“Kat, this is … This is amazing,” Henri said.
“I can’t believe I forgot this place.”
I hurried across the grass toward the knoll that had the mouth of a cave cut into it, leaving Henri to follow. Was he here? Please, let him be here.
A figure stepped out of the darkness, and terror rooted me to the spot.
The shimmer man pouted at me. “Tut, tut, you know better than to underestimate me, Kitty Kat.”
His gaze flitted over my shoulder. Shit, Henri, but then he was focused on me again.
“Lucinda thought she could trick me, but it’s me who gave her the slip. I knew she’d send you here.” He wrinkled his nose. “I hate this fucking place. It reeks of death and nothingness.” He shuddered. “The darkness, the walls closing in. She knew I wouldn’t follow you inside.”
Wait … he didn’t know about Death. He didn’t know that Death usually entered Somnium via these caves? And Henri, my smart Henri was keeping out of view. Good man.
I stood taller. “I know why you’re doing this. I know what happened to you, what the other primordial gods did to you.”
His mouth parted in surprise, and then his mercury eyes narrowed to pissed-off slits. “You know, do you? What the fuck do you know?”
“I know about the Abyss and about your imprisonment. I know about Gaia and how she took your heart.”
He let out a roar of rage and was across the clearing, his hand around my throat before I could blink. I made back-off motions with my hand in case Henri was watching and tempted to come out to assist.
He needed to stay hidden. He needed to be my backup. Find Death and come to the rescue at the last minute. Cool stuff that couldn’t happen if he revealed himself. Cool stuff that could only happen if I survived the pressure of the shimmer man’s hand around my throat.
I gagged, eyes bugging, and he released me abruptly and sniffed. “Pah, it was a long time ago. Hardly worth the mention. I mean, I was pretty upset at the time, of course, but it’s water under the bridge now. Now that I have a chance at a fresh start. New world, minions, subjects, power.”
I rubbed my bruised throat. “You don’t want your heart back?” My voice was a croak.
His mouth twitched as if it wanted to say words that his brain was denying him to articulate. “I don’t need it. What I need is Gaia’s eternal pain. What I need is her screams ringing in my ears. All their screams, and I will make them pay. I’ll make the whole universe pay, and you’re going to help me do it.” His smile was bone-chilling. “I’m not going to force you this time, Kitty Kat. This time you’re going to give me what I want willingly, and we’re going to do it in style.”
His hand whipped out to grab my arm, and then the world was spinning away.
Chapter Nineteen
“Welcome to my humble abode.” The shimmer man’s voice pulled me out of unconsciousness.
Where the heck was I? Cream, gold, and marble, expensive décor, high ceilings, and people—empty-eyed, staring people on either side of me. I was in some kind of assembly room. No, wait … Huge elaborate chair up on a platform equals throne.
This was a throne room.
The shimmer man appeared to my left and walked casually up to the throne and sat. “Do you like?”
I picked myself off the ground. “It’s a little much, don’t you think?”
He made a meh face. “Yes, you’re probably right, but there’s no accounting for taste. The previous owner seemed to have a thing for marble. Personally, I prefer granite. It just packs more of a punch, don’t you think?”
We were seriously having a debate about décor. “Why did you bring me here?”
He rolled his eyes. “For the finale, of course. Evil villain captures the pesky heroine …” He leaned forward. “That’s you, by the way.”
“And you admit you’re the villain.”
“I was made into a villain a long time ago. I’m just playing the part forced on me.”
“Destroyer of worlds? I doubt that’s what your primordial god buddies told you to do.”
His jaw hardened. “My primordial god buddies didn’t tell me anything. In fact, there was no consultation, no, hey, how do you fancy being guardian of a prison realm for the rest of eternity? No. I was forced into the Abyss. Forced into solitude. Forced to become a monster. I waited, you know. Waited for a long, long time, hoping that they’d come back for me, that they’d realize they’d made a mistake. I thought my patience was rewarded when she came. I thought she’d come to free me, but instead, she stole from me.” His hand went to his chest. “She took my hope, and then … Then there was only anger and vengeance, and nothing and no one will take those from me.”
