Unhinged

by Chani Lynn Feener

  She recalled him mentioning that already, but now the weight of the situation settled on her shoulders, and she clenched her hands into tight fists in her lap.

  “We’re still trying to figure out who he is,” he continued. “As you can imagine, however, there are a lot of souls in Tartarus so it’s going to take time.”

  “How do you know he’s from Tartarus?” she asked, and at his pointed sidelong look sighed. “Right.”

  “I can sense the merit of a soul, Spencer. I can sense the darkness, or the light, that taints them. The one that you met is pure evil, its centuries spent in the pit having turned him completely. There is nothing good left in him, which is why we’re trying so hard to find him before he can hurt anyone else. I have all of the Reapers looking, and even a few others. Ferris came the closest out of everyone.”

  “But he got away.”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you just close the door? I mean, you are the God of the Underworld. Couldn’t you just fix it?”

  He shook his head, hands tightening on the steering wheel so that his knuckles went bone white. “As long as Micah’s love is strong enough to pull him out, and your will is to have him here, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “This is insane.” How could that be true? How could their love be causing something so terrible? How many others had slipped through the crack they’d held open for the past five months? They weren’t the only couple in love on the planet, weren’t the only two who’d been torn from one another by death. Why was this happening to them? What made them so special?

  When she asked him, he refused to answer, instead giving her another shake of his head and directing the topic back onto her father and Thayer.

  “He’ll know that we’ve figured it out,” he informed her. “He’ll be expecting us.”

  “How will he know that?”

  “He’s a god, Spence. Did you think the only thing we were capable of was flashing from place to place?”

  “Well, no,” she drawled in a poor attempt to ease some of the tension by lightening the mood. “That and fixing broken windows. Duh.”

  The corner of his lips tugged up slightly before he could rein it in. He cleared his throat. “When we get there, you’re going to stay in the car. Tell me where his office is and I’ll go find him, make sure that Thayer isn’t around.”

  “And if he is? We can’t just hang out on campus for the rest of the day, Hadrian,” she told him. “We need to actually do something. Get him to leave.”

  “To use your term, ‘duh’. But we can’t just barge in there, guns a blazing. Trust me, that’s not the way. We’ll only end up pissing my brother off and forcing his hand. If he’s there I’ll talk to him, and if he isn’t, I’ll find him once I know your dad is safe. But you have to stay in the car.”

  “No way.” She couldn’t just sit here twiddling her thumbs while the God of Death potentially attacked her father. “I’m coming with you.”

  “You’re staying in the car.”

  “No.”

  “Damn it, Spencer. I can’t worry about your dad and you. If you’re there, I’m just going to be freaking out that Thayer will attack you. Just, trust me, ok? Like back on Cocytus. I won’t let either of you fall. Trust me.”

  He was right, she’d just end up getting in the way if she trailed after him. Hadrian wouldn’t let anything happen to her dad, she knew that with every fiber of her being.

  The rest of the drive they remained in a strained silence, both of them stuck in their own thoughts. She tried to pick apart her swirling emotions, the anger and fear directed at Thayer and her dad, the guilt that all of this was caused by her and Micah, and the strange trust she had for another guy.

  Hadrian did something to her, made her feel something she hadn’t felt since that night on the bridge. Alive.

  He wasn’t Micah, by any means, but it was nice having someone she could confide in again, that she could feel with. Experience things with. Discovering an entire world with him was amazing. Getting to see the five rivers of the Underworld, thrilling.

  She might just be a curiosity to him, a means to an end, but for her getting to know him had opened up more than just the door to the Underworld. Something within her had unlocked as well, some of the pieces of who she’d been and who she was coming together with a satisfying click.

  He’d ensure that her dad was safe and Thayer left him alone, then they’d figure the rest out. They’d figure out the gateway and how to close it, so that no more malicious spirits could slink their way out. No one else was getting hurt because of her.

  They made it to Howling College in just under a half hour, sliding into an empty parking space right in front of Crowley Hall, the English building.

  Spencer jumped a little when someone rapped against her window, and she turned to find Ferris standing there with a tight expression.

  “He’s going to watch you while I’m in there,” Hadrian explained, unbuckling his belt and reaching for the door handle. He paused a moment and locked eyes with her, holding her prisoner in his gaze. “Don’t get out of the car, Spencer,” he said. “Promise me?”

  “Keep my dad safe,” she responded in all seriousness, “and I promise.”

  He gave a single nod and then slammed the door after him. She watched as he bounded across the parking lot and the road, entering the three-story building and disappearing inside.

  The building was white on the outside, with large windows that the sun was currently glaring off of. She could barely see into the front lobby. There were two streets that ran parallel to each other, between the building and the lot they’d parked in.

  Another tap at the window had her twisting the crank to roll it down a good foot.

  “Everything will be alright,” Ferris comforted her. “Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks,” she said, motioning a finger at him. “For coming.”

  He shrugged. “The king called.”

  “Still,” she pressed. “Thanks.”

