Savage: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Solumancer Cycle Book 2)

by J. C. Staudt

  Her mouth is a tight ball, squinched to one side. She waits a precarious long time before speaking. “What do you need help with?”

  A thunderous knock echoes through the apartment, shaking the contents of every shelf and table. This could only be one person, and he’s a person I could stand not to see while there’s a normal on my living room couch.

  “What on earth was that?” Paige asks.

  Quim’s as frightened as she is. I can tell he regrets leaving home; it wasn’t easy convincing him to come over this morning, and now it’ll probably be years before I can persuade him to do so again. I hold up a finger. “Give me a quick second.”

  I go into my bedroom and grab the Nerve Ring off my nightstand before crossing the living room to answer the door. Calyxto gets off one more resounding knock before I yank it open. “Patience, grasshopper.”

  “No time for patience,” the half-fiend says. “Did you get it?”

  I hold out the ring.

  He leans in close to study it. “Wonderful. Amazing. Faster than I expected. Can I come in?”

  “I’m busy.”

  Calyxto stands on his tiptoes to look past me into the apartment. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Yes you are. I’ve got company.”

  “Great. I love company.”

  “This isn’t your house.”

  “No, but if you invite me in, we can have a nice chat over a cup of tea.”

  “I’m not making tea.”

  He lifts a hand. Strands of flame bloom from his palm to heat the steaming kettle resting on his outstretched fingers.

  “Stop that.”

  He flicks his wrist and the kettle vanishes. “What do you want from me? I’m trying to be hospitable.”

  “I want you to take your ring, wash the stain off my living room wall, remove one of these marks, and go away.”

  He looks at the ring with disdain. “That thing? Keep it. I don’t want it. Couldn’t care less about it.”

  “Why did you make me go to the trouble of—”

  “I just didn’t want her to have it. I want Helayne to feel the pain of our breakup with her every waking moment.”

  I step into the hallway and shut the door behind me. “You didn’t break up with her. You were never with her in the first place. Sildret told me everything. Helayne isn’t heartsick. She’s free of your captivity.”

  “Captivity? Helayne was the love of my life.”

  “And you were the terror of hers.”

  “That prancing fairy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If you believe him, you’re more gullible than I thought. Come with me. I’ll show you the real story.”

  “I told you I have guests over.”

  “They’ll be here when you get back.”

  “Not necessarily. This is a very delicate situation, and I’m not leaving until it’s been dealt with.”

  Calyxto flashes me a devious grin. “You’ve already left.”

  I look down. I’m standing past the threshold.

  He grabs me by the arm. The hallway twists into a blur of color, and we’re gone.

  Chapter 11

  It’s cold. The air carries a hint of coffee and cream laced with sadness. We’re in a tiny break room in the back of a restaurant. A narrow fridge and a stretch of countertop cabinets flank a pair of round tables encircled by half a dozen flimsy chairs. An icy draft leaks through the back door’s cracked weatherstripping.

  “This is ridiculous. You said you’d remove one of my marks when I got you the ring. Coming on some errand with you wasn’t part of the deal.”

  Calyxto puts a finger to his lips. “Sh-h-h. Look.”

  A slender brunette sits alone at the back table, waist apron covering black stretch pants beneath a green-and-white-striped polo shirt. Crumbs surround a half-eaten blueberry muffin and a paper cup stained with coffee. I haven’t eaten since last night myself, and the smell of the muffin’s streusel topping is making my stomach do somersaults. I puzzle over why our sudden appearance hasn’t startled the woman.

  “That’s Helayne,” Calyxto says. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  “Sure,” I whisper. “Now will you take me home?”

  “It’s alright. She can’t see or hear us. We’re in the Between.”

  “Then why are we whispering?”

  “I’m not whispering.”

  “Fine,” I say aloud. “Why did you bring me here?”

  “I wanted you to see her. To see the state she’s in.”

  “Oh, I get it. You’re the Ghost of Christmas Pain in the Ass.”

