Chapter 27
Zane
This was it. Once Zane set foot out his front door, the wheels would be in motion. There’d be no stopping this insane idea of his. Come nightfall, either he’d be a hero for saving the girl, or he’d have a Dark Reaper out for his blood.
Not surprisingly, Drake had been shocked to hear from him. After all, Zane hadn’t spoken to him since everything happened but his apology came as an even greater shock to Drake. Zane worried about laying it on too thick, with the whole ‘bygones be bygones’ and ‘no girl was worth trashing their friendship’, yada, yada, fucking yada. But Drake accepted the apology, without a moment of hesitation. Zane knew he would. He’d known the guy for over sixty years, used to be his oldest and dearest friend, and he knew Drake was never one to hold a grudge.
Zane’s plan hinged on getting Drake to invite him over. Luckily, it hadn’t been a struggle to arrange. All he had to do was suggest getting together some time to catch up and Drake practically tripped over himself to invite him over the very next day.
Zane took a quick look around his house. If the whole thing went south, there was a good chance he wouldn’t be returning. Over the years, he’d learned not to hold onto sentimental stuff, so there wasn’t really anything of importance there. He’d seen too many Reapers drive themselves mad, trying to hold onto little tchotchkes from a life that no longer existed. In the end, it was all just stuff. All that mattered were the things one carried in their heart.
He stepped out the front door, took one small glance back, and closed it tight. He typed out a quick text to Devon that simply read ‘The Z’man is away’ and set off to become someone’s knight in shining armor. Hopefully, he wouldn’t turn out the fool.
When he walked into Drake’s flat, the first thing he noticed was the sheets of plywood where a picture window used to be. When Zane asked Drake about it, he received a brushed-off answer.
“Nothing happened. It needs to be forgotten.”
The answer was nothing, if not cryptic, but Drake’s delivery was cold and uncharacteristic. Zane let it go and they shot the shit for an hour or so, but Drake was so different. He was hard, distant, and completely walled off. He really had changed and, truth be told, Zane didn’t like the “new” Drake at all.
Zane had to bide his time, while waiting for the opportune moment to excuse himself to the loo. He needed to set up the next step of his plan, but couldn’t very well do it with Drake sitting across from him. Besides, he didn’t want to raise suspicion. When the moment finally presented itself, he took leave, but had to remember to keep his pace normal and steady until he was behind the closed door. Once he was, he took a piss, for authenticity’s sake. He left the faucet running as he typed out the next text. He didn’t wait for a response before shutting the phone off and sliding it back into his pocket. In approximately thirty minutes, he knew the shit was going to hit the fan.
It felt like the longest thirty minutes of his life. He kept stealing glances at the clock, hoping Drake wouldn’t notice. They drank a few beers and Zane fought to keep up the pretense. They were just two dudes hanging out and, in no way, was there scheming afoot. It wasn’t easy to do, given he was hanging out with the new, extremely gloomy Drake, but he managed.
When the thirty minutes were up, Zane took a deep breath, but nothing happened. Thirty-five minutes and still nothing happened. Forty minutes, more nothing. It was at that time he began to freak out. The plan was already starting to go sideways. He was about to slip back into the bathroom, to send out the abort code, when the elevator doors slid open, twenty-five minutes late... but better late than never.
At the sound, Drake stole a glance over his shoulder and popped up out of his chair, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I got your text.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t send you a text. Sod off.”
“Yes, you did. Look, right here, you said:
Katarina, we need to talk. Come to the flat. Lift code is 791811.
“Let me see that.” He snatched the phone from her hand. “I didn’t send that.”
“It came from your phone, see?” Katarina peered over his hand. “Sender—Drake cell, right there.”
While they were distracted, Zane sent a text to Devon. He slid the phone back into his pocket and figured now was just as good a time as any to make his presence known.
“Oh, how I love to hear you two crazy kids bicker. It’s just like old times.” She startled as Drake barely looked up, his concern still on the phone in his hand. “Katarina, how lovely to see you, darling. How’s tricks?”
