Well of souls secrets an.., p.1
Well of Souls (Secrets & Sin Book 2), page 1
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Thank You!
Acknowledgments
About Linsey
Copyright
1
Cora
* * *
I was in over my head.
Like, way over my head.
The thought was a litany repeating itself as I stared at the chaos around me. I was so not qualified to run the bookshop that I’d inherited from a miserable mother I’d never met. Books were stacked on every surface, haphazard piles that threatened to fall over and crush any passing mice—of which there were plenty.
The only way I was going to finish cleaning up this shop before I died was if I turned into Cinderella and got the little interlopers to help me out.
Unfortunately—or fortunately, maybe—my demon cat scared them away. It was about the only thing he did, besides sleeping on top of the toaster.
“You know, I don’t think it’s that bad,” Fiona said.
The ghost sat on the edge of the jumbled desk, swinging her transparent legs back and forth. Wild curls scattered around her head, she grinned at me.
I gestured to the heaps of books. Many of the volumes contained scintillating subjects, like tax law or coin sorting. “What about this motley collection is not that bad?”
She shrugged. “So your mother had bad taste in books. You’ll make it work.”
“Not bad taste. That I could work with. Bad taste is subjective. But I think it’s fairly objective that the majority of my potential customers aren’t in the market for 101 Farming Laws From the 1890s or Valuable Coins from the 1920s.”
She grimaced. “Fair point. So what will you do?”
“Clear most of this out. Make the good stuff look nice, I guess.” There were a few hundred fiction titles and spell books I thought people might be interested in, though I wasn’t really qualified to say. My only experience with books was reading them, not selling them.
And the last week of sorting and planning had proved one thing: you can take the girl out of the mercenary squad, but you can’t take the mercenary out of the girl. I was hopeless at this.
A loud yawn sounded, and I looked over to see Balthazar, my demon cat, waking up from his umpteenth nap on top of the toaster. It was his favorite place to sleep, and his red eyes blazed with contentment, his shadowy midnight fur wafting in the non-existent breeze.
“It was nice of you to bring his toaster down here,” I said to Fiona.
She laughed. “Oh, I didn’t do that.”
“What?” A chill ran down my spine. “Was someone else here?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Balthazar dragged it down by the cord a few days ago. He likes the company and wanted to hang out with us.”
I stared at the grumpy bastard, impressed. “Well done, Balthazar.”
He stared at me blandly, then pressed the button on the toaster with his paw, turning it on, and went back to sleep.
Right.
I returned to the books and began unpacking a box I’d found in a dusty corner. In the week I’d spend cleaning the shop, I’d had dinner twice with my friends, Mia and Rei.
The person I hadn’t seen was Talan, the demon lord of New Orleans.
“Have you seen Talan, lately?” Fiona asked.
I glared at her. “Can you read my mind?”
She shook her head. “No. But you’ve got that scowl on your face, and I’m working on a theory that it has to do with him.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.” I raised my brows at her. “And you also know I haven’t seen him, because you go everywhere with me.”
She shrugged. “True. But he could always appear in your dreams.”
“Well, he hasn’t.” That was one of his particular powers, and he’d used it only twice with me—neither time recently. “Which is good.”
“You sure?”
“Yes!” We’d shared a kiss that was hot as hell, and he’d done a few really nice things for me—like kill the man who knew my secrets and threatened my safety—but he clearly didn’t want anything to do with me.
I wanted to keep it that way, especially since I was pretty embarrassed by the fact that I’d waited four full days for him to come see me before I’d given up.
Silly.
It wasn’t like I could trust him. I couldn’t trust anyone, especially not the demon lord. He made my blood heat, and that kind of loss of control was unacceptable. I couldn’t afford it.
Anyway, I had my friends, the only people in the world that I was actually beginning to maybe trust. It felt as unnatural as riding a giant tortoise in the Kentucky Derby, but it was happening.
I grinned at Fiona, the best of the lot. When I’d moved to New Orleans a couple weeks ago, she'd welcomed me by throwing books at my head. I never would have guessed we'd become friends, or that I might have something like a home here.
A tiny buzz of warmth filled me at the idea. I’d always wanted a real home. Being raised in an orphanage and sold to a mercenary guild would do that to a person.
But I’d never truly believed I’d get one. Even now, as I cleaned up the apartment and bookshop that my mother had given me, I didn’t really believe I could make this into my home. The idea was just too foreign. Too impossible.
Still, I wanted it. Silly as it was.
Things had been going so well this last week that it was making me almost jumpy. Life didn’t work like this. Not for me, at least.
As I stared at the box of books in front of me, I realized they were different than the others I’d found. For one, they looked old. And valuable. Magic vibrated from them, more intense than any I’d ever felt coming from a book.