Nope. Not going to feel sorry for him. I couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge what a raw deal he’d had, to wonder what he may have become if things had been different for him. I couldn’t turn back time. All I could do was deal with now.
“You don’t have to be a monster. You won’t find Gaia in our world. She’s gone. You won’t find your heart through destruction, but you could abandon the whole vengeance kick and, I don’t know, just start fresh and live. See the universe and be free.”
His eyes narrowed. “Oh, I intend to be free. To start fresh and to live, but only once I’ve decimated their creations. I will remake this universe in my image, and then … Then, I will finally be whole.”
A shadow constructed from grief and longing passed over his face.
Oh, boy. “Tartarus, please …”
He sneered. “Maybe if I had a heart, your words would mean something. But I don’t, and I’m done with the talking.”
The crowd to my left parted, and two figures were shoved onto the marble in front of the throne.
Oh, shitballs.
My mother and Death looked up at me in unison. They stood and linked hands, their expressions defiant. Silver glowing chains were wrapped around their torsos. Prisoners.
Great.
And then another figure was shoved onto the marble. A frail-looking figure, lacerated and bloody.
Lark?
He raised his head and fixed his attention on me. “Don’t give in,” he said. “Don’t.”
A laceration opened across his forehead. He screamed and covered his face with bloody hands.
“That’s for speaking out of turn,” the shimmer man said. He stood. “I’ll keep this simple, Kitty Kat. You have two options. Accept me willingly, set me free, and I’ll let you and your parents live, and your friend, Lark, will have a clean, quick death. I’ll carve you a home in the universe where you can start fresh with a family. Fight me, and they all die. And their death won’t be quick or clean.” He shrugged. “I mean, I’ll win whether you comply or not. I’ll still break through, either way, but the first option allows you to keep your family.”
He offered me a magnanimous smile, as if to say, see how fucking generous I am?
“Aw, really? And they say you have no heart.” My tone was pure sarcasm, my expression calm and collected, even though my insides were churning because he had Death.
He had him wrapped in silver, glowing chains, and Death … He was looking at me with devastation in his eyes. Like we’d lost. Like it was over.
“Don’t do it,” my mother said.
“She’s right,” Death said. “You need to fight.”
The shimmer man sighed. “Yes, Kitty Kat, listen to the entity who spent the better part of two decades as a beast, and the woman who gave up her child in the hopes of seeing him again.”
My mother gasped, and the shimmer man turned to her with a snide smile. “Yes, I know how your mind works. You’re no hero. You abandoned your child. I was the one who loved her. I was the one who made her smile. I told her stories and played games with her.”
He turned to me, his face contorted in a mixture of rage and imploration. “I’m the one who loves you.”
His words slammed into me with a twisted sincerity that stole my breath, and then images were assaulting my m
ind, flitting through it like a projector gone haywire. Warm laughter following me as my bare feet sank into the sand. Joy blooming in my chest. Strong arms lifting me up and whirling me around. His face, his beloved face looking down on me.
I staggered back, hand over my heart. I’d loved him. I’d fucking adored him, and that feeling stirred inside me now, attempting to become more than a memory. I squashed it, because yuck.
He took a step toward me. “You remember.” His chest rose and fell rapidly. “You remember, don’t you?”
The memories were a bitter taste at the back of my tongue because with those memories came others. The woman in the cell. The bleeding, crying woman who had my mother’s face. And the fear of knowing that my friend, my confidant, was a monster. Knowing that he couldn’t be trusted and that my instincts had been wrong.
I locked gazes with him, my chest too tight, my eyes hot. “I loved you.”
“Yes.” He took a step toward me, his hand out imploringly. “Yes, and I loved you.”
He sounded so sincere, so convincing, that it would have been easy to allow myself to believe him. But easy wasn’t always right.
