Naked

by Alexandra Christian

  “What happened to her?” Phoe asked. She had asked him this before, but this time she needed the answer. “Your wife. Corinne. What happened to her?”

  “Why are you asking me about this now?” he asked, fumbling with a pack of cigarettes on the dash.

  “I don’t know,” she lied. “Curious I guess. Or maybe I’m looking for some clue to your motives.”

  He snickered and pushed the lighter device harder than necessary until it caught. “Do let me know if you find one. I’d like to know myself.” The lighter popped, and he used it to light the cigarette.

  “That’s not what I mean,” she said. “Why did you make yourself this monster, vampire, whatever you are? Why should I trust you?”

  “What choice have you got?”

  “Yeah, but I can still ask. So tell me. Please. What happened to her?”

  He rolled his eyes, hesitating for a moment and staring out at the road. It was as if he were looking for the answers to come floating by down the yellow lines on the road. Finally he spoke, his words measured and slow. Phoe could read the pain lurking there, and for a moment she was sorry for dredging up the memory.

  “My last job with MI six I was supposed to be excising an obstacle. A Somali warlord was some sort of political threat.” He laughed bitterly. “It seems so stupid now that I would sacrifice my family for such a ridiculous goal. At any rate, I did my job and came home.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “But the reach of bad men is far and precise, Phoe. The greatest lesson you could ever learn when it comes to evil—if you cut off the head of the demon, another will grow back in its place, more terrifying than its predecessor. By the time I arrived back in London, the web of their syndicate had killed my wife and child and destroyed the intricate illusion I’d created for myself.” He turned to stare into her eyes, a single tear resting on the edge of his eyelashes. “And it was…is an illusion. All of it.”

  “How did they die?” Immediately her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she looked away. Now she really was prying, but she had to know. “No, you don’t have to tell me,” she stammered, suddenly interested in the contrast of her shoes to the dirty floor mat beneath them.

  He shook his head and exhaled a long, slow plume of smoke out of the crack in the window. “I came home. I was injured, I could feel that I had some cracked ribs, other lacerations, but I refused the hospital. I don’t know, I guess maybe I knew that there was something wrong. When I got home, I could feel that something was out of place. You know how you can just feel when the air is different?”

  Phoe nodded. “Heavy. Like it’s just full of electricity.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I hate that feeling,” Phoe murmured.

  He nodded and took another draw from the cigarette before flicking it out of the window. “Anyway, the house was empty. I could see my daughter’s toys everywhere, but there was no noise. As soon as I started up the stairs, I got this uneasy feeling. I drew my gun. I still remember how painful it was, just to hold that small steel thing in my hand.”

  He paused and stared at the open road before he continued.

  “When I got to the turn in the stairs, I stopped. I could smell the blood. Trust me, I know that smell. Once you smell it, a lot of it, you never forget. Drying blood is what death smells like, and it was everywhere. I knew I was too late. But I had to see it through.” His voice cracked and he paused again. Suddenly, Phoe was sorry that she had brought it up. That she had doubted his motives even for a moment.

  “My God, Cage,” Phoe whispered, kissing his shoulder and brushing his hair back from his forehead. “I’m so sorry. You don’t have to keep going.”

  “Yes,” he said, pounding his fist against the dashboard so hard that it left a crack. Phoe gasped. “You wanted to know.”

  He took a deep breath and swallowed. Tears or rage, she couldn’t be sure in the dark, but a single, silver tear slid down his cheek.

  “I went into my bedroom and at first, it was so dark, I couldn’t see. I stumbled on something and I reached down to pick it up. It was some silly stuffed plush thing of Lily’s. When I picked it up, it felt wet, squishy, like a sponge with too much water. I dropped it, repulsed. I brought my fingers to my face and I knew it was blood. It smelled so strong that I could taste it. I stood up fast and stumbled back. I hit something, and when I turned around it was them. My wife and our beautiful little girl hanging there.

