Flicker (Defying Death Book 1)

by Courtney Houston

  She didn’t wait for anyone else to say anything and neither did the others. She starting dissolving into the air, and so did I. My body was dissolving into nothing more than mist. Frantically, I searched for Telor. The three who were ordered to stay behind immediately advanced on him, pinning him between them and the water. He seemed calm as they came toward him. I tried to scream but couldn’t figure out how to work my mouth anymore. Instead, all I could do was watch as one man swung and connected with Telor’s jaw. Then the other two moved in quickly to hold his arms behind his back as the punches kept coming.

  Our mist became a funnel, and we were sucked into an invisible drain, only to materialize in solid form on the other side. As soon as we were there, Marla threw me from her arms, wiping her hands on her pants and backing against the wall. I stayed a crumpled heap on the floor for a moment as the scream I was building earlier finally tore from my throat. Taking in my surroundings, I gathered we were in a garage or a storage unit. A single hanging light bulb in the center of the room illuminated the space.

  Fear was the predominate emotion swirling through my mind. Not fear for me, but fear for Telor. Could he really take on three of them? As I was distracted worrying about his safety, an icy chill settled over the room until I was lifted into the air by an invisible force and tossed into a chair. My limbs were glued to the arms and legs, and my brief struggle only left me exhausted.

  A dark figure emerged from the shadows and into the light. She was tall and beautiful. Her pale heart-shaped face had sharp features, which only added to the coldness of her solid green eyes. Her auburn hair blew with a breeze that I didn’t feel. In her floor-length emerald green gown, she looked like she’d just stepped off a runway. Her face showed nothing friendly about it, just flat-out contempt and annoyance. Fear for me started to creep into my body, pausing my movements from the ice spreading through my veins. There was no doubt in my mind that this was Tori. A foreboding that I had always imagined the Grim Reaper would elicit permeated the air.

  “Hmm,” Tori said, grabbing my face roughly in her hand. “What is it about you that got Telor, the best Guide I have—had—have—” she deliberated with herself for a moment, her condescending voice like a snake ready to pounce “—so distracted from his job?”

  I knew better than to answer, but couldn’t bring myself to stay silent.

  “Bite me,” I spat. Instead of looking angry, she seemed rather amused.

  “Well, it can’t be your charm,” she mused, giving me a once-over again. “You’re a bit of an oddity, aren’t you? I’ve never quite seen a gray human.” She tapped her finger against her mouth. “Regardless, your services are no longer needed.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, even though I knew.

  “None of your concern, darling.” Tori walked toward me, placing her hands on either side of my face, and pressed her mouth against my ear as she whispered, “I’ll take good care of him. He won’t feel a thing.”

  Please be happy with just me, please don’t take Telor, I chanted over and over again to myself. Awaiting the sharp twist that would break my neck, I held my breath. As she twisted my head to the side, a sharp crack sounded in the air around us. For a brief second, I thought it was my neck, until I heard a sharp scream from Tori. She had been knocked a good ten feet away.

  She wasn’t moving and the invisible bindings holding me to the chair were released. Not wasting time, I scrambled to my feet and fled to the door in the corner of the room. Locked. Dammit. Just as I opened my mouth to call for help, a scuffle outside the doors stopped me. My Telor alarm sounded quietly in my head and loudly in my heart. Telor was here, did he get away from those guys? Or did they bring him here? I’d barely moved away from the door before it went flying against the wall.

  Telor, I thought with relief, thank God.

  I’d never seen him look so…so fierce. Telor’s face and shirt were covered in blood, and I swore his eyes were flickering with red. His jaw was set at a determined angle as he scanned the room. My breath caught in my chest and I backed against the wall, away from him. For the first time, I was a little afraid of him. When his eyes found me, he did a quick once-over of me before pulling me roughly into his arms.

  “Did she hurt you, Cariad?” he asked into my hair. I shook my head, and he let out a visible sigh of relief. “We need to go... now.”

