“It won’t be me who cures her. It’ll be Marim.”
Parl stood and paced the length of the room several times before meeting Annabelle’s eyes. He tapped his finger on his chin through the layers of hair.
“I’ll care for the child.” He looked up, meeting Darith’s eyes. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” Darith enunciated the words with care. They were not words he was used to uttering.
Chapter 13
A Walk Through the Park
The sun’s warmth flickered over Allison’s back, stroking her cheek with a softness matched only by a mother she barely recalled. A lull fell over her. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment and she allowed Halis to guide her down the path.
Moments existed in staccato bursts in her memory. Could she keep this one? Maybe forget whose hand held hers? She played a dangerous game lowering her guard, but she doubted he would try to kill her here. No. He, like her, planned something in private.
A kill was an intimate thing, the culmination of a complex dance.
She’d seen enough of his kills to know the final steps.
Allison turned her face to her companion. Her heart shivered at the sight of him, his dark skin fading into the shadowed trees, leaving his white teeth and the whites of his eyes bright. He stepped closer and her body took over for her heart. Her breath quickened at his closeness, a giddy warmth spreading over her. Her flesh desired him, yearned for him to reach across the infinitesimal distance and touch her.
If she’d required any warning that he was dangerous, her reaction to his nearness would have sufficed. There was no cause for the reaction. Oh, she might have taken it for love, even with all her training, were it not for Red. Every time she thought Red’s name or pictured his occasional smile, her heart sang, and the world brightened. No. She didn’t love Halis.
“How did someone like you end up here, with me?” Halis asked. His dark hand brushed her white cheek, and she leaned her head into it to prolong the touch.
“Can’t I be here because I desire it?”
“No, you lovely little thing, there are greater mechanisms at work. Fate, luck.”
Pheromones. That was the only explanation for the tightening of desire in her belly. Somehow, he was putting off a scent that lured her. But people couldn’t do that. Not to this extent and not on purpose. For important missions, Red sometimes provided her with a few injection shots to ramp up her own appeal. Was this what those men had felt like? Drawn to her against their better reason?
“Luck,” she whispered. No, not luck, something much more purposeful than that. Did he know? “Yes, our whole lives have led to this moment. But that can be said about any moment.”
He leaned down and the touch of his lips jolted through her. Would this be what it felt like to kiss Red? The thought was not new, nor was indulging it. If her body wanted to play traitor, fine. Not like she’d ever get this from the man she truly wanted.
I am strong enough to resist Halis’ pull. She wrapped her arm around his neck, lifting herself to her tiptoes. As the kiss deepened, she leaned into him, the firm muscle of his chest pressing against her. Tonight was the night.
All she had to do was get him back to her place, get the last of the information that The Agency wanted, kill him, and disappear. Everything was prepared; she’d leave no trace and no connection between Halis’ death and The Agency. She’d turned on her net-implant just long enough to clear the waiting cache of communications. Her report on Halis’ sex life should be back at The Agency center now. Her job didn’t include questioning why they wanted the information, but she was thankful they had since watching him had warned her to be even more wary than usual. Her observations warned her not to go to bed with Halis until the time came to end the dance.
But she needed to get him to her bed in order to obtain the last of the details they wanted. Since she also had to get him away from public places, it was time to funnel him to an appropriate place.
Few of the girls Halis met with survived; the ones who had lived came away pregnant.
“Back to my place?” Halis asked.
“No.” Allison repressed a shudder at the thought of the dark mansion on the hill, Halis’ frozen demoness of a sister lurking inside. No. His place wouldn’t do. She’d been warned about Silvia by the chief of police, even if she didn’t know what the warning meant, Allison didn’t intend to go near Silvia. “Maybe…”
Allison had an invitation to her apartment on her lips when it occurred to her that was what Halis wanted her to say. She pressed her mouth to his again to give herself a moment to think.
A replay of the night was full of red flags. He’d chosen this park and then angled her onto a path that led them within a five-minute walk of Allison’s apartment. He might have suggested his place, but he wanted her to contradict him. And if that was his plan, strolling in there on his arm was suicide. She couldn’t hope to overcome him in a battle of strength.
He meant to kill her. The only advantage Allison had was that he thought her no more than a doxy under his spell. In an all-out fight, she couldn’t master him.
Shit. Her concentration blurred as his hands slid up her waist and his fingers explored. Her fingers tightened in his hair and she pulled him harder against her. When they parted, her chest heaved.
“My place?” he repeated.
“No, your sister makes my blood run cold.”
“She causes a lot of people to feel that way.” His grin implied there were no hard feelings.
His hand reminded her that finding a bed was a pressing factor. And the innocent chit he thought Allison was would be consumed with that desire.
“Here.” She used her net-glasses to allow him access to her housing information. “Give me an hour? It’s a small place. I just want to clean up a little. Maybe a bath too after work so I don’t smell like grease.”
“I don’t care what you smell like.”
She kissed him, enjoying the insistent feeling spreading from her belly. The brush of her breasts against him added to the pressure of his fingers and intoxicated her. Maybe they could consummate this relationship traditionally before… No. Get it done and get out.
“An hour,” Allison said.
