With one hand on the brick wall and the other on the dusty ground, I was just hauling myself up when a weight smashed into me and pushed me back down as a sickening sound like a handful of sticks snapping simultaneously rang off the brick walls of the alleyway. I groaned at the further abuse, but that was drowned out by the keening of the thing that had struck me.
Tara must have barely clipped me on her way down. I’m not a physicist, but I understand that it’s not conducive to good health to get hit by a 130-pound bag of meat falling from a second-story window, and I was sure I’d have at least one new bruise to add to my collection. Looking at the lawyer, I could tell that she’d come off with a lot more than a bruise, but I didn’t think that she’d have to worry about it for very long. She’d landed face down with her arms sprawled out, and it was clear that most of her ribs were busted. It looked like her cheek and eye socket were smashed too, based on the jelly that ran freely from the orbit. I cringed at the ruin of what had been a vital, if vicious, young woman just a few moments ago, and the keening screech emanating from her smashed jaws reminded me of a dying raccoon that I’d run over as a teenager. I felt like crap, but there was nothing that I could do to help her, and I turned to limp away before whoever had pulled the trigger on the gun thought to take a look out the window and try to make it a blast-one-get-one-free sale.
Tara fell silent after just a couple of steps, and I thought that her suffering had been mercifully short. Until I felt a hand grab my foot and yank. My wrestling coach had mercilessly drilled us on balance, but that had been years ago; the best I managed now was to control my fall, shielding ribs and other battered body parts from the worst of the impact.
Reflexively, I mule-kicked backward, and my foot connected with something hard but with waaay too much give. When I looked back I saw, with a flinch of disgust, that I’d just ripped Tara’s jaw almost completely. That wasn’t the worst of it; no, that had to be the blackness filling her eyes and the fact that the woman holding on to my leg was absolutely and indisputably dead. Some part of my mind idly wondered whether turning into a possessed zombie would make the lawyer more or less vicious than she had been. The rest of me decided that if I wanted to live, I’d better pay some attention to fighting back with everything that I had.
I delivered another kick, but it had no effect, and she dragged me backward with fingers like steel vises. There was no doubt that she could use strength like that to rip me open bare-handed if she managed to reach anything vital. I was already dizzy from my gymnastics, and I was fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Fingers clamped down on my knee, and I decided to try for one further miracle; I reached down inside myself to find a memory that could help me…and came up empty. Seriously, who has a real memory on tap to deal with that kind of thing?
I could feel bruises forming at every spot that she had gripped me, and her hands were mere inches from…little Julian. I knew indisputably that what I wanted was to see this thing gone now, and as I felt that certainty, I recognized the same surge that I’d experienced so many times before in the Dreamscape. I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but the air began to ripple, and I focused intently on just how much I didn’t want my balls ripped off—which, as it turned out, was quite a lot. A green nimbus of energy, like my will to survive given form, appeared in the air in front of me and leapt forward with a flash.
Once again, I found myself temporarily unable to see, and my eyelids were suddenly far too heavy to lift. I felt myself falling into a dark, deep pit. The last thing I registered before consciousness fled was that the pressure on my legs was gone. Olivia might get a brother or sister yet…I do it all for the kids…
CHAPTER 41 1400–1600, Wednesday, August 5, 2015
***Julian***
“Daddy!” A shrill little girl’s voice cut the air as I felt her weight thump down on my chest. My abused ribs protested, but as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by my favorite sight: Olivia’s face pressed nose-to-nose against mine as she grinned like the Cheshire Cat.
“Why you not sleeping anymore, Daddy?” she asked with the impeccable illogic of a two-year-old as her mother came through the door to our bedroom, a slight frown creasing her forehead.
“Ollie—I told you to let your daddy sleep.”
“It’s all right,” I said before she could scoop the child off of me. I held Olivia tight and looked Dana in the eyes. “I wasn’t sleeping anyhow.” A puzzled look crossed her face, and I explained: “I’ve never slept without dreaming, so whatever I was doing just now was something else.”
Dana’s pert nose wrinkled in further confusion, so I elaborated, “Like the last few times that I was desperate; somehow I…made something happen…there was a flash of light, and then I passed out. Again. It was like when I’m in a dream, but different. I can’t really explain what happened, but it took a lot out of me,” I said. I realized how unclear that sounded and ended up just shrugging.
To her credit, Dana simply pushed her shoulders back, arched her eyebrows, and replied, “Be honest, Jules. Did you slip me the red pill?” We both laughed for a moment, though the various aches and pains it set off made me wince, and Olivia laughed with us on reflex.
“If I had any of those pills, I’d be eating the blue ones by the handful!” I said. She snorted and sat down on the edge of the bed. I was surprised to see a shadow cut across the doorway, but before I could even summon up any anxiety, I realized that it was Father O. I thought how typical it was that he’d be summoned by the sound of laughter.
“Julian, my son, it’s good to see you back with us. It took an old man and a couple of very helpful passersby quite a while to haul you to the end of the alley and into a cab,” he said. The old man’s blue eyes twinkled, and there was a smile on his face as he continued, “I know that I was supposed to head out as soon as you threw me the book and the chain, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave someone behind again, and a good thing for you that I couldn’t!”
