Penumbra (The Midnight Society #2)

by Logan Patricks

  “I have more bad news for you,” Leah said. “Word coming out of the Revenant’s organization was that Calisto activated sleeper cells down in New Orleans. They tracked down Lincoln.”

  I was taken aback. “Lincoln’s a perfect chameleon when he wants to be. How the hell could Calisto have known where he was?”

  “People make mistakes,” Leah replied, “Added to the fact that Lincoln wasn’t running solo. He had your lady friend with him.”

  I shook my head. “Aria’s smart. She wouldn’t have compromised him either.” I let out a deep breath. “Have you heard anything coming out of New Orleans?”

  “No,” Leah replied. “That update was almost twenty-four hours ago. The second I hear something, I’ll let you know.”

  Fuck. If what Leah said was true, then what if it was Aria on the other end of the phone, calling out for help? What if it was the sound of gunfire that I heard?

  I thought of taking the next immediate flight down to New Orleans so I could find them.

  I needed to know that they were both safe.

  However, that was a stupid move. For all I knew, Lincoln could have left just before Calisto’s men arrived in New Orleans.

  I steadied myself and tried to accept what was logical for once in my life. Rushing into New Orleans blind would only get me killed. I wasn’t ready to die…yet.

  “The Midnight Society needs you,” I said, shifting the focus of the discussion. “You have a network of resources that’s invaluable to us, especially this mole that you planted.”

  “I’m better off hiding out in my own office,” Leah replied. “I can be of more use here.”

  No, there was something else to it that she wasn’t telling me. I could hear it in her voice.

  “You’re hiding something from me,” I said. “Your brother was murdered by Calisto. Knowing you from when we were together, you’d want to be right in the thick of the battle, instead of coaching on the sidelines. Why won’t you join us?”

  There was a moment’s pause. “Because I’m scared of you Shadow.”

  I was taken aback by her response.

  “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “You know I wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “You have before,” Leah replied. “You hurt me bad. I’m scared that if I stay too close to you, you’re going to reopen those old wounds that took so long for me to stitch together.”

  I had no response for her.

  “I have to go Shadow,” Leah replied. “Play your cards close to your chest. If you’re confident that Lincoln is a master of the vanishing act, then someone must have fed information back to Calisto. Someone knows what your plan is. Be careful.”

  Before I could get in another word, Leah hung up.

  I tossed the phone back onto the passenger seat, and stared up into the dark sky, illuminated by an epiphany of stars.

  I suddenly had the sick feeling in my stomach that I had already lost this war, without firing a single shot yet.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Aria

  By the time Beau had shoveled the last mound of dirt over Delilah’s body, the sun was peaking up over the horizon. He had taken off his suit and shirt, leaving only his dirt-stained tank top on.

  He wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his hand as he plunged the shovel into the ground.

  I handed him a bottle of water, which he devoured.

  “I’m surprised the cops haven’t come,” I said. “It sounded like the entire swamp was a warzone.”

  Isadora knelt down and placed her wedding bouquet on top of the mountain of earth blanketing her lover’s body.

  “The cops will never come,” Isadora replied. “This has always been how the Secret Societies worked, whether it’s the Midnight Society or the Revenants. There is no law or justice when it comes to these organizations. Someone will come and dispose of all these bodies, and no one will know any better.”

  “I think we best be gone before the cleanup crew comes then,” Beau said. “You’re one crazy bitch, meant as a compliment, but we’re still only three against an army. We need to find Shadow and regroup.”

  Isadora placed her hand gently on top of Delilah’s grave.

  “I love you, my beautiful, beautiful bride,” she whispered. The warm light of the rising sun washed over us, casting long shadows from the house and the trees, down onto the earth.

  Isadora’s voice cracked as she spoke her words. “Though your body is gone, I long for your spirit to return to me. I long for us to be together again,” she finished.

  “God rest your soul. Amen my friend,” Beau added.

  I had no spiritual words to give to Delilah so instead, I gave her my tears.

  Isadora rose to her feet and turned to the two of us.

  She walked over to me and wiped away the wetness from my cheeks with the soft pad of her thumb.

  “Let’s be gone then.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Aria

  Just as the plane landed at Moral City’s airport, it started to rain.

  Was it an omen of things to come when I finally saw Shadow again?

  The entire journey back from New Orleans was a blur, a collection of fragmented memories I tried piecing together.

  After leaving the island, we headed back to Beau’s antique shop first. He forged us all new passports in the span of a couple of hours, constructing them while I sat in front of the piano—the same one Lincoln and I shared our intimate moment together—and filled the room with somber music. My melodies were a reflection of all my thoughts and memories over the past month.

  I played a song for Abraham first, my precious and dear friend who had welcomed me into the Midnight Society with the same kindness and sensitivity that a father would welcome a child into this world. It was played in the lower octaves, a slow and melodic tune that was filled with nobility, using majestic sounding baseline chords. It was fitting for Abraham. Near the middle of the song I introduced an interlude, a sad melody that was threaded into my song as I recalled the memory of how frail he felt while I cradled his lifeless body in my arms. It was a memory that always ripped open the seams of my heart.

