by Rani Clark
“I’m sure it will. I have no idea why your body would be acting like this.” Monarch motioned to his chest, “Have you spoken to Mr. Ragnar about this entire mess?”
Jaska shook his head, “No and I don’t want to. I don’t even want to ask him about his family.”
“Why not? The worst he’ll do is tell you it isn’t your business. You know very well he won’t hurt you.”
“I don’t want to make him mad.” Jaska sipped his tea, “How is the search going?”
“I’ll need you to come when you feel up to it and we’ll go to a place where I think that it might be.” Monarch tapped his hands on the table, “When do you think you’ll be up to it?”
“Give me a few days.” He sipped his tea and lapsed into silence. Monarch squeezed his shoulder before disappearing. It seemed the strange creature truly did care for him.
He heard the door open and close; the sound of talking drifted into the dining room. Jaska stood and met them in the entryway. Lantern was snacking on a hot bun and the other two had bags of groceries.
“Jaska, you’re up!” Leif smiled as Lantern gave Jaska a hug. “How are you feeling, buddy?”
“Fine I guess. Still weak and I’m cold.”
“You’re always like that though,” Mr. Ragnar voiced with a frown. “Something that we need to fix.”
Jaska shrugged, “I don’t know if it can be fixed. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. That trip to Germany made things worse.” Mr. Ragnar set the bag down on the table, “Leif, do you mind giving us a minute?”
Jaska hated these private talks. It wasn’t usually anything bad, but he hated them all the same. He couldn’t take being chastised again. If he asked him a question he might not have to talk about how sick he felt. “You had a family, didn’t you?”
Mr. Ragnar stared at him, his eyes going wide as his mouth dropped open, “Excuse me?”
“Monarch told me about your family. You had one. He told me what you did to them too.” He looked down, “I know you kill people for a living, but-”
Mr. Ragnar took his arm roughly and towed him into the living room. Jaska gasped as he was thrown onto the couch; his body was still weak. Lantern growled at Mr. Ragnar. “Don’t you dare talk about things you know nothing about. Make no mistake, I will never harm you, I would never hit you, but if you bring this up again I can’t promise anything.”
“So you did kill them?”
“Yes, but not for a reason that’s any of your business.”
He had never been frightened of Mr. Ragnar, but he could tell the man was holding himself back. “I’m sorry, sir. The way Monarch talked-”
“Like that psychopath would know anything. I deal with death, I live in it, but the death of my family was harder to bare than you could ever imagine. Don’t bring it up again.”
The man left Jaska in the living room. His heart hammered, he felt terrible for saying anything. There were parts Monarch had obviously left out about what he had said, but he wasn’t sure if he could believe what Mr. Ragnar told him either. The man had taken him away from his family, Monarch hadn’t done anything to him. The creature wanted to help him and protect him. There was no reason for him to lie.
Lantern jumped onto his lap and hugged him, obviously trying to help him feel better. Mr. Ragnar wouldn’t trust him again though he couldn’t say that he cared. He stood and made his way back up the steps to his room.
He sat on the bed and stared at his hands, kneading them together. He wasn’t sure if he should chance going into the land of the dead when he was this weak. He lay back down and closed his eyes, hoping Mr. Ragnar would forget what had happened though he doubted it. Mr. Ragnar didn’t forget things.
The hours passed and he drifted in and out of sleep. A knock on the door startled him into waking. He yawned. “Come in.”
Leif stepped into the room carrying a tray. He smiled, “I brought you dinner.” He set the tray on the nightstand. “Soup and a roll, plus some strong tea. That should make you feel better.”
“Thank you, Leif.”
“What did you say to Vladimir? He went down in the basement and hasn’t come up.”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything to him. What would I have said?”
“I don’t know. Just thought I would ask, he was acting weird before he went down there.” Leif turned, “I hope you feel better.”
“Me too. Thank you for dinner.” He had upset Mr. Ragnar with his questions and he found himself feeling bad about it. Mr. Ragnar had taken him to visit his family all because he had forced him to go a party he hadn’t wanted to go to.
Jaska began to eat his soup, thinking over what to do next. He had to find that book, but he had to do it without Mr. Ragnar knowing. It might be difficult seeing as he couldn’t yet go into the dead land without Mr. Ragnar guiding him there.
“Monarch?”
“Yes?”
“Is there a way to find the book in this world?”
“I don’t know. Call that Alice girl. She might be able to help. She’s smart. Smarter than me anyway and way smarter than you. At least when dealing with necromancy.”
He had nearly forgotten about Alice. He stood and managed to find his pants that he hadn’t washed since the party. He dug into the pocket and found the paper Alice had given him with her number on it. He picked up his phone from the nightstand and dialed her number. He listened to the ringing. Finally, the smooth deadpan voice of Alice Night picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hi, uh, it’s me. By me I mean it’s Jaska Byrne. We met at Miss Hallows party.”