  “Tori—she…” My words cut off as I scanned the empty room. “She was here, Telor. Right there!” I pointed to the space she had landed. “She, she was unconscious or something.”

  “We need to go now. “ He gave me a rough kiss. “Now, Catalina.”

  There was something seriously wrong with me. My adrenaline rush had worn off far too quickly. My body was sore and unwilling to do what I said. Telor noticed my sluggishness and half carried me down the hall that he’d come in through. It was quiet; the only sounds were our steps on the ground and our heavy breathing. I was fairly sure no one else could hear the blood pounding in my ears or my heart attempting to beat its way out of my chest.

  We made it to the door of the mostly dark hallway, and it was locked, of course. Telor let out a string of curses that made sailors sound like kindergarteners. We almost made it to another set of doors perpendicular to the first ones when Telor was pulled to the ground. I screamed as he pushed me back the way we came. I stumbled backward over my feet, falling against the wall.

  He struggled with a dark figure, neither seeming to gain the upper hand. They descended deeper into the hall, away from me as they traded blow after blow. I was rooted in my spot, wondering if I stood a chance to help him without getting him hurt more. Not caring, I took off at a run, colliding with a hard figure midway there.

  “Shhh, it’s me,” Telor whispered in my ear. “I need to go find Tori and talk to her.”

  “The hell you do. We’ll go together, okay?” I asked, running through different scenarios in my mind, hoping for a sane one to make its way through. “I have the ring.”

  “It won’t matter now, we need time.”

  “I’m staying with you.” I stood my ground.

  “No. Absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. Grabbing his cell phone out of his pocket, he switched it with mine. “Call Denny. Tell him Tori is here, and I’m with her. He’ll give you directions from there and make sure you get to him safely. If you run into anyone, if you see someone, you run.” Pulling me toward him, he kissed me passionately and unrestrained in the middle of the hallway, where who knows who was watching and Death loomed nearby. “I love you, Catalina Rose Franklin, in this life and the next, where we shall meet, remember, and love again.”

  His words sounded too close to a goodbye for me. I grappled with his hands in a vain attempt to drag him with me, but Telor detangled himself quickly. Giving me a final shove, he took off in the direction of the apparently knocked-out figure. Holding Telor’s phone, my hand shook slightly. I looked toward the direction Telor had run, wondering if I could catch up with him. A slow jog was the fastest pace I could manage, and I had only made it about a hundred feet when his phone vibrated in my hand. I clicked on the text icon.

  TURN AROUND NOW! GO CALL DENNY.

  Huffing out a sigh, I stopped running, trying to catch my breath. I wanted to chase after him and find him. He shouldn’t be going to talk to her, and definitely not alone. That sick feeling in my stomach was back in full force and my head swam with every step I took away from him. A red sign to my right caught my attention. Emergency exit. I barreled through it, setting the alarm off in the process.

  Then I ran—just ran—turning when I had to, swerving when I had to. Finally, I came to a place that I knew. Not that it was the best part of town to be in. I pried the phone from my rigid hand and scrolled through the contacts, clicking on Denny’s name. It rang and rang and fucking rang. I had almost hung up when a voice came on the line.

  “What’s the matter? Did they find you?” she said in a single breath.

  “Umm. There was an—I mean
he’s—Who is this?” I asked, slightly confused.

  “This is Cheyenne. Where is Telor?” she asked.

  “I didn’t recognize your voice. This is sort of an emergency, so can you please get Denny for me?” I asked around the flurry of emotions trying to force their way to the forefront of my mind. I was trying not to sound rude, but I was sure I would start to hyperventilate at any minute.

  “Emergency? What kind of emergency?” she asked, sounding panicked.

  “Umm…there were other people, and Tori. Telor—”

  “Oh, cheese and rice!” she said breathlessly “Denny! Denny! She’s here!” Cheyenne called shrilly.

  There was a loud thump followed by muffled voices. Cheyenne must have put her hand over the receiver while she was talking. A third male voice interrupted, laughing something loudly, only to be shut down quickly—by whom, I assume, was Denny—with a sharp bark.

