Give the Devil His Due

by Blackwell, Rob

  “I think he just called you a queen, Quinn,” Janus said.

  “Well, you can’t lose the king and still continue playing. I didn’t say it was a perfect analogy.”

  “What if I choose to take Quinn back through the portal?” Kate asked.

  Kieran stared into her eyes. His eyes looked as cold as stone.

  “You only think you have a choice,” Kieran said. “But you and I both know it’s an illusion. Right now, you have your best shot at taking out Sanheim. If you run, he’ll follow you. He’ll never let you and Quinn live a happy life. You’re a threat, and as long as that remains true, he will hound you forever. There is no choice, Kate. You will fight him, either now on the terms of your choosing, or later, when he strikes at you from the shadows. You two are the last. The last threat to him, the last hope for any who stand against him. The fight is coming to you one way or another.”

  Chapter 34

  Kate could still see the blood stains on the knife.

  She cradled it in her hand, turning it over and staring at it. She hated this weapon with all her heart. In her fevered dreams at the asylum, it had always haunted her. It was no coincidence that she had used the memory of it to fight Kyle.

  She felt Quinn slip his arms around her waist, and his lips brush her neck.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  She sighed, closed her eyes and leaned into him. She thought she had remembered everything about him, from how he looked to how he felt. But she had forgotten how nice he smelled. Even now, she waited to wake up, to discover this had all been some weird dream. Perhaps she was still in the asylum, creating a happy ending for herself. But when she opened her eyes, his arms were still wrapped around her.

  “I can’t believe this is real,” she said.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.

  “For what?” she asked.

  Kate laid the knife back on the stone and turned to face Quinn. In the chaos of the past couple of hours, they had barely had a chance to talk. She wanted to do the ritual right away, for fear that Sanheim would show up before they could. But Carol and Kieran needed time to consult with each other, and Kate needed to settle her army.

  Clinton and Buzz had led the army out of the fortress and onto the surrounding plains. They would set up camp there until Kate and Quinn could plot their next move. As dusk fell, she could see them lighting hundreds of campfires from her perch on top of the fort. It was strangely beautiful, especially since the soldiers weren’t cold and didn’t need to eat. Given their battle with Carman, they had earned a rest.

  They’d taken losses in the fighting, but Carman had inadvertently swelled their ranks. Buzz suggested spreading the new soldiers among Kate’s original army, a move that Clinton had implemented with his characteristic efficiency.

  Though the encampment looked as if it was from the Civil War, she had seen troops from a range of eras when she’d walked through. There were 19th century soldiers laughing and joking alongside Roman warriors and men in modern fatigues. Even the civilians seemed to be mingling and getting along. It was strange to think about how little they all had in common, how different their lives had been, and yet even with thousands of years of history, humanity was still so similar. She could hear them singing songs, many of them using instruments that they had either brought with them or managed to conjure up. She sensed none of the tension she had in Manassas. Finally, in this place, they were united and content — free of their past burdens and emotions.

  “For dying,” Quinn said, bringing Kate’s mind back to him.

  Kate turned around to face him.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” she said.

  “Still, I know it must have been hard,” he said. “You and Kieran said something about you not being yourself?”

  “The more accurate description is crazy,” Kate said.

  She told him briefly about the voices in her head and her time in the asylum. Quinn stroked her hair. They had so much to catch up on. He wished he could read her mind. He had grown so used to that, but now he wasn’t technically the Prince of Sanheim anymore. He looked forward to changing that, assuming this ritual worked.

  “I’m sorry,” Quinn said again, and hugged her.

  “I’m so glad to have you back,” Kate said. “I fought so hard for this, but I almost didn’t let myself believe it could actually happen. I couldn’t bear the idea of having you ripped away from me again. When I saw that Wyrm eat you…”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much your worst nightmare,” Quinn said.

  “You know, I never actually worried about you being swallowed by a giant worm,” she said. “I had a lot of fears, but that wasn’t one of them.”

