Afterlife (Second Eden #1)

by Aaron Burdett

  Hunter nodded, his gaze flicking to the others before settling back on her. “And what about yourself?”

  “What do you mean what about yourself?” she asked.

  “Hurting yourself. Have you ever thought about doing that?”

  “Of course not!”

  “We found the sleeping pills, Amber. Your mother’s. Spilled, all over the bathroom floor like you meant to take them.”

  Amber dipped her chin, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Shit.” She looked up, flashing her best smile. “Look, that was all just a coincidence. I had a stressful day. I needed to get some rest. The bottle spilled, and I just didn’t want to pick them up right then. I totally meant to pick them up. I just forgot. That’s all.”

  Hunter leaned onto his knees, his hands interlaced between his legs. “I can certainly see how that could happen. But do you think how, from our perspective, this is all just a little too coincidental? Do you see how we might think the worst?”

  “Well … I guess so. But it’s not what it looks like. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

  Amber’s mother squeezed her. “Of course. That’s all everyone wants.”

  “It is!” Hunter clapped, leaning back. “So we’re in agreement?

  The others nodded. Amber blinked, turning to her mother. “In agreement for what? What is he talking about?”

  Her mother pressed a hand against her lips to try and keep from crying. The heat in Amber’s throat continued to rise as she whipped around to the doctor. “What is this, some kind of intervention?”

  “We just need you to come to a special retreat with me for just a little while. It’s in your best interests, Amber. There, I’ll be able to keep an eye on you, to make sure you’re making progress toward getting better.”

  “Making progress? I’m fine. I told you I’m fine!”

  Dr. Ellis glanced at the nurses. Amber’s mother squeezed her hard. Chris clutched her hand and wouldn’t loosen his grip. She tried to fight them, but they wouldn’t let her go.

  “You’ll be fine,” her mother cooed. “It’ll all be over before you know it.”

  “We’re doing this because we love you,” Chris said.

  “Yes, dear, we love you!” Ms. Tinsley batted her lashes and inched to the edge of her seat. “So very much. I’ll come visit and we’ll have tea!”

  “It’s for the best,” Ms. Tinsley croaked. “Your classmates still want you to graduate with them. There are hundreds of flowers piled around your locker.”

  Amber struggled in her mom’s tight hold. “Why won’t you let me go? What’s going on here? Mom? Mom!”

  “It’s for the best.” She kissed Amber on the brow while she wept. “Because we love you.”

  Amber writhed in their grips, but they only held her harder. She took a deep breath and scowled at the doctor. Her power welled within her as her spirit flowed into the room like an invisible wave of frothing rage. “You can’t stop me. Not if I don’t want you to.”

  “Now please,” he instructed, “before she gets out of hand.”

  A sharp pain pricked her neck. Warmth flooded through her body. It washed up her throat, coated her brain, and blossomed over her torso. In seconds, it pooled in her fingertips and collected in her toes. All the stress and tension in her body washed away with that warm tide, and her frown wobbled into a lazy line. “What’s … What’s this? I’m feeling … I feel wrong.”

  Amber’s mother gently lay her on the couch. A nurse hovered over her, holding a dripping syringe. Amber clutched weakly at the man’s scrubs, but he caught her fingers and placed them on her stomach.

  As the world faded, Dr. Ellis appeared, embracing Amber’s sobbing mother in his arms. “She’ll be okay now. We’ll take good care of her. Very good.”

  “It’s for the best,” her mother said. “It’s because we love her.”

  Colors faded from Amber’s vision. All the sleep she thought she left behind came roaring back, and her mind sunk into a deep, soupy black.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Whispers in the Web

  “Where is she?” Bone Man hissed.

  The words whipped through Wilhelmina’s luxurious room. The Scarlet Spider watched him from her couch, her arms thrown wide on the pillows behind her. Her bright dress pooled at her feet like freshly-spilled blood.

  Wilhelmina licked her lips and batted the eye unhidden by the blond curtain of her hair. “She was here, yes, but no longer. I assume she ran to Faye and the rest of the fools, or at least whatever’s left of them. I do hope next time Faye will pick a less unfortunate name for her uprising.”

