Sweet Ruin

TWENTY-FIVE

After leaving Rune, Jo had picked up Thad’s scent, but it was always just out of her reach.

Was he in a departing car? A trolley heading away from the Quarter? No, the opposite direction!

She sprinted toward the Mississippi, following his trail to a riverside industrial lot. Stacks of rail containers bordered a worn-out patch of cement. She traced past the perimeter fence into the middle and scanned the shadows. Where was he?

She’d lost the thread altogether. “Damn it!” Somehow she would find him.

If possible, she was even more determined to reach Thad, to make sure he was safe. Rune’s memory of being separated from his beloved “dam” had devastated Jo. And then to learn of her death, to feel his grief . . . she’d woken in a panic to find her own beloved brother.

Alongside her worry for Thad, she hurt for Rune, the involuntary killer who’d only wanted to save his mother.

What won’t we do for the people we love?

She hoped Rune had gotten revenge on that vicious queen for his mother’s murder—if not for more. Magh’s mention of Rune’s “new occupation” had given Jo chills. . . .

“Oh, Shady Lady.”

Jo spun around to find that black-haired woman standing behind her. Nïx. Jo had never heard her approach.

So this was Rune’s target. “What do you want?” Jo peered past her. “Where is Thad?”

“I have our handsome lad tucked away.” Nïx was carrying that bat again. Tonight she had two boots on. Her eerie golden eyes glowed even more brightly than before.

Her T-shirt had writing on it, but Jo couldn’t decipher the words. “Tucked away where?” If need be, she could take this . . . Valkyrie.

A breeze flowed off the water, ruffling Nïx’s wild black hair. “He’s safe. Well, safe-ish. Perhaps, Josephine, if you cooperate, I will allow you to see him.”

“Allow?” This bitch had no idea. Jo didn’t cooperate; she squeezed till things broke. She Hulk-smashed. If Nïx didn’t take her to Thad, the Valkyrie would learn a lesson she’d never forget. “How do you know my name?”

“I’m a very important oracle, a leader of the Vertas army, and a soon-to-be goddess. Just have one teeny-weeny task to complete.” She gave a laugh. “I’ve been watching you for some time. Oh, the things I know.”

“You’ve spied on me?”

“Did you ever see that movie Broken Arrow? Naturally you have—it’s a cinema classic. Anyhoodles, I would never let my nukes out of my sight. Except for when I would.”

She was a nut-job. “Why would Thad be with you? Does he know what you are?”

“He does. And I know what he is.”

Jo’s mouth went dry. “What do you think he is?” Is Thad like me? No answer. “All you need to know is that he’s good.” Charity work, community service, generosity.

Nïx grinned. “If you say so.”

“What does that mean?”

“I have plans for Thaddeus this Accession. We all have parts to play.”

Plans? Plans? The Valkyrie was freaking dead. “No one makes plans for him—no one. Get me?” She closed in on Nïx. “You are going to take me to him. Now.”

“Not possible.”

Jo stared down the smaller female. “You say you know me? Uh-uh. Otherwise you’d know I’m about to break all your bones, one by one, until you tell me where he is.”

Nïx remained amused. “Break all my bones? One by one?” Lightning flashed nearby. “What a fascinating idea.”

What the hells? From his vantage atop a stack of rail containers, Rune listened in disbelief.

How wrong he’d been. Josephine hadn’t been protecting Nïx; she’d been protecting the male. The vampire had mistaken Rune’s aim!

No, she wasn’t in league with Nïx, but she might be in love with Thad. What kind of ridiculous name was that?

Rune thought back. The male had been tall. Females would find him attractive. More than attractive.

If Josephine was in love with another, then everything she’d done in Rune’s bed had been a ploy to get back to this other male.

Rune ground his fangs. She had offered to let him do anything if she lost her bet, because she’d been desperate to return to another. From what Rune understood, a female could actually get stronger if she gave her heart into someone else’s keeping.

Josephine had known she wasn’t going to lose that wager.

That little bitch! For the first time since Magh had singled him out, Rune had pleasured without artifice. Without using. Yet tonight he had been . . . used.

I like you so much, the vampire had cried—with a tear streaking her face. Bullshit!

She and the Valkyrie began circling each other. “Are you sure you want to challenge one like me?” Nïx asked. “You’re such a tender young creature. Just a quarter of a century old.”

Quarterwhatthefuck??? Josephine was only twenty-five?

He’d taken her to bed. He’d devoured her and given her a font of forbidden blood. Talk about taboos! Gods, I sicken myself.

“Oh, I’m positive,” Josephine told the Valkyrie.

“Are we about to mix it up? No, no, that would indicate both sides landing blows. You won’t.”

Josephine raised her brows. “Just remember: you could’ve avoided this.”

“Very well.” Nïx turned to her bat. “Bertil, spectate!” The creature took to the air.

Josephine possessed formidable strength, but she was too young to go up against an ancient Valkyrie. Nïx would wipe the street with her.

Rune should let her, to punish Josephine for her trickery. But he had a kill to make. He readied his bow.

“You’d do anything to get to Thad, wouldn’t you?” the Valkyrie said in a taunting voice. “But you don’t understand. He’s not yours; he’s mine.” Another bolt of lightning flashed nearby.

Josephine’s body shook—with rage. They were about to godsdamned catfight over the male! “That was the exact wrong thing to say, bitch.” She lunged to tackle the Valkyrie.

“I know!” Nïx pivoted, neatly dodging her. “You’ve always thought of him as yours alone, belonging solely to you.”

Josephine traced for Nïx, but the Valkyrie anticipated her move and evaded.

“I will catch you. And then I will break you.”

“Josephine, you rare and wondrous thing. Such untapped potential. You’re death and death all rolled into one. There’s only a handful of your kind.”

Mad ramblings? Or partial truth? If Josephine was rare with potential, she might have more value to the Møriør than Rune had suspected.

Josephine drew up short. “Tell me what you know!”

“You come from a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long way away. You remember flames replacing seas. A hand holding up the night. Broken stars and spiders’ eyes.”

These utterings made Josephine go pale, swaying on her feet.

Time to end this. The air crackled with electricity as he tautened his bowstring and loosed his arrow. One-and-done . . .

The end of a long-lived immortal.

Lightning bolts shot down from the sky. White spears intersected, forming a cage to shield Nïx.

His arrow disintegrated to ash.