“And I don’t think it’s easy for just anyone to break into Nirvana, but the culprit managed, somehow,” Sterling said. He caught the befuddled look on my face. “Oh. Nirvana’s like a vampire commune, and Diaz is their leader.”
I stared at him, mouth agog. “That’s a thing? What, like a whole nest of them?”
“Living underground. So, sort of like a cave.” Sterling grinned, waggling his eyebrows. “There’s more in common between dragons and vampires than you thought.”
Carver set down his coffee and scoffed. “Dragon or vampire, I’d say that this is much more a matter of ownership. Wouldn’t you all agree? If someone invades your home and steals something of value, you would want retribution.” He turned to me with a narrowed gaze. “Especially if it’s someone easily recognized, or easily found.”
His stare said it all. You’re both, Dustin. Both.
You know, I try not to dwell too much over the fact that I’m kind of famous – but for all the wrong reasons. Apparently very few people had heard of someone who could walk through shadows, or could summon them as bladed weapons in this reality. That was my gift, and word spread. Maybe that was how Salimah and Connor knew who to hunt down.
“But why me? You guys know I don’t go around stealing shit.”
“Except for that beer at the grocery the other week,” Gil said, avoiding my gaze.
“Or the pack of cigarettes from behind the counter at that one gas station,” Sterling said. “And I still don’t know how the hell you did it, but thanks for the freebie.”
“Okay, geez. Dustin has itchy fingers, I got it.” They were right, too. If I wasn’t on a mission, something inside me just wanted to nick stuff when it could, like a void that needed filling. “But back on topic. How the hell could someone who looks like me just walk around town stealing stuff?” My mouth fell open. “Unless – ”
Carver nodded. “Thea.”
My skin crawled. The mention of her name alone had that effect on me. Thea Morgana acted as my boss and mentor for as long as it benefited her, pretending to be my friend and ally. As it turned out, she was the one responsible for sacrificing me.
Some time back I thought I’d had the pleasure of killing her, by summoning just enough of the Dark Room’s living shadows to spear her through her torso. We discovered, too late, that she’d escaped justice – and death – yet again.
Oh. Does that seem too extreme? Let me put it this way. If someone tries to kill you – you, specifically – and you survive, you would want revenge. You would want justice. But considering everything that Thea had done to me, I was way past justice. I wanted her gone. If that meant dead, then so be it.
I grimaced. “I hate that you’re probably right. It could be Thea looking to stir shit up again. But why would she want the Heartstopper?”
“Remember that this was how they found you,” Carver said. “In a state of torpor. Everyone thought you dead. It’s possible that she’s found some other suitable victim to sacrifice, and that she wants to repeat the process. To preserve their corporeal form, for whatever reason.”
Gil leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “Listen. You say this woman was a high-ranking member of the Lorica.”
He was right. For years Thea worked as a sorceress for the Lorica, the organization that governed North American magic and mages. She bade her time, masquerading as o
ne of the good guys as she researched more ritual magic and grew in power. Thea was a highly intelligent and cunning person – if she could still be called a person – was what Gil was trying to say.
“She’s not going to try the same thing twice,” I said. “She’s too clever for that. There’s something else brewing, and I don’t like it.”
“Consider the possibility that she’s misdirecting,” Sterling said, offering a rare bit of insight. “How about that? And this is what’s worse. You guys say she’s good at glamours.”
“She tricked us all, remember?” Carver said. “None of us could sniff her out. Her power to bend the light and cast an illusion about herself is one thing, but to evade us the way she did? The woman wields powerful enchantments.”
In the form of jewelry similar to those Carver wore on his person, the amber gems adorning the rings on his fingers. It was one of those things I’d always promised I’d try to learn. Enchanting was an incredible discipline in itself. It took enormous amounts of time, effort, and magical power, but enchanted items are like the wearable tech of the arcane world. A ring that shoots fireballs, or turns you invisible, or summons burritos on command? Yes, please.
“Evasion and cloaking is one thing,” Sterling said. “But infiltration is another. As long as we’re sure we keep an eye on each other, and we know she can’t penetrate the Boneyard? Then we’re good.”
I blinked. “Wait. Sorry. Did I hear you right? I think you just called this place the Boneyard.”
Asher cleared his throat and reddened. “It’s nice to call it something other than just ‘home’ or ‘the hideout.’ I like it. We’ve got a vampire, a werewolf, a lich, and I’m a necromancer.” He gestured at me, smiling sheepishly. “And you use the shadows and the darkness. We’re like the good bad guys. Like, the undead, but decent undead, you know?”
“Isn’t that clever,” Carver said, with no hint of sarcasm whatsoever.
Asher sat up, his chest puffing out as he beamed. “Sterling and I talked about it,” he said. “Seemed like a good idea.”
I couldn’t help feeling left out.
Carver nodded, and smiled. “The Boneyard it is then.”