“Your neck is still broken, and the lighting collapsed your lung and and didn’t do your heart any favors. I did what I could, but there was a lot of damage and healing those kinds of things take time. I mean, I know you can’t die, but that doesn’t mean you’re even close to ready to put your body through the kind of exertion you’re talking about here.”
I sat back on the bed, definitely feeling every bit of the injuries Haircut had just explained (the meds must have been wearing off). I didn’t pay him any attention though. I needed to move faster and, after that, I needed to move faster.
“An innocent little girl is about to die, Kyle,” Andy said, standing by the door with his foot tapping furiously against the floor. He wouldn’t have to wait much longer. It had been all of thirty seconds since he’d gotten the call from Merry and I would be beside him out the door in another ten.
“I know that Andy,” he answered. “But I’m telling you that Cai—Callum isn’t ready for this sort of thing. His neck is very vulnerable at the moment. Another blow could mess him up even more.”
“Listen,” I said, standing and walking up to the man. Without breaking stride, I blew past him toward the door. “I appreciate your concern. I know you took an oath or some shit about doing no harm. So, let me ease your Hippocratic little mind. I hear your orders, Doctor, and I’m choosing to disregard them. There, your conscience is clear.”
He followed me through the doorway and then up the staircase sitting right outside of it. I was halfway up and readying to open the other door at the top when he spoke again.
“This isn’t about my conscience, and it certainly isn’t about my oath,” he said. “This is about doing what’s right and saving that little girl. I didn’t live through this like the rest of you did. I’m pretty new to all of this, but I know enough to know this isn’t on the up and up. Merry spent a lot of nights here with you, Callum. She talked some, told me about what was going on with her daughter.”
“Oh course she did,” I muttered. “I mean; why wouldn’t she tell a complete stranger every life-changing secret she knows?”
“It seems to me that whoever is using Amber is doing so to get to you.”
“I know that,” I barked, pulling the door open at the top of the stairs and spilling out into the coziest looking country home I had ever seen.
“Then you also know it’s a trap,” Haircut said, following me out, and closing the door behind us.
“Of course, I know it’s a trap,” I said, marching through an overly decorated kitchen and into a living room full of flowered furniture and family portraits. “Where the fuck are we anyway?”
“This is my house,” Haircut answered. “Well, it is now anyway. My grandmother left it to me when she died a few months ago.” He looked around. “I haven’t exactly gotten around to redecorating yet.”
“Don’t bother,” I said, heading toward the front door. “It kind of suits you.”
“If you know it’s a trap, then I don’t understand why you’re going there,” Haircut said, still trailing behind Andy and I.
“Because a kid’s life is at stake,” I retorted.
“Is it?” he asked, and the gall in his voice forced me to stop in my tracks.
I spun around, venom filling my eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“No. No,” he stammered, holding his hands up as if to show he meant no offense. “I only meant that, if someone is using Amber as a way to get to you, I doubt they’re going to kill her. People don’t usually toss away their trump card.”
“He’s got a point,” Andy admitted, looking over at me.
I sighed. “He does,” I admitted. “And it’s not one I haven’t considered. What the two of you aren’t considering is that she doesn’t deserve to be anybody’s trump card. I’m hurt. I get that and, trust me, I sure as hell feel it. But I’m still in better shape to go against whoever’s using Amber than she and Merry are. Besides, this person wants me to show up, and there’s no guarantee Merry won’t get caught in the crossfire if I don’t. They might not be willing to kill the kid, but that doesn’t mean they won’t kill her mother.”
That was a stretch. The voices in Amber’s head had led her to a book with a strange word in it. That book had led me to uprooting the sisters (not a great idea), but it hadn’t gone so far as physically harming anyone, and there was nothing to tell me it would. Still, I couldn’t exactly tell these two the real reason I was so concerned about someone or something screwing with Merry. Dropping the ‘Antichrist’ bomb wasn’t a great icebreaker.
“You can’t help her as much as you think you can,” Haircut said. “At least not alone.”
“He’s not alone,” Andy said. “I’m here, and I already called Clint. He’s a little further away, but being able to travel on all fours should more than make up the difference.”
“Take me with you,” Haircut said flatly, looking from Andy to me and back again.
“Kyle, that’s not a great idea,” Andy said.
“Going into an obvious trap with an immortal who’s nearly been snapped in half and a werewolf who was in a coma two days ago isn’t the smartest move either,” he answered. “I’ve always been drawn to this kind of stuff. Even before you told me the truth about Cai—Callum,” he corrected himself again. “I believed in it. That’s why I moved back to Savannah after med school. This place is crawling with supernatural stuff.” He shook his head. “I can’t explain it, but I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel like I was always meant to help you. Does that make any sense?”
“Yeah,” Andy answered, nodding his head. “Yeah, it does.”
