by E. A. Copen
He was silent because he knew as well as I did there was nothing anyone could do.
Haru’s hand left my shoulder. “I understand. I’m sorry, Lazarus, but I have to go.”
My head bobbed up and down.
Even after he left, I just stood there, staring at her. She wasn’t there anymore, but just calling what was left a body still felt wrong. Human beings are not their bodies. Who we are is something more, a combination of physical and spiritual energies that work together to somehow create the magic of life. Without one, the other couldn’t exist. That was why something like an Archon was a disgusting abomination. It broke all the rules. But how people experience the world, that’s all filtered through the body. It was as much a part of Emma as the missing soul and she deserved to be taken care of, even in death.
I tried to pick her up. On a normal day, it wouldn’t have been that hard. She was smaller and lighter than me, and all the crap I’d been through the last few months had made me stronger. With the concussion and all the other, smaller injuries that were still healing, however, it was all but impossible. She started to slip after just a few steps. Rather than let her fall, I went down with her.
“What are you doing, you idiot?” said Khaleda from the doorway. Her tone was a gentle admonishment, a rare tone for her.
“I couldn’t leave her like this. She needs to be cleaned up.”
Without another word, Khaleda came over, lifted Emma from my arms and carried her into the meeting room. As I slowly wandered closer, she came back out of the room and went into the bathroom, returning with a small bowl full of soapy water and a washcloth. She said nothing as she began washing the blood from Emma’s skin, and nothing as I stood in the corner, not knowing what to do with myself.
She lifted Emma’s hand and started cleaning it. “I should have stopped him.”
“Could you have?”
“I don’t know.”
The only sound for a few minutes came from her wringing bloody water back into the bowl.
“I loved her,” I said quietly.
Khaleda stopped what she was doing to give me a sympathetic look. “I know.”
I felt like I was going to cry again but forced myself to suck in a shaky breath instead. “God. Oh, God. He has her soul. He got it anyway, didn’t he? Jesus, I’m such an idiot.”
She put the washrag down and came over to stand in front of me, eyes appraising. I thought she might try to slap some sense into me. Instead, she took my face in her hands and leaned in to kiss me. The ache in my chest stuttered and faded leaving behind the seeds of warmth and bliss.
“No!” I pushed her back and doubled over as all the pain came crashing back. “Don’t take it. I need it. That pain is part of her. It’s all I’ve got left.”
I raised my head to look at her and found her rubbing a new set of blisters on her lower lip. Blisters? The hell?
She lowered her fingers from her mouth. “I’m sorry. I needed to know if it was real. You said you loved her.”
I suddenly remembered something she’d said to me before, when we were hunting for Famine. “You said you can’t touch a person who loves and is loved in return. It burns you.”
Khaleda forced a smile. “Like a moth to the flame. What you have is real. I’m a little jealous.” She looked sadly at Emma’s body. “Help me kill him, and I’ll tell you how you can get her soul back.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I drew a deep breath and stared at Khaleda. Had I heard her right? Once a soul was in the After, there was no way to retrieve it. Everyone knew that. It was one of the first tenants of necromantic magic. Once a soul passed into the After, only the ghost could be summoned. The soul broke apart at death, separated into three parts: the ghost, the shade, and the catalyst. I could only interact with two out of the three. The catalyst was forever beyond my reach. Wasn’t it?
She must know a way. If anyone did, it was sure to be Lucifer Morningstar’s daughter. I wanted to ask her how. I needed to know what it would cost. Not that cost mattered. Whatever the price, I would pay it to have her back.
Instead, I croaked out another question. “Why help me?”
Khaleda shrugged like it was nothing. “I have something you want. You can help me with something I need. It’s a simple exchange. Now that she’s gone, you have no reason to walk into that match. If you bow out, we lose. I lose my chance. I can’t lose that chance, Lazarus.”