  “They’d cut their throats and hung them on the rafter over our bed. My little girl, my baby, was bound.” His foot stomped the brake, and the car lurched forward, screeching to a halt. “I swore that night that I would never, never stop hunting the butchers that killed the only things I had to live for.”

  His voice had grown cold and Phoe could feel it down to the marrow of her bones. A bitterness that would never go away, merely sleep. “Did you find them? You know, later?”

  He nodded. “After Oliver did this to me, I was so angry. I think that rage was the only thing that kept me alive early on. Yes, I found them. Rooted them out of their holes and tore them to shreds, one by one. It wasn’t hard. I followed them for years, using the dying confessions and memories of each victim until I found the one who cut them. I saved him for last.”

  Cage’s tears were running down his cheeks now, and he didn’t make any move to stop them. He laughed bitterly. “When I found him he was waiting for me. Just sitting there in a puddle of his own urine staring, knowing he had no place to go. The fucking piece of shit just sat there, watching and listening as I tore his minions apart to get to him.

  “I was shifting erratically at that point. I didn’t know how to control it, but when I finally got there and he was the last one—the one that slashed my baby girl’s throat and left her to die—I wanted to be myself. I wanted to watch him die with my own eyes. To feel every single shudder of suffering that I could wring from his cowardly fucking throat.” His voice finally failed him and he gagged.

  “Stop,” Phoe whispered. “I’m so sorry, Cage. I didn’t know.” She reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder.

  He flinched, jerking his arm away from her. “I won’t do it again. I won’t survive another, Phoe.” He turned, his eyes still wet and glistening with tears but fierce and staring into her face. “I won’t lose you. I can’t. If I lost you, it would be my last tether on reality. I fear that I would let the monster take over. And the scary part is, I wouldn’t care. Not. One. Bit.”

  “Hey,” she whispered, edging close and wrapping her arms around his waist. His fingers carded through her hair then cupped her jawline, drawing her in for a kiss. It was desperate and longing. A slow, burning passion she could feel in how tightly he was holding on to her. “You’re not going to lose me.”

  “I promise not to fail you. I swear I will bring your sister back if I have to give my life to do it.”

  13

  Phoe woke up a few hours later, her head tucked uncomfortably against Cage’s side. Her body ached from being in the position, and her muscles screamed as she stretched. Suddenly she was longing for the dusty old bed at Sadie’s place. As soon as Phoe’s eyes focused, she could see the pinpoints of city lights ahead of them.

  “Oh my God… Is that civilization?” she asked.

  The sight of other cars in the pre-dawn rush, the streetlights, the spires of buildings rising on the horizon—it almost made her cry with relief. For the first time in days she was starting to feel like maybe, just maybe she wasn’t going to die.

  “As much as Tulsa, Oklahoma, can be civilization.” Trust Eve to ruin it. Phoe rolled her eyes. Couldn’t dragon girl have just stayed asleep a little while longer?

  “It’s certainly more civilization than we’ve seen in the last week,” Phoe remarked. “I was starting to think cars and people didn’t exist anymore.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” Cage said. “Civilization means that it will be much harder to go unnoticed.” He handed Phoe his eSlate. “Check the time on the flight to Canaveral. We�
��ll need three tickets.”

  “Two,” Eve said. “Ollie sent me here to warn you, not help you on this suicide mission.”

  Phoe’s mood immediately lightened. “Where shall we drop you then?”

  “Eve. You can’t go now,” Cage interrupted. “Once we get to New London, I may need some help.”

  “Oh, you’ll be fine. Besides, you’ve got G.I. Jane over there with you. I’m sure you’ll be just peachy.” Eve began rummaging through her rucksack.

  “Eve, please. I need you.”

  “Cage. You don’t need me. What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up in the first place?”

  “It’s been a pleasure, Eve,” Phoe sighed, settling back against Cage’s side. She tried to hide the triumphant grin. “Be safe.”

  Eve chuckled. “See, Phoebe has every confidence that you’ll be all right.” She grabbed Cage’s pack and began looking through it hurriedly. “You don’t mind if I take a gun and some ammunition, do you?”

