Darker Days tda-1

by Jus Accardo

  “The river. Are you looking to cross?”

  “We are,” I answered simply.

  “Then it’s your lucky day, little demon. I can help you across.”

  I ignored the little demon comment. It shouldn’t be insulting, right? That’s what I was. “How?”

  He flashed a wicked smile and snapped his fingers twice. To our right, the tar began to churn and spit. Something began to rise from the muck. Something pale and long. A concrete path. Wide enough for a single person, it went from our end all the way to the other. “It’s my job. Think of me as the Ferryman…” He twirled around, then bowed. “Only with a bit more style.”

  Lukas started forward. He made it to the edge of the sidewalk when the man grabbed his arm.

  “Of course, you’ll need to pay the piper.”

  “Pay?” Lukas pulled his arm free. “Money?”

  The man shook his head and laughed. “Unnecessary. A small token will do.”

  “A small token,” I repeated carefully.

  “A strand of your hair.”

  “That sounds—innocent,” Lukas said with a shrug. “Strange, but innocent.”

  “Anything but.” I narrowed my eyes. “A strand of hair can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands.”

  The man shrugged and took a step closer. “I could take it from you. At least if you give it willingly, you get to cross the road.”

  “Why do you want it?”

  He waggled an unnaturally long finger and clucked his tongue. “Would you believe I like the way it smells?”

  Without hesitation, I pulled a strand free. I knew this was a bad idea. Epically stupid, even. But I needed to get my parents away from Meredith. And to do that, I needed to get across that road to Valefar. And apparently, to get across the road, I had to give in to this guy’s freaky Pantene fetish.

  Smiling, he took the hair and waved us ahead. “Carry on.”

  Without looking back, I stepped onto the concrete bridge and started across. The road was longer than it looked. Much longer. It took us close to ten minutes to walk across. Each time it seemed we were coming to the middle, the path ahead shimmered and stretched.

  The further we got from the edge, the noise I’d heard earlier, the faint whispering, grew louder. Suddenly, they didn’t sound so much like whispers, but screams.

  “What’s that?” Lukas stopped and pointed.

  In the road—water—the stuff I’d thought was white smoke rising from the surface was something else.

  “Are those—” He sounded sick.

  I couldn’t blame him. Closer now, we could see the shape of the white puffs rising from the black surface. Faces. People. And those whispers? Not so much whispers as screams for help.

  “Souls, I’d guess.” A white puff rose from the blackness a few feet from the bridge. A woman’s face, her mouth open in a scream that sent the tiny hairs on the back of my neck twitching, floated up to knee level, then dissipated in a soft pop. I shuddered and tugged at Lukas’ sleeve. The less time we spent here, the better it would be for my sanity. “Let’s keep moving.”

  When we finally made it to the other end, my feet were starting to hurt.

  “This is it.” We stood in front of the tinted glass revolving door. Something inside me stirred. Dual voices in the back of my head fought each other. One screaming for me to push forward—that this was where I’d been destined to end up. The other telling me to turn around. That once I stepped over that threshold, there was no turning back.

  If it’d been anyone other than Mom, I would have gone with voice number two. She’d kept me away from Dad’s side of the family for a reason—and I trusted her. But her involvement trumped everything. The prize went to voice number one as I stepped up to the spinning glass door and tucked myself inside.

  The lobby wasn’t what one would expect to see in hell—on first glance. Bustling and bright, the walls were bathed in a crisp coat of white paint and the soft, beige carpet was in pristine condition.

  A bubbly blond woman sat behind a massive semicircle desk on the other side of the room, armed with a smile and teeth so white they almost sparkled. She was chatting with a tall man in a black pinstriped suit and a leather briefcase.

  That was all on first glance.