Everything rushed back then, and I realized what everyone’s jovial mood meant.
“The book…the chain. You have them?” I asked.
“We have the chain here, and one of my colleagues is holding on to the book. We tried to see if there was anything in the book that would tell us what to do, but we couldn’t read it. Luckily, incredibly one of my contacts got in touch with me this morning and claimed he had a tome that implied if one of the casters can burn the book at sunrise, any bonds of spellcraft they’ve wrought should be broken! According to him, it has to do with some mumbo jumbo about the spiritual significance of a new day,” Father O. finished, his even, yellow teeth on display in a grin that wrinkled his face like a raisin.
It was a relief to know that someone else had actually taken charge while I was out, and the information instinctively made sense. To hurt a shadowy dream creature, what better time could there be than the bright start of a new day?
If what the priest told me was true, we were safe from OMG’s supernatural machinations because they no longer had the ability to call the creature forth, and with the dawn, Kelly would be able to destroy the chain and free everyone! I grinned broadly and felt the warmth of relief flooding me, but then a memory flashed across my mind’s eye.
“Father, what happened to Tara?” I trailed off, remembering the flickering green light that had responded to my desperate need.
“Ahh…yes. There were…remains near you. I couldn’t say what they were?” The priest shrugged and ran a hand through his white hair but didn’t press for more information after making the pronouncement. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the vague description, but I just rolled with it until something Father O. had said finally penetrated.
“Wait—if you spoke to your contact this morning, then what time is it, and where is Kelly?”
“Kelly took a taxi to meet Badger and sign her statement for Superintendent Singh. It’s nearly two in the afternoon, Jules. You were dead to the world, and we could take care of things. It’ll be over soon.
You should just rest,” Dana said. Her words were comforting but insistent. Although it was a bit shocking that I’d been unconscious for most of a day, it wasn’t particularly surprising after what I’d done in the alley. I got the feeling that reality didn’t like being slapped around quite that much. My stomach rumbled, and I was about to ask about some lunch, but my work phone rang and showed Nick’s number. I hit the “answer” button and put it to my ear.
“Good afternoon, Julian. I think you’ll want to get down to the office right away. I met up with your CEO last night, and it would seem that he has decided that we need to close off this deal today. He’s arranged for the bidders to make a final presentation, and then you’ll perform the selection immediately afterward,” Ena O’Brian purred icily.
“I don’t give two shits about that contract. Your days of playing the puppet master are over. We have the book and the chain, and we’re going to end this in the morning. Then you’re going to end up in jail,” I growled in reply, my head still fuzzy.
Ena’s response was breezy, and I could almost hear the shrugging of her shoulders as she said: “You may notice that I’m not calling from my own phone, dear Julian. Your friend Nick is…hanging out in Milton Keynes. With some of my friends. And I still have your colleagues under my power until morning. If you show up and bring back the book, then poor, sad Janice and bitter, honorable Richard will be at the meeting too, and you can make sure they arrive home safely. Otherwise…in their condition…well…I just don’t know where they might turn up…or if they ever will.”
“Bitch,” I ground out through gritted teeth, Dana and Father O. hovering over my shoulder. I should have known that she wouldn’t give up so easily; missing this contract would destroy her financially and without the book, she’d just be one more ambitious little fish in a city full of sharks. There was a long pause; I thought she wasn’t going to reply, and I was just about to reach for the button to end the call when her voice came from the speaker.
“Dear, sweet Julian, I wouldn’t dream”—I felt something pop and a lance of pain bored into my back—“of letting my opportunity to get the book back and rub this contract in your face go to waste. See you soon.” The call ended, and I sat up in bed, gasping and cradling a cuddly little girl to my chest as I turned to my wife and the priest.
“I don’t think it’s over,” I said. Dana’s eyes widened, and her brows furrowed in a familiar expression of obstinate dissatisfaction. I explained to the adults in the room what Ena had said on the call. Olivia just curled up closer and seemed to be ready to take a nap.
“That doesn’t sound very conclusive, Julian. All we know for sure is that she has Nick’s phone. I know how much you wanted to help people, and now you have, but it’s over, sweetheart. Just stay with us today, and we’ll take care of this in the morning once and for all. Once they have Kelly’s statement, we can let the police clean up any of the mundane details, and your issue with Phil will be cleared up,” she said, voice trembling, her dark eyes pleading as she wrapped her hands around my waist and pressed herself to me.
“Dana, I can’t. I have to go to the office. I need to help Richard at least; I’d have lost my job days ago without his help, and if I hadn’t stood in the way of this contract, he and Nick would be fine,” I said, trying to make her understand without delving into the all of the deaths I had to atone for or the vile infection I could feel squirming on my back.
“After Kelly is done testifying, Ena won’t be a problem for anyone. And screw your job.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry, Father.” The old man waved off the apology, and she continued. “After the way they treated you, who cares what that company does or what happens to any of the people in your office? Stay here with us and then go on vacation in a couple of days. You can deal with your job when you get back,” Dana finished, her lower jaw thrust out obstinately.
