Ratcatcher

by Chambers, V. J.

  “It stands to reason if there are people in our world who can travel into other worlds, that there are people in those worlds who have that kind of power as well. Your ash man is one of those. And he doesn’t use his ability for anything good. The ash man isn’t the only being who can do these kinds of things. There are many of them, doing many different things. But the ash man has power over the emotions and desires of people in our world. He can control massive groups of people. He uses this ability to bargain for what he wants. Bodies. I don’t, unfortunately, know why he wants them. He uses human bodies in his world to do some sorts of tasks for him. Maybe he wants power. Maybe he’s building a vast army. Maybe he eats them. I don’t know.

  “But he, and others like him, have deals with many of the powerful and rich and famous people of our world. He can control all kinds of things that way, to make things go smoother for him. I suspect he has someone high up in the media in his pocket. That was why Whitney couldn’t get her article published. He didn’t want attention drawn to what was happening with Shane, so he made sure that all the magazines denied the article.

  “I’ve already mentioned that my father made a very similar deal with the ash man. I didn’t know about it until after my brother died. But my father told me. He asked me about it, because he knew what I could do. He always claimed, my entire life, that he didn’t believe in my abilities, but when my brother died, he came to me. I traveled into the ash man’s world to try to buy my father out of the contract.

  “The ash man wouldn’t deal. He tried to kill me, in fact, but he didn’t seem to be able to harm me. Quite often, I’ve found that I’m strangely impervious to dangers in other worlds. I don’t know why that is either. When that didn’t work, another being from another world came to me. He knew of the situation with the ash man. He offered me another deal. If I sacrificed my father, body and soul, to him, he would stop the ash man. He was a far more powerful being than the ash man could ever hope to be. I told my father we’d find another way. He insisted that we take the deal.”

  “Could you have found another way?” Lark asked. She didn’t want to sacrifice Shane body and soul to some monster.

  “I think so,” said Ryan. “I don’t know what the cost would have been, but I think so. Once the deal with the ash man was broken, my father’s business crumpled. That was when it went bankrupt. He left my mother with nothing except debt. But the deal was broken. Your deal, Shane, seems to function in much the same way. But things are more complicated, because of Lark.”

  “Me?” said Lark. Why did Ryan insist on blaming things on her? “But I haven’t done anything.”

  “I’m not sure,” said Ryan, “but it seems to me, Lark, that you are a portal of sorts to other worlds. Maybe just the ash man’s world. Maybe others. I don’t know. You open a gateway that channels the power of the other world into ours. I believe that’s what happened to Jimmy. Because he was around you, he began to be influenced by another world. Those were his ‘visions.’ That was why he spoke in another language. And that was why he became so strange and violent. He couldn’t handle what he was seeing and experiencing.”

  Lark felt her lower lip start to tremble. “You’re saying I did that to Jimmy?” She was close to tears. Everything that boy had done to her had been her fault?

  “You didn’t do it on purpose,” said Ryan. “And you don’t seem to do it to everyone. Or at least not all the time. I think you’re sometimes used by different entities. I believe that the ash man attempted to use you when you came in contact with Shane. He wanted to widen his power. But he couldn’t control it. Or maybe he never intended to in the first place. Maybe the fact that you came in contact with Shane started to channel the ash man’s power into the world, and he couldn’t stop it. At any rate, he doesn’t like it. But he doesn’t seem to be able to hurt you. So he’s trying to make everyone else hate you, using your own power. And I think he wants them to kill you.”

  “What are you saying?” Chris said. “You’re saying that because you get some vibe from Tim and I that we don’t like Lark, we’re going to kill her?”

  “No,” said Ryan. “I think the ash man wants you to. The feelings I pick up that are radiating from Lark and into the two of you are very violent. Whatever he’s doing, he’s upset because things are out of control. He never wanted to make people so obsessed with Shane’s music that they’d mob Shane’s house. This is too big. It attracts attention. The ash man just wants to pick off a few people here and there and not be noticed. He doesn’t want anything to interfere with his body gathering. If he could get Lark out of the way, everything would go back to the way it was.”

