Feeling one last tickle, Vika let out a sigh as Reichardt stepped away from her. The man nodded, his eyes now closed, as he consumed the souls through his skin.
Vika winked at Libby, who winked back.
The man opened his kaleidoscope eyes, and the blade-sharp look he thrust at Vika made her gasp and press a hand over her lacy black bra.
Ones missing, he said in his deep, monotone voice that rattled in Vikas rib cage.
Missing? But
Oh, hell. The sneeze. Shed actually sneezed out the soul that had attempted to attach to her. How that was possible, she had no idea, but she innately knew that is what had happened earlier.
I didnt do it purposefully, she offered. It just You see, I sneezed.
I need that soul.
Vika felt Libbys arm brush aside hers, joining her ranks in support, the plate of cookies still held in feeble offering.
You will return it to me by next weeks scrubbing or... Reichardt paused, bowing and shaking his head as if to lament her stupidity.
Or hell kill me? she thought dreadfully, fully expecting such an announcement from so ominous a being.
I will take your soul in exchange, he finally announced. With the speed of a homeless thief, the soul bringer nabbed a cookie from Libbys plate and disappeared.
Libby squealed. He took a cookie!
Vika could but shake her head and grab a cookie from the plate herself. But she didnt take a bite. Instead, she stared at the lumpy brown morsel as if it were her soul, all flattened, cooked and...not in her body.
Bending, she tugged up her pants. Libby, how am I going to get that soul back? I dont know where it is. Its probably floating all over Paris by now. And hell know. Reichardt will know exactly which one it is if it isnt in me next time he visits. She took a bite of cookie. Oh, great goddess, this is good.
I know, right? Its the best batch Ive made so far. Im thinking of entering this recipe in the annual Witches Bazaar SpellCast and Cook-Off. Vika, dont worry, well figure it out. Weve got a whole week. We need to return to the scene of the crime. Im sure the soul is floating about in the vicinity.
Maybe. She tugged on her shirt. At her ankles, a black cat with a white-striped tail snuggled against her leg and meowed. Not now, Salamander. I need to think.
Which meant...
You want me to get out your cleaning bucket? Libby asked.
Please.
While Libby retrieved Vikas cleaning supplies, Vika bent and slipped the slender cat into her embrace. Sal nuzzled against her chin, rubbing his soft cheek against her. Hed always been a faithful guy, even when hed once been human.
I wonder about that man. Vikas thoughts raced through the nights events as she absently stroked Sals back. The derelict. I sneezed directly at him. Could he...?
The archives in the basement of the Councils Paris base were vast, stretching half a mile in labyrinthine twists and turns similar to the catacombs that surely hugged up against the subterranean walls. The occasional skull even appeared embedded in the walls, of which some had been left in their natural limestone state.
CJ felt at peace here beneath the fluorescent lights hed had specially installed a few months ago after his return from Daemonia. If it hadnt been for his twin brother, TJ, he may still be wandering the bleak and torturous landscape of the place of all demons. The lights had been a necessity and, he admitted, were out of place in the ancient archives normally lit with soft lighting to protect some of the older books, parchments and manuscripts that lay scattered everywhere.
There were stacks of grimoiresbooks of shadowsand ancient texts CJ had marked on his mental list to get scanned for easy reference, but he estimated such an arduous process would take decades. He had the time but not the patience or the technical know-how. An assistant was necessary, but a call for job applicants was out of the question. Assistant to the Keeper of All Things Paranormal wasnt exactly a position one could interview for. He had the notion hed know the perfect assistant when he met him or her.
The Council was an organized body of various paranormal breeds that kept watch over the paranormal nations but notoriously tried to never act in a violent manner to stop wars between nations or petty crimes among the breeds. They suggested, smoothed over and made niceor so that was their claim.
Theyd done plenty to interfere over the centuries, but CJ couldnt think of a time when the interference hadnt been necessary.
Now he searched the computer archives of known paranormals on a shiny silver Mac computer. Before entering the archives he always warded himself against electricity so his magic would not react and burn out the wiring or the fancy new computers. This database had only recently been computerized thanks to Cinder, the former fire demonnow vampirewho did security and IT work for the Council all across Europe.
CJ scanned through a list of cleaners the Council employed nationwide. None displayed the pentacle with the vacuum cleaner symbol. Jiffy Clean? He suspected it a joke on the cleaners part. The white hearse had been a kick, as well.
Two women, he muttered as his eyes scrolled down the list. In Paris.
