Chapter 7

L ong after we returned home, minus Josie, who had convinced the chatty air plant to come live with her, probably to spy on Carter in her absence, I couldn’t sit still. Too much energy swirled within me from the cleansing. I scrubbed my apartment then organized my office then mulched around Elmo. I was about to wash the wagon, which didn’t need it since the cleaning spell kept it spotless, when Kierce found me.

“Let’s go for a run.” He tossed me my orange vest. “You need to burn through your excess.”

“Okay.” I jerked it on before I registered I was already sprinting. “First one to Bonaventure wins.”

The cemetery wasn’t far, especially not when I was motivated, but scenery blurred past in a daze.

“Feeling better?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted Kierce exactly one step behind me. “Yes.”

“Good.” He closed the gap. “Then you won’t mind a little competition.”

“Bring it on.” I was euphoric from the slap of sneakers on pavement. “Let’s do this.”

Had I any doubt Kierce had been letting me win up to that point, he crushed them when he pulled ahead of me. One length. Two. Three. The man might as well have wings on his feet. “Push harder.”

“I am pushing.” A pleasant burn hummed through my muscles from the exercise. “I can’t go any faster.”

Running was the joy for me, not the destination. Plus his legs were like three times as long as mine.

“Then you’ll lose.”

Swooping in wide circles above his head, Badb cheered Kierce on with eager clicks of her beak.

To have siblings was to be competitive. Mostly with each other. And with Rollo. The jerk. But sometimes it spilled over into other aspects of my life. Like now. With my bird— Crap. My boy friend.

Leaning into the burn, I pushed myself harder and harder.

Until I broke.

And an unprecedented rush of energy whooshed through my limbs, propelling me faster and faster.

Until I left Kierce in my dust.

The rush fueled me, propelling me toward the finish line, refusing to ease up even as impact with the front gate loomed before me.

There was time. I could have stopped. I could have skidded. I would have bounced off the wrought iron.

Instead, I leapt, clearing the metal without brushing the top with so much as my toe.

A triumphant whoop parted my lips, but it turned out I was better at jumping than landing.

I hit with my feet, rolled my ankles, tumbled to my knees, then flipped end over end into a heaping pile of browned palm fronds someone had raked together. I lay sprawled out on my crunchy bed, stars in my eyes, marveling at how good I felt after a massive wipeout that should have broken bones.

“Frankie.” Kierce dropped to his knees beside me. “Are you all right?”

“I…” a cough lodged in my throat that might have been a laugh, “…won.”

“How’d you do that?” A small blue face appeared above me. “Jump like a bleedin’ cricket?”

Tommy, the youngest of the Buckley Boys, bounced on his feet about a foot above the ground.

“Look at ’er.” Johnny, the oldest, sounded shocked. “She’s dead as doornails.”

“Not dead.” Bannon, the middlest, squinted at me. “Her head’s got one of them shiny things.”

“A halo,” I supplied, since it was the closest approximation, and the boys nodded in unison.

“Frankie isn’t dead,” Kierce reassured them. “She?—”

“Look it.” Tommy jabbed a finger at Kierce. “Now hers matches his. Black an’ everything.”

“That ain’t right.” Bannon crossed his arms over his chest. “She weren’t yours to take, Reaper.”

“Reapers don’t got halos,” Tommy reasoned. “He’s somethin’ else.”

This was a prime opportunity for me to try out my explanation with a captive audience.

Kierce clasped hands with me, hauling me into a seated position, but I pulled free before he lifted me onto my feet. I wanted to remain at their level. He seemed to understand this and fell back, giving them space to crowd around me.

“It’s like this.” I folded my legs under me. “I died a few days ago and?—”

“I called it.” Johnny slapped the other boys’ shoulders. “Welcome to the club.”

“—but then I woke up alive.” I chuckled as they scratched their heads. “Turns out one of my parents was a god. Who knew? Now I’m like this.” I spread my arms. “Stuck somewhere in between.”

