Chapter 10

CHAPTER

TEN

"I've never seen this part of the city," Funus mused from inside the backpack Barnaby was sporting. The small, mostly canvas bag was meant for people to haul around their miniature chihuahuas or less feral cats in, complete with a domed window for said animals to peer out of. Barnaby had it strapped to his front to allow Funus to sightsee from a better vantage point.

The skull looked hilarious draped in fake fur. It was a terrible disguise if given more than a quick glance, but most people in the city were so used to seeing people lugging their darlings in the damn things they didn't care what Barnaby's "pet" looked like.

"That's because this part of the city is not ideal for casual strolling," Barnaby mumbled, clutching the backpack like someone was going to try and snatch it from him. "The Swallows aren't exactly the safest part of town during daytime hours, so I'm not in love with being here so late."

"Relax. It's actually not that bad unless you stand out." I smirked at his bow tie. "You blend right in."

"You're not funny or charming." Barnaby hugged his bag tighter.

"Oooh, look at the art on the bricks! So colorful!" the centuries old skull cooed from inside his dog purse. "Barnaby darling, can you decipher that language for me?"

"It's graffiti, Funus. I don't know what it says."

"Oh! Look! A penis! You love those!"

Barnaby flushed bright pink. "I don't love them, for the love of the gods. I appreciate their cultural significance in fertility rituals. Dallas, shut up ."

"Never," I managed through my wheezing. "I love everything that's happening right now."

"Gentlemen," Sias scolded. "Can we collect ourselves? We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"This was such a mistake," Barnaby continued to complain, but did it quieter. "I should have never agreed to this."

I wiped the joyful tears from my eyes and checked my app, the ping of void activity growing closer. The signal was weak, which was a hell of a blessing, and I shot off two text messages noting the approaching cross streets. I also paired my second cup of coffee with some pain meds, because the pancakes didn't do anything for the pain in my leg.

"I don't see anything. Why are we stopping?" Barnaby turned in two circles, eyes bouncing all around for signs of danger. "Where is it?"

"Relax, Barns. We're close. We gotta wait here a second." I offered him some coffee. "We're not going to let anything happen to you. Once I give the signal, you pass me Funus and go. You're not sticking around."

He took the cup and swallowed down half of the contents.

"Gods, this is such a bad idea."

"For what it's worth, I don't think it's terrible. Just slightly unhinged," Funus unhelpfully offered.

"Better than insane," I pitched, leaning on a light post to ease the burden off my leg.

"I'm already hating the sound of this," Preston Cheslock announced his presence, his scowl along for the ride. His silver-eyed companion gave me a friendlier nod as a greeting.

"What's this about, Wilde?" Seyyid asked. "Technically we're not supposed to get involved in the void disruptions, and neither are you."

"Technically alcohol is poison, but it's still fun to drink. It's all about how you handle it." I showed them my app, with the pinging signal of a baby void tear starting to emerge. "We're going to handle the shit out of this tear, and you're going to walk away with the evidence that Florence Pierce is directly involved."

"Gods above." Preston aimed his scowl at my phone, then brandished that look at me with the full intent to kill with it. "You're tracking them? How?"

"That info is classified." I leaned away as he swiped at it. "You want in on this or not? Cause I'm trying to be nice and not kick you in the balls right now."

"How are the tears linked to Florence?" Seyyid pulled Preston back by the elbow. "And how is going to one anything other than suicide?"

"She's causing them and you'll see." I pocketed my phone and gave Preston a skeptical glance. Once he huffed and fell into place beside Seyyid, I relaxed. "All you need to do is hang back, stay away from the void, and run interference if DHAP shows up early."

"We don't have jurisdiction over what DHAP officials do." Seyyid shrugged. "We're suspended."

"Do what you can."

"You're going to get us into deeper shit than we already are," Preston accused. "We're on thin ice as it is."

"If this goes as intended, you'll be brought back with glowing reviews. You're gonna have to trust me." I flipped Preston off when he barked a laugh.

"You're full of shit."

"Normally, yeah. This time I'm being honest." It was my turn to shrug. "I can't make you stay. Go if you want. But this is your shot to show your superiors that you were right all this time. That's gotta be tempting."

"Or we get kicked off the force and disgraced for partnering with you," Preston countered. "Not as tempting."

"We'll do it." Seyyid met Preston's gaze when his partner wheeled on him. "We're helping."

"You gotta be kidding me."

Seyyid was a handsome guy; fit, capable, smart, and had the biggest, magical puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen. I wasn't even dating the guy and I honestly would've done whatever he wanted in that moment. He wielded them with deadly precision, without needing to deploy his jinn persuasion magic.

"This is bigger than our careers, Preston. Win or lose, we have to try." Seyyid went in for the kill and gave Preston a small, playful smirk. "Not like you to back down from a fight."

