Chapter 44
I did the slow head turning thing like a bad horror movie. "This can't be happening."
Stumbling over to the tray Edgar had sat down on a bedside table before he calmly exited the chamber, my hands shook as I reached to grab the silver carafe and ripped off the lid. There in the bottom sat the blackened mass of Vycandor's heart.
"It's funny how the things we love the most can be used against us," Courtney said, a cruel smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
She was clearly proud of herself. I, on the other hand, fled to the edge of the keep and promptly threw up. When finished, I slumped against the castle wall and folded to my knees. Resting a cheek against the rough surface of cold bricks, hunger like I'd never felt before poured over me in wave after violent wave. It beat at my insides and refused to be ignored, frightening me with its intensity.
Thomas and Vycandor dutifully rushed to my side out of concern, but I knew it was already too late. The jig, as they say, was up. Courtney had won.
Point for her.
She gave a laugh, dangling her hand in my face. "Come with me now and meet Lisette. She is eager for you to release her father from eternal torment so his soul can finally be at peace."
I blinked in surprise, although I shouldn't have. You'd think by now I'd get used to my life being hijacked by others, but I never do. Lisette may have created a sin-eater, but she could not control me. Nobody could.
I smacked Courtney's hand away and stood up on wobbly legs. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not now. Not ever." I breathed the last words directly in her face. "Tell Lisette she can kiss my ass."
With the ever increasing hunger, flared the relentless power buried deep down inside. Anger spiking, I found myself levitating in the air ever so slowly. My entire body shimmering with heat, the ends of my hair whipped back and forth in a frenzy – crackling and sizzling like live electrical wires. Eyes burning with what felt like molten lava, I reached out my hands and called fire. The flames turned from red to orange, the glow eventually brightening to a hot white light. Right then what I really, really wanted to do was use my finger like a human blow torch to peel the skin off her body, piece by piece, inch by inch...nice and slow and oh so painful.
"You have no idea what will happen if I don't bring you to Lisette," Courtney warned.
I floated higher and higher as sparks flew like invisible streaks of lightning, never taking my eyes off hers. "You have no idea how creative I can be at revenge."
Laughter seeped out of her face the way it should. The way I intended. Except there was nothing funny about the way she regarded me now. Not fear, exactly. No. It was more like the way a cat stared at an injured bird...right before it pounced. "If you hurt me, Jade dies and it will be all your fault. You will have set off a chain reaction of biblical proportions. The remaining Sons and Daughters of Darkness will come for you. Lisette will have her war. The Dark Ones will rise up to rule the world. And you, Chaos...You will have lost."
Sons and Daughters of Darkness?
I hadn't heard that term since Beastie had come to my school in an attempt to get me to join his side of the rebellion. The rebellion the Dark Ones had launched against the Guardians for dominion over Earth. Not only that, but her words sounded suspiciously a lot like a threat. I don't do threats.
My stomach spasmed. The intended blast meant to extinguish the sparkle of victory in her eyes went wide. I missed her. Missed her by a mile.
Exhausted from exertion, I dropped out of the air. Thankfully, Thomas kept his promise and caught me when I fell.
Back on my feet once more, Courtney grinned mischievously. "When I agreed to help Lisette in exchange for avenging Sebastian's death, I made her promise to make you pay for what you have done. Now it's your turn to find out what it feels like to be a slave to hunger. Your punishment does not begin and end with Lisette's father. Quite the contrary, in fact. As a sin-eater, I'm afraid you have been sentenced to eternal damnation. Unless you give in to the need to feed, hunger will stalk you like a raven until you die. From this day forward, even in death you shall never know peace."
I made a sound at the back of my throat. It was time to get off this crazy train. "Spoiler alert. I've already been forgiven for my sins. Pay attention much?"
"True," she conceded. "But that was before you were cursed. Even someone as stubborn as you cannot hold out for all eternity. Eventually you will give in to the hunger and you will pay the ultimate price."
I thought about what she said. If possible, the dark truth of what I'd become was made even darker by an inescapable fascination that forced me to question the very reality in which I now found myself. I'd came to clean up the mess the Dark Ones had started. Not add to it. Surely God couldn't condemn me for being cursed, could he?
I decided that was a no. "It's not up to you to determine the wages of sin. Redemption is possible for everyone."
"Not for you," Courtney insisted, narrowing her eyes. "This is not a get out of hell free card, Chaos. Do not think even for one second that consuming the evil sins of the darkest souls is not without its penalty. For every sin you devour, you will surely earn a mark on your soul. Even you will be unable to withstand the storm that is coming your way."
I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Bitch, I am the storm."
Thomas and Vycandor had to hold me back from lunging at her. Their nearness ran through me like an electric shot. I practically salivated as I stood between them, seething in anger.
