Grave Dealings

by R. R. Virdi

  Ashton stood in place, undisturbed by my rush. “You know what the problem with this form is?” He pinched his forearm and gave a gentle tug.

  Uh-oh.

  “It’s fast, familiar, and easy to move around in. But it’s so limiting.” The rest of his fingers dug into his forearm. He pulled like he was tearing wrapping paper.

  Flesh and gore went into the air. Sinew and deeper tissue followed.

  I didn’t slow my pace despite wanting to retch.

  Ashton tore his Skin Sheath, tossing it aside. The Faust’s bat form blurred to the side as I came within reach.

  I slowed down and pivoted so not to waste any of my momentum. My fist lashed out in a wide arc, clipping the moving Faust’s shoulder.

  Ashton grunted and took the blow without pause. He snapped a hand out.

  I stepped back as the talons raked the air near me. Rows of heat danced over my chest. “Gyah.” I pressed a hand to the area below my collarbone. Strands of crimson acted like weak glue, holding my hand to the sticky mess on my chest. I staggered a step away from the Faust.

  He didn’t let up, bringing a hand overhead as he attempted to sink his talons into my skull.

  I peeled my hand away from my chest and stepped into his strike. Both of my arms went up and interlocked them at the wrists. I caught his blow against the long bones of my forearms. A shock rolled through my limbs, settling in my shoulder joints. I grimaced and pushed back against the devil.

  “What are you hoping to accomplish?” His tongue lolled out of his mouth, threatening to touch my face.

  I recoiled from it, still fighting against his hand.

  The anatomy of a bat isn’t that strong. They’re built for flight and a select group of things. Combat wasn’t one of them. They may be paranormal freaks with monstrous strength, but their body wasn’t built to take hits. And in the Neravene, they were vulnerable.

  I snapped my foot at the side of his knee.

  Ashton growled and twisted away from me, breaking off his attack.

  I followed up with a fist into the spot behind his left ear.

  A guttural grunt left his mouth, and he fell to a knee.

  “It hurts here, doesn’t it? Haven’t figured out why, but it’s not bothering me a whole lot either.” I took a step forwards and kicked. The flat of my foot met his face, driving him onto his back. “I’ll take kicking your ass however I can.”

  Ashton’s hands raked the ground, ripping loose sediment free. He flicked his wrists. Plumes of debris shot towards my eyes.

  I raised an arm to shield me from any of the filth.

  A dark shape darted through the cloud.

  I raced towards it, but it was gone. Movement at the edge of my vision prompted me to turn in time to catch Ashton vanishing into one of the nearby mirrors. I wasn’t going through that again.

  I sprinted to it, making no effort to slow as I drew closer. I lifted a foot as I came a few feet from it. My foot crashed into the glass. It shattered the first time.

  One down. A zillion to go.

  If the freak had nowhere to run, he’d have to stay and fight. That was good news, and bad.

  “Bastard!”

  I turned towards the direction the curse had come from.

  Ashton stood outside another mirror several dozen yards from me.

  I raised the index finger and pinky of one hand, putting it behind my head to mimic a pair of horns. I dragged my foot along the ground, kicking up dirt behind me and letting out a sound a bull would make. “Bull. China shop. And you’re about to get wrecked.”

  His eyes went flat, and his lips pressed together. “I wanted your soul. I really did. It would have been like bottled power—leverage. The things old gods and nameless ones would have traded for you.”

  “And now?” I quirked a brow.

  “I want to kill you.” Heat filled his eyes.

  “Was…my joke that bad?”

  He screamed, crossing the distance between us with blinding speed.

  I waited till he was more than halfway towards me before I rushed at him. I leapt into the air and spread my arms wide, hitting him with my shoulder in a tackle that took us both to the ground. “Whoa.” I fought to pin his flailing hands. “You’re like a bat out of hell. Get it?”

  He lunged, snapping his jaws into the meat above my right wrist.