  Quinn laughed and kissed her. She wrapped her arms tighter against his body as he slid his hand down her back. All other thoughts went out of her mind. All she wanted was to keep going, to touch him all over his body.

  “Soon,” he said. “Very soon.”

  Kate sighed, but it was a happy one. Until a thought passed through her mind.

  “When this ritual is over, we have a decision to make,” she said.

  “There’s not much of a choice,” Quinn said.

  “Kieran might be wrong,” she said hopefully. “We could still go back.”

  Quinn looked at her for a long time.

  “Do you really believe that?” he asked. “I can’t wait to read your mind again.”

  “It’s just…” she said.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I can’t lose you again,” she said. “I don’t want to fight Sanheim. To get this far and get you back… I feel like anything else is pushing my luck.”

  “Kate, I….”

  A small cough interrupted them. They turned to see Carol standing there.

  “We’ve had a long talk,” Carol said. “The man he spoke to gave him ideas of where to continue his research. Kieran was able to turn up quite a bit of information about the ritual. I think it’ll work.”

  “Could it be a trick?” Kate asked.

  “I’m not sure what the point would be,” Carol said. “I hate to say it, but I think Kieran’s on the level. This is for real.”

  Quinn pulled gently away from Kate.

  “So what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s get started.”

  *****

  Kieran lay on a slab of rock, waiting to die.

  He looked up at the dark sky. When it was night, he could barely tell it was purple. He turned and watched as Quinn lay down next to him. Quinn looked over and nodded.

  Carol and Kate stood over them. They had cleared everyone else from the top of the fort — except for Janus and Elyssa.

  “No way. I’m not leaving while you guys do some hocus-pocus on my friend. I need to keep an eye on that bugger,” Janus said, motioning toward Kieran.

  “I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry,” Kate had said.

  But Janus wouldn’t move.

  “I’m staying,” he said. “And that’s that.”

  So Janus stood off to the side, never taking his eyes off Kieran. He was joined by Elyssa, who clearly had the same concern.

  “As long as Kieran’s staying, I’m staying,” she replied. “You’re wrong to trust him. It’s all a lie; you’ll see.”

  “I hope you think better of me when I prove you wrong,” Kieran replied.

  Elyssa gave a short laugh, but didn’t respond.

  “Okay,” Carol said. “We don’t think there are any incantations. I’m going to join you two together and then… well, we just see what happens.”

  “Okay,” Quinn said.

  Kate paced nervously nearby.

  “There’s no way he can die, right?” she asked Carol.

  Carol turned to her.

  “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “With this kind of thing, everything is a risk. I don’t think it’ll kill him, but I’m not sure.”

  “Just do it,” Quinn said. “Kate, I’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t
know that.”

  Quinn looked up at her. She seemed scared and vulnerable, a rare look for her.

  “Yes, I do,” Quinn said. “This is our destiny. So let’s get it done.”

  Carol walked closer to them with the knife in her hand. Kieran saw Quinn look into his eyes, and tried to keep the terror out of his expression.

  “Whatever else happens,” Kieran said. “Whether this works or it doesn’t, I want you to know how truly sorry I am. If I could take it back, I would. In fact, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

  Elyssa laughed again, but Quinn appeared to believe him.

  “Thank you,” Quinn said. “I know you could have run away and hidden.”

  “I seriously considered it,” Kieran replied.

  “Thank you for fighting that urge. It takes a lot to take responsibility for your mistakes.”

  Kieran had one last moment when he wanted to call the ceremony off, as he felt a panic rising inside him. But it was too late. Instead, he told one last lie.

  “Don’t mention it,” he said. “We’re just swapping places. When this is over, you’ll have plenty of time to thank me.”

  Carol leaned over them and held the knife out.

  “Okay, I want you to hold hands. I think this is going to hurt a lot, so don’t move,” she said.

