The Poisoned Veil (Accessory to Magic Book 4) Read online

‘I can’t function by myself! And the rest of the world isn’t exactly aware of all the extra that happens in here outside business hours, okay? Or even during business hours.’

  True. Until Jessica had found the pendant in Tabitha’s secret closet and the bank started talking to her, she’d thought the weirdest thing about this place was that sometimes it moved on its own, and sometimes it refused to do anything she wanted unless she said please in just the right tone.

  ‘I’m so much more than that.’

  “Oh, sure. Now you’re a scaredy-cat.”

  ‘You can’t just leave me here by myself for who knows how long!’

  “Well who exactly am I supposed to find for that job, huh? Nobody wants it. I didn’t. And it’s not like I trust anyone to do what took me weeks to figure out on my own.”

  ‘Maybe not anyone you trust.’

  Jessica glanced at the windows beside the front door, where the morning sunlight spilled in across the wood floor and illuminated specks of dust. “And who do you trust? Assuming you even know anyone outside your own building.”

  ‘Besides you? No one.’

  “Great. Then this is a moot point—”

  ‘But I’d trust someone Tabitha trusted.’

  Running a hand through her hair, Jessica scanned the shelves on the opposite side of the lobby and headed that way. Maybe an old, buried, beat-up book over there would have a few answers. “Tabitha didn’t trust anyone either.”

  The bank’s obnoxious impersonation of an electric horn made her flinch. ‘Wrong! Granted, she didn’t have a whole lotta friends. Or any. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have anyone else to turn to, if she’d even actually chosen to turn to someone else before the end.’

  “What are you talking about?”

  ‘I’m talking about the guy who could’ve actually taken your place here. You know, if you hadn’t shown up all desperate and pleading. “Just a job. Any job. As long as I don’t have to be myself and work for boring shits behind a desk all day...”’

  “Wait. The guy who could’ve taken my place?”

  ‘Sure. If you hadn’t crawled in here when you did with your tail between your legs, the Guardian would be someone else right now. Honestly, I prefer your timing, so thanks for that.’

  “I didn’t—”

  ‘Yeah, yeah. I know. It wasn’t intentional and you had no idea what you were doing. That’s been established. But Tabitha had backup plans. Not like she really needed them, but I guess there’s some kind of wishy-washy “the future might not actually be the future” thing when scryers are involved. And I’m pretty sure—’

  “Okay, stop!” Jessica shouted, her fists clenched painfully at her sides. The bank shut up immediately and left a nearly deafening silence within her mind and without. “Are you telling me I didn’t have to take this job?”

  ‘Nobody forced you into it.’ The bank sniggered. ‘You signed the contract...’

  “Yeah, I get that. But...” Running a hand through her hair, she scanned the lobby with a frown, seeing everything here in a new light. “I thought I was the only choice.”

  ‘First choice, witch. There’s a difference. And don’t try to tell me now that you believe in all that destiny crap. You fought way too hard against what we both knew you had to do before actually screwing your head on straight. I mean, sure, you still ended up undoing the Shattering to get your own magical ducks back in a ring—’

  “A row.”

  ‘Whatever. But if you happened to seriously screw things up—and don’t get me wrong, there’s still a small chance of that—someone else would’ve picked up the pieces. I’m not saying he would’ve been all that awesome as a Guardian, but at least he’s available.’

  “He?”

  ‘Oh. Yeah. You know, I keep forgetting this mind-reading stuff only works one way.’

  “Who...” Jessica swallowed heavily. “Who is it?”

  ‘Tabitha’s next-in-line guy.’

  “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

  ‘Sure you do. She knew him. I know him. You met him. And yeah, you paid a hell of a lot of attention to the other guinea pig who made me spark him the way I sparked you. Same way Tabitha knew you were the replacement she was waiting for when you got all touchy about being shocked by a front door.’

  Ben? Ben Cready would’ve been the Guardian in Jessica’s place if she hadn’t taken the job?

