Better off Dead Book Three Read online

  “What are you doing?” I growled though I was discreet enough not to let it echo out as we reached one of the packed verandas.

  The poles were made from a lovely old turned wood. The floorboards were varnished, and the wall behind was painted this pretty red. I could only just discern the architecture, because there were so many possessed in this place, they were packed in like sardines. We had to jostle to make our way toward a large half-open blue door. There were two tiny fish ghosts either side of it. They were like miniature goldfish. They were cute, really cute – until you noted the black smoke wafting out of them. It signified dark, powerful energy. If I was any guess, these little fish were the equivalent of possessed bouncers. When pushed, they wouldn’t just push back. Judging by the black energy they had, they would snap necks, break bones, and otherwise make people pay with their lives.

  “Remain behind me. You are my fortune.”

  My lips stiffened. Slowly but surely they pulled back from my teeth. “Sorry? Fortune?”

  “It is not uncommon for possessed to acquire humans. And it is not uncommon for them to gamble with them. That is our plan.”

  We reached the doors. All I wanted to do was yank Mr. Fenticle back and tell him this was the crappiest plan I’d ever heard. But both of the fish narrowed their tiny eyes as they stared at me. I dropped my hand. “Mr. Fenticle—” I tried, my voice hardly happy.

  “Come, human. I will see what price I can fetch for you.”

  With no other option, I followed him in through the door.

  I was not thrilled about this plan. I was the exact opposite. I wanted to kick this plan, punch it, then for good measure blow it up. But it was already in action. As soon as we walked through those doors, I was treated to the sight of a massive gambling hall. It was so chock full of possessed, a priest – not the bad kind – would’ve fainted at the sight of them all.

  Fortunately my cross was crammed down my top and not visible. As for my rings, I’d had the fortitude to cram my hands into my pockets.

  There was not much I could do for my appearance. But luckily, I hadn’t bothered to change it. I was still in the same disguise I’d used to head to the tunnels. The same blond hair, the same tall stature. Yeah, anyone who’d seen me at the tunnels would know who I was, but at least it would make it slightly harder for anyone else to casually recognize me.

  As Mr. Fenticle strode through the gambling hall, I had to ignore all the attention. And trust me, that was hard, because it was hardly kind. Two massive batlike ghosts leered at me. The way they looked at me, it was clear they wanted to use my hide to warm their young.

  None of the other gazes were better. Each of the different possessed would have their own plans, but it was damn clear I was the most popular thing in here.

  I could not believe that I was here right now putting up with this. Two hours ago, I’d found that I had a sister. Before that, I’d lost Sonos. Before that, I’d been fighting for my life after the tunnel attack. This day had completely gone to hell. Now it had veered and headed toward crazy instead.

  Mr. Fenticle made his way all the way through the gambling hall until he reached a very ostentatious door toward the back. This one had much larger goldfish guarding it. Judging by the wary looks the rest of the possessed shot them, they were not the kind of bouncers you messed with. Their etheric fields were some of the most impressive I’d ever seen. The dark energy wafting off them made me wonder, if with a single look, these guys could kill. If that didn’t work, they’d just slap you with their little fishy tails until you lost all of your teeth and your brain went pop.

  “Remember to do exactly as I say,” Mr. Fenticle hissed under his breath as the fish opened the door.

  We walked into an expensive room. It made Sato’s sitting room look like total trash. There was a round carved table. It seemed to be made of every wood there was at once. For every second it shifted, the grain and color altering. It would become more intricate then older then switch between the two. Around it were regal chairs. The walls were covered in every kind of art you could think of. There was a massive gold chandelier. It dripped with diamonds – and I meant that literally. They would fall off it like water from a waterfall. They fell into a bowl in the middle of the table.

  The guests were cut from a wide range of different possessed souls. There were human ghosts, there was something that looked like a vampire guard, and there were ghouls and damned creatures. At the sight of Mr. Fenticle, they all looked down their noses at him, obviously not recognizing him nor his wealth. But when they jerked their gazes over to me, I watched them smile. Not one of those smiles was nice.

