The Pit of No Return (The King Henry Tapes Book 6)

by Richard Raley

  “Sweet or weird or whatever you want to call her, what she is now is snapped,” I laid out the facts without pity or remorse for what said facts meant. “You, Vicky Welf, are the last person who saw her, and the only person on this campus who can tell a corpusmancer no matter what colors or face she’s wearing. So you need to help me find her before she hurts someone else.”

  “Brother—”

  “Is either fine in the Gym or Isabel already has him. So tell me which way she was heading when she ran away from you.”

  “Has him?” Vicky was alarmed.

  “Maybe,” I figured, “she was trying to kidnap you, maybe you were first on the list or second. Either way, we need to hurry up and find her before she hurts someone else, especially herself.”

  “We need to go to the teachers, King Henry!”

  “Running out of time, Vick. You can go to them after we find her.”

  “And what are you going to do?”

  My shrug wasn’t I-don’t-give-a-crap, but was very uncomfortable. “Never known why, but she’s had a crush on me since day one. I’m a piece of shit, but for some reason she’s putting me on a pedestal. Her best friend is already gone . . . so I’m the only one with any chance of talking her down without bloodshed, one way or the other.”

  “Oh, King Henry, we’re doomed if that’s true!”

  Admin, Isabel had run towards Admin.

  On your trail, Soto Crazy, and only so many places to hide.

  [CLICK]

  I did a quick search of the ground floor just to be certain, even did a run-by through the teacher offices. Admin was oddly empty. Even the teachers were trying to stay out of the way. Not me, of course. I was in the thick of it, Vick by my side. Every time we came up blank, she kept putting her hands up to her face in exasperation and just a little fear.

  “You’re sure?” I asked her.

  “I’m sure!” she repeated. “Maybe Isabel took a turn and headed for the Library . . .”

  Maybe.

  Outside of the main doors at Admin, I paced back and forth.

  Only been maybe fifteen minutes.

  Vicky kept glancing at the doors, ready to bolt on me and tell any piece of authority she could find, even if it was a lowly secretary, not a bit of anima in the woman, mundane as a bowl of oatmeal.

  Admin, why Admin? I asked myself.

  “King Henry, you tried, but now we have to tell the teachers,” Vicky said, even if I barely heard her over the roar of my own thoughts. “I know you have trouble with asking for help, especially from adults, but—”

  Stopped listening.

  Think.

  For once this week, fucking THINK.

  Why Admin?

  Admin was the last place you wanted to be if you were trying to hide or trying to pull off something nefarious. Even if you could change the shape of your face to pretend at belonging. She’s in student colors and I know from experience that getting anything else is one of the harder thefts on this campus. So why Admin? Few places to hide, but far better opportunities elsewhere. Whole rooms, even floors of the classroom buildings that went deserted for weeks, especially with cancelled classes. The Park had plenty of hiding holes perfect to murder someone, Isabel herself had proven that. Lock a bedroom door in the dorms and you’re good for an hour or two.

  So what was special about Admin?

  My dirt eyes, always so at home on the ground, glanced upwards at the building above. Love them some big, labyrinthine buildings do the Asylum. None were bigger than Admin. Count what’s buried beneath and it might be bigger than all the rest put together. Tall building, taller than the dorms for sure. No surviving that splat, maybe not even if you’re an aeromancer. Maybe if you’re Ceinwyn Dale.

  Admin.

  Only building with easy access to the roof.

  So easy even a student can sneak up there if they wanted.

  Sneak up with a giggling Naomi Gullick, a picnic basket, and a bottle of wine.

  Or . . . sneak up with an unconscious Welf . . .

  “Shit,” I growled, eyes still on the roof lip all the way up there.

  Vicky glanced up, her face blanching. Her white and rainbow colors didn’t help. “What do you mean shit?”

  “I know what Isabel’s up to,” I said. “Enough, at least. Forget what I said, go run for help. Don’t mean some random Intra teacher help either, I mean cavalry, artillery, and a fucking aircraft carrier if you can find one.”

  “What’s happening, King Henry?” Vicky asked, terrified.

