Knell Page 2

  “With a trail of bodies,” Belial said, reaching into the inner breast pocket of his expensive suit and pulling out his phone. “I’ll send you a list of leads and who you can speak with to get more information. I know it doesn’t need saying, but this stays within our small circle. If the queen gets wind, I can’t be sure that exiling this poor girl is the worst she’ll do.”

  “Does she have a name? The banshee?” Veruca asked, feeling Finn closing in from upstairs.

  “I can’t say,” Belial said as he tucked his phone away. “They don’t need names among themselves, but the ones I kept safe back in the day had chosen their own. Until I meet her, I can’t be sure if this is a banshee I’ve helped or one who just got pulled into a mess she didn’t want.”

  “You’re sure it’s a her?”

  “Banshees don’t have gender per se, but in my experience they prefer the female form. I believe because it’s often more powerful.”

  Veruca’s brows jumped with her surprise. She’d been aware that fae spawn were more often women, that the queen herself was considered more dangerous than the king, but had never heard that women had an overall edge in power. “Are we?”

  Belial smiled softly, his gaze dropping as he contemplated his response. “Well, perhaps stronger is a better word. Women put up with a great deal more than men, as I’m sure you know from experience.”

  “I wouldn’t say I put up with much,” Veruca said with a small smile.

  “True.” Belial chuckled. “You’re not one to take any guff. Perhaps you can ask the banshee what her preferences are, when you find her.”

  “Banshee?” Finn said from the landing. Veruca looked over to find him with an armful of his own clothes and that he’d pulled on one of her robes. He no longer had an erection, though she did hope it hadn’t gone too far. She had plans for him once Belial was gone. “Like, ehm, the woman of the hills? Harbinger of death?”

  “I’ll let you explain,” Belial said, getting to his feet. “I’ve got another appointment. I’ll keep you updated if anything else I find can be of help. Would you keep me apprised?”

  “Of course.” Veruca stood, giving Belial a hug, intending to walk him to the door. He rubbed her back and then turned to wave goodbye at Finn. Finn waved back, losing half his bundle to the floor, and Belial was gone in an instant. Veruca turned to Finn, lost in thought for a few moments. He let her think, moving in to wait by her side for her to speak. He didn’t explain the clothes and when he didn’t set them down or ask for help, she patted the top.

  “What’re these?”

  “I am going to save the world.”

  “Is that so?” she asked, considering that he wasn’t joking or being facetious in the least. She loved him for that. “Are you going to sew these into some sort of superhero outfit?”

  “I figured I’d donate them to the less fortunate. I’ve got enough clothes. These can go to someone else.”

  “If it were up to you, you’d have no clothes.”

  “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t be just as happy with that arrangement. I’ve seen the way you look at me when I’ve got nothing on but a smile.”

  “I do like your smile,” she agreed, gazing into his brilliant blue eyes as her mind worked. After a moment, she scooped the clothes out of his arms and dropped them on the couch. If she could distract him for long enough, the brownies would put the clothes back in their places and Veruca could talk Finn into doing something more realistic to save the world. Or, at least to save one imperiled banshee.

  “Let’s make dinner. I’ll tell you what Belial was here about.”

  “Excellent,” Finn said, slipping an arm around her to lead her toward the kitchen, the clothes already forgotten. “But before that, where did we land on you taking your top off?”

  ****

  “There’s actually a fairy queen?” Finn asked once Veruca had finished explaining what Belial had asked of them. He’d heard the rest, understood that it was a rather dire situation, that someone was in need of help, and that he and Veruca were going to be tasked with following yet another trail of bodies to rescue some creature he wasn’t sure he believed in. But what stuck with him wasn’t the danger or the corpses, not the idea of hard work and of having to raise yet another zombie. It was the image of a fancy, magical queen ruling a whole world of beautiful and powerful beings that he’d only recently had good reason to believe in. “Like Elizabeth, but with wings?”