  If I ended today by being lost in a poker game to a ghost, I’d cry.

  I wanted to lean forward and remind Mr. Fenticle of why we were here. We just needed a frigging transport node. This was a ridiculous way to get to one. If he just set me free, I could use my magical senses to scour this place. Heck, there wasn’t even a guarantee there was one here. This right now was a fat waste of time.

  As my anger began to rise, I felt something shift in from behind me. Just before my natural senses could take over and I could stiffen and ready for a fight, I realized it was the two fish from before. They shadowed me, and it was clear they were here to stop me if I was planning any trouble.

  One of the most important-looking ghosts at the table had the form of a human. I didn’t know if that meant that she had once been a human – that was a bridge too far. Ghosts – especially the older and richer ones – could trade forms easily. It was a way for them to sort out any grudges they’d had before they died. If they’d always wanted to be taller, prettier, or have broad shoulders, they could just find a ghost who already had that form and barter for it. Or if they were truly evil, they could just steal it.

  This woman was tall and regal. She had the body of an old dame in her seventies. It did nothing whatsoever to reduce her power. It only increased it. Her eyes were this violent purple. As she locked them on me, I could see real intelligence flaring there. “We do not usually accept gamblers of your,” she looked Mr. Fenticle up and down, “type,” she said as she pushed a blast of a breath through her lips. “But as you have some interesting goods to barter, we will accept you. Now, what is it that you want in return?” Steepling her fingers, she leaned over the table. It continued to shift underneath her, never staying steady. The look in her eyes, however, was as steady as a gun to my head.

  She hadn’t recognized me, had she? Had Hilliker’s priests already circulated what I looked like now?

  I shoved my hands further into my pockets, knowing the gig would be up if anyone saw my resurrection marks.

  “There are many things we want. An island,” Mr. Fenticle began as he ticked items off his claws, “a forever butler, and an original vintage wizard whiskey, preferably from the 1500s.”

  I tried not to frown. I got what Mr. Fenticle was doing – or at least I thought I did. He didn’t want to come out and state exactly what we wanted, lest it seem suspicious. But he sounded as if he was getting carried away with himself.

  “Is that all?” the old dame said with a certain kind of smile spreading her lips.

  “The island is to have a permanent controllable transport node. And when I win,” Mr. Fenticle said as he shoved his claws out and cracked them like knuckles, “I wish to view this island immediately.”

  I tried not to sigh too loudly. He’d finally got to his point. And I had to admit, his plan was a pretty good one.

  I stood there. It wasn’t like I could do anything else. It was the weirdest moment of my life. In my head, all I could do was think about my sister and Sonos. I had no idea where they were being kept. You would think I should have dedicated the last two hours of my life to finding them. Instead, I’d been on the run. When I got out of this – if I got out of this – there would still be so much more to do.

  And I couldn’t forget Hilliker. He was always there, a permanent storm cloud ready to descend and swallow me whole.
r />   Mr. Fenticle was provided with a regal armchair, and one of the fish pushed him into the table. He sat, and the game began. I didn’t understand it. It was being played with ghost cards, and while I could see them, I had no clue what the rules were.

  I tuned out anyway. I let my mind skip ahead, even though that was a dangerous thing for it to do. What next? Even if I managed to find out where my sister and Sonos were, how exactly would I be able to break them out? Yeah, I’d managed to overcome that priest truck in the end, but it had taken a lot out of me. I’d also gotten lucky. I did not know how much power my sister’s ring had. But if I used it prematurely, I would have nothing left when the fight with Hilliker came.

  My mind kept dovetailing from one problem to the next. It felt like I was being dragged down into a quagmire – one I would never be able to pull myself from again.

  With my hands in my pockets, I unconsciously started to play with my rings. I was careful not to twist Lilly’s ring too much, lest her power blast out and blow up the room – and our cover with it.

