by Kayla Krantz
“Amanda!” he called out.
Barking sounded instantly and a black and white border collie peeked its head out from beyond the nearest wall. The loud yaps radiated through Max’s scalp to his brain, but the dog stayed its ground, and he stayed his.
“Amanda!” he called again, louder this time to make sure his voice was heard over the dog.
He saw her blonde hair first, her eyes peering around the wall above the dog as if she wasn’t sure whether he was a friend or foe. Max raised an eyebrow, waving at the girl. When she caught sight of him, she relaxed and stood up straight, adjusting the baby in her arms.
“That’s enough, Lucky,” she said to the dog, patting it on the head as she walked by.
Lucky stopped barking instantly, shocked she had been dismissed, and Max was relieved. He stayed where he was as Amanda approached, watching her every movement with ease. The scar across her neck was obvious to him, the wound that had killed her, but she moved with a confidence that suggested she either didn’t care it was there or didn’t know. Even though she cradled another human in her arms, her steps were light, graceful, as if she was dancing, and Max had a moment where he wondered about this girl, wondered if there was more than what he saw—obviously Luna and Morpheus had seen something in her that he could not.
“Max, what are you doing here?” she asked, twirling the baby to let its face rest in the crook of her neck as she patted it on the back.
“I came to check up on you and him,” Max said, looking at the bundle in her arms. “You adjusting okay?”
Amanda bobbed her head, glancing down at the baby before looking back at Max. “He’s doing alright, growing fast.”
“Isn’t that what everyone says they do?”
Amanda bobbed her head and tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Yeah, but he seems to be growing abnormally fast.”
Max twitched his nose, studying the dark hair on the back of the baby’s head. He was sure Amanda wasn’t imagining her observations. There was most likely some combination of magic and evil that was behind what she saw, but Max didn’t know what. Maybe it had something to do with Luna’s gift or the fact it had been born into death, born into this Realm.
Amanda frowned, disheartened that he hadn’t spoken. “You didn’t come to check up on me, did you?”
Max reached up to scratch the back of his neck, suddenly guilty for a reason he didn’t understand.
“Well, you came here to tell me something, spit it out,” she demanded, voice stronger than it had been a minute before, and Max knew that it came from fear. She was scared of what he had to say, scared of whatever information would possess him to come out all this way to see her.
Max sighed and tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. The message had seemed so much easier to pass along without looking into her wide scared eyes. She had a habit of not blinking for longer than he could and that only made his anticipation of the moment worse. “Yeah, I do.”
“Is it about Chance?”
Max tipped his head to the side, eyes staring off into the distance. “Kind of.”
Amanda swallowed and looked away, down at the bundle in her arms, to hide the emotion there.
“Luna came to me today.”
“She’s here?” Amanda asked, eyes instantly focusing on Max. “She’s dead?”
Max bobbed his head. “As far as I know, yeah.”
“We have to go see her. We have to see if she’s okay,” Amanda said, and her eyes once again bored into his without blinking.
Max shook his head. “We can’t do that.”
Amanda frowned. “Why not? Asher is her baby.”
“Because she didn’t come here alone.”
Amanda stared at him, not seeming to understand before her shoulders slumped and all the fight left her at once. “She came on behalf of Chance…didn’t she?”
Max sighed. “Unfortunately, so.”
The baby in Amanda’s arms started to cry again, as if it could understand what they were talking about, and she held him against her body, one hand rubbing circles into his tiny back. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did but sure.”
Amanda cocked the tiniest smile before she peered up at him through her lashes. “Why are we doing this? Why do we have to keep her baby from her? What is so special about him…about her…that we have to do this?”
“That baby was born of death. He has more power than all of us combined. One day, that’s going to be enough to decide how this war ends.”
“I don’t understand what that has to do with keeping him away from Luna.”
“Come on, Amanda. You know the answer to that. She’ll take him back to Chance, and he’ll corrupt this baby, corrupt his magic.” Max snorted. “Hell, I know him well enough to say he’d probably try to take Asher’s magic.”
“That’s awful,” Amanda said, eyes glazed because even she knew that it was true.
Max bobbed his head. “I know you care about Luna.” I do too, he thought but didn’t say it. “But this is the way it has to be.”
“Okay,” Amanda said, eyes narrowed as she stared at the wispy hair on the baby’s head.
Max couldn’t tell if it was sadness or determination in her eyes.
Chapter Thirteen
AS CLICHÉ AS it was, a walk through the woods always calmed Chance down. He didn’t know what it was about the silence of the trees, the crisp smell of the air, the knowledge that he was alone that brought him peace, but by the time he returned to the cabin, all his feelings of anger, jealousy, and bitterness were gone. He wanted to see Luna again, to comfort her, and help her settle in.
With the image of the Egyptian girl in his mind, he walked a bit faster. When he pushed open the door, it was quiet. “Luna?” he called, hoping she would appear at the end of the hallway at any moment.
She did not.
Frowning, he looked around the room, eyes landing on the wall and the holes where the shackles had been. Despite himself, the smallest of smiles graced his face as he looked at the mess, knowing Luna had done it.
