by Kate Martin
Yet despite the city being a mere skeleton of its past, Tarkava was still the home of all Kai’s past pains and troubles. And so, it remained his favorite place to rampage.
Lillianna was only too happy to oblige him. She didn’t need his tantrums wreaking havoc in her house.
Hands bleeding, Kai scribed yet another labrynth into the side of the old capital building. With the connection of the last lines, the labrynth lit up, beginning a succession of glowing marks all over the walls and street. He barely backed away as the entire strtucture collapsed in on itself in one great implosion.
“Are you quite done yet?”
She had asked him the same thing a number of times before, yet was always ignored. This time, he turned on his heel and headed straight for her.
“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me he was there!”
“I did tell you.”
“After! After you dragged me back down to Hell with you! You should have let me take him!”
“Why? So you could do this in front of all Callay and expose us? No, my darling, that is not the way we’re playing this game. You will have him, and all in good time, but not like that. You must stick to the plan. We know where he is now, it will be easier for you.”
“I need him.”
“Of course you do.”
Kai stalked her like a crazed cat poised to pounce. “You’ll take me to him.”
“No.”
“He’s stronger than he used to be. He avoids my traps.”
“So change your tactics.” She reached out once he was close enough, running her hands through his hair, feeling the frustration coursing through his body in tiny tremors. “He is with an old acquaintance of mine and Olin’s. Taking him will have to be subtle, finessed, although I realize you have no patience for that sort of thing.” Kai scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Trust me. This is my plan. We will have what we need.”
“But—”
Lillianna tightened her grip on his hair, pulling him up onto his toes until the pain ceased his opposition. “Patience.”
He struggled in her grip, then gave up. The slump in his body gave him the space to breathe and to speak. “It’s not enough.”
“What’s not enough?”
“This. This war you started, all the blood and death seeping into the earth. It’s not enough.”
She released him, sending him teetering backwards. “What do you mean?”
Rather than catch his balance, Kai let himself fall to the ground, sitting like a playing child, fingers working along the ground. “We need more. More death. More blood. There’s not enough for scribing yet.” He pulled his fingers together, and distantly, at the edge of the city, Lillianna saw flames and dust rise into the air, and heard screams.
Although she appreciated his diligence, she knew he had chosen this time carefully for telling her this, using the information to save himself from the consequences of his own tantrums. However… “What do you propose?” she asked.
“Involve someone else.” Another twist of his hand, another explosion.
“Another country?”
“Yes.” More screams in the distance.
“Chanae?”
He shrugged. “It will do.”
She had put so much effort into political workings there already. “Fine. Done. But after we take what we already planned.”
“I don’t care how long you wait.” He stood, chewing on the end of a fingertip to draw blood and looking around for a new place to scribe.
A flash of heat hit her back, and she knew before the first footfall fell who it was. “Olin, no one invited you.”
“Everyone is talking about the complete destruction of Tarkava. I had to come see for myself.” He walked into view, focused more on Kai than Lillianna, and dressed as though he had been battling himself.
“What have you been up to?” she asked.
“Training. Men don’t develop martial skills simply by breathing.” He flicked a bloody piece of flesh from his shoulder guard. “You want all those recruits able to perform, don’t you?”
Yet again, she was reminded of how lovely he was, until he opened his mouth. “Don’t patronize me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Olin said, but his attention was still on Kai. “And what has him all worked up? Would none of the young ladies accept his advances at the ball?”
Kai snorted in disgust.
Not the wisest thing he had ever done.
Olin tossed him in the air and pinned him to the ground, face pressed to the dirt in less than a breath.
Familiar though the scene was, Lillianna felt her usual rise of annoyance. “Please don’t break him.”
“This from the woman who kills him on a regular basis just to satisfy her need to snack. He’s older now. By his age, I was already an accomplished soldier. I think it’s time you stopped treating him like a doll and let me turn him into a man.”
“If by man you mean killer, he’s already quite adept at that.”
When Kai began to struggle, Olin applied more pressure with his boot on Kai’s neck. “You coddle him. I’m tired of it.” It was a long-held complaint of his. Lillianna no longer cared enough to expend her energy on it.
“Do as you like,” she said. “Just don’t ruin his ability to scribe.”
“You don’t destroy a man’s greatest asset.”
“Let’s hope not. But in answer to your earlier question, we may have a small problem. One I think you may want to decide how to deal with.”
With a swift kick, and a deft grab, Olin rolled Kai and pulled him to his feet. “And what would that be?”
“I have located Kai’s quarry. He was at the ball tonight,” Lillianna said.
“So he lives in Callay. That doesn’t sound like a problem.”
“Not at all. In fact, it is a blessing. It is the people he lives with that will cause some…complications.”
Kai wrenched himself free from Olin’s grip, his pretty nose stuck in the air as though the affront had been completely unwarranted. He wandered away from them both. “For hell’s sake, just tell him.” He wiped the blood from his mouth, collecting it on his fingers, which twitched in anticipation of scribing again.
