Chapter Twelve

Meena

I read through a book for beginning herbalists while I waited for Jake. Carol had been teaching me about different plants and what they were good for. So far this magic stuff was about as exciting as a cooking class teaching you how to boil water.

Goblin sat next to me on the couch in cat form. When a knock sounded on the door, he jerked awake and hissed.

“What’s going on?” Carol came in from the kitchen.

“Don’t open that door,” Goblin said, and then he shifted to human form.

“It’s supposed to be Jake.” What set Goblin off?

“I’m not here to steal your witch,” a voice said from outside the door. “I’m here for Meena.”

Goblin turned to me with narrowed eyes. “You have a familiar?”

I hadn’t thought about Sage since I’d stormed out of Zelda’s. I never even mentioned him to my dad. That made me feel bad. “Sort of. We met the other day.”

“Maybe someone could open the door,” Jake said from the porch.

Carol smirked and crossed the room. She pulled the door open. Sage stood there looking amused, while Jake appeared irritated.

“May I enter?” Sage asked, looking past Carol to Goblin.

“No,” Goblin said. “You’re annoyingly handsome. Go away.”

Carol and I both laughed.

Sage gave a slow grin and a slight nod. “Why thank you. Meena, would you like to join us on the porch?”

“I guess I’m going.” I grabbed my book bag and headed out the door.

“We should take your car since all three of us won’t fit in Jake’s truck,” Sage said.

“Or, you could go away, since I’m here to see Meena and you’re a third wheel,” Jake said.

“Do you want me to leave?” Sage directed the question to me.

Did he mean for now or for good? “Why don’t we drive back to my house? You can meet Pumpkin and Marshmallow, and Jake and I can talk about what we’re going to do today.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about in the first place,” Sage said. “I wanted to meet my new housemates and check out the living arrangements.”

Jake sat in the front seat of my Volkswagen with me while Sage sat in the back.

“I got a job this morning,” Jake said as I drove toward home.

“Any demons involved in your employment?” I asked.

“No, and no hair nets either. I’m working for Dale’s Hardware. He’s sending me out to be a handy man. I’m going to put lights onto someone’s front porch tomorrow.”

“That’s cool.”

“Tell her about Sybil,” Sage said from the back seat.

Uh-oh. “Did your friendly neighborhood vampire come visit you?” I asked.

“Yeah. She brought me doughnuts.”

“That’s…interesting.”

“Sybil wouldn’t be a bad ally to have,” Sage chimed in.

“Vampires aren’t allies,” I said. “They’re blood suckers with cougar-ish tendencies.”

Jake snorted. “I feel like I’m walking the line of not wanting to encourage her and not wanting to tick her off. A mad vampire would not be fun to deal with.”

“Kind of how I feel about Bane.”

When we reached my house, I parked in the driveway since my dad wouldn’t be home for hours.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s make feline introductions, and then you and I will figure out what we’re doing.”

Marshmallow came running into the living room to greet me and Pumpkin sat on the couch waiting for me to come pet him. Jake came in behind me. When Sage walked in the door, Marshmallow did figure-eights around his ankles, which she normally only did for family.

“Hello, sweet feline.” Sage squatted down and ran his hands over Marshmallow’s white fur. “Such a beautiful coat you have.” Marshmallow purred and then came to do figure-eights around my ankles. She completely ignored Jake. Since he didn’t try to pet her I figured his feelings weren’t hurt.

“Pumpkin,” Sage said. “I understand that this is your house. I’m here to look after Meena.”

Every strand of fur on Pumpkin’s body stood on end, puffing him up to twice his normal size.

“That is not a happy cat,” Jake said.

I set my book bag down and walked over to Pumpkin. “I’m going to pet you. Don’t scratch me.” This warning was effective about fifty percent of the time. I sat next to Pumpkin and slowly reached out to stroke his head. Some of his fur settled back down. “Sage is not here to replace you.”

“This might work better if I shifted,” Sage said.

I kept my eyes on Pumpkin so I didn’t see Sage change. In his black-and-gray striped cat form, he approached the couch. Rather than hopping up to join us, he flopped down on the floor and stretched like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Pumpkin is bigger,” Jake said.

