“My name’s Ricardo, by the way.”

  “Hi,” Aria said. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Take a quick breath in, Aria,” he said.

  She did as told, and with a flick of his hand, the one that was aglow with a soft fire, he was able to nick or cut a small section of her hand. The skin turned red, then swelled with blood. Ricardo squeezed and let a few drops fall into the ceramic bowl. The other male sin eater did the same with Clare, while Edwin and the other four sin eaters watched.

  When they were done, Edwin joined them at the coffee table. “Now, let’s find the Soul Eater, and end this.”

  15

  Aria

  As promised, Clare called Vernon Storm and shared Mira’s location—and the details of their plan. As Aria sat in the passenger seat of Edwin’s car, she clasped her hands together, forcing herself to keep calm. It was dark, and it was just her, Clare, and Edwin. He had sent away the other sin eaters and had given them instructions to flee with their tiny community should the mission fail. She had to give Edwin credit for sticking with them because there were no guarantee they would succeed in enacting the Undoing and stopping Mira.

  Clare leaned forward from the back seat and said, “Agent Storm will be arriving soon with agents. They’ll help us raid the house.”

  Edwin nodded. “Good. But we’ll be doing all the heavy lifting. We’ll try to keep Mira away from the agents. The Undoing spell should be done quickly.”

  Aria gazed across the street at the house where they had tracked Mira. It was another vampire nest, but this time they didn’t see any vamps around, and it was bigger and fancier than the last house they had visited.

  Her heart began pounding in her chest when she saw the porch light turn on, and Mira stepped outside. She locked gazes with Aria, not even fazed that they were sitting outside, and she motioned for Aria to get out and approach.

  Clare narrowed her eyes. “Like hell, you’re going in there alone. We’re coming too.”

  All three of them exited the car, but not before Aria texted Vernon to let him know Mira had spotted them and invited them in. When they made it to the porch, they halted just a few steps away from Mira. Edwin stepped forward and spoke.

  “Child, do you remember me?”

  She nodded. “You took me away. Then, you threw me away because I was a monster.”

  A pang of sadness hit Aria’s heart at the way Mira had said that. She didn’t expect to feel anything, but it seemed Mira was genuinely upset. It reminded her of that psychic conversation they had on the rooftop where it seemed Mira’s anger was fueled by regret and hopelessness—hopelessness that she would ever be anything other than a monster. Maybe there was a sliver of humanity they could appeal to.

  Aria stepped forward. “Can we talk, sis?” It felt awkward as hell using that word, especially with her. But she thought she’d start trying to appeal to Mira. “Edwin took me away too, for training. I know what that’s like.”

  There was a slight distrust in Mira’s eyes, but she stepped back and opened the door for them. “By the way,” she said, “the property is warded, so only you three can come in. No one else.”

  Shit, Aria thought. She hoped LAWT was good at breaking wards.

  They stepped inside, and at Mira’s behest they went into the living room and took a seat on a rather lovely velvet sofa. This must’ve been the rich vampire house. To Aria’s surprise, Harry came strolling into the living room from the kitchen, with a drink in his hand. He acknowledged them with a stiff nod and sat in a high-back chair across from them.

  Aria’s pulse raced, and she searched Harry’s face for signs of distress. Or, maybe he was under some sort of spell? He seemed awfully calm for a kidnap victim. She cleared her throat and spoke. “Harry, you okay?”

  He nodded. “I’m good.” He gulped down his drink. Knowing him, it was probably a whiskey.

  Mira sat on the adjoining loveseat by herself and opened her mouth. Aria tensed, already drawing on her power to call forth the hellhounds, but then she paused. When Mira bared her teeth and nervously chuckled, Aria realized that Mira was trying to smile.

  “What’s going on?” Clare asked, seeming just as put off as Aria.

  Harry spoke up. “Well, it turns out Mira, and I have a bit in common. We both know what it’s like to feel like outcasts—”

  Mira enthusiastically nodded.

