Gods Ascendent: The Apsara Chronicles #2 Page 14

  Vee sighed and nodded. It was a good plan and would help bring whoever it was now stalking her out into the open. If they believed a third party was onto them while Vee remained ignorant of their presence, they may relent and leave her alone.

  She nodded, grinning as if she was having the time of her life. Then she said, “Selfie time? Could be we could get some well-timed accidental photobombs that Brent can run for an ID.”

  Nivaan nodded, and the pair proceeded to take almost a dozen photographs in front of various floats and at a number of different angles. Vee’s stalkers were ignorant of the fact that both of them had been caught on camera, both staring right at Vee at the time.

  “Lemme see.” Vee waved at Nivaan to hand over the phone and grinned, this time the smile genuine. “Got you, you bastards.”

  Nivaan smiled too in order to keep up the act. Then he linked arms with her and said, “Wanna clue me in on why someone is following you?”

  “Oh. Probably because someone wants to kill me.”

  Chapter 26

  What?” Nivaan’s steps slowed, but Vee tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him along.

  “Day before yesterday, after I went to a murder scene, I was almost run down by a cab. But the driver magically disappeared. I suspected something was up, but these guys they have tailing me, just make me sure now that someone is after me.” Vee felt Nivaan’s grip on her hand tighten. She didn’t think he realized that his own fear and anger were being transmitted to her through a grip that was close to breaking her fingers.

  “Honeybuns?” she said, tilting her head close to him. Nivaan glanced over at her, amusement lifting the corners of his eyes. “Please don’t break my fingers,” she said with a sweet smile.

  “Oh shit. Sorry, Vee.” Nivaan let go of her fingers then began to manipulate her bones and joints.

  “Nivaan?” Vee’s voice rose with the question as the pair reached the edge of the festive crowd.

  He looked up. “What?”

  “What are you doing?” Vee asked, staring at his hands.

  “Checking if I’ve broken anything.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Do I have a fragile sticker taped across my forehead? I don’t break that easy. And besides, you’d know if you broke my fingers. I wouldn’t be walking along with a smile on my face.”

  Nivaan pursed his lips and appeared to consider her words. Then he shook his head. “I don’t believe so. I know you. You’d be all concerned about my feelings, and you’d hide the pain and slink home without telling me. I don’t trust you.”

  Vee studied him for a moment. “Good point.”

  Nivaan smirked, and they turned the corner onto a quieter street. The noise of music and celebration still echoed toward them and would mask any sounds of an attack. Vee had to remind herself that the attack in question could also be carried out on her.

  She put herself on high alert, scanning the street and listening to every step behind her.

  There, two sets of footsteps followed about a dozen yards back.

  Nivaan leaned closer to Vee. “This alleyway should do.”

  Vee nodded and followed his lead. “You do your shifter thing, and I’ll be bait?” she said softly.

  Nivaan opened his mouth, and Vee had a feeling he was about to tell her to stay somewhere safe. But something in his eyes changed as he looked at her, and she wondered if it may have been as a result of the death glare that she’d sent him.

  “Fine. Get back in the shadows. Beneath that fire escape.”

  “Okay. And I’m human bait, okay. I don’t really want to show them my power. It’s better I appear vulnerable, so consider me your damsel in distress.”

  Nivaan grinned. “Whatever the lady requires,” he said dipping his head in a short bow.

  Vee snorted and watched as he shimmered into nothing, pulling his glamor over himself within seconds.

  Just in time too, as the two men turned the corner. Vee watched them as she stood there at the back of the alley, taking up a position where she’d have plenty of space to work with if she found herself in a life or death situation.

  She began to pace, appearing to have not seen the oncoming men. They’d grown bold, following like this. It made Vee wonder if perhaps they didn’t know what her powers were. All the more reason to not come out guns—or rather trishula, daggers, and needles—blazing.

  They were close now, and she glanced up at them. “What do you want?” she asked, inserting a short quaver of fear into her voice.