Pumpkin was a large cat in general, and he was also a little chubby. He outweighed Sage by a few pounds. Seeing the size difference must have reassured him, because Pumpkin’s fur flattened out like he was no longer on high alert.

Jake cleared his throat.

I’m pretty sure he was sick of all the cat drama. I stood and headed for the kitchen. “I think our work here is done. Time for the humans to talk.”

Jake followed behind me through the kitchen and into the back room, which had a futon and television.

He sat on the futon and glanced around. “You have two living rooms?”

“This used to be a screened-in porch. My dad changed it to a television room so we have one room for reading and one for watching movies.” I sat next to him, leaving some space between us so it didn’t look like I was making a move on him.

“What was that thing between Sage and Goblin?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe familiars are territorial.”

“I kind of understand,” Jake said. “And I still don’t like that he’s living here with you.”

“At least he didn’t bring me breakfast in bed,” I teased.

He grinned. “So if we’re keeping score, I’m competing with a cat-man and a demon for your time. And you’re competing with a vampire for mine.”

“Yes, but technically Sybil is also Vi, so she counts as two people.”

“How about I reassure you?” Jake scooted closer and put his arm around my shoulders. “I’m about as interested in Sybil as you are in Bane.”

“You’ve seen Bane. He’s large and scary. What does Sybil look like?”

“Manipulative and like she’s plotting against me,” Jake said.

“Are you tempted by her offer?”

“I have no desire to become a vampire. New topic, did you find anything in Carol’s books that might help you break your contract or reach out to your mom?”

“She didn’t have anything about breaking a demon contract, but I’m checking into dissolving contracts between people.”

“Bane isn’t a person,” Jake said.

“No, but Carol is.”

“That is a nice loophole.” Jake beamed.

“I thought so. I haven’t found a way to do it yet without killing one of the people…minor detail, I know…but there are many, many more books I can look through.”

“Good. How about reaching your mom?”

“Let me grab the books I brought back with me.” I retrieved my book bag and saw that Marshmallow and Sage were curled up together on the floor while Pumpkin ruled over them from his position on the couch.

Once I was seated next to Jake again, I turned to one of the pages Carol had marked. “There are some spells that might help me reach my mom. I’m not near ready to try them, but it helps knowing there’s hope.”

Jake peered at the page. “It looks like a recipe from a cookbook.”

“I thought you didn’t cook.”

“My dad did.” He ran his finger down the page. “This makes it seem like all you have to do is mix these ingredients together and you’ll have a spell. It can’t be that simple.”

“It’s not. All magic comes at a cost. Anyone trying to cast a spell must come up with the appropriate words and shed a little blood. It’s the final ingredient for all spells.”

“Blood. Great.” Jake reached for my hand. “I’ll help you no matter what, but you might want to consider who you’ll be bringing back. Your mom might not be the same person she was.”

“I know.” I cleared my throat. “Carol warned that she might not know me at all. She might be like a blank slate with no memories.”

“Worse-case scenario, you wake someone with no memories and no connections with you or your family. Is it worth that risk?”

“I’m not sure.” One thought plagued me. “Bane could fix everything.”

“He could, but would your mom want that? Would she be happy to be alive watching someone siphon off bits of your soul until you disappear?”

I knew she wouldn’t want that. “Why isn’t there some middle ground? I don’t expect a happily-ever-after, but I’d like a content-for-now.”

…

Jake

“Maybe you should learn whatever magic you can from Carol to increase your odds of finding a way to reach your mom. Other than that, I’m not sure you have a lot of options.”

“Our family copes with ice cream.”

She stood and walked over to the deep freeze in some sort of laundry room and opened it. “We have Neapolitan, cookies and cream, or chocolate mint.”

“Neo-what?” I’d never heard of that flavor.

She grabbed a container of ice cream that showed chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. “Three flavors,” she said. “And my dad said it’s named after Naples, Italy. It was my mom’s favorite. She used to say why settle for one flavor when you can have three.”

