It took two and a half bottles to bring him back to full health.
“Shit, man,” he said, looking like a terrified child. “That fuckin’ hurt.”
“I know,” I replied as he pushed from the chair and clung to me like a kid clinging to his mother. “Uh…”
“It’s people like you,” I heard Reaper hissing as he threw Cleary to the ground, “who have caused the world to suffer such pain. You take the helpless and weak and you twist them for your own personal enjoyment.”
Cleary was grabbing at his throat while choking. His eyes were full of the same terror he’d undoubtedly seen in countless victims.
Good.
He pushed away from Reaper, but my partner continued stalking him with his eyes.
“I have ferried more souls to the Vortex due to cowards like you than I care to count.” Reaper’s eyes were glowing so brightly that his sunglasses didn’t have a chance at containing them. “I swore that if I ever got the chance, I’d give you a taste of your own medicine.”
“No,” Cleary pleaded. “Please, no. I’ll do anything. I can’t handle pain.”
“Hey, fuck you, dude,” Methkins said, letting go of me. “You’re a dick, man.”
Cleary was starting to hyperventilate at this point. His eyes glanced at the opening of the tent. He was planning to make a run for it.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I suggested.
He didn’t listen.
He almost made it, too, but Reaper was the faster man. Not to mention the stronger one.
My partner, the mostly mild-mannered ex-reaper who preferred not to hurt people, had thrown a Superman punch that connected solidly with Cleary’s jaw.
The crunch and shriek that followed actually hurt my ears.
I couldn’t understand how Cleary remained conscious after that, but he did.
That’s when Brazen and Kix arrived. They looked down at the fallen torturer and dived on him. Punches, kicks, and elbows were flying all over the twisted bastard.
“Stop!” I yelled, pulling them away one by one. “We need him to track Temperance, remember?”
I took a bottle of actual healing potion and dumped all but about a quarter of it on the ground. I poured the rest into Cleary’s bloodied mouth. He choked a bit. It wasn’t enough to fully heal him, but it would suffice to keep him conscious while the pain continued to radiate through his body.
His eyes locked on mine as if asking for more, but I showed him the empty bottle and then dropped it on the floor.
That’s when I heard a loud thwack, a crunching sound, and the horrible cry that bellowed from Cleary’s anguished face.
Looking over, I saw Methkins holding a hammer. He’d crushed Cleary’s finger.
Well, at least the scrawny wizard wasn’t hugging me anymore.
“Enough,” I said, pointing at each of the venomous-faced men on my team. “Help me get him up.”
“I need more healing,” Cleary begged. “The pain is horrible.”
“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Brazen snarled.
Kix got face to face with Cleary. “You didn’t seem to give a shit when we were feeling like you are now, asshole.”
Cleary winced but smartly kept his mouth shut.
“All right,” I said, pushing my team back again. Then I looked into Cleary’s terrified eyes. “The way I see it, you have two options: you can cooperate with us and I won’t let these four gentlemen torture the living hell out of you. Alternatively…” I stopped and just gave him a look that spelled his doom.
“I’ll do whatever you want,” he said desperately, “but I need healing.”
I nodded at him and put my hand out toward Brazen. He begrudgingly handed me a bottle that said ‘healing’ on the side. I held it up in front of Cleary but snatched it away when he went to grab it.
“Help us first and you can have it.”
“I’ll do anything,” he said. “Just don’t kill me.”
“We’ll see,” I said. Then, “Are you the only torturer or are there others?”
His eyes flashed. “I was assured I was the only one. It’s in my contract.”
“Contract?” said Brazen. “Who the fuck gets a torture contract?”
“Union rules,” Cleary replied with a shrug.
Brazen grimaced. “Who the fuck has a Torturers’ Union?”
“The fae, obviously,” I answered before Cleary did. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 19
I’d assumed the obelisk would bring us back if we used the same code that we’d used to get here, but something told me that Temperance had traveled elsewhere.
“What’s the code to get to where your boss goes?” I asked.
Cleary looked at me and swallowed hard.
I held up the bottle and wiggled it in front of his eyes.
“She’ll kill me,” Cleary stammered.
“Not if we get to her first,” I pointed out. “Of course, if you don’t help us, these guys will kill you anyway.”
Brazen sweetened the pot further by cracking his knuckles and punching his own hand. Reaper merely took off his shades and showed his high beams.
Cleary swallowed again as his shoulders dropped.
Live by the sword, die by the sword, as the saying goes. The guy had it coming. He was only an inch away from death as it was. All it would take was a little push and he’d be heading toward the Vortex just like many he’d sent there in the past.
“Seven-three-two-six-six,” he said, defeated.
“Just to make sure you’re not bullshitting us,” I informed him, “you’ll be joining us on this little trip.”
His eyes bulged at that.
“But—”
I crossed my arms, cutting him off. “That’s what I thought. Now, I’m assuming you’d like to give us a different number before we step through, Mr. Cleary?”
It was the obvious play for him to give us a fake number. We step through and die, he drains the healing potion and lives. Temperance would never be the wiser. Smart, sure, but also very obvious.