“An hour.” Halis brushed his lips across hers one more time.
The contact elicited a moan from her. Maybe pull him into the trees?
Allison turned and deliberately walked away. Her body burned, and it wasn’t the sunlight.
All I need to do is kill him. Then get back and somehow convince The Agency I’m loyal. One step at a time worked best. She’d worry about The Agency later. Would they make a second attempt to see her dead if she returned or let this serve as a warning?
The dingy apartments were lit against the oncoming night when she arrived. All of her neighbors had their curtains drawn tight, light leaking from the cracks. Allison grabbed the rusted metal railing and ran up the stairs to her apartment door. A glance behind her proved Halis wasn’t following.
She pressed her ear to the door. After a few minutes, she swiped her key. If there was some sort of trap waiting, no noise gave it away. She nudged the door open with her foot, standing back as she pulled it wide.
Before stepping inside, Allison inspected the parking lot behind her. There was still no motion out there, just the usual junk vehicles. Was it possible she was wrong and he hadn’t meant to trap her? Did he even know where she lived? Maybe he was so certain of his own victory, he assumed she’d fall on his knife. From their encounters alone, she would have gotten that impression, but the information she’d gathered suggested otherwise. The Agency was keeping secrets, excluding Red from her assignment. If not for the police chief’s warning, would she have missed this?
“I’m paranoid,” she said.
The entryway light turned on as she stepped inside and shut the door before stepping into the familiar room. Nothing was out of place. If anything had stirred, even a hairsbreadth, she would have noticed, but the kit
chen and small living area were as she left them.
A spider scurried across the floor and Allison crushed it with the tip of her boot. Letting out a deep sigh, she went into the kitchen and pressed a button. The floor cleaning unit squeaked its protest as it emerged from the wall and tidied the spider’s remains.
Allison ought to tidy herself up too after her excuse to Halis. The house was in perfect order, if a bit cluttered, but Allison did stink of the diner.
As she turned, she did a cursory inspection through the partially open door of the bedroom’s dark interior. The door was precisely at the angle she’d left it, not a centimeter wider. The blanket on the bed was pulled back, revealing a triangle of red sheets. Too bad she wouldn’t get to use that bed. Everything seemed in place, so she stepped inside.
The curtain fluttered against the window. The air blowing in was colder, and it chilled her arms as she inspected the room. If Halis had lain some sort of trap, she couldn’t find it. With a shake of her head, Allison set aside thoughts of the impending conflict.
She tossed her net-glasses on the bed and smiled. A bath.
Allison stepped into the bathroom and grinned at the porcelain tub against the peeling wallpaper. That tub was the entire reason she’d selected this apartment. There were plenty of dirt-cheap rathole places a diner worker could ostensibly afford, but this was the only one with an old-fashioned bathing option. Quaint or not, Allison loved the feel of immersing herself in water. Often, she poured her bath cool, and when she closed her eyes Allison could imagine she was resting in her parents’ pool.
As a child, she’d swum there under the watchful eye of her mother. She’d try to ignore her brother’s splashing and imagine she was out in a vast lake. Of course, she’d never gotten to visit a lake, not the sickly daughter of a Lower Council senator. No, she might catch her death or drown. But swimming in the pool she hadn’t felt weak.
The faucet gave a rusty squeak and turned, setting free a gush of water. She pressed the red button and dialed it up. This was no time for memories. Especially ones that involved her brother. Would killing Halis be as hard as it had been to plunge a knife into her brother’s chest? Allison’s body craved Halis, but no trace of attachment remained when he was absent.
This was not a time for regret, either. How long had it been since she’d felt the specters of her family haunting her? Decades? Centuries? But knowing The Agency was trying to kill her brought them back. The people she’d betrayed to gain employment at The Agency. Her admittance test had been standard practice for new girls, something vile to prove that the girl’s only loyalty was to her new employers. For Allison, that had meant murdering her brother, framing her mother, and seducing key members of the penal system to push for an execution.
No ties outside The Agency. No going back.
She slid her fingers into the nearly scalding water so that little trails jetted off. After a moment, she shrugged off her uniform, letting it pool at her feet. Once devoid of her clothing, Allison stepped into the tub and lay back. The steaming water crept higher until it glided up over her belly. The white of her skin turned slightly pink in the stinging heat. The pain helped keep the memories at bay. With one foot, she turned the water off and sank until her face slid into the water.
When she emerged, something angular and white crossed her vision. Her hand fastened on the edge of the porcelain. The white-and-black blur across her water-clogged eyes streaked toward her. Allison gained her feet, her eyes and brain unable to work together to process the shapes, textures, and colors confronting her. An apparition of ghostly white and vivid black, too many limbs.
A spider. They come in through the window…
One white limb struck her wrist, slicing through flesh. Allison slipped back. A giant white spider, black markings on its sides.
Beautiful, like some ancient god made flesh.
Allison leaped back, years of training doing their work as she cleared the tub edge and landed on the tile. The blood from her wrist landed on the slick, white floor. Where do I hit this magnificent beast to hurt it? Where are a spider’s important organs?
With a hissing sound, the spider sprang again.