  Harry continued, “And we both had to wrestle with a magical curse or addiction that ruled over us, that made us do…certain things. So, uh…guys…I told her about that Undoing spell, how you can fix her. Take away the whole Soul Eating thing and make her a normal wizard.”

  Mira’s gaze settled on Aria. “Is it true you have a spell to take this away?”

  Aria saw an apology written all over Harry’s face. He knew the Undoing would kill Mira, not cure her. But, he had to figure out some way to ensure his safety, and it did allow them to pass into the house without having to fight Mira.

  Aria nodded, though bile rose in the back of her throat. “Yes. We have all the ingredients. We can perform the Undoing.”

  Edwin and Harry cleared the space in the center of the living room, and Aria helped Clare place white candles on the floor to form a broad, loose circle. In the center, Clare used some sort of white poultice to paint a symbol on the floor: two parallel arrows facing in opposite directions, enclosed in a circle. Clare then added along the line of the white ring, a few more symbols that Aria recognized as “Unknown,” “Transformation,” and “Death.”

  A chill ran down her spine. She had asked over and over again if Mira had an ounce of humanity. And though she had done evil things, it didn’t distinguish that humanity. Was this right? To make her think she was going to be turned into a normal and then she’d go on her way? Even if they could do this, Mira still had to answer for her crimes. But she had been shut away from the world her entire life and didn’t quite understand how it worked. No matter what, she’d never get a new beginning. No second chance.

  She looked at Clare, wondering if her mom was thinking the same thing. The older woman had a pained look on her face, though she tried to mask it. Aria handed Edwin the vampire blood in the vial and then made her way over to Harry, offering to help him light the candles. He gave her a lighter and they went around, lighting the candles one-by-one.

  “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice, as Mira joined Edwin and followed his instructions to lie down on the painted arrows. “It was the only thing I could think of to hold her off.”

  Aria sighed and then whispered. “I almost prefer that she had come at us screeching and flinging spells. She’s voluntarily doing this.”

  Edwin traced a symbol on Mira’s forehead with the vampire blood, then he pulled out what Aria guessed was leftover blood from the most recent tracking spell. Edwin traced two more symbols on Mira’s hands.

  Edwin raised his hands, palms open, his S-shaped birthmark lighting up with a soft yellow flame. “Let us begin the Undoing.”

  Harry looked uneasy, but he kept quiet.

  Clare’s eyes watered, and her lower lip trembled, but she said nothing.

  Why do I feel so shitty about this? Aria asked herself.

  And deep down, she knew. At least Mira ought to be aware of the truth. Then let her lay down voluntarily after knowing what’s at stake, or allow her to fight and be subdued and receive justice. But tricking her like this, pretending she was being healed when she was going to be destroyed from the inside out—that went against everything Aria stood for. What the sin eater was supposed to embody.

  Just as she was about to voice her objection, a loud crash hit the house. Aria could tell by the ebb and flow of magical energy around the house that LAWT had arrived and was already at work on the wards. Not only that, but they had a powerful wizard with them.

  16

  Aria

  Edwin stuttered, and Mira sat upright. She scanned the living room, no doubt feeling her magical wards break down with each passing second. They could already hear the voices of the LAWT agents and Vernon issuing them orders. Mira’s mouth twisted into a frown, and she extended her hand toward Edwin. A second shadowy hand reached out from her palm and grabbed the old man by the throat.

  “Why are you doing this?” Mira asked.

  Aria stepped forward. “I’m sorry, Mira, the Undoing will take away your powers, but it will also kill you.”

  She sneered. “What?”

  Harry stood at Aria’s side. “It’s true. Punish me, if you want. Let the old man go.”

  Mira let out a screech and used the shadowy arm to throw Edwin across the room. She quickly got to her feet and blasted Clare with a dark cloud that wrapped around her like a cocoon. She then shot a bolt of lightning toward Harry. He dove to the side, and it clipped his shoulder, but Aria sidestepped the attack and raised her arms in surrender.