“What the fuck?” I balked, looking over at him. Now I knew my nephew. I’d known him since he was a pea sized spot in his mother’s belly. He wasn’t a sentimental guy, especially when the chips were down. With his back against the wall, Andy was all business. This wasn’t like him, especially with a stranger. Of course, none of this made any sense. Merry had been smooth enough to trick me on our fist meeting. She drugged and kidnapped me for Christ’s sake. She was desperate. I get that, but why would she just open up to some guy she barely knew? It was like everyone was off their game, not just me. “It doesn’t make sense, Haircut,” I snarled, looking at him. “It doesn’t make sense at all. I’m not sure what kind of shit you’ve pulled with these guys while I was unconscious and I don’t care. I’m not your friend, and I’m not going to jeopardize two people who mean the world to me just because you used to play superhero in your bedroom as a kid.” I jammed a finger into his chest though, as I did, I instantly felt bad. The doc was looking at me with puppy dog eyes, but that wasn’t it. I was Cain, for God’s sake. Puppy dog eyes didn’t work on me. This guy was an idiot. So why did I care if he felt bad?
“Did you just call me Haircut?” he asked, blinking hard.
“Stay here,” I ordered.
“But I can help you,” he said. “If you get hurt, if something happens.” He turned toward the kitchen. “I have a bag of supplies.”
“I don’t give a damn about your supplies,” I said, my finger still pressed against his chest. But the remorseful feeling was still filling me up. This was insane. I shook it off though. There was no time to waste. “You're staying.”
I turned back toward the door but, this time, my eyes landed on something on the wall.
The Prayer of the Irish sat in a picture frame on the wall, decoratively written. Suddenly, I put all the pieces together. The way this guy seemed to fit in so quickly and seamlessly, the way he slid past my friend’s defenses, even the way I felt when I was chewing him out. It all made sense now.
“This house belongs to your grandparents?” I asked, looking back at him.
“It used to,” he answered, sounding confused.
“Your maternal grandparents?” I asked, though it was barely a question. I already knew the answer.
“Yeah,” he responded.
“Their last name didn’t happen to be Coleridge, did it?�
�� I sighed.
His eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
“Get your bag of shit,” I said, motioning to the kitchen. “You’re coming with us.”
“I feel like I’m missing something,” Andy said as Haircut marched happily toward the kitchen.
“I was too for a bit,” I answered. “But I’m not anymore. You’re right, Andy. The kid probably doesn’t know what he is.” I looked over at my nephew. “But I do.”
17
My heart pounded heavy in my chest as Andy screeched into the parking lot of Merry’s apartment complex. His sirens had been blaring for the last three miles, forcing cars to the side of the road and giving him reason to blaze through red lights without repercussion.
The lot was free of other police cars, but that wouldn’t last for long. Looking up, I could see Amber straddling the edge of the roof, and that meant other people could too. If I didn’t get this under control as quickly as possible, this entire place would be swarming with cop cars and news vans. It would be an even bigger disaster than it already was.
I kicked the door open before Andy even managed to completely pull to a stop. I hopped out of the car, feeling the push and pull of my aching body as I ran as fast as I could toward the building.
“Careful!” Haircut yelled from the back seat of Andy’s car. “You’re still healing!”
“Shut the fuck up,” I muttered, though I was sure he couldn’t hear me. I slammed into the door at full speed. It didn’t budge. Damn these new fangled doors and their buzzer systems. I missed the good old days when you could just slip the doorman a twenty in exchange for him looking the other way.
I didn’t know anyone else in the building, and Merry certainly wasn’t in position to buzz me up. I could have probably come up with something smoother, but the truth was I didn’t give a damn. So I pulled the enchanted knife from my back pocket—where I’d put it when Andy handed it back to me on the ride over—and drove it into the glass door. The enchantment on the blade forced it through the glass, and the ensuing instability caused it to shatter.
I flinched backwards as glass sprayed me. Shaking it off, I ran through the hole, watching as a man rounding the corner gaped at me. I couldn’t blame him. I was dude in a neck brace holding a knife and running through the remnants of a door I’d just shattered.
The police would have almost certainly been on the way if not for the fact that I had one of Savannah’s finest detectives with me. Andy would smooth this over, just like he always did.
I sneered at the man as I pushed my way into the stairwell. I could have used the elevator. Lord knows my aching body would have probably thanked me for it, but the building was only seven stories, and I figured I could sprint it quicker. Besides, machines can break, and I couldn’t afford even the possibility of that right now.
Huffing, I rounded each story, moving upward as fast as I possibly could, with my feet slamming hard and monotonously against the stairs.
My lungs (one of which had apparently collapsed a bit ago) burned like hell as I rounded level 5, then 6, and finally 7. The roof was next, and I could barely breathe as I slammed into the door to the roof level with my shoulder, one of the only parts of me that didn’t feel like shit.
As I pushed out onto the roof, a gust of wind hit me. It was strong and violent enough that it sent me stumbling back, which meant it would be more than strong enough to sway Amber as well. Thankfully, it was blowing in the opposite direction. Otherwise, we might have already lost her.
As it stood, Amber was still on the edge, her arms stretched out like she was some tightrope walker trying to garner and keep her balance. Merry was in front of her, her eyes red and puffy and her mouth creased into a straight line. Clint was behind her, his hands tightened into fists as his sides.
“There you are!” Amber said, her face brightening up as she saw me. “He told me you’d come!”