  “Where are you at?” Cheyenne asked, returning to the phone.

  “North Limestone by Eddy Street,” I said, trying my damnedest to melt into the scenery around me. Of all the places in town to be stranded, this was not even on my top ten. “There is a coffee shop near here.”

  “Okay, he knows where you are,” she said, her voice morphing into an all-business tone. The formality mixed with her country twang was adorable, and under different circumstances, I would have smiled at the way she was taking charge. “Stay where you are, we are going to come to you.” She clicked the phone off without saying goodbye.

  I stood inside the door of Paradise Coffee, shaking half-melted pieces of snow from my hair. It was late, and the place was pretty much empty. I ordered a Chai Latte, thankful for the wad of dollar bills I found in my pocket, and made my way to the table farthest from the register. Sliding into the booth, I glanced at the screen of Telor’s phone. I wondered briefly if I should call him to make sure he was okay, but reluctantly decided that it might cause more harm than good.

  It had started snowing more since my arrival. The white crystalline flakes swirled in the wind, and a dark shadow passed over the ground. Was that an owl? I kneeled on my booth seat, straining to see the bird through the heavy snowfall. I had my nose pressed against the glass, following the bird’s flight across the sky. A voice sounded from behind me, causing me to jump a mile.

  “It’s just a bird, my dear,” Denny said, sliding into the booth next to me. Cheyenne sat across from us, flashing me a blinding smile.

  “Sorry. I’m a little freaked out. Have you heard anything from him?” I was almost sure of the answer but needed to ask anyway.

  “I haven’t heard anything, no,” he said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “But I do have someone looking into his whereabouts for us. We should be hearing back from him soon.”

  “Wh—” I started and stopped. “Can other people see and hear you two, or do I look like a crazy person?”

  “They can see me, but not Cheyenne,” Denny said. “So, why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us what happened to Telor.”

  Telor 42

  Tori was still near, I could feel her very presence in my bones. The only reason that brought me any sort of comfort was because I could also tell that Catalina was not still here. Every bone in my body ached to run after her, begged me to find her. But until things were done here, I couldn’t go to her. No matter how long that took. I needed her safe and far away from here. After this, when I got the chance, I would take her away. Run for the rest of our lives if we had to. Even with all its flaws, that plan was better than anything thus far.

  The knocked-out Guide in the hallway stirred as I hovered over him. Unfortunately, I needed him to take me to Tori. I wished I knew his name; it might have made things go a little smoother. The kid rolled onto his back and then to his knees. When he saw me, he was on his feet in seconds, backing against the wall.

  “Take me to her, now,” I said, advancing on him. When he showed no sign of moving or talking, I wrapped my hand around his throat, pressing him harder against the wall. “I said, take me to her now.”

  “I don’t know where she is,” he wheezed. “I swear, man, I don’t know. My guess is she went back to the Other to regroup.”

  Deciding that he was probably right, I shoved him roughly to the ground again. “Leave now, or you’ll spend the rest of eternity in the Pits.” The threat of the abyss used to punish souls unworthy to be given a second chance was usually enough to knock anyone in line. I was bluffing on that fact considering I didn’t have the power to send him there.

  “I can help you,” the Guide said. It took a lot for me not to laugh out loud in his face.

  “You just tried to kill both my soul mate and me. Why the change of heart?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. This was my element. When I was alive, I lived and breathed for reading people. To find out what made them tick.

  “Why make several enemies when I can make only two?” the Guide asked.

  “Two?” I asked him. “Tori and who else?”

  “Do you want to know about her interest in your soul mate or who she’s working with?”

  “Both.” I said. “But start with her interest in us.”

  “It’s actually quite genius, everyone thinks she got fucked over when Denny put this plan into motion—”

  “Make your point,” I said, growing more frustrated by the minute.

  “She knew from—” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before his body began to vibrate violently.

