Orfeo

by M. J. Lawless

  She couldn’t answer such questions, of course, but she did realize that to give up her stakeout at this point would be complete folly. She just knew that Ardyce would try to return to Xanadu and this was her one chance to redeem herself in Earl’s eyes.

  Forcing herself to go back to the house was one of the most difficult things she’d done in her life. Her steps were unwilling and she had to push herself to approach the front doorway. When she saw movement inside, she nearly died of fright, but then faint voices came to her—voices she recognized.

  She had her cell phone on her fortunately and, switching it on fairly nervously, she was grateful to see that a sliver of power still registered on the bar. When she called Earl’s number, he answered before it rang out a second time.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” he hissed. “We’ve been looking all over the fucking city for you.”

  “They’re here,” she said quietly. Earl paused on the other end: she did not need to explain who they were.

  “Where’s here?”

  “Xanadu.”

  “Keep them there,” he told her. “The cops have given us an SUV. It should take us less than an hour to get there.”

  She turned off the phone and began to move stealthily toward the house, knife drawn and held purposefully to one side of her hips as she trod carefully forward.

  As she entered the door, she saw the two of them on the stairs, dressed up in some stupid looking all-in-one work suits. She frowned when she saw the way they were dressed, but her smile was feral and vicious when she realized there was nowhere for them to escape now. She had them. It was Orfeo who saw her first, his eyes expanding with fear and shock as he recognized her. Turning back to Ardyce, he pushed her up the stairs, shouting a single word: “Run!”

  The young woman heard him and, foolishly, obeyed. That was good: she wouldn’t be able to get out of the house, Snake was sure of that, so there was plenty of time to take care of her. In the meantime, she could enjoy herself with the singer. For a moment Snake regretted calling Earl: it meant that she had less time to toy with her prey, but that couldn’t be helped now.

  He split away from Ardyce, evidently seeking to draw off their pursuer. That suited Snake just fine and she readily gave chase as he plowed through the upstairs chambers, knocking aside broken pieces of furniture in an attempt to slow her down. Not that Snake was in too much of a rush to get him.

  “I’m gonna make you sing, boy,” she called out after him. “You and me, we’re gonna make such sweet music. You hear me?”

  He said nothing, keeping just far enough ahead of her for her to remain in pursuit of him and leave Ardyce alone. She shrugged at this. His plan suited her. He dived into another room, waiting for her to follow.

  “I’ve been wondering,” she shouted. “It gets kinda lonely out here, and I’ve been doin’ a lot of thinking. I bet you’ve got a big cock, boy, and you seem to have the taste for a piece of white ass. So how about chowing down on some Mexican pussy. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, recently. Maybe we can get rid of that skinny white bitch, you and me get it on.” She paused, listening. “Whaddya say?”

  With a roar Orfeo suddenly appeared from a door to her left, running at full speed toward her. She attempted to turn, to get her knife hand around to stop him, but before she could do so he had crashed into her.

  He attempted to pin her down, holding her with strong arms, but even in her weakened state she could put up a good fight. As he punched her, she pulled her knife hand free and slashed across his forearm, making him gasp in pain. When he drew back, she attempted to stick him in the ribs and he grasped hold of her wrist, his face trembling with exertion, hers covered with sweat as they struggled together.

  To break this deadlock, she head butted him. With a yell, he pulled away and then, as she scrabbled to her feet, blade outstretched in her strong arm, he drew himself up and backed into a room, watching her warily.

  She followed him, leering as she did so. “What’s up?” she asked. “Don’t you like my proposition? Well, that’s just too bad for you.”

  He was retreating before her, his eyes hunting around the room, hands outstretched protectively in front of him. She was impressed, though. He was cautious, of course, and he feared her—but it was a measured fear, a realization that she was going to try and kill him and that she had the means to do so. There wasn’t a look of abject terror about him and Snake felt an unexpected thrill in her loins as she closed on him. It was going to be a shame to knife this one.

