Grave Dealings

by R. R. Virdi

  Anna’s lips pressed tight, and she swallowed. She looked over her shoulder for some place to escape.

  Thud. Thud. Thud. My fist smashed into the glass. The small bones in my hand throbbed and threatened to give out after all the abuse they’d suffered of late. I kept it up regardless. Thud. Crack!

  Heh. Lines as fine as fishing line spread through the glass in the area around my fist. Barely audible cracks continued to sound off as the breaks spread and deepened.

  “Well, I guess we’re about to find out about my theory, huh? Still going to be a tough negotiator?”

  Anna’s eyes looked like they were quivering in her sockets. She licked her lips and panted.

  “Going once.” I drove my other fist into the glass near the already cracking area. It buckled and flexed before giving. Mini fissures spread through the glass, some of which raced to join the previous cracks. “Going twice.” I stepped forwards and brought my elbow into the mirror. A hideous, deep crack snapped into life and split across the upper right corner of the glass. If it grew any larger, it’d break a portion of the top clean off.

  Anna pressed her hands to the mirror, bringing her face close. “Stop it! Please, just stop.”

  I stepped back, tensing a leg and making my intention clear. “Yeah? Give me a reason to.”

  “Alright, alright.” She leaned away from me, holding out a hand in a gesture to calm me. Anna turned her other hand palm up, twisting it like she was unscrewing a jar lid. Tendrils of flames sparked into life around the base of her wrist. They snaked up her fingers, spreading wide and flat into the air above. It was a short-lived fire show.

  The flames crackled and dimmed, their color fading. A sheet of soft taupe parchment took their place. Aggressive, bold cursive lined the page. At the bottom, a series of scribbles that were clearly a signature.

  It didn’t take a detective to guess whose.

  Anna took the contract by its corner, pinching them tight between her thumbs and forefingers. “All I have to do is tear. That good enough?”

  I opened my mouth, then shut it just as fast. I’d almost fallen for it.

  There’s a lot in the rumor mill about contracts and dirty dealings. One bit stood out in my mind. It may have had nothing to do with Fausts, or it could have had everything to do with them. I’d learned that some clichés came from paranormal origins.

  I followed the hunch. “No, do me a favor and tear it into a bunch of tiny pieces.”

  Anna’s eyes narrowed, and she looked at me like I was odd. She did as I asked however, shredding the contract into countless scraps. “Satisfied? Now, let me out, and I’ll throw this to the wind.” She rustled the bits of paper in her hands.

  “How about you eat them.” I smiled.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Eat the contract.”

  Anna’s mouth shut, and I could hear her swallow saliva. She licked her lips a second later. “That’s crazy.”

  “Maybe, I’ve been called that before. Doesn’t change my demand. Eat it.”

  She scowled, shooting me a look that could have turned steel into molten scrap. But she took a fistful of paper and shoved it into her mouth. The Faust chewed and swallowed, repeating the process with the remaining scraps. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

  “I have my moments and...” Something moved at the edge of my vision. I shifted my body without fully turning.

  She was a bit plump, and her platinum blond hair hung just past her chin. The hint of red in her pale cheeks had fled. She looked tired—ghostly, even.

  “Renee?” Instinct, stemming from Daniel and his memories of her, urged me to reach out towards the woman. My insides felt like cracked pieces of the mirror wormed through them. A mix of slicing heat and sharp jabs filled me. I shut my eyes and worked to separate Daniel’s latent feelings from my own. Renee had been his friend, not mine. But that didn’t mean a part of those pangs weren’t my own.

  I exhaled and turned from her hollow stare. She wasn’t really aware of anything by the look of it. “I think I’m going to renegotiate our terms.” My fingers dug into my palm as my fist tightened.

  Anna’s gaze flicked from Renee to me. “What?”

  Glass cracked. My knuckles ached and screamed as bits of mirror carved through my flesh.

  “Stop!”

  I didn’t. Both of my fists rained blow after blow against the mirror. Each strike made glass cry. Chips of former mirror fell to the ground. Blood trickled down the sides of my fingers, and my hands twitched of their own accord. I took a step back, eyeing the mirror.