She shot him a nasty glare before returning to the squabble over the text message. Luckily, she was a horribly volatile woman, which Drake tended to pick up any time he was around her. Zane didn’t have to do much of anything as they continued to argue, because he knew if left to their own devices, they’d carry on like that for hours.
His phone vibrated. It was a text, signaling show time. He wasn’t too big of a man to admit he was nervous. If the plan failed, they were going to be in some seriously deep shit, but he had to push that negativity away. They couldn’t fail; it wasn’t an option.
Drake and Katarina’s “disagreement” had already turned into a full-blown screaming match. Zane tried to get their attention, only to be shouted over. So he put his fingers to his lips and whistled. The sound echoed through the flat, but it got the desired result and they both shut the hell up.
“Hey guys, I guess now might be a good time to mention... that text message you’re fighting over? Yeah, I sent that.”
Drake looked confused. Katarina was incensed. It wasn’t a look she wore well. “You sent her a message from my phone?”
“Yep,” Zane replied, as he tossed the phone back to him. “You really shouldn’t leave that thing lying around. Any asshole could swipe it.” He smiled as the lift doors opened once again. “Oh, hey hey! The D’man is here, now we can get this party started!”
Without saying a word, Devon strolled in like he owned the place. He flipped a quick nod Zane’s direction, before taking his place next to him.
“What’s going on?” Drake inquired, but when Zane didn’t respond right way, he lost his patience. “Answer me, asshole!”
“Drake... such language. There’s a lady... Oh wait, there are no ladies present. Please, continue with your potty mouth.” He watched a scowl creep over Katarina’s face and mentally commended himself. Although there wasn’t much challenge in pissing her off anymore, that didn’t mean the occasional dig didn’t bring him much joy. He turned Devon’s way. “Shall I begin?”
“By all means, good sir.”
Chapter 28
Devon
Devon tried to match Zane’s cocky arrogance, but the guy was a natural. He, at least, hoped he was faking it well. Zane’s confidence in the plan seemed to be evident by the level of his theatrics. Devon had only known the guy a few days but judging by Katarina and Drake’s reaction to the performance, he assumed it was par for the course. He worried Zane might take it over the top, but what did it matter? Devon was willing to let Zane monologue, wearing a toga, while speaking with a Jamaican accent, so long as he got the job done.
Zane circled the group, his eyes fixed on Drake. “Let me take you back, not so long ago, to a beautiful day in June. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A group of friends was getting ready to enjoy an afternoon of music at a concert in the park. Which, by the way, I’m still pissed I wasn’t invited to. You and I are going to have a talk about that later.” He jabbed a finger directly at Devon.
“Focus please,” Devon whispered.
“Don’t try to change the subject. What made you guys think I wouldn’t want to be included?”
“Dude, I met you once. Shit, until a few days ago, I couldn’t even remember your name.”
“Yeah, but I was friends with this asshole and dating Portia. I would think that should’ve warranted an invi
te.”
Devon cocked a brow. “Do we really have to do this right now?”
“Right,” Zane tugged on the bottom hem of his sport coat, “my apologies. Where was I?”
“A sunny day in June,” everyone said in unison.
“Ah, yes. A sunny day in June. You know what? I’m going to tell the short version, because we’ve wasted enough time and, frankly, not a one of you appreciates good story telling anyway. So, on that day, we all lost something, didn’t we? Drake lost a girlfriend, Devon lost a friend, I lost out on going to the concert in the park, and Katarina... you lost nothing, but we’ll come back to that.” Zane resumed circling the group, his hands clasped behind his back. “So why then, beyond the obvious, is that one day so important?”
“I thought this was the short version?” Katarina sighed, inspecting her nails.
Ignoring her, Zane continued by recounting the same spiel about Portia he had given Devon. Drake listened with interest. Katarina yawned occasionally but otherwise appeared tuned out. Devon didn’t know what history Katarina and Zane shared, but it definitely wasn’t chummy. It was clear they got a kick out of pressing each other’s buttons.
