Gus stepped into the opening and sniffed. “Someone’s had a torch in here recently.”
“Caleb,” said Vaughn, taking Kora’s hand and drawing her in behind him. They descended until they arrived at another wall that split automatically when they reached the bottom step.
“How can we make sure it stays open?” said Vaughn.
Kora pulled a torch covered in cobwebs off the wall and slid it between the doors.
“This is it—the catacomb,” said Gus, peering into the darkness. “I didn’t think I’d ever get here because I can’t swim.”
“I haven’t seen this side of it either,” said Vaughn.
“Which side did you see?” asked Gus.
“The catacomb was divided,” said Kora. “Most of it was cleared out for the living, and the dead were locked off in another section with a tunnel that leads out to the sea.”
“So you two explored the dead area, which means this is the fun side?” asked Gus.
“Yes, this is the fun side. Are you going in?” Kora nudged Gus in the back.
“It’s spooky in there. Why don’t you two go first?” said Gus.
“Caleb,” called Ivan, frantically pushing past them until he was swallowed into the gloom. Kora reached around the wall and flicked a switch. Three bare bulbs hanging from a cord lit up a long room similar to the ones she and Vaughn explored except that instead of bodies, the shelves were stacked with empty beer bottles. A coat tree stood near the wall hung with flannel shirts, similar to those worn by Humphrey, and boxes of empty tin cans crowded the floor.
“Electricity?” exclaimed Gus. “All the way down here?”
“We’re in Kora’s realm now,” said Vaughn.
Gus tripped over a can and picked it up. “Looks like you guys drank a lot of beer and ate tons of vegetarian chili. And you could have used an Ivan down here to clean things up.”
Kora kicked a path through the rubbish. “It’s no wonder Ishmael likes clutter. Must remind him of his squidhood.”
They followed Ivan, who was still calling out to Caleb, through the narrow entryway into a towering cave where a tall wooden ship sat on a series of heavy supports. Kora flicked several more switches on the wall and strings of glass bulbs, woven through the masts, twinkled all the way up to the crow’s nest. Even Ivan fell silent for a moment as they all stared at the wondrous sight of the legendary Spanish Galleon all aglow in the dank cave.
“What’s a ship doing down here?” asked Vaughn.
“I’m beginning to think all of Humphrey’s stories are real,” said Gus. “They made it for Ruby but couldn’t figure out how to get it above ground without destroying it,” said Gus. He pointed at the prow where an object had been stripped, exposing an unpainted rectangle of wood. “I bet that’s where the figurehead of Ruby that’s above the stove in the kitchen came from.”
“They at least got that part up,” said Vaughn.
“Caleb!” called Ivan, his voice echoing.
While everyone talked and marveled at their surroundings, Ivan scurried up the ramp and stood at the back of the ship, calling out into the empty room that seemed as vast as the ocean.
“We need to stop sight-seeing and help him,” said Kora. “Let’s break up.”
Kora grabbed Vaughn and guided him into a tunnel that branched off into a series of workshops where heavy equipment loomed in shadows beyond the reach of their torch. She opened a door at the very end and switched on the light. They both stared up at a painted blue ceiling covered in fluffy while clouds.
“I don’t believe it,” said Vaughn. “I've dreamed of this sky my whole life.”
She walked over to an oak counter covered with dusty machines and test tubes with dried substances clouding the bottoms. Jars full of organs, all of which still seemed to still be functioning, covered the wall in an elaborate system of tubes and wires. It was a strange sight, to see something so technologically advanced set into old-world shelving beautifully carved with fruits and vines, like a Victorian curiosity cabinet come to life.
“Does that have anything to do with me?” Vaughn pointed at a heart beating at the center of the wall that pushed a red fluid through a stream of glass vessels.
“This must be how I came up with you and Ishmael's unique ability to survive without breathing. These ideas never made it out of this lab, unless Ishmael has them tucked away somewhere in that great brain of his.”