  “I’m not sure,” Veruca admitted, handing him the spoon and nudging him toward the sauce. He knew he wasn’t good in the kitchen for much, but he enjoyed stirring and sautéing where he could. “I’ve never met her myself, and hope not to. She’s supposed to be pretty dangerous.”

  “Then why did we agree to this?” Finn demanded, turning away from the stove as much as he dared while it was filled with bubbling and sizzling food.

  “Because Belial asked us to help and because we’re good people. You yourself were just talking about saving the world. We can start with this one creature and move on from there.”

  “I was talking donate some clothes, maybe a few cans of beans! People love beans! I didn’t want to get turned into a toad by an old lady with dragonfly wings.”

  “I’m sure that’s not what she looks like,” Veruca said, before reconsidering. “Though, it wouldn’t be out of the question, I guess.”

  “Let’s just get me naked instead, see how far that gets us.”

  “Usually only as far as the bedroom, the shower at most. That doesn’t keep this girl from being imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit.”

  Finn grumbled, turning back to the sauce to make sure it was burbling only as much as it should be. She was right, of course. They had to help. He didn’t know much about the queen, or if there was a king, or where they’d have to go to find this poor banshee, but he couldn’t say no to helping someone. Fancy clothes or not, he owed it to the world to get some good out there. Nailing Veruca was good, but probably not on the grand karmic scale Finn needed to balance out the amount of good that had come his way over the last few months.

  “I know,” he said finally, seeing the sauce had reached the right consistency and pulling it off the burner. “We’ll be fine, right?”

  “I’m sure we will,” Veruca said as she handed him the cutting board full of vegetables she’d chopped. “We’ll start bright and early and head to Oregon.”

  “No Seattle?”

  “Maybe eventually, but the latest cluster of suspicious bodies was found west of Eugene.”

  “I won’t have to raise them, will I?”

  “Probably not all of them.” Veruca rubbed his back, leaning into him slightly as he shook the pan to flip its contents like a pro. He only lost two chunks of cauliflower and considered it his best attempt yet.

  ****

  Veruca led Finn to the bedroom with a gentle grip, leaving the mess in the kitchen not because she meant for the tiny fae to clean it all like servants, but because she considered Finn more important than a clean kitchen.

  He’d supported her decision easily, trusting her implicitly, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. She knew he’d follow her into Hell, if she asked, and crack jokes as they went. He was everything she could ask for, sweet and gentle, loving and devoted. His past was sketchy, dotted with crimes and broken rules, but he was a genuinely good man at heart.

  Pausing at the foot of the bed, pressing her hand to his chest, enjoying the way their souls glowed with a pinkish hue this close together, she sighed, swamped with love.

  Smiling, Finn leaned down, taking her mouth in a soft kiss, rubbing his hands over her arms loosely, just enjoying the moment, the time spent close. Everything in her swelled with disbelief and giddiness, the feeling of adoration making her needy.

  “I love you,” she whispered, before wrapping her arms around him, yanking him flush against her, and taking his mouth greedily. He matched her enthusiasm, rubbing his palms along her body roughly, gripping her ass briefly as his hands
passed over it. When he cupped her chin and turned her head so he could nibble a line down her neck, she sighed, shoving the robe off his shoulders. It took moments to get him shirtless, the robe thumping to the floor, his shirt plummeting down shortly after, and before she knew it, he was pressing her back into the bed, grinding himself against her as his hands found her breasts.

  Desire popped and crackled inside her, driving her wild in a way she’d never felt with any other man.

  In between dappling kisses along her throat, down her chest, he murmured, “You’re perfect, amazing, lovely and strong, sexy—the perfect woman.” Leaning away slightly so he could unbutton her top, Finn met her gaze, smiling crookedly. “You’re why I want to save the world.”

