Love Charms

by Multiple

  “Think on the price you’ve just paid, seer. Think hard, because that is just a taste of what I will do to you.” With that, Kristoff turned on his heel and left the room

  Vera just lay there, a glassy look in her eyes, blood spreading slowly across her shirt. She didn’t even move when a short, balding man came in and gave her hand a proper dressing followed by a shot that sent her to sleep. Beyond that initial confrontation, there was nothing to see other than Vera leaving and returning to her cell. If Kristoff continued to question her, he didn’t do it down here.

  Having seen everything I could, I shook myself and allowed my consciousness to swim back from the past and surface in the present. Kristoff, the bastard, had lied. There had been some comfort in thinking Vera hadn’t felt any pain. I should’ve known better.

  In the distance, a car roared off. Probably with Vera inside. She was beyond my help now. Not to mention, I wasn’t doing so well helping myself. But listening in on her conversation with Kristoff, had given me something to think about.

  It didn’t matter what happened, Kristoff was going down one way or another, which meant I had a choice. If I didn’t take him out of the game, something or someone else would, that was guaranteed. I could walk away. It didn’t have to be me that dealt with Kristoff.

  I actually considered it. Considered just walking out the door and into the horizon. Let the police and the F.I.B deal with Kristoff and his cronies. I’d suffered enough, but, looking down at my hands, all ten fingers intact, I couldn’t do it. There were others suffering too, Vera just to name one. The universe might have it in for Kristoff, but as far as I could tell, I was the only mechanism of action in the vicinity with any chance of stopping him sooner rather than later. Damn my sense of responsibility. Why did it always involve someone dying?

  Mark put an arm around my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  I shrugged his arm off and stepped out of reach. “No.” I pointed to the blood on the wall. “Look what you helped do.” My voice shook I was so angry. Not just at what Mark had done, but that it made me love him less. Made me question whether or not our love had ever been real.

  “Kristoff would’ve done it anyway,” came a woman’s voice from the doorway.

  I turned to see who it was, but I already recognized the voice as belonging to Julia.

  She came into the room, arms crossed as if to ward off a chill. “Even without Mark, Kristoff would’ve found Vera and used her to get to you. He knew about you and was already watching you.”

  I moved behind Mark, putting him between me and Julia. Maybe his new muscle-bound body would come in handy. Mark, apparently thinking along the same lines, widened his stance and flexed his hands.

  She waved a hand. “You have nothing to fear from me, Sofia. I knew the second you left the top floor. The collar wasn’t the only thing keeping tabs on you. My Sidhe ancestry gives me my own claim to magic…when Kristoff lets me use it.” Bitterness soured her voice.

  I remained silent, unsure of what was happening. Did this mean Julia was on my side? Was that a good thing? I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell good from bad any more.

  “Kristoff thinks because he made me, that he controls me.” She paced the floor. “He thought that because I agreed with him once, that I would never change.”

  I cleared my throat. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

  She stopped mid-step and looked at me, her gaze piercing. “I am…was his wife. We have a daughter, Grace.”

  “Grace is your daughter?” I couldn’t keep the shock out of my voice. What an interesting family Kristoff had. A zombie wife and a child whose favorite playmates were dead animals. Nice.

  She nodded. “Kristoff mastered his necromancy just before I died. Grace’s birth killed me. I hemorrhaged.”

  “He raised you,” I said.

  “Yes. I was the first zombie he made with a soul. This,” she gestured to herself, “is not my real body.”

  I nodded encouraging her to continue and edged out from behind Mark as she spoke.

  “Nor is our relationship real anymore. I’m not a wife, I’m a soul stuffed into a dead shell,” she said with obvious disgust. “Death isn’t the only thing that can kill a relationship.” She gave me a pointed look as she spoke and I nodded. I knew exactly how she felt. She took a deep breath. “So, you don’t have to worry about me. It’s only this body that belongs to Kristoff, my heart left him a long time ago.”