“Makes sense. I’ll try some.” I followed her into the kitchen.

Meena filled a couple of bowls and added spoons and we sat at the table. Pumpkin came padding into the room. In one leap he jumped up onto the table and looked at Meena expectantly.

“Is he supposed to be on the table?” I’d never had a cat, but it didn’t seem like a good idea.

“He thinks he’s allowed on the table,” Meena said. “Cats kind of do their own thing, which is one reason I like them.” She scooped out some of her vanilla and dropped it at the cat’s feet. Pumpkin licked the frozen glob like this was his normal routine.

“What’s our next step?”

“Well,” Meena said. “We can enjoy summer while avoiding vampires and demons as much as possible—”

Knock knock.

Meena looked at me and then glanced toward the living room where the front door was located. “Is it me or is that timing a bit creepy?”

Knock knock knock.

“Kind of creepy,” I agreed.

“I’ll see who it is.” She set her spoon down, pushed her chair back, and walked into the living room. I followed behind her. She peered out the peephole in the door. “Crap.”

Before she swung the door open I had a pretty good idea who I’d see. Bane stood there, blocking out the light from the afternoon sun.

“Why are you here?” Meena asked.

“You said I should warn you before I zapped you someplace,” Bane said.

“Great,” Meena said. “Where are we going?”

“You’re attending a meeting with me,” Bane said.

Sage transformed from a cat to a man in record time. He walked over and insinuated himself between Meena and Bane. Just slid right in like there was enough room for him. Meena stepped back but Bane didn’t budge.

“We haven’t been properly introduced.” He held out his hand. “I’m Sage, Meena’s familiar.”

I didn’t know demons could look surprised, but I’d swear Bane’s mouth dropped open a fraction of an inch before he plastered on a fake smile. “Nice to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have business to attend to.”

“I’m sure you understand if I feel the need to accompany Meena to this undisclosed destination,” Sage said.

All of this fake politeness was annoying.

“Cut the crap,” I said. “Where are you taking Meena and why do you need her?”

Both Sage and Bane seemed mildly offended.

“I second that question,” Meena said.

All three of us looked at Bane expectantly. He raised an eyebrow. Just one. How do people do that? I’d tried practicing in the bathroom mirror but could never make it work.

“I could reduce all of you to lifeless husks with a few simple words,” Bane said. “Stop acting like we’re equals. I’m being polite to Meena by choice.” He reached out and touched her hair. “Because I like her.” He pointed at Sage. “Try to accompany us and you’ll lose one of your nine lives.”

Blue light flashed. Meena and Bane were gone. I was left with spots floating in front of my eyes. Sage was nowhere to be seen. Had he managed to latch onto Bane during whatever magical transport was going on?

Meowowow. Meena’s white cat howled. I looked at her. “I don’t suppose you know what’s going on?”

She turned and crawled under the couch. “Smart cat.”

Now what? I never should have left my truck at Carol’s house. I was stuck.

I called Zelda and explained the latest Bane-related drama. “Did he say how long they’d be gone?” she asked.

“No.”

“You should wait for her.”

“Planned on it,” I said. “Any words of wisdom while I wait?”

“Read the books Meena brought home. Maybe you’ll figure something out.”

Wait a minute. “How’d you know about that?”

“Carol borrowed one of the books from me, so I knew what she was doing.”

Why did everything in this town seem to be connected in some abnormal way? “Okay. I’ll wait and read.”

I hung up and went to grab the books we’d left on the kitchen table. Pumpkin had his face in Meena’s bowl, like he was completely unfazed by her disappearing and was only interested in taking advantage of the food situation.

I grabbed my bowl, checking for some sign that the cat had sampled it. It looked exactly how it had when I left it, so I dug in and flipped through the spell book. I’d never heard of some of these herbs. Even though I’d seen magic, I wasn’t sure I could ever produce it. Maybe Meena could. I flipped to the back of the book and found an index. There it was, under C, coma.