  Instead, I let my fingers twist around and around my engagement ring. It was completely loose. I could take it off without trying too hard. Heck, I fancied that if I flicked my hand too quickly, it would fly off anyway.

  Which didn’t make sense, did it? Sonos had already told me that it stayed on my hand because of my own power. Back when he’d confronted me in the clinic, I’d legitimately been run dry. But now I’d found the power of the Deep, my magic was back and better than ever. So why was the ring loose?

  I became cold as I thought that.

  Perhaps it was connected to Sonos? Maybe its weakness was a mirror of his condition?

  He had been so much more powerful in the past. In the vision of the orphanage, he’d been like the demon I remembered. Now he was a poor shadow of his old self.

  The possessed continued to play the game. I should’ve really been paying more attention, but I had absolutely no idea how to discern who was winning. There were no cheers or jeers. No one was taken away, and no goods were exchanged.

  So I just let my mind do whatever it wanted, and it seemed that the only thing it really wanted to do was obsess over Sonos.

  Would things have been different if I’d understood who he was from the beginning?

  Perhaps. Why hadn’t he told me, though?

  I wanted to pretend that the only person who’d be able to answer that was him, but I already knew the answer. It was twofold. I would’ve gone after Hilliker if I’d known what he’d done to my parents and sister. Sonos – and the promise of revenge – had also given me a reason to strive. Many mornings I had only gotten up because I had known I’d needed to increase my power to take him on one day.

  I would not be here today without him.

  I closed my eyes.

  The rat suddenly squeaked.

  I opened my eyes to see that Mr. Fenticle was standing up on his chair. There was a flabbergasted look on his face. It told me he’d just lost.

  Shit. So it looked as if I would have to fight my way out of here, then?

  “This is outrageous,” Mr. Fenticle said, his voice shooting up high. “You have cheated, you old dame,” he squeaked.

  The woman for her part simply shifted back and spread a hand to the side. “You have no way to prove that. Now, it is time for me to take what is yours.” She looked up at me.

  I stared across at her. The look of greed in her gaze was damn obvious.

  “It is illegal to cheat,” Mr. Fenticle tried. He was a real stickler for the rules for a damned soul.

  No one else at the table seemed to care. Judging by their expressions, they obviously already knew the game had been rigged.

  I let out a blast of a breath. I picked my hands up and locked them on my hips. “Cheating is bad for your soul,” I said, my voice entirely unaffected. I knew that right now I should be flopping around the floor in terror. An ordinary human would be freaking the hell out. But we all knew I wasn’t ordinary. And maybe the old dame had suspected that too, because her eyes flashed.

  She rose from the table, her elegant form towering over most of the other stunted creatures there. “Your soul now belongs to me. It is irrelevant how it has been acquired. While the rules of this gambling house do not necessarily dictate how one can win a game,” she fobbed a hand at Mr. Fenticle dismissively, “they dictate what happens to all goods transacted within its walls. I,” she opened her hand wide, “now,” she curled her fingers in, “am the master of your soul. I sense that you have magic. It will be my magic from now on. And your body,” she gazed at me and clearly didn’t like what she saw, “will be another vehicle for me. Now, bow to your new master.”

  I waited for soul magic to take hold of me. I was ready for it and knew that though it would be hard to fight, I’d be able to do it with the Deep. The problem was, it did not take hold. I just stood there, staring at her, my hands still on my hips.

  She tried again. She curled her fingers in and held them tightly, but I didn’t suddenly buck down to my knees and kiss her feet.

  “What is happening?” she hissed darkly. “The rules of this gambling house dictate that you have been won by me. Your soul and body are mine,” she spat.

  I was just as confused as she was. I waited for the soul magic to snag hold of me, but it just did not come. There was, however, a suspicious tingle around my engagement finger. Stupidly, without thinking it through, I pulled it out of my pocket to stare at it.

  It was glowing.

  As soon as the old dame saw it, she shrieked, her high-pitched scream echoing through the high-ceilinged room. “What is that? A General of the Damned’s ring? Your soul already belongs to one of them?”