  He glanced down at her, and then ran a hand through his hair. “I like you, Spencer. You’ve got guts. I don’t want to see you hurt any more than Hadrian does. Besides,” his tone changed, taking on a lighter note she knew was for her benefit, “Quinn likes your dad. Says he’s ‘cool’.”

  “You and Quinn, huh? How’s that going?” she asked, figuring she could at least try and take her mind off of this mess.

  “Why?” He leaned down on the edge of the car. “She say something about me?”

  Spencer lifted a hand to her lips and made the motion of twisting a key, before tossing it over her shoulder.

  “Oh, come on,” he poked her in the shoulder, “just between the two of us. I swear.”

  “You know, if you’d told me a year ago I’d become friends with a Reaper, I would have called you nuts and given you a gold medal for imagination.” She realized that that’s what they were. Over the past crazy weeks they’d become close—not in the same way as she and Hadrian, but still. She liked being around him, had fun.

  With him spending more and more time with Quinn lately, they saw more of each other than just those brief moments when he brought her to and from the Underworld. He’d become a permanent fixture at their table at Phil’s, that was for sure.

  “Well in that case,” Ferris grinned, “friends help each other out. Which means you have to spill about Quinn.” He rolled his eyes. “I feel like I’ve devolved somehow, asking about a girl like a teenager.”

  “You are pretending to be one…” she said.

  “Pretend being the operative word.” He heaved a sigh. “I’m thousands of years old, Spence. I’ve had…relations, but I’ve never actually been drawn to someone like I am to her. Her soul is like pure warmth. It glows whenever I see her, radiating virtue. Purity like that is rare in a mortal. No offense.”

  “None taken,” she waved him off.

  “I’ve seen so many things,” he went on. “So many tragedies, so much suffering…It’s nice to finally have
something that isn’t tainted by grief.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “I’m not making any sense.”

  “No,” she disagreed. “No, I get it. After Micah’s death, I was secretly jealous of Quinn’s ability to accept what had happened and deal with it. She mourned, and she never forgot him, but she was able to sort of just, take it in and allow it to become a part of her instead of changing her. I think that’s one of the reasons I couldn’t be around her and Syd before they found out about all of this. It hurt too much seeing that she’d managed to do what I’d failed to. To see her so put together, when I couldn’t even remember who I was anymore.”

  “Everyone has to deal with things in their own way,” he told her. “There’s nothing shameful about that. Life is too short to regret the things that we didn’t do, that we weren’t capable of doing.” He frowned then, cocking his head to the side, listening to something that she couldn’t hear.

  “Something’s wrong,” he said, straightening from the car.

  “What is it?” she asked, every cell going on high alert. She scanned the parking lot and the front of the building, but nothing was out of the ordinary. A few students milled about chatting as cars came and went.

  “It’s Hadrian,” Ferris took a step away, before spinning back to address her once more. “Stay here.” He didn’t even bother with the doors, just disappeared right in front of her.

  Spencer glanced around again, afraid that someone else had noticed his vanishing act. That’s when she spotted him walking across the parking lot on the other side of the building.

  Her dad was tugging at the red tie she’d bought him last Christmas, yanking at it as if the thing was strangling him. He hurried away from the building, stepping off of the sidewalk and onto the street without looking either way. His gaze was down on the ground, and his lips moved like he was mumbling something to himself.

  Without thinking she got out, calling his name. He didn’t react at all, as if he couldn’t hear her. She went to take a step forward, when she saw that he was about to step onto the other street. She realized he wasn’t going to check again, and sucked in a breath when she saw a blue jeep come barreling down the road at her left.

  Surely the driver would see him and stop…Except she was almost positive the car had just picked up speed.

  “Dad!” screaming for him she darted forward, acting completely on instinct. The jeep was going too fast now to stop in time even if the driver slammed on the breaks, not that she expected him to at this point.

  The jeep was only ten feet away when she reached him, slamming into his body so hard that they both tumbled back onto the cement strip that acted as a safe waiting place between the roads.

  She landed on top of him, hearing a sickening crack when his head rebounded off of the solid ground. Panic rushed through her, and her skin buzzed like a million static shocks were skittering across her flesh all at once. She forced herself to her knees, shaking him a little in the process.

  Oh god. Oh god. Oh god!

  He let out a small moan, and she practically fell apart over him. He was alive. He wasn’t dead.

  “Dad?” She gently turned his head to the side so she could get a look at the back of his head.

  There wasn’t any blood, so that was good. It was possible he had a concussion, but no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t get it to focus enough to recall what she’d learned about head injuries in health class last year.

  Vaguely she wondered where the hell Hadrian and Ferris were, if they were alright. Something had to have happened for her dad to have slipped away from them. She needed to get him out of here and to a hospital, but there was no way she was going to be able to lift him herself. With a curse she remembered she’d left her cell phone in the car.

  Obviously the students had all left and no one else had noticed what had happened, because they were alone. She swore again, and was debating whether or not to leave him there long enough to go get it or stay and wait, when a feeling of cold dread snaked down her spine.

  She froze, immediately sensing that she was being watched. In slow motion she lifted her head, every muscle icing over when her eyes locked onto the gods.