  “She’s trying to turn things around again, only her head’s all twisted up,” I muttered mostly to myself. “Get running, Vick, and pray your brother’s in the Gym. Cuz if he’s up there . . .”

  With a gasp, Vicky took off, heading towards the Ultra classrooms or the teacher’s houses.

  “Time for me to scale the castle and save the day,” I whispered, feeling awfully inadequate as a hero. Ain’t the hero, hero’s already dead.

  Hero or not, did have someone to save.

  Heinrich von Welf.

  Worst.

  Princess.

  Ever.

  [CLICK]

  The last time I led Naomi out on the roof I had to pick the lock, this time it was open. Good sign for my monster hunting. Still had a five-minute-pool of geo-anima just in case. Not sure what I could do with it, being Isabel ain’t metal or stone last I checked. Iron fist of course, but hoping I wouldn’t need it. Hope’s for pussies . . . and for guys that like to get pegged.

  If an iron fist would even be enough to put her down.

  Put down Jason Jackson before, will put her down too.

  Isabel was freaky, but not that freaky. Right?

  Paused at opening the roof door.

  Wasn’t assumption this time, just imagination over what was beyond. Part of me already accepted that Welf would be with Isabel. Knocked out and dragged up the stairwell, or just plain threatened. Got that part of her thinking. Try the whole suicide note trick again. Wouldn’t work, but Isabel was way past rational thinking. Pegging or not, did take hope that she couldn’t kill him beforehand if she was planning on tossing him over the side.

  But maybe that’s too rational as well.

  Maybe he’s already dead.

  Me so worried about Heinrich Welf I was scared to open that door and see if the cat was dead or just purring away.

  Ain’t no cat here, Kitty Cat made sure she’s behind the scenes and not the one doing the killing.

  Could’ve waited. Could’ve let someone else handle it. Adults. Authority. What I’m supposed to do; the way it’s supposed to be. Only . . . would mean Athir died for nothing. I go out there, I stop her from hurting Welf, then that gave Athir’s death meaning. More than just in stopping Isabel eventually, but in the immediate moment as well. Besides, you stay here then you’re nothing but a coward, ain’t ya?

  Not a coward.

  Never been a coward.

  Always speak my mind. Always do what I think is needed, even if what’s needed ain’t what’s proper. Always fight the bully.

  Maybe that’s why I hesitated.

  Isabel ain’t a bully.

  Fight bullies, then you get to fight without becoming one.

  Start fighting other people . . . even people screwed up in the head, well . . . slippery slope for a pugnacious bastard not got himself much of a moral core. Dangerous. Too complicated for me, maybe.

  Heroism, even the kind you get forced into against your will, it ain’t simple, won’t ever be simple. Why I hated it so much. Why I sneered at people try to claim it. People like the douchebag I need to save.

  I opened the door.

  What a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

  Clouds mixed with a bright sun. Kind of sun makes you sleepy, makes you want to lounge about like some animal don’t got itself any responsibility in the world. Just instinct, just feeling so happy in the sun. Air’s always so clear at the Asylum. Gotten used to it, but didn’t grow up in it. Air in Visali
a is shit, just like the rest of the Central Valley. If it ain’t filled with exhaust, it’s filled with pesticides; ain’t filled with pesticides, it’s filled with wildfire smoke. Place I grew up, not a spot of cleanliness to go around.

  Here though . . .

  So clear.

  Mountain fresh.

  Wasn’t for the Mound or some of the larger peaks surrounded the school and you could just imagine seeing all the way to the Pacific. Sure could see the rest of the school. Horseshoe road. The Park. The Field. All the way to the growing grid of suburban housing to the west, behind it nothing but thick forest.

  On the roof itself, view was a little less beautiful.

  Isabel had shifted back to that androgynous model look she’d worn all week. The better to shift to Welf with, not so far away, but plenty far for the rest of us not to put two and two together. Was still in necromancer blacks. Made the possible resemblance to Welf a whole lot more obvious. One change of clothes and the way you viewed Isabel changed with them, maybe more so than any change of face she could’ve made. Heinrich Welf in corpusmancer red and white . . . that much weakness and his mama would’ve killed him in the cradle and popped out another heir worthy of her.

