INK: Sketches (Book 0 - parts 1 & 2)

by Bella Roccaforte

  As soon as Rex has received the proper amount of ear scratching I take him out for a walk then head in to change into some sweats and go out to my art studio to work on the final inking. Yeah, Raphael offered to have one of the inkers do it, but honestly, this my baby. I want to do every last bit, with the exception of the lettering. I don't like lettering. Oh, and writing the script sucked too. I think for my next series I'm going to let someone else do that. I'm not really much of a writer.

  The lights come up as I turn the switch. I love it in here, but I really wish I could stop thinking of Aiden every time I walk through the door. I push the thought of him away. Even though I know he's fine, I always get worried when Oliver starts asking about him. He seemed like he had something he wasn't telling me.

  Oliver is like a second Dad to me, I love him. He's always trying to give me stuff, and he paid me way too much for the commission work at the law firm. I mean, of course it looks great, but that doesn't mean I need him to pay me a ridiculous amount of money. But knowing that I'll be okay financially until my royalties start coming in is nice.

  I lay out the final panels that need finishing touches. I get to work and very soon feel my eyes getting droopy. Damn it, the food is heavy in my stomach. Maybe a quick food nap is in order. I look at the clock on the wall then to Rex, who's lying at my feet. "What do you think? Fifteen minute power nap?"

  Rex only moves his eyes to look up at me. "Agreed, a power nap it is."

  I slink back into the house and lie down in the bed, drifting off to sleep.

  ***

  "What's shakin', beautiful?" I hear Gabriel's warm creamy voice from behind me. I sit up and survey the room. This is not my house, I don't recognize where I am. My eyes protest against the light and won't open all the way.

  "Gabriel, is that you?" I ask, since I can't actually see him.

  "Yes, it's me." He moves around between me and the light and his tall form comes into view. He's wearing his trademark trench coat and fedora.

  A smile blooms on my lips; I know that I'm going to be getting more fodder for my comic. "So where to tonight?"

  "I'm not sure just yet. I know the Specter is up to his tricks, I just have to figure out where he is." His expression drips with the kind of sadness I immediately want to soothe.

  I throw my arms around his neck. "Don't be sad, we're going to catch him. I promise." It certainly isn't a promise I want to keep. I mean, if we catch him then my comic will absolutely suck. No villain, no comic.

  "He's been very active. You have missed a lot of what's been happening and I've not been able to find you." He takes a moment to think. "Where have you been?"

  "I've been working a lot, so not a lot of sleep." I'm not sure if that's why, but I don't recall having a dream for a couple of weeks.

  He closes the distance between us and devours me with his hungry gray eyes. "You look amazing, by the way."

  I look down to see that I'm dressed in a black tank top and a short black vinyl skirt. "Thanks. I picked it out myself." Huh, I really didn't pick it out, but I would have.

  "You know, we have a little bit of time before we have to go." He pulls me in by the waist and whispers it hot in my ear.

  This is all feeling a little weird. I'm engaged to Eli. But this is just a dream, right? Does fidelity count in dreams? Good question. I'm going to opt for being good though. This is not what I need to put in the next issue of Sanguine Specter. "No Gabriel, it wouldn't be right." I push away from him.

  "You are no fun at all." He pouts and the entire room begins to spin.

  I grab onto him out of fear of losing my balance, with my face tucked firmly to his chest until the room stops spinning. When I finally look around I recognize where we are immediately. "The law office?"

  "What do you mean?" Gabriel asks. "Do you know this place?”

  "Yeah, I did all the artwork," I answer, admiring my own work. There are only a few lamps on in the lobby, but none of the overhead lights are on. There's warm light streaming from the doors of a few offices and spilling into the hallway.

  "Really?" Gabriel seems uninterested. "Well, let's get moving and see what we can find."

  We walk down the hall and hear muted voices; we pause and listen at the door.

  "That little shit is pushing for death row. There's no way the jury is going to find him not guilty." I vaguely recognize the attorney's voice as being Jason Eddins.

  "Well I would have thought that you would be able to handle a first year ADA," Oliver chides.

  "I thought so too. I know he's tough, but I never expected this. And going for lethal injection. Oliver can't you talk to him and get him to back off on this case?" Jason asks.

