by Smith, H. D.
“Don’t worry,” he interrupted. “I should make you forget, but I won’t. I can’t.”
I studied him. His expression hadn’t changed. His gaze was on fire, but his body language was calm. He claimed he wouldn’t, no couldn’t, take my memories, but why? “Why can’t you take them?”
“Selfish, remember.”
Did he see something of her in me? “I don’t understand what you mean? Do I look like her?”
“No,” he said. “It’s your blood.”
“I know it’s from the fourth realm, but—”
“No. It’s not from the fourth realm.” The longing in his eyes was clear. He touched my face gently. His calming influence intensified. “You have her blood.”
I gasped. “What?”
He leaned forward as I pulled back. I had the blood of Jayne, not just fourth realm blood, but her blood. Was that where my Jayne had come from?
“You’re all that remains of her,” he said, sending another wave of his influence.
I shook my head. “Stop,” I said. “Don’t do this.” I couldn’t let the calm, relaxed, peacefulness that felt like Heaven make me lose focus.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, backing away putting space between us. “I won’t hurt you. I can’t hurt you.”
Death sat with his hands resting in his lap. I stayed against the bars. It felt good to have him touching me, but the emotions weren’t real. He wanted to be near me because of Jayne. The only reason he wouldn’t hurt me was because I was all that was left of her.
He’d been forced to kill the woman he loved, then cursed to love only her. I thought of Jack and the baby. Death’s true feelings weren’t for me, but I shouldn’t be so harsh. I wasn’t cursed, but my love was just as lost. I would never see Jack again if Mace had his way, and if I somehow managed to survive this and was saved by The Boss, he’d remove Jack for failing at his job—and the baby was gone. Death was only trying to be close to the thing he loved the most. It just happened to be a part of me.
I flinched when his hands lifted, although it was more of a reaction to everything that had been happening to me, not necessarily because he was Death.
He stilled. “You’re sad,” he said. “Let me help you.”
“There isn’t anything you can do.”
“I can comfort you.”
His eyes were bright—hopeful—but the peacefulness he caused was an illusion. Not something I should let myself get lost in.
“Or I can go,” he said, staring at his hands again resting in his lap, dejected.
I couldn’t send him away. “You can stay.”
He moved from the crate to sit beside me. My initial thought was to push him away, but the happiness and longing in his eyes stopped me. He’d been without his love for so long. It was an illusion, but I was the only one who could give it to him. He wanted to hold me—part of me wanted to be held.
Giving in to that desire, I rested my head on his chest, sinking into his embrace. I fell asleep cradled in his arms.
~ * ~
I woke as the door to the basement opened. I was cold, as if the warm body I’d been with had suddenly disappeared. Death didn’t have a smell, but the buzz from his touch lingered a moment longer. I was surprised to see my visitor was Cinnamon.
I stretched my arms and neck. “What do you want?”
“Mace is ready for you.”
“Since when are you his puppet?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Get up now, or you’ll regret it.”
I didn’t jump to my feet. I wasn’t afraid of her. There were bigger monsters in my life. Cinnamon was barely a guppy in that pond.
“Now,” she said.
I slowly got to my feet.
She smiled. “Have we broken you, Claire?”
“Claire turned to dust earlier today. I’m who’s left. You could say I’ve had enough.”
She raised an eyebrow, probably thinking I was kidding. “If you—”
“Please.” I held up my hand. Her threats would be wasted on me, and I really didn’t want to hear them. “Dust, remember. Are you really going to be able to top that?”
Her smile dropped.
Harry didn’t seem to think telling Cinnamon would change anything. I was hoping he was wrong. “You shouldn’t do this. You don’t need revenge. Mace is going to get you both screwed by Mab. Junior will die if you don’t refuse to help.”
I didn’t go into all the specifics with her, but I’d given her enough reasons to back out. Mentally I found the geode for Mace’s spell. Holding the power of it in my mind, I tapped Cinnamon’s hand as I left the cell. A tiny static charge went from me to her.