I looked past her to where Emma lay on the table. She’d given her soul for my life, and now her life for my stupidity. All I had to do to fix this was trust Khaleda to keep her word.
“How do I know you won’t sell me out again like last time?”
She sighed. “Last time was different. I needed that cash. It bought me information. Information I’ve since used to my advantage. It brought me here. I know how to destroy him. At the time, that information was more important to me than keeping my word to you. Besides, I came back for you.”
What’s the worst that could happen? I extended my hand. “Deal.”
Khaleda crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, right,” I said and pulled my hand back. “How do we seal the deal?”
“Guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
It won’t matter if I don’t find that bomb and shut it down. If a biological weapon was unleashed on the crowd, protected or not, I wouldn’t be able to go home to Remy. She’d only had a few vaccinations, and she wouldn’t be vaccinated against whatever Pestilence used. No way was I going to risk her life. Even if I didn’t go back, someone else might. I couldn’t let that happen.
I nodded to Emma’s still body. “Will you take care of her? Make sure no one touches her. There’s something I need to do.”
Khaleda nodded. “Until the match. You need to be in the arena for that. I’ll have to be in the stands, which means you’re going to take on Haru’s team on your own. You still have to fight and make it look good until I give the signal.”
Oh boy. Another opportunity to get the snot beat out of me. “Sure, I can do that. Mind if I...?”
She stepped aside.
I went to Emma’s side, took her cold fingers in mine, and brought them to my lips. “I’m going to fix this. Hold on.” I pushed some hair away from a cut that was still oozing. “I’m going to come for you after I make sure everyone else is safe.”
“I’ll get the Valkyries to watch over her during the match, Lazarus. She’ll be right here when you get back.”
I nodded and went back into the sitting room to collect my staff—mine, and the overpowered God stick Morningstar would have waiting for me. When I walked into the arena, I intended to do it with one in each hand. Not that I could use both at once, but I wanted it standing by just in case. Haru had his two swords, and I’d have my two staffs. Or was it staves? Now there was a joke Emma would appreciate enough to roll her eyes at it. I’d have to remember to—
Oh. Right.
Even if I brought her soul back, it couldn’t go into her body. She was too broken. Maybe there was a way to heal her body.
One thing at a time. I picked up the staff. The world stopped tilting and I suddenly felt better. Cool. Guess the dryad staff was useful after all.
I stopped and asked someone how long until the final round. There were just under three hours to find the bomb, diffuse it, and show up to kill the Devil. Not impossible. Just improbable.
It took forty minutes to walk the long hall that circled the arena. I had no idea what the bomb looked like, so I settled for looking for anything outside the ordinary and came up empty. Once I’d finished that sweep, I started searching the dozens of narrow rooms where the fighters waited. According to arena staff, there were fifty of them. Searching one top to bottom took twenty minutes. Even if Haru took half, it’d take eight hours just to search those rooms, let alone the apartments. We were never going to find it in time.
No, it wouldn’t be in the apartments. She’d have put it near the arena for maximum exposure
. That’s where everyone would be during the fight after all. It had to be in one of those little rooms. Question was, which one?
Haru must’ve had the same realization because I ran into him outside one of the rooms.
“How many have you checked?” he asked me.
“Five. You?”
“Eight maybe? Not enough.”
We looked at the room we stood in front of, the realization that we weren’t going to find it in time filling the space between us a moment before Haru pushed open the door. We started searching the room for any out of place wires, boxes, or otherwise suspicious items.
“We need a better way,” I said. “Got any ideas?”
“If I did, I’d be doing it. Lazarus, we’re screwed. I really don’t know how we’re going to beat this.”
I’d killed gods and monsters, destroyed ghouls and ghosts, and now I was not about to be done in by a virus. “What about Xipetotec? He’s a god of disease, right? And Pestilence’s Namer. He might know.”
Haru stood and quirked an eyebrow at me. “You want to go march into the Flayed God’s private torture chamber and tell him we put his pet in a coma? Yeah, no thanks. I’ve spent way too much time moisturizing my skin to give it to him.”