  "Jason, you know I can't do that. Besides, he was too busy fulfilling your discovery requests to meet for dinner," Oliver says, accusingly.

  Jason belts out a satisfied laugh. "Good, I'm glad I ruined his dinner plans. I hope I'm keeping him from getting laid too."

  "Jason,” Oliver warns. “You need to focus more on what you can do rather than what he's doing. You're a better attorney than this." His tone is scolding.

  "Keeping this guy off death row may not be possible. That's all there is to it." Jason huffs and runs his fingers through his hair.

  "Well you'd better keep him off death row. And why not try doing it without having to bury Eli in paperwork." Oliver turns and heads for the door. Panic moves through me that we're going to get caught listening in. I look at Gabriel with terrified eyes.

  Gabriel shakes his head and leans down. "Remember, it's just an echo. He can't see you."

  Oliver passes right through me crossing the hall to his office. "You know, what you should be worried about is how you're going to get him to quit the DA's office, we need him over here," Jason offers.

  "Well, he's not interested." Oliver pauses in the doorway. "It would seem none of my boys are interested in being part of anything I have to offer." His tone is filled with regret.

  "Maybe I just need to pile more discovery requests on him. That way he'll decide private practice is more desirable." Jason comes to the door of his office.

  My senses are filled with a heavy, rancid smell. Like sulfur, death and shit all wrapped in a horrific potpourri. The Specter makes his appearance, floating lithely down the hall, his warped face showing only a smile and holes where his eyes should be. He doesn't acknowledge Gabriel and me. He circles Oliver and envelopes him in a black veil.

  Oliver braces himself in the doorway of his office. He takes in a ragged breath and lets out what sounds like a sarcastic laugh. The Specter's form takes on the appearance of a serpent and squeezes Oliver's chest. Oliver leans heavy on the door frame and begins to slide to the floor.

  "Oliver!" Jason passes through Gabriel and me then leans down next to Oliver, who's grabbing his chest.

  The serpentine tail of the Specter begins to run in and out of Oliver's chest like a sewing needle. It zeros in on his heart.

  "Richard, call 9-1-1!" Jason helps Oliver to the couch in his office. "Oliver, you've got to stay with me."

  The Specter hasn't loosened his grip and Oliver's body is convulsing from the pain. With each twitch he makes, the Specter squeezes his snake's tail tighter, exuding glee through his dark eerie stare.

  I'm standing speechless watching this. Even though I know it isn't real it's incredibly disturbing. "Gabriel, we have to do something," I cry out.

  "There's nothing we can do, this isn't happening. It's a memory the Specter wants you to have," he says sadly.

  "No, we're going to stop this now." I run to Oliver's side. "Oliver, you've got to hang on." I try to grasp the Specter's smoky form and pull him off, but I can't feel him. My hands go through the Specter and Oliver like they aren't there, as though they are made of air. I'm grabbing at the nothingness and watching this horror unfold. I can't let this happen, it has to stop. With all of my might and power I scream, "Stop!"

  The Specter loosens his grip for a split second and leers in my direction, but
looks through me. He can't see me, but I sense he can feel me. I grab for him again, but still my hands only move through the emptiness. Oliver is pale and sweating, the seizing has stopped and Jason is yelling for Richard to get an ambulance.

  Oliver goes still; there is no sound in the room as though all of the air, sound and hope have been sucked into a vacuum. I call out. "Gabriel, please help me."

  "This isn't real. It's not happening. You need to come back to me. You can't help him." He recites these phrases over and over. I won't listen to him; the only thing I comprehend is the motionless form of Oliver on the couch.

  Jason calls out his name, and when Oliver doesn't respond he checks him for a pulse but doesn't find one. Jason takes off his blazer and starts doing compressions on Oliver's chest. "Don't you do this, old man."

  Oliver protests with a cough and flails his arms at Jason. "Stop."

  "Oliver?" Jason isn't sure whether he hurt him. "We've called an ambulance, it's on the way. You're going to be okay, you hear me? You're going to be okay."

  "Jason, it's okay." Oliver takes Jason's hand in his and holds it to his heart. "Take care of Shay. You know what I want from Eli, I want him to be a partner."