I turned to the designated page and scanned the information. It wasn’t good. Coma patients could be revived, but their life force might have dwindled to such a low level that they were barely functional. Meena wouldn’t want that. I kept reading. Some patients did fully recover but only if someone else paid the cost. What did that mean? Did someone have to die to bring someone else back? I couldn’t see Meena being okay with that, either. It was beginning to look like there was no good option.

…

Meena

Bane held my upper arm in a strong yet un-reassuring grip. Blue light filled my vision. It sounded like a jet was taking off inside my skull. And my feet weren’t touching anything…at all. I was being whooshed somewhere and if this didn’t stop soon, the ice cream I’d eaten was going to make a surprise reappearance.

The jet engine noise vanished, my ears popped, and spots danced in front of my eyes. At least my feet were touching something solid. I was standing. Sort of. If Bane wasn’t holding on to me I doubt I would have stayed upright. “People are not meant to travel like that,” I muttered.

Bane brushed my cheek, and a cool calmness spread over and through my body. I no longer felt like I was going to barf. That was an improvement. I blinked to clear my vision and realized I was wearing a blue dress…more like a silk gown that went all the way to the floor. This would have been disturbing enough, but the plunging neckline showed off more cleavage than my swimsuit.

I realized Bane was smiling. “Do you like the dress?”

“It’s lovely.” I grabbed the edges of the V neckline and pulled them together. “But I’m more of a keep-myself-to-myself kind of girl.”

“That’s a shame.” He gave a wolfish grin, but the deep V changed to a much more respectable scoop neckline.

“Thank you.” We were standing in what resembled the foyer of a hotel. “Are we going to some sort of demonic prom? Give me a clue.”

“We’re attending a board meeting. At the moment you are my prized possession so I’m showing you off.”

He seemed to think this description would please me. It did not.

“I am no one’s possession,” I bit out through gritted teeth.

“No? Maybe my wording was a bit archaic. Let me try again. You’re my most recent hire, and you’ve done a stellar job collecting from clients. I’m here to show everyone how well my business is running.”

“Better wording,” I said. “Still not thrilled with the situation, but I will smile and nod if you promise to get me home in a timely manner.”

“Of course.” He held his arm out like groomsmen did at weddings when they escorted people to their seats. I placed my hand in the crook of his elbow and together we walked up to a set of double doors which swung open like they were motion activated.

If there was some sort of Disney Beauty and the Beast hell, I was in it. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were encased in glass. Dark green vines with blood-red roses and shiny silver needle-type thorns writhed on top of the glass like some sort of sentient security system. So many books and no way to touch them. That was wrong.

Couples milled about the room in gowns and suits. Humans and demons mingled with vampires and other creatures who had fangs and horns. Most of the couples were mixed combinations. Were the humans all prized possessions?

Instead of a champagne fountain there was a fountain spewing a thick red liquid. Punch. I chose to believe it was punch. There was a buffet featuring steak, both cooked and raw. Everything about this room was disturbing.

And why was a bombshell in a skintight leather dress slit up to her hip coming our way with a fangy smile on her face? Was she one of Bane’s love interests?

“Bane, it’s lovely to see you,” the woman said. “This must be Meena.”

“It is. Meena, this is Sybil. I believe she’s acquainted with your friend Jake.”

“You’re Sybil?” was all that came out of my mouth. Jake had lied to me. Sybil was sex on a stick. She was curves and temptation and lust wrapped up in a long-legged leather-covered package.

“Yes. Not what you pictured?” Sybil faked innocence.

I shook my head. “Jake never described you. I thought you’d be older.”

“I am. One of the perks of being a vampire is the ability to stay young and beautiful forever. Right, Charlie?”

Charlie must have been the name of the blond, tan young man next to her who was looking at her with complete adoration. “Of course, Sybil.”

“If you have to cue them to say those things,” I said, “it doesn’t count.”

Sybil’s fangs came out…literally. I’d thought they were scary before, but when they were fully extended they were an inch long. “Mind your manners, Meena, or I’ll turn Jake just to spite you. If you’ll excuse us.” Sybil and her boy toy wandered away.

“I hate her,” I told Bane.

He smiled at me.