Courtney stalked up to me, high heels clattering sharply on the polished floor. "It's time to choose."
I blinked in shock. "Choose?"
"Come on, Chaos. Don't play coy with me. This has gone on for long enough. It's time for you to choose the one angel you cannot live without."
My gaze bounced back and forth between Thomas and Vycandor. They stared back at me imploringly. I was still only learning how to love and, in my own way, I really did love them both.
Eyes finally coming to rest on one of them, I knew I had already made my choice. I'd chosen to be with Thomas. I had even told him as much when I thought he was on his deathbed. What I didn't know was how that decision would affect Vycandor.
I was about to find out.
Courtney must have remembered that I'd made my decision too, because she reached out her hand and captured Vycandor by the arm.
In that moment, I realized what I wanted was standing right beside me. I was the spark, and they were my fuel. The chance of the three of us finding a way to spend our lives together, no matter how small, was worth the risk of one of us being torn apart.
"Don't touch him!" I screamed. "If you ever put your hands on him again, I will end you." I took a step forward until our noses were almost touching. "You got that?"
Her smile faded, blue eyes like winter ice. "Then it's decided. You shall keep them both."
"Fine by me." I sensed Thomas stiffen, but he didn't say anything. His nearness ran through me like an electric shock.
"Ah, the bonds of love," Courtney crooned. "You have formed a blood bond with Vycandor, while your bond with Thomas is that of an eternal flame." She paused, pressing a finger to her lips as if deep in thought. Eventually her gaze zeroed in on mine. "I can't help wondering what it will be like for them to have to share your love. Have you even bothered to ask?"
Thomas crinkled his brow in surprise. "Who said anything about sharing?"
Realization suddenly dawned on us all.
Vycandor broke his silence, turning to face me. "If you are the desert, then I'll be the sea. If you ever hunger, then hunger for me. Whatever you ask, that's what I'll be. But...please...don't ask me to share you."
Thomas pleaded with me next, the endless depths of his gaze coming up to reach for mine. "When I was lost, you played a song for me. You shined a light and it brought me out of darkness. Now and forever more, my love is all that I have to give. Please, Chaos...I can't bring myself to share you."
I threw my hands up in the air, "Fine! Don't share me." If they noticed the blame in my eyes, they didn't say anything else. I confronted Courtney next. "You claim that you're not aligned with the Dark Ones, yet you want to tip the balance of power in their favor and hand them an invitation to return on a sliver platter. You're either insane, or stupid, or maybe even a little bit of both."
"You don't know anything about me," she hissed.
"I know that you're a disgrace to your kind. I also know that you're a traitor, just like Sebastian. So unless you're going to be a coward and point a dart gun at my head...I suggest you get of here before I go Texas hood-rat on your ass."
Her blue eyes danced with amusement. "Oh, I've got something much better than a gun."
Before I could ask what, the rhythmic drum of a helicopter approaching sounded in the air above. On second thought...no. Not a helicopter exactly. It sounded more like the throbbing of heavy wings. Very, very large wings. It was hard to make out the form that prowled the night sky, but as the wind direction and intensity of the flapping increased, it was obvious that something big was coming in for a landing directly on top of the castle.
Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the expanse of the roof for any movement. The many towering peaks tossed sinister shadows that stalked the moonlit darkness. Although at first I couldn't make out the shape, I sensed a presence lurking just beyond my sight. A haunting growl in the distance confirmed it, growing closer by the second.
I couldn't move. Couldn't run even if I wanted to.
My mouth dropped open when the hulking form came into full view. I tried to speak, but the words remained trapped in my throat. There's fear. And then there's...fear. Like seeing a real, live manticore for the very first time.
Thomas was wrong. This creature was not the size of a tank. Not even close. It was much, much bigger. Tall as a five-story building, it's enormous muscular body was twice the length of a school bus, while its powerful legs were at least a hundred and fifty feet tall.
There was only one way to create a beast of such magnitude. Use a shit ton of magic.
Lisette must be one hell of a witch.
As if its size alone wasn't intimidating enough, the manticore rotated his massive head and breathed a torrent of fire our way. The blast of orangey-red flames narrowly missed our heads, taking out an entire wall of ice instead. I knew if I did anything to piss it off, we might not be so lucky the next time.
Sometimes I just can't help myself.
"Aw, is Lisette so afraid of showing her face in public that she had to send her overgrown pussy cat to breath fire on us? If I'd had more warning, I would've brought food to the barbecue."
The manticore's claws sprung out suddenly without warning. The three of us stood so close together that it barely missed as it tried to rip us to shreds, before attempting to stomp us flat with a ginormous paw.
I finally understood why they called him the Ripper.
