More Than Flesh & Bone

Chapter 9

THE BITTER BREW

"God," Bree muttered, stumbling out of the backseat. "This is why I don't ride with you… No wonder you died in a car accident."

I rolled my eyes and shoved the Impala keys in my back pocket, making sure the car wasn't locked. We were in the shittiest part of town and locking your car was a great way to get your windows smashed. This area was falling apart; the sidewalks were crumbling and most of the storefront shops were closed. At the very end of the row, a basic sign reading THE BITTER BREW hung in front of a door where the black paint was peeling. The windows were tinted dark enough you couldn't see much of anything through them.

Zed opened the door like a gentleman and waited for both Bree and me to enter. I lifted my eyebrows, muttering, "Thanks," as I passed by.

Inside was about as shitty as the outside. The floor was concrete and stained in a way that clearly wasn't intentional. Mismatched chairs surrounded circular end tables. The front counter was a bar of sorts with an espresso machine and other coffee-making instruments, but it was made of plywood from the looks of it and hadn't been wiped down in quite a while… if ever. I approached the counter and ran my fingertip along the surface. It came away with a small pile of dust.

"Eliza in the back?" Bree asked. The bartender/barista dude dipped his chin in a nod, his expression blank.

He grabbed the counter with one hand and flipped it up. The middle panel swung on cheap metal hinges, squeaking loudly. I cringed but followed closely behind Bree as she walked past him and through a curtain of black beaded strands that dangled from the doorway.

On the other side, a curiosity shop of sorts started. Shelves lined the small rectangular room. On them, jewelry and books and small glass vials filled with glowing liquids all caught my attention. "Talk about your Bad Medicine..." I muttered," as Bree kept walking, clearly not as interested in what this Eliza person had to offer. A large body bumped into the back of mine, and I stumbled forward.

"What the…"

"Just me," Zed answered, much closer than before. His warm fingers skimmed the small of my back as he stepped around me. The scent of his aftershave hit me, making me lean closer. Zed didn't seem to notice because he kept walking.

I sighed wistfully and followed after them, approaching yet another counter at the end of the room, though this one was better built. Behind it, a woman with wild curly hair, pulled up on top of her head, turned to us with a stern, if not mildly annoyed, look on her face.

"What do you need now, Bree?"

My best friend's cheeks turned a shade pinker. "I'm not here for me, actually. But thanks for asking," she said with a fake chipper voice. I recognized that tone. Bree used it whenever she was in trouble and was about to start backpedaling. I called it her "who, me?" tone, because it was sickeningly sweet and insincere. It was usually reserved for her mother or the cops, so who the hell was this woman that she could elicit such a response from my friend with a single question?

Eliza's eyes skimmed over Zed, her brows lifting before her eyes landed on me. Interest was shining in the tawny depths, but when she spoke next, her question was aimed at Zed. "What's a Zombie doing escorting a succubus?"

"Reaper… and I don't see how that's any of your business, Eliza," Zed answered, his voice clipped.

"You're in my shop. Everything's my business."

Bree scowled at Zed, resting a hand on his arm as she started speaking. "We are looking for a summoning spell. You see, my best friend's twin just died, and we were hoping we could contact him to find out more about the circumstances of his death. Can you help us?"

"How's the zombie involved?" she asked, tilting her head as she further studied Zed. His face was blank, but I could feel the tension radiating off of him the longer Eliza stared.

"He was my best friend," Zed finally said. "I want to avenge his death."

"I have what you need, but it's going to cost you."

"Name your price," Zed spit out.

Eliza's eyes moved back to me, pinning me in place. "Not you, Zombie. This one."

"Me?" I asked. Money was no object, but the way she was looking at me like I was an insect and she was seconds away from lifting the magnifying glass that was going to set me on fire, was really not comforting.

"Yes, Addison Wells. You."

Alright, she just went from weird as fuck to creeper in all of four words.

Eliza grinned. "Yes, I know who you are."

"Most people do," I replied, not letting it show how she got under my skin. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I pried open the case and started lifting out a credit card.

"Oh no. I wasn't talking about money."

I lifted my head, unease coiling in my stomach. I knew without anyone having to tell me that whatever payment she was about to demand was going to be something I really didn't want to give. "What do you want, then?" I asked, trying to infuse my voice with my usual irreverence.

Eliza leaned closer, her smile widening. "Nothing much… Just a vial of your blood."