  The first man, whose mustache appeared to be the size of a small rodent, swaggered closer. “You just making this easy for us, aren’t you?” he sneered as he came to a stop to look her up and down. He had a thug feel with his ripped jacket, low-riding jeans and baseball cap on back to front. In his hand, he held a gun, a match to the one his partner now had trained on Vee. Guns? So perhaps these guys were not of the supernatural flavor if they were carrying around human weapons.

  “Ed, just remember we need to bring her in. Dead, we don’t get no payment.” The second guy, similarly dressed though he was portly to his partner’s skinny and had a glistening dark head. He glanced over at Rat-stache—or rather, Ed—pointedly staring until he received an agreement. Although Baldy had kept his voice low, Vee had heard every word, having strengthened that power years ago.

  “Shut your mouth. She’ll hear you.”

  “Yeah. She’s got super-hearing now?”

  Ed grunted and met Vee’s gaze as she backed away, her eyes widened with what she hoped looked like fear. She’d hate to have come across looking like she was demonic or demented. “Leave me alone. You don’t want to mess with me. My guy…he’ll kill you two.”

  “What? You’re concerned about our lives now?” Ed asked, his tone mocking.

  “I’m telling you. He’ll tear you guys apart.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you bitches will say anything to save your asses—”

  “Did it occur to you that perhaps the bitch in question would not want to be accosted by two assholes like you?” said a voice from the darkness above.

  A large dark shape moved, flitting from the third level fire-escape on the right-hand wall, almost gliding over to the landing closest to Vee.

  Vee’s attackers turned their attention to Nivaan, both staring up at his shadowed form.

  Ed shifted his gaze for an instant to catch his partner staring too. “Watch her,” he yelled then turned his gaze back up. But that second of inattention had been his undoing. Nivaan swooped down on him, wrapped an arm around his neck and lifted him off the ground in a leap for the opposite fire escape.

  Ed yelled, and his partner shuffled in place in front of Vee. She wanted to laugh at the sight of his face as he watched her, all the while looking like he desperately wanted to check on his partner.

  He shifted his head, so his mouth was angled in Nivaan’s direction. “Ed? You okay?”

  A muffled grunt emanated from the darkness, and Nivaan landed on the ground beside Baldy. The thug let out a yell, shaking his gun first at Vee and then at Nivaan. “Stay where you are,” he shouted, spit flying from his mouth. “What did you do with Ed?”

  Nivaan smiled and walked further into the shadows. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about Ed. He’s just hanging around. But maybe Ed’s safety is dependent on what you have to tell me?”

  “What?” the man stuttered, his gaze going up to the side of the building again, then back at Nivaan. Vee followed the man’s gaze and bit back a laugh. Somehow, Nivaan had managed to string Ed up, tying him to one of the corners of the overhanging fire-escape landings. He was fully capable of reaching up for the grilled overhang, but any movement of his hands could loosen him from the rope around his arms.

  Vee lifted an eyebrow and stared at Nivaan, impressed.

  Baldy turned back to Nivaan. “Let him down, or I’m going to shoot your brains out.”

  “Can you even see me to aim? And you wouldn’t want a bullet to rebound and hit the woman, would you? She’s a
little too valuable for such reckless behavior, don’t you think?”

  The woman?

  So Nivaan was playing at being someone else who was hunting Vee down. She hid a smile and watched her remaining attacker weigh his options.

  Still aiming the gun at the shadows, he said, “What do you want?”

  “You know what I want. I want to know who sent you? Who are you working for?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? Someone must have hired you two assholes. Sent you instructions, paid you.”

  “Oh yeah, yeah that. Ed was in charge of that.”

  “You better know something, or after Ed falls, you’re next.”

  “Okay, okay man, it was on the dark web. It’s a site that puts up bios and photographs of people. It’s like a bounty hunter site. You take the job, find and deliver the target, and the money is there for you at the handover location.”

  “But these people are innocent, and you’re just going around and rounding them up? For someone you don’t even know?” Nivaan’s voice rose.

  “Look man, I just do the job. Who knows what these people have done. That’s not my business. But her—” he pointed at Vee, “—they said she’s a pedophile who preys on kids. Passes herself off as a schoolteacher.”

