Finale

CHAPTER 27

WHAT! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” PEPPER SPAT the words vehemently. “They won’t be happy, and they’ll refuse to work with me. Worse, they might go straight to the archangels!”

“Your blackmailer doesn’t work with you anymore. From now on, he or she deals directly with us,” I said. “Scott and I are going to retrieve the objects they want enchanted, and we might need your cooperation in evaluating them. If you can tell us what you think they might have intended to use them for, the information could be valuable.”

“How do I even know if I can trust you?” Pepper said in high-pitched protest.

“There’s always a blood oath. . . .” I let the idea dangle. “I’ll swear my intentions, and you’ll swear to stay away from Patch. Unless, of course, you’re still too good for an oath.”

“This is awful,” Pepper said, tugging at his collar like it was pinching him. “What a tangle.”

“Scott and I will have a team in place. Nothing will go wrong,” I reassured Pepper, then added a quick private instruction to Scott using mind-speak: Keep him calm while I call Patch, will you?

I walked to the end of the alley before placing the call. Dried leaves rustled past my feet, and I snuggled deeper into my coat for warmth. Of all the nights to be out, I’d chosen the coldest one yet. Frost bit into my skin and made my nose run. “It’s me. We’ve got Pepper.”

I heard Patch sigh in relief.

“I don’t think the double life is an act,” I went on. “He’s got a genuine gambling problem. Nor do I think he’s on a mission from the archangels to chain you in hell. He might have been down here on assignment originally, but he’s given it up in favor of indulging in a human lifestyle. Now for the big news. He knows you aren’t blackmailing him—all this time he’s been trying to pencil you in for a job.”

“What job?”

“He didn’t say. I think he’s dropped it. He’s got bigger problems to fret over. He’s scheduled to meet with the real blackmailer tonight.” I didn’t say the rest, but that didn’t keep me from thinking it. I felt so confident Dabria was behind this, I would have bet my life on it. “We don’t know the time or the meeting place yet. When the blackmailer calls Pepper, we’re going to have a twenty-minute window. We’ll need to move fast.”

“Do you think it’s a trap?”

“I think Pepper is a coward, and he’s glad we’re going in and he doesn’t have to.”

“I’m ready,” Patch said grimly. “As soon as I know where we’re heading, I’ll meet you there. Do one last thing for me, Angel.”

“Name it.”

“I want to find you safe and sound when this is over.”

The call came ten minutes before midnight. Pepper couldn’t have given better answers if he’d rehearsed them. “Yes, I’ll come alone.” “Yes, I’ll enchant the objects.” “Yes, I can be at the cemetery in twenty minutes.”

The instant he hung up, I said, “Which cemetery? Coldwater’s?”

A nod. “Inside the mausoleum. I’m supposed to wait there for further instructions.”

I turned to Scott. “There’s only one mausoleum in the city cemetery. It’s right by my dad’s gravesite. We couldn’t have picked a better spot ourselves. There are trees and headstones everywhere, and it will be dark. The blackmailer won’t be able to tell it’s you in the mausoleum, not Pepper, until it’s too late.”

Scott tugged the black hoodie he’d been carrying all night over his head, leaving the hood partly up to cover his face. “I’m a lot taller than Pepper,” he said doubtfully.

“Walk hunched over. Your sweatshirt is baggy enough that they won’t be able to tell the difference from a distance.” I faced Pepper. “Give me dquo;Givyour phone number. Keep the line open. I’ll call you the minute we have your blackmailer.”

“I have a bad feeling,” Pepper said, wiping his palms on his trousers.

Scott lifted the hem of his hoodie, revealing to Pepper his unusual belt, which was glowing an unearthly blue. “We aren’t going unprepared.”

Pepper’s lips pinched together, but not before a wail of disapproval escaped. “Devilcraft. The archangels can never know I was involved in this.”

“Once Scott immobilizes your blackmailer, Patch and I will rush in. This is about as simple as it gets,” I explained to Pepper.

“How do you know they won’t have their own backup?” he challenged.

An image of Dabria flashed across my mind. She had only one friend, and even that was putting it kindly. Too bad that one friend would be instrumental in bringing her down tonight. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when Patch jabbed a sharp, and hopefully rusty, object in her wing scars.

“If we’re gonna do this, we gotta roll,” Scott told me, glancing at his watch. “T-minus fifteen minutes.”

I grabbed Pepper’s sleeve before he could run off. “Don’t forget your end of the bargain, Pepper. Once we have your blackmailer, you and Patch are done.”

He nodded earnestly. “I’ll leave Patch alone. You have my word.” I didn’t like the spark of mischief that seemed to flare momentarily at the backs of his eyes. “But I can’t help it if he comes looking for me,” he added cryptically.