  “This is a person I genuinely care about, and you’re making light of it.”

  “If you cared about her, you shouldn’t have marked her like a piece of property. Also, spying on people who want nothing to do with you isn’t romantic. It’s creepy.”

  “I marked her to save her from herself, Cade.”

  “Call me Arden, please. Even when we’re alone in the Between.”

  “Arden. She needed someone. She was headed down a dark road, and she needed me to be there for her. To take care of her.”

  “You realize that’s what serial rapists tell themselves to rationalize their crimes, right?”

  “You don’t know what we’ve been through.”

  “It’s really none of my business, and I wish you wouldn’t involve me in it. I’ve got my own problems to deal with.”

  “You’re mad at me because I wasn’t entirely honest with you about my past with Helayne.”

  “I’m mad at you because you keep changing the deal. I just want my life back.”

  The half-fiend’s stare is cold; hurt, almost. “Your life is kind of a mess. It’s like they say; money can’t buy common sense.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean I’m going to be a nice guy and answer your cry for help.”

  “I’m not crying for help. Especially not from you.”

  He quirks his mouth. “Hmm. Too bad. I bet you’d really like to know who gave you that message yesterday.”

  “How do you know about th—”

  “You smell like brimstone. It’s coming off you like boiled eggs in bathwater. Someone gave you a fiendish script, didn’t they?”

  I wag my finger at him. “Oh, no. No way. I’m not getting tricked into another mark.”

  “I’ll do it for free. I swear to you on my immortal soul. This will be a favor between friends. No marks. No soul-selling. No involuntary servitude.”

  “Why would you do that for me? I’m supposed to serve you, not the other way around.”

  “Because I can’t stand to watch you flounder through life like a narwhal in a kiddie pool. I know you’ve got problems. That’s why I showed up to rescue you from those goblins.”

  “I would’ve escaped.”

  Calyxto rolls his eyes. “Sure.”

  I sigh. “I’m not shaking your hand or saying ‘yes’ to anything. If you want to help as a friend, go ahead. Friends don’t need contracts.”

  “Friends don’t need contracts,” he repeats, trying on the mantra for size. “I like that. Friends.”

  “This doesn’t mean we’re friends.”

  “We’ll see.” He winks. “Here’s how it works. Once per Gregorian calendar year at my discretion, I’m allowed to provide my services to one person without marking them. I’m supposed to reserve the freebie for someone whose life is so pitiful and sad that even the infernal powers-that-be would feel guilty taking advantage of them.”

  “Wow, thanks. If you’d bought stock in my self-worth, you would’ve just lost your life savings.”

  “Trust me, it has to be bad. We don’t do guilt in the underworld. So I hereby bestow upon you the singular act of pseudo-benevolence I’m allowed to use my powers on for the next year. What would you like?”

  “Honestly? I’d like to go home.”

  “I’ll take you home. But first, let me tell you about me and Helayne.”

  I groan.

  “
Friends listen to each other’s problems.”

  “Oh my god. Okay, but please hurry.”

  “When I found her, she was deep in the throes of an eating disorder. She was obsessive-compulsive, anxiety-ridden, and suffering from borderline personality disorder. Her life was going nowhere; she was working a dead-end job as a waitress at a crappy Americana restaurant.”

  I study the girl sitting alone in the break room. “Looks like nothing’s changed.”

  “It hasn’t. That’s my point. I didn’t give her my mark right away. I tried to help her. I tried to stop her from hurting herself. She kept running. Refusing to love herself the way she deserves. I couldn’t bear it another second, so I tricked her. I’m not proud of it. I didn’t give her my mark so I could force her to do my bidding. I did it so I’d know where she was. So I could be there when she needed someone. When no one else was around.”

  “You are a complete psychopath. Go on.”

