I saw turmoil in Mikelis's eyes. "We're not going to tell Luucas," he said. "He'd be devastated."
He stood and scooped me up in his arms, then carried me through the door.
"Wait," I said, "what about Ruair?"
I shouldn't have asked. The corpse of voodoo master Ruair O'Bryne stood up of its own accord, with a creepy, blank stare, and jogged toward us.
Then it ran into a wall.
Mikelis looked at me, stone-faced. "Oops?"
"He deserved that."
The corpse of Ruair then trotted past us and fell down two flights of stairs.
"How long are you going to abuse it?"
"Until Luucas makes me turn it over for state evidence."
TWENTY-NINE.
I celebrated victory at my favorite coffee shop, the Cacao Cafe, with a slice of their chocolate raspberry torte. Normally, Pasha calls in a list of forbidden items that they aren't allowed to sell to me, but she let me off the hook for a few days. I had also ordered a sandwich and coffee, but I started my meal with dessert. Tacky though it was, I ate it at the register while I waited for my latte. The shop was empty anyway, and I was only stopping through for a quick dinner before my first date with Mikelis. He was taking me to the movies because, as he put it, it's what couples do when they aren't being chased around by a "psychopathic voodoo jerk."
While I scarfed torte, I listened to the two baristas chatter on about my brush with death at Cody's apartment building. As it turned out, Mikelis had wrapped the edifice in dense smoke, causing citywide panic. Anyone who tried running through it never reached the other side-they just found themselves out on the street again. Local authorities didn't know what to make of the smoke. They said it was a fluke, the result of an aging elevator crashing down, and that I was lucky to have survived.
When the smoke had died down, Mikelis emerged from the towering, black cloud with me in his arms. The crowd went wild. News crews tried pushing through the line of police for a statement. Someone even started up a chant of "He-RO! He-RO!" That's when Cody thought he had to redeem himself for not looking as manly, and had tried to punch Mikelis.
He landed on his ass before hundreds of spectators and press.
"You're so lucky," one of the baristas gushed.
I wasn't sure if she was referring to my brush with death or Cody. "I'm just glad to have gotten out of a burning building alive."
Both girls paused and looked at me. The blonde fixing my latte said, "And back to Cody Springer?"
I almost gagged on my torte, but I managed to say, "Yep."
"That's so sweet!"
The brunette making my sandwich paused and turned toward us. Her brows lifted. "And did you hear a new necromancer's been discovered? Someone named Eliana Rendon."
The blonde gasped in fright.
"Sounds scary," I said. "I bet she kicks puppies, too."
I took another bite and heard the front bell jingle. The girls looked up at whoever had entered and chimed, "Welcome!"
A familiar male voice replied, "Thank you."
I pressed my napkin over my mouth and turned. Luucas nodded to me as he crossed the store to the counter. He looked tired but presentable in another batch of Pasha's fashion choices: designer jeans, a t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket. I didn't remember a leather jacket in the first batch of clothes she had brought; it must have been a recent addition. His hair had been cut short and he looked clean-shaven. It was a complete transformation for the downtrodden hobo Brad and I rescued from a back alley.
"Hey," I said, "finally done with your investigation?"
He leaned against the counter. "Not even close. There are still some loose ends." That sounded complicated, but he didn't explain. He pointed at my torte. "Celebrating?"
"I've earned it. Let me buy you a cup of coffee. You've earned it."
"I can pay for my own. Because we uncovered Ruair's bribing scheme, conservators are finally getting a raise." He grinned. "A big one."
"My pain is your gain."
"True. Maybe I should pay for yours."
We both laughed. Luucas ordered a large Americano, no room for cream, with a half-packet of raw sugar.
"Raw sugar?" I said. "You're living dangerously."
He grinned. "If it were a full packet of sugar, my stomach couldn't take it. Coffee and a little sugar are the only human foods I can actually digest."
I set my fork down and closed the lid on my chocolate torte. Sadly, it would have to wait. "Are you headed to work?"
He nodded. "I have quite a few new conservator recruits to start training-including Rick Kasen."
"Uncle Rick? Really? He'll make a great conservator."
"I saw the scorch marks from his fight with Henri. If he can do that as a human, I can only imagine what he'll do as an immortal with proper training. And he's not the only one that signed up. People are outraged after hearing about Henri and Thaon, and they want to do their civic duty."
Our paper cups were set before us. I picked up my latte and said, "I'll drink to that!"
He lifted his cup and we "clinked" them together.
"Thanks, but I didn't come here to celebrate. I came to tell you that the Fathers have released us from our living arrangement."
I had forgotten about that. I felt my smile falter. In the past few days, I had kind of gotten used to Luucas. In fact, he was fun to have around the house. Nadia even liked him. "Oh."
Luucas set his coffee cup back down and fidgeted with the lid. "Marcus said I could live in one of his apartments-one of the big ones in the back."
"He rents to all the local conservators. Do you really want to live next door to your employees?"
"No, but he's offering it to me dirt cheap while I get back on my feet financially."
"You mean he didn't tell you?"
He looked up. "Tell me what?"