  Quinn reached out and took Kieran’s hand. Before either of them could move, Carol drove the knife through their clenched grip.

  *****

  Quinn screamed in pain, and then slowly felt a burning sensation spread through his hand. When he looked around, he was no longer on the slab of rock on top of the fortress. Instead, he was sitting in a movie theater. On screen, a movie seemed to be playing in reverse. He watched as a woman withdrew a knife from the hands of two men. He watched as they talked, and while he could hear it, it sounded like gibberish. It took Quinn a moment to realize that they were talking backwards — and that the men on screen were Kieran and himself.

  “Brilliant,” a voice said next to him.

  He looked over to see Kieran in the seat next to him, munching on popcorn.

  “I’ve always wondered what my life would be like as a movie,” he said.

  On screen, Kieran got up and walked backwards until he was standing next to Carol. The two were talking to each other.

  “Over the years, I’ve changed my mind about the actor who should play me,” Kieran said. “A long time ago, it was Burt Reynolds, can you believe that? Then for a while it was Patrick Swayze or Tom Cruise. More recently it was Ewan McGregor. I loved the idea of someone playing Obi-Wan Kenobi and me. But this is better. I’ve always secretly wanted to play myself.”

  The movie picked up speed, now showing Kieran being held by Elyssa while Kate threatened him. Quinn took his eyes off the screen and looked around the theater. They were sitting in plush seats, but the floor was a little sticky. Quinn could see that the black velvet curtains were a bit frayed and shabby.

  “What is this place?” he asked.

  Kieran never took his eyes off the screen.

  “It’s the Queen’s Theatre in Chichester,” he responded, casually throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth. “I came here every Saturday when I was a kid. My dad — well, let’s just say he didn’t have much interest in me. So every Saturday, he’d give me money for the cinema. I loved it. I used to stay all day if I could manage to hide from the ushers.”

  On screen, Quinn saw bullets flying away from a woman in gold back into the guns of some Civil War soldiers. Kieran clearly yelled “Fire.”

  “You helped her,” Quinn said.

  Kieran chucked more popcorn in his mouth.

  “Needs more butter,” he said. “Actually, we were a pretty good team. Ironic, isn’t it? Or maybe it isn’t. I was used to playing this role. I helped Sawyer and Elyssa and before that, I helped Grace. I’m good at being a sidekick.”

  Quinn felt the warm sensation in his hand spread to his arm, as if he had a heating pack on his wrist. He looked at Kieran, but he didn’t appear to be any different or registering any discomfort.

  The movie on screen picked up speed again and was almost a blur of images. Kieran appeared on his knees in a jail cell, the Headless Horseman standing over him.

  “So this is a horror movie?” Quinn asked, smiling. He hadn’t known until now that Kate had turned into the Horseman after he died. The idea amused him.

  “I prefer to think of it as an urban fantasy-action-adventure, with me as the conflicted protagonist.”

  The warmth in Quinn’s arm spread to his chest. He felt strangely hot, almost like he should take off his shirt.

  “Is it cold in here?” Kieran asked.

  He rubbed at his right arm and chest.

  “I need to talk to the management,” Kieran said. “I don’t remember ever being too hot or too cold in here. I only remember being happy. I tried to take Grace here once, years later. But they had torn it down, the bastards. I actually cried, can you believe that? You never really appreciate something until it’s gone.”

  Quinn watched as the Kieran on screen paged through books, appearing to flip through them backwards.

  “Your research,” Quinn said.

  “I became obsessed with it,” Kieran said. “It was as if in saving you, I might be able to undo all the damage I’ve ever done. You know, Crowley wrote all this shit about how you are what you fear. But it’s not really true, is it? All that matters are the choices we make.”

  “I was thinking about that earlier,” Quinn said. “I tried to convince Elyssa of that.”

  Kieran looked over at him and smiled.