  I frowned down at the ring. More light was picking up across it.

  The old dame shrieked again. Jerking back, she fell flat on her ethereal ass.

  She made so much noise that the goldfish guards had floated in. They too came to a shuddering stop at the sight of my ring.

  The gig was up. Mr. Fenticle’s plan, apparently, was never going to work. The odds had been rigged against him from the beginning. Maybe this ring would offer me another way out. I proffered it. “That’s right, I am engaged to one of the Generals of the Damned. My soul,” I said with a trill, “belongs to him.”

  The old lady shook her head over and over again. She crammed a hand over her mouth. “Who? Who are you engaged to?”

  I rolled my tongue over my teeth. I’d revealed my ring, but I really didn’t want everyone knowing who I was yet. It was time to leave.

  There was nothing keeping me in this room anymore – or so I thought. I went to turn, but that’s when I finally felt soul magic snag hold of me. It locked me to the spot. I went to call on a surge of Deep magic, but that’s when the two koi fish floated right up in my face. “You cannot leave. That goes against the rules of this institution. He who you have freely given your soul to must play for you.”

  I frowned like hell. “Sorry? What are you talking about?”

  The old dame finally picked herself up. She was shaking all over. “Your fiancé must play for you. That is the rules of this institution. I have won you,” she sliced her hard gaze over to Mr. Fenticle, “but it seems the creature who played you did not own you to begin with.”

  I chuckled darkly. I went to snap my mouth open and point out that Sonos didn’t own me, either. But I couldn’t use his name.

  It turned out this situation wasn’t over after all. I tried to yank myself free from the soul spell again, but I realized its control was nearly perfect. I would have to use the depths of my power to attack it, and that would reveal exactly who I was. It would also make me vulnerable.

  “The owner of your soul must come,” one of the koi fish pointed out.

  “He can’t right now. He’s busy,” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Irrelevant. We will transport his soul. These are the rules of the great shrine gambling house.”

  I didn’t bother to tell them th
at Sonos was currently in the hands of the priests of Hilliker. Once more I tried to break out of the soul magic. There was nothing I could damn well do. I shot my angry gaze over to Mr. Fenticle. For his part, he did look very sorry, but he also looked hopeful.

  “You will pull up your sleeve,” one of the kois demanded.

  “Sorry?” I spat.

  “You will pull up your sleeve so we can access your heart.”

  I arched an eyebrow. I thumped a hand on my chest. While I brought my hands out, I was keeping my fists closed so no one could see my palm. “You do know human’s hearts are in the chest, right?”

  “You are incorrect. Humans wear their hearts on their sleeves. We will access your beloved through that location. Now pull up your sleeve.”

  I had no option but to comply. Stiffly, never opening my palm fully, I pulled up my sleeve.

  The two koi fish got to work. They floated clockwise circles around my wrist. Immediately magical strands shot out from nowhere and encapsulated it. They were powerful – insanely so.

  I had a chance to jerk my mouth open and splutter. Then I felt something plunging into my body. It did not move through my actual body but moved through my ethereal form instead. It traveled down until it reached my heart.

  My mouth jerked open, and I jolted forward. Suddenly, memories engulfed me. They were so fast, I couldn’t separate them. They lined up, one after another, and shot right through my mind until it felt as if it would be run through with holes.

  It was Sonos – every interaction I’d ever had with him. Some of the memories were from my childhood. He... he’d always been there with me, hadn’t he? Always been there as my protector, as my companion, as the only person who’d ever truly been by my side.

  The memories sped up until I had to squeeze my eyes closed. The recollections came slamming down like a crashing car as the memory of the kiss engulfed me. I could feel my lips on his, his hands on my shoulders – then nothing as the recollection was torn right out of me.

  I felt a presence start to manifest beside me. It took a long time to open my eyes. First it was a set of shoes and a set of memorable legs, then a torso, then arms and finally a head.