As Devon listened, he resisted the overwhelming urge to place a Deerstalker on Zane’s head and stick a pipe in his mouth. The guy was definitely channeling his inner Sherlock Holmes and not at all tapping into that flare for the dramatic again. But Devon had to hand it to him, Zane knew how to keep an audience captive... Well, with the exception of Katarina.
Zane stopped his roundabout pacing, concluding Portia’s portion of the story. Devon knew which direction the dialogue was headed but Zane still had him on the edge of his seat. With the build-up successful, Zane dropped the bomb.
“So, my friends, at this time you may be wondering where I am heading with all of this.”
Katarina took a breath, ready to respond, but Zane spoke quickly as to cut her off. “I believe the evidence overwhelmingly suggests Portia was ensorcelled to sleep with Drake.”
“Ha, what? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Katarina scoffed.
Drake glanced at Katarina. “I hate to say this, but I have to agree with her. It’s not how ensorcelling works, you know that.”
“That is where I’ll have to disagree with you, buddy. It can and will work that way if...” Zane’s face lost all whimsy, becoming all business, “It’s done by an Anguish Reaper.”
Devon held still, sure everyone in the room could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Zane held a stern face, his hands still clasped behind his back, but now trembling. Devon saw the tremors and thought he would lose his lunch. If the confidence Zane projected was an act, Devon was left to conclude that they were screwed.
Drake took a step forward, almost into Zane’s face. “You best rethink what you’re about to accuse me of.”
Tremors or not, Zane didn’t back down, taking another step forward as well. “No need to rethink anything, friend. I’m not accusing you...” he turned away, his gaze landing on Katarina, “I’m accusing her.”
All eyes shifted Katarina’s direction. She was still more interested in her manicure than the conversation but her eyes slowly rose. “Oh, Zane,” she sighed, clasping her hands, “Of all the Reapers I’ve created over the years, you have always been my least favorite.”
“Stop. You’re breaking my heart,” Zane sniffled, swiping an imaginary tear away with a middle finger before tossing the gesture Katarina’s way. “You know, I’ve always strived for your approval.”
Katarina’s tone echoed that of a schoolmarm, disciplining a naughty student. Her eerie calm made the blood in Devon’s veins run cold but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had been ousted—no telling what she might do. They had been friends for such a long time; he wondered how he’d never seen it before. His first instinct had been to deny it, hating the possibility of missing a character trait that monumental. But there was no denying it now. The veil dropped, revealing a heart of pure darkness, carefully concealed by beauty personified.
Chapter 29
Zane
“Bravo Zane, you discovered my little secret. Maybe you’re not as thick as I always believed. Then again, it did take you almost four hundred years to out me.”
“I would have done it sooner had the evidence presented itself but all I could ever get on you was circumstantial... until recently. But this time what happened was beyond vile, even for you.”
“And what, pray tell, are you speaking of, little Zaney?”
“Your hand in Olivia’s destruction,” Zane blurted, hating the words as they tumbled from his mouth. He wanted the truth to come out but hated it was at the expense of his best friend, a man he held more as a brother for the past sixty years.
The emotional expressions gracing Drake’s face were a depressing mixture of hurt and anger. Although not as much anger as Zane would have liked. Zane wanted Drake to feel the fury and not give one ounce of forgiveness. The woman standing before them took away the only true happiness Drake had known in all the long years they’d been friends, but he’d always worn blinders when it came to Katarina’s wicked ways.
“That can’t be true,” Drake chimed in.
Zane wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Drake’s first reaction would be denial. He clenched his teeth and wanted to shake some sense into him. How could he not see what was clearly in front of his face? Zane was done messing around. It was time for those blinders to be yanked off once and for all. “You don’t believe me? Tell me then, how was the sex with my girlfriend anyway?”
Drake took a step away. “Jesus Zane, could you be more crass?”