  We stepped up to the desk and the room flickered. It was like someone had flipped a switch. Suddenly, the white walls were blackened and stained with something that looked suspiciously like dried blood. There were things stuck to the wall in places—chunks of something. I couldn’t make out what, and I didn’t really want to. The beige carpet was thread bare and burned, still smoking in some places. The receptionist was no longer a blonde with a cheerful smile, but a stooped, hairless thing with black skin and squinty blood-red eyes. When it smiled, it bared several rows of sharp, decaying teeth that dripped slimy black liquid. The stuff pooled at its pointed chin for several seconds before falling with an audible plop to the desk below.

  The desk itself was a thing of horror. Made of bone and skin and oozing blood. The goo trickled down the sides, collecting on the floor by the base of each leg. To the left of the receptionist sat a large pinkish, purple glob. It gave a wet squishing sound as the creature picked it up and took a large bite, bits slipping down its chin and mingling with the black slime.

  I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out in surprise—and terror. Cool. I had to play it cool. Demons were a lot like dogs. They could smell fear. Squaring my shoulders, I took a deep breath and hoped my voice didn’t shake too bad. “I’m here to see Valefar.”

  Like a mega rubber band, the nightmare snapped back to the previously pristine room. There was no way Lukas had seen what I had. He’d be freaking. Hell, I was freaking. Acid churned in my stomach, and I was having a hard time not screaming out loud.

  “And do you have an appointment?” Her voice was deceptively sweet, and even though the illusion was back in place, I could still hear the wrongness. The off-pitch canter and the slight, nearly unnoticeable warble.

  Craps. “I don’t, actually.”

  The creature shook its head. Blond curls bounced back and forth as ruby lips turned downward. “I’m sorry, then. He’s a very busy guy. I can take your name and see if he has time to squeeze you in?”

  Wasn’t she a helpful little monster? “Darker. My name is Jessie Darker.”

  The room flashed again. White. Black. White again.

  The receptionist grinned. “Well, then. There’s always time for a Darker.” She pointed to the doorway behind her desk. “Through that door. His office is on the top floor.”

  Lukas took my arm and started to lead me around the desk. The blonde’s hand shot out. “Afraid not, hunny bun. She goes up. You stay down.”

  “No way,” I said. “He comes with me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “If you want up, then you’re going alone.” She turned to Lukas and winked. “He’ll be fine here with me. Stained mortals are just too yummy for words.”

  Oh. Yeah. Because that made me feel better. “He’ll be safe?” Because if she gave me her word, then Lukas would be fine. She wouldn’t be able to hurt him.

  The receptionist nodded with a little too much enthusiasm.

  “From you and anything else that might come across him, right?”

  She flashed a mock frown. “You know your stuff. You have my word. He’ll be safe.”

  I pushed open the door and stepped through. As it closed behind me, I heard her mumble, “Spoilsport.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The elevator opened to a sprawling hallway lined in red and gold. I waited for the room to shimmer like the lobby, but thankfully, it didn’t happen. I was sure the pristine carpeting and flawless paint job wasn’t real—just a glamour to put people at ease. But honestly? It wasn’t really working.

  Forty-seven. That’s how many steps it took to get to the end of the hall. And to Valefar’s door.

  Twenty-two. That’s how many times I thought about turning back and heading hom
e to try finding another way.

  And sixteen. That’s how many deep breaths I took as I stood in front of the door, trying to gather the guts to knock. But it wasn’t necessary. As I raised my hand, the door creaked open and soft light spilled into the hall.

  Subtle. Real subtle.

  I’d never met Valefar before, and when I stepped into the room, the guy that stood before me wasn’t what I expected. Wasn’t even close.

  Black leather pants—what was it with demons and leather?—black silky button down, and worn black shit kickers. The guy had a generous mop of unruly blond hair and a pair of the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen. The color belonged on the cover of a Caribbean vacation brochure—not a demon’s face.

  Hotness aside—and yeah, he was hot—he looked a little older than me. Early twenties, tops. I knew that wasn’t his true form. Dad had told me once Valefar was among the oldest in the Shadow Realm’s hierarchy. The older demons were, the less human they looked.

