Despite my stiff limbs, I laughed. “After this sagrado business is over, how about you take a weekend of debauchery to make up for lost time? If I won’t need to reap so much, I can get by with just the one Puller for a few days. That is, if I can ever warm up.”
“I won’t leave you with Mason.” He rubbed my back to soothe me. The smell of him was everywhere, now that I was wearing his sweater. It wasn’t a bad thing, but very intimate.
My voice shifted, not bothering to hide my worry. “Von?”
“Yeah, love?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You have terrible choice in men. I’ll do your screening next time so you don’t get swept off your feet by some good looking dog.”
“Von?”
“Nothing,” Von assured me, pressing his cheek to mine and pulling in longer drags than he usually did. “There’s nothing wrong with you at all, darling. Everything will work out alright. It always does. I’m here, aren’t I? There’s nothing we can’t figure out together. Have a little faith, Mrs. Brady.”
Despite myself, I laughed. I’m sure we looked a little raunchy with our arms and legs wrapped around each other, but when the others came into the room, we didn’t pull apart. Mason, Danny and Ezra entered, turning on the light as Mason joined us on the bed to warm my back with a rub of his hand. “Something’s wrong, Ezra. I c-can’t keep my body heat.”
Ezra placed his hand on my cheek and pulled it back as if I’d stung him. “Danny, how does this keep happening? She’s freezing!”
Danny waved away Mason and pried me out of Von’s arms. I sat on the bed, my legs curled to my chest. I shivered as Danny checked my pupils, my hands and even tugged up the tail of my shirt apologetically to check my spine. Something about my spine made him gasp. “Okay, Ezra? Go make October some tea. Von? Plug in that electric blanket and crank it.”
“What’s wrong with m-me?” I chattered, needing a Puller to give me some body heat.
Danny waited for Ezra to leave before he knelt on the bed next to me, looking me in the eye to make sure he had my full attention. “Shut the door and lock it, Von.” He ran his hands through his hair as if gearing up for something big. I was nervous, and wished the dramatics would tone down a little so it didn’t all seem like such a huge deal. “Listen to me, kid. Something happened that’s making it harder for the souls to completely detach from you. That happened to Mariang once when she...” He shook his head. “She reaped a person after they died somehow. Something about the way he died made the soul stickier, so Von and Mason might feel like they’ve gotten it out, but part of the soul is still stuck inside of you. It’s a slow torture. Starts out with your hands just being a little chilly every now and then, and then weeks later, you turn into this.” He showed me his hands to prove their innocence before reaching around and touching a spot near the base of my spine. It was more tender than any other part of my back for some reason. “Feel that? I can see it holding on right there.” His head whipped to Von and Mason. “How can you not have seen this?”
Von shot his brother an incredulous look. “Um, because we’re not having sex with our charge. We see you naked about as often as we see her naked.”
Danny shrank. “Oh, right. Well, we have to get it out, or this cold feeling might set in and become permanent.”
I chewed on my lower lip as I clutched my knees tighter to my chest. “Like a deep clean?”
Danny let a hint of a smile touch his face to lighten my anxiety. “Exactly. Do you know what you did when you first felt the deep cold like this? It would have been a week or two ago, judging by how big the spot’s grown on your back.”
“No. I mean, it was freezing in Geon’s dungeon, but I think that’s the nature of dungeons. But I couldn’t get warm even after that in the hot Sakuna weather.”
“Then something that happened in the dungeon gave that skip to your system.”
“Do you think it’s when I killed Andy?” I asked, my voice quiet. “You said Mariang reaped someone who was already dead.”
Realization dawned on Danny. “You murdered Andy. That’s right. You killed him, and then you must’ve reaped him after he died. Same thing happened to Mariang. Andy must’ve been a half-breed. Part Duwende and part human.”
Von’s voice lowered. “Whoa! Are you saying Mariang murdered the person she reaped post-death?”
Danny looked around at the audience with worry painting his features. “Never mind about that. It was an accident, and she was trying to defend herself. From here on out, if you murder any more half-breeds or full humans, stay away from them once they hit the ground. Far, far away.”
