by Cege Smith
The Purgatory transport was young. David would place her at around eighteen. She had an air of confidence that belied her age. He wondered again what Braz was thinking in sending David to her. He watched her for another song trying to figure out a way to get her attention without drawing the eyes that watched her to him. David wandered further in the room, thinking it was best to watch for a while before making a move.
The room was circular with the dance floor in the middle. There was a long wooden rail that enclosed the outer perimeter of the dance floor, and every seat was filled. There were low tables with chairs the next row out from the dance floor, and then finally another long rail that went around three quarters of the room on either side of the door. Stools were tucked under the exterior railing, and David found an empty stool on the wall opposite the door. Each exterior circle was elevated a few feet higher than the level inside of it, so no matter where you were in the room, you could see the dance floor. He thought that the set-up worked well for his purposes, not only could he see Lila, but he could also see if anyone entered the building that pose a threat.
It didn’t escape David’s notice that most of the people in the room were clustered in small groups of three. Even before Ellie had mentioned that peculiarity of the Afterlife to him, David had been aware of it. He remembered asking Lillian about it when he was a kid, but her answer had been vague. There was power in the number three.
No one on the dance floor approached Lila or tried to interact with her in any way. She appeared to be alone. David remembered Braz’s words that the transports started to function as a unit. He sensed that, by nature of Lila’s role, she was an outsider within Purgatory. She was part of a unique trio, and had much freer reign of movement than any of the other Purgatory residents. He watched her dance and found himself jealous of her obvious abandonment of thought and judgment of those around her.
Three songs later, the tempo of the music changed and slowed down. Lila’s face scrunched up, and David thought that she looked disappointed. She exited on his side of the dance floor as several groups pushed their way onto the floor and it quickly filled. David pushed to his feet to intercept her before she sat down.
Quickly moving down the narrow aisle, David saw her turn into the middle row and he touched her shoulder. Her head whipped around, and her eyes shot daggers at him. “Hands off. I’m not interested.” Her tone told him that she was used to being hit on.
“Braz sent me,” he said in a low voice. “He said you could help me.”
“Bullshit,” Lila said, looking around them. “If that was true, Braz would either be here or he would have found a way to tell me himself.”
“He couldn’t because there wasn’t time. Give me two minutes,” David said, trying to keep his voice even. He would have welcomed the loud music now. He could feel that their interaction had now drawn several pairs of eyes. “Somewhere a bit more private.”
“That’s the worst pick-up line ever,” Lila said with a mirthless laugh. She turned and started scooting around the tables.
David swore and followed her. When she sat down three tables off the aisle, David sat down next to her.
“Seat’s taken,” she hissed.
“Yea, by me,” he said with a growl. He leaned toward her. “Look. I don’t have time for this. Braz said you could help me.”
“Help you do what, exactly?” Lila said.
David looked around helplessly. He didn’t want to have this conversation with her in the middle of a room with a hundred pairs of ears. He cursed Braz for not giving him more ammunition to convince Lila that he wasn’t some random guy hitting on her. He decided to try another tactic.
“I need to find my girlfriend,” he said. “She’s in trouble.”
Lila pointed to his feet. “Your feet don’t look broken. Walk your ass over there and help her. You don’t need me for that.”
David took a deep breath and then looked Lila straight in the eye. “My girlfriend’s name is Ellie Coulter. I think you know her?”
Lila’s mouth fell open, and she leapt to her feet. David grabbed her arm and dragged her back down to her seat. He felt her starting to struggle, and he spoke quickly. “Braz sent me to you, I swear.”
Lila shook her head. “You’re lying. If what you said was true that would make you…no, Braz couldn’t do something like that.” Now she was looking around the room too, aware of the eyes on them. David felt his window of opportunity closing.
“I’ll explain it to you if you’ll just give me a minute. But think about it. How would I have known where to find you if Braz didn’t tell me where to go? Braz trusts you to keep this a secret, which means that I have to trust you. It’s a lot riskier for me to be confiding in you.” He hoped that he was conveying a sense of urgency without sounding as panicked as he was feeling.
It was starting to feel hard for David to breathe. The music tempo picked up, but as people began to exit the floor once again, he felt like there was energy in the room that hadn’t been there before, and it was focused on him. A shot of pain ran up his arm into his chest, and he winced. He grasped the left side of his chest and tried to draw in a breath, all the while wondering if it was possible to have a heart attack in the Afterlife.
Lila looked at him with alarm. Then she stood up again and pulled him to his feet. She slid closer and whispered, “Nobody is going to believe this, but try to make it look good.”
David didn’t have any idea what she was talking about and then she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nuzzled his neck. Then she laughed loudly, “Okay, okay. I’m in. Let’s go.”
David had no choice but to lean against the petite transport to stay in an upright position. He realized that she was playing it up as if he had captured her interest. He hoped that no one noticed his wobbly knees. The only reason he was still standing was because of her strong arms wrapped around his waist. Although she couldn’t have been much taller than Ellie, she seemed to be supporting his weight easily. David moved his feet as fast as he could, even though his throat was threatening to fully close at any moment. He let his chin drift down, so it rested on her head.