  I screamed, lashing out with my left fist and smashing it into his face repeatedly. I kept it up like my hand was a piston of flesh and bone, driving it against his skull. A dull sound echoed like I was smacking a rolling pin into the meat of my palm. “How long can you keep this up?” The last punch forced him to break his clamp on my arm.

  “How long can you?” He wriggled a hand free, swiping at me.

  “Fwhaa!” I fell back as the claws grazed my left triceps. Ashton would have carved out a mini steak from my arm if I hadn’t moved. The muscle burned and quivered, but the wound was superficial. It’d heal.

  Most of the previous injuries from Anna had patched up just fine. The ones from Ashton would go the same way, provided I survived my encounter.

  I squeezed my injured arm to stem some of the blood loss. It wasn’t fatal, but I couldn’t afford even that small of drain to my body.

  Ashton snapped his jaws at the air like he was testing them out.

  “How were the sandwiches?” I flexed my fingers, holding up a fist for him to get the message.

  “Funny.” His eyes narrowed into slits.

  “I can be.”

  “Let’s see how funny you are when I’m tearing your entrails out through your stomach. It’ll be a real gut buster of a joke.”

  I blinked. That was decently clever and all kinds of hellishly disgusting on the visuals.

  I pressed a hand to my stomach. “No thanks, just hearing about that is giving me indigestion.”

  Ashton gnashed his teeth. “Shut up. Just shut up!”

  I brushed my thumb along my nose before extending an arm. I opened my palm and flexed my fingers, beckoning him to me. “Come make me.”

  Ashton inched towards me before turning around and running at full speed.

  “Wait, what?” I lunged after him.

  It was too late. He’d passed through another mirror.

  The back of my neck felt like someone had pressed an ice cube to it. I turned on instinct.

  Ashton hurtled through a mirror floating twenty feet above me and dove down towards me.

  Primal fear galvanized me into action. I bound away from the impact spot and kept sprinting, trying to put as much distance between us.

  Ashton hit the ground, landing on his haunches much like a cat.

  I didn’t think the Faust’s body would handle a landing like that. But then, what the hell did I know about paranormal physiology?

  Ashton sprung from the ground like his legs were coiled bands of steel. He tore into a sprint that shamed my own, gaining on me too fast for comfort.

  I changed my game plan and adjusted my path. I hurtled towards the nearest mirror and drew my fist back. My knuckles met glass, breaking the sheet without a shard slicing through my skin.

  Ashton stopped in his tracks. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ve seen this movie before. Break the mirror, no more dickery from you.” I raised a fist and let out a war cry that would have made Bruce Lee proud. Another mirror floated several feet from me, and I felt it could benefit from the same treatment. So I gave it to it.

  Ashton roared, breaking back into a sprint in the hopes of catching up to me before I wrecked another piece of his domain.

  I stepped to the side, bringing the back of my foot into the mirror. My heel struck and cracked the glass. It remained whole, refusing to give in. I screeched and slammed the back of my fist into it. Glass cried back, falling to the ground. “How many of these do I have to break before you’ve got no place to run?”

  Ashton leapt and slashed the air in front of me, hoping to take away a good portion of my face.

  I resented tha
t and sank to the ground. He followed me, clawing at my heels as I kicked against the ground to backpedal away. “How are you still keeping this up? Heck, why can’t you take a beating here, but you’re shrugging off bullets in the mortal world?”

  He didn’t relent, swiping at the ends of my feet. “This is where we feed. This is where we open ourselves up. And soon, I’m going to open you up as well.”

  Ah. Like what had happened with Anna when she’d ingested a soul. They could eat and likely exchange power here. That meant they were open to harm as well. Whatever magic held them together, protected them in the mortal world, didn’t do squat in the Neravene.

  Curiosity sated, I felt it was a good idea to put the kibosh on the bat. I rolled over and put the front of my feet against the ground. I pushed off like an Olympic sprinter, heading for something that had just come into view.

  A broken mirror about forty feet away. Something I hadn’t broken in my battle with Ashton.