  Bone Man rolled his neck, and it cracked so loud the Spider winced. He smiled behind his mask and stepped forward. “Tell me, Spider.”

  “That’s all I know, Hound. Dino Cardona waltzed aboard like he owned the place with her on his arm, fought his way here looking for information on some relic necklace, then fought his way out and vanished like he’s done hundreds of times before. I’ve half a mind to dust Fat Gary and Campbell for letting him get into my inner sanctum. I can’t stand feeling so vulnerable in my safe—”

  “Quiet.”

  One of the chairs before her couch flipped into the air and landed behind him. He took a seat, and it slid across the floor until he sat face to face with the woman. “I smell your lie.”

  “I’ve always heard you have a keen nose.” She smiled, strumming her ruby nails on her silky chest. “What can I say? It’s Afterlife, and I’m the Spider. It’s kind of my thing. But you knew that.”

  “Where is she?” he asked again, the calmness in his voice rippling through the room.

  “I told you. She went to the Errand.”

  “You know where she really is. If you don’t tell me. I will flay you. Here. Now.”

  Wilhelmina scooted back in her seat almost imperceptibly. “The Spider has many eyes, sees many things, hears many others. So? I wouldn’t be the Scarlet Spider if I didn’t spin a tight web. Yes, I have spies in the Errand. It’s how I keep tabs on Faye. I need to make sure she doesn’t make a move on my assets, you see. But where she is now? I haven’t the foggiest.”

  “WHERE IS SHE!”

  The mirrors coating the walls shattered, and glass went flying. The Spider didn’t flinch. She didn’t jump. But her body dispersed, and as the shards rained over her, they passed through her translucent form. “Now, Bone Man, you know if I knew where to find her, the archduke would be the first to know. I’m a loyal servant of his rule. I was one of the first to convert during the Revolution. Why, the mere thought I would lie to you is offensive.”

  The last of the glass fell to the floor, and she solidified. Bone Man placed his hands on his legs and took a deep breath. He stared at Wilhelmina, his eyes unblinking, silence weighing on the air. Not a single shard had come within an inch of him.

  He raised a hand. The door behind Bone Man exploded inward. Wilhelmina cried out as Fat Gary stumbled inside, clutching at his throat. Three blackjackets lorded over him, ramming their sabers through his barrel of a stomach, spraying glittering dust from his wounds.

  “Fat Gary!” Wilhelmina rocketed to her feet.

  He trembled, clutching at the ground as what remained of his body collapsed to ash. The Spider turned on Bone Man, face full of poisonous fury. “Why you bastard, you’ve killed my best man!”

  Bone Man calmly rocked to his feet, smoothing his jacket. He pulled out a sheet of paper and tossed it at the woman.

  She grabbed it midair and unfolded it, gaze darting over the words scrolled onto it. “He’s actually given you permission to burn all the casinos? But they’re neutral! They always—”

  “If I find the girl, not one of your precious casinos will burn.”

  The fury contorting her features dwindled. She blinked, lifting her chin until their eyes met. “Not one?”

  “Not one.”

  She smirked, crumpling the Archduke’s order. “You’re a better strategist than they give you credit for. I give up Amber, you sp
are the gaming houses. Fine. I can give you a trail to follow, but on one condition.”

  “That is?”

  “The archduke must know that I am the one who found her. He must know that it is the Scarlet Spider who did what the generals of the Iron Council could not. He will know that I and I alone am responsible for bringing her to you.”

  Bone Man squeezed his cane. He swallowed, then nodded. “Done.” He turned to the blackjackets. “Tell the archduke the Scarlet Spider has found the girl, and I have gone to fetch her for him.”

  The soldiers saluted and sprinted off to fulfill their order.

  “Good.” Wilhelmina smiled, rubbing her palms together. “Follow me.”

  Bone Man followed Wilhelmina from her room, stepping over the ash pile of her bodyguard as he exited. Her scent filled his nostrils. She spoke the truth, that much he could tell. Yet, she struck the bargain too easily for his tastes.

