The Poisoned Veil (Accessory to Magic Book 4) Page 7

  “Nope. This place sucked the life out of Tabitha. Literally, right? I don’t want anything to do with it.”

  Told you.

  ‘Yeah, yeah. You can rub it in after you tell him what’s up.’

  “This is a temporary thing,” Jessica said, hurrying after the guy trying to make his swift exit after an even swifter arrival. “I can’t leave this place unattended—”

  “Then stay. Tabitha never left. There’s a reason for that, and I’m not about to let whatever this place held over her head get its hook into me, either.”

  “Ben, I wouldn’t ask this if it wasn’t important.”

  “So ask someone else.”

  She couldn’t believe she’d actually said that, but it was the truth. Right?

  ‘Damn straight.’

  Shut up.

  Jessica darted around the poor guy trying to make his escape and stopped between him and the door. “Please. Just listen.”

  Ben leaned away from her like he thought he’d catch something contagious—maybe ownership of Winthrop & Dirledge—and scowled. “Jessica, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, Jessica. Give me one good reason why I should listen to any of this.”

  Yeah, good reasons didn’t exactly fill up an entire list. There was really only one.

  She spread her arms and shrugged. “Because Tabitha trusted you. Which means we do too.”

  “There’s that we again.”

  “Fine. I trust you. And I need your help.”

  “I can’t help you. I don’t even know what this place really is. And there’s been...” Ben cleared his throat and looked quickly away.

  “There’s been talk about this place, right?” Jessica nodded. “I know. And whether or not any of it makes any sense, that doesn’t change the fact that I have to leave, and I can’t do that without knowing someone’s here to keep an eye on things.”

  “I’m not the guy you’re looking for, Jessica. Sorry.” He tried to brush past her, but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Apparently, he wasn’t ready for the kind of strength in that grip. Ben’s eyes widened when he looked down at her hand, and they both saw the flicker of warning black smoke rising for a split second beneath her palm. “What...what are you doing?”

  She snatched her hand away and shook it out. The last thing she needed was to dose the guy with unintended vestrohím magic. But it wasn’t like she had a lot of practice trying to convince someone to do something for her without adding an extra threat of dismemberment or death. “I just need you to hear me out.”

  Ben slowly rubbed his shoulder, and all the confidence of denial faded from his face, replaced by a blanching fear. “I don’t want this.”

  “I know. Trust me, I know what that feels like, and I know how hard it is to wrap your head around.” She stepped backward toward the door, both to put more space between them so she didn’t accidentally blow him up and to get a head start at blocking him from leaving if he tried again. “This place is important, Ben. And you’re the only person right now who doesn’t have any extra...stake in this.”

  The guy nervously licked his lips. “I’m a manager at a pet store, okay? Not a banker. Not a...whatever you think you need me to be here. So maybe you should find someone who does actually have stake in this. Someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”

  “Yeah, here’s the thing, though.” Jessica scratched her head and shrugged. “I’m pretty sure nobody knows what they’re doing in this place until they get tossed into the chaos.”

  Ben’s eyes widened. “Chaos?”

  “That sounded worse than I meant. Listen, it’s one of those sink-or-swim things, okay?”

  The bank snorted. ‘Sounds like you’re drowning right now.’

  You’re not helping.

  “Tabitha didn’t know what she was doing either when she took this job,” she continued. “Granted, she probably knew more than I did, because I only had a day to get my bearings here before she...”

  Ben grimaced. “Just a day?”

  “Yeah. She left me some...notes. Kind of. A few helpful pointers. I can do a lot more than that for you, and it won’t be permanent. I promise. Just a few days. Please.”

  They stared at each other, and the bank broke the silence only for Jessica when it inhaled sharply and let out a high-pitched, hesitant whine.

  ‘You can’t promise that.’

  No. I promised it wouldn’t be permanent. The order of words matters for stuff like this.

  The thought had come to her with complete certainty and a surprising lack of guilt, which only made her feel ridiculously guilty for thinking it in the first place.

  The order of words did matter. Jessica was talking her own loophole into existence, and the scared, doubtful guy standing in front of her had absolutely no idea how this worked.

  This had to be how Tabitha had felt when she could only tell Jessica a certain number of things at any given time. And it was exactly what Leandras had been doing with her for the last two and a half months.

  ‘Yeah, don’t expect the fae to feel guilty about any of that. You shouldn’t either.’

  Doesn’t mean I don’t.

  “Ben.” She took a step toward him and spread her arms again in supplication. “You’re the only person I trust for this. Because Tabitha trusted you.”

  He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know the first thing about this place.”

  “You don’t have to. I’ll make sure you know everything you need to know.”

  “And what about...” His gaze darted toward the stuffed shelves along the front wall, then to the frosted glass of the door behind her. “This place has a giant target on it. No, I have no idea why or what that’s even supposed to mean, but I do know that much.”

  ‘Tell him he won’t be alone.’

  What?

  ‘Just do it.’

  Jessica cleared her throat. “You won’t be alone.”

  That didn’t seem to make the guy feel any better at all.

  ‘The way Tabitha wasn’t alone either. Say it.’

