Anna sat back in her chair with a look of shock on her face. “What do you mean, ‘you can’t’?”
Tom turned away, pretending to study the newspaper clippings she had pinned to the wall.
“You need to talk to me. As my partner, we need to have a good level of trust and I’ve gotta tell you, you are seriously putting that trust in jeopardy.”
“I can’t tell you, because it will make me sound crazy,” he admitted softly.
“Tom, no matter how bad it is, I will try to keep an open mind. I swear,” she said, tracing a cross on her chest. “If anything, your silence is making it worse. Do you really want my imagination to fill in the blanks? Surely, the truth would be better than anything I can think up.”
He studied her for a long moment, weighing his options. I guess there is no getting around it at this point. I have to tell her about the car ride. He pushed the door shut. But, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her about the see-through girl.
“Okay, I already warned you, but just to emphasize it again, I’m not crazy.” He paused to wait for a snide remark that never came.
She just motioned for him to continue, keeping her comments to herself.
“I was drawn there. No, that doesn’t really describe the feeling. It was more like I was pushed.” He struggled to describe the sensation.
“Like you were guided?” she offered tentatively.
“Yeah, like that. I know how it sounds, but I swear to God, I drove straight to that house. I didn’t know what I would find there, but I knew it was where I need to be. Does that sound as crazy to you as it does to me?”
“Well,” she began. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say you were bat shit crazy, but it does sound a little off.”
They shared an uncomfortable laugh.
“Thanks.” Tom shook his head. At least she’s comfortable enough to joke about it.
“Hey, I believe you. There are literally thousands of cases where people—”
“Are bat shit crazy?”
“No, not all of them.” She laughed again. “There’s intuition, pure luck and then there’s the unexplainable. Hell, you might even call it divine intervention. I am sure The Big Guy wants to have this freak-show off the streets as much as we do. Whatever camp you come from, the result’s the same.”
“What result? That I nearly got myself iced by a madman and let him get away with his victims?”
“No, while out on a casual drive, you managed to turn up more information than we have found in months of exhaustive investigations.”
“I just wished I’d had some idea of what I was getting myself into. I could have had patrol cars arrive on site with me.”
“And how would you have done that?” She cleared her throat before mimicking his voice, “Hey Captain, I have this hunch that I am going to run into The Puppeteer today. Could you send all available units to follow me through a neighborhood I’ve never been to before?”
“Wow, the likeness was almost uncanny.”
“Thanks, I’ve been practicing for weeks. I wasn’t sure when I would get a chance to use it, but I had faith that it was only a matter of time before an opportunity would present itself.”
“So, you think about me when you’re by yourself, do you?” Tom gave her a wink.
Anna’s face dissolved into a look of mock disgust. “You can nip that shit in the bud right now.”
“I’m just messing with you.” He held his hands up in a show of surrender. He thought it was funny how the same words would have bothered him when he’d first met Anna.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she added, with a show of false bravado.
“Anna, I would really appreciate it if this conversation stayed between us. I’ve tarnished my image enough over the last couple of years. I don’t need the other officers adding whacko to my list of offenses.”
“Don’t worry, Tom. The report stands,” she assured him. “And just for the record, you are one of the most respected detectives in this entire precinct. Drunk or no, you still managed to solve more cases than half the other people on the force combined. You’re practically a legend here.”
“Who told you that?”
Tom wondered if she was the victim of a practical joke. His memories were a little hazy during his drinking years, but he didn’t think he really pulled any more of the load than anyone else in his department.
“Captain Duke told me that when he interviewed me. He used you as an example of the kind of detective work he expects from his team.”
“Then why are you always busting my chops?”
“I can’t help it. You just make it too easy.”
The phone rang, giving them both a start. Anna grabbed it before it could ring again.
“Okay, we’ll be right there,” she said before hanging up.
“Who was that?”
“The lab has the results from the blood samples ready.”
“Did they get an ID?”
“She didn’t say. She just told me we could pick them up.”
“I guess we’re back on the clock,” Tom said, reaching for the door.
“Hey, before we go, I need you to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“Next time you feel driven, give me a call, okay? I want to be there the next time you go toe to toe with this asshole.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Where the hell am I?
Kyle felt cold stone beneath his bare feet. The smell of charred remains overwhelmed his senses. The stench was an awful combination of burnt plastic, wood, and something he struggled to put a name to.
“Hair,” he said, as he covered his nose.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness. He could make out shapes strewn across the floor. The blackened boards looked like skeletal fingers reaching up from the ground.
He walked amid the rubble, looking for clues as to why he was there. A tendril of gray smoke snaked through the air. It slithered by his head like an airborne serpent.
Smoke doesn’t glow in the dark. What is that?