“That would’ve been nice to know months ago, Danny,” Mason glowered.
“Stop saying ‘murdered’!” I begged. “It was him or me, and I did what I had to do.”
Danny raised his chin and made a show of exhaling so I’d calm down. “Point is, I can get it out, but it has to be now. It might already be too late.”
“Well, do it!”
Danny moved the pillows off the bed and patted the mattress. “It’s going to hurt. Lay face-down here. Von, Mason, pay attention. If I’m not around the next time she kills someone before she reaps them, make sure one of you does this.” I hated the assumption that I was naturally a killer and would go on a murdering binge like a bad habit that needed curbing.
Danny walked them through several deep breathing techniques that all just sounded like yoga to me. I could tell Von was trying extra hard to pay attention and not blow this off, as was his natural inclination. I buried my face into the mattress in embarrassment when Danny moved my sweatshirt up to show Von and Mason what to look for. “Next time you can’t bring her body temperature up with a simple pulling, check her spine right here at the base.”
“Whoa, is that… Is her spine turning blue?” Mason asked, transfixed.
“What? Are you serious?” I tried to crane my neck to look, but if you can believe it, I couldn’t see my own spine without a mirror.
Danny shoved my head back down onto the mattress. “Lie still. This is going to hurt if you resist it. Mason’s going to pull along your spine, so try not to move.”
I clutched the mattress. “What are we talking here? I don’t want a spinal injury, Danny.”
“Then don’t move.”
“You are such an ass,” I grumbled, gathering a bit of the sheet into my mouth to bite down on. Danny positioned Mason on my other side so he could mirror Danny’s actions.
“Put your hands on either side of the blue spot, Mason. That’s right. Now focus on moving it up through her.”
Mason pushed down on my spine, trying to knead the ice through my body. It remained in place, though. I could feel the stubborn chill giving him the finger when he tried to move it. I waited for more than the discomfort of a rough massage to resonate through me, but that seemed to be the worst of it. “It’s not moving,” Mason said, stating the obvious.
Danny scratched his head. “Think of it like a magnet. Will the cold into your hands first, and then move it up after it’s attached to you.”
Mason rubbed his hands together and then placed them on my spine like a Reiki master. A month ago I would’ve thrilled at having his hands on me like this. Of course, in my fantasies, it was without the audience, and we were hot for each other instead of one of us being a human icicle. Now his hands felt wrong, and like we were both trying too hard to make it feel right. Over and over he massaged the spot on my spine, but it didn’t budge. “Am I doing it wrong? Nothing’s happening.”
“I don’t know how to explain it any different. I mean, it’s hard to break down something that’s intuitive. October, relax. It won’t help if you resist it.”
“Relax while you play psychic Operation on my spine? Sure thing, boss.”
Von had been standing near my head, taking in the scene with his outsider’s curiosity. “Let me take a crack at it. Mason, why don’t you wait outside? It’s a little crowded in here. Take a break, mate.”
Mason grew frustrated, pressing down on my back and gripping the muscles on either side of my spine to squeeze the cold up. It was the worst kind of massage, making me tense up and bite down on the sheet as I fought to endure whatever this was. “Come on, October! I can feel you resisting,” Mason growled as he roughly kneaded my back.
“Because you’re hurting me!”
He leaned his weight down on me as his knee dug into my butt, shoving me down into the mattress with a force meant for wrestling zombies, not massaging a docile woman. I tried to let him do his thing, but each time he shoved my spine, it felt like a key grinding in an ignition that had no starter to it. I tried to remain limp while Mason pushed me down over and over again into the mattress. He ignored Danny’s warning to calm down, and grunted a few times in frustration as his fingers dug into my skin.
I tried not to remember what it felt like when he’d pinned me down in the basement to kiss me. I tried not to go there in my mind, but the distrust was real.
“It’s there! I can feel it, but I can’t get it to move.”
“Then get off her!” Von shoved Mason off of me, and Mason shoved back. The two glared at each other in warning, daring the other to strike again.
