by Jill Cooper
Bit by bit … how long could she hold on?
Lourdes stepped up and stroked her hair back. “You will answer my call. You will fetch your sister. You cannot deny me this, Jessica Blood.”
Dying. It felt like being carved out from the outside in. Jessica’s body convulsed and vomit rose into her mouth. It tasted unnatural, Thick and pasty, Jessica gagged as if it would kill her. Her arms cradled her stomach as she retched, the vomit leaving her mouth like one giant worm.
Jessica slithered away from it and lay flat. She heaved for air and thought of the only one who could fix this. There was only one Blood sister who healed, but to get that close to her?
What if Jessica couldn’t resist Lourdes’s orders?
Lourdes placed the tip of her boot on Jessica’s fallen chest and slipped a needle beneath her skin.
It pinched and Jessica gasped, feeling the serum raced through her body. Her tattoos lit up with a shimmer. Glowing back and forth like a race track until the colored ink settled back to its normal hue. Something about her tattoos was different, they made her body itch.
Lourdes smugly smiled. “You will fetch me your sister, won’t you?”
Jessica shook her head, then her expression turned to a grimace. The tattoos on her body lit up, burning her flesh. She wouldn’t answer yes; it didn’t matter what Lourdes did to her. It didn’t matter…it didn’t…
Rolling over, she scrunched her hands into fists. Her tattoos felt like they had transformed into flames, burning into her skin, complete with a hissing sound, smoke. Jessica’s mouth came unhinged and a sob lodged in her throat.
“Get her gun and jacket,” Lourdes said with a flick of her wrist. “She has work to do, and I think she’s beginning to understand.”
They left her and Jessica’s body continued to disintegrate. Every moment they were gone, Jessica felt the decay growing, shifting, and spreading like a plague within her. She was done, worse than dead.
Jessica feared she might take Amanda with her, right over the edge.
26: Amanda
Stars twinkling, body breaking, spirit moaning.
Coaxing, vexing. Aching?
Amanda didn’t know which end was up, couldn’t form a complex thought, and for all she knew, a straight line might have been a curly cue., Everything blurred together like smudged ink across a page. Good and evil, night versus day, did any of it really matter? Had anything ever really mattered?
Her power, once a strong glowing orb of energy was now a mute pinprick in the distance. The demon drugs were strong.
“Bring me another dose!” Vaughn seemed to scream his demand over and over, just minutes apart. “Full concentration. She’s close to breaking.”
Her skin trembled, her bones burned. Amanda’s body slumped in that chair and her chin rested against her chest. There was no future or past. All that mattered was the present and the present was blurry. Her vision darkened and the sight faded from her mind.
Inside of her was a hunger that food couldn’t satisfy. There was only one thing that Amanda wanted. Only one thing…
“More,” Amanda’s throat cracked like glass shattered along the sidewalk. Lips dry and parched so badly they were cracked; it wasn’t water that her soul ached for. Drugs. It was drugs.
She fought against it, but it was too strong. Too much. Amanda wasn’t tough like Jessica.
Oh, Jessica. How her soul ached to see her sister. Would she come? Would her sister finally come?
Someone gripped her hair and forced her head back. Amanda groaned with pain although it felt as if she was removed from it, like she and it were on opposite sides of a pane of glass. The pain, the fear, all of it was so far away. Drifting, flying. Yes, to fly and spread her arms like an eagle.
Vaughn sneered and jammed a needle against her neck. “It’s working, darling Amanda. Your eyes are foggy with a green smoke. How does it feel to have your soul slowly destroyed by me? Half of your soul is probably already trapped in the underworld. Soon, there will be nothing pure left in you.”
It hurt, oh God how it hurt. Like a twisting, clawing gnat gnawing on her from the inside out. The demons were everywhere in in Vaughn’s club. They made her soul shriek, but the drugs dulled the screams, dulled every sensation, except one.
Amanda was floating away. She was losing the quite whisper inside herself, her power, her ability to heal. Faded and muted like a smoldering flame beneath a pile of cold ash. Once, it had refused to go out, it was a fire in the darkness, no longer, it was at rest. Not put out by magic, but by the glimmer of hate now growing in its place.