I set my cup down. "Mikelis and I didn't leave the apartment building immediately. We went to an apartment-"
Before I could finish, I heard the front bell jingle again, and I was interrupted by a woman's high-pitched shriek.
"You bitch!"
The barista's heads snapped up. Luucas turned around. He was blocking my view of the door, so I took a step back. I didn't immediately recognize the woman at the door. She wore faded, torn jeans and a beat-up University of Rochester sweatshirt three sizes too large. Her severely cropped hair was now too short to lie flat, making her look like she had stuck her finger in an electric socket.
I smiled. "Hi Veronica. Nice hairdo."
Her cheeks flushed a deep red and her eyes glittered like tiny black marbles beneath her shaggy bangs. "Where's my money?"
"I'm so glad you asked. I was just about to tell Luucas a funny story about that."
Veronica's attention switched to Luucas and her face blanked, as if noticing him for the first time. Her gaze swept over him, probably adding up the price tags on everything he wore.
I held up my fingers and snapped them twice, calling back her attention. "Yoo-hoo! Over here."
Her gaze returned to me. Anger flashed in her eyes.
"On my way down from Cody Springer's penthouse in Manhattan, I happened to bump into Ruair O'Bryne. He was coming out of an apartment. Mikelis and I went back to that apartment. Your apartment."
In Veronica's living room, we had found a set of four necromancer posts. That was what Luucas had tried telling me-Ruair could make the posts, and he was still alive. We had also discovered a handwritten note listing a few ways she might get Ker'Mortan back. There was a big dollar sign at the bottom.
I folded my arms across my chest. "Or should I say Luucas's apartment, since he paid for that slice of luxury." Before she could respond, I held up a finger. "By the way, I borrowed a pair of sweats and your little pink slippers." I smirked. "And your bank statements."
Her face turned an unflattering shade of purple. "I want my money back!" she shrieked.
"It's not your money. It's Luucas's money, and now it's back in his possession-with interest."
Luucas turned to me, eyes wide with surprise. "What?"
"Veronica spent every penny you had-even what she had earned from selling the voodoo trinkets you took from Ruair. When the money ran out, she made a deal to turn you over to Ruair, along with the Ker'Mortan Dagger. I showed up and thwarted that plan, so she had to take her talents as a con artist to a whole new level."
A thrilled voice behind us asked, "How?"
Luucas and I turned around. Both baristas were leaning on the counter, elbows up, listening raptly to the story.
"By posing as my estranged sister, who I haven't spoken with in over twenty years, and spreading lies about my relationship with my cousin."
"What a bitch!" one barista said.
The other sounded disappointed. "So you've never seen Brad Kasen naked?"
"Thankfully, no. Anyway, my lawyer was able to get at that money and put it in an iron-clad account with Luucas's name on it."
"How?" Luucas asked.
I looked up at him. We both knew the answer. "Um," I said, "he has ways."
Marcus knows very shady people. What he had done wasn't legal, and it may not have been the right thing to do, but it was my family's form of justice. I wasn't sure how Luucas would feel, given that justice had not been served through lawful process.
Luucas stared at me, heavy thoughts churning behind his eyes. After a few moments, he nodded, relieved.
I turned back to Veronica, who was now staring at her feet. Her arms hung limply at her sides. "Now I have nothing."
"I'm afraid it's worse than that," I said, "because in the next hour, my lawyer will be notifying you of impending legal action."
Her head snapped up, eyes wet and red. She aimed them up at Luucas with an added puppy-dog expression that was fairly convincing. "You're suing me?"
Luucas took a small step back, helpless against her wiles. His expression softened under her gaze. "No, I-"
I backhanded his arm before he could continue. He jolted upright, blinked, and looked at me.
"No," I said, "Luucas is a Principal Conservator and is too busy for all that legal overhead." I paused, building a dramatic drum roll in my head. "But I'm not!"
Her innocent facade dissolved. "You?" she snarled. "For what?"
"Slander, libel, assault, and a laundry list of other offenses that basically mean you can't pretend to be my sister." I picked up my latte. Before taking a sip, I added, "By the way, those gossip rags that paid you-they'll probably sue you too."
She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and tugged. "I'm ruined! What am I going to do?"
"The most horrible thing," I said, widening my eyes in mock horror, "you'll have to get a job."
She gasped. The baristas giggled. So did Luucas.
Startled, Veronica and I both turned to Luucas. He had his coffee cup in front of his face, trying to hide his smile.
"Good luck, Veronica," he said, then dissolved into a fit of laughter.
Veronica's face fell. She turned away and walked toward the door. As she pushed open the door, I heard my band's new single play. She jumped and let out a little shriek. She pulled her phone from her pocket.
"I guess my new song doesn't suck after all," I said. "And you'd better answer that. Might be important."
Luucas slapped a hand over his face and laughed harder, a rolling belly laugh that caused tears to stream down his face. I knew that laughter well. It was the laughter of relief.
Veronica left the shop. We watched as she disappeared out of sight, hopefully forever.
Luucas quieted. He looked down at his coffee cup.
I asked, "You're wondering if you should thank me and Marcus or arrest us, right?"
He flashed a rueful smile. "You're already doing community service. I'll have to speak with Marcus about his."
"I don't regret anything we did."