That part could use a polish before I trotted it out in front of Josie and Matty, but practice made perfect.

“She’s a demigoddess,” Kierce told them, and their jaws threatened to unhinge.

“She’s like you.” Black clouded Bannon’s eyes as he glared at Kierce. “This your doin’?”

Um. Yeah. That bit should also be worked over before my siblings attacked Kierce in a rabid frenzy.

“No,” I rushed to reassure them. “Another god did it.”

“Why’re all them gods in Savannah?” Tommy looked to the others. “Why’d they hurt Frankie?”

Yet another point I wish I could tick off my fingers, but it was a mystery. “I wish I knew.”

Had there always been this much divine activity in the city, I would have heard about it from the spirits. I had an awfully persistent voice in my head warning me their interest in Savannah and its surrounding areas was a recent development, and that it was somehow my fault for attracting their attention.

“We’ll keep an eye out.” Johnny made it a promise. “No charge.”

“What he said.” Bannon jerked his head in a nod. “Any gods around ’ere will ’ave to go through us.”

“We’ll help.” Tommy tugged on my hand. “It’ll be okay, Frankie.”

Warm tears rolled down my cheeks. “Thanks, boys.”

A blink later, they were gone, off to peddle gossip and investigate. Too bad they couldn’t transport items like a ghosty USPS. I could have sent the vial for Vi off with them instead of paying for overnight delivery.

“Well.” I wiped my face dry. “That was exciting.”

“Too exciting.” Kierce fingered a hole in my jeans. “I shouldn’t have taunted you.”

“I like when you play with me.” I examined the skin beneath the tear. “Unless that sounds weird?”

“You enjoy teasing.” He sat beside me. “I enjoy it too.”

“Teasing or being teased?” I couldn’t find so much as a speck of blood. “And where is my road rash?”

After a brief consideration, he decided, “Both.” He pulled my hand away from my knee. “How do you feel?”

“Good. I’m not hurt. I should be, but I’m…” I put two and two together then. “The lust dirt.”

“Yes.” Amusement curled his lips. “The lust dirt.”

“You’re saying the energy we consumed healed me before I drew blood.” I wiggled my finger in the hole again. “That’s crazy.” A flash of how ruined he had been the night Ankou attacked him left my throat dry as dust and desperate to avoid a repeat. “Ankou hurt you so badly you couldn’t heal here, even so close to the cemetery. How did he cage you anyway?”

“He’s an osteokinetic.” He tapped the tip of my shoe. “For that reason, his god gifted him with one of his toe bones. Ankou can shape bone like putty, but divine bones are rare. They can injure or even kill gods if their wounds are severe enough.”

“He tried to kill you.” I placed a hand over his chest, where the worst of the damage had been. “What an asshole.” I couldn’t shake the certainty the cage aspect had been a taunt. “Why aren’t you madder about that?”

“Ankou knows what he’s doing. He incapacitated me and insured I wouldn’t be there to guide or protect you. He would have come for you, if Dis Pater hadn’t intervened, to guarantee your death before my return.”

“Well, he got what he wanted,” I said flatly. “Too bad we still don’t know why he wanted it.”

An incoming text drew my attention to my pocket, and I pulled out my cell.

As if talk of Ankou and his freaky bone manipulation skills had summoned bad news, Carter supplied it.

We found bones.

Whose?

That’s the million-dollar question.

Want to meet for coffee?

A quick check of the time quirked my brow.

How do you know I’m not home in my pajamas?

Josie tracks your phone. She says you’re at Bonaventure. With Kierce.

She’s tracking him too?

Scratch that. Of course she’s stalking him. She can’t help herself.

Probably because she didn’t try very hard not to be a bratty little sister.

Is that a yes?

Yeah. Sure. Text us the address.

“The crime scene techs found bones.” I couldn’t shake my unease. “Carter wants to meet for coffee.”

“Are they related to your missing loaner?”

“She didn’t say.” I tapped my phone against my chin. “Are you up for a rematch?”