Calmly reaching inside, I uncurled the burning power – holding it like a loaded weapon. I planned on showing pussy-woosy here how it felt to get torched. The only difference was, I didn't plan to miss my first try.
A cold wind whipped my long hair over my face, covering my eyes and blinding me momentarily. I paused to pull the entire length over my right shoulder, smoothing the ends and twisting them into submission.
Courtney decided to use the brief intermission to change clothes. In the blink of an eye, she went from wearing her red hooker dress, to a slinky black number; fashioned entirely out of shiny black latex that somehow only further served to accentuate her many bold curves.
"I didn't know the dress code was bring your own dominatrix," I snorted.
Not one to be outdone, I remembered what Thomas had told me. If I ever wanted to wear something different, all I had to do was close my eyes and imagine it. I didn't have a lot of experience when it came to fashion. All I'd been exposed to so far in the form of official combat attire, was the armor Serenity had made for me to wear. Borrowing the basic concept, minus the insidious alien material, I changed into a form fitting black cat suit complete with a boned corset, spiked leather belt, thigh high shit kicker boots, and a black leather whip – which I proceeded to crack repeatedly because I liked the sound it made.
"I wouldn't push your luck if I were you, Chaos," Courtney said, interrupting my fun. "While it's true you still retain much of your powers, using them will cause you to expend a great deal of energy. Energy you can't regain unless you feed, that is. The longer you hold out, the weaker you become." She tilted her head to one side thoughtfully before adding, "Although, there is one other way I can think of for you to regain your strength." A cruel smile twisted her lips.
Pausing long enough to study Courtney, I wasn't sure if I could trust anything that came out of her mouth. In fact, I knew she couldn't be trusted. She'd poisoned my favorite beverage. That alone made her public enemy number one in my book. It almost made me want to give up coffee for good. But, I knew if I did, I'd have to replace coffee with murdering. Which didn't bode well for her. On the other hand, if there was a way to avoid eating sins, I had to know.
My eyes flicked to the Ripper, then back to her. "How?"
"You can drink blood."
I froze. I couldn't help it. Her answer was so unexpected that I just froze. Everyone has their weaknesses. Some more than others. Mine's blood.
"Gag me with a spoon! No thanks. I'll starve." Even as I said the words, I felt the first hideous stirrings of an impossible craving for the red stuff. Standing this close to Thomas and Vycandor, I could almost taste their pulse in my mouth. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to want to sink my teeth into them.
Courtney must have sensed it too. "Like I said, you won't be able to hold out forever."
"You know I can't stand the sight of blood, right?"
She nodded.
"And if I refuse to pay off her father's Karmic Debt, Lisette thinks I'm just gonna give in and become a blood-sucker?" It sounded ridiculous even to me.
She nodded again, giggling to herself. "If you can bring yourself to give in to one temptation, you'll automatically give in to the other. These crimes against humanity go hand in hand. And when you finally do, it's only a matter of time until you sacrifice your soul to the Dark Ones."
So that's what this was all about!
I'd refused to give up my soul. Go figure. My virtue had become its own punishment. Watching me risk it all had turned into a twisted form of entertainment for the Dark Ones.
"And since I know you have a thing for poetic justice," Courtney cooed, interrupting my stream of mental babble. Her eyes darted back and forth between Thomas and Vycandor, before finally coming to rest directly on me. "You won't be able to drink from just one of your lover boys, you will have to drink from them both. At the same time," she stressed, lips curling around the edges. "Is that poetic enough for you?"
The power I'd been holding inside felt like a nuclear bomb ready to explode.
I tried, but I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. "You should have kept your immortality, Courtney."
She tilted her head to the side. "Why?"
"If you get hurt now, you stay hurt."
Thomas read my mind. "Chaos, don't do anything rash."
"He's right," Vycandor agreed. "You can't take her on alone."
I fixed them both with a penetrating stare. "I'm not alone." For the first time since I'd been re-born, I knew what I had to do. Slicing the air with my hand, the three remaining walls of ice drastically shifted to effectively box them in. "But you two are."
Thomas and Vycandor rushed to pound on the ice, their deep voices muffled by the sheer thickness, but it was no use. They weren't going anywhere fast.
Free to focus the full brunt of my attention on Courtney, I used the power behind my mind to hold up the entire rest of the ceiling from caving in on her. At this point, she could still walk away if she wanted to. The choice was up to her.
We were in a stand off, more or less, each one daring the other to make the first move.
Courtney gave the slightest nod to the Ripper. I knew then that she'd made her decision to let him kill me, instead of waiting around to see if I would give in to the effects of the curse.
I nodded to her in return. "Give my regards to Sebastian and Serenity when you see them in hell."
Her eyes widened. Before she had a chance to scream, I let go and dropped the ice palace of doom, watching her body explode into an unrecognizable puddle.