Most cleaners worked a specific city or country. Paris was large enough and hosted a massive population of paranormals, so it listed half a dozen cleanersbut only one under a womans name.
Viktorie St. Charles, he said. In the fourth arrondissement. One of the oldest parts of Paris in the old Marais neighborhood, laid out in the shadow of the former Bastille. Hmm, not far from where the vampire, Domingos LaRoque, lives. Quiet neighborhood. Gotcha.
Hey, CJ!
Think of the devil, and one of his former minions walks through the door. Cinder strolled in, his height forcing him to bend to pass through the doorway built at the turn of the eighteenth century. He also had to turn slightly to manage his broad shoulders. The dark-haired man patted the top of the computer. Hows the system working?
Very well. I appreciate all the work youve done. Makes it easy to find things around here, at least the few lists and files Ive been able to enter in the database.
Great. You need an assistant.
The right one will walk through that door someday.
Uh-huh. Dont hold your breath, buddy. How about you? You look... The former angel, who had long ago been forcibly transformed to demon, and who then centuries later became mortal, and who was now only recently vampire, gave him a discerning once-over. Not terrible.
CJ smirked. He looked like hell and hadnt been right for months, since his return from that damnable place, Daemonia.
You have a talent for compliments. Im learning to control...things.
Hed told Cinder about the demonic passengers that occupied his soul, yet despite having worked at the gates to Beneath for millennia, the guy hadnt a clue how to get the damned things out of him.
I think I found the one person who might be able to help me. Viktoria St. Charles, CJ said.
I think you mean Viktorie. Or Vika, as her friends call her, Cinder said, pronouncing it Vee-ka. Its a Russian name. Shes the pretty little witch who lives in the round house.
Round house?
Thats what some call it. I think its actually a hexagram. It was designed by a witch to perfectly align with the planets, stars, the moon and whatever else you witches worry about. Ive been told its a cool place to see. Probably comparable to the spectacle you live in.
My flat is not a spectacle. Its a means to survive. A horrible, mind-eating, depressing means to survival. But his current mode of decorating style was the one bit of luck CJ had discovered to keep back his nasty passengers.
So youve told me. Still seeking prismatic light?
Always.
Whats got you looking up the St. Charles witch? Or I should say witches. They are three sisters, but I think only two live in the round house. Gad, I hate calling it the round house. A hexagram is so not round.
Cinder was some kind of numbers whiz, due to the fact he was originally the angel who created that sort of stuffthe whole mathematics shebang.
If she is the woman I ran into last night, CJ said, then she was able to exorcise one of my demons.
Just like that? Without a hello, how do you do?
It was an auspicious sneeze, actually. And no, no introductions. In fact, she fled the scene soon after the accidental exorcism. CJ rubbed a hand along his jaw. Shes a cleaner, eh?
Yes. Nasty job. Cinder gave a dramatic shudder. Especially for two pretty women.
Speaking of pretty women. CJ closed out the program and leaned back on the creaky office chair. Hows the little woman?
You mean my tiny vixen? The vampire grinned a mile wide, revealing the points of his fangs.
That good, huh?
Cinder nodded. Love is the coolest thing, CJ. You should give it a try sometime.
So Ive been told by my best friend, Lucian.
Bellisario? I havent seen that vamp in a while. And what about your brother? Didnt TJ and his little kitty cat just get married?
Yep, and expecting a litter, Ive been told.
A litter?
TJs wife was a cat shifter, and CJ liked to tease his brother he was going to have a litter instead of a baby, which was unfeasible but still fun to joke about. You know, shes a cat.
I dont think it works that way, man.
Just kidding. No one ever seems to get my jokes. So you in Paris for a while?
Parish and I have relocated here for the summer. I will be updating more hardware for the Council. Might even get a fancy scanner in here to scan books without breaking the spines. Bet that would make your day.
It would. The ancient grimoires are delicate. But Ive no time to work on such a project. Now Ive got the witchs address, Im on my way out.
All right, man, take it easy.
Say hi to Parish for me, CJ said as he walked Cinder out of the office and headed for the fourth quarter.
Libby breezed into the bright, spotless spell room, swooshing a flutter of purple ruffles in eyesight, as Vika bent over a mortar of crushed lavender. The spiders eyes listed in the ingredients she doled out carefully. Only needed half a dozen.
Working on a sleeping draft? Libby asked, leaning on the cool, white marble counter. She snapped her banana-scented gum. She cocked out a hip, hitting a pose as always. Rock star was Libbys innate M.O., despite her lacking fame and the ability to carry a tune.