by J. P. Rice
I sat at the desk in my bedroom writing an important letter. Jagged pains shot up and down my left arm. I had the cold sweats again and the relentless itch in my neck had returned, but I was just happy to be alive. Glenda had told me that I’d almost died on the sidewalk in Philadelphia.
So much for brotherly love within the vampire community. I still hadn’t told Burn how close I had come to meeting my maker. She didn’t need to worry about me any more than she already did.
Burn paced behind me and said, “You can’t go by yourself. Let me go with you. You know I can help.”
Unable to concentrate on my letter, I put the pen down and turned to Burn. “I know what you are capable of. I’m not going alone because I don’t trust you. I’m doing it because I can’t trust anything in Sleepy Willow. Plus, I didn’t think you’d want to go back and rekindle bad memories.”
She stopped pacing and took two steps closer to me. She looked down, and as her lips began to move, her voice rang in my ears, “I want some revenge too. Wouldn’t mind shivving the king or one of his wardens, I can tell you that.” Glowing malice circled her widening pupils, lighting up her mahogany irises. Then, the spark disintegrated gradually like a meteor. She continued in a nagging tone, “And it’s like you’re going with one hand tied behind your back. You try to play it off, but I can see that arm is killing you. Are you taking the pain medication?”
I stood up and nodded but also wondered why the pills weren’t working. They were given to me by the doctor who had performed my surgery back in Philly. I’d forgotten the exact name of the pills, but the damn things hadn’t been able to relieve the pain.
“I’ll be fine. I also don’t want you risking our child’s life either. I’m not just saying this for you,” I told her and took a step back.
We lived together, and she was carrying my child, but there were still periods of sexual awkwardness between us. The tension could be cut with a sword.
Burn rolled her eyes. She wanted to be considered tough and not taken for granted. Coming from the demon society where women were treated as objects, I understood her line of thinking. She said, “Oh. Well thanks for clarifying. I appreciate that. I’ll make sure nothing happens, don’t you worry.”
I tilted my head forward and my eyes locked with hers. “How? You can’t. And we can’t just leave Dante. Not now, or for the long run. We both can’t be reckless and if something happens to you, that’s two people. I didn’t go to hell to reverse that curse for nothing.”
Burn stepped closer, straightening the collar of my shirt and responded, “What curse? What are you talking about?”
“Never mind.” I hadn’t told her about that because a pregnant woman didn’t need any undue stress. Now, I just needed to watch my tongue. I reached out, placing my hands on her shoulders and rubbing them gently with my thumbs. “It’s nothing important. You know I have to go there. I need to redeem myself. I can’t pawn it off on someone else and I can’t drag anyone else into danger.”
She set her warm palms on the backs of my hands. “But what about your arm? Not just that, but you’re white as a ghost and all sweaty all the time. That’s not even mentioning those black bags under your eyes. And you can’t do it alone. Everyone needs help.”
I tried to lift my arm up to show her that I was all right, but the stabbing irritation prevented me from raising it above my chest. My arm fell back down, dead at my side. As I turned away and gazed out the window at the sunny winter day, I said, “All I need to do is get there. I’m going to call on some friends once I get there. Look, I need to finish this letter and be on my way.” I rounded back to Burn, sporting a smirk.
“So sorry to interrupt, sire.” Burn curtsied and turned to leave.
I reached out with my good arm and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. “No. It’s not like that. Don’t do that. You know I have to do this. I promise I’ll take you on the next adventure. If we can find a babysitter, that is.” I massaged her shoulder and smiled, thinking about who would watch Dante. As strange as it sounded, I would probably put Glenda Gold at the top of that list.
I rubbed her upper arm, my fingers gently tracing over her smooth skin, then turned and sat down to get back to the letter. The pen hit the paper, but I could sense that Burn was still lingering behind me and it made me uncomfortable. I spun around in the chair, “Is there something else we need to discuss?”
She stared at me, dreamily, stars dancing in her eyes. “No. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Don’t be melodramatic. I’m going to be fine. I always come out fine.” I really hoped I wasn’t jinxing myself with that statement.
