Tainted (Netherworld Book II)

by Christie Rich

  After we’ve visited five more worlds without seeing a single living soul, we finally come to a very small town, which looks like it was taken out of an old western movie. I guess town really isn’t the right word to use. It’s more like a fort. A wicked looking spiked wall surrounds the place in a giant rectangle. At each corner a tower pushes toward the sky.

  The only reason I know it’s a town beyond those walls is at the moment the gates are open. Log buildings line a few roads to the end of the compound. Other roads have a few scattered houses but mostly plots of land with tender young plants growing in rows. The oddly nostalgic part of me is drawn to the quaintness and the quiet. The other part wonders why the hell we’re here?

  I hadn’t noticed him before, but a man yells a warning from one of the towers that gets passed from one guard to another until a line of men meet us at the gate. Seth stays back as if waiting for someone particular.

  After only a few moments the line parts and a man with a Stetson atop his head steps forward. He’s average height with a stocky build and dark eyes to match his brown hair. That’s not really what draws my attention though. It’s the rifle anchored against his shoulder. To my great relief, he swiftly lowers the barrel toward the ground instead of straight at Seth’s chest.

  The man smiles, calling Seth by name. He beckons us forward. Seth takes my arm to lead me into the safety of the village. Once we pass through, the guards take their places once again at the towers. Only a few remain at the open gate. It seems rather odd they’d leave the gates wide open. My curiosity quickens my steps. I need to make sure I keep up with Seth and his odd companion. I don’t want to miss a single thing.

  We’re escorted straight to the jail. If it weren’t for the man’s smile, I might be a bit worried. He throws open the door and ushers us inside. We enter into one large room where stockpiles of weapons occupy the corner. Some are handguns; some are rifles. There are even a few that look like Gatling guns.

  Seth gives a hearty chuckle. “You’ve been busy, I see.”

  The man smiles, which shows a decided bit of mischief behind his grin. “There are more.”

  Seth straightens, giving a low whistle. “Where?”

  I am so sick of thinking of the guy as the man that I can’t take it anymore. I clear my throat. “Are you ever going to introduce me?”

  As if he’s just noticed me, the man’s eyes widen. He steps forward, extends a hand, and smiles. “Gregory. But I’d answer to anything you call me.” He gives me a rogue’s smile before he winks at me.

  His easy manner pushes me off guard. I smile at him and nod. “Good to know. I’m Amelia.”

  Seth strides to my side, wrapping a possessive arm around my shoulders. I’m tempted to laugh at him. As if this dreamer has anything over him. Seth asks again, “Where are the other weapons?”

  Gregory doesn’t answer right away, as if he’s deciding something. “Come,” he says finally. “I’ll show you.”

  Gregory truly has been busy. His stock is impressive, but a man doesn’t display his prized possessions openly, unless he wants them stolen.

  We exit the jail, following close behind Gregory. Even now I’m not sure if he will show me his best weapons, but if he’s hiding something, I’ll know.

  I’m not surprised when he goes to the building I met him in. Unlike the first time I saw him, the saloon is alive with laughter, jeering, and raucous behavior.

  The people heed us no mind, which is a good sign. It shows Gregory trusts me.

  We are guided behind the bar and through the swinging doors into a small room without any other entrances. There are a few rifles leaning against the wall, but otherwise the room is bare.

  For a moment I think Gregory has brought us here to talk, but in reality the jail was more private. Gregory lifts his index finger to his lips. He glances around before he peeks through a space between the doors.

  As if satisfied, he whispers a word so low I can’t quite make it out. The wall to my right gives way with a gentle hiss. The entire bulkhead rolls out of the way, revealing a room large enough to be a warehouse. Spatial anomalies are common in the Dreamscape, but this one is exceptional. Gregory has more control over his world than I first thought. If I can get him more comfortable with the idea of leaving his small-town, he could really be an asset to my team.

  Up until now, Amelia has remained silent. When she enters the room she lets out a long whistle. Her eyes light up, and she scans the shelves full of weapons and ammunition. “Where’d you get all this stuff?”

