by E. A. Copen
“Remy,” I said. “My daughter. Morningstar may try to get to her to hurt me.”
“Already taken care of.” Loki smiled. “I have five Valkyries watching that run-down hovel you call home and two working as her personal bodyguards. You needn’t fear for your child’s life. I have a vested interest in keeping her alive for a good, long while yet.”
I stared at the vial in my hand and closed my fingers around it. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because,” he said, standing, “helping you helps me. Any more questions?”
“Just one. Who are you planning to name as Famine?”
Loki grinned. “I’ll make you a deal, Horseman. Make it back alive, and I’ll introduce you. He tapped on the door. It swung open. “I’ve had my people preserve the body, in case you should succeed. I can’t repair it, but that’s no matter. I’m sure you know of a capable healer. You’re free to go.”
He turned as if to go out the door but stopped. “Oh, there’s just one more thing. Make sure your body is in a safe place where it’s unlikely to be disturbed when you drink that potion. You won’t need it where you’re going.”
***
It was raining in New Orleans. I limped along the sidewalk toward the coroner’s office, my fist closed around the little vial of hope Emma had left for me. It was dusk. I hoped Nate was in.
I reached the front door and pushed on it. Locked. Right, I was after hours. I’d need someone to let me in. Without a phone to make the call, I decided to just sit in front of the door until someone came by.
It didn’t take long, maybe forty minutes. By then, I was soaked the bone. My teeth chattered in the October cool. Behind the clouds, a full moon drifted, red and fat. I stared at it, wishing it was daytime, that it was warm, that I was home with Remy in my arms and Emma on the phone. I had to get that life back. It was worth dying to try.
“I warned you, didn’t I, boy?” Baron Samedi stood under a black umbrella just in front of me.
I hadn’t heard or seen him walk up, but that didn’t mean anything. Normal rules of physics didn’t always apply to the supernatural.
He stared down at me, his white eyes practically glowing against all the black. “I told you if you kept digging, you would not like what you found.”
If I had listened to Baron Samedi and walked away right then, Haru wouldn’t have punched me in the face. I would have been conscious and on time for my fight. Emma would be alive and I would be dead.
I shivered. “I have to go get her. Don’t try to talk me out of it.”
“Too late for that. I assume Loki gave you the sap?”
I lifted it so he could see.
The Baron sighed and tapped his cane on the ground. “That will only take you part of the way. There are seven doors to the After, Lazarus. You will have to open them all to find what you seek. It’s a task few undertake. Even fewer manage to complete it.” He tilted back his head to look up at the moon. “Seven nights, seven moons, seven doors, seven tombs. This is but the first of many. It is fortunate you should begin your quest on Halloween night. It will be much easier for your friend. Perhaps less so for you.”
“You going to help me?”
He shook his head. “It is forbidden. However, should you reach the seventh gate, I will be there to congratulate you.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
The Baron nodded once, turned, and walked off into the night, the telltale tapping of his cane echoing long after he was out of sight.
Nate came almost right after that. He got out of his car and stopped in front of the door. “Lazarus? Are you okay?” he asked, helping me to my feet.
“I’m about to be a lot less okay than this.”
Nate slid his ID through the lock and pulled open the door. “Come on. Let’s get you warmed up.”
Over coffee, I explained everything, including my need for a safe place to temporarily die.
Nate sighed and stared into his empty cup. “Just once I want someone to come to me when they need a cup of sugar. I’d much prefer that to ‘Hey, Nate. Keep an eye on my dead body while I go running through the underworld. I’ll be right back.’”
“You’d do it for Leah if you could, wouldn’t you?”
He thought about it. “If you have the power to help someone, you should. I can guarantee you a week in cold storage, but that’s it. Any longer and people will start asking questions. And it won’t be pleasant when you wake up.”
“Since when has it ever been fun coming back from the dead?” I handed him my empty cup when he offered to take it.
Ten minutes later, Nate opened an empty drawer in the morgue for me. I eased onto the cold metal shelf.
“Is there anything I should do?” Nate asked. “Someone I should notify?”
I popped the cork on the vial. It smelled like burnt honey. “Don’t tell Leah,” I said and upended the whole bottle into my mouth.
Nate helped me lie down and covered me with a sheet. We waited in silence for a minute for it to kick in. As I lie there on the slab in the morgue, I considered what Loki had said. In some way, what I was doing was helping him, and when I got back, I aimed to find out exactly how. Right after I kissed Emma and Remy both.
It happened slowly. Drowsiness settled in over me like a warm blanket, lulling me to sleep. All the pain of old injuries faded. I closed my eyes as if I were drifting off into the most well-deserved sleep ever. I’m coming for you, Emma. Hold on.
THE END
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Books by E.A. Copen
The Judah Black Novels
Fortunate Son
Guilty by Association
Perfect Storm
Blood Debt
Chasing Ghosts
Playing with Fire
Other stories in the Judah Black Universe:
Kiss of Vengeance
Cold Spell
Broken Empire:
Aftermath
The Lazarus Codex:
Death Rites
Organ Grind
Shallow Grave
Knight Shift
Death Match
Other Works:
Beasts of Babylon