Burn pursed her lips and rubbed her burgeoning belly. “All right, then. I guess I’ll let you be.”
I told her, “Hey, when I get back. I know things are kind of strange between us. But if you wanted to, we could maybe go on a few dates just to see how it goes. If you wanted to, that is.”
She blushed and lowered her head shyly. She batted her long eyelashes and spoke softly, “I suppose we could give that a try. We just need to agree that whatever happens, we’ll remain civil. It’s not just you and me anymore.” She tapped her fingers on her midsection as a friendly reminder.
“Of course. That is the top priority.” That response was probably uttered in vain throughout most of history, but I seriously meant it. I knew this was dangerous ground to stomp on, so I needed to tread lightly. But I wanted to make it work with the mother of my child.
Burn’s purple slippers slid across the carpet as she left the room. The first thing I did when she disappeared was scratch my neck and relieve that fiery sensation just below my skin. Burn did not need to see it, or she would just worry more about me.
I tried to push aside thoughts about her and finish the letter. Despite the jagged agony in my left arm that felt like an out of control jackhammer, I grabbed the pen and got back to work. As soon as the tip hit the paper something grabbed hold of my mind and wouldn’t let go.
I was in an arctic landscape with ice as far as the eye could see. Something caught my eye. I turned and stared at a single red rose growing out of the ice. The petals glowed against the blinding backdrop and the bright green stem stood tall and proud.
It should have been dead. Shriveled up and dried out. It was out of its element. Lacking the necessary nourishment for survival. I pondered the floral enigma for a moment.
Of course. I could only see above the surface. How deep did the roots go?
Chapter 23
I stood in Jonathan’s office, staring at the glimmering portal. The magic door was in the shape of a rectangle and rippled in shades of hunter green and sparkling emerald. We stood near his desk and the portal sat behind it, in the back of the room. I unzipped my black protection suit down to the middle of my chest because I was roasting in the skintight outfit. After the gunshot wounds, I felt much better wearing my rune suit.
Jonathan said, “I can’t believe you are going this soon. You’re a mortal. You need time to heal. Unless you’d like to change that?” He unleashed a devilish smile and tapped his two index fingers together.
I put my left hand up like a stop sign. “Pump the brakes. Not just yet, at least. I actually feel pretty good all things considered. I thought I’d be in a lot more pain from getting shot.” Jonathan had offered to turn me into a vampire several times throughout our brief friendship, in fact, the offer stood permanently as far as I knew. Immortality and the extraordinary healing powers held a certain intrigue that appealed to me. But it seemed like cheating.
Jonathan asked, “Are you sure you can handle this trip physically? The doctor is still studying the bullets to see if you’ve been infected by anything.”
I shrugged my shoulders and pain trickled down my left side. “There’s only one way to find out if I can handle it. You know how I roll. I didn’t sit back and wait to heal up before I went inside the Larimores’ to help you out.”
Jonathan bowed his head slightly in a gracious
manner. “And once again, a thousand thank yous. Pick any painting of mine and its yours. We can go over to the gallery right now if you wish.”
I had a much different plan in order. And I was clutching it in my right hand. Waiting for the right moment to strike. “I’m good on that. You know I’m already late for this rescue mission. Maybe when I come back.”
Jonathan grabbed his drink off the desk and swirled the red liquid around the cocktail glass. “You can count on it. My word is my bond. You know that.”
“I do.” It was true for the most part. And I really wished he hadn’t used that phrase. It was time to strike.
I maneuvered closer to the portal and tossed the rolled-up note in my right hand on top of Jonathan’s desk.
“What’s that?” he asked, stepping toward the desk with his arm extended.
“Just read it.” I tapped my chest and checked my inside pocket to make sure I had the tooth and return potion. I walked into the portal, not wanting to explain any further.
As the portal grabbed and pulled me toward the other world known as Sleepy Willow, I knew the letter could end my friendship with Jonathan. It was a confession telling him exactly where to find Reg’s body so that he could bring him back to life. It was time to come clean.