  Vee’s stomach churned, and she felt like she was about to throw up. Somewhere out there on the web was a profile that claimed she was a sexual predator?

  Beyond Ed’s clueless partner, Vee caught sight of a shadow flickering at the entrance of the alley. Nivaan didn’t seem to have noticed, but Vee had. She blinked, not sure she’d seen it correctly.

  A flurry of darkened feathers whirled in a mist made of gray and silver light. And yet the sight of the form sent a chill deep into Vee’s heart. She wasn’t sure what she’d seen. Perhaps she’d imagined the tall, hunched form, the narrow scrawny neck. Perhaps she’d imagined the glassy dark eyes staring out at her from a feathered body, black as night.

  She shivered, but before she could warn Nivaan, bring his attention to the oncoming threat—one that Vee felt was actually worse than these two dark-web hired thugs—Nivaan said, “Wrong buddy. This woman is a medical researcher. You either have the wrong person, or this is part of a hit or abduction situation.”

  The man lifted a shoulder, twisting his lips as though he didn’t really give a damn. “Whatever. So what do you want with her?”

  “My employer wants to have a little chat with her.”

  “No way. You’re not taking my payday from me.”

  “Not like you have much of a say,” Vee said, keeping her eye on the shadowy feathered form who had stepped closer to them. “I’d rather go talk to someone I don’t know than go anywhere with the likes of you.”

  The man growled, rage darkening his cheeks to an almost blue-black. His finger looked dangerously close to the trigger. Too close for Vee’s liking. She glanced over at the dark patch of shadow that was Nivaan, hoping he’d get the message to get this thing done and get her out of there. She hated that she was hobbled with using her powers, and for now, all she wanted was to get away before the dark figure came too close, because the sick feeling in her gut told her it would not end well.

  Nivaan shifted in the darkness then swooped closer to Vee. He both drew his glamor over her rendering her invisible and launched himself into the air using his shifter power. Shots went wild as Vee’s attacker finally let loose. He’d obviously given up and was firing on Nivaan—or what he thought to be Nivaan—in the hopes that he would hit her too. He’d lose his money now for sure. And he’d have to find a way to release Ed safely.

  Vee smiled as Nivaan set her onto her feet on a nearby rooftop.

  “You would make an excellent bad-guy/good-guy/vigilante…guy.”

  Nivaan snorted as Vee gave a sigh of annoyance. “You lose a few brain cells over there?” he snickered.

  Vee hit him on the bicep, but the man just snorted and grinned. “I’m tired. Long day. And people just keep dropping by, only they want to stab me or kill me or suck me dry of my blood or run me over with their cab, or as you have just witnessed, hand me over to some anonymous person on the dark web.”

  Nivaan grabbed Vee around the shoulders. “You know what my gran used to always say?”

  Vee sighed and walked beside Nivaan as they headed toward the rooftop stairwell entrance to the building. “What did she say?” Vee yawned and felt a little dizzy as her adrenaline began to crash.

  “She would waggle her finger and say, ‘You know beta, God will never put anything on your plate that you cannot shoulder’.” Nivaan chuckled. “For the longest time, I was puzzled as to how the food on my plate and my shoulder had anything to with each other.”

  Vee snorted. “That’s ‘cos your mind is always on food.”

  Then as they entered the stairwell, Nivaan let out a low growl. “Not all the time, woman.”

  And then he slapped her on the ass.

  Chapter 27

  With morning came the reminder for Vee of the men who’d come so close to abducting her, all because of some stupid dark-web site. The thought that someone out there had gone to such an extent to put a bounty on her head…she wasn’t sure how to process that.

  Nivaan had insisted on staying over and had taken Radhima’s room. Vee had been too tired to protest what had seemed like him being excessively protective.

  When she got up and headed downstairs, she found he’d already gone but had left a bag of croissants on the kitchen table for her. Smiling, Vee made coffee and devoured the pastries listening for the sound of her dad’s footsteps upstairs. But everything was silent except for Syama and Akil who were in the garage sharpening blades.

