“I’m so sorry, Ryoko,” he whispered. “If I’d known… If I’d seen it…”
“There still wouldn’t have been anything you could have done,” she said. “But don’t worry. It’s different now.”
She kissed his forehead.
“How so?” asked Jack.
Ryoko licked her lips, hesitating for a moment. “Some changes happen slowly in people. Some changes happen all at once. And some changes… are like getting a second chance. Like being completely reborn.”
“I guess literally, in your case,” said Jack.
She smiled at him.
“Besides, if I tried to commit suicide again, I get the feeling that you’d just find another way to bring me back,” she said. “I might as well save you the trouble, right?”
Jack returned her smile, but he felt an odd flash of shame at her words. He’d sacrificed the life essence of the water nymph to save Ryoko. Granted, the creature had been too unstable and dangerous to live a normal existence amongst people, but he’d still taken its life for the sake of giving Ryoko hers back. It wasn’t something that he could take lightly.
“How are you feeling now?” asked Jack.
“How do you think?” Ryoko pressed a finger against his nose. “I feel like a woman in bed with someone she loves very much. I feel satisfied.”
She seemed satisfied and so confident that Jack almost felt like she was a different person. No, that wasn’t right. She was still Ryoko, just at her best. At her strongest.
“When you first came… back to us,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “You were a little out of control. If things had gone slightly differently, Lesser Town might have been wiped off the map.”
Ryoko frowned, and her cheeks flushed red.
“It was confusing,” she whispered. “And so hard for me to focus. I had all these feelings, I think, from the water nymph. She had so much anger in her for humans. They cause damage to the ocean and make loud noises with their boats. Protecting the ocean is one of her personal, deeply held responsibilities. I don’t know if you knew that or not.”
“I didn’t,” said Jack.
Ryoko nodded. “It’s part of the reason why… I can’t stay here, either. I have to return to the ocean. It’s calling to me, and I think it has something to do with how my new powers work.”
She looked down at her hands. Jack chewed his lower lip and nodded slowly.
“The mansion will be empty without us in it,” he said. “Well, unless Mira decides to stay.”
“I’m going to miss it,” said Ryoko. “Along with Lesser Town and everyone in it. This place was my home.”
“I’m going to miss you,” said Jack, feeling the emotion leak into his voice. “I’m really going to miss you, Ryoko.”
“I’ll still be around,” she said, smiling. “Any time you feel like you want to see me, just come to the ocean, and say my name.”
“That’s poetic,” he said.
“I’m being serious,” said Ryoko. “My powers let me travel great distances almost instantly through the water. I might just come strutting out of the shallows, if you say my name.”
“Will you be naked, like the water nymph was?” asked Jack.
Ryoko pinched his shoulder, and a slight blush came to her cheeks. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, and Jack knew that their time together was quickly coming to an end.
“We’ll see each other again,” she said. “I promise.”
She kissed him, and he kissed her back. Ryoko stood up from the bed and pulled her nightgown on. Jack was about to ask if she’d be alright leaving in just that, but she’d already started opening the window.
“Goodbye, Jack,” she said. “I love you.”
“Goodbye, Ryoko,” he said.
Her form wavered in between liquid and physical for a moment, and then she disappeared into the air in a stream of droplets, like rain blowing in the wind. Jack felt an odd, pulsing conflict in his heart. He was going to miss her so much, but she was still alive. They still loved each other. Those were both facts that could not be overstated.
CHAPTER 39
Ryoko’s departure left Jack’s bed empty, and it also left room for his anxiety to start creeping back in. It was late enough in the night to technically be early in the morning. Mezolak would be arriving soon, and he had no idea what that would mean for his future. He just knew it wouldn’t be good.
A soft knock came at his door, and it opened a moment later. Mira had changed out of her wet clothing and into an oversized t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. She’d pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail and played with the end of it with the fingers of one hand. She had a pensive expression on her face, and she sat down next to Jack on his bed.
“Ryoko’s gone, then?” she asked.
Jack shrugged. “She said she had to go out into the ocean. I’m not exactly sure on the particulars of why, but I know we’ll see each other again.”
Mira smiled and rubbed her hand on his knee.
“You should have enthralled her when you had the chance, dearest Jack,” she said, playfully.
Jack shot a mock scowl at her.
“I’ll enthrall you, if you’re not careful.” He batted a hand at her shoulder, and Mira’s smile lit up her eyes for a couple of seconds.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” she said. “This isn’t your fault. The choices you’ve made were forced by the tides of circumstance.”
Jack sighed. “You’re probably right. I’m just glad that she’s alive, and okay.”
“Judging from the noises you had her making, I’d think that she’s better than okay,” said Mira. Her smile took on a wicked quality, and Jack felt his cheeks heating up, slightly.
“Did Mezolak say anything else to you when he left?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Just that he’d be returning in the morning,” said Mira.
The silence following her statement gave Jack enough time to start feeling nervous again. He chewed his lip, trying not to imagine the worst-case scenario.
“He’s probably going to want me to do something for him,” said Jack. “I doubt that he’ll let me just stay here and go about my life.”