  Gregory walks to her side, smiling. The pride he has over his arsenal lends a smug tilt to his lips. “Here and there.”

  She shakes her head, looking deeper into the room. She throws a glance over her shoulder before she says, “Are you sure you didn’t hold up an armory?”

  I chuckle, and so does Gregory. “I’m no thief, ma’am. I’m an engineer.”

  Amelia simply nods. To my surprise, she seems to have learned from her last mistake when she was in a weapons room. She is surveying with her eyes instead of her fingers.

  Even though this stock is rather impressive, Gregory’s closed posture and fidgety hands tip me off to his deception. I don’t mind if he wants to save his best weapons for himself. The defense of one’s world should always be the priority.

  We walk row after row, scanning the shelves. Many of these weapons are more advanced than any we have at headquarters. Now it’s time to see exactly what Gregory will offer me.

  I stop, and so does he, while Amelia presses forward. I’m grateful for the time alone with him. “I’ve been to several towns now. All are in need of better defenses. What sort of trade agreement are you lookin’ for?”

  Gregory scrapes his fingers over his dark stubble, taking in a deep breath which whistles through his nose. “How many worlds are we talkin’ here?” My breath stutters in my chest. He didn’t say towns. He said worlds. I’ve never had a dreamer who was aware of any other world unless shown it. When he speaks again, his accent disappears. “Sorry, Seth. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He presses a hand against the wooden frame of the shelf beside him and leans his weight against it. “As you’ve been studying me, I’ve been studying you. I had to make sure you were the real thing.”

  I take a moment to compose myself, choosing to feign interest in Amelia. Has this man fooled me as Rhea did? “It seems you have me at a disadvantage, Gregory. You know what I am. Would you mind telling me what you are?”

  He shrugs. “An ally. Which is all you need to know, for now. I’m willing to supply you with weapons, but I need to know how many worlds are involved.”

  Rarely in my existence has anyone made me speechless. This is one of those times. Normally, I’d be able to estimate numbers without much problem. Right now all I can focus on is the manipulation he’s used to make me think he was an ordinary dreamer. Covering for Peter so long hasn’t helped matters.

  He continues to stare, expectant anticipation lingering between us. I have so much I could tell him, but I need to be wary. I finally find an answer he will most likely not like. “Too numerous to count.”

  He laughs. Gone is his hesitation. Gone is the man who needed my help. What remains is a confident person who knows more about me than I do him. “Well, let’s start with the worst ones and work from there. How many are nearly turning dark?”

  Amelia has made her way back to us. When I glance in her direction, her eyes crinkle in confusion. For once, I wish she’d interrupt us. This time I stare but she just stares back. “If I had to guess, I’d say ten to twenty thousand.”

  His lips press together to form a grim line before he folds his arms across his chest and straightens his spine. Although the room is a rather pleasant temperature, Gregory’s forehead glistens with tiny drops of sweat. At once, he removes his hat and places it on the shelf. His dark hair has molded under the pressure, and he runs his fingers through his damp locks, then shakes his head like a wet dog. I’m rather grateful to not be drenched. “Ho
w many of those are imminent?”

  More focused, I make a quick calculation. “Perhaps a thousand.”

  Gregory’s jaw clamps hard before he says, “So many?”

  Sadness fills my chest, and I nod.

  Finally, Amelia interrupts. “Um, what exactly are we talking about here?”

  Gregory frowns. His interest in Amelia changes from cursory to intense curiosity. “Who are you?”

  Amelia blanches as the muscles in her neck jump with her swallow. “I’m with him.” I smile when it’s all she says. She’s a quick learner.

  Gregory shifts his attention to me. His stare yields no quarter. “Amelia is my assistant. She is in training.”

  His chin lifts, and he glances at her, as if expecting her to protest. “Is she your mate?”

  I’m tired of men asking me this question. I pull her close, hoping to provide the answer he needs to hear. “Yes.”

  Amelia offers a hint of a smile. Still, she doesn’t comment. I shall have to show her my gratitude later.

  Gregory’s gaze darts from me to her and back again. “How much training as she had?”

  His questions are beginning to irritate me. “Enough to be useful.”

