War Within (Death's Contract Book 2)

by KJ Harlow

  “Sid is dead,” he said flatly. “I killed him with my own hands.”

  “You didn’t,” Sid said slowly. “I made sure of that.” Mortimer’s continued staring suspiciously at Sid. My eyes flicked across to his Ombre Gun which he held by his side. “Remember how good I was patching everyone up when we got caught on the wrong end of the law? I also became pretty good at playing dead.” Mortimer raised his gun and pointed it Sid.

  “So I was careless the first time around,” he shouted. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t end you right now.”

  “Sid!” I said, frantically looking at him. He still hadn’t raised his gun as he calmly stared at Mortimer.

  “I’m your big brother, Mortimer.” He said, his face slowly breaking out into a smile. “I’m Sid Weston.” Mortimer’s eyes widened as he kept his gun trained on Sid. “When we were at the orphanage, those cows separated us. I couldn’t spend time with you but I watched you from afar. My heart ached every time I heard you wake up screaming in the middle of the night, crying for the Mummy and Daddy you never knew. Remember what I told you the times that we were together?” Mortimer’s eye twitched. “I told you that they abandoned you, that they didn’t want you.” Sid sighed and holstered his gun. What on earth was he doing?

  “I told you that for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted you to be stronger. I wanted you to forget about your past and to be your own man. I thought that by telling you that Mummy and Daddy abandoned you, you would forget about them.”

  “I never forgot!” Mortimer roared. I cringed and shut my eyes, expecting Mortimer to end all of our lives right there and then. No gunshots came.

  “I have been spending these last 40 years helping the homeless so that I could deal with the guilt of that decision. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret making you believe that you were abandoned.” Moonbeams filtered through the window behind Mortimer, illuminating the tear that had escaped and dragged down his face. Sid took a step towards Mortimer, then another then one more until he was a foot away from him.

  “I only wanted you to be stronger so that you could escape the hell that Mummy and Daddy had put us into. That’s why I took the money our group had saved and anonymously gave it to… an organization, we’ll call it. I told them to take you in and once you were ready, to instruct you to kill us all as your first mission.” My eyes flew wide open as I stared into Sid’s back. Why didn’t he tell us about this in the Underworld?

  “The plan was two-fold: you would be able to turn over a new leaf and become strong enough to go out on your own and look after yourself.” Mortimer’s Ombre Gun was now pointing at the floor as he stared disbelievingly at Sid.

  “There were two reasons,” Mortimer said hoarsely. Sid nodded slowly.

  “The second reason why you had been abandoned was because Mummy made me promise that I wouldn’t tell you about them.” Sid sighed as his shoulders dropped. “She would understand why I’m going to break my promise if she could see who you are today.” Mortimer waited, making no effort to wipe the tears that were slowly streaming down his face.

  “Mummy was a prostitute that Daddy had gotten pregnant. He was a good-for-nothing drunk who beat her and me up every second night. We lived in a tiny, dilapidated house taped together with lies and false hope. Five years after I was born, Mummy realized she was pregnant again. She hid it from Daddy almost until you were born. Then one day, he found out and beat her to within an inch of her life. I went to the hospital and found her. Before she died, she told me never to tell you about her and Daddy.

  “She was ashamed. She abhorred the life that she had brought her children into. She only wanted us to be strong.” Sid gently laid his hands on Mortimer’s shoulders. “You weren’t abandoned, Mort. You were loved. She loved you. I loved – love you.” The room was filled with the pulsing of Three Lucent Guns emanating yellow-white light; the Truth had been spoken. Mortimer closed his eyes as Sid embraced him, his body racked with his tormented sobs decades old. For the next minute, the only sounds in the room were Mortimer’s anguished sobs and the gentle humming of the Lucent Guns. Eventually, Sid stepped back as Mortimer wiped his tears away.

  “This must be the end of the road for me then,” Mortimer said, his voice shuddering. Sid gently shook his head. He drew his shining Lucent Gun and turned around, pointing it at me. I stared at him in bewilderment as he slowly stepped towards me.