  I wondered if the Faust was up for a little reunion.

  Steel wrapped around my arms in the form of Ashton’s hands. He had caught up fast and gripped me tight.

  My arms felt like they were going to burst from the pressure. I lowered my head before rocketing it back, striking what I believed was the front of his snout with the back of my skull. The blow rocked me, sending my vision into a flash of black that took its sweet time recovering.

  Ashton groaned, loosening his hold on me.

  I wriggled free and took a set of awkward and unbalanced steps. Nausea racked my gut. I’d rattled my noggin harder than I thought. Cold instinct pushed me to break into wobbly jog that steadied as I ran.

  I was too close to screw this up now.

  Bits of mirror lay scattered on the ground. Some pieces sat in front of another mirror.

  I doubled my pace, casting a wary look over my shoulder.

  The Faust had vanished.

  Great.

  I came to the closest piece, smiling when I noticed another of the same size nearby. “Hey, Anna, long time. Miss me?” I scooped up the piece nearest me and flashed a smile to the piece a foot away.

  The glass harboring Anna flashed like it contained a weak light. “I’m going to get out of here—”

  “Yeah, yeah, and when you do, I’m dead. Heard it before.” I touched a finger to my bleeding muscle and scrawled along the backside of the glass. The memory of the symbol eluded me, but I did my best. I’d find out soon if it was good enough.

  A bone-rattling scream came from my side.

  I gripped the glass in my palm like a makeshift dagger and turned.

  Ashton hurtled out of the intact mirror hanging beside me. His hands wrapped around my throat and he took me to the ground.

  Too soon. Too soon!

  I bucked, shifting my hips and sending a knee up. It struck him where one of his kidneys would be. I threw my arms around the back of his head, clinching him tight and close. The move kept the mirror shard to his back and away from any unnecessary risks. Breaking it wasn’t an option.

  Ashton’s hands scrabbled against my sides. Box cutters ran down my ribs as he raked his talons along them.

  I screamed and dug deep into my dirty fighting playbook. My arms squeezed tighter, pulling Ashton close. I leaned forwards, opening my mouth and sinking my teeth into his shoulder.

  He screamed so loud I thought it’d carry out of the Neravene and spook dogs. Ashton slammed his palms into the side of my ribs, heating up the already burning cuts.

  I gasped, letting go with my mouth and falling to my back.

  He broke contact and rushed past me.

  I had an idea where he was going.

  Anna still needed some time in solitary to think about what she had done.

  I rolled onto my stomach and reached out with a hand. My fingers closed around his ankle, and I pulled hard.

  He stumbled, falling to his knees and casting an angry look at me.

  I gave him a goofy smile and waved with the mirror piece.

  The Faust spat at me and turned towards Anna. He lunged, threatening to drag me with him. His claws tore into the ground, and he worked to rake his way forwards.

  I used him like an anchor, hauling on his leg to pull him back as I brought myself forwards.

  Ashton howled in defiance, rolling onto his back and kicking at me with his free leg.

  I moved to my feet, scrambling over him. I trod over one of his wings, making a point of stomping on the thin bone connecting the membrane to the limb. Something cracked underfoot.

  A pained wheeze left his lungs. Moisture lined the Faust’s eyes.

  There’s a level of pain so hard to process that you can’t make a noise when it happens. And I’d just introduced Ashton to it.

  Live and learn, pal.

  I moved over to Anna’s fallen and trapped form, scooping her up with my other hand. I spun on a heel, facing Ashton.

  He glared at me, tears matting the fur around his face. His chest expanded noticeably like he was seething. “Give her to me!”

  I waggled the piece of glass containing Anna. “Uh, gonna have to go with no on that one. You two can have your playdate after I’m done.”

  His lips peeled back, and surgically sharp teeth welcomed me.

  I licked my lips. I just had to get him a bit angrier so he’d be off his game enough to fall for it. My hand clenched the newly symbol-covered piece of glass. “Quick question.”

  Ashton glowered and snarled incoherently.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘Shoot’”

  His look intensified.