  His smile widened at my approach. “Now this is a pleasure.”

  “Do you know who I am?”

  “Little Jessie Darker. You’re Damien’s girl.”

  “You’re not surprised to see me? Here?”

  His smile widened, and he winked. “Not in the least, Sugar Plum. What can I do for you?”

  “I need help.”

  He laughed and clapped his hands together. The sound echoed through the room, making me jump. “I like you. No beating around the proverbial bush.”

  I stuffed both hands into my pockets. Play it cool, Jessie. “No time.”

  “As I’m sure you know, my aid—should I choose to give it—does not come free.”

  This was the part I’d been dreading. “I know.”

  “What is it you need?”

  “You sent my dad to stop the sale of the box containing the Seven Deadly Sins.”

  He picked up a small blue container and popped something into his mouth. I tried not to imagine what it was. “I did.”

  “And as you’re aware, the box was opened.”

  “I am.” He held out the box and I forced myself to look inside. “Hershey’s Kiss?”

  Hershey’s Kiss. My favorite. I shook my head. “The Sins found a witch. They’ve taken my parents.”

  “What would you like me to do about it?”

  “Obviously, I’d like your help getting them back alive,” I snapped.

  In the blink of my eye, he was in front of me, lips twisted in an angry snarl. “Watch your tone, child.”

  I froze.

  He took a step back. “So you’d like my aid in reacquiring them, yes?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And what are you willing to trade?”

  I had to be very careful. Wording was tricky when it came to demons. Making deals with them was even trickier.

  “If you want me to consider helping you, I need something in return.” He waited a moment.

  “I’m guessing you won’t take a check?”

  He shook his head. “What else ya got?”

  “Um, I have a fifty dollar gift card to Barnes and Noble, but something tells me you’re not a reader…”

  Circling like a vulture, he said, “May I make a suggestion?”

  “Sure.”

  “Service.” He stopped and leaned back against the edge of his desk.

  “Huh?”

  “Your parents for fifty years of service.”

  “Why not just ask for my soul while you’re at it,” I yelled. Somehow, though, when I’d chosen to go this route, I knew this would be his request. Mom was too eager—too willing—to keep Dad and his element away from me. There was more to this than they’d said. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to find out what. Not with their lives on the block.

  “I just did.” He circled again. “I would own your soul for the next fifty years. Think of it as—a loan. In that time, you would work for me—in a similar manner as your father. Should you breech that contract in any way, I keep possession of your soul.”

  I didn’t answer right away. He smiled. “Take it or leave it, pumpkin. Going once…”

  “Fifteen years.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Fifty five years. Going twice…”

  “There has to be something else. What good would I be to you? I’m a useless human.”

  He laughed. Not a snicker or giggle, but a full-blown belly laugh. It was seriously creepy. “Simple human? Hardly. You got here, didn’t you?”

  “What would I have to do?” I was desperate. The truth was, no matter what he said, I’d agree. I refused to lose my parents. But the least I could do was make it seem like I’d bargain.

  “Nothing hard, actually. If rumors of your reputation are true, you might even enjoy it.”

  Rumors of my reputation? I had a reputation? Despite my situation, I was kind of proud. A rep. That had reached hell.

  “You’d mostly be enforcing deals like ours. Checking up to see that words were being honored, dunking the ones that weren’t.”

  “Dunking?”

  “You saw the souls in the river on your way in, I trust? All poor bastards that reneged on their deals.”

  And with that, a moment of clarity came. I understood now why Mom told Lukas she’d help him even though she was sure she couldn’t. I idolized my mom, but up until that moment, I never truly realized what an amazing woman she was. The choices she had to make. The things she had to sacrifice. All for the greater good. And now it was my turn to step up and make the hard choice. It’s what I’d been begging for, and now that I was standing on the cusp, I wanted nothing more than to go back to arguing with her about it.

  “Better hurry. Deals like this don’t last…”

  I wanted more time. Time with Lukas. Time to think. Time to have been a kid.

