Page 35 of Devils and the Dead
I so didn’t want to know about this.
“Thanks,” I told Cassie, backing away as quickly as I could. “I’ll see you tonight. For dinner.”
“We’re having pork ribs.” She spun around, flashing me a view of her ass. “Coming, sweetie. And I’m bringing the crop.”
I cringed, practically running for my car. Hopefully there would be no whipped cream or cherries tonight with the pork ribs, because I now had a visual that I simply couldn’t get out of my head.
Chapter 16
Babylon
Driving the short distance from Cassie’s house to the jewelry store on Main Street, I thought about what my sister had said. It would all work out with Maude, I knew it. Lucien would handle the diplomatic issue between heaven and hell. He and Cassie, with the help of my other sisters and their boyfriends, would get me in touch with any necromancer living or dead who could help me with the resurrection. I’d talk to Hades, and he’d understand. It was all going to be fine, I knew it.
So now I could focus on the cursed dead haunting Savior Mountain.
The door chimed as I walked into the jewelry shop. Mirabelle was visible through an open door to a back room, typing on a laptop. Another fairy named Amilae cleaned the glass display counters in the front part of the store. A gorgeous set of onyx earrings caught my eye, but I forced my gaze away. I was here for information not to buy something, but even with my natural resistance, the fairy magic pulled at me, making me yearn for the jewelry.
“They’ll look beautiful against your bright red hair,” Amilae said, pulling the display tray from the glass cabinet and placing the onyx earrings on the counter.
“They would, but I’m not here to shop today.” I smiled and forced myself not to look at the earrings. “I was hoping you or Mirabelle could answer some questions about the elves that used to live on Savior Mountain.”
The fae magic ended with an abruptness that took my breath away. Mirabelle poked her head around the corner of doorway to the back room, then walked out into the shop toward me.
Amilae pouted, sliding the earrings back into the case. Both she and Mirabelle had silvery-gray skin and unnaturally large emerald eyes, but Amilae’s hair was a short cap of lavender, while Mirabella had elected for a cascade of raven curls. Accident was a place where the supernatural could relax and be themselves without needing to hide their true appearance, but the fae were one of the few groups who continued to use their glamour here. I’d always assumed it was more of an aesthetic for them, changing their appearance like others changed their clothing, but over the years I’d begun to wonder if they did it because they didn’t trust anyone with even a glimpse of their true forms.
“You wanted information on the elves who used to live on Savior Mountain?” Mirabelle asked. Her luminous eyes met mine. “There is a price for knowledge, you know. There is a price for everything.”
I held back an exasperated sigh. Everything involved a bargain with the fae. Normally this wasn’t a problem for any of my sisters. Addy would have offered to pied-piper some mice from their back room. Bronwyn would have offered to magically enchant an item of jewelry. Sylvie would have crafted a charm for them, and Ophelia would have divined what stones customers would want most next month. Glenda would have baked them a cake. Cassie would have thrown her weight around as the head-witch of Accident, and come up with some compromise involving her attendance at a festival or protective runes around the store. My magic wasn’t really suited for this sort of exchange, though. I got the feeling these two fairies wouldn’t want zombie birds, or butterflies.
A séance? But did the fae even have any dead to communicate with? They seemed immortal, although I supposed they could be killed. The elves certainly had been killed, and the fairy were related somehow to elves, brownies, and the other fae races.
“Do you have a ghost problem?” I asked, trying to figure out something I could offer in exchange for the information. “An undead problem? Or would youliketo have an undead problem? I can make that happen for you.”
“She could send a bunch of skeleton cats over to harass the gnomes,” Amilae suggested. “Undead cats chasing them around for a day or two might motivate them to pay for that necklace they still owe on.”
Mirabelle shook her head. “I’m not going to start a war with the gnomes over a few hundred dollars. Besides, I like that they owe us. Gives me leverage.”
“She could buy the onyx earrings.” Amilae gestured at the display case. “Full price. No haggling.”
Mirabelle glared at her. “She gets the earrings in that bargain, not earringsandinformation. Amilae, you seriously need to work on your negotiation skills. The customer does not come out ahead in a bargain.Wecome out ahead. Or, if they’re very smart, it’s an even exchange.”
Amilae frowned. “But last week when Marcus was in here, you said—”
Mirabelle cut the other fairy off with a wave of her hand. “Icame out ahead in that bargain. I just whined and complained and made Marcusthinkhe got the best of me. That’s how this works. Goodness, girl. You have a lot to learn before I can turn you loose on customers.”
“Your firstborn child,”Amilae blurted out. “We’ll give you the information in exchange for your firstborn child.”
My mouth dropped open, but thankfully I didn’t need to reply.
Mirabelle swatted the other fairy. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s awitch. She’s aPerkinswitch. And she’s a necromancer. Her firstborn child would probably kill us all and animate our corpses. That’s no bargain.”
“I’ll buy the earrings at full retail, and I’ll make sure no undead disrupt your Hallow’s Eve celebrations this year.”
Amilae frowned. “We’ve never had a problem with undead disrupting our celebrations. Why would we need protection this year?”
I stared at her for a second. “Because I can guarantee that without my assistance, a dozen dead deer in an advanced state of decomposition will disrupt your festival.”
Amilae’s eyes widened. “You can divine the future? Like Ophelia?”