  "Oliver, you're going to be okay. Don't talk like this. The ambulance is on the way." Jason is choking back tears trying to convince Oliver he's going to live. But the hopelessness in Jason's expression exposes the lie.

  "No, it's okay. Make sure she's taken care of. She and Eli are the only family I have. Promise me." He can barely speak and his words are a muted whisper.

  "I understand, but please hold on." Jason wipes tears from his face.

  "Oliver, you're going to be fine, stop this. Gabriel, please stop this." I'm angry and all I can think of is that I want to kill the Specter, make him leave Oliver alone. Tears spill from my eyes more from my impotence than my sadness. I can't feel sad yet. I have to do something, anything.

  Oliver stills once more and I watch paralyzed as the Specter sucks his being from him by way of his heart. The shadowy snake’s tail is extracted from Oliver's chest with his heart impaled on the end. I want to cry, scream and lash out at the Specter and make him stop. I want him to put Oliver's heart back. I run at the Specter and try to knock into him, but there's no point, there's no touching him. It's as though I'm the one who is the shadow in the room. Useless, helpless.

  Gabriel pulls my shoulders back. "I'm sorry, my love. We can't save him."

  "Fuck you Gabriel, we have to be able to save him." I wriggle out of his grip and flail at him. "You have to make this stop!"

  "Shay!" Eli's voice invades the dream.

  I look around the office, afraid for him. "Eli?"

  "Shay, wake up. You're having a nightmare." He gently rocks my shoulder.

  I roll over shaken and shattered from the inside out and begin to sob. "Oliver," is the only thing I can manage to say. My body is trembling from my sobs. I feel like my soul may jump right out of my skin.

  "What is it, Sweetybird?" He holds and rocks me for comfort.

  "Oliver died," I say between sobs, and I wipe my nose on my sleeve.

  "No honey, Oliver's fine. I just talked with him earlier." He strokes my hair sweetly. "It was just a dream."

  "It was so real, it was..." Recalling the memory of the dream is more than I can bear. "Can we please call him?"

  He looks down at me with disapproving eyes. He sees something in me that tells him I won't be happy until I hear Oliver's voice. "Honey, it's four AM. He's probably in bed."

  "I need to hear his voice," I insist. There's no way I'm going to be taking “no” for an answer.

  "Okay, but when he gets pissed off you're going to have to tell him that it was your idea." Eli pulls his cell phone from his pocket. "As a matter of fact, why don't you be the one to wake him? He likes you better." He smiles, handing me the phone that he's already dialed. He takes off his jacket, lays it across the chair and gets ready to get into bed while I'm on waiting for Oliver to answer the phone.

  I get more nervous with each ring that goes unanswered. Voice mail picks up and my spirit sinks. He’s gone, he's really gone. I look up at Eli as though he can make Oliver answer the phone. "Call him again. He didn't hear the phone."

  "He's probably sleeping, like we should be." Eli tries to convince me unsuccessfully.

  I take the phone and hit redial. "I need to hear his voice." Again the phone goes to voice mail. It's as I feared, he's gone. The sobs crash into me again, pulling my spirit under the incredible force of the reality. I feel Eli's phone buzz in my hand before it makes a sound. "Oliver?"

  "Shay? Is everything okay?" Oliver's tired but concerned voice comes flowing through the phone and I swear to God it's the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I'm unable to respond.

  Eli takes the phone from me. "Oliver, I'm really sorry. Everything’s fine, but Shay had a nightmare and was worried about you.”

  "Well I'm doing just fine. Just tired." He should be pissed, but he's not. He's just that great of a guy.

  "I'm really sorry. You get back to sleep and I think she might too, now that she knows you're okay."

  "Okay, son. Tell her I'm fine and that I love her. I'll see you in the morning," he says with an uptick in his voice.

  "Will I?" Eli is definitely taken by surprise.

  "You will." With that Oliver hangs up the phone.

  "See, he's just fine," Eli says in a mocking tone.

  "It was awful." The memory is disturbing beyond my comprehension. I want to throw up, sleep and cry all at once.

  Eli goes back to rocking me. "It's okay, I'm here and it was just a dream."