  “You’re the reason it deserves to be saved,” Veruca whispered, cupping his cheek with one hand, gripping his hand with the other when her shirt gaped, unbuttoned. “The world has precious little to offer that’s better than my sexy Irishman.”

  “It has you,” Finn said, before diving in to take her mouth, his hand slipping between them to shove at her shorts, to tuck between her thighs and crook his fingers in just the right way. She moaned against his mouth, her body seizing with pleasure until she could barely breathe. Nudging her head aside, he licked a line down her throat, pushing the fabric of her soft, wireless bra aside until he could capture her nipple with his mouth.

  The first orgasm was soft, quick, and shallow, fading into a stronger need for him, rather than leaving her wanting to cuddle and kiss. When he dipped his fingers inside to drive her toward another crest, she gasped, shifting so she could shove at his shorts.

  “No,” she demanded, gripping his jaw and lifting his gaze to hers. “Not your hands. You, I want you inside me. I need you inside me.”

  Finn let out a low, pleased sound, matching her desperation, shifting to yank her shorts down and sink between her thighs. She gripped his hips as he slipped inside, humming with pleasure when he murmured, “Fuck,” against her skin.

  The second orgasm built intensely as he pounded into her, the pressure inside her growing until she felt she might burst. Finally, as he reached beneath them both to grab her ass and double his pace, she gasped, holding her breath as if she didn’t want to distract from the feeling of his release.

  He moaned quietly against her as he did, the convulsions of his cock pushing her over almost the moment he came. Both of them went boneless, panting, enjoying the closeness, lost to the world, knowing nothing in that moment except the feeling of being together.

  ****

  Bright and early turned out to be a little too bright and definitely too early for Finn. He’d slept well, having worn himself out the night before pleasuring Veruca, but even with her private boat and plane, they’d still had to get up before dawn in order to get out to wherever they were supposed to be looking for corpses. Finn wasn’t pleased with looking for corpses but could at least hope that this time none of them would come back to bite him in the ass.

  Either literally or figuratively.

  “We’ll get breakfast, meet our local contact, and see what there is to learn; how’s that sound?” Veruca asked, likely noticing the grumpy look Finn had on his face. He glanced her way, his mind latching onto only the word, “breakfast,” and nodded.

  “Sure, my love, whatever you want. Are we flying back home tonight?”

  “I’m not sure. I grabbed our overnight bags just in case we have to stay elsewhere.”

  “Overnight bags?”

  “Of course. I always keep at least one on hand in case we get called away somewhere, or unless we want to take a spontaneous vacation.”

  “I like that idea,” Finn said, noticing as the car slowed in front of a small, colorful restaurant marked with a flowery sign half blocked by the people crowded outside chatting. “Let’s go on a spontaneous vacation now, actually. Bermuda! Maybe Japan. Wait, where would we find a nude beach?”

  Veruca chuckled, leaning in to kiss his cheek, before unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out when the driver opened the door for her. Finn got out himself, smiling at the man as he popped the trunk and pulled out two suitcases. Finn didn’t even remember Veruca having luggage, let alone having it loaded onto a boat, plane, or town car. Maybe he’d been sleepier on the ride over than he thought.

  “Do we need those now?” Finn asked, as Veruca handed him the handle of the navy-blue case.

  “I’m told our contact will give us a ride where we need to go. No sense in making the driver hang around if we’re not sure what else we’ll be doing or where else we’ll be going. Come on, I can hear your stomach growling. Let’s get something to eat.”

  Faithfully, Finn followed Veruca into the restaurant, surprised when he saw that at least three tables were completely empty. He’d assumed the gaggle of customers outside had been waiting in line, but perhaps they just really enjoyed having fresh air with their coffee.

  Veruca introduced herself, asked that she send over the person they’d be meeting once he or she arrived, and then ordered juice for Finn and coffee for herself.