“Hey, come look at this,” I said.
Fiona hopped off the desk and knelt beside me to inspect the books. “Huh. Those look valuable. And kinda familiar, in a weird way.”
“You’ve seen these before?”
“No, and I’m not sure why they look familiar. But they do.”
I carefully closed the box. “I’ll have to find someone to ask about them. Do you know anyone?”
“Maybe?” She frowned. “The weird thing about being a ghost is that you forget some things about your life. And your death.”
“Your death?”
“Yeah, you know I don’t remember the details. Most ghosts don’t. I just wish I knew.”
I patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, my hand disappearing an inch into her transparent form. “I’ll help you figure it out, I swear.”
“I know. Thanks.” She looked to the side. “So, uh, I have something I maybe need to mention.”
“Ugh. Bad news?”
She nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Things have been going too well lately. Makes me nervous.”
“Well, you’re not going to like this.” She glanced toward the shop window, worry flashing across her face. “I think someone has been watching the shop.”
“Watching?” A shiver of ice ran through my veins. “Like, a stakeout?”
She nodded again. “I’ve only seen the guy twice now, but he’s been standing in the same place, hidden by the shadows.”
“Damn it.” I dragged a weary hand through my hair. “And you’re sure he’s watching the shop?”
“Yeah, he just stands there, watching. Couldn’t see him well because of the shadows, but he was definitely there.”
“When?”
“Last night and this morning.”
“So, not long then.”
“Of course not.” She glared at me. “I knew you’d want to know.”
“And you don’t think it’s one of the demon lord's goons?”
“They wouldn’t hide. And I’m not sure he’s keeping tabs on you like that.”
Heat flushed my cheeks, the sting of embarrassment making me look away. Of course he wasn’t. He was done with me now.
I shook my head, driving away thoughts of him. “Probably my old boss.” I hated the idea that he’d already found me. “I didn’t tell him I was leaving.”
“Your boss can't stalk you all the way here.”
“Oh, he definitely can.” And he hadn’t been just a boss. Technically, he’d been my master. He’d bought me from the orphanage and forced me to join his kill squad, so he believed he owned me.
I’d kill him if he came anywhere near me ever again.
“Well, we’ve got your back,” Fiona said.
Warmth flushed through me like the rays of a winter sun driving away the chill. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.” She rose to her feet. “Now, I’ve got to get to—”
Her form flickered in and out of existence, anxiety crossing her face. Her gaze moved to mine, eyes wide. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
I jumped to my feet and ran toward her, my heart racing as she disappeared for a second, then reappeared.
“I’m being pulled away!” Her voice was squeaky with panic as she reached for me.
I grabbed her, trying to wrap my arms around her tran sparent body. I could touch her, but it was a strange sensation, like holding onto Jell-o. I gripped her as hard as I could. “Hold on, Fiona!”
“They’re too strong!”
I couldn’t see who she was talking about, but I could feel them pulling at her. Fear tightened my grip as I fought to keep her from being dragged away. “Hang on, Fiona!”
Talan
* * *
I stepped through the portal, letting the ether drag my exhausted body. When the portal spat me out in the basement of my house in New Orleans, relief rushed through me.
I was only minutes away from a shower. After trekking across the burning wasteland of my underworld, I was in desperate need of one. That, and a cold beer. Preferably at the same time.
As I strode toward the stairs that led to the main part of the house, I felt the power pulsing from the portal. It felt a bit strange, but at least it wasn’t weak. That soothed me. I might not have gotten the answers I sought about my mate, but at least the spell that kept my demons on Earth—something that shouldn’t be possible, but I had made it so—was still going strong.
Still, I wished I’d gotten answers about Cora. How was she my mate if she wasn’t a demon? It was rare, but not impossible for a demon to have a non-demon mate. But I didn’t even know what species she was. There had to be more to her, things I didn’t know about.
At the top of the stairs, I nearly ran into Liora.
My second-in-command stumbled back, her dark eyes wide. The close-fitting leather clothing she wore had been designed for fighting, and the sword at her side was her best friend as far as I could tell. She inclined her head, dark hair falling in front of her face. “Apologies, my lord.”
“Talan is fine.” I frowned at her. She only used my lord when something was wrong. “What happened?”
“Disappearances.” Worry tugged at her face. “Three demons from our part of town. They all disappeared at exactly the same time.”
“What do you mean, 'disappeared?' Kidnapped? Left town?”
“No, like poofed out of existence. Here one moment, gone the next.” Her eyes darkened with worry.
“There are witnesses?
She nodded. “To each situation, yes.”
I dragged a weary hand through my hair. “This isn’t good.”