His slight hesitation betrayed his concern over my recent impression of a tumbleweed in a tornado.

“I have more energy to burn.” I rose with a grunt I was shocked to realize was only habit not necessity. “I understand if you’re too scared to—” Dirt sprayed my cheek as he sprinted for the gate. “Hey.” Laughter bubbled out of me as I scrabbled to catch him. “It doesn’t count if you don’t say ready, set, go.”

“Ready, set, go,” he called back to me, not slowing down.

“I had that coming,” I mumbled to myself.

Judging by my smile, I didn’t mind one bit.

When I thought of Mallow, located in downtown Savannah, I pictured it as a hot chocolate bar. Hand-cut marshmallows, seventy-five percent cacao drinks, hand-whipped cream. The short coffee menu featured heavy mocha undertones, and the tea menu was nonexistent. The lack of cheddar-based options made it a peculiar choice for Carter.

The fact she sat at a table with two cupcakes pierced with candles and a lighter made it even weirder.

Cautious of what ill omen her choice in snack heralded, I approached her slowly to ensure my sister wasn’t hiding under the table, poised to jump out and scare ten years off my life. Though I couldn’t recall any holidays, birthdays, or special occasions matching today’s date, siblings required no excuse to terrorize one another.

“Sit.” Carter kicked out two chairs. “Have a salted caramel cupcake.”

As Kierce and I lowered ourselves onto our seats, she lit the candles then propped her phone facing us.

“Happy first kiss day to you,” Josie sang. “Happy first smooch day to you. Happy first liplock, Frankie and Kierce-y. Happy you finally reached first base to you.”

“I vow to spend tonight switching stakes in your garden so that you don’t know what you planted until it sprouts. Then I will pick all your underripe fruit and vegetables and feed them to the crows. Crows I’ll let Badb handpick from the local flock to join her in feasting until they poop seeds across your garden, mixing fruits and vegetables all willy-nilly and ruining your carefully segregated raised beds.”

“You monster ,” she breathed, clutching her throat.

“Blow out the candle,” Carter prompted Kierce. “Then make a wish.”

While he considered what to ask for, or perhaps whether she was pulling his leg, I jumped on mine.

“I wish Josie’s secret recipe for fried chicken, the one so secret even she can’t remember it, gets lost. Forever. ”

Josie sucked in a shocked breath, horror plain across her face. “You…you…”

The fact she couldn’t find a word bad enough to pin on me almost brightened my mood. “Yes?”

“Oh. Wait. Ha. Sucker.” She stuck out her tongue. “You told us your wish, so it won’t come true.”

“Damn it.” I pounded my fist on the table. “Then I’ll have to get revenge the old-fashioned way.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Carter leaned forward. “What’s the old-fashioned way?”

“Where are you?” I twirled the dessert in my hand. “I have a cupcake with your name on it.”

That I would gladly smash right between her eyes if I could sneak up on her fast enough.

“Hang up now.” Carter mouthed the words to me. “Track her phone later.”

Turnabout was fair play, and I wasn’t abusing the family plan on our tracking app nearly enough.

“Fear me.” I mashed the end button on Josie then turned on Carter. “Why did you help me strike fear in the heart of your roomie? You’re the one who has to sleep down the hall from her.”

“Josie left a ball of hair the size of a yorkie in the shower this morning.”

Part of me wondered at them using the same shower. The rest of me didn’t want to know. Ever.

“Do you want my wish?” Kierce offered me his cupcake. “I haven’t used it yet.”

“One per customer,” Carter chided, but her expression was grimmer without Josie on the line.

“She’s right.” I let my candle extinguish itself in my frosting. “You should use yours for what you want.”

A faint crinkle of his eyes told me he had selected his ask for the universe, then he blew out the candle.

“Do I eat it now?” His earnestness made my heart squeeze. “To make it come true?”

His tastes as the Viduus fell on the bloodier side of the scale. Blue steaks. Seared ahi. Smoked oysters. Lots of sushi. A stray vegetable sneaked in here or there, but he made no efforts to round out his diet.