  It was cracked throughout, yet remained together.

  I planned to fix that.

  My heel smashed the middle of the mirror, shattering it into pieces.

  Anna’s scream was silenced as her image fell apart and shimmering glass rained to the ground.

  My hands shook harder. I squeezed my eyes, trying to ignore the pain.

  “You bastard!”

  I opened my eyes and stumbled back. “What the hell?” I looked down to the source of the noise.

  Anna seethed inside a piece of glass the size of my shoe. “When I get out of here—”

  I raised my foot.

  The Faust held up her hands.

  “I’ve got a feeling you won’t be getting out any time now.” I brought my foot down, stopping just before crunching the glass. There was still another Faust out there.

  Gnosis had told me one of the best ways to stop these freaks was to get them to kill each other.

  And now I knew how to make that happen.

  I pulled my foot back and eyed Anna. “How do I get out of here?”

  She gave me the finger.

  Fair enough.

  I racked my brain, thinking over everything I had read in my journal. It didn’t give me much on this portion of the Neravene. Gnosis had given me his best guess on how the Fausts hopped through mirrors. Anna had built on that, but it still wasn’t a concrete answer.

  You can’t open Ways with a wave of your hand. Not without power and a whole lot of knowledge.

  I didn’t have the luxury of not figuring it out. Ortiz and Daniel’s other friends were in trouble.

  “’Kay, think.”

  “Don’t hurt yourself.” Anna sounded like she was enjoying my predicament.

  I glared at her. “Maybe I should crush you into specks of glass.”

  She shut up.

  “I saw you open a Way when you entered here. You didn’t just dive into the mirror, you did something to it. You bridged it to this part of the Neravene.”

  She didn’t answer, but I hadn’t expected her to.

  “But once you were here, you were hopping through mirrors without issue. Heck, you didn’t do a single visible thing to them. You just went on about desires and picking up on mortal wants and...”

  Son of a bitch. Gnosis had told me the way to operating in here was exactly how the Fausts did it.

  “That’s it, isn’t?”

  Anna remained silent.

  “You weren’t kidding about the menus thing. This place is an all-you-can-eat buffet. You have to open a door to get in, but once you’re here, it’s just a matter of knowing what you want and reaching out for it.”

  The Faust’s body tensed, meaning I was onto something.

  I rubbed my hands together. The action sent a small jolt through the damaged tissue and likely battered bones. I gritted through it and trained my eyes on another mirror. “Be seeing you.” I gave a two-finger salute to Anna and marched off towards the glass I’d eyed a moment ago.

  The mirror shuddered, and a ripple went through its surface like it wasn’t solid.

  Magic is weird.

  I placed a hand on it, running it along the glass. Blood trailed behind and marred my reflection. I’d expected to see something more, like the way out.

  Anna perked up as if on cue. “It’s not that easy.”

  I ignored her. No one ever said it would be. I placed my fingertips ag
ainst the mirror, leaning into it.

  Desires.

  We all have ‘em. Sorting them out is another issue.

  Unchecked and rampant wants flooded me. Every desire I nursed deep down, and Daniel’s as well. The mirror responded in kind.

  Its surface quivered like a disturbed body of water. Images rushed by in a blur like a flipbook going too fast. My navel felt like it’d been hooked and tugged as the swirl of desires went through the mirror. The pull grew stronger the longer I stared.

  “It’s even harder focusing, isn’t it? You want it all. You need it all. It’s a very mortal thing, desires—unchecked ones. Why settle for just one thing when you know I can make them all come true?” Anna’s voice went up a few notches in delight. She enjoyed watching me flounder.

  I clenched my jaw and fought the urge to stomp her into bits of nothingness. The mirror flashed faster.

  That bitch!

  She wanted me riled up, unable to think clearly. Anger fuels desire just as well as other things. Often, more so.

  It’s easy to get angry and let it carry you away. A whole new set of wants, driven by rage, that overwhelm the others. Keeps you from focusing on what needs to be done.