Vaughn ran his hand down her face like a master petted his dog. “Your will to speak is leaving you, Amanda. Soon, you’ll crave something other than drugs. Soon you’ll be begging for me to take you to my bed.”
Never, the refrain rang through her head like a show tune. No, Amanda would rather be dead than bed this monster. Off in the distance, lights sparkled. The room swirled like a whirlwind and Amanda lips fell open into a slack smile.
Death, yes, maybe it was coming for her. She would welcome its dark, warm embrace.
27: Jessica
How had this happened? How—
Taken to a cavern, Jessica moved even though she didn’t want to. Lourdes smiled; her lips turning up in a way that made her look even more dangerous. Her clawed finger pointed upwards and Jessica’s eyes followed.
The rock walls spiraled upward and at the top, was a beacon of light. There? She had to crawl all the way up there? Jessica wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t return to the earth just to destroy. Just to fetch her sister?
No.
But just thinking the word no lit up the tattoos on her back like city street lights. To keep the pain at bay, Jessica had no choice but to race up the cavern walls.
“Go now.” Lourdes’s voice was and at that simple order, Jessica braced the wall with her fingertips. “Bring me my prize, Jessica Blood, and you will be rewarded, but if you cross me… Hell will be waiting.”
Jessica’s boots pushed up on the rock and up her body went, but she didn’t want them. There was nothing more Jessica wanted than to protect her sister, but still her body moved. The rocks sliced her hands open, but she ignored the gashes and the rush of pain. Keep pushing, keep going, that’s all her body wanted to do.
And Jessica was helpless against Lourdes’s command.
Tears marred her vision, it had been a long time since she felt the hot streak of them flowing down her face. It helped nothing to cry. It didn’t help her find a way out and didn’t help Amanda.
When she found Amanda, when she stared into her sister’s face… There had to be a way out. There had to be. She was a Blood. Bloods were stronger than this.
Jessica’s boots were muddy, her legs in her leather pants were bathed in sweat, and her arms shook with fatigue, but the exhaustion with herself, with the gnawing in her gut, was worse. Jessica Blood fought demons and evil, she didn’t become them.
But that’s what she had become. A minion, being forced to do Lourdes’s bidding, but Jessica wouldn’t. Please. No. Jessica wouldn’t be made to hurt Amanda—she wouldn’t.
Still her legs marched under orders, not her own will. Still, she headed straight through the cavern, as if she had a purpose. The pain running up her legs didn’t matter, nor did her ankle throbbing intensely. She just kept going.
Keep climbing. You’re almost there.
Near the top, the pinprick of light opened further. Reaching for it, with her fingers the light expanded, until it was big enough for her body to fit through the space.
Jessica swallowed as she stepped through, and her boot crashed onto the vastness of the desert. Off in the distance a giant wall protecting what must have been Vaughn’s club and stronghold. It was square in diameter with a guarded entrance and back exit.
Her neck cracked as she rolled her head to the side. Her legs wobbled with distress, but Jessica continued on with a single purpose.
Find her sister. Destroy Vaug
hn.
Bring Amanda to me. Lourdes’s voice in her mind was loud, her will strong throughout Jessica’s body. But, she couldn’t hurt her sister. Wouldn’t. Couldn’t.
There was no hell worse than the knowledge that she would betray Amanda. Lourdes couldn’t inflict any pain that would be greater than that.
Then you will be destroyed. You will be locked away for an eternity of suffering. Torment. Do you wish to join your parents so soon, Jessica Blood?
Tears filled Jessica’s eyes and she crashed down, onto the desert floor, she could no longer ignore the burning pain in her back and arms from her tattoos. She wanted nothing more than to die right here and be swallowed whole. Without Amanda, she was nothing and to think that she’d be responsible for…
She’d be tormented one way or the other, and it would better to be Lourdes’s pet than to harm Amanda. Laying in the sand, Jessica thought to lie down and sleep, let all of this be a bad dream, but the doors to Vaughn’s stronghold opened and demons with guns, many guns, stepped out of the compound.