  “I’m not going to kill Lark,” Chris said, sounding defensive.

  “Of course you’re not,” said Lark, trying to calm Chris down. She wasn’t frightened of him. Tim, on the other hand... Well, she supposed he might have a reason to want to kill her.

  “The ash man is trying, but he’s not been successful,” said Ryan. He sighed and sat down on the couch, looking at them. “So that’s what I think is going on here.”

  “What can we do?” asked Shane. “I’m willing to make a deal like your father did.”

  “No!” said Lark. “No, no, no. I won’t let you. I need you, Shane. You can’t do anything like that.” She turned to Ryan. “What if Shane stops playing music? The deal is connected to his music. If he stops playing, will that stop everything?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I don’t know. Things are more complicated than just Shane’s deal here. The effect of Lark’s power on all these people is making everyone nuts. We’ve got big problems.”

  Great. This was all her fault. All this time, Shane had been blaming himself, and it was actually because of her. “What about me?” said Lark. “Could we use my life to bargain our way out of the deal?”

  “That’s out of the question,” said Shane. “Nothing happens to Lark. She’s been through too much.” He put his arm around Lark and pulled her close to him.

  Lark looked up at him, enjoying the feeling of his strong arm around her, but not feeling as if she really deserved it. “What other choice do we have?” she asked Shane.

  Ryan stood up. “Wait,” he said. “Maybe Lark’s sort of right.”

  “No way!” Shane said, standing up to face him.

  “No, hold on,” said Ryan. “I’m not saying Lark has to die. But Lark’s abilities are causing the ash man problems. They’re a bargaining chip. Maybe we could get out of the deal if we could cut off the connection between the ash man and Lark.”

  “Can we do that?” asked Shane.

  “I...” Ryan trailed off and began pacing. “Maybe. Yes. Yes, I think we can. I’d need to try to take Lark with me into the ash man’s world. But I think I could set up something that would effectively block it. And if the ash man would go for it, maybe he’d bargain his way out of the deal for that.” Ryan looked at Chris and Shane. “You understand that if the deal is off, you’ll lose all your money.”

  Shane nodded. “I understand. But I’d still be able to play, right?” He looked at Lark. “Sweetheart, I don’t know if I can stop playing. It’s all I’ve ever done. I don’t know if I can.”

  “If we got you out of the deal, absolutely,” said Ryan.

  “Is it dangerous?” Shane asked. “What you’re going to do with Lark?”

  “Of course it is,” said Ryan. “But I think it’s the best plan we’ve got.”

  “I want to try it,” said Lark. “I don’t want to be a portal.”

  “I don’t know the extent of your ability,” said Ryan. “Even if we cut you off from this world, you may be connected to others. I can’t guarantee anything.”

  That was okay. But if it meant there was less danger she’d turn another person close to her into a violent, crazy psycho, it was a good thing. Lark needed to try this. “Let’s do it.”

  Ryan looked at Shane. “You called me. This is ultimately your problem. Are you okay with this?”

  Shane looked hesita
nt. “Take care of her,” he told Ryan. To Lark, “I love you.”

  Lark looked up at Shane. “I love you too. I love you so much.”

  There was a quiet moment.

  Then Ryan said, “I need to be alone with Lark. We’ll need someplace private.”

  “You can use a bedroom upstairs,” said Shane. “None of the rooms down here have doors on them anymore.”

  Lark and Ryan went upstairs and settled into one of Shane’s guest bedrooms. They closed the door and sat down on the bed.

  “What are we going to do?” Lark asked Ryan.

  “I’m going to pull you through with me into the other world,” said Ryan. “Once we’re there, we’ll need to find the ash man. Then we talk to him. If he says yes, I’ll do the binding right then. If he says no, we’ll come back and regroup. We may decide to bind you anyway and work on some other way to break the deal.”