Preston didn't stand a chance. He folded like paper under those silver eyes.

"Fine." Preston exhaled. "We'll back you up, Wilde. But I swear to God, if this is some bullshit runaround, I'm going to hang your corpse on my front lawn."

"Who are you pissing off now?" Austin gave Seyyid and Preston a quick assessment, his Saint's Army insignia tossing light back in their faces. "You didn't mention additional people being here."

"Saint's Army? Fuck's sake, Wilde," Preston growled. "You're partnering with them?"

"Before you both start spitting insults at each other, I can assure you that you'll bond over your equal disdain for me," I refereed. "Let's just skip to the part where we partner up and get this shit done. We need to strike while this void tear is still weak."

"Any interaction with this tear is going to give it a chance to grow," Austin cut in. "As soon as you start, DHAP and the Saint's will know about it. We'll have minutes before they're here."

"I just need a few. Funus is going to help stabilize the tear, and Sias is going to keep me tethered while I go diving. Austin, you get ready to attack anything that comes knocking. Preston and Seyyid will manage unwanted DHAP or police," I explained, watching for any confusion. "We good?"

"How is he going to keep the void stable?" Preston asked, giving Barnaby a skeptical glare. "He have a secret necromancy power we don't know about?"

"Not me," Barnaby scoffed, unzipping the backpack, folding down the front to reveal the dome window. "This is Funus."

Funus twinkled his yellow eyes from under his fake dog pelt.

"Good to meet you all. I look forward to working with you."

There was an uncomfortable pause while the three stared at Funus in a mixture of appalled horror and morbid curiosity.

"That's a talking skull," Preston finally said.

"You kidnapped a member of the necromancy council?" Austin baulked.

"No, I did," Barnaby shot back defensively. "Because your lot were murdering all of them. Now, because of my heroic actions, we have someone to help us. Maybe think about that the next time you go about destroying animated history all willy-nilly, you overstuffed trout."

"You just got shut down by a dandy with a talking skull," Preston explained to Austin, like maybe he didn't know what had just happened.

"I will fucking shoot you," Austin said to Preston, like maybe he didn't know what would happen.

"Enough!" Sias used his mean voice, which was similar to his hot Dom voice so it did funny things to my insides, and probably all of theirs, too. "Let's go."

There was a noticeable lack of arguing as we moved as a unit toward the tear.

The Swallows had already seen its share of calamity with the last tear, which was only a few blocks west of us. This new one had the grace to appear further away from a residential area, opting for the privacy of a closed down high school instead. From the state of the building, it had been shut down for a good decade and left to rot. Where the hell the unfortunate teenagers of the Swallows went to further their education was beyond me.

The tear was hanging out near the abandoned gym like a delinquent student, sparking with just enough energy to ping my phone but not set off any alarms. It moved like an angry ghost, fazing in and out of view with wisps of black smoke and crystalized agitation.

"It's small, but it still gives me the creeps," Preston shivered. "I saw the damage those things can cause."

"It won't stay small long." I motioned for them to stay back, suggesting where they should stand. "Keep your distance and be on watch. We can handle this part."

"How sure are you that this is going to work?" Seyyid eyed the tear, wariness growing. "What if we unleash something worse because you meddled with it?"

"I've done this before, but this time we have Funus. He can manage the void better than I can."

"Centuries of experience," Funus assisted. "I have confidence we'll do just fine. But I would keep your distance, just in case I'm supremely wrong."

"Thanks, man." My sarcasm went right over the skull, and he twinkled his eyes.

"Take these." Austin handed Seyyid a round of life infused bullets. "If something gets close, aim for the head or eyes. If it doesn't go down, run."

"Saint bless us," Preston mumbled.

"The Saint watches and protects," Austin finished for him. "Don't miss."

Seyyid and Preston took my advice and moved a short distance away from us, posting themselves near the edge of the gym to watch for any unwanted police reinforcements.

Austin readied his own weapon, glaring at the tear as it jerked and hissed.

"This had better work, Wilde."

"Yeah, no kidding. You'll be a real prick if it doesn't." I held my hand out for Funus's bag. "Barns, you get far away from here. No reason for you to stay in the crossfire."

"I'd like to stay." Barnaby tightened his grip on the bag's straps. "If it's all the same."

"It's not," I corrected. "You're not staying here."

"I've joined you on dangerous missions before, Dallas. I went all the way through the Silence Steps with you. I saved Funus, helped you navigate the tomb, helped you escape?—"

"There weren't any void vampires and shit last time, Barns. We're not about to solve some puzzles, we're about to rip open a door to hell." I moved to take the bag from him but he stepped back, his hand moving to rest on Funus.

"Barnaby, what's gotten into you?" Funus asked from his case. "This is no place to be defiant. It's dangerous."

Barnaby shucked the backpack gently, placing it on the ground so he could extract Funus and speak to him face to skull.