“Hey Jaska, I was wondering when you would call. I was starting to think you didn’t like me.”
“No, I like you. Can we meet up somewhere?”
“Yes. Where would you like to meet?”
Jaska didn’t know where anything was beyond where he was now. “Can you come to where I live? I’m in the city where Miss Hallows lives. London.”
“I can. I’ll be in the bar with the fruit pies, do you know where that is? I don’t remember what it’s called.”
“Yes, I know where that is. What time?”
“I can be there in fifteen.”
“Ok. See you in a few.” He hung up the phone and set it back on his nightstand. As he dressed he was suddenly aware that Alice made him feel different. She was the first girl he didn’t have problems speaking to. For whatever reason, talking to her was easy. Lantern turned his head, looking at him with pleading eyes. “You can come.”
Leif was reading a book in front of the fire when Jaska came down the steps. “Tell Mr. Ragnar I went out, not that he’ll ask.”
“Ok.”
It was freezing. Snow fell in giant flakes as he walked towards the bar. He hoped he would be let in even if Mr. Ragnar wasn’t with him, he still wasn’t sure how the bars worked in this world. Emma was there. She greeted him with a smile, asking if he would like a hot drink. “Cider please and chocolate milk for him,” he said as he sat at a table to wait for Alice.
She showed up just as Emma was bringing him his drink. He stood to greet her. She was dressed in a black shirt and black pants. Her boots were loosely tied. Alice waved as she undid her coat. “Jaska.”
“Hello Alice. Thank you for coming to talk to me.” He felt underdressed in his sweatpants and gray hoodie when she had gone through the trouble of putting on actual pants.
Alice sat down across from him, “You don’t look so good,” she remarked as Emma came over to take her order. “Can I get a cider too?” Emma nodded and walked away, glancing at Jaska as she did so.
“I know I don’t.” He sipped his drink, “This is Lantern.”
“He’s pretty cute. What is he?”
“Mr. Ragnar said he was a Mothman.” He looked into his drink, “Alice, I have a problem and I didn’t know who else to turn to. I don’t want Mr. Ragnar knowing.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about something called Death’s Mark.”
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Alice’s face went pale. She barely regarded Emma when she set the drink in front of her. Her hands began to shake, “You need to tell Mr. Ragnar. Now.”
“I don’t want to. I already made him mad. Besides, I just . . . I just need a little help.”
“With what? We may play with death, walk close to it, but we never mess with the big man himself. That’s asking for trouble! You want to get yourself killed?”
“I’m dead if I don’t.” He pulled down his shirt to reveal the mark on his chest. “I know that you barely know me, but I need help.”
Alice looked at the mark and then at him, “You have to tell Mr. Ragnar. Why don’t you want him to know?”
“I don’t like him. Monarch is trying to help me, a bunch of Spirit Guides are. I need to find the book having to do with that mark and I don’t know how. I was hoping you would or your grandfather.”
“Grandpa will want to tell Mr. Ragnar.”
He stood, “If you don’t want to help me that’s fine. I have no right to ask you for it. I trust you not to say anything to anyone about it.”
“I won’t, but you should.” She motioned to the chair, “Sit back down.”
Jaska nodded and sat. He kneaded his hands together, “I really don’t want to tell him. I don’t like Mr. Ragnar at the best of times.”
“Why not? I’ve talked to Mr. Ragnar before and my grandfather likes him. If grandpa likes someone they’re usually fine.”
He sipped his cider, “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like the fact that something or someone has given you Death’s Mark.”
“Monarch isn’t sure what will happen now that I have this mark. Do you know?”
“Only the stories I’ve heard. Death marks an apprentice that it wants or that has a lot of power that it can use. It isn’t doing it to be malicious I don’t think. I’ve heard that only a few apprentices have been marked. One killed themselves, the other two disappeared.”
Jaska didn’t like those odds. “Who, exactly, is Death? I’ve never read anything about it in the books I have.”
“Death is . . . a force to be reckoned with. No one has seen it and lived, you know? I don’t think any necromancer has ever dealt directly with it to be honest.” Alice sipped her drink and leaned forward, “You really should say something.”
“What is he losing if I die? A perfectly useless apprentice.”
“He cares about you. Anyone who looks at him knows that.”
“Bullshit. He took me to protect himself.” Jaska felt Lantern grip his arm in a comforting manner. “How have things been for you?”
“Fine, I guess. Grandpa didn’t like hearing about my Uncle Elias.”
“Mr. Kircher’s a creep.”
“I know. The whole family knows.” She sipped her drink, “What have you been up to since the party?”
“Nothing much. I visited my family and I’ve been working on my abilities. I just started learning how to fight. I got really sick and I haven’t been out of bed in a few days.”
“You got sick?”