“Moisturizing?”
He shrugged. “Chicks dig it.”
I filed that away for later use and stood. There was nothing out of place in the room, just like all the others. “We’ve got less than half an hour until our fight, Haru. No time to go ask nicely.”
He smirked. “Then let’s go be the unfriendly sons of bitches we are.”
***
We kicked in the door to Xipetotec’s apartment and charged in, weapons at the ready. Xipetotec spun from the skin he’d been examining. As soon as he saw it was us, he clapped his hands and a black, miasmic fog flew through the air. Haru shouted something short and sweet before swiping his katana through the air. An invisible current slammed into the black spell. The cloud of disease lit up like fireworks, sparks exploding everywhere.
I pushed through it to get in the sucker punch. The god staggered, lost his balance and fell into his display of skin. Haru buried the blade of his katana in Xipetotec’s outstretched hand at the wrist.
I put my foot on his throat before he could move to try and free himself. “Where’s the bomb, asshole?”
He strained against my foot, clawing at it. I added a little more weight.
“I can take his dick,” Haru offered. “He doesn’t need it.”
“I know nothing!” Xipetotec managed when I let up on the weight slightly.
I put the weight back down. “Start with his toes. Work your way up.”
“Gladly.” Haru drew a knife.
Xipetotec growled out something in his native tongue before cringing as Haru worked the blade underneath a toenail.
I put a hand to my ear. “What’s that, Mr. Flayed One? Didn’t quite catch that.”
“Near the arena. All I know!”
I grabbed his free arm. “Sorry to break this to you, but your best just isn’t good enough today. Whole answers only. Where’s the bomb?”
When he didn’t answer, I grabbed a finger and bent it back until it snapped. He kicked like a mule at Haru and gasped before slamming his teeth together so hard I swore I heard one crack.
“It’s in the arena! Strapped to a podium near the center!”
Haru pulled his knife free, tossed it into the air and caught it by the grip. “There now. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I pulled my foot away. “Need to make sure he doesn’t follow us, Haru.” When he lifted the knife, I added, “No killing.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” Haru pulled his sword free, pushed me back a step and swung it hard. It bit through Xipetotec’s feet and the ankles.
The god screamed.
Haru kicked Xipetotec’s severed feet away. “If you crawl fast, you might find someone who can patch you up before we come back for you.” He flicked blood from the blade before sliding back into its sheath.
We rushed for the door and back toward the arena.
“We won’t have time to defuse it before the match,” I said, huffing.
Haru ran with his hand on his side. Fresh blood showed on the white shirt. “We’ll have to think on our feet. We can’t appear to be working together or we’ll tip off Morningstar. I’ll try not to kill you.”
“Likewise.”
I slid into the small room I’d been assigned to get ready for the fight while Haru kept going. His room would be on the other side. The box containing the Rod of Aaron waited on the stone seat. I verified it was inside the box before walking to the iron grate that would remain closed until the match started.
A wall of heat slammed into me, hot enough to make me flinch. Red glowed all around. Black stone stairs led down to a round platform no bigger than my cell in prison. Several smaller platforms dotted the space in front of it, each narrow enough that standing on them with both feet would be difficult. Far below, lava boiled in a deadly lake of fire. Another identical platform to the one closest to me waited on the other side. A glowing waterfall poured into the lava at the halfway point between the two. It spilled out of the sky without an apparent source. Steam hissed and spat where the two met, creating a pit of black glass that spilled into a field of razor-sharp crystals. Wind howled, pushing mist over the narrow platforms. They’d be slippery.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. The floor is literally lava! Come on! Can’t I get a break just once?”
Somewhere out there, strapped to one of those narrow, slippery platforms toward the middle, was a bomb capable of infecting everyone in the crowd with a deadly disease. Hold off War and his team of supernaturally strong killers long enough to defuse a disease bomb and kill Morningstar all in one go?
