by Clayton Wood
A chill ran down Bella’s spine, a vision of the man with the glowing silver sword coming to her.
“He’s the man in black,” she realized. “The one I painted back in the apartment.”
“That’s right.”
“He killed Mom, didn’t he.”
Gideon swallowed visibly, nodding once.
“He did.”
Bella stood there, feeling numb.
“Your mother gave you something of hers when the Collector attacked,” Gideon continued. “An amulet with a ruby heart. Your mother called it her heart, Bella. It has powerful magic, that I know. But she never told me what that magic was.”
Bella’s hand went to the amulet she wore around her neck. She pulled it free from under her uniform, running a finger across the crack in the center of the ruby.
“The Collector attacked you and your mother, and from what Thaddeus told me, the amulet saved your life,” Gideon revealed.
“Mom sacrificed herself…to save me,” Bella realized. Gideon nodded, and Bella felt tears well up, dripping down her cheeks. She stood there clutching her amulet, remembering what Grandpa had told her.
She died the way she lived, he’d said. Beautifully.
And all that Bella had been left with, while hiding in the dreadful world of that book with Grandpa, was this broken heart.
“I’m sorry, Bella,” Gideon murmured.
Bella shook her head mutely, tears streaming down her cheeks. To think that Mom had died for her…
She lowered herself to sit on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.
“I can’t,” she whispered, gritting her teeth. “I can’t take this.”
Gideon came to her side, kneeling before her and putting a hand on her shoulder. She felt him staring at her, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than for him to leave. To leave her here in her Mom’s house, in the bowels of the earth.
Alone.
If Gideon had said anything – anything at all – she would have asked him to leave. But he remained silent, staying at her side. At length her tears dwindled, and she wiped her eyes and cheeks with the back of her sleeve, turning to look at him. His face was paler than usual, his eyes downcast.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For telling me.”
Gideon hesitated, his jawline rippling.
“I’m not done,” he confessed. Her eyebrows drew together, and he drew in a deep breath, then turned to look into her eyes. “Before I came to Blackthorne to save you and Thaddeus, I had my face painted, back to the way it originally looked.”
“What?”
“When I became a bounty hunter, I had to hide my identity,” Gideon explained. “I had my face painted to change the way I looked every few years so I could go undercover to find my targets. But when I went to Blackthorne, I had my face painted back to my original face. A face that no one had seen in centuries.”
“Okay…”
He stood then, his knees popping loudly, and gazed down at her.
“The last face I had before I went to Blackthorne,” he continued, “…was this one.”
And he turned, pointing to the sketch nearest them, at the man kissing Mom under the archway.
Chapter 24
Piper leaned against the uneven rock wall of a tunnel deep below the earth’s surface, staring at a wooden door set into the wall opposite him. A deep purple light shone from the narrow gap between the door and the wall, evidence of the door’s magical nature. It was one of the Doorways of the Underground, a vast network of secret tunnels rediscovered by the Collector…and known only to the Collector’s most senior employees. Written by an ancient Writer called Persnickity Gibbons, the Underground was created as a way for the Writer to travel the world quickly, each door leading to a specific location in the real world.
Piper sighed, fidgeting with his wedding band. It’d been well over and hour, and Kendra still hadn’t come through the Doorway. Which meant that she’d either been successful in slowing the Pentad’s army down, or…
“Quit being paranoid,” he told himself. “She’s fine.”
Still, he found himself having the urge to pace, and gave into it. Back and forth, stopping occasionally to eye the door, then resuming his pacing.
Minutes passed, his brain torturing him with visions of Kendra’s body in various states of being murdered. He tried to ignore them, but with every minute that passed, his anxiety grew.
“Come on love,” he pleaded. “Come back to me.”
He tried to derail the bad thoughts, picturing the first time they’d met. Back at the palace at the Pentad. He’d been a bounty hunter fresh out of a particularly nasty divorce, assigned to the same team as Gideon and Yero. And she’d been the team’s newest recruit. Brash, cocky, and sexy as hell.
He’d been instantly smitten.
And though he’d only been a few months free from a divorce that had torn a hole in his heart, so awful that it made him take a vow of celibacy – which for him was a considerable sacrifice – he’d broken that vow soon afterward, and replaced it with one he’d found far more pleasant to keep.
Piper smiled at the memory, realizing he’d stopped pacing…and heard the creaking of a door opening on rusty hinges.
He froze, half-expecting it to be one of the Pentad’s men. Or even General Craven himself. But to his immense relief, it was not.
“Kendra!” he exclaimed, rushing up to her and giving her a big hug. He lifted her up, spinning her around, then set her down and kissed her.
“Mmm,” she said, pulling away from him after a moment. “Hey baby,” she murmured with a smile. “Aww, you were worried, weren’t you.”
“Terribly,” he agreed, setting her down. He kissed her again, relishing it. Kissing her never got old. It was like the first time, every time. He’d never met anyone like that…and knew damn well he never would again.
“My sweet husband,” she mused, giving him one of her mysterious smiles. “I confess, I waited a few extra minutes just to make you worry a little longer.”
