“Now is not the time, buddy.” Devon reminded Zane once again of his poor timing.
“True, however, you still owe me a beer.”
“Well...” Katarina clapped her hands, “while you two work out the details of your date, it’s time I take my leave. This has been fun. Good job, Zane, for playing Scooby-Doo and exposing me. But I’m afraid you wasted your time since there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. Sure, I didn’t exactly get what I wanted out of it, but the little mouse is gone forever, and that fills me with a... certain satisfaction.”
She flourished her words with a wave of her hand and a smile. Zane grabbed Devon by the arm when he tried to advance towards her. Zane thought if she was looking to be in Devon’s good graces, she was going about it the wrong way. She strutted towards the elevator, arrogant in her belief they had no other course of action but to let her leave. Zane knew otherwise.
“Speaking of satisfactions...” Zane called to her. She turned a hateful glare his way. He could tell he was wearing on her patience but carried on anyway. “I ran into an old friend of ours the other day. You remember Demitri, dontcha?”
She rolled her eyes at his attempt at casual conversation. “Of course I remember that little troll, you twat.”
“Turns out, he’s still harboring a serious grudge against you.”
“As if I care?” She placed her hands on her hips, drumming her fingers against her waist.
Zane thought she might want to start devoting some concern. There was a time when the three of them were chums but one day in 1666 changed all of that. History remembered it as the Great Fire of London. Demetri remembered it as the day Katarina broke a promise. A slight taken so to heart it became a consuming vendetta three-hundred and fifty years in the making. Something Katarina was apparently still not taking seriously.
“I guess it won’t concern you Demetri practically jumped at the opportunity to help me out when I explained that you’d become, shall we say... a problem?”
“Not really, no.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned to walk away again.
“Then I guess it really doesn’t concern you, he and I struck a little deal,” Zane called out again, pulling a yellow parchment from his blazer pocket. “A few drops of my blood on this little contract, he’ll work some of his mojo, and together, we purchase you a one-way ticket off this plane of existence, care of Vengeance airlines.” He waved the paper with a smile
Katarina threw her head back in frustration. “Oh god, will you ever learn? Even if you could seal that contract before I tear your head off, it wouldn’t matter. The little chippy is still gone. In the game of cat and mouse, Kat always wins.”
“That...” Zane shook the contract at her again, “is where you’re wrong. Fortunately, you won’t be around to find out why. Been nice knowing ya! Well... not that nice, but you get what I’m saying.”
Zane whipped a pocketknife out of his back pocket, flipping it open. He was set to drag it across his palm, even though Demetri said all it would take was a small prick to the finger. Zane wanted to be sure Katarina got what was coming to her, so figured the more blood the better. The blade had only touched his skin when he was slammed hard into the wall. Taken off guard, the knife and contract flew from his hands.
Zane fully expected Katarina to attack, but hadn’t expected Drake to come to her aid. After everything Drake had just heard, he was still trying to defend her. Zane looked into his best friend’s eyes only to see two black orbs staring back. Drake had tapped into his Anguish side. Zane figured the plan was fucked. Going against one Anguish was a challenge, going against two might be impossible.
Devon charged, no doubt looking to aid Zane, and unable to see the darkness that had taken Drake. Before Zane could call out the warning, Drake tossed Devon halfway across the room with one hand. Zane stood in awe; he’d never know an Anguish Reaper to exhibit that sort of strength before. He was learning all sorts of talents the Anguish possessed. Too bad it would mean very little in a few minutes, when he was blinked out of existence.
Zane knew Reapers were damn hard to kill but not impossible. Beheading would certainly do it, but there were a few more mystical methods. However, he doubted Katarina would employ those. She’d want his lasting death to be personal and intimate. This really wasn’t how he’d pictured the end. Coming at the hands of the guy he’d considered his best friend for the past sixty years, and the crazy ass bitch he’d despised for longer.