  She resumed her pacing. “You’re going to fight Kristoff. I know this. Even he knows it, but the difference between him and me is, I think you might have a chance at winning. You’re at least as strong as he is or else he wouldn’t have wanted you. If you succeed, there’s one thing I want you to do for me in exchange for helping you now.”

  She didn’t have to say it, I already knew. “Grace.”

  Julia nodded. “Yes. You have to promise to watch out for Grace once we’re gone. Make sure she doesn’t turn out like her father.”

  “I’ll try.” The promises were piling up. First Mark, now Julia.

  Julia came to me and gripped my arm. “You have to do better than try. You will be the only one who will understand her, know what she’s been through. You must promise to watch out for her or I’ll call Kristoff right now and tell him your collar isn’t working.”

  “I promise to do my best for her,” I said putting as much sincerity as I could in my voice. I even meant it up to a point. I certainly didn’t want Grace to end up like her father. With my luck she’d come after me too. I would do what I could just as basic self-defense.

  Julia released me. “So we are agreed then.”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I hope you’re successful,” she said over her shoulder as she started to walk out the door.

  “Wait,” I called after her. “I can’t do this by myself. You’ve got to help me.”

  She paused and turned back. “I can’t. His will binds me. To do just this much, to talk freely and hide it from him takes everything I have. You are the only one that is not bound by his power…yet.”

  “Wait a second,” Mark said. “You and I both have our souls. I’m my own man. Kristoff doesn’t own me.”

  Julia laughed, a short, harsh bark. “You are a fool. He lets you believe you are free, but it’s a lie.”

  Mark frowned. “I don’t believe you. You’re the one lying.”

  I myself was more inclined to believe Julia, but kept my opinion to myself.

  Julia just shrugged. “You’ll see. Someday he will force his will on you and you won’t be able to say no.” She walked out then, heels tapping delicately on the linoleum floor.

  Mark looked at me, his expression a mix of confusion and worry. She’d thrown him. Hell she’d thrown me.

  “Great,” I said under my breath. All Julia had to do was keep one lousy secret while I got to babysit her zombie raising daughter the rest of my life. Plus, I had to wrangle Mark, my ex-boyfriend come back to life. It didn’t seem fair.

  “Just don’t forget about our deal.” Mark said.

  Speaking of unfair.

  “If what she said is true, the sooner you learn what Kristoff knows, the better.” His voice was full of anxiety.

  “Yeah. I know,” I said, my voice short. I didn’t have it in me to say anything more without revealing my true feelings.

  *

  Back on the top floor, I began the search for a weapon of some kind. Something heavy like Zrayus had recommended. But I found nothing except a barbecue fork. There were no knives, no bottles of wine. Italian salad dressing in plastic squeeze bottles, yes, but not wine. I took the fork with me, deciding it would have to do, and returned to my room to wait.

  For whatever reason, Mark hadn’t followed me back upstairs. Maybe he’d sensed my bad mood. Maybe he was telling Kristoff everything he knew, hedging his bets. Who knew the mind of a zombie? Not me and I was psychic. There was nothing I could do, but wait for the right moment to present itself. I didn’t have to be Vera to kno
w that moment was coming soon.

  Julia came for me at dusk. She leaned against the doorjamb, crossing her arms and regarded me with steady eyes. Her gray suit traced her sparse curves and her blond hair was pulled up and back, accentuating the lines of her face.

  “Sofia.” She nodded at me. Reaching behind her back she pulled out a unsheathed dagger and extended it toward me..

  I took it with a grateful smile. The sharp blade of the dagger scrapped across my thigh as I tucked it into my pants next to the fork without a word. I’d tied the drawstring on my pants extra tight, to the point of discomfort to be sure it would hold my weapons. I would have to move carefully to keep from cutting myself. It was odd to think that I’d long ago left behind the point where shoving a naked blade down my pants was a bad idea. Even if I nicked my thigh a dozen times over, it was worth it.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  She waved a hand, dismissing my gratitude. “Kristoff would like to see you. Are you ready?”