“I hope not. I want to be the only guy strolling along the ocean floor. Avoid the crowds.” Vaughn walked over to a shimmering glass tank that looked like a massive, hand-blown bubble. “I feel like I’m reliving my childhood. This was where you made me?”
Kora nodded. “It’s so much more beautiful than my tanks at Mirafield. Everything here was hand crafted for me by my family.” She ran her hand along the rounded wood that surrounded the tank. “My most amazing memory is when you spoke to me one day.”
“I spoke to you? What did I say?”
“I drew you to the surface to check your vitals and you opened your eyes and said, blue.”
Vaughn waited. “Anything else?”
“Nope, just blue. So I told myself that if I ever managed to build myself a new body, I'd give myself bright blue hair.”
“I hate to break it to you, my love, but I was probably talking about the painted ceiling. I wish I was talking about your eyes, but they're brown and—”
He looked relieved when Kora laughed. “I know that. I just didn't want to forget your first word.”
Vaughn picked up the leg of a giant rubber squid that crouched beside the tank. “Ruby's been looking for this prop for decades. What’s it doing down here?”
“I think Caleb brought it down here ages ago.” Kora switched on a computer beside the robot and slipped her hands into a pair of mesh gloves. She moved her fingers and the squid’s arms rose eerily into the air. “When I lost the use of my fingers, this robot became my hands. It allowed me to continue working. I stopped using it after I built Ishmael. He took care of me and together we developed a therapy that helped me regain some control of my limbs. Then eventually, we built you; his little brother.”
Vaughn pulled Kora close and ran his finger down the length of her face, over the curve of her neck, to the edge of her sweater. “I'm glad you made me, so I could do this.” He kissed her and she closed her eyes.
Gus and Ivan suddenly appeared in the doorway. “You found anything besides each other’s tongues?” asked Gus.
Vaughn reluctantly let Kora go. “I should have known you two would return like a nasty rash.”
“Have you just been making out back here the whole time?” asked Ivan. “Caleb is lost and needs our help!”
An image of Caleb from the end of the movie Alex played flashed into Kora's mind. “Ivan, you told Vaughn that Caleb spoke to you?”
Ivan glared at Vaughn. “I considered that conversation private but yes, he did. He told me to join your rescue party and you return his kindness by sneaking off to screw Vaughn in every filthy corner of the catacomb!”
“What else did he tell you?” asked Kora.
Ivan’s face was turning purple. “Nothing that concerns you.”
“It might,” said Gus. “Tell her, Ivan, or I will.”
“Fine. But it has nothing to do with any of this!” Ivan looked away and Kora saw the glimmer of tears in his heavy makeup. “He said that he loved me, and what a good son I’ve been all these years taking care of him. That’s all.”
Kora’s face fell. “I thought so. Follow me.”
“Do you know where he is?” asked Gus.
“Maybe, but I hope I’m wrong,” replied Kora.
They backtracked through the winding maze of workshops to the main cave with the great ship. Kora stopped before a heavy wall hanging of a giant squid attacking a great whale.
“Ishmael was a popular model down here,” said Gus, admiring the huge tapestry.
Kora pulled up the corner, exposing a dark tunnel covered in spider webs.
The last time she’d traveled down this tunnel was to talk to Mud only a few days before Caleb killed him and everyone else. Kora had gone to cry on his shoulder because she'd finally finished changing Vaughn into a vampire against her will, and Ruby had taken him away from her. Mud had consoled her as no one else could. She'd had no idea, at the time, that it was her last visit to her dearest friend.
Ivan pushed past her but when they reached the bodies, Kora found him frozen. “What is this place?” he asked.
“This is where we put our dead,” said Kora.
He turned to look at her, his eyes wide with fear. “Why would Caleb be back here?”