  Jessica’s mouth popped open. “Tabitha’s godson?”

  ‘I mean, if that’s the title you wanna give him.’

  “He’s not even...” She shook her head. “Ben doesn’t have any magic.”

  ‘Not that he knows about. But if you’re gonna leave me for a fae and another world—’

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  ‘—then we need someone to hold the spot. Or I’m screwed. And then so are you when you step back through the Gateway.’

  This was insane. Ben didn’t know anything about Tabitha’s role here at the bank. The scryer hadn’t let her godson know anything. She’d pushed the guy away in the months leading up to her death, obviously knowing in the end that she was about to die and her replacement would be waltzing through the bank’s front doors without a goddamn clue about what she was getting herself into.

  And Jessica had seen in Ben’s face everything she so vividly remembered thinking and feeling herself when she’d first learned what was in store for her at Winthrop & Dirledge. Doubt and mistrust. Hell, it was downright denial, and the only way she’d gotten the guy to calm the hell down before he hurt himself looking for a dead scryer witch who wasn’t there was to slap him around a little and scream at him to listen.

  ‘Oh, sure. It’s not like you had a bank to zap him back into his right mind, either.’

  Jessica glanced at the front door, remembering the way Ben had shoved himself through it and past her into the lobby, screaming out for Tabitha. Refusing to listen to anything else but his own fear. “He’ll never go for it.”

  ‘Why don’t we just leave that up to him, huh?’

  “No. I’m not dragging anybody else into this mess. Not the way I was dragged in—”

  The bank burst out laughing. ‘You weren’t dragged, Jessica. You replied to an ad for an apprentice. And he’ll reply to a call for help.’

  “He didn’t want any part of this.”

  ‘Hey, that’s one of the most entertaining things about you fickle meat-bags. You change your minds all the time. Hang tight. I’ll send him a little something.’

  “Don’t you dare.” Jessica whirled around, scowling at the lobby walls and the stuffed shelves. “I’m serious. You can’t just manipulate the guy’s grief like that.”

  ‘Watch me.’

  “We’re not doing this!”

  ‘Yeah. Too late.’

  “What?”

  The bank fell completely silent again, and a tight, guilty knot formed in Jessica’s gut.

  She grimaced, hearing only her thudding heartbeat in her ears as she waited for the other shoe to drop. It wasn’t even a big shoe—not compared to everything waiting for Jessica on the other side of the Gateway when she and Leandras decided it was finally time to walk through it. Maybe she shouldn’t have cared so much about a guy she’d only met once, a guy who’d been so desperate to speak to Tabitha that he’d almost seriously hurt himself trying to get Jessica out of the way.

  Nobody deserved to be pulled into a Guardian’s responsibility like that. Jessica hadn’t deserved it, though admittedly, she hadn’t done anything to not deserve it, either.

  She couldn’t force this on someone else. Not when it wasn’t set in stone that she and Leandras would fail.

  “Bank? We should talk about this before you do anything neither of us can take back.” When she got no reply, Jessica heaved a sigh and folded her arms. “Do you hear me?”

  ‘I’m in your head, Jessica. I always hear you.’

  “Okay. So let’s just go over this again. There has to be another—”

&n
bsp; The metal crow over the front door spread its wings and croaked its warning alarm at one more customer’s approach.

  For the first time since taking up ownership at Winthrop & Dirledge, Jessica seriously hoped it was another customer. Because then she wouldn’t have to—

  ‘Deal with it, witch. Yes, you have to. I’m not taking any chances with this double-world mess.’

  A silhouette darkened the frosted glass of the front door.

  Jessica swallowed. It couldn’t be Ben. She’d summoned him last time, and even then, the fact he’d shown up immediately had been a surprise. No way could the bank summon the same person like this, without any spells or potions or scrying crystals...

  The bank tittered. ‘You seriously underestimate me, you know that?’

  “What?”

  The front door opened, the bell hanging from the string jingled and clacked against the glass, and Jessica’s entire body grew rigid.