Katarina applauded as she strutted across the room. “Well done, Drake darling. There may be hope for you yet.” She came to a stop a few feet away, crossing her arms over her chest. “Since you haven’t fulfilled your Reaper duties yet, what do you think will happen, Zane? My guess... you’ll be lost to oblivion. With no one to care that you’re gone or ever existed to begin with. You have any final words?”
Besides failing Olivia, if there were one thing he’d regret from this defeat, it would be that his demise gave Katarina one moment of satisfaction. It was something he wished to articulate but Drake’s forearm still crushed his windpipe into the wall.
“Katarina, I have some final words for ya...” They all turned their heads to see Devon crouched over the contract, his palm sliced and bleeding. “Sayonara bitch.” Devon slapped his hand down, making contact with the contract.
Drake’s pressure loosened on Zane’s neck as the building began to tremor. Everyone looked around, yet no one moved, not knowing what to expect. The tremors stopped. At first, Zane thought they failed but then there was a thunderous boom. Katarina let out an ear-piercing scream, right before she exploded.
Zane tried to duck as much as he could, shielding himself from the gore an imploding Reaper was sure to produce, but the mess never came. When he looked up again, he saw nothing. She was simply gone, but before he could rejoice, Drake attacked him again.
Drake’s fist connected with Zane’s face again as he shouted, “How could you do this? You son of a bitch! Why?”
Zane dodged as many of the blows as he could. Over Drake’s shoulder, he saw Devon slide across the floor to where Olivia lay motionless. Drake continued to strike out, completely unaware of what was happening behind him. Zane grabbed him by the shirt.
“If you stop beating the shit out of me and turn around, you’ll see why, asshole!”
Drake grabbed Zane’s arm but hesitantly turned his head. All the fight drained from his limbs the moment he saw Olivia. His eyes returned to normal as he released the grip he had on Zane.
Devon bent over her, brushing the hair away from her face. He scanned her over before lifting her from the floor. Once on his feet, Olivia safely cradled in his arms, Devon made his way towards the elevator. He held her tight, but she was completely limp like an overcooked noodle.
“What’s our status, D-man?” Zane squawked out, massaging his bruised throat.
“She’s unconscious. We need to get her out of here.”
Drake moved towards them. His voice choked off, but he managed to call out, “Olivia?”
Devon clutched her tighter. “Zane, keep him the hell away from her.”
Zane complied, stepping in front of Drake, placing a hand on his chest. Zane couldn’t imagine what must have been running through his friend’s head or whether Drake believed what he was seeing. Even after what had just happened, Zane felt for the guy... he really did, but only because he knew him. He knew firsthand how badly Katarina had fucked with Drake’s head, but Devon didn’t. The only thing Devon knew, at that moment, was Drake attacked Zane, almost ruining the chance to save Olivia. Zane knew there’d be no forgiveness from that side of the court, at least for the time being.
Devon stepped inside the elevator, calling out, “You coming?”
“Go ahead; I’ll be a few minutes behind you,” Zane hollered over his shoulder, keeping his eyes fixed on Drake. He waited until he heard the doors close before releasing him.
Drake grabbed him again; his eyes were wild. “Was it her?”
Zane nodded.
Drake tried to push past. “I have to go. Where is he taking her? I need to be wherever that is.”
Zane grabbed Drake’s shoulder, not forcefully, but just enough to stop his forward momentum. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Before you can see her again, we need to have a talk.”
Chapter 30
Olivia
My eyelids were heavy, but I tried to open them anyway. A harsh light filled my eyes and I squeezed them shut. I tried again, this time opening slowly, allowing little bits of light in at a time. When my eyes were finally open, I blinked a few times to chase away the stinging sensation.
I forced myself up, to look around the room. It was my room... yet, it wasn’t. All of my stuff was there, but the whole place was ass-backwards. I surveyed the area slowly, trying to make out where I was. My eyes were just about to complete the sweep when they landed on someone unexpected.
