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The cat was staring at her from down the alleyway, its piercing blue eyes boring a hole into Bryce.
She shook her head, trying to clear her vision, and when she looked back, it had disappeared. She wasn’t sure if the demon prince truly was following her or if she just desperately needed to get some sleep. Honestly, it could go either way.
Regardless, she’d been seeing the white cat throughout the city more than usual these past few weeks, as she bumbled around aimlessly.
The white cat had appeared to her throughout her life, though only taking occasion to speak to her on that one fateful day when she’d blinded the Oracle. The frequency was growing rather alarming.
It was as if with Danika’s passing a couple of months ago, he felt he needed to look out for her. Not that she was anyone or anything to be looking out for. Everyone she knew would probably be better off without her anyways.
Completing sales for Jesiba on time was the only thing keeping Bryce from rotting away in the damn apartment Danika had bought for her in secret. And it had been Jesiba’s errand that had sparked the idea within her a few weeks ago. She’d been meeting with one of the Viper’s cronies, when the female vampire had casually dropped something about summoning the dead into the conversation.
When Bryce had asked, the female had clammed up, but slowly she was able to get the general idea of the ritual. Seven pounds and seven ounces—exactly—of obsidian salt arranged precisely could have her speaking with Danika again in no time. She’d already tried to find ways to access the Bone Quarter, but its borders were sealed up tightly, nobody allowed in or out. Ever.
For the past few weeks, she’d been gradually working the obsidian salt into her deals, careful to omit that detail whenever she typed up the reports for Jesiba, and the grocery bag she now held in her hand contained the last of it. Tonight she would summon Danika.
When she got home, Bryce got to work, grinding up the salt into a fine powder before precisely following the directions which had been laid out for her. The two circles—one for her and one for Danika—and the candles lit to bathe the room in dim light.
Bryce then went to take a shower, freshening up before speaking with Danika one last time. She knew Danika had seen Bryce in every state of being and wouldn’t judge her for it, yet even Bryce had to admit that her hair was lank and greasy after so many days of forgoing her shower. It was the least she could do for her best friend, her sister in every way.
After blow-drying her hair and applying a bit of makeup—not her usual routine but enough to hide the tell-tale bags under her eyes and sallowness of her skin—Bryce sat in front of the large circle, encased in a smaller one of her own, breathing in the reek of spoiled earth.
She was now supposed to focus on summoning, reaching into herself and drawing on her memories of Danika, willing her to come through the barrier between their worlds.
Instantly, she was awash with winds well below freezing. Even with her heater on, Bryce could feel her hands stiffening as she ran them along her bare arms, recognizing the wrongness for what it was.
Whatever was coming into the summoning circle, it certainly wasn’t Danika. She didn’t have time to curse the vampire for selling her wrong information before the most beautiful male she’d ever seen solidified before her.
Bryce was taken aback, not only because she felt a hint of betrayal for Connor at the thought, but also at the eyes which pierced her—eyes which had watched over her for her entire life.
“You,” she breathed.
“Surprised to see me, love?” Aidas, Prince of the Chasm crooned as he tilted his head at her.
“You’re not … Danika’s supposed to …”
“I see.” Aidas frowned. “Was this little ritual meant for her? Well, I guess it’s not everyday that one gets to learn that obsidian salt only works for summoning demons. The undead—well, maybe one day you’ll figure it out.”
“Is it even possible?” Bryce was shrinking into herself now, unable to control the shivers wracking her body and doubting everything about her life.
“Anything is possible. Like I said, perhaps you’ll stumble upon the solution one day, if you try hard enough.”
It was as good as any confirmation that Aidas would be no help to her and that nobody had likely found a way to do so yet. Bryce backed up into the wall, placing her head between her knees, not caring in the least if she froze right then and there.
Danika was gone. She was never coming back, and Bryce’s last hope had fallen to pieces.
“Didn’t I tell you not to let them see you cry?” crooned a voice from across the room.
Bryce didn’t think twice before she chucked one of her shoes at the male, watching as it harmlessly rebounded off an invisible barrier.
“Oh, you had to know that couldn’t hurt me,” Aidas purred. “Nothing from your side of the gate can get in, and I, unfortunately, can’t get out.” His lip curled at that. “That’s why you get to see me in all my glory.”
Bryce sat there dumbfounded, unable to find the right words. Her head was just full of that throbbing emptiness which she’d temporarily forgotten about with this one purpose in mind these past few weeks—a purpose which had just been shattered before her.
“Nothing to say? I remember, even as a child, you had a sharp tongue. Pity.” Aidas’s form began to shimmer—or maybe those were the tears pooling at the corners of Bryce’s eyes—as he let out an exaggerated sigh and drawled, “Well, I’ll be taking my leave, lest you freeze to death. You know where to find me.”
Bryce didn’t have the strength within her to protest or even to move from her spot. She could feel the room around her returning to normal, yet she was still frozen.
She practically jumped when something warm and fuzzy brushed up against her leg. “Fucking shit!” she screamed as she beheld Aidas in his cat form. “How the Hel did you get in here?”
“I have my ways,” was all the pristine tabby offered her before he inclined his head in the direction of her bedroom.
The order was clear. Move. She needed to at least make her way into bed before her exhaustion overtook her. Bryce reluctantly obeyed, not even bothering to stand as she crawled into bed, remaining shoe and all, pulling the covers up around her head.
She didn’t remember much about that evening in the coming days. In fact, she might have thought the tiny, snoring form which had been keeping her back warm had been a dream if Aidas hadn’t shown up—this time on her doorstep—only two days later, a bag of carry-out burgers clasped in his maw.