  She hesitated for a second, fighting back a grimace of discomfort. Being a translator for a sentient bank wasn’t and never had been in the job description. “Just like Tabitha wasn’t alone when she was here.”

  “Wait, what?” Ben leaned away from her. “What did you say?”

  The words poured out of Jessica almost as quickly as the bank filled her mind with them. “You heard me. You worried about her every time you came to visit. Not because of her quirks or that she could see the future sometimes. That’s just who she was. I promise she wasn’t insane, Ben. She really wasn’t alone. Neither are we.”

  He swallowed thickly and took another scattered, urgent glance around the lobby. “She told you about that?”

  ‘Bingo. Now you got his attention. Keep going.’

  “Not exactly.”

  Ben shook his head. “Look, whatever you think you know about me, I seriously doubt you have the whole picture. And I’m not trying to get involved. Sorry.”

  He tried to push past her again, and Jessica had to summon all her willpower to keep from blasting him away from the front door with her magic.

  Her magic was meant to destroy and consume, maybe even to heavily persuade with physical serious damage. Not to convince a scryer’s godson that the craziest thing he could possibly imagine was actually true.

  So she stepped out of the way just enough that his shoulder bumped harshly against hers as he stormed toward the door. “The bank is alive!”

  A harsh, humorless laugh burst from his lips. “Nice try. Good luck with whatever you’re—”

  He’d probably meant to finish the sentence while opening the door and stepping out into the crisp morning air. Instead, he was stopped short by an electric-blue buzz of cold energy shooting from the door handle and into his fingers.

  With a sharp hiss, he instantly withdrew his hand and shook it out. “What the—”

  ‘Ha! Take that
, unbeliever.’

  Jessica rolled her eyes.

  Ben turned slowly around to look at her over his shoulder. “Cut it out.”

  She raised both hands in concession. “That wasn’t me.”

  “I’m leaving now.”

  That wasn’t enough to keep the bank from working its own magic on the guy they apparently needed before Jessica could get out of here—out of this entire world. The second Ben’s hand closed around the handle again, the bank’s blue rush of frigid energy consumed his entire arm this time and sent the guy stumbling backward across the lobby.

  With a grunt, he whirled toward Jessica again and shouted, “Are you fucking insane?”

  “Probably. But at this point, I’m just following orders.”

  ‘Okay, we’re playing copycat again. Verbatim.’

  She took a deep breath and let the bank fill her head with what sounded like nonsense even when she said it aloud. “Tabitha gave you something two years ago. When you and Mandy broke up.”

  Ben’s mouth popped open.

  “A metal sphere with weird marks on it you’d never seen before.”

  “How did you...”

  “I have its twin here in the bank.” The image of the copper orb with the emerald-green runes entered her mind, and she forced herself not to turn around to scan the shelf where she’d seen the thing the first and only time. “She told you that when you were ready to do something extraordinary, to be a part of something really big and to actually make a difference, you’d be reminded of that weird metal ball again. And that someone would ask you to bring it back here.”

  Christ, she sounded just as insane as the scryer.

  Ben’s eyes glassed over in a mixture of what had to be disbelief and even more fear. “Why would she tell you that?”

  Jessica shook her head. “Out of all the things she only had one day to tell me before she died, do you really think a story about giving you a weird present two years ago was on that list?”

  “This is insane.”

  “Yep. And honestly, in my experience, anything that sounds crazy in this place is the safest bet.”

  “I don’t...” He shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

  ‘Tell him he needs to hear that she loves him.’

  No. I’m not delivering her messages from beyond the grave. Especially when it’s a lie because it’s coming from you—

  ‘Do it!’

  Jessica gritted her teeth. “You need to hear that she loves you.”

  A strangled croak burst from Ben’s mouth, and he staggered backward. “This isn’t happening.”

  “Trust me, it’s all real.” Casting the lobby walls a quick scathing glance, she folded her arms and tried on her own to draw just a little more out of him. “That means something to you, doesn’t it?”

  “Only if...” Now his eyes glistened with a shimmering wall of tears that didn’t quite spill over. Not yet. “Only if it means something to you when I say we’ll never know what the universe will bring us until it’s too late to back out.”

  Jessica’s heart felt like it had stopped completely.

  ‘Tada! Secret messages from beyond the grave! The old bird was planning this all along.’

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “Yeah, it definitely means something. Only I’m pretty sure Tabitha called the universe a ‘scheming tramp.’”

  It was a weirdly humorous line, but neither one of them were laughing.

  What little fight Ben had had in him when he’d stepped into Winthrop & Dirledge seeped out of him in one long, trembling sigh. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  Holy shit.

  ‘Of course it actually worked. Come on, you need to quit pretending I don’t know what I’m doing.’

  Jessica nodded. “Thank you.”

  He pointed at her with a trembling hand. “But I’m not moving in.”

  “Good.” A wry chuckle escaped her. “’Cause all my stuff’s upstairs, and I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Right.” Turning stiffly toward the door, Ben looked her up and down with a steadily deepening frown. “When do I need to be here?”

  “Day after tomorrow. But if the plan changes, I’ll call you.”

  “You don’t...have my number.”