Snipers on the roof would soon have her in their sights. Jessica heard them scrambling into position.
Her body responded, an impulse she couldn’t stop. Putting her weight on one foot, she grabbed the shotgun over her shoulder and swung it into her free hand. “I’m here to take back what Vaughn stole. I’m here for Amanda Blood.”
Gooood. Lourdes’s voice drowned on, happy and singsong, but with such malice and ill intent, Jessica’s blood ran frigid.
“You think we’re just going to let you walk right in and take her?”
“No,” Jessica fired into one demon and quickly shifted to the next.
The demon bodies fell, piling up by the door. Jessica advanced with a hobble on her broken ankle, when a sniper on the wall fired a shot. It clipped her shoulder and pushed her backward.
Squatting behind the door, Jessica gasped and grabbed her arm. The wound in her shoulder was bleeding, but despite the waves of pain, it wasn’t bad. She cringed as she felt the bullet rooting around inside her, but instead of going further in, it was coming out.
Surprise, my dear Jess. I was keeping this a secret, just in case you decided to turn your gun on yourself. Wouldn’t that have been fun to watch? The agony, and suffering?
Jessica squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her head against the wall, the bullet spun and churned inside her shoulder, on its way out. When it was finally over, she glanced up too many guns drawn on her. The demons wielding them, all had sneering faces.
“Radio Vaughn. Tell him now we have two Bloods.”
A demon laughed. “Right, boss. Two Bloods have to be better than one.”
“You should just chop off my head and burn my body,” Jessica said with disdain for herself as the demon wrenched the shotgun from her hand. “Bury my head in the sand. Keep it for a trophy, I don’t care.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
She would. She really would.
28: Amanda
The dark angel of death had come.
Amanda felt a jostling at her feet. Her eyes struggled to remain closed, but after a few blinks, she peeled them open and gazed at the saddest creature she had ever seen. Shattered wings, like a broken butterfly that had been ripped apart by a predator. What may have once been a beautiful face was now striped with lines and wrinkles like a sagging potato sack. A few wisps of hair ringed her bald head.
But something about this dark angel stilled Amanda’s breath. The creature wore a chain around her neck, barely hidden beneath the tattered white dress she wore. It was darkened with soil like it had spent an eternity in that same dress.
Amanda’s head rolled to the side and she thought maybe this creature was taking her soul. Maybe…
It is not me, you stupid human girl. It is him.
Amanda struggled to lift her head and gazed down at the dark angel, but they weren’t alone. Vaughn was there and he held the creature’s chain tight. “The exchange will be happening soon. Prepare her. I’m not giving her up to Duncan Jasper without a fight.”
Duncan? Jessica, Jessica would be with him. They had come, finally, they had come. Her spirits lifted, Amanda pulled on her arms. The restraints behind her back only tightened, pinching her skin. She winced and suddenly smelled…nutmeg? Oh pie, what she wouldn’t give for some pie…
Vaughn gripped her shoulder and breathed against her skin. “Our party is over, Amanda, for now. An opportunity has presented itself, a chance to rid the world of Duncan Jasper and I have to take it.” Vaughn’s teeth gritted together as he made a mighty fist. “Revenge is a dish not easily ignored.”
Duncan? Was he here? Amanda’s heart raced with excitement. Did that mean Jessica was here too? She had come. Amanda knew it would happen, that Jessica would come. Knew it!
“He wants you, but who can blame him? I’m sure he’s planning a double cross, but only if I don’t double cross him first.” Vaughn laughed. “Get her ready to travel, but keep her cut off from her power, Seer. Or it will be the last thing you ever do.” He ripped through the room and slammed the door.
The walls shook and dust seemed to waft up in the light, twirling like little dancers. It was almost beautiful now that Amanda could see the pattern. How they whirled and seemed to move in time, straight toward the seer, but Amanda was sure… She opened her mouth to speak.
The seer shook her head and gazed up. Meanwhile, her finger stirred a small caldron of orange liquid. I would not speak yet. He can hear us. He can listen at all times.