“You doubt that he’ll let us stay here, you mean,” said Mira. “I’ll be going with you, my sweet Jack.”
She stared into his eyes, and her expression was so resolved that Jack was momentarily at a loss for words.
“You don’t have to go with me,” said Jack. “In fact, it’s probably safer for you if you don’t. You’re just an ordinary human now, Mira. Speaking of which… I still remember our bargain.”
He’d agreed to give her the Embrace, and if his intuition was in line with reality, he might not get another chance to do it.
“I haven’t forgotten what I’m owed,” said Mira. “But Mezolak doesn’t seem like the type of creature who’d let me tag along with you at my full strength. He isn’t stupid. If I continued to play the role of your thrall, however…”
Jack took her hand into his. It felt so warm, so very different from the first time he’d felt it. He still remembered that moment: opening the mansion’s gate to let in a strange, beautiful blonde woman and shaking her hand in front of the cherry trees.
“You’d do this for me?” he asked. “We’d have to get more of the anti-enthrallment potion.”
“I have enough to last a while, and I think we could arrange to get more easily enough,” said Mira. “That’s not much of a concern.”
“It would still be putting you at risk,” said Jack.
“I’m not giving you a choice,” said Mira. “You’ll need my presence and my guidance now, more than ever. I can help you maneuver yourself into a position where, perhaps, you might have the opportunity to strike at the heart of the monster and free yourself.”
Jack nodded, though he wasn’t nearly as optimistic as she was. The monster she was talking about was technically his father. Unless he found a way to separate Mez
olak from the body he was inhabiting, striking at one would mean harming both.
“You have to promise me something,” said Jack. “If it gets dangerous, and I tell you to leave for your own safety, you’ll go. Promise me.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” said Mira. “You seem to be confused. I’m not actually your thrall. I can make decisions for myself, and I have decided not to leave your side.”
Jack sighed through his teeth, even though her words were a huge comfort to him. He was far luckier when it came to the women he had in his life than he had any right to be.
“Just be ready,” said Jack. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.”
Mira cupped his cheek in her hand and gave him a soft, gentle kiss.
“I’d do something to help take your mind off it, but it seems like the water woman did a good job of wearing you out,” she said, smiling.
“Ryoko,” said Jack. “Her name is Ryoko.”
“Really? I thought it was maid? I’ve been calling her the wrong thing all this time, how distressing!”
Jack grinned and pushed a pillow into her face. Mira laughed, and the two of them shared a quiet, companionable moment.
“You should get some sleep,” she finally said. “I’ll be ready to go with you, come morning.”
“Thank you,” said Jack.
She left the room, and Jack did his best to take her advice. He took deep breaths, counted backwards from a hundred, and all of the other little tricks he could think of. After what felt like hours, he finally accepted the fact that his anxiety was not going to allow him to get the rest he so dearly needed.
He got up and got dressed, opting for jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. He brought his grandfather’s leather duster and staff down to the workshop, where he put them away for safekeeping. He wasn’t interested in delivering either into Mezolak’s hands or even having them himself if it meant making him more useful in the demon’s eyes.
He briefly considered donning both and trying to make a stand against Mezolak, but it seemed too risky. Not only for himself, but for everyone involved. There was a chance that after killing him Mezolak would move on to Mira, and maybe Ryoko, too, if he could trace the remnants of the spell he’d used to revive her.
Jack waited in the foyer. One of the windows was smashed, but that, like the still somewhat flooded cellar, would have to wait to be addressed. He found a tarp that Ryoko had used for a similar purpose a while back and pinned it into place on the broken window’s frame.
There was a view out over the road leading down the slope, and it was because of that fact that Jack was able to see the car as it approached. It was a newish-looking black SUV, and somehow he knew without being told that it was Mezolak, coming to pick him up.
Mira’s soft footsteps came down the stairs behind him. She’d put her hair up and wore jeans along with a zip-up sweatshirt. She had a serious expression on her face, and she put her arms on his shoulders and gave each a reassuring squeeze.
“Your mansion might be empty for some time,” she said. “Is there anything else you need to do before leaving?”
Jack shrugged. “I’ll have to call someone to fix the window, unless I want a family of raccoons to take up residence.”
“Doesn’t Peter’s old apprentice still own half of the property?” asked Mira.
“She does,” he said with a shrug. “But I’m not really sure how the conversation would go, if I called her. ‘Hey Katie! Can you take care of the mansion for a while? I’ve decided to pledge my allegiance to an ancient, evil demon for the time being.’”
Mira let out a quiet chuckle. Jack watched through the window as the SUV parked and Mezolak stepped out from the driver’s seat.
He hadn’t let himself consider the possibility of potentially saving his father from the demon’s grasp all that much. But now, watching Mezolak as he made his way toward the front door, it was all but impossible not to. The idea of somehow managing to force the demon out and having a loving reunion with the man who’d raised him, felt strange to him.
He didn’t let himself harbor the thought for very long. It was a sharp kind of hope, like trying to squeeze shards of glass in his hand. He couldn’t hold onto them with any real strength, for the valid fear of getting hurt.