  ‘This kid has a lot to learn. This’ll be fun!’

  “I do, actually. And when you come back, I’ll explain how that’s even possible.”

  He nervously licked his lips, squinting at her in a fading disbelief that looked and felt a lot more like scrutiny now. And grudging consent to believe everything she was telling him now. Finally.

  “Okay. Sunday.” Ben ran a hand through his hair and puffed out a sigh. “You know, part of me thought she was making the whole thing up when she gave me that weird ball thing. I mean, I know she saw things nobody else could see. Like the future or whatever. I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised that she could see things after...after she died.”

  “Yeah, she’s constantly surprising me too.”

  He extended a hand toward her and nodded. “Well at least we have that in common.”

  “It’s a start, right?” Jessica reached for his hand and should have known something wasn’t quite right when the bank let out a maniacal laugh two seconds before their fingers touched.

  Once they did, a blazing bolt of blue light shot up from the floor at their feet and encompassed Jessica and Ben together. Her hand squeezed down on his, completely out of her control as the bank’s magic coursed through her and made every muscle in her body grow rigid. She couldn’t look away from Ben’s wide eyes and surprised grimace as his grip tightened with the same unwilling force. The electric-blue light blazed around them and reflected with an eerie clarity in the guy’s eyes.

  Altogether, the moment lasted maybe ten seconds, during which the metal crow above the door flared to life with outstretched wings and cawed shrilly. The sound barely rose above the crackling buzz blazing through Jessica’s head and echoing through the lobby. Then the bell jingled as the front door opened, and the dark silhouette of the bank’s newest guest blocked out the bright light from outside. The blaze of the bank’s magic momentarily blinded Jessica to the newcomer’s face, and her stomach clenched in apprehension.

  There really was no such thing as good timing in this place.

  Chapter 8

  In an instant, the bank’s magic released both Jessica and Ben. Tabitha’s godson staggered sideways when their hands finally fell away from each other.

  Jessica would have gone to him to see if he was okay—if he actually could handle the bank’s magic the way Winthrop & Dirledge apparently thought he could—but she was too busy staring at Leandras’ amused smile.

  The fae man stood in the open doorway, looking Ben up and down as the guy fought to catch his breath. “I don’t usually fall prey to jealousy, Jessica. But I have to admit I assumed I was the only man in your life.”

  “What?” Jessica hissed.

  Ben straightened from where he’d doubled over and looked up at Leandras with wide eyes. “What?”

  “Strictly concerning your willingness to make magical pacts, of course.” Leandras’ smile widened into that feral grin, and a flash of silver burst across his eyes.

  He was doing this just to scare the poor guy who’d already agreed to watch the bank for her.

  ‘Of course he is. Though I wouldn’t say the whole jealousy thing was a lie.’

  He has nothing to be jealous about.

  “What’s going on?” Ben tried to regain his composure, but when Leandras stepped fully into the lobby and the door closed behind him, Tabitha’s godson staggered away from that lunatic’s grin dressed up in a satin suit. “Who’s this guy?”

  “I could very well ask the same of you.” With a chuckle, Leandras turned toward her. “Jessica?”

  “No.” She pointed at him. “You don’t have to know about everything I do. And Ben, you don’t have to stay. Actually, I think it’s better if you go.”

  “Ben...” Lean
dras stared at the other man staring back at him and dipped his head. “Excellent.”

  “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Ben shuffled around Leandras to get to the door, and the fae man did nothing to stop him. “When you need me—”

  “I’ll let you know. Thanks.” Jessica nodded and grabbed the door as he scurried onto the sidewalk. She shoved it shut as quickly as she could and spun around to glare at the fae. “I know you have my number. So maybe call next time.”

  “I believe I’ve arrived during normal business hours.”

  “Nothing’s normal about this. And business hours are pretty much a moot point right now, don’t you think?”

  He dipped his head toward her, then shot a sidelong glance at the front door and Ben’s silhouette hurrying away. “What did you do to that poor boy?”

  “That poor—” She folded her arms. “Nothing that has anything to do with you.”

  “And I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what, exactly, you might be needing him for in the future.”

  “Correct.”

  ‘Damn. He really is jealous.’

  Jessica sighed and looked the fae up and down. “Did you get...whatever you need?”

  “I did.”

  “Great. ’Cause we have a lot to talk about.”

  “Starting with the terrified and naïve guest you so quickly ushered away when I arrived?”

  “No. And we’re not gonna talk about Ben at all, so drop it.” She wasn’t about to pull Tabitha’s godson into this any more than she had to, and discussing him with Leandras would have done the job hook, line, and sinker. “Actually, let’s start with what the hell this rune on my neck really is and why it’s been sucking up hours of my life without me even noticing.”

  Leandras’ smile faded instantly, replaced by a much more serious concern. “Hours?”

  “Yeah. More and more each time, so start talking.”

  “I told you not to tamper with it.”

  “No, you said not to fiddle.”

  A growl emerged from the fae’s throat. “They are intrinsically the same thing, Jessica.”

  “No. They’re not. I barely even touched the thing—”

  “You touched it?”

  Jessica cocked her head and glared at him. “It’s on my neck.”