“I’m always sick. After coming here I can’t eat much and I don’t go out in the sun. I typically practice my summoning spells and fighting at night.”
“Every necromancer goes through something like that, but you look worse than I’ve ever seen.”
Jaska looked out the window at the snow. It was getting worse by the minute, “I should head back. It’s getting bad out there and I don’t want Lantern getting cold or sick.” He stood, “Thanks for meeting me, Alice.”
“You’re welcome. I really think you should tell Mr. Ragnar about this. He can help you.”
They walked out into the snow together, “I doubt it.” He looked at her, “This is going to sound weird, but you’re the first girl I haven’t felt uncomfortable around and I hope that we can be friends.”
Alice smiled, “Sounds like a plan to me. Call me anytime, Jaska.”
He smiled softly, “Bye.”
Alice disappeared down the opposite side of the street, Jaska watched her go before taking Lantern’s hand and beginning his walk. It was so dark that he didn’t think anyone would notice that he was gone. He opened the front door, turning on the hall light, to see Mr. Ragnar sitting on the steps.
“Hello, sir,” Jaska muttered. He took off his coat and hat before helping Lantern out of his warm clothes.
“Jaska. I believe we need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. I accused you of something I know nothing about and now you’re mad. I don’t care, I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again. Ever.”
Mr. Ragnar frowned, “It isn’t about that.”
“Whatever it’s about-”
“Death’s Mark.”
Jaska stared at him, his mouth going dry. He cleared his throat, “How-how did you find out?”
“It doesn’t matter how I found out.”
Jaska took a step back, “Don’t be mad.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He stood, “Why didn’t you trust me to tell me that you have that mark? That awful mark that I tried so hard to keep away from you. I felt your power and I wanted to train you before that mark could find you.” He grabbed his arm, “I wanted nothing more than to keep you from it and I couldn’t even do that.”
Jaska ripped his arm away, “Don’t touch me.”
Mr. Ragnar held up his hands, “Sorry. Either way, you need my help.”
“I hate you.”
“I know.” Mr. Ragnar folded his arms across his chest, “The question is, what do we do now? Death’s Book is a terrible thing and to seek-”
“I don’t have a choice, do I? I have the mark, I can’t get out of it no matter what I want.” He shrugged, “Does it matter? Monarch’s been helping me. Trying anyway. I know he's been looking for that book."
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know.” He blinked, “I’m tired. Can I go to bed now, sir?”
“Yes.” Mr. Ragnar stepped aside, “I really wish you would stop with the sir.”
“And I wish that you would let me go. Sir.”
They both stood in silence for a moment. Lantern held on to Jaska’s leg. Mr. Ragnar sighed heavily, “Tomorrow we’ll start looking into this.”
Without a word, Jaska went upstairs. Lantern went into his room and leapt onto the bed as Jaska closed the door behind him. It was another night of crying, another night of sobbing into his pillow as he wished he could go home. He was settling into his usual mode of sickness that was becoming comfortable for him. He hated that he was alright with being sick. Lantern cuddled closer to him to offer comfort. He was thankful for that.
5
He did what he usually did when he woke up. Jaska stared at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about the things he would be doing today. Lantern sat up and yawned before leaping from the bed. The creature was hungry. Jaska stood and wrapped himself in his robe before heading out the door. Leif was making breakfast as usual. The smell of soft boiled eggs, toast, and coffee made him flinch. He didn’t want any of that, but ate a dry piece of toast and had some coffee as Lantern began to eat his eggs and fruit and sip his juice. Leif wasn’t his usual chatty self. Mr. Ragnar appeared for breakfast dressed also in his robe. He had his reading glasses on.
“What are you up to today, Leif?” Mr. Ragnar asked as he ate.
Leif shrugged, “Nothing much. The usual.” That was all he said before continuing to eat. There was no long explanation of why he was doing the usual or what the usual was.
“Are you feeling alright? I’ve had quite enough of sickness in this house.”
Leif laughed, “No, I’m not sick.” He dipped his toast into the gooey part of his egg before eating it.
Jaska looked at Mr. Ragnar with a frown; something was wrong with Leif. They had been eating for ten minutes and he had only said two things beyond telling the two what was for breakfast. “Is this about our trip to Germany?”
“No . . . well. Kind of.” Leif sipped
his coffee and leaned back. “Something about being back there made me uncomfortable and I don’t know why.”
“It was because of what happened with your parents,” Mr. Ragnar stated quickly. “It was traumatic. There isn’t a reason you shouldn’t have been uncomfortable.”
“It wasn’t about their death though. It had nothing to do with my parents, that’s why I’m confused.”
Jaska knew what it was about and wanted to shout it at Leif if only to hurt Mr. Ragnar. Part of him wanted to, but he kept his mouth shut. Lantern stood from the table and made a B-line for the living room.