  After a time of being rocked in Eli's arms I finally fall asleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  On My Knees

  That nightmare I had about Oliver was incredibly disturbing. It's been four or five days and I just can't shake it. It was so real; I know I saw him die. I feel like I've been walking through a dream since.

  Eli's been pretty good. He's stayed with me every night. He says that the case is letting up and that the jury should be deliberating by the end of the day today.

  Eli comes through the door to find me looking at my sketches. Even though it was terrible for me to watch, I just can't help myself from drawing out the scene. I'm ashamed that I even did them. Eli leans down and kisses my cheek. "Hey there, what are you—" He stops when he sees them. "Is this what you saw in your dream?"

  "Yes, I told you it was awful." Looking at the scene is unnerving.

  "Well, I can assure you Oliver is alive and well." He blows out an exasperated breath.

  "Was he in court again today?" Eli's been having a hard time in court with Oliver sitting as second chair on the defense.

  "He certainly was." Eli steps away from me, taking his tie off and throwing it over the back of the couch. "He's trying to break me, but I'm not going to let him."

  I smile, knowing how crafty Oliver is. "You're letting him get the better of you," I accuse.

  "No, I'm not." He gives me a look that contradicts his words.

  "You are. Oliver's getting under your skin." There's something satisfying about seeing him squirm like this.

  "He's not going to do it. I'm not pleading out this case. I don't care if Oliver took first chair, I'm doing my job and I'm going to put this guy away." He runs his fingers through his hair and unbuttons his top button.

  He's incredibly sexy when he's this adamant. There's a certain vulnerability to him. "Come sit, it's going to be okay."

  "I don't need patronized, Shay," he says, sitting down hard on the couch.

  "I'm not patronizing you." I roll my eyes at his accusation. "Besides, I'm not really sure one hundred percent what exactly we're talking about."

  "The Jarrod Burnham murder trial." Eli inhales deep. “Oliver's taken second chair in his case. I'm pretty sure this is a tactic to get me to offer a plea deal. He's trying to manipulate me."

  "He is pretty smooth, you should really watch your step." I strad
dle him on the couch and lean down, whispering in his ear.

  "Seems like maybe it's not Oliver that I need to watch out for." He growls and grabs a handful of my ass, pulling me in closer to him.

  "Oh yeah? You scared?" I run my lips from his ear down to his collar while unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, being sure to grab onto him to make sure he's interested.

  Eli groans and throws his head back on the couch. "Yes, no. God what's the right answer?"

  "Just shhh." I follow the open buttons down his chest and spend extra time when I reach his waist.

  "Yes ma'am." He lets it out with a moan while tangling his hands in my hair.

  I undo his belt and run my finger along the inside of his pants while kissing along his solid belly, letting my tongue linger. I work my way back up and cover his mouth with mine. He tastes like heaven and I'm yearning to have him inside me. "Bedroom?" I raise an eyebrow to tempt him.

  He strips my shirt off over my head. "Whoa, no bra? Where's the challenge in that?"

  A laugh gets trapped in my throat. "When have I ever been a challenge?"

  "Every day of my life, and it's so fucking worth it." He picks me up off his lap and moves toward the bedroom. I latch onto his neck with my teeth biting down hard and am rewarded by a primal moan that originates from deep within him. He puts me down in the hallway, backing me up against the wall with his tongue darting in and out of my mouth. He bites down on my lower lip. "In a biting mood, are we?"

  Urgent and hungry for more of him I answer breathy and serious, "I need you in my mouth, now." I lower myself and finish taking off his pants. Slowly and gently I fondle him, looking up at him through my lashes. I caress my face along his cock and close my eyes before taking him into my mouth. His knees buckle under the ecstasy. "God I love you." He puts his hand on the back of my head, guiding himself deeper into my mouth. His hips grind and twitch as I run my tongue along him slow. Eli lets out an incoherent string of words, none of which would be found near each other in any sentence.

  "Shay." I know that if I want more from him I need to stop. I lick along the length of him slowly, and he looks down at me with those cobalt orbs glazed over with pleasure. Taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom, he lies on the bed and I get on top of him, hiking up my skirt. He pulls my panties to the side and slides himself inside me. It's so hard to stay cool, but I can't help but buck with the pleasure of him parting me. He leans up and puts his strong hands on my back to guide my movement.