“Even you deserve the truth,” I said as her eyes rolled back in her head, and she dropped to the floor.
I stepped over her body and continued up the stairs. The boys were waiting, but didn’t immediately realize Cinnamon wasn’t behind me. She’d follow soon enough.
Mace barked orders. “You’ll get us in through the portal in Junior’s office, without setting off any alarms.”
If he thought I was an expert on how to use the company portals he was about to be disappointed.
“She seems so willing to help, brother.” Cinnamon’s voice came from behind me. “Whatever did you do to convince her?”
He ignored her.
She was plucking the last pin out of her hair. She tilted her head toward me, but not enough for the others to notice.
That was the only acknowledgement I was getting, but I was hoping she’d go all I’m-in-charge-now-Cinnamon and put a stop to Mace’s plan. Unfortunately, she didn’t do anything, and I quickly decided Harry was right. She was going to let things play out.
She’d already made her choice.
“It’s time,” Mace said, opening a portal to his father’s building.
I had almost no experience with this type of travel, but I had the basics. Not tripping alarms wasn’t one of them. I thought of Junior’s office, put my hand on the surface then closed my eyes.
At least I wasn’t the one holding the gun.
Twenty Four
I slid through the portal into Junior’s office. I wanted this nightmare to end, but I hadn’t really considered what that meant. I was shocked to see his wide eyes staring back at me. At that moment, as he dropped his guard—just before Mace sidestepped me and pulled the trigger—I saw happiness.
“Claire,” Junior said before the bullet struck him between the eyes and killed him instantly.
The ringing in my ears from the gunshot pulled all my attention to the bloody wall behind him.
Junior was dead. I hadn’t shot him, but I was responsible for my actions. I’d let them in through the portal. I’d told them about Junior. There was no hope of returning to my old life now. My ears were still ringing when I heard the sound of voices arguing around me.
Sage and Sorrel were both pissed. They were awake now—the spell must be broken.
The hands of my watch were spinning around as they had many times before. They stopped when I concentrated on them and pointed back toward the portal. Was my watch trying to tell me to snap out of it and run? It didn’t matter. I took the advice and ran. I didn’t get very far, taking only one step toward the portal before I was thrown against the wall.
“Where do you think you’re going, Claire?” Mace asked. He was in my face shoving the gun into my ribs.
“Mace,” Cinnamon insisted. “We must go. Now.”
Mace was still eyeing me. Still pressing the gun against my ribs. He should have taken Cinnamon’s advice.
Tsking came from behind us, then The Boss’s unmistakable voice. “This is going to be a mess to clean up,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll hear about it from maintenance.”
Mace sneered. “This isn’t over,” he whispered to me, then faced The Boss. “Father,” he said, with a wave of his hand, a slight bow, and a jovial tone as if they were meeting over drinks.
The Boss had been examining Junior’s body, but turned when M
ace greeted him. He was never emotional. Today was no exception. He studied the others. Sage and Sorrel cowered off to one side. Cinnamon’s fists were tightened, but she stood her ground, refusing to show any weakness.
“I think a new location is needed,” The Boss said.
In a flash, we were all exactly as we had been, but now we were in Purgatory, in the great hall in Mab’s castle. Mab sat on her throne, and Quaid hung by his arms from a wooden beam to the right of her chair. He was half-naked, his back a mass of angry red welts and blood. He’d clearly been whipped.
The Boss glanced at him but didn’t comment.
“Brother, it is so good to see you again. I see you’ve brought back my property,” Mab said, rising and walking over to me.
I scurried back.
She smiled and ignited her mark. She didn’t make it too painful, just enough to get my attention.
I stopped and let her approach.
“You’re trainable,” she said. “Good.” Turning back to The Boss, she lifted a brow. “I didn’t expect you to deliver her personally, Brother.”