"Of course it's dangerous," Barnaby said to him. "That's precisely why I want to stay. You are being placed in the middle of things and you have no way of escaping if something goes wrong."

"I choose to be here," Funus argued. "It is my purpose to guide acolytes through the way of the Goddess?—"

"I'm not leaving you!" Barnaby announced, eyes growing glassy with frustration. "You stubborn old man, I'm staying right here. You are just going to have to deal with it. You're stuck with me, for better or worse, and I would argue this is a prime example of ‘worse.'"

Funus had lost the ability to look humbled or moved when his eyebrows had decayed off his face years ago. He didn't have lips or cheeks, no laugh lines or freckles. There was nothing human about his facial nuances after centuries of being just bone and personality.

Somehow, through magic or maybe just love, the way Funus's eyes danced did the job just fine.

"Well, then." Funus watched Barnaby with the big, bright yellow eyes of a dead guy who, at least in a metaphorical sense, was feeling his heart flutter. "I suppose you'll just need to stay."

"Good." Barnaby sniffed, satisfied. "I'm glad we got that settled."

I knew better than to try and convince him of how stupid he was being. I probably would have done the same thing. Funus was a pretty charismatic dead guy. I wasn't one to judge. I had been chasing my own dead dude for a while now.

"You good, Barns?"

"Yes." Barnaby angled Funus forward, holding him securely under his jaw. "Please be careful, Dallas. I will be very mad at you if you get us killed."

"Noted." I moved to the tear, pulling in the steadying breath I needed to keep my guts from turning to liquid. Sias was at my side, his hand resting between my shoulder blades.

"Tell me I'm not making a mistake," I said to Sias quietly, looking to him for the confidence I was starting to lose. "That I'm not going to get us all murdered. You heard Barns. I'll be in trouble."

"We aren't backing down now. And if it comes to that, I'll handle Barnaby." Sias moved his hand up to squeeze the nape of my neck. "Ready?"

"No, but we're doing it anyway." I wiggled my fingers to get the blood flowing, then tucked the obsidian vampire tooth against my right palm.

The void tear before me sputtered at my presence like an angry hornet, small and vicious. I knew that the moment I reached for it, called upon my weak connection to the death magic within, all hell was going to break loose.

My heart started to thunder at the anticipation of danger, fear nipping at the tender spots just beneath the adrenaline high.

Sias's fingers threaded through my hair, giving just the perfect amount of pressure.

"You know the rules, pet," he breathed into my ear, charm cooling the sharp stab of fear threatening. "You don't stop until I say. I'll tell you when you've had enough."

I swallowed. "Yes, Sias."

"Don't keep me waiting." His free hand slithered down my arm, lifting my wrist up to the tear. "Show me what you can do."

My temples pounded for a moment before easing, my chest a steady beat of terror mixed with a little bit of excitement.

Here we go.

I shut my eyes, fell into the bliss Sias cloaked me in, and reached for the void. Cold sparks danced over the tips of my fingers, little bites of warning from the corruption swirling through the magic. There was fear, compulsion, whispering for me to run, flee, fighting with the orders to give in to the darkness and let it swallow me whole.

It was faint at first, whispers in the dark, waiting just outside my thoughts as I curled my fingers around the familiar threads of death magic. The tear before us crackled with energy, swelling out and exhaling an arctic gust.

The threads across my fingers began to solidify from spider silk to strings, dancing around the piece of artificial scythe resting on my palm.

I curled my fingers around the strings and pulled the rip line, chaos roaring out from the other side.

The tear burst open, corruption splintering out like needles in all directions. Fear plunged a knife through my chest for a searing moment, smothered quickly by Sias as he felt me recoil.

"Breathe," he commanded, squeezing my hairline. "Good, pet. We've just started. You can't fall now."

"It's powerful," I managed through gasps of air. "Really fucking powerful."

"Push through, slow and steady." He hissed a lovely sound of satisfaction as I adjusted my grip on the threads and held fast. "That's my pet. Good boy."

A bewildered, "My God," punctured through, which I knew was Barnaby. I heard Austin grunt in agreement.

"Hold on tight!" Funus cheered from the sidelines. "I'm going to wrangle this mess as best I can!"

The corrupted magic pulsed and pushed, the energy nails raking down my skin. Cold threads wrapped around my wrist as my ability to hold death magic grew stronger, reinforced by the obsidian and Funus's guidance. The pressure of conflicting magic started to feel less noisy as Funus forged a pathway and through the growing chaos, I saw the void ripple, pure and open.

I had to bide my time.

My chance would come soon enough.

But the monsters inside saw us first.

I barely had time to duck as the horde took flight, pouring from the tear in a swarm of teeth and terror. Leathery wings made of bone and blades piloted the bat-like mass of creatures, a good twenty or more swirling hungrily above our heads like vultures.

