AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This did the trick. As with the fire before, it started with one, then flowed through to the rest, only now instead of turning into walking pyres, the dead simply vanished, one by one. It took less than two minutes for the steps to clear, and all that was left behind were a few loose shoes.
My hands shook, and when I lifted my fingers to my nose, they came away dark red, the blood troublingly dense. I wouldn’t be able to keep doing this for long, but if I had enough energy left to take out Marcela, then I would have used Aubrey’s gift for what I had intended.
I jogged up the steps to avoid any questions, because I didn’t know how to explain myself. I could tell them I had borrowed the fairy king’s power easily enough, but the wiser among them would know a fae didn’t do anything just to be nice. They’d want to know what he asked for in return, and that was the one question I wanted to keep from answering right up to the bitter end.
The lobby doors were open, and pamphlets and museum maps were scattered over the floor like autumn leaves. A big sign in the front entrance said the Seven Sisters display was in the Special Exhibits section on the second floor. More dead milled around inside, but there weren’t enough of them to block our passage. We made our way up to the second floor, following the signs towards the Special Exhibits section.
Try as I might, it was impossible not to be distracted by the museum. It was one of my favorite places in the city, and it relieved me beyond measure to see it was relatively unscathed. Nothing here was burning, and all the masterpieces we passed were unharmed.
The paintings loomed over us in the dark like beautiful sentinels, some depicting scenes of horror, others of great beauty. They all served as a reminder that the world before us had witnessed triumph and tragedy, and had come through it on the other side.
This city, too, would make it through this, though I hoped none of it ever lived on in art. What was the world going to make of this once it was all over? I wouldn’t be around to find out, but still the thought hung above me, nagging at me. Things would be different, and finally the world’s eyes would be opened. And I wouldn’t be around to see it.
I was going to miss one of the single most life-altering events the world had ever experienced—the revelation that monsters were real—and I was going to be left out because I had offered up my own life to save a city of strangers.
The closer we got to the exhibit, the denser the bodies became, and more than once I was forced to will them away. By the time we reached the exterior of the exhibit hall, I could taste blood in my mouth.
If she had already found what she was looking for, why hadn’t she taken it and run? Why was she still waiting around?
I got my answer sooner and in a much more obvious fashion than I’d anticipated. When we entered the hall, I was struck by the size of the place. It was a huge viewing area with banners hung depicting each of Giuseppe’s wives and an illuminated glass case beneath each of them with a necklace from each woman displayed on a black velvet stand, like one might find in a jewelry store. In the center of the room, near a lovely canary-yellow necklace, Marcela was holding a crowbar in one hand as she panted, clearly breathless from her exertion.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, announcing our arrival. “Did they forget to leave you the keys?”
Her main squeeze strode up to her side, looking ready to attack at a moment’s notice, but she raised her hand to stop him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again.”
“Why not? I cut your army off at the legs, sent all your little necro friends on a one-way trip straight to hell, and now I’m here for you. Isn’t that exactly what I promised?”
She smiled and brushed her sweat-soaked dark hair back off her forehead. How long had she been fighting with these cases?
“When you’ve been around as long as I have, you learn very few people are good on their word. They’ll promise you the world, but they always fall short. You said you would kill us all. That’s a big promise for a little girl.”
Her boyfriend was vibrating with barely restrained energy. He wanted very badly to prove he could protect her, but he ought to worry more about himself.
“Did she tell you what she wants these for?” I asked him. “Because she’s not going to sell them. If she offered you a fortune to help her, you’ve been lied to.”
“You think I don’t know her? Know what she is?” He sneered at me, and the expression was too reminiscent of Morgan’s right before she pushed Genie over the edge. It was the kind of hateful self-assurance that made me want to slap the look right off his face.
“Whatever you think you know, it’s not the whole story.”
“She loves me, and she wants to be with me forever. What more do I need to know?”
I smiled back at him, trying to equal the cool, homicidal quality of his grin. “She has a different idea of what forever means than you do.”
He faltered, and it was Marcela’s turn to smile. She appeared pleased with me, and I suspected that was an awfully hard feat to manage.
“Where’s the other Viking?” I asked. “It would be nice if I could kill all three of you at the same time.”
“I think you’ll find Marty won’t mind having a chance to take you on himself. He left once he discovered what you did to his brother. I’m told twins can feel those things.”
“Good. I hope he felt it all. Then he’ll know what to expect when I find him.”
“You enjoy bandying threats about, don’t you? You are awfully good at them. And it appears you have a spirit of violence to match them. But if you value the lives of those you’ve brought with you, I do suggest you take them out and leave me be. Nothing will keep me from taking what’s mine. Not you, your pretty threats or your friends who I will burn li
ke kindling if it suits me.”
“Funny you should phrase it like that,” I said, itching to light her up. She was immortal though, so it made more sense to get rid of the easier target in the room. I turned my attention to her man candy.
“What’s funny about it?”