Amanda didn’t know how to communicate, so she tried thinking her words, but it hurt. Her stomach tumbled like she was going to be sick. Something in her was stretching to the point of snapping…
The seer gripped her knee with deformed, disjointed fingers. You must learn to control the pain. Demons are everywhere, child. If you’re to fight, if you’re to survive what Vaughn has planned for you, you must block out the pain.
But how? Amanda didn’t know. She never mastered it, even though plenty had tried to help. Jessica and Aunt Gwen. Oh, how desperately she longed to see them. Tears rose in Amanda’s eyes as she thought maybe rescue was near. If Duncan was coming for her, there was hope.
She couldn’t give up. Just couldn’t.
So Amanda took a deep breath. She pushed the pain away, but like trying to push away an ocean wave, it just came back and crashed into her. Her brow furrowed as the scent of nutmeg became stronger. What was it and where was it coming from?
From me. It’s me. I am a fallen servant of God. I am repent my crimes, child. If I free you from your restraints, are you able to heal me? Can you return me to my splendid form so, in turn, I can help you?
Amanda didn’t know if she could trust the wretched creature in front of her. Pointed fangs dripped saliva, it leaked from the corners of her mouth and her eyes were indiscernible. She had to trust; Amanda had to have faith.
Behind her back, Amanda cupped her hand. She concentrated long and hard. Sweat dripped from her nose, but a smile formed as the palm of her hand burned with heat. A small crackle of power traveled from one finger to another, but it was so small, so slight, that it burned out almost immediately.
Defeated, Amanda slumped in her chair and felt the swirl of despair. All the drugs, they were messing with her power and her mind. Amanda didn’t know if she’d ever regain herself. Already there was an itching in her soul that she couldn’t scratch.
A desire for more drugs, a desire to feel less.
Try again child, don’t give up. You have the spark. Harness it.
Amanda nodded and took a deep breath to give herself power. She cupped her hand, and this time, her fingers strung out tense and rigid. They shook as she tensed them and the build of power grew. It hadn’t happened like that before. Brow creased, Amanda concentrated and her vision was swept away with a vision of heaven.
The area was surrounded by clouds, and in their midst, was true happiness. A contentment Amanda hadn’t known in so long. Some of t
he angels wept in their long flowing white robes, but they weren’t weeping for her.
They cried for the one in front of her. The seer.
With that realization, Amanda gasped as the electrical ball formed in her hand. Side to side, it grew, glowing with heat. So much power, Amanda’s fingers forgot themselves and went slack.
The energy was gone, but Amanda could get it back. She could.
Yes, Amanda whispered in excitement. Yes, I can heal you.
The Seer rose to her feet and like a hunchback, she shuffled to the rear of Amanda’s chair. She loosened the restraints far enough so that Amanda could pull free. Her skin screamed with relief and at once, an itch traveled up her forearm.
She stood in front of Amanda with her feet together, her head bowed. Amanda rubbed the sore skin on her wrists. “The drugs have hacked at my soul. Bit by bit, like a pick- ax chipping at a stone. I don’t know how it will affect my gift.”
“Hurry. You must try.” Seer licked her lips. “I can buy you time with Vaughn. I have foreseen the future and in that future you—” The seer took a gasping breath. “Hurry, she’s coming and if I’m not healed by the time she arrives, all will be lost.”
“Who is here?” Amanda stood from the chair and hurried to her, but the pain surging in her chest was too great. She clutched her stomach as pain swelled in her belly, and fell to the floor. Her palm braced against the ground was the only thing keeping her steady.
She grunted and clawed at the ground. Something surrounded them. There was a new evil in the compound that made Amanda gasp. Her eyes flew open and her back arched.
The evil was swirling into the form of a woman. It had a mission, a single mission, and Amanda was the target. But she wouldn’t go, without a fight.
In the darkness of her mind, the smoke cleared and a face became into focus. No…no. It couldn’t be! Pain clutched her soul at the look on that face. Always determined, but kind to Amanda but now…now Amanda barely recognized that face which she loved more than her own.