"What the hell are those?!" Barnaby screeched, hugging Funus to his chest. He screamed again when Austin started picking them out of the sky using his gun. The creatures he managed to hit fell to ashes, but the mass was not pleased with the attack. The tiny bundles of evil began swooping down, screams so shrill and horrible they sent a sharp shiver through my eardrums.

Austin hissed as one bladed wing caught his arm as another slashed his cheek. The scent of fresh blood made the swarm scurry in the sky, eager to get a taste of him.

"Barnaby." Sias caught his attention, revealing his ugly as hell, but efficient, gun from the holster at his ribs. He pulled it free and presented it to him. "Can you shoot?"

"Is that a gun?" Barnaby looked amazed, because of course he did. "It's beautiful!"

"Take it." Sias pushed it into his hand. "Shoot at the bats."

"I…I'm not exactly…" Barnaby floundered.

"Barns, it's not hard," I told him, trying to keep my focus on the tear. "Point the deadly end at the sky and pull the trigger. Hold on tight or it'll jump out of your hand. Don't shoot us."

Barnaby ducked and yelled in alarm as a bat swooped at his head. As commanded, he aimed a shaking hand toward the sky and fired once, somehow sending a creature into a ball of dust.

"I hit it! I did it!"

"Great! Do it eleven more times!" I yelled, jerking as his next shot whizzed past my head. "I said don't shoot us , Barns!"

"I'm doing my best!" he screamed at me, like I was somehow the asshole in this situation.

Funus joined in on the "yelling at Dallas" game. "Keep your focus on the tear, acolyte!"

"Tell your boyfriend to stop trying to kill me!"

"He's doing fine!" Funus defended. "Focus on your task!"

"Ah-ha!" I grinned at them. "You didn't say he wasn't your boyfriend! I knew it!"

"Will you shut the fuck up, Wilde!" Austin yelled the same time Barnaby called me a bloated pig fart.

Sias gripped my hair and sent a wave of threatening pleasure through me that nearly buckled my knees.

"You focus on me now, pet," he said through his teeth. "Don't disobey me again. We're not done, and you've left me unsatisfied."

"O-okay. Fair." I swallowed. "But in my defense, Barns was trying to kill us."

"Yes, Sias," Sias growled the reminder, my body vibrating from the grip he had over me. My head was manipulated back to the tear, fingers gripping my hair while the other snaked around my waist. "Don't make me tell you again."

My heart hammered, the threads in my grip tightening as I regained control.

"Yes, Sias."

With my sights back on the pathway, I curled my fingers to hold it steady, waiting for the moment to strike. Corruption scraped at me, driving needles of panic and unwanted impulses through my temples.

Not yet.

Not yet .

"I hear sirens!" Preston called over to us. "They're coming this way!"

"Breathe," Sias coached as worry started to mount in my chest. I felt the arm around my waist pull me closer. "Don't stray from this moment. Stay right here."

We needed more time. We had to wait.

If we didn't time it just right, it was all going to fall apart. We weren't going to get another chance.

Not yet.

Almost.

Almost.

Gunfire and the piercing screams of the void creatures swirled around us, punctuated by Austin's orders and Barnaby's yelling. The tear grew bigger, spikes of obsidian stabbing through the air as glassy blades of death. I felt a shard pierce sideways, almost grazing my hip. Sias held me too tight to react.

It was getting too wild, too close, but whatever panic or self-preservation I needed in order to care was smothered by Sias's overwhelming charm magic. All I could feel were the calm bindings cocooning me in a golden embrace, even while death wrapped its tendrils around my fingers.

Through the darkness, through the veil of churning corruption and growing calamity, I saw it.

My opening—small, a blink, I had moments before it would shut forever.

I also saw a muzzle lined with teeth and eyeless sockets powered by malice charging with a body of powerful muscle and claws coming right for us.

Nothing could ever go as planned, could it?

It was easy to decide how to handle this extra helping of bullshit in an already stressful situation. Whether it was because I was being soothed by daddy Sias's fingers, or because a talking skull was helping to pave the way into the void, I'll never know. Either way, I saw the solution plain as day.

The window of opportunity was closing, a vicious beast of undead evil was charging, and I had to act. I turned in Sias's arms and kissed him, the jolt of surprise in his eyes and from his lips wonderful.

Before he could do much else, I placed both hands on his firm chest and shoved him backwards as hard as I could. He flailed, Barnaby dodged the sudden appearance of a staggering Sias, and I turned back just as the big bad beastie attempted to rip through the void.

The maw snapping through was bleached bone and acid-stained teeth, scaled tongue lashing as it tried to rip at the seams of the tear.

I heard Sias scream my name as I charged, wrapping my arms around the muzzle of the feral death hound, and shoved it back into the void.

The beast slashed but couldn't keep its grip, tumbling backward into the tear.

Taking me with it.