Chapter 4

A polished man in his midfifties with silver streaks at his temples exited the second patrol car wearing a politician’s smile and the suit to go with it. The amusement in his gaze, as if he could read what I thought about him, curdled my gut, but I held my ground. With Kierce on my right and Carter to my left, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Everything in me screamed to run, to hide, to jump in the wagon and drive.

But this had been a long time in coming. Chief Leer was a sharp man, and he was aware I had been using his resources for my own purposes. Of course, he would be curious about me.

“This is Chief Leer.” Carter arched a brow at his approach in silent question. “Our fearless leader.”

“I don’t know if I would call me fearless.” His bright-white smile matched the rest of his gleaming facade. “I had a fright when I heard one of my top agents was sprinting down US-17 barefoot and tearing off her clothes. I came right out when I read the report, but you don’t appear to have lost your mind, Carter.”

A tug on her untucked shirt did nothing to make her more presentable. “Looks can be deceiving, sir.”

The cause of her earlier meltdown chose that moment to land on my shoulder to bolster my confidence. Carter, however, gave serious consideration to punching the crow, if the fist clenching and unclenching down by her side was any indication.

“This must be Frankie Talbot.” Leer stuck out his arm. “I’m honored to meet you at last.”

Aside from locking gazes across an elevator at the hotel where Harrow had kidnapped Matty, we hadn’t interacted with one another. I would have preferred it to remain that way.

Had Carter not elbowed me, I wouldn’t have taken his hand, but I did it for her. “Same here.”

“Your tone says otherwise, but that’s fine.” He let go after holding on a second too long. “I understand it must have come as a surprise to learn we’ve kept an eye on you over the years. To find out the way you did, through Detective Harrow, who I understand is a friend of yours, must have been a bigger shock.”

The careful way he framed the delicate nature of my relationship with Harrow told me Leer believed the old adage about attracting more flies with honey than vinegar. He wanted on my good side, which made me question his next move.

“I see you giving Carter side-eye.” Leer tapped his temple. “But she hasn’t been spying on you for me.”

Curling her lip, she growled at her boss. “Frankie knows better than that.”

“Now?” I bumped her shoulder. “Not in a million years.” I pretended to think about it. “At the start…?”

“That’s fair.” She deflated on the spot, a cheddar puff bag crinkling in her fist. “I didn’t know you then.”

“Same.” I projected my sincerity at her. “I trust you.”

“And this must be the death god I’ve heard so much about.” Leer studied Kierce. “It’s a pleasure.”

With no one to nudge him, Kierce ignored the outstretched hand until Leer dropped it to his side.

A few weeks ago, I would have considered he didn’t grasp the social faux pas. Now? Oh, he knew.

“If you’ve heard so much about me,” Kierce said, his frigid tone lifting gooseflesh down my arms, “how is it you don’t know I am merely beholden to a death god and not one myself?”

To learn the 514 had been keeping tabs on Kierce since he entered my life wasn’t wholly unexpected—he was collateral to their interest in me—but hearing Leer admit it out loud didn’t earn him any points.

“It’s a turn of phrase.” I slid my hand into Kierce’s, offering him my support. “Nothing more.”

“Ms. Talbot is right.” Leer massaged the base of his neck in a calculated aww shucks gesture I wouldn’t buy for a penny. “It’s the Southern gentleman in me.”

Head tilting at a hard angle, Kierce returned Leer’s frank assessment. “It makes you lie?”

A snort I turned into an unconvincing cough made my eyes water.

“Southernisms veer toward politeness,” he admitted, “rather than the literal truth.”

“I prefer the literal.” Kierce rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. “I prefer the truth.”

“Boss.” Carter jerked her head toward her truck. “Let me give you an update.”

“We’re all friends here.” He spread his smile around our circle. “I’m sure they’re already in the loop.”

“We’re not friends,” Kierce informed him without hesitation. “I do not wish to hold your hand.”