  He hated feeling like a fly in her web, but the archduke wanted Amber, and that is all that mattered. There would be plenty of time to deal with Wilhelmina Hofmeister once the dust settled.

  “Now about Amber,” she said. “It’s not so much about where she is, but about where she isn’t.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Delusions

  Bright lights burned Amber’s eyes as they opened to the world. The room was liquid, the walls rivers of churning grey, soupy and alive. Amber’s stomach twisted. Bile burned the back of her throat as vomit threatened to spew from her sagging lips.

  A pillow damp with her sticky drool clung to her cheek. She peeled her cheek from its rough fibers and swallowed the cottony lump in her throat. Her hands disobeyed her mind’s commands, and her feet wouldn’t move no matter how hard she tried.

  Leather bands secured her wrists to a metal bedframe. When she finally managed to move an arm, it budged barely an inch before the chain went taut. Memories slowly seeped back into her molasses mind. Her mother. Her brother. Ms. Flannery and Ms. Tinsley. A doctor named Hunter, and a prick in the neck.

  Drugged. Amber choked down a sob. She reached into her mind, pulling upon the power of her curse, and though she felt that raging force swirling just beneath the surface, she couldn’t reach it. Her mind was unfocused, lost within the murk of medicines swamping her world.

  A door groaned open at the end of the room. Her mother walked inside, red-eyed and tear-stained, hands clasped tightly before her. She sat at the foot of the bed and gripped Amber’s ankle. “Honey. It’s for your own good. You know I love you. I’ll always love you, but I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you. We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

  Amber tried to speak, but her tongue simply slapped the roof of her mouth and stuck there. A tear slipped from her eye and dripped onto the pillow.

  Her mother wiped her eyes, and when her arm fell away, they had become glowing scarlet orbs. “Oh, Amber, your pain is just beginning.”

  Amber’s eyes rolled back, and darkness took her.

  Amber woke again, but where her mother once sat now her brother waited. His eyes shot wide when he noticed her stir, and he leaned forward, grabbing her leg. “You’re up! They really knocked you out, didn’t they?”

  She tried to speak, but her tongue was a lead weight glued to her mouth.

  He flashed a chilly smile, shaking his head as he looked to the wall. “Amber, you really screwed things up this time.” His grin flattened, his steady gaze fixing on her. “You couldn’t just let Toby go, could you? He didn’t die because of you. He drowned himself. It was suicide, Amber, and if it didn’t happen then, it would’ve happened some other time. Now everyone thinks you tried to kill yourself too. You know that right? You know how much that fucking hurt Mom?”

  Chris pitched from the bed and turned his back to her. “You’re just like Dad. Too afraid. Always wanting to run away.”

  Amber wept, her tears streaming down her cheeks. Her heart burned as the knife of his words twisted in it. I didn’t run, Chris. I didn’t.

  The words were there. They struggled on her tongue. But her tongue just wouldn’t move.

  “You’re different than Toby and Dad at least,” he said. “They both got away. You couldn’t even do that.”

  He glanced behind him, his eyes simmering orbs of hateful red. “You’ll always be a failure, Amber. You’re nothing. Just give up. Kill yourself. Stop fighting. Maybe then you could go back to them. Go back to him.”

  In that single, terrifying moment, that little shard of Amber that struggled to remain awake knew the man before her was not her brother. It wore his face. It spoke in his voice. But this was not her brother.

  Chris started laughing. Amber slipped into the pool of black, and the oppressive sleep of medication took her.

  “Amber?”

  Her eyes peeled apart. Jason’s familiar, beaming face appeared. She cried again, but this time they were tears of joy. Finally, someone who would understand, someone who would help. She glanced at her bound wrists. His eyes followed hers. He sighed, cupping her jaw. “Amber, what have you done?”

  Help me, she begged, her stomach turning at the poison in his voice.

  “Did you think you could control her? Did you think you could just use her curses without a cost? She let you have her power. She. Let. You. But she’s ready now. It’s time for her to take her rightful place. Don’t wake up next time. No one wants you to. Just close your eyes and let the black take you. You can be with Toby again. Remember how much fun that was?”