  Amelia’s body stiffens more the further we get into this conversation. She takes a quick breath before she glares at Gregory. “You know, she is in the room, and she doesn’t like people ignoring her. All you need to know, Gregory, is that I’ve got game. My relationship with Seth is none of your damn business. So why don’t you just tell us what you’re willing to do, so we can get on with our day?”

  Gregory’s eyes flare with surprise and a little admiration. I give her a tight squeeze, and she nudges my ribs with her elbow. Gregory clears his throat. His accent returns. “Sorry to be a bother, ma’am. I’m just tryin’ to help. From where I’m standin’ y’all are gettin’ your asses kicked. Seems your game needs a little work.”

  Amelia breaks out into what should be a smile. “I’m new to the team. Don’t you worry about me.”

  I’ve seen two men banter like this, but only Amelia has the ability to make a man question his expectations of what a woman should be. Even though she doesn’t need it, I decide to give her ego a post. “Amelia is the quickest learner I’ve ever had the pleasure to train.”

  Instead of smiling at me, she frowns. I’d hoped to have Maybell work with her when we returned to headquarters but with all the trouble with Peter there hasn’t been time. It’s probably for the best. I still need to investigate Maybell’s recent behavior. I’ve known the woman a very long time. Something’s not right with her. Something is not right with many members of my team.

  I don’t have time to worry about them right now. However, I somehow wish Maybell was here with us. She’s always had great insight into people. I would love to get her take on Gregory. Perhaps when things get back to normal.

  Gregory shrugs and walks away. Amelia and I follow him down the aisle across the building a fair distance to a door. He twists the knob and flips on the light.

  I have no words for the size of the space spread out before me. There are more weapons, but other gadgets ignite my curiosity. Being out of my element is new to me. Amelia peeks over my shoulder and gasps. She wastes no time in pushing past me.

  “What is all this stuff?” She asks.

  “This, ma’am, is what y’all need to take back to your worlds.”

  This Gregory guy is beyond strange. He acts like a hick from an Old West town, yet he calls himself an engineer. Somehow, looking at all this stuff, I believe him. I’ve never seen anything like this, not even back at headquarters. Whoever he is, he’s got major game. Thing is I have a hard time believing he did all this himself. Maybe he has his own team?

  I probably should relent and give it up to him, but I just don’t feel like laying the schmooze on too thick, so I tip my head back and give him a smile. “Good.”

  He laughs. Seth does, too. Seems I’m a real comedian.

  Seth edges closer to Gregory and stretches out his hand with a solemn expression on his face. Gregory clasps Seth’s hand before he gives a solid shake that results in them both laughing.

  Seth takes another sweeping glance of the room. “If what you’re saying is true, my friend, I am very grateful for the help.”

  Gregory slaps him on the back. “You’re welcome.” He looks at me and smirks. “Follow me.” I totally want to stick my tongue out at him.

  He guides us to an area near the back of the warehouse, stopping in front of a shelf with funny looking gloves stacked on it. They’re metallic and sort of remind me of the armored gauntlet worn by medieval knights. He picks one up and hands it to me. His voice dips low. “Go ahead.”

  Considering what happened back at headquarters when I decided to check out the rifles, I’m hesitant to put it on. I glance at Seth, who nods. I don’t care what the guy says. I don’t trust him yet. “What’s it do?”

  “Many things, ma’am, most useful of which is blocking positive energy. You have one of these on and go into a dark world? They’ll think you’re one of the pack.”

  This guy is so strange. He’s way older than me yet he still calls me ma’am. I chuckle, running my finger along the slippery edges of the grooves that kind of resemble Seth’s scales when he’s a dragon. The weight isn’t bad, but it’s a bit clunky. “Isn’t it a little . . . conspicuous?”

  All the guy does is smirk some more and say, “Try it on.”

  No way I’m going to be the one to blow this place up. I shove the thing into Seth’s chest and wait until his hand clamps over it. He stares at it, then his hand and places it back on the shelf, opting for a larger size. Whatever. He doesn’t hesitate to put the glove on. The second he does, it disappears as if absorbing into his skin. It’s wicked cool really, but it’s not like I want this guy to know that.