  I didn’t respond because my answer would’ve been no. Instead, I grabbed the bag of crystals off the small nightstand and stood, letting my actions speak for me. Taking my cue, Julia turned and began to walk toward Kristoff’s office.

  I made a final adjustment to the fork and knife, making sure they were secure. The fork lent an air of slapstick to my plans, but I knew when the time came, there would be nothing funny about what I had to do.

  Hearing Julia’s footsteps slow and hesitate, I ran to catch up. “I’m coming.” I jogged down the hall, trying to casually drape my hand to hide the protrusion of the fork. I hadn’t counted on the prongs shifting as I walked and poking out of the fabric of my pants like little devil’s horns.

  Kristoff, as usual, sat behind his desk and regarded me with a speculative gaze. I moved to sit in the chair opposite him and shifted my hips at an angle to hide the fork, causing the prongs to twist and jab me in the thigh. I bit the inside of my cheek at the sensation and managed not to jump in surprise. At least the knife hadn’t moved.

  “The crystals please.” Kristoff held out a hand.

  I tossed the bag on his desk. He frowned at me as he took the bag and peered inside.

  “They seem to be all charged.”

  “Yep,” I said. “It didn’t take as long this time.”

  “Good. You’re progressing nicely. It’s time for the next step in your training.” He waved at someone behind me. “Tie her up please.”

  A guard grabbed me with thick, strong hands and yanked me out of the chair, pinning my arms behind my back.

  I gave a shriek of protest and glared at Kristoff. “What are you doing?”

  “You are to observe tonight, nothing more. I don’t want you to be tempted to interfere. Although the collar is effective, it’s not fast enough to stop sudden movements. The work we will do tonight is delicate. The wrong move at the wrong time could be disastrous.” Looking to whoever held me, he said, “Make sure the ropes are tight, I don’t want her to have any chance of getting loose.”

  A grunt acknowledged Kristoff’s request followed by a coarse rope wound tight around my wrists.

  “Ow. That hurts,” I complained trying to twist out of the guard’s grasp only to be grabbed by the nape of my neck and shaken like a disobedient puppy until I thought my spine would snap.

  “Be still,” growled a deep voice in my ear.

  I went still, gritting my jaw. Around me the room spun, and my head hurt from the rough shaking. I swear my brain had boinged off the inside of my skull, a sensation I could’ve done without.

  “Bring her.” Kristoff stood and walked to the wood paneling behind his desk. With a deft touch, he depressed a spot on the wall and it silently slide to the side, revealing a cavernous room.

  My escort dragged me after Kristoff, moving so fast that I couldn’t keep my feet under me. All my weapons shifted in my pants too, but, thankfully, no one was really paying much attention. Although the fork did keep poking me as if checking to see if my goose was cooked.

  The room hidden behind the wooden panels of Kristoff’s office was dark with a cool draft, the only light coming from the open door behind us. The guard shoved me up against the wall and left me there while he went to stand just outside the entrance.

  Kristoff hit another button and the door shut, leaving us in total darkness. Was it my imagination or could I hear someone breathing out there? Goosebumps shivered across my skin as I realized it wasn’t my imagination, but Kristoff. I shifted, nervous. If I had to defend myself, all I had were my legs.

  A faint light flickered, illuminating Kristoff’s face just inches from mine. He had a small flashlight, which he pointed at me. I tried to shrink back further into the wall.

  “What’s going on?” I asked trying to sound brave.

  Another light flickered, and, looking closely, I realized it was coming from the crystals, which had been set on the floor. Somehow he was able to use the power within to provide light. “We’re going to raise a zombie.” He laughed, the sound straight out of a horror movie.

  My eyes went wide and my pulse quickened. There was no one else in the room, but him and me, so what exactly did he mean?

  Sensing my alarm, Kristoff smiled, the dim light creating eerie shadows on his face. “No, not you. I need you alive, for now.”

  I deflated in relief and then frowned with fresh worry at the ‘for now’.