  “So what I do? To go through into the other world?” Lark asked. She was feeling a little apprehensive.

  “Just hold onto my hands,” said Ryan. “I’ll do it all.”

  Lark swallowed. “Ryan? Why is this dangerous?”

  “The ash man’s world isn’t like ours,” he said. “There are all kinds of... We’ll be careful.”

  Lark gave Ryan her hands. He took them and closed his eyes. Lark wondered if she should close her eyes too. But before she could ask, the surroundings of Shane’s guest bedroom began to stretch before her eyes. It reminded her of the way the stars streamed by on Star Trek. The world stretched and stretched and stretched, and then a different world peeled away the surroundings. The bed was gone. Instead they were sitting on the ground, outside. Around the two of them, several straggly black plants grew. In the distance, Lark could see the dark shadows of a forest. Above her, the sky was blood red, unadorned with clouds or stars or a sun.

  * * *

  Downstairs, Chris watched Shane pace in front of the boarded windows. Tim sat on the couch, facing away from the two of them. Chris swallowed. He knew what he had to do. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to get by Shane. His head was pounding, and his hands were shaking. Then Chris remembered the past from earlier. He walked into the kitchen and went to the stove. Chris dumped the pot of water and overcooked noodles down the garbage disposal. He turned the disposal on, listening to its garbling noise. Then he switched it off. The knife he’d held before was lying on the floor. Chris reached down and picked it up. He placed it inside his belt, the coldness of the metal lying against his skin. He left the kitchen.

  Shane looked up as he came back out. Dammit. “What were you doing?” Shane asked.

  “The pasta that Lark was cooking,” Chris said. “I remembered that it was still there. Could have burned the house down.”

  Shane nodded.

  Chris walked past Shane and into the living room. He had to go past Shane to get upstairs. How was he going to do that?

  Carefully, Chris sat down on the couch. He nearly stabbed himself with the knife. He stood back up.

  * * *

  Ryan got to his feet, looking around. Lark followed suit, brushing gray dirt from her backside. Beneath the red sky, this world seemed nearly desolate. There were very few plants, and those that did grow looked sickly. They were black. So were the trees in the distance. She turned to face the direction Ryan was facing. A stone road lay in that direction. It wound over the gray earth to a tall, stone fortress composed of a large, thick tower and tiny, slitted windows. Around the top turret, a dark winged bird-like thing circled, a carrion going in for its prey. The thing cawed, thin sound carrying across the wasteland to the two of them, and Lark realized it was the only sound she’d heard since the two of them had arrived.

  She didn’t like this place. She wanted to go to ash man and get this done as soon as possible.

  Ryan took her hand and began leading her toward the road. She followed, a feeling of dread beginning to build in her chest.

  * * *

  Chris paced in the living room. Only Tim was still. Chris needed to get upstairs, but he didn’t know how to get up there without Shane wondering what he was up to. And if Shane knew, he’d try to stop Chris. Chris knew he would. Of course he would. He would, because what Chris was going to do was...wrong?

  Chris felt a pang. He remembered vaguely, as if it was a long time ago, that he’d fought this. He hadn’t wanted to this at all. Why was that again?

  Something about what he was going to do had disgusted him. He remembered that. Remembered his stomach twisting. Remembered feeling horror. But it seemed to Chris that he was remembering something from another life. And that life had been harder. Things were easier now. Now he knew what he was about. Returning to the old would bring about pain and turmoil. Right now, Chris felt peace. He was doing what he needed to do. The right thing. The only thing. He knew that the others wouldn’t like it, but in the end, everything would better. He and Shane would go back on the road. All of this would be behind them. Things would be the way they had been.

  And all of that would be his. He’d been promised that. All he had to do was this one small, little thing. A thing he thought he was going to enjoy. So, how was he going to get past Shane? How was he going to get up those stairs?

  It came to him, suddenly.

  He went to the steps, started up them.

  “Where are you going?” Shane asked.

