Yeah. Of course. Sophie blinked. No problem. She almost looked ashamed of herself, and I couldnt resist a smile. She was nicer when she was with him. She wanted to be better, which made me want to like her.
Luca was the best thing that had ever happened to my cousin, and hed come at the best possible timein the middle of the worst year of her life. I think she truly cared about him. I couldnt help hoping that someday shed actually deserve him.
After Luca and Sophie left to mourn my best friend in public, Emma brought her half-empty glass into the living room and sank onto the couch on my other side. Okay, lets hear this brilliant plan. How are we going to bring the hurt to everyones least favorite hellions?
Were not. I smiled. I was proud of my plan, even if it still had a few kinks to work out. You were rightwe cant hurt them. But they can hurt one another. A lot, hopefully. Maybe they can even kill each other. Because goodness knows we couldnt kill them. Wed never even come close to hurting a hellion, even though a couple of weeks before, Id been forced to stab Avari over and over every time he took a new form in the human worldstolen from a murder victimto torture us.
Were not. I smiled. I was proud of my plan, even if it still had a few kinks to work out. You were rightwe cant hurt them. But they can hurt one another. A lot, hopefully. Maybe they can even kill each other. Because goodness knows we couldnt kill them. Wed never even come close to hurting a hellion, even though a couple of weeks before, Id been forced to stab Avari over and over every time he took a new form in the human worldstolen from a murder victimto torture us.
Okay, that sounds promising. Nash leaned forward in my dads chair, and Sabine put one hand on his back. How do we get them to do that?
Were going to use their weaknesses against them. Tods hand tightened around mine again. He already knew the plan. Wed gone over and over it during his breaks at work for nights on endhe was both a reaper at the local hospital and a delivery boy for a nearby pizza place, but the reaper gig came with more free time.
Way more people ordered pizzas than met their death on any given night.
Weaknesses? Sabine said. Hellions have weaknesses?
Only one apiece, that weve seen. I scooted forward until I sat on the edge of the couch, excited and relieved to finally tell them what wed come up with. Think about it. When Sabine tried to sell me and Emma to
Really? Were on that again? the mara snapped. You know I was under the influence of a hellion of envy. As were you. We both did some pretty stupid shit because of Invidia.
Yeah, but Kaylee didnt try to sell anyone to a demon, Tod pointed out.
Forgiven and forgotten, remember? Nash aimed an irritated glance at his brother.
I remembered forgiving Sabine, but Id never said I could forget.... Just listen. When we were all with Avari and Invidia in the Netherworld, how did we get away?
Sabine shrugged. I crossed over with Nash. Because male bean sidhes dont wail, they cant cross to and from the Netherworld on their own. Tod took Em, then came back for you.
Like his brother, Tod was a male bean sidhe, but he could cross freely by virtue of his reaper abilities, most of which didnt work in the Netherworld, much like my own undead skills. Unfortunately.
Yes, but how did we get that chance? I waved one hand in a circular motion, encouraging them to follow that thought through to the conclusion.
Nashs brows rose with the realization. Avari attacked Invidia.
Why? Tod said, and his brothermy exfrowned, trying to remember. Hed been in a lot of pain at the time, and Im sure the memory was fuzzy.
Because he wanted what she had, the mara said.
Exactly. Sabine was smartI had to give her that. Avari is a hellion of greed. The only weakness Ive ever seen him display is an obsession with having everything. He wants his toys and Invidias. And Belphegores. And any others on the playground.
Em set her nearly empty glass on the coffee table. So were going to play them against one another? How?
Tod frowned, and his voice deepened. This was the part he didnt like. By dangling the same bait in front of all three of them at once.
What bait? Em asked, but I could tell by her tone that she was already catching on.
Us. I glanced around the room. Some of us, anyway. Including Sophie and Luca, if we need them and theyre willing. And we probably would need them. Avari had already gone after them both. Were the bait.
Chapter Two
Were the bait? And youre okay with this? Nash stared across the room at his brother, challenge swirling in the greens and browns of his eyesa bean sidhes emotions could be read in the colors twisting in their irises, at least by fellow bean sidhes.
Hell no, Im not okay with it. Its dangerous, and risky, and perilous, and also profoundly unsafe. But I have yet to come up with a better idea, so... Tod gestured to me, reluctantly yielding the floor, but Em snatched it before I could speak.
Were the bait? So were going to be dangled? How are we going to be dangled?