“You don’t have to, but the baked goods here are top-notch.”

“Then I’ll decline.” He held it out to me. “Would you like?—?”

“Yes.” Carter snatched it out of his hand. “I would.” She placed it before her. “Thanks.”

Unable to look away, even though I wanted to, I watched her crush cheddar puffs in their bag. I couldn’t stop my throat from bobbing as she sprinkled crumbs over the top of the cupcake, really getting in there, mashing them into the frosting. “What have you done?”

“Have you ever heard of Chicago-style popcorn?”

“Yes.” I saw where this was headed and explained to Kierce. “It’s half cheddar and half caramel.”

“This is no different.” She jabbed a fork into her creation. “Salted caramel cupcake plus cheddar puff.”

“A Chicago-style cupcake.” I glanced away after the first bite. “A classic flavor combo no one asked for.”

“Now that I’ve tormented you on Josie’s behalf, we need to get down to business.” She kept shoveling it in. “Bones.” She paused to sip from her drink. “Dozens of them.”

Leaning forward, Kierce rested an elbow on the table. “Animal, human, or other?”

Other covered a lot of ground when it came to the paranormal community.

“The ones I saw weren’t humanoid.” She waved her fork. “I should have species confirmation soon.”

“A large concentration of bones,” he mused, “could indicate a burial ground.”

A chill swept through me at the thought of disturbing a mass grave. “Which would rule out animals.”

“Unless it’s a cache,” Carter countered, a certainty in her expression that worried me.

“An animal with a pantry that large is either a voracious predator,” I mumbled, “or an old one.”

A hiss whistled through Kierce’s teeth, and the mark on my forearm throbbed in time with my heart.

And then it all.

Just.

Stopped.

“How far is it from Manchester to Portsmouth?”

Buzzing in my ears made hearing difficult, but that line breached the haze.

“You have one job. It’s obeying me. You’re not doing your job.”

Weightlessness nestled me in a bubble that drifted above the scene shrouded in mists below me.

“I’m sorry,” an inhuman voice replied in a chipper tone. “I didn’t quite get that.”

“How fucking far is it from fucking Manchester to fucking Portsmouth?”

A sudden crash beneath me dumped enough adrenaline into my system to bring my brain back online. I fell to the floor beside a round speaker that must have been a virtual assistant of some flavor who’d just received their pink slip.

“Ouch.” I rubbed my tailbone. “That hurt.”

“You expected it to hurt, so it hurts.” A fit man in his midsixties sat in a chair behind an expansive desk. “Next time, don’t expect pain from your incorporeal body, and you won’t experience any.”

“Dis Pater.” I recognized the distracted, self-important voice. “Why am I here?”

“Good question.” He propped his feet on top of his desk. “I summoned Kierce, but I got you.”

“Kierce?” I scrambled to stand, but the floor squished like a bouncy house beneath me. “Where is he?”

“The same place he always is, I imagine.” He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “This book is slowly killing me.” He lifted a hand. “I know, I know. I always say that at this point.” He dragged that same hand down his face. “But this time, I mean it.”

“Where is Kierce?”

“There’s so much research involved,” he lamented. “Why did I think cozies were a good idea?”

A growl rumbled up the back of my throat as I stomped over to him. “Where. Is. Kierce?”

“Look out the window.” He flipped a manicured hand at me. “Then either help me or fuck off.”

Through the glass, I spotted Kierce stalking toward the cottage. “Why is he out there?”

“I know you’re new, but I didn’t realize you were stupid.”

A twitch set up camp beneath my left eye, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to punch him.

“Do you think I let just anyone in here?” He dropped his legs. “This is my home. No one can just waltz in. I have gods’-bone wards, mouthy girl.” Bones were a hot topic today. “The best money can buy.” He kicked off his shoes and flashed an awful lot of pale toes missing their tips. “You shouldn’t have been able to pop in.”

