I nodded. “While Solonia was sloppy, almost stupid, Lydia was incredibly careful. She took payment in crypto and left the pleatix in a lockbox for pickup. She mentioned doing some work pro bono, and whoever she was working with seemed pleased.
“Keith Wills was contacted by the same people. He advertised a team of five guys for various tasks. His new bosses told him not to tell any of them who he was working with. Then they sent Solonia to make sure he wouldn’t talk after the job was done. She was told to torture him and find out if he’d told anyone who they were.”
Evie paced back and forth along the driveway. “The other humans in his team are dead. If they’re not yet six feet under, it’s only a matter of time.” She sighed. “Okay. So, these mysterious assholes contact Lydia, Keith, and Solonia. Lydia’s job was to sell them the spelled pleatix. Keith’s job was to kill the fae guards. And Solonia’s job was to kill the humans afterward and take care of anyone like Patrick who started sniffing around.”
“Yeah.”
“What about Becca Carter?”
I sighed. This part broke my heart. Kyla sat down next to me, her gaze on my face.
“I don’t know Becca’s true identity,” I said. “Her name is never actually mentioned. But from what I can gather from the conversations, she was sent to convince Ilayda that Nereus was going to kill her.”
Kyla’s mouth dropped open. Evie stopped pacing and whirled. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah. Her job was to put the fear of god into Ilayda.”
“Why would Ilayda believe her?”
I shrugged. “Something was going on in that house. Something that scared her enough that she began to make plans. My guess is that Becca was sent in to push her over the edge.”
“Why, though?”
I sighed again. “I don’t know.”
13
MEREDITH
That night, my bar was once again open for business. My feet ached, I’d sweated through my T-shirt, and my hair was sticking to my forehead. It seemed as if every paranormal in Durham had shown up tonight to celebrate the reopening, and I was pretty sure we’d already pulled in more than enough to cover the time we’d been closed.
I finished pouring a pint and glanced at my phone as it lit up with a message from Evie. Gary had managed to order us the vishiweed, and as soon as it arrived, we could do the spell.
“Three Blood of Satan shots,” a young human guy said, and I reached for the shot glasses, then poured half an ounce each of Jägermeister herbal liqueur, Goldschläger cinnamon schnapps, Irish whiskey, and Jack Daniel’s, layering them in order.
He paid and grabbed the shots, and I hid an internal wince. I didn’t miss my own barhopping days.
I was more than ready for closing when the last group of light fae guys waved drunkenly at me. Orin escorted them to the door and flipped the sign over.
“Take off,” I told him.
He shook his head, and I squinted at him. “You’ve been covering for me while I helped with the search for Ilayda. I have a feeling I’m going to need a lot more of that over the next few days, so take the time while you can.”
He sighed. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone.”
“Vas will be here soon.”
He smiled. “In that case…”
I scowled at him. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I doubt we’ll ever be friends, but he’s devoted to keeping you breathing, which means I want him around.”
I rolled my eyes at that, and he smirked. “Laters.”
“Laters.”
I got to work mopping the floors, then I counted the cash, stashing it in the safe in our stock room. I made a mental note to go to the bank tomorrow, and I began wiping down the surfaces.