“Hi Liv.”
I shot off the bed, away from him. “NO! Goddamn it, not this again!”
Devon was seated at the bedside, but rose to his feet. “It’s all right. It’s just me.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” I closed my eyes tight and reminded myself he wasn’t really there. I was alone. If I could just remember that it wasn’t really him, it wouldn’t hurt so much this time.
He reached out his hands and walked towards me, slowly, as if I were a caged animal. He stopped and called over his shoulder, “Tore, get in here. She’s awake.”
The door to the room swung open and in stepped my brother. Well, not really my brother—it was just something or someone who looked like him. It appeared those bastards were ramping up their game today.
“Man, you fucks are going to have to try harder this time if you expect me to fall for this shit. Your attention to detail sucks. This isn’t even close to my room and my brother doesn’t have a goatee.”
“Tore” came around the edge of the bed. They backed me into the corner, speaking empty promises about everything being all right and all I needed to do was calm down. Sure, calm down... I’d get right on that. I hadn’t just rolled over and submitted since I arrived. I sure as shit wasn’t going to start now.
I needed to make a break for the door. It was always locked, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth trying again. What’s the definition of insanity? Repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results. At this point, I was a textbook case of crazy but that door was the only hope I had. So, when they moved towards me again, I dove, rolled across the bed, ala Matrix style, and ran for it.
I yanked on the door hard, causing it to fly open, sending me stumbling backwards.
Hmm... that was new.
My hand was still clutching the knob; I looked out into open space. Where I expected to see darkness, instead, I saw the hallway in Devon’s house and in the middle of it stood Zane. I wasn’t sure what kind of emotional response those bastards thought they’d get out of me by doing anything to him. But they were clever and always devising a fresh way to inflict emotional pain.
Devon’s voice broke through my confusion. “Liv, what’s the matter?”
“The door opened. Why’d it do that?”
“Because that’s what doors do.”
Devon and Tore moved in closer. Goatee aside, this time they seemed so real. I reached out my hand to touch one of them. I knew that when I made contact, it would be nothing, just like every other time, but I wanted to do it anyway.
My hand trembled, my finger millimeters from Devon. I was afraid to close the tiny gap, but when I did, I poked him right in the ribs. A gasp escaped my mouth. I continued to poke him repeatedly. I couldn’t stop. I stared at my finger, waiting for Devon to become incorporeal or morph into an abomination, but instead he reached out and grabbed my hand.
“Are you really here?”
He nodded.
I panicked. “How’d you get here?”
“I didn’t get here.” The tears were building in his eyes again.
“You’re not really here?” He shook his head. “Which is it? Are you here or aren’t you?” Was this the new game? They were going to give contradicting answers until they drove me mad?
“I’m here, but not there.”
“Thank you, Dr. Suess. If you’re here but not there, then where the hell...” The answer to the riddle wasn’t possible and I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to say it out loud. My voice trembled, coming out barely above a whisper. “Devon, am I home?”
He nodded and, for the first time ever, I saw my best friend cry. Still, I didn’t believe it, so I asked again, only this time I directed it to Tore. “Am I home?”
“Yes, you’re home.” He pulled me into a tight hug.
I was hesitant to hug him back. I waited for the moment he’d disappear or I’d pass through him, but it never came. I slowly wrapped my arms around him, as reality sank in. I pulled Devon into the hug. Behind me, I could hear Portia sobbing, but she kept her distance. The three of us held each other and wept, before I pushed away from them.
“Wait, wait. How in the hell am I here? How did this happen?” Both guys were too choked up to speak. Portia was on the verge of hyperventilating she was crying so hard, so I knew she wasn’t going to be much help. So, I looked to get answers from the only other person in the room.
Zane wiped at his eye with an index finger and smiled. “Well, that’s an interesting story. I think you may want to sit down.”
...
