,” I murmured.
I felt Janko shake his head behind me. “No. You stay here. I handle this.” He used my shoulder to lever himself upward and splashed confidently across the shallow expanse of muddy water surrounding the hut.
“Janko!” I hissed. He ignored me and kept walking. “Janko!” I tried again, louder this time.
Nothing.
I looked around wildly for Magnus, hoping he’d appear out of the shadows and keep the ghoul from calling out the lich. No such luck.
Janko planted his feet and shouted at the hut, “Kroxius! You’re in my territory. Get out or get dead.”
Silence descended over the bayou. I thought it had been quiet before, but even the chirping of birds vanished as Janko’s voice chased the wind from the small clearing. The only sounds that remained were the ominous buzz of mosquitoes and my thundering pulse roaring in my ears. A droplet of cold sweat rolled down my spine. Let me tell you, when you can hear a bead of sweat drip, you know things are going from bad to worse.
A skeletal creature in torn hospital scrub pants appeared in the dilapidated doorway of the crumbling hut. My breath caught. He was skeletal, but not a skeleton. The lich had somehow regrown a thin layer of skin since the battle at the Embassy. It pulled tightly over his entire body. Orange and blue pulsed lightly under the thin, newly grown epidermis as magic visibly coursed along the lich’s veins. Flaming orange eyes glowed ominously in the sunken sockets of the lich’s emaciated face as Janko encroached on his private island.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m already dead.” Kroxius’ voice sounded like velvet. If they made velvet of bone dust, ashes, and the tears of the children of a future apocalypse.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I use that line too,” Janko said, unimpressed.
“Go away. I have no quarrel with you,” the lich grated out.
“Oh, I think you do, old man. I’m the new and improved version of you. I’m not a fan of returning to the old ways. Onwards and upwards, baby,” Janko sneered.
“Ah, I see,” said Kroxius. He leaned against the doorframe and ran his blazing gaze over Janko. The sorcerer’s gaze slipped past the ghoul to peer into the shady depths of the bayou. I hunkered lower, ignoring the muddy water seeping into my clothing. “Nicoletti sent his hired thug instead of coming to confront me himself.”
“No one sends me anywhere,” growled Janko belligerently. “Especially the vamp.”
“Sent, sacrificed,” the lich shrugged, ignoring the ghoul. “It amounts to the same thing. Alessandro is too scared of losing a portion of his precious power to attack me directly, so he has manipulated you into coming in his place. He is weak. He and his kind are a debilitating poison, sapping the strength of the supernatural community through their hesitancy to take action and desire for discretion.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same vamp?” Janko asked, stalking forward. “Alessandro is a motherfucking badass who takes no prisoners.”
“As long as they are Supes or a meal. Throw humans in the mix and he is a weak as a three-day-old kitten.” Kroxius waggled a bony finger at the ghoul. “Supes shouldn’t be forced to hide in the shadows any longer. They must assume their rightful place as the dominate predators in this world.”
“And where do you think that is?” Janko asked.
“Why, on a throne of human corpses and bones, naturally. Humans are frail, vacuous creatures who have reached the height of their evolutionary abilities. We must relegate them to their proper place in the new order so the superior, blossoming wave of highly evolved supernaturals can finally fully assume control.” Kroxius spoke in the compelling manner of a master orator.
Janko snorted, flexing his fingers and cracking the joints as he tightened them into fists. “One problem, bub. Attack the humans openly and they will destroy us by sheer numbers, if nothing else. You may be old, but you aren’t older than fucking math.”
The lich sneered at the ghoul. “Ah yes, Alessandro held similar views. Which is why his removal has become a necessity for Supes to assume their natural position. We must excise his weakness from the region, like removing a snake’s venom before healing can begin. Before the rightful order can be established.” Kroxius tipped his head to the side, considering. “No, he and his kind are the stinking pus inside a boil. Like a boil, their infection must be lanced and drained. Starting with a stake right through Nicoletti’s shriveled remains of a heart.” A rasping rattle shook Kroxius’ frame. It took a moment before I realized the skeletal sorcerer was laughing.
Janko cracked his neck twice, rolling his shoulders back. “You know, if I wanted to hear from an asshole, I’d just fart. Enough of this, and enough of you!” The ghoul raised an arm and flung it forward as he charged Kroxius. The lich’s eyes flamed and crackled with orange magic. Although Janko was built like a boxer and no doubt a vicious fighter, I suddenly doubted his chances against the murderous lich.
A small army of undead rose, eerily silent, from the bayou. Ghosts, skeletons, and vaguely humanoid creatures sprang from the murky shadows. For a moment, I thought they were on Kroxius’ side. My heart thundered in my chest. There was no way we could take all of those on. However, a moment later, the horde started flooding towards the island and Kroxius.
I hissed out a silent sigh of relief. Janko must’ve called them. He was the leader of the undead, after all. Admittedly, there were less than I would have liked, but beggars can’t be choosers.
A crackling, snapping sound drew my attention back to the small island. Kroxius held a bone knife with a wavy white blade in one hand and a ball of crackling orange magic in the other. He flung the ball at Janko, forcing the ghoul to break off his headlong attack and dive to the side. Kroxius called up another smaller, snapping ball of death magic and smashed it into the bone blade. When he withdrew his hand, the blade pulsed with crackling orange magic that sparked and crackled menacingly when the lich waved it through the air.
“I have no quarrel with you, boy! Take your minions and leave this place before I destroy you all!” Kroxius roared, hurling bolts of magic at the oncoming rush. I held my breath, waiting for Janko’s small army to collapse in agony. However, the orange magic sizzled through undead flesh and swished through the ghosts harmlessly.
