by G. P. Ching
The crowd broke into whispers.
“How did you do that?” Amy Barger asked.
Dane mumbled something about mirrors.
“I’m in,” Phillip Westcott said.
Malini couldn’t help but laugh.
Chapter 16
Christmas
Jacob watched the fire lick up the sides of the Laudners’ fireplace Christmas morning, hoping he could get through to Katrina. She curled like a cat in the sage green recliner on the other side of the fire. Wearing nothing but a cami and sleep shorts, the bones of her shoulders poked under her skin, her knees seemed too large, and her calves were gone, replaced by skin and bone.
“You’re taking it again,” Jacob said.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she rose up on her knees like a prairie dog to look over the back of the chair, but the Laudners and Jacob’s mom were in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
“Yes,” Katrina said. “I got some from school before break. The new nurse is handing Elysium out like vitamins. Everyone is taking it.”
“The pills are killing you, Katrina.” Jacob lowered his voice. “I told you before, Watchers are running Harrington. Elysium is purposefully addictive. It’s made to keep you weak and under their control.”
Katrina shook her limp head of hair. “I know what you said, Jacob, but I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve been possessed. This is different. When I take Elysium, I feel really good. It hasn’t changed me. If anything, I’m a better person when I take it.”
“How do you figure?” Jacob asked incredulously.
“More patient, laid back.”
“You’re laid back because you’re high, and you don’t care about anything but the pills.”
“Exactly. So, in a way, it’s a good thing. Plus, I finally lost the extra weight.”
“Extra weight!” Jacob had to force himself to keep his voice down. “Katrina, you are starving to death. You eat Elysium and nothing else. You look like a skeleton.”
“In your opinion.”
“In any opinion. I’m surprised the doctor hasn’t admitted you for anorexia.”
“He tried. I’m over eighteen. I refused.”
Jacob buried his face in his hands. “It’s killing you.”
Katrina stood and walked over to his chair. “I think it’s keeping me alive. I only want to die when I don’t take it.”
Frustrated, Jacob met her eyes. The green was cloudy and dull. From this angle, with the light from the fire burning behind her, she looked like the walking dead, like a zombie. “I can help you. I helped you before when you were possessed. There might be herbs I can bring from Eden to lessen the withdrawal. Malini can heal you again.”
“You don’t get it,” she said through her teeth. “I. Don’t. Want. Your. Help.”
“Katrina—”
“What’s going on here?” Lillian asked from the archway to the kitchen.
Jacob spilled the beans. “Katrina never stopped taking the Elysium. She’s got a stash somewhere. She doesn’t think she needs to quit.”
Uncle John and Aunt Carolyn appeared behind his mom. Aunt Carolyn’s festive red and gold plaid apron seemed in sharp contrast to the expression on her face, a tearful grimace better suited for a funeral.
“Katrina, is this true?” she asked.
Katrina backed toward the stairs. “Yes, Mother. It is true, and it’s my life. I can do what I want. Elysium is perfectly legal.”
“And perfectly addictive,” John said. He reached for the phone. “I’m calling Doc Howard. If you won’t help yourself, maybe we can find someone who will help you.”
Uncle John dialed as Katrina bolted up the stairs. Jacob heard her door slam. A few moments later, John hung up the phone.
“I left a message with his answering service. We’ll get this under control. Doc Howard told me there are thousands of Elysium addicts. Twelve-step programs popping up everywhere. Should’ve done this a long time ago.”
Aunt Carolyn rubbed John’s shoulder and then returned to the kitchen, following a billow of pancake-scented smoke.
A flurry of pounding footsteps turned Jacob’s attention toward the stairs. Katrina was back, changed into jeans and a gray sweater and carrying a suitcase.
“What are you doing?” Lillian said, blocking the door with her body.
“Leaving.”
“No,” Jacob said. “Come on. You can’t leave.”
Uncle John returned to the room in a panic. “It’s Christmas, Katrina. Stay for breakfast and open presents. Your ma made the pancakes in the shape of reindeer. Your favorite.”