  “Goddammit, Eve,” Cage growled, jerking the wheel to the side and spraying gravel across the shoulder of the road. He threw the car in park and whipped around, staring at her. “What the hell did you come here for anyway?”

  “Ollie asked me to warn you, so I did. My part in this little story is over. Now stop being silly, and let me out.” She pushed against his seat, but he wouldn’t budge. “Come on, Cage. I’m not getting involved with some suicide charity mission.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Look, Derek Machine is bad news. Everyone knows it. Well, everyone but you apparently. My advice is to hand over whatever he wants, including that sweet little librarian, and save your own skin. The last time I checked, you had bigger problems.”

  Phoe’s head snapped up at hearing herself referred to as “sweet little librarian.” “You said this thing was bigger than all of us.”

  “Of course it is. And why the fuck should Cage or I care about any of it? We’re just like those monsters that everyone’s so excited about. We’re evolving while the rest of you are going extinct.”

  Phoebe threw a murderous glare toward Eve. “I didn’t ask you to care. In fact, I’ll be happier when you’re gone. For some stupid reason, Cage trusts you, but I don’t have the same confidence. All I know for sure is that if my friends need me, I help them. If that causes me to go extinct, then I’ll go gladly into oblivion.”

  Phoe pushed at the door, kicking it to get it open, then slid out. She held the door for Eve, and when Cage started to protest, she cut her eyes toward him, daring him to say a word. Apparently he took her seriously, since he kept quiet.

  “Thanks so much for your enlightening observations,” Phoe finished with a sweet smile. “Good-bye.”

  Eve chuckled and climbed from the cab and hoisted her rucksack over her shoulder. “See you in hell, Phoe.”

  “I look forward to it,” Phoebe replied, getting back into the truck and slamming the passenger door.

  Cage was looking out the windshield, watching as Eve disappeared into the forest beyond the shoulder of the highway. If he was sorry to see her go, he didn’t say anything, and Phoe was glad. It was clear that her help would only serve to get them in more trouble.

  When Cage started the engine and pulled back onto the road, they drove on in silence. The sun would be up soon. The sky was starting to take on the deep red-violet hue heralding the dawn. If she understood his condition, Cage would have to be well into the city and in a safe place within the hour, or being hunted down by IU agents would be the least of their worries.

  Apparently he wasn’t concerned, because his deep laughter broke the silence.

  “Cage?” Her question only made him laugh harder until he was leaning on the steering wheel. Was he hysterical? Had he finally snapped under the pressure?

  After a moment or two, Phoe began to laugh with him. The glowing beauty of his smile was like a virus, and she couldn’t contain herself. Soon they were both cackling like maniacs.

  “Why are we laughing?” she asked as soon as she could catch her breath.

  “Enlightening observations,” he choked. “Next time just pull a gun on her and chase her out into traffic.”

  “Well, she was a pain,” Phoe replied. She took Cage’s mobile from the seat between them and began clicking through, searching for the flight times he’d asked for before Eve’s exit. “Oh no,” she said after a time. “Cage, the next flight to Canaveral isn’t until tomorrow afternoon. We’ll never get to New London in time.”

  “Calm down,” he sighed, placing a reassuring hand on her knee. “Yes we will. Machine needs that amulet you carry. He’s not going to hurt your sister as long as you’ve got it.”

  “Are you sure?” He sounded sure, and she loved the way he sounded so sure.

  “I promise, Phoe. I won’t let anything happen to either one of you.” He glanced away from the road for a moment, giving her a determined stare that immediately calmed the storm of panic that was threatening to rise. “Once we reach Tulsa, I’ll send him a message if it will make you feel better.”

  “He told me to come alone.”

  “Do you really think that there’s anyone in the whole of the universe who doesn’t know that I’m helping you?”

  She smirked and nodded. “Of course. You’re right. I should just calm down. Put on my big girl panties and get on with it.” She chuckled at the crass expression. “Funny, I’ve always had a hard time with that.”

  “With what?”