  “To use the bathroom,” said Chris. “None of the johns down here have doors.”

  Shane nodded, accepting what Chris said.

  Chris smiled and began ascending the stairs, feeling the knife in his belt stab against his skin with each step. He winced, but part of him sort of liked the sensation.

  * * *

  Lark clutched Ryan’s hand tightly, the dread she’d felt earlier squeezing her chest, making it difficult to breathe. They were making their way down the road, towards the fortress. It was where the ash man lived, Lark knew it. They were close. A few more steps, and they’d be at the door. Lark could see it loom ahead of them, huge, made of dark wood, bound together by iron bands. Lark gazed at the door and shuddered. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it was going to be once they got inside, in the presence of the ash man. She remembered the way it had felt when she’d gone into the painting. The smoke pouring down her lungs, stinging her eyes. The eyes of the ash man. She wasn’t looking forward to looking into those eyes ever again. Already, she felt like gagging. Her stomach was churning, even though it was empty.

  Ryan didn’t seem affected by the world, but he was silent. Lark wanted to speak to him, but somehow she didn’t dare. Breaking the silence might destroy something, might endanger them. She didn’t know. Ryan’s strides quickened as they approached the door. Lark wanted to hang back, but she forced herself to match Ryan’s speed. She counted the steps, trying to distract herself from the thudding of her heart in her chest. One. Two. Three. Four. And they were at the door.

  It was at least ten feet tall. It towered over them. The shadow of the fortress fell around them. Lark shivered.

  Ryan grasped the huge iron knocker on the door and lifted it. He let it fall with a resounding booming sound. The sound seemed to shake the entire world.

  Lark looked around, wary, frightened that something was going to awaken from the sound. But the only thing that happened was that the big door began to slowly open, scraping against the ground and groaning on its hinges. As the door opened, Lark could see that someone—something was opening it. Whitney was turning a crank shift inside the door, or at least what was left of Whitney was. She was naked. Her hair was dirty and matted and fell lifelessly around her pasty face. Her skin was smeared with oil from the crank shift. She’d been burned. There were wounds on her legs and torso—seared flesh. She wasn’t bleeding. She was moving, but her eyes were empty, unfocused. Lark knew somehow that this was because Whitney was dead. She was moving around, but she was dead.

  Ryan dropped Lark’s hand, a stifled cry escaping his lips. He moved toward Whitney in jerking movements, rea
ching for her with both hands.

  Lark covered her mouth with her hand, afraid she was going to start screaming at any second. Was this what the ash man did with the bodies, then?

  Ryan whimpered. “Whitney,” he whispered. He turned to Lark. “He did this on purpose. He wanted me to see this. He—”

  Ryan stopped talking abruptly and his hand went to his throat. Blood bubbled up, seeping through his fingers. Ryan took his hands away, staring at his hand in confusion. He turned his startled eyes to Lark, made a half-strangled attempt to cry out and then Lark couldn’t handle it anymore. She started screaming. It ripped out of her throat, a high-pitched keening. Ryan swayed on his feet, his mouth open in shock, his brow furrowed in confusion. Blood sprayed from his throat, pumping out onto his chest and torso.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lark reached for Ryan. Blood was dripping out of his open mouth. She reached forward, trying to steady him, and as soon as her hand touched his shoulder, the world of the ash man streamed away, ripped back, and she was back in Shane’s guest bedroom, with her hands on Ryan’s shoulders.

  Ryan was still bleeding. And Chris was standing over the two of them, a bloody kitchen knife in one hand. Lark was still screaming.

  Ryan’s eyes went blank. His body slumped forward onto Lark, knocking her backward on the bed. Ryan’s hot blood soaked into her shirt, slid onto the bare skin of her neck. Instinctively, she pushed his body off her.

  “Shut up,” said Chris, putting the point of his knife to her throat.

  Shocked, Lark strangled the scream in her throat. She looked up at Chris. “Why?” she whispered.