With three people blocking the door, Katrina didn’t have a choice. She dropped her suitcase and stomped toward the kitchen. Jacob glanced at his mother and then at John who looked like he might be sick.
“Let’s try not to let this ruin our holiday,” Uncle John murmured.
The family gathered around the table. Aunt Carolyn bowed her head and said grace, Jacob following along with one eye on Katrina. His cousin stared out the bay window, eyes vacant, an empty shell of a human being. He texted Malini, who promised to come by as soon as she could break away.
Three pancakes and two sausage links later, Jacob watched Katrina get up from her untouched breakfast and move for the living room. Uncle John stood to follow her.
“Relax, Dad. I’m just going to the bathroom,” Katrina said.
Slowly, John sat back down. Katrina slipped through the archway into the family room.
Lillian elbowed Jacob’s upper arm. “Go check on her. Pretend you’re going upstairs or something,” she said.
But it was too late. The front door opened and slammed shut, sending Jacob and his mom racing from the kitchen, Uncle John beside them. By the time they wrestled the door open, Katrina was backing out the driveway, spraying pebbles in her haste. As she shifted from reverse into drive in the street, she met Jacob’s eyes. He thought he saw a softness in the empty green, an unspoken apology, but her expression hardened just as quickly, and then she drove away.
Behind him, Aunt Carolyn started to weep.
* * * * *
Jacob popped into existence next to Malini inside a cluster of trees on the edge of the Barger’s farm. There’d been a cluster of animal killings since the Watchers took over the school, and based on the pattern, the Barger’s herd was the next target. He handed Malini his enchanted staff and readied himself for some good old-fashioned Christmas Watcher slaying.
“Did Katrina ever come back?” she asked.
“No. No one has any idea where she went.”
“Maybe back to school?” Malini offered.
“A school that is now run by Watchers who are handing out Elysium like candy. Great.”
Malini frowned. “There was nothing you could do, Jacob. She’s an adult, and she’s not in her right mind.”
“Yeah.”
The Barger’s cattle grazed in the last washes of winter twilight. In the late December chill, Jacob could see the cows’ breath.
“Get ready, Jake. The Watcher has to feed before full dark or the cows will go in.”
Jacob bent over and uncapped his ankle flask, shaping the water into his favorite broad sword.
“Do you want me to help?” Malini asked.
Jacob kissed her cheek. “Nah, I got this.”
As predicted, a ripple flashed on the horizon and then an oily black fog dripped from its center. A man formed next to a Guernsey roughly a hundred yards out. Even if Jacob hadn’t seen him arrive, his underwear-model good looks gave him away as a Watcher, as did the fangs he bared aimed at the cow’s neck.
With the superhuman speed of a veteran Horseman, Jacob leapt over the fence and crossed the field, feet falling lightly on the frozen ground. The hungry Watcher never saw him coming. Before the creature could break skin, Jacob’s sword relieved him of his head. The Watcher’s surprised noggin bounced off the side of the cow and rolled down the hill where it lost its illusion and melted into a puddle of black go
o.
Malini clapped as the bubbly black remains hissed into the grass. The cow mooed appreciatively and joined the rest of the herd while Jacob swaggered back to Malini’s side.
“I told you, I got this,” Jacob said, smiling and pointing his thumb at his chest.
“Nice work.”
Jacob willed his sword of ice to melt and bent to return the water to his flask. When he straightened again, his face was grim. “How long can we do this, Malini?”
“Do what? Kill Watchers? Forever.”
“No. Live double lives. In a week, we’re supposed to go back to school—a school run by Watchers. I’m thinking we should avoid that at all costs.”
Malini shrugged. “So we won’t go. We’ll figure something out.”
“It’s not just that. Look how far Lucifer has come. We haven’t found Abigail. Half the world is addicted to Elysium. Paris is crawling with Watchers and we are trying our best just to keep them from eating the farm animals while pretending to be normal teenagers.”
Malini stepped closer. “I know. This can’t last forever. But my intuition tells me it’s too early. A change is coming. I can feel it in the air. But for now, we have to stay focused and organized.”