They burst out of the doors and into the night. Immediately the stranglehold on David’s throat was gone and he inhaled a deep breath, filling his lungs to the brim.
“What was that?” he managed.
Lila’s head swung one way and then the other. The street was deserted. “I’ve got an idea. We’ve got to get you away from here.”
“Take me to the Bradford waypoint,” he said.
“Shhhh!” Lila’s eyes were fierce as they settled on him. “There are ears everywhere. I could be banished to oblivion just for being seen with you. Braz has a lot of explaining to do. Can you walk?”
David stood up straight and shook his shoulders. “I can run if I have to.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Lila said grimly. “Follow me.”
David wanted to ask her all of his questions, but he saw by her expression that she didn’t want him to talk. David dug his hands into his pockets and kept pace with her easily. He was soon lost again in the maze of buildings and numbers. Lila seemed uneasy as she glanced furtively around them.
“Almost there,” she whispered. “I think we’re going to make it.”
David was relieved. The day so far had been draining. He hoped that soon he would see Ellie’s face. He needed to apologize for his harsh words and tell her that he didn’t mean them. He was anxious to make it right. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t immediately see the figure that detached itself from the shadows of the alleyway of the building in front of them.
He heard Lila’s sharp intake of breath and then felt her hand on his arm slowing him to a stop. He looked up. The blond man in front of him looked like he was just a year or two younger than David. He was dressed all in black, but David saw red satin lining the exposed collar of his jacket. There was a pin on his lapel that David knew well. It was a snake eating its own tai
l. It meant that the man was from Hell.
“Lila,” the man said. “You look fetching tonight.”
David didn’t need to see Lila’s stiffened posture to know that this man was trouble for both of them. He had a sinking suspicion that this was Lila’s counterpart from Hell.
“Dane,” Lila said.
Dane’s eyes shifted to David. “Who’s your friend?”
David opened his mouth to reply but felt Lila’s glare.
“He’s new. Dream detail. Braz asked me to show him around,” Lila said. “We were just on our way back to our quarters. I’d hurry back to Hell, Dane. You know that Braz doesn’t like you lurking around here off-duty. C’mon,” she jerked her head at David. “Your curfew is in ten minutes, and we don’t want you to get in trouble on your first day.”
David raised his eyebrows, but followed Lila’s lead. He wondered if Lila’s ability to lie with ease was a reason that she ended up in Purgatory. They stepped around Dane, and were continuing on into the darkness when Dane’s voice reached their ears.
“I’m assuming you’ve heard then that Mikel has escaped.”
David stumbled, and his mind raced. Lila paused beside him but didn’t turn.
“Sounds like Hell has a problem then,” Lila said. “That’s obviously outside of Purgatory’s jurisdiction.”
“I would think that Braz would be more concerned about locking down the people who could move between the waypoints and the sectors than making sure a newbie got his orientation.”
Lila sighed. “What Braz does is none of your business, Dane. Don’t make me report you to him.”
David blinked and found Dane in front of them again studying David closely. “There is something familiar about you. Do I know you?”
“No,” David replied. He was growing tired of the man’s antics. “You don’t.”
“I think I do,” Dane stepped closer.
“Dane,” Lila said stepping between them. “You are overstepping your bounds here.”
“I don’t think so,” Dane said with a slow grin. “Because if this guy is who I think he is, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone. First, I’m guaranteed a spot on the Council, and second, I get to take Braz down a notch, if not further.”
The familiar anger was growing inside of David’s chest. It was too much. Ellie, Lillian, Braz, and now this insufferably arrogant man who seemed to think he was going to use David too. He had enough.
“You’d better listen to Lila, and get out of here before you get hurt,” David said. He took Lila by the shoulders and nudged her out of the way.
Dane’s eyes glinted. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Try me,” David snarled. As Dane’s fist came up, David heard Lila’s cry just before his hand caught it in mid-air and completely absorbed the momentum. Their joined hands hung there.
Dane’s eyes widened for just a moment before bringing his other fist up. David blocked the jab easily. David was shocked. As far as he knew, he had never been in a fight in his life, but his body seemed to know exactly what to do in that situation. Then David’s head swung down and the ensuing violet head butt caused Dane to stumble backwards. Dane fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
David advanced on Dane, but Lila threw herself down and covered Dane’s body. “No, David! You cannot hurt him. Please.”
Her strangled plea and tears in the corner of her eyes brought David out of his red colored haze. “He’ll turn me in and get us both in trouble.”
“Maybe, but then he’d only be doing his job,” Lila said. “You can’t blame him for that. We’re the ones doing something wrong here.”
“I need to get to Ellie. He won’t stop me,” David warned.
“If you want me to help you, then you can’t hurt him,” Lila said.
“Why?”
Then David heard Braz’s voice in his head. “I see it now, even with my Lila.”