  “Mira,” Aria said, “I’m not going to fight you. I’m done fighting. Okay?”

  “Liar! You’re all liars.” She extended her hand toward Aria.

  She still made no move to defend herself or counter with an attack of her own. “Then kill me. Because I’m not going to fight.”

  Mira faltered. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded Aria. She looked as if she had encountered a confusing puzzle that just didn’t make sense.

  Before Aria could say or do anything else, LAWT finally burst into the house, with Jacob Wolfe at the forefront. Aria immediately rushed toward Clare, knowing that whatever weird cocoon she had been placed in would rob her of breathing air. Mira shot a stream of fire at the LAWT agents, and they scattered and shot at her with their guns. Her body jerked in reaction to the bullets piercing her, but it seemed they only slightly injured her.

  Aria placed her hand with the birthmark on the cocoon, bringing forth her flame and using it on the substance until a hole formed and Clare could breathe. Aria then tore at the cocoon until her mother could get out.

  She looked up and saw Harry helping Edwin to his feet, and Jacob stepping forward, hands glowing dark blue, and invoking an enchantment. Mira shrieked as an invisible force paralyzed her body, and she dropped to the floor, right over the arrow symbols within the circle.

  Edwin rushed forward. “I must finish the ritual.”

  He quickly formed several gestures with his hands in fluid motions, and his fingers lit up bright white. As he continued, the color darkened to gray, then purple, and finally black. Edwin then halted and then clapped his hands together. At that very moment, Mira’s body convulsed, and she let out a strangled cry.

  Jacob still stood at the ready, with Vernon and five LAWT agents at his side. “What just happened?” he asked.

  Aria helped Clare to her feet. Her mother wept, and she said in a shaky voice, “The Undoing ritual. Her powers are gone.”

  Jacob seemed hesitant at first, but he relinquished his paralyzing spell. Mira’s limbs relaxed, but instead of trying to stand or escape, she just lay on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

  Aria and Clare approached and knelt next to her. Mira gasped. “I’m dying.”

  Clare nodded and cried.

  Tears stung Aria’s eyes, and the only act of compassion she could think of, even for someone like Mira, was to hold her hand.

  “Sorry it had to be this way,” Aria said.

  To her surprise, Mira squeezed her hand gently. She literally began deteriorating. Mira’s eyes were sunken in, her skin pallid and wrinkly, and her breathing was labored. Mira took a final breath, then closed her eyes.

  Vernon whispered something to Jacob, and then he said, “We’ll give you a few minutes, but we do have to call for a coroner and get this all wrapped up. Mr. Wolfe, can I speak with you for a moment?”

  Jacob looked like he wanted to join Aria and Clare, to either do or say something to assuage their pain. However, he nodded and followed Vernon out the front door, the LAWT agents in tow.

  Edwin and Harry approached, and Edwin checked Mira’s body to ensure she had indeed passed.

  Aria stood, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Harry, is there beer in the kitchen?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You want to drink right now?”

  She shook her head. “Not like that. I want to do a sin eating ritual for her.”

  Harry frowned. “A get out of jail free card? Really?”

  Clare sniffed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “She would have to go to Purgatory, for a good while, but it’s better than…”

  “Damn,” Aria said. She could already hear the howls of the hellhounds approaching. They were probably salivating at the thought of taking Mira’s soul.

  Edwin must’ve heard them as well. “We don’t have much time, Aria.”

  She nodded. “Harry, I need beer and bread. Now!”

  Aria marked the beginning of the Final Rite by inclining her head in a slight bow, offering up an ancient prayer of blessing. She raised her right hand, palm facing forward, revealing her birthmark. She then lowered it but kept it suspended in mid-air just above the bread sitting on Mira’s chest.

  Aria reached over with her right hand and took the small piece of bread sitting on Mira’s chest. She ate it, letting herself feel the rush of mystical energy. All of her physical senses were heightened, and she could hear a few LAWT officers curse and claim they felt something sweep past them. Three hellhounds crossed the threshold, and Edwin stood near the front door, his right hand blazing with fire.