Some days, being a Horseman really sucks.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The horn blew announcing the beginning of the match and the metal gate rolled up. I passed through a shimmering curtain of heat, the Rod of Aaron in one hand, and my dryad staff in the other. Sweat beaded on the back of my neck and on my forehead. High above, the crowd screamed, clapped and jumped up and down like wild chimps being offered a single banana between the lot of them.
From where I entered, it was impossible to see the other side of the arena, let alone strike at them. Hitting anyone on the opposing team would be limited to two methods, neither of which sounded ideal to me. If I had a wider arsenal of spells, I could stand atop the platform and start hurling them at Haru, but what I knew was extremely limited. The earthquake spell wouldn’t carry over open air to do any damage, and hexing things wouldn’t help. I’d have to be right on top of someone to use my Horsemen powers, which I wanted to avoid. At that range, Haru would have the advantage. Even getting there would be a challenge if he brought Delun into the arena with him.
At least I didn’t have to worry about the Tengu. I scanned the crowd and spotted the two of them working opposite sides, carrying around wooden carts with a sign that read: FREE DRINKS. There was a long line of people waiting to get their sake, which was encouraging. At least if the bomb went off, we’d minimize the damage.
Wind bit at the side of my face and threatened to push me off as I climbed the stairs. The wind carried a light mist from the rainbow waterfall. It would’ve felt amazing if not for the way it made my feet slide. It took conscious effort to keep my feet grounded.
Vertigo struck as I reached the platform. Being in a pit with high walls closing in around me, deadly lava below, and all the screaming made my head pound. If I didn’t get a boost from somewhere soon, I’d save Haru the trouble of trying to make the fight look good and just slide off the edge to die in lava. But hey, at least I’d be warm for a change.
Haru stood on the opposite platform alone. Somehow, he’d found time to take off his white shirt and replace it with a long coat with a high collar. It left his chest bare. Red light reflected off of Masamune’s blade, casting a demonic light over
Haru’s features. At least, I think it was Masamune. Maybe he’d swapped it for the evil version. I hoped not. Either one would kill Morningstar, but only one would set off the crazy blood rage of the Red Horseman I’d seen earlier. I didn’t want to fight full power, but that didn’t mean he didn’t. Haru seemed like the kind of guy who’d go all in at every opportunity.
He waved to the crowd, smiled, and blew kisses. Every straight female in the crowd probably screamed his name. Pretty guys get all the fans. No one appreciates Death.
While he schmoozed with the audience, I found Morningstar in the arena. He’d just pushed past someone to claim two seats in the front row, Khaleda on one side, Nikki on the other. He didn’t look happy. Good. I didn’t want him to die with a smile on his face.
A ghost floated up, obscuring my view. Jane. “Looks like you’re about to get your skinny ass whooped.” She made an obscene gesture.
I sighed. “If you’re going to be all up in my face, could you at least stay quiet? I’m working here.”
She blinked and opened her mouth.
“Yes, I can see you. Comes with the whole necromancer gig. Now get.”
“Screw you. You’re on the same team as that bitch that killed me. Bite me.”
Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. Haru had brought me to the arena before with the intention of healing me using the souls housed there. I could get a serious power boost, gorging myself on them. All I had to do was set aside my moral objection to murdering something that was already dead.
Yeah, right. I’d have to eat the soul of an American legend. Calamity Jane was a piece of American history. I couldn’t just eat her ghost so I didn’t fall over.
I turned to face Haru and Jane floated in my way, exploding into a long string of insults.
Then again, who was going to miss a dead woman?
I turned on my Vision and grabbed the ghost by the throat. Jane’s spirit rolled into a bright silver ball, just large enough to fit into my hand. “Someone should’ve warned you. Never haunt a necromancer.” I crushed her into a denser, smaller ball and popped her into my mouth like a hard candy.