I buttoned my lips fast enough to hold in my guffaw this time, but my eyes leaked tears.

“You mean the handshake?” Leer frowned at his palm. “It’s a human custom I’ve adapted over time. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“I need to make some calls.” I tugged Kierce toward the wagon. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Ms. Talbot.” Leer took a healthy step in my direction. “What do you think of our little organization?”

“Boss,” Carter hissed at him, proving he was improvising. “What are you doing?”

“Ms. Talbot has been instrumental in solving two major cases in the past couple months. Her natural talent for investigation can’t be taught.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I wanted to thank her in person for her efforts on our behalf.”

Certain this was heading nowhere good, I murmured, “You’re welcome.”

“Have you considered a career in law enforcement?” He took another step closer. “We’re always looking for potential to nurture, and you’ve proven you’ve got what it takes to be one of the 514.” His whole vibe, a paternal pride almost, didn’t do him any favors when I was touchier than ever about my parentage. “You don’t have a history of working in law enforcement, which lends you a unique perspective.” He snapped his fingers like he had only just thought of it. “We could partner you and Carter. Permanently. She could keep you safe on the job, freeing you up to use your other…skills.”

And there it was, the other shoe dropping. Natural investigative talent my foot.

“I appreciate you allowing your officers to assist me in my endeavors where they overlapped with yours, but I have a job.” Two of them, if you wanted to get technical. “I enjoy spending time with my family and our friends, Talbots are big on that, so I don’t have time to take on more work.”

“You don’t have to answer today.” He held up his hands, palms out. “Take all the time you need.”

A stinging pain nipped down my spine like angry ants marching, and whispers rose on my periphery.

Surges in my abilities were fewer and further between now, probably because I had locked myself down so tight, but the faint voices reminded me the veil grew thin when I lost my temper.

“Frankie said no.” Kierce crackled with energy behind me. “That’s her answer.”

“There’s no need for shows of force.” Leer backed up to the patrol car. “I’ll give her space.”

Without another word, Kierce stretched an arm around my shoulders, turning from Leer, and guided me to the wagon. He opened the passenger side door, sat me on the front seat, then knelt before me. He rested his palms on my knees, the heat of his skin warming me through the fabric of my pants, thawing the cold brush of the grave against my senses.

“You must learn to mute the spirits,” he cautioned me, his touch gentle, “or they will overwhelm you.”

“It will only get worse?” I had suspected that for a while. “Until I’m like you?”

“Signs point to that, yes.” He gave me a moment to process. “I can subdue the voices, for the most part, as long as I haven’t been injured or expended too much energy.” His eyes gleamed silver and bottomless for a heartbeat, reminding me how I once set a circle around him to quiet the spirits when he was too weak to block them out himself, before his gaze dimmed to its usual misty gray. “You’re so much more powerful than I am. You can do this.”

More powerful than Kierce? I swallowed to wet my dry throat. No. He must be mistaken. Or he could be, I don’t know, flattering me. Maybe he was alluding to inner strength. Determination? Resolve? Courage?

Any of those sounded like a better alternative than having more potential, therefore more problems, dumped in my lap.

“Walk me through it.” Setting those worries aside, I placed my hands over the tops of his. “Explain it to me.”

“There’s a simple spell I can teach you that will shield your mind until you learn how to use your new powers. It’s a temporary fix, and I can’t guarantee how long it will work. Eventually, you must listen to the voices long enough to learn what they want from you. Only then can you decide on a permanent solution that will appease them.”

“A quick fix suits me fine.” I ignored the susurration on the edge of my hearing. “How does this work?”

“Draw this rune in your blood on your skin.” He traced it over the top of my thigh. “I’ll guide you through the hymn to activate it after you’re done. This binding will dull your senses, but only on the spirit plane.” A flicker of concern brightened his eyes. “Use it when you feel an episode coming on, but you must wipe it off as soon as you’re certain you no longer need it.”

A hymn. Not a chant. Not a spell. A hymn .