“No one ever accused me of having any tact. So, seriously, lay it on me. I want all the gory goddamn details. Think long and hard—don’t spare anything for my sake. ”
“I...” Drake stopped short, his eyebrows knitting together as his gaze dropped to the floor.
As Drake searched, Zane waited with his arms across his chest and felt a smug satisfaction when his friend came up empty. “Can’t remember can you? Maybe because there’s a big, fat, black fucking hole where that memory should be perhaps? How is it that it never occurred to you that you couldn’t remember?”
“I don’t know.”
“You just accepted it at face value, didn’t you?”
Katarina sighed one of her annoyed breaths again. “God, this is dull.”
The look of disbelief in Drake’s eyes dissipated, replaced by a strange acceptance as he went pale, turning to Katarina. “Did you really want me back that badly?”
“Ha! Want you back? No. You cheated on me and needed to suffer for that indiscretion, you bastard. I’m growing tired of this charade. Zane is right; you didn’t actually sleep with his little trollop. You would have enjoyed cheating on your girlfriend too much, so I just ensorcelled you to think you did. And by using Portia, I got the added side bonus of causing Zane a little pain in the process. But payback wasn’t the only thing I wanted...” Katarina’s gaze landed on Devon and she gave him a syrupy, sweet smile. “Olivia had you both, but Devon was meant to be mine.”
“They were just friends. You could’ve had him!” Drake snapped.
Katarina clicked her tongue at Drake. “Devon tells a different story, lover. Are you so sure your mousey little girlfriend wasn’t shagging him on the side?”
Drake turned a burning glare Devon’s way and Zane stepped in front of him, trying to diffuse the situation. Zane would’ve been thrilled to see the anger finally building within Drake if it hadn’t been directed at the wrong person.
While Drake fumed, Devon, meanwhile, turned an unpleasant shade of green. His eyes still locked on Katarina, leaving Zane to wonder if she hadn’t put some sort of Anguish whammy on him. Zane couldn’t allow her to deflect; he needed to defuse the situation. This was their only chance and he refused to spend the rest of his existence looking over his shoulder if she got away.
“Why the elaborate plot? Why not just ensorcell Devon?
I mean, seriously... Wouldn’t that have been easier?”
“Zane, you really are a wanker, aren’t you? Look at me. Do I really look like a woman who has to mind-control a man into bed?”
He shrugged, ready to give his opinion on the matter, when Devon found his ability to speak again.
“I lied,” Devon’s voice came out, barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat. “Olivia and I were never together. I knew you were interested in me, but I didn’t feel the same way, so... I lied.”
Zane’s eyes went wide. He held his breath to avoid laughing, because Katarina looked as if she’d been slapped in the face. The horrible truth of it wasn’t that she wanted Devon, but there was another woman in the way. He never even wanted her to begin with. The look on her face was the most priceless gift Zane had ever received. He wished he could roll around in her humiliation and laugh like a child on the first day of summer holiday, but there were other matters that needed to be dealt with first.
“How could you do this?” Drake’s eyes were mostly vacant except for the hurt taking up residence.
“Easily, as it turns out. Olivia took what was once mine and had what should have been, or so I thought.” Katarina scowled. “She was teetering on the edge of the Silence and all she needed was a little shove."
Zane’s stomach curdled at how flip and callous Katarina was. The woman had neither qualms nor remorse for what she did. Her behavior put to rest any doubts he had as to whether or not he was doing the right thing. Zane only hoped Drake saw it too, and one day, would offer understanding, if not forgiveness, for what was about to happen.
“How did you know about what was happening to Olivia? There were only two of us who did,” Devon asked.
Katarina smiled. “Ah, that’s a fun little secret you may want to ask the little mouse’s brother about.”
“Ha! I told you so!” Zane gloated, pointing a finger Devon’s direction. They had argued about it the night before. Devon thought it was a mistake not to bring Tore in. Zane worried they couldn’t trust that he hadn’t already been under Katarina’s spell and, as it turned out, he was right.
Prayer for the Dead (Revenants in Purgatory) Page 21