  “The Night Runners, what’d you offer them to come after me? What good’s a soul to them?”

  “Nothing,” said Anna. “But favors are. We have all sorts of credit built up among humans and other creatures. People desperate for an extension, willing to do anything to get it. Creatures that feed on souls gain power from them like old gods—those favors carry weight.”

  I bet they did.

  Anna went on. “And everyone that has half a brain is looking to curry favor with the Peddler and—”

  “Shut up!” Ashton’s bark drowned out whatever else Anna had to say. “You talk too much, you greedy pig. You’re the reason we’re in this mess.”

  The shard holding Anna quivered in my head like it was angry. Anna puffed up inside the glass. “What did you call me?”

  I buried their conversation. I so didn’t need to be playing paranormal couple’s counselor. “Both of you, shut the hell up, or I’ll break Anna into so many pieces that not even Humpty Dumpty will be able to put this bitch back together again.” I held up the backside of a mirror piece to Ashton, making sure he couldn’t see the side harboring his Faust friend.

  Ashton bristled. Anna did the same respectively, vibrating the mirror shard in my right hand.

  I walked over to Ashton, kicking up under his chin. The tip of my shoe connected, snapping his head back. It wouldn’t do much in the long run. I didn’t need it to. I just needed to keep him down and weak for as long as I could.

  Anna swore at me.

  I ignored her. “Next question. The Night Runners didn’t set Milo up to die, did they? That was you.” I stared at Ashton. “You two were each other’s proxies.”

  Ashton gave me a look that said it was obvious.

  That’s what I thought. The Night Runners were there to throw me off my game. Truth be told, the move had worked.

  Ashton shuddered, coughing up blood and bile.

  I had to say, with everything the Fausts had been responsible for, it felt damn good seeing him hack up his insides.

  It didn’t last as long as I would have liked.

  He clawed at the ground, getting to his feet with a running start.

  I backpedaled but wasn’t fast enough.

  His palm rocketed into my chest.

  I hit the ground like I’d been bowled over by a pro football player. The back of my right shoulder cried like it’d been wrenched from its socket. I rolled over and onto
my back, breathing hard.

  Ashton sauntered towards me, savoring my predicament. “Give me Anna.”

  “Sure.” I tossed him the mirror fragment from my left hand.

  He caught it mirror side up, not bothering to look at it.

  “One last question, Ashton.”

  The Faust cocked his head.

  “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the douchiest of them all?” I smiled, waving the mirror piece with Anna in my hand.

  Ashton looked down at the piece he held.

  Anna screamed a warning.

  Too late.

  Ashton’s fingers fixed to the broken mirror, refusing to let go. He outstretched his arms like he could push the glass away. It held firm, pulling his thumbs into the reflective lens. He screamed in protest. “I’m going to—”

  “Kill me, I know. Your girlfriend threatened me with the same.” I got up to a sitting position and leaned a forearm against one of my knees. “I’d tell the two of you to get a room, but I think I just gave you one for eternity. Sounds like you two have a lot to work out anyhow.” I tossed the mirror containing Anna at Ashton’s feet.

  He looked to her in panic, falling to the ground and trying to pick her up.

  It’s hard to do that when your hands are being sucked into a mirror.

  Take my word for it.

  Ashton’s arms sank into the glass up to the elbows. The process continued much like before but with an added twist. The smaller piece forced the Faust’s body to contort and press tight without regard for his mass and bone structure.

  Joints screamed and cracked as he was crushed by an invisible compactor and forced to fit into the confines of the small mirror.

  I winced and turned away.

  By the time I looked back, Ashton had gone the way of his friend. I breathed a sigh of relief and went over to them.

  Both of them unleashed a torrent of profanity that garbled into an unintelligible mess.

  I bent at the waist and retrieved both mirror pieces. Every inch of my body flared in heated agony and dull throbs. Now that the fighting was done, every bang and dent called out loud. I stood still, just breathing and trying to will away the pain.