  He frowns, but continues. “Everything spiraled out of control when her mom died. I did all I could. I gave her the Nerve Ring to help with the pain. She withdrew into herself, to places even I couldn’t go. Then a strange thing happened. She began to return my affections. I never thought it could be like it was then. So pure, so true. It didn’t last long, though. She met Sildret soon after, and he bullied me into releasing her. I swore we were making progress, but he didn’t care. He said I’d overstepped my bounds. He threatened me with the retribution of the Fae Council and forced me into a pact I didn’t want to make. He shrouded her memory of me behind a dense fog; you know how good the fae are at changing the perceptions of normals. Anyway, I’ve been forbidden to go near her ever since. All I get are these glimpses of her from the Between. Were I to step into that break room right now, I know she’d be happy to see me. I know she cares about me. I know it. But I’d also invite the wrath of the fae like never before. And that’s something I’m not prepared to handle.”

  “You actually think you love this girl.”

  “I’m not allowed to love her. My mother was killed for loving a normal. I’m only half-fiendish, so the rules about interacting with normals are looser for me. There are certain things I can’t do, but no one can stop me from caring about her.”

  “How can you say you care about her when you want her to feel every painful moment of your breakup?”

  “I need her to feel something. She’ll never remember me if she doesn’t.”

  “You tricked her like you tricked me. You made her accept your help without knowing what she’d get in return.”

  “Believe what you will, mortal. I did what I had to.”

  “Don’t call me that. It sounds pretentious. Besides, you didn’t have to do anything. You could’ve left her alone.”

  “Can you leave Carmine Savage alone? Can you leave her to face the trap she’s walking into? Could you live with yourself knowing what will happen to her if you do nothing?”

  “What do you know about Carmine Savage?”

  “You love her.”

  I say nothing.

  “She’s supposed to be your sister.”

  “I know. And brothers and sisters can’t love each other like that. So what does it matter? We’ll never be together anyway.”

  “Then you know exactly how I feel.”

  In the break room, Helayne rises on weary feet and tosses her muffin and coffee cup into the trash. She straightens her shirt and adjusts the apron around her waist before shouldering through the door and down the darkened hallway beyond. I imagine what it would be like if I had to watch Carmine like this; seeing, but never touching. Longing, but never speaking. An ache runs through my chest. I don’t agree with the way Calyxto treated Helayne. Yet in some small way, I understand where he’s coming from. “You’re a creep,” I tell him. “You’re totally deranged. But yeah, I kinda do know how you feel.”

  He brightens—if the shift in mood of an apple-skinned devil with horns and pointed teeth can be called brightening. “I know my methods are unconventional. I am an agent of the underworld.”

  “I could talk to Helayne for you, if you want.”

  He points at me. “Don’t do that. Never do that. If Sildret suspects I’ve put you up to it, his vengeance will be swift. This is a problem I’ll learn to live with. Now at least you know my side of the story. Let’s get you home.”

  Another bout of whizzbangery and we’re back in the hallway outside my apartment.

  “May I come in?” Calyxto asks.

  “It would be better if you didn’t.”

  “My help will be more effective once I know the particulars of our situation.”

  “My situation. Mine.”

  “That’s good. Take ownership of it. Problems are best solved with a can-do attitude. I’d like to be present, if I may.”

  “Can’t you just spy on me through the mark?”

  “While you’re at home? No. Anywhere else? Absolutely.”

  Helayne got a fairy godfather. I got Big Brother. I grunt, open the door and hold it for him.

  “You have to say—”

  “I’d be thrilled if you would enter my home and treat it as your own.”

  “Why thank you, my good man,” Calyxto says, strolling inside. He introduces himself to Quim and Paige, then takes a seat beside her on the couch while I resume my position on the coffee table.

  “What the fuck is that, Arden?” Paige asks, pointing to Sildret’s address on the wall.

  When she turns away, Calyxto licks his thumb. The red paint vanishes. He gives me a wink.

  “What’s what?” I ask.

  Paige turns to look. “Tha—there was an address written across your wall. Quim saw it. Didn’t you, Quim?”

  Quim shrugs. “It was a hologram. Arden likes holograms. Don’t you Arden? He’s an amateur hologram…ographer.”