  When his song was over, I transitioned quickly to a lighter melody, one that was filled with mirth and merriment. It was a melody constructed with trills and staccatos that hopped across the full range of the upper octaves of the keyboard. I played this song while thinking of Justin and remembered him as the happy-go-lucky and always looking-on-the-bright-side person he was. The memory of him burning alive seemed like a distant thought now, a terrible dream that was best forgotten. My true memories of Justin shall, and always be, of the innocent boy who woke up every morning falling in love with the world.

  And then there was Lincoln. His tune was dark, exotic, and full of passion. It was an enigmatic melody, inspired by the mysteries of the universe and the man who kept them locked away in his heart like Pandora’s Box. However, despite the wickedness of the tune, there were stanzas filled with warmth and comfort—a lullaby for the wild at heart. Wherever Lincoln was, right now, I prayed he was safe.

  Don’t worry my friend, we will save you. Just keep on surviving until then.

  I thought of Shadow, and was tempted to play the song I had written for him—the one that I had named “Shadow’s out of his fucking mind” after he had announced that I would be taking over Abraham’s seat on the Midnight Society council.

  But there were too many things unresolved between us. I couldn’t play a song inspired by him with a clear head until I talked to him again.

  I loved him and I hoped he still felt the same way about me.

  I lifted my fingers off the piano and breathed.

  Beau, who was sitting at the circular table, crafting one of the passports, looked up from his work and began clapping.

  “Bravo sweetheart, bravo,” he said. “That there was possibly one of the best concert set pieces I have ever heard.”

  “It was very lovely,” Isadora chimed in, who had been lyin
g on her side on the bullet-holed sofa bed, her back facing both of us. She turned and sat upright. “Delilah finds it beautiful as well.”

  “Would have found it beautiful, you mean?” Beau said, correcting her grammar.

  Isadora shook her head. “Finds it beautiful,” she repeated, her eyes narrowing, clearly not appreciating being corrected.

  Beau shrugged. “Okay lady,” he said. “You say tomato, I say ketchup.”

  Isadora turned her attention towards me. “You have a brilliant gift. Thank you for playing, and filling me with some happiness today.”

  I smiled, though not a true genuine one. There was too much on my mind to allow my full enjoyment of the compliment.

  “Don’t worry,” Beau said, reading my concerns like a book. “We’ll get Lincoln back. He’s an asshole, but an asshole I don’t mind being around. I made a few calls this morning.”

  “To who?” I asked.

  I suddenly felt nervous.

  Beau smirked. “I got connections myself you know,” he replied. “Someone owes me a big favor, so I decided to finally cash in on it. If we can figure out what direction Lincoln is heading, then my guy will find him.”

  “Can we trust this person?”

  “We should,” Beau said. “He is my brother, from another mother, after all.”

  Six hours later, I was convinced my heart was going to explode inside my chest. I was sitting in the passenger seat of the black Honda Accord, rented under a fake alias and driver’s license by Beau. I was overwhelmed with anxiety as the car pulled up onto the side road, leading to our destination: The House at the Edge of the World; Shadow’s house.

  I tried to imagine how it would play out in my head, all the potential scenarios that could occur. I even came up with “Aria emotional contingency plans” for every one of them.

  If Shadow insisted on continuing to treat me like shit, then I wasn’t going to stand for it. I would stand up to him and deliver a punishing kick to his scrotum.

  If he said he loved me and missed me, I would probably still do the same just for treating me like crap over the past couple of weeks.

  He sounded like he missed you, Lincoln had said, shortly after our impromptu sexual experience on Beau’s priceless antique piano.

  As good as it had felt at the time, I was filled with remorse for what transpired between Lincoln and I, especially since things were left unresolved with Shadow at the time. To hear that Shadow still cared for me; to hear that he missed me, made me feel like a lowlife for that one moment of pleasure.

  I felt like I had betrayed Shadow.

  But what’s done was done. It was best to leave it buried, wasn’t it? It would never happen again and it was something Shadow didn’t need to know about it.

  It would only serve to hurt him.

  We drove up the winding road, past the rows of solid oak trees and around the European inspired stone fountain, displaying two lovers locked in an eternal embrace. Finally, the car stopped in front of a large iron gate. The mansion was just beyond it.

  From where I sat, I felt the aura of extravagance radiating from the modern architectural masterpiece. The elegant look of the building was inspired by an underwater paradise, an Atlantis embedded into an ocean cliff, with smooth white curves reminiscent of a coral reef.

  The large glass windows, along with the milky smoothness of the mansion’s concrete walls, gave the building an organic feel. It was an entity in itself.

  Beau whistled. “Wow, this is one sexy house,” he said. “What do you girls think?”

  Isadora didn’t seem impressed.

  “It’s just another rich boy’s house,” she said from the back seat of the car, ambivalent to the extravagance of the mansion. “It lacks personality.”

  “Oh, I dunno sweetheart. I think it’s got plenty of personality,” Beau replied.

  Suddenly there was a low humming sound as I watched the iron gate open up for us. “Well, looks like Shadow’s expecting us,” Beau said as he drove on through.