  “I’m so sorry, Rose. I know I said I was going to Cease him, but he’s my brother and I love–”

  Sid’s blood splattered over my face as a hole appeared in his head. He stumbled forward a few steps and then thudded into the floor. I stared in horror as his body became encased in a gentle, white light. A minute later, there was a blinding flash and the only trace that Sid had been a Deliverer was his dormant Lucent Gun on the floor.

  Mortimer lowered his Ombre Gun, staring at the spot where he had shot Sid. He locked eyes with me then glanced at my hands. Right at that moment, brilliant white light covered Agatha. She opened her eyes briefly and looked at Mortimer intently.

  “No more running away.” Her voice barely audible above the roaring wind as she was whisked back to the Underworld. My shining Lucent Gun fell to the floor, barrel pointing at Mortimer. I stared at it, not daring to look up at the man who was going to kill me again. If I was going to fail this mission, I at least wanted to understand him.

  “Why did you Cease him?” Mortimer was still staring at the spot where Sid’s corpse had lay a minute ago.

  “I didn’t want to be stronger,” Mortimer whispered his voice feather soft. “I just wanted to be held.” He looked up at me, his eyes shining. “That embrace was 50 years too late.” He drew his Ombre Gun and pointed it at me. I looked straight into the barrel, refusing to give Mortimer the pleasure of having me cower in fear.

  “Give Aggie my regards.” Mortimer turned his Ombre Gun around and shot himself in the temple. He stumbled sideways a few steps, staring at me with eyes wide open before crumpling to the floor. As I watched him become encased in light, he closed his eyes and smiled peacefully.

  “She always gave the best hugs.”

  Twenty-Six

  I looked at the palms of my hand. Any sign of the earlier trauma in the Overworld was gone; they were flawless and whole. I dropped them to my sides, letting them collide with the wall that I was leaning against as I looked around the room. Tor was in the corner with his arms crossed and his eyes hooded. He was staring but not at anything in particular. I frowned as my eyes slid across to Silas. He was busying himself at Agatha’s desk, preparing the healing balms for her.

  Leaning against the table to his left was Walter. His eyes were transfixed on Agatha, who was sleeping deeply on her bed. Death was standing next to her, his hands half a foot away as a light green light emanated from his fingertips. He had a look of complete concentration etched into his face as he focused on healing Agatha. On the other side of the bed sat Tracy, who was holding Agatha’s left hand. She had her elbows on the bed as she leaned in. The green lights disappeared from the tips of Death’s fingers. He dropped his hands, took a step back and exhaled.

  “That’s all I’ve got for now,” Death said wearily. He looked down at Tracy, who gave her a grateful if sad smile. “Her soul is resilient. She will wake up soon.” Death turned around and started moving towards the door. He stopped just as he was about to pass me. I looked up at him, giving him a half smile. He looked down at my hands and after thinking for a moment gently clasped one of them. I let him cradle it as he inspected it.

  “Do they still hurt?” He said, looking up at me. I shook my head. He nodded at me, a gentle warmth shining out from his exhausted eyes. It only occurred to me then that he didn’t have a room to rest in – one that I didn’t know about, anyway. He dropped my hand and started walking towards Agatha’s door. Before he left, he looked back around the room. “Good work everyone.” We all looked at him with varying degrees of acknowledgment before he closed the door.

  “Ag
atha!” Tracy breathed excitedly. A quiet moan escaped Agatha’s lips as she started stirring. Silas stepped forward, putting the healing balm on her head. In the next few seconds, everyone else had come towards her except Tor. I looked over my shoulder to see him still brooding in the corner. I waved him over encouragingly. He stared blankly at me for a few seconds before eventually loping over. Agatha opened her eyes and blinked a few times, looking surprised that there were so many people standing around her bed.

  “Can’t a woman have a little privacy?” She said grumpily. I exchanged looks with Tracy who stifled a giggle. She sighed and closed her eyes. We looked at each other awkwardly as we wondered if that was our cue to leave. “Regroup.” She said, with her eyes still closed. I looked at Walter incredulously.

  “Now?” He said. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

  “Well we’re already all here, aren’t we?” She closed her eyes again and adjusted the cloth infused with the healing balm on her forehead. Walter chuckled nervously before clearing his throat.