Kora tried to put a hand on Ivan's shoulder, but he flinched away from her and continued into the darkness, calling out for Caleb. Vaughn took her by the hand and they walked slowly through the tunnels with Ivan and Gus trailing along behind them. Rats scattered before their torch, and the bodies along the walls were touched by light only long enough to draw cries of horror from Gus. Kora could smell the canal room, and then the entrance to the catacombs appeared. At first she thought it was a shadow but as they moved closer, the dark shape filled in revealing Caleb’s broad face. His empty, deep set eyes were fixed on the ceiling where Mud’s corpse lay on its high shelf, his huge hands resting on a hunting knife buried deep in his massive chest.
Chapter 36
Ivan only opened the door wide enough for Kora to slip through. She’d brought him his therapy drinks and food trays for the past three weeks but so far, she hadn’t seen anything but the brief flicker of his hand as he grabbed the tray and slammed the door. She felt a sense of triumph that she’d finally made it inside his room. The floor was covered in dirty clothes, bits of food, and empty whisky bottles. Every cup and saucer was overflowing with cigar stubs and his television lay smashed to pieces in a corner.
Kora couldn’t see Ivan clearly because the room was dark, but she could tell from the light pouring out of the walk-in closet that he was dressed entirely in black. She could also tell that he'd been drinking her elixirs because his face looked less wrinkly, and the roots of his hair were growing in blond. Hopefully that cheered him up a little.
He led her into his sewing room that was littered with boxes of thread and bolts of fabric that all formed a ring around his immaculate sewing machine. “I have a surprise for you,” he said. “I want you to try it on so I can see if anything needs touching up.” He held up a dress that made Kora’s knees weak. It was orange and covered in glass beads that flashed in the light.
“Ivan, it’s beautiful. You made this for me?”
“If there's anyone in this house that needs my help, it's you. Go try it on.”
Kora slipped into the adjoining room, took off her sweater and pulled the dress over her head.
“It’s perfect,” she said, gazing into the full-length mirror. The orange fabric glowed against her brown skin and set off her turquoise hair like a blue flame. Ivan, who sat at his sewing machine, removed a pin from his mouth and twirled his hand in the air, making her perform a slow spin in front him. “What do you think?” she asked after he’d scrutinized her for a while.
“You look ravishing. No other way to put it. I created a masterpiece.” Ivan held up a finger. “There’s more.” He rifled through some boxes and pulled out a pair of turquoise slippers. “Let’s make sure these fit, too.”
Kora held one of them up against her head. “I don’t believe it. They’re the exact same shade as my hair. How did you do that?”
“I have a photographic memory for colors, textures and sizes.”
“You’re a total genius, Ivan.” Kora slipped her feet into the beautiful shoes, beaming as she gazed at her feet in the mirror. “I thought I was going to have to go through Ruby’s closet to find something to wear to Joshua and Berta’s wedding, but now I have the most beautiful outfit on the planet.”
“I’m glad someone in the house finally recognizes my talent. And I’m glad you stayed away from Ruby’s closet. Nothing in there but a funeral. This is much better. I knew from the beginning that orange would suit you.”
Kora bent down and gave Ivan a hug and to her amazement, he let her. “What are you going to wear?”
He rotated his chair so he could busy himself with the needle on his machine. “I’m not going.”
“Why not? You’ve been in here alone for three weeks.”
“Humphrey came to visit me a few times.”
“How?”
Ivan pointed at his closet. “He has his own private tunnel through the walls.”
“Ivan, you need to get out.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?” Kora demanded. Ivan turned his chair so his back was always facing her. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.”
Ivan sat with his head in his hands for a long time. “I can’t bear walking past Caleb’s door. It’s just not possible.”
“But you can’t stay in here forever.”
“Yes I can. Just watch me.”
When Kora got back to the kitchen, Vaughn was busy making crepes while Gus was busy eating them. Vaughn stared at her in her new dress until smoke poured from his pan, and he was forced to run to the sink to douse the flaming crepe. “You mentioned that Ivan was making you a dress, but I had no idea. You look gorgeous.” He twirled her into his arms and then bent her back for a long kiss. “I might have to finally put on one of those suits Ruby bought me.”