Oh, but this was too much fun. It had been a long time since Lillianna had something to hold over Olin’s head. He had been faithful to her, yes, but his perfect composure rankled her nerves. Taunting him, getting him to flinch for even a moment, was too much fun to pass up. “I think I might make him guess.”
“Lillianna.”
She wandered toward what had once been a city fountain, brushing a bit of dust from the rubble before using it as a seat. “You cannot threaten me, Olin. Do not forget your place.”
“Do not forget who did all the leg work while you were hiding in Hell.”
“Yes, about that leg work. It seems some of it has come undone.”
“What do you mean?” he said, coming closer, his countenance darkening.
“Of course, I think this particular act was more for yourself than for me.”
“Out with it.”
“Didn’t you have a witch banish someone? To the Inbetween?” Already Olin’s lovely complexion had turned grey, inserting a trickle of joy in Lillianna’s veins. “What was her name again?” She could almost hear his teeth grinding together.
“Carma.”
“Ah, yes, that was it. Carma. She’s returned.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if we went somewhere a bit more…comfortable to talk?” The reaper inched towards the door of Bri’s room, side-stepping the broken glass and sick that covered a portion of the once pristine rug.
Alec settled Bri down into his bed, having already washed his face and cuts, and changed his clothes. Though he breathed somewhat steadily, Bri was far too cold to the touch for Alec’s liking. “I am not moving from this spot until Bri wakes. And I’m not taking my eyes off you, Reaper. So you’ll stop dancing your way around everything, sit down, and answer my questions.”
“No, no.” Tassos waved a hand in dismissal. “Who could resist such a commanding presence as that?” With a not so casual flick of his gaze—one that made Alec suddenly quite uncomfortable—the reaper spun around, found an out-of-the-way chair, and reclined in it. Though he went silent, his eyes were still all for Alec.
Picadilly snorted from her place against the wall. “No one is interested in your advances, Reaper.”
“No one was making any towards you, dearling.” He smiled at Alec.
“Dorothea,” Carma said, still lingering in the half-lit doorway, “do something about this room, would you?”
A few quick labrynths later, the rug was clean, and the odor on the air completely gone. The broken frame of the mirror remained.
Alec sat on the edge of the bed, his hand covering Bri’s, to alert him, should anything change, and to keep Bri safe from falling back inside the myst. “What are you doing here, Tassos?”
“I already told you, I follow my Lady Death where she leads me.”
“She can’t have him,” Carma said.
“Oh, but she tries.” He draped an arm casually over the back of his chair, long black robes swirling about him as if he had choreographed the move. “I can sense her presence on him. She’s wanted him for some time now. Did you take him from her, Carma?”
“I did. He is mine now. So you can tell Lady Death she is wasting her time.”
“I could, but I have a feeling she will not listen. Not while life still pulses through his veins. It’s a young life, one she meant to end years ago. She likes the young, possibly more than she likes the very old.”
“She can’t have him.” Alec felt the need to echo Carma’s words. “Stop talking about him as if he were a slab of meat at the butchers.”
“Isn’t he? You humans prize your veal and lamb. Do you think Death does not do the same?”
Alec had never had much of a taste for meat that had lived so little. “And this is the creature you have pledged yourself to?”
Tassos shrugged, and again the effect it had on his posture and clothing seemed planned and practiced. “She is a harsh bitch of a mistress, Lady Death, but she is the only woman for me.”
Alec couldn’t articulate anything in response to that. He had killed, yes, but to spend his life ending the lives of others? He couldn’t fathom it.
“Oh, now, don’t go scrunching up your handsome face like that. It pains my heart. Besides,” Tassos flicked his gaze over his shoulder towards the door, “you pledged yourself to Carma.”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Carma asked, inclining her head in a way that indicated her mood could change like the wind.
Tassos seemed unconcerned with the possible danger. “Please, love, we all know how you can be. You make no secret of it, even to yourself.”
Just like that, the wind decided to stay quiet.
Tassos smiled and looked back at Alec. “A mistress can be a beautiful and dangerous thing, yet they draw our loyalty like a moth to a flame.”
“I am aware of the burn I suffer from Carma. What will serving Death do to you?”
“Oh, Alec, for one so handsome, you are so naïve. I think it adds to your charm.”
Picadilly straightened. “Are you two going to continue flirting, or are we going to take care of the matter with Bri?” Leave it to the healer to cut straight to the heart of things.
Alec hadn’t been flirting. Though he wasn’t above taking advantage of the fact that Tassos had been.
“Honestly, I don’t know why I’m still here. You won’t let me do my job, so there’s no need for me to stay. Despite the view.” Tassos smirked. Apparently he wasn’t finished flirting.
“You are still here because Bri is still cold.” Alec tried warming Bri’s hand between his own—it didn’t work.
“You won’t let me see him. A fisherman cannot take out his hook without getting his hands on the fish.”
“Lose the hunting metaphors. What do you need?” Alec asked
“Just a look, and to lay hands on him. Though the audience is a nice touch.”