“What?”

“I like your spirit. With the right training you could rule over a city.”

“I never thought of myself as a politician.”

“I wasn’t talking about a democracy.” Bane moved forward. He introduced me to men and women who all had some sort of tell that they weren’t completely human. Some women styled their hair to show off their horns while others used glamours to make their demon traits not so visible. Some of the men sported tails like the old-fashioned drawings of the devil.

“Are you hiding a tail?” I asked Bane.

He snorted. “I hide nothing except my coloring.”

Now that I took a moment to stare at him, I could see there was a tinge of ice blue to his skin. His nails glistened like ice, and his eyes were such a pale blue they varied only a few shades from the white of his eyes. He stood still while I studied him and he seemed to be waiting for some sort of response. I went with the truth. “Like you told me when we met, you are a stunning yet disturbing individual.”

A man, or more likely a demon, with icy blue eyes and pale skin came toward us, pulling a vacant-eyed, dark-haired beauty along with him.

“You have a new companion,” the man said. “We should get together for dinner soon and share in our good fortune.”

Bane’s arm went around my shoulders and he pulled me to his side. I would have elbowed him but this new guy creeped me out in a way that no one ever had.

“Meena still has her free will,” Bane said. “Even if she didn’t, I wouldn’t be inclined to share.”

“That’s a shame,” the demon said.

“Please take me home,” I whispered after the creep walked away.

“The party isn’t over.” Bane kept his arm around me and I didn’t try to push him away. Apparently, he wasn’t the scariest monster at this event.

He introduced me to other couples. I smiled and nodded. The percentage of humans with blank stares was highly disturbing. When we had a moment alone, I asked Bane, “Why did those people lose their free will?”

“They made deals,” Bane said.

“I thought demons ate the souls and the bodies died.”

“If a bit of the soul is left behind,” Bane said, “the body survives and remains animated.”

“That’s horrible.”

“That is why people should be very specific when they make deals,” Bane said. The sound of a violin drifted through the air. “Time for us to be seated.”

I really wanted to go home. Like really, really wanted to go home. How much longer would this party in hell last?

We moved with the crowd toward the tables that magically appeared in a horseshoe pattern. A podium was at the front. When Bane led me to the seats next to the podium, a sense of unease trickled down my spine. I didn’t like being the center of attention. Sybil sat at the end of the table. Good. Small talk with her would’ve added to this hellacious experience.

“Have a seat while I welcome everyone.” Bane pointed at the chair to the right of the podium. Did that mean he was in charge? Carol had said he was the head demon. Did that mean he was the leader over all the otherworldly creatures?

He stood at the podium and cleared his throat. “I’d like to thank you all for coming to this event sponsored by Bane Industries. It appears that collections are up across the board. While there are a few disputes over who should have rights to certain humans, the majority of our businesses have been running smoothly this past quarter.

“There have been some transitions in Crossroads recently. I’m sure you’re aware that Zelda and Carol are now in my employment.”

“You should have let us drain them,” a fanged male near Sybil said.

My neck muscles tensed. The individuals sitting closest to him not so subtly inched their chairs away.

Bane tilted his head and stared at the young vampire. “If you had defeated them, then that would have been your right. Since you failed every time you came up against them, I made the decision that they could be useful to me.”

Now was the time when fang-boy should’ve apologized. He didn’t.

Bane gave a dramatic sigh. “Take care of that imbecile.”

The creatures on either side of the vampire attacked. One punched his hand into the vamp’s chest and pulled out his still beating heart with a disgusting squelching sound. The other grabbed his head and ripped it off. Like popping the head off a doll. Except with a doll there wouldn’t have been blood spatter, followed by a feeding frenzy.

I closed my eyes, but the sound of bones crunching and lips smacking made me lightheaded. The metallic smell of blood filled the air. Then there was growling. One growl in particular seemed far too close to me. I opened my eyes and came face to face with a black-eyed demon with large canines bared at me.

“Bane?” I croaked.

“Touch her and I’ll make you eat your own intestines,” Bane stated in a cold, calm voice.

