Song for the Dead: An Ada Palomino Novel

by Karina Halle

  “Since I can remember,” he says.

  I think about that. “Jay told me that you get your memory wiped every time you have to help someone. So you don’t form attachments.”

  “Is that what happened to Jay?”

  I shake my head. “No. He remembers me.”

  “You’ve seen him after you broke up? Jacob said he left and hasn’t come back.”

  Thanks for the reminder. “I, uh, I saw him in my dream.”

  “So?”

  “So like…that’s how Jay would first visit me. In my dreams. And then I figured out how to visit him. I saw him. In his new house. In Arizona.”

  Max blinks at me. “Oh. Well, fuck. That’s something.”

  “And he remembered me.”

  “Well, all I got are my own experiences. Some I don’t remember, but most I do.”

  “So how long have you really been around? How many years? Fifty? A hundred? Centuries?”

  He gives me a fleeting smile. “The last one.”

  My mouth drops open. “Centuries? What century?”

  “Renaissance.”

  “You were alive during the Renaissance?!” I exclaim loudly. The entire restaurant looks our way.

  “Trying to keep this a secret here,” he says, motioning for me to calm down, but like anyone in this place is going to take stock in what I just said.

  “But your accent,” I point out. “It’s southern.”

  “I’ve had many accents, darlin’. Many accents, many lives.”

  “Holy shit.” I gape at him. “What is that even like? To be alive for so long? To remember all of it? Did you never get bored? Is that why you gave it up for Rose?”

  He gives me a patient look. “I gave it up for Rose because I was in love with her.”

  “And you hadn’t fallen in love with anyone else before?”

  “I had,” he says slowly. “Many times. But, back then, I didn’t know I had the choice.”

  “Jacob didn’t tell you?”

  “There was no Jacob, not for a long time.”

  “You’re older than Jacob?” I squeak. Here I was thinking he was ageless.

  “That’s right.”

  “Then why aren’t you in charge?”

  “Who says I’m not?”

  “Wait…Jacob…you’re in charge of him?”

  He shakes his head. “Nah. Was never my job.”

  “This is a lot to take, Max.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t just stay dead, to be honest.”

  He frowns. “Thanks.”

  “What I mean is, you lived a long time. You deserved a break.”

  “I was in Hell, Ada. That wasn’t a vacation. And, at any rate, you’re turning twenty this year, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Could you live those twenty years over again?”

  “Of course.”

  “Now imagine you’re fifty. It’ll be here before you know it. Don’t you think you’d look back on your life and think about what you’d give to have another fifty years? Well, now you’re one hundred. And you could easily do one hundred more. And so on and so on. Life only gets boring if you let it get boring. People always act like immortality is a curse, but it’s not.” He pauses, his look getting dark. “Not always, anyway. Life is pure and precious and we cling to it because there’s nothing else like it. So they all say.”

  I think about what he’s said for a bit, the waitress bringing my beer and our food. It’s a lot to mull over.

  Eventually, after a few spoonfuls of chowder, I ask, “Is that why you were such a dick to Dex? You were in charge of him. Did you get bored with it all by that point?”

  He bites off half the coconut shrimp. “I’ll have you know that Dex slept with my girlfriend. So, he was a dick first. And he was a pain in the ass. I was used to training people, not guiding them, and I definitely wasn’t used to having to guide someone as obstinate as he was. Not to mention dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” I frown.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I don’t. He’s not dangerous.”

  “To himself, I mean. That’s been proven.”

  I study him closely to see if he’s holding anything back.

  But before I can poke at him, the hairs at the back of my neck stand straight up, goosebumps rising all over my body, energy building in my gut.

  I look over my shoulder to two tables down where a group of three old ladies are eating soup loudly. All except one. She’s staring right at me, black eyes that seem to stare right into my soul.

  I quickly turn back to face Max.

  Just in time to see the flames building in his eyes.

  Oh shit.

