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"Not at all. As a partner, the Nix was splendid. I would have traded Eric for her, if I could have."
"So she's straight-up, then. I can trust her not to betray me."
Simmons laughed, a tinkling, girlish laugh. "Oh, of course she'll betray you. Or she'll try to. She betrays us all."
I looked over at her. "You don't seem to hold a grudge about it."
"I don't blame her for trying. I knew she would. As soon as I started spreading my wings, wanting to do things my way, I knew she'd turn on me. I saw it coming and avoided it. Not that it did any good in my case. That idiot, Eric, loused it up for us. As for the Nix, she delivered what she promised. I reaped the rewards..." She smiled at me. "And I still reap them."
"Through the visions."
Her smile broadened. "She takes good care of us. Special little treats that make the torment almost sweet."
Something to the left caught her attention. I turned to see a child crouched on the ground, poking a finger at something. A little girl with short, wild red hair and bright blue eyes, her jeans and sneakers filthy the way only a five-year-old can make them. She poked again and a toad jumped. With a gap-toothed grin, she shuffled forward, still crouching, finger outstretched.
A figure moved behind her and I glanced up to see Simmons there, having slid over while I'd been watching the child. Simmons bent and stroked her hand over the girl's head, as if smoothing down her hair. When she looked up at me, her eyes glistened with the same ecstasy I'd seen in my vision, when she'd watched Eric bury the boy.
"Do you like children?" she asked, smiling.
I swallowed hard. I tried to smile back, but it took every bit of acting ability I possessed just to stand there, watch her stroke the girl's hair, and do nothing.
"So the--" I sucked in air, choking back my rage.
"So the Nix betrays all her partners."
Simmons gave the girl one last lingering look, then straightened. "All of them. As I said, it's not personal. Look how she speaks so highly of me. She even betrayed Dachev, and he was her favorite."
"He?" I frowned. "The Nix told me she only takes women as partners."
A tiny, secret smile. "True, she can only inhabit women. But Dachev...he was special. They were truly a team. Kindred spirits, so to speak."
"Dachev was a ghost."
A momentary pause, as if surprised that I'd figured out her meaning so quickly. Then she fluttered her fingers, gaze traveling across the cemetery. "Ask her about him. If she wants to tell you, she will."
I tried the question from a few more angles, but only began to annoy her, so I switched gears and asked more about the Nix. She didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.
I signaled Jaime that it was time to send Simmons back, then steered Simmons in her direction. Two kids ran past, a boy on the cusp of puberty chasing a girl the same age. Simmons watched them, the tip of her tongue pressed between her teeth.
"One last question before I go," I said.
She kept watching the kids. "Hmmm?"
"If the Nix returns to her hell, you won't see any more visions, will you?"
She glanced back at me, gaze turning thoughtful. "No, I suppose not, but there's nothing to worry about. They've sent three after her already and she's still free."
"True, but you know what they say." I grinned at her, baring my teeth. "Fourth time's the charm."
She stared at me. Then comprehension dawned, and she sprang. I wheeled out of the way, and waved as she fell back into hell.
33
AT THE JAIL, AMANDA SULLIVAN LAY ON HER COT, reading Redbook. She was alone.
"Trsiel?" I leaned into the hall and called louder, "Trsiel?"
A small face popped out from a cell farther down.