That was what he adored the most about her—her entire “fuck you” attitude.
The smile dropped at the continuing silence. “Luna!” he called again.
Maybe she’s asleep, he told himself and walked down the hallway, peering into the bedroom.
The bed was empty. Heart thudding, he looked in the bathroom, but she wasn’t there either. Chance spun, checking every room he could for signs of her, but she was gone.
He thought he would be sick.
***
TEARS STREAMED DOWN Luna’s face when she finally dragged her feet over the threshold of the cabin. All she could see in the back of her mind was the hate in Max’s eyes as he stared her down, hear the accusations he had launched at her. Never before had he looked at her that way, and she hoped to never see it again. There was a difference between hurt and pure disdain. She hoped her face had seemed just as fierce as she stared back at her once friend, possible love interest, because inside, she didn’t feel anywhere close.
Inside, she was a pane of glass, two seconds before it hits the floor. A flash of beauty bound for destruction, and when the impact would come, she would not be able to fix herself.
Exaggerating her blinks, she tried to push back any fresh tears. She hated the idea that Chance had been right about staying away from everyone she had known, but here they were, and she was unable to avoid looking that fact in the face. He had been right. He had been right! Luna grabbed her stomach, unsure if she wanted to scream, cry, throw up, or do all of it like a psychopath.
She did none of them as she stared at the door of the cabin, hesitating. Whatever horrors waited for her in the cabin, it was worse out in the woods. Luna hoped her blond roommate was still gone so she could go straight to bed without explaining a thing. She pushed the door open, praying for the first time in months, and felt her hope fall flat.
She saw him as soon as she stepped into the cabin.
Chance sat the table, a book in his hands, though the way he frowned at it told Luna he hadn’t actually been reading it. At the sound of the door, he looked up, and when he saw the tears in her eyes, he set the book aside, hopping to his feet immediately.
“Luna, where have you been?” he asked as he stepped around the table.
“I could ask you the same,” Luna said, sniffling like a small child as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. It was a weak attempt at deflecting, but she would try anything to be alone right now. She stared at the floor, knowing her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks stained with the remnants of her stubborn tears. If there was one thing she hated, it was crying in front of him—in front of anyone.
He sighed and reached out, pulling her small body against him before she could decide if she wanted his comfort or not. The smell of his cologne, the same from high school that used to bring tears to her eyes, made her sick when she felt the way it eased away her pain. How can it be possible?
“What happened?” he demanded, oblivious to her thoughts as he stroked her hair, holding her in all the ways that at one time she had wanted Max to do.
“I-I…” she muttered, wanting to tell him the truth until she remembered his anger the previous day, that morning even. It wouldn’t bode well to admit she had gone behind his back to talk to the person he hated the most in the world, and after what Max had said to her, the last thing she needed was another fight. “It doesn’t matter.” She buried her face in his chest, hoping the intimate gesture would derail his thoughts.
Chance sighed again and set his hands to her shoulders, clutching her gently as he took a step backward. He cocked an eyebrow as his sapphire eyes bored into her green ones, knowing every little thing she was trying to do.
“You went to see them…didn’t you?” His words were a question, but she knew that he already had the answer. He just wanted her to admit as much out loud.
Luna swallowed away some of her tears but didn’t speak. She knew how she looked in the moment—pathetic. The last thing she wanted to do was open her mouth again, to risk blubbering out of control in front of Chance, but she was already wearing her heart on her sleeve so what difference did it make?
A slight frown appeared on his face before he raised his thumb to wipe the tears off her cheek. “Obviously something happened. Are you going to tell me what it was or am I gonna have to find out for myself?”
“Would you hate me if I said I went to see Max?”
Chance tensed, letting go of her to turn his back just as she feared. “What for?” he asked, voice cold of the emotion it had carried less than a minute before.
“I wanted to see if he could help me find Asher,” she admitted, twining her fingers together as she stared at the tension in his shoulders, his hands balled into fists. “He’s the only one I can find here.”
Chance stayed silent, and she hated that he had turned away because she couldn’t see his face, the emotion there. Luna stared at the locks of his blond hair, anxiety biting at her as she waited for a response. In the blink of an eye, he whisked around and put a hand on her arm while the other gripped her jaw before he crushed his lips to hers. Stunned by the reaction, she didn’t have a chance to acknowledge it before he pulled away. He kept his face close to hers as he whispered, “Don’t go there again.”
“I won’t,” she stuttered, torn between her surprise and confusion. “I have no reason to. Max…isn’t the same as I remember. All I can think of is what you told me. How you and him used to be friends and it’s just…not the same.”
“Good,” he replied, letting go of her jaw. Luna didn’t agree but said nothing as he pressed his forehead to hers. “You can’t go traipsing through the trees alone. It’s dangerous out there, and I can’t lose you…not when I finally have you.”
But you don’t have me, she thought. Not really. She stared into his blue eyes, wondering what he would do if he could hear her thoughts. She ignored the stirring protest deep in her gut as she studied his face, fully intent on saying the words out loud when something stopped her—an emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t identify.
