“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Eric said. He had just appeared in the back seat.
“So do I,” I replied, just before Dante got into the truck. I kept silent, and didn’t tell Dante that Eric was now with us as he pulled away from the curb, and we drove away.
- seventeen -
Facing the Serpent
Dante was silent as we drove. I wasn’t even sure I knew where we were going, but it was towards the edge of town.
“I know you can’t say anything to me,” Eric said from the back seat, “but I’m here for you. I can’t do much, but I’ll stay with you if I can.”
I gave a small nod, just enough for Eric to know I heard him and appreciated what he said, but not so much that Dante would notice.
Not that Dante seemed to be able to notice much. His face looked almost dazed, and his movements robotic.
Dante pulled off the highway and into a storage area. He drove all the way to the end of the storage area where we saw Scarlett. We pulled up and got out.
Scarlett looked nervous and upset. She was holding her cell phone in one hand.
“Thank God you came,” Scarlett said as she looked around. “That man who attacked Bristol—”
“Balthazar?” I said.
“Yeah,” Scarlett said. “The man’s insane. He’s one fry short of a Happy Meal. He grabbed me and brought me here. Put a gun in my face and told me to call you or he’d kill me.”
“Are you okay?” Dante asked as he seemed to wake up.
“I don’t mind saying that I’m more than a bit shaken,” she said. “But yeah, I’m all right. He told me to call you and to have you get Bristol out here. He said he don’t want to hurt the kids, he just needs to speak with you, but—”
“Where is he?” I asked, cutting her off.
She shook her head.
“I don’t know. He said to just get you here, and he said he’d kill your cousin if you called your uncle—but Bristol, you’ve got to call him.” She grabbed my hand, and her eyes seemed to plead with me.
I should call. I know that Uncle Mark would want me to call him, but something was telling me not to. I started to reach for my phone, but there was a voice in my head telling me to just let this play out. I was sure that it would be fine if I just listened to that voice.
I looked at Scarlett. She seemed really scared. I could feel the fear rolling off of her.
“No,” I said. “Not yet. I don’t want to chance him hurting Simon or Skyler.”
“Bristol,” Dante said. “I think we need to call your uncle. It’s not safe.”
I shook my head. I was sure. I was right. I felt an amazing sense of release now that I’d made my decision.
“Not yet,” I said. “He said he’d hurt them, so either he’s lying, in which case he’s not a danger, or he can see us. I can’t risk Simon or Skyler.”
Dante looked furious. Then he said something I never expected to hear from Dante.
“What about calling Payne?” He pulled out his cell. I glanced at Scarlett, who looked livid.
“No,” I said. “Let’s just wait.”
Dante put his cell phone away in a huff. Scarlett seemed uncertain, but she didn’t protest.
I heard the theme to Star Trek, and grabbed for my cell phone.
“Simon?” I said.
“No,” Balthazar said. “But he’s all right for the time being. I like you in those jeans and that pink top. No wonder you got my son and that country boy both wound up. But never mind that. You and I need to have a conversation.”
His voice was clear. I don’t think I’d ever heard him sober. I couldn’t help but remember what Payne had told me. His father was more dangerous when he wasn’t drunk. I locked eyes with Dante so he knew who was on the phone.
“Where?” I asked.
“I’m not far,” he said. “Just down the road. You see that old office building? The abandoned one you passed on the way here? It was on the right hand side of the road past the billboard sign that said space available.”
I remembered the building he was talking about. It had seemed familiar, although I couldn’t place it at the time.
“Go to the back door,” Balthazar said. “Come on up and we’ll chat.”
“If I do,” I said, “you won’t hurt Simon or Skyler?”
“Now, why would I do that?” he answered. “Feel free to bring your two little friends. The more the merrier.”
“How do I know that they’re okay?”
“Because,” Balthazar snapped, “It’s not them I want to hurt.”
I understood exactly what he meant.
“I’m on my way,” I said.
Balthazar ended the call. I turned to Dante.
“He’s in that abandoned office building. The one we passed.”
“Bristol, call your uncle,” Dante said. “We need the police.”
“He’s right,” Scarlett said. “Listen to him.”
She reached out for my hand, but I stormed away.
“He’ll know,” I answered. “He described what I was wearing. He knew I was here with the two of you. Look, I have to go. It’s my cousin. It’s my fault that he and Skyler are in danger. So you two do what you have to do. I’m going.”
With that, I started to march down the road.
Dante grabbed my arm and spun me around.
“You’re not going alone,” he said. He placed his hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “I’m not letting you face him on your own. Bristol, I ought to hog tie you and call your uncle for you.”
I reached up and touched his face.
“But you won’t,” I said. “I need to do this my way. You need to trust me.”
I could see the war rage on behind his eyes, but he gave me a small nod. We climbed in his car. Scarlett got in the back.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I’m not leaving you and Dante to see that madman alone,” she said, like I was being stupid.
I made a face like I wanted to argue. “Whatever.”
When we pulled around to the back of building, I noticed it was old and run down. Half the windows were blown out or boarded up. I looked up as Dante pushed ahead of me. He went in first.