  “Deliverers, welcome to the Regroup.” He looked around the group, an accommodating smile on his lips. “Mortimer Wildblood–”

  “Weston,” Agatha said tiredly. Everyone looked at Walter as he opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.

  “Mortimer Weston,” he said, eventually recovering, “has been Ceased.” Hearing that statement seemed to open a vent in the room, letting all the pressure hiss out. I thought I would be laughing triumphantly and cheering but instead, I felt a hollow emptiness in the pit of my stomach. There was a pregnant pause as everyone started shuffling uncomfortably. “The Deliverer Sid Weston has also been Ceased.” I expected Walter to emphasize this proudly. Instead, his mouth was set in a grim line as he said these words. Before Agatha had woken up, word had already gotten around as to how Sid had been Ceased.

  “Tor, do you want to start?” He stared at Walter for a few moments before nodding.

  “We arrived in Westminster Station. Our mission was three-fold: protect the royal family, protect Sid and Cease Mortimer.” There was a prickly pause again. “After taking care of some Conflicted on the way, we arrived at Buckingham Palace. There were several hundred Queen’s Guards who had been turned into Conflicted. We split up and defeated them all.” I raised an eyebrow at Tor. He usually wasn’t so casual about Regroups.

  “Dante soon appeared. He had stolen a couple pieces of the crown jewels. As we spoke with him, Walter took the opportunity to shoot Dante from a hiding spot in the trees to the west. That gave Tracy the opportunity to stun Dante with her Lucent Gun in dagger form, which allowed the rest of us to focus on Ridding the Conflicted that were guarding Dante.

  “After we had finished Ridding the Conflicted, Tracy, Walter, and Silas stayed outside the Palace while Rose, Agatha, Sid and I went in. After exploring the area, we eventually came to a lounge room. We heard Matylda laugh so Rose went to investigate.” I surreptitiously glanced up at Tor as he mentioned Matylda. If this did affect him, he showed no signs of it.

  “Rose was attacked by Matylda, who impaled her hands with a bayonet. This rendered her incapable of holding her Lucent Gun. We shot at Matylda but were unable to stop her from escaping.” I watched Tor’s Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed.

  “May I take over from here?” I asked Walter. He looked at me and nodded. Tor looked at me but I ignored him as I continued where he finished. “We continued looking for Matylda but were unable to find her for more than half an hour. We eventually came into the throne room. We opened fire at the Conflicted Queen’s Guard who lined up on either side of the room. That’s when Matylda revealed herself.” Agatha’s eyes were open now as she looked at me intently. I paused as my eyes flicked over to Tor, who was staring intensely at a spot on Agatha’s bed.

  “Tor shot her and stayed behind, but not before she revealed that the royal family had taken a secret tunnel under the Palace to Clarence House.” I hadn’t lied, but my stomach knotted itself as I avoided Agatha’s piercing gaze. “Agatha, Sid and I followed the tunnel and eventually came into a hoard of Conflicted. Sid and Agatha protected me. Agatha was wounded in the chest.” I risked a glance up at Agatha; her eyes were closed again.

  “With Agatha fast slipping away, we went into Clarence House, letting Agatha rest in a lounge room, but not before arming her with my Lucent Gun. Sid and I followed the sound of gunshots to the roof. When we got up there, we saw a helicopter flying away, presumably taking the royal family from Mortimer’s reach. We heard gunshots from downstairs and rushed back down. Agatha had stunned Mortimer.” I paused here as I looked expectantly at Agatha. Her eyes were still closed. Given their history, surely Agatha would want to finish off the recount.

  “She’s resting, Rose.” Walter rumbled. I looked at him. He regarded me gently, nodding with a grim look on his face.

  “Sid told Mortimer that he was his brother. At first, Mortimer didn’t believe him. He threatened to Cease him right then and there. Then Sid told him about their past in the orphanage, reminding him that he was the one who told him that he had been abandoned by his parents. He was the one who planted the seed of Torment all those years ago.”

  “Why did he tell him that?” Tracy asked softly. I looked at Agatha’s hands as she made the peace sign with her fingers. So she was conscious when Sid was talking about that.

  “Two reasons. One, Sid wanted Mortimer to be stronger. He thought that by telling him this, he would stop asking and move on. Two, Sid had made a promise to his mother that he wouldn’t tell Mortimer about them. He was just keeping his mother’s promise all that time.” The room was silent for about half a minute as everyone pondered the tragedy that stemmed from brotherly love.