Jack opened the door before Mezolak could knock. The demon wore all black, and he was grinning openly.
“How kind of you, mortal,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Ready… for what?” asked Jack.
Mezolak stepped past him, into the foyer.
“A fair question,” said the demon. “Ready to serve. Ready to follow orders.”
Mezolak’s gaze shifted past Jack, and he eyed Mira up and down.
“She’s my thrall,” said Jack. “I’ll need her with me to stay at full strength.”
“Unnecessary,” said Mezolak. “I will provide you with everything you need, including loyal servants.”
“I serve my master well,” said Mira. “My loyalty is not up for question.”
She seemed confident, and Mezolak noticed.
“You…” he said, speaking to Mira. “I do not trust you.”
“I trust her,” said Jack. “That’s all that should matter.”
Mezolak turned away from Jack and Mira. He lifted his arms up into an exaggerated shrug.
“Well then,” he said. “I do believe this can be a teaching moment.”
He turned back around, looking at Jack directly.
“I order you to kill her,” said Mezolak.
The psychic pressure hit Jack instantly. It was part compulsion, part emotion, and part hallucination. He could see himself attacking Mira and killing her in his mind’s eye. He could feel his hands closing around her soft, pale neck.
Jack winced and laced his fingers together in an attempt to reassure himself that he would not let himself do what Mezolak had just asked. The sensation shifted, turning into a creeping, nauseating inevitability. He would have to kill Mira, sooner or later. He should just do it now, to get it over with.
“Jack?” said Mira.
“No,” he gasped. “No!”
Jack hurled himself forward, not at Mira, but at Mezolak. The demon was grinning and sidestepped Jack’s attack as though he’d been waiting for it. Jack threw his hand to one side, hesitating instead of immediately summoning his Spectral Sword. It seemed like a bad idea to give himself that kind of killing power with the compulsion still throbbing in his mind.
“Yes,” said Mezolak. “This will be a good lesson for you.”
Jack cast Spectral Hand, extending four tendrils out from his shoulders. He lashed out at Mezolak with them, trying to seize the demon by the wrists and ankles. Mezolak retaliated with a blast of red lightning, which stunned Jack and brought him to his knees.
Mira threw herself into the mix, leaping onto Mezolak’s back and getting him into a headlock. Mezolak twisted, pulling himself free and tossing her across the foyer and into the wall. She let out a gasp of pain as she hit and fell prone.
Jack charged forward again and met with similar results. Mezolak’s red lightning was an attack that he had no counter for, and on top of that, it was early morning. The illumination in the foyer was becoming less favorable for his blood magic by the second.
He resorted to attacking Mezolak with physical blows. He threw a punch that the demon dodged and tried to slam his knee into Mezolak’s stomach. The attack landed, but Mezolak’s gasp of pain was immediately followed by booming laughter.
“Enough,” said Mezolak. “Let me show you what happens next, mortal. Again, I order you to kill the woman.”
The sensation was different this time. It sent more pain surging through Jack’s body than he’d ever experienced before. More pain than what should have been possible. He felt his bones grinding. He felt hot needles stabbing underneath his skin, and razor claws ripping through his muscles. His eyes felt like they were being boiled within their sockets.
> He couldn’t see, couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything but know, without a doubt, that the only way to make it stop would be to kill Mira.
“No!” he screamed. “I… I won’t!”
“You are strong-willed, mortal,” said Mezolak. “I will give you that much. See, the way the oath you swore works is that it grows more intense with each of my successive requests.”
Jack was thrashing on the stone floor, throwing himself around in wild, desperate movements. It didn’t help him deal with the pain. If anything, it only made it worse.
“The first time I give an order to you, it’s gentle,” said Mezolak. “A simple compulsion. Under most circumstances, that’s all it takes.”
The demon walked until he was standing over Jack and set his foot on his chest, holding him where he was.
“The second time is when it gets interesting,” said Mezolak. “Pain is what happens when I’m forced to ask twice. The pain you’re feeling now. An unbelievable amount of pain that shifts and ebbs to keep you from getting used to it.”
“You—bastard!” shouted Jack.
“I don’t like to have to bring it to this level,” said Mezolak. “It’s like abusing a faulty tool. The pain can leave lasting psychological damage. But not nearly so much as what happens if I have to ask three times.”
Mezolak crouched down next to Jack, and spoke directly into his face.
“Fear comes after pain,” said Mezolak. “I speak of the kind of fear that will keep me from ever having to ask for something three times again. Now, I don’t like having to do that. I won’t do it now. Not over this. It would… change you. I’d rather see you fall into line on your own, mortal.”
Jack was still writhing on the ground, but he saw what happened next in what felt like slow motion. Mezolak walked over to Mira and seized her by her hair. She let out a cry of pain as he yanked her partially upright.
Mezolak pulled a gun out from a holster under his shirt and fired a single bullet into her chest.
CHAPTER 40
The gunshot was loud enough to momentarily deafen Jack, but he didn’t need to be able to hear to know that he was screaming.
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