Okay, first of all, no one has to do this. I stood and Tod scooted over so I could sit on the arm of the couch, from where I could see everyone in the room. Youre all completely free to just...not participate. But obviously, I cant promise that staying out of this will keep you safe. We werent dangling anything in front of anyone the last time Avari and his hellion posse set their sights on us. Not on purpose, anyway. Which is why Im pretty sure itll be easy to get their attention. The hard part will be keeping them from seeing the setup. So, raise your hand if you want to be a part of this, then Ill
Im in. Nash didnt bother to raise his hand.
Just like that? Em frowned at him.
He nodded. No one wants to see that bastard pay more than I do.
Im fully prepared to debate that statement with you, but theres really no point. I glanced around the room again. Im in, obviously, as is Tod. He nodded to confirm, and a single pale curl fell over his forehead. What about you two?
You couldnt keep me out of this if you tried, Sabine said. This place is dull when theres no evil afoot.
When is that, exactly? Tod gave her a sardonic grin, and Sabine returned it.
Em? I wasnt yet familiar enough with her new face to tell what she was thinking. You totally dont have to do this.
No. She drained the last of her whiskey and soda, made a sour face, then set the glass down a little too hard on the coffee table. Im in. Just tell me what to do.
Yeah. What kind of dangling are we talking about? Nash said. Carrot in front of a donkey? Or raw meat over a pit of lions?
Probably not the carrot. Sabine shrugged. Hellions strike me more as carnivores.
Id rarely heard a truer statement. As far as I could tell, hellions lived only to consume humanitywhichever parts of us they could get. Our emotions. Our blood. Our flesh. And, rumor had it, any other bodily fluids on hand.
Since they cant cross into the human world, with a few obvious exceptions like the recent invasion of hellions wearing the souls and forms of the dead were only going to be dangling our emotions.
Oh, good. Metaphysical carrots. Emma exhaled in relief and looked like she might want a refill.
Heres where it gets tricky, Tod said, while I headed into the kitchen for a six-pack of sodas from the fridge. Theyre not going to be fooled by anything less than the real thing. Authenticand very strongenvy and vanity.
Envy for Invidia and vanity for Belphegore? Sabine said, and I nodded.
Nash accepted the soda I handed him, then passed it to Sabine. What about Avari?
I handed him another can. Were not going to worry about him. Hes harder to get rid of than to trap, and if one of us starts flaunting unusual levels of greed, hell know somethings up. But if he thinks Invidia and Belphegore are closing in on the carrot hes been chasing for months
Or any of us other carrots, Tod added, accepting a can for himself.
hell jump into the game on his own. Which is exactly what we want. So all we really have to do is dangle one carrot in front of each of the other two. And since this involves you all, Im open to suggestions. Anyone want to dangle?
Sabine raised her hand. I nominate Sophie as bait for Invidia.
Tod laughed. He was always able to find humor in even the creepiest situations. Id thought that was an undead thing, until I became a member of the undead. Then I realized it was a Tod-thing.
Just because you dont like someone doesnt mean you can feed her to a hellion, Em said. Havent we been over this?
I dont want to get rid of her, I Sabine rolled her eyes and started over. Okay, I do kind of want to get rid of her, but thats not what this is. Think about it. Out of all seven of us, whos currently harboring the most envy?
The three of them turned to look at Nash, who fired back angry glares. Screw you all. Just because I dont think my brother should have made out with my girlfriend doesnt mean Im jealous of him!
Forgiven and forgotten... I reminded him, but his glare only deepened.
Not Nash, Sabine snapped. He has everything he could possibly want. Everything. More than he can handle, she added, as if we could possibly have missed her point. Im talking about Sophie. Did you all see the look she gave Em when Luca was talking to her in the kitchen?
I had seen that.
That was nothing. He was trying to make me feel better about my hair. Seriously. Hes totally into Sophie.
I know. I cant figure it out, but I dont doubt it, Sabine said. But Sophie does. And with a little nudging, I think I can turn your prissy little cousins shiny new insecurity into a feast of jealousy any hellion of envy would covet. She glanced around for our reactions. Hows that for a carrot?
What kind of nudge are you talking about? I wasnt Sophies biggest fan either, but that didnt give me the right to put her in any danger she didnt volunteer for.
Sabine shrugged. A little strategic feeding of her fears. Namely, self-doubt. As a mara, she could do that and much more. And Ive been dying to try out my vial of Invidias hair. That shit is concentrated liquid envy.