He sighed.
“And as for Abigail, Gideon found ten properties owned by Milton Blake in the Chicagoland area. The first six were decoys. We’re getting close. Abigail has to be in one of the last four.”
“We hope. Unless he has her in Hell like Dane.”
Malini blinked slowly, her face twisting at the thought. “When Abigail first went missing, I thought Lucifer would call me to him like before. I thought he was using her as bait against us. After all this time, I think he just wants her, Jake. I think he has come to see her as some sort of prize. None of us can go to Hell, but I’ll keep sending out teams to Blake’s properties until we’ve searched every one. I’m not giving up on her.” She handed him back his staff. “Come on. Let’s patrol town.”
“Hey Malini.”
“What?”
“You want your Christmas present?”
“Hell yes.”
“Well, I don’t have it here.”
“Tease.”
“It’s in my room. An early edition of Silas Marner.”
“Hello! Way to ruin the surprise.”
Jacob spread his hands and laughed.
“Silas Marner. Cool. Leather bound?” Malini asked.
“You bet. You said it was your favorite.”
“It is.” She pecked him on the cheek. “Thanks. I’ll even forgive that you have absolutely no patience.”
Jacob held out his hand and made the gimme motion. “What did ya get me?”
Malini pulled a tiny, flat package from her back pocket. Jacob tore the glittery paper off. His lips twitched when he saw what was inside.
“Seeds.”
“Cherry seeds”
“You gave me cherry seeds for Christmas.”
Malini rolled her eyes. “It’s romantic. We can plant them when all this is over, if or when we ever get our own place. You know, Mara told me that Heaven is full of cherry blossoms.”
Eyebrows raised, Jacob pulled her into a hug. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Jacob.” She laced her fingers into his. “Now come on. Let’s go see if any of the Watchers from the school are stupid enough to show their faces in town tonight.”
Chapter 17
Winter’s Quarry
Four weeks later …
Bonnie tried to remain inconspicuous as she stared across the street at the North Wabash Avenue skyscraper Gideon said contained the devil’s penthouse.
“I can’t believe I finally get my chance to be useful,” Cheveyo said, pulling his coat tighter around his body.
“Don’t count your chickens before they’ve grown up and laid eggs,” Bonnie said.
“I don’t think that’s the expression,” Cheveyo said, laughing.
“So then how’s this for an expression?” Bonnie stretched her mouth open with her gloved fingers and waggled her tongue.
“Stop messing around,” Samantha said. “We need a plan.”
Bonnie eyed the door to Lucifer’s building through the dark lenses of her sunglasses with apprehension. “Chances are it will be like all of the others, a completely empty decoy.”
“I don’t like this,” Samantha said. “I’ve had a weird feeling all day. What if Lucifer is inside? Or worse, what if Cord is there?”
“That’s why we have Jesse staking the place out,” Bonnie said. They’d come at noon on a Wednesday. Across town, Harrington Enterprises was not only open, but an interview with Milton Blake was scheduled for WGN. The public’s outcry about Elysium had reached a fevered pitch. Bonnie hoped Lucifer, Cord, and Auriel would be sufficiently distracted with Harrington business that if this was Milton Blake’s actual residence, it would be empty.
Sam crossed her mittened hands over her puffy purple coat. “I wish Jesse would get back soon. I don’t like to think of him in there alone.”
As if his name was a magic incantation to conjure him to her side, he formed next to her, slipping his arm around her waist. Sam jumped at the contact.
“Your wish is my command.” Ghost chuckled.
Sam smacked him on the shoulder, and then yanked him into a quick hug. “So what did you find out?”
“Yeah, Ghost, spit it out. I think my balls are freezing off out here,” Cheveyo said. Originally from Arizona, he hadn’t ever experienced a Midwestern winter. The puffy coat he’d borrowed from Jacob was warm, but every time the wind blew, he scrunched up his face like it hurt.