Gross.
Seeing what I'd done, the manticore reared back its massive head, crouched down low, and breathed an even stream of fire my way. I managed to leap out of the way just in the nick of time, extending my wings and executing what I hoped was a graceful swan dive off the roof of castle. At least, that's what I'd envisioned. And it probably would have worked too if the flames hadn't caught me in my right shoulder, making it nearly impossible to pull out of the nose dive.
The curse had unwittingly slowed down my ability to heal damage. I'd recover, but that was going to take strength and energy. Two things I didn't have time for at the moment.
Bracing for impact, I crashed landed on the shiny hood of the red and white Plymouth Fury. If I had picked a less substantial car to break my fall, say one of Vycandor's many sports cars, the impact alone would have crushed it. As it was, the Fury remained perfectly in tact...save for a small dent from where I'd banged my head.
Rolling off the hood with zeal, I was only a little bit dizzy when I folded back my wings, yanked open the car door, and jumped inside just as a sizzling shower of bright red flames rained down from above. I started the engine, put it in drive, and punched the accelerator all the way to the floor. The Fury took off like a bat out of hell.
Another shower of fire ignited the entire front of the hood as I attempted to make my getaway. On second thought, I was a fool if I thought I could outrun the Ripper.
Gripping the steering wheel, I turned it hard and applied the emergency brake at the same time, executing an immediate 180-degree turn. The sounds of the prolonged skid marks left me in inhaling the stench of burning rubber. When I finally came to a screeching halt, I found myself about to play an absurd game of chicken when I spied the Ripper come to a landing on the opposite end of a long abandoned street, as if daring me to run him over.
I was happy to oblige.
Revving the engine hard, hot blue and yellow flames shot up from the grille when I punched the accelerator to the floor again, causing the Fury to lurch forward aggressively.
The Ripper surprised me badly by not taking off in flight. Instead, he folded his enormous bat wings behind his back, shifted his weight forward with a head shake and a snapping of jaws, before using his powerful legs to catapult off the ground – heading straight toward me.
Our little game of chicken had just turned into an even bigger game of cat and mouse. Only, this time, I had a sneaky suspicion the Ripper considered me to be the poor, defenseless little mouse. I may have been hurt and unable to use my wings to fly at the moment, but I was anything but defenseless.
Sometimes bravery and stupidity are hard to tell apart.
Extreme speed and agility caused the Ripper to close in faster than expected. I saw a flash of white as he opened his mouth to bare long, pointy fangs. I knew if I didn't do this just right, I was about to be fed alive to a great big red lion. Like literally.
As soon as the Fury got up to top speed, I hit the brakes. The forward momentum shot me out of the windshield like a cannonball, propelling me directly toward the mouth of the Ripper. Fangs and all. My body was the bomb. The power I'd been holding inside was a nuclear bomb that simultaneously detonated the minute I hit the back of his throat, like a midnight snack gone horribly wrong.
The tremendous impact rocked the Earth, causing a huge explosion as hunks of meat and charred flesh rained down hard against my back. Any regular human would have had their eardrums blown out for their trouble. I guess it's just a good thing I'm human.
Somehow I managed to find the ability to sit up, but barely. The road was bathed in a harsh, searing bright light. It took me a few frozen seconds to realize I was laying in the middle of a blazing inferno with the Fury's high beams trained directly on my body like a spotlight, as an intense wave of heat rose up to greet me. I didn't have time to ponder why the Fury wasn't in like a gazillion pieces after the explosion. Especially when I realized that Courtney had been right about something else. Using my power had completely depleted my energy. I tried to stand up to take a small step and fell over my own two feet. I wasn't even chewing gum.
Resigned to lay all sprawled out in the center of the road, I was assaulted by the noxious odor of burning asphalt, combined with the mouth watering smell of barbecue. Or maybe, just maybe it was the effects of the curse playing tricks on me again. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, would be thinking about sinking their teeth into a fresh piece of meat at a time like this.
Except for me, that is.
Either it was just my imagination, or I heard a familiar song playing on the Fury's radio in the distance. Living on a Prayer, by Bon Jovi. When it came to the chorus, it was eerie how the lyrics fit the moment perfectly.
Halfway there we were living on a prayer.
My mouth watered with need thinking about Thomas and Vycandor. I couldn't possibly bring myself to drink their blood, could I? Then again, I couldn't bring myself to consume the wages of sin either. I decided to say a silent prayer in the hopes of saving my wretched soul. Because, when it came right down to it, I knew I would ultimately have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Especially if I wanted to live to see another day.
Energy fading fast, I still had to find a way to rescue Jade and stop Lisette from wiping every last remaining adult off the face of the planet, leaving teenagers alone to govern the world.
Let the soul sucking begin!