A Stitch on Time 5

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  The circumstances might now be different because we were in an office rather than another patch but, coupled with the orbs, we were headed for a very volatile outcome.

  I sucked in a cold breath and turned my attention to the new threat.

  “What in the fuck is she?”

  I looked over my shoulder and spotted Papan too close for comfort. “You can see her?”

  “She’s so bright.”

  “She’s a wraith. Let me talk to her, okay?”

  He nodded, but didn’t move.

  The spook had short spiked hair, though it was long at the front. She wore tights and a close-fitting top—both orange now that her temperature was rising. When I met her eyes, she didn’t seem to remember me. Even after she’d gone to so much trouble to contact me.

  “Lee,” I said.

  Her face shot up, head twisted at an unnatural angle as she regarded me with vacant eyes. She’d reacted to her name, but might not understand anything else.

  “What have they done to you?”

  She sniffed the air between us. “You smell so good. I bet you taste even nicer.” Damn, you’d think I would have learned my lesson. But no, just as Professor Spooker had surprised me, so did Lee. Before I could stop her, she grabbed my arm and bit into the underside of my right wrist. Wraiths couldn’t be reasoned with because hunger and violence was their sole purpose—oh, and blowing shit up. Judging by the intensity of her color—orange, now blending into red—she was close to detonation.

  I dragged my arm away but energy continued to leak out of me.

  “You’re delicious.” Her face was gaunt and hardly resembled the woman I’d known. “I know you, don’t I?”

  “Yes, Lee. It’s me, Sierra.” I held my oozing arm. “Why are you doing this?”

  She shrugged. “I’m so hungry, and you taste so good.”

  “Who did this to you?”

  She looked down at herself and her features flicked back to human, but the orange was almost completely morphed into red. “Oh my God, Sierra, you have to help the other girls before they do the same to them.”

  “I know, you already told me.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes, last night. I’ll take care of the other girls. I promise.”

  She opened her mouth to answer but started glowing brighter and her features shifted.

  “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I said before stepping in line with Papan, threading my fingers with his.

  “Sierra, what’s happening to me?” Lee turned fiery red and the three orbs circled around her. They would soon collide and cause an explosion.

  We don’t need to be here when that happens.

  “Papan, we have to run.” Without a second’s pause, we turned from the wraith and the orbs. We took the stairs two at a time until we reached my office. That was when the first explosion hit. The impact forced our feet off the floor. My hand slid from his and I landed on my side. I managed to sit up, careful not to cut my hands on the littered glass. Half of the corridor window was already in smithereens.

  “Is that it?” Papan asked and his voice sounded so far away.

  “No, take my hand.” He did and as we stood, I shouted, “Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

  “I’ll never let go of you,” he said.

  I flashed a quick smile as we turned to continue down the stairs, but the next wave of the explosion hit with so much power it pushed the shockwave through the building and raced after us faster than we were moving. It caught us in midstride, flinging us into the air for a few slow-moving seconds before the blast shoved us out the window.

  I held onto his hand. We were two stories from the ground, so it was vital not to lose my grip on him. Survival instinct took over and the street below disappeared, becoming black. We fell for a lot longer than I thought we should, but I eventually ended up on top of Papan.

  “Are you okay?” I touched his face and chest, glad when I felt his heartbeat.

  “What is this place?” He looked around, while holding my hips steady.

  “Welcome to my dark patch.”

  “How did we get here?”

  “I called it up,” I said with a shrug. “It’s a new trick my sensei taught me.” One I should’ve used as soon as we left his office, but with one shock after another… I really needed to remember this trick because it was going to save me a lot of scrapes and bruises, not to mention money on First Aid supplies.

  Papan looked confused. “But you only pull demons inside, right?”

  “Or anyone who’s been touched by the demonic.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I hadn’t meant to make the truth sound so crass.

  “Ah, that explains it.” His eyes shimmered. “I guess my new demonic blood is making this possible.”

  “Papan—” He stopped me by placing his index finger on my lips.

  “You don’t need to say any more. We’ve already had this discussion and I meant what I said.” He scanned the darkness. “I’m fine with your decision, especially if it means sharing even more with you.”

  I lowered my mouth to his and we kissed inside my personal patch.

  Funny how I’d been so scared about this patch before and now could use it to defeat hordes of demonic beings, heal myself, and share an intimate moment with my lover. We took our time, paying special attention to exploring as much of each other’s mouths as we could. This reprieve wouldn’t last.

  “Are you ready to go back?” I hoped we’d end up as far from the building as possible so we could run from the police, but knew we wouldn’t be so lucky.

  Papan nodded.

  “Shapiro will be there, and Burns…”

  He sighed. “I know. It’s probably best to face them sooner than later.”

  I pressed my forehead against his and released my dark patch.

  “Thanks for my birthday present,” he whispered seconds before chaos and rain dampened everything.

  We were on the concrete path located on the side of the building.

  Two police cars were haphazardly parked on the curb and another—which I assumed belonged to the detectives—was neatly parked beside them. Sirens blared in the distance as smoke puffed out from the demolished building. Bricks, wood and glass spotted the area, but miraculously had fallen outside the radius of my dark patch, forming an oval shape around us.