We all congregated on the bed, as Zane told the tale. I leaned against Devon, his arms wrapped around me. Tore had ahold of my hand and Portia, the other. From time to time, I’d give their hands a squeeze; just to be sure they were still there.
I was glad Zane warned me to sit, because the story was unbelievable. I was amazed Katarina had orchestrated the whole thing and... for what, to get me out of the picture? I knew she didn’t like me, but Jesus Christ the woman was full-on, bat-shit crazy. I tried to digest it all, but mostly, I felt like I was going to throw up.
“There are going to be repercussions from upper management, aren’t there?”
Zane nodded. “Yeah, more than likely.”
The bile climbed up my throat and I jumped off the bed. “I can’t go back there. I won’t.”
Devon jumped off the bed as well and took me by the shoulders. “We won’t let that happen. Besides, the contract, or spell, er... whatever the hell you wanna call it, was sealed with blood and, according to Demetri, it affords some protection.”
My stomach clenched again. “Wait, it was sealed with blood? Whose blood?” The room went silent. I stole a glance at the faces, but all eyes looked to the same place. I roughly grabbed Devon by the face. “Your blood! Why would you do such a thing? What the hell were you thinking?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Tore really sucks at Halo, like... worse than you do. It was boring beating him all the time. I thought, if we brought you back, I might get a decent opponent once in a while.” He whacked me upside the head. “Why do you think I did it? I did it because I love you, dumbass.”
He then patted my head and smiled. My eyes started to mist up again. I knew I’d never be able to repay this debt, not that he’d ever ask me to. Pushing up on my tiptoes, I wrapped my arms around him and laid a big kiss on his cheek.
“Hey!” Zane squawked. “Quit hogging all the credit, wanker. The whole plan was my idea and it was supposed to be my blood that sealed the deal.”
I peered around Devon, just as Portia whacked Zane in the face with a pillow. He clutched the pillow to his chest and leaned back on the chair, obviously sulking. I reached out, grabbed his face, and, without any hesitation, planted a kiss right on his lips. The chair came crashing back down on all fours.
“Thank you for saving me.” I placed another small kiss on his cheek before releasing him.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Although, you caught me by surprise. I’m a much better kisser than that.”
�
��I’m sure you are, but some things are best left a mystery,” I laughed, taking a seat on the bed across from him. “So, let me see if I followed this whole Anguish Reaper thing. Since Katarina was one, and she made you, does that mean you have higher Anguish tendencies?”
“Yeah, that is a fact.”
“And that means Drake does too then, right? Which, by the way, where is he? Why isn’t he here?” The tension became so thick, I could cut it with a knife. No one would meet my questioning gaze. “Someone, please tell me.”
Devon finally spoke up. Through anger, he explained everything from Drake’s denial to attacking Zane in an effort to protect Katarina. I listened studiously, and although I understood Devon’s anger, I knew things about Drake and Katarina he didn’t. I knew there was an explanation for what Drake had done.
“I want to see him.”
“No.” It was Tore who answered my request.
“What do you mean, no?”
“Are you seriously okay with what he did? Because I’m sure as hell not. He could have ruined the only shot at getting you back. He’s been warned to stay away from you and I’m going to hold him to that.”
There were only two of us in the room who knew the twisted hold Katarina had over Drake for the past seven decades. We were the only two who might be able to understand why he’d done what he did. I turned to that other person, hoping he’d be on my side.
“I need to see him.”
There was no hesitation in Zane’s reply. “I’ll set it up.” There were deep sighs of disappointment from Tore and Devon’s directions, but neither said a word. “But, not tonight. You need to get some rest.”
As if on cue, I yawned wide, and then shot an accusatory glance in Zane’s direction.
“Hey, I didn’t make you do that. Devon, tell her.” Devon was already shuffling him out of the room, and I snuggled back down into bed. “She needs to know how this stuff works.”
“Yeah, yeah, and we’ll explain all of that to her... tomorrow.”
Prayer for the Dead (Revenants in Purgatory) Page 22