  Eventually, we stopped at the foot of the mansion. I opened the car door and stepped out into the rain.

  “You ready?” Beau asked.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Oh, you know what,” he said as he exited the vehicle and opened up the backseat of the car to allow Isadora out. “The magnetic pull of two distant lovers is a force of nature in itself.” He pointed to the grey sky as beads of rain drifted down from it. “You see, even the heavens are getting all misty eyed.”

  I took a deep breath.

  Isadora looked at me, and laid a hand on my shoulder. “His spirit was with you all this time,” she whispered into my ear. “Now go see him. Time should not be wasted when it comes to love. One day, you may end up alone, regretting those moments that could have been.”

  She was right.

  I walked up the steps, shoving all the anxiety I felt deep into the pit of my stomach.

  I opened up the large double doors, only to be greeted by a large, muscular black man in a tank top.

  He was eating rolled up pancakes with his bare hands.

  I wasn’t expecting that.

  “Are you Aria?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “I’m Cairo West. Brevin was my dad,” he introduced himself. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “I’m sorry about your father,” I said sympathetically. “He was a good man.”

  Cairo looked at me thoughtfully, as if trying to think of the right words to say. Eventually, he said, “You hungry? I made pancakes. Try them with peanut butter. My girl says I’m a freak for eating them like that, but hey, fuck it. You love what you love, right?”

  “I’m not hungry,” I replied. “But thanks.”

  There was another moment of lingering silence between us.

  It was the voice of a woman which broke the awkwardness between us.

  “For God’s sake Cairo, let her in already.” A pretty Asian girl descended from a winding staircase. She had a gothic inspired style which I found cute. “Shadow got nervous hearing of your arrival, though he’ll never admit it. He’s standing outside on the balcony like some melodramatic fool. Go find him. I can introduce myself later.”

  My heart skipped two beats. I nodded, and without another word, I rushed towards the direction her finger was pointing.

  Sure enough, through the large vibrant windows of the Oceanside mansion, I saw Shadow, his back facing me, staring out into the endless blue waters.

  The idiot was getting drenched from the rain. He was going to catch a cold.

  I opened the sliding door, leading to the balcony.

  Shadow turned around and looked at me, a sad gleam in his eyes.

  I decided I wasn’t going to be the first one to break. I’d allow him to speak first.

  And then I would give him shit for the hell he put me through.

  His mouth slowly opened and I waited for his first words to me in over two weeks.

  I mustered all the courage I had to endure what was to come next. Come on you jerk, do your worst. I can take it.

  “I can’t live without you,” he said.

  Immediately, all the anger I had for him faded away.

  Instead, I ran to him and buried my head deep into his damp chest.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into my ear as I felt the warmth of his breath against the top of my forehead. “God Aria, I’ve been such an idiot. I’m so very, very sorry.”

  “You were a dick,” I agreed with him, “And you put me through hell. It’ll take some time for me to heal.”

  I lifted my head and looked up into his face and was stunned.

  “Are you crying?” I asked.

  “It’s just the rain,” he replied. “It’s just the rain.”

  It wasn’t.

  Epilogue One

  Shadow

  I had been to my share of dinner parties before, ones that usually involved business dealings or someone showing off their estates and the new five-star chef t
hey hired. Those were usually boring, and to some degree, awkward. However, the little dinner party we were having tonight, for all my new guests, was by far the most fucked up I’ve experienced.

  The food itself was fantastic, a fusion of Cajun and Island flavors. It was nice to sit down at my own table and have a home cooked meal, especially after being on the road for so long. Aria seemed to enjoy the food as well.

  I wondered if anyone noticed since the beginning of dinner, we were holding hands under the table.

  Earlier, Beau and Cairo offered to cook—giving them a chance to acquaint themselves with one another—while Reiko, Aria and I sat down to discuss what our next steps should be.

  The other woman Aria brought back with her, Isadora, a.k.a. the infamous Mr. Friday, had excused herself from our presence and retired to one of the guest rooms. Aria filled me in on what happened during the poor woman’s wedding.

  At this point, Calisto’s body count was enough to fill its own cemetery.

  Every person under my roof had a vendetta against her, and from the sound of it, was willing to do whatever it took to get revenge.

  But that didn’t necessarily mean I could trust all of them.

  I also had to reorganize my priorities. Finding Lincoln and bringing him back in one piece was now at the forefront.

  The only thing that consoled me at the moment was the fact that Lincoln was resourceful, when he chose to be. He’d find a way to hang in there while we searched for him.

  The conversation during dinner started off casual at first, pleasant introductions and comments about how great the food was. Everyone was trying to be on their best behavior. Even Cairo had decided to use a fork and knife tonight, instead of shoving food into his mouth with his over-sized hands.

  However, the elephant in the room was so apparent that its ass was practically resting on each of our shoulders.

  “So, have you always lived in New Orleans?” Reiko had asked Isadora, after a long moment of silence.

  “I’m going to kill your sister. Tell me what the best way to do it is,” Isadora replied, looking straight at me.

  And with those words, the eerie calmness of our little dinner party escalated into a dog’s breakfast.