  Isabel paced.

  Hands gesturing in the air.

  Back and forth.

  Talking to herself.

  Bad enough to see usually, but her having the conversation in three or four different voices made it a tad more disturbing. Debating killing Welf. Debating going on the run. Debating giving herself up. The fourth, Isabel’s own voice, repeating over and over, “I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!”

  Cuz I ain’t ever been lucky, Welf was also there. Hands tied with some rope, leaned up against a post. Had a gag around his mouth too. Just a bit of ripped bed sheet, not the ball gag Hope likes to stick in his mouth before the pegging. Wonder what his safe word is? Also wonder how you say a safe word if you got a ball gag in your mouth . . .

  He noticed me before Isabel did.

  Never seen a purer mix of relief and dread war over someone’s face. Someone to help! But it’s the Foul Mouth! Why me? Why him? Was anyone else, they would’ve cursed into the gag. Heinrich Welf only looked betrayed. The world wasn’t supposed to go like this, didn’t it know better? I’m Old Mancy! I’m a Welf!

  That’s one ugly fucking princess I have to save.

  Why couldn’t it be Val?

  Cuz Boomworm would’ve already rescued herself and turned Isabel into a flaming pile of ash, that’s why.

  Hold on to your coochies, kiddies.

  Cuz . . .

  Once upon a time . . .

  “You two having a party up here without inviting me?” I asked like it was just a normal Thursday afternoon.

  Isabel squeaked, whole body flipping around like I’d zapped her in the ass with a cattle prod. Not an electromancer sadly . . . or Hope with Welf tied up.

  Nope, it’s never gonna get old.

  Said submissive glared like I’d done something wrong. Suppose I should’ve stayed quiet and smashed her over the head with a two-handed chop or something out of the Walker Texas Ranger handbook. Cuz . . . that would’ve worked. At getting my ass punted off the roof.

  Never did like horses, but treating Isabel like a skittish animal seemed the best move. Not really an animal guy, even the domesticated kind. No whisperer about me, just a canine grin and some swagger. Strolled on over like nothing was out of the ordinary. “Sup, Isabel?”

  Her stolen gray eyes glanced at the floor rather than meet mine. “You know,” she whined.

  “Know what? That this is a great place to party?” Closer and closer.

  “You know,” Isabel accused, face buried in her chest. “I didn’t want you to know. Why do you have to know? I can’t . . . I can’t . . .”

  “Why you got Welf tied up? Take lessons from Hope?” Closer still.

  She had him tied pretty close to the edge of the roof. She was strong enough to lift Leo over a railing and fling him down then a push over that unprotected edge would be no problem for her.

  “I’m not stupid,” Isabel said.

  Welf grunted something.

  “I’m not crazy either!” she screamed back at him.

  Put my hands up, not a very King Henry gesture, but again it was something I’d seen Pocket do in the horse stalls when we shared punishments over the years. Lady loved giving me horse stall duty. “No reason to talk like that, Isabel.”

  She backed away from me, shielding Welf with her body. “You know.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  A whine as behind her Welf tried to get his gag off. Probably so he could tell me all about how I should be saving his life. Only Heinrich Welf could fuck up his own rescue. “I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want any of you . . . I didn’t want this.”

  “Tell me about it,” I led her on, still trying to slowly get her to rotate just enough for me to have a shot at getting between her and Welf. Between Welf and that huge drop. “What Leo do to you?”

  “He called me crazy,” she whispered. “I was just supposed to punch him a bit, but he kept telling me I was crazy. I just wanted Welf to pay. All the things he’s said to me and all the things he’s done to you and . . . Catherine told me what he’d done to her too and . . . he’s not a good person, King Henry. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, of course. So I went to Catherine and she figured it all out for me so the bad people would hurt each other. Only . . . he called me crazy and I lost my temper and I . . . I pushed him.”

  Come on, start pacing again. Stop holding your stomach and swaying like a five-year-old just stole some cookies.