“Do you think they’ve gone back to our underworld?” she asked.
“Not willingly.” Everyone was here in my part of New Orleans because they wanted to be. Earth was a hell of a lot nicer than the underworld we’d come from. It had taken a lot of magic to create the portal—also known as the Well of Souls—that kept us here on Earth. It was the only one of its kind, and I’d created it.
Which meant it was also my job to keep everyone safe, since I’d brought them here.
Guilt streaked through me. I’d been off searching for answers about my mate while my people had been in danger.
I needed to keep my head in the game, or I risked losing everything I’d built. More importantly, I risked failing those who relied on me.
“Do we have any clues?” I asked.
“Not yet.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card. “But I do have more news. Weird news.”
“Weird?” I frowned as I took the small card and flipped open the heavy cardstock. It was an invitation—from the fae. I looked up at Liora. “What the hell?”
She nodded, eyes wide. “Crazy, right?”
“Very.” The fae hadn’t invited me to their annual bacchanal in ten years—not since I’d refused the first invitation due to a prior commitment. It was one of the biggest events in the city, and definitely the biggest event hosted by the fae. Their queen had been so offended by my refusal of the prior invitation that she hadn’t issued another.
It was fine with me. The fae were a tricky, unreliable group who lived out in the bayou. Since they didn’t have territory in the city itself, they weren’t on the Council with the other factions—the demons, witches, shifters, and vampires.
I turned the card over, as if the back would reveal its secrets. “Any idea why they’re inviting us?”
She shook her head. “Not a clue. Unless it’s related to the disappearances.”
Anger—hot and cold at the same time—rushed through me. It was possible. I had no idea why the fae queen would take some of my people, but she had the magic for it. And it was good leverage.
But what did she want?
“We’ll go,” I said. “In the meantime, get the elite guard to find out anything they can about the missing demons.”
“Will do.”
“Thank you.” I turned and headed down the hall. Now that I had a party to attend, I really needed that shower. The beer had become a pipe dream, though.
Whatever the fae queen wanted from me, it would be dangerous.
2
Cora
* * *
I barely managed to pull Fiona back from whatever was trying to drag her away. It had been a tug of war with an invisible force, but I’d won.
For now.
Fiona panted and slumped against the desk, her face stark with fear, dark eyes wide. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know.” I tried to keep my own fear out of my voice, but it was slithering through my veins. Cold sweat had broken out on my skin, and it felt gross.
I had no idea what had threatened Fiona, but I couldn’t bear to lose her. “Do you think it will happen again?”
She shrugged, worry flashing on her face. “I have no idea.”
I chewed on my lip. “We need to figure out what’s going on.”
“How?”
“A seer?” They sometimes had answers. “Maybe Mad Maury knows.”
“The guy in the graveyard?” She shivered. “I’m not a big fan of that place.”
“I know, but it might be your only hope.”
“Yeah, but—”
A knock sounded at the door, cutting her off. I looked between Fiona and the sign in the window, which had been flipped to open. “Why is someone knocking? We’re open.”
She drifted to the window and peered out. Her eyes widened. “It’s a fae.”
I felt my brows pop up. “Really?”
She nodded. “Which explains the knocking. They don’t come to town often, and it’s not their way to just walk in.”
“Huh.” I hadn’t seen many fae in my life. They often lived in their own communities, many of which were on a separate plane from the Earth that the rest of us lived on. “Well, there’s only one way to find out why they’re here.”
I strode to the door an opened it, ready to call on my Karambit if I needed it. The fae were fast fighters, but with my little blade, I was nearly undefeatable.
The man on the step was tall and slender, with long golden hair and the ethereally beautiful features common to the fae. His pale silver tunic and trousers were embroidered by an expert hand, and the bow that hung over his back was a thing of beauty.
He inclined his head, the golden hair falling away to reveal his pointed ears. He handed me a small square of fine parchment.
“What is this?” I asked, taking it carefully to avoid touching hm.
“An invitation.”
Fiona gasped behind me.
“We hope to see you there.” He gave a small bow, then disappeared.
“No way.” Fiona drifted up to join me, leaning over my hand to look at the invitation. “I can’t believe it.”
“What do you mean?” I opened the card to see The Bacchanal written in scrolling script, along with a time and place. “It’s just a party.”
“Just a party.” She laughed like a lunatic. “Just a party. You’re hilarious!”
“So it’s more than just a party?”
“Duh.” She grabbed the invitation and held it up to the light, as if to check that it was real. “It’s the party of the year, and the invitations are worth a mint.”
“So why were we invited?”
She shrugged. “Because you’re new in town? I don’t know. But I do know that we’re going.”