It was a ten-story building. The paint was peeling from the walls, and most of the windows were cracked, if not completely broken. Parts of the floor were missing, revealing rotted wood underneath. I saw movement in the corner of my eye, and just knew it was a rat.
“You know, Bristol,” Eric said to me as Dante, Scarlett and I moved quietly up the stairs. I was the only one who could see him, as usual. “If Balthazar doesn’t kill you, this building might. You might fall out if you lean against a wall.”
When we hit the tenth floor, Balthazar was waiting on the other side. He was standing in front of a huge window that was cracked and broken.
“Well, well, well,” he said, smiling. In one hand, he was holding an item that I couldn’t make out, and in the other, he had a handgun. “The gang’s all here.”
“Where are they?” I asked. I tried to step forward, but Dante stepped in front of me.
“Not far,” Balthazar said. “So tell me: how is my son?”
“Fine,” I answered.
Balthazar smiled at me, and his eyes were dark with lust.
“Boy’s in love with you, y’know. He turned his back on me, because of you. That ain’t easy to do.”
I didn’t let him intimidate me. “I could never understand why it took him so long.”
Balthazar just smiled and circled us. Dante moved to try and keep himself between us like a human shield.
“I suppose most kids would have found a way to get away from someone like me,” Balthazar said. “Of course, most kids would have had the decency to die in the car wreck that killed their mother. Now there was a woman who could take a beating.”
I heard Scarlett gasp behind me. I could feel Dante tense.
/> “Does that shock you?” Balthazar said. “I enjoyed hurting her. I don’t think many people realized how much. My father wouldn’t, but he’s one of those old fashioned types. Doesn’t approve of hurting people, women most of all. Usually, they’re the most fun.”
“Fun?” Dante snarled. “You sick . . . ”
Balthazar quickly aimed the gun and fired, the shot hitting the floor just in front of Dante’s feet. Scarlett let out a small scream. Dante flinched, but stood his ground in front of us.
I gasped at the sound.
“This is between me and Bristol,” Balthazar snapped. “You’re just here for fun.”
He leveled the gun at Dante’s chest and took a moment to calm himself.
“Now,” Balthazar continued, his voice returning to a conversational tone. “Where was I? Of course, I had to be careful with Linda. Hurt her too badly and someone would see the bruises before they could heal. I knew I never had to worry about either Payne or Linda actually telling someone, but there were a few times that damn uncle of yours . . . ”
Balthazar’s eyes lit up with hatred at the thought of Uncle Mark. Oddly, I felt a sense of pride knowing that my uncle could stir up such animosity in a monster like Balthazar.
“He knew something was up,” Balthazar continued. “He spent an awful lot of time, trying to get Linda to talk. He didn’t get that she couldn’t. See, that’s my gift. I can put a hold on people. Make ‘em do things. Did you know it was Payne’s fault his mother’s dead?”
“No,” I said. “It was an accident.”
“Yeah,” Balthazar laughed. “But who caused it? I told them to never leave me, but that’s just what she was trying to do. She was the first to ever break my spell. Either she was too weak to go through with it, or Payne tried to stop her. I can imagine him grabbing the wheel because I’d told him he could never leave me. He may have caused the accident and that killed her. Would’ve killed him too, if the stupid son of a bitch knew how to die.”
I looked over my shoulder to see Scarlett. She was watching, impassively. When I turned back to Balthazar, I got the sense that he noticed me look at her, but he ignored it.
“Payne,” Balthazar continued, “was a whole ‘nother ball game. Once I realized I could do anything I wanted to him and he’d heal up, no bruises, well . . . that was a dream come true. See, a man like me needs to have some fun. It’s in my nature. Linda was a hoot, but with Payne, I could do whatever I wanted. Hurt him as badly as I wanted. Broken arms. Burnt skin. He could take a knife or even a bullet in the gut and within minutes, he’d be just as good as new.” He paused, and narrowed his eyes at me. “But then you came into his life, and he left.”
Balthazar held his hands out in disbelief, his eyes widened in exaggerated and mock surprise.
“I didn’t think that was possible. But my boy, he figured out a way. Even when he was young,” Balthazar continued, “he was one tough bastard.
“By the time he was eight, I could beat the snot out of him and he’d refuse to cry. I gotta admit, he was a pain in the ass. He kept fighting me. Kept trying to tell your uncle so I’d stop hurting his mommy. I had to push him to believe that I wasn’t hurting her. Once she was dead, he didn’t fight as much. Not until you.” He looked at me again. “I shoulda realized if the right girl came along, he’d manage to leave. What you do? How’d you get him to stay away from me?”
He looked at me, waiting for an answer.
“I asked him to,” I said. “I didn’t want him near you. He did it for me.”
Balthazar stared at me like I was insane.
“That’s it?” He said. “I thought maybe you used your ability on him. I know you got one. You shared it with my dear old dad, but he won’t tell me what it is. But you’re saying you ain’t using no power on my boy?”
I shook my head.