  I nod. “Yup. It’s true. Sometimes I project things on the wall. Test stuff out. Random things, you know.”

  Paige frowns, shaking her head as if to convince herself she isn’t crazy.

  “Anyway, sorry about that, guys. I meant to ask you before, Paige. Why was Lorne suspicious of the Order of the Raven in the first place?”

  Paige thinks. “He did some research and found a few articles on these non-violent protests where members of the group were getting arrested. He didn’t think having a close relative with a criminal record would be good publicity for the company if it ever came out down the road. Then he found some other stuff that was so sketch he wouldn’t go into detail about it. He didn’t want Carmine drinking their Kool-Aid and getting brainwashed into doing crazy stuff that might get her in trouble.”

  “Is there any chance you’d feel comfortable asking your dad what he knows? Maybe find out how the Order of the Raven is tied to Mottrov Multinational from a business perspective?”

  She gives me a sad smirk. “Arden, listen. I’m really sorry. I thought about what you said. About the cops and everything. I know your intentions are good, but you should really let the professionals handle this. I’m so scared right now. I don’t know what they did to me or what they might’ve put in my body. It’s going to look super shady if I wait three more days before I go to the cops with this. My parents probably filed a police report days ago. Again, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I need to get home.”

  “Paige. Please don’t do this. You don’t know what you’re—”

  She stands and takes two steps before her legs give out.

  Calyxto flickers across the room to snatch her before she can fall. She steadies herself, but the dizziness is too much. She crumples into his arms, and he pulls her back and sits her on the couch.

  “You need to eat something,” Quim tells her. “When was the last time they fed you?”

  “I don’t remember them feeding me. Wait. There was… something. I didn’t like it. I tried to spit it out, but they held my nose, and—” Paige cuts herself off. “I’m hungry.”

  “I’m sure you are. That doesn’t sound appetizing.”<
br />
  “What is there to eat around here?” Paige asks.

  I smile. “You like Lucky Charms?”

  Paige looks confused. “Sure. I would’ve expected granola. Lorne said you were a health-food nut.”

  “We all have our vices. Sounds like Lorne’s told you a lot about me in the short time you’ve known him.”

  “He wouldn’t shut up about you. It was kind of annoying, actually. He kept talking about how you’re going to come work for him and be his head of security. Said you’re the most badass freelancer he knows. Tell you the truth, I’m not seeing it.”

  “Oh, come on. I’m so badass.”

  She squints at me, skeptical. “Would you be saying that if you were, though?”

  “Touché.”

  “Seriously, can I steal your food now?”

  Quim and Calyxto help her into the kitchen while I break out the four sacred ingredients—bowl, spoon, milk, cereal. She pours it herself and scarfs it down, then enjoys a second bowl. My mouth waters, but I try not to stare at her while she eats. Quim and Calyxto try not to stare at Ersatz as he slithers into the kitchen and hides behind the dish rack.

  When she’s done, Paige stifles a polite belch and stands up.

  “Better?” I ask.

  “Better.”

  “Good. Let me give you my cell number in case you need to reach me. And I’ll take yours down too, if you don’t mind.”

  She feels around in the pockets of her jeans, then looks at me in alarm. “It’s gone. I had it with me Friday night. Did you see it in the parking lot?”

  “No. It was pretty dark. If it isn’t in your pocket, they probably took it.”

  “Assholes. They can’t be allowed to do this shit to people.”

  “What happens to your dad’s company if its president is found guilty of kidnapping people and taking their blood without consent?”

  “My dad didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I didn’t say he did.”

  We all stand around the island for an awkward moment while Paige gets up the gumption to make her exit. With every fiber of my being, I want to beg her to reconsider going to the police. The consequences for both Lorne and Carmine could be disastrous. But she’s made up her mind—and as she mentioned, her parents have probably reported her missing already. It’s a good thing the Savage children don’t have any close living relatives—or best friends who give a damn about them—or they might’ve involved the police, too.