  The tears came again. She tried lifting her hand, but it just wouldn’t obey. Why are you doing this?

  Jason’s eyes simmered like the coils of a hot stove. “You’re a failure, Amber, and that’s all you’ll ever be. Let her out. It’s time to let go. Do everyone a favor, and don’t wake up. For once in your pathetic life, just don’t wake up.”

  He straightened, flashing an acid smile. “God, things are going to be so much better without you. Goodbye, Amber.”

  Jason stood, smoothing out his shirt as he did. He strolled to the door and opened it wide. His laughter echoed in the room as the black pulled her into it. Darkness swelled around her, and her mind sunk into the void.

  Amber woke again, this time in a dark room and covered in a chill sweat. She stood in a column of silvery light, surrounded by impenetrable shadows. She remembered this place from the night she received the curse of five curses, and she knew someone shared the room with her.

  The serpent’s scales slid across the stone floor. The beast encircled her, gliding just beyond the dim light’s borders. Amber swallowed. She clasped her hands tight upon her chest and searched the shadows. “Who are you?”

  “You know who I am, Amber. You’ve known for a long while.”

  “Marina called you the Mother of Curses. Wilhelmina said you were Eve. Are you really her?”

  Light laughter filled the darkness. “It has been so long since I’ve heard one of my children speak my name. So long. The sound is beautiful.”

  Sweat beaded on Amber’s brow. She licked her lips, and forced the lump down her thick throat. “I didn’t even think you were real.”

  “Stories as old as mine never stay quite right through the generations.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I want to be reborn. I want Afterlife reborn. I want Earth reborn. We will fix things, make things better, the way they were before sin came.”

  “But what’s the cost?” Amber trembled with rage. “How many innocent people have to die so you can get your stupid Second Eden?”

  “As many as it takes,” Eve stated. “I told you we would do wondrous things, you and I. Now lie down and rest your eyes, my child. You’ve done so much, come so far, now let your true mother finish this long and lonely journey. They have rejected you, in Afterlife and on Earth. Your family has turned their backs. Your friends? You have none. There is nothing for you. Surrender. Let sleep take you, my child, and I promise it will be filled with dreams as sweet as honey.”

 
; Amber squeezed her hands tighter against her chest. “Do you know what happened to Toby?”

  Eve sighed, long and low. “Forget your brother, Amber. It’s time we moved on from him. You’re not in Afterlife any longer. He is dust. I’m the only one you need now.”

  Amber sunk to her knees. “He needed me. I ran away, right when things got bad. I … I just ran. Why did I run?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s dust. Rest. Close your eyes.”

  Amber laid on her back and stared into the dimming point of light. “I told him I wouldn’t leave him. I broke my promise. Toby needed me, and I left him.”

  Two eyes of shimmering scarlet appeared in the darkness. “We can’t all keep our promises. Sleep with me in the calm quiet of the night, and tomorrow you’ll feel so much better. Close your eyes now, my sweet, sweet girl.”

  Amber closed her eyes. The memory of that day glimmered in her thoughts, of her stepping into the chill pond. The warm breeze shifting through her hair, sun kissing her cheeks.

  Toby’s body floated in the pond. She could almost reach him. He didn’t move. No matter how many times she called his name, he wouldn’t move. “I’m sorry, Toby. Come back. Please come back!”

  But his body didn’t move, no matter how hard she screamed his name. She wiped the snot dripping from her nose. “Just come back,” she whimpered. “I promise I’ll never leave you again if you just come back.”

  Amber’s eyes snapped open. She lurched to her feet, the angry beats of her heart smashing against her ribs. “No! I won’t give up on him. You can’t have me. Not yet!”

  The glowing eyes flared, and a poisonous hiss pierced the darkness. “You can’t fight me forever, child. Eden will rise again, and I will be its queen!”

  “I am not your child!”

  The room of darkness shattered like black glass. Amber lurched violently in her bed, the sheets soaked with her own sweat. Each breath came hot and heavy. The grey and pale blue hospital room crystallized. She weakly fought against her restraints, thankful that at least now her body moved when her mind commanded it.