The place smelled moldy—as if it had been flooded, dried out, then flooded again times fifty—and overlying the cool, soft scent of ancient water I caught the sharp, metallic odor of fresh blood.
“I’d like to see my mother,” I said. “The Phoenix.”
No one seemed surprised by that statement. I guess a simple glance in a mirror explained why. However, the mere mention of her name struck everyone dumb, which didn’t bode well for our meeting.
I’d harbored the hope—foolish as it might be—that the Phoenix wasn’t as bad as say . . . the woman of smoke. But I had the distinct feeling she was worse. How was I going to convince her that both Jimmy and I were ready to take a walk on the dark side?
“Upstairs.” A doughy young man—in both skin tone and body shape—with squinty eyes that screamed of too many hours in front of a computer screen, and messy, mousy hair, shoved me. If I hadn’t been super-coordinated I might have taken a nosedive into the banister.
I stumbled and righted myself, considered rearranging his face and decided I didn’t care enough. Jimmy stared at him with narrowed eyes, and the kid actually backed off. Strange considering there were so many of them and only two of us, not to mention the golden chains.
Sure, if we let our vamps free they’d be toast, but considering we were trying to join their club, we weren’t going to do that.
Yet.
“You can take off the chains,” I said. “We come in peace.”
Geek Boy snorted. “Even if you are the daughter of the Phoenix, you aren’t getting any special treatment.”
“So everyone gets bound with golden chains?”
“Chains, yes. Gold, no.”
“But—”
“You think the Phoenix isn’t aware of what Sanducci is, that she doesn’t know what you’ve become? She’s all-powerful. Or soon will be.”
How did she know about us? Did my mother have the same talent as I did? Could she touch people and see their inner thoughts and more? If so, it was going to be damn near impossible to convince her Jimmy and I had changed sides. Not that I’d ever thought it was going to be easy.
The kid had taken a dislike to Sanducci that, from Jimmy’s narrowed eyes and tense stance, he appeared to share. In a minute they’d start fighting, bumping chests and snarling, or perhaps they’d pull out their dicks and compare. Sanducci would win. He had the best jewels.
“We were told to keep you chained until you can be tested.”
Uh-oh, I thought.
“Tested?” I asked.
Geek Boy smirked, and Sanducci bared his teeth. “You may have passed the first test, but that doesn’t mean you’re free of the next.”
“There was a test?”
“You think we let anyone stroll into town and get close to the Prince who will come?” At last he turned away from Jimmy and came toward me.
“How, exactly, do you keep people out?”
“There’s a spell.” The kid waved his hand. “Magic shit. Not my department.”
Hmm. Was the Phoenix a witch too? Why not? Everyone else was.
“What kind of spell?”
“Only those with an inner darkness get past the borders of this place.”
“Explains the buzz at the edge of town,” Jimmy murmured.
“And what happens to those without an inner darkness?” I asked.
“Bzzzt!” Geek Boy made a zapping noise and a swift motion with both hands, then rolled his eyes up and stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth.
“Dead?” I clarified
He lifted his head and smiled. I guess we knew now why Ruthie had been so insistent that both Jimmy and I released our demons before coming here.
“You’ve killed everyone in town?” I asked.
“They didn’t stay dead for long.” A solid older woman, who, judging from her thick wrists and the muscles in her legs and arms, had been a farmwife, with white hair down to her ass and a weathered face that spoke of decades in the sun, indicated the crowd of revenants. “They’re here with us now. Except for those who possessed an inner darkness.”
“Nephilim,” Jimmy muttered. “They’re everywhere.”
“Where are they now?”
I didn’t like not knowing the location of any cursed half demons. Even if we were supposed to be one of them now, Nephilim had no allegiance to their kind. The instant they saw us they’d want to fight just to get the upper hand. Animals behaved like animals even when they were demons.
“They were the first sacrifices,” Farmwife answered.
I blinked. “Say what?”
“You’ll find out,” Geek Boy said.
“I’d rather you told me.”
“We can’t.” Farmwife wrung her big, hard hands. “The Phoenix ordered us not to.”
“You always do what she says?”
“We have no choice. She raised us; we’re slaves. We’ll be the army once the sacrifice is made, and the Prince has come.”
As if that explained everything—and it kinda did—Farmwife turned and rejoined the others.
“Where do you think she is?” I murmured, gaze fixed on the army of the living dead.
Jimmy remained silent for so long I didn’t think he was going to answer. When I finally managed to drag my eyes from the revenants, I saw a reflection of all my fears cross his face.