“No.” I shook my head, squashing the surge of emotion. “You don’t know the meaning of the word love. You have no heart, remember? You play at love. You pretend and hope it will become real, but it’s not real. What I felt for you was pure, but what you want from me is corrupt and dirty.”
He flinched as if I’d struck him, and then his expression smoothed out, all emotion melting away until his face was a cold, harsh mask of nothing.
Realization flared inside me. This was him.
This was the true Tartarus.
“Is this what you want to see?” he asked. “The nothing. The empty. The vast?” His tone was a monotone. “This is me. This is what is left, but soon, I will feel again. The universe will burn, and I will feel its heat.”
Feel … he wanted to feel. Gaia had done this. She’d created this monster. This chameleon. This lie.
He walked toward me. “Time’s up, and my offer is no longer on the table.” And then his hand was around my throat. “Time to ride, Kitty Kat.”
* * *
Death’s bellow and my mother’s scream were cut off as the shimmer man’s energy sliced into my mind. It was him. His thoughts and his intention. Darkness and death and loneliness, so much loneliness. My heart ached for him, for what he’d endured, and for a second, my grip on my consciousness slipped. The shimmer man flooded my senses with his ravenous, dark hunger.
It clawed at my mind, ripping into my memories and tearing them free. No. No, I had to fight. But his arms were around me, so cold they burned. His mouth was on mine in a kiss that claimed my will, drawing it from my very soul.
He was stronger now. So much stronger.
I couldn’t hold on. I couldn’t fight him. I couldn’t move. I was bound, floating in darkness while he drifted away.
He was doing it. He was going to make it into the human realm.
He caressed me with icky phantom hands. Oh, Kitty Kat, we are going to have so much fun. Just relax and enjoy the ride.
My breath was trapped in my lungs, or I would have spit out a few choice curses.
That’s it, Kitty Kat. You and me. Just you and me for eternity. Your heart … it’s big enough for us to share …
The mark on my arm burned, and then he was flowing through me. I was a door. Open access. And he was taking advantage. I had to stop him. I had to shut him out, but my power was spent, being siphoned by him, used up in making his journey.
Tears of frustration and anger seared the back of my eyes.
No. Please. No. Someone, help me.
Needles stabbed at my nape, and then another voice whispered in the back of my mind. Tell him where to shove it, chickie. Right where the sun doesn’t shine.
Strength poured into me, sweeping over my skin and into my mind, and fresh eyes looked out through mine. Hope blossomed in my heart. Hope and love.
Tris? How?
Nothing ever completely dies, chickie.
She was here, somehow. Here with me, in my mind.
I knew you’d be back, Tris said. I couldn’t leave, not until you were safe. It’s time to fight, chickie.
Oh, God. Tris, I missed you so much.
Oh, chickie, I never left you, not really. You know that. No matter where I go, I’m in your heart and mind. Forever.
A sob pinched my throat.
Are you ready?
I’m ready.
Then let’s eject this bastard.
Her power burned through me … no, not her power, her very soul. I love you, chickie. The words filled my heart with comfort and the knowledge that she was going to be okay, and then her power erupted from me. It was a primal scream, a final fuck you to the bastard that had been a shadow on my life since birth, and then the shimmer man’s bellow rattled my teeth.
The darkness snapped to light, and my knees hit marble. I caught a flash of silver hair and silver eyes filled with immeasurable rage.
“Kat, look out!” Death cried.
The shimmer man rushed me, but he never made it. He was hit from the side by his doppelganger.
I scrambled to my feet. “Henri!”
“Morpheus!” Death and my mother cried at the same time.
Around us, the Lost abandoned their silence, suddenly free of the shimmer man’s hold.
Was that Henri pinning the shimmer man to the ground, or was it the other way around?
But then they were melding, becoming one. There was a flash of bright light, and when my vision returned, the shimmer man was standing over me, his hand outstretched.
What the … “Henri?”