“Ass,” he grumbled, knowing she wasn’t kidding…and that she knew damn well how bad his thoughts could get. “How’d it go?”
“As expected,” she answered. “I trust the evacuation went well?”
“Thanks to you,” he replied. “Come on love, let’s go home.”
They held hands, walking down the long, dark tunnels of the Underground. The only source of light came from the Doorways on the side-walls, casting the tunnels in an eerie purple hue. Each door had strange symbols carved along its perimeter, supposedly marking the coordinates of the location in the real world it would bring them to. But they had a long way to go before they reached the door that would bring them home.
To Castle Under, on the peak of Mount Inversus.
* * *
The Doorway to Mount Inversus opened up to a small cave at the shore of Lake Inversus, a massive body of water, in the center of which was the formidable mountain after which the lake had been named. Piper’s gaze drew upward, following the mountain to its peak…and Castle Under. Balanced on the tip of its tallest tower was the inverted Castle Over, and an upside-down mountain…and lake.
It was as if there was a giant mirror in the sky…a scene that never failed to fill Piper with awe.
“You’re up, love,” he prompted.
“My mother warned me not to marry an Actor,” she mused with a little smirk. “She said I’d end up having to do all the real work.”
“I’ll do plenty when we get home,” Piper shot back. She arched an eyebrow.
“Promise?”
She retrieved Nightmare from her chest-painting, and it came to life, six black tentacles emerging from its golden cube. It wrapped a tentacle around Kendra and Piper, then strode forward across the water, its legs growing longer as it went. Within minutes, they reached the shore of Mount Inversus, and Nightmare climbed right up the mountain with ease, quickly reaching the top. No one tried to stop them, and in fact it seemed for all the world that
the mountain wasn’t guarded at all. But Piper knew that was hardly the case.
There were eyes watching their every move.
Nightmare brought them all the way to the magnificent entrance to Castle Under, setting them down and returning to Kendra’s chest-painting. There were two guards at the front entrance, creatures in black cloaks with deep hoods that hid their faces in shadow. They wore silver gauntlets that emerged from their loose sleeves, and each carried a huge black scythe.
The Twin Reapers.
Piper felt a chill run down his spine as he stopped before them. The Reapers were ancient, freed from their painting by the Collector decades ago. No one knew exactly what they were capable of, except maybe the Collector himself. But anyone who drew near was filled with a sense of impending doom.
To his relief, the Twin Reapers stepped aside, allowing him and Kendra through.
They stepped into the magnificent foyer of the castle, a massive room spanning three stories. White marble floors, marble stairways, huge marble columns decorated with golden inscriptions. Enormous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, their countless diamonds sparkling in magical light.
It was awe-inspiring, the entrance to the great Castle Under. And that, Piper knew better than most, was exactly the point. For he was an Actor, and evoking emotion was his trade. The story this castle told was one of sheer power. Wealth beyond comprehension.
The stories most people told the world about themselves – through their clothes, their actions, and their possessions – were fake. Lies and aggrandizements to fool others into believing that they were more important than they really were. A game as old as time, in the never-ending race to the top. But the story the Collector told with this castle was the truth.
And that, more than anything, was how the man had earned Piper’s grudging respect…and to a much larger extent, Kendra’s. But unlike Kendra, Piper didn’t trust the guy. No one got that rich without doing it at the expense of a whole lot of people.
One of the many guards standing at attention in the foyer led Piper and Kendra up one of the broad staircases to the third floor, then down a maze-like series of corridors to another staircase leading up to the fifth. Through locked door after locked door, past literally hundreds of guards…some of them human, many not.
Eventually they made it to the door.
The Demon Gate.
It was at the end of a long, narrow hallway, a red and gold carpet running across the white and gray marble floor. Paintings hung from the walls, far too high up to reach. And the door…well, it was no ordinary door. It had been painted by a master Painter long ago, a huge door wrought of black stone. Twenty feet high, ten feet wide, and over a foot thick, it was truly massive. Its face was literally that…a monstrous face carved into the stone, of a demon with horns atop its head and a gaping mouth open in a silent roar, exposing long, deadly fangs. And its eyes were closed.
But as Kendra and Piper approached, they opened.
The door’s glowing red eyes stared at them, making Piper’s skin crawl.
“WHO APPROACHES?” the Demon Gate growled. Its mouth did not move, and no sound came from it. The voice was in Piper’s mind. The door knew damn well who they were, but procedure had to be followed.
“Kendra and Piper,” Kendra answered.
“WHAT IS YOUR INTENT?”
“To meet with the Collector,” Kendra replied. “We come from Blackthorne to…”
“ENTER,” the door commanded.
Its mouth opened wider then, so large that a man could step into it. Beyond was pure blackness. Kendra stepped right into it, vanishing from sight. Piper grimaced, steeling himself and following her into the thing’s mouth.
He passed through the darkness, knowing full-well that the door was reading his mind. Stealing his thoughts. If he’d carried any intent to harm the Collector, the Demon Gate’s mouth would not bring him to the room beyond.