He was happy she was here, and she had no intention of making him upset again.
What the hell is wrong with me? She paused for a moment to let the self-hatred wash over her. Max was right. I am pathetic. I am a pathetic puppy content to do whatever my master tells me.
“How is it dangerous? It’s the same as always, isn’t it? I mean, what do you think could possibly happen to me out there?” she inquired before she realized her train of thought had derailed without her.
“I know you won’t want to hear this,” Chance began, letting his eyes roll to look upward toward the ceiling, “but those people I killed, that you killed…they have a vengeance against us. They want us to hurt for what we did to them. They don’t care the consequences, hell, I don’t even know if there’s such a thing here, but they’ll do anything in their power to make sure we suffer. You can count on that.”
Luna mulled over his words, the slightest frown appearing on her face.
“I’m scared they’ll find you, Luna,” he admitted, resting his chin on her head.
“I’m not a porcelain doll,” she snapped, urge to push him away strong, overwhelming, and she didn’t know how she managed to stand still, to contain her emotions. “I can take care of myself.”
Chance pulled back to stare at her, and she could read the thought in his head. Really?
After the way she had crumbled the last few weeks of her life, she could understand his skepticism. “I won’t let them hurt me,” Luna clarified, more determined to prove her statement as true after remembering everything Chance had done to her. If anything could motivate her at this point, it would be not to fall victim to the same traps twice.
“You think it’s that easy to stop them?” Chance asked.
Luna was once again unsure of how to answer.
“You only know what happened at the time of their deaths from the news,” Chance explained, tapping his finger to his chin. “I caused them. I can assure you their last moments alive were very much filled with terror and pain. They want me to suffer the same way.”
“So? This doesn’t involve me,” Luna said.
“People play for teams here,” Chance pointed out. “That’s the reason Max declined your help. He’s on their side. Maybe not so much for inflicting you with physical pain, but emotional will do just fine as you probably already guessed. That’s why he won’t help you with Asher. Going to him today? Begging him for his help? That’s exactly what he fucking wanted. And you played into it.”
“That’s childish,” Luna said through gritted teeth, her glare focused on the floor.
“What?”
“I said it’s childish,” she repeated, lifting her chin to stare him in the eyes as she spoke. “’Taking sides?’ This isn’t an elementary playground.”
“And I agree, but those are the rules. Just because I acknowledge them doesn’t mean I think they’re great. Until you came along, there were no ‘sides.’ Just me and them. You want to know how this involves you? You’re the one who complicated this. Instead of directing their anger at me, they can focus on you.”
“Why? I didn’t kill them.”
“No, but you’re weaker than me, and they know it.” Luna narrowed her eyes, ready to spew bitter words when Chance cut her off. “You have a conscience. That makes anyone weak.”
Luna couldn’t argue that. Instead, she bowed her head again, studying her dirty feet against the dark boards of the cabin floor. She used to think she was a good person for her conscience, but now she realized it was a curse, a double-edged sword. Not only did it make her weak, it made her care about things she’d probably do better forgetting.
This must be Hell, she thought, daring a glance up at Chance through her lashes.
Chance caught her eye. “Mark my words, love. If they do anything to you, I’ll have to kill them twice.”
Luna froze, blinking at
the confusion his sentence created.
“Are you okay?” he asked, setting a hand on her elbow.
She said nothing, just stared at him with that curious expression across her face.
“Come on,” he said, urging her over to one of the chairs by the table as if he thought she were about to collapse. Maybe she was, she didn’t know. An odd pulsing numbness had made its way from her feet up her body. She wished it would stay.
“What’s wrong?” he asked once they were both seated.
“Do-do you still…I mean, are you still a killer here…in this Realm?” she asked, wondering why she hadn’t considered it as a possibility before now.
Chance nodded, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched her. “Did you really think I’d change, just like that?”
“No, but I didn’t think you could do something like that here.”
Chance shrugged. “Like I told you, this place is really no different from Earth.”
Frowning, Luna asked, “So they die…just like people you killed when you were alive?” She wanted to keep his eyes, to get the truth from his mouth and soul at the same time, but found her gaze darting away midway through her question.
“Yep,” he said, opening his mouth as if he wanted to add more to it when he changed his mind.
Luna was grateful for that. Any details would not have made her feel better. “Before I died, you told me you regretted it…you made me believe you hated yourself for what you’ve done, but that’s not true, is it?”
Chance licked his lips, and she could tell he was growing both uncomfortable and annoyed for the questions. He didn’t want to talk about this, about his dark side, and that made her want to force the information out of him. She stared back at him, gaze unwavering until he finally sighed and said, “I do. I feel things, but the urge is still there. It’s like an itch in the back of my mind, one that can’t be scratched by anything else.”
“Have you tried picking up another hobby?” Luna asked, disgusted.
Chance narrowed his eyes. “It’s easy to judge, not so easy to understand. You really think growing up I said to myself, ‘I want to be a killer’?”