  “Putting on my big girl panties and getting on with it. Jess used to tell me that all the time. Like when we were children and I wouldn’t eat my broccoli. Or when our family moved, and I had to change schools. When our mother died. ‘Just get over it, Phoe,’ she would nag. When I quit my job in New Orleans to work as a librarian in St. Francisville, she claimed I was running from the past.”

  “Why did you quit your job in New Orleans? I’d think the money would be much better at a city archive,” Cage said as he sped across three lanes of traffic to take the exit toward Tulsa.

  “Jesus,” Phoe exclaimed, grabbing the armrest. “Slow down just a little, would you?”

  “Sorry. I forget that humans are so fragile.”

  “Well consider this, smart guy. If we’re in a fiery accident, the whole world will know we’re here,” Phoe said.

  “Quite right,” he replied, driving on in silence.

  They turned onto a gouged and rough road. Cage didn’t slow and for the first few miles, Phoe couldn’t say anything for fear that he was going to turn the car over with the next curve.

  “You were telling me why you quit your job in New Orleans?” he prompted.

  “What?” she shrieked. She was trying desperately not to let the ruined road rattle her teeth out of her head.

  “You were about to tell me why you quit.”

  “Oh,” she huffed. She’d hoped he would forget what she’d said and abandon that line of questioning. “I guess it’s just like you were saying. Humans are fragile.” She stared out the window, watching an array of run-down buildings whiz by, blurring into a gray-brown brushstroke as they sped past. “Besides, New Orleans is odd. I didn’t feel safe there.”

  Cage snickered and shook his head. “Safe is just an illusion, Phoe. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”

  “I’m safe with you,” she said simply.

  He turned, and their eyes met. It was the truth. As long as he was there, Phoe felt that nothing and no one could touch her. It was a huge responsibility to give a being she’d only known for a short time, but she hoped he would accept the challenge.

  She edged closer to his side. “Anyway, I had to. My mother was dying of cancer. There was no one to take care of her but me, so I had to be close to home. I heard about a job working at a tiny library in a small town, so I took it.” She hoped he wouldn’t press the issue.

  She wasn’t interested in dredging up the past. It was selfish after he’d been so open with her, but the thought
of talking about her mother’s death and her resentment toward Jess was exhausting. And she worried he might think she was a selfish brat for feeling that way. Quickly she changed the subject.

  “Eve said before that you hated Mars. Why?”

  “Ah, quid pro quo, I see.”

  “Well, I’m curious.”

  He grinned, staring out at the long stretch of road. “It’s a hollow facsimile of my home. My home that I can never go back to.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “New London. It’s like Machine and his architects saw a picture of London in a book and made a flat copy. Everything is so two-dimensional. The culture is gone. There’s no gritty underbelly. No soul. Only this sanitized version of what a deranged socialite imagines London to be. I hate it. It’s a reminder of the life I can never get back.”

  “It’s the Disneyland version.”

  “Pardon?”

  “The Disneyland version. It’s like going to one of those exhibits where they build replicas of historic places. It’s the London that they show the tourists.”

  Cage smiled and nodded. “Exactly.”

  “It’s kind of like going to a Mardi Gras party at a bar. Once you’ve actually been to New Orleans, it’s like some cheap costume party or something.” She shrugged. “I know exactly what you mean. They never get the smell right.”

  “The smell?”

  “Yeah. That smell of the pluff mud and cayenne pepper and cocoa butter. The sickeningly sweet smell of old lady gardenia perfume.”

  “I suppose you’re right. London does have its own smell. And Mars definitely doesn’t. Mars smells like what you might imagine hell to smell like. Sulfur and ash.”

  Phoebe shuddered. Suddenly she was painfully aware of how close they were getting to being there. When this whole thing started, she had just wanted it to be over. Now that the endgame was so close, she was afraid.

  For a man like Cage, space travel was nothing, but she had never been more than fifty miles from her home in her entire life. Now she was expected to get into a large metal bullet and be shot into space. That and the thought of going to a place so alien made her belly rumble uncomfortably. Better to change the subject.