“I’m waiting, Mr. Cleary.”
“Six-nine-six-nine-six-nine-one,” he muttered.
“Kinky,” I said.
He glanced up at me. “Huh?”
“Never mind,” I said. Looking at him, he wouldn’t have understood anyway. “Put in the numbers.”
Reaper tapped away on the keypad as Brazen and Kix grabbed Cleary by his arms, preparing to pull him to the other side with us.
The window opened, revealing an underground area on the other side. I had no clue where it was located, but there were signs of wear and tear on the walls and floors, so it had obviously seen some action.
We walked through.
As soon as we got to the other side, I handed the bottle to Cleary.
He downed it like it was the only glass of water available in Death Valley during the middle of summer.
The look on his face was one of relief…for about three seconds. Then a wave of misery covered it and I could hear the sound of a woeful howl building.
“Throw him back,” I commanded Brazen and Kix, but Reaper stepped in and grabbed the broken man first.
“May you die a million deaths,” my partner cursed before throwing Cleary back through the portal. “Bastard.”
The window closed just as the tormented cry of Cleary began to sound.
There was no way he was going to survive that potion.
“What was in it?” I asked Kix.
“A little bit of everything,” he answered. “Well, except for healing and energy, of course.”
“Right.”
I crouched and looked at the boot prints on the ground. There weren’t any deep impressions, but the scuff marks leading to and from the area went in two directions. That would make things a bit tougher.
“Reap,” I said, getting back to my feet, “you picking up anything?”
He shook his head.
“I’m not spotting any runes, either,” I replied. Then, I looked at Methk
ins. “I’m assuming you don’t see runes in here, right?”
“There aren’t any,” he replied.
It was the first time he’d given me a simple, easy answer. And the fact that he hadn’t mentioned food was amazing.
“All right,” I said, looking at each person on my crew. “Brazen, you and Kix take Meth with you and go that way.”
“Why do we have to take him?” asked Kix.
“Yeah,” Brazen agreed.
“Honestly, I’d rather stay with you,” Methkins said, clearly still attaching to me as his protector.
I sighed.
“Can either of you detect runes?” I asked my two trainees pointedly.
They looked at their feet.
I then turned to Methkins.
“And you’re going with them because you can detect runes,” I added. “This isn’t a field trip, Meth, and it’s not a hotdog run. This is life and death. If you get captured again, you get tortured again. Is that what you want?”
He shook his head dully.
“Then grow a pair, get your mind focused, and do your fucking job. That’s your best chance at surviving this little adventure.”
At first his eyes were wide, but he slowly began to nod at me.
“Yeah, man,” he whispered. “You’re right.”
I hadn’t seen that coming. I was glad it did, but it was still a shocker. Even Brazen and Kix were taken aback by the way Methkins had responded.
That was a good thing, though, because I could use it to my advantage.
“Right,” I said, glancing up at my two officers. “You two had better do everything you can to protect him, too. If he gets taken out, you’re both screwed because running into runes is not a fun thing.”
“Got it,” Brazen said, clearly recognizing that my little speech was intended to benefit Methkins. “We’ll cover him.”
Methkins breathed a sigh of relief at that.
“Are these working now?” I asked through the connector.
Everyone nodded.
“Whew. Good. That means we’re not in another dimensional box.”
“A what?” asked Kix.
“The place with the tents wasn’t real…sort of,” I said with a shrug. “Ask Meth, I’m sure he can explain it better than I can.”
“It’s a magical realm that gets setup by a powerful wizard dude…or chick…” Methkins began as they headed off.
I tuned the volume down and blew out a relieved breath.
“You did well, Piper,” Reaper said aloud.
“Thanks,” I replied. “Same to you.” I then gave him the once-over. “Oh, and you’re a madman when you’re pissed off.”
“Sorry.”
“For what?” I said with a laugh. “I fucking loved it.”
Chapter 20
The tunnel should have been covered with cameras, but the fae likely doubted anyone would ever come down here other than them. Still, arrogant or not, only an idiot avoided taking at least some precautions.
Everything was going swell until we turned a corner and found ourselves looking at a bunch of fae security guards.
I tried to jump back, but it was too late.
“You there,” yelled one of the guards as I pulled out my gun and fired off a Death Nail at her.
She gurgled her last, but that only resulted in a siren coming on and lights flashing down the tunnels.
“What the fuck’s going on?” asked Brazen through the connector.
“Piper has been spotted,” Reaper replied in a calm voice. I gave him a look. “What?” he said aloud. “I wasn’t spotted.”
“Get ready to fight, Reap,” I commanded. “Do some of that same shit you did to Cleary.”
He didn’t reply, but when the first guard came around the corner, I had to cringe at the punch Reaper unleashed at him. The guy didn’t have a chance.
I took out the second one with a couple of shots to the chest. Death Nails did a fine job in single shots, but two or more working together were even faster at accomplishing their mission.
“Back off,” commanded a woman’s voice that sounded a lot like Temperance.
The sound of retreating footsteps could be heard.