  A movement to one side caught her eye and made her turn her head.

  In the gloom of one corner, she saw a ghostly shape, glowing slightly in the darkness. As it walked forward, the hackles of her skin rose up instantly and she let out a low moan.

  Baptiste continued to walk toward her, that gory stain across his shoulder, but where before his eyes had been expressionless now they glistened with pleasure while on his mouth was a mysterious smile.

  As he came closer to her Snake let out a yell. “Get back!” she shouted, her face contorted in horror. “Stay away from me, damn you!” But still he walked forward, each steady pace bringing him toward her even as she backed away.

  She was barely aware now of Orfeo who stood frozen on the other side of the room, looking at her and the space around them in confusion. “I said fucking keep away from me!” she yelled, the tattoos on her face twisted in utter fear. She threw her knife at Baptiste, but for some reason even though he was barely feet away from her now she missed. With each step that smile remained fixed on his lips. One foot in front of the other, hands outstretched. His eyes weren’t dead anymore but creased up with laughter, his mouth open.

  She could take no more. Within moments she would be backed up against the window with nowhere to run and hide. “Please,” she whispered. “Please, leave me alone.”

  But her pleas did not stop the horror and she felt black despair grip her soul. With a scream she turned and ran the final few paces to the window, throwing her full weight against it and leaping through head first. Had she still possessed her wits about her, she would probably have survived the fall with nothing worse than a broken leg or arm, but as her head hit the stones below she felt incredible pain for a second and then darkness fell.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  For what seemed an age Orfeo was unable to move. The window frame had broken outwards, glass cascading with Snake as she fell. Now the room was empty, but he couldn’t move as he gazed in horror at the space where the woman had been staring and screaming at before she threw herself out.

  He was only disturbed by Ardyce who appeared at the doorway, making him jump. Her own face was pale but her eyes displayed greater concern for him than fear for herself.

  “What happened?” she asked. “I heard shouting.”

  Orfeo shook his head, still in shock at what he had just witnessed. “I don’t know,” he said, moving at last to the window. Staring out he could see Snake’s body, broken and lifeless below.

  Ardyce drew in a sharp breath as she stood beside him, then she grabbed hold of his arm. “Look!” she hissed.

  Turning his gaze away from the corpse below, Orfeo scanned the horizon in the direction she pointed, his senses confused for a moment. Then he saw what Ardyce was gesturing toward and his chest tightened.

  On the road that they had followed to the house a black SUV was driving toward them, still some distance away but bouncing along the track recklessly, skidding through deep pools without any regard for safety.

  “Earl,” he muttered.

  Ardyce nodded. “Come on,” she said, still holding his arm but now dragging him away from the window. “We can get out of the house the back way, but we have to leave now.”

  “But where will we go?”

  “Toward Blind Lagoon. He’ll have trouble following us, even in that vehicle.” Orfeo remained frozen in place, his mind reeling from everything that he had witnessed as Ardyce began to move away. She, realizing his confusion, gras
ped hold of both his arms, shaking him roughly for a second.

  “Orfeo! We have to leave. Now!”

  Her words snapped him out of his daze and he nodded, following her immediately as she ran down the stairs and through the rooms on the ground floor. Sand and mud covered everything and great black marks were smeared up the walls as they ran through the kitchens and through a back door. To his left, he could just make out the old orangery, all the panes of glass smashed and the exotic plants and flowers inside ruined by the hurricane.

  They ran at full speed through the grounds surrounding Xanadu and Orfeo’s chest began to burn as he sped onwards. He had not eaten enough, not rested enough, in recent days and the exertion was beginning to tire him too quickly, his ribs aching in agony. Ardyce, he was sure, must be feeling worse, but when he paused to check her she shook her head and grimaced, pain filling her features. “Run!” she gasped.