  Finn immersed himself in the menu, noting with some disappointment that it looked to be a vegan restaurant. He wasn’t opposed to the meats made from wheat and the cheese made from nuts, but he did occasionally miss the real thing. For Veruca’s sake, though, he’d happily followed her request to keep meat and eggs off the menu.

  Being able to sense the souls in the creatures that would be slaughtered and turned into food had made her lose her taste for the fried and seasoned results. Finn couldn’t blame her, of course, but he’d given meat up so recently he was still sometimes shocked when he bit into an approximation and found it wasn’t what years of habit had led him to expect. Luckily, his palate was easy to please and he was able to find a stack of pancakes that could be drowned in syrup, berries, and bananas, so he knew he’d be happy.

  “Who are we meeting?” he asked once they’d ordered and he’d sucked down half his O.J.

  “A local demon. Belial asked it to look into the bodies and it’s managed to get in to the police records, check out the necessary mortuaries, and ask the right questions.”

  “He’s in on it too? The—” Catching himself, Finn leaned in, lowered his voice to a whisper. “The banshee?”

  “No, it doesn’t know about her. I’m not sure what story Belial gave, or even if he bothered with one. Demons don’t ask questions, they just do as they’re told.”

  “What are they told?” Finn asked, trying to remember if he’d ever thought to ask. He’d met a few, been training under one since Veruca had taken him on, but he didn’t really say what the point of them was. In mythology and movies, they seemed to show up just to mess up someone’s day, maybe trick some poor man into murdering his family or some woman into being burned as a witch. In the real world, in Finn’s limited experience with the occasionally inhuman-looking beings, he wasn’t sure.

  “You mean, what do they do?” Veruca asked.

  “Yeah. Other than slap me around when I can’t raise a zombie fast enough, or save me from a coven of witches, what’re they around for?”

  “Contracts,” Veruca said with a shrug. “They’re authorized to offer compensation in exchange for a contract being signed. If someone wants something very much and Belial or one of his can offer it, that someone is given the option of signing a contract in order to get that something.”

  “And that’s where you come in, take their souls?”

  “Not always. Some of them keep their souls but give up something else. Belial has agents all over, in all walks of life. He may simply ask someone who wants something to provide something for someone else who wants something.”

  “Like a baker can get that brand-new Cuisinart she’s been eyeballing if she just bakes someone the best birthday cake ever?”

  Veruca laughed, nodding. “Perhaps. Though, it’s not usually on that small of a scale. Someone innocent on the hook for doing something heinous may need a lawyer and that lawyer may need evid
ence to prosecute someone evil but untouchable. It could be more intimate, as well. Someone’s loved one is dying from a disease they can’t afford to treat, but they may be able to offer surrogacy to someone looking to have a child. Souls are only a small part of what Belial asks for.”

  “And when he gets them, then what?”

  Veruca went quiet, watching him, her brow furrowing lightly. She’d never explained what went on after she took a soul from another. She’d come home many times after a collection, sometimes slightly altered for the transaction. If she’d been there to retrieve a soul from someone with a certain type of power, her moods would change, or her sex drive would fluctuate. Belial was busy enough that occasionally she wouldn’t go meet him to hand over the souls for a week or two.

  She was controlled, of course. Finn never worried for her safety when she came home with someone else’s life force wrapped around her heart. He’d noticed the changes, though, slight as they were, and wondered what the end goal of her Reaping really was.

  “That isn’t a question I’ve asked since I was very young,” Veruca said finally.

  “And what was the answer then?”

  “He promised to tell me once it was time.”

  “And he hasn’t yet?”

  “No,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not my place to ask, however. And I trust him.”

  “You trust the Prince of Hell?”

  “Definitely,” she said, with a small smile. “He’s been very good to me and mine, and I haven’t yet met a demon who regretted their ties to him, even though theirs are much more tightly bound than mine.”

  “Hmm,” Finn mumbled, not sure what to think about that. They were silent for a short while before Veruca turned her head ever so slightly toward the door.

  “Speaking of.”