20
Residual Andy
I let out a frustrated growl when the two started throwing insults at each other. “Would you both knock it off? Mason, take a breather. It’s not your fault it’s not working; we’re all new at this, so chill out. It’s been in me for a while now, so it probably won’t be a cinch to get out.” I was still face-down on the mattress with an artic chill on my spine that was slowly turning me blue. “Von, take your best shot.”
Von waited for Mason to back down before he reached out and held my wrist. “Hey, it’s alright. It’s just me this time. Easy enough.”
Danny shook his head at his brother. “It’s not easy, Von. Take something seriously for once in your life.”
“You’re right, Peach. Danny does look like Frankenstein’s monster when he’s disapproving. I never noticed before.” Despite the situation, I snorted into the sheet, letting out a small chuckle. “There you go. Just relax. Where does it hurt?”
“I mean, the whole middle of my back’s stiff and sore now. But it’s fine.”
“You owe the Denial Jar another dollar. I’ve been keeping track; that’s fifteen dollars today alone.” Instead of trying to get the troubled spot out of me, Von concentrated on gently rubbing the muscles on either side of my spine, soothing the ache and warming the flesh there. “I’m moving your shirt further up so I can see what I’m doing. Is that alright?”
“Sure. That feels nice, by the way. Thanks.” I felt my sweatshirt and the shirt beneath slide up to my shoulders, hitching just beneath my breasts. I shivered as the air hit my skin, reminding me all over again that I was cold. “Von?”
“Yes, love?”
“How blue are we talking back there? Like, a little blue body paint, or have I gone full-on Smurf?”
Von sniggered, his hands relaxing me beyond what I thought possible. “It’s barely a tinted shade of color.” Von lowered his face to my back, and my cheeks pinked when he dragged his lips over my spine. He blew hot air over me to melt whatever resistance I still clung to.
“Is this necessary?” Mason grumbled.
“Seriously, Von,” Danny groused, embarrassed at having to stare at my naked back while his brother made me moan in unladylike ways into the sheets.
“We’ll see, won’t we?” Von leaned down to whisper in my ear. “We’re going to give it another go now, yeah?”
He kissed my cheek, and I couldn’t help but melt for him. “Yeah, okay,” I murmured, my eyes closed.
Von’s hands were gentle on my back, trustworthy and comforting through a pretty long and confusing day. When the warmth from his pulling began to heat up, at first it felt nice. Then the toastiness began to rise beyond what was soothing, heating up my spine and then my whole back with what felt like a slowly growing fire that centered around that stubborn spot. I whimpered into the sheet as Von moved his hands up my back, burning me as he went. It felt like a white-hot knife pierced through the tender bones, slicing the vertebrae like melted butter and dragging upward until Von’s hands were at the base of my neck.
“You’re doing it!” Danny shouted, impressed as much as he was surprised. “Now up and out the top of her head. Draw it out like you’re squeezing a tube of toothpaste.”
“Oh, you’re a filthy one, Danny.”
“Shut it and finish the job!” he yelled, leaning in to watch the rare occurrence with Mason.
Mason reached out and held my hands, giving me something to dig my nails into when the scream erupted out of me. Ezra and Finn burst through the locked door into the room, aghast at Von performing psychic surgery on me and it actually working.
“Almost there, hani.” Von massaged my scalp, pulling the chill through my brain and out into my hair. My back arched as I gritted my teeth through the tearing sensation. It felt like I was being unzipped, like a doll that needed new stitching. “Breathe through it!” Von urged, and the moment I obeyed, the final rip tore through me, shooting out of my head and landing in Von’s palms. I collapsed with a thud on the mattress, whimpering and sweating as I lay limp and unable to summon the strength to sit up.
Mason knelt next to my wilted body on the bed, tugging my shirt down and holding my hand as if I was something valuable.
“What is that?” Finn asked, staring at Von’s hands.
Von held an ethereal ball of bluish white light that danced in his palms like a tiny octopus fairy with too many tentacles. “I pulled it out of her. It’s cold. Mason, is she still cold? Did I get it all?”