I could hear Bree's intake of breath while beside me Zed was clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Take mine," he said before I had a chance to wrap my head around the request.

"A tempting offer, Zombie, but no. The price has been set. Pay it or don't." She shrugged as if she really didn't care.

"Fine," I said, my lip curling up in a snarl. I didn't like being backed into a corner, but we needed this, and for Tracey, I would give a whole lot more than a little bit of blood. "But if this spell doesn't work, we'll be back."

"You'll be back either way, girl," Eliza replied. "But not for the reasons you think."

She knelt down below the counter to grab something, and Bree flashed me a warning look. "What do you expect me to do?" I mouthed.

"Use some caution," Zed muttered. I whacked him in the arm even though I got the distinct feeling I was doing some Little Mermaid shit right now and this broad was Ursula.

"What exactly can you do with blood?" I asked.

Her head popped up as she moved to stand once more and dropped a book on the counter. Its spine was leather-bound and tied shut with a string. She caressed it once with the log tip of her nail before saying, "The options are really limitless."

I didn't find that answer encouraging. Not one bit.

"Why do you want Addison's blood?" Zed asked.

Eliza flashed him a condescending smile. "Why, Zed, I don't see how that's any of your business."

If it weren't my blood they were talking about I would have found her prickly demeanor amusing. As it was, I was pretty sure I was getting turned into a porcupine… or something equally stupid. Maybe a frog. That seemed like a witchier thing to do.

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can give you?" Bree asked. "If you know who she is, you know she's rich. She can give you pretty much anything you want. Asking for her blood just for a summoning spell seems like a lot, though, even from you. She gave Eliza a pointed look and the woman just laughed.

"The girl will do almost anything for this spell, and I have no need for money. My other less interesting clients tend to have plenty of that. Now," she said, turning to directly address me. "For best results perform the spell on the full moon. Because you're not a witch and will likely butcher the Latin, I strongly suggest you take my advice on this."

"Why the full moon?" I asked.

"Because that is when the veil between our worlds is at its thinnest," she said, pointing two fingers and then bringing them close together. "Also, because a witch's magic is strongest then. Even a novice should be able to accomplish a summoning spell for a relatively new spirit on a full moon."

I pressed my lips together because I really didn't like the idea of waiting another two weeks to summon Tracey. What other choice did I really have, though?

"Fine," I sighed. I held out my right arm for her to take the blood.

Eliza looked from it to my face and started laughing. "My, she is new to all of this. You really should explain more before she gets herself into trouble bargaining with things she doesn't understand," she said. Then she snapped her fingers twice.

The black beaded strands knocked together as the barista dude from the front poked his head through them. "Yeah?" he asked, sounding bored.

"I need you to take a vial of blood from Ms. Wells."

"Wait a minute," I said, holding up both hands. "You want some rando barista to take my blood? That was not part of…"

"New and judgmental," Eliza tsked. "You're lucky I can see your future and know you're not a lost cause. He went to nursing school."

Silence spread through the room, and my only response was a soft, "Oh…"

"Oh," Eliza repeated. "What did you think I was going to do? Lop your arm off?" She shook her head, clearly amused.

Actually, I'd imagined something more along the lines of a sacrificial dagger and a violent slash along my skin, but I kept that part to myself. No need to go and prove even further how ignorant about this world I still was.

The barista disappeared for a second before returning with a small red box. He went about setting things on the counter while the rest of us stood by in awkward silence watching him. He tied off a rubber string and pulled out a syringe that made me feel a little lightheaded. I wasn't squeamish, but I'd always had a thing about needles. It's why Tracey and I never got those matching twin tattoos we'd always talked about. As soon as my ass hit the chair and they pulled the tattoo gun out I was back up and out the door.

A part of me was seriously wishing the dagger had been an actual option right now.

"This might sting," he said less than a second before jabbing me with the needle.

I bit back a curse and started singing a Madonna song in my head. The pain was fleeting, and my eyes started to wander around the shop as he finished collecting my blood. A brief touch at my back had my eyes darting to where Zed stood on my right.

His brows were low, and his warm brown eyes flashed with something that could have been concern. Given our history thus far, I doubted that's what I was seeing.

"All done," barista dude said, stuffing items back in his box before handing Eliza a small vial.

"What, no lollipop?" I muttered, rubbing the area above the bandage he'd placed over the injection site. Bree snickered and even Zed seemed to have a ghost of a smile on his face.