  Ben Cready’s dark head of hair appeared first through the narrow opening in the door; he’d ducked his head against the sharp cold of late November outside and focused on stomping the light dusting of snow off his boots. Then he looked up with those wide blue eyes, and his gaze settled directly on Jessica.

  Crap.

  ‘Told you.’

  “Ben.” She swallowed and tried to smile. “Hey.”

  How the hell was she supposed to explain all this to the guy who could barely handle hearing about Tabitha’s death?

  He stepped slowly into the lobby, letting the door whisper shut behind him as he looked around in a daze. “I...”

  The tight smile grew on Jessica’s face, which felt like it was about to crack at any minute. “Want something to drink?”

  Ben turned slowly to scan the front door, then blinked heavily and shook his head. “I don’t actually know why I’m here.”

  “Well your timing’s pretty perfect.”

  “What?”

  ‘Oh, sure. Give him all the credit.’

  Look at him. He’s terrified.

  ‘Not as terrified as he’d be if your roles were reversed.’

  Shut up and let me handle this.

  “Listen, I know it’s weird. Maybe a little freaky.”

  Ben snorted even as he paled visibly and shuffled from foot to foot. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “Did Tabitha ever...call you in like this?”

  The guy’s blue-eyed gaze flickered sharply toward Jessica, and he frowned. “Call me in?”

  Great. Here stood the last living tie to Tabitha Belmont and her past, and Jessica and the bank had just broken him.

  ‘He’s fine.’

  Doesn’t look like it.

  “Kinda like the last time,” Jessica muttered. “Except not really.”

  “I don’t get it.” Ben shook his head. “What’s going on?”

  “Yeah, maybe you should just take a seat.” She gestured toward the armchairs beside the front door—both of them returned to their rightful places now—and shrugged. “We need to talk about some stuff.”

  “Um...” The guy moved like he was still asleep, which made sense. Anything having to do with the bank that wasn’t a transaction in the witching vault sure as hell felt like a dream anyway. Ben shuffled toward the armchair and slowly lowered himself toward the cushion but paused halfway. “I have no idea how I got here...”

  “And I can explain that part too.” Jessica glanced at the back hallway. “Want some coffee?”

  “Sure.” Ben stared blankly at the rug beneath the coffee table.

  “Cool. You want anything in it?”

  “I... Not really.”

  “Right. Just give me a sec.” She spun quickly toward the back hall and finally let the fake-ass smile wipe right off her face.

  ‘Really? You think caffeine’s gonna make him any more receptive to this?’

  It’ll make him feel like a regular person again. You know, so he doesn’t think he’s completely lost his mind.

  ‘You turned out just fine.’

  I didn’t have a choice.

  And now, apparently, it seemed Jessica had even less of a choice when it came to who got involved, even this close to the end of all their troubles. Assuming her impending adventure with Leandras would actually solve those problems instead of just create even more.

  Chapter 7

  Jessica’s list of problems was never-ending, apparently. Because now she had to go through the motions of pretending she wasn’t freaked out by the thought of what came next, just so she could convince one poor, unsuspecting guy she’d met once that there wasn’t any reason for him to freak out.

  She moved quickly to pull down two mugs and fill them with what was left of the pot. Black coffee wasn’t really her thing, but Jessica wasn’t doing this for her own enjoyment. And she doubted either of them would be drinking much as she told Ben what the bank wanted of him and Ben tried to keep his brain from exploding because of it.

  ‘Okay, maybe I misspoke. You should give him more credit.’

  Because he hasn’t run away screaming yet like I should have two and a half months ago? Jessica balanced a full mug in each hand, trying to hurry without spilling any of it all over herself and the floor.

  ‘Tabitha practically raised him. You think he hasn’t seen weird shit before?’

  No, Ben was probably more than used to seeing weird shit. But watching a scryer witch in all her seemingly insane quirks was a lot different than hearing from a practical stranger that Winthrop & Dirledge Security Banking was calling in a favor.