Even though I’d recently saved Jonathan’s life in a heroic fashion, I’d lied to him repeatedly about a member of his clan. I’d made him look like a fool in front of the rest of his clan, who’d accused me of murdering Reg. Looking weak and unable to protect the clan as a leader was catastrophic.
Jonathan could end up losing his leadership of the clan, or worse. Much, much worse. This could end up with Jonathan trying to kill me. I knew that risk. I took it. Reg deserved it. If Jonathan could raise Reg from his deathly state, then it would all be worth it. All things considered.
It was the first avenue on my road to redemption. The path forked right through the heart of Sleepy Willow.
The pressure of the transfer increased, and I felt like my head was in a vise. A moment later, it relented, and I was standing on the hard, wooden floorboards of the entrance shack for Sleepy Willow.
The werebear, Primero, was in human form this time sitting with his feet up on a desk and a cigarette dangling from his lips. He was wearing biker gear again. An open, sleeveless leather vest exposed his hirsute body and tattooed arms. We made eye contact momentarily and he scrambled to his feet, then ducked behind the desk.
He immediately went into a drawer of the desk, searching frantically for something, tossing papers in the air. He popped back up with the magic scepter in his right hand. “The king told you never to come back here.”
I smirked and took two steps toward the bouncer, my open hands raised in front of me. “That is where you are wrong. The king told me not to come back without the tooth of Cerberus.”
He hit the cigarette hanging from his lips, and as smoke poured out of his mouth he said, “Exactly. Nobody has been able to do that since I’ve been on the job for four-hundred-years.”
I smirked again, unzipped my suit and dug into my inside pocket to rub the tooth for reassurance. I took two steps closer. “Well, prepare your optic senses for the party of the century.”
“Can’t be. I’ll bet you have a fake. There are ways to tell if it’s real, you know,” he warned with a leery look and aimed the scepter at my face.
“Oh, I’m well aware of how to check for authenticity. Are you?” I asked.
“I know how to tell if they are fake. That’s for sure.” Primero pointed to the desk top behind him.
I plucked the nasty fang out of my pocket and held the tiny prize in the air like it was a big ole gold nugget. Primero’s eyes opened wide with a sudden interest, his hairy forehead bunching up in a wrinkled mess. I walked toward him deliberately, holding out the tooth as I neared his desk.
I set the tooth on the desktop and Primero snatched it up with his hairy fingers. He lined it up with a torch on the wall, using the fiery backdrop to inspect Cerberus’s tooth, rubbing it with his pointer finger. A sudden streak of disinterest showed in his eyes and he carelessly tossed the long fang back on the desk.
Primero raised his huge hand above his head, clenched his fist and came down on the tooth with a Hulk smash. A crunch hit my ears and Primero left his hand hovering just above the busted tooth. Even though I had pulled it from Cerberus’s mouth personally, the suspense was killing me as blood tainted with doubt pulsed through my body.
At a tortuously slow speed, he moved his hand and I looked at a shattered tooth and a stain of blood on the desk. I smiled and said, “I’d like to go inside, my good man.”
Primero stared at the busted tooth that could only have come from Cerberus. He pointed at the tooth, then me and spoke in disbelief, “No. How did you? Even with that, I can’t just let you in.”
I knew I had him. The fool just hadn’t realized it yet. I told him, “Oh, but you have to. I’m not telling you to follow my order, but you do have to obey the direct orders of King Ballistar. He ordered you to let me back in if I showed up with the tooth of Cerberus. You just verified it. There was blood inside that tooth. Everyone knows Cerberus is the only creature that carries that anomaly. Now, let me inside.”
Primero lowered his head in disgust and dragged his big black boots across the wooden floor boards toward the entrance. He opened the door, and as I went to walk on by, he planted his sweaty palm on my chest, and warned, “I hope you don’t have any stupid plans like going after the king. As soon as you pass through this door, I will alert everyone to be on the lookout for you. Don’t try to be a hero.”
