it can be done.”
“Then do it.” Ford practically drops the corpse into a chair near the door, and the body slumps over, already stiffening a little in death.
“Ah…” Morrigan smiles, her gaze sweeping over all of us. “Also takes more payment.”
“We can pay. Name your price.”
The fact that Beckett isn’t bothering to negotiate with this woman is a clear sign of how badly he wants this done. There’s almost no amount of money she could name that would even put a dent in my brother’s wealth, but under normal circumstances, he’d haggle with her just on principle.
Morrigan tilts her head back and forth like a pendulum swaying. “Let’s see, let’s see. A corpse, a demon corpse. A violent death, a reviving potion to undo a spell. That will be expensive, very expensive.”
“Your price. Name it,” Beckett repeats, annoyance creeping into his tone.
The death witch wrinkles her nose, glancing up at my brother as if she forgot he was here. She gazes at him for a second, as if mentally calculating his worth. Then she scrunches up her nose again and swivels her head to take in the rest of us.
Her gaze alights on Trin, and she gives a sharp-toothed smile.
“Not money. I have money, don’t need more. In payment for this spell, I want her.”
One bony finger points straight at Trinity.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Trinity
Um, what?
The entire atmosphere in the little shop’s entrance seems to shift as silence follows on the heels of her declaration.
I’ve been creeped out since the moment we stepped through the door. Although Morrigan isn’t exactly covering herself in skulls, there’s something very unsettling about her, something that makes my spine squirm when she looks at me.
It feels like spiders are crawling over my skin, and I’m torn between conflicting impulses to run, to fight, or to curl up in the corner in a ball like you’re supposed to do in the event of a bear attack.
She doesn’t want money as a payment. Not even some insane sum from these uber-wealthy supernaturals.
Nope.
She wants me.
My stomach tightens into a hard knot, and I feel ice cold.
“No. Trinity is not a bargaining chip,” Beckett says sharply. “She’s not up for trade.”
My eyes fly wide, and I turn quickly to look at him in surprise. As I do, I notice that Ford looks equally murderous, his arms folded, while Remington and Phoenix close ranks around me just like they did when the demon bit down on the magic poison capsule back at the casino.
Even though fear is still crawling through my veins, a little starburst of warmth bursts in my chest.
I would’ve thought they’d all be glad to get rid of me. None of them seem to have any fondness for angels, or me specifically. They’ve been stuck with me because we’ve all got the same objective, but if they hand me over to this witch, they can go and deal with the portal on their own without a pesky angel sidekick.
But they don’t look relieved at all.
Instead, they all look furious.
Could it be that they actually care what happens to me?
That doesn’t make any sense. Remington does seem to like me a little, although it’s hard to tell if that’s real or just his sin—his feeling of home—seducing me. But the others? No way. Ford kissed me like he wants to destroy me, Phoenix finds me annoying because I dragged him out of his peaceful life in his bunker, and Beckett’s got this hot and cold thing going on that leaves me reeling.
I do owe two of them favors though. If I’m gone, they can say bye-bye to an IOU from an angel.
Morrigan looks around at us, smoothing out her dark skirts. “I don’t mean all of her. Now, now, boys. Do calm yourselves.” She seems amused by their reaction, and she hasn’t wilted at all beneath the combined force of their glares. “I only want some of her blood. Angel blood, yes? Very powerful magic is done with such blood. Only a little. I will only need to take a little.”
Oh.
Okay, then.
That’s better than I thought it would be, although it still creeps me the frick out. I feel kind of like a piece of meat, being talked about like this. Hearing them negotiate over pieces of me.
“Um, I can speak for myself, you know,” I put in, raising a hand and stepping forward a little. “I’m right here.”
Morrigan cocks her eyebrow at me, like she’s surprised I actually can speak for myself. Then a slow smile spreads across her