Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(13)

“I haven‘t figured that one out yet.” I was open to suggestions.

She leaned forward, the shaft of light that seemed to follow her illuminating her face. “What if I told you I know of a particular artifact that will help you find your way around the Hell plane?”

I would probably dance around like an idiot doing that whole “the roof is on fire” thing. To Felicity, I merely gave her a cool, “I would be interested in such an artifact.”

“It is called the ‘Revelation.’ It’s a very odd piece of jewelry.” Felicity leaned close to me as though she wanted only me to hear. I could have told her she could whisper straight into my ear and the boys would have heard her loud as day. Instead I leaned in because I wasn’t going to burst her bubble. “It was fashioned by an alchemist to find his true love.”

“You mean the guys who thought they could turn everyday metal into gold?”

Felicity laughed and pulled back. “They didn’t think, dear. They took objects and fashioned them into gold and other precious things. This particular alchemist worked in Italy during the Renaissance. He met a woman and fell in love, but she was different. She would change form on occasion, and he needed a way to find her without using his eyes.”

“She changed forms?” Several options floated through my brain. There were many creatures that could change form and many creatures who would be more than willing to take a human lover.

“A shifter?” Neil leaned in like a child eager for a bedtime story.

“Nothing so common, little wolf,” Felicity said, and there was a certain amount of affection in her voice. She actually reached out and touched his hair, ruffling it like a loving mother. “This creature loved the alchemist, but it went against her responsibilities to be with him. Though it tore out the heart she didn’t realize she had, she forced herself to hide from him. He was in her charge, you see, but as sometimes happens, he was more beautiful than the others. He made her wish she was alive in that way.”

“So he made some jewelry and found her?” Daniel asked tersely. I made a face at him. It wasn’t his kind of story since no one had mentioned laser guns or spaceships shaped like fireflies.

“Ignore him,” I said.

“The alchemist was clever, like you,” Felicity continued. Behind her I saw Oliver roll his eyes. He might not like Daniel but they had a lot in common. “He knew that if he was in danger, his love would appear to save him. He threw himself from a bridge, and right before he drowned, she came. As he clutched her, he managed to steal a single strand of her hair. He kept it hidden. It was still in his hand when she vanished later. It was this single strand of hair that the alchemist used to fashion the Revelation.”

“So the dude took a trophy and it’s supposed to get us through Hell?” Daniel asked.

“Do I need to give you the same speech she gave Ollie back there?” I shot back. “Feel free to wait in the car if we’re boring you with details. I’ll call you when the killing starts.”

Daniel tossed up his hands in submission. “I just don’t see how a piece of some chick’s hair is going to guide us to Sarah.”

“It won’t,” Felicity said. “It will, however, guide you to Felix. Well, not you, Mr. Donovan, but rather your companion. It actually won’t work at all if you’re around.”

“You’re impure,” Oliver pointed out, malice dripping from his words. “Too much demon in your blood, vampire. The Revelation will only work on the purest of souls.”

Neil burst into laughter, to my everlasting regret. “You’ve got the wrong girl. Pure? Do you have any idea what she did for those shoes? Let me tell you there was nothing pure about it.”

I kicked him solidly with my twelve hundred dollar torture devices before returning my attention to Felicity. “What do you mean it won’t work around Daniel? And why will it guide me to Felix?”

Felicity shot Oliver a nasty look before explaining. “It won’t work around your mate because Oliver is right. He is part demon, as all vampires are. The Revelation was fashioned to find a very particular creature. The alchemist was careful and put in certain safety features. One of these features is the amulet doesn’t work when too close to demon kind. I am afraid your husband’s blood is too strong. You’ll also find it won’t work in close proximity to your wolf friend.”

Daniel shook his head, anger evident in the straight line of his jaw. He didn’t like to be reminded of his close DNA relationship to demon kind. “Well, then you’ve wasted our time. I can promise you I’ll never allow my wife to walk into Hell without me. It will not happen. I might be willing to let her go with Neil, but I won’t allow her to go alone. Besides, you seem to have forgotten that Hell is sort of full of demons, so I don’t know how that’s going to work.”

“The Hell plane isn’t some city,” Felicity countered. “It’s actually quite large and the population is spread out. There isn’t a demon on every corner. I assure you it will work on the Hell plane. But not if you’re close to her.”

Daniel shook his head. “You can take your amulet and shove it up your ass. Let’s go, Z.”

He took my hand, and I was willing to let him because like I said earlier, alone gets you killed in the regular world, much less on the Hell plane. I cared deeply for Sarah, but I wouldn’t be much help to her when I got caught trying to navigate Hell with a magical compass.