  I shut Anna out and pushed aside the distractions. This was about getting back to Ortiz. I just needed to make that desire stronger than all my others.

  Easier said than done.

  Fear welled inside me, sending a cold static charge over my skin. If I didn’t get back, Daniel’s friends, my own, would be in danger.

  This affects whatever’s left of you just as much as it does me.

  I hoped the lingering bits of Daniel’s thoughts and memories got the message. I pushed with a single hand against the mirror. Come on. One image dominated my mind: Ortiz’s face.

  I need to get back there—I want to. It was my job. My responsibility. My desire.

  Gentle heat filled my palm, radiating through my fingers and up my arm. The mirror flashed into a mural of porcelain white tiles that shifted without stop. It was like looking at a kaleidoscope.

  “Guess this is it.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Anna’s question hit me harder than I’d expected. “What if you’re wrong? What if it leads somewhere worse?”

  She had a point. The Neravene wasn’t exactly tourist friendly. But I didn’t have a choice.

  “Could be worse. I could be stuck here, like you.” I flashed her a wink before pushing against the mirror. My hands passed through, which was good enough for me. I stepped through the glass.

  * * *

  The brown of the Neravene washed away into jarring whites, forcing me to shut my eyes. My heel clipped something smooth and hard. I tumbled forwards.

  “Fuck—” I hit the floor, cool tiles pressing against the bare bits of my skin. I blinked until the red and yellow spots cleared.

  Smooth, antiseptically clean flooring that matched the tiles. A white sink that I had no doubt caught my foot on. My surroundings were a dead ringer for the bathrooms in the hospital where Anna had worked.

  Meaning Ortiz was here.

  Oh crap.

  My heart lurched into overtime. I scrambled to my feet and addressed the tingling sensation spreading over my forearm. Twelve hours had passed in the Neravene. Half a day—gone. Seventeen hours to find Ortiz and nail the remaining Faust.

  Just what had happened in all that time?

  I turned and leaned over the sink, opening the cold faucet with a smack of my hand. Walking around the hospital battered and bleeding wasn’t a good idea. A generic, white hand towel hung from a silver ring. I yanked it free and ran it through the water. Satisfied it was cold enough, I wrung it until it was damp, pressing it to my various wounds.

  I bit back the curse that made its way to my lips and endured the pain in the tender areas. The process was dull and methodical, but I kept cooling and cleaning my wounds until they looked a tad less grisly.

  I’d heal, and that’s what mattered.

  My shirt was useless scraps, so I ripped it clean and tossed it in the nearby metal bin. I’d find something on the way out. First things first: find Ortiz.

  I moved out of the room and cast a quick look around.

  My hunch worked out better than I had hoped. I’d landed right where I’d wanted to be. And the proof lay in the bed within arm’s reach from me.

  Eddie lay in traction. The bruising had worsened, or at least the coloring had. It didn’t do wonders for how his face looked. But he was still breathing. And he was free.

  I placed a hand on his leg, saying nothing. Finding the right words wasn’t easy. I hoped the simple gesture counted. A train of thoughts ran through my mind.

  Eddie had gotten to the hospital. Likely manner, Ortiz. Neither of us had called for help prior to my jumping into the Neravene. Made sense that she dragged him here or at least alerted medical services.

  If I knew Ortiz, that meant she’d be nearby. She wouldn’t risk going to what would now be considered a crime scene, assuming Eddie’s condition was chalked up to assault, of course.

  No, too many variables. Simplify.

  Eddie was here. Ortiz would do the smart thing and keep an eye on him in case I’d failed and Anna showed up. Content with my logic, I headed for the door.

  The handle jostled and I tensed.

  The door opened.

  “Vincent?” Ortiz’s eyes widened. She looked well rested, more so than me at any rate.

  Even a few hours of sleep would’ve done me good. But part of my job meant burning through bodies and their limits until the case was over. It wreaked havoc on me, but I didn’t have other options.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off.