  The open land beyond Xanadu was marshy and waterlogged, no longer the verdant land he had seen the last time he was here. They splashed through shallow pools and once Orfeo stumbled, one foot sinking deep into the mud that sucked around him like a deceptive lover. Ardyce grabbed him.

  “Wait!” she said, bending over as he pulled a stinking foot out of the depths and found safer ground on which to rest. She was doubled over, her breath coming in deep, gasping pants and her face twisted in agony. He reached out with an arm, letting her rest on him.

  “No point... no point rushing... here,” she blurted out. Her face was flushed a deep red with the effort of running, and he could see that exhaustion was clawing at her body. Yet her green eyes shone as brightly as he had ever seen and her copper-auburn hair, twisted and scooped in a mass of knots from her head, seemed more vibrant than ever. “We have to... we have to follow the path,” she gasped. “We’ll be trapped, else. Too... dangerous.”

  He nodded, attempting to regulate his own breathing. She led the way, moving at a relatively quick walk rather than running now, turning and twisting to avoid treacherous patches where the mud would suck them down.

  There was an almighty crash behind them and for a moment they stopped. In horror, the pair of them saw that one of the gates that led into Xanadu had smashed open and now the SUV was careering across the marshy ground less than a mile away.

  “Run!” Ardyce screamed.

  Despite her panic, she had not completely lost all sense and she dodged from side to side as she made her way across the open ground, avoiding deeper pools. Orfeo followed closely behind, stumbling sometimes as he did not have her sixth sense to guide him through this godforsaken wasteland. Once his foot sunk deeply into mud and he had to wait for a few seconds, struggling frantically to pull it free. Ardyce stared at him in open terror but then her gaze shifted, staring over his shoulder.

  Turning, he saw that the SUV had come to a halt, its front end half-submerged in a pool. Wheels were spinning rapidly and, as the distance between them and their pursuers had halved, they could now hear the screaming roar of the engine. Again he froze, only for a few seconds, caught between fear and hope. Then he saw two figures emerge from the vehicle. Turning, he staggered the few feet toward Ardyce and the pair of them began to flee once again.

  They had only taken a few more paces when a shot rang out behind them, clear and violent in the silence of the afternoon. Far away, a flock of birds rose up against the sky, black specks wheeling away.

  Desperation made them run faster, Ardyce suddenly twisting and turning so that Orfeo almost crashed into her. In that instant, another shot rang out and she let out a cry of pain. In horror, Orfeo grabbed hold of her, pulling her close to him. He could see blood seeping from her arm, the cloth of her boiler suit ragged and torn.

  She shook her head as he looked down at the wound in terror. “Just a scratch,” she said, forcing a smile despite her pain. Removing her hand from where she had grabbed herself instinctively, he saw that the bullet had, indeed, grazed her, breaking the skin of her arm but not leaving a hole in the flesh. Far behind them, the two figures appeared to be struggling and, judging that they had a few precious moments to flee he helped Ardyce move along the difficult and dangerous path.

  “We have to get out of here, before they kill us,” he said grimly.

  She nodded. “If we head north we can make it to the road, hopefully before they get that SUV rolling again. From there we can head to the bridge, get out of the city.”

  He stared at her as she spoke. Wounded, exhausted, threatened by the madman who followed them, she was not terrified. Her eyes were clear and she was evidently calculating what they would need to do to reach safety.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She shook her head, an irritable flick sideways. “There’s no time for that.” Yet almost immediately she softened. Giving him a nervous smile, she placed one hand on his chest and looked up at him, her features gentle and compassionate. “Don’t worry, I don’t regret a thing. I love you more than anything. But,” she continued, glancing back to where their foes had once again taken up pursuit, “we have to get out of here. If we live through this, we’ll have all the time in the whole world to make it up to each other.”

  He nodded, his face set and determined. Placing one arm around her to provide her with extra support, his ribs burning with fiery pain, he followed her directions as she guided him through the maze that led beside the dark and flooded lagoon.