Merry turned to me quickly. Her eyes widened, but her face didn’t take on the same carefree expression Amber’s had when she saw I was here. Couldn’t blame her for that.
“You’re awake,” she breathed, blinking back fresh tears.
“I am,” I said, walking slowly toward the ladies. “And I want to talk.” My eyes slid past Merry to her daughter. I couldn’t help but notice the way her hair blew around her face in the wind. She was so young, so innocent. I couldn’t help but wonder how someone like this could ever grow up to be the thing I saw in those visions. Evil couldn’t come from a kid like this. Of course, I used to be a kid like this too, and look at how I turned out.
“You should stop right there,” Amber said, almost carelessly. “He says if you come any closer, I have to jump.”
“Amber, no!” Merry yelled, renewed panic filling her. “You are not to jump. Do you understand me? I am your mother, and I don’t care who you're talking to in your head. You get off that ledge this instant!”
Of course, that didn’t work. I couldn’t imagine this was the first time she had played the ‘I am your mother’ card in this particular situation.
“It’s okay,” I said, settling beside Merry. “I’m not coming any further, not another step.”
“He says you might want me to jump anyway. He says it might make things easier,” she continued.
I heard the door open again and knew it must have been Andy and Haircut. Good. I could use both of them right now.
“What is she talking about?” Merry asked, looking over at me. “What does that mean?”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I lied. “It’s nonsense.” That part wasn’t a lie. Though Amber’s future was something that was keeping me up at night, not even the smallest part of me wanted to see her throw herself off this building. I might have been a murderer, but I wasn’t a monster. “Why don’t you tell the person in your head to talk to me?”
She shook her head. “He says he tried to talk to you once. He says you wouldn’t listen. He wants to know if you’re listening now.”
“I’m definitely listening now,” I said, holding my hands up and blinking hard. Who had this little girl by the shorthairs? Who from my past was screwing with her to get to me? “Just tell him to let you come down from there, and I’ll listen to whatever he wants me to.”
“He can hear you!” she yelled, stomping her foot so hard that I was afraid she was going to lose her balance. “He’s right over there!” I followed her finger, but found absolutely nothing where she pointed.
“Who is that?” Haircut asked, following her finger as well.
“You can see him?” I muttered. I rushed over to the doctor grabbing his shirt. “Who are you?” he asked, still looking out at the nothing. “Are you doing this? She’s a child! She’s a child, you son of a bitch!”
“Kyle!” I shouted, pulling him toward me and using his given name. “Whoever that is, forget him!”
“He looks so sad,” Kyle answered.
“Kyle!” I shouted. “Do you want Amber to die today?”
“God no!” he answered, his eyes widening.
“Good,” I said. “Then I want you to think that. I want you to get as close to her as you can and think it as hard as you can. If you can take her hand, I want you to do that too.”
“No!” Amber screamed. “He says the Irish man can’t come here either! If he comes closer, I have to jump! If he thinks what you want him to think, I have to jump.” She swallowed hard. “And if you don’t say the word in one minute, I have to jump!”
“Jesus, Callum!” Merry said, turning to me. “Just say the goddamn word!”
“What word?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “My name? It doesn’t work if I say it, and that’s too unpredictable anyway. It could kill all of us.”
“Not your name!” Amber shouted. “The other word. Forty-five seconds!”
“What other word,” I asked, my aching body tightening.
“Callum,” Merry asked, looking at me with a face as pale as a sheet. “Callum, please.”
“The word in the bo
ok,” she answered. “The one you wouldn’t say before. Thirty seconds!”
My heart dropped. I was right about that word. It held power. It was important somehow, and I had written it. Now, I was being forced to speak it aloud, to give it’s power away. But to what end? What evil was I going to unleash by saying this word? What other little girls would die as a result? Did it even matter?
“Ten seconds!” Amber shouted. Her entire little body was shaking.
“Callum!” Merry rushed toward me, grabbing my arms with her hands and shaking me hard. My neck screamed in pain as she jostled me. “Callum, I’m begging you! Say the word!”
“It’s a trap,” I said, swallowing hard.
“Five seconds!” she shouted and, for the first time, I heard fear in the little girl’s voice.
“Callum! I don’t give a damn if it’s a trap!” Merry shouted, pure terror filling her. She looked back at her baby girl. “Callum…”
“Two seconds.” Amber was almost crying now.
My breaths came short and fast now. Had Kyle been right? Would the person screwing with Amber really stop short of killing her? I couldn’t afford to chance it.
“Monalas,” I said quietly as the little girl’s internal clock seemed to run out.
Amber smiled again, hopping off the ledge and rushing into her waiting mother’s arms. The sight did my heart good, but that wasn’t all I needed to worry about. I had said the word. What did it mean?
Instantly, I knew something was wrong. A loud bellow sounded from beneath me, but not just beneath me. This roar was so loud and so horrific that I knew it would have only come from the bowels of the earth.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and feeling the familiar weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Whatever happened next was on me.
“Stay right there!” I heard Andy shout.
Curse of Cain (Immortal Mercenary Book 2) Page 10