  “Halt!” Edwin shouted to the hellhounds.

  But they were hungry. And vengeful.

  Aria quickly drank the beer, then she momentarily closed her eyes as a burst of light filled the room. Mira’s spirit stood beside her, watching Edwin try to hold off the hellhounds. Mira turned and gazed at Aria in astonishment.

  “Why did you do this?”

  Two of the hellhounds shoved Edwin to the ground, and the third approached Mira. Only Aria could see her sister’s spirit. She let the flame erupt from her birthmark, and she mind-melded with the hellhound.

  Wait, just wait…

  “Look, Mira, we don’t have much time. Listen, I don’t know why you were born the way you were, and it was wrong for them to lock you away and not try to find some sort of solution or cure. This is the best I can do. I didn’t start any of this, but, at least today I can finish it. The right way.”

  Mira’s gaze met hers, and she nodded. “Please. Forgive me. Ask Clare to forgive me too, for what I did to our father.”

  Clare stood to the side with Harry, she broke down into tears. “Tell her if she wants me to forgive her…I do. It doesn’t mean I’ll forget, but I can forgive.”

  “Me too,” Aria said, raising her right hand and forming a portal of light.

  The portal turned gray, and Mira stepped beneath it. The hellhounds howled in disappointment.

  “Even if I have to make up all this for a thousand years, I’m willing to do it,” Mira said.

  “Then go,” Aria said. “Go.”

  Mira floated into the gray portal, and it swirled like a whirlpool. The portal then grew dimmer until it finally shrank and closed. The hellhounds growled, but Aria still kept hold of the mind meld.

  Get out of here. There’s nothing for you tonight.

  They snapped at Edward, who still held up his flaming right palm defensively, but they turned and left, saying something along the lines of sensing vampires in the neighborhood.

  Aria let out a low breath, still processing everything in her mind and wondering how she should feel about what just happened. Clare approached her and pulled her into a hug. It was tight and warm, just a typical motherly embrace she had always craved. She had missed so many years with Clare, but now she was determined to make up for it.

  “You’re a good person, Aria. You did well.” Clare smiled, though it was tinged with sadness.

  Edwin came over and offered Clare his hand. “I am so sorry, Clare.”

  “I know, Edwin. I know.” She accompanied him out of the living room and through the front door.

  “Sorry for being an ass,” Harry said. “About the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ thing. If Mira can learn and grow and pay it off so to speak in the spirit realm before moving on, I guess it’s not such a bad thing.”

  “Thanks. And you’re far from an ass. Most of the time.” She approached him as he chuckled at her comment and playfully scratched his stubble. “Letting it grow out again?”

  “If you like it that way, sure.”

  “I actually do.”

  Her eyes widened when he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Her heart raced, and she smiled a little, enjoying the sensation. When he broke away, his eyes met hers, and she returned the kiss, though it wasn’t as smooth as his.

  “So,” she said, “what do we do now?”

  Jacob’s voice traveled from the front door. “How about get a room?” He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

  Harry regarded him with a nod. “Still traveling around with that black market amulet, huh?”

  Jacob rolled his eyes. “Lucky for you I found your brother and his team and helped them get in here.”

  “Thanks for that,” Aria said, feeling a little awkward about Jacob seeing her and Harry kiss. But, he didn’t seem all too broken up about it. “Thanks for everything you’ve done.”

  Jacob made way for a couple of LAWT agents and the coroner coming in. Harry faced her. “Ready to get out of here?”

  “Yes, please.” She grabbed Harry’s hand. His grip was firm, warm, and comforting.

  They exited the house with Jacob. Police and LAWT agents were already cordoning off the area and redirecting any traffic on the street. Clare was still with Edwin, speaking with one another and actually smiling, and Vernon perked up when he saw Harry and headed over to them.