  “No, I have someone else to raise tonight. I think you’ll find the experience rather interesting.” He walked the perimeter of the room, setting up crystals as he went. “You’ll be afraid at first, then horrified. All very normal reactions, but what you will learn is that death is an obstacle we can overcome. No one is ever lost to us.”

  “So long as you don’t mind the smell,” I said.

  Kristoff frowned. “My zombies don’t rot.”

  “No they don’t,” I agreed.

  He rolled up his sleeves. “It’s an innovation of mine.” He paused and fiddled with a crystal that refused to stay upright. “I can raise a zombie that will stay whole for decades, almost as long their life would’ve been. Only they don’t grow old or get sick. Nor do they rot.”

  “But they do smell,” I persisted. “The ones in the basement smelled. So did the detective you sent to kill me.” In fact, I’d noticed the smell first each time.

  “I didn’t send the detective to kill you, that was a mistake on his part. One he has paid for.” A grim look flashed across Kristoff’s face. “And my zombies don’t smell. They aren’t rotting corpses.”

  I gave him a doubtful look wondering if our senses of smell were different. Maybe raising the dead was like smoking, your nose just got used to the smell after awhile. Even Mark had carried the scent of death on his skin. True, it had been faint, but I could still smell it. The zombies in the basement had positively reeked.

  Kristoff placed the last crystal on the floor beside me completing his circle of soft, yellow light. The room was large enough, though, that the light didn’t penetrate very far. I could see Kristoff, but not the far side of the room.

  “So why don’t they rot?” I asked, hoping to stall him. I was in no hurry to raise the dead and I needed to figure a way out of the ropes around my wrists so I could attack him.

  Kristoff just shrugged. “Trade secret.” He tapped his head with a finger. “It’s all up here. When the time is right, I’ll share the secret with you, if you prove to be worthy of it.”

  Oh great. I had to be worthy. I tried to yank my wrists apart and got nowhere. How the hell was I going to free myself? Too bad I wasn’t a medium. I could’ve channeled Houdini.

  “We’re ready to begin,” he said with a wide smile. It was the happiest I’d seen him look since we met and it made my blood run cold. “Mark, we’re ready,” Kristoff called looking to the other side of the room.

  There was a soft click and another door slid open. The light from behind backlit a tall man with a small form draped over his shoulder. I took Kristoff’s word that the man w
as Mark. It was far too dark to confirm it with my own eyes.

  Kristoff looked at me expectantly. “Do you recognize your friend?”

  Oh, right. Kristoff didn’t know we’d met. Mark was supposed to be a shock. I gasped and widened my eyes, playing along even though I’d need sonar to see anything.

  “You mean he’s my Mark?” Turning to Kristoff I said, “You didn’t.” I didn’t have to fake the disapproval in my voice.

  “But I did. Remember, Sofia, no one is ever lost to us. I thought you might appreciate the art better if you were reunited with your lover. Think of it as an incentive.” When I didn’t respond, he gave an impatient shake of his head. “You’ll see, in time.” To Mark he said, “Put her on the table and leave us. Sofia clearly isn’t ready to appreciate the gift of your presence.” There was a soft thump followed by the click of the door shutting once Mark did as Kristoff asked.

  It was just me, Kristoff, and whoever was on the table. I squinted, straining to see in the dim light, but couldn’t make out anything beyond faint outlines of people and things I didn’t recognize. Although, I had a sinking feeling I knew who the other person in the room was, even without visual confirmation.

  Kristoff came to me, wrapping a hand around my wrist. “Now we seal the room with blood.” He pulled me to my feet, and, without warning, ran a sharp knife along the soft flesh of my forearm. Given the way I was tied up, I was powerless to stop him.

  I jumped with a scream, moving to run away, but he put a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Don’t waste the blood or I’ll have to cut you again.”

  I froze as he took a small silver bowl from his pocket and held it to my wound, allowing the blood to drip into it. “Usually I blood the circle myself, but tonight we’ll use yours.” He squeezed my forearm in a milking motion, forcing more blood down my arm to the bowl.

  “You’ll probably be a bit lightheaded from the loss. Make sure you eat after we’re done here tonight.”