Carma stepped closer, brushing her lips across Tassos’s ear, but her voice still carried. “You always were jealous of my things, Tassos. I know better than to leave you alone with them.”
Unaffected, though smiling, Tassos tapped her chin with a long, graceful finger. “Smart girl.”
“One look,” Carma said, standing straight and taking up a new post at the bottom of Bri’s bed. “And one touch. I know you need no more than that. Trick me or attempt to take him, and I will make your existence ugly, agonizing, and celibate.”
Tassos winced at her last word. “You do know how to sweeten a deal.” He stood.
“It is nothing compared to what Alec will do to you should you harm that boy.”
“Promises, promises.” He winked at Alec.
“Get this over with,” Alec said, his patience had run thin, and Bri’s hand had turned colder.
Tassos pouted. “I do hope I never hear you say that again.”
Then the teasing was done. His expression displayed concentration, seriousness, and skill. The reaper leaned over the bed, drawing the covers down just enough that Bri’s throat and shoulders were exposed. He touched one finger to the boy’s pulse, closed his eyes a moment, then drew the finger away. With it, a thin strand of black light slipped free of Bri’s flesh, curling back within Tassos until it was gone.
“The hook is gone,” he said.
Alec shook his head. “He’s still cold.”
“Patience. I am not finished.” With gentle grace he laid his fingers, one by one, along the sides and contours of Bri’s face from temple to chin and nose. Violet eyes slid shut once again. Then, left hand still in place, Tassos began to move his right down Bri’s throat, across his collarbone and down past his nightshirt to Bri’s chest. A quick shake of Carma’s head kept Alec from protesting.
Tassos breathed, something Alec hadn’t realized the reaper did little of until the action happened, and with that breath he pressed his hand firmly to Bri’s chest, curled his fingers, and drew away as he had at Bri’s throat. More black light poured from the pale flesh, coming easily at first, then snagging at the end. Tassos wrapped his fist more tightly around the black light, his mouth set in a straight line. When he pulled, snapping the light with a sharp tug, a small sliver of black slithered back inside Bri, while the rest dissolved into Tassos’s hand.
The reaper opened his eyes. “She will not relent completely. I can do nothing about it. I am her servant, not her master. I took what I could, but she has left enough of herself behind that she and all her reapers will still find him easily.” He looked to Carma. “She’s angry that you cheated her, and she will not make things easy for you.”
Carma said nothing.
Alec had a lot to say. “What does that mean for Bri?”
“Just that it would be better for him if Carma took his soul now. He will survive the duration of their bargain, but always with one foot in the grave.”
Carma straightened. “He is no good to me soulless. Not yet.”
Alec shot up from his place on the bed. “Why?” He kept moving until Carma had no choice but to back up, until he had her pinned to the wall, one hand slammed against the painted wood by her head, the other clenched tightly at his side. “You tell me why. I am done with all of this mystery and plotting behind my back.”
“It is none of your business.”
He had seen that look in her eyes before. Many times. It was the look she gave him when she was about to remind him that they were not equals. He was sick of it. “No. I don’t accept that. You can put an end to this.”
“Not yet.”
“You can’t play with his life like this!”
“Would you rather he was two years in the grave? Without a proper burial? That’s where he would be without me. Is that what you want for him?”
“Take his soul.�
�� The words tasted bitter on his tongue, but he had nothing left. With Death’s involvement, no other choice existed. Even if he freed Bri from his deal now, the boy would have nothing but death waiting for him.
“I cannot. I promised him ten years.”
“You could. You could alter the agreement. All that’s needed is both your consent.”
“You do not have mine.”
“He is suffering. The myst drags him in and spits him out. He sees things no one should ever see. He has been sick, and injured, and terrified all his life, and he is still because you want something from him. You can end all that. And yet you don’t.”
“There are more important things.”
He felt the spill of Hell’s power warm in his palm. The paint of the wall beneath his hand blistered and turned black. Alec pushed away before he did something he would regret, shoving the power out of his body before its addictive calm could muddle his thoughts. He stood at the center of the room, near nothing and no one who could become an outlet for his rage. Through the angry haze that had become his vision, he saw Picadilly and Dorothea, both watching, but so still as to become part of the scenery. Tassos still sat with Bri, shadows surrounding them in the sparse light.
Carma stepped away from the wall, straightened her hair, then her skirt, and headed for the door. “It is your job to care for the boy, not to question me. Care for him now. I’ll need him well to tell me what he saw.”
“You’re a heartless bitch.”
She stopped in the doorway but did not glance back. “Yes. And yet I wonder at how you always seem surprised.”
In a flash of flame and light she was gone.
A few crickets chirped just outside the window.
After a long moment, Tassos cleared his throat. “Not to be a pest, but, some light? Often those returning from the darkness are comforted by the presence of a little light.”
Picadilly lit a candle and set it on the bedside table.
“Thank you,” the reaper said, and all in one motion he set his middle finger to Bri’s forehead and stood. Bri opened his eyes instantly, struggling for breath as though he had been held under water.