  Seven

  “Ain’t gonna worry, just live ‘til you die.”

  – In the Fade

  Max is staring right over my shoulder at the old ladies two tables down, the flames in his eyes growing brighter and overtaking the green.

  “They’re demons,” I whisper harshly, leaning forward.

  “One of them is,” he says quietly. He glances at me. It’s unnerving to have him look at me like that when his eyes are on fire. It’s like looking into the pits of hell again. “Sorry,” he adds. “My eyes are doing that thing, aren’t they?”

  “I’ll get used to it.” Though I also hope not. “How can that one be a demon? She’s a little old lady. Then again, I did have to fight a nun once.”

  Max gives me a crooked grin that makes his eyes glow brighter. “I wish I could have seen that.”

  “So what do we do?” I ask. “You can’t just walk over there and rip her head off. People will see. Unless…”

  He shakes his head, eyes going back over my shoulder. “No. I’m not going to manipulate everyone in this café. I don’t have that capability and it would still make a mess. I say we just finish eating and leave when they leave.”

  “Something tells me this isn’t going to be as easy as mugging her down some side street.”

  “Nah, she’s on to us. She knows.”

  “How?”

  “Well, my eyes I’m sure,” he says. “And she’s looking at me. But they know when I’m around, remember?”

  “Do you think she came through the portal because you’re here?”

  “I don’t think so. She’s friends with those ladies. I guarantee they’ve been friends with her for a long time. They don’t know the truth. Maybe she sensed me and convinced them to come for lunch here, but I bet she’s local.”

  “That’s a bit of a coincidence,” I tell him.

  “Is it? Ada, they’re everywhere. In every town, every city, every country across the world.”

  Motherfucking chills run down my spine. I knew demons existed everywhere, Jay and Jacob ingrained that in me, but these hybrids, these demons in a human disguise, this is something new. I always thought Michael was the only one.

  “So how come you weren’t able to kill Michael?” I ask him.

  Pain furrows his brow. “I tried. Some are harder to kill than others.”

  “Could you have killed Michael? Could I have?”

  “You did, didn’t you?”

  “That was in Hell, or close enough.”

  “Still counts. Anyway, next time we come across someone like him, we’ll be prepared. There are two of us, and anyway, I have a sword in the trunk.”

  “A sword!?” I nearly spit out my beer, which I probably shouldn’t be drinking since we’re supposed to rip the head off that little old lady soon. I should be sober for that.

  “Picked it up at a pawn shop,” he says. Then he straightens up in his chair, eyes glued to the demon lady over my shoulder. “They’re leaving.”

  “I’ll get the bill,” I tell him, looking around for the waitress. “Though I know it takes forever to pay in this place, you have to go to the register.”

  “Let me worry about that,” he says, spotting the waitress behind me. “Hello darlin’,” he says to her as she approaches, tur
ning on the charm with that wicked smile of his. “We’d like to leave now. It was a lovely meal. Thank you for making it free.”

  The woman stares at him for a moment, like she’s in a trance. “Your eyes…” she whispers.

  “They’re contacts,” he informs her.

  “Oh.” She blinks, then smiles. “Okey dokey. Hope you enjoyed your free meal. Have a good rest of your day.” Then she turns and walks off.

  He gives me a smug smile and puts on his leather jacket.

  Fucking hell, I think as I get up. I am never going to get used to that.

  “You’re a fucking great person to have around,” I tell him as we leave the restaurant, trying not to feel guilty about skipping out on the bill.

  “I’ll make this situation worth your while, sweetheart,” he says to me, putting his arm around my shoulders briefly and giving me a strong but affectionate squeeze.

  I gulp, my heart doing something silly in my chest.

  Then he lets go of me as we head out the door, grinning at me over his shoulder as he holds the door open for me.

  “Thanks,” I tell him, my voice cracking a little.

  We step down into the parking lot and look around. The Super B is just a few feet away. I glance at Max’s eyes, the flames slowly disappearing.