  She could hear the high ringing of the whetstones as the two worked. Downing the last of her coffee, Vee rinsed the mug and placed it in the sink, then hurried to the garage.

  “Hey, you two,” she said smiling at the sight of their concentrated scowls. “I’m off to the lab. You should be good to drop me off and come straight back.”

  Syama snorted and got to her feet. “Yeah, sure. Like your lab is so golem-proofed?” She lifted a brow as she slid her dagger into the sheath at her waist.

  Vee was about to argue with the hellhound when her phone began to buzz. She lifted a finger, motioning to Syama to wait. Then, as Vee read the message from Monroe, she sighed. “Guess the lab’s off the agenda for now.”

  “You got a case?” asked Akil, also rising and pocketing his whetstone.

  Syama rolled her eyes. “Of course, she has a case. She has that look.”

  “What look?” Vee asked as she studied the address in Talmadge Hill an expensive residential area just outside the city.

  Syama smirked and tilted her head, pretending to study Vee’s face, her expression serious. “Oh, I think it falls somewhere between tense and constipated.”

  Akil coughed and choked back a laugh while Vee just stared at the hellhound, not sure what to say. She shook a finger at Syama. “You better watch it,” said Vee, shaking her head, knowing her warning would remain forever unheeded. Then she glanced at her phone. “If you’re done with your comedy act, we need to go here,” she said, holding her phone out so Syama and Akil could read the address.

  Akil nodded and shimmered away, returning within seconds. “I have a good spot that we can arrive at and remain unseen.”

  Vee walked over to Syama who had grabbed Vee’s go-bag from the table behind her and was holding it out to her. Slinging it over her shoulder, Vee felt comforted in the knowledge that the weapons were close at hand. Just in case.

  Seconds later they arrived within a stand of trees across the road from the address Monroe had sent Vee. The road was quiet, though lined with police and forensic team vehicles.

  Akil shimmered into solidity beside Vee and said, “I’ll be in the trees. I will let you know if anything happens.” Before Vee could respond, the sirin had disappeared, leaving Vee to share a wry smile with Syama.

&nb
sp; Thankfully, the patrols had been set further inside the property and Vee was able to cross the road and walk through the open gates and up the drive before someone stopped her. Syama accompanied her, glamor securely hiding her presence.

  The cop guarding the scene waved her past, and Vee was directed through the house—an overly ostentatious mansion, Greek pillars guarding the entrance, floor to ceiling windows, faux stone rock facings, and a gigantic fountain taking pride of place directly in front of a pair of double doors large enough for a semi to pass through.

  Though open, the door appeared to be hewn from solid wood and patterned with brass, with a distinct oriental feel to it. Vee ignored the eclectic architecture and headed through the long hallway and out a large back door onto a slate-tiled patio.

  A glistening sky-blue pool shimmered like a jewel to Vee’s left, the sunlight glancing off the surface so brightly that Vee had to shield her eyes against the glare.

  Standing on the edge of the scene, Vee surveyed the frenzied activity. Monroe stood on the other side of the clearing, talking to someone on her cell phone as she paced back and forth, waving her free hand. The woman’s brow was furrowed, and her cheeks were ruddy.

  All sure signs that Monroe was frustrated and furious. But whatever was going on, Vee wasn’t interested. She didn’t want to allow herself to get sidetracked by the detective’s issues. Right now, Vee needed to assess the scene.

  “You should have brought the conch,” Syama muttered from Vee’s side.

  Vee resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She understood Syama’s concern, and in fact, she shared that concern. But Vee couldn’t just use Lord Narasimha’s conch just because it was convenient. She didn’t believe the boons of the gods were meant to work that way. It wasn’t as if the power to freeze time didn’t have its consequences. She still recalled the last time she’d used it.

  The day her grandmother had died.

  “I’m still here, you know.”

  “Not really,” said Vee softly. Then she shook her head and glared at her grandmother’s ghost as she stood beside Vee, arms cross as she too surveyed the scene. “And stop doing that. Someone is going to see me talking to you, and they’ll have grounds to toss me off active duty.”