  “I feel bad for the owner of the building,” I said, standing and offering Papan my hand. “I’ve brought so much crap to it.”

  “The owner doesn’t mind.” Papan took my hand and pulled himself up.

  “How do you know?” My office had been a safe haven for so long, but lately had become a sore spot. I used to love spending hours inside thinking things through or hiding out from the rest of the world. It wasn’t until this year when my life changed so drastically that I started resenting it and only stopped by when necessary. Too many bad things had happened since the Obscurus found me and decided to make their move. “Do you know the owner?”

  “The building belongs to me.”

  “What?”

  “Over there!” someone yelled, followed by the sound of pounding footsteps.

  “You didn’t think I’d forgotten about you, did you?” Shapiro grabbed Papan by the hanging handcuff around his wrist, forcing his arms back so he could finish what he’d started upstairs. Papan didn’t fight him. “You’re in a lot of trouble.”

  “Wait, where are you taking him?”

  Shapiro ignored me and shoved Papan forward, guiding him towards the car.

  I took a step to follow but Burns blocked my path. “We’re taking him to the local police station for questioning.”

  “But he didn’t do anything!”

  “Ms. Fox,” he said with a sigh, running a hand over his tired face. “Your boyfriend is under arrest for su
spicion of murder.”

  “I heard that before, but who did he supposedly kill?”

  He hesitated before answering. “Four SCC councilors.”

  The breath was knocked out of me. “No! He didn’t do that. He couldn’t have.”

  “His weapon was found at the scene of the crime.”

  I remembered seeing a discarded gun on the carpet in the boardroom. I’d had no idea the weapon belonged to Papan. How the hell had it gotten there? He hadn’t done this. It wasn’t possible for so many reasons—namely that he’d been in a coma. But how would I explain that to the human cops? “That’s not possible,” was all I could say.

  “Forensics will verify it,” Burns said, turning around.

  I grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “Wait, he didn’t do this. You have to believe me.”

  The detective stared at my hand and said, “Listen, Ms. Fox, I have no intention of arresting you as well. But if you don’t let me go, I’ll have no choice—”

  “Hurry up, Burns!” Shapiro yelled out the driver’s side window, pressing on the car horn. He already had the engine running. The bastard couldn’t wait to charge an innocent man. The detective had finally gotten his own fantasy scenario.

  Some fantasies are more fucked up than others.

  “Ms. Fox,” Burns repeated.

  I dropped my hand and watched the skinny detective jump into the passenger side. I ran up to the car and pressed my left palm against the window. Papan met my eyes with determination burning inside. “I love you,” he mouthed.

  “Me too,” I whispered. We have an unbreakable bond.

  “Step away from the vehicle if you want to keep those pretty shoes,” Shapiro spat.

  I backpedaled and my fingers slid from the glass. My handprint glowed neon pink before fading. I didn’t take my eyes off Papan’s as the detectives drove away with my future in their backseat.

  As I spun back to face the chaotic scene, I noticed a fire truck parked in front of the building and blocking off the street. Several other emergency vehicles arrived—an ambulance and two more cop cars—as I stood lost and alone. What I needed to do was get to my car and escape before anyone noticed. I headed for my powder-blue car, but I stopped short when I spotted it.

  My Ford Fairlane—or what was left of it—was crushed beyond repair. A multitude of red bricks had crumbled onto the roof, flattening it. A large portion of the corridor window lay on top, like a visible punishment for the many times someone had caused it to shatter because of me.

  “Fuck!” I needed to get the hell out before anyone noticed I was standing around grieving over the loss of my car. I needed to get to the police station, but certainly didn’t want it to be in the back of a cop car.

  So I whirled on my heels, trying to ignore the heavy sensation in my chest at the loss of yet another important thing in my life. I headed up the street seconds before a police officer blocked it off with blue and white tape. He called out to me but I ignored him and cloaked myself. It was careless to make myself disappear so quickly in front of people, but I couldn’t afford not to use some of the tricks I had in my arsenal.

  I took a left onto the next street and breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t slow my pace.

  Rain fell in a steady stream and had already plastered my hair to my face and neck. My legs were wet and walking in these heels was getting uncomfortable. At least my coat helped keep the rain off my naked body.

  Oh god, I wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing underneath and hadn’t buttoned it up completely. Not to mention that the clothes I’d stashed in my desk drawer had been blown to bits, along with everything else.

  It hit me like a sledgehammer to the side of the head.

  Everything inside my office was gone—including Ebony. My heart ached and sadness washed over me all over again. For a moment, I almost forgot the promise I’d made to myself about saving her soul from being eternally bound to Maya. At least I hadn’t lost all of my work records. Ebony had duplicated our paper folders into computer files I kept on my laptop at home. I hadn’t lost any documents, but the office Ebony and I had spent several weekends remodeling was gone.