  “Your eyes are going back to normal,” I tell him, the green coming through.

  He nods. “Yeah. I don’t reckon she stuck around. Perhaps we’re too intimidating for her.”

  “There’s no way she’d know what I am, right?”

  He glances at me as we walk toward the car, getting out his keys. “I don’t know. I have my theories.”

  He unlocks the door and gets in, leaning across to unlock mine. I slide into the seat as he starts the engine. “What theories?” I ask as we drive out of the parking lot, Max handling the car at a respectful small-town speed.

  “I think she can read your thoughts, just like many others can,” he says. “They might be doing the same with me, too. Perhaps I draw them near, but they don’t know who they’re looking for. Maybe they scan brains.”

  I shudder. Brain scanning does not sound like fun.

  “Or maybe it’s my eyes. Guess I should invest in a pair of sunglasses. All I know is that my eyes never used to do that.”

  “A side effect from Hell.”

  “So it would seem.”

  He pulls the car back onto the 101 and we head over a bridge, leaving Florence behind. “So where are we staying tonight?”

  “I figured we’d just drive until I get tired.”

  “You haven’t booked a hotel?”

  He glances at me. “It’s the off-season. We’ll just show up somewhere.”

  “Yeah, but there are only so many good hotels.” I’ve done roach motels before, no thank you.

  “We’ll find a nice one, don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

  “Yeah, but the less you reserve ahead of time, the more we’ll end up in an only one bed scenario.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  “You better.”

  The funny thing is that I’ve stayed in a hotel with Max before. Right before he died, when he was in Manhattan helping me and Perry look for Dex, he stayed in my room as soon as Dex came back. Of course, it wasn’t weird back then, we had two beds, and it would have been the same as if I’d been sharing a room with Dex. You know, they’re both kind of like big brothers, and now Dex literally is.

  It’s dark when we see signs for Port Orford and Gold Beach. Feels like we’ve been driving in a dark winding forest for hours.

  “Well, Blondie?” Max asks. “Where do you want to stop?”

  “Gold Beach,” I tell him, looking at the map. “It’s on the Rogue River. It’ll have more options.” I quickly swipe through Yelp, looking for places to eat. There’s a lot of seafood and chowder places that don’t seem so fun anymore, but there’s a steakhouse that has okay reviews. “And let’s go out for dinner. I could drink a whole bottle of wine.”

  “Sounds good. I could too…” He trails off, and I look to see his eyes locked in the rearview mirror, flames dancing in them again.

  “Seriously?” I ask, craning in my seat to look behind us. There’s no car, nothing behind us.

  Oh shit, what if she’s hiding in the backseat and she’s just going to pop up like a jump scare?

  “There’s a car back there,” he says, which makes me calm down for a split second. “The headlights are off.”

  I stare back into the darkness. “Do you think it’s the old lady?” Obviously it’s a demon because of his eyes and the fact that no sane person would drive around in the dark on this road with no headlights.

  He doesn’t say anything for a moment, then brings his eyes to the road. “Hang on.”

  Then he slams his foot on the gas and the car bursts forward, throwing me back in my seat.

  Oh fuck.

  Max keeps his foot down, the car going faster and faster, the road zipping us tightly around corners. I watch with wide eyes as the speedometer keeps getting closer to eighty, which on any road, let alone this two-lane highway, is asking for trouble.

  “Max!” I cry out as we go up on two-wheels, peeling around the corner, his hand moving fast on the gearshift.

  He eyes me. “I need to shake her.”

  “And I need to stay alive.”

  “So do I. If you die, I die.”

  “How romantic,” I mutter, my eyes trained on the road as it disappears under us.

  “We can lose her in Port Orford,” he says as we pass another sign, going too fast to read it.

  I press my hands on the dash to keep me in place, praying that we don’t crash. Up ahead the road is lit up, maybe from the town.