  Flames erupted around him, licking at his body as he shook on the floor. They came faster and faster until his entire body was engulfed in a bright green blaze. He shuddered a final time and the flames flared, growing double in size before swirling into a tornado, spinning into the air and disappearing, taking the pile of ash with it.

  Looks like Tori found a way to keep people quiet. The chill that followed her wherever she went crept over my skin. I turned slowly, meeting her green eyes.

  “How nice of you to join the party, darling.”

  Death had arrived.

  Lina 43

  I looked at Denny, who nodded and motioned for me to proceed. I told them what happened, trying to piece it all together in my mind as I went. They listened with stoic faces, not flinching once as I described our ordeal. As I neared the end of the story, angry tears flowed from my eyes.

  “Do not cry. All will be okay,” he said, showing the age that his twenty-something face didn’t. “I may have found an ally for us.”

  “You found someone who can help us? Who?” I asked, daring to hope against hope.

  “Curious thing about that, she hasn’t agreed to it yet. But I’m sure Robin is this close,” he said, holding his thumb and pointer finger half an inch apart, “to agreeing to help us. She doesn’t like to admit it, but she has a sentimental streak.”

  “Robin?” I asked him, the name was familiar.

  “Life,” Denny answered. “Tori’s counterpart.”

  “You think she’s gonna help us?”

  “I think it’s in her nature to do so.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. Telor is fine,” Cheyenne said, reaching across the table and rubbing my hand. It didn’t feel like skin-on-skin contact. It felt more like warm, soft air caressing my hand and it calmed me slightly.

  I just nodded, not really trusting my voice. They didn’t speak either. We sat in a tension-filled silence for what seemed like hours.

  Ring, ring, ring.

  Three heads turned toward the phone sitting on the table. My breath hitched in my chest painfully. With a shaky hand, I reached for Telor’s phone and checked the screen. It was a picture of me sleeping. It should have been creepy, but it wasn’t. It just made me realize how much I really did love him. I looked at Denny for permission to answer. He hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. Pressing the talk button, I held the phone to my ear, almost forgetting to speak.

  “Hello?” I whispered in a breathless voice. I wasn’t even sure if the caller could hear me so I said i
t again, slightly louder. “Hello?”

  “Please tell me you’re with Denny,” he asked, exhaling loudly. The sound of the wind and his heaving breaths echoed around his words. Was he running somewhere? “Lina! Answer me. Are you with Denny?”

  “Yes. Denny and Cheyenne are here,” I said, and despite my best efforts not to, I started to cry once again.

  “Let me talk to him.”

  He was being so curt with me, and it broke my heart. I wordlessly handed the phone to Denny.

  The conversation seemed to be just as formal as ours had been—a couple yeses and a goodbye.

  “Lina, we’re going to go to my and Telor’s apartment,” he said, pulling me out of the booth with him. “We need to talk about things and a public place is probably not the best place for such conversations. Cheyenne, will you do me a favor and tell Robin that I need to see her, now?”

  Cheyenne nodded, turning away, and Denny let out a defeated sigh. “And then see if you can get Sera to show her face also.”

  She raised her eyebrows at him. “Are you sure?”

  “Not at all. Now go. Quickly.”

  Nodding, she waved at us and dissolved into thin air. He pulled me out the door and toward the snow-covered parking lot. He stopped at the passenger side door of a midnight blue Porsche Panamera, and opened the door for me. He drove. Not only did he just drive, but he had his own car, his own very, very expensive car. A small laugh escaped my mouth, followed by another louder, more hysterical one.

  “Lina, I understand this little mental breakdown you are having right now, truly I do. But let’s do it in the car, shall we? Robin—Life—will be at my place soon,” he said, as I was rudely pushed into the passenger’s seat.

  Denny walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side. He started the car immediately and pulled out of his parking spot and onto the road. He weaved in and out of traffic effortlessly. He headed toward downtown on Rose Street, cutting over to Limestone. He pulled into a parking garage and drove to the top, parking in a reserved spot directly next to the elevator.