  “Yeah, that’s a tough sell,” he said. “That woman has been taking orders for so long she doesn’t even think she has a choice anymore. She just wants someone to follow.”

  On screen, Kieran wandered, backwards, through the ruins of different castles, then roamed the Irish countryside. Quinn was amused to watch him bike backwards as well.

  “At first, I didn’t like that this was in reverse,” Kieran said. “But now I think it’s inspired. It’s very Avant-guard, don’t you think?”

  The movie-Kieran was drinking in a pub and talking intently to a stout man.

  “That’s him!” Kieran said. “That’s the guy I told you about, the one who told me about ail-enedigaeth.”

  The moment was so brief it was gone before Quinn got a good look at the stranger.

  He then watched as Kieran traveled through much of Ireland in reverse.

  “What’s funny is that it’s skipping bits,” Kieran said. “It never showed us when I visited Kate in the asylum.”

  “Every good movie has to have an editor,” Quinn replied.

  “Yeah, but that was a memorable part,” he said.

  The movie sped up significantly.

  Quinn watched in fascination as some of the last events of his own mortal life replayed in reverse. It started with his death, as he watched Kieran stab him in the back. However, in this version, Quinn saw the knife in his chest and Kieran pulled it out of him. It looked like Kieran was saving Quinn, not killing him.

  If Kieran was bothered by watching this scene, he didn’t show it.

  “You had a great death scene, by the way,” Kieran commented a moment later. “I’ve always wanted one of those. Like in Star Trek II, when Spock dies. Man, I just about cried my eyes out during that one. ‘I have been, and always shall be, your friend.’ And then Scotty on the bagpipes. That was brilliant.”

  “Obviously the best Star Trek movie,” Quinn replied.

  “Oh, here comes the sex scene,” Kieran said.

  Quinn looked up to see Kieran and Elyssa writhing around on the floor.

  “Weird, even in reverse, it pretty much looks the same,” Kieran said.

  The scene backed up until Kieran and Elyssa drew apart, with Elyssa putting her clothes back on and backing away.

  “Were you friends with her?” Quinn asked.

  “Can you be friends with her?” Kieran replied. “I don�
��t know. She tried to seduce me plenty of times. I thought it was a game to her, but I’m not really sure anymore. I hated her after Grace died, but I’m not even sure she knew what Sawyer was going to do. In retrospect, I think she was just as lost as I was. Maybe I should have tried to be open with her. Maybe things could’ve been different.”

  They were silent for a few minutes as Quinn watched Kate and him appear briefly in a scene at the castle with Sawyer, Elyssa and Kieran. A little later, the film showed Kieran killing Carol. As with Quinn’s murder, though, this time he appeared to be helping her, drawing his knife along her throat and closing the wound.

  “Would you tell her I’m sorry about that?” Kieran asked. “She loved me once upon a time and I… well, I didn’t appreciate her. There we are with that theme again.”

  “What do you mean?” Quinn asked. “You can tell her yourself.”

  Kieran tore himself away from the screen and gave Quinn a sad look.

  “I think we both know how this movie ends,” Kieran said.

  “What do you mean?” Quinn asked again.

  Kieran didn’t reply. He looked again at the screen. Quinn watched the details of Kieran’s life spill out in front of him. The warmth in his chest had expanded, spreading down to his legs. Beside him, Kieran was rubbing his arms. He had started a few minutes earlier, clearly trying to warm himself. Quinn looked at Kieran’s lips and noticed they had turned blue.

  His attention, though, kept being pulled back to the movie, where he watched in fascination and horror at the double life that Kieran led. On screen there were countless interactions with Elyssa and Sawyer and their moidin. Sometimes Kieran looked rude or surly, at other times he laughed and joked with the pair of them. On several occasions, Kieran played chess with Sawyer.

  But more often Quinn saw Kieran alone at the movies or sitting in some far corner of whatever estate they lived in reading a book. He moved among people, but he didn’t seem to be a part of them.