I remained lifeless on the bed as Mason squeezed various parts on my arms and back to test my temperature. “She’s much better than she was. I don’t think I see any blue, but it’s hard to say. Her back’s so red. Finn, check her spine. Do you see any blue?” My top was yanked up again without my permission.
Finn leaned in, touching my back when looking would’ve sufficed. “Let me see.” His fingers climbed up and down me, exciting and relaxing like he had a right to tantalize my body, when we both knew he didn’t. His hands felt amazing, but as I didn’t really know him, the whole thing was a little awkward. “I don’t see a blue spot, no.”
“What is it, Danny?” Von asked, breathless. The blue ball of light danced with graceful turns and twists in his hands.
“It’s the soul of the person she murdered. It’s the last of Andy.” Danny’s explanation was months too late, but finally it came. “Taking a soul out of someone who’s already going to die is natural. Killing them on purpose and then taking their soul isn’t. When an Omen murders, the soul sticks around in the person a little while longer, and if the Omen absorbs it, it doesn’t let go so easily. It’s nature’s little insurance policy that you don’t try to solve the famine crisis by going off on a killing spree just to rack up more souls.”
“I didn’t mean to kill Andy,” I admitted. “He was going to suck the will out of me so I’d tell them where the stone was. I was just trying to knock him unconscious, to show Geon he couldn’t control me like that.”
Finn’s voice broke through my utter regret. “If you’re bothered by anyone again, let me know, and I’ll take care of it. Then you won’t have to get blood on your hands.”
“If it ever happens again, you have to tell us so they can get it out right away. You’ll be sore for a few days where the death buildup was.” Danny put his hand on Von’s shoulder, and for once I didn’t see a hint of loathing. If I wasn’t so out of it, I’d put my money on a glimmer of pride in Danny’s eye. “That was brilliant, Von. Now you’ve got to eat the dead soul. Then it’s done.”
Von watched it a few more seconds and then popped it in his mouth, swallowing it down like a pill that soured his face at the foul taste. “Ugh. Andy was a right foul git. Like flat cola and rancid chicken.”
While the other
s asked Von different things about the ingested soul, Finn moved my shirt down and rolled me over carefully on the bed, as if he knew exactly how a woman whose spine had just been worked over should touch the sheets. He was careful not to let my hips move too much one way or the other, taking his time so my stiff spine didn’t bend too much. When I was finally in the bed the right way with my head on the pillow, he brought the comforter up over my lap and caressed my cheek with his knuckle. “Beautiful,” he said of my perplexed look up at him.
I didn’t often get sincere compliments like that. Von’s were always kind of a joke. “Um, thanks. You, too. Super pretty. Especially the gills.”
The corner of Finn’s mouth tugged upward. “I heard a lot of screaming. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve had a giant man kneeling on my spine. Then like I had ice ripped out of my back through my head. So, you know, slightly worse than your average Friday night.”
Amusement danced in Finn’s eyes as he shifted the pillow under my head, plumping the sides. “Is that better?”
“Actually, yeah. Thanks. I’m afraid to move too much.”
“I’m sure you’ll be feeling better soon, kendi.”
Von’s head snapped up, and Mason, Ezra and Danny stiffened. “Don’t you dare call her that! I thought we already had this talk. She’s not part of your king’s harem, and she’ll never be that desperate. Move along, mate.” Von went from glowing with pride to irate in a heartbeat. “And you’re standing about ten feet too close to her bed.”
Finn cast me a lazy smile before he left, leaving Ezra and Danny to exchange dark looks. “I don’t like that,” Ezra stated what the guys were all thinking, judging by the furrowed eyebrows that were aimed in my direction. “King Banak’s commanded Captain Finn to watch her; he can’t disobey orders. I can’t make him stay away tomorrow, so I want one of you by her side at all times. Understood?”
Mason and Von both nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Danny showed me his hands and then reached under the comforter near my feet. He pressed two fingers to the inside of my ankle to test my pulse. “Can you feel that?”
Torture (Terraway Book 3) Page 12