“Morpheus,” Henri said. “My name is Morpheus.”
“Watch out!” Death cried out. And then he was shoving us aside.
Neon blue power shot out from his arms and straight into a crimson mass that rippled and pulsed three feet in the air.
No. The voice was deep and melodic. You can’t do this. I won’t let you.
“Now,” my mother yelled. “You need to attack now.”
Henri raised his hands, and the air vibrated as a sonic blast hit the crimson mass in its center.
A dark spot appeared in the air behind the crimson mass. It elongated into a slit and then began to widen.
A tear in Somnium. A tear leading back to the Abyss.
Everything has a balance, Max had said. The universe has laws. The universe was helping us.
No. No. The shimmer man’s mass pulsed. I won’t go back.
“Kat, you need to help!” my mother shouted.
It was my turn. I focused on the core of my power, the glowing white light inside me. It was time to shine. My body began to glow, brighter and brighter, power building, winding tighter and tighter.
Now.
I released it, aiming for the mass.
The shimmer man’s scream was an assault to my senses, but fuck, it felt good.
We were winning. But then a red tentacle whipped out and smashed into Morpheus, sending him flying backward. With his power knocked out of the equation, the shimmer man began to grow, and the tear began to shrink.
No. We couldn’t let that happen. We had to do something.
I had to do something.
And just like that, the answer was crystal clear. I was a doorway out of here, but no one said it had to be a doorway to my world.
Terror lanced through me at what I was about to do, but there was no other choice.
“Hey!” I stepped between Death and the shimmer man. “You wanted a ride out of here. Then I’ll give you a ride.” I slammed my hand into the crimson body of the primordial god. “A ride all the way back to hell.”
I pushed my power into him, tethering him to me.
“Kat, no!” Death cried.
But there was no going back because I was already falling into the tear. Into the Abyss, and I was taking the shimmer man with me.
* * *
; The world was red. Red skies, red earth, red, red, red. I stood slowly, clutching my abdomen where the tether to the primordial god burned a hole into me. My body trembled and shook. There would be no escaping this connection. He’d devour me. He’d end me.
But damn, it was worth it to stop him.
My knees gave way, and I hit the earth again.
“What did you do?” The voice was all around me, deep and musical and filled with rage. “What did you do?”
Ice lanced through me, knocking me all the way down, so I was on my back, staring up at the sky.
No long goodbye. No I love yous.
Horrors appeared in the sky, floating, flying, falling. There was a hole in the sky, a hole that was closing. The breach to my world was closing. Max, you beauty.
My mouth wanted to smile, but my face was frozen. Eyes frozen wide open between blinks. The ice was everywhere, moving steadily toward my heart.
It would be over soon. Max was doing his thing. He was ending this.
Sorry, Bres. So sorry, everyone.
A face appeared above me. A face with slanted snake eyes and a kind snake smile. A woman … It was a woman with a snake’s skin, and I knew who she was.
Lucinda.
“Not today, child. Not today,” she said.
The tether snapped, and the ice melted.
“You. You bitch,” the shimmer man snarled.
The woman stood, and her body, covered in iridescent scales, was fully visible. She was beautiful and powerful.
“Hello, brother,” she said.
“You did this,” the shimmer man yelled. “You did this to me.”
“Yes,” Lucinda said. “I did, and I’m here. I’ve always been here.”
A figure appeared, eight feet tall, with flowing crimson hair and crimson skin. This was Tartarus. This was the shimmer man’s true form. They faced off, the snake woman and the crimson giant.
“You left me alone,” Tartarus said.
“I made a mistake,” the woman who had to be Gaia replied. “But never again. I tried to return, but this world was closed to me. They closed it to me. I didn’t have the power to come back, and so I was forced to move on. I created, but there was not a day that went by that I did not dream of you. I used your heart in my greatest creation. It is the core of the earth, and it is beautiful, brother. So beautiful.”
Lay the Ghost: Nightwatch Series book 4 Page 14