Welcome to life as a demigoddess, Frankie.

The uptick of his concern caused mine to spike too. “What happens if I forget?”

“The magic will sink into your veins, and your powers will diminish. Over time, they might disappear.”

“All of them?” I recoiled from his touch. “ Everything? Even the ones I’ve always had?”

“They’re a part of you, every one of them, like the color of your hair or your eyes.”

Shock from discovering the side effect of his cure spooked away the voices, for now, and I drew in a deep breath.

“It’s over.” I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his shoulder. “I’ll think on what you told me for next time.” The glimmer of hope that the episodes would end after fulfilling my destiny—to kick the bucket in spectacular fashion—faded to nothing. “There’s no such thing as an easy fix, huh?”

“Not in my experience.” He buried his face in my hair. “What should we do about Leer?”

We. I liked being part of a we . It was nice. Very nice. We.

“Hmm.” A wicked smile curled my lips. “Are you offering to sky barbeque him for me?”

“You prefer to mete out your own justice.” He edged perilously close to rolling his eyes. Definitely a Josie habit. “Will you still work this case, even with Leer supervising?”

I wasn’t a cop. I wasn’t a private eye. I wasn’t an investigator. But I was stubborn.

Thanks to a lifetime of mediating fights between my brother and sister, I was good at sticking things out until I got to the bottom of a problem, but Chief Leer had viewed me as an asset back when I was mostly a necromancer, making me an even more valuable commodity as a demigoddess.

Unless I severed ties with this side of the 514, I risked exposure on the job and presented myself as an ideal candidate for blackmail in exchange for my secret. I had to step back and let the professionals do their jobs. Or Leer, no doubt about it, would find a way to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“I’m standing in quicksand.” I flexed my toes inside of my shoes. “The only way to quit sinking is if I stop struggling.”

“You’re returning home then.” He stroked a hand down my back. “I’ll let Carter know.”

From the hard set of his jaw, I could tell he wasn’t in any hurry to let Leer anywhere near me. “Thanks.”

Shame gnawed on me for abandoning Camaro, and Tameka, but Leer posed a substantial threat to my family if he got it in his head to make himself a nuisance in order to recruit me.

Scooting across the bench until I sat behind the wheel, I waited to see how Carter took the news. The earlier tension in her spine released as she turned and waved goodbye to me with a glint in her eye.

Carter was not happy. I read it on her face. Leer was either brave or stupid to ignore the signs.

A minute later, Kierce returned with Badb in tow. She glided in ahead of him, situating herself on the cat bed. He got in, shut the door, then fastened his seat belt with a frown of concentration.

Every time he performed tasks he intended to master, he ticked them off his mental checklist, which reminded me. “When do you want to start your driving lessons?”

Had we fallen into a student and teacher dynamic, I wasn’t sure my libido would have recovered until he graduated me from baby god school. This tit-for-tat exchange suited me better. Each of us lacking where the other was proficient meant we could exchange our knowledge freely without any debt or obligation.

“My schedule is clear.”

With a finger wave to Carter, I pulled onto the road and pointed us toward home. “Tomorrow?”

“Why not tonight? I can see in the dark.” Kierce traced the piping detail in my seat. “For that matter, so can you. Your vision should be much clearer.”

Curiosity would be the death of me. If I hadn’t already died. As if he had ripped the blind from my eyes, I quit throttling my senses and experienced them. Fully. I unclenched that mental muscle straining against any newfangled extrasensory feedback and relaxed into a full spectrum of colors and visual textures that defied description because no words existed to detail this filter placed over my new reality.

If the daylight contained this many secret facets, I couldn’t wait to explore the dark.

“This means I’ve been manipulating my powers this whole time,” I squeaked, drawing Badb’s interest.

“Yes.” Kierce chuckled at the hands I slapped over my mouth. “You have been.”

And the soft pride in his voice made me wonder what else I had unconsciously been doing to amuse him.