  I reach for Seth’s fingers, sure I’ll meet the metal of the glove. It’s one thing to not be able to see something, but you never know when you’re going to come in contact with someone else. The warmth of his skin mingles with mine. Okay. This is more than cool. This thing is totally awesome. Without waiting to be asked, I pick up the one Seth discarded and put it on. It, too, disappears, leaving only my skin showing. It seems kind of weird to me that it would work for Seth and me, seeing as how he’s here in the flesh and I’m only a shadow of myself.

  I’m seriously dying to see this thing in action. It would be so awesome to go into a world and not have to worry about concealing my energy. It would definitely give me an advantage. I’m sure at some point it’ll be easy for me to do everything I need to do to run on autopilot, but for now I have to think about every single step. If I’d had something like this when we met up with Daegan, he would have never even noticed I was there.

  I glance up at Seth, who is studying his hand. “When can we test them?”

  Gregory doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Take as many as you’d like. I’ll expect you back here tomorrow for more. Please, though, do not share the location of my base with anyone else. Until you have recovered most of your darkest worlds, it is unwise to bring attention to mine.”

  Seth nods. “Thank you.”

  Gregory glances toward the end of the aisle. He says, “Wait a moment.” He leaves and is back before I can ask Seth what he plans to do from here. When he returns, he’s pushing a wheelbarrow.

  Once he has it situated, he begins loading several gloves into the cart. Seth helps him, but I hang back. With the system they have going, I’d just be in the way.

  It doesn’t take long before they fill it up. This time we don’t leave through the saloon. Gregory takes us to an old-time elevator and closes the cage doors. There’s a pulley next to me. He nudges me out of the way before he tugs on the rope. He has us up several flights before he stops. What in the world? I didn’t know we’d gone down.

  When he opens the cage doors, I get a glimpse of a tiny room with only one exit. He motions for me to go first. Since I haven’t done anything else to
help, I make myself useful by opening the door. Sunlight slants into the room, chasing the darkness away. Tiny dust motes zig and zag on the air as if they’re having a celebration.

  The warm breeze is welcome after spending the better part of an hour in a gigantic warehouse. It never ceases to amaze me how much I miss the sun when it’s not around. Even though this is a nice moment, it could never compete with the real thing.

  My throat thickens and tears press against my eyes. Damn emotions. They’ve never served me once in my entire life, and I don’t expect they’ll help me now. I’ll probably never get back to the human realm. I need to take happiness where I can find it, and it sure as heck isn’t going to be in something I can’t change.

  It’s not like I even want to go back to Earth to stay anymore, but it sure would be nice to be able to visit. I never had anyone really close to me, other than Justine, but I worry for Roberto. I hope he’s found a job and a place to live, maybe even a girlfriend. He’d be a great guy for someone, assuming she could get past his missing teeth.

  Even with being homeless, he taught me to make the best of things. He’d cheer me up when I visited him, every single time. It’s kind of amazing how some people can do that for others when their own lives suck. I asked him once why he didn’t really try to get a job. He just shrugged and said, “I would if someone would give me a real chance. Even when I clean myself up real nice, they don’t want to gamble on an electrician who’s been out of the industry for seven years. I was really out of the market after six months. Just didn’t know it at the time.” He smiled at me then. “This ain’t so bad, Amelia. I get to move around when I want to. Spend time at the beach if I can catch a ride. Most folks are nice, too, even if they don’t want to acknowledge I’m there. I get to see acts of kindness from strangers every day of my life. Tell me, do you have it better?”

  I did, but I didn’t want to ruin it for him. My reason for happy was Justine. It was good until I lost her. I may have even made it to college. No. I would have made it to college. She would have pushed me until I was done. One thing about my grandma that I loved was her constant checkups. She didn’t wait for me to get depressed before she found what was wrong. She had phone calls with school counselors, and we had a talk every single night at dinner. She wasn’t like most adults who take teacher’s sides just because they’re teachers. She investigated. If I wasn’t fitting in, we moved. She said she was going to give me as many first tries as I needed.