Instantly he felt a wave of guilt. He saw the shame cross Lila’s face that confirmed everything that he needed to know. “Fine. He comes with us, but you’d better keep him quiet,” David said.
Lila looked torn, when another set of feet appeared behind her. “I’ll help you with him, Lila. You go.”
An expression of relief crossed Lila’s face when she saw the voice’s owner. A slight blush blossomed on her cheeks. “Thank you, Peter.”
David sighed. He didn’t need Ellie’s psychic abilities to see what was going on between the three people in front of him. Purgatory, Hell, and now Heaven were all represented. He wondered again what in the Afterlife he had gotten into.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ellie’s explanation of what happened with Mikel left Lucy annoyed and frustrated. “You should have yelled at the first sign of trouble. You made a bad deal, again, Ellie.”
Ellie was annoyed that Lucy had decided to judge her actions. “I need answers, Lucy. I never told Mikel about what I found in my parents’ house when he took me back there. He knew about them. I may find out later it was the wrong call, and I may regret it, but I needed more time with him to find out what he knows.”
“So you decided to put Hell on our asses. Yea, that’ll give us loads more time,” Lucy said, rolling her eyes.
“I understand that you don’t agree with me, Lucy. If you want out, just say so,” Ellie said. “I know that this makes things more dangerous. So, if you want to go, just go.”
Lucy sighed and then sat down next to Ellie. She put her hand on Ellie’s knee. “I want you to get your answers, El. I just wish you would have trusted someone else, anyone else, but Mikel to help you find them. Someone like me.”
“I do trust you, Lucy.” Ellie stood and started to pace. Things were swirling faster than she wanted, and other things, the unknown things were beginning to gnaw at her. She wished that things were simpler. It was a wish that was becoming familiar. Then something occurred to her. “Have you seen Jeffrey since we’ve gotten back?”
“No.” Lucy shook her head.
“That’s strange,” Ellie said. “I haven’t seen him since the Palmer children got here. Usually he’s popping up all the time trying to shove a cup of tea in my hands.”
Lucy shrugged. “I’m sure he’s around.”
Something felt off to Ellie, although she couldn’t put her finger on it. “I’m going to check on the kids. Will you go look for Jeffrey for me? Maybe he’s heard something from one of his contacts about Max Turner.”
Ellie could tell that Lucy still had many things on her mind, but Ellie needed to make sure that everything was secure in the waypoint first. It felt necessary. Then Lucy finally nodded. “Okay, but let’s meet back up here later and figure out what to do with Mikel before Mikel decides what to do with us.”
Flashing Lucy a thumbs up, Ellie ducked out of the room. The sense of wrongness persisted. She quickly made her way back down the stairs and crept up to the door of Bobby’s room. She put her ear to the door but couldn’t hear anything. Just as she was getting ready to turn the knob, a hand whipped around her head and covered her mouth.
“Shhh, it’s me,” Jake whispered into her ear.
Ellie whirled around and saw Jake had his finger to his mouth. He pointed up toward the staircase and then pointed at the small door at the back of the landing. Ellie knew that it led to a small spiral staircase that ran along the three floors. When the Bradford mansion was built, it had served as a pass through for the servants on the Other Side so that they could move things like laundry through the house out of sight. Ellie hadn’t been inside the stairwell since coming to the Afterlife.
Ellie didn’t want to go into the stairwell with Jake, but she heard a door upstairs open. Lucy was going to appear any moment. She let Jake drag her across the landing and through the door just as she heard Lucy’s footsteps on the stairs above them heading for the second floor. Jake shut the door and motioned for her to be quiet.
The small landing was dim, and Ellie could just make out that Jake was listening for
Lucy’s footsteps to fade away. Then he turned to her and smiled. “That was a close one.”
“Why can’t I tell anyone that you are here, Jake?” Ellie demanded. She couldn’t deny that the air of disruption she felt might have something to do with Jake’s appearance. She no longer believed in coincidence.
“Because it would be dangerous for you and for me,” Jake said. The smile fell from his face. “You aren’t supposed to be able to see me. So because you do, that means another one of your powers has manifested. And as long as I am here, I can help you. I can see things that you can’t.”
“Another one of my powers? What’s that mean?”
“Ellie, you know you are special. Psychic abilities are blocked here in the waypoints. The fact that you can use them makes you a potential threat,” Jake explained.
“If you are talking about the ability to see ghosts, I have this ability because I took it from you,” she said bitterly. “It was never mine.”
“I could see ghosts, but I could never talk to them,” Jake said. He leaned against the railing of the stairwell. “That’s all you.”
The idea that she had additional abilities that she didn’t know about made Ellie nervous. She wondered how much more freakish she could be.
“So do you have something useful to tell me?” Ellie needed time to think, but more pressing was getting some answers.
“That guy that works for you, the butler…”
“Jeffrey?”
“Whatever his name is. I’ve seen him talking to a woman when you aren’t around. I can’t get close enough to hear what they’re saying because I’m afraid that they would be able to sense me, but I heard them say your name.”