Allison ducked down, sweeping up with her foot to hit the creature in its midsection. Thick, bristly hairs dug into her foot. The spider’s leap carried it over her to knock into the wall behind Allison. Before Allison turned, one long leg shoved her forward.
Wet tile slid under her. She crashed into the tub, her head smashing into the porcelain, marking it a vivid scarlet. Pain blinded Allison. She sank into the water, her legs sticking awkwardly out of the tub. The water in front of her turned a vivid pink. Allison’s vision blurred, and she saw her brother’s gray face, his wide blue eyes accusing her.
You deserved to die.
Spider legs as sharp as blades wrested her from the water, then pinned her down on the cold tile. The creature’s weight was not as great as she’d imagined. In fact, its hold on her was gentle, razor-tipped legs brushing against her, close enough that if she moved, she’d be speared.
Allison relaxed back against the floor.
“I died once, at the hands of a majestic demon sprung from my own greed and hatred. What sort of beast are you?” Allison whispered. In all her years, she’d never even heard of something like this.
“I am many things. Often, like you, I am a herald of death and despair.” The voice entered Allison’s mind, a rich feminine quality to the reverberations. “Unlike you, I am never prey.”
“And now? What mask do you wear now?”
“I’ll give you a hint.” The spider leaned down until its glittering eyes were in front of Allison’s face. “I’ll be the madness that eats you.”
Allison heard the door open, and the spider waited, not moving its gaze.
“Well?” Halis’ voice. “What do you think of her?”
That was hardly a surprise. Allison shivered. “Silvia.”
“This one is extraordinary, my love. As charming as you said. Perhaps you were correct all along.” The Spider-Silvia’s voice had a darker quality.
“I leave this decision to you, my queen,” Halis said.
Allison laughed, unable to restrain the insane sound. “This is what that man warned me about. Berrick. What are you?”
“We are extinct,” Halis said.
“Soon, we won’t be. She’s the one, Halis. She is the mother to bear Havoc’s companion. Yes, she’s exquisite. You were correct all along. But we can’t risk leaving her sane.”
“A pleasing decision,” Halis said.
The spider’s mouth opened. A scream tore from Allison’s throat, but Allison floated separately from it. The gaping maw fastened on her shoulder, sending a burning acid through her. The razors lifted from her body and Allison lay in a pool of cool water. Her limbs were unresponsive.
Halis’ shuffling step approached and then, he formed into a lovely dark smear across her vision. Next to him stood Allison’s brother. Pain radiated from Silvia’s bite and her thoughts became hard to hold on to. Images flashed, the real mixing with the past and with demented imaginings torn from a hellscape. An image of a rose being stripped of its thorns hammered into her skull.
“You deserved to die,” she whispered to her brother. How many times in her youth had he entered her room and added that poison to her drink before The Agency had shown her the videos? All for an inheritance. Her entire youth lost to sickness, practically chained to her bed.
I grew thorns, the family’s fragile flower, and I impaled you and snared mother.
“They lied,” the image of her brother whispered. “I never hurt you.”
Those were the last words he’d spoken before she’d plunged the knife and blood had welled up from between his lips. She couldn’t be hearing them now. They weren’t real. Allison struggled to concentrate.
Halis crouched over Allison, that smile no longer firing anything in her. Behind Halis, the spider.
“Red…” Allison whispered.
/> Chapter 14
The Sorceress & the Spider
The mirror reflected Silvia’s cold eyes back at her. Wrapped in one of the pale girl’s towels, Silvia sought humanity in her eyes. Once I was human. I must still be. The strange, painful thought had haunted her since their escape. The children born Drambish would all be like Halis. How would they view her when they grew? Yet no flicker of emotion ignited in her, listening to Halis impregnate Allison.
Shouldn’t I feel something? I should pity her, but my heart doesn’t stir.
The hive’s voice crooned inside her, wordless but comforting. The voices there did not want her to feel for Allison. They saw no fault in these acts.
He doesn’t need to harm her. We didn’t need to harm her. I…
A tear escaped Silvia’s eye at the jabbing sensation in her chest. But then the thoughts faded into a fog. She could not hold them. The hive voice came and drove away the misty remnants of doubt and sorrow.
“Hush, child. You are one of us. She is nothing. A meal, a receptacle. She matters only for the beauty she will produce. You are the living queen. She is only a fly in your web.”
Silvia spun to the bathroom’s other two occupants and smiled. Halis embodied perfection and watching him drove out doubts. Allison’s white face and glassy eyes made her look like a doll. She wasn’t real, never had been.
Halis stood and returned Silvia’s smile. “Return home?”
“And leave her? The child she carries is precious. I’ll not leave it to the fates.”
“Local law inhibits us from snatching her easily,” Halis said, crossing the floor, Allison’s blood smeared over his chest. “They take disappearances seriously. So we’d need her to state she wished to go with us… or clearly be in a delirious state and not capable of making such decisions. If we were caught sneaking her, we’d both be detained and our grounds swept if they thought we were involved, and they would. We don’t want that.”
“That’s a lot of research wasted if I’d said I wanted her dead.”
Spider's Kiss: Book One of the Drambish Chronicles Page 22