He noticed that it was filled with a dull light. The airy finger circled back around his face, inching its way back from whence it came. Kyle followed it through the ruins until he found himself staring at a brick wall. The smoke spread and attached to the rough surface, seeping into its tiny cracks. Blue light shot forth in an arc, outlining a door with its brilliance.
“What is this place?” Kyle wondered aloud.
“This is where you meet your end,” a gravely voice whispered in his ear.
“Eramael!” Kyle shouted. “Why did you bring me here?”
He spun in circles, hoping to catch a glimpse of his tormentor.
“To show you your future, changeling.”
“You mean to spread more lies, don’t you?”
“You are a fool,” Eramael snarled. “You’re being led about by your loins. Your lust has blinded you.”
“Your jealousy is really quite touching. Nina told me all about why you are so upset.”
“You have no idea what she has in store for you. Once you are strong enough to help her open the portal, she will have no further use for you.”
“What portal?” Kyle started to laugh. “Oh, I see now. You want me to believe she is using me to open the gates of hell.”
“Not hell. She wants you to free her from her prison.”
“She’s not in prison. I see her every single day. Perhaps you should look for another line of bullshit to feed me. That one was a little too far fetched.”
“No, you dullard. You only see what she wants you to see. Think of her as a projection. If you can force yourself to think at all, that is.”
“Lies!” Kyle spat. “I can feel her, taste her. I know she’s real.”
“You can’t honestly think she is like you. Surely, even you can tell she is not human.”
“She may be a little different, but that doesn’t matter to
me. Human or not, I know she loves me. That’s all I need from her.”
“You know nothing. If you free her, she will destroy your world.”
“Yeah, right,” he smirked. “If she destroyed everything, who would be left to do the Dance?”
“After she is released, she won’t need to have your pathetic little rituals. Everything you love in this world will be consumed by her.”
“The world is a messed up place. It could use a good old fashioned cleansing.”
“Maybe you’re right, but it won’t matter, because you will be dead long before she lays ruin to the earth.”
“You’re out of your fucking mind if you think you’re getting to me. She would never hurt me. Our love is stronger than your jealousy.”
“Fine, don’t take my word for it.” A thunderous laugh echoed in the tiny space. “See for yourself.”
Kyle heard voices from behind him and whirled, ready to attack. He relaxed when Nina’s face came into view, and a scene unfolded before him.
Who is she talking to? That looks like me. That IS me.
He rushed at the couple, reached out to grab Nina’s arm, but his hand passed right through her.
“Hah! I knew it,” he proclaimed triumphantly. “This isn’t real. She’s not here.”
“Not now. Now, you are merely an observer,” Eramael explained coldly. “So, observe.”
Kyle fell silent as he watched his other self follow Nina to where the glowing door shone only moments before. She quickly selected a brick in the wall and pushed it in, causing the door to swing open.
“It’s hard to believe Dr. Pearlman had such dark secrets,” Kyle said to Nina.
“Everyone has secrets,” Nina replied dismissively.
“Oh yeah? What’s your secret?”
“It wouldn’t be a secret any more if I told you.”
“Why are we wasting time here? Don’t we have a Dance to get to?”
Kyle followed them as they entered the secret chamber. A nagging voice told him he didn’t want to see what waited for him at the end of this illusion, but he couldn’t make himself look away.
“There is something very important I need you to do for me,” Nina was saying. “It’s time we took our relationship to the next level.”
He looked at her with wide eyes. “What are you talking about? Are you going to propose, or something?”
“Yeah, something like that.” She giggled and pointed to the altar. “In that book there is a ritual, one that will make me whole. It will allow me to be fully yours.”
“What are you talking about? Are you not mine now?”
“In heart, but not in flesh.”
“Are you trying to tell me that I share you with another?”
“Don’t be silly, lover. You are the only man in my life.”
“Then I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me,” he admitted.
“And I don’t expect that you would. I know in our time together you have seen things that don’t make sense. I have asked you to perform acts that gave you doubt, but once they were complete, you were better off for having done them. Do you know why that is?”
“Because you are smarter than me?”
“No, it’s because you trust me,” she said as she caressed his face. “I’m asking you to trust me now more than ever.”
He agreed, albeit reluctantly. Nina walked him through all the preparations he needed to perform the ritual. They rehearsed the spell several times, until she felt he was pronouncing every syllable precisely as it should be.
“Be very careful with these. They are old and fragile,” she warned before handing him a handful of yellowed papers. “Before we begin, I need you to promise me something. No matter what you see or hear, don’t stop singing the words.”
Kyle nodded, placing the papers on the altar with care. His anticipation was near bubbling over as he cast the circle.
“I think everything is set. Are you ready?”
“You have no idea,” she said through a smile, removing her clothes. “Make me whole, lover.”
Kyle began to sing, letting the Zragration words roll from his tongue as if he were a native. His chants bounced off the walls, gaining strength as he picked up the tempo. The light from the candles cast dancing shadows around the room. The flames moved to the rhythm of his voice. As he began to read from the second page, the room dimmed. The flames struggled to fend off the advance of darkness, but slowly succumbed until Kyle could barely make out the words in front of him.