The demon backed up, but he never took his eyes off me.

“That goes for all of you. Anyone who comes at me through my employees, human or otherwise, will be destroyed in the most painful manner I can devise. Is that clear?”

The other creatures nodded.

“Feel free to stay and socialize. This meeting is adjourned.” He touched my shoulder. “Time to go.”

The warning should have made it better, but it didn’t. When we landed in a giant office, I clutched at Bane’s arm so I wouldn’t drop to the floor.

“Meena?” Sage appeared next to me and swooped me into his arms. In a few quick steps I was seated on a red leather couch.

“That totally sucked,” I announced to no one in particular.

“What did you do to her?” Sage asked.

“I took her to a board meeting,” Bane said.

“Humans do not belong at those meetings,” Sage snapped.

I was grateful to be reunited with him but I didn’t understand what was going on. “Sage, how did you get here?”

“I tried to travel with you, but Bane dropped me in this prison.”

“Overdramatic much?” Bane said. “It’s my office, which was in lockdown so you couldn’t leave.” He walked over to the wall and punched a code into a panel featuring unusual symbols rather than numbers. “Now you’re free to go.”

I felt like I’d ridden the world’s tallest roller coaster ten times in a row. I leaned forward and put my head between my knees, becoming vaguely aware that I was back in my normal shorts and T-shirt. “I need a minute.”

Sage placed his hand on the back of my neck and a nice calming warmth traveled into my body. “Better?” he asked.

“Yes.” I sat up and took a few slow, even breaths.

“I can teleport you home,” Bane said.

“No, thank you. I prefer to walk or ride in a car.”

“I’ll have a driver waiting for you on the street.” Bane went to his desk and made a call.

I pushed to my feet and was relieved to find I could stand on my own. I could feel Bane’s eyes on me. Glancing up, I met his gaze. “What?”

“You’re not afraid of vampires, but blood makes you squeamish.”

“Wrong. I’m good at pretending not to be afraid,” I said. “And that zapping teleporting stuff makes me more nauseous than the blood, but now that you mention it, the blood is very disturbing and I would like to avoid any monster feeding frenzies in the future.” I realized my voice had become louder by the end of my statement and I sounded kind of unhinged.

“You’re entertaining when you rant,” Bane said. “I can’t promise that you won’t see blood spilled, but I can promise it won’t be yours.”

“Can you promise that?” Sage asked. “You’re exposing her to unnecessary danger by involving her in your business. What if someone comes after her when you’re not around?”

“The bracelet and my promise to eliminate anyone who harms her should keep her safe.” Bane opened a desk drawer and pulled out a black velvet box. “I could give her a flashier bracelet to make people more aware.”

He popped the box open. The bracelet inside sparkled like it had its own energy source.

Common sense told me you never accepted sparkly objects from men, because unless it was a wedding ring they had ulterior motives. Still. I moved forward to get a better look.

“Do you like it?” Bane asked.

“Don’t touch it,” Sage warned.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and moved closer. Diamonds in every shape and size were connected together with white gold to form a band. There was a large blue sapphire on either end where the bracelet would clasp together.

“Holy crap,” was the only thing I could manage to say.

Bane gave a deep chuckle like my reaction amused him. “It’s one of a kind.”

“We should go,” Sage said. “I’m sure Jake and your father are concerned about your disappearance.”

That brought me back to reality. “He’s right.”

“Just a minute.” Bane pointed at Sage. “I could have killed you, but I didn’t. Remember that the next time we meet.”

Sage gave a terse nod and then pulled me from the office. A driver waited in front of the building in a navy SUV.

My cell buzzed repeatedly as we climbed into the back seat. I checked and there were ten missed texts from Jake and a dozen calls from my dad. I called home first.

“Meena? Are you okay?” My dad’s voice blared through the phone. “Where in the hell have you been?”

“I’m okay. Bane took me to a monster meeting. I’m coming home. I need to text Jake.”

“Wait,” my dad ordered, and then Jake was on the line.

“Meena, you’ve been gone for four hours.”

Really? It hadn’t seemed that long. “See you soon.”