The gigantic man removed his tobacco scented fingers from my chest and moved aside. As I stepped through the doorjamb, the wicked odors of Sleepy Willow were already attacking my olfactory senses.
The foul stink of suffering, death and decay mixed with the sour stench of aged urine offended my nostrils as I walked down the dirt path, headed for the city. Since it was dark out, I had to be careful and called my magic to the surface. You never knew what could happen in Sleepy Willow.
My entire body pulsed as waves of magic collided with each other, desperate to be released from inside. It helped quell the pain in my left side but not the son-of-a-bitchin’ itch in my neck. I strolled down the hill along the main entrance into the city as my fingernails traced left and right over my windpipe. I felt like a damn crackhead. A real-life Tyrone Biggums.
I peered down over the city. Some houses and establishments were lit by fire and fewer by electricity, but most were dark and at the mercy of the pale moon and stars.
As I descended further into the valley and neared the city, the stench intensified, taking on a sour stank because the sidhe used the sides of the streets as communal toilets. It was as if they were trying to bring back the plague.
I walked past the Kaffeeklatsch and remembered the encounter with Fencester the Faun. The strobe lights pulsed from within, appearing in flashes through the windows and giving the impression that the building was going to blow up.
The pain in my left arm began to return, so I conjured a fireball and let it sit in my right palm to make sure nobody thought I was a vulnerable target. Some of the sidhe were noble warriors, but the vast majority of them were cowards who preferred easy prey. Once you let them know that it wouldn’t be an easy win, they normally lost interest.
With that said, it would be stupid to let my guard down until I made it to the Sphinx’s cage. Citizens were hanging out on both sides of the road, shooting sideways glances at me as I passed. I wished I had Darkwing with me to scare everyone away. But alas, I walked alone on this eve.
Every one hundred feet or so, I spun around to make sure I wasn’t being followed by a posse of angry sidhe warriors. I hoped the fluorescent orange ball glowing in my right hand was enough to keep the murderous beings at bay.
My left arm hung listlessly at my side. I tried to fight the pain and hoped the locals wouldn’t notice. Perhaps I should have brought someone with me. If
I could just make it to the Sphinx, I thought, when a terrible pang struck me.
What if something had happened to Knelly Knell? What if she wasn’t inside that enormous glass cage anymore? The entire success of this mission hinged on the Sphinx’s well-being and magical skills. Panic crashed down like a tidal wave, dampening my palms and raising the hair on the back of my neck.
I tried to shake out the nerves in my arms and winced as I had foolishly forgotten about my injury. That was not a good sign moving forward. How was I supposed to battle the king and all his supporters with only one arm?
The sounds of Burn lecturing me to be careful rang in my head like a church bell that wouldn’t stop. Slowly. Loudly. Annoyingly. Over and over again. But just as the church bell didn’t lie and told the correct time, Burn’s words also rang true. I had to stop jumping into these types of events without thinking. After I saved Alayna, though.
Chapter 24
I stared into distorted darkness, peering through a thick glass pane of the Shinx’s cage. I couldn’t see her anywhere in the huge domed enclosure that had been constructed of a golden frame with thick glass window panels between the braces. I couldn’t bust through the glass or get in through the door and was unsure of what to do. Perhaps I should have planned this out on the trip over here.
Great ideas weren’t exactly funneling into my brain as I hung out suspiciously by the door of her cage. The time for pussyfooting around was over. I walked up to the entrance door and pounded on it with my right fist. A dull thud barely resonated so I hit it again with my entire forearm.
I moved to the right and glanced through the glass pane. A flash of silver light nearly blinded me, so I turned away instinctually. My eyes stung and watered as I rubbed them with my clenched hands. When my vision corrected itself, I took a quick peek over my shoulder at the cage. The glaring light was gone.
I rounded back to the cage and saw the Sphinx standing just a few steps away, smiling gleefully. She was surrounded by a silver enchantment that acted as a spotlight on her. I noticed her delicately thin lips moving, but I couldn’t hear her through the glass.