  Within minutes of receiving Snake’s call they had been in an SUV that they had commandeered, racing along the highway, bouncing from side to side as Earl flung the vehicle from side to side to avoid other abandoned cars and trucks.

  Beside him Papa held on tightly to the handle on the door and watched the broken detritus left behind by the hurricane flash by. At this rate, he thought morbidly, they would get themselves killed before they managed to reach Xanadu.

  Earl paid no heed to anything else, hunched up as he was over the wheel, his white face distorted by a rictus of savage glee. “We’re going to get her, we’re going to get her,” he repeated over and over again. “She’s mine!”

  Papa used his free hand to pull the brim of his hat further across his eyes, shielding his gaze from the madman next to him. The insanity that had been building up for weeks had now burst free, as devastating in its own way as the floods and winds that had ravaged New Orleans.

  This was complete madness. They should have left the city, evacuated when they had the chance. Some luck was with them, however, that was sure: they were the only survivors to have made it out of Hades and all of Earl’s other men were either dead or missing, presumably fled from the city. Horse would wait at the Superdome until he was sent for, of that Papa was sure, though strangely he had not been in touch recently. The call from Snake had been a surprise: Earl had fulminated against her, cursing her to hell and calling her every foul name he could think of, but when she had told him to come to Xanadu he had praised her to the skies.

  For three days previously Earl and Papa had been combing the wreckage of New Orleans, Earl calling in every favor he could muster. Papa had offered to organize a search elsewhere, in fact planning to see what opportunities could be salvaged from the mess, but Earl had insisted that his oldest loa remain with him: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, Papa thought bitterly to himself.

  And so he had been forced to remain with the madman as he hunted high and low for Ardyce. Papa was genuinely shocked by everything he’d seen: New Orleans could not have been more damaged had someone dropped the fucking bomb on it, and the few people left behind had sunk into a pit of misery.

  Where were the feds? he kept asking himself. Where was the army? The few rescue attempts he saw appeared to be organized by private individuals, and all the time the city was suffering. The few people left behind, thought Papa bitterly, were too poor—and to black—to be concerned with.

  It was ever thus. When he had run the city’s crime, there had been a kind of order but his dark skin had prevented him ever achieving the ambitions
that Earl had brought with him. That, in the end, was the reason why Papa had joined up with the other man. He could have fought against such a union: that would have probably got him killed, and at the same time he could see that Earl was capable of achieving great things that he, Papa, could not do. All Papa’s much vaunted strength came to nothing in the end, and even half the stories about him were not true, like that business with Raoul. If he really had sent a young girl’s head to the father, not even he would have been able to keep the cops off his back. He had killed Raoul with his bare hands, however: leaving his daughter exposed like that, a hostage to the father’s cowardice, deserved nothing less.

  Earl had encouraged such stories—it was all part of the mythology he had built up around himself. And they had been useful, Papa had to admit. It certainly made his job easier, just like being one of Earl’s loa made things easier. But now, as they turned at ridiculous speed from the highway and descended to the side road that led to Xanadu, crashing through great pools of water that lay across the damaged tarmac, Papa saw that the driver next to him was completely and utterly insane.

  “You’re no Bondye,” he muttered.

  “What was that?” Earl asked, his face looking demonic as his eyes flickered for a second toward his companion.

  “Shouldn’t we slow down a little?” Papa asked, his fingers gripping the handle again.

  “She’s close, she’s fucking close!” Earl started to laugh crazily. “She’s fucking mine! I can taste her—she’s this close!” He lifted one hand from the wheel to gesture with his fingers, less than an inch apart. The SUV veered to one side and he threw his hand down to steer again, wrestling with the vehicle to keep it on the road.

  Earl thought that they wouldn’t stop as they made their way up to the bleak hulk of Xanadu, but instead would crash through the front wall to cut off vital seconds between Earl and his prize. At the last moment, however, Earl spun the SUV around and leaped from the door before the engine had even died.