A door slammed open somewhere to the right of us, and Kierce burst into the office seconds later.

“Frankie,” he breathed and then turned a venomous glare on Dis Pater. “What is she doing here?”

“I didn’t invite her.” He put his shoe back on. “Are you sure you didn’t bring her?”

“She’s astrally projecting herself,” Kierce determined. “You can’t be outside your body for long, Frankie.”

Luckily, Carter was with said body, so it would be safe.

Unluckily, Vi would murder me if she found out I had astral projected on a whim.

Not that I intended to end up here. There was no intent. Just poof . Here I was.

Maybe the summoning token had something to do with it? The tattoolike design on my forearm allowed me to call Kierce to me. The last time I smeared blood on it, it hadn’t worked. Kierce hadn’t been healed enough. Maybe this meant it was operational again and my newly minted godhood twisted it into a two-way street?

“Kierce,” Dis Pater spoke his name softly. “You’re focusing on the wrong thing.”

Shoulders snapping back, Kierce marched to the god then knelt at his feet.

I got the distinct impression none of those actions had been performed by choice.

“Master,” he rumbled in a warning growl. “What do you wish of me?”

“The Alcheyvāhā have been disturbed, and I want you to find out who is responsible and their agenda.”

“Alcheyvāhā?” He tasted the name but shook his head. “I don’t recall…”

“Oh. Right.” He flicked his wrist toward Kierce. “There you go. That should clear up things.”

Understanding flickered across Kierce’s features, and rage chased it, or so I thought. There and gone so fast, I couldn’t be certain I hadn’t misread him. But I didn’t think I had. “Kierce?”

Kierce, if he heard me, kept his full attention trained on his god.

“Now go.” Dis Pater poured himself a glass of amber fluid he drained in one gulp. “Take your little friend with you.”

A tight pinch in my midsection exploded into a full-body yank that jerked me into darkness.

“Josie is going to murder me. I’ll never be able to step outside again. The oak tree will pulverize me.”

I opened my eyes to find Carter cradling me in her arms. She knelt on the tiles, rocking with me as a horrifying array of plant-based dooms spilled from her mind into the chaos of Mallow as the cashier paced next to us, chanting at herself to be calm, that paramedics were on the way.

“I’m good,” I croaked to Carter, then told the cashier, “Low blood sugar.”

The sound of my voice startled Carter, and she flung me off her. Skull bouncing off the floor, I grunted at the brief sting. The energy Kierce and I had consumed earlier must have worn off. Either that, or I had used it up after my spectacular crash landing at Bonaventure.

“Frankie.” Carter scooped me up again, dusting me off like the five-second rule applied to people. “Are you okay?”

“Depends.” Tense as a board in her arms, I had to ask, “Are you going to drop me again?”

Sirens blared a warning that coaxed a fresh burst of energy from the already frantic cashier.

As soon as they pulled in, the cashier rushed out to greet the paramedics, and Kierce materialized in a corner. He must have been waiting on her to leave so she wouldn’t remark on his sudden appearance. He strode over, let out a relieved exhale, and lifted me into his arms.

“Do you want to stay?” Concern warred across his features. “Let them examine you?”

“No.” I thumped my head against his chest. “I absolutely do not.”

More than likely, those were human paramedics, and I had no good excuses for the glitter in my veins.

“We better hurry then.” Carter rose and shoved us toward the counter. “Use the employee exit.”

With more grace than I had ever possessed, Kierce navigated the rear of the store and located the door. Carter pushed it open and pointed to a bar across the way. Kierce hustled through the alley, and we let ourselves in through the back, ending up in a hallway leading to the bathrooms.

Safe from immediate detection, we walked out of the bar and into a diner one street over. I got looks for Kierce carrying me, but I was enjoying the ride, and the excuse to snuggle against him.

“You must be newlyweds,” the hostess cooed. “This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah.” Carter nudged Kierce toward a booth in the back. “They’re lovey- dove y all right.”