“You’re not really interested in the girl,” he said. “What would you rather have?”
Mab left me where I stood and moved closer to him. “I see,” she said, smiling. “You have come to trade.” Her eyes briefly fell on the quads, but she didn’t say anything. None of them reacted.
I gasped. The quads were all frozen like statues.
“Done,” he said.
Done? Had he traded the quads for me? Harry said The Boss would save me if he could, but I didn’t believe he actually would.
“And,” The Boss continued. “I want my servant returned as well.”
Quaid lifted his head, and my shoulders slumped. She wanted Quaid to stay with her. Now she’d somehow trapped him, knowing The Boss would want him returned.
The wicked grin on her face was clear. He couldn’t have both of us.
“I have a claim on both,” she said. “You have only bartered for one. I’m willing to let you have either for your trade.”
She knew as well as I did he would choose Quaid.
“It’s against the rules to claim my property. He is not part of the bargain.”
“He betrayed you, Brother. According to our rules, that makes him a free agent.” Mab paused, smiling at Quaid as if they were lovers. “I discussed it with him at great length when he dined with me earlier.”
She faced The Boss; her mouth formed a smug line. Jayne warned me about eating the food, but Quaid must not have known that rule, or why else would he have broken it?
“That will not work on him,” The Boss said.
Huh? He’s immune? Not fair.
“It’s true I did not get the full benefit of his deed, but I do have a claim nonetheless. I have rights to one,” she said, pointing at me. “And a hold on the other.” She glanced back toward Quaid. “You may choose either for the bargain.”
The Boss’s mouth tightened, and his eyebrows dropped into a straight line. Mab smiled, her expression triumphant. She’d bartered for what she really wanted, the quads, and now she was going to get to keep the bonus prize as well—me. Seriously, why the hell did she want me so bad?
“I’ll give you a minute to think about your choice.” Mab walked over to where Quaid dangled. Tracing her hand along his side, she left four tiny lines of blood as her fingernails dug into his flesh. She stopped to check her reflection in the large mirror on the wall behind him.
My heart skipped a beat; the Keeper’s mirror. The Keeper winked at me just before Mab walked away.
“You should take your servant,” she said, glancing up at Quaid as she passed. “Then we will both have something to play with.”
The Boss was apparently bored enough to check the time. He raised his head, but turned away quickly when he saw I was staring. He’d pick Quaid, and that would be it. I’d be stuck in Purgatory forever. He wouldn’t tell my mother the truth. He’d say his hands were tied and be done with it.
I flinched when Mab stopped beside me. I made a conscious effort not to back away from her.
“I’m quite interested in learning what makes her tick,” she said, brushing hair back off my shoulder. “She was in the Deeps earlier, did they tell you?”
“No,” he said, eyeing Mace.
“Do tell me how she managed to survive, Brother.”
I clenched my fist, when she amped up the heat of her mark.
“The watch. It’s one of Harry’s.”
I glared at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. How dare he tell her anything?
Mab clutched my arm and twisted my wrists to see the watch.
I tried to pull my arm away.
She tightened her hold.
“Please stop her,” I said to The Boss.
She laughed. “He hasn’t yet decided, but we both know he’s leaning toward his servant.” Her wicked smile was confident he’d pick Quaid. “You and I will have plenty of time to talk about the Deeps after they have left.”
I gazed down at the watch. I didn’t want her to have it. In my mental landscape of geodes, I picked up the two halves that glowed a bright iridescent purple and slammed them together. The watch’s clasp released.
“Go home,” I commanded, and it disappeared from my wrist.
I was hoping it would find Harry, but with my luck it was probably sitting on the dresser in my apartment. Not that I had a clue what he would do if the watch went to him. It was probably against the rules to interfere, but the watch belonged to him, and I wanted him to have it back.