  “He turned on us.” Everyone looked at Agatha as she croaked these four words. She coughed and Tracy squeezed her hand. Agatha opened her eyes and smiled weakly at her. It faded immediately as she continued.

  “Sid saw Mortimer and despite all the time that passed, despite what Mortimer had become and despite what he had agreed to, Sid decided he still needed to protect him. So he turned his Lucent Gun on us… and that was the end of him.” Agatha’s eyes glistened before she squeezed them shut. Silas moved out of the way as I was at Agatha’s right side in a heartbeat.

  “We all trusted him,” I said, squeezing her hand. “You weren’t the only one.” I looked back at the group. I caught sight of Walter, who was looking at Agatha through eyes of pity. “Even if he betrayed us, he was the only one who could have Ceased him.” The image of him pointing his shining Lucent Gun at me, his face expressionless was seared into my mind.

  “So Mortimer didn’t feel the same way about him that Sid did towards Mortimer?” Walter probed. I looked back at Walter and nodded.

  “He pulled out his gun and Ceased Sid by shooting him in the back of the head. He said that he didn’t want to be stronger and that he just wanted to be held.” I squeezed Agatha’s hand and looked at her. “Just before he shot himself, he said that Agatha gave the best hugs.” I smiled at her as she chuckled sadly.

  “He shot himself?” Silas asked. I looked over at him and nodded. “With which gun?” I let go of Agatha’s hand as my eyes became unfocused. I was back in the room, just me and Mortimer again.

  “I thought he was going to shoot me,” I said slowly. “He didn’t.” I visualized him turning his gun on himself and pulling the trigger. My eyes opened wide.

  “He shot himself with his Ombre Gun!” I said, looking at Silas. “Agatha’s Lucent Gun was still in his holster. After he Ceased Sid, he shot himself with his own gun.” A ripple of confusion was palpable in the room. Walter put his hands on Agatha’s bed, looking at me with a furrowed brow.

  “Did he Cease, Rose?” I looked at him and nodded resolutely.

  “Yes. I watched him get encased in light. I watched him disappear. I watched his Ombre Gun disintegrate. I watched Agatha’s, Sid’s and my Lucent Guns stop glowing.” I looked back at Agatha, who was staring at me again. “Mortimer We
ston has been Ceased.” Walter stepped back and crossed his arms, frowning.

  “Well, this is a revelation. Up until now, we thought it was only possible for the Tormented to be Ceased by a Lucent Gun that had been imbued with Truth.” I looked back at Walter, who was staring at the wall behind Agatha’s bed. “Did he do it on purpose?”

  “Mortimer always did things his way. He did so when he was a twenty-something petty thief and he did so when he decided to end his own life with his own gun.” Agatha’s eyes flicked over to her table, where her and Sid’s Lucent Guns lay. “I believe that it was completely intentional that he chose his gun over mine to Cease himself.”

  “Do you think he was trying to give us a clue to help us Cease Matylda?” I asked. Tor flinched when I asked this, but I paid him no heed. Agatha snorted derisively.

  “Maybe he did. Even though Matylda masquerades as a young girl, she’s certainly not naïve and stupid. I don’t think she would let her Ombre Gun fall into our hands so easily. Agatha sighed and closed her eyes again. “What happened after that?”

  “Tracy came in to find me. She found Tor sitting in the throne room by himself.” I looked across the bed at him; he had drifted away from the group. His eyes met mine and before they could betray him, he looked away. “They helped me get the Lucent Guns and we went back outside. We retreated, leaving Dante to wake up in the forecourt by himself.”

  “What about…” Tracy’s voice drifted as her eyes were drawn to Sid’s dormant Lucent Gun on the desk.

  “Ask Death,” Agatha responded quickly, a hard edge lining her voice. Without saying it explicitly, it sounded like she was done talking about him – and talking completely. We all silently stood up and started shuffling towards the door. I walked to the desk and picked up Sid’s Lucent Gun. It felt heavy and dead. There was no humming or warmth. I turned around to see if Tor wanted to walk me back up to the control room.”