  ‘Favor to both of us,’ the bank muttered.

  Not if he totally loses it on us. Are you sure this is something we actually need? A...whatever you called it?

  ‘A steward? If you want to get back through that Gateway door at all, Jessica, I still need to be here. Can’t do that if I’m empty and lifeless while you’re gone. A whole day to yourself to go traipsing around the city in this world and disappearing behind one of my more valuable secrets for who knows how long are not the same thing.’

  Jessica snatched up both mugs and turned to head steadily back down the hall toward the lobby.

  Only one of the bank’s more valuable secrets? Great. Just one more implication that she hadn’t figured out everything there was to know about this place.

  ‘I didn’t imply shit. You definitely don’t know everything.’

  And that was a conversation they’d have to table for when they were alone, which Jessica couldn’t exactly count on happening in the next two days before her impending departure.

  Ben hadn’t moved when she returned to the lobby and approached the armchairs. He didn’t even seem to notice Jessica’s presence until she stood right in front of him, cleared her throat, and offered a steaming mug of black coffee. Then the guy blinked furiously and reached for the mug. “Thanks.”

  “Yeah.” She sat in the other armchair across from him and studied the utter bafflement covering her unwitting guest’s features. “So. How’ve you been?”

  ‘Come on...’

  She ignored the bank and tried to give Ben another painful failure of an inviting smile.

  The man sitting opposite the coffee table huffed out a wry laugh. “How’ve I been?”

  “You know, since the last time you were here.” Jessica sipped absently at her coffee but stared at him over the rim of the mug.

  “I... Fine, I guess.” He gazed at his own mug like he’d never seen coffee before. Or a mug, for that matter. “Why am I here?”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good place to start.” She set the mug down on the tall, narrow round side table beside her chair and sank back into the cushions. “Okay, here’s the thing, Ben. And it might sound a little crazy, but just hear me out.”

  His throat clicked when he swallowed.

  “We need a favor from you.”

  “We?”

  ‘Out of all the things to start this off with, you choose the disembodied we?’ The bank snorted. ‘You really need to work on y
our delivery.’

  Well it wasn’t like Jessica had much practice being the one to explain impossible situations to the clueless saps sitting across from her. Because until now, she’d been the clueless sap.

  Ben’s awareness seemed to return a little more as his eyes widened and he finally looked up at Jessica. Then he gazed around the lobby again. “Is there someone else here?”

  “No. No, it’s just me.” With a sigh, she dipped her head and tried to gather her thoughts. “But I’m not the only one who needs your help right now. This is more like one of those...‘favors for the greater good’ kinda things.”

  “The greater—” He shook his head, paused, then let out another humorless laugh. “You’re starting to sound a lot like Tabitha.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Jessica wrinkled her nose; that wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted to hear, and at the same time, it made her feel a little better. They could find some common ground here, then. And if she had to act like she’d completely lost her mind, that was just a hit she’d have to take. “How’s that?”

  Ben’s small, crooked smile made him look a little more relaxed, at the very least. “She had a lot to say too. And most of it made just as much sense as everything you’re saying right now.”

  Despite the discomfort of being forced into this conversation without any prep whatsoever, Jessica smiled back. “Yeah. She did tend to have that effect. Listen, this is about the bank. Which I’m sure you’ve figured out by now.”

  He slumped back in the armchair, his coffee all but completely forgotten in his hands. “It’s always about the bank.”

  ‘See? I knew there was a reason I liked him.’

  Save the commentary for when I don’t have to focus so hard.

  Jessica nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. Ben, I have to...go away for a little while. I’m not sure how long it’ll be, but when I leave, I need someone to stick around and keep an eye on things here for me. You know, to make sure this place doesn’t completely fall apart without me.”

  “You...” Ben barked out a laugh. “You want me to take over?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Because I’m not interested.” He set his mug down on the coffee table and stood.

  “Wait. Ben.”