Nina gasped and fell to all fours in the middle of the floor. Her body heaved and sagged as she tried to catch her breath, the air around her shimmered with energy. The waning light found a home, rushing to surround her shaking body. The smell of sulfur filled the room. Her head sank to her chest, her back arched high.
“Set me free!” she howled, throwing her head back.
Two trickles of blood sprang from her forehead. The skin above her eyebrows bulged and stretched. Two tiny spikes broke free of the skin, and streaks of crimson flowed down her face. The horns continued to push outward until they grew into horns, stretching to nearly a foot long.
Her face contorted in pain as the transformation wrecked her body. Her fingers stretched until they were a thin mockery of their former beauty. Her nails blackened and her skin grew mottled. A long tail snaked its way out of her naked backside, cracking the air as it whipped to life. Flesh and gore splattered against the walls when two leathery wings exploded from her back.
She stood slowly, flexing her new form in a wave that ran the length of her body. Kyle barely managed to speak the last words of the spell as he watched her change. Blood dripped from her whole body, pooling at her feet.
“What are you?” He gazed up at a face that barely held any resemblance to the Nina he fell in love with.
“I am…” She paused as laughter overcame her. Its thunderous power shook the room, sending candles crashing to the floor. “Free!”
She leapt at Kyle, closing the gap before her last word reached his ears. She pinned him to the ground, holding him between her thighs. He stared up at her in amazement.
“There is one more thing I need you to do for me, lover,” she purred.
“I would do anything for you. Just name it.”
She tore open his throat with a clawed hand. “Die!”
*****
“No!” Kyle screamed as he sat up in his bed. He was covered in sweat and panting heavily.
How did he do that? It was so real.
“Kyle, what’s wrong?” Nina rushed into his room.
He looked at her blankly, wondering what to say. If Eramael were right, it wouldn’t do to tip his hand. If he were wrong, then they could have a laugh about it later. No, there is no reason to think my trust in her is shaken, he decided finally.
“It was nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. “I just had a nightmare.”
“What about?”
“I lost you.”
“You will never lose me,” she assured him.
“I know. You will be with me until—”
“Shh!” she said as her head cocked to one side. “We have to go.”
“Where to?”
“Anywhere but here. Grab your bag and let’s get out of here.”
“What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
“I’ll explain once we are away from here. Get a move on. We have to go, NOW!”
Chapter Forty-Three
“That’s impossible!” Tom raged. “I know what I saw.”
“And I’m telling you, the results are accurate,” Kim, the lab tech, countered. “This blood belonged to Brian Pearlman.”
“I know what Pearlman looks like and that wasn’t him.”
“Maybe, he’s been working out,” she ventured.
“Yeah, pumping iron can make a man grow a foot taller,” he sneered.
“Tom, there’s no need to get nasty,” Anna intervened. “She is just giving you their findings,”
“But they’re wrong. They have to be,” he insisted.
“No, they’re not. We ran them twice to be certain.”
“There must be some mistake,” Tom growled and stormed out the door. “Maybe you should run them again.”
“Whoa, wait up,” Anna called after him.
“This sucks,” he informed her when she caught up with him.
“I was hoping for better news as well, but getting this upset over it isn’t going to change the outcome.”
“You don’t understand.” He waved the report at her. “Having no matches would have been better than this bullshit. The Captain already thinks my story is suspect. Now, this will remove any doubt in his mind that I’m either crazy or still a drunk.”
“Then we need to get out there and prove him wrong.”
“How are we supposed to do that, Anna?” His face puckered up with aggravation. “We have no leads. We don’t even no where to start. We’re no closer now than we were when we took this case.”
“Oh, get over yourself, Tom. Do you really think throwing a pity party is going to make things any better?”
He stared at her in disbelief.
“Well?” She threw her hands up. “Are you going to stand here feeling sorry for yourself or are we going to get back on the hunt?”
He glared at her, nostrils flared. His jaw flexed as his teeth clenched. It was all he could do not to tear her a new one on the spot. The only thing stopping him was the uneasy feeling that she had a valid point.
“Jesus, Tom!” she suddenly blurted out while she covered her nose. “Some things just don’t need to be shared between partners.”
“What are you…” he began, but lost his train of thought as the smell of rotten eggs met his nostrils. “That wasn’t me.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “It damn sure wasn’t me.”
Tom’s hand went to his temple. Pain shot through his head and he had the sudden urge to leave.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s happening again.” The pain nearly stole his power of speech.
“I thought you said you didn’t do it,” she smirked, covering her nose again.
“I didn’t fart, God damn it!” His throbbing head got the better of him. “This is what happened the other night.”
The Dance Page 24