  He was propped against the side of the building, hands casually in his pockets and ankles crossed in front of him. His head was tilted slightly back, but there was no denying he was looking at her, even though she couldn’t see his eyes from this distance. The cruel curve to his lush lips was what told her that this was Thayer before her, despite the otherwise familiar features.

  Impulsively she got up, a fury the likes of which she’d never known taking control and melting the frozen fear she’d felt only seconds before. Keeping him locked in her gaze, her entire body shook. There was no containing the rage she felt; he’d just tried to have her dad killed. He’d almost killed Syd.

  Everything she knew about him was instantly forgotten, that along with her rationality and self preservation tossed out the window like second hand garbage. She barely even registered what she was doing when she stepped off of the cement island, her only intent to get to him and make him pay.

  She was already halfway across the street, when the sound of squealing tires and the smell of burnt rubber permeated the air. Somehow it managed to break through her reserve, and she shot her head to the right just in time to see the same blue jeep coming at her.

  She knew with certain clarity that there wasn’t time to move out of the way, that she was going to suffer the same fate that her father almost had.

  Better me than him, was her last thought before she closed her eyes and awaited the bone crushing impact that was only a heartbeat away.

  Instead, the impact came from behind, and her eyes flew open in shock to see the jeep sail by, less than an inch away. She could have reached out and touched the side with the tips of her fingers.

  She slammed onto the ground, rolling a few feet with whoever had just saved her from becoming road kill. Her hands clung to her savior, even once they’d come to a complete stop. Their limbs were tangled together, and without attempting to detach herself, she rested her head back against the cool ground and stared at the empty light blue sky above.

  She’d almost just died. Again.

  “Spencer!” Hadrian’s fright-filled tone pulled her back to reality. “Spencer!”

  Slowly she blinked, shifting so that she could meet his gaze.

  He was out of breath, and she’d never seen anyone look so afraid. His blue eyes were overflowing with fear. Fear for her. The second she glanced at him he let out a long sigh, some of the lines smoothing across his forehead. The relieved expression didn’t stick, however, and in the next moment he was yanking her into a sitting position and gripping her shoulders so tightly that it stung.

  “What the hell were you thinking?!” he demanded, shaking her for good measure. “Damn it, Spencer! You could have been killed! If I hadn’t shown up—” he stopped abruptly when she flinched, loosening his hold. Expelling a shaky breath, he dropped his forehead to hers.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, the anger leaving him. “When I saw the car…I didn’t think I’d be able to make it in time.” He cupped her cheeks, fingers delving into her hair as his thumbs brushed the tender skin under her eyes. “I didn’t think I’d make it,” he repeated.

  “You did.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to comfort him when she’d been the one who’d just about died, but it came naturally to her, and she didn’t force it back down like all the other emotions she’d felt. “I’m fine, Hadrian.”

  Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away, frustration rising when he held her securely in place, refusing to let her budge even an inch. “My dad.”

  “He’s safe,” he told her, eyes closed. “Ferris has him. He’s safe, Spencer. You both are. Just give me a moment. Let me hold you a little while longer. I just—I thought…”

  She settled in his arms, lifting her own around his neck. She cradled the base of his head, allowing herself to m
elt into him, to give into the feeling of safety. Of belonging. Even though she really didn’t. Not here, at least. Not with him. But she let herself pretend, just this once.

  Just for a little while longer.

  Chapter 28:

  “By the time I tracked your mom down and asked about him, he was gone,” Hadrian told her.

  Her dad had been awake and sitting in the lobby by the time Hadrian had willingly let her stand. Ferris had healed any damage done, and her dad hadn’t recalled a single thing about exiting the building.

  When he’d seen her, he’d asked what was wrong and gone to her side in an instant, completely coherent and himself. Coming up with a believable excuse had been more complicated, but she’d somehow managed to convince him she’d had a bad day and just really needed to see him.

  Explaining why she was standing next to the guy he thought was his student Thayer, but was really Hadrian, was even more of a hardship. In the end, they’d parted ways with him going back to class, and her pretending to be leaving on her own. Ferris had stuck behind to keep an eye on him and her mom, though he and Hadrian had both assured her that Thayer wouldn’t try anything again so soon.

  He’d driven her home in silence, keeping one of her hands in his the entire time.

  She didn’t pull away.

  Once inside the house he’d eased her onto the couch and had gone into the kitchen, only to return a few moments later with a steaming cup of cocoa. After a couple of sips she’d demanded to know what had happened.

  “He’d told your mom that he wasn’t feeling well and needed to get some fresh air. He didn’t have another class for twenty minutes, so she didn’t think anything of it. It’s like a fricken maze in that building; by the time I realized that he wasn’t in his office, I had to find hers.”

  “Ferris said something was wrong with you,” she said.

  “Thayer was waiting for me, caught me off guard. It was only long enough to draw the Ferryman away from you. Then he disappeared. I realized where he must be going, but he’d been controlling your dad already. The malicious spirit was possessing the driver of the jeep. I showed up to see the car about to hit you.”