  How did Mace do it? I had no doubt he’d been responsible for turning Lee into a wraith and then setting her after me. He’d probably found out about the land spirits, and was so angry that he decided to destroy my office by turning Lee into a spook bomb. He wouldn’t get away with keeping chaotic spook energy beneath the Tower so he could use the potency to shatter the ley line network. I wouldn’t let him. As soon as I dealt with Papan’s problem and got him away from Shapiro, I would stop another one of Mace’s plans.

  Tucking my cold hands deep into the coat pockets, I was at least grateful I had my mobile, wallet and keys with me. I wrapped my fingers around my phone and was about to pull it out to call a cab when someone stepped in front of me.

  “You really should be more careful.” The man was dressed in black and wore a bowler hat. This was the old guy I’d seen in the diner last week with Mace, but he didn’t need a cane this time. He was also the same man I thought I’d imagined at the haunted house.

  As the thought crossed my mind, his name echoed inside my head—Duff.

  I stepped around him, while chanting a protection incantation so he couldn’t breach the barrier. When I was less than a foot away, I stopped. He was in front of me again, with a smile on his devilish face.

  “What do you want, Duff?” I wasn’t in the mood for games. My boyfriend had been arrested, I’d lost my office and my car was crushed. The pleasurable afternoon I’d planned was shattered beyond repair. This asshole was a double agent, so he wasn’t here to negotiate.

  I glanced up and down the street. It was deserted, which could be because of what had happened only a street away.

  “I’m glad you know my name.” He tipped his hat in greeting. “It’s such a shame we haven’t been properly introduced, since we’re practically family—”

  “You’re not my family,” I interrupted his self-indulgent attempt at an introduction. “Just tell me what you want.”

  “I think we both know what I want. It’s the same thing everyone wants.”

  “You’re not getting it.”

  “So much needless violence isn’t necessary. All you have to do is hand yourself over willingly.” He lowered his voice. “You know we’ll get you sooner or later.”

  “I’ll take the later,” I spat. My pulse raced, but I refused to let this bastard unnerve me. I’d had enough crap thrown my way lately. “Didn’t Mace tell you I already turned down his offer? It was very similar to yours, so why would I choose any different?”

  “I can offer you a lot more than he can.”

  “Oh yeah, what can you offer that he can’t?” These people were beyond pathetic. Troy and Travis Slevani tried to steal my power via force. Mauricio wanted to kill me because he thought I was a pest. Maya tried to complete the ritual without her fellow freaks. And Jonathan lost his life to darkness in the same pursuit. Now this guy thought he could make me a worthwhile offer? Why didn’t they save themselves the trouble and work as a team?

  “I can offer you a relative amount of freedom.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. Is that before, after, or while Legion’s many numbers are filtering into this patch using my sister and me?”

  “Your sister was bred for only one purpose,” Duff said, stepping closer.

  “That’s a disgusting thing to say about your granddaughter.”

  Duff shrugged a thin shoulder. “My granddaughter, much like my son, was made for a reason. There was no love involved, just a higher purpose.”

  “You might see Willow that way, but I don’t.” Anger flowed through me, forcing my hands into fists. How dare he refer to her as if she were only a tool? “She’s my sister and I’m going to protect her from you people. You’re not getting your hands on her
, and you’re not getting me either.” I backed up, preparing to call up my dark patch. The street might seem deserted, but there were too many darkened storefronts and alleys. So I could use the magic at my disposal without having to worry about anyone else getting in the way.

  “One way or another, you will both serve your destined purposes.” Duff was standing too close.

  I willed my dark patch, but nothing happened. Actually, I was stuck, and felt like an invisible hand was keeping me steady.

  “I’ve restrained her,” a cultured female voice called from an alley ahead. “Hurry up, bring her.”

  I squinted and for the first time noticed there was a car parked there—the same one that rear-ended my ride last night. I could really use that car service right about now.

  I tried to move my feet, but they refused to lift.

  Duff’s eyes flashed to magenta. “I can taste your essence and it’s delicious.” He extended a pale hand and his cold fingertips grazed my wrist. “I’ll have to take a sip from you soon.” He was standing too close and I was frozen to the spot.

  “Hurry up, Duff!” called the female voice. “Someone’s coming.”

  Duff grinned before hoisting me over his shoulder. He was stronger than his scrawny frame appeared. I couldn’t kick my legs so they hung useless in front of his chest, my hands down near his lower back. So much for my tough talk.

  An engine sliced through the silence and a black blur appeared out of nowhere, slamming into Duff’s side. It sent his body flying into the air. He lost his grip on me, and I plummeted towards the asphalt. Whatever magical hold his accomplice had over me dropped, so I finally welcomed my dark patch. The walls slithered down around me like a black cushion ready to break my fall but when I hit the road, I felt the full brunt of the impact. Where did my patch go? I hadn’t pushed it away yet.

  Someone’s using some heavy-duty magic against me.

  Duff had landed on the hood of the vehicle at the mouth of the alleyway.

  The door of the Terraplane opened and Diana regarded me from the driver’s seat. “You need a ride?”

  I was speechless, trying to figure out how she’d materialized out of nowhere.