  “What the hell happened to you?” She shoved me inside, closing the door behind us. “Never mind, not here.”

  “I, uh—”

  A plastic bag rustled in her hand. She thrust it against my chest. “Here.”

  “Thanks, I—”

  “You’ve been gone for half a day. Tell me you got her. Your body is... Are those bite marks?”

  “Ortiz! Holy shit. Sorry. Yes. And yes.”

  She glared, and I found myself wishing I was back in the Neravene with Anna.

  “Explain.” Ortiz held her glare, waiting for answers.

  I hooked a finger against the lip of the bag, tugging it open. A clean change of clothes sat folded inside. I snaked the simple black t-shirt free, not bothering with the rest of the clothing. “Oh, you know. I tussled with a crazy gal. She was into dress up, nurse role-play. She was kinky—a biter. Kind of batty, you know?”

  Ortiz gave me a thin smile. “You know, I can make it so you really will need a stay in here.” Her smile widened.

  I wriggled into the shirt, holding up a hand to calm her. “Uh, one rough session is enough for me.” I told her everything that had happened.

  “So, it’s over? You trapped Anna for good? Eddie’s free?”

  I shook my head. “Not exactly.”

  Ortiz stared.

  “Think about it. Anna couldn’t break her own contracts.”

  Her eyes widened. “Unless someone else did it for her.”

  I nodded. “Someone who also happens to have access to the patients here. Someone who happened to have access to Daniel’s friends. Someone who happened to be standing in front of my face the whole damn time!” I clenched a fist several times before stopping. “Let’s go find Ashton.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Ortiz spun and swung the door open. “He’s not here today. I told him to call off. I was worried in case Anna gave you the slip and came back for Eddie. I didn’t want any of Daniel’s friends getting caught up in anything nasty.”

  “Too late.” I followed her out of the room, moving to her side as we hustled to the elevator. “Please tell me you have an idea of where he might be?”

  Ortiz pursed her lips and shook her head.

  “What about the others?”

  She answered my question with a silent
look.

  It wasn’t an answer I wanted. “Shit, Kelly?” The young woman had a habit of making risky choices.

  She stopped cold outside the elevator.

  “Ortiz, what’s wrong?”

  “Kelly.” Ortiz took a breath and pressed the button to summon the lift. “She said she wanted to check some things out. You’ve gotten her curious about this world. Too curious, in my opinion.”

  A chill settled in my stomach. “Yeah, I had that worry with you, for the record.”

  She gave me a thin smile. “Kelly told me she was going to dig around Daniel’s life to see if she could find anything that might be useful.”

  Oh no.

  “And let me guess, she ruled the apartment out because we’ve pretty much tossed that place.”

  Ortiz nodded.

  “Meaning she headed to the art studio. The only place left that makes sense. Dammit.” I poked the button several times as if it’d bring the elevator to us any faster.

  “It’s also where I’d head if I were Ashton.” Ortiz gave me a knowing look. “You said these monsters pick up on desires. Kelly’s new to all of this. A girl who wants answers badly. Someone Anna and Ashton haven’t tempted yet.”

  I should have seen it coming.

  The elevator sounded off. A clamor echoed from inside it. The doors opened, and Ortiz and I barged in to the dismay of the exiting people. The lift emptied, leaving just us.

  I eyed Ortiz. “I don’t suppose you have Ashton’s number.”

  She shook her head. “I knew him vaguely. We weren’t close. I bet Anna had him on speed dial though.”

  I blinked, reaching into my pocket for her phone. The device had held up better than I had. Some of the plastic sported little chips and nicks. The screen was lined with hairline cracks, but it displayed well enough. I thumbed through her contacts. Thankfully, monsters didn’t bother with obscuring info.

  I dialed and put the phone to speaker.

  The line rang for a three-count before going live.

  “You know you could’ve contacted me through any mirror. Why bother with a phone?” said Ashton.

  He thought it was Anna.

  “Sorry, Anna can’t come to the phone right now. She’s stuck in a permanent selfie. Don’t worry though; you’ll be joining her soon enough.”