  “After Leo died,” Isabel continued, “I was so scared and mad and . . . I even scared Catherine. She convinced Teresa and Mary to keep going, to blame it all on Welf. Only . . . you didn’t believe that and I don’t think Mr. Root did either, because one of his Constructs followed me around for the next day . . . it wasn’t very fun having to hide from it. Luckily it doesn’t have very good eyesight. No one expects a corpusmancer to change their scent, but I can.”

  “Then I put forward the mentimancer idea,” I admitted my biggest mistake in this all.

  Isabel’s eyes finally snapped up to look my way, her head nodding. I locked gazes with her, made sure it stayed there with me. Leaned back and forth, judging how she reacted, just waiting until I was sure she’d move with me. “It was such a good idea and no one likes mentimancers . . . Athir is always complaining about it. Or . . . was . . . before . . .”

  “He was only worried about you, Isabel.”

  “I’m not crazy.”

  “I know . . . you’re just confused.”

  She nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, that. Catherine’s fault. She said so many things and . . . this whole plan of hers, I was switching bodies so much I couldn’t be them, just me inside of them. I’m not good when I’m me, King Henry.”

  “Athir gave me a memory of what happened before he died,” I told her. There we go, had her complete attention and . . . slide. One step. Two step. She didn’t even realize I’d carried her away from Welf at the edge of the roof.

  Welf, of course, was trying to put all attention back on himself by grunting furiously.

  Worst. Princess. Ever, I thought again. Even Miranda would be better . . . at least I’d get some cake at the end of it.

  “I was worried he did,” Isabel whispered, her expression horrified. “I was worried he’d tell you. I told him about Leo and he agreed to help me, but Scott was too much for him. He didn’t understand . . . even he thought I was crazy. Why do they all think I’m crazy?”

  “I don’t,” I reminded her, taking another step.

  Got a smile for my efforts. “Of course not. We’ve always understood each other.”

  “Especially when we explain instead of assuming things,” I led her.

  “You mean . . .” her mouth shut now that her eyes were back on Welf and the fact that I was the one standing next to him, not her. �
�You tricked me.”

  “You said yourself that you’re confused, Isabel,” I gave some of the same twisted reason she was using, “I’m just trying to keep you from doing something else you’ll regret.”

  “I wouldn’t regret killing him,” Isabel spat at Welf. “He’s what started this. If I’d just killed him at the beginning then the others wouldn’t have been hurt. Easy. Simple. Direct. Not all coiled like the way Catherine thinks. Still, it’s the least I could do. For her. For you. Kill Heinrich Welf. The bully. You like killing bullies.”

  “I like fighting bullies,” I corrected her.

  “One day you’ll kill them too, we both know that, King Henry.” Her eyes practically glowed. “Let’s start today. Together.”

  “Spent five years teaching Welf that being a bully ain’t a good idea,” I hedged around the crazy that kept saying she wasn’t crazy. “Seem like a shame to kill him after all that work. Besides, you tried to kidnap Vicky too and she’s a good person.”

  Welf flinched against his bonds at this news. Stay still and I’ll get you out of this in a minute or two, you self-important douchebag.

  “I wasn’t going to hurt her,” Isabel explained sheepishly. “I just . . . thought I needed a witness. Maybe if I threw Welf off the roof before she woke up and then I jumped off looking like him, she’d think he killed himself and no one would wonder like they did with Scott Hardy . . . only she knew I was me. She saw me. I don’t like that. That means I’m not ever truly someone else . . . deep down I’m still me. I can’t be me, King Henry. I’m the one who killed Leo. The one who started this all.”

  Oh, for a tape recorder, I thought.

  Overrated, trust me, eighteen-year-old-me.

  “Maybe if you were your real self more often, people would understand you like I do,” I got all manipulative.

  “No. They wouldn’t,” she whispered. “Only Athir did . . . he’s dead. Because I didn’t kill Welf. That’s why I need to kill him now.”

  “Seems like a lot of work,” I kept stalling.

  Even someone as slow as Vicky should’ve found a teacher by now. Be people running up those stairs any minute. Some Gandalf with the surprise army type shit. Save my ass from the crazy chick.