If I couldn’t convince her that I should go, I’d have to frighten her into seeing that I had to leave.
“Are you sure it’s safe for me to be around you?” I said, standing up and pulling up my shirt. Olivia let out a bit of a squall as I turned to show the ugly, pulsing wound on my back. Dana gasped and hurried to her nightstand, returning with a hand mirror. In the trembling reflection, I could see the three scratches on my back. The skin was still inflamed, but instead of being swollen to the point of bursting, something actually had erupted, and I felt sick because reaching out from each suppurating wound were tiny, fibrous growths of purple cable. “Is it safe for me to be around our daughter?” I passed my little girl to Dana, pulled on a suit, and left the house. No one said a word to stop me.
CHAPTER 42 1600–1700, Wednesday, August 5, 2015
***Julian***
I thought about swinging by the church on my way to the train station to load up on holy water. I knew I wasn’t fighting vampires, but I didn’t have any better idea. My body was still sore, but it seemed like a day of resting had restored me, at least to the state that I’d been in when I’d confronted OMG the day before, and my mind worked nimbly as I tried to arrange the facts into a coherent structure. I had the feeling that I got when I was making a deal and the numbers just weren’t adding up: all the facts were in front of me, but I had to put them together and spot the flaw. This time, however, I knew that failure wouldn’t mean that I’d miss out on a bonus. No, this time, failure might result in permanent termination, and not just of my job.
I decided to try listing out what I knew going into this meeting. First, it was almost certainly a trap. Second, if I got close to Janice or Richard, it seemed likely that the puca would be able to break through into our reality; I’d been relatively lucky to get away from it twice before, but I hadn’t managed to do any lasting damage. Third, it was possible that Ena had an ambush planned for me when I arrived at the office. It was evident that she and her detective were willing to employ direct action. Finally, I wondered what the full meaning of the growths on my back was. They sure as hell weren’t anything good, and I wondered if they’d turn me into some kind of zombie or trap me in the puca’s realm the next time I slept.
Lost in my thoughts, I watched Ealing Broadway, Acton Central, and Royal Oak rumble past as the train negotiated the veritable canyon cut into the heart of west London by Brunel and his descendants. I’d spent years wanting to have the courage and opportunity to make a difference in the real world, but now I just wished that I could get on one of the trains going west, collect my family, and not stop running until we hit Land’s End.
The crawling pain in my back reminded me that running wasn’t an option anymore, so what options did I have? I could try to find a weapon, but what good would that do? I couldn’t charge into an office building with a crowbar. I could try to conjure up the power I’d used to destroy the thing-that-had-been-Tara, but there was no guarantee that I could pull off the same lethal trick that I’d employed yesterday. Hell, if I even got in the same room with Richard and Janice, I was liable to have the puca to deal with directly, and there was no way that I was crazy enough to…
The last piece dropped into place, and I knew that I’d spotted the sting in the tail of this deal. If the puca did have a connection to me and to the memories of my colleagues, then there was no doubt that it knew on some level how seriously I took my job, how desperately I wanted to clear my name, and how passionate I was about defending people. This situation combined all three, so of course I’d come running. Leaving my family unprotected.
I ripped the mobile out of my pocket and dialed Dana’s number, cursing as the phone beeped. Looking down at the screen, I saw that there was no reception this deep into the railway cut, and there was unlikely to be any until we got into Paddington. I paced back and forth frantically, staring at my phone for the last several minutes of the trip to such an extent that most of the other passengers were eyeing me warily. I considered trying to call her from the station, but, having long ago memorized the timetable, I knew that I’d have to sprint for platform thirteen the second I ar
rived; otherwise, there would be a thirty-minute wait for the next Greenford service.
The train car had been pretty empty at two thirty on a Wednesday anyhow, but as I exited I had the door entirely to myself as it hissed open. Bruises, aches, pains, and contusions were all forgotten as I flew across the concourse. I could see a swarthy-looking man of indeterminate ancestry huddling with a couple of transport police and pointing in my direction. I ignored them as I jumped a barrier, slapping down my Oyster card in a single unbroken motion. The return train would leave from platform thirteen, and I dove through the closing doors just as shouts went up from the bobbies behind me.
I dug my phone out again and punched in Dana’s number.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
“Julian—there’s someone here…” Her voice whispered out from the handset, and my world shrank down to the sound coming from the tiny speaker on my handset.
“Get out!” My shout caused most of the people on the train to stare at me.
“But the chain is still in the living room.” Dana’s whisper was frantic, and I could hear Olivia starting to whine on the other end.
“I don’t care about the chain. Get out now! I’m calling the cops!”
My heart hammered as Dana’s voice came out of the speaker again. “I’m going—love you.” The call ended and I tried, with shaking fingers, to dial 999. I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder, and I whirled, dropping into a wrestler’s crouch.
“Desist, young man!” I froze in shock. Detective Inspector Badger stood in front of me. There had been young, fit bobbies chasing after me in the station, but somehow this portly, shortsighted, stubby-legged little man was here?
Dream Job (The Dreamwalker Chronicles Book 1) Page 26