Bonnie didn’t think the weather was that bad, but then again, she and Sam had grown up in northern Nebraska. Cold, flat, and inhospitable in the winter, Nebraska had toughened her up in more ways than one.
Ghost cleared his throat. “He owns the penthouse, the entire top floor. You need a special key to get up there. The elevator won’t even reach that level without it.”
Bonnie groaned. “Great. How are we supposed to steal the key from Lucifer?”
Ghost grinned. “I don’t know, but you could just use the one I stole from security.” He held up a cylindrical silver key.
Seizing Ghost’s face between her purple mittens, Samantha kissed his cheek so hard it left a red mark. “You are the best Jesse Larsen. The absolute best.”
“Jesse can slip in undetected, but can we pull off Cord and Auriel?” Bonnie asked Sam.
“They’ll have to be smaller versions. It’s going to be difficult to replicate the bulky clothing,” Sam said.
Their own bulky clothing would add to their mass, but Bonnie was right, Cord’s muscled frame topped two hundred pounds and Auriel’s tall stature added to her mass.
“I could do Cord and you could do a random woman. Security might go for it. A romantic interlude?”
Sam tipped her head. “Maybe, but what do we do about him?” They all stared at Cheveyo.
“Hey, these guys are Watchers, right?” he asked. “Obviously, the only reason I’d be with them is if I was their food or carrying their bags.”
Bonnie’s eyebrows shot skyward, and she grabbed her sister’s hand. “Brilliant! Let’s find a place to change.”
“Did I miss something?” Ghost asked.
No one answered. The two red heads were already ducking inside a shop at the end of the street.
* * * * *
“Good afternoon, Mr. Maxwell,” the gray-haired woman in the doorman’s uniform said to Bonnie as she opened the door for her. She gave a curt nod, avoiding eye contact. Cord wouldn’t be the friendly sort. She needed to stay in character.
Behind her, Cheveyo and Samantha entered the building, boxes from the local stores stacked in front of their faces. Sam had changed her appearance to look like an extremely petite Hispanic woman, but Cheveyo had no disguise. They’d have to hope the packages did their duty to block his face; a number of Watchers might recognize Cheveyo from Nod. Of course, if th
ey ran into Watchers, they were doomed anyway. Their smell would give them away.
“That way,” Bonnie said in Cord’s baritone, pointing in the direction of the elevator.
“Mr. Maxwell,” the woman at the front desk called. She waved her hand and smiled.
Bonnie stopped, turned slowly toward her, forcing her face to contort into a busy man’s scowl.
“You have a message,” she said softly, fear leaching into her voice. “Ms. Thomson left you this envelope.” She held up a large manila number.
With measured steps, Bonnie approached the counter, motioning for Cheveyo and Sam to continue toward the elevators. She snatched the envelope from the woman’s hands without saying a word.
“Asshole,” the woman murmured.
Bonnie pretended not to hear her. Quickly, she slipped past the large security guards outside the elevator. They seemed to recognize Cord and know not to make small talk. She joined her cohorts in the elevator reserved for penthouse residents and slipped her key into the top slot. The doors closed and they began to ascend.
Ghost formed inside the compartment, catching himself on his knees. “Jeez, I can’t do that again guys. I feel like someone is pulling me apart cell by cell.”
“You held it for too long, Jesse. You can’t do that,” Sam said.
He raised an eyebrow. “Should I have formed in front of security? How about the other residents in the lobby?” he snapped. “I’m trying my best here.”
Bonnie placed her hand on his shoulder. “We know, Jess. You’ve done a great job.”
“Not to interrupt, but what is that smell? It reeks like something died in here,” Cheveyo said around his stack of packages.
“I smell it too,” Samantha said. “This is a five star complex. You’d think they’d keep it clean.”
Bonnie sniffed, then followed the smell back to the envelope. She weighed the package in her hand, pressed her fingers around the object inside. Stupid. Stupid. Why did she accept this from the front desk? Now when it wasn’t there for Cord to pick up, he’d ask questions. Likely it wouldn’t take long for him to figure out she’d been there.