“This is Minister Temperance Q’Lau of the Fae Consortium,” she stated firmly. “You have trespassed on private property and it is well within my rights to have you summarily executed.”
“Shove it up your ass,” I replied. “You’re the bitch who’s been starting riots in the city and we know it.”
It went quiet for a few moments.
Finally, she replied, “Pity.”
That’s when an empiric slid across the floor in front of me and Reaper.
“Run!”
We got about ten steps before the world went wobbly.
My ears were ringing like a motherfucker and my vision was blurred, but I could still sense the bodies that were surrounding us.
“That wasn’t intended to kill us,” Reaper said through the connector, though he sounded like he was struggling to get the words out.
Hell, I was struggling to understand them.
“Nope,” I replied as we were being dragged down the hall. “Concussion Empiric. That shit is not fun.”
We sounded like a couple of drunks.
“You guys okay?” asked Kix.
“Captured,” was my only response.
“Shit,” said Kix.
“Yep,” I agreed. “Just keep on with your mission to put a stop to Temperance. I’m going to go to sleep now.”
“I could only understand about half of what you said,” informed Kix.
It sounded clear enough to me when I was talking.
“We’ll get you out,” Brazen stated emphatically.
“No,” Reaper replied, taking the lead as I felt the world slipping away. “It’s more important that you stop Temperance than it is for us to be saved.”
“Reap,” I heard Brazen say an instant before the world went black, “I love ya like a sister, but fuck you.”
Chapter 21
When I finally came to, I found myself strapped to a table that was inclined at about a forty-five-degree angle. There were wires connected to me that ran to what looked like a battery. To my left was an identical table that held Reaper. His shades were off, but his eyes were closed.
The rest of the room was dark and dank. Various instruments of torture were laid out and they didn’t look all that fun. What was it with these people?
The entire ordeal, including what had happened to Brazen, Kix, and Methkins, was giving me an entirely new perspective on the fae. I’d always thought them to be prim, proper, and above the warp-mindedness that seemed a natural part of the supernatural community as a whole. It was turning out that they were the sickest fuckers of the bunch. At least the lot down here, anyway. Seeing that Temperance was the fae leader, though, I couldn’t help but think that this maniacally villainous shit that was happening was either the fae status quo or it was just a release of all that pent-up frustration of being the butt of jokes all these years. People considered fae to be tricksters, and they teased them about that relentlessly. I know I did, anyway. But maybe the only trick they’d been playing was the one that made them appear to be the quiet kid in class. You know the one—mouth shut, but eyes bright and studying, always surveying and taking notes. Yeah, she was calm and thoughtful on the surface, but behind that facade was a mind that planned the punishment of everyone who’d ever done her wrong. The primary difference was that this fae seemed to be taking the step from thinking about it to doing it.
“Reap,” I croaked and then coughed. My throat was beyond parched. “Reap!”
He didn’t budge.
I tried again through my connector. “Reap!”
His eyes snapped open and he began coughing even worse than I had. Finally, he caught his breath and began looking around the room, settling on the restraints holding him in place.
“Nice place,” he joked. “I take it we didn’t win the firefight.”
“You okay?”
He nodded. “You?”
“I’ve been better,” I answered, my head pounding from the concussion that damn Empiric had left me with. “Wasn’t expecting to get flashed.”
“Yeah.” Then he mouthed, “The others?”
“Just use your connector,” I said, “and I haven’t checked.” I went to hold up a finger, but then I remembered I was still strapped down. “Brazen, you there?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “We’ve found a back room that has a bunch of crates and such. There are weapons and potions and all sorts of fun shit in here.”
“Anything you can rig up to blow it all to hell?”
“Definitely,” he replied. “Methkins is working on a few runes for that right now, actually.” There was a pause. “I think being tortured like we were flicked a switch on in his head. Never seen him work like this before.”
“Good,” I said, thankful that the stoner wizard had turned a corner, even if only for now; on the other hand, I didn’t really give a shit because I was certainly going to be tortured myself soon. “Keep on that and then get out of here. That’s an order.”
“Fuck off, Piper,” Brazen replied. “As soon as we’re done here, we’re coming for you.”
“No, Officer Brazen,” I shot back, “you are not. Your job is to—”
“Hello?” he interrupted. “You still there, Piper? I can’t hear you very well. You’re breaking up.”
“Asshole.”
“Count on it,” he affirmed. “See you soon. Brazen out.”
Okay, so I admit that a part of me was relieved that he was planning to attempt to rescue me and Reaper, but I was also pissed. Protecting the masses was more important than protecting us. It was part of the oath we took as cops. Granted, Reaper and I were Retrievers, so we had a different oath that didn’t include the protecting others crap, but Brazen and Kix weren’t full-fledged Retrievers yet. They were still cops. Their duty was to the people, not to us.
Then again, blowing up this place was a grand step in protecting the people, even if all five PPD officers perished in the process.
“He’ll never listen, you know,” Reaper noted, closing his eyes again. “He’s too much like you.”
Deathly Temperance: A Piper & Payne Supernatural Thriller (Netherworld Paranormal Police Department Book 3) Page 7