  But Max doesn’t slow down. Not even a little.

  “Max,” I hiss at him as the tiny town gets closer and closer, and we start passing cars. “We’re going to get pulled over.”

  “I’ll talk my way out of it,” he says determinedly, a firm set to his jaw as he shifts gears again. “There.”

  We blow past streetlights and I turn in my seat to see the car appear, illuminated behind us, just a few feet away, almost at our bumper. It’s the little old lady, smiling a shark’s smile, disappearing for a moment as the lights pass and reappear.

  “Oh my god!” I exclaim. “She’s right there! Go faster!”

  “What do you think I’m doing?” he shoots back at me. “Fuck. Hold on!”

  I whip around to see us enter the town of quaint little buildings gathered along a few main streets, an SUV pulling out in front of us.

  Max whips the wheel around, the Super B careening around the SUV, cutting through the middle of the road, nearly colliding with an oncoming car in the other lane.

  I close my eyes, a scream ripping out of me, so certain we’re going to die.

  But as the horns of the cars and tires screeching fade away behind us, I open my eyes to see us back on the road, Max shifting like he’s a fucking NASCAR driver, eyes going between the road ahead and the rearview mirror.

  “That bitch,” he growls, and I look to the side mirror to see her copying the same moves that Max made, speeding up behind us. She’s impossible to shake.

  We continue to burn it through town, Max whipping the car around another car, narrowly avoiding taking out a family in the crosswalk, his reflexes working at lightning speed. Still, it’s not enough to shake her and from the way she’s coming after us, I know she would have plowed through that family without remorse.

  Now we’re shooting up the hill out of town, disappearing back into the black of the road.

  “This is never going to end,” I whimper, my heart wanting to climb out of my chest, my fingers permanently pressed into the dash.

  “Don’t sound so pessimistic,” he grunts, shifting again and picking up speed as the road starts to wind along the coast. “Hold on, darlin’.”

  “I’m already holding on!” I screech, as he suddenly wh
eels the car to the left, cutting across the lane and nearly hitting an oncoming car as we burn it up a steep road that heads up what feels like the start of a mountain.

  It feels even darker here, the road turning to gravel, the car bouncing over the rocks until one of them flies up and hits the corner of the windshield, creating a small spiderweb of a crack.

  “That fucking does it!” Max roars, spinning the wheel around so we’re doing a donut and I’m pressed against the window as we spin and spin on the steep road until we’re facing the way we came, the demon car illuminated in our headlights.

  Max slams the car into park and then throws open the door, hurrying out and going to the trunk.

  I’m caught between staring out the windshield at the demon car and the shark-mouthed lady, and watching Max in the back. I can’t see what he’s doing until he’s marching past the car, heading to the demon car, a fucking sword in his hand.

  “Max!” I scream, frantically trying to unbuckle my seatbelt. What the fuck is he doing? That bitch is going to run him over.

  As if on cue, the demon car, a Kia of all things, lurches forward, the back tires spinning and spitting out gravel, speeding up the hill toward Max, who isn’t getting out of the way.

  “Max!” I scream again, fighting with the seatbelt, watching with horror as he faces the car, sword in his hand. This is fucking insane!

  At the last minute, he somehow manages to launch himself up in the air, flipping his giant frame around until he lands on the roof of the Kia, denting it, the sword stabbed straight down into the driver’s side, going straight through the old lady’s head.

  The car continues to speed forward, causing Max to let go of the sword and roll off the back of the Kia and onto the road behind, as the demon car speeds toward me.

  I stare in a silent scream, watching the demon woman snap her shark teeth, a sword impaled through the middle of her head, blood pouring out red to black until it turns to dust, leaving only the sword behind.

  And then with her gone, no longer driving the car, it just kisses our fender before starting to roll backward.

  Toward Max, who is lying on the road, trying to get to his feet.

  Finally, the seatbelt lets me loose and I throw open the door, scrambling to get to him before he gets run over.