“Well, ain’t that a hoot,” Balthazar said. “Leaves me to wonder: what else you doin’ to my boy?”
I looked at him in disgust and he just laughed.
“What do you want?” I asked.
He stopped laughing and looked at me.
“I want to break the hold you have over my son. I want my father to give me some respect. And I want my life back.”
“Not sure if there’s anything I can help you with there,” I said. “You’re a wanted man. It’s not just my uncle who wants you locked up. So if I were you, I’d be putting as much distance between me and this town as possible.”
Balthazar grinned. “I plan on it. I need to get out of here, but here is where I’m stuck.”
“Why?” Dante said. “Why don’t you just leave us alone? Look, tell us where Simon and Skyler are. You can take my car.” He reached into his jacket pocket. It was a stupid move, as Balthazar nearly shot him before he realized he was just pulling out his keys. “I’ll give you whatever money I have. Just leave.”
Balthazar took the keys, but after pocketing them, he shook his head.
“Not that easy,” Balthazar said.
“Why?” I asked, although I had a feeling that I already knew.
“Well,” he answered. “First of all, there are our mutual friends: those dark things that slither around the woods at night. They came to me and told me I needed to get rid of you. Don’t know what you did to piss them off, because most people don’t know anything about them. They wanted you dead. What they didn’t know was that I as much as I tried, I couldn’t kill you. You know why?”
I figured it was time to lay my cards out on the table.
“I’m guessing,” I said, “that you’re being pushed by somebody else who wanted me alive.”
Balthazar smiled.
“Oh,” he said, wagging the gun towards me. “You’re smart. You know it’s her, don’t you?”
“Who?” Dante said. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Balthazar considered Dante a moment before laughing.
“Boy,” he said with a hoot, “you are a moron. You got no idea what the hell is going on, but your girlfriend here knows what I mean.”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I said.
Dante’s back was to me, but I know he rolled his eyes.
“You just can’t close the deal,” Balthazar said with a chuckle. “Even with your sister doing everything she could to push you and Bristol together.”
Dante looked to me, then to his sister and back again. I glanced at Scarlett who was trying to appear confused, but couldn’t quite pull it off.
“He has no idea,” Balthazar said. “But you,” he pointed to me, “you know, don’t you?” He pointed the gun at my head.
Dante turned to look at me.
“Yeah,” I said. “I know. She’s got the same power you do. I’m thinking she’s even more powerful. Maybe because she used her ability on you first, while you were drunk, as you usually are.”
Balthazar didn’t like that.
“You little . . . ”
He took a step forward with his lip curled and narrowing his eyes. He raised the gun and aimed it at my head, making it look like he was ready to kill me.
“Stop it,” I said, jutting my chin up. “If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already. When you came after me, both times, you tried and failed. It was Scarlett. She told you not to, didn’t she?”
Slowly, the anger on his face was replaced with amusement.
“You are smart. I’ll give you that.”
“Wait,” Dante looked at me. “What are you saying?” He turned to Scarlett. “What the hell is she talking about?”
Scarlett looked mutinous, but she gave up all pretenses.
“This wasn’t the plan,” she said. “What the hell are you doing?”
Balthazar laughed at her.
“Changing the plan.” He turned to Dante. “Your sister here, she’s like me. She can push people. She’s been pushing you your entire life, and you didn’t even know it.”
“Shut up,” Scarlett
snapped. “Dante didn’t need to know any of this. It’s going to be hard to get him to forget.”
Dante stared at her, perplexed. She turned to me next.
“When did you figure it out?” she asked me.
“I started to piece it together the other day,” I answered. “I went back and thought about it. You with your touchy-feely ways. You were talking to Payne that night at your house. Touching him. Pushing him. You pushed him and Priscilla. You got them to go into that room together, just as if you had drugged them.”
Scarlett shrugged.
“Even with the push, I couldn’t get Payne to do anything but go in there and sit still while Priscilla crawled all over him.” Scarlett smiled. “She was much easier. She’s wanted to do that for years, but he wasn’t interested.”
“Scarlett?” Dante looked stunned beyond belief. All the color had drained from his face, and his eyes were glassy and wide.
“They weren’t the only ones,” I said. “You pushed Blasé to take his own life, didn’t you? How much did you push him to keep alienating his family?”
“Had to make it convincing,” she said with a shrug.
“And Hunter? Archer?” I added.
“Too bad those didn’t work out. Still don’t get why you stopped Archer. I don’t get you at all. Why do you even care about any of them? I handed my brother here on a platter to you! I pushed him for you. Not that it was hard. After a while, I didn’t need to push him at all. My fool of a brother really does love you, I think.”
Dante stepped towards his sister. I noticed that his fingers were pressing on his temple again. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, please,” Scarlett said. “I’ve had you on a string since we first met. You were easy. Not like you were my first.”
“Who was your first?” I asked. “Was it Dante’s father? Telling him to kill his ex-wife?”
Scarlett smiled at me.
“Wow,” she said. “You are smart. You really put it together.”
“Took me too long,” I answered. “You nearly killed Aunt Breanne. And you did kill Bryan.”
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