Mab growled and intensified the heat. Doing my best to ignore the pain, I searched around my mental garden of geodes. As I’d discovered, a geode in use would glow. Unfortunately, Mab’s geode was black, and my power continued to uncover more geodes. Distracted by the pain of her mark, I couldn’t find the other half. I couldn’t turn her mark off, but at least I no longer needed the watch to use my power.
“Take your servant and leave us. I have decided you may not choose the girl.”
“That’s not how the rules work, Sister,” Harry said as he materialized in the great hall. He tucked my watch into his pocket.
Mab hissed and turned away from me, the pain of her mark returning to something more reasonable. “Why are you here, Brother? This matter does not concern you. You were not invited.”
His mouth puckered and his eyebrows rose as he gave her an indignant look—it was clear he didn’t need an invitation. “Where the girl is involved,” he said. “It concerns me. I’m her guardian in these matters.”
My guardian.
He strode over to where I was standing and placed his hand on my arm—turning off Mab’s mark completely.
She pointed her finger at me and declared, “I have a legitimate claim to her. We agreed she belongs to me.”
“Yes, but you offered her in trade. You cannot rescind that offer until he has decided which he will choose.”
“Decide then,” she spat and glared at The Boss.
He studied me, but I could tell he’d already chosen, and it wasn’t me. I lowered my gaze. I didn’t want him to see my disappointment at being left with her.
“Quaid,” he said.
“Guards,” Mab bellowed. “Remove the demon, and take the girl to the Deeps.”
My mind was yelling at me to run, but I was frozen to the spot. There was no escape from her. Not in Purgatory. Even if I escaped the castle, I had no way out. I belonged to her now. My power, however, didn’t like feeling trapped. I heard the faint crackle of energy as wisps of power formed around my left hand.
Quaid was lowered to the floor.
He was weak and unable to stand at first. But he was not easily broken. Mab had certainly given it her best shot. He stood with great effort, his jaw tight with determination. Without hesitation, he walked over and took his place behind The Boss. Quaid wasn’t scared at the prospect of leaving with him. I wasn’t sure how, but I was sure he hadn’t betrayed anyone. He’d done his job, and
now he was being rewarded by getting to go home.
The guards were on me, seizing me by the arms. The power building in my hand was starting to show. I tamped it down, hiding it until I was ready to use it.
“Wait,” The Boss said. “I wish to challenge your claim to the girl.”
“What?” Mab exclaimed. “That has already been decided. She belongs to me.”
“Has she eaten anything while in Purgatory?” Harry asked.
Mab hesitated. “No, but...”
“What proof do you have to your claim, Brother?” Harry asked.
“She is under signed contract with me. She cannot be claimed by Mab.”
“Signed contract?” Mab said in Ancient. “We agreed she could never be bound to you.”
I was sure she thought she was speaking a language I couldn’t possibly understand, but the parental controls were off on my translator. I could hear her perfectly.
“We also agreed you would have no direct contact,” Harry said in Ancient. “If you swear an oath that you have not manipulated any of these events, then I will disallow his claim. If not, then you have both broken the agreement, therefore, neither of you will be at fault. Those are the rules, Sister.”
Mab’s eyes narrowed. I could tell she was trying to figure out her best strategy. If she tried to claim she wasn’t involved, I was sure Harry would do everything in his power to prove she was. And if that happened she might lose the quads, which had been her original goal. There were probably other consequences too, but with these three who could keep track? I certainly didn’t want to be trapped here with her while a court date was set.
She smiled and, in English, said, “She was not under contract when she entered my realm. If she had been, you would have stated it before.”
The Boss snapped his fingers, and a signed piece of paper appeared in his hand.
I recognized it immediately. It was the receipt Mike asked me to sign. That seemed so long ago. He’d said I was signing my soul away. A requirement to seal the deal, but I’d thought he was joking. I thought The Boss already owned my soul.
Mab snatched the paper from his hand. “The blood is still wet,” she pointed out as she inspected the document. “How, then, did she sign it before she entered Purgatory?”