Eliza ignored me, focused instead on my blood. She held it up to the light, her expression unreadable. "This will do nicely." Pocketing the vial, she pushed the book across the counter. "Remember what I said, girl."

"Wait until the full moon. Anything else I should know beforehand?"

"Only the summoner can speak with the spirit summoned."

"Alright, then," I said. That wouldn't be a problem given that I could already speak with the dead. The creepy witch didn't need to know that, though.

She tsked again and let go of the book. "See you around, Addison Wells."

Not id I can help it, I thought while giving her a tight smile and picking up the book. I didn't bother checking to make sure the others were following before I started for the curtain. I was moving fast, more than ready to get out of this place, and not paying much attention to where I was going. There was a soft tinkle of bells as I pulled the door to the coffee shop open and walked straight into another patron.

"Oof," I gasped, bouncing back. The book fell from my hands.

"Watch where you're going," an annoyed voice said above me.

My eyes snapped up, about to lay into the ass who thought he was going to put me in my place. I'd had about as much of that as I could tolerate for one day. The words died on my lips as he stared hard behind me.

"Zed, what are you doing here?"

Zed's jaw was tight as he looked from the stranger back to me. "Hey, Zayne. I was just helping Tracey's sister take care of a few things."

Zayne looked back at me, his eyes cold. "Here?" he asked.

Zed shrugged, seeming at a loss for the first time since I'd met him.

"We needed to get some uppers," Bree said, coming to his rescue. "Everyone is allowed to self-medicate when there's a death in the family."

Something flickered in Zayne's eyes. Maybe sympathy? I wasn't sure. "I suppose that's true."

"Zayne is my brother," Zed finally said, answering a question no one asked.

Looking between the two men, I could barely find the family resemblance. Zed had clearly won the genetic lottery in the family. Where he was tall, chiseled, and insanely handsome, Zayne was utterly plain. His hair was a weak shade of lime, his eyes flat brown, his build average. There was nothing notable about him, except perhaps the interest he was currently taking in me.

"Sorry about your brother," he said, bending down to hand me the book I'd dropped. "He was a really nice guy."

Awkwardly, I accepted the book and gave him a tight smile. "Yeah, he was."

At that Zayne nodded in my direction once and then said to Zed, "Dad's been looking for you. There have been some… leads on the case." I snorted, and Zayne gave me a funny look. Bree grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door.

"Nice meeting you," she called over her shoulder, not out of hearing range but far enough away he wouldn't feel the need to reply.

"You think he's talking about the…"

"Yup," Bree answered in a tight voice, dragging me all the way back to the car. A few minutes later, Zed followed us, and he didn't look too happy.

We were barely in the car with the doors shut before he looked over and said, "You suck at keeping anything secret. If you're not willing to go back to school you need to stay as far away from Seabrook University and Zeta Epsilon Mu as possible or someone is going to get suspicious."

"What? I know I'm not great at it, but I can't be that…" My words dried up at the look on Bree's face in my review mirror. "Okay, fine. I just hate lying. Besides, he was openly talking about it in front of me."

"Because Zombies have a habit of thinking the rest of us are too dumb to keep up," Bree sighed.

Zed turned in his seat. "Grims or Reapers…. And we do not."

"Yeah, you do," she said. "Seriously, you guys are the worst. It's like mansplaining but for species." She rolled her eyes.

"Either way," Zed said, redirecting the conversation. "You need to stay away from pretty much everyone while you're home."

"Then how do you expect me to find out who killed Trace?" I demanded.

"By waiting two weeks and then summoning his ghost. It's as good of an option as you've got right now. It's not like I can take you werewolf hunting with the other reapers. Everything we do has to be… subtle."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Have you met Addie?" Bree asked. "She doesn't do subtle. If that's your grand plan…"

"We don't exactly have a lot of options right now," Zed interrupted. "I'm going to train her in my downtime and hope the Brotherhood doesn't get suspicious. As for you, keep her out of the succubus house, if you can manage that."

"Here we go again with the condescending ZOMBIE attitude," Bree sniped, emphasizing the Z word on purpose.

"I'm not being…"

"Yes, you are," both Bree and I said at the same time. He withered under that, settling back into the passenger seat. I stuck the key in the ignition and backed out of the parking lot.

"Look, guys. I'm not great at this, but we have a plan. Zed and I can train and work on my powers. Bree can come see me at my place. I just have to stay out of trouble for the next two weeks until we can summon Trace and find out who killed him. How hard can it be?

I really should've known better than to ask that question by now.