The bird reference earned her a scowl from me, but she pretended not to notice.

“You can put me down.” I patted Kierce’s chest. “I was winded for a minute, but I’m fine now.”

Once the three of us sat, Carter got right to the point. “What the hell happened back there?”

“He was summoned by his god,” I answered for us. “For some reason, my soul went along for the ride.”

“Your soul ?” She rubbed her arms like she was scrubbing off spirit cooties. “You left your body behind?”

“It’s called astral projection,” Kierce explained. “It’s dangerous for someone with her talents.”

The number one reason Vi hadn’t wanted me toying with astral projection was the tendency for people like me to wander into the spirit world and forget to come back. I had experienced the sensation before, when I snuffed out souls, but my siblings had always been there to pull me back. To leave my body and travel hundreds of miles to a place I had never been? That was new.

On the upside, I had shot right back to my body without a hitch. Maybe the true danger had been while I was alive. Had I gotten lost, I would have died. Now that I had gotten death out of the way, I might learn the control required to utilize the skill.

“What I’m hearing is,” Carter drawled, “we’re not telling Josie about this.”

“That would be for the best.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I need to talk to Vi about it but…”

After her ordeal, she would require time to heal, and I didn’t want to heap more worries on her plate.

But, proving I could be taught, I did text her a brief summary of events. Rollo wouldn’t show her anytime soon, assuming he didn’t delete it outright, but it was the best I could do. It would have to be enough.

Kierce held my hand under the table but set his sights on Carter. “I must examine the burial ground.”

“Why do you sound certain that’s what it is?” She faked interest in the menu. “You weren’t before.”

“I have been given this task.” He flexed his jaw. “I have no choice but to fulfill my god’s will.”

A twitch of his fingers in mine hinted he wasn’t happy about that, and it made me wonder again how it was he became the Viduus. I bet he questioned it too. His life had been erased from his memories with time. Or so we had assumed. Now that I was aware of Dis Pater’s penchant for memory erasure when it was convenient for him, I was no longer certain of anything except Kierce was bound into Dis Pater’s service. Eternally.

A call interrupted whatever question had Carter leaning forward, and she rose to take it outside.

“Dis Pater had a name for the remains.” I thought back on it. “Alchy? Alcheyv?”

“Alcheyvāhā.” Kierce drew circles on the table with his fingertip. “They were old gods.”

“The burial ground…” the blood in my veins turned to ice, “…it’s full of god bones?”

After learning about Ankou’s gift of bone manipulation, this development didn’t sit well with me.

Paired with the disappearance of his god tree? Yeah. I wasn’t happy about this one bit.

Too many of his favorite toys were appearing in the same place at the same time to be a coincidence.

“How did I miss it?” He wiped away the design as if it held potential. “I should have sensed it.”

Ankou’s god tree pinged on my radar, so how could a heap of god bones not cause a blip?

“I was wondering.” I dove through the opening he left me. “About what Dis Pater said.”

“I’m sure he said a great many things when he had you alone.”

“It sounded like he…” I searched for a polite way to ask but found none. “Did he take your memories?”

“Of the Alcheyvāhā?” He read into the gap I left for suspicion Dis Pater had stolen more. “Yes.”

“That’s why you didn’t know they were there,” I realized while dread blossomed in my stomach.

Because if Dis Pater could hit reset on Kierce, what assurances did I have he wouldn’t delete me one day too? Just lift us each from the other’s minds and set us marching off in opposite directions?

“I remember what I knew about them before, and I remember his specific instructions on forgetting too. He had good reason for what he did.” He noted my disbelief and, in some ways, mirrored it. “This time.” He shook his head. “We must return.” He didn’t sound happy. “There will be repercussions for disturbing the gods’ rest.”

“What about the abductions?” I gazed after Carter. “What would old gods want with all those vehicles?”

The people, sadly, had plenty of uses. Particularly for gods. Starting with the old favorite—sacrifice.

“I don’t know.” His gaze locked with mine. “But we’re going to find out.”