Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 Read Online Free Page A

but Daniel's
body isn't, and with Inanna present inside of his very DNA,
Mephistopheles is certain if he drank, then it had worked some sort
of change. Inanna's not answering any of the First Borns' calls.
And Daniel hasn't been seen."
    Without a brush, I didn't have a way
to untangle my hair. And I needed something physical to do besides
pace. I started running my fingers through it so I could somehow
braid it back from my face. "How did you know where to
come?"
    "Azrael and Geist contacted Nona. All
they said at first was you'd been attacked by Powers and needed
help. Then, while on the plane, I got the message from Jason that
there was a possibility Daniel drank from you." He came closer and,
to my surprise, produced a brush from his coat. "Let me do that. I
used to…brush Romina's hair. And I can braid."
    Romina. The host Mephistopheles had
bonded with when Nickolas fell in love.
    "Where's Jason?" I sat on the bed as
he brushed my hair and deftly got out some of the snarls my mom
loved to complain about. "Did you come alone?"
    "Manuel is here—he's investigating the
park where you were attacked. A Dominion was traced to this area.
Jason is…recuperating"
    I turned abruptly, Nick pulling my
hair. "Recuperating? What happened? Is he okay?"
    "He and Umayma will be
okay—"
    "Umayma? What the hell
happened?"
    Nick pursed his lips and lowered his
arms. I turned to face him, my hair half braided.
    "Zoë…Rhonda attacked Manuel. Jason
took Dags off the Society grounds and Manuel intervened to keep
Rhonda occupied. But then she—it—the Dominion that's Shadowing
her—locked Morgan's soul in one of those Soul Cages—"
    I held up my hand, my brain unable to
process any of this. "Whoa…start over. Rhonda is being Shadowed by
a Dominion? Shadowed? You mean possessed?"
    "No. Shadowed."
    "Not the same thing?"
    "In this case, no." He licked his
lips. "Manuel and Morgan sensed it. It's not inside of her, per se,
but it's hovering over her. Joe and Nona suspect it's hiding in her
Orbital Veil."
    I knew what that was.
Rhonda had copied the spell to access her own Veil from the Grimoire before she'd
fused it to Dags's soul. "Yeah, that's that pocket of space she
makes things disappear in. How did a Dominion get in there? I
didn't even know it was possible."
    Nick shifted. He looked
uncomfortable.
    "What is it?"
    "The Dominion that's there is the one
you and Manuel fought after Christmas. The one called
Zacharel."
    "What?" Any tears I had left
evaporated. I sat straight up and felt like I'd missed a shitload
of episodes. "But—he was locked in the dungeon, wasn't he? I didn't
think Ethereal possessed human bodies."
    "Dungeon?" Nick laughed softly. "Yes.
He was in the brig, but just the shell. Dominions can possess
bodies when they want to touch the physical or when they need to
physically interact. To manifest takes a lot of energy. He'd
slipped out of that body after he was held there—"
    "And slipped into her Veil." Being
possessed absolves the possessed victim of responsibility—as with
Daniel. I couldn't blame him for the deaths he'd caused because of
my Horror. "So…this Dominion used her to attack a Revenant? And not
just any Revenant—but the one that helped defeat him in that
club?"
    "Yes. Joe and Azrael figured out where
he'd put Morgan."
    Something he said finally flagged.
"You said Soul Cage—you mean that stone dragon statue Mom
had?"
    "The very one."
    "But I broke it. I broke it to let
Steve and Tim out."
    "Joe remembered that. But it was in
one piece again, back in Nona's house the whole time you were in
the Abysmal Plane. No one could remember how it got back. But
Rhonda took it and used it to actually lock a First Born
inside."
    "Joe broke it?"
    "Azrael did."
    "And Manuel and Morgan are
okay?"
    "Yeah…"
    I watched him, and frowned. "So why
are Jason and Umayma recovering?"
    He stood abruptly and canted his head
to the left. His eyes took on that distant look, and I knew he was
talking to…someone else.