It would bring him someplace far less pleasant.
To Piper’s relief, he found himself in the waiting room to the Collector’s office. Miss Savage was seated behind a desk to one side of the office door; she glanced up at them as they approached.
“The Collector will see your shortly,” she announced.
Piper and Kendra sat down on the bench opposite the office door, glancing at each other. Piper put a hand on Kendra’s knee, and she put her hand on top of his, squeezing it and flashing him a smile. He smiled back, knowing exactly what she was thinking.
This was her chance. If the Collector was pleased with her performance at Blackthorne – over fifteen years of hard work – she would finally get her promotion.
“The Collector will see you now,” Miss Savage announced, nodding at Kendra. Kendra gave Piper’s hand one last squeeze, then stood up from the bench. Miss Savage opened the door to the Collector’s office, and Kendra stepped inside, the door closing behind her.
“You may leave,” Miss Savage declared, her silver eyes on Piper. He frowned, then stood, knowing the statement had been an order, not a suggestion. He glanced one more time at the door to the Collector’s office, then made his way back into the hallway he’d come through. The Demon Gate was nowhere to be found; it was a one-sided door. He strolled down the hallway, whistling a cheerful tune.
But in his heart, he was anything but at ease. For it seemed to him that for every step Kendra took toward the Collector, she was one step further from him.
Chapter 25
Bella stood beside the long, rectangular table in her mother’s Conclave, staring at Gideon, her mouth agape.
“You’re my father?” she blurted out at last.
“Yes,” Gideon confirmed. “I am.”
She tried to process this, but her mind was as numb as the rest of her. She heard a clunk, and looked down, realizing she’d dropped his lantern onto the floor. Gideon was still staring at her silently when she lifted her gaze, his face looking terribly pale in the lantern light.
“I…” she began, but the words caught in her throat. She cleared it, swallowing visibly. “You’re my father.”
He nodded.
Her lower lip quivered, and she clenched her fists, her whole body trembling.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded angrily. “All this time you knew, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I…”
“How could you do that?” she yelled, stomping up to him and shoving him backward. He stumbled, catching himself.
“Bella, I can explain,” he insisted. She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “I had to keep it a secret,” he told her. “If the Pentad finds out I had a child with your mother, it’ll prove that I helped her escape their bounty hunters. That I aided a wanted criminal.”
“And?”
“And I’ll go to jail…or be executed.”
“I wouldn’t have told them,” Bella retorted.
“I couldn’t take that risk.”
“Right.”
He sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor.
“And…I was ashamed to tell you,” he confessed. He blinked rapidly, his jawline rippling. “I wanted to, believe me. Bella, I…” he began, then choked up. He drew a breath in, then let it out. “I wasn’t there to protect you. If I’d been there, if I’d gone with you, your mother would still be alive.”
“That doesn’t mean you killed her.”
“She was a wanted criminal, Bella. If the Pentad had found her…” He swallowed visibly. “I should have gone with you, but I didn’t.”
“But you didn’t mean to…”
“It doesn’t matter,” he interrupted. “I wasn’t there, and your mother died because of it. My wife…” he added, his voice cracking. “My wife died because of me. And you lost your childhood because I wasn’t there for you.”
“Gideon…”
“I’ve spent the last ten years in Blackthorne,” he continued, “…trying desperately to save you. Terrified that I might fail, and that you might be killed…or worse. And terrified that
I would save you. That you’d finally find out what I’d done. How I’d failed you.”
“So you just pretended I wasn’t your daughter.”
“I was planning on telling you,” he insisted. “It’s just…I needed to focus on getting you home. On making sure that you were safe first. And I knew it was a lot for you, Bella. Learning that you grew up in a book. That your whole world was an illusion.”
Bella crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.
“That sounds like an excuse,” she shot back. “And not a good one.” He grimaced.
“Bella,” he stated. “I’ve…lived in fear of this moment for ten years. I’ve been terrified of telling you the truth. So I put it off as long as I could. It might be an excuse,” he added hastily, “…but it’s the truth.”
Bella lowered her arms to her sides, then sighed.
“I get it,” she muttered. “But you should have told me.”
“But if the Pentad had found out who…”
“Save it,” she interrupted.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I should have.” He sighed as well, his shoulders slumping. He looked absolutely miserable. Bella hesitated, then stepped forward, leaning in and embracing him. He tensed up for a moment, then relaxed, wrapping his arms around her in turn.
They held each other for a long while.
At length Bella drew back, wiping moisture from her eyes, and Gideon did the same, giving her a bitter smile.
“I’m sorry Bella,” he murmured. “For everything.”
“You should be,” she agreed…and promptly punched him in the shoulder. “Don’t keep things from me anymore,” she ordered.
He grimaced, rubbing his shoulder.
“I…don’t know if I can promise you that,” he admitted.
“What?”
“There are some things I can’t tell you right now,” he confessed. Bella crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “I will, eventually,” he added hastily. “It’s just that, well, now isn’t the time.”
“Gideon…”
“I will tell you,” he insisted. “You just have to be patient.”