Kora put an apron over her dress, so it wouldn't get dirty, and sat at the table beside Gus. “The plan was that you’d lure Ivan out of his room,” said Gus with his mouth full. “You’re the first one he’s allowed in. I thought you understood your mission.”
“I know,” said Kora, carefully slicing up her crepe. “But he told me that he can’t bear walking past Caleb’s door. I’m not positive, but I think he’s wearing black corduroys.”
Gus and Vaughn exchanged a serious look. “We need to go in after him,” said Vaughn.
They stormed down the hall to Ivan’s room and pounded on the door until he opened it a crack and peered through. “What the hell do you want?”
“Time to come out, Ivan. You’ve been in there long enough,” said Vaughn.
Ivan’s eyes shifted over to where Kora stood behind Vaughn. “What did you tell them?”
Kora shrugged. “Only that you were wearing a pair of corduroys.”
“Might as well be walking around with a noose dangling from your neck,” said Gus.
Vaughn shoved the door open and snatched up Ivan who struggled and shrieked like a wild animal, making several attempts to bite Vaughn’s arm as he carried him down the hall and plopped him down before Caleb’s door. “Don’t even think of trying to run,” said Vaughn.
“You don’t understand.” Ivan collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “Caleb's clothes for the next day are still laid out at the end of his bed: the twill pants and burgundy jacket. I dress him every morning. I need to pretend that he’s just taking a nap and that he’ll wake up soon. We’ll just go on as always. Please, Vaughn. Don’t do this to me.” Ivan looked up with tears streaming down his face.
Kora tried to go to Ivan, but Vaughn held her back. “Go in Caleb’s room on your own, or I’ll toss you in and bar the door,” said Vaughn.
“You wouldn’t do that, would you?” said Ivan, his bottom lip trembling.
Vaughn bent down and examined Ivan’s anguished face. “Jesus, I’ve never seen you without makeup before. You really look terrible.”
Ivan popped up off the floor, his face twisted into a snarl. “What do you care if I stay in my room you miserable, blood-sucking—”
Vaughn shook a finger at him. “Not a vampire anymore. I cook and eat now, remember?”
“How could I miss all those nauseating smells floating down from my kitchen?” spat Ivan. “Now that you can eat, you think you can take over and start making abominations like tofu lasagna and soy tacos. I suppose you’ve been out crashing all the cars, too?”
<
br /> “There’s a few left,” said Vaughn. “That bent pickup still seems to be in pretty good shape.”
“I’ve heard enough,” said Ivan. “If you’re going to torture me, let’s get it over with.” He slipped through Caleb’s door and slammed it closed behind him. They all waited in silence, half expecting Ivan to dart back out again, but he didn’t.
“Let’s give him some time alone in there,” said Vaughn.
“Remind me to stay the hell away from you the next time I’m depressed,” said Gus.
“I know Ivan better than either of you,” said Vaughn. “I just did him a huge favor.”
Chapter 37
The children struggled to drag Ishmael onto the beach. They grabbed a hold of one arm and pulled as hard as they could, but he had seven others to trip them and toss them into the waves. His eyes grew round when he saw a dozen more children howl down the beach, each taking a leg and pulling until the waves crashed into his tall head. He circled his arms around their waists and tossed them out to sea, screaming and laughing until they plunged into the water. Then they’d swim back and attack him once again until he was continuously rocketing tiny bodies out into the deep.
“I think he likes it out there,” said Vaughn, resting his chin on the top of Kora’s head.
“The ocean is so big and dangerous,” replied Kora. “Not to mention dirty. At least when he's in his tank, I can see right where he is and know that his water is perfectly clean.”
“He’s a smart squid with a strong immune system. I'm sure he'll be fine. From now on, you can just keep track of me.” Vaughn wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.
“The ceremony is about to start,” called Gus. He was dressed in his usual robe with a pink carnation behind his ear. “There’s a really cute guy in the main tent who keeps staring at me, and I can’t figure out if it’s because of my hump or he thinks I’m fantastically good looking.”
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