  But time was up.

  “Lukas. I want Lukas freed from the box.”

  “That,” he said with a slight frown. “I cannot do.”

  “You can’t.” I knew I should watch my tone, but I couldn’t help it. Demons were a braggy bunch. I’d never heard one admit there was anything they couldn’t do. Wouldn’t? Sure. Couldn’t? Not an ice cube’s chance in hell.

  “I can’t free him. But someone else can.”

  It was Simon all over. “So I’ve heard. A name might be nice, though.”

  Valefar shook his head. “Do we have a deal or not?”

  “Tell me what to do to save Lukas,” I growled. He couldn’t dangle that and really expect me to let it go.

  “Lukas is not part of our deal. Just your parents. Them for fifty-five years.”

  “You said fifty, not fifty-five!”

  “And you had the audacity to haggle. That automatically raises the price.”

  “What about Lukas?”

  Arms folded, his jaw tightened. “I like you, Jessie. I’ve given you a freebie by telling you there’s a chance to save him. Do not push your luck. You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out. Now. Our deal. Going, going, gon—”

  “Fine,” I said. “My parents and a question for fifty-five years.”

  He smiled, stomping his foot triumphantly. “Done.”

  I swallowed. “We have a deal.”

  “Excellent!” He reached for my hand. The moment our skin touched, a sharp pain exploded in my stomach. Knees giving out, I crumpled to the ground, Valefar’s hand still gripping mine.

  Scraping skin. Like someone was dragging the tip of a knife over my stomach and abdomen. Warmth flooded my limbs, spreading from my stomach and out to the tips of my toes and fingers. A wave of vertigo and the strong smell of salt water. Gasping for air, I pulled the edge of my shirt up. My previously too pale skin was now decorated with a scrolling design—like Celtic knot-work dripping with intricate, blood red leaves. It was beautiful—but it shouldn’t have been there.

  “What—”

  “That is Desakay. In the Shadow Realm, it symbolizes destiny. I thought it fitting. Each leaf represents one year of service. As the years pass, the
leaves will disappear. When they’re gone, you have your freedom.” He held out his other hand. In it, a pointed black stone with red veins hung from a think leather cord.

  “What’s that?”

  “With this around your neck, you need only call out my name and I will hear you.” He took a step back. “And?”

  I turned the crystal over in my hands a few times. It was beautiful. The smooth surface was slightly warm to the touch. “And what?”

  “Your question?”

  Oh. Wow. Way to play it smooth… “My Grandfather—Joseph Darker. I think he made a deal with a demon.”

  “That’s not a question.”

  “I want to know. For sure.”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “We had a deal,” I warned.

  “Not to worry. I’ll answer your question. I’m merely curious.”

  “These things tend to come back and bite people in the ass,” I said. “I’d feel better if I could see it coming.”

  He laughed. “I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that…”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’re correct. Joseph Darker did make a deal. To prevent the death of his wife during childbirth.” Valefar grinned. “But you already knew that.”

  I nodded. I hadn’t known, but I’d been pretty sure. “Who did he make the deal with? And what were the terms?”

  He waggled his finger, lips curling at the corners. “Tsk, tsk, Sweet Pea. That’s two questions.”

  Technically, he was right. I was an idiot. I knew better and still phrased it wrong. Good thing Mom wasn’t here to see this. I’d been insisting I could run with the big dogs, when really, I was still a small, stupid puppy.

  Hands on his hips, Valefar winked. “But as I said before, I like you…so I’ll give you one more freebie. Ask your question again.”

  I’d end up paying for this somehow, I just knew it, but it didn’t matter. I needed to know. “Okay… Who did Joseph Darker make the deal to save his wife with?”

  “He made the deal with me, of course. Why do you think you’re here?”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Suddenly, hell wasn’t such a warm place. The chills racing up and down my spine could’ve kept ice cream solid for weeks. “What?”